by Helen Harper
Anna’s eyes glinted. ‘Go on.’
I smiled. ‘I’d give us excellent odds on getting what we need. And he’ll go away happy too.’
‘I’m pleased to hear that,’ she said. ‘Because he’s certainly doing some weird shit outside. Or rather his team is.’
Two vampires entered. ‘We’ve got a million empty houses,’ one of them was saying. ‘Why’s he staying in a fucking tent?’
Really? A billionaire camping in the supposed Plague Lands? Now this I had to see.
***
If anything, the crowd outside had doubled. There were people everywhere, milling around the barricade and staring agog at what was happening right on our doorstep. Anna tutted to herself and muttered something about going home, before disappearing through the gate. I followed her so I could get a better view of the situation.
There was indeed a tent. This wasn’t your typical one-man canvas affair, however: this tent was massive. It took up the entire width of the street, sitting in the middle of the crossroads just beyond our steel barricade. In fact, the tent was so large that a good third of the barricade was blocked from our view. It was pure white, without any windows. It was hard to believe that Fab’s team had carried it with them. Their backpacks had been large – but they hadn’t been that large. This thing was a monstrosity.
Felicity stomped up to me. ‘It’s blocking our entire view!’ she snapped. ‘How are we supposed to tell who or what is approaching the enclave with that thing in the way?’
‘Well,’ I said, ‘on the plus side, if we’re attacked by shadow beasts then Fab and his friends will be the first ones to be eaten.’
Fab appeared from the front of the tent. His white hazmat suit blended with the white of the tent. If it weren’t for the orange tape marking him out, I might not have noticed him.
He caught sight of me and raised his hand before ambling over. ‘Charley! You disappeared very suddenly. I was hoping we’d get the chance to talk again before we called it a night.’
‘Called it a night?’ Felicity blinked. ‘It’s not yet eight o’clock.’
‘Well,’ he said, ‘we have things to do. Reports to write. That sort of thing.’ He smiled at her disarmingly from behind his visor. ‘I’m Fab.’
Her lip curled. ‘And I’m wonderful. I’d be even better if your … thing wasn’t blocking my sight line. Barricade management is my responsibility. I can’t manage anything if I can’t fucking see anything.’
I expected Fab to take umbrage at her sneering attack but her words slid off him. He offered her a brilliant smile and gave a bow. ‘I can see why you would be concerned. We will have two men on guard outside at all times. If there are any problems, we’ll raise the alarm immediately. You should take the opportunity to have a night off.’
She stared at incredulously. ‘I’m a werewolf,’ she spat. ‘I don’t take nights off.’
‘I’m sorry,’ I said awkwardly. ‘She takes her role very seriously.’
Fab nodded. ‘I can see that. And so she should.’ He smiled at Felicity. ‘I can see why you’re the ideal person to man these barricades. I bet nothing gets past you. Sharp eyes like yours must be invaluable.’
To my surprise, Fab’s compliment about her sharp eyes made Felicity’s sharp tongue disappear. She coughed, genuinely embarrassed. ‘I try,’ she muttered.
‘I’m sure you do more than that,’ he said warmly. ‘And I can assure you there is no need to worry about our presence. My men are highly trained – even without their weapons.’
I raised an eyebrow at the pointed remark.
‘We have been persuaded to hand them over to your man Julian for safe-keeping,’ he said. ‘I don’t mind doing so if it puts your minds at rest, especially considering they won’t work against the monsters. My men don’t need them anyway. They’re trained in many forms of combat. Not everything needs a gun.’
Indeed. The man was being incredibly amenable. I pushed away a fleeting thought that I’d have expected more of an argument and focused on the fact that he’d handed the guns over without a fight. There was no point seeking problems where there were none. ‘Your tent is rather … large,’ I said, treading cautiously.
‘Yes.’ He grimaced. ‘If there were anywhere else nearby where we could pitch it, we’d have set up there but all the available land appears to be used for crops.’
True. He’d certainly win himself zero admirers if he squashed any of our hard-earned plants. ‘Did you carry that thing with you all the way here?’
‘It’s surprisingly light,’ he told me. ‘And really very compact when it’s not in use. I developed it myself. It was easy to carry.’
