City of Magic: The Complete Series Helen Harper (fox in socks read aloud TXT) 📖

have a top pair, but they could also be holding a flush, a draw or absolutely nothing at all. You have to consider all possibilities – and it was with that thought in mind that I faced the towering shadow beast in front of me.

It could be on its own, a lone monster that had sprung from the darkness that conceived it. In that unlikely scenario, it would be an easy matter to take it down and continue on my way home. The road here was well-travelled; if a magical nastie wanted to avoid bumping into anyone, it wouldn’t take this route. And a magical beastie with any sense would stay away from me.

But the road was also wide, with various side streets leading off to both the left and right, so this could be an ambush. There could be several shadow beasts lying in wait up ahead. If that were the case, it would be far more sensible to turn tail and run – unless that was what the creature wanted me to do. Some of the magical beasts that now lived in Manchester were canny bastards with well-developed herding instincts. They rarely attacked unless they were certain of victory. In fact, they rarely attacked at all. It stood to reason that if this big bastard was so confident it was working with others. I grimaced. The last thing I wanted was to find myself in a nest of the things.

It wasn’t just numbers that I had to consider; there was also the beast’s magical power to think about. I ran through the gamut of possibilities in my head, from the chance that it possessed virtually no magical ability despite its inherently magical existence, to the theory that I’d just bumped into the Merlin of the monster world – a creature with more might and magic than anything ever seen before. And all these thoughts ran through my mind in less time than it took the beast to throw back its head and roar.

I waited until its dark eyes were fixed on me and then lunged forward towards it. I didn’t touch it; sometimes a show of strength was enough to scare off a would-be predator. That was why kittens could sometimes freak out Alsatians. But it didn’t work in this instance. The shadow beast bristled at my defiance and roared again, the sound reverberating down the empty street and making the ground under my feet vibrate. Okay. So it was pretty angry. That didn’t bode well.

It took a step towards me, its vast arms slamming out and punching the buildings on either side. The biggest problem, I decided, was its size: it was at least thirty feet tall. Still, you know what they say – the bigger they are, the harder they fall. I wasn’t beyond cheesy clichés, especially not when they were true.

Magic flared at my fingertips. As the creature swung its left arm towards me with swift, brutal force, I hurled out two identical streams of the good stuff and leapt backwards. The magic hit the beast’s kneecaps. It howled, black eyes widening in pain, then it crashed down. Cracks immediately appeared in the concrete where it landed.

If I thought I’d won, I was sorely mistaken. It lunged at me, its massive paw cuffing me on the side of the head and sending me flying. Now we were both sprawled on the chilly tarmac.

‘What are you doing?’

I squinted up at Monroe, who was standing over me with raised eyebrows. ‘Fighting a giant shadow monster,’ I said. ‘What does it look like I’m doing?’

‘You look like you’re taking a nap.’ A smirk played around his lips.

‘Fine,’ I snapped. ‘You deal with the beastie then.’

He swept a bow, his dark-red curls falling artlessly across his forehead. ‘As my lady desires.’

Monroe shifted in a heartbeat, clothes ripping as he transformed from sexy Scottish man to furry Scottish wolf. A flying button from his shirt thwacked into my cheekbone.

‘Hey!’ I protested. ‘That hurt!’

His tongue lolled at me for a second in a disarming, wolfish grin then he sprang towards the fallen shadow beast. I propped myself up on my elbows and watched. The beast heaved itself up onto all fours and screeched in Monroe’s face, causing his fur to ripple dramatically. It snapped its jaws, narrowly missing ripping off Monroe’s head. Sheesh.

Monroe’s haunches tightened and he leapt upwards, landing on the creature’s head. His paws sank into the shadowy outline and, for a strange moment, I thought his entire body was about to be subsumed by the dark shape. Then he found his footing and managed to spin round, lifting one of his paws to claw at its eyes. The shadow monster howled in response and pulled itself upright again, desperately trying to shake him off. Monroe clung on but, despite his best efforts, he didn’t appear to be in a position to do any further damage.

Giving up on his attempt to throw Monroe off, the shadow beast snarled and reached round with one paw before grabbing Monroe’s tail and flinging him away. Monroe landed on the ground a few metres away from me with a tremendous thud.

My insides froze but, when I heard him groan and saw him wiggle his legs and turn, I relaxed. I got to my feet. ‘How are you doing there, killer?’ I enquired. ‘Taking a wee nap?’

Monroe’s eyes narrowed. He couldn’t speak to me whilst in wolf form but he could still communicate through other means. The look he threw me was particularly disparaging. Then he glanced beyond me, his eyes flickering. Damn it. The shadow beast wasn’t giving up.

I spun round and faced it again. This really wasn’t how I’d planned on spending my evening. I’d thought that Monroe and I could grab something to eat and snuggle up together in the back garden with a couple of glasses of home-made wine. Having my snuggle plans interrupted was not doing anything for my mood.

‘All right, buster,’ I muttered. ‘No more Miss Nice Enchantress.’

I