Page 38 of Skulk of Foxes
I considered. ‘I was evil for a couple of days because I thought it would be more fun.’
‘Was it?’ Finn asked.
‘I wasn’t very good at it,’ I confided. ‘I did my best but I didn’t have the follow-through I needed to be truly skilled at it.’
He let out a mild snort. ‘I find that difficult to believe.’
‘I know, right? It’s hard to imagine that there’s anything out there that I’m not the best in the world at. Unfortunately, Rubus has me hands-down at villainy.’
‘Don’t worry, darling,’ Julie said. ‘There’s time yet.’ She leaned forward and fiddled with the radio. A moment or two later, it crackled into life.
‘A twenty-mile exclusion zone has been set up around the perimeter of Manchester,’ announced the DJ. ‘The government has stated that they have no numbers of those killed but reiterate that the problems are all localised. Army troops are being mobilised and are set to enter the city limits before tomorrow morning to restore peace and maintain order. Phone lines within Manchester remain open and most homes have power and running water. If you are in the city, we urge you to remain indoors for the time being in case of further problems.’
I swung my gaze up and down the empty street. ‘The army’s coming to restore peace? They won’t have a hard job – I’ve never seen this place so peaceful. They’re coming to destroy the peace, more like.’
‘Not if Rubus has anything to do with it,’ Morgan said. ‘Are you ready to get out now, Julie?’
She craned her neck upwards. The moon was full, its soft white light shining down on us. Only the vaguest glimmer of daylight hovered over the horizon. ‘Yes,’ she said decisively. She smiled at us. ‘Don’t worry. He won’t know what’s hit him once I get started.’
Finn still looked uncomfortable and was clearly desperate to follow at her heels. Julie gave him a reassuring grin, revealing her sharp white teeth. Then she pushed open the door and, in the white stilettos that she wore as if they were slippers, walked across the road to Rubus’s door.
She didn’t even knock. We watched, holding our breath, as she simply turned the handle and strolled inside.
‘She’s becoming more vampire-like, isn’t she?’ I said to Finn.
He didn’t answer but I felt his tension increase. ‘I won’t talk about her behind her back,’ he said stiffly.
‘She’s my friend too and I want to keep her safe. But the build-up of magic is affecting her more than she’s letting on.’ I ticked off my fingers. ‘She looks paler. More tired. She waited until it was properly dark before she left the car. Even her teeth seem different.’
‘She’s exactly the same as she’s always been,’ he said. ‘You’re imagining things.’
I wasn’t. I truly wasn’t. ‘Finn,’ I began.
‘I don’t want to talk about it.’
I sighed. Since his brothers’ demise, Finn had clung to Julie like a drowning man clings to a life vest. I knew that I could talk until I was blue in the face but he wasn’t going to listen. At least I could count on him to keep a close eye on her; it was the least she deserved. With any luck, she wasn’t currently being ripped apart limb by limb.
I kept my eyes trained on the door. ‘Ten minutes,’ I said. ‘If she’s not out of there in ten minutes, we go in and get her.’
‘And how exactly are we going to get her out?’ Finn enquired. ‘Every single Fey in there has the ability to stop me. Rubus has the ability to stop you two. If he decides to keep hold of Julie, there’s nothing we can do about it.’
‘He won’t.’
‘You don’t know that.’
‘I told you before,’ I said. ‘Rubus likes her. I think he genuinely respects her. He’s going to want her to believe that he’s a good guy. Hurting her won’t achieve that.’
‘You hope,’ Finn grunted.
‘Shh,’ Morgan cautioned. ‘Something’s happening.’
I immediately tensed. The door to the Fey lair wasn’t budging and I couldn’t see anything through the windows. ‘Where?’
‘Not with Rubus,’ he said. ‘With the trees.’ Morgan pointed down the road. There was an ominous note to his voice.
Squinting, I saw why.
All along the street, trees were planted at various intervals, sprouting out of carefully dug spots along the pavement. Until a few moments ago, none of the trees had been more than three metres tall and the largest possessed a trunk that was probably of a circumference less than the calf of my leg. I was no tree expert but they’d been pretty enough with their summer foliage. They were still pretty; they still had verdant green leaves. But they were also growing. Visibly.
