hell
…
’Yes.’
‘This way, please.’ Sam followed the man through a door he hadn’t even noticed behind the bar, camouflaged by the paintwork. They went into a long, dark passage and up a flight of stairs to a plain, white, wooden door. The young man knocked.
‘Uncle? A man from Hunter is here.’
The door opened almost immediately. Sam put on his brightest smile.
The manager was small, pudgy, and balding. He looked Sam up and down. ‘From Hunter?’
Sam handed over the letter. The manager read it and shrugged. ‘I suppose you’d better come in, then.’
Almost laughing with relief, Sam stepped inside the office. It was cramped and had no windows. On one side a large bank of screens was each linked to a camera to watch the club floor. A desk that dominated most of the room was strewn with papers and pens, and behind this the manager just about managed to squeeze himself, pressed between the desk and the wall like a fly.
He gestured for Sam to sit, but Sam said he preferred to stand. The chair he was supposed to sit on was already heaving with unopened mail, and there didn’t seem anywhere else to put it.
‘Fine. Where’s Hunter’s latest report?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Who are you?’
The manager certainly got to the point.
‘Luke,’ Sam said simply. ‘Who are you?’
‘Herr Hindsonn. What do you want from me? Why has Hunter sent you here?’
‘I’m to assist Hunter with the matter of Sebastian Teufel.’
Herr Hindsonn’s nod suggested that Sam had hit it right. Sam risked going on. ‘I’m not sure who it is I’m working for, nor do I understand the situation we’re currently in. I’m a bounty hunter, pure and simple. You want Sebastian Teufel protected, I can do it. You want Sebastian Teufel removed from the picture, I can do that too.
‘But I work better when I understand what it is I’m working for, why and what it is I’m up against. Hunter was going to explain, but Teufel scryed and Hunter was called away. He sent me to you instead for answers.’
‘I wasn’t informed that a bounty hunter had been employed.’
‘I used to be of the order of Firedancers. One of the best.’
‘Why did you leave the Firedancers?’
‘I’d rather not say. Please tell me, Herr Hindsonn, why is Sebastian Teufel so dangerous?’
‘He is a Son of Magic.’
‘Yes, but even the Children of Magic have their weaknesses.’
‘He is also the Bearer of Light.’
‘This presents a problem?’
Herr Hindsonn shrugged ‘Not for us.’
‘Naturally. But that is another issue I wish to see cleared up. The Light, as I understand it, can destroy a Greater Power. How come you have nothing to fear from it?’
‘Sebastian Teufel would have to engulf all life, in order to read us.’
‘Why?’
Again, a shrug. Sam wondered whether he was going too fast.
‘We are the Ashen’ia,’ Herr Hindsonn said simply. ‘Our souls, our minds, are bound in places he cannot touch with just a local discharge. And he is a coward. He dares not use a full discharge.’
‘The Ashen’ia are protected from him?’
‘Of course.’
‘And wish to protect him from Seth?’
‘Yes.’
‘Yet the Ashen’ia’s plans are such that, should he know too much, he becomes a threat, and must be dealt with.’
‘That is why we employ you and Hunter.’
‘At what point do you think he should be regarded as a threat?’
‘Well, naturally if he discovers the Ashen’ia’s aims, he will turn against us.’
‘Why?’
Herr Hindsonn looked surprised by the question, then suspicious. ‘You must have seen the files on Teufel.’
‘The files are extensive. I’m still new to this job.’
‘What are you being paid?’
‘The contract is negotiable.’
‘I don’t like bounty hunters – they are mercenaries. They don’t understand what it is that’s being fought for.’
‘Then enlighten me.’
Hindsonn grinned. ‘Power, bounty hunter. We are fighting for
…
’Yes.’
‘This way, please.’ Sam followed the man through a door he hadn’t even noticed behind the bar, camouflaged by the paintwork. They went into a long, dark passage and up a flight of stairs to a plain, white, wooden door. The young man knocked.
‘Uncle? A man from Hunter is here.’
The door opened almost immediately. Sam put on his brightest smile.
The manager was small, pudgy, and balding. He looked Sam up and down. ‘From Hunter?’
Sam handed over the letter. The manager read it and shrugged. ‘I suppose you’d better come in, then.’
Almost laughing with relief, Sam stepped inside the office. It was cramped and had no windows. On one side a large bank of screens was each linked to a camera to watch the club floor. A desk that dominated most of the room was strewn with papers and pens, and behind this the manager just about managed to squeeze himself, pressed between the desk and the wall like a fly.
He gestured for Sam to sit, but Sam said he preferred to stand. The chair he was supposed to sit on was already heaving with unopened mail, and there didn’t seem anywhere else to put it.
‘Fine. Where’s Hunter’s latest report?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Who are you?’
The manager certainly got to the point.
‘Luke,’ Sam said simply. ‘Who are you?’
‘Herr Hindsonn. What do you want from me? Why has Hunter sent you here?’
‘I’m to assist Hunter with the matter of Sebastian Teufel.’
Herr Hindsonn’s nod suggested that Sam had hit it right. Sam risked going on. ‘I’m not sure who it is I’m working for, nor do I understand the situation we’re currently in. I’m a bounty hunter, pure and simple. You want Sebastian Teufel protected, I can do it. You want Sebastian Teufel removed from the picture, I can do that too.
‘But I work better when I understand what it is I’m working for, why and what it is I’m up against. Hunter was going to explain, but Teufel scryed and Hunter was called away. He sent me to you instead for answers.’
‘I wasn’t informed that a bounty hunter had been employed.’
‘I used to be of the order of Firedancers. One of the best.’
‘Why did you leave the Firedancers?’
‘I’d rather not say. Please tell me, Herr Hindsonn, why is Sebastian Teufel so dangerous?’
‘He is a Son of Magic.’
‘Yes, but even the Children of Magic have their weaknesses.’
‘He is also the Bearer of Light.’
‘This presents a problem?’
Herr Hindsonn shrugged ‘Not for us.’
‘Naturally. But that is another issue I wish to see cleared up. The Light, as I understand it, can destroy a Greater Power. How come you have nothing to fear from it?’
‘Sebastian Teufel would have to engulf all life, in order to read us.’
‘Why?’
Again, a shrug. Sam wondered whether he was going too fast.
‘We are the Ashen’ia,’ Herr Hindsonn said simply. ‘Our souls, our minds, are bound in places he cannot touch with just a local discharge. And he is a coward. He dares not use a full discharge.’
‘The Ashen’ia are protected from him?’
‘Of course.’
‘And wish to protect him from Seth?’
‘Yes.’
‘Yet the Ashen’ia’s plans are such that, should he know too much, he becomes a threat, and must be dealt with.’
‘That is why we employ you and Hunter.’
‘At what point do you think he should be regarded as a threat?’
‘Well, naturally if he discovers the Ashen’ia’s aims, he will turn against us.’
‘Why?’
Herr Hindsonn looked surprised by the question, then suspicious. ‘You must have seen the files on Teufel.’
‘The files are extensive. I’m still new to this job.’
‘What are you being paid?’
‘The contract is negotiable.’
‘I don’t like bounty hunters – they are mercenaries. They don’t understand what it is that’s being fought for.’
‘Then enlighten me.’
Hindsonn grinned. ‘Power, bounty hunter. We are fighting for