Brittle Midnight

by Harper, Helen

  Chapter Eighteen

  By the time I reached the makeshift hospital and morgue, I was already regretting my outburst. My intention was to get everyone to work together and look out for each other, not to drive a wedge further between us. I almost went back to say as much to the hapless trio but I couldn’t count on not losing my temper again. Tomorrow was another day, I told myself decisively. I’d sleep on today’s events and start afresh in the morning.

  I breathed in through my nose and out through my mouth and tried to think of happy, shiny things. Maybe once this murder crap was over, I’d take up yoga. Apocalyptic yoga. That had a nice ring to it.

  I found Cath in one of the wards, hovering over a bed at the far end. When she caught sight of me, her expression filled with delight. That made a pleasant change. ‘Charley!’

  I smiled weakly at her. ‘Are you ready to go?’ I asked. ‘We need to head home before it gets too late. It’s already very dark.’

  ‘Sure, sure.’ She grinned down at a bearded man, who was regarding with what could only be described as a form of bizarre worship. ‘You get better soon, Fred. It was lovely to meet you.’

  ‘Come back any time,’ he called after her.

  ‘Is he very sick?’ I asked as we headed out of the room.

  ‘He’s got the clap,’ she said cheerfully. ‘From what I gather, werewolves are good at exaggerating and making things seem far worse than they really are.’ Cath was often more perceptive than she let on.

  ‘Mmm. Did you learn anything about Philip? Did you see his body?’

  She beamed. ‘Yes! In fact,’ she tugged at my arm, ‘you should come and see for yourself.’

  I really just wanted to go home but this could be important. And given how I’d left matters with Monroe and the others, I might not get another chance to visit. ‘Okay,’ I said reluctantly.

  Cath led me down to a darkened room. She lit a couple of candles, busying herself as if she’d been there for years rather than mere hours. ‘The wolf docs are around here somewhere. They’ve been really helpful. I feel like I’ve already learned tonnes,’ she chirped happily, as if we weren’t standing over the rigid corpse of a tortured, murdering vampire. ‘Look,’ she said. ‘They told me about these.’ She held one of the candles closer to Philip’s face. ‘It’s difficult to tell because of his other wounds,’ she said. ‘The werewolf used her claws and her teeth her to tear out his…’

  I held up my palms. I could see the details; I didn’t need her to describe them to me as well.

  Cath grinned, understanding. ‘Anyway,’ she continued, ‘if you look closely enough, you can see this.’ She pointed at a spot on dead Philip’s cheek. ‘It’s a scratch mark. It’s nearly healed but the docs were certain it was caused by a fingernail. And,’ she added, ‘even better, they found this.’ She reached behind her and grabbed a small transparent jar. ‘Part of a fingernail was embedded in there.’

  I swallowed and looked closer. The nail was painted – and the colour matched the varnish which Valerie had been wearing. I wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or not that we had proof Philip was most likely her killer. Just because we had identified him and his body lay on a gurney didn’t mean that the case was closed. I was still concerned about his motives. Not to mention Maggie’s, as well.

  ‘It was him, then,’ I said distantly.

  ‘Yep.’ Cath nodded and dusted off her palms like it was a fait accompli. ‘Well done, boss.’

  I flinched. I’d not done much. And I really was very tired of being the boss.

  The door opened and a white-coated figure appeared, framed in the moonlight. ‘Ah, Cath. You’re still here. I was hoping to catch you before you left.’

  ‘Hey, doc!’ Cath waved. ‘This is Charley. She’s the enchantress,’ she added proudly.

  The doctor strode forward and reached out to shake my hand. ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you finally,’ she said. ‘Catherine here has been singing your praises.’

  I coughed. ‘Uh, it’s nice to meet you too.’ I wondered if it would be bad form to ask the good doctor to abandon her work here and join us in the south. It couldn’t hurt to ask, right?

  Before I could say anything, the doctor jumped in. ‘I’m glad you popped in,’ she said. ‘I wanted to speak to you about Catherine. She has quite a talent and a great deal of enthusiasm. We could do with someone of her calibre to help out here. Our group does tend to get into quite a lot of scrapes. We can teach her more about the rudimentals of medicine. The more medically trained people we have, the better.’

