3. Warwick

Chapter 3

Venice was doing nothing for me. I'd been here two days and was already bored with the place. That was why I was standing outside of Dominic's workplace. It wasn't too difficult to track the warlock down. I had access to files and lists others didn't, and after I did a quick check, I'd easily found the name of every coven member here in Venice. Unfortunately, there were a few Dominics listed, and since I didn't have his last name, I had to go tracking down all of them. Of course, he would end up being the last one I'd located.

The building was unsuspecting until you entered. I knew it belonged to the coven, and I knew that it had top-notch security. Not ready to give them any information about me just yet, a little bit of magic had the cameras frozen to look as if nobody was about to enter their building. I used a bit more magic to push out and try to discover more about the building, but there was a push back, and I knew that it had to have come from more than one source. That was interesting, and I was definitely going to be in contact with Master Edison as soon as I had a bit more to report. First though, I needed to get that information. So I stepped into the lobby and tried my best to not look completely out of place. That was impossible, but it couldn't be helped.

"Posso aiutarla?"

I sighed. There was that as well. I didn't speak Italian. "I'm looking for Dominic De Luca," I told the receptionist as I held out a piece of paper. She offered a smile, took the paper, and nodded before picking up the phone. Of course, I didn't understand most of what she said. I caught two words out of everything, and those happened to be my name. She continued to speak faster than I could ever hope to catch anything she was saying before she hung up the phone and looked up at me.

"He'll be right down. You may sit and wait." She held out her hand and pointed to the tiny-ass chairs they had in their reception area. I offered her a glare because she spoke English, and despite the fact that Dominic did as well, she rambled off to him in Italian.

"I'll stand. Thanks though," I told her before I walked over to the waiting area and stood. Like I normally did, I leaned against the wall and crossed my arms in front of my chest. I had been told more times than I could recall that I always appeared standoffish, but I liked it that way. I didn't really like people. I was all right with those associated with the council to an extent, but my pack was really the only people I could be around on a regular basis.

After what felt like forever, a familiar face exited the elevators to my right. He offered a smile as he held out a hand toward me as he approached.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Ashwood. I completely forgot we were supposed to meet this afternoon," he said. I simply raised an eyebrow at him, wondering what that was about. "Perhaps we could step out and grab something to drink in the café across the street?" Dominic said as he held his hand out toward the doors I'd entered not long ago.

"Sure."

Dominic nodded and offered a smile that didn't reach his eyes. I wasn't sure what that was about, but I was going to find out soon enough. We exited the building, and once we were half a block down the street, Dominic finally spoke up.

"You shouldn't have come here," he said.

"Why is that?" I asked, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk.

"Because I work for the coven. Everyone in there is associated with the coven in some way. Even Marianna there at the reception desk."

"Tell me why that's bad, then? I already knew you worked for the coven. Everyone seems to work for the coven in some manner. And I mean everyone. Why is that?"

Dominic sighed. He glanced left, then right, before grabbing my arm and pulling me toward another one of those tiny-ass alleyways. What I didn't expect was for him to suddenly pop us away from there and plant us at a beach in what I was certain was a public restroom.

I simply raised both eyebrows at him this time.

"You said you are with the council. You found me. You have to have looked into the coven. Well, dive deeper. We need help, but we're not able to get messages out. As it is, I'm already going to be punished for even talking to you because there is facial recognition software in the building, and it started searching for you immediately. They are going to be at my desk waiting for me when I return."

"What does your coven do, Dominic? Why can't you get messages out? And how is it that this is able to be covered up?"

"There's no help here, Warwick. We're on our own," Dominic said as we walked out of the bathroom and into the bright sunlight. I pulled out a pair of sunglasses from the pocket of my khakis and slid them onto my face.

"Help for what? Tell me what you're involved in."

"Too much. Drugs, mostly. The building is a front for it. There are some legit business transactions that go on, but everyone knows that the coven is dirty."

"What else? You said your coven master doesn't like outsiders. Simply because he's running drugs?"

Dominic shook his head. "I said mostly drugs. There are a few other things. Stolen goods is another."

I got a sinking feeling. "Is he selling people?" We knew the trafficking was worldwide, and we were working to get a branch of the council set up here in Sicily, but it was going to be some months still before it was up and running. It took time to get people to up and leave their lives behind and move to another country to form a paranormal government.

Dominic shrugged. "I wouldn't put it past him. I'm a nobody in the coven though, and I don't have access to anything that will say what specifically goes on. Only a very select few do, and I'm nowhere near close enough to be in the inner circle. I work in marketing. I make sure the outside world thinks the corporation is on the up-and-up. It's not something I chose; it's something I was told I would do."

