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CHAPTER EIGHT

H yax had been itching to get his hands on Robin—not in a sexual way because he already had his own sexy vampire. Robin might be a big fang, but he wasn’t a patch on Gwil as far as Hyax was concerned, just another of the overprivileged arseholes ubiquitous in the places he tended to go. What had intrigued Hyax was the bond, which were common for magical creatures, but Robin wasn’t magical and that made Hyax want to know more. From what he’d been told about Robin and Prince Simon, the timing of Simon’s birth, there was at least the potential Robin had been turned into a vampire in order to be still around by the time Simon would be old enough to drink his blood and transition into a vampire-fae. That wasn’t a trifling matter, and it made Hyax’s magic dance with curiosity.

Hyax moved and knelt at Robin’s side. Robin was known in the paranormal world, and he’d married a fae, so he should be used to the concept of being probed by magic. “Can I see what I can get from the bond?”

“Yes, do whatever you need to.”

Hyax took Robin’s hand. He started with a gentle wave of magic, allowing it to meander through Robin. He could sense a sharpness at his core, and he chased the unnatural tang setting his teeth on edge. There was a glowing strand writhing in the centre of Robin’s chest, it felt as if it were incomplete and that it should have been one of several strands woven together, but the good news was it wasn’t fully severed. There was a chance he could follow it back to Simon, not guaranteed but far better odds than if it had been cut. He coated the strand with his magic, it tasted salty, grumpy even. It was not happy, and it didn’t want to play with him. He tried to push and follow where it was anchored. He’d never felt magic like this before, it was crying out to be reattached properly, but he was the wrong fae. A jolt of negative energy surged at him.

Hyax gasped, let go of Robin’s hand and toppled backwards. Gwil raced to his side, helping Hyax sit up.

“What’s wrong?” Robin asked. “Are you all right?”

He understood now why Simon’s parents had asked for help. Robin and Simon’s marriage might have started as an arrangement and they’d been forced together for political reasons, but the bond had taken root and they were now entwined, they were meant to be a devoted couple. “I found your bond. I’ve never come across anything like it before. You two were destined to be together. That’s not a statement I make lightly.”

Robin nodded and Hyax wondered how Robin had been told, or if he’d found out somehow they were more than just bond-mates-with-benefits. “Apparently, Simon’s parents were waiting for me to be born, and I was watched all through my life and even turned into a vampire so I would be able to be with him.”

“Fucking hell,” Gwil said. “That’s more than playing the long game.”

Hyax had already expected that Robin wasn’t just in the right place at the right time, and Simon’s parents had ensured their son would have whoever he needed to fulfil his potential.

“I didn’t know how to take it at first, but I realise I was given a gift. To be with Simon is a true blessing. We complete each other.”

“I doubt who has him knows that,” Hyax said. He’d felt the anger of the bond as if it believed he’d been disrespectful messing with Robin and its strength—something like that would not be easy to cleave. “They won’t expect the level of connection you have, and we can use that to our advantage.”

The bond would be how they got Simon back. Hyax was sure of it and now he was convinced which of the spells to use.

“So you definitely think he’s still alive. Do you think I can contact him?”

“Oh, he’s alive and your bond is very annoyed, desperate that it’s been limited.” If Simon had been dead, the link would have been severed and he didn’t know how that would have affected Robin, he didn’t think it would have been good. “There’s still a tether but there’s something stopping Simon connecting back. I definitely think we can crack it open… maybe not for long, but it might be enough.”

The mirroricom ritual James had pointed to in the book should work, James had been keen to recommend it and Hyax should have realised that James would not have suggested something without good reason.

“Does this call for more magical blowjobs?” Gwil asked, perking up.

Hyax didn’t blame him, it had been made clear their relationship was key to helping and one of the other spells had called for the drinking of a vital essence. But Gwil wasn’t lucky today.

“I’m afraid this time what I’ve in mind will be more a cuddle and feed my magic through you.”

Gwil schooled his disappointment, Hyax would make sure he got his blowjob later.

“Do I want to know?” Robin asked, laughing.

“We’ve been experimenting with a number of spells but the last time we needed to track something I made a special potion and Gwil drank it and acted as a filter.”

“Right, so the blowjob was the flowthrough?”

“Pretty much.” Hyax smirked, not too surprised Robin was bright and had been around enough magic users to put two and two together. “But this time it’s not an object but a person and I can work through him directly if it goes how I expect. He’ll need to basically sit in my lap.”

