KILL MASON

My feeling of unease grew worse as time went on. I couldn't quite shake off the fact that something was definitely going to go terribly wrong here this night, and that many people here were going to be affected by whatever it was that would go wrong. I only hoped I was going to be saved because I definitely couldn't entertain any possibility of my feelings being false. I never had false feelings concerning what was to happen. I was a stone elemental, which gave me a unique ability to be able to listen to the stones wherever I went. People's feelings seep into the stones around them and the stones in turn, whisper those feelings to me. Now however, the stones in this place vibrated with the evil intents of so many people in here. My ability to read these emotions from the stones, was exactly how I knew about the five thugs I had killed earlier this morning in the store. I was just coming to the store, and had just stepped out from my van when I felt the harsh whisperings of the stones, brush against my subconscious. The stones immediately told me that there were people around, with very evil intentions, and so, I readied  myself immediately for an attack. To defeat the thugs, I had used my magic on them, and that was the more reason I had to kill them all, because I couldn't risk them staying alive, and leaving with the knowledge of my powers. It would have caused a great deal of harm to me, since it would have brought the secret, which I'd been protecting for a very long time, to the limelight, and put me at risk of being attacked by someone who finally knew my powers. 

Here in the Diamond Court however, I couldn't pinpoint the exact persons from which the feelings emanated, but I was very sure there were more than one; way more than one, and they really had evil intentions. 

I quietly sipped from a glass of champagne I'd collected a while ago from a waitress, as I continued aimlessly scrolling on my phone, without having anything particular in mind.

I took my time, this time around, to look critically at the faces of each of the people seated in this place and try as much as I could, I could only point out a handful of people who had suspicious looks on their faces. Even at that, I could not boldly say that any one of them would have a hand in whatever was going to go down here, because naturally, the faces of most underworld bosses were always set to be intimidating.  That was one of their strategies at commanding respect, and as none of them wanted to be seen as a weakling, they all wanted the respect that was due to them, and most times they tend to wear very hard lines and set jaws on their long faces. 

There was a problem though, my major concern wasn't that I was afraid of whatever was going to go down here. My elemental powers alone would definitely be more than enough, to save me from any form of danger that was lurking. But then, the problem was that I wouldn't be able to use my powers. Not here, not now! 

The only help I had available to me was Matt. Come to think of it, Matt had been unnaturally silent. I turned to the side, but found his seat very much empty. I never knew when he had slunk away from his position beside me. "Fuck vampires", I cursed under my breath. They could be very sly and quick, and you wouldn't ever hear them if they didn't want you to. I was very sure that Matt had definitely used one of his vampire skills on me this time around. 

I scanned the crowd once again searching for him, and his height made it very easy for me to locate him at one end of the bar, flirting with a blonde lady that must have come with one of the underworld bosses. Matt was definitely seeking for trouble, since he would definitely be planning to get a fresh supply of blood from that particular lady. Well, I had more things on my hands to worry about, than the ass-kicking he would receive from an underworld boss. I had to figure out how I was going to escape, when my thoughts came to reality I quickly dialed Matt's number and immediately he saw my call, he literally flew with the speed of light, to where I was, and plastered himself in the seat beside mine once again, staring at me with eyes wide open, waiting for me to spill whatever it was I wanted to say. 

I quietly explained everything to him; my thoughts and feelings, and the dangerous murmurings I'd heard from the stones, and for just a moment, he seemed worried. Almost immediately, as though it wasn't there in the first place, the worry was  completely replaced by an emotion that screamed resignation, and very strong determination. Determination that he was ready to do whatever it would take, to get I and him out of there, even though it meant putting his life in danger. 

I had seen that look on his face several times, and I couldn't mistake it for anything else. A warm feeling rose up in my chest, as I looked at the man I had as my personal assistant, and at that moment, I knew without doubts, that I couldn't have wished for someone else, because he fit into every single qualification an assistant should have. 

I relaxed immediately, and waited for whatever it was, to come aboard, because we were here and we were not going to back down. We had been surviving, and we were definitely going to survive whatever was coming. All we needed to to was stick together, so that we could evade whatever storm it was, that was brewing. 

