The Final Battle Prologue

Prologue

Alex

I was annoyed at having to keep dealing with these people, but having allies was going to give me a strategic advantage. Therefore, I made the trip to Billings and found my way to the office of the man who was going to help me deal with all the obstacles in between me and the Well.

At least Kevin Martino had a nice office that wasn’t covered in Christmas decorations all year long. It was good to be away from Holly Well Springs for that reason alone.

The office was in a high-rise in the downtown area. It was full of people ignoring each other, staring at their phones, or worse, talking on them while rustling around papers that apparently had something to do with what they were talking about. It amazed me how they disregarded the world around them.

What a mistake, not being on their guard. Someone could sneak up on them with ill intent. Someone like me.

I laughed as I opened the oversized glass door and looked around at the obviously expensive artwork and furnishings.

Pretentious.

But I didn’t care. The man could be anything as long as he did what I wanted him to and served his purpose.

Giving a false smile always seemed to charm people like these. Plastering it on, I announced my presence to the woman behind the oversized desk, and she smiled back before directing me to the fifth floor. I got on the elevator, keeping away from the few people who were riding with me and chatting with each other. When I reached the office, another receptionist greeted me.

“Right this way,” she said.

Walking in, I saw that Martino had risen but stayed behind his huge desk. I couldn’t help but notice it was a defensive move.

At least someone’s paying attention to things. He’s right to be afraid.

“Have a seat, Mr. Batton,” he said. “How can I help you today?”

“I wanted to talk to you about something.” The next sentence dissolved on my tongue when the door to the office flew open.

A beautiful—and very angry—young woman in crimson stormed up to the man behind the desk. “How could you do that to me, Father?” she hollered. “I have never been so embarrassed in my whole life.”

Martino looked uncomfortable and glanced at me apologetically before turning back to her. “Candace, can’t you see I’m in the middle of an important meeting?”

“This is important too,” Candace said, her cheeks as red as the coat she wore. “I was so close to getting Lucas to marry me, and now I have to start all over again.”

Martino looked at me again. “I’m sorry for the disruption.”

I started to get up and leave, unable to tolerate nonsense. A spoiled girl shouting at her father held no interest to me, and if Martino couldn’t control his daughter, maybe he was the wrong associate to aid me.

But the woman wasn’t finished. I wouldn’t have listened to her useless complaining at all if three simple words had not caught my attention.

“As much as I hate Holly Well Springs and all that crazy Christmas stuff, it was all starting to pay off,” she said. “Until you interfered.”

Holly Well Springs? This interruption had just taken a whole new turn, so I decided to stay after all. The girl had yet to acknowledge my presence, but that didn’t matter.

“Candace, I will discuss this with you later,” Martino said firmly. “Please leave, or that latest pair of designer shoes you just bought will be returned. And I’ll cut off your monthly allowance.”

It was hard not to laugh, but I kept quiet. Someone knocked on the door and a man in a black suit stepped through.

Interesting. Martino must have a silent alarm with a direct link to his guards.

That was good to know.

“You need me, sir?” asked the man.

“Yes,” Martino said. “My daughter needs to be escorted out until she cools off. Could you please see her out safely?”

It was clearly more of an order than a question. There were a few things I liked about Kevin Martino after all.

“Yes, sir.” 

The man started to walk toward the woman, but before he could reach her, she turned and headed toward the door.

“I’m going back to Holly Well Springs, and if I have to destroy that whole town, I will,” she spat bitterly, so much so that even I felt the chill in the air.

With that, she turned and walked out the door without ever looking at me. I fought back a smirk.

“Do you have any children, Mr. Batton?” Martino asked. He was still staring at the door his daughter had just walked out of.

I laughed and stood up. “No, I don’t.”

“They are a true blessing most of the time.” He shook his head as if to clear away the conversation with his daughter. “It’s the rest of the time that you question if it was worth it. Now, what can I do for you? Where are you going?”

I stopped before I reached the door and looked at him. “Thank you for your time, but I believe I have all the information I need, and then some.”

I smiled, more to myself than to the man behind the desk, then left before he could say another word. He could wait.

