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

My jaw worked uselessly for a moment before I found my voice. ‘Did it escape from the zoo?’

He shrugged, although there was a manic gleam in his eyes that had me worried. ‘No one is saying. None of this is happening anywhere else, though. It’s Manchester.’

I couldn’t decide whether that was very good or very bad. Scratching my head, I sighed. ‘The world’s gone crazy.’ There wasn’t really much else to say.

‘Told ya,’ Lizzy said. ‘It’s the apocalypse.’

‘Well,’ Christopher demurred, ‘at least we won’t have to worry about paying Max back if it is.’

I liked the way he always looked on the bright side; there is a lot to commend about shining optimism. He was a man after my own heart. Perhaps I should take Lizzy’s advice and consider him for a role other than that of friend in need.

I grinned at him. He shifted uncomfortably and started to twiddle with one of the buttons on his shirt, unfastening it and fastening it over and over again. ‘Max came to see me.’

Sudden anger zipped through me. So that was the real reason Christopher was here. I should have guessed. ‘He had no right to do that. I’ve taken on your debt.’ I grimaced. When Max had realised he couldn’t intimidate me, he would naturally have transferred his attentions to Christopher. For Max it wasn’t about the money, any more than it was for the likes of Valerie. In Max’s case, he enjoyed holding others’ debts because of the feeling of power it gave him. At heart he was nothing more than a schoolyard bully, albeit a schoolyard bully with the potential to do some serious, even life-threatening, damage.

‘I’m taking care of it,’ I said. ‘If he comes to you again, tell him he has to deal with me.’

Christopher didn’t look up. ‘He might hurt you,’ he mumbled.

‘That’s my problem, not yours. Besides, I have a plan,’ I lied. ‘I’ll get the money he wants in a day or two.’ I smiled, projecting more confidence than I felt. ‘I’m that sort of gambler.’

Christopher’s body sagged unhappily. ‘I don’t know why you’re helping me.’ He squinted up at me, afraid to meet my gaze full on.

‘I’m helping you,’ I said, ‘because wankers like Maximillian Stone don’t get to win.’ That was partly true. I generally tried not to examine my actions too closely because that way led to madness – and a spiralling pit of despair. I was good at locking away the darker parts of me. If I hadn’t been, I’d never have coped.

Stifling another yawn, I stretched. ‘Please don’t think I’m being rude but I really have to go and get some sleep before my legs give out from underneath me. Christopher, you’re welcome to stay here if you don’t feel safe going home but there aren’t any spare beds. But I’m pretty certain Slimeball Max doesn’t know where I live so you’ll probably be safe from his attention.’

‘That’s okay,’ he said. ‘I’m going to crash at my brother’s.’ He flushed. ‘And thank you, Charley. I don’t know what I’d do without you.’

I offered him a small smile. ‘I’m here to help. Max will be nothing but a bad memory by the end of the week.’ Maybe.

I shuffled over to the door. Sleep most definitely beckoned.

‘Rest up,’ Lizzy nodded, although she was obviously distracted. ‘Shall we wake you if the world ends?’

I wrinkled my nose and considered. ‘Nah. If the end of the world means more rats, I’m happy for it to go ahead without me.’ I gestured at the TV screen. ‘I’m sure I’ll be able to catch the highlights later.’ And then, without another thought, I headed upstairs to bed.

To begin with, it was really nothing more than a jiggle. Alright, it was a jiggle that roused me from my slumber but it didn’t seem to be anything to worry about. I assumed that Lizzy had lost her keys again, or had found someone of her own to get lucky with and the house was shaking to the beat of their … good fortune. But when my bed began to shake violently from side to side, to the point where the heavy mahogany timber moved six inches across the bare floor, I opened my eyes and frowned.

Earthquake. An honest-to-goodness earthquake. Yes, yes, you’ll know that they’re not unheard of in this part of the world, but they are still extraordinarily rare. And the most damage they cause is usually a few fallen roof tiles.

My tired brain strained, trying desperately to remember what you were supposed to do in such a situation. Stay away from the sea in case there was a tsunami. I didn’t think I had anything to worry about on that front. Stay out of lifts even if they contained swoon-worthy fire fighters. Gotcha. Avoid running outside in a panic where the threat of shards of falling glass from nearby windows could be greater than that of buildings collapsing on your head. Okay…

When the walls around me seemed to groan louder than even my most desperate hunger pangs, the thought of a potential building collapse truly sank in. I sprang up. Load-bearing wall, that was what I needed.

It was all very well knowing that I was supposed to find a load-bearing wall but quite another identifying which wall that might be. By the time I was halfway towards making an educated guess, the tremors seemed to have stopped. The house creaked once or twice in final protest and seemed to sag back on itself. Thankfully it appeared that the danger was over.

I shook myself, belatedly realising that I’d collapsed into bed without so much as undressing. I unhooked my cleaning apron from my shoulders and balled it up, tossing it haphazardly onto the bed. I swivelled round to call out for Lizzy and make sure she was alright. As I did so, a dim orange glow from the gap in the moth-eaten curtains caught