by Holly Evans
Quin strode up to him, completely at home in the mayhem. “Kadrix, we brought you lots of redcap and lycan parts, we even managed to bring you some nymph vocal chords.”
The elf raised his head slowly, his pretty mouth with the perfect cupid bow lips spread into a smile that he only shared with Quin. A tinge of jealousy formed, but I shrugged it aside; I had no interest in a relationship, especially with a supernal. I walked up behind Quin, staying a safe distance from the popping and bubbling concoction in the small black ceramic bowl before Kadrix. A small plume of green smoke erupted from the bowl, causing me to take a step back. Kadrix laughed softly at me as he pulled his goggles off to reveal bright blue-green eyes that practically shone against his pale skin.
“Don’t worry, Evelyn, it won’t bite.”
I glared at him as Quin laughed. I looked around for a space to put the backpack down so the deal would be done and I could go to bed.
“I played with the healing paste recipe,” Quin said as he lifted his shirt to show where the lycan scratch had been. I cleared my throat and looked at them both pointedly; I had no intentions of standing around all day.
Kadrix gave me a dark look, but pointed at a small clear space behind him. “Put the items for sale there. We’ll tally them up and you can go home. I see you haven’t come very far in your lessons on manners, Evelyn.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, remembering all too clearly the lecture he’d given me when I demanded he help me find Quin. He had been right on some counts, but I didn’t like his tone. I emptied out my backpack, trying to arrange the varying jars and vials in some organised manner. The redcap nails looked even more revolting sitting by themselves under the bright blue light the elf had floating above us. Quin put his own bits down with mine. Kadrix stood a little closer to Quin and looked over the large selection.
He said with a small purr, “You two had fun last night, then. I’ll give you sixty thousand crowns for the whole lot.”
I crossed my arms and looked at him; the redcap blood and bits were worth that alone.
He extended his hands, palm up and gave me a smirk as he held my eye-contact. “You can’t blame me for trying.”
I felt the liquid charm of his words and glared at him before I spat, “Don’t pull your elven tricks on me. One hundred thousand or we walk.”
He pursed his lips and said mockingly, “You wound me, Evelyn. As it’s you and your delightful brother, I’ll make it ninety thousand.”
Quin licked his lips and smiled sweetly at Kadrix. The elf sighed melodramatically. “Fine. One hundred thousand. For Quin. You could learn a lot from your twin, Evelyn.”
I ignored him and waited for him to hand over the cash.
Quin gave me the notes and said, “I’m going to stay here for a little bit, I want to talk to Kadrix about that healing paste.”
I opened my arms to hug him; I couldn’t leave him on a bad note.
He smiled and hugged me saying in my ear, “Thanks, sis, I know you don’t approve of this alchemy thing.”
I squeezed his shoulder, pocketed the cash, and headed home to my warm, comfortable bed.
Four
Kadrix had been his usual charming self; I didn’t know how Quin could spend any amount of time with him. I left the alchemist’s exhausted and ready to curl up on the closest bench and sleep. The comfortable seating in the underground section of the Starbucks was appealing. Instead,I leant against the ticket machine and waited for my tram to arrive. The city was beginning to wake. People bustled around in business attire; they mingled with the eager, early-rising tourists. The smell of trdelník filled the air, tempting me; my stomach growled at the wonderful scent of warm vanilla and cinnamon.
I couldn’t resist. The woman handed me one of the sweet pastries just before a guy caught my eye. There was something about him. He was slightly taller than average with thick black hair that he'd styled in that sexy just-out-of-bed way that no doubt took two hours to perfect. A day's worth of stubble coated his strong jaw that gave him a slightly rugged pretty-boy appearance. It was the blue eyes that were almost indigo that held me, though. He flashed me a smile then melted away into the growing crowd. I bit my bottom lip and smiled to myself; my heartbeat had increased a little. I hadn't felt like that since I'd been with Christian. It was a shame that I'd caught him in bed with a pixie; I hadn't been with anyone since. Eighteen months was beginning to feel like a really long time to be without that sort of company.
