Gifted

8

The grey man bounced his knee restlessly. There were very few people in the City who could keep him waiting, and the man he was about to see was the most dangerous of them all.

Like the chair he was sitting in, the grey man's surroundings were luxuriant and lavish with decoration. Managing the City's accounts and controlling its aristocracy meant that extravagance was both affordable for, and expected of, the House of Dominus. The House itself was a huge villa in the centre of the affluent northern district, an ancient construction of towering marble pillars and red tiled rooves. The inside of the House was closer to an art museum than a bank: countless halls filled with priceless statues and artefacts connect tastefully furnished suites and vaults. It was outside one of these suites that the grey man waited.

At length, the door to the suite opened and a small, spectacled man emerged.

"The Chief will see you now, Mr Maddox," the small man said.

Ansel Maddox stood and straightened his tie before following the small man inside the suite.

"Ah, Maddox," a deep voice greeted, "I'm glad you've come."

Sunlight streaming in from a balcony on the far side of the room made the space very bright, and Maddox had to let his eyes adjust before he could identify the voice's source. Salazar, the Chief of the House of Dominus sat bare-chested at a small table in the middle of the room. He was the largest man Ansel Maddox had ever seen. He was a raw mountain of muscle, bigger than all the henchmen on Maddox's payroll, bigger than the sumo wrestlers from the Eastern Kingdoms, bigger than the dock labourers who haul cargo, bigger than everyone. His skin was covered in swirling blue tattoos, symbols and runes of the magical language that was unknown to Maddox. The Chief had one arm resting on the table in front of him, and he scratched at his arm with a small black rod which he held in his other hand.

"Hello, sir."

"Leave us, Henry," Salazar said to the small man who was stood quietly by the door. The man nodded quickly before scurrying out.

"I'm working on a new rune," the giant man said, nodding to his arm. "A while ago, I acquired an old scroll from the Southern kingdoms that documented part of the magical language that I previously thought was lost. Deciphering it was difficult but one of the runes it contained has the potential to be quite powerful."

He beckoned Maddox over and the grey man swallowed before obliging. The tip of the black rod that the Chief was holding glowed slightly, and the small patch of plain skin he had been using it on was cut with a circular symbol.

"The depth and size of the cut has to be just right, or the rune will fail. Once it has healed, it'll fade to the same colour of the others and will be fully functional."

"Fascinating, sir, your skill is truly remarkable," Maddox said evenly, though he already knew all the giant man had said.

"Come now, Maddox, we are both too smart for flattery. A show of polite interest will suffice," the Chief smiled.

"Of course, sir. Sorry, sir."

The Chief stood and walked over to a basin of water where he washed his arm. Once again, Maddox was struck by how big his superior was. Maddox was not a short man, but Salazar still stood a full head taller than him, and he was at least twice as wide. Maddox was not one to revel in the chaos and gore of killing, he favoured guns because they are efficient and clean, but the man in front of him emanated a violent cunning that suggested the opposite.

"Tell me about the amulet, Maddox. I assume that's why you're here?"

"Yes, sir, it is."

The grey man cleared his throat and collected his thoughts before speaking.

"After a great deal of searching, I managed to track the amulet down to an unscrupulous collector in the southern district. It had been sitting in his shop for decades: he knew nothing of its real value. I met with the collector last night and paid him for it. I have given it over to the magical archaeologists we have here in the House and they are studying it as we speak."

"That is excellent news, Maddox," the Chief said, "you have met my expectations once again."

He looked Maddox dead in the eye and adopted a thunderous expression.

"Despite this success, something tells me that there is more to this story."

Maddox lowered his gaze away from the huge man in submission.

"Yes, sir. I'm afraid to admit that there were complications."

"Go on," Salazar said coldly.

"As I was returning to my carriage from the southern district, a lucky pickpocket stole the amulet from my person. My bodyguards soon caught her and retrieved the amulet, but a City Marshall witnessed this and arrested her before my men could silence her."

"Tell me about this pickpocket."

"She was a nobody, sir. A young girl from the slums who had a stroke of luck."

The Chief stroked his chin and pondered this.

"So she was taken by this Marshall to the City Gaol?"

"Yes, sir. I immediately requested a dawn execution on behalf of our House so she couldn't tell anyone about what she may have seen."

"Good, the problem has been resolved then."

"I'm afraid not, sir," Maddox said hesitantly. "Before the order could be carried out, it was overruled by a member of the House of Bellator. They have many connections in the Gaol. My sources tell me that the girl was then taken to the House of Bellator and has yet to emerge."

The Chief turned slowly away from Maddox until he faced a wall.

"Who was the Bellator member who took the girl?" Salazar asked softly.

"If my sources were accurate, it was the Inquisitor Isaiah James."

The Chief was deathly silent. Suddenly, the maze of tattoos on his skin began to glow, pulsing a blue light. The pulsing became quicker and quicker until the symbols burst with bright light.

"Sir, I-"

The Chief screamed in rage and swung a huge fist at the wall in front of him. There was a booming thump and a spiderweb of cracks snaked out from where the giant man's fist made contact. He whirled around to face Maddox.

"I trusted you with this task, Maddox, because you're the best I have. As a non-Gifted man, you've worked harder than any other fucker in this House to prove yourself worthy of your place here, but perhaps you've not worked hard enough," the Chief raged, his skin still glowing with bright energy. "You've failed Maddox!"

"I'm sorry, sir," Maddox said, swallowing his anger and embarrassment.

"Isaiah James and the rest of his fucking bunch now have a living witness who has seen you, a well-known member of our House, with the amulet. It won't take them long to realise its significance, and all our necks will be on the line when they do."

The big man trembled with anger. Maddox stood still and silent, waiting for his fate to be decided.

"Our plans will have to be moved forwards," Salazar said at length. "We can't afford to let the Inquisitors get ahead of us. Have the amulet sent up to me as soon as our boys are finished with it, I need to inspect it myself. For now, I want you to monitor the House of Bellator as closely as possible. If the girl leaves their House, I want you to know about it. If you get the chance, try and snatch her, but if that isn't possible then kill her. Am I clear?"

"Perfectly, sir," the grey man nodded.

"Good. There is no margin for error anymore. I don't like failure, Maddox. If you fail me again, I'll kill you myself."

"Of course, sir. I shall not disappoint you again."

The giant man nodded. "Leave me," he said, waving to the door.

The grey man bowed slightly before turning swiftly on his heel and marching out of the room.