"Speech"
'Thought
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, The Dresden Files, Or any Marvel Characters used in this Fanfic.
The repetive clacking of high heels echoed through the immense hallways. They were for the most part barren except for a few scarcely scattered about photographs that lined the way. High archways streched overhead every set of five doors per wall. Mahogany polished finishes with gleaming crass doorknobs gave a picture of elegance.
Jeaniveve Orberto had lamented several times on what she considered to be the largely unecessary size of this particular manor for a number of reasons. For one it was scarcely used, being occupied by someone other then the housing staff for only about five weeks out of the entire year. And for that matter it had never been formally lived in, the closest thing it had been used for something other then business had been a summer home in the early eighteenth century. The number of rooms was also something she found horribly wasteful. There were over twenty on any of the three floors not counting the basement. About ten of them had ever been used. It was a general waste in her opinion. Not that she was paid to have one in the first place.
She continued on for some time, angling down hallways and meeting only few people along the way, before finally coming to her desired destination. Another door no different from the rest. With's it's wood finish and elaborate carvings following the same pattern as the rest of the house no one would pay it any attention. But of course that was the point entirely. She opened the door without so much as a knock and crossed over the thresehold before closing it behind her. It was a small library. A complete study with three towering book cases filled to the brim with thick heavy novels. Three comfortable arm chairs were turned in full view of the fireplace which had been lit. The roaring fire surved to heat up the room comfortably, something that was pleasant in this cool night air.
"Madame Orberto."
She snapped her heels together and bowed deeply. Her eyes remained looked on to the flames, noting the dying embers that crackled in to the air.
"My Lord." She replied. "I have come to collect you."
"And for what reason?" Came the rich baritone reply with a slight hispanic accent. She paused as she rose from her bow and frowned lightly before it disappeared behind a calm visage.
"I was told by your associate monsieur Aldric to call for you at once." She paused again, seemingly unsure of what to say. "It seemed very important sir. I believe you should see it for your self my lord."
Alfred Montego looked up for the first time from his spot standing near the book case along the right wall. He wasn't a rather tall man but he was far from small, standing around five ten with lilthe. He was an older gentlemen, well passed his prime and in the mid fifties, with black hair already showing streaks of silver grey. His sharp beak like nose and thin lips were a contrast to his rounded ears. Tanned mocha colored skin reflected his portaguese decent. A slight line of white flesh circled the edge of one of his eyes, a scar from days long passed.
He was dressed as casual as he was going to get, which consisted of a white dress shirt and black slacks. In one hand he had a book, balancing the tome with ease and surprising strength, and in the other a small glass half filled with an amber liquid. It was his usual relaxation for the day, a drink with a good book. At his age he rarely had a reason to go out that wasn't business related.
Carefully he set his glass down on the edge of a shelf before slapping the book shut with a heavy thump. He slowly eased the large hardcover back in to it's place on the shelf before he retrieved his glass and downed the rest of the beverage in one gulp, ignoring the wince on the women's face. Taking two steps he set the glass on a small coffee table beside one of the three arm chairs before adjusting his cuffs and rebuttoning his collar. With a sweep of his hand he stepped forward.
"Lead the way."
More then once Montego had wondered why he put up with this life style. For years he had driven himself to the point of exhaustion in service to those higher up on the "food chain" in hopes that it would do him some good. He had been forced to accept that he would never be given the respect he had originally been searching for. But what he did have he had most certainly earned.
The Montego line had never been something of great value or position. True it had it's points in history and a substantial fortune, but for the most part it was simply a footnote at the bottom of the page. It was a line decending from a time when Spain was a global power, they had made their name in both magical and normal circuits through various trading ventures and they had little use for a squib child marring their pureblood line. So he was for the most part a piece of the furniture as he grew up. His two elder brothers had secured the future of the line for his parents and were powerful in their own right. And while he didn't necessary come away blessed with his families' magic he did have a bright inquisitive mind that served him well.
Around the age of eighteen he enlisted in to the French military, his father working as a member of the French ministry at the time. For years he slaved and bled, going through several bloody conflicts, for a country that he didn't really consider his own. But for all the things he regretted now he could without a shadow of a doubt say it had made him strong. And it was that strength that served him today.
