Razed by Magic

Chapter 6

Eli barely resisted the urge to slam his hands against his steering wheel over and over. Fucking Benjamin Waters. A car honked right behind him, the driver yelling obscenities at Eli as he merged. He absentmindedly flipped them off. The phone call with Benjamin, if you could call something that brief a phone call, was still playing in his mind.

"You need to head to Maddie Wright's house. Her mother, Rebecca, is demanding that she meet you. This is not open to discussion."

Benjamin's emotionless voice had almost caused Eli to break his phone. Not even a hint of embarrassment or regret at lying to his face. And when Eli had called him on it, shouted, called Benjamin a bastard, and threatened to quit the job, he hadn't hesitated with his response.

"Then quit. I lied, it was the simplest way to get you to take the job. You can either stop whining and continue to do what you're told, or quit and leave Seaset a hunted man. It's your choice." Click. He'd hung up, not even giving Eli the satisfaction of continuing to yell.

Eli was torn. Not over whether or not to quit, he wanted a clean out, something Benjamin knew and was taking full advantage of. He was going to continue with this bullshit job. His indecision was on whether or not to vandalize Benjamin's house. He knew where the mob boss lived, the magical wards were useless against him, there were multiple priceless art pieces that would be much happier in a new home, and so much smashable furniture. It would feel so good.

Eli continued to daydream about wrecking Benjamin's home worse than a frat party from a problematic eighties movie as he drove aimlessly through Seaset. He kept up his daydreams until the boiling over anger had cooled to a simmer. He still might punch Benjamin next time he saw him, but that had always been a little true. Feeling calm enough to deal with the next issue in a day already overloaded, Eli put in the address to Maddie Wright's house that Benjamin had given him. It wasn't that long of a drive, she apparently lived fairly close to Westmore.

Now that his homicidal and vandalism tendencies had died down, Eli couldn't help but wonder why Maddie's mother wanted to meet him. It couldn't be anything good, he doubted any mother would be happy with having someone like him guarding their daughter. He was damn good at violence, but probably wasn't the best influence. Eli rolled his neck from side to side, trying to release some of the tension that had molded itself to his muscles. Between the stress of today and the beating the Bewley's had laid on him last night, Eli wouldn't be surprised if he was unable to get out of bed tomorrow. Was his second day on the job too early to call in sick? At least the bruises and cuts would be gone within the next few days thanks to the Void. It really helped encourage Eli's recklessness.

Before Eli was ready, he arrived at the house. It was in a small neighborhood full of houses that had once been properly taken care of but were now well on their way to neglect. Pulling up to the sidewalk, the house in front was the exception. The dark paint was fresh and unchipped, the lawn green and mowed, and the white picket fence surrounding it looked like it had leaped right off the cover of Suburban Living Monthly. This was a home, taken care of and loved. How the hell did Benjamin fit into this?

Shaking the question out of his head for the moment, Eli strode up to the house, fixing a warm smile on his face. It never hurt to try and put his best foot forward. It came out more snarl than smile, but it was the best Eli could manage. His father had forced proper etiquette training him from the time he could walk and talk; in theory Eli knew how to stride amongst the high class and enrapture them. In reality those lessons had rotted away over the last few years of neglect. Turns out a mob enforcer doesn't have much use for the correct way to hold oneself during a gala.

Putting those rage inducing memories firmly out of mind, Eli took a deep breath to steady his nerves and knocked. Almost immediately the door flew open, nearly causing Eli to jump. Standing in the open doorway was Rebecca Wright. With her long strawberry blond hair and laugh lines around her eyes, she was the spitting image of Maddie aged up several decades.