Page 51 of Skulk of Foxes
‘It’s not your fault,’ he replied. There was no censure in his eyes, although his tone was rather gruff. ‘You can’t help it.’
Julie looked morosely at the blood soaking into his shirt. ‘Your poor clothes.’
I snorted. ‘His poor neck, more like.’
Finn stiffened but Julie’s smile widened. ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘His poor neck.’ She sighed. ‘You’ve been nothing but good to me, Finn. Don’t think that I don’t appreciate you.’
I beamed at them. ‘Group hug?’
Finn gave me a sideways glance; apparently I still wasn’t his best friend in the world, even if he now tolerated me. ‘Maybe not,’ he said. He looked at Julie. ‘Me and you though?’
She nodded. I moved back so she could stand up and the pair of them embraced. Although things now seemed a lot calmer, I angled myself so I could watch her face for signs of snarling or elongating fangs but she kept both her eyes and her mouth firmly shut.
When she was relaxed enough to let go, Finn busied himself with the tea. ‘We’re not the only people daft enough to go outside with all this magic shit going on.’
‘Tell me about it,’ I said. ‘Pimply teenagers have no regard for their own safety.’
He shook his head. ‘No. That’s not who I mean.’ He glanced at Morgan and me, looking distinctly unhappy. ‘There was a hunter.’
Morgan drew in a sharp breath. ‘A vampire hunter?’
Finn nodded. ‘He was waiting outside for us to get back. He tried to grab Julie.’
Gasbudlikins. That was all we needed on top of everything else. I thought we’d got rid of those arsebadgers, at least for now. ‘You’d think they’d have the sense to stay away.’
Morgan frowned. ‘I suppose they think they can take advantage of the chaos to go after Julie again.’
‘One track bloody minds.’ I rolled my eyes. ‘Why can’t they just fixate on breasts and arses like other men in the world?’
‘Was it just one hunter?’ Morgan asked.
‘Yep.’
Morgan’s jaw clenched. ‘Is he still out there?’
Finn shook his head. ‘No. I’m pretty sure I’ve scared him off for now. I wanted to do more – you know, break his legs or hurt him enough that he’d get the message that Julie is off limits. But he scarpered pretty damn quickly.’
Having seen what Julie was like when we entered the house – as well as hearing her from the other end of the street – I was hardly surprised. All the same, I was pissed off. Why couldn’t we have just one problem at a time to deal with?
‘Bad things come in threes,’ Morgan murmured, as if reading my mind.
‘Bad things can piss off. I’m bad enough for all of us,’ I returned.
He smiled at me but his expression was tinged with worry. I grabbed the glass of gin again and downed it. If the apocalypse was nigh, I wouldn’t have to worry about a hangover.
‘We need to get some rest before the next round begins,’ Morgan said. He gestured at Finn. ‘Are you okay with Julie?’
‘We’ll be fine.’
Julie frowned. ‘I am still here, darling. I might be crazed with bloodlust but there’s no need to talk about me as if I’m not.’
‘I’m sorry.’ Morgan ran a hand through his hair. ‘It’s been a long night but we’ve found a dragon – and he’s willing to help destroy the sphere. For the first time there might be…’
I held up my hands in horror. ‘No! Don’t say it!’
‘…light at the end of the tunnel,’ he finished.
My shoulders sagged. ‘You said it,’ I muttered. ‘Now we’re definitely doomed.’
