by Holly Evans
23
I woke up to Isaiah putting his mouth to sinful uses. Keirn and Kyra cut off whatever else he had planned. Kyra began crying outside the bedroom door to be let in, and Keirn called up the stairs that we had clients to tattoo. I groaned and cursed the gods. They were being ridiculous now. I dug my fingers deep into Isaiah’s hair and kissed him hard before I got out of bed and let Kyra in. Aris followed close behind her.
Kyra ignored me and went to Isaiah, whom she nuzzled and purred against. Aris was a little less traitorous and curled up in the sunny spot beneath the window. I got dressed while waiting for them to share their information.
Bad man just left. Kyra pushed.
Should have let me eat him. Aris said.
I glared at the snake.
You eat well enough. I pushed back to him. Nothing else? I asked them both.
He smelled dusty. Kyra said.
Anything of use? I asked.
She gave a small shrug and sprawled out on the bed where Isaiah was slowly getting up.
He watched. And watched. Aris said.
That’s all you’re giving me? I asked.
Yes they both pushed.
I rolled my eyes. When they were useful, they were fantastic, but those times were rarer than I’d have liked.
“Dacian! We have clients coming today! You can enjoy Isaiah tonight, if you must!” Keirn shouted.
Isaiah laughed and pulled on his shirt. I kissed him hard.
“I’ll call you,” I said before I headed downstairs.
He could let himself out. I had a grumpy elf to deal with, and a work day to prepare for. Keirn thrust a cup of coffee into my hands.
“We have one of Jakes arriving in about ten minutes. Oh, and Faru called,” Keirn said.
Vyx was sitting in a chair by the table, her knees tucked up to her chin, a cup of coffee in her hands.
“What did Faru want?” I asked.
“Who’s Faru?” Isaiah asked from behind me.
I glared at Keirn, warning him to be careful. The elf shrugged.
“A friend of mine.”
Isaiah kissed my cheek.
“I’ll call you later,” he said with a cheeky smile.
I scowled at him.
“I’ll call you,” I said.
His cheeky smile didn’t falter as he swaggered out the door.
“You have your hands full, there,” Keirn said.
I snorted and headed to my preparation room. I had to maintain the pretense, and it wouldn’t do any harm to clear my head and meditate.
My plants were still alive and well, something that brought a smile to my face. Checking them was the first step in a calming ritual. I kneeled, having placed my coffee a safe distance away, and allowed my mind to go blank. The worries slowly faded into darkness and evaporated. It was a normal day, there were tattoo clients to work with, nothing out of the ordinary. I took a long deep breath and reminded myself that with normality came comfort.
The darkness in the back of my mind gnawed at me, but there was nothing I could do about it. It was simply darkness, and I was increasingly convinced that continuing to poke at it would only lead to madness. I finished my coffee in two scalding-hot gulps and walked out to the tattoo parlour, where Keirn was setting up for the day.
Vyx had Keirn’s spirit fox curled up at her feet. She had tucked herself in a corner where she could see everything.
“Is she going to stay there?” I asked Keirn.
It was a little off-putting, having her there, watching.
“While we’re tattooing, yes, otherwise she’ll be with me in my art room,” he said while flipping the sign to open on the front door.
She was wearing one of Keirn’s shirts, which worked as a dress, given it went down to her knees.
“Remind me again how she’s going to pay her way,” I said.
“She’s talented, Dacian. Stop being so jealous,” Keirn said.
I snorted. I wasn’t jealous, I just didn’t want another mouth to feed and someone else under foot. I had enough problems with Kyra. As if on cue, the cat emerged from the shadows and climbed into Vyx’s lap. I rolled my eyes. The cat wouldn’t know what loyalty was if it bit her in the ass.
“Call Faru,” Keirn said before he vanished into the kitchen.
The door opened before I had the chance to follow him. I was desperate for some breakfast. Jake walked in, accompanying a tall woman. Her dark blond hair was pulled back from her face. She wore a sleeveless midriff top and torn jeans.
“Any word on the tattoo thief, Dan?” Jake asked.
I smirked at him.
“I’m well, thanks, and who might this be?” I gestured to the woman.
He grinned at me. “This is Amy.”
I looked her up and down, but the buzz of her tattoo was still faint. It wasn’t strong enough for me to pull through comfortably. I frowned. It shouldn’t have been enough to bother her.
“What brought you here?” I asked.
She gave me what I thought was supposed to be a disarming smile.
“I’ve been dying to have a tattoo for ages. I can finally feel one coming through. I was hoping you could ink it for me,” she said.
I shrugged.
“Sorry, it’s not ready yet. Give it a few days. What, may I ask, made you so sure that you’d have one?” I asked.
Tattoos chose people. It wasn’t something even tier-one tattoo magicians could predict. They ran in bloodlines to a very small extent, but that was still far too hit and miss to really know.
“A hedgewitch told me I’d get one in a reading last year,” she said, blush creeping across her cheeks.
I nodded in understanding. Hedgewitches were a funny sort, and every now and again they had some minor seer ability.
“Come back in a week or so, and I’ll ink it for you then,” I said, glad to have time to go and get breakfast.
