Page 219 of Savior
The thought of this place being torn up and remodeled, saddens me. I wonder if I could convince Dean to let me take it over, once Laura is ready to retire. This place means so much more to me, than just a job. It kept me afloat while I was in hiding from Jack. I learned so much more about the basics of Magic within these walls. I made lifelong friends in Laura and Ethan, and started my own little Reiki practice here. This place was part of my first steps towards independence and freedom from my past.
The witch bells on the front door jingle.
“Welcome to the Ametrine Cauldron.” I call out. They’re probably my last patron of the evening. Walking back into the front room with my broom, I greet them with a smile.
A man is standing between the two white columns in the foyer. He’s tall, dressed in what has to be a custom tailored, dark, pin stripe suit. It fits his trim, athletic body, perfectly. His face is angled toward the floor, a black fedora perched atop his head. The wide brim obscuring his features. He looks expensive, and as out of place here, as I once thought Dean had been in his Bad Boy Biker attire.
“Hello, sir… May I help you?”
“Sir… That word… on your lips… It does things to me.”
I recognize the voice immediately, though when he lifts his face, I’m slightly startled.
“Legion?” I clutch the broom handle a little tighter. “What are you doing here? And… why are you dressed like that?”
A grin slices across his sharp features. A long-fingered hand strokes his smooth-shaven jaw, before he gestures towards the ceiling with an odd, almost theatrical flourish of his hand. I realize he’s motioning towards one of Dean’s cameras.
“If he’s watching, it’ll take your Warden and Savior, a moment to place me.” He replies. “My cut would have been a dead giveaway, no?”
I’ve learned that when it comes to Legion, there are reasons upon reasons for everything he does. He will tell me the truth, though it will only be one layer of it.
“What do you want, Legion?”
He steps closer to me, circling me. The air around him swirls with the familiar scent of smoke. Though this time, it’s mingled with something cleaner. Far more pleasant an aroma. Something expensive. A cologne of some kind.
“You’re looking radiant as ever, Giovanna.” He says, coming to stand before me once more. “Pregnancy looks good on you. You’re simply glowing.”
“It’s called sweat.” I mutter, the initial shock of seeing him here, is wearing off. He hurt Dean. He might have killed him that night. “If I scream, you’re done for. The prospect will hear me. He’ll come running in and-”
“The prospect is incapable of hearing anything at the moment, sweet one.”
What? “Oh my god…”
“Oh, he’s quite alright. Don’t fret.” Legion insists. “Might wake up with a nasty headache, but things could be so much worse… Couldn’t they?”
Taking a breath, I inch closer towards Laura’s desk where at least I can grab her dagger style letter opener. “Legion, why are you here?”
“Why else would I be here?”
“Oh, I don’t know...” I try to keep the slight tremble from my voice, and pretend I’m more annoyed by his presence, than I am afraid. “Maybe to purchase more ingredients to blind your enemies?” My drip of sarcasm doesn’t seem to faze him in the slightest. Though, for a few moments, a stare is our only exchange as I come to stand beside the desk.
“You look at home in a place like this.” He finally comments.
“A working girl?” I remove my hand from the broom to place it on the desk near the letter opener, pretending to casually lean against it. “Word on the street, is that you’ve got a thing for that type.”
“Touché.” He grins. “Though I doubt a woman of your caliber, is familiar with anything pertaining to, the street.”
He reaches into the inner pocket of his fitted jacket, pulling out a card between his two fingers. Holding it much in the way he does his cigarettes, he insists, “You’ll be wanting this.” The bone white, heavy stock card, has a number written in black on it. “And I’d never endeavor to leave you wanting… Though I suggest you store it, before you run home and hand it over to the good Warden.” That last sentence, there’s a hint of resentment in his words.
I take the card from him, just as my cell phone sitting on Laura’s desk, vibrates with an incoming call.
Legion grabs it, looking at the caller ID with a sinister sneer. I take advantage of his distraction, picking up the letter opener and holding it behind my back.
“Speak of the devil.” He mutters.
“I think the Devil is already here.” I frown at him, holding my hand out for the phone. “Give it to me. If I don’t answer his call, he’s going to race over here.”
Legion holds my phone hostage, letting it ring to voicemail. His expression unamused. Maybe even slightly annoyed. He tosses the cell back down on the desk.