  I couldn’t have agreed more. The trouble was that I wanted the medically trained people with me in the south, not on the other side of the city where I couldn’t reach them in a hurry. But Cath looked so eager that I was reluctant to say no. Besides, if I prevented her from coming here to learn that made me as bad as Monroe and all the others. I sighed. I was too tired for all of this right now.

  ‘In theory that sounds good,’ I said carefully. ‘Maybe we can discuss it later? Cath and I are leaving now.’

  The doctor glanced me up and down, registering my dishevelled appearance and – no doubt – exhausted eyes. ‘Absolutely. You’re welcome here any time.’

  After my blow-up, I wasn’t convinced that was still the case. Regardless, I smiled at her and propelled Cath past her. ‘Nice to meet you,’ I said firmly. I could still manage some manners, if nothing else. ‘Come on, Cath. Time to go.’

  We trotted out, weaving through the streets until we reached the main barricade leading out from the northern community. Felicity, the werewolf I’d met earlier in the day, was waiting there. I was prepared to scoot past her with nothing more than a raised hand but she stopped us, her expression serious. ‘I have a message for you,’ she said.

  Here we go. I took a deep breath. ‘Go on.’

  ‘Monroe said that he’ll leave you in peace if that’s what you want, and that he knows you can look after yourself.’ She pointed to a car beyond the barrier. ‘He wants you to take that and drive home. He was most insistent about it.’

  As much as the stubborn side of me wanted to throw the gift in Monroe’s face and storm off into the night to prove a point, I knew I had to take it. For one thing, I had Cath’s welfare to look after. Besides, we’d get home far quicker with the vehicle than if we were cycling or on foot.

  ‘Tell him thank you,’ I said, with more grace than I’d thought I’d be able to muster.

  ‘Can I drive?’ Cath asked eagerly.

  ‘No.’

  ‘But…’

  ‘Get into the car, Cath.’

  She jutted out her bottom lip but did as I’d instructed. I joined her, remembering everything I’d learnt from my visit here. ‘You’ve done well,’ I said quietly. ‘That doctor was obviously really impressed with you, and the fingernail you found is invaluable. Well done.’ My hands gripped the steering wheel. ‘It might be a good thing if you come here again and stay to learn more.’ It pained me to say it; I didn’t want to lose her, and not just because of her value as a potential doctor. I’d really grown to like her and I enjoyed her company. Cath had free will like the rest of us, though, and she deserved her right to exercise it without other obligations and responsibilities holding her back.

  For a long moment, she didn’t speak then she turned to me. ‘Are you trying to get rid of me?’ she asked in a small voice, with more vulnerability than I’d ever seen from her even in the dark days immediately after she’d escaped from Max.

  ‘Never,’ I said. ‘I’d prefer it if you didn’t go. But that’s for selfish reasons. You should do whatever your heart is telling you to.’

  She blinked at me. ‘What does your heart tell you?’

  That it was tired and sore and that a certain blue-eyed werewolf with complex issues of grief and masculinity was the only person who would ever make it sing. ‘That we should get home and get some rest,’ I said.

  I started the car engine. I reminded myself to be thankful that I wouldn’t have to worr
y about getting caught in a traffic jam and put the car into gear. Adios, muchachos.

  ***

  Most of the journey was uneventful. As mine was the only vehicle on the bumpy, potholed roads, I could flick the headlamps on full beam and accelerate as much as I dared. The main route between the north and the south was fairly clear of trees and dangers. In the absence of a working radio, Cath hummed and sang. She wasn’t the most accomplished singer I’d ever heard but her voice lifted my spirits. Before long, I’d pushed my worries away and was bobbing along in time to her beats.

  I’d over-reacted earlier, especially with Monroe who I knew was trying hard to soften his approach to survival – and our future together. A few hours’ apart would do us good. I’d swallow my pride and return to apologise tomorrow. It was the only thing I could do.

  Cath was just reaching a crashing crescendo when a shadow flitted across the road in front of us. I hit the brakes, more out of instinct than logic, bringing the car to a juddering halt and stalling the engine. Cath and I were jerked forward.

