Chapter 88 - A Land-shark

The room I saw through the door was spacious, but not too spacious, and as opulent as everything else in this place. There wasn't a lot of furniture: just some couches, some chairs, and an empty table in the middle, at which Avarice sat. There were a lot of paintings, though, adjourning the walls, and a small window covered with thick curtains.

She didn't wear the dress I saw her in the last and only two times we've met. Instead, she was dressed in a homely velvet robe, cyan, of course. The waves of her chestnut hair looked a little damp. In this room, this woman looked every part like some nineteen century noble… Except for, you know, vampire-pale skin and slit pupils.

I walked in with a glance at Alexey, wondering if he will stay in or out. He followed me in, but stopped at the door while I took a deep breath and sat in the free chair across from Avarice. She frowned at me, clearly unhappy that I didn't ask for her permission first, and I just grinned back, bold on the sparks of adrenaline in my blood. This woman was like a shark—you just couldn't give her any initiative, not unless you could afford to come back later and take it away again.

I also wondered if blood tasted different with different hormones in it.

Avarice gave me another long look, then snorted and glanced towards the door. "Alexey, bring my guest something to drink. What would you like, girl? Tea, perhaps, or coffee? Maybe wine?"

"Tea, please. Green, if you have it, any."

"In a moment, Mistress," Alexey said before disappearing with a slight creak of the floors.

I think tension in the room immediately rose a degree then, though Avarice's slightly annoyed expression didn't change. I wondered if I will ask her to relieve me of unfair increase in my (dad's) debts, would she reply with something like "You don't ask me with respect. You don't offer me friendship. You don't even call me Godfather."?

While that thought was in my head, Avarice spoke again. "I was half-thinking you won't come, after all. Why would a girl like you come right into my den, risking yourself, and for what? My reports show that your shop gives more than enough profits to pay what you owe to me. Or is wealth more important to you than safety? Or maybe…" Avarice's eyes narrowed, but kept focusing on me. "You aren't so defenceless? Are you alone, girl?"

I smiled. It was nice to see she was so unsettled by the idea of JJ hovering over my shoulder, invisible, though the fact that she had said idea wasn't so nice, I supposed. Still. "I'm alone, you have nothing to worry about. That doesn't mean that I'm defenceless, though." I weaved my fingers in the air. "I have maaagic." And dropped them on my knees. "But I didn't come to fight. I know you are helping us, me and Jean-Jacques, and wanted to thank you for that, even if I know you don't do it for free, Avarice."

"Thank me?" Avarice huffed. "Empty words bring no profits. You already made me wait for long enough, girl. You want me to renegotiate your debt, don't you?"

"Yes." Now it was my turn to frown. "I didn't even know my father took money from you. Why would he need to? I thought the shop ran well… Well enough, at least."

Avarice stretched her lips until her fangs showed. Technically, it was a smile. Technically. "Why should I know? He didn't even deal with me directly. I have other people to deal with mundanes like him."

"Either way… you raised my payments for no reason! They were a hundred thousand a month when my father died. I…" the word 'demand' rose to my tongue, but I swallowed it, because, well, Godfather—and because fair words break no bones, "ask you, please, to reconsider this absolutely unfair enlargement."

Avarice hummed thoughtfully. "Interesting. In truth, I expected you to ask for the entire debt to be recalled, instead of just this…"

"I'd also like to ask for a recalculation of the percentage. The way it is right now is plainly illegal."

"So what? Do you care about laws so much, girl? Vampires are illegal, too. Witches were burned on stakes."

I grit my teeth to not blatantly scowl at her. "I care for the amount of money I will have to earn to repay this debt. It would also be nice if you used my name, Avarice."

She snorted. "Very well, Diana." To my surprise, there wasn't any of that passive-aggressive insult in her tone now. She was just cool and polite and somewhat detached, and looking not at me, but somewhere over my shoulder. "I can revoke your debt entirely, I can. It's not an enormous sum for me. Not even that important. I can forget it entirely with ease… But I won't do it for free. Nothing ever is."

"You want me to pay with something else." An earlier conversation with JJ replayed in my memory, and I added, "A favour?"

Avarice's eyes snapped to me and she smiled—really smiled this time. It was a cold smile, but a smile, not that grimace of establishing domination. "Your favours don't worth this much, Diana. No." She shook her head slightly, her smile not diminishing. A lock of slightly damp hair fell on her cheek from the movement, and she tucked it behind her ear.

"I want you to work for me instead of Dragonslayer. I don't know your exact arrangement, but I, too, can give you my protection. And something he doesn't have—money, of course. With his character, he probably won't care for your leave, especially if I compensate him for it. It even won't be an inconvenience if you kept living in his territory. Witches like you are always useful, if only for their eyes. If you are a talented one, then even more. I can be, as you said, an unfair loaner… But I'm a fair employer.. So. Do you agree?"