Sylvi did a slight curtsy, the leather of her suit creaking slightly as she smiled coquettishly at the brothel owner. Next to Hestus a woman with brown curls narrowed her eyes at Sylvi. There was apparently no love lost between the women.
“The—pleasure—is all mine, Lord Hestus,” she whispered breathily.
“Oh,” he laughed gently. “I am simply a Master, my dear, as you well know.”
“You will always be a Lord tome, Master Hestus.”
She smiled a secret smile at him and blinked slowly, her eyes promising pleasure.
“And these?” Hestus coughed, pulling himself back to his duties.
“This is Hephaestus,” Master B said, gesturing to Helios. “And this is Hercules.”
Hel and I bowed as he called out ournom de plumes.
“And this is Perseus and Poseidon!” He said, gesturing to Luke and Rhuyin.
“You always did have a flair for the dramatic, Bacillus,” Master Hestus said, smiling as he examined us. “They are gorgeous. If they perform even half as well as the Lady Sylvi, it will be coin well spent.”
“Would you like some refreshments?” Master Hestus asked. “Or would you prefer to retire until dinner? We don’t have any clients scheduled for you until afterward.”
“Ah, rest, I think,” Master B said. “We would not want to disappoint your clients.”
“Indeed. Eli!” called Master Hestus and the young eunuch appeared at his side as if by magic. “Take our guests so they can bathe and refresh themselves. Master B will be dining with me this evening.”
Eunuchs in Alexandria were considered the lowest of the low. Being made a eunuch was punishment typically reserved for the worst of traitors or as punishment for someone who had an especially valuable skill that their owner wished to preserve, but still punish. I understood why Hel’s father and Jozel had been made eunuchs, but it made me wonder what Eli had done to suffer this fate.
The eunuch nodded their bald head. Eli had been here when I had been brought to the House. I kept my eyes down. I remembered too clearly their disgust at my attitude from our previous visit. The last thing we needed was for someone to recognize us before we had the opportunity to free our prizes.
They led us to quiet quarters in the back of the building that I didn’t remember seeing in our previous visit. It held a large living area with multiple doors leading off to what I assumed were bedrooms. The apartments were nowhere near as lavish as the ones in which Mageia were forced to perform their Callings, but they were clean and everything was of high quality.
“Please rest here. If you need to bathe, please ring for a servant to guide you to the bathing rooms. If you need anything else—”
“Actually,” Hel said, stepping forward. “Do you have a healer amongst your staff? I have a minor wound from one of our previous clients that doesn’t seem to be healing as well as it might. If you have a healer, their help would be appreciated.”
Eli paused, and I held my breath. This was the story we had concocted to have an excuse to try to reach his father.
“I have some healing skills, let me see,” Eli demanded.
Hel grimaced, but he recovered quickly, playing it off as pain from the wound. We had expected this.
He lifted his shirt above his stomach and showed a bloodstained bandage across his midsection. Eli stepped forward and ripped the bandage down with far more force than necessary. I must have made some kind of sound because the eunuch turned their icy gaze on me.
“This one is a little possessive,” Hel said, smiling as he stepped between us, deftly redirecting Eli’s gaze back to him. Dammit, I was no good at this subterfuge!
When Eli turned their gaze to Hel I knew what they would see: a long gash, not too deep, but definitely showing signs of infection. Sylvi was a master at makeup and disguise. So long as they didn’t poke and prod too much at the “wound” it should pass inspection.
Eli “Harrumphed.”
“This is beyond my skill, but we have one here who might be able to help. I will send them to you.”
I hid my exultation at the use of the “them” pronoun. It meant that the person they were sending was likely a eunuch, and that increased the chance that it might end up being Hel’s father.
“Your assistance is appreciated,” Hel responded.
When Eli left the room we all let out a sigh of relief. The first step in our plan was complete.
“Are you okay?” Hel asked.
