Scion of Atlantis Ch. 03

"I was explaining to the lad what life is like for those of us who live on the otherside," he said, again saying 'other side' just as Rosalie had before, running the two words together, as he set the folder down on the desk next to the chessboard in order to accept the water. "Ah," Marlowe replied, his eyes flicking to the folder and his sharklike grin widening. After a long sip, Prince return his attention to me. "So. You can absolutely return to your apartment, you are simply afraid of being spied upon or intercepted by our friends in the black suits. Fortunately, there is, perhaps, a workaround we could attempt, if you are feeling bold enough to try. Jeffery, could you explain the purpose of those documents to our young friend?"

"Certainly, Wolfgang," the big man replied as he once again shuffled behind the desk. He pulled the folder in front of him, flipping it open, and removing a bundle of pages before setting them before me. "This is a client agreement," he explained, "My signing this, Mr. Prince and I become your legal counsel and representation, in all matters of civil, estate, business and contract law. Normally in signing a document such as this, we would require a retainer be put down as part of your end of the deal, however, given your circumstances I will amend the contract to waive the retainer in lieu of future considerations." He returned that predatory gaze of his to me. "As your attorneys, we would do our utmost to protect you and and your interests within the realm of our expertise, of course."

"More importantly for our purposes," Prince jumped back in, setting his half-finished water bottle down on the desk, "You would become our employer. We would work for you. I believe that with the limitations place upon your powers, this would extend your 'domain' to include the interior of this office. Then, you could contact your grimoire to receive further clarity, and gain access to your spells and powers."

I grimaced. I glanced over at Rosalie, who gave me a wide-eyed look in return. This felt like a con, like they were trying to pressure me into an agreement that would leave me owing them, perhaps significantly. This seemed like exactly the kind of thing Rosalie warned me about. But now she looked like she felt as uncertain as I did. The thing was, what they were saying made as much sense as anything else that happened to me so far today. The explanation that was provided to me fit all the evidence, and it didn't seem like the kind of thing that was likely to be made up on the spot. I briefly entertained the possibility that Rosalie was in on some kind of con, but no- she never made me do anything, she simply did her best to help when I was in a terrible situation, and she didn't force me to go with her when she got off the subway. I could have stayed on to an uncertain fate.

I reached for the contract. "Tell me I'm not making a mistake, Rosalie," I muttered, giving the words on the page a once-over. I didn't really understand all the legalese and specific terms, but what difference would it make anyway? I was between a rock and a hard place.

Rosalie, for her part, crossed her arms and thought quietly to herself before responding to me. "I don't know if it's a mistake. This is mostly completely new to me. I had no idea what a 'Scion' is, and even for life on the otherside, it seems pretty incredible," she admitted, as she frowned, her eyes on the contract like the paper might suddenly transform into a viper. Her eyes then went to where Marlowe and Prince were sitting across from us. "But if they suddenly decide to become a problem, I'll have your back. I brought you here, convinced you to talk to them, after all."

Marlowe made an almost comical shrug, spreading his hands wide. "We can't betray you in any meaningful way. We are still bound by the rules of our profession in the mundane world, and must maintain our ethical conduct."

My eyes flicked over to meet Prince's gaze. "Don't say 'can't' when you mean 'won't'," I remarked dryly.

Prince and Marlowe exchanged a glance, and the big man broke into rancorous laughter. Even Prince's smile became a shade less condescending. "I think I'm beginning to like you, sir," Prince told me, and after Marlowe chimed in with further explanation. "If you read that contract over, you retain the power to fire us at any time, although you will still owe us for services rendered in the meantime," he said, "But it is good. You are learning. If you choose to sign, use your real signature, if you would, provided it's scribbly enough to be unreadable, but in the sections labelled with the yellow stickers where you must print your name, please use your alias, what we sometimes call your 'shadow name'."

Marlowe offered me a pen, and for a moment I sat there, tapping the page with the cap end. This day had begun weird and only got stranger, and I felt like my entire life had been suddenly derailed. Inspiration suddenly blossomed, and I found myself smiling despite everything. I went through the contract page by page, filling out all the blank spaces indicated by their little stickers. "My name is Ozzy," I said, handing back the filled-out contract.

I had been thinking about the musician, but Prince came to a different conclusion. "'Ozymandias, king of kings'," he said, as if quoting something, "I wholeheartedly approve, sir. I look forward to working together."