By Fairy Means or Foul: A Starfig Investigations Novel(15)

Rainbowpebbles was large for a fae, both in height and girth. He came to just below my knee, but the way he sat at his oversized desk—the thing was bigger than my own—you’d think he was a giant. I suppose he was among fae.

I just thought he was a scumbag who deserved a horrible death. But hey, that’s me.

“Ah, Twig Starfig, what brings you to my humble domain? Miss me? I can always have you re-chained to the wall for old time’s sake.” The twerp smiled, his black teeth lined up like sharp little tombstones, and removed the tip of a hookah from the corner of his mouth, jiggyweed scenting the air. He hadn’t changed much over the years. His bright red hair still stood up like spikes, and his yellow skin looked too tight for his body, like he was in the process of a molt. Not that faes molted, but I was convinced he was part serpent. His wings matched his hair, and like all fairy folks, they were delicate looking. Nothing delicate about Lapus Rainbowpebbles though.

I forced myself to retract my teeth, but left my claws out. He was one of the few people who knew for a fact I couldn’t fully shift, but he wasn’t stupid enough to believe I was harmless.

“I’d say it’s good to see you again, but I’d be lying. I’ve come for the unicorn horn.”

Rainbowpebbles laughed, a surprisingly musical sound from such a dickhead. He leaned forward in his chair. “Have you now? I suppose I shouldn’t be astonished a half-dragon bastard would desire to add a unicorn horn to his hoard. But isn’t it inconvenient belonging to the Alphae? I mean, how do you plan to get it from me with your promise to ‘do no harm’, hmmm?”

The fucker looked supremely smug. He also didn’t seem surprised I knew about the horn.

Interesting.

The fairy in me urged caution, but the dragon in me wanted to make him a quick snack. Barbequed fae sounded mighty tasty about now.

I retracted my claws and reached inside my tunic, pulling out a pouch I’d tied around my neck. Reaching in, I unveiled a thumbnail-sized blue stolquoise stone. Not only was it exceedingly rare, it gave the user lots of sexual stamina. I held it in my palm so he could get a good look at it with his greedy little eyes. He’d find a buyer for it in a heartbeat.

He frowned. “You expect a trade? Your bauble is quite nice, but I think I’ll keep the horn.”

“Did I say trade?” I tried my best to look innocent, but it was probably a lost cause. “Where’s the fun in that?”

Now I held the little bastard’s interest. His yellow ears seemed to wiggle with excitement, and for just a second his long nose twitched. “What did you have in mind?”

“Cards. Qwikskor. You, me. Winner take all.”

“I like a guy who’s ambitious.” He ran a delicate hand over his jowly chin.

I picked the card game he was most known for being skilled at. And it would be relatively easy for him to cheat. He was drawing out his answer, but I knew I had him. I just needed to weather his posturing and we’d settle down for a nice friendly game. I almost snorted. Right. Nothing friendly about this asshole.

To keep myself from rolling my eyes at the dramatic thinker’s pose he struck, I examined his office. I detected no sign of the horn, no scent trace, nothing. It wasn’t here. And didn’t that piss me off? I was about to say so, when my eyes fell on a small bird cage in one corner of the room. A blanket draped over its top, but if I focused long enough, I could see a faint glow coming from the cage. He really did keep her under lock and key. Rage roiled through my gut and my nose started smoking.

That got his attention. And quick. He nodded toward the cage without taking his eyes off me. “Maybe there’s something else you’re more interested in than the horn, hmmm?”

Quick little fuck.

“No, I’m here for the horn. The rest doesn’t matter.” I cringed internally when I said it, but I couldn’t show any sort of weakness now. Before he could debate me on that point, I added, “Besides, I’m wasting my time. I don’t sense the horn anywhere in the building.”

His eyes widened ever so slightly.

“Maybe it’s under a shit-ton of protection spells?” He leaned back in his chair, his posture not as relaxed as he’d like me to believe.

“I’d know.”

“Maybe.” He shrugged. “Maybe not.”

I chuckled. “Believe me, I’d know.”

He frowned. “So you would. Well, I don’t know what to tell you. I moved it somewhere safe.”

“I want it.”

“You’d have to win it first.” His eyes flashed red for just a second, and I knew I got to him. Good.

“Bring out the cards.”

He seemed to consider this. “Maybe the bauble isn’t enough for such a rare treasure as a unicorn horn.” I wanted to snort because we both knew he was just posturing. He’d pull out the cards and we’d—

“Then maybe to sweeten the pot, I would also be included as the prize.”

Both Rainbowpebbles and I spun toward the familiar voice as the gargoyles leapt from their places toward Quinn, who just appeared seemingly out of thin air.

I gawked, almost didn’t recognize him. He’d washed off all the face paint and put on actual clothes. He still wore the collar, only his hair was no longer a white blond color, but a golden blond fitting his complexion nicely. His features were even stronger than I realized when they were under all that enhancement. A stunning human, to be sure.