Chapter 33: Adventures

The Golden Horn was the extraordinary restaurant with all the dishes ever made in Capitol on the menu. There was a lobby for the high-class citizens and visitors from the outside worlds. Gold, silver and marble showered by light from floating globes of glowing amber; creamy silk curtains hung from doorframes and window sills and coloured glass was set in the lead frame windows.

Matthew met Isobel at the table. She was dressed, as always, in red, but her dress was less modern and she had an air like a queen about her. She rose as he approached and bowed her head, the hair falling in corkscrew curls around her face; the rest was set in an elegant style. A queen indeed. She smiled as always like a teenager on her first date, when she was alone with him. He greeted her with a kiss on the hand at first and then on her blushing cheek.

"You look ravishing, my dear," he said as they sat down. She fingered her diamond earring.

"I always do," she said as if he stated the obvious.

"Mostly," he agreed and the servant came to order their meal. First course consisted fried Capitol poultry in herbal soup, second a red steak of the two-headed Capitol reptile oxen with unicorn blood sauce and freshly dug potato-like roots sprinkled with faery dust  and for dessert exotic fruits with nymph blood dip.

"So, how did it go?" Isobel asked as they were served wine before the first course.

"Fine, but I think S.M.E. is getting angrier by the minute," said Matthew. "I wouldn't want to be in Frederick's shoes. They've been betrayed by the Butterfly Order, and I have a thing or two to punch at them."

"How is Aenriques holding up in there?"

"Better than Adam did, but I think they'll be able to pull out a good amount of information to our advantage," Matthew answered.

"Has he come up with anything yet?" Isobel folded her hands beneath her chin and tilted her head as she surveyed Matthew through the dim light from the globe hanging above their heads.

"They've seemingly been in contact with The Butterfly Order, which is why they've been so aggressive lately," Matthew took a sip of his red wine and held his eyes locked on Isobel's face. There was no doubt that there were more things being discussed than mere businesses with the enemies. Her left foot had already engaged rather close contact with his ankles. Two-way communication. The first course was served.

"So, do you have eyes on the Davises?" Isobel asked careful not to slurp the soup and still holding the spoon at a distance to avoid her lipstick getting smeared. Elegant, Matthew thought. Still after all these years.

"I have. I put Marcus on the task of finding Cato. He's holding up with his little sister Aninka somewhere in Wales. Last I heard though, there was faint communication to Vienna."

"Do you know whether there's a connection?" She tucked in her elbows at her waist and the pressure accentuated the roundness of her bosom.

"I guess so."

"Only guess?" she asked with a light frown. He couldn't disguise the smile at the corner of his lips, something he seldom showed others, though this smile was both meant as self-confident and slightly amused by her attempt. She didn't have to try, just do it or say it, but she liked the game. Matthew was the only man she would never be able to marry given the fact that he, unofficially, was her father and, officially, her brother. But the attempts were none the less amusing, to let her believe, just for a second, that she'd be able to win him over. The goddess of love had not lived in vain.

"I'm still awaiting the report," he answered. "Now, let the matter be. How was your trip to Japan last month, by the way? I never heard anything before the detective showed up."

"Fine," Isobel sighed. "Tanaka and Gaia are still discussing whether they should grant permission for their mafia to seek out precise locations where S.M.E. is said to have quarters. Also, they discovered their tech research facility in Kobe. I had the pleasure of visiting the place myself."

"Anything of use?"

"Blood samples, mostly, but no results that could've led them our way," she said and shrugged as their plates were removed and the main course was served. The unicorn blood shimmered like mercury, and the smell was so overwhelming that neither of them spoke while they ate. Also, the only reason they dared discuss such important matters outside the four walls of the mansion was Isobel's request, that they sat furthest back and no one was to dine at a radius of two tables around them.

They chatted away, leaving the subject of the enemies as the night drew to a close. They finished the dinner and left the restaurant to walk outside, Matthew clad in the black cloak and Isobel in a maroon cloak with fox fur at the edge, and her arm in his. They walked through the streets as the air slowly filled with shimmering ice crystals and cold mist gathered at their feet on the flagstones.

"Do you miss it here?" Matthew asked after some time in silence. Isobel looked at him with an eloquent smile, her red lips glistening as the ice crystals came to rest on her lightly tanned skin without melting.

"I should ask you the same, Matthew," she said softly. "Do you?"

"I don't know," he answered as they rounded the fountain in front of the Morning Temple. He looked ahead of them as they entered the market area. The stalls had closed down and there was nothing left but the litter scattered in baskets and buckets. Overhead he saw an unidentified planet rotating at its own, peaceful speed as a comet sizzled by. The real fireworks of life. Mortal inventions could go to hell.

"No, actually I don't," he mused to himself.

"Why not?" Isobel asked with her head lightly tilted, a questioning in her eyes showed her curiosity, and he became aware that he had spoken his thoughts out loud.

"I guess there's no point in ever wishing for the past if the future and present is fitting enough for your needs," he explained and looked at her. "I couldn't imagine going back here before the Arasarcarian Battle."

"Are you thinking of her?" she asked and her smile faded slightly, leaving some kind of mournful expression but its origin was difficult to place. Matthew snorted with a half-hearted smile but did not answer. She gave his arm a squeeze and their eyes met as they stopped on the street. Her green, warm eyes were an intense contrast to his. There was some elevated interaction between them, like a thousand words being spoken without anything being said.

They walked on, each step synchronized, until they reached the portal from where they stepped back into their own world. Here, the night was dense and dark like a thick veil upon the material surroundings. At a distance the sky could be seen, ignited by the city lights from London.

They passed through the forest silent as shadows, like a woodland king and queen admiring their kingdom. Compared to Capitol, the mortal world seemed empty; back there, every element in the surroundings exuded the very smell of magic, an electrified odour, like magnetized energy.

They came back to the mansion. It seemed the young people had left to go to the city and party all night long. Matthew and Isobel gave each other a smirk as they ascended the stairs and walked to his chambers together. It wasn't unusual for them to make love once in a while when the time didn't offer much else entertainment, and tonight was one of those nights.

They delved into the softness of his bed, undressing, sharing deep, passionate kisses before their embrace became a fight. Isobel was a stubborn woman, Matthew knew that she always sought control in bed, but he was stronger and more insistent than her and ended up, after letting her topple him over a few times, with her underneath him, sweating, moaning; his hands caressed her voluminous, soft breasts, his tongue flickered the velvet nipple and she laughed at his hair tickling her face, commenting that he ought to get a haircut soon. He merely replied that he would need a new hair dresser, seeing that he had killed the old one and Isobel resigned the subject as she felt him penetrate her softness, wrapping her legs around his hips and thrusting her own up to take more of him.

It was not until sunrise that they finally fell asleep in each other's arms, comfortably numb.