The Last Slayer by Nadia Lee Page B

conference room for a grand reception?”
    Apollyon shook his head. “I want to see your mage lab. You promised to show it.”
    “We were planning to do that after—”
    Nathanael interrupted the CEO. “Now.”
    Swain looked like he’d just swallowed a bug. Probably not too many people talked to him like that. I held my breath. Of the three, Apollyon came across as the most sadistic and violent despite his angelic façade, but that didn’t necessarily make him the most dangerous one. That would be Nathanael, clad all in black. Although he looked bored—almost sleepy—it hadn’t escaped my notice that he had made the promise for the group. I suppressed a shudder. This was the Nathanael of legend, the one who had killed all the slayers, women and children as well as warriors, during the Twilight of Slayers. Okay, maybe not single-handedly. He wasn’t the only one who had fought. But before his ascension to power, the dragonlords had been too busy bickering among themselves to unite against the slayers. And the boredom he was projecting could be a trick. Probably was a trick. I found myself praying that Swain would do as he was told.
    Thankfully he did, leading everyone to the lab himself in an overland hike across the TriMedica grounds. As we passed various facilities he pointed them out to the dragonlords, who glanced at the buildings cursorily as they strode effortlessly beside him.
    I tagged along behind all the “important” people. Truth be told, I was curious. I’d never seen medicinal mages at work. A lot of non-magic users preferred drugs with magical enhancement, but I refused to pay a premium for it. When you know how many of the “doctors” are really just quacks who got their certifications online… Watchdog groups do exist, but medicinal magic is the least of their concerns. Not when they have necromancers, hunters and other life-or-death situations to deal with. So why did the dragonlords want to see the mages?
    The lab was located in a natural setting more conducive to magic. The sun penetrated the canopy of green leaves in broad lances, reminding me of my dream. How Ramiel had come out of the forest and dominated my senses and—I gave myself a mental shake. I needed to focus on work, not think about that…demon. It didn’t matter what I’d said to Valerie last night. I was the lead hunter, and the team was my responsibility.
    As we came closer to the lab building, a deep barking started ringing in the air. I looked around and saw Rottweilers in a cage. “Ignore them,” Andersen yelled. “They’re for security.”
    Apollyon glanced at the dogs, just the slightest shift of his eyes, nothing more. The dogs’ demeanor changed instantly. They whined and rolled onto their backs, exposing their throats. My mouth went dry. Maybe the dogs knew something we didn’t. Maybe we should all roll on our backs and beg for mercy too.
    “Well?” Semangelaf said. Everyone was looking at the dogs. “Where are your mages?”
    “Uh…right this way,” Swain said, and led us on. The dogs remained silent and on their backs. Smarter than their masters, if you asked me. Their survival instinct had a razor-sharp edge that the corporate drones’ didn’t.
    For a lab that belonged to one of the premiere pharmaceutical companies in the world, it was surprisingly rustic, no steel beams, concrete or refined metal in sight. Unvarnished logs made up the four walls of the rectangular structure, which was surrounded by old pines and oaks. The interior of the lab was one big room, all wood. As we went in, the mage closest to us poured a beaker of Sex into a vat of dirty, bathwater-colored chemicals and began condensing it. A gray column of smoke rose from the clay cauldron. My eyes watered at the overpowering odor of musk and eucalyptus, and I wondered what the mages used to kill their sense of smell.
    Every table had several gallons of bottled Sex, which looked like it powered most of the mages’ magic. How