A Mage Alone by Russell Emmerson

Author:Russell Emmerson [Emmerson, Russell]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Russell Emmerson
Published: 2019-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

16

Matt delivered a bottle of wine, a glass and a mug, and left with a smile and without a word.

Grant’s lustre had faded. He was still confident and assured, and his eyes still strong with a hint of calculations being performed every moment. But the grey shadows underneath and the huskiness of his voice showed the toll of the night.

Eili was used to Grant seizing the initiative and driving conversation. Tonight he seemed either unwilling or unable. Eili had recovered.

“What the hell was that?”

Grant smiled.

“A battle for the Port. And we won,” he said.

He smiled again as he took in Eili’s confusion, and drew himself up in his chair. For a brief moment Eili wondered whether Grant was drawing strength from him—but he felt nothing, sensed nothing, so avoided his now defensive urge to create a ward.

“It's old versus new, Eili, and we are the new,” he said, raising his glass in a mock salute and drinking deeply.

“Murchison,” and he raised his eyebrows to confirm Eili understood who he was referring to. The old man.

“Murchison has been part of the Port for many, many years. He's a powerful man. Dangerous. He is the power behind the markets, and many consider him to be a man of the past. Forget about the stall-holders—yes, some of them have power but they're bit-players at best—and forget about the community offering their protests against change. Murchison is the man behind it all,” he said.

He fell silent, playing with his glass as his thoughts turned over. Eili refilled their drinks and gestured for another bottle. The first was still going but the conversation had a long way to go yet.

Grant snapped a question: “Why do you think this development is important, Eili?”

“It's a big investment. It's in the heart of the Port and will create jobs,” he said, lines straight from the press release.

Grant shook his head. “It's power.”

“Places change over time, and power flows with those changes. That area and its surrounds are the true heart of the Port. It’s where the Port began, where it was created. It's where we get our power and it determines the shape of things to come.

“That place will change and tonight we made that happen. Murchison has lost his grip on the Port, and the future—our future—is on its way.”

His confidence was back, a mix of undeniable energy and triumphalism.

“So what will happen to him? Will he die?”

“Die? No, nothing so extreme. As our friend builds his apartments and hotel, Murchison will simply have less power to draw upon. His ties to the heart of the Port will be weaker and so his own power will be weaker.”

“And yours will be stronger?”

“And yours.”

“Just from a planning decision?”

Grant chuckled, reacting to the doubt in Eili’s voice. He refilled both drinks.

“We used to pay for scraps of land with blood. And sometimes still do. Blood is a form of power in itself. But in our world—your world, Eili—we pay for power with land. It doesn't happen on a single day or night or in an instant, but over time.

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