The ancient stones of Rome glowed in the magic light of dawn. Taking a deep breath, Cartazonon sat down in meditation and opened to the web of energy and power that connected all that he owned: businesses, homes, and those few people who were important enough to be his.
Church bells rang to mark the hour as a spark of power caught his attention. How interesting, he thought and followed the wake of energy. Something magical had just awakened, or had been born in San Francisco. The connection flickered. Cartazonon hoped something good was in San Francisco, he needed to recharge.
"Khan, I have your espresso and paper."
Sighing, he glared at Lee. His flat broken nose, pockmarked face, and straight black hair looked the same as when they had first met on the Mongolian plains. "You must stop calling me by that ridiculous title. It's Sir, or Mr. Cartazonon now."
His first and most trusted general shrugged his massive shoulders. "I hope eventually it will come back into fashion, everything else has."
Taking a sip of the bitter black coffee, he sighed. This is what made life worth living. "My poor General Lee, I fear the life of a modern warlord holds no interest for you."
"You have become a business man. I am more suited for riding horses, shooting a bow and arrow, and wielding a sabre."
Cartazonon wagged a finger at him. "Now, Lee, you know I like my people to be happy, so after you get me a list of those who owe me a favor in San Francisco, why don't you go hunting? I need to recharge, and you need to have some fun."
Lee looked out the window towards the sea. "Remember the huge mermaid colony here once?"
"Of course, you should take the yacht out. I swear after we did that stint as pirates, you miss the sea. Do we have any of those pixies left?"
"Yes. I'll bring you one with the reports."
"Perfect. Thanks."
Cartazonon took off his necklace—a simple crystal set in silver metal. It came from Akasha, a gift from the Phoenix King to his stupid family. What a joke they were now, he thought, running around feeling proud that tiny little drops of his great power ran through their veins. They are so pathetic. The only reason to even keep an eye on them is because they have led me to some wonderfully strong magical creatures.
He wrapped the necklace around his left hand and placed the crystal in his palm. When Lee came back he set the list on the desk and deposited a pixie on top of the crystal. Its dirty blond hair stuck up in messy clumps, and the leaves that made up its clothing crunched under Cartazonon’s pale fingers. Lee waited and watched.
Taking a deep breath, Cartazonon pulled the magic and life from the pixie and directed it into the crystal. The pixie fought, and dug into his flesh with its tiny nails and teeth. A water glass cracked as it screamed, and the heat from its tiny tears warmed Cartazonon’s cold skin. The pixie went limp, trembling as the very last bit of magic was pulled out from its body.
Cartazonon sipped his espresso and looked over the list of names. “I need to send a walk-in and see if any of the so called Children of Fire know anything about what created that delicious spark of power this morning." He pointed to a name on the list. "This one. They don't owe me a very big favor, so send a low level walk-in. It should only need to possess the human for a few hours. And I'm done with this. Feed it to the cats or something."
"Now Khan, you know pixies give the cats indigestion, but I think the hell hounds would like the treat."
"Of course, good thinking. The cat yowled all night last time."
Lee bowed low, the pixie hanging from his thick fingers. "I live to serve."
Cartazonon raised an eyebrow. "Send the walk-in and then go hunting. I always worry for my safety when you start cracking jokes."
Lee chuckled darkly. Cartazonon shivered, like he always did at that sound from Lee, and turned to the day’s task of acquiring the largest Bollywood studio in Delhi.
Chapter Five
"I love you. Never doubt that, not for a second. No matter what you fear, or what you're told. I love you with everything I am."