Finally decided to start dropping snippets of my novel, so here! I hope this little bit is self-contained enough to be comprehensible.
“Why'd you do it? Enthrall all those people, I mean,” the woman said. “What was the point?” She was a talkative one, wasn't she?
I snorted. As if she deserved to know my reasons! And in any case, it was a simple case of ambition. I wanted power, prosperity and prestige. Mind magic gave me the means, and I acted on it. There was no real reason, no ‘villain backstory’ or any dramatics. Those were things reserved for stories. Real people, I had found, were much simpler.
The man shook his head in disdain. “So you ruined all those people for power? They were nobodies. You could've gone for tycoons, politicians, celebrities. Instead you enslaved innocent civilians.”
I wanted to laugh at the fools. Regular mages always thought small, only ever wanting power within their own little systems. I had built my own hierarchy, with me at the very top. Who needed tycoons when I could create my own currency, or politicians when I was all the politics they needed? I was their celebrity, their ruler, their God. And it had been wonderful.
The two mercenaries bore revolted expressions. “You're a real creep,” the woman said. “I'm beginning to think your mother should have dropped you in the lake at birth.”
“There's a reason we advised you not to talk to the captive, Miss Chong,” someone said. It wasn't one of the mercenaries, and I craned my upwards to see a man in a crisply pressed suit walk in. He had silver streaks in his dark hair and crow's feet around his grey eyes. “Good afternoon, Luna Iverius Delacroix. It is a pleasure to see you alive and kicking.”
I narrowed my eyes. How did he know my name, and my full one at that? I'd been careful to erase any trace of my identity. My parents had forgotten my existence, any family of mine recalled me to be a stillborn, and all my childhood friends and acquaintances were resting at the bottom of the Celitane Lake.
“Once again, you forget the presence of technology, Miss Delacroix. Your name and details were in every single database. We have your entire history, from your vaccination history to your grades,” the man said, settling in the chair opposite me. “I am Zacharias Pullman, Head Arbiter of the Mages’ Union of Peakpoint. We saw your abilities, and want to make you an offer.”
An offer? I wanted to puke, to tell them I would rather die than lick the boots of the Mages' Union, but I couldn't. I was a pragmatist, damn my callous heart, and I would never condemn myself to death for the sake of honour. And death it would be, if I refused this offer. I saw it in Pullman's eyes, a cold, sharp steel that cried out for my blood running against it.
Chong winced at my assessment of Pullman, but didn't dispute it. “You and Mr Baker should leave. This is private business after all,” Pullman said, giving no indication that he had heard or even registered my thoughts.
The two mercenaries left without another word, locking the door behind them. It was just me and him, now, and I didn't fancy my odds.