“The mission continues,” I replied in a factual manner as I grabbed my bag. “I was sent to your Sanctum to solve this mystery, and I will see it through. But I will not stay here. It is too risky at the moment. See that you get your house in order. You cannot afford any further slip ups of this magnitude.”
The Prefect muttered something unintelligible under his breath while giving me a stiff nod. Despite his discontent, his relief was undeniable.
With the building now mostly under control, we resumed our interrogation of the two women, but they didn’t have anything more to offer than what we had already gathered. We took our leave. I barely repressed a grin at the sight of Lyall’s displeased expression when I loaded my travel bag onto Pasha—myGaladia. My man had clearly been looking forward to carrying me in his arms again rather than me riding my own mount. Truth be told, I wouldn’t have minded feeling the fluffy warmth of his strong embrace in that beast form. No matter, I didn’t doubt we’d have plenty more opportunities for close proximity.
Lyall took the lead, taking us to an inconspicuous rock formation in a nearby wooded area. To my shock, a portal suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Although I couldn’t say for sure, I suspected my companion had used some sort of word of power to activate it. But as his Gharlakan form didn’t have speech ability, I presumed he had done so telepathically.
I almost argued that it was too early to go back to Nephilim Valley, but instead of taking us through the portal, Lyall landed a few meters in front of it. Intrigued, I imitated him. Moments later, a strange looking male came out of the portal. I recognized him as Morrech, the servant who had brought me food last night as well as the reagents necessary to prepare new spell vellums.
Based on his appearance, I assumed he was some sort of Cambion—the hybrid offspring of a human and a demon. Although he could have passed off as one of us, there was something just off enough about him that most people would instinctively try to avoid him or feel uneasy in his presence. Morrech was very slender, his features delicate, almost androgynous. His neck seemed a little too long and narrow, his chin too pointy, and his eyes—a striking blue color—a bit too big and slightly too far apart. Long, straight black hair cascaded down his head to the middle of his back.
There was something as beautifully haunting about him as it was unsettling. Just like Lyall, he wore clothes that seemed to come right out of ancient Rome, except that he had a full tunic covering his chest, and that he always seemed to wear black whereas his master wore white and gold. As quiet as ever, he simply approached me, his gaze flicking towards my bag.
“Hand him your bag. He will take it home for you,”Lyall said telepathically to me.
Once again, I complied, giving my bag to Morrech. I smiled, and he timidly reciprocated, looking extremely nervous. There was something adorably innocent—almost childish—about him, as if he wasn’t used to much interaction with others. And although he looked young in appearance, I suspected he was a few centuries old. Whatever the case might be, I found him endearing.
He nodded at Lyall before hastening back through the portal.
We spent the next few hours flying around Willow Grove’s forests and swampy areas in search of the location with the Sanguine Crocuses my companion had picked from the demons’ memories. As he had shared the image with me, I knew exactly what to look for. However, doing so during the day when the vision had taken place at night made it a little trickier. Things could look quite different with a change of light.
We considered performing our search after nightfall, but the new moon would be upon us in only five days. And before it, the moonless night that would cause the plants to glow. We couldn’t be certain whether it mattered or not. Did whatever they sought to do there only occur during that specific night or was it always accessible at any given time? Lyall only stated that this image with the glowing flowers appeared multiple times in both Onis’ memories. Therefore, we had to assume that it was a clear sign of the required timing.
For two days, we covered a ridiculous number of potential places to no avail. As much as I enjoyed Lyall’s company, our inability to pinpoint the right location was seriously beginning to stress me out. We had no other lead but this. My gut told me that if we missed that window, we might never catch Elliot or save the missing women.
As we stopped to stretch our legs and for me to eat a snack, I asked Lyall to show me once again the vision of that location, including the moments leading up to their arrival. He settled on the huge moss-covered rock and drew me into his lap with a familiarity that did funny things to me. I had grown to realize that he craved physical contact, and not just sexually. Lyall loved being hugged or randomly touched. It could be just a caress, scratching his head, holding his hand, or simply leaning against him in any way. Thankfully, I was a cuddler. So we perfectly aligned on that front as well.
My surroundings shifted so seamlessly, had I not known he had drawn me into an illusion, I would truly believe that I was physically in that new location. It reminded me just how insanely powerful my companion was. Any other mystifier triggered some sort of fight or flight instinct in me. However subtle it might be, I always felt when magic was being used against me. With Lyall, I had no way of detecting it unless he told me.
As with the last time he showed me, I seemed to appear in the forest. As they were the Onis’ memories, I was seeing everything the same way they had, through their eyes. By the suddenness of my arrival, I could only presume I had teleported directly to this location. A shadow loomed behind me. I turned around to find a dark portal swirling before me. It was barely a third of the massive size of the portals which took us into the Veil. Through the memories of the Onis, I walked into the portal, and the illusion immediately stopped.
I groaned in frustration before peering at Lyall. He gave me an apologetic smile for having nothing more to show me before or after, which might be of any relevance.
“They must be using some incredibly powerful wards to shut you out so completely,” I said pensively.
“They’re not shutting me out,” Lyall corrected gently. “They’re wiping out the Onis’ memories specifically to avoid their secrets being revealed in case they’re caught. I can only see what memories they possess, even subconscious ones. But I cannot recover anything that has been permanently erased.”
I pursed my lips with a dejected expression. “I just wish I knew who and what exactly we were dealing with. This is too elaborate to simply be about a random man with a clubfoot wanting to fix his aesthetic and acquire a bit more power. My gut tells me we’re about to uncover something far more sinister.”
“I agree,” he replied with a frown. “Therefore, we cannot give up.”
“I never do,” I said forcefully, making him smile.
He leaned forward and gave me a surprisingly tender kiss that had my toes instantly curling. Too soon, he ended it and helped me onto my Galadia’s back. He shifted into his favorite creature, and we resumed what was increasingly starting to feel like pointless exploration.
By the time we got back home, I was beyond frustrated.
We went to his room—which he had moved me into—and we took a shower together. We didn’t have sex although our hands did a bit of wandering. However, he did give me a rather welcome massage while washing my back.
Lyall and this entire relationship confused me. He seemed very possessive of me but also extremely caring. Even now, as we finished showering, he made it a point to be the one drying me. The first time he did it, I expected it was to have an excuse to grope me. But he always did so in a gentle and very respectful fashion.
I didn’t know what this was between us. To me, it had just been a very brief affair, scratching an itch with a mouthwatering demigod. But Lyall wasn’t acting like a fling. I didn’t like anyone thinking they had ownership over me. And yet, I weirdly likedall the ways in which he interacted with me, including his occasional possessiveness and bossiness.
Maybe it is time for me to distance myself from him.
Nine Hells! Why did that mere thought sting so badly? It was a smart idea. While I wanted his help, we didn’t need to be lovers. After all, there was no future for us. As soon as this mission was done, I would return to the Curia. It wasn’t like he could simply tag along and become an Inquisitor. In fact, I didn’t even know what he did, or if he had any type of profession. Clearly, money wasn’t an issue for him. Then again, I had never heard of a broke demigod.
“Why are you so tense?” Lyall asked, snapping me out of my musings as he was pulling a chair in front of the table on the large terrace where Morrech had laid out a feast for us.