“And that tattoo thief?” Jake asked.
I spread my hands out wide and shrugged.
“I’m doing what I can,” I said.
A growl rumbled in the alpha’s throat. Amy immediately hunched her shoulders and looked down and away.
“I’m a tattoo magician, not an enforcer or investigator,” I said, squaring my own shoulders.
Jake exhaled slowly and nodded.
“I heard about your mentor. My condolences,” he said before he left, taking Amy with him.
“I like him,” Vyx said.
I almost jumped, I’d forgotten the little vixen was down there. I smiled at her.
“I do, too,” I said.
“If I become a wolf, I will choose him,” she said with a firm nod.
I laughed. She was quite something.
24
Faru rang again before I was two bites into my breakfast. My morning wasn’t shaping up that well. His usual charm and purring tones had been replaced with the rough edge of concern. He explained that his other half, the tiger shifter, had gained a stalker, and they were both concerned. When I asked what it had to do with me, Faru said that his shifter had a dire wolf tattoo, and they’d heard rumour that there was a tattoo thief targeting strong predatory tattoos.
I couldn’t leave the tattoo parlour, and even if I could, I didn’t know what I would have done. Vyx smiled at me.
“I’ll watch him. I’m good at watching without being seen,” she said.
I frowned at her. Somehow the innocent way she’d said it only made it creepier.
“You were listening in?” I asked.
She simply shrugged.
“You’ll watch who? Faru’s other half?” I asked.
“Yes. I’ll watch him, then follow his stalker. I can tell you more than Kyra did. I’m far less stubborn than she is,” she said.
Kyra rewarded her with a purr.
“The spirit fox stays here,” I said firmly.
Keirn was upstairs grabbing a quick shower. There was no way he’d allow his fox out into the city without him. They were linked in a way he refused
to explain. It was enough that I knew the risk was too great to allow. I told Faru that the little vixen would be over soon. He grumbled but assented. It wasn’t ideal, and Keirn would likely complain, but I was only one man. Vyx leant down and nuzzled her cheek against the fox’s. I admit that in that moment I was jealous. As far as I was aware, I was the only person to have such contact with Keirn’s spirit fox. It was foolish, but the gods did like making a fool of me. I gave Vyx the address Faru had given me, and she trotted off out the back door into the city.
I wolfed down the rest of my breakfast and returned to the tattoo parlour to be greeted by a trio of air elementals. Two women and one man, all with light blond hair and bright blue eyes. They dressed in light flowing fabrics in pale blues and greys. I steeled myself. Air elementals weren’t something I usually enjoyed dealing with. The knowledge merchants were one thing, but the flowing fluffy ones before me were something else entirely. One of the women grinned at me. I could feel their tattoos fluttering about them, eager to emerge into the world. At least they felt small and manageable.
They began talking as one, bubbly voices that somehow flowed around and over each other, making a noise that was simultaneously a serenade and a grating sharp noise that sat behind my eyes. I held up my hands.
“Enough,” I said.
They all stopped and looked at each other before they looked at me. Keirn had come into the room and stood next to me.
“You.” I pointed at the oldest woman. “Sit in that chair.” I pointed at my chair.
“You.” I pointed at the man. “Sit in the other chair.”
That left the quieter of the group. She still huffed and muttered something under her breath, but it was a bearable noise. The other two took up their seats and began chattering again.
“Quiet,” I said.
They all scowled at me as one. I ignored them and instructed the woman in my chair to reveal her shoulder. She unwound the semi-translucent blue fabric from around her neck and shoulders to reveal a narrow strapped top underneath. Her skin was smooth and pale, ideal for a beautifully striking tattoo. I could almost hear it chirping at me when I moved my hand over her shoulder. A songbird. I was never very good at identifying birds. I didn’t know what type it was. It was small, fluttery, with a bright blue stripe along the edge of its wings. How very fitting.
Keirn and I settled into work. They were such small tattoos that we could work alone and get it done quicker. The elementals nodded impatiently through the speech about accepting your tattoo and our prices. We had increased our prices a touch to compensate for their demeanour. We never said we were nice people.
The bird hopped around the ink, torn between bursting out into the world and hiding in the safety of the ink network. It chose the former and shot out of the woman’s skin into the room. It flew around the room chirping and chattering. The one Keirn had been working with soon joined it. I needed more coffee.
The little birds flew around well out of reach. They took breaks perching on the light fixtures. Kyra and Aris had come into the room, and were watching them intently. Leave I pushed down the bond. If they killed those birds, the elementals would suffer horribly, and that would be bad for our reputations as tattoo magicians. The elementals only made things worse. At first they stood and watched in horror, then they tried to use their air magic to corral the birds back to them. I shook my head.
“Keirn, I’ll tattoo the last one, you deal with the birds,” I said.
He bared his teeth at me, but assented.
Fortunately, the third bird remained under the control of the elemental. She held it firmly within her skin. Keirn lectured the other two on bonding with their tattoos and taking control of them while I talked to the last one about the same things.
“Your tattoo is a living creature, with a defined personality. You need to stretch out your mind to connect with it. Run your mental fingers over its feathers and get a feel for it. Make it feel safe, while being firm that you are in control,” I said.
