by Helen Harper
I sighed and did as she ordered. It appeared that, at least as far as Rose was concerned, I was on my own.
***
I walked slowly to my cubicle, my mind chewing over everything as I tried to think of the best way to proceed. Delilah was on the phone but she gave me a wide-mouthed grin and a thumbs-up before covering the mouthpiece. ‘Who were you shagging last night?’
I blinked. ‘Pardon?’
‘There has to be a good reason why you’re late. Go on. Tell me who it was.’
I pointed at her phone and mimed zipping up my mouth. Delilah pouted but I pretended not to notice. I sat down and turned on my computer. Two minutes later, using the faery godmothers’ computer-based work-around, I’d accessed the main records for Cumberland Infirmary, the closest hospital to Rose’s home.
Delilah put her phone down and leaned across. ‘You don’t have be tight lipped with me, you know. Now that we’re friends and I’m effectively working for you because you’re leading up the troll task force, you must know that you can trust me. I’ll keep your secrets. What were you up to last night?’
Distracted, I scarcely glanced at her. ‘You can’t tell anyone,’ I said.
‘I won’t,’ she breathed.
‘I mean it, Delilah.’
‘I promise!’
I sighed. ‘Okay. I was late this morning and missed briefing not because I was in bed but because I was at the doctor’s.’
‘No!’ Delilah gasped. ‘Are you sick? What’s wrong?’
I shook my head. ‘Not that sort of doctor.’ I motioned towards my nose. Then my breasts. It was exactly the sort of lie that would happily preoccupy her for days.
Her mouth dropped open. ‘You’re having work done?’
‘I’m a faery godmother now, Delilah. The rest of you are all so glamorous that I need to do something to fit in.’
‘But you look great!’
I smiled. ‘Thank you.’
‘I won’t tell a soul,’ she promised. ‘And you should know that the scruffy look is all the rage these days, Saffron. I saw someone with that exact same haircut at the weekend. She was really cute, too. Only about six years old and with chocolate smeared all over her face and…’
Okay, enough of that. I zoned out Delilah and brought up Rose’s personal medical file. It didn’t take long to find the information I needed. The pertinent details weren’t hard to find: Rose’s liver was on its way out and she had chronic heart failure. Even with a complicated cocktail of strong medication, none of which I’d seen Rose take because she’d probably had to abandon it back at her cottage, she had barely months to live. What had happened this morning with her heart was my fault in more ways than one. My shoulders sank. Fuck a puck.
Wringing my hands in dismay would only get me so far. I allowed myself a moment of despair then shook it off. Rose didn’t wallow in misery; neither would I.
I sucked on my bottom lip for a moment before pulling open my bottom drawer and heaving out the massive tome entitled Rules and Regulations for Faery Godmothers and Fathers. Edition 119. Yes, I’d read through it several times already but the damned thing was five inches thick and there was only so much information I could retain without going completely crazy.
I flipped to the index, using my finger to scan down the list until I found the section I needed. I had to be sure about this before I made any sort of plan for how to proceed. I made a mental note of the page I required and then turned to the relevant section.
The magic permitted to all faery godmothers includes the ability
to heal minor illnesses. However, it must be noted that no faery
godmother or godfather is allowed to wield the power of life and
death over themselves, clients or persons indicated by clients in
the course of granting any wishes. In the event of a naturally
occurring terminal illness, faery godmothers are not permitted to
act, other than to ease pain and soften the passage. The natural
order – and indeed Mother Nature herself – are most definitely
not to be usurped. Any faery godmother or godfather who grants
such a wish to either prolong life or to halt it will be terminated
for cause and brought before the Court to answer for their actions.
Well, that was unequivocally that then. Not that Rose had asked me to cure her or that I disagreed with the rule. Even I could see that extending human life could lead to all sorts of unpleasant scenarios.
I frowned. Rose hadn’t implied that she was ill on any of the three occasions that we’d met. Not deliberately, anyway. Obviously I couldn’t be sure, but I didn’t think that she wished for her health to be improved; she was too pragmatic and straightforward to mess around with avoiding the inevitability of death. She’d wished for something, however. And I suspected she still was wishing.
