“There is one thing that I want, you pathetic excuse for a man. First, you will sign this.” He reached into his back pocket and retrieved a folded up scroll. He walked toward the bar as Wiley looked at him, having nowhere to go. Opening it up, Wiley recognized what the scroll was, but couldn’t make out the intricate lettering on it.
“A contract? You want me to sign a contract?”
“Yes.”
“What does it state?” Wiley asked.
“It states, that you will be my slave, doing whatever I tell you, whenever I tell you, however I tell you. Sign it.”
Wiley hesitated.
“I’ll give you what I didn’t give them; a choice. You can sign or join them. It’s up to you.”
“Okay, okay!” Wiley shrieked after looking down at the mangled husks that were once Victor and Lyberia.
The contract had words written all around a circle with symbols inside of it. Wiley slowly and regretfully placed his hands on the symbol.
“Say the words,” Andrades ordered.
“I, Wiley MacKenna, swear on my life to follow this contract until my life ends.”
The symbol erupted in a white aura, engulfing Wiley’s hand. He removed it from the symbol quickly. It dissipated, and the symbol was etched into his palm. Andrades retrieved the contract and placed it inside his coat pocket before walking to the desk. He grabbed the file Wiley mocked him with earlier—boasting that it contained the information on the Montcroix’s children. It was exactly what he was looking for. He began to walk toward the elevator.
“Edgar will be in contact with you shortly. He’ll instruct you on what you will do next.”
Wiley’s body went limp with relief and he fell to his knees as Andrades reached the elevator. Its door opened and Andrades entered, turning back to Wiley glared at him. He leered back with a grin. He was now his pawn in his game and he knew his place.
“Let’s go Avrice. There’s more blood to be shed.”
“Yes, Lord Archibald.”
14. Justice
The morning was cold and dreary; an odd weather for this time of year, but Andrades seemed to enjoy it. A knock at the door grabbed his attention as he stared out the window at the land that surrounded his estate. He turned and walked to his desk and took his seat. He interlocked his fingers and placed his elbows on his desk.
“Enter,” Andrades ordered.
The meager butler opened the door swiftly and closed it behind him. He walked to the desk and stood at attention.
“I take it Wiley did as he was instructed?” Andrades asked. “It would be a shame for me to remove him from such a beautiful family.”
“Yes, sir, he followed my instructions to the letter. He then returned home to find his family safe and unharmed. I instructed him to have his phone on and be ready to act at all times, as you instructed me, Master Archibald.”
“Very good, Edgar. Any word on how long it will take for Avrice’s healing?”
“He should be healed before the war begins. Whatever Izuul did to him, it’s taking a toll on his organs, but he will survive.”
“Thank you, Edgar.”
“Thank you, Master Archibald. It’s a pleasure serving you and your family.”
Andrades leaned back into his chair, sighing heavily. He removed a cigar and matchbox from his desk. He lit the cigar and threw the burning ember of the match on the silver plate. Andrades placed the matchbox back inside his desk. He admired Edgar for a moment before speaking again. “Were you able to locate them?”
“Yes, sir, the girl has been located in the countryside in England, while the boy is in New York. The boy seems to be under the protection of a mage and I’m told he’s very exceptional at magecraft. The girl, however, though she has knowledge of the magecraft, hasn’t shown any signs of using it. I assumed you would want the girl first, so I took the liberty of making preparations to have her extracted. I am just waiting for your go-ahead.”
“Alright,” said Andrades before taking a puff of his cigar. “You have my permission to get the girl first. We’ll come up with a plan later on how we will get the boy.”
“Understood, Master Archibald,” said Edgar before walking toward the door.
“Agent Mauthe should be arriving shortly. When she does, please escort her here.”
“Of course, sir.”
Edgar walked out the door as Andrades drifted back into his seat. He felt victorious but there was one last thing left to do—face Agent Mauthe, and he was looking forward to it.
He walked to the bar and poured a shot of whiskey into a glass, took a drink and slammed the glass on the bar, sighing heavily. He closed all the curtains in the study and sat back at his desk. He sat for thirty more minutes alone, thinking about his meeting with Agent Mauthe.