Except he hadn’t been the one carrying it. Fabian Barrett hadn’t been carrying anything. I reminded myself that just because he was used to other people doing his bidding didn’t mean he was a bad person. It only meant that he enjoyed a different standard of living to the rest of us.
‘It’s incredible technology,’ Fab continued, ‘even if I say so myself. There are two inner walls, which are sealed against all possible contamination. We are free to take off our suits once we’re inside without fear of anything.’
‘Apart from a strong wind?’ I suggested.
He let out a bark of sharp laughter. ‘Or a giant Lucy monster.’ He seemed genuinely entertained. ‘Or another Cuddles. I thought I’d considered every eventuality but I can already see that I missed several things.’ He winked. ‘You live and learn.’ He gestured towards the tent. ‘I’d invite you inside but…’
‘But I’m already infected.’
Fab winced. ‘Sorry. We have some tests to run in the next day or two. When I know more about how the magic works, maybe I can be less cautious. I’m not trying to give offence.’
I patted him on the shoulder. ‘I’m not taking any. You do what you have to.’
He seemed relieved. ‘Julian is going to give us a tour of your enclave tomorrow morning. It would be lovely if you could join us.’
‘I’ll do my best,’ I told him.
‘Thank you.’ He reached out and took my hand in his, bending over to kiss it. It didn’t have much of an effect when he was wearing a bulky hazmat suit but I appreciated the effort. ‘Adieu, sweet Charlotte.’
‘Charley.’ I frowned.
Fab straightened up. ‘Charley it is then.’ He gave me a mock salute and turned away.
Felicity and I watched him go. ‘He’s quite nice,’ she said, once he was out of earshot. ‘Who’d have thought it?’ She allowed herself a small smile. ‘Hurray for Fab Barrett.’
I smiled back. ‘Hurray indeed.’
Chapter Thirteen
Monroe nuzzled the back of my neck, one arm looped round my waist and his long legs entangled with mine. ‘Morning, sleepy head.’
I smiled. ‘Morning.’
‘I thought I’d do some patrolling today,’ he said. ‘Given all the recent beastie incursions, it would be a good idea to get an idea of where they all are right now and how close they’re getting to us. The last thing we need is stampedes of monsters trying to break down our barricades. And we want to show Fabian Barrett that we’re capable of managing our own safety.’ He paused. ‘You should come too. You can bring Lucy. We can see if there are any other shadow beasts nearby so we can drop her off with her own kind.’
And here was me thinking I’d slid by that one for another few days, given all our other distractions. ‘Sure,’ I said. ‘I can do that.’ Then I remembered what I’d said to Fab. ‘Except I said I’d try and be there for the grand tour. Julian’s going to show Fab around.’
Monroe growled in my ear. ‘Julian can do whatever he wants. You should come with me to patrol.’
I rolled round to face him. His dark-red curls were tousled from sleep but his blue eyes were alert and sharp. ‘Are you trying to keep me away from our visiting billionaire?’
He didn’t look away. ‘No.’
I reached up and touched his face, enjoying the feel of his coarse stubble un
der my fingers. ‘You don’t have anything to worry about. I choose you. I’ll always choose you.’
‘I’m not worried.’
‘Besides,’ I continued, ‘he’s stuck behind that daft suit. And I doubt that a cleaner with blue hair is his type.’
‘When was that last time you actually cleaned anything?’
Hmm. I glanced round the room at the piles of clothing and the dust collecting in the corners. I should be ashamed of myself. ‘I’ve been busy. The kitchen is clean.’
‘That’s because I scrubbed it from top to bottom at the weekend.’
He had as well. He’d cleaned the entire place while wearing nothing more than a frilly apron. All I’d done was watch and occasionally offer helpful tips.
‘True,’ I whispered. ‘You did an excellent job. Unfortunately,’ I added, planting a brief kiss on his lips, ‘you’re not doing such a great job of changing the subject.’
Monroe’s mouth twitched. ‘I thought I was being incredibly masterful.’