“When do you think you can try?” Robin was eager. Hyax had expected him to be. If he hadn’t then Hyax would have had to reevaluate his and Simon’s connection. “Do you need me to do anything?”

He’d prepared for this eventuality, but until he’d investigated the bond he’d needed to wait before deciding which spell to use, but now Hyax was positive the mirroricom ritual would work. “I need to collect a couple of things, but that’ll take minutes. If we could have somewhere comfortable and private… and a mirror. Ah, that might be a problem.”

Vampires weren’t known for their reflective capabilities, he hadn’t thought that part through and he suspected neither had James or he would have already had a solution for it. The mirroricom spell, from the nature of its name, had a reflection element and he wasn’t sure how he’d get around Robin not having one.

“Ben’s got a mirror that Alex spelled so he could use it,” Robin said.

“Really? I never thought of doing that.” Hyax turned to Gwil. “I’ll speak to Alex and see if he can show me the spell.”

“I’ll get it moved to a guest room,” Robin said. “I’m sure Solivatus will help us set up.”

“No.” Hyax much as he would pull back on his animosity, he wouldn’t work with Solivatus unless he had to and there were plenty of staff on hand. “He’s not to be involved.”

“Hyax—” Gwil said. Hyax knew that Gwil was in the middle, but someone had to protect him from the lecherous old goat.

“No, I mean it. He’s a predator and while I get he’s your sire, you’re mine now. I know you said he’s trying to rile me as a test, but fuck it.”

“Let me ask Karl. He can set up a room,” Robin said.

Hyax was relieved Robin was on the ball about his discomfort. He would play nice when he had to, but now wasn’t one of those times. “I’ll portal to pick up a few things and be straight back.”

He left Gwil with Robin as he shouldn’t be long. Most of what he needed was already at home, he’d put together bags for each eventuality. Midnight glowered at him when he woke her up and shooed her off the small sack she’d decided was the best place to sleep, almost as if she knew it would be the one he’d want. The only other thing was the book with the spell, which he retrieved from his bedside table, and then opened a portal back to Crofton Hall.

“Are you ready to give this a go?” Hyax said, holding up the sack as he stepped through. “I need to paint a few symbols on you both in harpy blood, but apart from that it should be straightforward.”

He’d half expected Gwil to have retreated in deference, but they looked to have been engaged in friendly conversation. It would be good for Gwil to not be so reticent, he needed to have more self-belief.

“Harpy blood?” Gwil said, gagging. “Hyax, that stuff is nasty.”

Gwil wasn’t wrong but the blood was unnegotiable, the spell used it as a carrier. “I’ll make it up to you later.”

Robin chuckled, and Hyax wondered what they’d been talking about while he was gone. Gwil seemed far more relaxed than before he’d left—maybe he’d told him about the magical blowjob. Robin summoned Karl and gave him instructions regarding the mirror and how the room needed to be set up, and less than half an hour later, the three of them were in a bedroom, the majority of the furniture cleared away apart from a dressing table and a mirror positioned in front of a large mattress on the floor.

“This is perfect,” Hyax said, removing several glass bottles from the sack and a couple of makeup brushes. He’d practised the sigils several times and could probably recite the spell in his sleep, but he wouldn’t truly get a measure of how it would work until he started. “If you could both strip down to your underwear, we can get this started.”

“My underwear?” Robin asked, his eyebrows raised.

“I can’t draw on your skin through your clothes, can I?” Hyax didn’t think it needed an explanation, and it wasn’t as if he were inviting Robin for a threesome. “I thought you were meant to be one of the clever ones.”

“I see you’re not stripping,” Robin said as Gwil began to undress.

“I don’t need to. And I don’t think your husband would appreciate you being sandwiched between me and Gwil if we were both undressed.”

“ Sandwiched ?” Robin choked.

“Actually, you’ll one of the bits of bread and Gwil’s the filling.” Hyax wrinkled his nose, he would make sure there were no fuzzy lines here. “I meant that metaphorically as no one’s filling Gwil but me.”

“I’m sure he’s a wonderful lover, but my interests are solely for Simon.”

If Hyax had thought otherwise he’d have opened a portal and shoved Robin through it, not caring if his constitution could stand the effects or not.

Gwil tutted and now dressed in just his underpants, sank to sit cross-legged on the mattress. “Let’s get this over with before I stake myself to avoid the embarrassment.”

Hyax could see Gwil was already uncomfortable at being so exposed, and if he still had a working circulatory system, he’d be a delightful shade of pink, instead he was his usual lovely pale self and had nothing to be ashamed about. Hyax stroked the curls at the back of Gwil’s neck in silent apology.

