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I smiled at him, then faced Aubrey. “Are we okay?” I asked softly.
He felt his own pulse. “I’m still alive at the moment if that’s what you mean. ”
“No, I mean with the, um, dragon stuff. ”
He flattened his lips and nodded. “Yeah. ”
I was surprisingly relieved. “Look,” I said uncomfortably. “It’s probably best if we don’t tell anyone about the stone. It’ll just make things awkward and it will distract everyone. We need to focus on Endor. It was me who initially came into contact with it. It was probably for me. ” I scratched my head. “There are other things that need our attention right now. ”
I was expecting some resistance, but Aubrey surprised me. “You’re right. I don’t want to die. I’ve only just come alive. But getting this fucker is more important. ”
I smiled faintly. Alex drew a line across his lips to indicate his own silence. Then he grinned and held out his arms. “Group hug?”
I rolled my eyes, but submitted anyway, and the three of us remained there for one long, but comfortable, moment.
*
After declining Alex’s offer of a portal, Aubrey and I travelled the long way back, taking the train. I stopped off at my flat to pick up some things, impressed at how it already seemed to have been cleaned of Staines’ blood. I’d have to remember to thank the Arch-Mage. The stench of death, unfortunately, still lingered in the air, along with the horror of what had happened to Staines. I spent as little time as possible getting my things together then we headed straight to Clava Books, stopping only to say a quick hello to Mrs. Alcoon and Slim, before going to the small room at the back and passing out, Aubrey on the campbed and me on the floor on top of a sleeping bag.
When I came to, a few hours later, I felt groggy and very, very hungry. Aubrey was still fast asleep, snoring gently. I stumbled out to the front of the shop, hoping that I could scrounge something to eat. Solus was there, one elbow propped up on the till counter, chatting to Slim.
“Where have you been?” he exclaimed. “No-one’s seen you since yesterday. You’ve been out all night, dragonlette. ”
I looked away. “I had a few things to do. ”
“Like what?”
I shifted uncomfortably. I didn’t want to lie to Solus, but I didn’t think Alex would be very happy about me spilling the reasons for us entirely circumnavigating the Fae in order to get a couple of pounds of palladium. I tried to appear nonchalant.
“I went with Alex and Aubrey to get hold of some metal that Balud reckons Endor will be vulnerable to. No biggie. ”
He gave me a suspicious look but, before he could question me further, I changed the subject. “What’s going on with the preparations for Loch Ness?”
“Everyone’s ready. Some Fae and some mages have travelled up there already to scout out the land. The shifters are waiting until after the bear’s funeral. ”
“And the kelpies?”
He wrinkled his nose. “They are being…difficult. ”
“Fecking slimy buggers,” spat Slim. “You should just let Endor kill the lot of them first. ”
I raised my eyebrows slightly. There was a tinge of venom to the little gargoyle’s voice that I’d not previously heard.
“They lure people to their deaths. Even fecking children! Drowning them just for kicks. And the whole Loch Ness monster thing. ” He shook his head. “It’s fecking barabaric. ”
Solus explained. “The kelpies created the legend. ”
“Of the Loch Ness monster? Why on earth would they do that? We’re supposed to stay out of the way of humans, not advertise our existence. ”
Slim folded his chubby little arms. “Exactly. ”
“They started the legend by appearing to the odd human here and there. Letting them get away instead of just killing them. It was probably a mistake, but you can never be sure with the kelpies. When they realised that it meant more tourists – and therefore more victims – came to the area, they kept it up. ” Solus shrugged. “They’re not the nicest of species. ”
“That doesn’t mean that we should just let Endor slaughter them all to take their energy. ”
“No,” Solus agreed. “They’re so heavily tied in to the element of water that he’ll easily be able to take what he needs to master it. ”
“And we’re not in the business of encouraging genocide,” I said pointedly.
The Fae shrugged. “Sure. That too. ”
Slim snorted and began to say something, then his eyes widened fractionally, and he flapped into the back room with more speed than I’d have thought he was capable of. The front door of the shop jangled, and a young woman walked in. I gave her a cursory glance, registering that she was human, and then turned back to Solus to ask him about what had been done to make sure that Endor didn’t get wind of our intervention and end up being scared off. He, however, was watching the girl, an odd expression in his eyes.
