Dangerous, Diabolical

I had never been so relieved to hear Grahame return than at the moment. The fresh aroma of mixed blood announced his arrival before he had the chance to knock on the door. As Leofstan had to open it, his arrival signified the end of the conversation. Yet again the kettle went on as the boxes were cleaned from the table.

“Coffee, please,” Grahame asked, sitting.

“Me too!” I put my arm up in excitement. If there were edibles that could make a fire in my mouth then who knew what coffee was hiding?

“Milk, sugar?” Leo asked, setting another mug over.

“Sure.” I watched as he tipped a couple of sachets in.

Grahame spoke to Leofstan, “There is an emergency meeting at ten to discuss the spell-caster situation.” He glanced towards me. “And other problems.”

I took that as a cue to interject. “Sounds like you have it all in hand. I can leave when you go.”

“No!” They both shouted in unison.

My sigh was as long as it was dramatic.

“We must open discussions over the gem.” Leofstan pointed out.

Grahame pivoted so fast that he almost gave me whiplash. “Care to explain?” He folded his arms as he interrogated Leofstan. “And you cannot tell me it’s nothing. I may not be able to channel magic, but I know there was a hell of a lot of it in the alley from you two.” And as an afterthought, he added, “And at Miss Doukas’s house.”

Without comment, Leofstan deposited a mug in front of me.

“I made a huge mistake,” Leofstan admitted, pushing the hair back from his eyes, despair evident. “The amulet seems to have somehow opened a binding channel between us.”

Grahame tapped his fingers on the table. “Like somehow an irregularity catapulted you into the Fae-realm? Or somehow Miss Doukas is always at the right place at the right time?” He shot me another side glare, “What sort of binding are you insinuating?”

“Celandine managed to destabilise one of my spells, and linked us in the process.” He pointed at my hand, gesturing for me to flip it over. “We can both pull magic from each other.” He dropped his head into his hands, paling. “Oh no.”

“What?” Grahame snapped.

“And now the Seelie court of Faerie knows.”

Grahame hissed. “Say that again?” He watched the palm of my hand, nose curled. The tips of Leo’s ears meanwhile, became red.

“It’s how we managed to leave.” Leo pointed his chin towards me. “Celandine claimed ownership.”

All hell broke loose. I was flung over the chair before I could protest the claims, Leo was trying to pull Grahame off as some very large white canines were trying to lock onto my neck.

Pinned I could just about fit an arm between me and the vampire to keep him clear of the jugular.

“Ulsipir“ Leofstan shouted magic flooding out of him in a flash of bright light. Grahame dove away, and as quick as the attack had started, it was over.

“Why?” The vampire quizzed, he was crouched against the wall, small burns already scabbing. He warily looked between us both. I sat up, rubbing the growing bruise on the back of my head from the impact against the floor.

“You misunderstand. It was necessary. Besides, the binding cannot let one claim ownership of the other.”

“Oh, my mistake.” Grahame stood up, straightening out of his clothes. “So you’re not enslaved, your thoughts are still your own.” He nodded to himself. “For a moment there, I thought you had openly declared to a Fae court that daily threatens us with War, refuses to abide by our rules, and treats lives as a commodity, that one of our most powerful council members can be controlled by a civilian.” The clock in the room was the only noise. “But I am mistaken?” Venom dripped from his last word.

Well, it did sound bad if he put it that way.

“Stan, are you certain your thoughts are your own?” The colour had drained from Leofstan’s face, his knuckles translucent as he gripped a chair for support. I could hear the thrum of his heart in his chest.

“Celandine.” He finally said, catching me unawares. “You called the Unseelie king by his name.” He wouldn’t meet my eyes. “I saw how they reacted to you. They knew you.”

Yeah, it’s because I like to pop over and burn a few things when I’m bored. Not that I could tell them that. I’m a dragon and can easily overpower most of the people in this building. Did you want to try and kill me whilst I sip on coffee? No, no. That was ridiculous.

“Yes?” It was midway through an agreement and a question. Leofstan almost seemed to deflate, magic shimmering around him.

“You boasted about being close with the king,” Grahame added. That was true.

I sighed. “I’ve fallen into Fae a few times. Each time I go and have some good fun, then they get upset and drag me to see good old King Soirrian. That’s how I met Willow,” I paused to explain when they both looked confused at the name. “The Spriggan from Members Only?” I reminded. They both gave a flicker of acknowledgement. “So now we all owe each other a few favours, and they don’t mind me too much.” I got to my feet. “Or they didn’t before today.”

“You were invited back.” Leofstan disputed.

“Forced.” I shot back.

“We need to open discussion with the board about this.” Grahame interrupted.

“Yes, you do, good luck.” I waved goodbye to him. “I can just wait here.” And find my way out of the spelled room.

