Page 36 of Skulk of Foxes
‘The kitchen will do,’ she said. ‘There are plenty of chairs round the table in there.’
We all trooped in, settling ourselves onto a variety of chairs of all shapes and sizes. I made sure to sit close to Morgan on the off-chance he was going to pounce on me again for another snogging session. I didn’t mind if people watched as long as his lips remained on mine. In fact, those people could do whatever they wanted as long as I had my Morgan with me.
‘I’m guessing,’ Timmons said, shuffling back into his chair until he was comfortable, ‘that you saw the fire dripping from the sky. It makes me wonder what’s going to come next.’
Artemesia appeared from an open doorway. ‘There’s no telling,’ she said grimly. ‘We’re entering uncharted territory.’ She slumped onto one of the kitchen chairs opposite me.
I drummed my fingers against the table top. ‘There must be some kind of pressure-release valve.’
‘Well, gee,’ Artemesia said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. ‘Why didn’t I think of that? Why don’t you go look for it? I’m sure you’ll locate one in seconds. After all, this entire demesne is just like a household boiler. It’s probably hiding in one of Julie’s cupboards. While you two have been making out, I’ve been trying to find a solution.’
‘We weren’t just making out,’ I said with pursed lips. ‘I took a bath with some ducks too.’
She tutted. ‘The magic build-up would be a lot easier to solve if I could stay in my lab where all my equipment is.’
‘I told you on the shell,’ Morgan said. ‘It’s too dangerous with Rubus searching for us.’
‘He’s always been searching for me.’
‘Yeah,’ I pointed out, ‘but now he’s particularly motivated. You’re the best geek we have, Arty. We can’t afford to lose you.’
‘You’re all heart,’ she muttered. ‘Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that I can’t find anything to stop this magic-induced craziness. The next wave could happen at any moment. It doesn’t help that Rubus and his minions are probably throwing spells and potions around whenever they want. They’re only going to make matters worse. Catastrophically worse.’
I sighed. ‘Perhaps we should wave a white flag temporarily and get in touch with him. He’s been more adversely affected by all this stuff than we have. He was almost eaten alive by a tsunami of rats. If Carduus hasn’t worked out what’s happening and warned him to avoid magic, maybe we should.’
Morgan’s shoulders tightened. ‘He’s not going to listen to anything we have to say.’
My gaze drifted to Julie, who had an odd, dreamy expression on her face. ‘He might listen to her.’
Finn stiffened. ‘No way. That’s not happening.’
The Redcap really was over-protective of her. ‘It’s a reasonable suggestion,’ I said. ‘I don’t think he’d hurt her. He’s more enamoured of her than anything.’
‘Darlings,’ Julie drawled, ‘it would be my pleasure. I’ll talk to him. Set the meeting up. Tell him to bring some decent gin, though. I might as well enjoy myself at the same time.’
Finn opened his mouth to argue but Morgan waved him off. ‘It’s risky but we have to do it. If all of the faeries under Rubus are using magic at his behest, goodness knows what might happen. As long as he remains stuck in this demesne, he won’t want to threaten its safety.’
‘Speaking of which,’ Jodie said, ‘aren’t we going to get the sphere back from that cleaning lady? What if she accidentally triggers it or something?’
Artemesia shook her head. ‘It can’t happen. Humans can’t set it off because they don’t have any magic within them.’
‘It’s safe for now,’ Morgan agreed. ‘Whilst Rubus’s Fey are out on the streets, we can’t afford to go anywhere near the sphere. It’s as safe now as it can be. It’s only a temporary solution, of course, but Maddy did well to pass it along.’
I beamed. ‘I’ll retrieve it later when we’re sure the coast is clear,’ I said. ‘It shouldn’t take long. There’s more we need in the meantime, as well.’ I looked at Julie. ‘We need to find a dragon. You’re ancient. You must have heard something about other creatures like Chen.’
‘Darling, I wouldn’t have the faintest idea where to start. I didn’t even know you faeries existed until last week. I’ve certainly never come across any dragons.’
I gestured at the group irritably. ‘How is this possible? How do all these supernatural species not know about each other?’
‘You say that like it’s our fault,’ Morgan said drily.
‘It is!’
‘You’re one of us, Maddy.’
‘Yeah,’ I pouted, ‘but I’ve got amnesia. I get a free pass.’ I raised an eyebrow at Finn. ‘I remember you saying that you and your brothers were planning to contact werewolves to help the fight against Rubus. How were you going to do that? Maybe they’ll know something.’
‘All I have is a phone number. I think they live up in the wilds of Scotland where they have the space to roam around unchecked and unnoticed.’