The journey home was uneventful; Quin came in not long after me. Even his usual effervescence had diminished. I sank into my bed, safe in the knowledge that the bank would be very happy to see me when I finally crawled back out of bed.
My dreams were filled with the sexy guy that I'd seen at the tram stop. I chided myself for being so absurd; he was just a guy, we hadn't even spoken. Yet he remained rooted in my mind, just out of reach. I woke up feeling refreshed. I'm sure the smell of bacon, eggs, and cinnamon helped that. Quin was slaving over the stove, humming to himself, when I walked in. He placed two pieces of French toast onto a plate that was already piled high with bacon, eggs, and sausages. The table had been set. I felt a little guilty at not being awake to help him with everything.
"Thanks, Quin, I really appreciate this."
He grinned at me as he carried the plates over to the small table sitting in front of the large window at the edge of the kitchen area.
"A good breakfast is essential, especially given you slept for twenty-four hours straight. If I hadn't have cooked, you'd probably have tried to sneak out the door with nothing more than half a pastry."
I bit into the wonderful French toast and said around my food, "You could have been a chef, you know; I'm sure Savoy would be happy to have you."
"What, and miss all the blood, gore, and fun?" he said back with a laugh.
We finished up breakfast in a companionable silence. I took the plates and began cleaning them before Quin said, “We'll head out tonight, it's about time we found you some fun."
I shot him a dark look; I wasn't ready for the kind of fun he was talking about. He regularly enjoyed the company of beautiful women, but I hadn't been interested in anyone since Christian.
“Don't give me that look, sis, Christian left eighteen months ago. Look, I get it, you thought he was the one. You can't let that memory hold you back forever. He vanished, he's done, you're young, so live life!"
I sighed heavily and couldn't help but wonder if perhaps I'd see the blue-eyed man again. It was foolish, verging on ridiculous; we rarely bumped into fellow hunters and people we knew out in the city, let alone mysterious strangers.
Still, Quin was adamant. “We'll get a few drinks at Salen then head over to Nostalgia to dance and pick up some beautiful people. Don't worry, I'll be back by sunrise."
With that, he gave me his most charming smile and headed off for a shower. There was no arguing with him, and I found that I didn't really want to. It'd been so long since I'd got dressed up and let go. One night of fun would do me good. I didn't have to spend it with a random guy, after all.
Five
The trendy underground bar was packed. People were pressed tightly against each other under the soft lighting. We managed to push our way through a number of the different areas in Salen, each one with different music and feel. I practically dragged Quin through the bebop section; I was not going to sit on one of the wooden benches and listen to that. We finally squeezed our way down the final narrow tunnel, the small tables pressed against the bare stone on our left. It opened out into a room no bigger than our living room with people crowded around more small round tables.
I kept my eye out for fae; all underground bars are owned by fae, and the last thing I wanted was for one of them to show up and ruin our night. Quin leaned casually against the simple wooden bar and flashed the barmaid a roguish smile while he ordered our drinks. I swore I saw the sexy guy from the tram stop across the room, his indigo eyes flashing under the pale yellow light. I tried to move cl
oser to him, but he was gone before I got anywhere. I shook my head. I was imagining things. Quin was clearly right; I needed to find a little fun for the night.
As if on cue, Quin appeared at my side with two shots of ouzo and a pair of mojitos on the bar. His eyes were shining, a grin spread across his face; he was in his element. I knocked back the potent anise-flavoured liquor that burned all the way down and chased it with a big gulp of my mojito. Quin laughed at me before he did another shot. He had always been a much heavier drinker than me. The DJ turned up the music, and I found myself dancing to the heavy beat that thrummed through the room as we pushed our way down the wooden steps to the deepest room in the sprawling bar.
