Chapter 32

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

H yax had always found brewing relaxing. It was the art of combining the ingredients in the perfect order and the mix of incantations that made it completely absorbing, until he was able to lose himself in the shimmering contents of a cauldron. Flume's lab space was state-of-the-art and there was every piece of equipment and component he could think of, including a fascinating glass-fronted cabinet locked using a blood charm, no doubt keyed to Flume himself.

Gwil had gone to call his sewer potatoes, which meant one less distraction, and Flume had left Hyax to it, with a bell to ring if he needed anything. The potion was a deep blue colour, and all it needed was the elf blood to finish it off. He'd not mentioned to Gwil that he would need a member of the undead to drink it, but he'd only read that part after Gwil had left.

Flume knew, Hyax was sure of it, and the other caveat had been a pre-existing real intimacy between brewer, caster and imbiber, which made Hyax think there could be a whole array of possibilities they could explore along the fae-vampire link, as that was a branch of magic he'd never known existed until today. It would make sense why so few vampire and fae relationships were sanctioned if there was a raft of usually inaccessible magic available to create a power couple who were romantically involved, and maybe why the Calanti had remained distanced. For this particular piece of magic, Hyax would be on his knees and he couldn't see Gwil objecting.

The door to the lab opened and Flume swept in. He held up a little vial. "Here we go."

"Do I want to know where you got it from?"

"Not all elves are the enemy."

"That's news to me. Most of them are evil fuckers who will help no one without a reason." He took the vial. "Who's this from?"

"The Dark Earl of Crofton's secretary. Alexander is one of a handful of elves in the human realm who are on the friendly list."

"A Vampire Council member with an elf as a servant? I think I've heard it all now."

Flume snorted. "Then I won't tell you that his lordship's valet is a level-three demon, or it might be too much for your sensibilities."

"Now I think you're just making things up." Flume must think him an idiot.

He returned to the cauldron and extinguished the flames underneath, liking how the gas lines had made it easier to control the temperature and be one less thing for him to worry about. "I'll add the blood and stir as required and we'll be good to go once Gwil returns."

"I do hope we won't have an issue with the last part of the procedure."

"The latter part I doubt, but drinking elf's blood wasn't part of our discussions when we agreed to date, although the other ingredients should make it easier on his stomach and he'll be distracted."

Flume produced a hip flask from the inside of his jacket. "This is a French 64, a remarkable vintage, it will take away any residual unpleasantness."

He was surprised by Flume's thoughtfulness, but his dealings with vampires had mainly been Gwil and he'd believed he wasn't typical of his kind. He'd never seen him feed, or act under the influence of extreme bloodlust, but then he wasn't one to mingle too much with his own sort and, from recollection, none of those Gwil referred to as friends were vampires.

Elf blood was dark green and sticky and the three drops came out like lumps of lard. There was nothing pleasant about elves—even their blood was gross. For a horrible moment Hyax thought the potion was going to curdle but the requisite stirring did the job and the final result was a shimmering purple liquid. "I'll decant out a couple of vials but it's not something that you can keep, I'm afraid."

"Over the years I've long come to realise that magic is never as useful as people like to think. There is always a catch or a price."

"Can't say I've ever thought of it like that."

"Those that can do magic seldom do."

There were several litres in the cauldron, but the potion needed to be used fresh in order to work. He ladled the concoction into a few vials and poured the rest down the sink. "Hopefully Gwil will be back soon."

"If I'm not mistaken, he's approaching the front door."

The vampire sixth sense was still a bit unnerving but he grabbed the vials and the book and followed Flume back through the house into a reception room where Gwil joined them. "Copperpipe and his snipes are stood up. He wants a lot of ambrosia and twelve tickets to Glyndebourne—apparently they've discovered a love of opera."

It was testament to what else was going on that Gwil's little potato people loving opera was not the strangest thing Hyax had heard or experienced of late. "We've got about two hours' life in the potion, but I'm going to need your help," Hyax said.

Gwil shrugged. "You know I'm always happy to help you."

"It works by channelling the magic through a filter, I can then concentrate on the echo of Chase's magic and send out a location pulse."

"So what do you need from me."

Hyax ignored Flume's dark chuckle and took hold of Gwil's hand. "You're the filter. The undead are perfect because of your physiology, but it has to be you specifically because we already have an intimate connection."

A connection he intended to renew many times for many years. And once Flume was out of the room, he'd be on his knees.

"Will it hurt?"

"I don't think so, and one aspect might be pleasurable. Although the potion itself might not taste very nice, but Mr Flume has something in his hipflask that'll help."

Gwil plucked the vial out of Hyax's hand. "I wasn't going to say no. If this'll help capture Chase and the elves, then I'm okay. Might buy me some brownie points with your parents."

"Highly likely." Hyax was going to make a big deal of Gwil's input, although not all of the specifics, and it could help matters. "I might even suggest they award you one of the special honours they give out for defending the fae realm."

"I will leave you two alone. The door does lock—I'd recommend doing so."

Gwil scowled as Flume left. "What's going on?"

"The thing is, when I said your body would act like a filter I wasn't being figurative. While the book does suggest other options, the most direct is via ejaculation and me swallowing the filtered product."

"Oh, Hyax, I don't know that I've ever heard anything good coming from sex magic."

"Then either you've not heard the right stories or they've been doing it wrong. Besides this isn't really sex magic, this is you getting a quickie blowjob as it's the most expedient way."

"So you've taken part in sex magic?" Gwil looked uncomfortable, maybe a bit jealous.

"I'm a fae who's had sex with other fae, it goes without saying that I have, and if you're a good vampire and drink your potion, I'll suck your cock and show you proper sex magic once we've caught the bad guys. Okay?"