  ‘Sorry,’ I said. ‘Old habits die hard.’ These days it was far better to keep moving, especially at night, rather than stop and encourage the beasties to start swarming. I was more than confident of my skills at beating them back, but that didn’t mean it was sensible to invite trouble.

  Cath was untroubled. ‘I told you I should drive,’ she said.

  ‘Yeah, yeah.’ I smiled. ‘You can drive next time.’

  ‘Promise?’

  I’d long since learned not to make promises I couldn’t keep, so I just winked at her and switched on the engine again. When I tried to accelerate, however, the wheels spun uselessly. The car shook; what it didn’t do was move.

  I cursed. We must have got caught in a pothole or something. Maybe it was a patch of slimy mud from the increased erosion caused by all manner of magical happenings. I sighed and unclipped my seatbelt. ‘Stay here,’ I said. ‘I’ll sort this out.’

  I opened the car door and waited a beat to see if this was some sort of trap. I couldn’t sense anything waiting in the darkness, and the shadow that had made me slam on the brakes had bounded off into the night. I walked round to the back of the car. The back wheels had snagged in a narrow sinkhole which plummeted down into dark depths that I didn’t want to think about.

  ‘Piece of cake,’ I muttered. Everything was easy when you had magic. I raised my hands. I’d send out one quick boost to push the wheels forward over the hole and we’d be on our way. Honestly, if all the problems in my life were this straightforward I wouldn’t have a single to worry about.

  My magic blossomed forth, hitting the tail of the car and lifting it up just enough to do what I needed. It juddered forward and I started to smile in satisfaction. Then something flew out of the darkness and smacked me onto the cold ground.

  I gasped, as much from shock as anything else. More magic burst out of me and the thing, whatever it was, squealed. I heard claws skitter away and I breathed out, pushing myself up onto my elbows. The coast was clear. Unfortunately, my attacker had buddies. I’d barely made it into a sitting position when, out of the gloom ahead, dozens of them appeared and leapt towards me.

  It was my turn to squeak – actually, it was more of a screech. I covered my head with hands and doubled over to protect myself. I appeared to have come across another colony of whatever those giant rat things were that Maggie had been talking about. They were the size of cats and smelled like a sewer. Apparently they were also incredibly angry. Rats had been my first experience of the apocalypse, way back before I’d understood what was going on. These creatures were akin to those first ones in fur only; these were larger, scarier and considerably more dangerous.

  They swarmed over me, claws scrabbling to get into my skin. At least two of them were tugging at my trousers. More were nibbling at my back and I felt a pair of sharp teeth bite into my hands. I concentrated and tried to send out more magic to throw them off. Blast them, Charley, I whispered to myself.

  Magic exploded from me. The rats flew off, some tumbling before running off, others shaking themselves then and preparing to attack again. Creepy little shits. I prayed that they weren’t carrying any diseases and took advantage of the brief hiatus to scramble to my feet. One more shot of magic should be enough for me to escape to the relative safety of the car. Screw the rats.

  My skin tingled. No more Miss Nice Enchantress. I lifted my hands a final time. I’d have managed it as well, if it weren’t for the cunning little bastard that leapt onto my back. Its jaws opened and it bit into my neck without a moment’s hesitation, as if sensing my human vulnerabilities.

  The pain was excruciating and all coherent thought fled. My arms flailed and my magic was all but forgotten in my desperation to get the creature off me. I felt warm blood trickling down my neck but it barely registered. My fingers clutched at matted fur, and tears squeezed out of my eyes.

  Suddenly there was a flash of strange purple light. The rat tumbled and landed on its back, its eyes wide and staring. Cath was standing beside the car, gazing at her hands in astonishment.

  I heard more skittering to my left. My blood froze and, without any more thought, I barrelled for the open car door and flung myself inside. Cath jumped in the other side and we slammed the doors shut. I revved the engine and we accelerated away. I caught sight of several rats chasing after us in the rear-view mirror before we turned the corner and escaped.

  ‘Bloody hell,’ I screeched. ‘Those things were massive!’

