“I knew it!” Milo punched the air with his right fist. “The namewasyour idea. And now it’s pompous, hmm?”
Quirion rolled his eyes. The demon was a master eye-roller. Any teenager would be grateful to sit at his feet and learn from the best. Usually, the eyeroll was reserved for the dumbest errors in books and close family members. That he got it now told Milo more about the subject than anything Quirion could have said. “It’s pompous because how do they think they can make theworld a better place without my invaluable input?” He crossed his arms in front of his chest.
In anybody else, the arrogance would have sent Milo running for the hills. Quirion, though, was simply stating a fact. His input was invaluable because Milo doubted there was a topic he didn’t know at least something about. And with Quirion,somethingwas usually more than most pros in these respective fields would know.
“I concede that point.” He stared at the envelope in Quirion’s claws. “Shall we open it?”
“It’s addressed to you. You decide.”
“Fine.” Milo reached out for the expensive paper. If his hands trembled a little, Quirion was polite enough not to mention it.I hope he’s not unwell. Milo broke the seal and pulled another thick sheet of paper from the envelope. He unfolded it. While doing so, he felt Quirion shuffling behind him, to get a better look over his shoulder. There had been a time when Milo would have freaked out when having an apex predator looming over him like that. It was in the distant past. Now he reveled in it, as well as in the knowledge that said apex predator would rip to pieces anybody who meant harm to Milo. Although Milo would have rather wanted for Quirion to shred his clothes and get more intimately acquainted with his body, he would take what he could get. The whole story with Sammy had shown him how delicate and angst-filled being with a demon could be. Quirion had never given any indication that he was on the lookout for his soulmate, but Milo couldn’t imagine why he wouldn’t be. Didn’t everybody yearn for their second half? He himself definitely did, and he wouldn’t have any complaints if said soulmate was a certain demon with green scales and a penchant for books.
Focusing back on the task at hand, he started reading. At the top of the letter was a header printed in gold, a crest with thesame abbreviation as on the seal, SBW. Below somebody had gone to the trouble of writing in ink.
Esteemed Dr. Abber,
We are more than delighted to inform you that your work has been chosen to participate in our bi-annual funding contest. We find your research on the matter of nanotechnology most ingenious and would love to give it the funding it deserves.
If you decide to compete with the best and brightest minds in the world, please send your confirmation to the address below. Once you are added to the list of participants, you will receive further instructions and all relevant dates in an email.
You must understand that the funding we offer is not only monetary, though there will be plenty of coin to help you achieve your goals, but also in spirit. Through our connections you will have access to almost every source of information there is on this planet. We will do our very best to see your research blossoming into the gorgeous flower it is meant to be.
Yours very sincerely,
Beverly Nyx
Founding member of SBW
Below followed the aforementioned address, again in gold lettering. Milo looked up at Quirion. “Is this as good as it sounds?”
“Probably better, if you’re thinking in terms of money. As far as I know, the funding is for a minimum of five years, no questions asked once it’s granted. Also, no upper limits.” The demon sounded gruff.
“Do you know this Beverly person?”
“Yeah. She’s a vampire. Has a decent library in her castle in southern France. Nothing compared to mine, but she does have an interesting collection of first editions of religious books.”
Meaning her collection was good enough for Quirion to want it. The wordsdecentandinterestingwere reserved for things the demon wouldn’t mind getting his claws on. Once he started using terms likepassableandadvanced, the books in question would find their way into his library, no matter what their current owner might have to say about it. Quirion never outright stole books, unless he deemed them unsafe—unsafe meaning the room they were stored in didn’t offer the right air conditioning, for example, or the shelves weren’t sturdy enough to withstand an earthquake—but he had a way about him to make people chafe to his demands sooner than later. The only person who had ever managed to get Quirion todepartwith a book was Sammy, and the jury was still out on which of them had actually won that round, because it had been a trade-off. Both Sammy and Quirion thought they had gotten the better end of the deal, which prevented serious family drama, at least.
Milo was glad he had been a mere bystander during the negotiations. He and Dre had bitten down on their fingernails and claws while Sammy and Quirion had first negotiated, then discussed and finally argued about the worth of their respective books. All in a polite manner and while calmly drinking hot peppermint tea in Sammy’s case and an interesting blend of coffee, cocoa, and cream Quirion loved. Sammy had invented it just for him—further proof how sneaky the man was. The beverage forced Quirion to come to Sammy’s bookstore regularly to get his fix.
“I’m tempted.” Milo tapped the paper with his fingertips. “Rumor has it the higher ups at MIT want to cut part of my funding because it’s too theoretical still, and also the son of one of the major donors for MIT wants to start researching coral reefs, supposedly to find a way to save them.”
“That does not sound bad.” Quirion’s tone was careful. The demon sometimes struggled with the deeper meaning behindsentences that were not written down. No doubt Milo’s tone had suggested there was more to the statement, and he now didn’t want to offend him by outright saying that researching corals was a noble quest indeed. It was. Or would be, if the research would really happen. Milo knew for a fact that the son in question had chosen the Bahamas as his main research territory, simply because the partying options were so great there. The man had loudly bragged to some friends that MIT would finance at least two years of leisure for him.
“It would be fine if this son was a serious scientist. Unfortunately, he isn’t. But that’s neither here nor there. I will lose part of my funding and getting intothisprogram”—he tapped the letter again—“would allow me to keep on working without having to worry about getting taken off MIT’s money completely, once another offspring of a wealthy donor decides that research in exotic places is their thing.”
Quirion nodded gravely. A hint of red in his eyes suggested he wasn’t as calm as he tried to appear. “People abusing money meant for worthy causes are the worst. Karma will take it up with them.”
Milo wasn’t so sure about that but didn’t comment. He turned toward the kitchen table, getting a ballpen and a sheet from the side cabinet.
A large, green-scaled hand closed around his wrist. “What are you doing?”
Chapter Two
Of course, Quirion knew what Milothoughthe was doing, namely answering the pompous letter from pompous Beverly Nyx and her pompousSociety for the Betterment of the World. His young employee looked up at him with his gorgeous hazel eyes, clearly not understanding the problem.
“Uhm, I’m trying to answer the nice lady who is offering me tons of money and research resources?” His voice went up at the end of the sentence, proof that he at least understood there was a problem.
Baby steps, Quirion reminded himself. His Milo might be a brilliant scientist, but when it came to the intricacies of dealing with people like Beverly, he was like a baby seal in shark-infested waters. Good for him that he had an orca to protect him.That metaphor might have run a bit afoul.
