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

I drew myself up. ‘So work harder. People are dying because of this magic crap.’

‘We are doing our best,’ he said through gritted teeth.

‘So you say. What does it have to do with me anyway?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘You came here for a reason and it wasn’t to help Lizzy. You said you were retrieving something. What do I have that you want?’

He chuckled softly. ‘Believe me, darling. Now that I’ve spoken to you a bit more, there’s nothing you have that I want.’

I glared. ‘As if I’d give you anything anyway,’ I sneered in response. ‘But you are the ones who came to me. I called the police. Not you.’

‘Madrona gave you an object,’ he said. ‘A little metallic sphere. It’s both very magical and very dangerous. She passed it to you so it would be safe temporarily. Now we need it back so we can make it permanently safe. If we don’t, it’s possible that this city will fall. Perhaps even the whole world.’

‘She didn’t give me anything,’ I began. Then I realised: when I’d bumped into her in the toilets at the police station, she’d stumbled and fallen against me. She must have dropped something into my cleaner’s apron. I felt like slapping myself. How could that have passed me by? I was an idiot.

‘Wait,’ I said slowly. ‘Is that why the rats didn’t come near me? And why the fire rain didn’t touch the house? Because of this magical piece of crap she planted on me?’ I scowled. I’d been really off my game not to have noticed what she’d done. I should have been angry at being used so obviously, but I’d benefited from it. Unless…

My gaze flicked back to the open living room and to Lizzy, still huddled in misery inside. ‘Did that sphere thing cause Lizzy to turn into a furry monster?’

‘Bunyip.’

I waved a dismissive hand. ‘Whatever.’ I stared at him. ‘I’m right, aren’t I? What happened to Lizzy is your fault.’

‘It is not my fault,’ he said icily.

‘But you think it was this sphere that caused the damage. Not this other magic in the atmosphere. You did that.’

‘No. Madrona did that.’

‘You’re with Madrona.’

His eyes flashed. ‘Not then, I wasn’t. I wouldn’t have left a powerful object with such a—’ He bit off whatever word he was about to say.

‘Such a what?’ I demanded.

Monroe’s nostrils flared and he dipped his head lower – then the front door opened again. Before he could say anything else, Madrona reached in, grabbed his arm and yanked him out while shoving Anna and Mulroney inside. ‘It’s been lovely knowing you both!’ she called. ‘Help Charley and Lizzy, stay inside till the army gets here and all will be fine.’ Without waiting for an answer, she slammed the door shut again.

The three of us gazed at each other. Mulroney muttered something under his breath and turned for the door as if to open it again. Anna stopped him. ‘Don’t.’

‘Something,’ he snapped, ‘is about to go down out there.’

‘Yeah,’ she answered quietly. ‘And I’m beginning to think that it’s something we should keep out of.’

‘Our job is to keep the peace!’ He lunged for the door again and again Anna stopped him.

‘I agree,’ she said. ‘But I don’t think we’ll be protecting anyone if we go out there. I think they’ll be worrying about protecting us. Madrona’s wrapped up in all this somehow. She told us she was a faery, remember?’

Mulroney gave her a scornful look. ‘And you believe her? Because if you do, you’re even crazier than she is.’

‘Have you seen what’s been going on out there?’ She ticked off her fingers. ‘Rats, fire, trees growing impossible amounts in front of our eyes, the sky going crazy, not to mention the—’

‘Magic,’ I finished.

Mulroney stared. ‘You’re both nuts.’

I glanced at Anna. ‘She said she was a faery?’

The policewoman nodded.

‘Monroe said that he was a…’ A what? A transformer? ‘A shapeshifter,’ I said. ‘And apparently so is Lizzy, my housemate.’ I shook my head. The evidence was all there, unbelievable as it might seem. ‘All this stuff really is to do with magic.’ I thought about what Madrona had said about averting the apocalypse and shivered. ‘Open the door. We have to help.’

Mulroney grinned in triumph, pushed past Anna and threw open the door. ‘What on earth is going on out here?’ he bellowed.

In the street, Monroe whipped his head round and snarled, his features transforming in a manner eerily similar to the way Lizzy’s had. The policeman sprang back, colliding with me. Suddenly two massive wolves bounded up and stopped us from venturing out any further. From behind Mulroney’s shaking body, I stared. Then I rubbed my eyes and stared again.

It took several moments for my brain to compute what was going on. At this end of the street stood Madrona, what had once been Monroe, a few other people – and a large group of giant wolves.

This couldn’t be happening. It wasn’t possible – except it fit with everything that Monroe had told me. When I heard someone in the street yell out a demand for their sphere to be returned, I knew I was right. Unfortunately, it was about all I did know.

Me, the police, anyone who wasn’t some kind of bizarre supernatural creature – we were all on the back foot. None of us possessed the knowledge or understanding to help. As wolves and men and women snarled and bellowed at each other with physical violence obviously only moments away, it wouldn’t be a gamble to go outside. It would be suicide.

I backed up, pulling Mulroney with me. ‘Anna is right,’ I said, somewhat belatedly. She tutted. I looked at them. ‘At least until we really know what’s going on.’ I whirled round and barrelled into the next room, hauling back the curtains to get a better view.

‘Wild fucking animals,’ Mulroney said, as he and Anna came up behind me to watch.

Anna grabbed her walkie-talkie. ‘This is four-niner Charlie. We need back up