Page 63 of Skulk of Foxes
I don’t know whether the shock made Rubus release his hold on the circle of fire, or the locusts smothered it by the sheer force of their numbers, but it wasn’t long before Morgan grabbed my upper arm and hauled me away. He dragged me out from the middle of the street towards the relative safety of the houses opposite.
‘What do we do?’ I yelled at him, waving my hands in front of my face to see what was happening. The cloud of locusts was so dense that it was impossible to see more than a few inches.
‘We run,’ Morgan shouted. ‘We have to.’
With his good arm, he took my hand and held it tightly, as if he were afraid to let go. A moment later, we were running down the street. Whether it was away from Rubus or into more danger, I didn’t know; the only thing I was certain of was that we had to get away.
When we reached the end of street, I stumbled over a fallen body. A Fey. One of Rubus’s, then. I reached down to yank him upwards but whoever he was didn’t move – and if I dallied too long I was liable to join him on the ground. I couldn’t afford that; the world couldn’t afford that.
I yielded to Morgan’s insistent tugging and we kept going. We curved round the side of one of the houses just as the trundle of a heavy vehicle hit my ears. There was a bellow from a loudspeaker, barely audible over the sound of the locusts. ‘We are preparing for evacuations! We are…’
Whatever else was said was lost. Morgan and I kept running, our heads down as we faced the battery of flying locusts. At some point I realised that we weren’t alone and that some wolves were by our side. I hoped they’d all made it out.
At that point, all I could do was hope. Any action beyond fleeing was lost to me.
Chapter Eighteen
It felt like an eternity, although it was probably only minutes, before the locusts disappeared back to whichever magical hellhole they’d sprung from. All the same, our little group continued to run until we found ourselves in a sheltered back alley. We paused for breath and to take stock.
Monroe almost immediately transformed, abandoning his wolf form with its protective fur for his naked skin. He was covered in welts and burns, and there were two long brands down his body where Rubus had seared him with his magic. I couldn’t take the time to appreciate the werewolf’s tanned, naked splendour because I was too busy shaking out locusts from the folds of my clothes but I rather thought that I preferred Morgan’s lean goodness to Monroe’s tattooed muscles.
‘Everyone is here,’ Monroe said grimly. ‘Everyone made it out.’ He jerked his head towards a few of the stragglers. ‘Set up a perimeter to watch for anyone approaching while we take stock.’ They bobbed their heads and immediately peeled off.
Monroe stalked over to another wolf – Dwight? William? I couldn’t remember and it didn’t really matter – and clicked his fingers. The wolf transformed back into human shape and the pair began to murmur. I was tempted to eavesdrop but frankly I had greater concerns.
I grabbed Morgan’s face in my hands and stared into his eyes. ‘Are you alright?’ I demanded.
He smiled. ‘I am.’
‘Your arm…’
‘It’ll heal.’ He dipped his head towards mine for a brief kiss. I thought it was rather restrained of me not to grab him for a proper snog; he certainly deserved it. ‘We made it out and we have the sphere. We’re halfway there already.’
‘That was all me,’ I told him. ‘By throwing magic into the sky, I brought those locusts upon us.’
‘You did what was necessary.’ He brushed a curl away from my face.
I met his eyes. ‘You don’t have to keep making excuses for me, you know. If there are other people out there who were caught up in that storm…’
‘I’m not making excuses. You thought on your feet and did what you had to.’ He grimaced. ‘To be honest, I wish I’d thought of it. Anyway, the locusts have gone now. Maybe they’ll have done some good in stripping all those crazy trees of their foliage and halting further growth.’
‘You’re being very optimistic.’
His eyes held mine. ‘Thanks to you. We can only deal with each problem as it comes and in the best manner that is presented to us at the time. We’re all fumbling here, Maddy. All of us.’
Monroe sniffed. ‘I’mnot fumbling. And next time you feel like unleashing a plague of locusts on us, darling, perhaps a heads-up would be a good idea.’ He grimaced. ‘I’m still itchy.’
There was a shout from behind us. ‘Incoming!’
I stiffened. Monroe cocked his head. A moment later, a message was relayed by a runner. ‘Faery. Female. Heading straight this way.’ The wolf messenger frowned. ‘She’s taller than a freaking maypole.’
I looked at Morgan. ‘Lunaria.’
Monroe whipped round. ‘Is she a friend?’
I wrinkled my nose. ‘Difficult to say at this point. Tell me where she is. I’ll go and speak to her alone.’
Monroe opened his mouth to protest but I shook my head. ‘It’s best this way.’ All the same, I plucked out the sphere and passed it to Morgan with a meaningful glance. He nodded and slipped it into his pocket.
