Page 75 of Box of Frogs
‘You got that right,’ I added.
Julie tutted. ‘You’re frenemies. I have loads of them and they really can be tremendous fun. Let’s go back into the other room. There are more glasses and there’s definitely more gin.’ She smiled at me. ‘As hideouts go, this really isn’t so bad.’
I sniffed. ‘The décor leaves something to be desired.’
Jinn shrugged. ‘We had to do something to hide her from the super hearing of faeries like you.’
I nudged Finn. ‘Super hearing. That’s because we’re superheroes. Unlike you.’
‘Enough, Maddy!’ Morgan roared.
‘Is Jinn as annoying as Morgan is?’ I asked him.
Surprisingly, Finn’s mouth twitched in amusement. ‘You have no idea,’ he muttered.
Morgan and Jinn simultaneously folded their arms in irritation. This shaky partnership could actually be quite a lot of fun, I decided.
‘I vote,’ I said aloud, ‘that we go back to the golf course. There will be some sort of clue there that I didn’t kill that bogle.’
‘It doesn’t matter whether you killed the bogle or not,’ Jinn said. Except it mattered to me. ‘What matters is finding out what Rubus is up to and stopping him before he destroys this entire demesne and all the humans in it.’
Morgan frowned. ‘The bogle, Charrie, went to the golf course, presumably on Rubus’s orders. So did you Madrona. There must be something there that will provide a clue about Rubus’s plans.’
‘We scoured the area. There’s nothing,’ Finn grumbled. ‘There’s no need to go back. We even used a reveal spell after we recovered from the Madhatter’s attack.’
I coughed loudly. ‘Youattacked me. Not the other way around.’
He waved dismissive. ‘Anyway, we used the spell in case there was any magical residue, or anything you or the bogle had inadvertently left behind. There was nothing.’
‘You used a what spell?’ Julie asked.
Morgan smiled at her. ‘When there are some faery-related objects or spells, or—’
‘Not just faery,’ Finn interrupted.
Morgan inclined his head, acknowledging the point. ‘I apologise. When there are some alternate demesne-related objects or spells or whatever, they are often hidden from sight. If any humans noticed them, they either wouldn’t understand what they saw or they would put themselves in grave danger by attempting to make use of them.’
Julie was fascinated. Frankly, so was I. ‘Like what?’ she asked.
He scratched his cheek. ‘Um…’
‘Wishing wells,’ Jinn interjected.
‘But I’ve seen wishing wells,’ Julie said. ‘They exist.’
‘You’ve only seen the fake ones. The real wishing wells are dangerous things. Even for us. In fact, especially for us. If every wish you made at a wishing well came true, imagine what would happen.’
I screwed up my face. ‘I’d wish for Rubus to be stopped. Job done.’
‘Sure,’ Jinn said. ‘Then you might wish for all Redcaps to be dead. Morganus might annoy you one day and you’ll wish for him to be dead. And so on and so forth.’
‘I’m really not that petty,’ I snapped. ‘For you I can be persuaded though.’
‘You get my point,’ Jinn said, smiling slightly. For a large, bullish guy, he was very earnest. I sighed and nodded reluctantly. ‘So,’ he continued, ‘Mother Nature conspires to keep the real wishing wells hidden. We don’t believe there are many of them. You would have to know the exact location, and be in that exact spot, to use a reveal spell that allowed the well to be displayed. Not even Fey idiots like Rubus are crazy enough to go looking for one. But sometimes there are other things that are more useful to locate. Hence, reveal spells.’
Julie shook her head in amazement. ‘I’m 173 years old and I never had an idea about any of this. Or about any of you.’
Jinn shrugged. ‘Why would you? We keep ourselves hidden from each other all the time. We’re so determined to keep up the façade that we’re something else or someone else that we don’t notice what’s going on right in front of our own eyes.’
