Free Bloodlust by Helen Harper Page A

anything?”
    “Eh?”
    “Have you found anything out about Endor?”
    Aubrey started making strange noises. He appeared to be rolling around on the floor with increased vigour. I ignored him.
    “No.”
    I stared at him. “What? That’s it? Just ‘no’?”
    He shrugged. “There’s nothing. No books. Nothing that fecking gives any clue as to who he really is or where he’s come from.”
    “What about necromancy in general?”
    “It’s a nasty business and you shouldn’t do it.”
    “For fuck’s sake, Slim…”
    He scratched unhappily underneath the scarf concealing his nether regions from the delicate sensibilities of Mrs. Alcoon in a gesture that, while really rather off-putting, also hinted at the frustration he felt at uncovering absolutely nothing. “There’s nothing new. I can’t fecking help you.”
    “The mages’ library at the academy…?”
    “Exactly the same. Whoever your Endor is, he’s managed to stay out of the Otherworld limelight.”
    Sodding hell. It was as if he was some kind of ghost. I rubbed my forehead tiredly and wondered when on earth we were going to get a break. Aubrey broke into my thoughts by moaning again from within his penguin suit. Tired of watching him flail around, I reached down and gave him a helping hand back to his feet. Using his two massive wings, he started pointing and jumping up and down. Maybe he had ants in his pants or something.
    “Okay then,” I said to Slim, all business-like and trying to find some way of getting hold of even a tiny scrap of useful information. “How about what he’s planning to do? We know from the Batibat that he is going after the four elements. We just don’t know which one he’s going for next or how he’s going to try and harness it. Can you look for anything to do with that?”
    Slim nodded grudgingly. He seemed embarrassed that his beloved books had come up short thus far. At least it meant he had a strong impetus to keep attempting to discover something valid.
    There was a sudden loud thump as Aubrey succeeded in pulling off the penguin head all by himself but, in doing so, fell clumsily against a nearby bookshelf. His cheeks were bright red and he was breathing with heavy exertion.
    “You’re not listening to me!”
    The pair of us just looked at him. I gestured for him to speak.
    “I said I know someone who knows Endor,” he exclaimed.
    My eyes widened. “What? Why the fuck didn’t you say something before?”
    He flapped his wings against his body. “I did! You weren’t listening!”
    I took a deep breath and forced myself to calm down. “Where is this person?”
    “I’ve not just been hiding under a rock for the last four days, you know. I’ve been trying to help, Mack,” he said, not answering the question.
    “Aubrey,” I started, the warning audible in my tone.
    “I tried to see what I could find out about him. You know, talk to some of my old contacts, that kind of thing. At great personal risk to myself, I might add. I wore a wolf’s head and told them I’d lost a bet with a shapeshifter. If they’d tried to make me take it off though…”
    “Aubrey!”
    “I mean, really, I was being incredibly brave. I found this one guy, a Fae, after days of hunting and managed to learn from him that there are people who know who Endor is and where he can be found. Just because they don’t move in your circles, doesn’t mean they don’t exist, you know.”
    “AUBREY!”
    He looked at me. “What?”
    “Who?”
    “Huh?”
    I gritted my teeth. “Who is it? Who knows Endor? Tell me now or, so help me God, I will not be responsible for my actions!”
    “Oh,” he cocked his head to one side. “A Fae. An UnSeelie Fae by the name of Tarn. Runs a nightclub over in Soho called Circle. Poncey place, if you ask me.”
    I nodded. “Okay.” I glanced at Slim. “Tell Mrs. Alcoon I’m sorry about the tea but that I have to go.”
    He grunted. Then a thought struck me and I turned back to Aubrey. “That’s