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

‘Oi!’

The shout rang out across the cobbled street. There was no doubt that it was directed at us, especially when a hooded figure started to march our way. ‘Oi!’ he yelled again. ‘I want to talk to you!’

A couple of days ago, Monroe would probably have ignored the bellowing vampire completely and continued blithely on his way. Now he came to a halt and waited, with me by his side. I was pretty sure what words would be said – but then the vampire flipped open his hood and exposed his head. I recognised him immediately.

‘I gave you that list in good faith,’ Theo said, speaking to me, his voice shaking with fury. ‘I was trying to help you.’

I dropped Monroe’s hand and faced Theo. ‘You did help,’ I told him, keeping calm. ‘The list was useful, even if it didn’t contain Philip’s name. It led us to him, after all. Without your help we’d never have found him so quickly.’

Two high spots of colour appeared on Theo’s cheeks. ‘You didn’t find him quickly enough, did you? It’s one thing to dispense justice, it’s quite another to rip someone apart. In the old world we had to hide to stay safe, and it doesn’t appear that anything has changed. When that human tried to take over and hurt people, you banished him. When a vampire is accused of something, you kill them. I’ve seen his body. That was not an easy death. He was tortured.’ He hawked up a ball of spit and shot it at the ground in front of my feet.

Monroe growled but I shook my head at him. Theo had the right to be angry; all the vampires did. ‘It wasn’t us who did that to him,’ I began.

‘No, but it was a fucking werewolf, wasn’t it?’ He jerked his chin at Monroe. ‘You’re obviously working with them. I thought you were independent but he’s leading you around on a leash.’

Monroe drew himself up. ‘Enough.’

‘Is it though?’ Theo was quivering. ‘Because as far as I can tell, it won’t be enough until you’ve got rid of every single last one of us. We know you never wanted us here in the first place and now you’ve hit on the perfect way to get rid of us all. Falsely accuse us of murder and you bastards can get away with whatever you want!’

Monroe’s muscles bunched up. Any moment now Theo was liable to end up with a punch to his face and, if that happened, all hell would break loose. All around us, werewolves and vampires had frozen, watching the action and waiting to see if they had to get involved. Some clearly wanted to, but others appeared more reluctant. Either way, I knew in the depths of my soul that this was the moment that could make or break Monroe’s fragile society.

‘Why,’ I asked carefully, angling myself so part of my body was between the vampire and the wolf, ‘do you think he was falsely accused?’

Theo was struggling to contain himself. I shifted an inch or two to my right, forcing him to look at me. Be calm, I projected towards him. This still might be alright.

He took several short breaths before speaking. ‘I could have mentioned him to you when you came looking but I didn’t because Philip was the most unlikely suspect I could have thought of. Yes, he was a loner but he was a gentle soul. He would never have taken more blood than he needed. He barely drank enough to survive. He came to Manchester with us because he wanted the chance to be free like the rest of us. For Philip, freedom meant peace, it meant quiet. It did not mean killing little old ladies!’

I thought about the WB Yeats’ poems and the portrait we’d come across in Philip’s house. Yes, murder took all sorts but I had to agree with Theo that, even without ever meeting the man, Philip seemed an unlikely killer. Enjoying Irish poetry and guzzling blood were two activities that didn’t quite seem to gel. Then again, Yeats had written a poem about the end of the world.

‘“Things fall apart,”’ I quoted softly, ‘“the centre cannot hold.”’

Monroe and Theo gave me strange looks. I expelled the breath in my lungs. Poetry would only defuse a situation so far.

‘I understand you’re upset,’ Monroe said to Theo.

‘Do you?’ he spat. ‘Do you really?’

‘Yes.’ Monroe nodded at me. ‘Charlotte and I are going to talk to the werewolf responsible for Philip’s death. She has not yet transformed back so she can speak, but I am hoping that Charlotte will assist in that. As soon as she’s in her human form, we can question her. You can come with us and help. It will be useful to have you along as a representative.’

I gaped at Monroe. He had been a very capable authority figure, who inspired confidence and awe; I would do well not to forget that. He didn’t just flip between being arrogance personified and a grief-stricken mess. He was also an experienced leader, and good leaders didn’t yell out orders. They soothed ruffled feathers and kept the peace.

‘I tried that already,’ Theo said, his eyes narrowing. ‘Julian wouldn’t let me talk to her.’

Monroe’s gaze was steady. ‘It’s not up to Julian. Come with us,’ he insisted.

Theo pulled back his shoulders and glared. ‘Fine,’ he spat. ‘But I’m warning you, if you try and manipulate her answers or pull the wool over my eyes…’

‘There will be no wool,’ I said. ‘Promise.’

Theo gave a minute nod and the atmosphere around us altered. The tension from the other vampires and werewolves who were watching us seemed to dissipate, and the pressure building in my chest eased. In the space of a minute, we’d gone from potential war to a temporary truce. I breathed out. Now all we needed was for Maggie to cooperate. Unfortunately, that could be easier said than done.

Maggie, the werewolf in question, was