Page 8 of Bleeding for the Prince
Hyax shook his head. “Nothing, and I mean nothing. Not even the usual background hum I’m used to in London. There’s always a residue of something in this city, but not here.”
“The consultants said the same,” Daniel said. “It’s a bit unnerving. I can’t say I’ve known somewhere devoid of magic. Feels unnatural.”
“This doesn’t make sense.” Hyax conjured a ball of light which hovered and burst into pretty fireworks. “If this were a true neutral ground, not just a small pocket, then I wouldn’t have been able to cast.”
“Magic is used through the store by individuals on a daily basis,” Daniel confirmed. “But there doesn’t appear to be any background magic; it’s as if any evidence of magic being used is deleted immediately.”
Hyax shook his head. “How’s that possible? I need to monitor the store for a few days to see if I can get a sense of what normal is for the place.”
“We can provide you with our reconnaissance,” Daniel offered.
Gwil knew better than to think Hyax would settle for that.
“I will want to do my own. Are you happy for me to place a series of specialised tracking and collection spells? I’m looking for energy patterns and potential sequences in the magic signature that might help me get to the bottom of the lack of background. We need to do that before we do a deeper dive into the incidents. There has to be a connection.”
Daniel didn’t look fazed, “Mr Squire has told me you have free rein.”
“I’ll start here, but I think I’ll need something on every floor to get the full picture. If we don’t, we’re in danger of missing something in the gaps.” Hyax frowned. “This isn’t going to be straightforward.”
Gwil hadn’t expected the case to be, otherwise Howard wouldn’t have called them in, but Hyax had thought that whoever had been consulted first were idiots and he’d crack it easily enough once he’d got inside Dante’s. Hyax did not cope well with slights to his ego, especially when they were self-inflicted.
“Is there anything I can do to assist?” Daniel asked.
Hyax clicked his fingers and a list appeared. “I need these. I would think your potion section should have them all if it’s any good.”
Daniel excused himself, which gave Gwil the chance to talk to Hyax. “Are you really stumped, or are you playing along with the rhetoric?”
“I wouldn’t call itstumped. We have multiple avenues of enquiry and a plan to move this forward. The situation isn’t what I’d expected, but I’m nothing if not flexible.”
They must be in trouble if Hyax was claiming to be flexible and coming up with bullshit non-answers. “Wow, I didn’t realise it was going to be that difficult a case.”
Daniel returned with one of Dante’s fancy carrier bags, which he handed over to Hyax. “Everything should be in there.”
Hyax removed the ingredients for a standard monitor spell he’d seen set up many times. If they were going back to basics, Hyax was going to be pissed off. There was something very odd going on; nowhere like Dante’s was going to be normal, and they might need to react if another incident were to occur. Nothing he’d seen so far would have predicted what might happen next, and he spent a lot of his time recognising patterns and, for now, there wasn’t one to be found. Hyax removed a jar of mugwort from the bag, a deviation from the usual spell, but Gwil recognised it as part of a different charm that could alert them to something happening. It appeared, not for the first time, that he and Hyax were singing from the same hymn sheet. He loved to watch Hyax work, and this was the sort of magic with more to it than waving a hand and a few mutterings. Hyax was a master of crafting layers that weaved complexity, meaning his spells worked and not just on a superficial level, and he’d come to realise that wasn’t the case for many magic users.
Around an hour later, they were all set up and leaving the store. Hyax was annoyed, and Gwil was glad he’d taken the precaution to stock up on a bag of Hyax’s favourite sweets and would think up some mutually enjoyable ways to distract him.
CHAPTER FOUR
The spells Hyax had set at Dante’s would take some time to deliver decent data. In the meantime, he’d started researching other avenues using the magic he could do with Gwil, as, although he would not admit this out loud, he wasn’t confident his monitoring spells would yield much more than the previous consultants.
He had other distractions for now. His mother had sent a follow-up request to them to attend a garden party, and while there was no insistence they attend, the fact she’d asked twice was enough of a hint she wanted him and Gwil there. The event was dressy but not formal, and Gwil was staring into his wardrobe trying to decide what to wear. He’d been encouraging Gwil to embrace his less frugal side. They’d talked about money, and that Hyax had a personal fortune through inheritance and investment that meant they’d never need to work and could do pretty much as they pleased, but it had been difficult to shake Gwil of his world view and that reflected in expanding his clothing choices and allow him to spend more on things he wanted but didn’t need. He’d offered to take Gwil shopping, and he thought they’d have a chance at Dante’s, but he’d been in toopoor a mood to go shopping after the visit. He’d make it up to Gwil soon.
“Wear the Boss suit,” Hyax said. “With your dark red shirt and no tie. The red brings out the blue of your eyes. And no tie means your platinum collar is out and proud.”
“It hardly screams garden party, especially one where I’ll be surrounded by creatures that naturally sparkle.”
“You don’t have anything else that better fits the bill. This isn’t a super formal event. And you look good in that combination. I tell you what, I’ll have my tailor call while we’re there, get you measured so you can be kitted out for fae duties.”
Gwil winced. “I’m your side piece, I don’t have duties.”
“You’re the Prince’s Beloved, you can bet your fucking fangs you have duties.” Hyax scoffed, but then realised that Gwil may not have understood the full extent of what he’d accepted when he took the title.
“Come off it.”
“You’re not a side piece in fae custom. You hold a specific rank, and it’s an honoured position whereby you will be expected to be present for events and not act like a wanker. And in case I wasn’t crystal-clear, don’t forget your collar.”
“You don’t wear anything of mine,” Gwil said, selecting the red shirt and suit. “But you’ve a bangle from your husband.”