“I’m going to paint matching sigils on your chests and a different pair on Gwil’s back. I’ll link through those into Robin and hook onto the bond.” He didn’t know if either of them had understood a word he’d said but he wasn’t about to start a lecture series on magical theorem and the undead.

Robin sat next to Gwil. “I have to ask, but if Gwil’s role in this is because he’s a vampire, isn’t it a bit redundant as I’m one too?”

“He’s a vampire I’m intimate with but it’s beyond a sexual connection, it will only work if there’s a true attachment and trust.”

“Do your parents know how this works?” Robin asked.

Hyax selected a bottle of harpy blood and knelt in front of Gwil and Robin, the book open at a page from where he could copy the sigils. “My mother would claim blissful ignorance because if she were to admit it, then she’d also have to admit that Gwil is perfect for me.”

Gwil was perfect for him, but if his mother agreed, she wouldn’t be insisting he marry Metra. She didn’t seem about to go back on her decision though, not with the additional rumblings at play.

Hyax had often thought of himself as a frustrated artist, but if he’d had a canvas like Gwil’s skin to work on, he might have been more dedicated to learning the skills. He carefully copied the intricate designs from the book onto Gwil’s back, grateful he’d spent the time to practise. Taking special care with the series of interconnected circles and overlapping swirls so as not to smudge the deep blue and sticky harpy blood, he tried to be as quick as he dared. As the blood began to dry the terrible smell became more evident. At least it looked pretty, it reminded him of an unfortunate situation years back with a fae who had a coke habit so bad it made the guy’s cum taste weird.

“That stuff’s revolting,” Gwil said.

“Don’t moan, it’s not like you’ve got to drink it. This time.”

Gwil shuddered. “I used to go to a bar in the East End of London that catered for those that liked exotic blood types… harpy was the one all the young idiots would drink as shots. Fucking muppets.”

“I’d have thought it poisonous,” Hyax said, moving behind Gwil and running a finger over his shoulder blade before painting an additional sigil on his back.

“The aftermath wasn’t pleasant from what I saw, but I didn’t touch it myself,” Gwil said with a grimace.

“Does it give a high?” Robin asked, who Hyax suspected was no stranger to the Hollywood drug scene.

“No high is worth projectile vomit that can strip the dye out of a carpet,” Gwil replied.

Hyax tutted. “And on that lovely note, I’m done.”

He stood and moved the mirror to the end of the mattress. “I know this looks like a kinky game for three, but I would appreciate it if we all keep our minds focused on the endpoint. Robin, you need to face the mirror, once he’s in place you need to kneel up behind Gwil and place a hand on each of the symbols on his back. Gwil will be sitting astride me and I will have one hand on his chest, and I’ll reach around him and place my other hand over your heart.”

Gwil grumbled about Hyax’s exhibitionist streak as he sat astride his lap. There were definite perks to this sort of magic and his cock was hard, Gwil gave him a withering stare, which just made him harder.

Robin followed Hyax’s instructions and knelt up behind Gwil. “Thank you both for this.”

Once Hyax had heard what was going on there wasn’t a question in his mind of not helping. “It wouldn’t be right if we didn’t help when we could. I know mine and Simon’s tribe are not considered friendly, but this could be the start to changing that.”

Robin placed his hand on Gwil’s back and Hyax reached around him to place his hand over Robin’s heart. “I’m going to cast. The spell itself is wordless, and you need to stare into the mirror if all goes to plan you should be able to speak to Simon. If he’s somewhere near a reflection you should appear in it and he can see you.”

“What if he’s not conscious, or not on his own?” Robin asked. “We’ve been working on the assumption that someone had been stopping him from escaping or contacting home.”

From what he’d read, while this was called a mirroricom spell, the reflection could be symbolic if there was a shiny surface to hand. “He should only hear you in his head. If he’s asleep then most likely you’ll be a very vivid dream. But it is a risk, but it’s the best way I can think of finding him. He’s been well-hidden, without somewhere to start looking we don’t have another option.”

Robin straightened his shoulders. “I’m ready.”

Hyax started chanting in his head—the words were a strange combination of ancient fae and Latin, and he had to concentrate on the patterns, or he’d mess it up. The spell manifested as a fizzing sensation, radiating from his fingers into Gwil. The magic developed a different feel as it filtered through Gwil and back into him before he directed the stream into Robin. The taste was part Gwil—delicious and dark—and he would need to be careful he didn’t come to crave the thrill that came with this sort of magic.

