Chapter 26

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

H yax cracked open an eye, it took a moment to get the other to do the same. The room was bright as if he were facing into a snowdrift, and several minutes passed before he realised he was in his bedroom in the Spitalfields property.

His tongue felt two sizes too big and as if he'd been eating sand—not a combination he could recommend. He moved his head to the side, the world lurched and he had to blink rapidly to regain his composure. But he did see a glass of water had been left on his nightstand and his mission, once his body cooperated, would be to drink it as fast as possible.

Sitting up should not be a complicated feat and it might have been easier if he wasn't still wearing his jeans. Gwil must've put him to bed but had not undressed him.

He managed to focus enough to grab the glass, and gulped down the water. The wash of tepid liquid was far more joyous than it had any right to be. Then he noticed the second glass and he knew he would have to be extra nice to Gwil for being so thoughtful. Washing away some of the fuzziness allowed him to be more alert, it also allowed him to glean the aftertaste of the drug, which he'd expected to be the most useful variable when identifying where the Stardust had come from. The base drug itself wasn't anything special but he could latch on with his magic to the residuals and they had been manipulated into something far more potent. Meaning more customers from a single batch increased profits all round.

The taste was close to home. They'd been right with their suspicions. The soft burn wasn't far from the original hit the base drug would give but he'd recognise the additional tang anywhere. Fae. Specifically, the Stone of Ljin had been used—he was certain of it. How the elves could have done it was the question. Then there was still the fact they didn't know where the fuck the bloody thing was. It wasn't the only flavour, closer to fae than he would admit, there was also a definite sour tang of elf in the mix.

The bright hue of the room was fading, the water enough to let his magic take back control and normalise his senses. It was nowhere near as bright now, and even though the curtains were open, there wasn't much daylight coming in. He checked his watch, seeing it was after three, it was getting dark and the sun would set soon.

On the previous occasions he'd taken something to give him a little boost he'd always remembered what had happened, but after the initial hit, this time there was nothing. Maybe it was the potency of the drug, or how he'd reacted to the chemicals, but he was left with a hole in his memories from the zing across his brain to waking up.

Nearly eighteen hours gone, and he didn't like it. He knew he'd been safe with Gwil, but others in that position might not have been so lucky, so they would need to alert the authorities about the side effects. He doubted it would only affect fae in this way, making it a boon for rapists, thieves and arseholes more than the usual blends.

Despite preferring to shower with water, he used his magic to cleanse and then changed into fresh clothes. Gwil would be up and about soon, the winter months easier on him due to the shorter days and Hyax should do something nice for him once they'd discussed the outcome of their experiment.

He was surprised to see Gwil awake and watching television, the blackout curtains in their lounge living up to their name. "Hey, didn't think you'd be up yet."

Gwil gnawed his bottom lip, he seemed distracted. "Well, I couldn't sleep, and it's not like I didn't have enough paperwork to do."

"Was it just the feedback over the Stardust that kept you up? Or did I worry you somehow? I don't remember anything after snorting the stuff."

"Nothing?" Gwil croaked.

"It was pretty strong shit. Knocked me out."

"You were lively for a little while and you keeled over." Gwil looked uncomfortable, and he wondered what he'd done.

"Did I do something? Hurt you? I know you're strong but if you had to try to subdue me in some way I am more powerful physically and my magic may have also reacted."

"Nothing like that. I was just worried. One minute you were buzzing, the next flat-out and snoring."

He didn't think Gwil was telling the whole story, but he knew well enough not to push. He'd wait until later and try to wheedle the details out of him. "I'm fine. I don't like having such a large loss of time, but it's not like I was in any danger. It's definitely linked to the Stone of Ljin, and we need to put a stop to it."

"We're going to have to report it to the Met, are we?" He grunted. "Goya will be a right turd over this. That's if he bothers."

"They can't ignore it, Gwil."

"The only reason they won't will be because of the stone. They won't give a rat's arse about dust heads keeling over, but pissed off fae royalty might get their attention."

He knew Gwil was right, but it didn't matter why the Met would act, just that they did. "Will you call it in?"

"I'll make a start on an official report and you can review and add in your comments, then I'll log it under urgent. I gave up calling stuff in years ago. It's amazing how often things disappear if a desk sergeant can't be arsed to fill in a form, or wants to lose some paperwork, or simply doesn't like the person making the report."

Gwil's opinion was highly coloured by his past experience, Hyax didn't have the same concerns, but just because he hadn't had the same trouble didn't invalidate what Gwil had encountered.

"We've still so many unknowns, I don't think we can do this on our own, but just because the police are involved doesn't mean we'll stop our investigation."

"Too fucking right." Gwil opened his laptop. "Let me crack on with this. Shouldn't take too long."

"Can I get you anything? Perhaps we could go for a drink or something later? Continue building our reputation as the hottest couple in town."

"Let's see how we get on. But a cuppa would be great."

There was something not right. He wanted to think it was because Gwil was tired but it didn't seem enough. Once in the kitchen he boiled the kettle, grabbing a couple of teabags and mugs. Maybe he'd said something rude about vampires while under the influence, but Gwil would have called him out. Or had he crossed the line in other ways and Gwil wasn't happy he'd got handsy? Again, Gwil would have put him in his place. He hated having this barrier between them, the whole fake relationship was a big enough hurdle, but at least he'd known what he'd done there. He would have to get to the bottom of this and he would not let it jeopardize his friendship with Gwil.