Page 68 of Skulk of Foxes
‘The whole city will collapse into a giant sinkhole.’ She said this so matter-of-factly that it seemed a very real possibility. Ah. ‘The well is the best I could come up with on my own and with such short notice. I’m sure you’ve noticed that our magic-related problems, even without the sphere, are growing worse by the hour.’
I looked away and began to whistle. Not my fault. No sirree.
‘You should do it,’ Morgan said. ‘I’m not sure there’s any other choice.’
‘Will it take a long time to arrange?’ Finn asked, while Julie stared, unmoving at Artemesia.
Artemesia shook her head. ‘I’ll need to get into the Arndale Centre and locate the right spot but once I’m there it’ll be easy.’ She pointed to a small radio. ‘Getting inside shouldn’t be a problem. There’s been a lot of looting and most of the windows and doors into the Centre are already broken.’
Morgan folded his arms. ‘Looters don’t have any care for either their own safety or for others. It’s not safe for you to go alone. We’ll all go. That way we can be sure you’re protected.’
‘No.’ Artemesia set her jaw. ‘You have to meet Liung and deal with the sphere. Sorting out the magic in the atmosphere is pointless if we don’t get that damn thing destroyed.’
Timmons got to his feet. ‘I’ll go with her. I’ll make sure she’s alright.’
I blinked at him. That was impressive; two weeks earlier he’d been a terrified weasel of a faery and now he was volunteering to face down an angry mob of humans.
When he continued speaking, I was even more shocked. ‘Once we’ve sorted out the magic and sent it to the well,’ he said, ‘Artemesia and I will go to Rubus and do whatever we can to keep him in place. He keeps turning up at the worst moments. You can’t afford for him to interrupt the meeting with Liung as well.’
I gazed at him. From dodgy hotel manager to potential hero of the hour. That was my influence. I’d rubbed off on him and now he was almost as wonderful as I was. Either that or he was just good in an emergency.
Monroe frowned. ‘I have no problem with facing down Rubus again. We were taken by surprise last time but that won’t happen again.’
‘He’s got magic and he’s not afraid to use it,’ I reminded him.
‘Big deal. We are wolves. We’re not scared of him.’
Much as I appreciated some overblown bravado, I hoped those words wouldn’t come back to bite him on the arse. ‘Just so long as you don’t leap in and claim all the glory for yourselves,’ I said. ‘We are the ones who’ve done all the hard work.’
Monroe winked at me. ‘I wouldn’t dream of it, darling.’
‘We’ll all escort you to the Arndale Centre,’ Morgan said, ignoring us both. ‘Then we’ll meet Liung and rid ourselves of the sphere once and for all.’
I rubbed my palms together. ‘Sounds like a plan.’ Then, because I wanted to prove that I was in this with Morgan and that the sexy Scottish werewolf was merely an aside, I leaned over and kissed my man heartily. Mmmm. Amnesia or not, one thing I’d certainly not forgotten was how to snog.
Before I spontaneously orgasmed in front of everyone, I pulled back and glanced at Artemesia. ‘One other thing,’ I said. ‘Liung said that the cure to my, uh, memory issues, involved something called hmmbongo and avocado.’
She started. ‘Mbongo?’
I shrugged. ‘If you say so.’
Artemesia’s eyes gleamed. ‘That could actually work.’ She jumped to her feet, darted to some nearby shelves and began rummaging. ‘Here!’ She pulled out a jar of something that looked like shrivelled penises. Ick. Then she grimaced. ‘I don’t have any avocado seeds.’
‘You’ve got hmmbongo but you don’t have avocado?’
She tapped her mouth. ‘Maybe I can pick some up when we’re at the Arndale Centre.’ She looked at me. ‘I think the wily old dragon might be onto something.’
I swallowed, hoping I didn’t look as nervous as I felt. Once my memory returned –ifmy memory returned – I’d be forced to face all the facets of my personality and my past, regardless of what warts both might contain. I could do it, though; if I could beat Rubus, I could beat myself. I nodded awkwardly at her and stood up.
As soon as I did so, there was an odd trumpeting sound. I spread out my arms. ‘Look! Even the angels are singing a chorus for me!’ I beamed.
‘Darling,’ Julie said, her voice barely a whisper, ‘I think that came from outside.’
We exchanged glances. Morgan got to the door first, hauling it open and peering out. ‘Wow,’ he whispered.
I nudged him aside and gazed out. When I saw what had made the noise, my mouth fell open and I clapped my hands in delight.
Jodie blinked. ‘Is that a pink elephant?’