I cracked my knuckles and got to my feet before striding over to Billy’s desk. Unfortunately his seat was empty. I swivelled round, wondering who else I could speak to. I needed someone who could give me the answer I required.
I didn’t want to make a big deal about it. Under other circumstances, I’d have gone to Adeline but she’d made it clear that I wasn’t to broach the subject of Rose with her again. She probably wouldn’t take kindly to my suggestion that I experiment with breaking the rules, regardless of the extenuating circumstances.
There was one other person here who might have the information I needed. I steeled myself. In the pursuit of creating wish fulfilment, nothing would stand in my way. Not even my own bruised ego.
Chapter Thirteen
The door to Jasper’s temporary office was ajar. I hesitated for a moment, rapped sharply on it then entered without waiting any further.
He leaned back in his chair as I walked in and raised a dark eyebrow. ‘Saffron,’ he said. ‘I wasn’t expecting to see you again so soon. Have you already made progress in locating the trolls?’
I kept my gaze steady and resisted the temptation to fiddle with my cuffs. ‘No,’ I answered. ‘I’m going to touch base with everyone in the task force in an hour or so. This is regarding a … different matter.’
A gleam of light sparked in his green eyes. ‘Go on.’
‘It’s to do with one of my clients.’
His expression immediately shuttered and I felt an odd twist inside me. What else did he think I might have approached him for? ‘I’m not sure I’m the best person to help. Perhaps you should try Adeline.’
‘Er … she’s busy.’ Sort of. She’d made it clear that I wasn’t to discuss Rose with Jasper. I wasn’t discussing Rose, though. Not really. This was all about faery modus operandi. It was Jasper’s bread and butter.
He watched me for a moment. ‘Would you like to take a seat?’
‘No,’ I said. I didn’t want to make myself comfortable. Anyway, this wouldn’t take long. I inhaled, absorbed a deep gulp of oxygen into my lungs and got to the point. ‘You remember what happened with Vincent? The human who knows that I’m a faery godmother?’
Jasper steepled his fingers. ‘You’re referring to the fact that you circumvented the memory magic by introducing yourself to him as a faery when you weren’t working and were therefore unprotected.’
‘Yeah,’ I nodded.
‘I’m not likely to forget.’ Jasper paused. ‘Neither is he, more’s the pity.’
‘He’s kept his mouth shut,’ I protested. Sort of. ‘He’s not a bad guy.’
‘Aside from being a drug dealer, you mean.’
I coughed. ‘Reformed drug dealer. Thanks to me.’ I bit my lip. ‘I mean us.’
Jasper inclined his head but I could tell that he was wary about where I was going with this. ‘If this is where you tell me that he’s about to blackmail you into granting him more wishes…’
‘No.’ I shook my head vehemently. ‘It’s nothing like that. It’s just that I have another client whose time is limited. It’s quite difficult to get her to open up t
o me and it doesn’t help that every time I see her, she doesn’t remember who I am. I have to begin from scratch.’
Jasper’s jaw tightened. ‘You’re hardly unique in that. Every faery godmother has the same issue.’
Perhaps. But not every faery godmother had elderly clients who were being hunted by both humans and their own health. Rose’s time was running out and unless she told me what she wanted before too long, she’d be six feet under before I could do anything. I wouldn’t let a simple thing like death prevent me from doing my job.
‘The memory magic is there for a reason, Saffron,’ Jasper said gently. ‘I appreciate that it can be frustrating but it’s a necessary evil. Faeries need these sort of safeguards.’
I persisted. ‘Yes, but there must be a way to temporarily turn off the memory magic. If Vincent Hamilton can remember me, there must be a way to get my client to remember me too. There are exceptions to every rule. She isn’t like other clients. If I can get her to remember who I am from visit to visit then I can get her to trust me. And if she trusts me, I might be able to grant her wish before she dies.’
‘I’m assuming that you’re talking about the client who you were with first thing this morning. The one who is now in Colchester.’ He stretched across his desk and picked up a manila folder. I spotted my name on the front of it and swallowed. Jasper flipped it open and glanced at my assigned list. ‘It’s clearly a woman. Michaela Spring? Patricia Jones? Rose Blairmont? Which one is it?’