His brothers had died shortly after his thiry fifth birthday. One of natural causes, a illness magic could not fix. The other of slightly more suspicious terms. He had never found out who had killed his brother but had more then a few suspects. The idea that a squib could successfully hold the family lineage together must have seemed like a laughable one at the time. And he was sure many still scoffed at the mere idea of a plain human holding a pureblood title. It didn't matter. He wasn't going to let his family legacy simply go to waste. Whoever had killed the true heir to the family had not gotten their hands on it's titles like they had originally assumed. He had been cautious, more then a few times escaping from perculiar situations that should have resolted in his death. His time in the military had served him well.
He walked behind his servent of over ten years. Orberto had been one of his two personal assistants, unable to hold the entirety of the family duty to himself. She had been a young woman with very little to do with her life but like most had learned the proper way to handle business. He had found use in that and had kept her along. He was sure for the most part that she wasn't actively trying to get rid of him for some higher political cause. But then again if it did happen he could only blame himself.
They walked through the twisting hallways of the manor and on their way towards the front of the home. This particular one was located in Barcelona, resting on a rocky overlooking cliff as magic had kept it's position secret from simple wandering eyes. He had always felt that the size of this particular house had been largely unnecessary. Personally he had been using it for business ventures over the past few years and even still didn't see the use in having a domain this large despite the fact that he frequented it more then his family ever did growing up. But even still it was one the stronger acquisitions from years of strong business and so he kept up with the maintenance needed to have it livable.
Before long they came to an end of their journey, a great entrance hall coming in to view after a turn. Standing before a pair of great doors was a man dressed in a large dark overcoat. Aldric had been a military superior in his early years before he suddenly dissappeard off the official grid. Only to show up again several years later with a job for him, citing he had been a good solider under his command. Alfred had always known that wasn't the reason he had choosen him but relented. It was the start of something more. Something very few even knew existed.
The man wasn't overly impressive. Italian, with the usual bronzed oil colored skin and shaded features. His dark eyes cut to Alfred as he approached and he nodded his head in what seemed like approval. It had been several months since the two men had met and the last time they did the Italian had seemed troubled by something, anxious.
"Montego." He greeted as he reached out to grasp his hand. Alfred glanced down before shaking it. "Good."
"Aldric, You came all this way for me?"
The man frowned before nodding stiffly. "Something like that. Or rather I came to you because of several important requirements."
Montego returned the frown. "Oh?"
"Namely your from a prominent magical family and your a careful man." Aldric returned, looking him dead in the eye. Montego smoothly ignored the fact that his family history was apparently out in the open to a non-magical. But for the most part he didn't care much, he knew more about magic then most people would ever know. How ironic it was that people lamented his inability to use magic when they didn't know the true nature of their supposed birth given right. He had seen things in his work. Things many should never have to. Things that had for the most part been kept a secret for the sake of others.
If only they knew what the term 'dark magic' really meant.
"Very well." Montego continued while ignoring the squeak his assistant made. Aldric had always known things he shouldn't have. Always. And Montego was smart enough to know not to ask for more information it. People got missing over things like that. Died over them. "I'm not sure I can help you however. As you know it's been some time since I've done any real wo-"
"This one is firmly within your ability. I assure you." Aldric cut in. Looking insistent. "In fact I've practically guaranteed you can do it. A mutual benefit."
Montego frowned deeper at the interuption but said nothing.
"Besides, I also choose you because I believe I can trust you."
That one caused a brief flicker of a reaction other then dissapointment. Trust was not something you looked for, especially in his line of work. He had learned early on to never trust, to never expect things. It had gotten good men and women killed. And he knew for a fact he didn't trust Aldric. What the man was saying was alien. It was desperate. But the look in his eyes also said it was the truth.
Montego found himself without words this time and could only manage a slight nod for the man to continue as the surprise stilled his body. If Aldric noticed he didn't let it show and instead favored the man with a grim smile and a stiff nod in return. Again Montego was struck by how nervous the man was. It was unlike the veteran solider to be so uptight for what seemed to be a social call.
This had to be serious.
"I think it's best I show you-" Aldric stopped short and glanced at Montego's assistant. "I've put him in your greeting room."
He began to walk, swiftly towards the west of the house. Montego began to follow before he halted midstep. Alarm in his eyes.
"He?"
He was not what Montego had been expecting.
