By Fairy Means or Foul: A Starfig Investigations Novel(8)
“He showed her to us. She had the halo of a virgin still.” He blushed when he said this. It was surprisingly sweet.
I couldn’t even imagine what the sprite must look like. I’d heard of the halo virginal sprites had when they matured, of course, but so few creatures had ever seen it. As I said, sprites weren’t known for their abstinence. “And he wasn’t trading her virginity?”
“No,” Quinn lowered his voice like he feared we’d be overheard. “Apparently virgin sprite blood is a rare delicacy. Brandsome is very fond of having things no one else has. It’s his weakness. Well, among others. He had to have her. Or some of her blood at any rate. Did I mention he loves a good Bloody Mary?”
“So he bet his horn?” I shouldn’t be so surprised. Lots of creatures did dumb things, but I’d always believed unicorns were so . . . pure. And noble. Kind of ruined the fantasy.
“That about sums it up.”
“And now I have to retrieve it.” I sighed. I really should have turned down this case.
“I told you to be careful. He’s . . . well, maybe not quite evil, but he’s a really, really bad person. Selfish, greedy, arrogant. Only no one ever sees it. They only see his beauty. I shouldn’t be surprised. It’s part of a unicorn’s magic. Just once I’d like to see someone immune to him.” His voice had turned bitter once again. Quinn glanced down, tugged at his collar. “Anyway, that’s what you need to know before you confront Lapus.”
“What properties does his horn have?” Of course unicorn horns were highly magical. But obviously Brandsome still possessed a strong measure of magic even without it.
“Mostly Brandsome used it to force people to tell the truth. You can’t lie to a unicorn because of his horn’s magic. Believe me, I’ve tried. That’s why he’s so keen to get it back. He has a big meeting with Glitter Apparel at the end of the month and wants to use it for renegotiating their contract.”
“That could be useful.” I scratched my chin, the stubble thick and coarse against my fingertips. “What else does it do?”
“Believe it or not, it enhances his sex appeal. You think you were a blithering idiot with him before, you should see what would happen when he has the horn. You’d still be singing his praises, offering to work for free, and probably writing some really bad poetry in his honor. I’ve seen it.”
“I wouldn’t exactly say ‘blithering idiot’.”
“Mmm, of course not.” Quinn didn’t meet my eye, but I swear his mouth turned up in just the hint of a smile.
I might have smiled back. I moved toward the front office and he jumped up to follow, his sack gripped tight in his arms.
“I’ll get you settled in my guest room, then head out to the Steamy Bean.” I looked back over my shoulder and grimaced. “I might as well get this job over with.”
3
Quinn swallowed audibly, trailed me out of the office and up a narrow staircase to a door at the top of the steps. I touched my hand to the lock and it released. Entering my domain, I welcomed him inside, let him take in the sparsely furnished living room, with large red and gold silk pillows and wall-hangings covering almost every available surface. This was only one of my bolt-holes and not where I kept my hoard, but I still wanted to be comfortable. Carved chests artfully decorated the corners of the room, and a low, long table with the same carvings, sat in the middle, surrounded by a silk mound of pillows.
Quinn’s head swiveled as he took in everything, his back pressed to the door. Couldn’t blame him. Until the truce of Cairnsdaught, dragons enjoyed snacking on little humans like him. Most fairies wouldn’t harm humans intentionally, but they didn’t understand a lot of human’s odd customs, like modesty, and monogamy. Since dragons—if they mated—did so for life, I held a different perspective on that, but fairies liked to ensorcel humans to act out dramas for their amusement, not understanding that their meddling could break up families. It’s one of the reasons the High Council came down hard on having non-magical humans in the Elder. It caused a glut of paperwork when they’d get injured; a real inconvenience for the Council.
I showed Quinn the spare bedroom. Not very spacious, but it contained a nest-like bed with a pile of warm pelts and a beautifully carved dresser with gold filament inlay and a matching mirror. I’d hung a large dark green tapestry depicting a simple forest dragon toasting a knight into popcorn. Probably not the most comforting of scenes, but what was the probability I’d have a real live human male in my home? I’d matched the wall-hanging to gauzy silk curtains that framed a tiny stained-glass window.
“Your place is not what I pictured.” Quinn fumbled with his bag, placed it on his bedding.
“You assumed I would live in a cold, dank cave, right?”
“Well, yeah, kind of.”
I grimaced. Dragons got a bad rap in the decorating department, but the truth was we liked beautiful things. Shiny things. Gold, and silk, and men like Quinn who—now that Brandsome was out of range—I could really appreciate for his almost pretty features. A square jaw and strong cheekbones kept a slightly harder edge to his face, but his long lashes and lush mouth made me instantly think bed slave. No wonder he’d been sold to Brandsome.
I blinked, trying to remember what we were just discussing. Dank, dark caves. Right.