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.The man raised his hand in a small wave, and in his smile Ethan detected both curiosity and fear.Exactlythe emotions he had hoped to elicit from the man the very same emotions he had always brought out inCalvin Trenholm, back in the old days.Trenholm stood as Ethan approached. Ethan Rayne, you right bastard, he said with an uneasy grin. It s been an age. So it has. How on Earth did you find me in bloody California of all places?Ethan shook his head as if he, too, found this incredible. Sheer luck, Trenholm old man.Look here,why don t we have some dinner before my stomach crawls up my gullet looking for something to feastupon, eh? We ll catch up after we ve ordered, all right?For a moment, Trenholm looked at Ethan oddly, as though he were wondering if his comments about hisstomach might hold some bizarre truth or hidden meaning.Then he seemed to exhale, and together theywalked back to the hostess and let the woman find them a table.Wanker,Ethan thought, as Trenholm ordered a drink.Some people never change.Once upon a time, Ethan had been part of a small circle of young people who had wanted to tap into thepower of magick.Their experiments might have been foolish games played by students in search of athrill, or made gullible by their desire for something to make their flawed lives perfect.They might havebeen.But they were not.Their magick raised a demon.Most of the others in the group turned their backs on such dealings, recognizing the danger in them.Oneof those was Rupert Giles, who would later become a Watcher and combat the very things he oncetoyed with himself.Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmlEthan Rayne never turned away.The horror of that night taught him only one thing: be more careful.Andhe was.And so were the many other people he came into contact with over the years, in one group oranother.He learned a great deal, and taught things to others in return.Sometimes, for his friends thosewho had taught or given him something he wanted he would perform certain favors.For Calvin Trenholm, that favor was making an extraordinary young woman named Kymberly Egler fallin love with him.Ethan had been happy to do it.He d never liked Kymberly, and having her be trappedfor life with a fool like Trenholm was quite amusing.When Trenholm left her to join the Sons of Entropy,Ethan wanted to kill him.At least, until he realized that the man s departure only made Kymberly ssituation all the more ironic, and all the more agonizing.The sadistic side of him which was, to be honest, his only side took great pleasure in that.So Trenholm was still alive.For the moment.The waiter came by to take their order.Ethan eagerly requested his steak au poivre, with the wonderfulgarlic mashed potatoes Blue Horizon s chef could whip up, and a side of sautéed asparagus.He askedfor a scotch to be brought right away.Trenholm also ordered another glass of wine, asked for theswordfish, and then looked at Ethan nervously, waiting.Simply waiting.Ethan let him wait.Finally, when his scotch arrived, he took a long sip, swirled the glass around to watchthe ice spin, and then set it down, looking up at Trenholm and feeling the mischievous spirit that he couldnever quite control rising up within him. I saw Kymberly not long ago, he lied. She still hates you.Because she still loves you.Trenholm sipped his wine, trying to pretend he was not afraid of Ethan.He nearly pulled it off, too, butonly because there was someone he was even more afraid of.The fact that Ethan already knew that gavehim complete control over what would happen next. I m sorry for that, Trenholm answered guard edly. Sorry for.for her. He wiped a bit of sweat offhis smooth brow. Yes, well, you had to do what you had to do, of course, Ethan replied. Your friend the Maestrorequired that, didn t he? Complete dedication.Was going to teach you a great deal about magick, wasn the?Trenholm was agitated, and nearly enough so to look it.He lifted his weak chin and clenched his teeth. Il Maestro has taught me a great deal, Ethan.You would have done well to join him when I did.Perhaps then you would be among those who will.Ethan raised an eyebrow. Who will what? he asked, smirking.The other man did not reply, but looked away instead. Oh, don t be daft, Trenholm, Ethan sighed. I could lie to you about why I m here in Sunnydale.Thatwould be simple enough.But the truth is, I m here becauseyou re here.I know what your man Fulcanelliis up to, and I may want a piece after all.Eyes darting like those of a frightened rabbit, Trenholm glanced about the restaurant nervously, thenglared at Ethan.Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html Watch your mouth, Ethan Rayne, he reprimanded. You ve always been a bit off, yourself.More thana bit.The rebel, you are.But one wrong word could have you roasted where you sit.Ethan shook his head in amusement. You know what s important to your boss? he asked Trenholm. That you believe that.He only has to make it happen once or twice, and none of you ever knows if he sbreathing over your shoulder or not. How do you suppose he does that?Trenholm blinked, frowned at him. It s magick, of course, the man replied.With a soft chuckle, Ethan shook his head again. So he s the great grand wizard, is he? It s amazing tome how many men, particularly those in search of power, don t even pay attention to what s going onaround them. He s powerful, all right, but not that powerful.Not without help.Not without sponsorship.You knowwhat I m saying, Trenholm.You know exactly what I mean. He s got a plan, has he? You blokes will bring civilization down around our ears and then you ll be incharge, that it?Trenholm grew cold then, his nostrils flaring.He took a sip of his wine. Something like that, he said,then sat back a bit in his chair
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