Page 483 of Shadowblood Souls
“Very canny of you,” Balthazar says, sounding approving rather than annoyed that I figured out so much. His whole vibe strikes me as oddly upbeat today.
Has he gotten some kind of good news—has something we did advanced his plans in a major way?
Just because he doesn’t seem to care about Zian and me doesn’t mean there’s nothing to fear in this conversation.
I fix him with my most determined look. “So, before I take on any more jobs, I want to know how it all fits together. How are you associated with StreamCycle Enterprises? Why are you messing with other people in the same industry?”
Surely he hasn’t set this whole operation in motion simply so he can make his business more successful and bring in more money? But then, I never would have thought that Clancy’s speeches about making the world a better place were a cover for nothing more than financial greed.
Balthazar looks almost amused. He must suspect what I’m thinking. “I’d appreciate it if you’d give me more credit than assuming my goals are on such a small scale that they’d revolve around one company.”
My forehead furrows. “What’s the connection, then?”
He gives a careless wave of one broad hand. “Through StreamCycle Enterprises, I get information about the activitiesof other people who hold sway in various arenas. So it offers a useful starting point. But I’m already reaching far beyond that scope.”
“Toward what?” I can’t help asking. “What are you even trying to do? You told me before that you’re not happy with how things are—what things? What do you think you’re going to do about them?”
How have any of the jobs the guys and I have done for him helped him toward those goals?
Balthazar pins me with his penetrating gaze. “You’ve talked to Ursula Engel. You know what the Guardianship’s purpose was. And you’ve seen the monsters in this world firsthand, haven’t you? From what I understand, they nearly killed you more than once.”
A chill washes over my skin. He’s obviously talking about the shadowkind, even though I’d count the guardians as more monstrous than them.
But yes, some of Rollick’s associates did try to kill me. Multiple times.
I cross my arms over my chest, absorbing his words. “But you’re not working with the Guardianship anymore. At least, that’s how you made it sound.”
Oh, fuck, have we still been supporting them and their sick agenda all this time?
Balthazar gives a light snort, though. “Those imbeciles couldn’t carve their way out of a paper bag. I tried—I thought it could be something good?—”
He shakes his head and gives me another softer look that sets my nerves on edge. “You’ll come to realize that the more people become involved in working toward a goal, the more their efforts get muddled. I do much better working on my own, making the hard decisions that need to be settled.”
His answer doesn’t make me feel any better. “But you—all of the work you’re doing is about destroying the sha—the ‘monsters’ still?”
Balthazar’s voice resonates with intensity. “I’ve tangled with them too, far more than you’ve had the opportunity to. They’ve taken more from me than you can imagine. They’re a poison in this world, and someone needs to be willing to step in and eliminate them for good.”
I restrain a shiver. I can believe he’s met some cruel shadowkind—they definitely exist.
But so do beings like the perky succubus Pearl, who befriended me with so much eager curiosity about the human world. Like her friend Billy the faun, who was willing to stand up for me and the other shadowbloods against beings so much stronger than him.
And what Balthazar is saying doesn’t even fit with what I’ve seen in my time here at the villa.
“You have at least one of those ‘monsters’ working for you,” I have to point out.
“I use every resource I have at my disposal. That doesn’t mean Ilikethe fiends. If I can use them as weapons against each other, so much the better.”
I suppress a shudder at his chilly tone. “But none of the jobs you sent us on have anything to do with monsters. It was all human beings.”
Balthazar lets out a gruff sound of dismissal. “There are too many of the creatures. They’re everywhere, with their claws sunk in, twisting us to their purposes… It’s going to take a consolidated effort, more than any tiny secret organization can accomplish, even with tools like you.”
I frown at him, both because he’s still being annoyingly vague and because of the way he referred to me. “So you left theGuardianship to do something totally on your own? You have even fewer people!”
On the other side of the screen, the leonine man’s eyes shine with a predatory gleam. “Fewer people I speak to directly. When I’m done, I’ll have the strength of every government and military behind me.”
I stare at him for a moment, the pieces clicking into place but my mind not quite willing to accept it at first. But then, I’ve known our captor was insane from our very first conversation.
“You think you’re going to take over the entire world,” I say, a little roughly. “You’re—what—building political influence, corporate leverage…?”
