Page 22 of Bleeding for the Prince
Gwil glanced around to assure himself no one was in earshot, there wasn’t, but then the other customers were keeping clear to avoid being splattered by whatever escaped during Copperpipe’s effusive eating. “I do hope you are keeping in mind why you are being fed so well.”
“I am indeed, Fang Face, do not worry. For such great recompense, I will help to crack this puzzle. There is something here that I cannot put my finger on, but I will, although it may take some time.”
He didn’t know if he’d expected anything different. If Hyax and a host of other magical consultants hadn’t been able to come up with the goods, he shouldn’t have expected Copperpipe to perform a miracle out of the gate.
“Hyax said there’s an absence of something here.” He might not be describing the concern correctly, but Hyax had done his best to explain and Gwil still wasn’t sure what he meant.
Copperpipe nodded. “He is correct, and I bet he is mightily concerned by it because nature does not like a vacuum. Magic is considered a form of natural energy, and it will race into any corner it can. That there is a hole, and no obvious reason why, means there must be something, as otherwise the natural order is corrupt. That would be far more obvious than a few minor incidents in a department store.”
He watched Copperpipe stare out across the food hall.
“Even the magical creatures here are being dampened. I am sure they aren’t even aware it is happening, and it might not be malicious, but it is not as it should be.” He sniffed. “Oooh, there’s a giant pink blancmange. I must have it!”
Gwil wouldn’t push Copperpipe to elaborate further here and instead flagged down the waiter who looked aghast at the request. “All of it?”
“Yesssss,” Copperpipe said, wiggling his fingers with excitement.
Watching Copperpipe eat a large pink wobbly mess would be something Gwil would struggle to forget; his immortality was a curse at times. The squawks of joy were high-pitched and loud enough to do damage, and he only just managed to stop Copperpipe from diving head-first into his dessert.
Gwil wiped away the splatters of pink cream from his jacket. He often returned from seeing Copperpipe smelling strange, but at least this time it was not a foul stench from the sewers. He wasn’t sure his jacket would survive. He did have an amazing dry cleaner who used a mix of magic and human chemicals, so maybe there was a hope the sticky stains could be removed; otherwise, he might have to see if Hyax’s tailor would make him a new one.
“You done?” he asked as Copperpipe let out a loud burp that shook the crockery on the tray of the waiter who passed by, trying not to slip.
“Yes.” He patted his stomach. “I figured I’d never be allowed back, so I might as well make the most of it.”
Gwil thought if he wasn’t needed for the case, Dante’s would also ban him and with good reason for facilitating such a shitstorm. A waiter placed the bill on the table in front of him, and Gwil wasn’t surprised to see an additional and significant cleaning charge. Gwil added a large tip as they’d most definitely earned it. He’d get the money back when he invoiced Howard Squire for his work, but for now, he would have to grin and bear it and ask Hyax to pay his credit card bill this month as he was about to hit his spending limit.
CHAPTER TEN
Hyax 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.”
