Chapter 34

Physically there was nothing wrong with him, and Robin had been spending his waking hours catching up with work, but his mind was elsewhere. He'd left Crofton Hall, returning to Fairbanks, not in the mood to make small talk and his foul temper would only endanger his friendship with Ben. Jack and Hyax had been monitoring activity for Mettle but so far, nothing, and all he could do was sit and wallow and wait for Simon's return.

His heart ached, he missed Simon, and he understood his husband had things he needed to sort out for himself, but he hurt not to be with him. It had been awful when he'd been taken, but somehow this was just as bad, if not worse in some ways, because Simon had gone willingly.

Claude was at a Vampire Council meeting, and they had tabled a discussion on the recent events and Claude had gone to ensure nothing was mis-represented or details that weren't for public discussion remained so. His sisters had promised to visit but they weren't here tonight. He sat on the terrace staring into the inky darkness of the grounds of Fairbanks, not able to shake his malaise.

"You are beautiful in the moonlight, I wonder how many have told you that before?"

He almost fell off his chair as he turned so quickly. "Simon!"

"I told you we would not be parted for long."

He raced to hold him. Simon was the balm to his bruised soul, no one would ever be more important. "I've missed you so much."

"My father wanted me to stay longer, but I couldn't. I needed to be with you."

They clung together, Robin had been so scared that what he felt for Simon wasn't returned with the same intensity, that once he had drank his blood his connection to Robin would wane but Robin's would stay strong. "I am so glad you are here, I know it's selfish."

"Then we are both selfish. And you didn't answer my question."

Robin laughed. "Men will say what they think someone wants to hear if it will help them achieve their end goals. But I don't care what was said before, I only care for your opinion."

He'd been dubious at first about Simon's lack of concern about his past, it wasn't disinterest, but a genuine understanding of their circumstances. He knew though there'd be no forgiveness if he were to slip back to his old ways, although he couldn't see any reason why he would want to. No one could make him turn his head away from Simon.

Simon nuzzled into his neck. "You smell so good."

"How are you?" The comments about James saying he wanted Simon in the fae realm had him concerned. "Should you have returned?"

"I have never felt so right. My magic is back, and with a new edge from my vampire side. I wish to call together a few people and hunt down Mettle."

Robin pulled back. "Are you sure you are ready?"

"I am more than ready."

Simon's eyes glowed and Robin could taste the power radiating from him, he would trust him to know his own strength and mind. He was his husband, not his keeper, and as much as he would like to protect him from the world there was no need to do so. "Who do you want to be involved?"

"I see this as a joint venture of the Houses of Hewel and Cartwright, with some assistance from the Warlock Ruling Committee. But I will be the one who destroys the amulet that would allow him to return, but I will let the others get in a few shots to quench their need for vengeance."

"I don't think you'd be able to stop Sebastian from being involved."

"If I send a message to Jack, how quickly do you think they'll all be here?"

"Within a matter of hours, quicker if they can use the portals safely. But seeing the mess they made of me, I can't see that happening unless there's an emergency."

Simon pressed a hand over his heart. "Then we'll have a little time to ourselves while we wait."

He was going to have a difficult time of keeping his hands off Simon. They were still very much in their honeymoon phase, and even now, surrounded by the people who would join them to hunt down Mettle, he couldn't stop his mind wandering back to the perfection that was Simon's arse.

Sebastian accepted a cup of tea, and it struck Robin he'd never seen him drink the bottled blood on offer, some vampires only fed directly from the source and Sebastian Hewel was the very definition of old-school.

"The question still remains on how to find Mettle," Sebastian said. "I'm all for hunting the bastard down and playing Operation with real surgical instruments, but that's hard to do without knowing where he is."

It was a fair comment, and from the expressions of the others in the room the question was shared amongst them. Ben and Ashley were seated next to Jack, and Liam was leaning against the mantle.

"I know where he is," Simon said.

That was news to Robin because the last thing he'd heard was neither Jack nor the network Alex and Hyax were able to tap into had a clue.

"You do? Then share with the class. How did you track him down?" Sebastian asked, and Robin wasn't sure Sebastian believed Simon.

"We've been trying to find him, but he can mask himself. What he can't do is completely hide the signal from the phylactery in which he anchors his soul to the physical world, and he can't risk damaging it as it's his means to rise again if his body is destroyed."

"Surely the warlocks would've known to look for that, it seems a logical option." Sebastian pointed at Jack. "Especially the one who's a lawyer and considers combing through archaic laws a worthy hobby."

"They did but didn't know what they were looking for. When I recovered my memories, it also unlocked layers that I had been forced to forget at the facility. He wiped my memories using a jewel he wore around his neck and I remember a great deal about it."

"Those things aren't easy to track either," Jack said, sounding unsure.