It was but a babe and a small one at that. Aldric had taken a seat in an oversized arm chair and wrapped his arms around the small living bundle. It was wrapped in a red cloth that looked more like silk then cotton. Pale skin and black curls that flashed about in every direction. A simple baby, looking no more then a few months old. Montego was no experts in children, not having a family of his own, but had done more then his share of raising his brother's children in the years after their passing.
"What?" It was the only thing he could think to say. The only thing that would come out. Aldric looked up from the child with a grim smile and nodded.
"Yes." A flash of amusement showing, the first thing other then a nervous energy. "What indeed. This is him."
"A baby." Montego replied flatly, his accent becoming thick. English was really his third language and although he could speak it fluently most of the time he struggled sometimes to remain audible when his composure had begun to slip. "You've brought a baby here? Your own?"
A bark of a laugh escaped the man and he was sure the child would stir but it did not.
"Oh heavens no." Aldric replied with little mirth. "No self-respecting female would ever bare my children. You know that."
Montego didn't comment on that but instead nodded at the bundle. "Then why is he here?"
The amusement died and Aldric became nervous again. "Because he's the assignment." He paused. "I am going to tell you something Alfred. Something I couldn't tell you otherwise. People have been killed over this. Do you understand?"
The words were serious. Clipped. He had heard the same kind working in the military. Things marked out in files. Never to be read again. Orders no one wanted to remember. He thought he was done with them. Vowed to be. Apparently not yet. He glanced sharply at Orberto but the woman was already leaving. Hurrying to the door and closing it shut after her. Every door in the manor was equipped with a silencing charm, no doubt to hide affairs. They would serve his purpose.
"Very well." Walking as calmly as he could to another chair before smoothly sitting. "Speak?"
Aldric adjusted the bundle for a second before taking a deep breath. His eyes met Montego's for a second before glancing away again.
"I work for someone. Someone very important. Or rather a group of people." He glanced up again. "I always have."
Montego gave no reaction to what was probably an open decleration to treason. Aldric was from France and had worked in the French military for many years. This meant a lot to the right kind of people. Luckily for the man Montego wasn't one of them.
"Believe it or not, they are a group of great power." Looking down again as he continued on. "They are a proud group."
Montego frowned. "A magical grouping?" He wanted no part in magical affairs other then simple business if he could help it. And it would certainly explain how Aldric knew about his own heritage and families' position. However he was pleasantly surprised when the man shook his head.
"No." He pause and frowned before looking up and locking eyes. "A mutant grouping."
A heavy silence filled the air at the declaration and Alfred felt his frown grow even deeper. Mutants? Now that was not something he had been expecting to here. Like many others who had grown up in the military he had been briefed on the strange breed of people that were seemingly popping up in more and more numbers. They were only as unpredictable as they were dangerous and each encounter was met with severe caution.
Personally he had both worked with and against several of their ilk. Never being much of a religious buff, or for that matter caring about the origins everything else in the world came to be, he didn't have the fanatical hatred of their kind as many others did. Instead he took them for what they were as people.
"Strange... I've never heard of such a thing." He admitted openly. He would think another all mutant grouping would be major thing considering the serious danger they represented as individuals. The idea that there was a mutant group with ties in to the French government, even as low on the food chain as Aldric was, would be something that the world would have trouble excepting. Something Aldric apparently agreed with.
"Of course you haven't." The man responded. "No one has. They've managed to keep it secret." He paused here for effect. "For over five thousand years."
Montego blinked at that.
"They are, for the sake of simple clarification, the royalty of mutants." Aldric continued. "For years they've managed things from the shadows. In secret they've arranged the rise and fall of empires and countries. They've put leaders in to power and assasinated others. They've sheaperded technological advancements and scientific pursuits. From the assasination of Ceaser to the American revolution. From the cold war and back to ancient times." He sat back and adjusted the baby again. The look in his eyes growing in intensity. "They have always been here."
Alfred Montego sat back in his seat and gave an honest sigh of surprise and a mix of exhaustion. The idea played in his head. A mutant group of power and pursuation that had always been around? The idea seemed farfetched to say the least. And yet he could easily see it considering the world his own family had belonged too. The list of events that Aldric had given him were long and noteworthy. And for a group of mutants to have had a hand in each of them? A bold claim.
But he was sure it was also true.
