Bucharest was the capital of Romania and the country's economic and cultural center. Long known as "Little Paris," it lay on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, a tributary of the Danube, with the famous Băneasa Forest in its northern suburbs. Throughout history, this beautiful garden-like city had been a strategic prize fiercely contested by European powers such as the Ottoman Empire and Tsarist Russia.
At Henri Coandă International Airport, Sean, dressed in a leather jacket and sunglasses, emerged from the bustling terminal with a tourist map in hand, looking just like an ordinary visitor. Mordo followed behind him, broad and powerfully built, his dark face stern and unsmiling like that of a dutiful bodyguard.
"Where should we go now?" Mordo looked at the young man holding the tourist map and lowered his voice. "I know Carrigan lives in an estate on the outskirts of Bucharest. There's a secret underground casino there. We can head over immediately."
Sean stared at the Black sorcerer with a strange look. After a long moment, he turned away and smiled faintly. "Then I won't get in your way."
"I booked the top suite at the Hilton Garden Hotel in the city center. I'm planning to rest for a while, then have a French dinner. I might even visit the Palace of the Parliament afterward. I heard it's the second-largest building in the world after the Pentagon. Worth seeing."
Mordo's eyes widened, then anger surged through him. He had come all the way from the London Sanctum to Romania, not for a vacation. Thinking of the countless crimes he had seen in the files, the Black sorcerer, deeply influenced by Kamar-Taj, wanted nothing more than to storm Carrigan's estate at once and deliver God's judgment.
"Why are sorcerers always so muscle-brained?"
Sean sighed helplessly and