by brett hicks
“As always, I appreciate you're faithful serve my friend.”
Bix let a slight slime creep onto her features. She loomed over Seri; the light elf was nearly six-feet-tall. Seri was no short woman, but even she had to crane her neck to look up at the other woman.
“I do what is best for my people and at some point, we all became each other’s people.”
Bix said it in her matter-of-fact manner but Seri’s heart clenched at the implication. Bix had never verbally spoken of this before, a blending of what is hers and what is Seri’s. With fae, words are very powerful. The implications of her speaking of their bond and their connection to each other only strengthened this tether.
“I am grateful to have found such a faithful friend as you Bix.”
She smiled sharply at Seri and sassed, “You are in a very retrospective mood this evening Princess.”
Seri rolled her eyes in mock-annoyance. Bix was just trying to defuse the serious tone of their little heart-to-heart. Neither of them was exactly warm and fluffy women. They both preferred sharp objects and magic to send gifts or even praising each other. While both were very feminine, they were decidedly calculative and strategic, such as how their people had survived for three centuries.
The elevator opened letting Seri get a good view of a very confused mid-aged detective. He was reading his new paper and his phone was out on his lap, likely giving constant updates to his boss.
He looked on and his dark eyes didn’t see anyone, so he was likely wondering why the hell the empty elevator had opened up on the floor he was guarding. Fairy and witch illusions were capable of pulled the wool firmly over mortal eyes. This is how inhumans had survived for so long without being discovered.
Bix nodded soundlessly to Seri, confirming that her Don’t-Look-Here spell was holding firmly in place. They walked past the weary mortal detective and Bix waved her palm out just in front of his face, making his body droop sleepily into his chair. Seri then opened the door in her leather gloved hand and they stepped into the apartment of the dead fairy, Mina Trenton. She was a few centuries old and had been born inside Seri’s Brooklyn Kingdom. Mina was a weak fae creature with only basic nature magic and a pair of impressive pixie wings. She was nosey and extremely witty, making up for her magical and physical weaknesses with her mental prowess.
Mina was working as a journalist for Fairy Flare News. The post-Dawning world had been amazing for Mina, giving her an entirely new audience to sell her wit and charm. She was still working up the totem pole, but she was a rising star in the new inhuman news conglomerate.
Blood and rot slammed into Seri’s vampire senses. She almost gagged at the potency of the rot; iron death was not pretty nor was it a good way to go for a fae.
“Iron is everywhere!”
Bix said it in a low menacing growl of anger and outrage. Seri could feel her friend’s temperament shift with the wind.
“Come on Bix, we must seek out any hidden clues that the police would have missed.”
Bix nodded but her darkened features told the story of her barely veiled anger. This human, whoever he was, was stirring up trouble in all the worst ways. If Bix was this angry about the method of death, then she was truly worried about the prospects for a future in this kingdom, if someone did not find this murderer fast!
“I will check around the body first and you will look in the kitchen, then the terrace he used to gain entrance to the apartment.”
Bix stiffly nodded to her friend and she disappeared into the next room without another sound. Her magic was potent, but she would have to keep her emotions firmly in check if she was going to hold the illusion spell around herself and Seri.
Seri walked through the hall and into the living room. She walked through the hall and past Bix in the kitchen, into the woman’s bedroom.
The smallish apartment was filled with news articles and papers Mina had been researching. Seri’s heart clenched at the picture of Mina with Seri five-years before. She was not a good friend, but Mina was a friend and she was a trusted member of Seri’s court.
“I will have justice for you, my old friend.”
Seri vowed to the picture of the dead girl. She turned and she took in the brown-tinted stains of blood on the deep-blue carpet. Seri could make out the scent of rage and lust mingled together with the rotting burn of iron sizzling out the immortal fairy’s life. She smelt the mix of unbridled agony and the deep sense of violation of a dying woman’s last horrible moments.
She closed her eyes and she let the senses of the residual emotional imprints wash over her. She caught something she was not expecting, Sandalwood. Seri opened her eyes and she began to breathe in the air deeply.
“Bix, please come here, I think our killer might have left us something.”
Bix moved like a blur and came to a stop beside Seri.
“Take a deep breath and tell me what you think. I need to know everything you smell.”
Bix nodded and she did not ask why that was not who Bix was. She knew Seri would not force her to drink in the iron death and violation in the air unless she had a damn good reason.
Bix’s eyes popped open again and she shot out a string of curses that would make a sailor blush.
“Sandalwood, is that what you found?”
She asked Seri, who nodded in confirmation.
“Sandalwood might just be part of his personal preference in male musk, or he is working with a witch.”
Bix’s eyes darkened and she added, “Or, he is a witch. That would explain why he knows our weaknesses and how to subdue inhumans.”
Seri didn’t like where this line of logic was headed. Either humans were working with witches against inhumans, or witches were looking to undermine the leadership of New York in particular. Seri could not dismiss either possibility and her suspect pool just grew exponentially.
