Page 60 of Skulk of Foxes
Morgan growled. I grinned. ‘While you were flirting with Charley, I got the sphere,’ I told him. ‘Now all we need to do is to get it – and us – out of here.’
Monroe smiled. ‘Well, it’s fortunate you brought me along to be your faery godmother then. Your wish might just come true.’ He exploded into full wolf form. Suddenly he was a gigantic beast with ice-blue eyes and snow-tipped fur. All around him, the other wolves did the same.
‘If only wishing made it so,’ I muttered.
I leaned up and kissed Morgan on the cheek. Then we all readied ourselves for the onslaught.
Chapter Seventeen
I’ll say this for Rubus: he didn’t hang back and let his henchmen deal with all the trouble. He enjoyed the limelight far too much to let others do the dirty work. I could appreciate that, much as it galled me.
He strode forward from the left, his thumbs hooked into his belt. He had clearly come dressed for action; he was wearing khakis and an army jacket. I doubted anyone would mistake his loose-hipped swagger for that of an uptight soldier’s, however.
‘Hello, brother.’ He grinned as he got close. He blew me a kiss. ‘And Madrona too.’ He swung his gaze round us, including the assembled werewolves. ‘I see you’ve been making new friends. That’s sweet.’
Morgan’s expression remained stoic and calm but I sensed him seething underneath. ‘You keep turning up at the most inopportune moments, Rubus. This isn’t a good time.’
Rubus smirked. ‘Oh, I think it’s the perfect time. It took me a while to work out how Madrona had spirited away my sphere from the police station without Carduus noticing but I worked it out.’ He paused. ‘With a bit of magical intervention.’
My mouth twisted. ‘You said you wouldn’t perform any spells. We told you what would happen if more magic was released.’
He dismissed my complaint with an airy hand. ‘Yes, yes. I know what I said. I thought about it a bit more, though, and decided I didn’t care. This demesne is doomed whatever happens. All that matters is getting us back home before it implodes. I really don’t understand why you’re all so keen to stop that from happening.’ He blinked at us earnestly. ‘Don’t you want us to survive?’
Morgan growled under his breath. ‘This is about everyone’s survival. Not just ours.’
‘The humans have been doomed for generations. If our magic doesn’t kill them, they’ll kill themselves before too long. We’re doing them a favour by not prolonging their misery.’
Monroe snarled, baring his teeth.
Rubus raised an eyebrow. ‘Hello, doggy,’ he cooed. ‘I assume that what you’d like to say – but can’t – is that your kind aren’t human.’ He shrugged. ‘I tell you what. I’ll arrange for your lot to come back with us to Mag Mell. You can’t say fairer than that. You’ll enjoy all the benefits that our demesne has to offer. You won’t have to hide your existence or your true nature any longer.’ He leaned forward slightly. ‘And I bet you’ve noticed just how beneficial the magic in the air has been to you and your kind.’ He tapped his mouth. ‘Let me guess. You’re stronger. You find it easier to shapeshift. You don’t need to wait for that pesky moon to go all furry.’
Around us, the other werewolves began growling and snapping. I could swear that several of them were drooling.
Rubus’s grin grew wider. ‘You are werewolves, right? I’ve not come across you before but you don’t look much like lap dogs to me.’ He glanced at Morgan. ‘Even if that’s what you’re acting like.’
Morgan put his hands in pockets, evincing utter casualness. ‘Insult away,’ he said. ‘We’re leaving and you can’t stop us.’
‘Leave if you want to,’ Rubus returned. His expression hardened. ‘Just give me my sphere first.’
‘We don’t have it.’
‘You always were a terrible liar, brother. Hand over my sphere or suffer the consequences.’
The more times we confronted Rubus, the more it seemed that he spent his time watching bad Hollywood movies so he could learn the lines that the villains uttered. He was like a caricature rather than a really bad guy. That thought would have been comforting if it weren’t for the fact that he was standing in front of us. He never seemed to quit. And I didn’t know how to make him.
‘We don’t have the sphere,’ I said.
Rubus gazed at me fondly. ‘You’re better than Morganus but I’m still a more accomplished liar than you, Maddy. I can see right through you.’
By my side, Morgan gritted his teeth. ‘Don’t call her Maddy.’
Rubus snorted. ‘Because you’ve laid claim to that name? Because you own her and her name? I offered her freedom. You’re just another ball and chain.’
I placed a hand on Morgan’s arm. ‘You never wanted me, Rubus. You just wanted to piss off Morgan.’
Rubus appeared to consider this for a moment. Then he shrugged. ‘Yeah. Too true.’
The longer we debated, the more chance there was that the army would show up and give us the chance to get away unscathed. However, it appeared that Monroe had a different idea. His snow-tipped fur was standing on end and his muscles were bunched up, as if he were getting ready to pounce.
