Page 7 of Purrfectly Peculiar Pixie

Understandably, Lucroy spent more time at his beloved’s orchard. The completion of the underground addition to the home only solidified this fact. With every passing day, the running of Dusk fell increasingly under my control. It was a position in which I found comfort and was pleased my king and friend trusted me so completely.

Johnny was behind the bar proper. The faun had been with Lucroy nearly as long as me. Of course, that was an exaggeration. Fauns didn’t live nearly as long as vampires. Not that everyone considered usalive. We were far more alive than zombies, but I didn’t begrudge those who questioned my living status. Fairy law saw vampires as equal creatures, deserving of all the same rights as those who required air to continue their existence. For me, that was enough.

“Evenin’, boss-man.” Johnny had taken to calling me boss-man since Lucroy’s frequent absences. Knowing Johnny, his choice of nicknames could have been far worse. I neither encouraged nor discouraged the term.

“Good evening, Johnny. Any issues tonight?”

“Not that I’ve seen,” Johnny answered with a headshake. Hands spread on the bar top, Johnny leaned closer. Standing on the riser behind the bar, the shorter faun was nearly eye level. “Got a couple of werewolves in the corner that I haven’t seen before. Probably some of Arie’s pack but so far, they haven’t given cause to boot their furry asses out.”

With an understanding nod, I picked up the warm glass of blood Lizbeth inconspicuously slid my way. I raised the glass her direction in thanks before draining half the glass in one go. Like most vampires, I had my own preference. Human made up the bulk of nearly every vampire’s diet. But a little extrasomethingadded a kick now and again. Before claiming Peaches as his beloved, Lucroy’s favored drink was human with a hint of ogre. If I’d still been human, I would have shivered at the thought. While I cared for and respected my king, I did not share his blood palate.

“It’s becoming a trend,” I needlessly said, now sipping my drink.

“A damn irritating trend,” Johnny agreed. “I don’t like it.” Johnny said some variation of that sentiment nearly every evening.

“Nor I. Lucroy isn’t fond either. However, as long as they do nothing untoward, we have no cause to remove them. Dusk is open to all.” Even humans came by, although I often wondered about their mental health. Lizbeth notwithstanding, humans didn’t typically mix well with other species. Or, at the very least, they often found themselves at the unpleasant end of an old-fashioned fairy tale—the distinctly non-Disney variety.

“Arie Belview’s up to something.” Johnny’s voice was barely above a whisper.

I nearly snorted my blood. “Of course he is. Alpha Belview is always up to something. It would go against his nature to do otherwise.” Not all alphas acted like Arie Belview. In fact, I doubted most of them did. One need look no further than Sedrick Voss for Arie’s polar opposite.

“True enough,” Johnny readily agreed.

“Johnny,” Lizbeth interrupted. “We just got an order for licorice liquor. It’s up on the top shelf. You want me to get it?”

Johnny grumbled. “I miss Wendall. That boy’s too busy to work in here as often as I’d like. Off at some damn meeting tonight with Ray.” Johnny stomped a hoof before waving his towel Lizbeth’s direction and saying, “That’d be great.”

Lizbeth grabbed the ladder and scurried up, snatching the bottle and wiggling back down. The ladder rungs were hell on Johnny’s hooves. He could use the ladder, but it wasn’t graceful and took a lot longer.

“Must be a group of brownies here somewhere. They’re small enough I probably missed them. We don’t get a lot in the bar and they’re the only ones who like that licorice stuff. I’ve got it up top, along with the virgin tears. Used to have the burnt rum up there too, but I moved it down when Vander began coming around more often. Now that he’s off wanderin’ the globe with Parsnip, it might be time to stick it back up there. We don’t get a lot of warlocks knocking down our doors either.”

Johnny was correct. I wasn’t certain if that was because warlocks weren’t all that plentiful or if they simply didn’t like socializing with others. Most likely it was a combination of both.

While I’d grown fond of Wendall and felt his absence, Johnny was the one who missed him the most. I didn’t think it was simply the fact Wendall was agile and shimmied up and down ladders with ease. Johnny truly liked the young zombie turned living humanoid fairy.

“This time tomorrow you’ll have a new trainee. As I understand it, a pixie. They’ll be able to fly up to the top and get what you need, just like Phil.”

Phil’s brief stint as a bouncer hadn’t gone well, but he’d made a decent bartender and had pulled in a unique crowd. Dusk had acquired a reputation for pixie viewing. Pixie bars drew most of them. It was a place they could fly, drink, and dance without complaint of patron nasal complications. If you wanted to see pixies at play, one needed to mask up and head for a pixie bar.

Dusk was different. We had our own set of pixies and Dusk was large enough that when they were here, a section could be cordoned off for their enjoyment. Pixie dust dissipated quickly enough that if Dusk’s other patrons were far enough away, the dust was gone before it had a chance to infiltrate their delicate noses. No matter the species, one couldn’t help but smile when in the presence of a dancing pixie. Pixies might be hell on the nose, but they were pure joy to the eyes.

“I heard that. Do you know anything about them?” Johnny asked.

“Not much. Lucroy could not share information he did not have. I know they are being sent from the Magical Usage Council.”

Johnny grunted. “I can’t say that I’ve ever heard of a pixie agent before.” Rubbing his chin, Johnny appeared as doubtful as I felt. “Pixies aren’t really known for their…” He waved a hand in the air, unable to put his thoughts into words.

“Aggressive nature?”

“Yeah, something like that. They’re not really a deceptive lot. I know Parsnip lied and covered up the fact he’d faded, but it wasn’t like he took any joy out of it. In fact, I think that deception hurt him the most.”

“Agreed.” When Lizbeth walked by, I scooted my empty glass her way.

“You want more?” she asked and hurried away to get it when I nodded.

“I assume the council has its reasons.” Most councils did. The vampire council certainly claimed to. I’d met their members once and didn’t care for a repeat experience.

Johnny shrugged. “I suppose. You know me, as long as they’re friendly, work hard, and don’t start shit, then I’m all good.”

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