This group predated many things. This group had power and sway over many events in history. This group was dangerous.
Aldric continued. "But like all groups off power the members have issues with the way things are done and seek to... Rectify these problems."
Alfred looked up again and nodded. He could see that too. They had problems. Also known as politics. Other wise known as people schemed. Sometimes known as the stuff that got his oldest brother killed.
"The difference with this grouping is largely vast in this way." Aldric paused and swallowed. "There is no real process of election per-say. Or accension. Because... The king is still alive." He paused again. "The king is effectively immortal."
Montego nodded again. That was something else that was not that hard to understand. He had heard of things with vast lifespans before in the magical world. For that matter the average magical person lived twice to perhaps three times the lifespan of a normal person. Whatever his reaction was surprised Aldric, but it wasn't that far fetched to be honest. Mutants were already a powerful race, vast and varying in terms of their abilities. If someone like the famed Magneto could literally hold the entire world hostage it wasn't so far out the real of possibilites that one of them could develop a vast lifespan.
His guest looked at him apprasingly, supposedly surprised by how he was taking all this before shifting the bundle in his arms in to a more comfortable position. Alfred felt his gaze being pulled back to the baby once more as the man adjusted his seating and the question of why he had been there popped up again. However Aldric continued again before he could voice it.
"There is a position of power open however as this king hibernates for sometime, for his life to continue I assume. In his stead he began a custom to determine leadership during the time he's gone. However, as opposed to other groups, this one encourages... Unsavory tatics." He glanced down at the ground as he said the next part. "They are literally where the term 'survival of the fittest' originated. They are encoraged to scheme and even kill during the time that he is gone in order to take control and gain his favor when he returns.
"I have worked for a specific faction in this grouping. One that, as I honestly believe, wants to change things for the better. They want to be free from the influence of this master for a number of reasons. But most notably is the fact that he practically abandoned them during the last significant crisis they were confronted with." Aldric paused here to catch his breath and Montego briefly chastised himself for not offering the man a beverage before he began.
"Do you require something?" He asked in an attempt to be polite. Aldric looked up at him for a second before shaking his head.
"No, I best to finish this story." He paused again and cleared his throat. "This interest has it's own resources and backing, as most in the group do. But they can not formally change things without being in the official position of power. And even then the majority would be too stuck in their ways." He glanced around for a second before turning his gaze to the wrapped blankets in his arms. "In order to take a position of power they have to follow tradition. But it is not as simple as that, they have no one strong enough to truly lead in both skill and strength. And many of their group are of the older variety. And it is because of this I have been commisioned with the most important assignment to date."
In that instant Alfred Montego understood. He understood it all. Someone had figured out what this faction was after and made to stop it. They were willing to go to extreme measures to do so. And although his work in politics were non-existant at best he knew the way things worked if only from his father's examples.
"The child." He commented. Aldric nodded.
"Yes, but this just isn't any child Alfred." He began. Slowly he adjusted the bundle of cloth and managed to rest it against one arm. He pulled it aside and revealed the small youth's face, chubby cheeks and small nose included. Then he locked eyes with Montego for a second before reaching his hand up and brushing away the slight fringes of hair above his forehead. Montego frowned and leaned forward. His eyes tracing the curve of the babe's face-
Then he stopped. And frowned to himself. Leaning forward to make sure he had seen in properly. Something flickered on the edges of his mind and he struggled for a second to bring it to the forefront. It was a story he had been told not several months prior. About a crisis affecting the English and much of France...
"That boy." He murmured as his eyes traced the marking on his face. "It can't be."
"I was told that this baby had significant value in your magical world." Aldric began as he sat forward and leaned out of the chair. Taking careful steps towards the man as to not wake the child. "And I would venture to say your reaction justifies that claim."
"This is the British's young hero." Montego said as he sat up and too rose from his chair. "The one they talked about not to long ago." And indeed were still talking about. He cared little for politics and scheming of magical means but he knew them, he had to. For several years before Another 'dark lord' had risen in the english magical society. But this one hadn't just disappeared like the rest. He had supposedly a great deal of power and used it in such a way, dragging French ministry in the conflict not long ago. Supposedly a terrible human being that most would argue was not human in the first place.