Adeline would have kittens if I told him. ‘Her name isn’t important,’ I said hastily. ‘I only want to know if it’s possible to block the memory magic. It would only be for a short while.’
‘It’s not possible. The health and safety rules regarding humans are sacrosanct.’ He raised his head and looked at me. ‘And if she is dying, we all know what her wish will be. We’re not in the business of messing with the natural order, Saffron. She’s dying and you have to let her die. Anything else and…’
‘I’m not going to grant any life extension wishes, Jasper.’
His jaw tightened. ‘I certainly hope not.’ He folded his arms. ‘The memory magic cannot be put on pause.’
I licked my lips. From the way Billy had spoken, I was sure that wasn’t true. It wasn’t a ploy I’d seek to use with every client, but I was convinced that halting the memory magic would allow me to help Rose more appropriately before either she killed me or dropped dead herself.
Where there was a will, there was a way. Just because Jasper wasn’t willing to tell me what that way was didn’t mean I couldn’t seek it out by other means. If I could have told him the full story, I was sure he’d agree I was doing the right thing.
‘That’s all I needed to know,’ I said, as if his tight-lipped answer wasn’t a problem in the slightest. ‘Thank you for your time.’
His mouth flickered into a small smile. ‘I’m here to help.’ His eyes travelled across my face. ‘I’m pleased that you felt you could come ask me for advice,’ he said quietly. ‘And, as far as the trolls go, I do trust you to lead the task force. I would never have recommended you otherwise. But I want to make sure that you’re not about to get hurt in the process or do anything foolhardy without back-up. If we’ve learned anything, it’s that trolls are both dangerous and unpredictable.’
I tilted my head and examined him. ‘Can you read minds?’ I blurted out. ‘You often seem to know exactly what I’m thinking.’
Jasper let out a brief, humourless chuckle. ‘Saffron, the last thing I’m capable of is knowing what you’re thinking. You’re surprisingly good at guarding your thoughts.’
He stood up and walked round his desk, stopping less than a foot from me. His expression was intent and purposeful and, for reasons that didn’t take a genius to work out, I shivered.
‘You see?’ he murmured. ‘This is working out well. We’re maintaining a cordial, friendly relationship. This is much better than the alternative where we let our mutual lust get the better of us. I’m sure there will still be some awkward moments between us but we’re both adults. We’ll get past them.’ His eyes crinkled as he smiled. I couldn’t help noting, however, that he was taking care not to touch me despite his proximity.
The expanse of brown skin at his neck was tantalisingly smooth in comparison to the line of stubble round his jaw. Man.
‘We will,’ I said brightly. ‘Go us! Thanks for your help, Jasper. I’d better get to work. I won’t interrupt you again.’
‘Come back and interrupt me this afternoon,’ he said. ‘You promised to keep me informed about your progress with the trolls.’
If I’d actually made any progress. I nodded anyway. ‘Yep. See you later.’
I escaped into the relative safety of the main office. I knew my cheeks were flushed and my pulse was raised. Fuck a puck. Jasper had moved on while I could barely hold it together in his presence. Focus on your job, Saffron. That was what was important. Rose needed me – and no matter what Jasper had said, I was still convinced there was a way to put a temporary stop to the memory magic. I just had to find it.
***
Billy still wasn’t at his desk so I made a beeline for the Adventus room. Technically I wasn’t allowed inside but I reckoned that in my position as task force leader I could get away with it.
I strode up to the door and yelled through it. ‘Hey Rupert! It’s Saffron. I need to talk to you!’
There was no answer. I pursed my lips and considered. I knew from recent experience that Rupert enjoyed selective hearing but I was pretty sure I could get his attention if I used the right words.
I cleared my throat and raised my voice, hoping that it would carry through the door. ‘Hey!’ I yelled again. ‘Sexy Rupert!’
With any luck that would be enough. I couldn’t bring myself to go any further. When there was a thump, the door opened and Rupert grinned out at me, I knew I’d succeeded. I didn’t feel proud of myself but needs must.
