Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
H yax tapped the surface of the bathroom mirror.
He’d been shown a way to contact Prince Simon and even how to leave a message if he was unable to speak.
Hyax waited as the surface of the glass rippled and Simon appeared with his long black hair in bunches, arcing out from the side of his head like bushy antennae.
“Hyax?”
“Simon, what’s with your hair?”
“I was working on a spell, and my hair kept getting in my way, so I tied it up and forgot to take it down before I answered. I’m sure you didn’t call me to ask that.”
Hyax had seen stranger things, and he guessed Robin would probably like pulling Simon’s bunches. “I wanted to ask you about a case I’m working on. I can’t make sense of some of the things, and wondered if you might have an insight or a suggestion where to direct my efforts.”
“How intriguing. Do tell.”
“Have you ever come across large swathes of land that are neutral? I don’t mean a room or a small patch.”
Simon bobbed his head to the side as he thought, his bunches swaying. Hyax did well not to laugh. “How big are we talking?”
“Large department store and maybe extending a little to the sides, but not more than ten metres from its boundary.”
“I’ve heard of dampening fields that might mimic a neutral ground to that extent, even further,” Simon said, but didn’t sound convinced.
“It’s not that, I’d have been able to cut through that sort of magic. We’re talking completely sparse.”
Simon wrinkled his nose. “I feel like there’s something, but my mind is not so sharp this evening.”
Hyax had experienced the same of late. He’d been working analysing the information from the spells he’d set out, and it was difficult to explain to Gwil how draining processing magical data could be.
“I get it. I’ve not been able to relax much the last few days, and it has left me fuzzy around the brain. ”
“I could do with a reason not to have to think,” Simon said with a smile.
They were peers, although some might say because of Simon’s tribe, they should not be friends, but Hyax had decided there should be ways and means to foster new relationships. “Are you busy this evening? We could go out in London, find somewhere to let our wings out.”
“I’m not sure your mother would approve.”
“That’s never been a reason for me not to do something.”
Hyax didn’t know how much Simon had been exposed to the human world.
He’d probably had his fun in the fae realm before marrying Robin, but it was a very different experience.
Robin would have introduced him to the places he frequented, although Hyax didn’t recall seeing Simon in the clubs he preferred, but then Simon’s husband was a vampire, and that was a different scene.
“Do you have something in mind?”
“Drinks, dinner, maybe some dancing. There’s a new place in Kensington that I’ve been meaning to try.”
“Wouldn’t Gwil object to me taking your time?”
“No, why would he?” He couldn’t gauge the meaning behind the question, but didn’t think it was about Gwil.
“I just find that vampires can be a little hypocritical.”
“I think this is a conversation we should have over a fine first-press ambrosia.”
Simon smiled. He was an attractive man, and Hyax had so many questions to ask about him and Robin. “I can be ready in twenty minutes. How dressy should I go?”
“Not full-on fae court, but to impress. Let’s meet at Dionysus. They will be delighted to have our patronage.”
He hadn’t planned to go out, but the idea of spending time with Simon appealed; what he’d seen he liked, and Hyax thought they could be friends, not just allies.
He shot off a text to Gwil to let him know his plans and received a reply about not getting too wankered or he’d make him clean Midnight’s litter tray.
Dionysus had only opened a few weeks ago, and its popularity had spread by word of mouth.
Cikla had mentioned the place and had said they should go, but he knew his old friend was back in the fae realm for her younger brother’s birthday.
He selected one of his new suits and a sheer shirt, and then took a photo and sent it to Gwil.
Hyax: Thought you’d appreciate my outfit. Don’t worry, others might look, but no one else gets to touch.
Gwil: They better fucking not, or I will drain the fuckers dry.
Boyfriend riled, and correct response received, Hyax opened a portal feeling smug. He arrived at the reception of Dionysus, a dark and minimalist area Hyax had thought would be as opulent as its name suggested, but instead it fell a little short of his expectations.
“Good evening, sir. How can I help you?” The host was a glamorous witch wearing a figure-hugging red velvet dress and she was holding a tablet.
“I’m not a member yet, but I’m sure we can resolve that.”
Her tablet vibrated. “Your Highness, welcome to Dionysus. You are, of course, more than welcome and would be automatically granted elite membership.”
