The Heart of Alchemy by James Wisher (e book reading free TXT) 📕

to the Temple of Astaroth. A room has been prepared. Tonight, we meet with my agent at court. Until then rest and recover. Jet will provide you with anything you need.”

Otto nodded. “Thank you. Until tonight.”

Marius turned his back on Otto and Jet led him upstairs and down a different hall to a closed door. She opened it and stepped aside to let him enter first. The modest suite had only a bed, table and two chairs, and a small trunk. Another door led, he assumed, to the garderobe.

She shut the door behind them and said, “When you spoke up I feared our master would kill you out of hand. He doesn’t take well to people questioning him.”

“I don’t take well to orders or threats, and I assure you, I’m not so easy to kill. But infighting will do us no good. Better for everyone if we complete our business and I leave the empire as quickly as possible.”

“Yes, that would certainly be best. I will fetch you water to wash up with and food. Is there anything else you need?”

“No, thank you.”

She bowed, not as deeply as she had to Marius, but deeply enough that it wasn’t an insult, and left.

Otto sighed and slumped on the bed. The leader of the cult wasn’t what he expected, but then that was his mistake. It did make sense that the leader of a cult devoted to the demon lord of the undead, would be undead himself.

The combination of tension and exhaustion sent Otto into a deep slumber. He didn’t know how much time passed, but when someone broke the ethereal thread he’d placed across the threshold of his room, he sat up and sent ether surging through his body. Any lingering haziness vanished in an instant.

When Jet stepped into the room Otto relaxed a fraction. She carried a tray covered with steaming bowls and set it on the room’s small table.

“You might knock before entering,” Otto said. “Trying to sneak into my room is a good way to end up dead.”

“My apologies. I wasn’t certain if you were awake.” She bowed then straightened and pointed at the food. “I thought we might dine together.”

The beef and noodle soup she’d brought him earlier, while delicious, hadn’t been terribly filling. A second meal would suit him quite well.

He moved from the bed to the table and they sat facing each other. Otto breathed deep, savoring the rich scent of roasted meat and exotic spices. Considering he was staying in a temple dedicated to the demon lord of the undead, the food was surprisingly delicious. Of course, he still checked everything for poison before digging in.

When he’d eaten about half his meal Otto said, “Tell me about your minister of whatever you said he did. I can’t imagine it was easy to find someone willing to betray the government.”

Jet took a sip of wine. “You’d be surprised. Perhaps once honor and dedication had some bearing on who they selected for high posts in the government, but now it’s all about patronage. Minister Hu knew someone to get his foot in the door, but he’s risen as far as he can on his own. As you can imagine, that doesn’t sit well with him. He accepted our offer of advancement with very little coaxing.”

“So a politician with a taste for power, shocking. Does he actually know who he’s serving?”

She offered a polite laugh. “Of course not. Lord Marius is highly skilled at illusion magic while Hu has no talent for it and thus no clue that the wealthy, eccentric merchant is actually a long-dead demon worshipper. We’ll keep it that way until it suits our purposes to reveal the truth, assuming it ever does.”

Otto couldn’t deny a little discomfort at the idea of trusting someone so quick to betray his current masters, but as long as the minister stayed loyal until Otto acquired the Heart, what happened after was no concern of his.

“How long until the meeting?” Otto asked.

“About an hour. We’ll join Master Marius at the house next door as soon as we finish eating.”

Otto nodded and did exactly as she suggested. The food was too good to waste.

After mopping up the last of the broth, Jet led him down a different tunnel and up a set of stairs that led to the basement of a fair-sized house. All the usual junk that people accumulated over the years was absent here. Otto’s conjured light revealed a fine layer of dust covering the stone floor along with a single set of footprints that went straight to another staircase.

“Looks like you don’t use this entrance often,” Otto commented.

“No, not very. I usually go in the front door. Only Master Marius comes this way. We’ve let it be known that he’s a bit of a shut-in that seldom meets with anyone.”

They followed the tracks upstairs to a beautifully equipped kitchen. The only thing missing was food. He doubted anyone would ever visit the house, but if they did, it would be instantly obvious that no one actually lived here.

Outside the kitchen, they turned left and entered a sitting room where Marius waited. Now he looked like a nobleman, handsome and dressed in fine silks. All fake of course. The half-rotten corpse under the ethereal construct remained visible in his magical sight. But it should be enough to fool a normal human.

“Did you find everything to your liking?” Marius waved Otto and Jet into a pair of empty chairs.

“The food was delicious, thank you.” Otto sat and Jet joined him.

The illusion offered a proper smile. “That may be the only thing I miss about being alive. I was quite the connoisseur before I died.”

There was some noise from another room followed by the sound of a door closing. A moment later a servant Otto hadn’t noticed announced, “Minister Hu, my lord.”

The minister swept in, a long crimson robe flowing behind him. Despite the loose fit, it failed to disguise the massive potbelly hanging below his belt.