Bloom of a Poisoned Seed (A Losandran Chronicles Novel, #1) / A Losandran Chronicles Novel (ePub)

"Where does the Enforcement Coalition fit into your plans?"

Faceless removed his boots. He placed his feet on the corner of his desk and asked, "Why do you suppose I have chosen Strat? I have found my replacement. This will free me to pursue the organization's interests without having to run the day-to-day affairs."

"The boy is only ten years old," Tooth argued. "You know next to nothing about Strat. He has no formal education. His life has been tormenting and wild. He survived three years on the streets of Jorron - a feat never accomplished - but that does not make him leadership material. What makes you believe he'll make a good leader?"

"How many times must I tell you the same thing before you stop asking the same questions. No matter how you word them, they amount to the same thing. I know you have doubts, and that is okay. What I will not accept is the constant interrogation when you are not satisfied with my answers."

"I worry over the future of the coalition," Two-tooth stated.

"Meaning?" Faceless demanded, his voice a silky whisper.

Faceless never moved a muscle, but Two-tooth could swear the man was ready to spring across the desk and kill him. Faceless had never been this way in the past. Something else was at play here. He needed to figure out what before life was lost. Notably, his own.

"Just because I abdicated the leadership to you does not mean I stopped worrying about the Enforcement Coalition, Faceless. Politics are dangerous for our members. Killing and stealing are straightforward affairs: politics are not."

"Facetiousness? Assassinations and thefts are contracted, planned, conducted, and concluded by flawless execution. Politics are no different in that regard. Your age is beginning to show, old friend."

"Maybe," Two-tooth admitted. "I am accustomed to the laws and rules governing our organization. I may have a narrow-minded view of politics in general. I know we should not mix the two, however. The objectives are diametrically opposed. What the council might want, we would find detrimental. And vice-versa."

"Strat is going to blossom into the role perfectly," Faceless said, placing his feet back on the floor. Our future will be secure under his leadership. You doubt this now, but time will prove my words accurate. I only need to sit back and watch. And our throwing our hand into the politics governing Jorron is the wisest thing we can do as a group who is despised in general. No. Having a grasp of both sides will prove invaluable."

"And should your intuition prove wrong?" Two-tooth queried.

"A question I will never have to answer," Faceless replied confidently. "Strat is the future of the coalition."