"Once she is my wife, I can influence her more easily, Enistor. As you know, I have no feeling of love for either man or woman. That philanthropic sentiment of sacrifice for humanity is disagreeable to me. In black magic, as in white, one must live like what is called a saint to be powerful. To be absolutely free you should never have married."
"Yet you propose to make the same mistake."
"There is no mistake about the matter," said Narvaez calmly, "my marriage with your daughter will be no marriage in the accepted sense of the word. I simply wish to bind her to me, so that I can train the clairvoyance she possesses which is so valuable to me. I can give her plenty of money——"
"You won't give it to me," interposed the other hastily.
"Of course not. Why should I? Nothing for nothing is the rule of the Left-hand Path. But that I require your services and cannot dispense with them I should not waste my time teaching you my knowledge. However, the situation stands thus. I am to marry your daughter, and when I train her clairvoyantly—waken her sleeping powers, that is—we may learn from her reading of the Akashic Records what danger threatens."
"There is a danger then?"
"Yes, and a very real one, which has to do with this adversary I told you about. A desire to defeat him brought me to you, and as he is your enemy as well as mine, you are wise to obey me in all things."
"Yet I know that when you have no further use for me, you will cast me aside as of no account," said Enistor bitterly.
"Why not?" rejoined the other coolly. "You would act in the same way."
"I am not so sure that I would."