“You can come out now.”
“I must say, you’re the most diabolical man I’ve ever met,” Salamandra hissed as she appeared from the shadows in the room’s corner. “I didn’t think you had it in you.”
“You underestimate me, that’s good.”
“I never underestimate anyone. I am amazed at how you can live with yourself, is all. Considering how you summoned us, you truly are an evil human. You remind me of my husband.”
“The whiskey helps. And what happened to your husband? Did he get tired of your stench as well?”
“Oh, I killed him, used him for a sacrifice… like all of my husbands.”
“And you call me diabolical?”
“What can I say, evil knows evil. And before I forget, I would like to remind you: if you ever call me hag again, I’ll boil your insides into nothing.”
“Deal,” said Andrades.
“This should be interesting,” Salamandra commented, looking toward the door. “She’s here.”
“Disappear,” Andrades ordered. He placed his cigar in his mouth and leaned back into his seat.
“You sure you don’t want me to rip her open and play with her insides?” Salamandra questioned.
It took a glare from Andrades and then she disappeared into the darkness of the room. Andrades’ door swung open and Agent Mauthe stormed in, walking to the seat in front of Andrades and firmly planting herself down.
“I’m sorry sir, I tried to—” Edgar stopped speaking at the sight of Andrades’ hand rising.
“It’s alright, Edgar, thank you.” Agent Castle stood at the door, keeping Edgar from shutting it. “You can complete the task that we discussed earlier, I will be alright.”
“As you wish sir,” said Edgar. He bowed and walked away, Agent Castle’s gaze never leaving him until he was out of view. Only then did he turn back to face Andrades.
“Good morning, Agent Mauthe. I cleared my schedule, just so you could speak with me this morning. How can I be of service to you?”
“Last night was quite eventful, wasn’t it, Andrades?”
“Oh yes, the gala was superb. Lady Lafayette really outdid herself.”
“That she did. By the way, is Edgar Killshaw your butler? I don’t remember seeing him when I arrived yesterday morning or at the gala last night. If you don’t mind, I’d like to question him as well.”
“There will be no need. I can account for both times you did not see Edgar. Yesterday morning, Edgar was running errands for my wife; you can check her prescription bottles for the time. And as for last night, he was cleaning up the bodies.”
Shock fell across both agents’ faces and they shared a glance before anyone spoke again. “Bodies? Andrades, are you openly admitting to—”
“I am admitting to nothing. If you wanted to know the specifics of what I am saying, you should have asked. Last night, when I returned home, an attempt was made on my life by an assassin. Luckily for me, I was trained in the mage combat and they were handled before any permanent damage could be done. I didn’t want to bother you with this or take you away from your murder investigation.”
“I see,” said Agent Mauthe. She was ta
ken aback and thought to herself before she spoke. “So you mean to tell me that you have no idea that both Lady Lafayette and Victor Pryde are dead—as well as the ten others? You see, they too seemed to have had assassins waiting for them at their homes, but unfortunately their damage was permanent. And it just so happens that you are unscathed and your assassin was miraculously killed? Something doesn’t smell right. And that repugnant odor is coming directly from you, Andrades.”
“They’re dead? Oh, that’s unfortunate,” said Andrades, ignoring her barb and doing his best to play up the performance, but he knew it wouldn’t work. In fact, he was counting on it. “And it was just last night that she herself urged everyone to help with your investigation. With Lyberia, Victor and the others dead, I don’t think anyone will help us now.”
“You were the last person anyone has seen them with, all talking together at the gala. The only one to survive was Magnus and he won’t talk with anyone. And here we are, twelve hours later and only you are alive. Where did you go, Andrades?”
“I can’t account for the others, but Lyberia, Victor and I went to see a Mr. Wiley MacKenna. Lady Lafayette had urgent business with him and wanted to introduce us, something about a diamond or another. But I wasn’t the last one to see them alive, he was. I’m sure he’ll be happy to assist you in anything—”
“Cut the shit Andrades, you killed them and you know it!” said Agent Mauthe, rising from her seat and walking to the far side of the room, turning back toward him. “They pointed to you. Every single one of them, without a second thought—pointed to you. In truth, you are my only suspect and with their sudden deaths, I believe that proves it.”
