City of Magic: The Complete Series by Helen Harper (book club recommendations TXT) 📕

expending a bit of not-entirely-necessary magic. The faster we found our psycho vampire killer, the better. ‘In that case,’ I said, ‘it’s your turn to hold on.’ If he could do it, so could I.

Monroe took less persuading than me and he moved closer. ‘Like this?’ he asked, putting one arm tightly round my waist.

‘I’d use both arms if I were you.’ The last thing I wanted was to lose him halfway up.

‘If you insist, Charlotte,’ he murmured as he wrapped his other arm round me.

I breathed out. It was probably just as well this part of the city was almost deserted. I couldn’t imagine what anyone would think if they saw me with a naked man with more sex appeal than should be legal clinging onto me.

‘Are you comfortable?’ I asked. ‘You still have a lot of bruises.’

‘I wouldn’t call this comfortable.’ Monroe’s voice was a low husk. ‘But it’s not the bruises that are making it difficult to relax.’

I should have called him out again for continuing with his alpha-wolf mask but I was enjoying every sexy insinuation. Business, Charley, I reminded myself; we were here on business.

‘Hang on,’ I told him. I tilted my head to focus on the roof of the tower and visualised the path upwards and the thread of magic I would need to get us there in one piece. I let my fingers tingle and the magic surge forth.

A heartbeat later, we were flying through the air. I caught glimpses of office furniture and abandoned coffee mugs and family pictures sitting on desks before they blurred and we sped up, zipping straight up as if in an invisible lift. I thought that Monroe’s weight might slow me down but we moved at a terrific speed. In seconds, we were stumbling onto the flat roof, thirty storeys above the ground.

Monroe released his grip and staggered to the side. I lost my footing but the adrenaline surging through me helped me to spring up again. With sparkling eyes, I spun round and flashed him a brilliant smile.

‘That was amazing!’ I tossed my hair. ‘I wasn’t sure it would work but it did. From sea level to above the city in less than thirty seconds! Maybe I really can fly!’ I flapped my arms in a bird-like manner. ‘Next time, I’ll aim to go further. What do you think, Monroe?’

He raised his head and looked at me blearily. ‘You weren’t sure it was going to work?’ He turned away and promptly threw up. Uh oh.

I grimaced. ‘Heights aren’t your thing, then,’ I said.

‘Flying isn’t my thing,’ he muttered. A gust of wind blew and he shivered. I yanked off my jacket and handed it to him.

‘I’m not wearing that. I’m not a damsel in distress.’

‘Save us all the arrogance, Monroe, and put it on.’

He shivered again and gave in. First he attempted to squeeze his arms into the sleeves; when that didn’t work, he shrugged it round his shoulders. It looked ridiculous but it was better than nothing.

‘If you were anyone else…’ he murmured.

I smiled then I mentally slapped myself. Business. Find Valerie’s killer, Charley. You can play with Monroe later.

I walked to the eastern edge of the building and narrowed my eyes. It was good that it was a clear day because visibility from up here was excellent. For a brief moment, I gazed out beyond the city limits to the normal world. I didn’t honestly wish to be there. I loved my city and, despite the stresses of my life now, I was glad I’d made the decision to stay. But it would certainly have been a far easier choice to leave. I shook myself and turned slowly. It was time to find the blue.

From this angle, I couldn’t see the Arndale Centre, although the area where it was located definitely had a stream of blue light surrounding it. I ignored it and scanned the horizon. To the left there was an area where the blue light seemed more concentrated. I squinted, realising what it was. I spun round and looked in the opposite direction.

‘What is it?’ Monroe called from the centre of the tower’s roof, as far away from any of the edges as he was likely to get.

‘It doesn’t make sense,’ I muttered to myself.

‘What is it?’

I registered the urgency in his tone and explained. ‘The magic hanging over your community to the north is not that much stronger than the magic hanging over my community to the south.’ Monroe’s enclave included all types of magical beings. It should have emitted a far brighter hue than the humans from my place did. I scratched my head. It was weird – but it wasn’t why we were here.

I kept peering. When I concentrated like this, the cloud of blue that clung to every part of Manchester was unmissable. There were patches and flares where the magic was stronger, from the canal to the odd building here and there. One or two of the spots were moving as magical beasts moved from one street to another. I walked round the edge of the building, ignoring the strong breeze that whipped at my exposed face and bare arms. There were more pockets of strong magic than I’d anticipated.

‘Do you see anything that might show where our man is holed up?’ Monroe asked.

I frowned. ‘I’m not sure. I’m looking for anything out of place.’ I had a good database locked inside my brain from all the reports that people had given me. I knew that the suburbs to the west housed all manner of shadowy monsters. I’d been told that the pink mammoth elephant, which still roamed the streets from time to time, tended to hang around the university, and that there were ghostly beings clumped together in the vicinity of the Lowry. I ignored those spots and focused on what was close by. It stood to reason that Philip would have been feeling too unwell after drinking every ounce of Valerie’s blood to travel far,