A tendril wormed through Robin, it was searching out the root of his and Simon’s bond. As it attached, his magic began knitting the strands together, nowhere near as thick as it should be but it showed Hyax the bond hadn’t been fully severed and should give them a way to allow Robin and Simon to talk. He needed to concentrate on the magic, but he could see what Robin could. The face of a man with long red hair and pale blue eyes swam into view, it was Prince Simon, but his hair should have been black. He seemed confused, didn’t know his own name or who Robin was.

Hyax tried to get a look at the surroundings, there was a lake, and he thought Simon, who referred to himself as Nomis, was on a jetty, but he couldn’t tell where.

He could sense Robin’s initial high of pleasure as they talked but then came ebbs of sadness. Robin’s emotions were all over the place, but Hyax couldn’t afford to get distracted. He caught snippets of the conversation, enough to get an appreciation of Robin’s relief they’d found his husband. The spell was taking a lot of his energy, and although he received support through Gwil, there would be a limit to how long he could continue. Then the spell was broken, the connection closed, but the thread was still attached. Hyax removed his hand and Gwil pulled him close.

Hyax caught his breath as Robin and Gwil got dressed. He wanted to know what Robin had experienced, he had part of the story. “Tell me what happened.”

“He was on his own, somewhere by water, so I guess we were lucky. He didn’t recognise me, and he didn’t know his own name. But I think I was able to convince him that I wasn’t a danger, and that we were searching for him to bring him home.”

“I saw snippets, but I needed to concentrate on the magic,” Hyax said, wanting to know more.

“He said he was an inpatient at a hospital, and that he had a doctor called Ralph who had claimed to be his husband, although he wasn’t convinced.” Robin buttoned his shirt, agitated. “What did you get?”

“It was pretty clear he didn’t know who you were, but he didn’t run off so that suggests that the bond is still in there.”

He could feel the bond from Robin’s side, but he couldn’t confirm from this remote access how well anchored it was in Simon. If Simon hadn’t felt some compulsion to stay, he would have probably bolted.

“He doesn’t know where he is and I didn’t see anything apart from he looked to be sitting on a jetty, so perhaps where he is has a small lake. Somewhere like Crofton Hall?”

Gwil finished getting dressed. “Quite a lot of the big fancy houses have those, it wouldn’t narrow it down that much. You said he described the place like a hospital and that he was being treated by someone called Ralph.”

“Yes,”

Hyax cocked his head to one side, there was another reason why Gwil was involved, his resources weren’t magic but as efficient at times. “Are you going to ask your dirt devils?”

“No, I’m going to ask Copperpipe.” Gwil tutted and turned to Robin. “I have an interesting informant. I’m not completely sure what he is but he’s a sewer dweller who is surprisingly good at finding information.”

“Simon had also had his memory altered,” Robin said. “And continued to be repressed as he didn’t know his own name.”

“To be honest, I expected there had to be something to stop him returning beyond a physical imprisonment.” Hyax tapped a finger against his lips. “Did I see him wearing gold cuffs?”

“Yes, he had them on both arms. He didn’t have them when he was taken.”

Hyax suspected they were important and might be the way he was being controlled, otherwise why bother putting them on him? “I will need to research those, but I think they might be the items limiting his magic, they could also be siphoning it away because bottling up the magic of a fae of Simon’s power would manifest with obvious side effects.”

“So, what do we do now?” Robin asked.

Hyax thought they might have been able to find out more through the spell, but he was surprised at how successful they had been, and they did have other options.

“Gwil will talk to the sewer potatoes, and I’m sure Solivatus will want you to fill him in. I’ll be honest, it’s not a huge amount to go on.”

“Can’t we try the mirror spell again?” Robin asked, but he was grasping at straws.

“Maybe.” Hyax didn’t want to get Robin’s hopes up. “I’m not sure it will work a second time, but we could be lucky, and the bond is tethered a bit firmer than it was. We’d probably be better trying to narrow down the location and get in and extract him. By force if needs be.”

“I’ve no concerns over collateral damage,” Robin said. “As far as I’m concerned, anyone standing in my way has put themselves in the line of fire, and I’m in no mood to play nice.”

“But if we do find them, we need to be careful. This is not a fly-by-night operation, and it takes a strong and devious mind to execute this, they will have a backup plan.” Hyax pursed his lips. People who were capable of this level of operation were dangerous and not to be underestimated, and while they might not know exactly what they’d done with the mirroricom spell, they might have an inkling. “The level of power and magic needed brings me to agree with the hypothesis that we’re dealing with a lich.”

