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Jaxon Blau

Jaxon Blau was not a nice man. He was the kind of man who got quiet when unhappy, red when angry, and spiteful when given power. And someone had allowed him a lot of power.

Blau received me in his dining room in the middle of a meal. The lights were dim, casting sharp shadows across the room as he sat at a wide table, illuminated by the large fireplace behind him. It was the middle of summer. In the south.

His meal was arranged beautifully. A number of appetizers, several main courses, home-made breads, and deserts were all displayed in quality porcelain. It was enough to feed an army.

He didn’t offer me any. He didn’t even invite me to sit, letting me stand by the door and wait. His two hulking bodyguards flanked me — an earthborn and an intimidator. One could snap me like a twig, and the other could project a terror so intense it was paralysing. What a lovely pair.

Blau’s inappropriate reception wasn’t due to the fact I had appeared without a warning. I’d given him enough notice to anticipate my arrival. And it wasn’t the hour, as he had set it himself. But I patiently waited for him to be done with his display of authority because it was late and I wanted to get this job over with.

“You’re not the usual contact,” Blau said, chewing. He paused, looking me over again. “Where’s…” he pointed to his face. “Tattoo?” He proceeded to tear apart a small bread and toss the pieces into his stew.

Zee had better things to do than deal with a greasy crime boss, even one who owned a third of Radegast’s farmland. Which didn’t make me feel any better about this assignment. I briefly eyed the fireplace, then turned back to Blau. “He is otherwise occupied,” I replied, keeping my voice monotone. “I-”

“Shame,” he smacked his lips, interrupting me.

“I bring a message, and a request,” I continued without missing a beat. I reached into my bag and only the intimidator flinched. He relaxed when I recovered the letter. Mean but dumb, Blau had probably gotten them at the local outlaw refuge. I moved for the table and the guard grabbed my arm. Every fibre in my body tensed, ready to spring. But I held myself back, resisting the urge to show the intimidator exactly where he could stuff his hands. He might be dumb, but he was loyal. Blau nodded, and it took the guard a few seconds too long to let go. I filed it all down under personal insults.

I walked around the large table and came to stand beside Blau’s chair. He too was an intimidator, but his true strength lay in his ability to resist mental influence.

“Your reputation has been declining in recent years,” I spoke.

He huffed. His gaze was still locked on his meal, but he was no longer eating.

Declining was putting it softly. Blau had never concerned himself with proper working conditions, or the state of his equipment as long as things got done and he didn’t need to spend extra resources. A few decades ago, he had started with a shiny new set-up and an eager workforce. He provided jobs for those who would not get hired, guards for those who did not need them, and a network to store and transport illicit goods across the province.

Today, half of his machines were an accident waiting to happen and he was bleeding workers in torrents, but his network was stronger than ever. He had grown too big to be allowed to fail.

“The work you do for your community is valued,” I recited the carefully crafted words, “and we’re concerned about the future success of your business.” I pinned him with a stare as he glanced up at me. “We’re willing to provide the support needed to straighten up your record and restore your reputation.”

Silence. His beady eyes were trained on me, waiting with disinterest.

“I specialize in information control,” I continued. “I can help quash some of the rumours regarding your workforce. And I can get you in touch with the right people regarding new farming techniques.”

A half smile played on his lips, and I resisted the urge to frown. He didn’t think it was a problem. I disagreed. Having your employees drop dead of exhaustion or die in accidents on the field was not a good way to lead a business. Acquiring more land by sending earthborn thugs to ransack potential plots was even worse. If he was to keep his network going in the future, he needed a good front.

“Were you aware that the military has launched an investigation into your holdings?” I said.

He blinked, momentarily surprised, and then recovered with a smirk. “The military’s always-”

“Mithra military.”

His face creased in a deep frown. “What does the Capital want from me?”

I replied with a tight smile. “That tidbit is for free. What you do with it depends on you. Anything further, standard rates apply.”

The military didn’t care about him. It cared about his network. And so did we.

I placed the letter in front of him. “My benefactor has kindly provided a few words of advice,” I glanced at the letter and then back at Blau.

Saying nothing, Blau rose from his chair and snatched the white envelope on the way up. I stayed in my spot as he walked past me and across the room. He examined the letter in the flickering light of the fireplace, turning it over and over. His air was pensive as he seemed to consider. Briefly. Without opening it, he threw the letter into the fire and I watched the paper shrivel up and turn black, unread ink bleeding into the flames.

“Next time,” Blau said, “tell them to send an adult if they want to do business.”

I refrained from frowning once more.

Longevity had its perks — youthful appearance, knowledge, experience. Being taken seriously by narrow-minded peasants was not one of them. But I didn’t respond, I didn’t react. Blau did not believe in consequences and he did not fear the bite of the military, but he would learn soon enough. Arrogance flavoured with foolish certainty never led far.