I stopped walking along the pathway that ran along the beach and stared at Dominic. "What do you mean? There's a whole lot to unpack right now."

Dominic sighed. "Go home, Warwick. One person working for the council can't take on all of the warlocks here at the coven. I'm no threat to you, but they will be coming for not only you but me, most likely."

That simply wasn't going to work. "You're not mated," I said. "Will they come after your family?"

Dominic shook his head. "I'm old. Almost three hundred. My parents are long gone, and I'm an only child. I've tried to leave a few times, but Master Conti's reach is far. Let's just say that, more than once, I'm surprised I survived."

I glanced around, then grabbed Dominic's arm. We were instantly gone and back in my hotel room. Dominic looked around before shaking his head.

"Talk. You offered to show me around, but you just warned me away from your office. Now you're saying your coven master is abusive. Explain."

"I could have met you elsewhere, but Master Conti doesn't like strangers. Those that are unknown are dangerous to his empire. He's a tyrant. He's dirty. He's definitely selling drugs, guns, and yeah, probably people. He fronts it through the corporation. We're in shipping. The corporation is also heavily into real estate. Those buildings are mostly large warehouses. Warehouses that are used for storage. Of course, we can't leave the coven. If we do, we could share things he doesn't want others to know. Many have tried. Some return after a time; some we never see again."

"Who all is in on it?" I asked. I pulled out my phone, and after unlocking it, I opened the contacts and immediately scrolled to Master Edison's name and touched it.

"I'm not aware of who is involved. The upper end of the coven for certain, but I don't know about anyone beyond that. I'm sure there are, but I cannot give you names."

"What am I hearing, Warwick?" I heard Master Edison asking when I brought my phone up to my ear.

"We have a situation here in Venice, Master. One that I believe needs to be addressed immediately."

There was a long moment of silence before a loud sigh came through the phone. "Warwick, you are supposed to be on vacation. Not working."

"Yes, Master. I am on vacation. I cannot help it that I happened to meet up with a certain warlock here and disturbing things have been brought to my attention."

Another long pause. "Where are you?" I gave him the name of my hotel and the room number without a thought. "Very well. Do I need to come there, or can you come here?"

"I can—"

"No, you know what? I'll come to you. Do I need to bring anyone?"

I had no idea who he should bring, but he probably shouldn't come alone. "Umm…whomever you wish, Master. But we're dealing with a dirty coven. One that seems to be quite powerful too," I said, looking directly at Dominic, who nodded.

"Very well. Give me ten, maybe fifteen minutes."

"Yes, Master." That was the end of the call, and I put my phone in my pocket.

"Are you a warlock hybrid?" Dominic asked. I tilted my head to the side, trying to figure out how to answer him. It was a valid question, and it honestly made sense with my ability to both shift as well as have magical powers.

"No, Dominic. I'm not a hybrid. At least not that I'm aware of. I'm a hellhound." I figured there was no point in keeping that from him any longer since he was about to meet the created warlock at a minimum.

Dominic's eyes rounded, and he took a step back. I chuckled and shook my head. "Do you wish to sit? Master Edison is going to be a few minutes. He's going to bring some others, but he probably needs to figure out who to ask." I held out my hand toward the small sofa. It sat two, or one and a half when I was sitting on it.

Dominic slowly moved over toward the sofa and sat. He looked at me and opened his mouth a few times before finally shaking his head and leaning back into the sofa.

"What? You can ask your questions."

"Hellhound?"

I nodded, then grinned. "And Master Edison is the created warlock."

Dominic's eyes widened, and he suddenly scented of fear. He'd not had that when I mentioned I was a hellhound. Uncertainty, sure, but not fear.

"The created warlock?"

"Yes. Who exactly do you think is running the council?" I asked.

"I don't know. Elected paranormals?"

I chuckled again. "No, Dominic. The council is run by the created ones. There are also enforcers"—I pointed to myself—"as well as others that are involved. Each created one has an ambassador, as well as a few more on their committee. Then there's everyone else that works for the council. We have a paranormal version of a human-running government, all centered at the council's headquarters."

"Where's that? We've all heard there's a council but not where it is."

I shook my head. Dominic was giving information, sure, but I didn't completely trust him. "That's need-to-know and a well-kept secret. I'm sorry."

Dominic shrugged. "Not an issue. Does it really exist though?"

I nodded at that and looked toward the door when there was a knock. I already knew it would be Master Edison but wasn't sure who else beyond that. When I opened the door, I smirked. He'd brought the big guns. I stepped to the side and let them enter the hotel room. When Atticus came in last, he grabbed my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "You were supposed to be on vacation," he whispered. I shrugged. "Only you would fall into something like this when you're supposed to be relaxing."

