Chapter 257 - Foresight

"This is way too good of a deal to be true," I said to Avarice and took another look around. "I should go and check if Hell froze, too."

It really was. The place was on the edge of Avarice's territory, a bit of it that she only recently took from a neighbour using the opportunity given to her by the general chaos after the demonic invasion.

It was an apartment, recently renovated in modern fashion and as if with my and JJ's needs in mind. It was bigger by a half than my current one, though the room count was the same. One was a bedroom with a double bed, another was a living room (where we currently sat in comfortable chairs), and a third was a kitchen—the smallest room, but still neatly furnished and with all necessary furniture. All windows had thick curtains on them, too. And there even was a balcony.

And it all, together with the hunting rights for the apartment building for JJ, would cost about as much as I could expect to get if I sold my current apartment. Three, or even four times cheaper than I thought Avarice would ask!

The vampire in cyan smirked at me.. "If I wanted to deceive you, I wouldn't have raised your suspicions by making a price this low. No, there's a reason it is so. In a month or two, Denis will return to the city. I hope Dragonslayer remembers his promise to us."

I counted time. God, how it flew! It was almost half a year since Denis left to lift weights and get a tan while he still could.

"Would be nice to see him again. He's still determined to become a vamp, then?"

"Very much." Avarice nodded seriously. "This is the first time I've seen him so persistent in achieving something, and his progress in preparations is remarkable. You might not recognise him when you see him again." A slight smile tugged on the woman's lips.

"Well, you should know that JJ isn't the one to drop break his promises. So there should be no trouble there. Still, that was an old deal. How is it related to this house?"

"Simple enough, Diana. A new fledgling needs to be watched after. Most commonly, they live in their sire's residence before they learn what they need for survival. I imagined, though, it won't be something you will find convenient for yourself, so I arranged for this apartment beforehand. Right next to it is another one, which I prepared for Denis. And they are close enough that I will be able to keep an eye on him, too. From a distance, of course."

There was a forlorn look on her face as she spoke the last words, hidden beneath the stoic and somewhat haughty expression that Avarice normally wore. It was one thing to let a child go into the big world, knowing that they still can visit you at weekends, at least, and quite another, I imagined, to do the same, knowing that you will be forever restricted to calls.

I looked around again. The renovations looked very fresh, but they would've still taken plenty of time… "Did you start preparing this apartment as soon as you got JJ's agreement?"

"Yes."

I chuckled. "Well, then, thanks for your foresight. By the way… did you heard about the opening of Cornellio's Auction House?"

Avarice frowned. "I doubt that there were many people who didn't after the disaster that happened. A complete mess. I will admit, I was distraught at first that I didn't get an invitation, but after the carnage, I changed my opinion. Hm… Weren't you and Dragonslayer present to it, though?"

"We were." I pinched my lips. These weren't happy memories… "I just wanted to mention the spell that Cornellio used to prevent the guests from attacking each other. It worked very well and was only broken by an outside influence. I just thought it might be something useful for you to have. You do a lot of business with other vampires, too. Surely it would be more convenient without proxies."

Avarice's eyes narrowed as she frowned, but I didn't miss the interested gleam in it. "What's the point of a spell like that if it can be broken so easily?"

"It was a first version of it. I know the witch who made it, and I'm sure there will be better ones in the future. When it will be available for sale, you will be one of the first to know." I gave Avarice an encouraging smile.

I knew that there will be a next version of the spell. I still was in contact with both Eve and Cornellio. The latter was brought low by the mess of the opening of his auction, but didn't give up on the idea of making business with supernaturals world-wide. Eve, on the other hand, had a perfectionist urge to finish the calming spell, and already used some discoveries from the Seal of Absolute Knowledge to make it more stable and self-sufficient.

"Hm… I suppose you showed yourself competent enough that your word and opinion could be trusted in evaluating something like this. In such case, buying amulets with a spell—it would be sold in amulets, right?—would be a good business investment." Avarice nodded to herself.

I took a mental note to ask Eve for a cut from whatever amount Avarice decided to buy. And get some for myself to resell them later. Cornellio's reputation was in shambles, and people were bound to get cautious about buying Eve's amulets now, whether or not they knew who made them, but with time, this was bound to change.

Some time for people to forget, some effort to fill everyone's ears with new advertisements. Vampires were, after all, still people and not spirits born out of nature itself like fey. Still, in their core, humans. And humans had short memories.

Right now, though, I just wanted for Avarice to be able to see her nephew again after his transformation.

"Well, I will have to ask JJ's opinion on the apartment before I buy it, but it looks good from what I can see." I stood up. "That would have to be done without you, though."

Avarice rose, too. "I was half-expecting Dragonslayer to be near all the time we talked… Admittedly, it's good to know that he isn't. This ability of his is an annoyance." Avarice snorted. "If he weren't such a useful ally and a dangerous enemy, I would've been tempted to kill him for it alone. Anyway, contact me when you decide to take another look at the apartment. I will send someone neutral to open the door for you."

"Yes, it's good that we are friends and not enemies." I shook my head at the complete lack of self-conscience about planning someone's murder in Avarice. I couldn't and didn't want to imagine her darker side. The glimpse I got when she was dealing with shapeshifters that attacked her was enough. I had to ask, though… "Now that supernaturals are slowly legalised, have you never thought about legalising your deals, too?"

Avarice gave me a flat look. "No, why would I? It would bring me no profit. Illegal deals could become problematic for humans who are too easily killed or crippled for life when it inevitably boils down to violence, but I have no reasons to fear that. And don't even start on morality with me. It's all rubbish."

"Allllright." I drawled. "I won't start on morality, then." My curiosity was still killing me, though. "Why do you think it's rubbish, Avarice?"

"It's too fickle. One day, you ask for help in need and you get it; another, you don't. When you have money and power to make people help you, only then you can say for sure that tomorrow your life won't suddenly be uprooted by circumstances you could do nothing about. Many of my people feel gratitude and loyalty to me, but I don't pay them less or more because of it. Everyone who works for me knows that their share depends only on how much they do for me, unlike others who would eagerly exploit their loyalty with promises of better reward tomorrow."

"Loyalty is still important. What if someone paid your underling more? Won't they betray you?"

Avarice smirked, showing a fang. "They know what happens with traitors. Fear is as reliable a tool as money. I do think that both should be used together for their maximum effectiveness. A carrot and a stick, as people say."

I shook my head. "You know, there's plenty of way to use a carrot and a stick while in the confines of the law. Though, I imagine, for someone like you, this is just too much bother." I sighed. "Besides, being moral and being legal are two barely related things… Anyway, I won't preach to you. Thank you for arranging things, and I will call you later."