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

‘My name is Charley,’ I said. ‘Around here, I’m also known as an enchantress.’ And then, because I decided I wanted to be rude after what had just happened, I asked, ‘Who are you?’

‘I’m Fab. I’m also known as a geek out there.’ He smiled, displaying expensive, even teeth that were so white they almost rivalled the hazmat suits. Geeks didn’t have teeth like those. Neither did they have nut-brown tanned skin and walk into apocalyptic cities with their own miniature armies. I would play along, however. At least for now.

‘I’ll tell you what I told them,’ I said. ‘Guns aren’t welcome here. Either lose the weapons or get lost yourselves.’

His sharp hazel eyes watched mine. Although his hazmat suit was no doubt top of the range and had a handy breathing filter, the visor already seemed to be fogging up. I imagined that he would get very tired very quickly. I’d bet that Fab was intending this to be a short visit. However, from the barely visible flicker on his face, it seemed that he enjoyed being challenged. I supposed you didn’t rise to the position of world-famous billionaire by shying away from difficult situations.

He raised his right hand. ‘Do it,’ he said.

‘Sir…’

‘Now.’

His gun-toting entourage glared at me in turn, as if this were all my fault. The one who’d grabbed me walked forward and collected the weapons. He carefully took them, walked to the door, opened it, laid them down and returned. I craned my neck, wondering what I’d see outside but there was nothing except a dark shadow. That figured.

Fabian Barrett clocked my attempt to peer outside. ‘Do you want to leave?’ he asked. ‘Because if you do, I can make that happen.’

I returned my gaze to his. Something about his self-importance irked me. If I wanted to leave, I’d make it happen myself. I didn’t need his help. ‘If I leave,’ I said shortly, ‘I can’t return.’ Then I remembered that right now I needed him more than he needed me and I softened my voice. He was only trying to be nice. ‘But I appreciate the thought.’ I squinted. ‘Just how long is the quarantine period these days? Assuming anyone leaves the city.’

His eyes shifted. ‘It’s under negotiation.’

I didn’t break eye contact. ‘How long?’

‘Thirty-six months,’ he admitted.

Huh. It wasn’t as bad as I’d thought – in fact, I now owed Carter, the vampire barman who ran the Blood and Bones, a hefty week’s rations. I’d reckoned it would be closer to ten years rather than three, and had bet him as such. Still, I felt vaguely pleased that the British government were only moderately terrified of the magic instead of completely petrified of it. Of course, I didn’t think that the prospect of three years in quarantine would encourage anyone to leave. Until our food ran out completely, not even a mere three days would achieve that.

Fab smiled, giving the impression that it was an artless and yet wholly genuine expression. I suspected he’d mastered it with the help of some sort of body-language coach. ‘It’s my turn to ask a question,’ he said. ‘How many people are here? How many have survived?’

Give or take a few natural deaths, some unfortunate accidents, three incidents involving the Canal Monster and the killings caused by Albert, the manipulative bastard who’d posed as a therapist, everyone had survived. I estimated that our attrition rate wasn’t any better or worse than on the outside. ‘Just under twenty thousand souls,’ I told him.

‘Bullshit,’ one of his men muttered.

Fab looked irritated and waved a hand at the man to tell him to shut up. ‘Are the other twenty thousand nearby?’ he asked.

Unlikely. I smiled back at him. ‘Nope.’ I tickled Lucy under the chin and she purred. ‘Why are you here?’ I enquired. I tried to make my tone light but there was a lot riding on his answer.

He hesitated. ‘Plenty of people have asked me that question over the last few days and I haven’t answered them honestly. You, however, deserve better than a lie.’ His jaw tightened. ‘The truth is that I have a lot of money and a lot of power. What I don’t have is a legacy. I want to be remembered – and not just through charitable donations or for starting the most profitable company the world has ever seen.’

‘You want to go down in history as the person who saved a city,’ I said.

‘I do.’

I examined his face. As far as I could tell through his somewhat obscured hazmat visor, he was telling the truth. He was effectively admitting the size of his ego as well. I could admire that.

I chewed the inside of my cheek and considered the options. I could tell him to turn round, leave and to return only when he brought the supplies that we needed. Then I’d make him the damn Mayor of Manchester, if that’s what he wanted. But we needed to think long term. There were smarter ways to play this and I wasn’t about to trust Fabian Barrett just yet.

Besides, this wasn’t about me. There were thousands of us in the city and I had to think about everyone. The one thing I couldn’t do was to antagonise the billionaire. If we were both going to get what we wanted, we’d both have to play nice. He was doing a good job of that so far. I could do better.

‘I’m sorry I shouted at your guys,’ I said. I looked beyond Fab to the surly group. ‘I’m sorry,’ I told them. ‘The guns scared me. Such violence is unnecessary.’ I held up Lucy so that Fab could get a better look at her. ‘This is Lucy,’ I said. ‘She’s a baby. She might well grow up to be a thing of horror. Her mother was certainly … problematic. But right now there’s no reason to be afraid of her.’

Lucy opened her mouth. I was afraid