I smiled. ‘Nope.’ I leaned in until our noses were touching. ‘But you don’t have to be concerned about me and Fabian Barrett. I’m not attracted to him. Even if I were attracted to him, he wouldn’t match up to you.’
‘What do you mean, if you were attracted to him? How many people are you attracted to?’
‘One,’ I said.
Smoky promise danced in Monroe’s eyes. ‘Good.’
‘I can’t help it,’ I sighed. ‘Whenever Julian talks about what a great job I’ve done with the city’s plumbing, something inside me melts and I can barely hold myself back from…’
Monroe’s arm tightened round me. ‘Traitorous wench.’
I grinned. ‘Make me forget about him then,’ I challenged. ‘Make me forget about Julian and his taut biceps and…’
Monroe pulled me closer, before lifting me up and swinging me round until I was on top and straddling his hips. ‘If you insist, sunshine.’
***
We strolled out, hand in hand. Monroe wasn’t often given to public displays of affection so the fact that this was twice in as many days was testament to his unease about Fab. If he could see inside my head, he’d know he didn’t need to give the billionaire a second thought – not as far as romance was concerned. It wasn’t because Fabian Barrett was a lot older or because he had a propensity towards arrogance and self-possession. Neither was it because I wasn’t wholly sure that we could trust his intentions. It was because no one else occupied me in the way that Monroe did. No one else made me feel complete.
‘I love you,’ I said suddenly.
‘Good.’
I stopped in my tracks and pulled my hand away. ‘Well?’
Monroe blinked at me. ‘Well what?’
‘Don’t you have something to say to me other than good?’
The tiniest frown marred in his forehead. ‘Have you had your hair done?’ he asked.
I put my hands on my hips and glared. ‘You have a tell, you know,’ I informed him sniffily. ‘Your left nostril flares.’
Monroe appeared amused. ‘Does it?’
I crossed my arms over my chest and stalked ahead. ‘Yes,’ I called out behind me. ‘It does.’ I edged round the front of Fab’s tent, noting that two of his men were outside and staring grimly around as if expecting to be attacked at any second.
‘Charlotte!’
I ignored Monroe’s yell and marched on.
He shouted again. ‘Charlotte!’
I tutted and turned.
‘I love you!’ He was down on his knees with his hands clasped towards me in entreaty. It was an entirely un-Monroe-like action. ‘You’re the only one for me!’
‘Idiot.’ I tossed my head and started walking again. I couldn’t stop smiling.
He caught up to me quickly, grinning like a loon. ‘For the record, I’m not worried about you and Fabian Barrett.’
‘Really,’ I said sarcastically.
‘Really. I know you’ll never get anything as wonderful as this again.’ He gestured to himself.
‘Lucky old me,’ I muttered.
He smirked and leaned in. ‘I’m not the only one with a tell, sunshine.’
Yeah, yeah. I tsked loudly. From my backpack, I heard Lucy squeak. She was supposed to be on my side. I rolled my eyes and both of us set off again. And both of us walked with just that bit more of a bounce in our step.
***
At first we walked round the enclave in ever-increasing circles. Everything looked much the same as usual. A few of the larger trees showed signs of gnaw marks, although from what it was difficult to say; they could have been from preternaturally large squirrels. There were few other signs of sentient life, although an urban fox terrified me when it skittered across the road in front of us. It was more scared of me than I was of it, however.
The magically induced wings on the fox’s back unfurled in an instant and it took off into the air, flapping off to the nearest safe perch. I cursed under my breath. Then I frowned. Hang on a darned moment.
‘What is it?’ Monroe asked.
‘It’s probably nothing.’
‘But?’
I sighed. ‘Those pigeons, the ones carrying Fab’s message. They flew across the city back to wherever they came from. He and his men are terrified of picking up any magic. They wear those suits because they don’t want to become infected like us.’
‘But,’ Monroe said slowly, understanding what I was getting at, ‘the birds would have been affected by the magic because they flew across our atmosphere. They were as immersed in Manchester air as you and I are.’
‘Exactly. The birds weren’t wearing hazmat suits. They weren’t protected. In theory, they could have picked up all manner of magical infections and carried them to the outside world. To Fabian Barrett. And if he wasn’t afraid of what they might have picked up, then why is he afraid that he’ll pick something up?’