And then came the reports. That several months ago he had been defeated. That he had supposedly been stopped by an unlikely foe. A baby. The British had claimed with pride that a baby had stopped a man that had caused them much heartache and pain. It seemed stupid. That a child could do something like this. But here was that supposed boy, with the now legendary scar adorning his forehead. Shaped like a lightning bolt. The child who's parents had become martyr's for their deaths.
"I do not know the entire story." Aldric began again as Montego stepped forward to exam the child. "And frankly I do not care. But from what I do gather he did a great thing for your kind. Something that can not be explained by your magic." He nodded to the baby in his arms. "But can be explained by his blood."
Alfred's eyes shot up to meet his. "He is a mutant?"
Aldric nodded before he began to shift the child. Raising it up to rest it's head on his shoulder. Gently he reached up to the cloth on the child and pulled it away, peeling back the wrappings before pulling at the white shirt the child wore. Montego stared at the bright red markings adorning the child's back from nearly one end to the other. A series of shapes consisting of four triangles, two lines, and a red circle in the middle. It looked to be a tatoo of sorts. A tattoo that covered nearly every inch of the child's back.
"These markings are put on each child at birth." Aldric explained as Montego examined the markings. "A tatoo that was put in place before the parents even knew it. The size of it as you see is rather obvious. A sign of how powerful his blood is. Where as his mother had no abilities and thus no markings they moved this one to the upper back of the child. A large mark needing clothing for covering. Painful for the child no doubt but among them a mark of his potential, gauged by several high ranking members under the guise of checking the child for disease. It shows his significant value in more ways than just power."
They locked eyes again. "For this mark to be so large it implies that the child's lineage is closer to the king than most left these days. There is a good chance that he is in fact a direct descendant from a time when the blood was more widely spread. A rare find since their near destruction nearly three centuries ago at apparently the hands of a vampire cult." He frowned. "Or so the story goes."
Montego sat back down as Aldric relaxed the clothing and bundled the quiet child up again. His mind lost in thought. Mutant powers were a mystery to all. And it made perfect sense that the secluded nature of the magical community had not yet encountered them in mass or began to study the new race. They had no science. They only took to what they understood. And those things they didn't were classified as 'dark'. A ridiculous notion to say the least but just another sign at how backwards they had become.
But even still the more he thought about the more Alfred could see the mystery being solved. This young mutant child of apparently high blood had been born with his gift as opposed to coming in to it later on in life as apparently most mutants did. And as such had seemingly been able to surprise this perspective 'Dark Lord'. The question now was just what the child was actually capable of. Aldric watched him for a few moments before he began to speak again.
"I was given this boy by a high ranking member, who said he'd rescued the child from an unfit enviroment for any child least of all this important one. He said the guardians had been family of the mother's, adoptive I assume, and didn't hesitate to sell the child Alfred." He emphasised the word. "They feared the child would grow in a detrimental enviroment. Never mind a strong one, it wouldn't be normal even. Thought to be abusive by the state of the other child living there."
Montego said nothing in return. It would not be surprising given what he had heard. The mother was supposedly a muggleborn, magical from natural parents. Which meant the odds that her family also were magical were non-existant anyway. Animosity would be naturally formed between the siblings and dumping the magical child upon the family was not the smartest thing to do, especially considering they would be a mutant. No doubt someone had simply assumed the family were anxious to take on another child.
"I was tasked to take this child someplace safe. Already the boy has enemies, both magical and in his own bloodline. They would like nothing more then to see the life leave the child's eyes. They would not hesitate to kill the child themselves." He took another breath. "They originally only wanted the child to be brought in to the fold if necessary. But given his situation that is impossible now. He will need protecting and training. Or else he will die."
Montego stared at the man for a second before turning around and walking back to his chair. He sat in it with a huff and sigh as the weight of the words began to fall on to him. He knew what the man wanted to ask. And everything told him to say no. But he couldn't bring himself to do it. Partially because it was an honest request from someone given a seemingly impossible task. And also because he had become so bored since his retirement.
"I'm not sure I am the proper choice." He began softly. "I do not have magic of my own to teach him with, something he will need if the rumors of his own skill are to be believed. And if they really wanted him dead I'm not sure I could protect him. For that matter I feel the forces stacked against him are far more overwhelming then you think. Those from his own country would seek to control him if they can. Or maybe even hurt him if they can not. I can not protect him from them by legal rights."
