weakness. I can handle him when I am fit-but I do not want him to think he has the upper hand because I am incapacitated.
The man paused on the landing, then tried the door to the suite. Finding it unlocked, he ventured inside, naturally. 'Jason?' he called. 'Is something wrong? The door is unlocked.'
'What is that?' Cameron growled loudly, knowing that his voice would carry down the hall. 'Paul, go to bed. I'm going over my books, what can you possibly want now?'
'Nothing-well, except to tell you that you really ought to have the Inn at Pacifica send some hampers up here. They have a new cook, a man from New Orleans, that does wonders with fowl.' That was so trivial an excuse to bother Cameron that he at once suspected that du Mond sensed something was wrong and was trying to snoop.
'Fine. Start an account down there, and see to it,' he replied, trying to sound as irritated as possible. 'And if you won't go to bed, go find something useful to do.'
'He's sniffing the air, trying to detect incense or burning herbs,' the Salamander said calmly. 'He must suspect that you attempted a Working without him.'
Now how had the fool gotten so clever and observant, suddenly? And why couldn't he have done so when cleverness would have done Cameron some good?
Well, he won't find anything. The Working tonight required balsam and pine gum. He won't detect anything that a good fire in the fireplace wouldn't put out, His lips twisted in satisfaction.
'I'm trying to concentrate, du Mond, and I would prefer you weren't interrupting me. If you have anything else, keep it until tomorrow,' he called, allowing his irritation to show in his voice.
'All right, Jason.' Finally the footsteps receded and continued up the stairs.
'He's muttering something under his breath about opium, and he seems to think it is serious,' the Salamander reported, evidently getting the information from one of the others of his kind that was keeping watch over the Apprentice. Interesting. So they were keeping a guard of their own on him. That meant they did consider him a hazard.
He must think I'm dosing myself too much.... He suffered a momentary pang of guilt, for that was exactly what Rose and Master Pao had said. If even du Mond was of that opinion, then he must have allowed pride to take him too near the edge again.
Oh, damn them all, every one of them! He was perfectly capable of assessing his own needs! He didn't need them to tell him what to do!
'Now he's talking to himself.' That was a habit du Mond never had broken, despite the fact that it posed a danger of being overheard by Sylphs or Salamanders. 'It's about Rose. He does not like her. And yet he would like to have her to himself. He has plans for her that do not sound as if she would like them.'
Cameron was well aware of what du Mond got up to when he visited the city, and his irritation turned to anger. 'I can well imagine,' he muttered. The man could have been the internal reflection of Cameron's exterior; he was a beast in spirit as Cameron was in body.
That cad. I should have had him horsewhipped out of here when I first found out about his hobby. I thought it didn't matter, after all, many Masters had little peccadilloes when they were Apprentices that they outgrew once they learned discipline. But he's not simply flawed, he's warped. He's another like that charlatan, Crowley. He's a malicious, filthy-minded, self-indulgent blackguard, and he thinks he has the right to besmirch any woman he comes across with his foul paws! And now he thinks he can take advantage of Rose because I am confined to these four walls!
Once again, his anger rose until his vision was red-tinged, filling him with such rage that if du Mond had been in the same room, he would have found the strength to rise from his bed and rip his throat out. Fortunately at the moment he did not have the physical resources to do anything.
He forced himself to simply be still until his anger wore itself out. Logic asserted itself. He dares do nothing under my roof or on my grounds, and Rose will not leave either without my watchful eyes on her She is safe enough from him. But it is a good reason to be rid of him. The only question is-how to accomplish that without his realizing I have done so and seeking revenge?
The easiest way would be to simply kill the man. The idea had its merits. No one cared about Paul du Mond; no one would miss him if he simply vanished.
Except for certain parties in the city for whom he performs his vile services, who will find someone else of similar disposition within a fortnight.
Still, murdering him did carry some risks. Not in his mundane circles, of course; he need only say he had dismissed his secretary for embezzlement and that the man had taken ship for the South Pacific in disgrace. No one would make any further inquiries, for men did frequently take passage to the Islands to lose a bad reputation.
No, murdering du Mond would attract attention only in Magickal circles. One did not go about incinerating
