Page 43 of To Crave Madly
“To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit, Master Crowe?” de Santis asked while indicating one of the chairs in front of his ridiculously sized desk. De Santis pointed to the other chair but I stayed standing with Jasper. I wanted the man on edge. I could see how uncomfortable he was, and I wanted to be able to use that to my advantage. If I sat down, I would be playing by his rules but by standing with Jasper, I was making his fingers twitch and his eyes constantly flick over towards me. He was watching me like a hawk. Not that it would do him any good. If I wanted him dead, all I had to do was think it. To just reach out into that smarmy little mind of his and sever the light that gave his body life. It was so easy. What’s that phrase people use? Oh, yes… like taking candy from a baby.
“I was notified of a rogue female mage wondering about the Conclave. As you know, female mages are rare. She needs to be with her people. Late manifestations never end well, and she needs to be somewhere where she can learn to control her powers fast.”
In other words, Octavius wanted her under his thumb. I didn’t know much about mages; they weren’t one of my creations. I had created vampires, witches, and demons and as their creator, I could destroy them all. But mages were something different. Something alien. And that meant they were something I didn’t fully understand. All I knew about them was that they were in tune with the earth. The powers they had drew from the elements in the world around them and they were predominantly male. Female mages were very rare and as such, Lori would be a prized possession for their community. Octavius may want her, but he wasn’t getting her. She was mine and I was not letting her leave this Conclave while there was a threat to her existence.
De Santis let out a nervous cough. “She has been receiving instruction in her powers whilst she has been here—”
“From my son?” Octavius barked out a disdainful laugh. “You might as well give her to me now. She will never learn anything useful from that boy.”
“We will not hand her to you.”
They were the words I was about to say but they hadn’t come from my lips. De Santis shot a warning look at Jasper but he completely ignored it and stepped toward the mage.
“Lori is under the protection of Lucifer, de Santis, this Conclave and my entire team. I will not allow you to remove her.”
Octavius bristled and shot a murderous look at Jasper. “And who are you to issue orders to me? I am superior here, and you will respect me.”
The familiar flame of rage started to burn hotly at my core. I despised people who thought they could demand respect. They were weak and lacklustre creatures and, I thought wickedly, my favourite toys to play with. “My dear Octavius, surely you don’t want such a volatile creature amidst your people. Imagine the destruction she might cause.”
He raised an arrogant eyebrow in response. I could almost see his mind turning over my suggestion. “You make a valid point. And with the Yule Gathering just around the corner, she could be a very disruptive force.”
“Perhaps,” de Santis suggested, “you could send someone here to tutor Miss Monroe?”
Octavius’ eyes lit up at the idea and I knew why. He’d be able to keep an eye on her without risking embarrassment in the face of his powerful friends.
“An excellent compromise. I will send Elissa, one of our strongest female mages. I am sure she will be pleased to see Fenris as well.” Octavius stood from his chair, clearly done with this little interview. Little did he know I had one question for him.
“What are you doing about your missing mages?”
He flinched. Almost imperceptibly but I saw it because I was looking for it. A powerful leader such as Octavius Crowe wasn’t going to let it be known that someone was using his mages for more nefarious purposes. I felt Jasper stiffen at my question; maybe they were keeping it as need-to-know, but I needed to know what Octavius knew and clearly, he knew something.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I have no missing mages.” His jaw was tight, his posture stiff. Oh, the sweet, sweet taste of lies. His words melted like butter on my tongue, rich and creamy and all completely untrue. A little moan escaped my lips as I swallowed his delectable lie.
“You really shouldn’t lie to me, Octavius.” I walked closer to him, slowly and predatorily. I wanted him to know that he was my prey here. Fear flickered in their dark brown depths. I grinned. Perfect. “Now, I’ll ask again. What are you doing about your missing mages?”
He shrank back, just enough to show me I intimidated him, and swallowed nervously. “We are looking into it.”
Jasper came to stand with me, no doubt wanting to make full use of the mage’s sudden willingness to answer questions.
“How many do you have missing in total?” Jasper’s voice was clear and direct, grabbing Octavius’ attention.
He paused. The fact that he was debating the answer meant he either didn’t know how many in total or that he had more mages missing than he cared to tell us.
I leant a bit closer to the mage, dropping my voice to a soft whisper. “Answer the man’s question, Octavius. Then we can all go our separate ways.”
“Seven. We have seven mid-level mages missing,” he replied while buttoning up his suit jacket and tugging the sleeves gently. He was fidgety and clearly eager to leave. I don’t think he was enjoying this little interrogation at all. I laughed to myself, but when did anybody enjoy being tortured? For Octavius, this probably was a kind of torture. He was uncomfortable with not being the most powerful man in the room and I was rather enjoying knocking him down a peg or two.
“Perhaps we could share information?” de Santis proposed. “As a member of the Guild Council, surely Elissa would be privy to your investigations. Seeing as she will already be here, she might be able to help us and vice versa.”
De Santis was almost proving to be helpful but I was sure it was for his own gain. Mages had their own set of rules and were governed in an entirely different way. Witches, demons and vampires all had a nominated leader who formed the Triumvirate. My creations had formed it after my last attempt to take over the mortal plane. Not one of my finest moments but I was bored and thought it would divert me for a few years. No doubt de Santis was trying to ingratiate himself into Octavius’ graces in order to prosper a better union between the Triumvirate and the Arcane Forum. In his position, I’d probably do the same thing.
“Of course. I will apprise her of the decision, and she will be at your full disposal.” He turned to de Santis and offered his hand. “Thank you for your time.”
“Of course, Master Crowe,” de Santis responded as he shook the mage’s hand formally.
Octavius turned back to Jasper and me and with a small inclination of his head, took his leave of us.
“Well, that was fun.” I turned and found the two vampires staring at me with stern faces and matching glowers. I didn’t care if they were pissed at me; I had enjoyed that far too much to let their surly faces ruin the moment for me. “What next?”
