Page 79 of Skulk of Foxes
I tried to smile but couldn’t. I had to tell the truth – the whole truth – and right now before I lost my bottle. ‘I’m the one who made the borders close,’ I said. ‘Apparently I was trying to prove a point.’ My expression soured. ‘And look at what I achieved. Ten years of exile and goodness knows how many catastrophes.’
My father blinked. Then he laughed. ‘Oh, Madrona, darling, you are funny!’
My eyes narrowed. ‘Funny ha ha or funny strange?’
He continued to chuckle. ‘Both. You wouldn’t have had the power to keep the borders closed for more than a day at most. You don’t have the magic to force them shut for a decade. What a thought!’ He shook his head.
I put my hands on my hips. ‘I’ve got plenty of magic!’ I argued.
‘Not that much,’ he said, still amused. He patted my arm. ‘You still have so much to learn. We don’t know what made the borders close but it certainly wasn’t you. All we know is that now they are closed for good.’ He beamed at Morgan and me. ‘It’s probably not a bad thing. I’m going to check on the others. I’ll be right back.’ He ambled off in the direction of the nearest group hug.
‘It was me,’ I said stubbornly. ‘I do have enough magic.’
‘I know,’ Morgan murmured. ‘I don’t think he realises quite how powerful you really are.’
‘Or how foolhardy,’ I added with a dark scowl.
He smiled slightly. ‘It’s not a point I’d continue to argue about, Maddy. Maybe it’s for the best that no-one will actually think it was your fault.’
I glared at him. ‘But it was. I’m going to re-vamp my Madhatter costume. When I’ve got my cape and mask on, people here will see that I’m not to be trifled with.’
‘I can’t imagine that anyone would ever think that.’ He smiled and leaned in, endowing my lips with another kiss. ‘Does it really matter?’
I sighed and thought about it. ‘I guess not,’ I muttered. ‘It just … it just doesn’t seem right that things have ended this easily. That all those people are still going on with their lives back in Manchester and we’re here. What’s Julie going to do now? Or Jodie? How hard did Julie hit her? Is Monroe going to make it?’
Morgan took my arm and gently turned me, then pointed at the border and the flickering view of the human demesne beyond. ‘We can still see them. If they come to Castlefield, they might be able to communicate.’
I watched as Jodie struggled up to her feet and began yelling and gesticulating angrily towards Julie’s crumpled figure. At least I presumed she was yelling. I couldn’t actually hear her. I balled my fists up in frustration. ‘We can’t talk to them.’
‘There’s always sign language,’ Morgan said. ‘We’ve got a lifetime to learn a way to communicate with them.’ There was an intense expression on his face, as if there were something he desperately wanted to ask.
I focused on the silent image of Julie, breathing out as she finally stood up and gazed blindly towards us. Her expression, a grimace of pain and anguish, didn’t change. ‘They can’t see us, Morgan. We can see them but they can’t see us.’
He sighed. ‘No. It doesn’t look like they can.’
I wrinkled my nose. ‘So even sign language is a waste of time. Whatever happens there, we can’t do anything about it. We can’t affect it in any way. We’ll never be able to communicate with them again. And the borders have to remain closed. We can’t afford to re-open them and negatively impact on their demesne again.’
His expression dropped. ‘No.’ He hesitated. ‘I’m sorry.’
A smile spread across my face. It hurt but I gave it my best effort. ‘It’ll be like the world’s greatest television show. We need popcorn. Now.’
Morgan drew me close. ‘You don’t have pretend in front of me, remember?’ he murmured in my ear.
I realised I was shaking. ‘Julie was scared,’ I whispered. ‘It wasn’t her fault.’ I paused. ‘It was her fault but she was only acting on instinct. She’s not evil. She’s really not. She …’
‘Hush,’ he said. ‘I get it. She realised what she’d done right at the end. She knew it was wrong.’
I clenched my fists. ‘Manchester is still in trouble. Whatever daddy dearest over there says, there shouldn’t be magic there. Look at all that blue. They’re going to be in trouble. They’re going to need us.’
‘They’re stronger than you think. They’ll manage. Manchester will manage. Besides, all of them have skills. They can do this without us.’
I certainly bloody hoped so. ‘There’s no choice is there?’
He shook his head. ‘It appears not. But if the city is still standing now, after all that’s just happened, then it’s going to survive.’
I scanned across the flickering images of our friends. I wasn’t the only hero. Morgan was right; Manchester would survive and so would they. Even without me and my fabulousness.
I put my arm round Morgan’s waist and inhaled his scent. ‘For what it’s worth,’ I told him, ‘and to answer your unasked question, yes, I’ll be here by your side making you miserable for a lifetime.’
