Arcane || silco X Fem OC

VIII

☽ Silco POV ☾

"You said you could control her!" Marcus yells. "I lost six officers. Six!"

I lounge on my office sofa. A cigar rests between my fingers, ready to be lit. I cross one leg over the other and throw my arms over the back of the sofa.

"She pushed it too far this time. The councils up in arms. I can't make this go away for you unless you give me something to work with."

I have worked with Marcus long enough to know to let him yell it out. Although it takes a blow to my pride, I stick it out. Business requires sacrifice, this one is easy. I grip my cigar trimmer and brace it against the end.

"Arresting her would be doing you a favor."

I close the trimmers over the end of the cigar. A satisfying woosh comes from the motion. My chest begins to burn as I look up.

"I don't need favors," I growl. "I need you to do your job."

I light my cigar and breathe in the smoke. A light sensation scratches my lungs. After years of smoking, I have grown immune to its effects.

"The firelights have been a thorn in both our sides. They ambushed my shipment at the Hexgates on the same day as the attack." I say.

"So?"

"It seems to me; the council has their culprit."

"Oh, that's tidy for you. What if I'm not interested in playing along?"

"We've accomplished a lot together, Marcus. Sheriff." I breathe in another plume of smoke and lean forward. "And there is more yet to achieve. I hope you can remain a part of it."

I give the guards behind Marcus a look. One crosses over to my desk and snatches the pouch of coins I have prepared. The guard slams the bag into Marcus's chest.

"For their families. Form an anonymous, concerned citizen."

Marcus releases a sharp breath before grasping the bag and storming from the room. I take a deep breath of smoke and dismiss my guards. My head tilts back as I lean into the sofa. The soft furniture cradles my body perfectly, molded from countless meetings and long nights. I stare at the ceiling. I imagine Emris up there, staring down at me. Her violet eyes a bottomless pool of glimmer. Addictive and impossible to escape.

Although her trip yesterday cost me dearly, she had good intentions. She always does. I breathe more smoke from the cigar and imagine her long black hair, her delicate and scarred hands. The tattoos that grace her pale skin. The silver glint of jewelry always on her ears and long neck and nimble fingers.

I blow the smoke in circles in the air. I savor the itch in my lungs as the smoke makes its way through my system. I take a deep breath.

No smoke could intoxicate one so much as Emris

☽Emris POV☾

My mind distracts easily as I hang over the chasm by my knees. The pages from the inventor's workshop sit in my hand as I attempt to read. A lot of math and theories and blah blah blah.

"Boring. Boring. Wow, super boring."

I flip through the pages.

"Ah-ha. Gotcha."

I twist myself back up into the catwalk and lean over my new magicey thingy. Runes are carved in the photograph in the pages. The same runes are scratched on this one.