Just as I finished having that thought, everywhere went immediately deathly quiet. I got quite troubled, thinking that my thoughts had finally started taking shape. I followed everyone's gaze to the door, as a figure filled the doorway. Mason Smith entered inside the court, and that was exactly the reason for the silence. Mason Smith was the one considered to be at the very top of the food chain here in Buckland, and he wasn't just at the top because he wanted to be there. He was there because he had the powers, influence, and every other thing necessary to keep him there. He was  a giant, which gave him the unique body size and thick muscles. Well, Mason wasn't just any giant, he was a head taller than most giants in this town,  and therefore, looked ten times more intimidating. To crown it all, he had elemental magic also. From what I'd heard, Mason could control fire effortlessly, and also control some amount of air. Yes, that was exactly how it was for most elementals. They had a chief element they controlled, and then the other was controlled in a much lesser quantity. But then, I was quite different in that regard, since I could control all my elements in the same ratio, and for very long periods of time, without running out of energy. That was more reason why I wanted to keep it secret. If others knew about this, they would feel threatened and might team up, to try to put an end to me. 

Mason stepped into the court and tipped his head in silent greetings to the other underworld bosses here. Even though he was powerful, he knew better than to be overtly arrogant. He of all people should know that there were many people seated here right now who had no other intentions than to see his downfall. Everyone envied the top position here in Buckland because, not only did it come with respect, it also came with other privileges. Most importantly, all the taxes were paid directly to Mason, and he therefore, was very rich. Besides power, the next thing everyone wanted here in Buckland was wealth, and being at the very top give you an effortless opportunity to continue amassing a whole lot of wealth. 

Mason walked  to his designated seat at the centre of the court, and sat down. Immediately he did, it was as though a blanket of silence was removed from the court, and everywhere became lively again as though nothing had happened. 

I kept on stealing glances at Mason. He acted very relaxed and his movements were fluid, despite his extremely large body size. Also, there was no trace of fear in his eyes, and I began to think if he already had everything planned out, and if he also had the same feeling I did about how things might go sour tonight. But then, I thought to myself, he was not a stone elemental. Stone magic was very rare. I hadn't heard of any other person who could control stone, and that was the reason why he wouldn't ever be able to tell the evil intents people had here. "Well, we all had to wait and see how things turned out", I thought to myself. 

After some minutes, Mason cleared his throat, and everywhere became  quiet again. When he spoke, his voice boomed through the whole court as it had been magnified by some means. He first of all, acknowledged some people that were here, who had very high reputations, then he talked about how it wasn't easy to manage Buckland so effectively, and went ahead to congratulate everyone here for being so supportive. "Wait", I thought to myself, "did I really come here for a pep talk?" Why was Mason  sounding as if he was talking to a set of seventeen year olds in college? 

We all knew that everyone here had their own reservations, so why was he suddenly sounding very nice? 

I guess he was up to something. I only had to listen, to find out what it was. I started paying attention back to what he was saying in the present, everyone was listening very attentively to him, some nodding their heads in agreement, and some others looking very much e motionless. After sometime, Mason cleared his throat again, and dropped the bombshell. He said that the main purpose of this meeting that had been called, was to give us all a heads up. According to him, he and his team, whoever they were, had looked into certain things happening in Buckland, and had decided that they were going to increase the tax that was paid by everyone with 5%. 

That was it. The spell of silence was broken at once, and suddenly, everyone wanted to talk at the same time. I just sat there looking at them as they all became very angry, each of them trying as much as possible to state how much they disagreed with the new increase in the tax. Most business owners found it very difficult to meet up with the payments as it was, and a further increase will definitely bring their business down the drains. 

I turned to look at Mason, but he just sat there with his arms folded across his chest, not even bothered in the slightest bit. After a little while, he hit his hands on the table in front of him and the boom echoed through the court, bringing silence once more, then his voice came out. This time, it wasn't a pep talk anymore. It was a direct order. "You all are going to pay the 5% increase, or you are going to forfeit your business". That was it, he stood up, and took big strides towards the door. He had made it almost to the door when from nowhere, an ice dagger pierced him directly below his heart, and the white he wore immediately got crimson with blood. Muffled gasps filled everywhere, as everyone wondered who had the effrontery to take such bold step of trying to attack him in public. Even as he was still trying to turn around, to detect to the perpetrators of this dastardly act, another ice dagger struck him. This one was bigger and sharper than the other, and it was obvious that whoever it was, was not joking. 

This time however, Mason was still staring at the crowd, so he immediately caught the culprit. All elementals had a glow in their eyes whenever they used their magic, depending on the elements they wielded. 

However, before Mason could do as much as anything, weapons started flying from every direction, all aimed towards him. It was very obvious at that point that the fight had envisaged had begun to happen, but then it wasn't as I thought it would happen. This time around, everyone had the same intent. It was more like the stones screamed it in my ear for me to hear, and it was just two words, KILL MASON!!!