"They have no legal rights Alfred." Aldric answered. "He was literally sold to us by his legal guardians. By all intent and purpose he belongs to us now." He paused again. "You have lived your life as best as you can. Helped to raise the children of your two brothers. But never before have you married and had children of your own. In a way this is your chance. He will live with you. Be your own. And I will intervene only when asked by my superiors. To take him for training in his mutant abilities.
"He will be your heir."
Montego went silent again at that. It was true he had never gotten the chance to have a proper relationship. And for the most part he had been more then fine with it. But there had always been one thing that he had wanted more than anything...
Against the forces that pressed at his thought he relented.
"Very well." Montego suddenly said in a voice that was surprisingly calm to even himself. This was a big responsibility. "I will agree to these terms."
"You will not regret it." Aldric replied with a slight smile. "You will not regret it."
And so it was by that the legendary Boy-Who-Lived was adopted by a squib. And his future fell in to the hands of someone who would not tolerate failure. But in this instance it was probably for the best. With all of the people would seek to harm him he would need the disipline that only a man like Montego could teach.
The timing of these meeting annoyed him.
It showed his lack of power. He was used to being in charge, making the rules. When he asked for a meal his servants jumped up to attend to it. When he requested a meeting his secretary did everything in her power to make it happen. Before, the number of people who he answered to were few and far between. And even those who were technically his superiors took a certain caution to his words and actions. He had built his name and brand up in that way. His words carried weight and his name provoked a reaction.
Except for here in his own home.
On the surface, to visitors, everything seemed perfectly natural. He lived in a nice home. He had ample servants, both human and house elves, who catered to his every need. A personal chef. A fully stocked pantry and cellar filled with fine wine. Even a library with a number of tomes and a study where he conducted business. It was a house that was modest compared to the people he surrounded himself with in the public eye and yet still showed that he was well on his way up on the social and political ladder.
But it was all far from the truth.
The truth was he was only the second in command. There was another living in these dark halls who's will extended far beyond his own, one who ordered him instead of the reverse. An individual who decided what he did with his days and who he spoke too. Someone who monitored his every waking action and dictated how he conducted his life. A presence who had directed his meteoric rise in the world outside of these four walls. A dark presence.
One that his ambitious father had personally invited.
Alexander Montego II calmly slid the door to his study closed behind him before striding forward in to the room. Standing off to his left stood a man dressed in an immaculate white suit with expensive cream shoes to match. He was beyond tall, enormous even, standing well over six and half feet tall and weighing clearly over two hundred and eighty bills. His broad shoulders clearly blocked the window from view and his large hands were balled up in to fist nearly the size of an average man's head. He was bald and although he could not see his face Alexander knew from memory that, with the exception of two finely trimmed brown eyebrows, the rest of his profile followed in turn.
The minor French noble of Spanish decent glanced in his direction as he rounded the corner of his desk.
"Would you like any refreshments?" He asked as his right hand reached out and pulled his leather chair free from under the desk.
A snort greeted him in response as he slipped down and began to make himself comfortable.
"Why do you insist on asking?" The voice as deep and rugged. It matched the man who produced it perfectly. Too perfectly one would say. "The answer is always negative."
Alexander pulled himself closer to his desk before laying his hands across it. "It's simply a common practice. To be courteous to one's guest."
The chuckle that followed rumbled across the expanse between the window and the desk. Alexander suppressed the usual shiver down his spine that accompanied the sound. It was sinister in nature. So much so that even after hearing it for years he was unable to maintain his composure. Another sign of his weakness compared to the one before him.
He hated it.
"A human practice then? More useless questions with answers that don't matter."
The eldest of the Montego triplets shrugged his shoulders although he knew his guest could not actually see it.
"Just the way we are raised in polite society."
"Nothing in human society is polite." Came the retort as the man finally stood to his impressive full height. "At any rate we've wasted enough time."
Alexander nodded his agreement. "Then I'll begin. I've followed your channels and made contact."
"And I am to assume they agreed?"
"Yes." Alexander responded. "I was surprised by how quickly I received a correspondence to be honest."
"You shouldn't have been." The large man lightly chastised. "They have little to lose and much to gain with this particular endeavor."