He signalled his men with a wave and the guards reacted faster than their large frames seemed to allow, zipping around the table and toward me. The intimidator’s hands clamped around my shoulders and shoved me for the door. Once more I stifled a reaction.

“I’m not finished,” I protested, and Blau dismissed me with another flick of his hand.

The intimidator squeezed, the lash of his energy snapping my way. It tickled my consciousness like a small ripple in an ocean, instantly absorbed in its waves. Pitiful. Fear, concern, compliance, I couldn’t even tell what he was trying to project, only that he was annoyed.

I dug my feet, grinding us to a halt. “I suggest you let go,” I said calmly.

He didn’t respond, continuing to try to shove me.

I’d had enough. Without much effort I slipped from his hold, circled around, and brought him to the ground with a well-placed kick behind the knees. At this height, it was a child’s play to kick him in the head and knock him out cold.

Injury repaid.

Blau stared at me. The earthborn stared at me too. Their shock didn’t last, and the large guard barrelled toward me. I merely stepped out of the way. Too slow. But he was relentless, correcting course in a blink and grabbing for me again.

I eyed his wrists. No blocker. If he caught me, it was the end. Adrenaline surged; as if this was a challenge. I danced out of the way, helping him to the ground with a light shove. He fell hard enough to make the dishes on Blau’s table rattle.

But an earthborn was not as easy to knock out as a mentalist was. I’d have to lure him into using his abilities stupidly, tire him out, and deliver the final blow when he was on the edge. We’d probably break a few walls in the process, hopefully without bringing the entire roof down. No, this house was Gayle’s legacy, and I wouldn’t be the one brining it to ruin. The earthborn was just a guard dog and what I needed was for his master to call him off.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

I leaped over the table, snatching a set of cheese knives on my way to Blau. The earthborn was already back on his feet. I threw the knife, aiming at the big boss instead. It didn’t have the right shape for throwing so I had to help it along with a light air current, but it reached its mark, embedding itself in the wooden accent of the fireplace behind Blau.

“However fast he is,” I said to Blau, brandishing the second knife, “I’m faster.” His lips parted to bark a command, but I spoke first, “And I never miss.”

My fingers itched on the handle. I’d known that talking to him was pointless, Blau would not change. He was a victim of his success and as long as he believed he would continue being successful he had no reason to step in line. But removing him wasn’t a solution either. I stilled my fingers. His disappearance would cause a vacuum I didn’t want to deal with. If the message didn’t work, I had to find other ways to convince him. But before that, there was something else I needed from him.

I held his gaze, waiting for his next move. He considered briefly before raising his hand for the earthborn to stay put.

“What do you want?” he asked, his anger controlled but prickly.

“There’s a boy working for you-”

“I have many boys working for me.”

“The one to whom you owe this house.”

He didn’t reply, his eyes narrowing on me.

The estate wasn’t the largest, but it was the sturdiest and perhaps the prettiest. Build on an elevated hill it was unlikely to flood in a land that suffered from spontaneous marshes. The hard stone foundation alone would make it last decades longer than other houses. Blau used it as a summer retreat and occasionally as a meeting spot for his deals. The house wasn’t rightfully his; it had been Gayle’s once, and now her son worked for the man who’d stolen it from her.

Blau stroked his chin as if he didn’t know what I was talking about. I threw the second knife, grazing the spot he was touching and his fingers. Blau staggered and before he or his guard dog could react, I crossed the rest of the distance, pulled the knife out of the woodwork, and pressed it against his thick neck.

“You will pay out his wages, add a good bonus for hard work, and send him on his way,” I said slowly so he could understand. “No strings attached, no more meddling into his life.”

I waited for him to nod before retracting the blade enough to let him breathe.

“As for the rest, you can either clean up your game or you can fall. Personally, I don’t care, I’m just here to deliver a message.”

I did care though. If he had listened, that would mean less work for me, and I was already on a tight schedule. He tried to say something, then reconsidered when my blade bit into his skin again.

“Don’t think of playing dirty,” I added. “You’ll find me quite difficult to get rid of.”

***

Blau kept some of his roofless workers in barns at the edges of his vast properties. That way he could claim they were squatting if they were discovered in a surprise raid. Or he could report them himself, give the army a chance to prove its efficiency in controlling illegals at a strategic time.

“Why the boy?” Blau asked as we approached the moonlit barn.

“It’s a job,” I lied. “One that pays.” His brows knitted in thought as I continued forward. Let him chase shadows and motivations.

The truth was, I had promised a dead woman that she would see her children again. She wouldn’t. The least I could do was check in on them and make sure they were on the right path. Gayle had done me a service, and I never forgot paybacks.

“I’d watch out if I were you,” Blau said as he unlocked the side door.

I smiled as sweetly as I could. “Excellent advice,” I replied and snatched the satchel of money he had promised before making my way into the dark.

