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

I pondered her theory; right now, it was the only thing that fit. ‘So I’m like a witch now?’

She wrinkled her nose. ‘That sounds too much like a Halloween game.’

‘A wizard.’

‘Too much like Harry Potter,’ Julie called from where she was sheltering. ‘I bloody hate Harry Potter. I auditioned three times for it, you know. Not even one call back.’

Jodie ignored her and wrinkled her nose. ‘A magician?’

I thought about it. ‘Nah. I’m not about to start pulling rabbits out of top hats.’ I considered further. ‘I’m an … enchantress.’

‘No.’ She grinned. ‘You’re the enchantress. No other human is like you. No other human slept next to that stupid sphere like you did.’

I looked at her warily. ‘How do we know there aren’t more of these spheres around?’

‘A dragon created it. I’m pretty certain it was a one-off.’

I kept my eyes away from Liung’s body. ‘A dragon like him?’

‘A different one.’ She shrugged. ‘I don’t think there are many of them.’

I thought about what Liung had looked like when he was in dragon form. It was probably just as well they weren’t all over the place. Given the other creatures I’d met recently, though, maybe I’d prefer to have more dragons around.

I finished my last mouthful and screwed up the wrapper as the whomp-whomp of another helicopter reverberated through the air. Jodie stiffened, her head craning back. I put a reassuring hand on her arm. ‘They’ve been flying overhead all morning. It’s a good thing, it’s how we know the rest of the world is alright. I think they’re checking up on the city. They’re not doing anything much.’

Famous last words. We both jumped as a disembodied voice boomed down from a loudspeaker that surpassed even the noise from the helicopter’s blades. ‘Remaining citizens of Manchester! Please be aware that, as of midnight tonight, the city will be in lockdown. Anyone who wishes to leave must do so before then. From tomorrow, in order to contain the situation and isolate the problem, no one will be permitted to leave for the foreseeable future. Exit points are currently located at Eccles, Prestwich, Denton and Stretford. All other routes are closed. I repeat, all remaining residents must vacate the city by midnight tonight. Anyone staying after this time will not be permitted to leave until the area is deemed safe. Supplies will be dropped at various points across the city today, but from midnight the city will be a no-fly zone.’

The helicopter hovered above us for another few seconds, as if waiting for us to respond. I leaned back and gave it a friendly wave; whether anyone waved back or not, I couldn’t tell. It eventually zipped away, moving over the trees and out of sight. We heard the same announcement again, albeit slightly more muffled this time.

‘Shit.’ Jodie’s eyes widened. ‘They’re really stepping things up.’

‘They can’t do that,’ Julie huffed from her hiding place. ‘They can’t cut off an entire city from the rest of the world.’

I reckoned they could – and they would. This was unknown territory for everyone and the government needed to be seen to be doing everything it could to save lives, if not actual cities. Almost three million people lived in Manchester, though; that was a huge number to have to re-house. I was glad that wasn’t my problem.

I ticked off my fingers, calculating. ‘I could be wrong but, even by conservative estimates, at least ninety percent of the city’s population must have already left. If there are more helicopters doing the same thing, another five or six percent will also evacuate. That will leave, at most, only fifty thousand people.’ That was good. There would be less fighting for supplies – and less chance that Max’s plans to control all the food in the city would work. But we still needed to prepare.

I checked my watch, stood up and dusted myself off. I was covered in an extraordinary layer of dark ash and all I’d been doing was having a brief, impromptu picnic.

‘There’s over twelve hours to go. I’m going to have to get a move on and head off.’

‘You’re leaving Manchester?’

I snorted in amusement. ‘I’m the enchantress. I can’t leave. And anyway, I’ll now be counted as being wholly contaminated by magic.’ The Army had probably set up quarantine zones. I was damned if I was going to be locked away for several months – or years – until I was deemed safe.

I grinned. ‘Whatever the rest of the world might think, Manchester has become the world’s coolest place. I didn’t want to leave before and I definitely don’t want to leave now. You guys seem confident that the worst of the magic has been contained, so hopefully there’ll be no more plagues of rats or locusts or burning rain. Staying here is going to mean a life less ordinary – and who doesn’t want that?’

Then I thought of Monroe and grimaced. ‘I might know one or two people who need to leave, though. And I want to get my hands on some of those supplies that are being dropped.’

Jodie’s gaze shifted and she twitched in discomfort.

‘Go on then!’ Julie yelled. ‘Say it!’

‘Say what?’ she mumbled.

‘You want to go with her. Ask her! I don’t care what you do, darling. It’s not like we’re best buddies or anything. I don’t care if you leave me here!’

I raised an eyebrow. Julie Chivers could be remarkably melodramatic; I supposed it came with the territory of being both a soap star and a vampire. ‘You’re very welcome to come with me if you want to,’ I told Jodie. ‘I’ve got plenty of space.’ I shrugged. ‘In fact, all the houses on my street have been abandoned so you could have one to yourself. But we have to leave now. Yes, I know those werewolves deserve a decent burial but they’re not going anywhere.’ I hesitated. ‘Unless they turn into zombies. Are there likely to be zombies?’

Jodie