‘Hi, darling,’ he drawled. ‘I knew you’d come to your senses sooner or later.’ He raised one hand to the door frame, leaning against it to give me the very best view of his toned muscles. ‘When you invited me onto the task force, I knew that your moans about harassment were only because you were playing hard to get.’
His manicured eyebrows waggled upwards and he lowered his voice to what I supposed was meant to be a sex-imbued husk. ‘I should tell you that I do enjoy a bit of a chase.’ He added a leer for good effect. ‘But it’s better when the girl is doing the chasing.’
I gave him a blank look. ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about.’
Rupert offered me a self-satisfied grin. ‘You called for me,’ he purred. ‘And you called me sexy.’
‘No, I didn’t.’ I did my best example of baffled faery and frowned. ‘Why would I do that?’
Rupert’s smile dropped. ‘You did. I heard you.’
I waved a hand in the air, indicating that he was so wrong it wasn’t worth arguing about. ‘Whatever you say. Anyway, I’m here because I wanted to remind that we’re having our first task force meeting at eleven. I’ve booked the largest meeting room.’
Fortunately he seemed more confused than offended. He stuck a finger in his ear and wiggled it around before drawing it out to examine the clump of earwax he’d retrieved. He gave me an arch smirk. ‘I’ll be there.’
‘I’d like a heads-up on what you’ve discovered first,’ I said briskly. ‘Can I come in?’
‘You want to be alone with me.’
Oh for goodness’ sake. ‘I…’
‘I’m afraid we’ll have to go somewhere else. I got into a lot of trouble the last time I let you in here. The Adventus room is the beating heart of this office. It’s supposed to be carefully guarded, with only a minimum of intrusion allowed.’
‘Pffft! I’m leading a task force now, Rupe. That gives me special dispensation.’ I stepped back. I couldn’t be arsed to argue – there were other ways to get the answer I needed.
I dropped my bid to e
nter the Adventus room in favour of getting Rupert to give me the information I needed. ‘It’s your choice. We can stay here if you prefer. Tell me what you’ve discovered instead. I’d hate to get you into trouble with Adeline.’
His eyes narrowed. Rupert was never the brightest but he wasn’t completely naïve. ‘You tried to get me into trouble with her just yesterday.’
‘That’s because you deserved it.’ I grimaced. I was allowing the conversation to run away with me. ‘But you’re on my task force now, so we can let bygones be bygones. What have you found?’
He dropped his posing and pouted. ‘Not much,’ he said, his mouth turning down. ‘And before you say anything, I’ve been searching all morning. The only reference to trolls I could find in the past wish reports was someone who wanted her husband transformed into one because he’d had an affair. From what I could see, the affair was her fault anyway. She was only giving him sex a few times a week and a man has needs.’ He bared his teeth. ‘You know?’
‘No, Rupert. I don’t know.’ I wasn’t in the least bit surprised that he’d not found anything. As Harry had surmised, what Rupert was doing was little more than busy work. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t be useful. The fact that he’d been trying to find out proved that he cared about this Office and what the trolls were trying to achieve as much as the rest of us did.
‘Do you think,’ I hedged, ‘that the reason there’s no information about the trolls in any of the Adventus reports is because memory magic prevents it?’
Rupert frowned. ‘But memory magic has nothing to do with trolls. It doesn’t affect them. It’s only for humans.’
I pretended he hadn’t spoken. ‘If only there was a way to put some kind of temporary halt to the memory magic,’ I mused. ‘Then we’d have the chance to quiz past clients and find out if they know anything about the little bastards.’
‘You mean like gingko biloba?’
I cocked my head. Ha. I knew there was something. ‘What’s that?’
Rupert’s expression was blank. ‘Fucked if I know but I’ve seen it used in some of the older reports. Some faery godmothers gave it to their more difficult clients when they needed them to remember certain things. It’s not been used for decades – I think it was banned.’ He reached out and patted me on the head. ‘It wouldn’t do us any good, Saffron. We can’t give it to every past client on the off-chance they might have spoken to a troll. We don’t have the time or the man-power. It would be like finding a haystack full of needles.’