oye como va, mi ritmo
bueno pa gozar, mulata
‘Sweetheart,’ Sperantia’s voice purred softly in the back of his mind, ‘be a darling and check out the fish tray for me.’
Mallos glanced two tables down at the buffet, where the fish had been placed in a confused position between the meat and vegetable sections – to account for peskitarians, presumably. Its rather pungent odour had previously been masked by divinity, but now that it had been brought to his attention the aroma was almost overpowering. Apparently, the fish wasn’t very popular – most of the tray was still full, compared to the almost-empty meat to its left and the half-full plate of mixed vegetables to its right. As Mallos watched, one of the ladies of the court approached the table, sniffed, muttered something about caviar and walked off again.
‘You won’t like it,’ he informed his familiar while reaching into his pocket to pull out his packet of cigarettes. ‘It’s smoked.’
He could just imagine the Siamese-cross rolling her eyes. Sperantia was prowling around somewhere on the other side of the room, keeping an eye on Thoth and Eselda while Mallos kept a look out for suspicious unknown characters. His promise to Poppy to watch her daughter and half-brother had not been entirely for her benefit: Mallos had his doubts about some of the fairies who had come to live in Shaman before the lilac dome was erected. After Arthur had rejected their proposal to take Thoth to Earth, the Aurans had been suspiciously quiet – Mallos wouldn’t have put it past them to send a few of their priests to make camp in Shaman. If they had, and those priests were now stuck here as a result of the dome coming down, they would be fools not to use the opportunity to try and get close to Thoth and the royal family now that security was more lax as a result. A party full of people would be the perfect chance.
Only one character had caught his attention so far this evening, and that person was almost certainly not an Auran. He’d felt the presence of another powerful being – a non-deity – as it had come close, and had picked Asef out of the crowd while he’d been stood on the dais. Mallos didn’t know Asef, as far as he could remember, but great power and no wings usually only meant one thing: an Immortal One. He also failed to think of a reason why an Immortal One would have been invited to the event.
Which begged the question: what was a powerful enemy of the Council of Originals doing at a thirteen year-old boy’s birthday party?
He could feel the power humming gently at the edge of his mind, tempting him outdoors. Morgana had left to dance with Mordred, Tristan was the centre of attention amongst a small group of people his own age, and Arthur had been surrounded by nobles. There was no one else Mallos really cared to speak to or vice versa. With a final glance around the room, he quietly slipped outside and followed the magical trace towards a darker, quieter part of the garden. Asef was standing only a short distance from the doors and was facing the ice rink where various children were shrieking with delight, but he was distinctly set apart from the rest of the crowds. Mallos flipped open his half-empty cigarette packet and offered one to the other fairy before taking one out for himself. The cigarette lit itself automatically as soon as it touched his lips.
They stood in silence for a moment while Mallos observed a couple of children who had fallen on the ice trying to pick themselves back up again. Every time they tried they slipped back over again, laughing and grabbing at each other with their little hands.
“I don’t remember seeing your name on the invitation list,” he said casually after a brief pause, which wasn’t technically a lie. Mallos hadn’t actually seen the invitation list, but it was a fairly safe assumption that Asef wouldn’t be on it. “Children’s birthday parties are on the Immortal Ones’ agenda now, are they?”
