Machinations

Over the past few months, Nico had grown so paranoid that it was beginning to affect his sleep. When he heard the news that the higher-ups of the family had returned from the Cosmopolitan without a membership, he'd been scared stiff.

Getting a membership at such a prestigious organization would have been a great deal for the family. However, they ended up not getting one. Nico naturally thought that he would be the one to shoulder all the blame.

After all, he was the one who had given the news regarding that mysterious person having a connection to the Cosmopolitan to the consigliere. And although he and Marcel had decided to steal the credit for the discovery, he was sure that, now that their plan had failed, Marcel would pin the blame on him.

Nico was very well aware of the type of man Marcel was. He didn't think for a second that the consigliere would own up to his mistake. After all, he didn't find Marcel owning up to his mistakes after the Buccantis had invaded their territory last year.

If anything, Nico realized that rumors about Buccanti spies in the family had only started floating around after that incident. And he found out that the source of the rumors was none other than Marcel himself. Naturally, he could connect the dots.

Nico was still unaware of the fact that the reason they were unable to get a membership was because of David's antics the day he had gone to investigate them. No one had informed him about it; not even Marcel.

In fact, whenever he had happened to meet Marcel in the past few months, the latter would always give him the cold shoulder. Naturally, that led him to believe that, sooner or later, he would have to take the brunt of the failure.

As Nico was pacing around inside his bedroom, he couldn't help but mumble, "What do I do? What do I do?"

He had dark circles under his eyes and his hair was unkempt. His entire appearance was haggard, almost like he hadn't had a good night's rest for months, and indeed he hadn't. He began chewing his fingernails as he thought about the consequences that he would have to face.

If it was a small thing, he would probably be let off with a simple warning. But this was about the Cosmopolitan! Just the thought of being blamed for the failure of the family not being able to get a membership there had truly sent him over the edge.

For such a big mistake, he believed the family would surely send someone over to deal with him. There was no way he could talk his way out of the situation he found himself in. He suddenly stopped in his tracks and his body trembled ever so slightly. He muttered in fear, "Are they really going to… kill me?"

His teeth began chattering in fear, but the next moment he gnashed his teeth and his eyes shone with ruthless resolve. "No! I can't allow that to happen."

He began pacing around once again as he thought of countermeasures. Suddenly he thought of something and his eyes glinted with a merciless gleam. "You left me with no choice. If this is what I have to do… so be it."

Walking back toward his bedside table, he picked up the phone that was kept on top of it. He keyed in a number, then stared at the screen for a long time. In the end, his eyes narrowed and he pressed the call button.

...

On the forty-sixth floor of the Cosmopolitan, the girl with red eyes was currently sitting on a couch, looking at a small red orb in her hands. It was the same item that had been stolen from the Javits Center a few months back.

However, it was no longer the same fist-sized gem that it used to be. After having been refined over time, the gem had finally been purified and had shrunk into a small orb the size of a thumbnail. Looking at the small orb, the girl nodded in approval. "Perfect."

Although the gem, as it was before, could have been used for the ritual without any issues, further purifying and refining it into a small orb would increase the success rate of the ritual. The girl didn't want to take any chances, after all.

She carefully placed the orb inside a small briefcase, the interior of which was padded by a soft, cushiony gray foam with shapes cut out of it. After placing the orb in its spot, she took out a clear quartz vial that was kept right beside it.

The vial was corked by a strange material that kept the liquid inside from spilling out. The liquid was dark purple in color and constantly produced small bubbles that rose up to its surface, almost as if it was alive.

Looking at the liquid that seemed to be giving off a wild, desolate aura, the girl's eyes narrowed and she carefully put the vial back inside its cutout in the briefcase. The liquid inside of it, as well as the small red orb, were the two most important items required for the ritual.

After closing the lid of the briefcase, she muttered, "Shadow."

The next moment, the shadow cast by the couch rippled and a figure jumped out of it. The figure pressed her hand against her chest and greeted, "At your service, young lady."

"All the supplementary materials required for the ritual have been acquired, yes?" the girl asked as she gazed out over the Manhattan skyline through the floor-to-ceiling window in front of her.

"Yes, everything's ready," the woman respectfully replied.

The girl leaned back on the couch and nodded. "Go meet the seer and ask her how much longer we have to wait to perform the ritual."

"As you wish," replied the woman.

The girl slowly closed her eyes and mumbled, "Good, nothing can be allowed to go wrong."

The woman's lips curled up into a faint smile. "Don't worry, young lady. We've had more than enough time to plan this out, it'll all work out just fine. Besides, after we're done with him, he won't be human anymore."

When the girl heard that, she opened her eyes, which shone like the brightest of rubies. An ear-to-ear grin slowly stretched across her porcelain-like face. "Yes… I can't wait!"