Eleven:
Bix and Seri opted to go chase down this new lead before handing any new information over to Thea. While both agreed that Thea being the actual authority was the one who should catch and arrest this murderer, they both wanted to hold out hope that they were reaching and grasping at straws.
Seri was dressed more like she was due to a brunch with royalty, less like she was about to walk into the inhuman black market.
Every major city had hollowings—access points to pockets of magical space humans could not enter of their own will. Seri had never been to this particular hollowing before since it used to belong to the Winter Queen’s territory, but she did know of its exact location.
Ironically as it might be, the hollowing she needed was located in Time Square. Traffic pedestrian and automotive alike roared around her. She walked over to the massive bronze bull statue in the center of the street and she looked around until her eyes locked onto the invisible rune of hot magic. Seri touched her two fingers to the rune and pressed some of her magic into it, just enough to coax the transportation magic to life.
The world spun around Seri and she was suddenly standing in a massive market with a similar layout to the normal realm. The buildings were ancient and timeless constructs of stone and many wooden displays lined the streets showing magical wears of all types and varieties.
Bix swirled into existence beside Seri and she began to scan the crowded marketplace.
“This place reeks of kettle magic.”
Bix murmured lowly enough that only Seri could pick out her words. She was not wrong, spices and herbs of all kinds jockeyed for Seri’s attention. She caught a veritable apothecaries’’ worth of herbal smells.
Seri spotted auctioneers off at the back with five humans wearing manacles. One of them was a dark fairy with a spider’s lower body and eight long legs and a human torso and two humanoid hands and a normal human head.
“Remind me to come back with a mess of our best and drive these people out of business.”
Seri murmured to Bix and the other woman nodded in agreement. Bix masked her outrage at the open slave practice in the post-Dawni
ng age and inside their city.
“It’s like they want to get us into a damn conflict with the humans!”
Bix hissed lowly and Seri looked out, taking in the rest of the visible marketplace. Women with nearly naked bodies danced outside a massive building that was stank of opiates and magical concoctions from the daemon realm. Nearly nothing from the mortal world could affect any immortal, but the drugs from the lower realms, or hell realms, could.
The scantily clad women and several men too, were all beautiful, so much so that it hurt to look at them, even for Seri. They were succubi and incubi from the realm of Dis, without any doubts. They were daemons that fed off lust and sexual energy. They were dangerous but were considered one of the least harmful of the daemons allowed to walk the mortal realm.
Slight twinges of sulfur tickled Seri’s nose, indicating some of the beings were fresh arrivals from Dis or one of the less reputable homes of daemons.
“God, we’re infested with them…”
Seri murmured and Bix hummed in agreement beside her.
“It’s hard to believe we have not shut this place down long ago Princess.”
Seri inclined her head slightly in agreement.
“No kidding, this is well beyond anything we should permit with mortal focus on us so intent to find faults.”
Bix had her hand hovering over an invisible slot at the small her back. Seri knew her friend well enough to know all her hidden pockets of magic to stuff her long blades while out amongst the mortals. Those same pockets made for a damn good concealment inside such a magical pocket like this.
“Please tell me you have one for me too.”
She smirked at Bix, who nodded, knowing exactly what Seri was talking about.
“A girl has to be prepared for anything Seri. You should know this better than anyone by now.”
Seri rolled her eyes at Bix’s light chide of her state of unarmed.
“This was supposed to be a simple investigation of a murder scene.”
Seri snipped and Bix huffed at her and snorted.
“Since when is anything involving our kind simple Seraphina Herrington?!”
She just nodded in a silent concession of Bix’s point. Nothing was every simple with inhumans or daemons for that matter. In fact, Seri was practically painting a bull’s eye on her back around these demonic beings since she was wholly unarmed.
“Fine, just slip me a pair of your enchanted silver daggers. I know you Bix; you are carrying them, aren’t you?”
She leveled her friend with a cocky smile. Bix scoffed at Seri and her hands vanished into her hips, not her pockets, but as if they had plunged into the fronts of her legs. She plucked out a pair of five-inch silver blades that glowed with eternal moonlight. Blades made for Bix to honor her long-lost mother. Seri was the only person who Bix would lend these blades to and Seri only asked because they could kill anything.
“I want my dragon slayers back when we’re done here Seri.”
Bix’s tone became cool. She was not happy to part with her daggers, though she rarely pulled them out for any typical problem. They were called dragon slayers for a good reason, they were what you brought to the party when the other person pulled out a pair of spelled dragons and a few thrilled daemon minions for good measure.
“I’ll cherish them and I will only bloody them if I have to.”
Bix gave Seri a skeptical look about that last statement. Seri was a level-headed ruler, but the girl seemed to attract trouble like she was born with a lightning rod stuck to her person.
“Let’s go find us a witch.”
Bix gave Seri one more lingering look and then she nodded in agreement. She swept her gaze around the allies and the shops. Seri seemed to be looking for something no one else could see.
Her eyes landed on a building of dull-grey stone and simple wood construction. Something much less visually appealing compared to the rest of this hidden market.
When in doubt always start with the witch you can probably bribe.
