Chapter 500: Sinclaire

Chapter 500: Sinclaire

It would have been a lie to say that the crowd had been cowed. Demons looked at Noah and the balcony around him with undisguised interest. Several of them sported excited grins and others exchanged money. Noah half wished he could have bet on himself, but that might have been a bit much.

Not many demons actually looked all that put out about Matis’ death aside from the ones on the balcony below them, who had gotten even more blood on them than Pirren had. They threw a few insults up at him, but he ignored them.

While most of the crowd didn’t seem to care about Matis, there were definitely some that had taken more displeasure in the demon’s death than others. Sinclaire’s porcelain features were tight in displeasure and her lips were pressed into a thin line. Several demons scattered throughout the auction house had similar looks, likely having been allies of Matis. Something told Noah that nobody missed him because of his stellar personality.

Despite the looks they earned, not a single demon in the crowd said a word. That wasn’t much of a surprise. The Rune really wasn’t that powerful. Any demons that would have been powerful enough to risk wanting to fight him now probably wouldn’t be interested in something like Falling Shadow in the first place.

“If we’re going back to bidding, does the price reset to the original amount? It’s not like the other party was around to bid on it any longer,” Noah said.

“I’m afraid not. The price remains at 220, if anyone would like to make a bid.”

“Unfortunate. 220, then,” Noah said. He put a foot on the railing and pushed himself up, using a burst of wind to launch himself up and into the air. He landed on the railing of Matis’ balcony and hopped down, scanning the relatively barren area and spotting a leather bag on the table. He snagged it, almost blinking in surprise at its weight. It was heavy.

Noah slung the bag over his shoulder before turning back to his own balcony and jumping, letting his magic carry him back over to Moxie and the others. He dumped the bag on the table.

“If there are no more bids, then Falling Shadow is sold for 220 gold,” the announcer proclaimed, clearing his throat loudly. He sent a pointed look up at Noah. “And you will be liable for the cleaning fee.”

“How much is that again? It seems to have slipped my mind.” Noah asked.

“One hundred gold.”

“Ah.” Noah pulled Matis’ bag open and glanced through it. It was completely stuffed full of gold, but there were six glistening white crystals amongst the sea of yellow. They were perfectly round, nearly coin-shaped, and light danced as it passed through their clear depths.

He was surprised to feel a trickle of runic energy residing within them. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to send a faint tingle down his fingers when he brushed them across the gems’ surfaces. Noah pulled one of them free to get a better look. It wasn’t hard to guess they were some form of currency if Matis had brought them here.

“Crystals,” Aylin breathed, his eyes fixing on the gemstone.

“You know what this is?” Noah asked.

Aylin gave him a sharp nod. “Yes. Rune Crystals. I’ve never seen one this close before. They’re really expensive.”

“Not this one,” Yoru said. “That barely has any magic. It’s worth 100 gold. The dim light shows how weak it is. If it were more brightly lit from within, it could be of far greater value.”

“100 gold is a lot of gold,” Aylin muttered.

Yoru didn’t respond to that. She just lifted her gaze to Pirren, who still stood before her. “You may sit now.”

The blood-splattered demon looked down at herself. Then she mutely walked back over to her chair and lowered herself into it, not even bothering to try and wipe herself off. Her eyes stared off like she was trapped somewhere between a dream and a nightmare and hadn’t quite managed to work out which one it was yet.

Noah quickly counted through the money in Matis’ bag. If each of the Crystals was worth 100 gold, there was a total of 800 gold in it. The demon had actually been pretty wealthy by the standards of the Damned Plains. He grinned.

You know, killing a bunch of demons here would actually be a pretty good investment. Pay 100 gold, take their bag and all the goodies in it in turn. I’m up a net 700 right now. I should goad some more idiots into trying something.

Noah’s eye twitched. Ramon and the other demon definitely would have pushed the price far higher than 300 gold. He didn’t know why nobody was willing to bid against Sinclaire, and he couldn’t have given a shit less.

Nobody scams me. I’m the scammer here.

Even the announcer looked slightly pained at the price abruptly jerking to a halt. He glanced around the room, clearly hoping someone else would speak. Nobody did. His wings drooped slightly as he drew in a breath.

“310,” Noah called out.

Sinclaire’s eyes snapped up to meet his, burning with such malice that Noah could almost see flames flickering within them. A flicker of recognition passed through him. He recognized those eyes. They were incredibly similar to Azel’s. She was an Anger demon.

“You do not want to start this,” Sinclaire said. “I am not at the same level of the pest you just quashed, Spider. 350.”

“To a giant, ant and man and mountain are alike,” Noah replied. He held Sinclaire’s gaze without flinching. He didn’t know what an anger demon needed a rune like this for, but she clearly wanted it. And if she wanted it, he could push the price a whole lot higher. “400.”

The muscles in Sinclaire’s jaw clenched. Cold fury washed over her features and her eye twitched as her hands clenched and unclenched at her sides.

“Pirren?” Yoru said.

“Yes?”

Yoru mutely pointed to the ground in front of her. Pirren looked to her bloodied hands. Then she stood up and moved to stand where the smaller demon had indicated.

“Here?” Pirren asked wearily.

“Yes. Very good.” Yoru nodded. “And, Pirren?”

“Yes?”

Yoru raised her hands to cover masked face. Pirren gave her a confused look for a moment, then mirrored the motion.

“450,” Sinclaire ground out. “Do not open your wretched mouth, Spider. Do not confuse this for a mere warning. I am no whelp to be toyed with. Be thankful I give you this opportunity to evade your death. The cost for eliminating your entire balcony is still greater than the annoyance you have caused me, but it will not be for much longer.”

“I don’t need to evade what I already am,” Noah called back. For a brief second, the two of them were silent. Noah could see the promise in her posture. Sinclaire was at her limit. If he spoke again, she would attack. That was just fine with him. If she refused to buy his rune at the price it deserved, he’d just beat the life out of her until she came to a more reasonable decision. “500 gold.”

Sinclaire rose to her feet. Her loose robes fluttered around her as she mutely took a step toward the railing. Her fingers flexed, revealing long, black claws at the tips of her alabaster white skin.

Noah called on his Runes, letting power flow through his body as Sinclaire’s entire body trembled with poorly restrained fury. He winked at her. That proved to be the final straw.

Sinclaire launched herself into the air in a blur. She shot across the auction house with her claws primed to rip his throat out, and Noah stood in wait for her.

I did always wonder how I’d square up against Azel once I was closer in rank to him. I guess this is about as close as I’ll ever get to finding out.