Mammon Read Online Free PDF

dare she try to tell him about Master. Halphas strode on, mimicking Mammon’s effortless glide but lamenting the ache in his knees.
    He recognised Master’s companions as Senator Julian Ellis and Anton Van Beuren. Both men owed their fortune to Master, in one form or the other. They were red-cheeked and overly friendly; Master listened to their stories in a comfortable human stance: hands in pockets, smiling occasionally.
    * * *
    MAMMON GLANCED lazily at Senator Ellis’s wife. His eyes lingered on her neckline, where ruffles of purple satin blended into the shiny black curls that spilled over her tanned shoulders. A pleasing sight. His gaze trailed up her neck and face; with each centimetre he seemed to be marking his territory.
    She gasped, pulse quickening. Her hand rushed up to touch her throat.
    Smiling, Mammon took an appetiser from a floating tray: a square of lamb garnished with an asparagus spear. ‘The problem with your staff, Van Beuren, is that they don’t know their place. You tell me they’re all unionised. Well, I’m telling you that you can sack them all without fear of union reprisals, then replenish your workforce with a more compliant host of workers. Just ask, and it will be done.’
    Halphas coughed – not to attract his master’s attention, but rather to clear the dusty phlegm that had gathered near his windpipe. ‘Ready to set sail, Master?’
    â€˜You’re late.’ Mammon finished his wine. ‘Well, gentlemen, the hour has come and gone. I bid you goodnight.’
    He settled an expectant stare on the Senator’s wife.
    The Senator, whose eyes had dulled with the weight of acceptance, nodded, voice husky with regret. ‘Go on, Maria.’
    â€˜Goodnight, Julian.’ She took Mammon’s arm; her pulse visibly pounding in her neck as he guided her into the sultry night.
    * * *
    HALPHAS PEEKED INTO the rearview mirror and shook his head. Women. By the time they’d reached Mammon’s yacht, Maria Ellis was giggling and letting Master kiss her neck. His eyes drifted across to the four apprentices seated in the back. With a quiet chuckle, he pictured her reaction if she found out just whom she was keeping company with.
    As they boarded the yacht, the staff were assembled in a neat, white row. Efficient, silent, obedient – just the way Master liked them. The chief steward gave him a servile nod. ‘Sir. Wonderful to have you aboard again.’
    Mammon guided the Senator’s wife towards the stairs that led to the upper deck. ‘Show the lady to my stateroom and make her comfortable.’ He stretched his arms and nodded at the captain. ‘Let’s get to sea.’
    The engine rumbled; several deckhands moved around the yacht, casting off the ropes. Above the bridge, a vast spotlight radiated across the water, bouncing off the smaller vessels that scurried aside, making way for the dark blue leviathan that was thundering away from the pier.
    The yacht pierced through the waves, its mammoth hull merging with the blackened waters of the late evening. In the distance, the lights of Border City were a neon blur; above, a heavy moon hung in the velvet sky, its reflection catching the waves.
    * * *
    THE SMELL OF roasted garlic and prawns filtered through the cabin, creating a dull ache in Halphas’s stomach. His eyes wandered to the clock: it was eight-thirty. He glanced at the chambermaid, whose arms were beginning to sag under the weight of Mammon’s shirts. ‘No, not that one!’ Halphas reached over and yanked a dark grey garment from the pile. ‘Where’s Master’s ivory silk shirt?’
    Wide-eyed, the maid shook her head. ‘I don’t know, sir. I don’t remember seeing it. I’m sorry, sir!’
    â€˜Rubbish. It’s on this boat. I told laundry to bring it aboard. Fetch the boy to me.’
    The maid pressed an intercom button. ‘Bess, can you send William up to