Part: 5 of 7 Manipulations of the Heart T. Rose Disclaimers in Prologue Chapter Cory waited until Fox had stepped into the bathroom, before he dialed the number Fox had left on the bedside table. "Professor Grysher, I believe you and I have some business to settle." Cory smiled when he heard the intake of breath on the other end of the line. "Raines? Where's Fox?!" Cory had wondered how the man would react. "I killed him." "You bastard, you're lying." Grysher wished he were face to face with the other immortal so he could try to read his eyes. He hated the phone. "I'm not lying. What did you think I would do? He tried to kill me. If he hadn't hesitated before trying to take off my head, I'd be gone. I was only defending myself. He wasn't immortal yet, so where did he get the idea he should behead me?" Grysher didn't respond. "Only cowards need children to fight for them." Cory assumed a statement like this would force the man to defend his 'honor'. "What did you do to him?" Grysher decided to ignore the insult, more concerned with the fate of Fox at the moment. "I didn't take his head, if that's what you're asking. I buried him outside of town before dawn. That's where he'll stay, until some unfortunate immortal digs him up and revives him." Grysher was grinding his teeth. "You immoral filth..." "Would you like to discuss this in person?" Cory twirled the phone cord around his finger as he spoke. "Name a place." He'd prefer to get Fox out of his grave before he went to meet this challenge, but he had other 'pets'. He would use them. Cory nodded at Fox as he stepped out of the bathroom. "There's an abandoned warehouse just outside of town, a kilometer from your castle. Let's meet there in an hour." Upon disconnecting, Grysher immediately called up some young thugs he'd been training for just such an occasion. They knew and feared Fox. He had thought to train them to work together, but had changed his mind upon realizing Fox would never give up his morals. Fox could only be persuaded to kill under severe duress, while these boys didn't need much to set them off. Cory was careful which immortals he met. He didn't care if mortals killed him, but he wasn't so stupid as to normally tangle with a hunter of his own kind. And he hadn't survived for more that 700 years by trusting anyone to play by the rules. When Fox had suggested that Grysher would probably have someone else in the background in Fox's absence, it made perfect sense, so Cory arrived early. He waited in a corner, unseen by the young mortals as they arrived and found themselves places to hide. After they had settled down, he knocked them out and locked them in a room he'd seen earlier. When he had taken care of them all, he watched from a window for the arrival of the Professor. When Grysher arrived, Cory noticed a young man following at a discreet distance. He was able to sneak out of the building before the Professor could sense his presence and searched for the young mortal. Cory spotted the young man around the corner of the warehouse, kneeling beneath a window. The man never heard him approach. He tapped the young man on the shoulder and was about to knock him out as he turned around, but the fear in the man's eyes stopped him. He began to pat the mortal down."What are you doing here?" He found a notebook, a camera and some film, but no weapons. Then he noticed the tattoo on the man's left wrist. He'd seen the symbol before, but where? "This means what?" He pointed at it, curiously. The man's blue eyes were skittering from side to side. He was obviously terrified. Cory almost took pity on him and let him go, but then the kid spoke. The young man was shaking in fear as he pleaded for his life. "I.. I'm a Watcher. I won't interfere, I promise. Don't kill me, please." Cory tilted his head to the side. That was possible. Now he remembered where he'd seen the tattoo. In his earlier years as an immortal, when he'd been part of a band of men that robbed from the rich and gave to the poor, he'd encountered a man with the same symbol. He was pretty sure the man had seen him die once or twice, but had never commented on it. He had seemed to watch him a lot, but had never questioned him. //Watchers... hmm.. look but don't touch. It makes sense.// "I suggest that if I lose, you stop watching and get out of here." He released the trembling man and walked away. The man leaned against the wall in relief. Then he began to scribble into his notebook. Cory entered the building cautiously. He checked the room to make sure it was still locked and the men were still out cold, before he stepped into Grysher's range. Grysher had been watching the front entrance as he waited impatiently for Cory to arrive. Grysher turned as he sensed Cory's approach, standing with his sword at the ready. "Where did you bury the body?" Cory stopped a few yards away from the Professor and held his sword before him, prepared to fight. "Like I'm going to tell you." "Where is he?" Grysher was practically beside himself with anger. Cory ignored Grysher's demands and lunged at him. Grysher was a decent fighter, but not in shape. He depended too heavily on his 'mortal pets'. When Cory sliced open his arm, he called out for his 'students'. "Are you calling those children I found earlier? I don't think they're going to be much help. They're all a bit 'tied up' right now." This broke Grysher's concentration enough so that Cory could stab him. Moments later, Cory took his head. All the windows exploded as lightening flashed throughout the room and energy crackled in the air. Cory fell to his knees as the Quickening overtook him. The power of the Quickening surged through his veins, the memories of the Professor and his victims raced through his mind as Cory struggled not to lose consciousness. He was vaguely aware of the headless body floating in the air as he was pummeled with energy.