Seri thought to herself and she cut to the right side of the street and Bix trot hot on her heels. Seri stashed the dragon slayers in her pockets and she managed to cove the hilts with her cardigan. The store was an apothecary of sorts, and the smells that greeted the two girls were not pleasant. All kettle spells of various varieties and all grey or black magic.
Witches come in three flavors, white witches, grey witches, and black witches. Grey and Black spells often darken or taint the soul, hence the names. Witch magic was gifted to humans who made deals with daemons and it always comes at a cost. This is why Seri does not like dealing with witches because they are basically daemon creations, like how inhumans are Alchemist creations.
Crudely put, it was like trying to make cats and dogs behave together. Witches and inhumans clash and they rarely agree on anything. Hell, the witches and daemons are not particularly happy that Thea shoved them all out of their proverbial broom closets.
Charms and hexes lined the walls, infused in trinkets and baubles of many varieties. Dark magic infused weapons hung another row along the far wall, behind the large countertop of dull wood. An old iron cash register from a very long forgotten era sat at the middle of the counter area.
“Ah, customers!”
A raspy female voice exclaimed. Seri didn’t feel the proximity spell on the door, but when she looked back it was there and several layers of concealment charms hung over it. Witches were clever and they did not like inhumans sneaking up on them. Their magic was the only defense they had against powerful inhumans. Witches were not immortal either, but they did age about half as fast as humans. They could live to be nearly two-hundred if they didn’t get themselves killed first.
“What have we here?!”
The voice said again as she came into view walking out a veiled room in the back. Seri could smell the source of very foul dark magic wafting through the room from the now opened curtain in the back.
Seri nodded to the witch, who looked to be in her early forties in human years. This could put her anywhere from forty to one hundred and twenty in witch years. She was not a novice and she had a clearly practiced hand with her kettle-work.
“Greetings, I’m looking for some information. I understand that you are a businesswoman who might be able to point me in the right direction.”
Seri licked her lips and she watched the dully-blonde haired witch assess her. She could tell that the witch clearly recognized her. Not that this should surprise her since Seri is a very infamous person in the inhuman and magical world.
“For a price, perhaps, if I am willing to be seen trading with the Earth Princess.”
The witch sneered at Seri and Bix nearly lunged for the woman and Seri raised a hand and Bix stopped as if Seri had jerked her to a halt. The witch was sneering at Bix.
“Good dog.”
She taunted the light elf who was grinding her teeth in aggravation.
“We came here seeking information and we are willing to pay you well for correct information. While some of your kind might be angry, all would be envious of you.”
Seri spoke smoothly being the political animal that she was born to be. The witch smiled at her with a yellow-tinted grin.
“I must admit you have a point there Princess.”
Seri stepped forward and Bix followed her silently brooding at the witch. Bix hated witched every bit as much as Seri, but unlike Seri, Bix had a bit more of a temper when provoked.
“Tell me what you’re looking for little princess and I will tell you if I can be of any assistance.”
The witch leaned into her counter studying the vampire princess walking deeper into her web of black magic.
Bix was scanning the room for any possible magical threats to their persons. She knew Seri trusted her to watch their collective backs while she focused all her attention on the witch in front of them. Seri and Bix made a hell of a team and she had an itching feeling that they would reaffirm that fact before their field-trip was over.<
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Twelve:
Witches and vampires seldom mix well, considering their mutual obsession with blood. Each being used blood for different purposes. Witches used blood for blood magic and vampires to sustain their immortal lives.
The putrid smells of blood magic assaulted Seri’s sense and threatened to bring tears to her burning eyes. The yellow-toothed witch was beaming and looked as if she had just eaten a canary. Seri didn’t like the look of the woman’s smile, nor the way she was sizing her up.
“So, Princess, what can I do for you?”
Her raspy voice cut through the stretch of silence that had hung awkwardly around them for a very long moment. Seri stepped up to the counter and she smiled personably to the middle-aged witch.
“I am looking for a witch who might be working with a human. One who might be providing some magic involving Sandalwood to a human murderer?”
The woman didn’t have a good poker face; her expression told Seri that she had chosen the right door. This dark magic practitioner had heard something. She tried to look blandly at Seri and she shrugged as if she could care less.
“You have just described nearly any witch who walks these streets of market-row.”
She cackled a laugh at Seri and Bix growled lowly behind Seri’s back, still ready to pounce on the bitch if she was given half an opening. Seri didn’t let her smile slip and she kept her emotions closely guarded.
“I am looking for a murderer who smells of Sandalwood and likes to rape and murder inhuman women. Does this description ring any bells? And, do you happen to know what particular witch this person would be dealing with?”
The witch really knew something, but she spread her hands wide.
“Even if I do, why would I tell you Princess of Earth? You are likely going to kill both, or turn them over to the humans, am I wrong?”
The woman flashed a feral smile.
“We do not take kindly to chatty parrots around here. If word were to slip that I talked to you, then I am frightened of what might become of me.”
She played the part of a middle-aged spinster fearing for her life uncommonly well. Seri leaned into the counter and spoke lowly.