People were bunched up at the elevator, waiting. I had no patience for them, either, so I took the stairs, bounding down them easily. One of my strengths was my ability to pivot when an opportunity arose, and now that was exactly what I had to do. I’d come here looking for a few answers, but Martino wasn’t going to be any use to me anyway. Instead, a new opportunity had come stomping through his office door.

The fact that she hadn’t noticed me was an advantage. She was clearly upset with her father. If she thought I was friends with him, it would be more difficult to recruit her to my cause.

Our goals were aligned, at least. She’d laid it all out, everything she wanted from Holly Well Springs. It made her the perfect soldier in my war to be king.

Bitterly, I thought back to the battle in our realm. I’d been so close to the Well that I could taste it. So much incredible power should have been mine that very instant. Instead, I had to leave my own kingdom, which I should have ruled over for a lifetime, in the hands of someone undeserving of the crown.

Michael didn’t have the power I had. And he certainly didn’t have the power that I was going to wield once the Magic Well was under my control.

It was limitless.

After making quick work of the five flights of stairs, I exited into the plush reception area. The receptionist eyed me, and I gave her a wink. Pink stained her cheeks as I walked away, and I knew that I had power over her as well. If I needed to use her to get to Martino, it would be easy.

It wouldn’t hurt to leave a lasting impression here in case I needed to use him. It was possible he had access to men and equipment that could be useful once I had control of the Well.

As I walked through the lobby, I called him quickly. “Mr. Martino, I wonder if we could get together in a week or so to discuss business. I actually might have a lucrative offer for you.”

“I’m still available now if you’d like to talk,” he said. “I don’t see why you—”

“No, I’m afraid I have another pressing matter at the moment,” I said. “Let’s make plans for lunch in about two weeks when things are a bit more settled.”

I knew he had no idea what I was talking about, and that was the way I wanted it.

“Oh, okay,” he said. “Just give me a call when you’re ready.”

I smirked at the unsteady tone in his voice. I had him off balance. By the time I needed to get what I could from him, he’d be ready to hand it all over on a silver platter.

I could almost taste my ever-growing power. Once I got what I wanted, no one was going to be able to stop me.

I strode out of the high-rise and into the open-air walkway leading to the back of the city block. Things were definitely going my way, despite all the setbacks in the past. Gaining control of the Well in this realm would be a cakewalk when I had so many weak minds I could manipulate. All I had to do was guide them in the right direction.

I had one more solid ally lined up who was going to clinch the deal for me. I’d already arranged for him to come here with the idea that we could bring Kevin into our plan, but this new idea was going to be so much better than that.

I pulled out my phone and dialed his number, clipping my Bluetooth onto my ear.

“Joseph Kringle here,” said a deep voice on the other end.

Before I could respond to him, I caught a glimpse of red, so I quickened my pace in that direction.  

“Hello?” Joseph asked.

“Are you in Billings yet?” I asked, not slowing down my steps.

“I arrived about an hour ago. Where should we meet?”

“Just a second.” I spotted her, that exact same blonde hair with the red coat that I knew to be Candace. I did a quick scan of the area and she seemed to be alone. The spirited woman crossed the street in front of me, looking like she was planning on stomping into a café on the corner, perhaps to have an angry latte.

The woman was driven by pure emotion rather than logic. She defied her father even though it cost her material things. That meant she would be easy to manipulate once I pushed the right button.

And I knew exactly what that button was—the man she wanted to marry.

I was fairly sure he wasn’t the least bit interested in her, but that didn’t matter. I could get her to do what I wanted if I told her she would get him. Tell people the lies they want to hear and they’ll do anything you ask. By the time she figured out the deception, it would be too late.

I wasn’t going to stick around once I got what I wanted. At that point, she could fend for herself.  

Candace went into the café. I made a mental note of the name of the place, then got my bearings with the nearby street signs. “The café on Sycamore and Broadway,” I told Joseph. “Coffee City, it’s called. It has a green awning and a few tables outside.”

“I’ll find it,” Joseph said. “Be there in ten minutes.”

I hung up and smiled.

This just became very interesting.