We exchanged glances. ‘Do you think he’s making too much of the whole magical contamination thing?’ Monroe asked.
‘I don’t know. Something doesn’t feel right.’ I pursed my lips. The more I thought about it, the more uneasy I was. They were only pigeons – but if there was only one thing I trusted more than Monroe, it was my gut.
‘Hold that thought,’ he told me. He came to a stop, lowering his body slightly. I squinted and followed suit, well aware that Monroe’s senses were keener than mine.
He moved his hands, indicating that there was a shadow beast ahead. I stiffened, worried about Lucy and what I might have to do with her. As silently as I could, I lowered myself to the ground, belly to the tarmac, wary of Monroe’s comment the other day that I often sounded like a rhinoceros when I wandered through the streets. He did the same. For several beats, nothing happened. Then the beast appeared.
It was smaller than Lucy’s mother had been but it was still massive, reaching the roofs of the surrounding three-storeyed buildings. It lumbered to the right, moving away from us. At least the wind was on our side and blowing in the opposite direction, so our scent wasn’t carried to the beast.
‘We have to follow it,’ Monroe whispered. ‘This could be our chance to return Lucy to her own kind. We have to see where it goes.’
We didn’t have do that but I couldn’t argue. I picked myself up and, following his lead, tiptoed after the shadow beast as quietly as possible. I had no clue as to where it might be going but it was certainly moving with purpose. Once it had passed the next crossroads, it picked up speed. Monroe and I did the same.
We twisted left, then right, then right again, tailing the shadow beast as it wended its way through the streets. A few times we held back and a few times we sprinted forward. The beast itself didn’t once glance towards us and the uneasy prickling down my spine increased. I tugged at Monroe’s sleeve.
‘It could be leading us into a trap,’ I said quietly. ‘It’s just wandering around aimlessly.’
He shook his head. ‘No. It’s tracking something. I can smell it. There’
s some other creature beyond it. I can’t get enough of a scent to tell exactly what it is but there’s definitely something else there.’
I liked the sound of that even less. I craned my neck to check on Lucy. When that failed, I gestured to my backpack. ‘What’s she doing?’ I asked.
He stepped back and looked for me. When he looked at me again, he had a strange expression on his face. ‘What?’ I asked. ‘What’s she doing?’
‘Drooling.’ He pointed down at the ground.
I followed his finger, spotting the little puddle. Eurgh. ‘Why do you think…’
I didn’t finish my sentence. A heartbeat later, Lucy had bounced out of the backpack and was off, dashing after the other shadow beast. I gaped, my stomach dropping. I immediately started to go after her but Monroe hauled me away.
‘No,’ he said. ‘If she’s going to join her kin, we should leave her to it.’
‘But…’
‘Charlotte,’ he said, reaching out to me, ‘you know this is right.’
All of a sudden there was a ground-shaking roar. The shadow beast had stopped and was pawing at the ground, its claws scraping against the cement like fingernails down a blackboard. My hand went to my mouth. It looked cross – and Lucy was still bounding towards it. Fear rippled through me. It was our fault she’d been orphaned and now it was about to be our fault that she was ripped apart. I shook off Monroe’s hand and ran. My fingers prickled with magic as the power built up inside me and pushed at my skin.
Just as Lucy reached the shadow beast, her diminutive size making her look pathetically fragile next to her monstrous cousin, there was another sound. This time it didn’t come from the shadow beast, it came from under the ground. I slowed, breathing hard and trying to bring my magic back under control before it vomited out.
Rats started to appear from the drains surrounding both shadow beasts. Big ones. I hissed and sprang onto a nearby wall. I hated those bastards. They attacked without provocation and in vast numbers. More than once I’d found myself on the receiving end of their vicious disdain. It seemed wherever I went in this damned city, sooner or later I came across scores of the bloody things. The first time I’d inadvertently been in possession of the magical sphere which had kickstarted the apocalypse and, as a result, the rodents had avoided me. That was a long time ago. These days I knew that, given half a chance, they’d rip me to shreds for a quick munch on my oh-so-tasty flesh.