Chapter 1

Magnus Bane walked into his house and locked the door the behind him. Taking off his hat and coat, he climbed upstairs to the main parlor. Snapping his fingers, the fireplace burst to life. With another snap, a cup of tea appeared in his hand. He walked over to his desk, and a piece of parchment and ink was already set up from when he left. Lady Cynthia Carmon wanted a demon summoned tomorrow evening. He didn't know why and he didn't care, all he knew was that she was paying well to have it done.

"Hard at work are you" came a familiar voice from behind him. Turning around quickly, in two strides he was across the room arms wrapped around the slender blonde young women. His lips came crashing down on hers, and he pressed her against the dark green walls. Both her hands slid through his hair tugging on it gently. Her fingers cold as ice on his neck sent chills down his spine.

"You're here early," he said breaking away from their passionate embrace.

"Yes well I didn't feel like waiting an hour for you to finish whatever it was that you were doing." He laughed.

"Someone's impatient today Camille. If I do recall we both have all the time in the world." Camille tugged on his shirt collar, pulling him down, so he was at eye level with her.

Pressing her lips to his cheek she whispered "Yes but who wants to wait a century for what I can easily get right now". He laughed again pulling away.

"And what makes you think that I'm going to just leave all the important work I was in the middle of?"

"I find that I can be very… persuasive when it comes to men." Her hands slid down the front off his chest and then moved around to the small off his back. Magnus backed away pecking her on the cheek. He walked over to the fireplace and pulled out a large red plush armchair.

"Well if you insist on coming early I'm just going to have to ask you to wait a little while longer," he said. Camille walked over to him and brushed his cheek with her well-groomed fingernails as she sat down. Magnus snapped his fingers and an ornate wine glass appeared full of dark red liquid. Camille smiled as he walked back to his desk, and she pressed the wine glass to her lips drinking in the liquid.

"Virgin male," she said taking another sip. "Very hard to find these days when it comes to young men." She smiled as he rolled his eyes.

"I've always wondered how vampires can tell what type of blood they're drinking. Is it instinctual or is it recognizable?"

"It's recognizable. There comes a point in time, that after drinking a particular type of blood so many times you come to remember its taste. Though I find that each person has a small but distinct difference of how there blood smells, and tastes. Do you want to know what yours taste like" she asked in a seductive tone?

"Actually right now I'm wondering what poor virgin males have you seduced to have the taste of their blood so imprinted in your mouth," he asked with a hint of amusement "because I know I was not one of them."

"Yes" she laughed "you were hardly a virgin when I met you."

"Well when one has been alive for six hundred and sixty four years" he said, " one tends to get quite lonely. And if I may say in my own defense, you weren't exactly pure as snow either." She laughed.

"I use your own excuse. How did we get on this topic again?" she asked. Magnus looked behind him and gestured with his hand at her wine glass. "Ah yes that's right." She then set down her wine glass and stood up.

"I must know what exactly is so important that you are postponing me of all people?"

"Lady Cynthia Carmon wants a demon summoned tomorrow evening. She is paying a large sum to get it done, and I plan not to disappoint. I do have a reputation to uphold you know. One does not come to live in such luxury for nothing."

"Yes but you could. You are a warlock if I remember correctly. You could have anything in the world you wanted with a snap of your fingers" she said as she came up behind him slowly running his fingers up his back. " Why spend your time doing petty parlor tricks for mundanes who think they know what power is when you could live with nothing but luxury without having to lift a finger."

"Because I find," he said slowly controlling his breathing as she nipped at his ear "that life becomes quite boring when you do not participate in it. Why isolate myself from the mundane and shadow world when I could become a symbol of power in it. Yes, I could have everything I wanted with a wave off my hand," he paused to gain control his breathing, which had gone awry as Camille slowly nipped the nape of his neck. "But what would be the fun in that."

He couldn't take it any longer. He spun around picking her up in his arms and setting her down on his desk. He crashed his lips onto hers. Camille lifted one hand off his back and ran it through his hair.

"I told you," she whispered "that I could be persuasive when it came to men." Magnus of coarse was too busy to put any thought into her comment. He was to caught up in their embrace. Camille slowly with delicate fingers unbuttoned the front of his shirt and slowly slid off the desk and began leading him to the upstairs bedroom.