08-29-2018, 04:32 AM
(This post was last modified: 08-29-2018, 05:13 AM by Marcus DuBois.)
For the first time in his life, Malik felt contempt wash over him at the weakness Ascendancy displayed. His face remained frozen in imitation of ease even as waves of shock crashed through him repeatedly, the spray mist cast hundreds of feet into the air.
What has happened to you, Ascendancy? Marcus wanted the ask the man. No. To shake the him. How illogical could he be? There was no guarantee that the woman would not, once more, provide a conduit to the ijiraq that had bound her. Who knew how the process even worked, or whether she had been part of it from the beginning? It had taken all of them together just to shield her the first time!
Keeping her until they knew it was safe was the best course.
Ascendancy was changing, a cancer worming its way deeper and deeper into him, choking Caedus. And Malik had a feeling he knew where it came from. The woman next to him now, helping the woman. Representative Avalon. Her hooks were in him, her fangs releasing the venom of weakness mixed with her siren sweet call of love.
The man who stumbled out of the room amid the broken remnants of what had been an exaltation in triumph and glory was not the man Malik had come to follow. At least not at the moment.
Yet he still had much to learn, far too much. And despite everything, Ascendancy still embodied the power he coveted.
But with Avalon by his side, Caedus was weakened. Malik's chance to supplant him would come, but sooner than he had expected. Sooner than what was good.
He would have to be careful. She was his enemy though he doubted she even conceived of any such thing. But she could also be a tool, if he did it right. He simply wasn't ready. There was far to much to learn, far too much to do.
But he couldn"t let anyone else imagine they smelled blood either. He saw Alexandrova and Bykov. He had to help them keep the empire on Ascendancy's shoulders. Those who struck at it- first and foremost this Regus- needed to be eliminated.
This had been a terribly humiliating public blow, one that the guests each had paid $10,000,000 to have a front row seat to.
Malik gave the woman a cool smile. "I apologize, miss. I had only meant to keep you and everyone safe until we were certain the danger was past." Which was true, after a fashion. And yet even as the words spilled diplomatically from his lips, he allowed her to see the darkness that swirled in his eyes, the hatred that sought to burn away all in his way, to take his place as judge in this world and expose all the weak places. All of the rage that consumed Malik.
Why not. They mirrored hers.
He released the shield over Nox. He was not going to get him to the Facility for answers now. Idly, he wondered if he might just ask and see if he'd be forthcoming. He almost wrote that off as a joke. No one offered knowledge for free. Still....perhaps.
Ascendancy's aides and counselors took charge. Malik had no interest overseeing anything at the moment.
He looked at the Representative, a friendly relieved smile on his face. He allowed a rouch of tiredness to tinge his voice. She was young, after all. Cloaked in honesty, he said, "Your words defused a tense situation. I am grateful you were here to offer your sage wisdom."
What has happened to you, Ascendancy? Marcus wanted the ask the man. No. To shake the him. How illogical could he be? There was no guarantee that the woman would not, once more, provide a conduit to the ijiraq that had bound her. Who knew how the process even worked, or whether she had been part of it from the beginning? It had taken all of them together just to shield her the first time!
Keeping her until they knew it was safe was the best course.
Ascendancy was changing, a cancer worming its way deeper and deeper into him, choking Caedus. And Malik had a feeling he knew where it came from. The woman next to him now, helping the woman. Representative Avalon. Her hooks were in him, her fangs releasing the venom of weakness mixed with her siren sweet call of love.
The man who stumbled out of the room amid the broken remnants of what had been an exaltation in triumph and glory was not the man Malik had come to follow. At least not at the moment.
Yet he still had much to learn, far too much. And despite everything, Ascendancy still embodied the power he coveted.
But with Avalon by his side, Caedus was weakened. Malik's chance to supplant him would come, but sooner than he had expected. Sooner than what was good.
He would have to be careful. She was his enemy though he doubted she even conceived of any such thing. But she could also be a tool, if he did it right. He simply wasn't ready. There was far to much to learn, far too much to do.
But he couldn"t let anyone else imagine they smelled blood either. He saw Alexandrova and Bykov. He had to help them keep the empire on Ascendancy's shoulders. Those who struck at it- first and foremost this Regus- needed to be eliminated.
This had been a terribly humiliating public blow, one that the guests each had paid $10,000,000 to have a front row seat to.
Malik gave the woman a cool smile. "I apologize, miss. I had only meant to keep you and everyone safe until we were certain the danger was past." Which was true, after a fashion. And yet even as the words spilled diplomatically from his lips, he allowed her to see the darkness that swirled in his eyes, the hatred that sought to burn away all in his way, to take his place as judge in this world and expose all the weak places. All of the rage that consumed Malik.
Why not. They mirrored hers.
He released the shield over Nox. He was not going to get him to the Facility for answers now. Idly, he wondered if he might just ask and see if he'd be forthcoming. He almost wrote that off as a joke. No one offered knowledge for free. Still....perhaps.
Ascendancy's aides and counselors took charge. Malik had no interest overseeing anything at the moment.
He looked at the Representative, a friendly relieved smile on his face. He allowed a rouch of tiredness to tinge his voice. She was young, after all. Cloaked in honesty, he said, "Your words defused a tense situation. I am grateful you were here to offer your sage wisdom."