Page 12 of Skulk of Foxes
He glared at me and steered me out of the police station. ‘I don’t know what you think you’re playing at,’ he spat, as soon as we were safely out of earshot of any helpful police officers. ‘But you will tell us where the sphere is and you will tell us now.’
‘Poor Carduus. All that time and effort that you and Rubus put into fooling me and in the end it was for nothing. You still didn’t get the sphere. You’re still stuck here just like the rest of us.’
‘And we all know whose fault that is, don’t we?’ His malevolence was quite extraordinary; until now, I’d had no idea that underneath his wrinkled façade was such a seething mass of hatred. He was an even better actor than Rubus.
I yanked my elbow away from him and threw out my arms. ‘Yes! We do know. I caused the borders to close! I trapped everyone here! But that doesn’t make what you’re doing right. If you use that sphere, you’ll effectively destroy this demesne. Magic isn’t supposed to live here. If you bring it, you’ll end the lives of millions – no, billions – of people.’
‘Since when did you become a saviour of the human race?’ Carduus sneered. ‘The only person you’ve ever cared about is yourself, Madrona. Now give me the sphere.’
I shrugged. ‘I don’t have it.’
‘Of course you do!’
‘Nope.’ Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted several car doors opening across the street. Numerous Fey, most of whom I recognised, stepped out. Included in their number was Rubus. He looked pale; no doubt he was still recovering from his self-inflicted bout of rowan poisoning. All the same, he managed a nasty smile in my direction. I beamed and waved at him. My actions didn’t seem to improve his mood.
‘Play the joker all you like,’ Carduus said. ‘Do you have any idea what Rubus will do to you if you don’t hand over the sphere? I might not be your biggest fan but I’m doing you a favour. I’m trying to help you, Madrona. You’ll save yourself considerable pain and anguish if you just give it to us.’
‘I can’t give you what I don’t have,’ I replied mildly.
‘You think you’re so clever. Getting yourself locked up, offering up the video evidence to keep you there, using Viburna as a lawyer. Your problem is that you’re not as smart as you think you are. The fact that we pulled the wool over your eyes and got you to believe that Mendax the dragon even existed proves that you have the brain capacity of a slug.’
I considered this. ‘Fair enough,’ I agreed. ‘But you have to admit that I’m a pretty sexy slug.’ Then I thought over what he’d said. ‘Hang on. Didn’tyougive the police the video evidence?’
‘Pah.’ He grabbed me again and all but dragged me across the street towards Rubus. We’d barely got halfway across the street, however, when another car appeared, screeching to a halt and blocking our path.
Morgan jumped out, his body tense and his expression grim. I beamed. My hero.
‘Let her go, Carduus,’ Morgan said. I was hoping for a crack of thunder to add weight to his words. The sky did look ominously grey but there wasn’t so much as the sound of car backfiring. Shame.
The Fey scientist curled his lip. ‘No.’
‘Do it.’
‘Or what? You can’t hurt me. You can’t do anything to stop me.’ Carduus pointed a bony finger. ‘Your brother can though.’
As if to give weight to Carduus’s words, Rubus smiled and jerked his head. A moment later, a struggling Viburna was pulled out of his car. My stomach dropped. He must have grabbed her as soon as she left the police station. There was a red imprint on her cheek, finger marks painfully visible against her pale skin. For effect, I thought scornfully. He wanted to remind us that he was the only Fey in this entire demesne who possessed the capability to hurt another Fey.
‘I think,’ he called out, ‘that a little demonstration is probably in order. Just in case you’ve forgotten what I’m actually capable of now.’ His smile broadened. ‘Thanks to you, little brother.’
Carduus let go of my arm. ‘You can stop this, Madrona. Just give us the sphere and we’ll release Viburna.’
I looked past him to Morgan. ‘I can’t give it to you.’
Morgan nodded. ‘Don’t.’ His gaze hardened and he turned to address Rubus. ‘We don’t negotiate with terrorists. Besides,’ he added, ‘what are you going to do? We’re in front of a police station.’
Rubus laughed. ‘Like I care! Am I supposed to be scared of a few humans wearing silly uniforms? Our cause is more important than anything they could conjure up.’ His green eyes, so similar to Morgan’s, flashed. ‘You can still join me. You can still be part of the team that returns us to Mag Mell and makes everything right again. The humans don’t matter. They’re inferior. But we faeries deserve better.’
‘You’re a megalomaniac.’
Rubus smirked. ‘So’s your girlfriend. I’ll take that as a no, then. Remember that in the future when you think of Viburna. This was your choice.’ He tilted his head at me. ‘And yours.’
Even from several metres away, I could see that Viburna was trembling. She started walking backwards with her palms up in a desperate bid to escape. ‘Don’t hurt me! I’ve not done anything! I don’t have the sphere! Madrona will have it now. You need to talk to her. This is nothing to do with me.’
Morgan started to move towards her but several of Rubus’s Fey minions jumped forward to bar his progress. All the while, Rubus continued to advance on Viburna.
‘Leave her alone!’ I yelled. ‘You’re not interested in her.’
Rubus kept his eyes on her. ‘She’s a means to an end.’
