Page 69 of Skulk of Foxes
I beamed. ‘It is! Not just slightly pink either. Or that sickly baby pink. That creature,’ I said, as the elephant trundled past, its trunk and tail swinging, ‘is proper pink.’ It was also bloody massive.
Tempting as it was to rush out and greet it properly, I decided that getting trampled wasn’t on today’s agenda. All the same… ‘It’s a sign,’ I declared. ‘We will emerge from this day fully victorious.’
Morgan took my hand in his. ‘Let’s hope so,’ he murmured. ‘Let’s certainly hope so.’
Chapter Twenty
I twitched more than once. In fact, my left eyelid was ticking and twitching so rapidly and so often that I was beginning to think I had a parasite in my eyeball. Morgan pocketed the shell and gave me a brief smile. ‘That was Artemesia. The old wishing well worked a treat.’
I wished that made me relax. If anything, my eyelid flickered even more furiously. I tried to smile but it was more like a grimace.
Registering my nerves, Morgan took my hand and squeezed it reassuringly. ‘One problem at a time. Julie is fine, despite the best efforts of Rubus to burn her alive. Artemesia has solved the issue of the magical build-up. I can’t feel the prickle across my skin any more, so she must have been successful with the ancient wishing well. There’s no sign of Rubus. The magical sphere is by far the largest problem but in thirty minutes we won’t have to worry about it any more.’
‘Assuming Liung really is trustworthy, does what he said and destroys it,’ I said.
‘For all his gruffness, he seems trustworthy enough.’
I had to agree but I couldn’t deny the sense of foreboding that was burgeoning deep inside me. I curled my fingers tighter round Morgan’s. ‘I feel sick,’ I admitted.
He nodded. ‘Me too.’
‘And my chest hurts.’
‘We’re at Castlefield. This is the main border crossing back to Mag Mell. The closer we are, the more the pangs of homesickness kick in.’
I growled. ‘Liung chose the spot for the meeting to taunt us. By handing him the sphere we might be saving the world but we could also be consigning ourselves to an eternity here.’ I sighed. ‘I might not remember Mag Mell but I do understand the ache. I feel it. It’s growing. Suffocating me. And it’s all my fault.’
‘You weren’t to know that the borders would remain closed. You had good intentions when you used your magic to shut them. You wanted us faeries to recognise that our visits were potentially harmful and that we didn’t belong in this demesne,’ he reminded me gently. ‘You didn’t mean all this to happen.’
I sniffed. ‘We don’t know that for sure. Maybe this is exactly what I was aiming for.’
He smiled. ‘No. I know you.’
‘I’m an evil bitch.’
‘You pretend to be. But you’re not.’ He leaned in. ‘And soon you’ll be the person who saved this entire world from destruction.’
Well, me and Morgan and Liung and Finn and Artemesia and Julie and Jodie and… Okay. Mostly me, though. ‘I suppose,’ I said, ‘I did achieve what I set out to do. I did prove that faeries shouldn’t be here. Go me.’
‘Go you indeed.’ His shoulders tensed and he lifted his chin. ‘The others are back.’
I followed his gaze and spotted the small group wending their way towards us. I waved.
‘The werewolves are in place,’ Finn reported.
Jodie still appeared rather star struck. ‘Monroe has the pack organised. He’ll make sure there are no interruptions.’
‘Great. And I have to say I’m thrilled that you made it to join us for this,’ I chirped. ‘You’re all going to be witness to my brilliance at saving the world!’
Jodie looked irritated. ‘Does she have to be here?’ she asked Morgan.
I answered for him. ‘I’m the heroine in this storyline.’
‘You are the one who started all these problems.’
I shrugged. ‘So I’m the villain too.’ I grinned. ‘I guess it’s all about me.’ Despite my flippancy, I felt a small part of my uneasiness slide away. I was indeed both – and it was indeed possible to be both. I met her eyes, for once with perfect sincerity. ‘We all have a touch of villainy inside us. We’re all selfish beings who make mistakes. But if we can right those mistakes and work towards making more of ourselves and being better people, we’ve already succeeded.’
Jodie stared at me then at Morgan. ‘I can’t believe I’m listening to a lecture on morality from Madrona the Madhatter,’ she muttered.