Wondering whether I’d misjudged what she was, I looked back at her. She was browsing along one of the shelves, looking through the Myths and Legends section. Or at least the Myths and Legends section if you were human. To the rest of us, it was the Historical part of the bookshop. She definitely seemed human though.
Solus straightened up, then sauntered over to her with an overly pronounced swagger. Interesting. I watched him, utterly fascinated.
“Good afternoon,” he said smoothly, holding out his hand.
She jumped slightly, looking up at him through a long messy fringe, then started to blush.
“Er, hi. ” She took his hand in return but, when he started to lift it to his lips to kiss it rather than shake it, she snatched it away. You go, girl.
Apparently unfazed, Solus just smiled. “Welcome to our little bookstore. ”
I tried not to laugh. ‘Our’ little bookstore?
She muttered thanks, then turned away, obviously wanting some peace and quiet to look around.
“Can I help you find anything?” he persisted.
Probably realising that she wasn’t going to be left alone, she looked back. “I’m doing some research into Celtic mythology,” she answered. “In particular, Dagda. Do you have any books that might help?”
“Lots,” Solus purred.
There was a moment’s silence while they stared at each other. Then she spoke up. “Can you show me where they are?”
“Of course,” he said, not moving. “I’m Solus. You can call me Sol though if you want. ”
“Great. ” She took a step backwards. “The books?”
He shook himself slightly. “They’re over here. ” He moved past her, brushing against her body ever so lightly, even though there was more than enough room for him to manoeuver around.
Solus looked up and down the shelves. I watched, amused. He was in completely the wrong place. The books on Dagda, an Irish fae from long ago, were on the other side.
“Ah,” he said finally. “We appear to be out of stock. There was a Celtic scholar in here a few days ago who probably took them all. If you give me your details though, I can order some more in. ”
“Which scholar?” She seemed momentarily confused. “I know almost everyone else in my field, and there’s no-one looking into Dagda at the moment. ”
He shrugged disarmingly. “I didn’t catch his name. ”
The girl looked at him assessingly, then pushed up her glasses rather nervously. “It’s okay. I’ll order them off the internet instead. ”
“There’s no need. Our suppliers are old-fashioned, so they’re not online. They have by far the best and widest selection. Honestly,” he said, “give me your name and address and I’ll find everything you need. ”
She sighed. “Okay. ”
“Then please, mademoiselle, come this way. ” He swept out an arm in my direction.
She started, as if noticing me for the first time. I grinned at her. This was fun. She walke
d over, Solus at her heels. I pulled out a pen and piece of paper and handed it to her, and she scribbled down a few words, then passed them back to the Fae.
“Isabel? That’s a beautiful name. You know it means ‘God’s Promise’?”
She eyed Solus as if he were slightly mad. “Yes. ”
“Would you like to go out for a drink?”
“No. ”
I waited to see whether he’d put some of his more persuasive skills into action, however he simply bowed. “As you wish. ”
Isabel’s cheeks reddened again. She inclined her head in farewell, then left. I smirked at Solus, who was still staring after her.
“Dragonlette, I think I’m in love. I’ve never…” he blinked, and seemed slightly stunned.
“I’m not sure she felt the same way,” I pointed out.
He waved the scrap of paper with her name and address on it. “That’s okay. I can bring her around. ”
“You didn’t glamour her into going out with you. ”
He shook his head vehemently. “No, that would be rude. ”
Huh. He’d tried to glamour me when we’d just met.
“I have to go, dragonlette. ” He leaned over and pecked me on the cheek.
“Don’t you want to know where the Dagda books actually are?”
He gave me a dismissive look. “I can get better ones in Tir-na-Nog. She should have the best. ”
The door jangled again, and Solus spun around. His shoulders sagged, however, when he saw it was Mrs. Alcoon with her little tartan shopping trolley trundling behind her.
“Hello!” she called out cheerily.
I gave her a wave. She peered at Solus. “Goodness. You are almost glowing, Lord Sol. You must be having a good day. ”
A small smile played around his lips. “Indeed I am. ”
He tipped an imaginary hat in both our directions, then snapped his fingers and vanished into the Otherworld ether.
“We had a customer wander in. Solus was rather taken with her - I think it’s love at first sight,” I said with a grin.