“How do we kill an immortal remnant?”

“There must be something. I’ll work with the fae and the warlocks to see what we can come up with.”

“I want it to suffer,” Robin said, his voice a low growl.

“I can understand that, but we should first concentrate on getting Simon back and restoring his magic.” Robin wanted vengeance but he would need to wait.

“We should talk to Solivatus,” Robin said. “Hopefully he can help. While I’m grateful we were able to connect with Simon, I don’t think we’ve got much further.”

Hyax bristled but Robin summoned Karl with a click of his fingers, who then disappeared again with his orders. A few minutes later Solivatus strolled in. Gwil, who had only just finished getting dressed, seemed flustered again, and came to stand next to Hyax.

Solivatus listened as Robin explained what they’d learnt. “I know you think it’s not a lot, Robin. But we’ve some good intel. I’m sure Gwil will be back with more before you know it.”

Hyax slipped his hand into Gwil’s. “We should get going. We’ll be in touch.”

They left, heading downstairs, anywhere away from Solivatus was acceptable to Hyax. Gwil squeezed Hyax’s hand and he received a small smile for his trouble. “What do we do now?”

“I was expecting a car to take us back to London so you can go and chase a potato around the sewers. I’m not sure what our further involvement after that will be.”

Karl materialized at the foot of the main staircase. Standing next to him was an elf in Armani. “Gentlemen, I was hoping before you left, myself and Alex could have a word,” Karl said gesturing to the elf. “After which I’ll have a car called to take you home.”

Hyax had been fascinated by Alex, elves weren’t known for being subservient to anyone, so for him to be Lord Crofton’s secretary was a real enigma. He wasn’t used to being made demands of by servants, but he was far too intrigued to say no. “Very well.”

“Thank you, Your Highness,” Alex said. “Please follow me.”

They were shown into a pleasant reception room. Gwil seemed more bemused than anything and Hyax got the sense that Gwil wasn’t the one they wanted to talk to.

“Go on then, what do you want?”

Alex cleared his throat. “This is a sensitive matter and one I hope addressing you directly with will help. There is some thought that once Prince Simon is located, it will be a simple matter of extracting him.”

Hyax could see Alex wasn’t comfortable with this topic, in theory he was talking behind his master’s back, but he must be concerned if he felt the need to do so. “That would be a somewhat na?ve assumption given the amount of effort that has been put into keeping Simon in the first place.”

“Quite.” Alex’s gaze darted to Gwil. “I would say it was less naivety and more bravado, the senior vampires involved are not what you’d call humble regarding their capabilities.”

Gwil snorted. “No shit. Look, they’re going to think that once they have an address, they’ll be able to rush the place and the jobs done. But that’s a fantasy.”

Alex looked relieved at Gwil’s agreement. “So, to that end, I think this will need to be a highly coordinated magical operation. And I was hoping we could call on Your Highness and Mr Hilt to support.”

“Gwil’s not magical.” Hyax didn’t want Gwil more involved than he had to be, he was happy to help in whatever fashion, but Gwil was a different story.

“I realise that, but I think we may need to find a way to infiltrate the facility when we find it, and your magical signature would be nigh on impossible to mask, but your magic would be incredibly useful to have a different flavour in any spell work.”

“It would make more sense for me to go in,” Gwil said. “I’ve done undercover work before.”

“I don’t like the sound of that,” Hyax said.

Gwil rolled his eyes. “It might not come to anything, but if needed I’m willing. I suspect if this is going to be magic-led, you’ll need to square things with the Warlock Ruling Committee as well.”

Hyax was aware of them, they tended to leave the fae alone when it came to matters in their own realm but were sticklers for all magical creatures adhering to the rules here. “Yes, if you don’t involve them, they’ll be super pissed off and annoying.”

“Lord Crofton’s partner is a member of the WRC. He’s already aware, and he suggested we all talk to you. His Lordship can be… a little led by his peers, so to speak.”

Hyax laughed. “Right, I understand. The vampires are cocky bastards and we’re going to need to give them a dose of reality without sounding like we are.”

Alex grinned. “I am so glad we are aligned.”

“I’m willing to do whatever is needed to bring Simon home, I have my own reasons for doing so, but you can count on my support.” He glanced at Gwil who was staring at him defiantly. “And of course Gwil’s.”

They would have to discuss some boundaries, but he knew there was no way Gwil wouldn’t help if the senior blood suckers asked. But if anything happened to him, he would make the pointy-toothed fuckers pay in the worse possible way.