Whatever tech she was using must’ve had a role in identifying and verifying guests, he thought it might be on the illegal side, but he’d let it go for now. “A friend will be joining me, I trust you can find myself and Prince Simon a suitable place for us to sit undisturbed.”
“Our VIP area has privacy booths and a dedicated server. Please follow me.”
A pair of double doors swung open to give Hyax his first glimpse.
The bar was low-lit, which, along with the soft music, gave the place a vibe of a human jazz club without the dingy corners, and had a colour scheme of deep reds and purples with gold tones.
He could see why his fellow fae were so enamoured.
He was shown to a corner booth, where he could watch the world go by but wouldn’t be bothered.
There was a dance floor on the other side of the bar.
A few couples were swaying entwined together, and he suspected the influence was more chemical than romance in several cases.
His host left with his drink order, and he noticed glances in his direction as he was recognised.
A carafe of ambrosia and two glasses arrived, and he was scrolling on his phone and sipping from his drink when Simon appeared.
He was dressed in a black suit and a blood-red shirt that fitted so perfectly the tailor should be proud.
His long black hair was worn loose but kept in place by a couple of well-placed braids.
He was beautiful, and the appreciative looks told Hyax he wasn’t the only one to think the same.
He slid next to him in the booth. “This place has a very different feel to it than the places I usually go.”
“I guess those are vampire clubs. Tonight, you’re embracing your fae side.”
Simon took a sip of his ambrosia. “I would do well to remember to do that more often.”
“You are in a difficult position, with your tribe and your vampire affiliations; it’s understandable that your allegiances are different.”
“I can easily make excuses if I want, but after recent developments, I think there might be a changing of the tide, and the Calanti should look to move closer to our fae brethren.”
Hyax wasn’t sure what Simon was alluding to, but his mother had made a similar comment, and Simon seemed open to talk. “Care to share?”
“Have you spoken recently to your sister, Qual?”
He’d seen his big sister about a week ago, but they’d not spoken about anything Simon might be interested in. “I can’t imagine her topics of conversation would have been of importance to you.”
The booth already had a low-level sound-dampening spell to aid privacy, but he felt Simon cast something more substantial. “Then she didn’t mention representing your tribe at a recent ad-hoc judgement, and that I was there?”
“No.” His mother hadn’t said anything about a trial, and if anyone would have been involved on her behalf, he would have expected it to have been his older brother, Pawl, who was next in line to the throne.
“I think, considering some of the players, you would warrant being made aware, and I, of course, expect you to maintain my confidence.”
“I believe I’ve demonstrated myself trustworthy before.”
“Yes, or I wouldn’t be here.” Simon smirked. “There are fae legends about an elf warlord who led a long and bloody campaign against the fae; he was eventually caught and imprisoned.”
He vaguely recalled the myth, but it was one of countless fables. “There are lots of myths around those stories, but they are thousands of years old.”
“Yes, and the myths are various and random, but more surprisingly, this one turned out to be true. An elf called Christopholous was too powerful to kill, so he was imprisoned in a jar made of dragon blood and gold, and would only be released when he had repented. The thing is, that jar made its way to Crofton Hall, where it’s been for more than four hundred years with a spectre living in it, which then became corporeal. ”
Hyax didn’t need a pen to join the dots. “It was Christopholous?”
“ Was being the imperative word. He is now called Chris and is a light elf. So, he has repented, but as you can imagine, this was a bit of a shock and the tribes needed to be sure he wasn’t dangerous.
A special session of a judgement court was called, and Chris was forcibly removed from Crofton Hall. ”
“Oh.”
“As you can imagine, that did not go down well with the vampires, and Sebastian Hewel made it clear he was not happy. An additional complication was that Chris had fallen for a guest at the hall, Jack Webb.”
He remembered Jack. They’d worked with him as part of Simon’s rescue. “Did the Warlock Ruling Committee get involved, too?”
“Yes and no. Jack represented Chris, and it was bloody obvious he was no longer a terrifying warlord, but part of his punishment stated he needed to be bound to someone after he had repented, so he was bound to Jack. What you should know is that Chris still has a high level of magic, just no longer the dark type he used to wield, but he masks it so well that few will know what he truly is.”