“How so?”
“There’s something in their auras that isn’t in yours. I’ve only seen one of their members of any real power that didn’t have it. He’s not the strongest, being a low-end category two, but he also seems more capable than the others.”
“Interesting,” Jason mused, absently tapping a finger to his lips. His guess was that the local essence users used monster cores heavily, while one of them was advancing himself without.
“I think my people know more about where you’ve been than they’re telling me,” Vermillion confessed.
“What did your people tell you?”
“Not much,” Vermillion admitted. “That’s par for the course with the Cabal, but I like knowing that they’ll protect my secrets as fastidiously as the organisation’s. I believe they have some idea of where you’ve been. They told me to do my best to maintain a friendly channel of communication.”
“I think you’ve done a bang-up job,” Jason said with a friendly smile. “I am going to be checking up on local vampire dining habits, though.”
“You going to appoint yourself magical sheriff?”
“No. But if the local vampires are more murdery than you’ve implied, I’m not going to stand by either.”
“You can’t fight every vampire in Sydney, Mr Asano.”
Vermillion caught something flinty in Jason’s eyes and his aura that sent a chill down the vampire’s spine.
“You’d be surprised at what I can fight, Mr Vermillion.”
A friendly smile from Jason broke the tension.
“Thank you for all this information, Craig. I owe you one.”
“Not a big one. I haven’t revealed anything that you couldn’t easily learn elsewhere. One piece of advice: If you’re going to affiliate yourself with one of the organisations, it has to be the Network. The reasons should be obvious.”
“I’m an essence user,” Jason said. “They’re the group with the means to make me stronger.”
“Exactly,” Vermillion said. “Even after learning that essences were behind new magic, we never bothered to acquire that power for ourselves, so far as I’m aware. We just don’t have the means to develop it. The EOA has a small handful of essence users, but they aren’t strong. My people are definitely interested in you, but they wanted me to point you in the Network’s direction. A show of good faith.”
“I’ll take it,” Jason said. He stood up, his hand halfway raised to shake Vermillion’s when it stopped. His expression turned cold and hard.
“Have you set up an ambush?”
Vermillion was unsure what to make of Jason Asano, who was a nest of strange dichotomies. At a glance, Asano was open and friendly, even a little hapless. This was belied by the intelligent eyes, whether they were taking everything in or focused in an incisive gaze. Although his body language was casual, Vermillion had no doubt that Asano was listening intently.
That fortress wall of an aura was nowhere on display, completely undetectable to Vermillion’s senses. He was beginning to understand what normals felt like under his own aura manipulation. Asano had the feeling of a knife in its sheath, which Vermillion was not unfamiliar with. He had met many dangerous people in his long life. It made little sense, then, that Asano could be so unversed in the wider magical world.
Vermillion’s initial thought was that Asano was feigning an implausible level of ignorance. As he continued to talk and Asano continued to listen, he eventually concluded that the man genuinely didn’t know even the most basic aspects of magical society. That seemed impossible given that he was clearly no stranger to magic. There was something very important about Jason Asano of which Vermillion himself was not aware.
Asano’s history gave away little. Until a year and a half ago, he had been, to any and all investigation, an ordinary man. He grew up in a small town, attended a private school for the kids of wealthy seachangers. He went to the University of Melbourne, dropped out after one semester and got a menial job in retail.
For the next five years, Asano was the picture of banality, outside of the occasional appearance on his sister’s cooking show. Then his apartment was mysteriously destroyed during one the Network’s sham terrorist exercises, in which he apparently died by magical mishap. He mysteriously returned a year and a half later, with no more explanation than his departure. What he did have was a lot more power.
The persona Asano generally affected was in line with his history, prior to his disappearance. Was it always something he put on, having held this power before he went away? Vermillion guessed not, given what seemed like an authentic lack of knowledge. Asano had gone somewhere and been profoundly changed, but where?
Vermillion suspected the Cabal knew but kept it from him. It was more likely out of habit than maliciousness, but it still rankled. Most likely, it was related to whatever threat the Network was facing off with, given that it seemed to be the source of their power. Since Asano’s power was the same, that made sense.
Asano was unlike any member of the Network Vermillion had met, however, and he had met his share. Even compared to the handful of powerful tier-three essence magicians in Sydney, Asano was unusual. His aura was clearly discernible as tier two, but far too powerful for that. It was also far too controlled.
Greater vampires had an instinctive control of their auras, which was the source of their iconic charisma. Essence magicians were usually sloppy in their control, but Asano was very different in this regard. He was at least the equal of any vampire Vermillion knew of.
Over the course of their conversation, Vermilion came to believe that despite the danger behind his eyes, Asano might actually be as friendly as he put on. He was certainly easy to get along with. Then, as they were about to part, Asano’s gaze turned as sharp as a knife.
“Have you set up an ambush?” Asano asked.
“No,” Vermillion said. “If I was going to set up an ambush, I wouldn’t do it in my own café. I’d also bring a lot more people.”
“There are a lot more people.”
“What are you talking about?”
At that moment, a number of magical auras came into range of Vermillion’s senses. They were converging on the café from the outside, as well as the alley running behind. He recognised the auras, the blank power of the EOA’s alchemically juiced-up thugs.
Vermillion frowned unhappily.
“I think things are about to go very poorly,” he said.
12
UNDERWORLD BARGAIN
“I don’t recognise the auras,” Jason said.
“Engineers of Ascension,” Vermillion said. “Their alchemically enhanced foot soldiers. This may not go well.”
“I can live with that,” Jason said. “Sooner or later, I’ll have to make an example of someone.”
“It isn’t prison rules, Mr Asano.”
“Maybe not to you,” Jason said. “I’m all alone and surrounded by dangerous people who, as it turns out, are already in gangs.”
Vermillion frowned.