Birthright - Book 2 of the Legacy Series (An Urban Fantasy Novel) by Ryan Attard

succubus. Not really sure myself. But that tends to happen often around me.”
    “Ah, I see,” nodded Tzu. “Erik, may I ask why you are here today?”
    I looked at the cat. “This was your idea. So, explain it to him.”
    The cat looked up from the noodles and sat down in the middle of the table. In a few breaths, he explained the entire situation to Sun Tzu. The wizened old man simply stroked his beard and traced his finger gently around his china cup, never averting his gaze from the cat.
    When Amaymon finished, Sun Tzu gazed at me knowingly. “I can help with your apprentice. But I would also like to talk to you in private once you have the chance. I shall make preparations to see if anything in my collection meets your specifications, Abigale.” He gave us a slight bow and called Eddie again. “Please prepare the basement for a selection process.”
    Eddie gave a stern nod and dashed back inside.
    Sun Tzu stood up. “Long, would you please mind the shop for a while?” he directed to the group of patrons who had ignored us all this time. One of them, the tallest, with a pencil-thin figure and a long chin, raised his hand — a long and wiry thing with curved fingernails - and with deliberate calm placed a mahjong tile in place. He muttered something in Chinese.
    Some zoologists say that the frequency of a lion’s roar triggers something in the human brain — a long-dormant alarm bell which sends us running away screaming from a predator which can swallow us whole. I’ve seen things that make lions as much of a threat as a fichus. Even my cat, sitting two feet away from me, was more dangerous than I could even begin to understand.
    But when Long spoke, the rumble of his voice struck against my very soul, and it was all I could do not to wet myself. Amaymon had stopped stuffing his face to look at him with predatory eyes. Even Abi took an unconscious step backwards.
    “Hey, Amaymon, isn’t Long Chinese for-” I began.
    “Dragon, yes,” he finished for me. We both looked at each other, and then back at the man in question.
    Sun Tzu muttered a thank you in Chinese and saw our expressions. “Oh, don’t mind him. He likes to show off.” With a chuckle, he beckoned us to follow him.
    Abi grabbed my sleeve and held me back.
    “What the hell is this place?” she exhaled, her teeth clattering as she tried very hard not to shake uncontrollably. With a hard expression, she continued. “I’m not backing out or anything, but at least tell me who these people are. That guy over there let out one vowel and I was ready to run away screaming.”
    “I’ve got no idea who those guys are. This is the first time I’ve seen them. Or perhaps they’ve always been there and I never noticed them,” I explained. “This is a shop that caters to people like us, Abi, so expect some strange and scary folks out here.”
    “Okay, okay, I get it,” she said. “But that guy can’t be Sun Tzu. I googled him after you guys mentioned him last week and there’s no way that’s the same guy. He’d be thousands of years old.”
    Amaymon hopped from the table and began following Sun Tzu. “Occam’s Razor, Abi. The obvious answer is usually the correct one.”
    She gave me a horrified look. “That’s the real Sun Tzu? How?”
    “I’d guess he’s immortal in some way,” I said.
    “Is he some sort of god?” she asked as we began following Sun Tzu to the basement.
    “Nope. No god is able to keep a human form for that long. And he’s no demon or angel. I think he’s the next best thing to a god.”
    “What would that be?” she asked.
    “My guess, an avatar.”

9
    The basement was huge, almost twice the size of an aircraft hangar. On the far side of the right wall a large computer screen dominated the entire wall. Other electronic components and gadgets were spread across the large workbench that ran along the length of the wall. It looked like something out of a sci-fi flick, and I seriously expected aliens with