Page 67 of Skulk of Foxes
‘Why?’ I had a feeling I knew what he was going to say.
‘Because I don’t die. I don’t lose. And I don’t let a bunch of trumped-up faeries who are feeling a bit homesick get the better of me.’ He drew back his shoulders. ‘I am Monroe.’
He certainly seemed to be feeling a bit better. I looked around for a set of drums or at least a handy pair of cymbals to crash. The best I could do was a teaspoon and saucer. I tapped the spoon onto the china, immediately sending a spider web of fine cracks across its surface. Oops. Clearly, I didn’t know my own strength.
‘Well,’ I said, pretending not to notice my minor act of destruction, ‘I’d hate to end your winning streak. We’re going to have to do something about Rubus to avoid any further problems.’
‘Agreed.’ Monroe got to his feet. ‘I’ll get my wolves together and we’ll head to his lair straight away.’
I noticed that the few wolves behind him went pale. The magic and destruction they’d already faced appeared to have put the fear of Fey in them.
‘Let’s not do anything rash,’ Morgan said. ‘We’re not going to beat him with brute force. He has the numbers. And the magic. We have to be smarter.’
‘Rubus is on the edge,’ I said. ‘He’s teetering on the brink of all-out insanity. Much more of this and he’ll be completely loopy.’
‘Sounds like someone I know,’ Jodie muttered.
I didn’t take offence but I did turn to her with raised eyebrows. ‘While he maintains an element of sanity,’ I said, ‘his actions are predictable. If he goes psycho, even he won’t know what he’s going to do next. We can’t afford to sit around and twiddle our thumbs. We have to move quickly.’
‘We’ve hardly been twiddling our thumbs,’ Artemesia said.
‘I know,’ I replied. ‘I’m just pointing out that…’
Morgan put a hand on my arm. ‘Let’s focus on the important points, shall we?’ He flicked a look at Artemesia. ‘Have you found a way to release the magic pressure in the atmosphere?’
She grimaced. ‘Sort of. It’s risky but I’m not sure there’s much choice at this stage. I didn’t want to go ahead until I’d spoken to you about it first, though.’
I nodded wisely. ‘That makes sense. My superior intellect will see through any gaps in your plan.’
Artemesia raised her eyes heavenward. ‘Give me strength.’
I flexed my muscles. ‘I don’t have much,’ I admitted, ‘but what I have is yours.’
She tutted. ‘Anyway, before the Arndale Centre was built, there was a restaurant-cum-nightclub called the Wishing Well. As you might surmise, it was built on the site of a wishing well. A real wishing well, with all the power and magic that you might imagine it would have. I suspect that, several generations ago, a bunch of faeries from Mag Mell created it.’
Jodie frowned. ‘Aren’t wishing wells super-dangerous?’
Timmons nodded. ‘Yep. We try to keep their locations hidden. There’s no telling what could happen if the humans visited them regularly and made wishes.’ He grimaced. ‘You think things are chaotic now? Imagine what it’d be like when you could wish for whatever you wanted and it would be granted.’
‘Kebabs,’ I said dreamily.
Timmons smiled. From our earlier conversations, I had a feeling that he shared my appreciation of a good spicy kebab dripping with tasty grease.
‘They are indeed dangerous, as Begonius says,’ Artemesia interjected.
‘Timmons,’ he told her. ‘Not Begonius.’
She waved a hand. ‘Whatever. My records indicate that one of our more sensible ancestors persuaded the humans that the well was indeed dangerous. They filled it in and demolished the building above it. However the well went very deep and had various caverns inside it, which still have pockets of air and space within them. There might even be a secret passageway or two leading underneath Manchester. If those passageways exist, their locations are no longer known.’ She patted the pile of books next to her. ‘Even these babies can’t help.’
‘What you’re proposing,’ Morgan said, ‘is to use the old magic of the wishing well to contain the new magic that’s built up over the city.’
Artemesia nodded. ‘You’ve got it in one. In theory, the well will contain any power I filter down into it.’
Monroe didn’t look impressed. ‘In theory?’
She tugged at her earlobe. ‘Until I try, I won’t know for sure.’
‘What’s the worst-case scenario?’ I asked. ‘If it doesn’t work and the magic seeps out?’