Leofstan’s voice was low. “Not a chance.” He shook his head. Colour had returned to his cheeks, but his magic was still eagerly coating him for the chance to be unleashed.

I groaned. “Can I at least make a call?”

They both glanced towards each other, unspoken.

“Five minutes.” The vampire answered.

* * *

I called into work with the room phone, both of the guys on either side of the room watching me. It rang for so long that I didn’t think anyone would answer. When the dial clicked off, I was halfway to putting the phone down.

“Hello?” A singsongy voice answered. From the echo, it sounded like it had been diverted to the warehouse.

“Jo?” I asked, still trying to desperately recall her full name again.

“Yep, that’s me speaking!” She sounded so happy, it ruined my day.

With a deep breath; “It’s Celandine.”

“Ohmygosh Andy, where have you been? David is freaking out!” I heard her push the phone closer to her ear. “You’ve been missing for like, a whole week!”

I painfully smiled at the conversation, gritting my teeth. “Listen, I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck. I’m really sorry to do this but I’m calling in sick.”

“For another week? Oh no! Have you caught whatever Paul had?” I grunted in reply. “You know you need a doctor’s note for more than one week right?” I rolled my eyes, meanwhile trying to recall just who on earth was Paul. She grew quiet, almost whispering through the phone. “Hey, Andy, I really need to talk to you about the other day.”

“Huh?”

“You know,” she slid the phone, moving the mouthpiece closer so she could talk quieter, “what happened in the store?”

Ah, that. Glanced behind, to see both of the councilmen still fixated on me. “Yeah, when I’m back okay?” There was more rustling on the other end of the phone. “Jo, listen, I have another favour to ask too. Can you cover my shifts this week? I’ll get a note sent.” These guys better sort me some kind of excuse. There was more fidgeting, and a sharp thump as she dropped something. “I promise I’ll owe you,” I added.

“Fine,” She sounded breathless, something else clattered in the background. “But do you think you can stop by this week to talk? It’s important.”

“I’ll try.” I would owe her after all.

“Thanks!” There was a huge crash on her end. “Whoops gotta go, bye Andy!” The phone clicked off.

“Let’s go.” Grahame barked.

This was happening. Between his super speed and Leo’s magic, the only way to give them the slip would be to transform and hightail it out. The problem was, I didn’t think I’d fit through the corridors as a dragon to escape. So with a grin, I stalked towards the door.

“Where are your shoes?” Grahame asked, exacerbated. My toes wriggled to exaggerate their freedom.

With a shrug, “Do you know?” I asked him.

We all glanced around the floor like they’d suddenly appear. “Erm… No.” He answered.

“Well then, no shoes.” If they were going to make me go, I sure as hell was going to be awkward about it. And as a true fashionista, I paraded barefoot in my oversized t-shirt, bunched up shorts, with my hair half-knotted and ends askew, straight down the corridor.

Joining a couple of people head to toe in uniform, travelling down in the lift, I caught them gawking in the mirrors.

“I’m being held against my will,” I explained. Warily they looked between Grahame and Leofstan.

“She is not.” Leofstan corrected. “We work here.”

“Then why do I look like I’ve been kidnapped?” I argued.

Both strangers fidgeted, checking to see if we were close to their floor yet.

“Can you raise the alarm at the front desk?” I asked them.

“Do not do that,” Grahame ordered, and a chill prickled up my spine. The air grew thick and I realised through the muggy haze of not wanting to do anything, he was casting a spell to reinforce his words. His eyes glowed a soft red as theirs became glassy. They began to smile in unison, the underlying hint of fear in the room abating.

I made a note to myself: not only were vamps terrifyingly fast, their spells packed a punch. His vampire glamour was much more in your face than a Fae one. The Fae cast a glamour to hide, but Grahame cast one so strong everyone didn’t want to notice him anymore. Now that would be some boring hunting if his meal never had to put up a fight.

When the lift stopped at their floor, they still stood, smiling. We moved on to ours, leaving them standing in the box contraption as the doors shut with a chime.

I wasn’t sure what to expect for a council meeting, but a singular wooden door that opened into a small room no bigger than Leofstans, with a long table crammed into it, surrounded by a bunch of office chairs wasn’t it. A dull window sat at the end, with a dusty roller blind and a half-dead plant on the windowsill.

In the furthest chair sat a man scribbling furiously on a stack of paper. His dark hair curled around his head sat atop strong brows and a crooked nose. As he acknowledged us entering, his mouth quirked up to reveal startling white teeth. His heavy-set shoulders rolled back into a stretch, worrying his shirt buttons.

“Ah, Helô.” He greeted, an odd lilt to his speech. Never had I met this man before in my life. He was as familiar to me as the next stranger. I didn’t know his name, his face was compiled together in a structure completely original. His movements were as different as a song never heard.

“Have we met before?” Blurted out before I even realised I’d asked.