  Cath shuddered. ‘Tell me about it. Did you see their eyes?’

  I looked at her. ‘What I saw was purple. Purple magic.’

  She bit her lip.

  ‘That was you, wasn’t it?’ I asked.

  She nodded. ‘I think so. I don’t know. It’s never happened before. I just knew I had to do something and … I don’t know. It’s like something inside me came bursting through.’

  ‘You’ve got magic,’ I said slowly. ‘Just like me.’ I squinted at her. Now I looked at her and concentrated, she did indeed have her own blue aura. It was lighter than the shade I’d seen on vampires and werewolves, but it was definitely there.

  Her eyes widened. ‘No, I haven’t.’

  ‘Yes, you have.’ I absorbed the news for a moment. The ramifications of this could be life changing. ‘Keep it to yourself,’ I said suddenly. ‘For now.’

  Cath looked far more terrified than she had been when she was confronted by a swarm of giant rats. ‘Okay.’

  I reached across and patted her arm. ‘You’ll be fine.’

  ‘Okay.’ She stared at me. ‘You’re bleeding.’

  I grinned at her. ‘I’ll be fine too.’ Delight expanded deep in my chest. Now that I thought about it some more, this had actually been an incredibly successful day.

  Chapter Nineteen

  ‘I’ve identified two out of the three men from Valerie’s diary,’ Anna told me the next morning. ‘Both young guys. Or at least a great deal younger than she was. They were both shocked about her death but neither was … devastated by the news. The first one is one of ours. He lives a few streets away but still within our barricades. He met Valerie at the casino. She told him she could teach him magic spells. It didn’t take him long to realise she was lying and that she had ulterior motives.’

  ‘Sex?’ I guessed.

  Anna pursed her lips. ‘That, but also companionship. He told me they didn’t have much in common but she’d enjoyed playing the role of the experienced older woman with a lot to teach.’

  ‘A veritable Mrs Robinson.’

  ‘Indeed.’ She sniffed. ‘The other one said he felt a bit sorry for her. He’s one of the hotel residents, so he already knew that she’d been murdered. He didn’t initially volunteer his, uh, involvement with her when we questioned all the guests but I suspect he was embarrassed. I could be wrong, but I don’t think either of them had anything to do with Valerie’s death. Maybe it was simply a thirsty vampire who drank too much.’

&
nbsp; ‘Who, by coincidence, was then killed by a werewolf who was seemingly attacked herself and now has memory loss.’

  Anna shrugged. ‘Occam’s Razor.’

  Sometimes the most obvious theory is the one that’s true – but I wasn’t convinced and, from Anna’s expression, neither was she. ‘You’ve had no luck with lover number three?’ I asked.

  ‘Not so far.’ She consulted her notes. ‘From what her diary says, she met him at the hotel but he wasn’t one of the usual residents. She was also … disparaging about him. Here,’ she tapped the notepad. ‘Jiggly skin. Bad teeth. She also wrote “know-it-all” and added a little doodle of a knife wrapped in barbed wire. Whether that’s relevant or not is anyone’s guess.’

  ‘Either way,’ I said, ‘this third man was not her usual innocent ingénue.’

  ‘No.’ She grimaced. ‘There’s not much to go on to locate him. Lots of people pass through the Travotel. Some, like you, go there for a break for a couple of days and some are just curious about Timmons the faery. Some use it as a meeting place and for socialising. It’s safer than venturing somewhere else in the city but more interesting than remaining out here 24/7.’

  I pondered over this. ‘Neither us nor Monroe’s lot keep track of who comes in and out on a daily basis.’

  ‘The barricades are there to keep beasties out,’ Anna pointed out, ‘not to keep people in. And there are always the loners who don’t live in either community. Our missing man could be anybody. And he might not have anything to do with what happened. I’ll keep on it for another day or two. There are some punters who frequented the casino with Valerie who might have some useful information to impart. But at this stage it’s more about tying up loose ends than coming up with answers.’ She looked at me. ‘This is often how things go. Even when you find your man, there aren’t always reasons. There’s not always a motive.’ Her expression hardened. ‘Sometimes people are just shit.’