We squeezed onto a bench at the far corner and leaned back against the cool exposed stone. It was probably the alcohol, but I could feel my muscles finally starting to relax. The music filled the air and made a normal conversation close to impossible. I closed my eyes for a moment and allowed the energy of the place to wash over me. The worries of the city slipped away; it would survive without me for one night. Quin was looking around the room, no doubt hoping to find his latest conquest. His gaze settled on a brunette who looked incredibly bored with her date. She stifled a yawn as the guy kept talking animatedly. I glared at Quin; stealing her from under his nose was a little gauche. Even for a charmer such as him.
Quin leaned in and said, “Someone is interested in you, go and grab some fun."
I looked over at where he was pointing to see the guy from the tram stop. His black shirt hung over his athletic frame without hiding too much from my eager gaze. A small smile sat on his perfectly formed mouth, but he turned and walked away, giving a good view of his tight little ass mere seconds after Quin pointed him out. Quin sighed and gave me a look of 'seriously?'. I merely shrugged. I wasn't in the mood to chase anyone; I did enough of that as a hunter. At least that’s what I told myself; in truth, I didn’t want to make a fool of myself.
The alcohol made everything a little warm and fuzzy by the end of the second mojito. I was perfectly cogent, but I felt truly relaxed for the first time in months; all of the stress and tension was melting away. It had been one hell of a month, too.
I turned to Quin and said, “I can't lose you."
His expression softened and he hugged me. “You won't, sis."
“I just... after that coven kidnapped you, it really made me realise, you know?"
He smiled and leaned back crossing his arms over his chest. “I lived a more comfortable life than I do with you; I might have to get kidnapped more often."
I glared at him; he didn't like taking things too seriously.
“They were going to use you in a blood ritual!" I hissed.
He put his hand on my shoulder. “And you saved me. We're cool, don't fret over the past, Evie, you'll make yourself grey. Live the life we have."
I frowned and relented. I knew he was right, but he'd scared the hell out of me.
He grinned at me. “This calls for another shot, then we head to Nostalgia to kick this up a gear."
I returned his grin and focused on the fun of the night. We were just normal people out unwinding for the evening.
I swore that I saw the sexy indigo-eyed guy again while we were waiting for our tram to Nostalgia. It was just a glimpse, but he was quite distinctive. Quin had been chatting with a model-worthy blonde and hadn't noticed; I didn't want to bother him, but I was beginning to wonder if I was going mad. I shrugged it off and blamed it on the alcohol. It had been a while since I’d drunk so heavily, and it was hitting me a little harder than I wanted to admit. Quin remained with the blonde on the tram ride, leaving me alone. I wasn't entirely sure if I wanted to walk into the fae-owned club alone. I set my shoulders back and reminded myself that I killed lycans for money; I could handle a couple of gropey humans.
Any anxiety I may have had slipped away when I walked out onto the dancefloor of Nostalgia. Quin had taken the blonde somewhere dark; I knew he'd be back in a couple of hours. That left me to enjoy the intense beat of the music by myself. Strobes flashed overhead, smiles were plastered onto everyone's face. It was intoxicating. The energy flowed over me and I allowed myself to go with it. I made my way into the middle of the dancefloor, moving with the beat and letting everything go. There was nothing but me and the beat. For a minute, at least, before I had to slap away the rough hands that grabbed my ass.
Six
I had expected to have quite a hangover the next morning, but I was pleasantly surprised. Quin and I had decided to take a few days off; the city was in recovery after the bloodmoon. We had enough money to justify relaxing for a few days, and the gods knew we deserved it. Quin had been enjoying his time off with Kadrix, a few of the other hunters, and a variety of women. It was good to see him full of life and happy. I had decided to enjoy my down time a little more quietly; I couldn't help being a bit envious of him, though. I'd spent the last three days wandering between coffee shops and various touristy spots around the city. It felt good to admire the city and its layers without worrying about what a fae or lycan was doing.
