Blood Politics (Blood Destiny 4) (3 page)

Mrs. Alcoon found her voice.
 “Well, this simply will not do, Mr Slim.  It will not do at all.”

Uh oh.
 I watched the older woman warily.  Maybe she wasn’t going to cope with being confronted by a flying purple gargoyle with a penchant for old books quite as well as I’d thought.  She lifted a single finger in his direction.

“Do not move,” she stated firmly, then disappeared underneath the counter and began rummaging around in something, before standing back up and brandishing a flowery yellow headscarf.
 Mrs. Alcoon held it up in front of her face and squinted sideways at Slim.  “Yes, this will suit nicely, I think.”

Slim’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.
 I watched, thoroughly amused, as she carefully picked her way around the boxes until she was directly in front of him.  Then she reached out around his waist and, in one swift motion, tied the scarf around his middle, knotting it at the side and hiding his naked nether regions.

“What the feck are you doing?” screeched Slim, short arms scrabbling down to his side trying to snatch off the offending piece of fabric.

“Mr. Slim,” Mrs. Alcoon began in a patient voice, “Mackenzie and I are most grateful to have your assistance and we do hope that you convey that thought to your March-Mage.  However, flying around here with your bits hanging out all day long simply will not do.” She fixed him with a beaming smile.  “It’s simply too distracting.  I’m sure you understand.”  She patted him on the shoulder.  “Now, can I get you some tea perhaps?”

Slim gaped at her, then stared down at himself.
 The clash between the yellow of the scarf and his purple skin was really rather extraordinary.    I couldn’t help myself: a tiny snort escaped me, causing the gargoyle to spin round in the air and snarl.

I tried to look serious, and failed.
 “It suits you, Slim, it really does.  I think yellow is definitely your colour.”

“You can fecking shut your trap,” he hissed.

“Mr. Slim,” repeated Mrs. Alcoon, “would you like some tea?”

He muttered an affirmative reply, not looking at her.
 

For her part, she smiled at him benignly.
 “Then I’ll be right back.”  She disappeared off into the small kitchenette at the back of the shop.

As soon as she’d gone, Slim jabbed a stubby finger in my direction.
 “If you fecking tell anyone else about this, anyone at all…”

I grinned.
 “My lips are sealed.”

He stared at me suspiciously, then grunted unhappy acquiescence.
 “Well, let’s get to work.  Sooner I get out of this fecking hell hole and away from that crazy woman the better.”

*

With Slim’s help, the process of unpacking the books and sorting them out became much faster.  He had a few choice words about our selection, muttering away to himself whenever he came across a particularly New Age endowed human text, but I had to admit that he knew his stuff and was able to arrange the piles much more efficiently and knowledgeably than I could.  It helped, of course, that he didn’t get distracted by every third book like I did, and feel compelled to sit down and read a chapter of it.  When Mrs. Alcoon brought out his tea, he sniffed at it warily before taking a tiny sip.  I stopped what I was doing and watched, waiting for him to spit it back out again, but instead a curious spasm crossed his face and he said nothing else.  He ended up drinking the entire thing, causing me no end of surprise.  For once, however, I wisely kept my mouth shut.

By the time it was midday, everything was unpacked and in piles around the floor, and I was depositing the flattened cardboard boxes outside, ready to be collected for recycling.
 I’d managed to drop the vampire books into my backpack without the others noticing, and planned to read through them carefully at my leisure later on.  I designated myself to go out and pick up some sandwiches for lunch, hoping that it was safe to leave the pair of them behind on their own.  Certainly Slim could hardly go wandering about the streets of London, and I didn’t trust that Mrs. Alcoon would manage to bring back anything edible.  Hungry as I was, there seemed little other choice.

I turned left out of the shop, thinking that I’d wander down to the small supermarket on the corner and pick up some crusty bread and perhaps a rotisserie chicken if they had any left.
 As I did so, a tiny movement caught my eye from across the street.  I paused mid-step, thinking for a moment, then continued, keeping careful watch on the busy road next to me.  I deliberately slowed my steps, making it appear to the entire world as if I were simply out for a relaxed stroll in the daytime sun, and counted down in my head.  

I’d timed it perfectly.
 As soon as I reached the crossroads, the traffic signal changed to green and the stream of cars revved up and continued on their journeys, effectively blocking anyone from crossing over to my side of the street.  As soon as that happened, without turning my head, I turned left down the street and away from my watchers, and began to run.  I pelted down the pavement, dodging passersby.  There was a hairy moment when I almost got entangled with the lead of a small terrier that was tied up to a nearby lamppost and began barking at me, but I managed to leap over it, then twist left again down a small alley that led along the back of all the shops, parallel to the direction I’d just come.  The faint smell of urine and rotting rubbish reached my nostrils, reminding me that on my list of things to do was finding some time to clear out the back of the bookshop so that at least we could avoid having any unpleasant whiffs drift in and bother the customers.  For now, however, I ignored it and continued to sprint, this time unencumbered by pedestrians, until I reached the end when I turned left again out onto the street and up to the same busy road that I’d originally been on, albeit a few hundred metres back from where I’d started.

Now that I was to the rear of my trackers, I was in a position to find out exactly who it was wasting their time following me around.
 I still didn’t really care whether they were there or not, but I was curious who the might and power of the Otherworld had decided to send to babysit me.  The first one was easy to spot, not just because she was frantically searching up the street for me, but because I also knew her.  I hadn’t been naïve enough to presume that Corrigan himself would spend his entire time following me around, the previous night’s encounter notwithstanding, but I still felt the slightest twinge of disappointment that it was Lucy, the honeybadger shifter with the appetite of a horse who I’d first met in Cornwall, and not the Lord Alpha himself.  Telling myself that I felt that way just because I’d wanted to prove that I could give Corrigan the slip without even breaking into a sweat, I dismissed her, and looked for the others.

