The wine was slightly warm, but that was the way he liked it. He had decided on smoked salmon fillet tonight, rather than his customary soup.
He sat eating alone, the large dining table was covered in gourmet food, only a small percentage of which, he would actually eat. He would leave the rest here, knowing that it would be gone by the next morning. His servants had to eat as well, of course.
Chase didn't really mind eating—or living—alone. He had done it for over fifteen hundred years, he was used to it by now. Solitude was his one and only friend, and that was the way he liked it. It gave no distractions. Well, I do have to remember that this seclusion won't last forever. Soon, others will join me—whether they know it or not.
He had almost finished his second course, when his mystical raven servant, Hikari, came in through the window, landing on its master's shoulder.
"What news do you bring, Hikari?"
The bird cawed slightly as it paced on his shoulder.
Putting down his fork, Chase put his hand out, letting the raven fly over and perch himself upon it.
Chase's keen ecliptic eyes, spotted a note tied to the bird's talon. Untying it, he read silently, his mouth curving into a smile. With his hand, he flung the bird into the air, letting it take off and circle the ceiling. It called with impatience, What does it say?
Crumpling up the letter in his fist, the Lord of Shadows answered, "It looks as if we'll be having a guest tonight. A soldier returning home for the night."
An hour later, Chase sat on his throne, sipping at some red cordial. The slightest movement in a dark corner caught his eye. "Well, aren't you going to greet me properly? I give you permission to speak."
Through those spoken words, the seal on the spy's throat broke.
The spy stayed in the darkness unseen, but kneeled to the floor. "I'm sorry Master, I forget my place."
Chase snapped his fingers, calling a panther servant to his side. Retrieving a new goblet of wine from the tray in the cat's mouth, he looked back to his spy.
"What do you have to report, slave?"
The spy didn't move a muscle, his fiery cat eyes gleaming in the darkness, reflecting the slightest flicker of pure hatred. But, as fast as it was there, it was gone.
"The four Dragons are settling into their new lives. I've watched each of them. They are learning at a rapid rate, and are making more friends and allies."
Chase nodded as he quietly sipped his cool drink, the wheels in his head turning faster and faster. "Do they suspect you?"
The spy shrugged his shoulders, "Of what? They don't even know who you are, how could they connect me to you?"
"They're smarter than you think. You say they are fast learners, what about the Wind? How goes him?"
"He is as you predicted, distancing himself from his comrades, even the one who loves him. He is isolating himself--alone. He is constantly training in the morning, noon, and night; he punishes himself. Why—I have not found out."
Watching the liquid circle around his crystal goblet, Chase spoke his thoughts aloud. "Many don't understand, until it's too late. The Four Dragons' Soul, is different from all other Shen Gong Wu. It is exactly what its name implies; it has a soul. A living, thinking soul. One, which has a will of its own..."
Looking back to his servant, which served as his eyes within Kama's School. "Well, they seem to be enjoying themselves quite vividly. I almost hate to think of them as rivals, but--"
Lifting his hand, the spy's balled up message in his palm. With a small flicker of his eye, the paper instantly ignited, slowly getting eaten away by green flames.
The eerie light reflected in both his and his servant's eyes, making them glow as if haunted. "Unless I educate them, on the real order of things, I'm going to have to kill them."
The spy nodded, "No love will be lost between us, especially, one in particular. When is the time to strike?"
The Prince of Darkness brushed the ashes from his hand. "You say they know nothing about me. Well, soon--very soon--they will have wished to have never even have thought to wonder. And the time to strike?"
He turned around and looked at his agent, "That will depend on you."
In the light of the roaring fireplace, Chase Young gave out his next set of orders. Putting his well-laid plan into motion.
When he had finished, the spy nodded and bowed before him. "It will be as you say, Master."
Chase nodded and turned away from him, "You had better get back before you're missed."
The spy nodded and turned to leave.
"Oh, and before you go…"
The agent turned back at his Master's words—only to be slapped ferociously across the face, throwing him violently into the wall!
Feeling the deep claw marks on his cheek, he looked up to see his Master standing over him. The manicured claws on his pale right hand, dripped with the spy's blood.
Chase Young smiled cruelly as he shook off the excess plasma. "That was a reminder of who it is you serve, and of your place. You are mine and mine alone. I own you. With a snap of my finger, I could destroy you in a second. If it happens that I EVER see another look like that on your face, the punishment will be worse that even you can imagine. You will join that damned tiger in my dungeons, and suffer the same fate. Do I make myself clear?"
Even with blood running down his face, total terror showed within his eyes. The spy nodded frantically.
Chase took another step toward him, "What did you say?"
"Yes, Master!"
Turning on a dime, the Prince of Darkness went back to his dais. "Get out of my sight."
He didn't have to have excellent hearing, to know that his spy was already gone. He smiled at the thought of the Dragons, and what he had in store for them. Sipping again at his goblet, his mouth curved into a fanged smile. "Dragons, enjoy your time while it lasts. For time is slowly running out…"