Several doors opened out of the large room and Mallory checked them all, peering inside and taking an inventory before moving on; next she scanned the room for anyone on the periphery who wasn’t eating, drinking or schmoozing.
There was a gruff-looking older woman wearing a suit who was leaning against the wall with her arms folded; it was possible she was a bodyguard or bouncer, though it was equally possible that she was merely bored out of her mind. Either way, she’d do.
Mallory approached her. ‘Excuse me?’ she squeaked.
The ogre glanced at her and clocked her staff uniform. ‘What’s housekeeping doing here?’
Ah: the woman was definitely some sort of security ogre; few other guests would have noted the difference in employee uniforms. Mallory dropped her eyes and shuffled her feet. ‘Uh, downstairs asked me to drop by. There’s an urgent phone call for Mr Stone-arm – it’s come through on the switchboard but I don’t know who Mr Stone-arm is and…’
The ogre sighed. ‘Don’t worry. I’ll tell him.’
Whoop-whoop. Mallory pointed at one of the closed doors. ‘There’s a phone in the Glasgow Room. He can take it in there.’
‘Thank you.’ The woman pushed away from the wall and plunged into the crowd.
Mallory grinned then darted around the room and swiftly went through the same door. There was indeed a phone on the long sideboard and she picked up the receiver.
She didn’t have to wait for long. The gruff security ogre walked in first and swung her head around to check for lurking intruders. Her eyes slid over Mallory, who was standing with the phone in her hand and a bright smile on her face. She was a squib and not a threat to anyone.
‘Clear,’ the ogre grunted and a second later, Richard Stone-arm walked in, a frown etched onto his forehead.
‘You can leave,’ he told the woman and moved towards Mallory.
She waited until the other ogre had closed the door before replacing the receiver and taking a step back. She folded herarms so he didn’t think this was some strange, premeditated attack.
His eyes darkened in suspicion and he stopped moving. ‘What is this?’
‘I apologise, Mr Stone-arm.’ Mallory knew that she had to explain quickly before he turned and left the room. ‘There is no urgent phone call but I need to speak to you alone. My name is Mallory Nash. I can assure you I am no threat, but I desperately need to talk to you about the Pitcairn coven.’
His bushy eyebrows rose upwards. ‘Those witches? This is about the stupid covenant? For fuck’s sake.’ He turned away.
‘Mr Stone-arm, please.’ Mallory kept her voice soft; he wouldn’t respond well to even a hint of aggression. ‘Yes, it’s about the covenant and, yes, it’s stupid. You know it’s stupid. You’re the head of the Association and you have the power to release the covenant. There’s no reason for you not to do so.’
‘Make an appointment with my secretary and we can discuss it later. Right now I’m busy.’ He continued towards the door and reached for the handle.
‘You’re being a dick,’ Mallory said in the same soft voice.
Stone-arm’s back stiffened and his hand dropped as he turned to face her. ‘Pardon?’
‘You heard me. You’re being a dick. You have no real reason to keep the covenant in place other than to exert your authority, to prove that you have power.’ She invoked what she’d learned from watching Alexander. ‘A real leader doesn’t maintain power or gain respect by being mean. A real leader shows humility and kindness, whether towards their own kind or to their neighbours.’
His face spasmed into an ugly snarl. ‘You’ve got some nerve coming here and talking me to like this!’
‘It’s the only way to talk to bullies. It seems to be the only language your kind understand.’
Mallory could almost taste his rage and she felt a tremor of fear. Had she gone too far? But by this point there was no choice but to stand her ground.
‘You know nothing about the situation!’
‘Then why don’t you explain it to me?’
‘I don’t have to explain myself to the likes of you!’ He was growing redder by the second. ‘I don’t even know who the fuck you are!’
Mallory persisted. ‘Why do you hate the witches?’
‘I don’t hate them!’
It was the answer she’d been hoping for. ‘Then why won’t you let them buy themselves out of the covenant?’ This time, Stone-arm didn’t answer. She lowered her voice a notch. ‘Is it because it’s not you who refuses to break the covenant but your father? Is it because your father is the bully and he’s bullying you, the Association of Ogres and the Pitcairn coven?’