Where Lucy had by now managed to start crossing the road, the other two were still standing on the opposite side, about halfway down the block.
 It was apparent that the reason they’d not started to come after me was due to the fact that there were starting to come after each other.  They were facing each other, clearly squaring off, while the shoppers nearby gave them a wide berth and more than a few nervous glances.  I chuckled to myself, and leaned backwards slightly to get a better look.  The mage, not anyone I’d previously encountered, had his back to me, but his profession was recognisable thanks to his odd attire.  It seemed to be de rigeur that as soon as mages made it out of the academy, they ended up in attention-grabbing clothing that proclaimed their distinct personalities as loudly as possible.  Having spent barely a couple of months wearing the constricting mage uniform myself, I didn’t blame them.  This particular specimen was wearing shocking pink neon jeans and a green t-shirt, with some kind of floppy hat perched on his head.  Clearly, staying unobtrusive wasn’t high on the mages’ list of intentions and I wondered what it said about me that they didn’t care that I’d know I was being followed.  It seemed likely that it was more about making sure that the shifters and the faeries knew he was there than anything else.

I watched as he reached over to the Fae opposite him and gave him a tiny shove.
 Apparently Beltran still hadn’t been relieved of his duty yet.  He leaned in towards the mage and flicked him on the nose.  I snickered.  Despite my amusement, however, the tension in both their bodies was clear; their mutual hatred was visible even from across the crowded street.  

“Quite a show they’re putting on,” commented a voice next to me, making me jump.

I cursed myself for being so wrapped up in the proceedings that were unfolding between Beltran and the mage that I’d not been paying attention to what was nearby, and glanced over at the owner of the voice, before immediately relaxing.  It was a slight, bespectacled chap who I’d never seen before, but who clearly was about as dangerous as a tub of margarine.

“Mmm,” I murmured agreement.

“Do you think I should call the police?” he asked, with a slightly anxious tone.

That probably wasn’t a good idea.
 “Oh, I’m sure they’ll sort it out themselves,” I said reassuringly.  “There’s no point in escalating the situation further.”  Or getting the human police wrapped up in affairs of the Otherworld at least.

I continued to watch the pair of them, wondering whether I should intervene and nip their posturing in the bud.
 Before I could make a decision either way, however, Lucy reappeared next to them.  She gesticulated irritably in my direction.  I guessed that my scent had finally given me away, and wondered if it would be worth my while getting in touch with Julia to see if she could make me up some masking lotion in case of future encounters.  I discarded the idea as pointless almost immediately.  Corrigan could contact me whenever he wanted through the Voice, the mages just needed to set up a simple Divination spell if they wanted to find me and, if I allowed a single drop of blood to fall, the Fae – well, Solus anyway - would know exactly where I was.  It highlighted how ridiculous the whole notion of them all following me around really was.

Beltran and the mage turned towards me, frowning.

“You know them?” The man beside me asked, with a curious note in his voice.

“Not exactly,” I answered, smiling at him politely and hoping he’d continue on his way.
 Fortunately, he seemed to get the message as he smiled back and nodded, then made to cross the road himself.

Lucy, Beltran and the mage were all staring at me so I gave them a grin and a little wave.
 None of them looked particularly happy.  I shrugged.  That was hardly my concern.  My stomach rumbled, reminding me why I was outside in the first place.  My original curiosity satisfied, I headed back down the street to finally pick up some lunch.

Chapter Three

When I eventually made it back to Clava Books, the bell on the door signalling my return, Mrs. Alcoon and Slim were in the midst of a full throated discussion.

“Dear, the alchemy collection needs to go at the front. “

“Don’t fecking call me dear.  And you can’t put it at the front.”  Slim put his hands on his flower wrapped hips.  “It’s not for human consumption.  It needs to be kept at the back for the real readers.”

Mrs. Alcoon raised her eyebrows.
 “So humans aren’t real readers?”

“You know what I fecking mean,” he grumbled loudly.
 “Those books are dangerous.  You can’t just let anyone get their hands on them.”

“And why not?
 The number of people, human or otherwise, who genuinely possess the ability to make any kind of use out of these books is miniscule.  Anyone who purchases them is doing so out of curiosity, not out of some bizarre need to turn objects into gold.”

“Are you fecking mad, woman?” Slim screeched.
 “Alchemy is not about turning things into gold.  It’s much more complex than that.” His wings flapped, indicating his annoyance.  “We should have kept you in fecking stasis when we had the chance.”

I cleared my throat before things got out of hand.
 They both turned and glared at me.

“Mackenzie, dear, you’ve been gone a terribly long time.”

“Sorry,” I said with a trace of guilt, realising belatedly that leaving these two on their own really hadn’t been the best idea in the world.  “I had a couple of things to sort out.”

“Well, you should fecking take care of things later, shouldn’t you?” snapped Slim.

“Don’t talk to her like that.”

Slim’s wings flapped harder.
 “I’ll talk to her any fecking way I please.  I’m doing you two a favour by being here.”

“Well, Mr. Slim,” said Mrs. Alcoon calmly, “you are free to leave if you wish.”

The little gargoyle muttered something under his breath.

“Sorry, dear?
 I didn’t quite catch that.”

“Oh, I’ll stay,” he muttered again. “But only because you’ll upset the delicate balance of the Otherworld all on your own if I don’t.”
 He rose heavily up into the air from his perch on the counter, and flew through to the kitchenette.

As soon as he was gone, Mrs. Alcoon turned to me.
 “I really rather like him, Mackenzie dear.”

“You could have fooled me,” I said disbelievingly, pulling out the bread and fillings that I’d just purchased.