Gwil nodded and Hyax guided him in the direction of a sofa and went to lock the door. Part of him had thought Flume would stay. He gave off creepy voyeuristic tendencies, so Hyax was relieved he'd sodded off unprompted.

"Are you still all right with doing this?" he asked as Gwil uncorked the bottle and sniffed it. "I wasn't aware of all the implications either, so if you'd rather not."

Gwil laughed. "Don't be silly. I can cope with my beautiful boyfriend sucking my cock. I've had far worse things done to me during sex."

He filed the information away for later, wanting to know what Gwil meant, but for now they needed to move things along. "Knock the contents of the vial back in one, the quicker the better, and then leave it a minute or two and then you can have a swig from the hipflask."

"I'm sure it won't be that bad."

Hyax decided against arguing, he'd seen what had gone in it and wasn't sure how much worse the elf blood would make it. "I'm sure I can take your mind off it one way or another."

"I'm half hard already at the thought of you sucking my cock, I can't imagine there's a force in the universe whereby a bit of an odd taste is going to stop me coming down your throat."

"Is the romance already dead?"

"I'll let you wine and dine me another time. I'm quite partial to a posh dinner and happy to accommodate your cock in alternative orifices when we're not in an ancient vampire's front parlour."

Hyax leant over and kissed him. "Now be a good boy and drink your magic potion."

Gwil uncorked the vial and gave it a sniff. "Strawberry?"

Not the reaction Hyax was expecting but then he'd had no idea the effect the elf blood would have and there was nothing to say it wouldn't have improved the smell. "There's no strawberries in it, but magic potions are not known for following the normal sensory pathways."

Hyax scanned the book again and prepared himself to be ready to cast after Gwil had swallowed, and then again when he swallowed a few minutes later.

"Here goes," Gwil said, and saluted Hyax with the vial before knocking its contents back in one shot. "Not that bad, it's got a bit of a strange aftertaste… urgh… I take it back it's like rotten mushrooms."

He handed Gwil the hipflask. "Best not to think about it."

Gwil guzzled down the French 64 with much more appreciative noises and Hyax began the simplistic chant that accompanied the potion while concentrating on Chase's signature that sat safely in his pocket.

Hyax got on his knees, ready to move to the next part of the ritual. Gwil made a low keening noise and from the bulge in his trousers he wasn't going to have any trouble with his part. "Feels nice does it?"

"Super tingly in places that are very happy to be tingled."

Hyax placed his hands on Gwil's knees and felt the frisson of magic, but different from what he'd expected, the energy calmer and condensed and he couldn't help but think what other things they could do together.

"Get your cock out. I'm not doing all the work here."

Gwil was quick to obey, and moments later his cock stood to attention. It would be no hardship to suck Gwil. He enjoyed giving head and once they were home, he'd bury himself in Gwil's arse as he'd have no time for reciprocation, and he didn't want to fuck Gwil in Flume's house.

Given the excellent state of Gwil's arousal, there'd been no need for gentle teasing and the low hiss Gwil let out as Hyax swallowed him down made him think this was not going to be a protracted affair. He needed Gwil to come as soon as possible and he was still getting to know Gwil's triggers when it came to getting him off; all but two of the men he'd been with had loved blowjobs, and learning how to repress his gag reflex had been a huge hit.

But Gwil was his boyfriend, and he didn't want it to be too clinical, although he was using him in a technical sense, Hyax didn't want him to feel like it. He fondled Gwil's balls as he bobbed up and down. Gwil had been vocal on their previous sessions, but here he was trying to keep the noise down.

His vampire physiology meant Gwil ran slightly cooler but he bucked and moaned like any other man and Hyax suspected the potion had heightened his sensitivity. He sucked harder and sped up, Gwil's fingers in his hair. He panted, getting more erratic. Hyax hummed and that sent Gwil over the edge with a strangled cry.

Gwil's release hit his tongue, it was spicier than usual and made his mouth fizz. He sat back and muttered the words to link Chase's signature to the energy from the filtered potion. The pulse flew through him and burst in an explosion of magic as he collapsed backwards and stared up at the ceiling, his vision blurring with a golden shimmer.

He went willingly as Gwil gathered him into his arms and his vision returned to normal. "Are you okay?" Gwil asked, stroking his hair.

"Yeah, bigger discharge of energy than I was expecting." He was surprised he was fine, nothing awry with his magic and the residual tingling had abated. "I'm good."

Gwil helped him to his feet. "Do you think it worked?"

"It did something, exactly what we'll have to see, but I'm pretty confident it did as it should. When will we hear from Copperpipe?"

"As soon as he knows something? If it worked he could pop up anytime."

"He's never been the most reliable, have you got a way to get hold of him, rather than him coming to you."

"Look, it's just the way it is. I've tried to give him a mobile phone but he dropped it in a waste pipe, and he ate the carrier pigeon we tried back in the beginning of the twentieth century."

"So wait and see."

"He really wants the opera tickets, enough so that if they find anything they'll keep watching and tail anyone who leaves the location."

They didn't have another option, and Gwil's dirt dwellers had come through before. There was a knock on the door. "Are you finished?" called Flume. "I assume so as I have an individual in my kitchen wearing a sack. Wouldn't give its name, just asked for Fangface."

Gwil opened the door.

"Does he look like a rotten potato?" Hyax asked, and Gwil tutted.

"There is something a bit tuber-esque about him," Flume said.

"His name is Copperpipe and given he's probably here to give us the location of Chase and the elves he's working with, you could be less of an arsehole."

"True. I'm sorry." Hyax nudged Gwil with his shoulder. "Let's see what he knows."