We followed the others into the room. "I'd like to think that any enforcer would pick up on the same issues. Not just me."

"True."

"You must be the informant," Master Edison was saying as Atticus and I joined them. I was almost as tall as Alpha Sergei, and it was a bit comical to watch Dominic's face as he took in those around him as he stood up from where he'd been sitting on the love seat.

"This is Dominic," I said. "He was kind enough to warn me about his coven master. Some other things have come about since then," I told everyone. Dominic stared at me with his mouth open and wide eyes. Atticus and I chuckled. "Dominic, this is my pack alpha, Atticus," I added.

Atticus, being the friendly sort he was, held out his hand. "Nice to meet you. I hear we might have a dirty coven to look into," he said.

"Umm…yes. I can give you names of the top of the inner circle, but beyond that, I can't give you too many names. I don't know the majority of our coven as it's fairly large."

Atticus and I both turned to Master Edison. He was staring at Dominic, but after a moment, he turned toward me and Atticus. "There's no record of a coven here in Venice. That in itself is an issue. A very concerning one."

"I checked out any and all of my vampire covens here in Italy. There are six that are sizeable—over a hundred each. There are four more that are under fifty members," Master Ambrosius said. He looked directly at Dominic. "I am quite surprised that there is a warlock coven here in Venice and I do not know of its existence."

Dominic glanced my way and subtly pointed. I chuckled. "That's Master Ambrosius. He's the created vampire."

"Who?" Dominic glanced around the room.

"The big guy there is Alpha Sergei. He's a dragon. The first dragon," Atticus added. "And the one who is just slightly smaller is Chief Daegal. He's the created gargoyle."

Dominic shook his head and took a step back. "No. I need…I should go." He looked around, seemed to get frustrated and then terrified. He peered at me with wide eyes.

"You don't expect me to allow you to leave, do you?" Master Edison asked.

"What did you do?"

Master Edison raised an eyebrow, and it didn't take long for Dominic to figure out he'd messed up. When Alpha Sergei grabbed the back of Dominic's neck, the warlock looked as if he were about to pee his pants.

"We just wish to talk to you," Alpha Sergei said. "But you will show all of us the respect we're due. Especially Master Edison. He is, in fact, your master as well, even if you aren't in his coven."

Atticus and I watched as Dominic was led back to the small sitting area. Dominic sat with Master Ambrosius sitting right beside him. Several additional chairs suddenly appeared, and the others sat.

"What's your take on Dominic?" Atticus whispered.

"I think he's one of the good ones, honestly." I looked over at the warlock and wondered what his future would be after all of this. "I popped in, unseen, yet he was walking by and sensed me. Without a thought, he warned me against his master."

Atticus nodded. "What of him?"

I shrugged. "Sounds like your typical cliché bad guy. Drugs, stolen goods, most likely into trafficking as well."

Atticus growled low in his chest, drawing Alpha Sergei's attention. He tilted his head to the side in question, but Atticus shook his. "How bad do you think it is?"

"Not sure. He warned me away from his coven the first thing. When I first popped onto that sidewalk, he stopped, backtracked a step, and then looked right at me. He knew I was there. He went over to lean against a wall to talk to me. He warned me about his coven master not liking outsiders."

Atticus snorted. "Venice is a very popular tourist destination. How is it the coven master here would think he can control who comes to the city?"

I shook my head because I hadn't a clue. "Don't know. Today, he freaked out when I showed up at his office building. It's a coven building, and I was warned that they would be doing facial recognition against me the moment I stepped into the building."

It was Atticus who snorted that time. "Did you tell him there would be no matches for you?"

I chuckled. "No. But I had also disabled the cameras as I entered the place as well. But one has to wonder just what a certain coven master is up to if he is running background checks on everyone that enters a business building."

"Indeed," Atticus said. We were quiet for a moment, watching the others question Dominic, before he hit my bicep with the back of his hand. Atticus nudged his head toward the door. I nodded, and out we went. "Where's the building? Do they have more?"

"I'm sure they do. Dominic said they were also in real estate. One has to have several buildings if they're in shipping and storage, no?"

Atticus looked thoughtful for a moment before he nodded. "Show me the office building. I need to get Salvatore and his team on it as quick as I can. This is probably right up Ledger's area of expertise."

I couldn't say if it was or wasn't. "The name on the building is RC Transport. I'm pretty sure the letters are for his name, but don't quote me on that."

Atticus pulled out his phone and started typing. "It's a start. Have an address?"

I gave Atticus the address, and then we walked down the hallway and over to the elevator. It was time to do a little bit of recon, apparently. That was all right with me though. My beast and I were more than ready to get back to work.