Page 59 of Box of Frogs
‘It’s in my bag,’ he muttered, thankfully still unwilling to open his eyes and look at me.
There was a creak from the same floorboard that had almost given me away. I knew without turning that it was Morgan. For once renouncing his cat-like tread, he walked over and grabbed a faded backpack. I was impressed by his ability to look intimidating; I’d have to practise that thunderous expression later.
When Morgan rummaged inside the bag and pulled out a small glass vial filled with something glittery, his face grew stormier. Even I almost flinched.
‘What else did Rubus tell you to do?’ I said, my voice low and threatening and very close to Dave’s ear.
‘That’s it!’ He paused and flicked open his eyelids. Fortunately my expression must have been pretty scary because he closed them quickly again. ‘Wasn’t it? I didn’t think there was anything else.’ His panic was rising. ‘Have I forgotten something?’
I extended the index finger of my free hand and softly grazed Dave’s cheek. He cowered even more. ‘No,’ I said. ‘It seems like you’ve covered everything.’
He breathed out in relief but I wasn’t done yet. ‘You have fucked up, though, Davey boy. Big time. You should have given Rubus’s lookalike the sparkly shit by now.’
‘I told you! I couldn’t! He wasn’t there. I’ve been every night.’
‘You’ve been distracted, though. You went with friends. You tried to pick up women.’
Dave’s body tensed. I had to be careful; he was already close to putting two and two together and I couldn’t afford for him to do that. I released my grip on his neck and used my hand to cover his eyes.
‘I’ll tell you what,’ I murmured. ‘I quite like you, Dave.’ I ignored the sharp look Morgan gave me. ‘I’m going to help you out. Rubus will be furious when he finds out you’ve not done as he commanded. He’s been nice to you until now but when he gets angry… Well, let’s just say you don’t want to be in his vicinity when that happens.’
‘Oh God,’ Dave whispered. ‘Don’t let him hurt me.’
I smiled. ‘The only way he won’t hurt you is if he doesn’t know how badly you’ve screwed up.’ I paused, as if giving serious thought to the matter. ‘So I tell you what. I will take the dust. I will give it to the man in the Metropolitan. As far as Rubus will know, you did exactly as you were asked.’
Dave licked his lips. ‘You’d do that?’
‘As I said,’ I told him, ‘I like you. You’ll find a way to make it up to me later.’
‘Yes.’ He nodded vigorously. ‘I will. I promise I will.’ He hesitated. ‘What’s your name? So I know who I owe?’
I shot a quick look at Morgan. He shrugged impassively. Uh…
‘It’s Stacey,’ I said.
Dave jerked. ‘Stacey? But normally you lot have names that are all, like, weird and stuff. Your name is really Stacey? Like that character onSt Thomas Close?’
Another of Julie’s fans. That was interesting. ‘Yes,’ I told him. ‘Just like her. But not quite as nice.’ I leaned in and licked his cheek. Of everything I’d said and done, that action scared him the most. ‘Stay here,’ I said, ‘until you hear otherwise.’
‘Yes. Yes, Miss Stacey, I will.’
Morgan was already moving out of the room. I reached carefully for the power inside me, unable to afford Dave catching another glimpse of my face. Time slowed to sluggish heartbeats. I lifted my hand away from Dave’s eyes and spun away. By the time the earth’s rotations returned to normal, Morgan and I were both striding out of the warehouse and back into the night.
Chapter Nineteen
Morgan’s fingers drummed against the handlebars as he drove. His body had been rigid for miles. I wasn’t even convinced that he had a destination in mind; it seemed as if he were simply driving aimlessly around the empty streets. It was only when the familiar sight of the fake Roman fort came into view that he brought the motorbike to a halt.
‘You didn’t ask the human where Rubus is now,’ he said, after he’d turned the engine off and glorious silence returned to the night.
I shrugged. ‘There was no point. That would have given away my position and my identity and there’s no chance that he knows where your brother is. Rubus would not have been stupid enough to tell a guy like Dave where he was going to be.’
Morgan swung his head round to look at me. ‘You say that like your memory has returned,’ he said. ‘Like you know exactly what kind of person Rubus is and how he acts.’
‘Sorry to disappoint you,’ I replied. ‘I still remember nothing. But I’ve learnt over the last day that someone like Rubus wouldn’t tell someone like Dave where he’s spending his time.’
Morgan’s mouth tightened but it was obvious he grudgingly accepted my words. ‘I can’t believe he thought that sending a human to spike me with pixie dust would work.’
I slid off the back of the bike so I could face him. ‘It didn’t have to work,’ I said quietly. ‘I don’t think Rubus cares whether you have dust in your system or you don’t. What he wants is for you to be distracted. Maybe he was hoping you’d kill Dave and have to deal with the consequences. Or maybe that you’d spend the next week turning the city over to find out what’s going on. It’s a smokescreen. Rubus is up to something and wants to make sure you’re nowhere near the action.’ I gave a derisive snort. ‘Hell, he’s abducted Julie. Weknowhe’s up to something.’
