Page 74 of Bleeding for the Prince
Gwil was staring at his arm. The spell he’d cast would have stopped the pain, but the wound looked red and angry. Hyax pressed his fingers to the cut to heal it. “Thank you. I hope it wasn’t too weird.”
“I’ve done much weirder stuff.” He grinned. “So are we done here? Because I thought we could go home, get changed, and then I could take you to Bled.”
He’d agreed to go at some point, and Gwil had been a great sport and not complained about being sliced open, but the brewing had taken a lot out of him, and he still had to contact Simon and Chris.
“It’s not that I don’t want to go, but not tonight. I’d rather head home and we curl up. I’m kinda knackered and need to preserve my strength.”
Gwil hid his disappointment well. “No problem. I’ll pick up some Korean food, maybe some chocolate, and we can go to Bled another time.”
“Thank you. Idowant to go. Promise there will be other options than blood to drink, though?”
Gwil laughed. “Fully stocked, non-blood bar. They even do ambrosia, and their mixologist claims to be able to recreate any cocktail on demand.”
“That is quite the claim.” He thought a few hours together would be just what they needed. “I’ll look forward to them trying to impress me. And I’ll make sure I look hot for your little fangy friends so you can show me off properly.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Gwil checked the text message and slid carefully out of bed. Hyax hadn’t been joking when he’d said the brewing had taken its toll. He couldn’t appreciate the magical drain, but he could understand standing over a cauldron for several hours would be both physically and mentally exhausting. If he were lucky, Hyax would sleep through his errand and would be none the wiser.
He had a few hours before sunrise, and the streets were quiet. He thought about calling a cab, but the address in the message was less than twenty minutes away on foot and he could do with some exercise.
He disappeared down a side road where he’d never been before and found himself in one of the rat runs of the old city, where once plague would have been rife and cholera a regular guest. It reminded him of his life before he’d been turned. Pickpockets and thieves would have thrived here, alongside beggars and others down on their luck. The road opened into a cobbled square, and in the daytime, some of the shops would have been fancy boutiques, and there were two cafes which looked expensive and ultra trendy. He saw lights on in severalof the upper-floor windows and realised there was a metal set of stairs and a gangplank leading to the address he’d been given.
The lighting wasn’t great, but his night vision meant it wasn’t a problem and he found himself outside a green door. To the right was a plaque that stated: H Liome, Master Jeweller.
He knocked on the door and waited. Several moments passed with no sign anyone had realised he was there. He knocked again.
A small door, cut into the main panel, opened, and a gnome stared up at him. His beard was greying and his bushy eyebrows were borderline comical. “You’re an impatient one, aren’t you?”
For some reason, he’d not expected a gnome; they weren’t known for their craftsmanship. “Sorry. I was sent a message that my design was ready. Are you Horatio Liome?”
“Ah, you’re Mr Hilt. Come on in. I’m excited to see what you make of it. You’ll have to crawl in; the main door is just for show.”
He’d crawled through worse things than an oversized cat flap, and as he poked his head through, he saw a workshop with benches and tools sized for Horatio’s proportions. He could stand, but it would make it difficult to talk properly, so he settled for sitting cross-legged as if he had tried one of the chairs he’d have broken it.
Horatio grabbed a package from the side and handed it to Gwil. “If you’re not happy, I’ll be surprised, but I’d be willing to make minor adjustments.”
Gwil unwrapped the parcel. The earrings Katherine had designed had been recreated to perfection. He held one up, the platinum expertly shaped and the emeralds a deep shade of exquisite green. And the fangs with ruby blood drops were amazing. “Wow, this is beautiful work. Prince Hyax will love them.”
“I wasn’t told the recipient, but I thought it might be him. The vampire link and design shaped for pointy ears kind of gave him away.”
“I wanted something special, and you’ve definitely delivered. Do you take cards?”
“Of course. I’m a businessman, not an idiot.” Horatio scoffed. “But there is something else I’d like, as part of the payment.”
“I thought we’d agreed a price through my colleague,” he said carefully. He wanted the earrings, but he knew better than to promise things without knowing the potential fallout.
“We did. This isn’t about money, but I’d like the option to call on you for professional advice.”
“You want me to waive my fee to look into something for you?”
“I don’t know yet. I’m still working through whether there’s a real issue, but if I do, I’d like to call on you for a consult. At a discount.”
“Not a problem. I’ll do an initial consult, but it depends on what you’re asking for if I’ll take a case. I’m not risking my licence for anything dodgy or so morally corrupt that even a vampire has pause for thought.”
Horatio chuckled, his whiskers quivering. “Fair enough. Now, are you happy with the earrings?”
He removed his bank card from his wallet, having moved funds around to make sure he had money available as Hyax’s gift was getting on for being one of the most expensive things he’d ever bought.