Simon cupped his hands together and a silver orb began to form. "My father showed me this, it's not something I'd have been able to do before. It involves pulling through the veil between the realms and letting the magic sit at the boundary."

"That's not a branch of magic I'm aware of," Ashley said.

"You're not a vampire-fae." Simon smirked. "To be fair, I wasn't aware until a few hours ago. I've a lot to learn but I know enough to kill Mettle. Once I spoke with my father, and we realised we had a link then we knew it was possible as we had a fixed point to act as a compass. If he'd had it before then he might have been able to find me using the same fixed point."

" Might have ?" Ashley said.

"All magic has a different flavour, mine is a mix of my parents'. I have the upper hand of the two of us when it comes to raw magic, but he has centuries of experience."

Robin wondered if that meant Simon would be returning to the fae home world for extended periods of time, and while he knew that Simon would want to build his gift, Robin wouldn't want to be separated. It wasn't something to discuss now, but he would bring it up once Mettle was dealt with.

The orb began to spin and as it levitated in front of Simon, it expanded and Simon could make out an image. "He's here," Simon said. "From the outside it looks like the ruins of an abbey but it's actually a large Victorian construction, off Ilkley Moor."

Sebastian stood and came to peer at the orb. "We'll use fire to kill him?"

"Yes. Fire is the usual way, but we must make sure to destroy his phylactery first. I'm sure you'll want to play with him. Catlin deserves to be avenged as much as I do."

"She is beginning to remember, but not as much as you," Ben said. "Do you think her memories will return?"

"I can help with that, when I get back, I'll talk to my friend Kitty. I do hope she is recovered in other ways."

"The portals left her a little sore, but it's more her mental state that worries me," Ben said.

"Then I'm sure you'll enjoy seeing him suffer. I don't think he was behind her original disappearance, but took advantage of it."

Sebastian appeared impressed, and that wasn't an easy thing to achieve. "I suppose it is just a matter of when?"

"I'm ready now, if you are." Simon wasn't joking. "I can cast protection spells and open a portal directly to the vicinity."

"I like your style," Sebastian said, standing. "I'm sure you can furnish me with a few bits to help me have my fun. And probably something more appropriate for Ben to wear, he'll get blood all over his lovely Gucci suit."

"I don't know, I think he'll be nice window dressing." He smirked at Robin. "Maybe you could put on a suit?"

Robin wished he'd been better dressed and realised Simon was playing with him, even now. He'd threatened to put him over his knee and he might have to make good on his threat.

Sebastian laughed. "Liam, I should have married him myself."

Liam rolled his eyes. "We both know Robin is the perfect foil for our feisty fae. And Simon will keep Robin on his toes."

He didn't like the scrutiny from their Heads of House, but he knew better than to react in any other way than to pretend he found it funny. "It's a good job I'm already dead, otherwise he'd be the death of me."

"But what a way to go," Sebastian said with a lewd smirk. "Now let's go and butcher a lich."

"I don't need to worry about the warlocks," Simon said, "but if all the vampires could stand together I'll cast a protection charm."

Robin joined Ben, and Liam came to stand with Sebastian, and he saw Ashley hover at Simon's shoulder. "Will you show me how to do it? It'll be useful to move Ben around."

"Might need adapting for your portals. I was able to show Hyax, but he's a fellow fae."

Simon's magic was becoming familiar to him and he loved the way it felt as it danced across his skin, an erotic edge to it that he couldn't allow himself to act on. A cursory glance to his fellow vampires was enough to confirm they hadn't experienced the X-rated aspects.

"Are we just going to storm into the home of a lich?" Jack asked.

"Pretty much," Simon said. "Shields up but I'm going in blazing, the fucker is going to pay."

Robin found this dark edge to Simon delicious and he would enjoy being at his side as he dealt with Mettle.

"We'll follow your lead," Sebastian said. "I do love a bit of unplanned mayhem."

Robin thought Sebastian should adopt the phrase as his official motto.

"I'm going to open the portal, follow me through. Ashley and Jack—have your shields up, and the rest of you fall behind. I'll neutralize our target and I want a few words with him." He turned to Robin. "I don't want you put in danger, would you consider staying here?"

"No fucking way."

Simon stroked his cheek. "I thought not. Make sure you stay out of the firing line. I don't want you damaged. You and Ben will be there to be witnesses and to see that monster gets what's coming to him, but you're not active participants."

He'd have been upset if Simon hadn't cared, but he must have known there would have been no way he'd have remained behind. There wouldn't be much he could do, he didn't have any magic, but it was important for him to be present.

Simon opened a portal, Ashley and Jack fell in behind them and Robin found himself standing behind Sebastian and Liam and next to Ben.

"This happened a little faster than I was expecting," Ben admitted. "Your Simon's a bit of a firecracker."

He suspected this was just the tip of the iceberg.