He rose to his feet in a fury. “That proves nothing! You dare come into my home and accuse me of murdering my friends after I was almost killed last night? I expect you to have actual evidence and not loose theories before you accuse me of such things! Even if they pointed to me, you still have nothing but the opinions of people who are dead!”
“You're right Andrades, I don’t. I don’t have proof to accuse you of anything. But I wouldn’t trust a word you said even if your tongue was notarized!” She snapped. “You’re tryin’ to piss on my leg and tell me it’s raining, and it’s pissing me off! Let me be completely honest with you here. Since the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew what type of man you were. A master manipulator who can get into the head of anyone he meets and able to lie with the truth. Words are your weapon; it’s exactly how you’ve achieved so much. But with all disrespect, I don’t believe a fucking word that you say. It all points to you—the Montcroix murders, Lady Lafayette, Victor Pryde, the others… They’re all on you!” She stabbed her finger at Andrades with the last word she spoke.
Andrades shrugged. “Until you can prove it, I wouldn’t throw such accusations around.”
“Mark my words, Andrades Archibald IV, I don’t know when, I don’t know where, but you are going to pay for your crimes. And I will personally witness your fall even if I have to put you in your grave myself. I swear—”
“Enough!” Agent Castle roared.
“I swear I will see you d—”
“Agent Mauthe! That’s enough!” Agent Castle interrupted. “You’ve made your point. Now come on, it’s time to go.”
“It would help you to listen to your fellow agent, Nyre,” said a familiar voice. A man dressed in black robes entered the study flanked by two others wearing the same. They wore the same badge as Agent Mauthe. A blue and gold-lined sash fell over their right shoulders and flailed as they walked, until stopping before Agent Mauthe. “I expected more of you.”
Both Agent Mauthe and Agent Castle stood at attention.
“Director Falco? What are you doing here?”
“Not that it’s any of your concern, but Andrades and I go way back before my tenure at MANA,” he explained. “Though, I find it weird that you are questioning me on anything after your unprofessional outburst I just witnessed. We could hear you from the lobby!”
“My apologies,” said Agent Mauthe clenching her fist. “It’s just—”
“Save it!” Director Falco interrupted before throwing his hands up. “You can explain your behavior to Director Cormac. As the Director of the Department of Utility, I have no say in what happens to you. I am only here to bring you in for your harassment—”
“Harassment—”
“What else would you call your display? I suggest you take your leave, Agent Mauthe,” Director Cormac ordered.
“Yes, sir.”
Agent Mauthe forced a bow and turned to Andrades, who stared at her with a grin stretched from ear-to-ear. Her eyes were piercing, staring a hole in him that would have caused anyone else to shudder in fear. She turned and walked out of the study with Agent Castle on her heels.
“Thank you for coming when you did, Edmund,” said Andrades.
“This was the one and only time I will interfere,” said Director Falco. “I hope you understand that. Agent Mauthe is a pit bull on a long leash and we cannot afford any mistakes.”
“I’ve come to see that. A little warning would have helped.”
“I have no say, nor any knowledge of the Department of Orders investigations. Had you not called, this would not have ended in your favor. She has a reputation and will not let this go.”
“She’s of no concern now.”
“That’s good to know. I hope everything is going as planned.”
“Indeed it is. You have nothing to worry about, Edmund.”
“I never worry, Andrades. But, it’s time that I take my leave. I’ll leave the rest you.”
Director Falco and his men turned and walked out of Andrades' study without another word. Andrades slumped back into his chair and laughed softly to himself. He felt accomplished; he’d gotten under her skin successfully. Agent Mauthe was nearly broken, but it wasn’t over. He rose from his chair and walked to the window. He watched as the agents entered their vehicle and drove away.
See you soon, Agent Mauthe. And very soon, you’ll join them all: Lyberia, Victor and the Montcroix’s. Nothing will get in my way, not even you. I will get the key and I will enter Mage Society!
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A Royal Game Page 7
