Consensus Breaking (The Auran Chronicles Book 2) Read Online Free Page B

With its leather sofas, bar and balcony overlooking the city, it resembled more a playboy bachelor pad than a hive of industry. A fake fire burned in the hearth, in front of which lay a husky dog, dead to the world. The man waved Seb towards the sofas whilst he vanished behind the bar.
    ‘Drink, Seb?’
    ‘Coke, please, if you have it.’
    ‘ Coke ?’ the man said, speaking the word as if Seb had asked for a glass of worms. He shook his head and poured a dark spirit into a tumbler. From somewhere underneath the bar he opened a fridge and poured Seb’s. He didn’t offer Barach anything. Eventually the man came round and sat in the wide recliner nearest the fire. He sat there for a moment, manicured fingers pressed on either side of the glass.
    ‘Shall I remain, sir?’ Barach said, following a few moments of silence.
    ‘No, Barach, you may leave. I will catch up with you later.’
    Barach half-bowed before abruptly pivoting and marching out of the room.
    ‘He’s a good man, but stoic, set in his ways.’
    ‘He didn’t seem best pleased to see me,’ Seb said.
    ‘Yes, well, hopefully we can change that. Now young Seb, I suppose I’d better start by introducing myself.’
    ‘Seeing as you already know who I am, it might just help.’
    The man smiled, took a sip, and then placed the glass on the fireplace. ‘My name is Sedaris, Archmage Sedaris. I lead what is known in our particular circles as the First Family. This ,’ he waved a casual hand around, ‘is Domus, our headquarters, for lack of a better word.’
    Seb took a drink himself, sinking half the glass in one go, not realizing how thirsty he’d become. He settled back into the chair.
    ‘The First Family?’
    ‘One of the nine magi families of this realm. Ours is the largest, arguably the most successful of all of them. I, as Archmage, am ultimately responsible for the continuing prosperity of the First.’
    ‘The First? As in the first magi of this realm?’
    Sedaris smiled. ‘My, how much have they been hiding from you back in that Magistry of yours?’
    ‘Funny, you’re not the first person to say that to me.’
    Sedaris drained the rest of his glass. ‘I can imagine. But you are correct, Seb. We, as the First, can trace our ancestry directly back to Woden, he who led the first magi onto this shard. Other Families followed, completing the remaining families from the Second through to the Ninth.’
    ‘I see. And an Archmage? I’ve not heard that term before.’
    ‘An Archmage, Seb, is the leader of a given Family. Although the Families differ in their specialism - some do business,’ he waved back towards the offices, ‘some do other things. But ultimately the Archmage is their leader, their CEO, their commander-in-chief. Whatever the Family does, all ultimately answer to that individual. Understood?
    ‘So far.’
    Sedaris rose and went to the bar. He poured himself another drink. He waved the Coke bottle but Seb declined. By the time Sedaris had returned his glass was half-empty again.
    ‘Anyway, let us forget about Families and Archmages for now. That story is not going to change and can wait.’ Sedaris lowered his glass and leant over. An intensity filled his eyes. ‘Now, tell me about you , Seb. Tell me about everything that’s happened to you in recent months.’
    ‘How much do you know already?’
    Sedaris waved a hand. ‘Pretend I know nothing. Start at the beginning.’
    Seb shuffled into a more comfortable position. This was going to be a long one.
    ‘Okay,’ he said. ‘Don’t say I didn’t warn you.’
    Sedaris dipped his head. ‘The floor is yours.’
    Where should he begin? His arrival at the Magistry? The battle in the Nexus? There was no real clean point to start at besides right at the very beginning, right at the moment he’d heard Sarah running up that hill, Clementine in pursuit.
    And so he began his tale. He told Sedaris of his random wanderings that drew him from place to place. The reasons then were unknown,