Chapter 20 #2
“I’m not an idiot. I don’t want you two after me. I might be a Sentry Mage, but you’d find me eventually, and you’ll do far worse to me than ruin my business.”
Trevir was right. He could help them, keep his business and all extremities unharmed, or he could fuck about and find out. “I think he’s safe, Karl. And the sooner we get the details of the other person involved, the better.”
“He’s a fae. He’d been working for me for a few months. Pity—he’s brilliant.”
“Fae? You’re sure?” The pointy ear jab had been a clue. “Not elf?”
“Yes, definitely fae.”
Alex hoped his defence of Simon wasn’t going to come back and bite him on the arse. “Do you know which tribe?”
“Not really. He’d made a few comments about Prince Simon when we discussed the situation, so I don’t think he’s Calanti, but that’s as far as I can narrow it down.”
Alex was relieved to hear it. If he’d been Calanti, Simon was back on the table as a suspect. “What sort of comments?”
“Oh, that he wouldn’t be surprised if Prince Simon actually was enchanting his new husband, and that there were reasons the Calanti weren’t to be trusted.”
Karl raised an eyebrow. “I think he will be an interesting gentleman to have a little chat with.”
Alex didn’t want to get embroiled in fae politics; he needed to deal with his Dorian problem.
He liked Dorian and had enjoyed talking to him and playing with him; he wasn’t malicious, but a dragon and a movie star, who had managed to get himself mixed up in something he had no clue about. Silly bugger.
Karl dropped the blocking field. Trevir muttered a spell under his breath, and a journal appeared. He grabbed it and flipped it open. He flicked through several pages and then turned it towards Alex. “You won’t be able to take a copy. Here’s his details.”
Alex removed his phone. Most magical folk had failed to embrace the technologies humans had developed. “Can I take a photo?”
“I hadn’t thought to stop that.”
Karl laughed, and Alex quickly took a snap of the page. He read the screen. “Gagilix, can’t say it’s a fae name I’ve heard before. Gives his address in the Shontina region of the fae realm, but there’s an address in LA, somewhere called Larchmont Village.”
“He has a condo on one of the nicer boulevards. I was quite surprised myself, but he said it was on the right sort of ley line, and his magic was particularly creative there.”
Alex could smell bullshit at three hundred paces, and this ponged to high heaven. “This doesn’t add up. I know some fae have dwellings this side, but if there’d been a ley line of good enough quality to induce a fae to live in LA, I’d have felt it”
“I don’t care where he lives. I’m not about to show up and visit him.”
Karl looked resigned. “I think if we turned up at that address, there’d be no sign of him. I agree with Alex, I’ve never known a fae called Gagilix. It’s too close to the name of a species of hog that likes digging for rotten bilibelog berries.”
“How do you contact him?” Alex asked.
“By spark. I’ve never had any issues; he usually responds within minutes. Do you want me to try now?”
“Yes,” Karl said, but Alex thought they were both thinking the same thing.
Trevir created a spark capsule with a click of his fingers. He held it up to his lips. “Gagilix, this is Trevir. I’ve some work to put your way, but I need to know your availability as it’s super time-sensitive. Get back to me as soon as you receive this.”
The spark disappeared, and Alex wondered how long they were going to wait until they heard anything.
Barely a minute had passed before the spark reappeared, glowing purple.
Because of the nature of the Spark messaging system and how the recipient was selected, it was rare to see one returned, but the purple colour meant it was undeliverable.
Trevir plucked it out of the air and gave it a shake. “Maybe there was something wrong with my casting.”
“No, I think whoever this Gagilix is, he’s disappeared. I doubt that’s his name or that he is a member of the Shontina tribe. In fact, we’ve nothing to even guarantee he was a fae,” Alex said.
“I’ve met him several times. I’m convinced he’s a fae. He might not be the fae he claimed to be, but I don’t think he was hiding his species.”
“There’s not much more we can do here,” Karl said. “I suggest you try a couple more times to contact him, and if you have any success, you are to let us know.”
“No fear. And I’m going to check the other work he’s done for me. Although I’ve not had any complaints.”
“This could have been opportunistic, or he could have been deliberately waiting for the chance. But that only raises more questions on how he would have known you would have been contacted to do a job for Dorian.”
Karl sniffed. “Or it was two different people. The original fae who worked for Trevir was replaced when the opportunity arose. Paid or murdered. It all depends on how important the endgame was.”
“We have contacts in the fae realm,” Alex said. “We can make some inquiries. In the meantime, if you do hear from him, reach out immediately. Karl will give you his calling card.”
Demons were the masters of communication, and he’d always envied Karl’s ability to know where to be or who was calling at any moment. Karl handed Trevir his card. “Say my name and I’ll respond as soon as I can.”
“I will send you all the samples I have of the potion and dust; it might help figure out a way to fix Dorian. Anything I can do, let me know. And if you see Robin, make sure he’s aware I’m cooperating and not to blame for any of this.”
Alex didn’t think Robin would agree that Trevir was completely innocent. He opened a portal. “We’ll be in touch.”
They stepped into his office at Crofton Hall. “What do you make of that?” he asked Karl.
“I think the fae are meddling, and the question is which ones and why.”
“My connections to the fae realm are limited, and I doubt these are Calanti, so Prince Simon might be equally stymied,” Alex said. “I’m not sure he’s calmed down enough to even ask. We’ve not heard from Robin, although he might be in touch with Ben.”
“I was thinking Prince Hyax might be of help.”
Alex thought him the best option. “I’ll contact him about this individual and see what he can find out. Then I’m going to talk to Dorian.”
Dorian deserved to know what was going on.
This was far messier than he’d expected.
His thoughts had been that Trevir, either on his own or with help, was behind this, perhaps involved in a blackmail scheme.
They had a rogue fae at large, but now Alex was convinced Dorian had been drawn into a political mess he had no hope of navigating on his own.