The French man could not prevent the frown that crossed on to his face even if he tried. This was one of the things he hated most about dealing with this one. It seemed that no matter how hard he tried to figure out where the directions were taking him he always ended up a step behind. And although he usually hated to admit any sign of weakness he could not allow his pride to stop him now.
He had been waiting too long for this particular part of their plans.
"Then if you would kindly take the time to explain it further I would be most appreciative." Alexander requested while shifting in his seat. "Usually I can just take your word for such thing and follow directions well enough without questions. But this time I really feel like I'd be more comfortable if I were filled in on the details that are usually glossed over."
The large man froze before spinning on his heels to look at him. Alexander resisted the urge to swallow nervously as their eyes met. His benefactor's were a stormy gray color that always seemed to hold something sinister lurking beneath the surface despite his calm exterior. It was another thing that unnerved Alexander about dealing with him.
There was a brief moment of silence that stretched between them where Alexander had assumed that his request would land him in deep trouble. But to his relief the hulking individual averted his gaze with a nod before beginning with his requested explanation.
"It's rather simple when you know what to look for and who you are dealing with." The deep rumbling response began. "On the surface it may seem like an alliance. If a small one. But truthfully it's an opportunity for blackmail. At least to their perspective."
Alexander remained silent despite the fact that simply the idea of an alliance with these creatures made his stomach turn.
"There was once a time when the Black Court ruled nearly all of the European countries from the shadows. Fear had become their hallmark and their influence had stretched in to the darkest corner of the world. They were arguably the most powerful faction on the mortal plane with a few exceptions." The guest continued. "But about five centuries ago all of that began to change when information on their weaknesses became nearly common place. Even now simple mortals speak in jest about the best ways to deal with them without even realizing that the information that they were holding had nearly toppled an underground empire."
Still the Montego house's heir remained silent. This was something else he didn't know about. But than again just a few years prior he didn't even know about the existence of a good deal of human magic that had purposely been kept from his people by the various ministries in the world.
"The White Court is widely expected to be the source of this information leak because of their rapid rise to power in the world of human politics in the Black Court's place. But that isn't overly important to us. What is important human is the fact that the Black Court has been on the edge of destruction for some number of years now. A fate they have avoided due to secrecy and the pure savagery of their more experienced members.
A war has broken out recently between the White Council and the Red Court in the past few years. A war your various ministries have been hard pressed to keep from the public. This in it self isn't overly important due to the Black Court beyond the necessary obligations needed to assist their more ruthless Red Court counterparts. However it does give them an opportunity to make subtle attacks with a rather useful scapegoat to cover their tracks."
Alexander sat up straighter in his chair as he took in the words and processed them as quickly as he could. He had heard nothing from any of his contacts in the higher ranks of the ministry about any potential war going on. And even if it didn't involves his government directly he was still surprised at how quiet it had been kept.
The larger man continued. "Recently there has been a change in a faction of the Black Court. New leadership has risen to power and is favoring a more aggressive stance of re-expanding their numbers under the cover of the Red Court's attacks. It's bold and working. But even still more numbers alone aren't the only thing necessary for them to return back to their former glory." Their eyes met again. "They need real power. Political."
The Montego heir didn't need to hear anything more and instead frowned at the prospect that he would be their chosen route in to the French ministry. It rattled him to think he was betraying his race for something he wanted personally be at the moment he couldn't say anything for fear of insulting his guest. Something that he knew better than to do from experience.
"The attack will be placed off as another random act of violence while succeeding in moving you up with little to no foul play expected. They'll essentially be preforming an assassination for you with the a favor as payment. Something we can deal with for now until you gain the necessary influence and strength to get rid of them in their own time." A pause here. "And all you have to do at this point is to be patient and continue raising your profile. Everything else will fall in to place in the end."
Alexander nodded. "Very well. I will stay the course as you have requested."
"In the meantime there is business I will attend to personally. Contact will be made per the usual avenue when the time to proceed further come about." The larger man shifted as he turned his attention back towards the window. "Now if you'll excuse me human I have more important things to do then to explain things to you any further."
Alexander Montego said nothing as his guest calmly removed himself from his the room. An explosive sigh of frustration slid from him a few moments after the door had closed. His heart pounding in his chest at the idea that he had again survived another meeting with his benefactor. Something to be said considering past experiences.
Forgive me father but I don't intent to end up like you.