Page 73 of Skulk of Foxes
I breathed deeply, forcing myself to stay calm and think things through. Brute force was not going to win the day; we had to be smarter than Rubus. I played for time until the answer struck me.
‘Your heart is crammed with skid-marked underpants, Rubus,’ I said, shaking my head with deep sadness. ‘Your soul is stained with faeces. Not the healthy kind, either. I’m talking about the sort of half-runny, half-solid crud that includes random bits of sweetcorn and the smear of rectal blood.’
Rubus gazed at me. ‘You’re actually a masochist,’ he said. ‘Forget the Madhatter part. There’s nothing more to you than the desire to inflict pain upon yourself. I should have realised that sooner. No wonder you spent so much time with me when all you ever wanted was to be withhim.’ His voice dripped with disdain. ‘Morganus the saintly do-gooder. You could have been my queen. Instead you’ll be nothing more than a footnote in history.’
I raised my hand towards Morgan and pressed my fingers against his forearm with just enough pressure to warn him to back off. I had this. I was the Madhatter, no matter what Rubus snorted to the contrary.
Monroe let out a tiny moan. It was barely audible, even to my Fey ears, but it gave me the ammunition I needed.
‘You’re alone,’ I said.
Rubus glared at me. ‘So?’
‘This is supposed to be your moment of glory, Rubus. This is when you snatch the sphere and use it to free every faery from a lifetime of greasy kebabs, daytime television and Uber taxis. But no one is here to witness your triumph. Given your past performances, that’s not the way you work.’ I scanned the horizon behind him. ‘Monroe and his wolves got you, didn’t they? You might have been victorious in the end but I bet my freckles that all your lieutenants are either bleeding out or already dead. You don’t have anyone left to take back to Mag Mell, do you?’
Something flashed across Rubus’s face. It was brief but I was too smart to miss it. ‘I’m their keeper,’ he shot back. ‘I’m keeping them safe. They’re back at the hide-out, snug as bugs and safe as houses.’
I raised an amused eyebrow. ‘Are they? I reckon you’re telling porkies. Big ones. I wonder what the faeries in Mag Mell will say when you’re the only one to return. Will you be feted as a hero then?’
Beneath my fingers, I felt Morgan’s muscles relax slightly. ‘Maddy’s right,’ he chimed in. ‘One of the elders will perform a Truth Draw, which you won’t be able to resist. When it’s discovered that you’ve killed our own, as well as countless others from other species, you’ll be thrown in the darkest dungeon. You’ll be vilified. The footnote in history will be you. And you won’t be a martyr like Viburna, you’ll be the monster that’s used to scare children.’ He smirked. ‘You’re no saviour, Rubus. You never were.’
I stared hard at Rubus. He was growing angrier by the second and the glint of madness in his eyes was becoming more visible. ‘There are plenty of people here!’ he yelled. ‘I’m holding them back until my glory is assured! I’m going to save them all! I’m going to return us to Mag Mell. You … you…’
His voice faltered as he lost all semblance of rationality. His cheeks were flushed scarlet and his fists were tightly clenched. His chest rose and fell rapidly with his erratic breathing.
I barely managed to hold my ground. We were no longer facing Rubus; the creature in front of us was more like an enraged animal on the verge of extinction. And yet he still retained the upper hand. He could still hurt us.
Rubus waved his arms around. ‘Come out!’ he shouted. ‘I command you all to come out and face the bastards who don’t want you to return home!’
We all glanced over but when I saw who emerged from the ruins of the old Roman fort, and realised my guess about Rubus’s troops had been correct, I felt only sadness. There was no triumph to be gained from watching the limping, blood-soaked, raggle-taggle group that hobbled towards us.
I didn’t know how many Fey had been working with Rubus but there were very few of them left. No wonder they’d not appeared until now. Most were limping. All of them were covered in blood.
I cast a quick glance at Monroe. He might have suffered a catastrophic defeat but he and his werewolves hadn’t gone down without a fight. I mentally applauded what he’d achieved, although with very little enthusiasm.
Rubus didn’t appear to notice the sorry state of his clan. He waved an exultant hand. ‘See? I have more Fey on my side than you have on yours.’
I scanned the group. ‘Where’s Carduus?’ Then I realised I already knew the answer. It was the real reason why Artemesia hadn’t been killed; Rubus needed her because Carduus hadn’t made it. Maybe it was Monroe in front of Charley’s house, or maybe it was the locusts. It didn’t really matter. Carduus was one Fey whose passing I wouldn’t mourn.
‘Carduus is fine,’ Rubus snapped. He held out his palm. ‘Now. Give me the sphere.’
‘It’s not happening,’ Morgan answered.
Rubus bared his teeth. ‘I was hoping you’d say that.’ Without warning, he pointed and threw out magic in my direction. I spun, using my shoulder to block the worst of the blow, but it still knocked me off my feet.
Morgan let out a strangled cry. I opened my mouth to tell him I was okay and realised, rather belatedly, that I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t move either. I was face down in the dirt and totally paralysed. Strangely, I couldn’t feel any pain – but somehow I didn’t think that was a good thing.
‘I’m going to kill you,’ I dimly heard Morgan say to Rubus over my head. He was very angry. That was nice.
‘You know you can’t,’ Rubus responded serenely. ‘She’s not dead, though. She still has a chance. Whether she gets it or not is up to you.’
‘I—’
Whatever Morgan was about to say was interrupted. There was a calm shout from behind us. If I could have, I would have frowned. What was Julie doing? She should have been long gone by now.
‘Let Mads be,’ she called out. ‘I have what you want.’
She was bluffing and she was doing a damned good job. I felt a twinge of smug delight. It was a good thing the actress was on our side and not on Rubus’s.
