Myrddin's Magic - Book One of the Magic Trilogy

Chapter Seventeen

"Are you sure it was Killian Wilte who came to rescue your food the other night?" asked the master. He stuck a finger between his mask and his neck and scratched. His mask was itchy and seemed to be getting itchier as the warmer weather hit. He wondered what he would do when the summer came.

"Yes", said Bruno. "I recognized his picture in the paper. Him and that woman, the one I'm trying to capture. The paper said that she's his assistant."

"Interesting. I wonder if they are more than assistant to boss, whether they are pursuing a sexual relationship as well."

"I don't know. All I know is that one minute I was talking to that Amalie girl, and the next minute he and his friend were barging in on me."

"With your super-hearing, how did they surprise you?"

"I don't know. I didn't sense them at all until they were behind me. Forgive me, master." He knelt in front of the master, his head bowed.

"Didn't you even smell them?" said the master, his voice in shock. Bruno was so inept. How could he have not known that Killian and his friend were there?

"No, but to be fair I was concentrating on the girl."

"So, she has a protector", he mused. He scratched under his mask again as he thought.

Bruno brightened and looked up. "Yes, she does. It's not my fault that I couldn't bring her home. She had a protector."

"She has a protector and she's being threatened", said the master softly.

"She is?" Bruno looked confused. He hurriedly searched his brain as he wondered who her threat could be.

The master sighed, impatient with Bruno's stupidity. "You're threatening her, aren't you?"

"Oh, yes, master." Bruno sounded relieved to know there was no other threat to her. His chest puffed out. He was the biggest threat to her that she could imagine.

"I want that girl. If her blood is as rich as you say it is, I want some of her blood."

"I'll get her, master." Bruno's voice was filled with conviction.

"You'd better", he said softly, menacingly. "Remember what happened to the last person who didn't please me?" He made a motion of his head being chopped off.

Bruno gulped. "Yes, master. I did find out where she lives and where she works. And I have developed the relationship with the snitch in her office." He was desperate to validate his actions. He knew what his master didn't. He could have taken her that first night. It was only his greed that had gotten in the way of his success. He hoped his master never found out his mistake. Otherwise, it would be certain that Bruno's head would also be chopped off.

"Yes, you did. And you did a good job", said the master. Bruno's chest swelled. The master rarely gave praise. "However, it's not good enough. Now you must retrieve her. You need to go to her apartment and bring her back to me."

"I'll go tonight."

"No, not tonight", mused the master. "I need you to find Cade. He needs to tell you all about this sweet little Amalie. He needs to tell you her schedule, so that you don't have to be looking so intently for her, so that you don't waste time waiting for her. I want to have someone to feed from tonight, and we need to investigate the relationship between Mr. Wilte and this Amalie. We must know what we are facing. Because Amalie is important to us but, if Mr. Wilte is her protector, we might have to take him out to get to her."

"I'd like to feed from a rich person." Bruno sounded wistful.

"If you need to take him out", said the master, "capture him. I'd like to be the person who feeds from him. Not you. You know what they say. Kobe beef tastes better than regular beef, and I feel like tasting some Kobe beef."