Page 100 of Polestar
He threw his gloves down with a sigh.
She’s going to be furious about what we’ve done to her brother.
Absolutely furious.
She would find out eventually.They just needed to keep her ignorant long enough for her to serve her purpose in their plans forThe Consortiumand, by extension, for themselves.
He followed the others inside the stronghold, ignoring the Barentian guards.So long as they were with Ulla, their regent, he and Yvan wouldn’t be bothered by the dangerous shifters.
He tamped down his nerves under their disapproving glares.
The partners still needed her for a little while longer.
They’d already scavenged the shaman’s grimoire collection, which had boosted his own ability beautifully and afforded them some level of safety, with both the king and the head guard under their control.
Still, Yvan was insistent they keep Ulla placated until he found the location of the artifact he was looking for.
Yvan fell in stride alongside Adolf.They slowed their pace until the others were out of earshot and no one else was close enough to overhear.
Adolf kept his voice low.“This device you’re looking for.You’re sure it’s here?”
Yvan nodded, studying Adolf’s face.“What are you worried about?We’re very close, I can feel it.”
It was some kind of access device or gate or key to another world.Adolf didn’t know the details, he was too busy running his business.
He knew just enough to confirm that he wanted to be part of it.A prime opportunity for expansion.So he kept Ulla happy, Yvan happy, andThe Consortiumhappy.Wins all around.
They continued walking toward the king’s reception room next to the larger great hall, before ordering Ulla’s ex-husband to be brought to them for questioning.
They wouldn’t all fit in the dungeon cell.
“I’m concerned about the strength of my networks and my control over them as my venom thins,” he spoke to Yvan, voice low so it wouldn’t carry along the stone corridor to the shifters’ sensitive ears.
Bringing energy solutions to the worlds’ remotest areas had given him all the access he needed to thrive, both legitimately and illegitimately.
His network truly was global.
“With access to wherever this artifact connects to, you can expand.The opportunities are endless,” Yvan reassured him.
Adolf loved the idea of endless opportunities.
“What kinds of merchandise will we find on the other side of this thing, do you think?”He imagined a whole new world of beings he could add to his catalog.“Yes, more novelty.More… unique acquisitions would do nicely.”
“We’ve listened to Conrad brag endlessly about this powerful being he’s controlled for centuries.Look at the power he has.”
Conrad, a member ofThe Consortium, had manipulated a Djinn—if Adolf recalled correctly—into bestowing powers and longevity on him before he entrapped and siphoned her power for himself.
That’s what Yvan wanted.He wanted to control powerful creatures like that for himself, boosting his own power.
“And you believe there are more like his creature, accessible through this gate?”
Adolf enjoyed a different kind of power.Power over the fates of the lesser and the powerful alike.Merchandise and buyers, there was little difference to Adolf.
A shiver rippled through him.
He provided services that fed his own sense of power.
They entered the room.Adolf watched the psychic as they settled in to wait for Ulla’s ex-husband to arrive and tell them what they all wanted to know.