That being said, I sat outside on a well-padded chair under a thick fleece blanket at the edge of Old Town Square, enjoying a particularly over-priced coffee and debating if I could find some trouble to get into. I scolded myself; it had only been three days, I shouldn't have been bored already. The tourists milled around me, and I couldn't blame them; the setting was stunning. A crowd had gathered in front of the astronomical clock. It must have been close to the hour. People always enjoyed watching the intricate old clock strike the hour with its varying layers and mechanisms.
I took another sip of my coffee and glanced over towards the clock; something dark caught my eye. I looked again, trying to pinpoint what on earth it was. It hadn't moved quite like a person. I scanned the multi-coloured crowd, looking for something unusual. I was about to shrug it off when I finally caught sight of the offending thing. It seemed that the gods wanted to give me some amusement after all. I left some money next to my half-full cup of coffee and headed into the crowd.
Blood moons weaken the layers between the worlds, above, below, and parallel. That had all sorts of interesting side-effects, such as lycans going rogue, fae stealing more people, and very occasionally shades, demons, and other things from both above and below slipping through. I tucked my hands into my leather jacket and felt the comfort of my blades beneath the lining. The dark shadow that I was following remained close to the tower; the crowd hadn't noticed. They had no reason to, since as far as they were concerned it was simply a slightly oddly shaped shadow.
I, however, knew that it was a weak shade. A demonic entity that hadn't quite managed to fully come over into our plane. This one was almost translucent; it was unlikely to be able to do much harm to anyone, but if I could kill it then Kadrix would pay a very pretty penny for whatever bits of it I could bottle. The hour struck, and the air was filled with the sound of hundreds of cameras clicking. The shade pressed itself into the tall doorway that was reserved for wedding parties only. I cursed it for choosing such a public spot.
The crowd was far too busy oohing and aahing over the astronomical clock. I remained close to the stone wall of the tower and pulled out one of my blades, sheltering it from view with my body. The shade wasn't even strong enough to have formed any real features. A tall shadow a head taller than me and quite a bit broader shrank back deeper into the doorway. I smiled as the dark shape tried to condense itself; it would have been an impressive foe, had it have managed to come through more strongly.
The tourists were beginning to disperse. More people were coming closer to me as they went to the tower with plans of indulging in the view over the city. I dragged my blade upwards through the shadow; it curled away from the silver and shrank downwards, forming a dark puddle on the floor. I pulled a couple of vials out of my pocket and tried to usher the shadow into them. It was more difficult than it sounded. It was somewhat reminiscent to the breath I had to capture and use for Kad
rix when he’d sent me on some errand. He never did tell me what the recipe was for that I’d retrieved for him.
I managed to fill two vials before the shadow vanished properly. Kadrix would, no doubt, be over the moon. I put my blade away and tucked the vials safely back onto my belt before I stood and walked around the tower away from the main square. Quin was already with the elf, and part of me missed him; it seemed like a good opportunity all around. I couldn't keep the smile off my face at the contents of the vials. The smile soon changed to confusion when I saw the indigo-eyed man again. He kept showing up, and I was starting to grow suspicious.
He tried to do his usual vanishing act down one of the smaller streets heading towards Charles Bridge. I was prepared for it that time, though, and I was ready to get some answers.
His movements had the clear predatory grace and assurance of someone who could hold their own in a fight. He almost reminded me of a lycan with the slightly lower centre of balance and the way he had his shoulders back, making it clear to all and sundry that he wasn’t to be screwed with. My gaze kept trailing down his strong back over his tight little ass. I focused on the real task at hand: figuring out who and what he was and why he was following me.
He ducked down one of the older narrow streets with cobblestones down the first section of the road and crumbling tarmac on the footpath. The plain walls towered overhead in more subdued colours than the square. There was no one else down the road, and I was gaining on him. I almost ran into him when he stopped dead on the corner and turned to face me, his lips pulled back into a mischievous smile.
