Page 72 of Pining for the Prince
“Interesting.” Hyax cocked his head to one side. “The elf issue is why we’re here. As you know, the stone is recovered but not the perpetrators.”
“We were hoping that once you’d got your hands on it you’d be able to track the rogue fae’s signature.”
“Whatever incantations the elves used have masked Chase’s pattern. It’s too weak.”
“Weak? But you have it?”
“Yes.” Gwil patted his breast pocket. “In a light sphere so Hyax can access it if it’s needed.”
Flume stood and went over to a bookcase. He took a moment to locate the book he was after but returned to the desk and laid it open in front of Hyax on the desk. He pointed to a paragraph. “If I can get you a vial of elf blood, do you think this will work?”
Hyax picked up the book. “It’s an enhanced tracing spell. The elf blood is the only sticking point, so yes, it should work. But it’ll be a range, not an exact point and it’ll cause a beacon-like effect locally to wherever the individual is. It could be easy to miss.”
“Not if you’ve people in place on the look out for it.” Flume turned to Gwil. “Do you think your sewer friends would be interested in helping?”
Copperpipe would do anything for the right price. “I’d say so.”
“You’re more than welcome to brew the potion here, Your Highness. I’ll need an hour to get the blood. Perhaps in the meantime Gwil can contact his little friends.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Hyax had always found brewing relaxing. It was the art of combining the ingredients in the perfect order and the mix of incantations that made it completely absorbing, until he was able to lose himself in the shimmering contents of a cauldron. Flume’s lab space was state-of-the-art and there was every piece of equipment and component he could think of, including a fascinating glass-fronted cabinet locked using a blood charm, no doubt keyed to Flume himself.
Gwil had gone to call his sewer potatoes, which meant one less distraction, and Flume had left Hyax to it, with a bell to ring if he needed anything. The potion was a deep blue colour, and all it needed was the elf blood to finish it off. He’d not mentioned to Gwil that he would need a member of the undead to drink it, but he’d only read that part after Gwil had left.
Flume knew, Hyax was sure of it, and the other caveat had been a pre-existing real intimacy between brewer, caster and imbiber, which made Hyax think there could be a whole array of possibilities they could explore along the fae-vampire link, as that was a branch of magic he’d never known existed until today. It would make sense why so few vampire and fae relationships were sanctioned if there was a raft of usually inaccessiblemagic available to create a power couple who were romantically involved, and maybe why the Calanti had remained distanced. For this particular piece of magic, Hyax would be on his knees and he couldn’t see Gwil objecting.
The door to the lab opened and Flume swept in. He held up a little vial. “Here we go.”
“Do I want to know where you got it from?”
“Not all elves are the enemy.”
“That’s news to me. Most of them are evil fuckers who will help no one without a reason.” He took the vial. “Who’s this from?”
“The Dark Earl of Crofton’s secretary. Alexander is one of a handful of elves in the human realm who are on the friendly list.”
“A Vampire Council member with an elf as a servant? I think I’ve heard it all now.”
Flume snorted. “Then I won’t tell you that his lordship’s valet is a level-three demon, or it might be too much for your sensibilities.”
“Now I think you’re just making things up.” Flume must think him an idiot.
He returned to the cauldron and extinguished the flames underneath, liking how the gas lines had made it easier to control the temperature and be one less thing for him to worry about. “I’ll add the blood and stir as required and we’ll be good to go once Gwil returns.”
“I do hope we won’t have an issue with the last part of the procedure.”
“The latter part I doubt, but drinking elf’s blood wasn’t part of our discussions when we agreed to date, although the other ingredients should make it easier on his stomach and he’ll be distracted.”
Flume produced a hip flask from the inside of his jacket. “This is a French 64, a remarkable vintage, it will take away any residual unpleasantness.”
He was surprised by Flume’s thoughtfulness, but his dealings with vampires had mainly been Gwil and he’d believed he wasn’t typical of his kind. He’d never seen him feed, or act under the influence of extreme bloodlust, but then he wasn’t one to mingle too much with his own sort and, from recollection, none of those Gwil referred to as friends were vampires.
Elf blood was dark green and sticky and the three drops came out like lumps of lard. There was nothing pleasant about elves—even their blood was gross. For a horrible moment Hyax thought the potion was going to curdle but the requisite stirring did the job and the final result was a shimmering purple liquid. “I’ll decant out a couple of vials but it’s not something that you can keep, I’m afraid.”
“Over the years I’ve long come to realise that magic is never as useful as people like to think. There is always a catch or a price.”
“Can’t say I’ve ever thought of it like that.”
