“Yo, Cadmus.” Micah ignored Cadmus’s wince. “What’s the latest?”
Cadmus stifled the sarcasm that was fighting to be let loose, like an indelicate sneeze. “I’ve identified some tracts of land that might be suitable, but there are some delays in discovering ownership and availability for purchase.” In fact, all the subterfuge, the obvious shell companies, had made him suspicious. But he wasn’t about to invite Micah into his speculation. The last thing he needed was to give the younger man an opportunity to show him up.
Micah found one anyway.
“HTM’s gonna want to know about what it’s like,magicks-wise. You understand?”
There was so much to bristle at, starting with Micah’s referring to His Terrible Majesty by his acronym, as if the syllables were too much effort to shape his mouth into. Cadmus had to remind himself that the younger man probably would be entertained by his discomfiture, or any outward show of jealousy.
He carefully kept his features neutral. “You may tell His Terrible Majesty that the energies here are quite potent. In fact I am still acclimating to them, and will have a better idea in a few more days as to how they can be harnessed or adapted to.”
Micah’s eyes were shrewd. “I thought you had been there before? You didn’t mention any need to acclimate during that time.”
Cadmus was proud of the even tone of his answer. “That had been a quarter of a century ago, and it could be that the community of Diviners present at the time—” the community that Cadmus and his crew had wiped out “—were able to temperate the energies. It actually bodes well that there is no such influence in place now.”
Micah nodded, with a slight smirk. “Good, good. Although don’t take too much time, you understand? The heat’s on back at the homestead, thanks to your screw-up. HTM is thinking we have to clear out completely, since it’s not like we can just kill off all the cops that are crawling all over it.”
Cadmus’s knuckles whitened as he clenched the armrests of his chair, thankfully out of range of the webcam. Micah couldn’t resist reminding him of how the last male he had kidnapped—acquired—for His Terrible Majesty had been wearing one of those complicated fitness watches, something that had allowed the police to track him to the sacrificial site that was within a few minutes trek of their house.
It didn’t help that there were other human remains found there, the young men who had been hastily attained, so their life forces could be emptied to feed His Terrible Majesty upon his awakening.
Micah had only been too pleased to point out to His Terrible Majesty the danger that Cadmus had put them in, volunteering to take His Terrible Majesty across the country to a potential relocation site. Cadmus had opted to go to where he had been before, and a few other Merciless scattered to scout other sites.
The man-wolf, if, no,whenCadmus found it - would be his ticket back to His Terrible Majesty’s good graces. And in the meantime, he would keep it from Micah.
He forced his lips into a smile through sheer force of will. “Rest assured, only the most necessary of time will be spent in order to evaluate this site’s worthiness for His Terrible Majesty. After all, we wouldn’t want to make any hasty decisions.” He decided to change the subject. “And how goes your trip — how are you finding Crater Lake?”
“It’s got good juju,” Micah said, causing another vein in Cadmus’s head to pop. “And a place for HTM to chill and hang out, no doubt. But for a long-term headquarters it’s a no-go.”
“Oh? And why is that?” Cadmus asked politely.
“It’s too isolated. It would be hard to keep feeding HTM. And bringing in the resources we need – weapons, that kind of shit – is harder to do on the QT when you’re in bumfuck, nowhere. People notice shit out here.”
“Duly noted.”
They exchanged a few more pleasantries, before —thank The Infernal Gods — Micah’s face disappeared off his screen. Distrustful that Micah wasn’t still able to spy on him, Cadmus shut down the computer, pulled the plug and put a cushion on top of it for good measure.
In addition to Micah being all chummy-chummy with His Terrible Majesty, his power base among the Merciless -- mostly made up of people closer in age to Micah’s almost-30 years -- was growing as well. If this location was going to be chosen, Cadmus might as well get a head start in recruiting people to shore up his own base.
A loud crash from downstairs broke his reverie.
“Sorry, Boss. I tipped over the chair.” Billy Bob called out.
Cadmus wasn’t even going to ask how that happened.
Yes, he definitely needed to recruit new people.