Creases formed on her brow and around her eyes while she concentrated. The bird under her skin stilled and calmed. I’d definitely chosen the easier of the two options, and Keirn would make sure I paid for that.
25
Keirn had huffed and grumbled about Vyx being off out tailing Faru’s other half.
“She’s talented, I was looking forward to beginning her training,” he said.
“I’m sure one day won’t be the end of the world,” I replied.
A short, broad man walked into the parlour. His eyes narrowed as he surveyed his new surroundings. I didn’t like the way they lingered on the more expensive items. He finally looked at me and gave me a plastic smile, his eyes remaining hard and calculating.
“I believe I have a tattoo,” he said.
Keirn had slipped away to his art room, leaving me to deal with the client. I strode up to him and began the familiar process. He did, indeed, have a tattoo, and it was small enough for me to handle by myself. His eyes never stopped wandering around the room, even when I gave him the speech. They flicked back to me the moment I told him the price. He was all ears, then.
“I got a better offer elsewhere,” he said.
I smiled.
“Then why didn’t you take them up on it?” I asked.
He sniffed. “You have a better reputation.”
“Which means I cost more,” I said.
“I’ll give you four hundred,” he said.
“Five fifty,” I said. I wasn’t going to lower the price.
“You didn’t even consider it,” he said.
“This is my business. This is how I pay my bills,” I said.
He snorted and gave a sharp nod. “Fine. Get it over with.”
His tattoo was a raccoon that proceeded to try and steal everything shiny in the room the moment the client allowed it out of his skin. He didn’t try very hard to stop the damn thing. In fact, I was quite sure he was encouraging it. Once I was sure he hadn’t managed to steal anything, and I’d double-checked the money he handed over was genuine, I let him leave.
I was tired and ready for the day to end. I made a show of cleaning and tidying up the tattooing area while hoping that no more clients came in. Faru rang and confirmed that Vyx had arrived and was indeed trailing the stalker. My stomach knotted up at the thought, but she'd been living on the streets for a while, so she could clearly look after herself. Keirn finally forgave me for allowing Vyx to leave and having him catch the damn songbirds when I made him a late lunch.
“When was the last time that weaver of yours ate?” he asked around a mouthful of food.
I shrugged.
“Last night, I expect. He doesn't have much money,” I said.
"We'll take him some food, then,” Keirn said.
I raised an eyebrow and stared him down.
“Pardon?" I asked.
He met my stare. “You can't allow the poor thing to starve, Dacian, particularly if you're going to keep using him."
I put my fork down.
“I do not use him,” I growled.
I wasn't like those men who had beaten and used his body. For Keirn to even consider such a thing appalled me. Keirn frowned and reached across the table to squeeze my hand.
“I didn't mean that, old friend,” he said quietly.
I calmed myself and finished my food. “Fine, I'll take him some food once we're done eating."
I didn't like the idea of it, it made him closer to a pet, but Keirn was right. Isaiah was skin and bone. He'd admitted he didn't have money for food.
“I’m coming with you. I’d like to stretch my legs, anyway,” Keirn said.
I didn’t have it in me to argue. There was more to his wanting to join me than simply stretching his legs, but I had enough on my mind as it was. Kyra insisted on riding on my shoulder. Aris at least had the dignity of requesting to return to his tattoo. We stopped by a grocery store on the walk over to Isaiah’s flat. Keirn took his time gathering enough food to feed Isa
iah for a week. I suspected that the little weaver would be pushing to stay at ours for at least a couple of nights, but it made the elf happy to put the food together.
“Talk to me, Keirn,” I said as we entered Isaiah’s part of the city.
He held the bags of food a little closer to his chest and looked down at the cracks in the pavement. A group of redcaps had gathered on the street corner. Keirn’s ears flattened against his head. His shoulders went back. I found myself mirroring his behaviour. They were mostly male with a few females interspersed between them. A bottle of something was being passed between them. They laughed amongst themselves, paying no attention to anything around them. They’d taken up the entire sidewalk, forcing us to step out into the road and walk around them.
We were vulnerable with the bags in our arms, but they did nothing more than glare and mutter at us. Kyra went to hiss at them; I pushed a very firm no down the bond. She pressed her face to my cheek in apology. Redcaps were unpredictable, and I was in no mood to get into a fight with a large group of them.
“I wasn’t in the mood to be alone this evening,” Keirn said.
“Was that all?” I pushed.
“Yes.” He sighed. “My clan will be gathering with the other clans in their area to celebrate the change in seasons. It’s a big event with lots of elves. It’s where everyone comes together to drink, socialise, and reform those bonds that span between us,” he said.
“And you’re feeling alone, out here in the city?” I asked.
“A little. I made my decision, and I stand by it,” he said.
Elves were highly social, and the two of us didn’t always live a particularly social life. It suited me just fine, but sometimes it was harder on Keirn.
“Don’t worry, you won’t be alone tonight,” I said as we walked up to the front door of Isaiah’s building.
The door was wide open. The wood had been splintered around the lock. I shook my head. Likely someone owed one of the less pleasant members of the city some money.
Little did I know how right I was.
26