The smell of human and cattle was so intermixed inside that I couldn’t tell one from the other. But I could feel their energies. I had watched the boy long enough to recognize him easily, so I weaved through the murky darkness of the unlit space, avoiding sleeping animals and humans alike, in search of my targets.

They huddled in a small space between stacks of hay. I shook the boy awake. He cracked an eye open to glance at me, to him probably no more than a dark shape, then at the moonlight streaming through the cracks of the worn boards.

“It’s too dark to shape the land,” he muttered, turning around and drifting back to sleep.

I shook him again. “Wake up, Reuben.”

He started upon hearing his name, sitting up and glancing around.

“Who are you?” he asked, voice alert.

“A friend.”

He shrank back, not believing. He wasn’t trying to get away; he was trying to shield his sister. Tabea had woken before him, I’d heard it in her breathing, and was now staring at me through the dark.

“You’re too quiet,” she said in a small voice as the touch of her awareness tried to grasp onto me. The probing was delicate, un-intrusive, but all the same nosey. That mental touch was unmistakable — an empath. Not an easy ability to live with.

“You’re just not listening carefully enough,” I replied and relaxed my hold on my energy a fraction, not enough to reveal my presence, but sufficient to let her sense my intentions.

She peered at me for a little longer, then squeezed her brother’s shoulder, making him relax. How naive. I was good enough to fake it, and it wasn’t hard for others to do so too. I’d have a talk with her later, but now the most important part was getting out.

I squinted when we walked back out into moonlight. Blau and his men were nowhere in sight. Good riddance. Though I knew this wasn’t the last I would see of him.

The children hesitated at the door, round eyes peering at me, sizing me up. In the moonlight they looked small and scared, and for once I was happy my outward appearance wasn’t immediately intimidating. Still, I forced my expression to soften. No point frowning at them.

Reuben peered at me, at the barn, then at the fields, dark eyes dancing in every direction. Hesitation, concern, fear, it all oozed out of him.

“You don’t have to stay here anymore,” I said, guessing at his thoughts.

He turned to me, face expressionless. “If I don’t work, I won’t get paid.”

“You weren’t getting paid now.” The food scraps and housing generously provided by Blau could hardly be called payment. But I didn’t rush him, letting the two of them weigh their options in silence.

Both were dangerously thin, so thin that I wondered where they found the energy to stand, let alone work. They were just two of the endless stream of workers Blau churned through. I should have slit his throat when I had the chance, but this wasn’t personal and there was a greater picture. Tabea and Reuben had lucked out because I happened to owe their mother.

The boy continued staring at me, dark gaze, thick brow, so unlike Gayle’s. He must have taken after his father, but Tabea was a mirror image of her mother — the same light brown hair, curling at the ends, the same hazel eyes. She had been five when Gayle was arrested, that would put her at fourteen now. Though the siblings appeared similar in age, Reuben was… a degree older than Tabea.

“Who sent you?” he asked, straight to the point. I was starting to like this kid. The answer to that question, however, was problematic. If I told him it had been Gayle, he’d have questions that shouldn’t be answered at the moment.

“Your aunt,” I said instead.

His brows knitted in confusion. “I don’t have an aunt.”

“You do now.” Temporarily anyway. I’d been at this job for a while now, which meant a lot of people owed me favours, all scattered across the Governance. It wasn’t hard to find a good family to look after the children until they got to their feet. A good family with an understanding of Reuben’s particular talents.

I tossed the satchel with his wages at him. He lurched to catch it, nearly dropped it, then fumbled with the straps to open it. The two children inspected it, eyes rounding as they looked to me, then to the bag again.

“Your wages.” A few years worth of legitimate government bills. Blau hadn’t bothered paying them properly, and even if all they bought were necessities it wouldn’t last long.

Reuben nodded, considered, then held it back out for me.

“We don’t need an aunt. We need our parents.”

I let out a frustrated sigh. “I don’t trade in reunions.”

“What do you do then?”

“I trade information.”

He continued hovering the bag. “Information then.”

I rubbed my temple. Get in, get them out, set them on their way. That was the plan. So why was this getting complicated?

I waved off his money. “One thing at a time,” I said, because it was the only thing I could say to make him move. “First, let’s go meet your aunt.”

A frown tugged at his lips and though he nodded an agreement, the spark in his eyes didn’t change. I wasn’t getting out of this easily. I sighed again. Give someone a finger, they would take the arm.

Hand in hand, the children followed me away from the barn. Reuben’s gaze was locked forward, but I could feel his attention on me. Not a total fool. His sister, too, now peered at me suspiciously. Probably because I had concealed my energy again, or maybe because she had woken up enough to realize that trusting strangers was dangerous.

“Who are you?” Tabea asked.

I considered dismissing her since we wouldn’t be seeing each other once this was done, but I still replied, “You can call me Nia.”