Page 15 of A Phoenix Reborn at Christmas

All in all, his cousin’s cruel efforts had resulted in less productivity.

Soon the factory would be Percival’s.

But his uncle was wrong. Cyprian would not work for Percival. Percival would not allow that. And he doubted his cousin would tolerate it either.

His uncle could take Cyprian with him when he left. After all, his uncle wanted the factory to continue making money. Percival might be put in charge of it, but his uncle would still own it and profit from it. And there was no way Percival and Cyprian could work effectively together.

Percival paused in the corridor outside his door. He stared down at the factory floor. All the while, his uncle’s shouts reverberated down the corridor.

The imps, fire demons, and volcanic nymphs moved through the heated factory. They could handle the heat. They could even touch the glass directly to mould it or put their hands in the furnaces and flames. But extreme hot temperatures for too long could still be draining.

It couldn’t be helped though. The furnaces had to be hot enough to melt glass. Then parts of the room needed to be heated so the glass could be moulded and shaped.

An imp left the factory main room and entered the side room, the cool room. There, they could cool down for a few minutesand then return to work. The workers appreciated the ability to take breaks and cool down. And they tended to return to work refreshed.

He watched the employees. He smiled. Soon the whole factory would be in his capable hands.

He’d continue to improve productivity. Which was the most important thing to Percival. But he couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of satisfaction in his belly that by improving working conditions, he was making the lives of the workers better too.

And for a second, he thought his parents might be proud of that. But that was just a foolish thought. A soft-hearted feeling. That should not motivate him.

“Lord Everflame.” Nix hopped down the corridor, glancing towards Uncle Ignatius’s office, where the shouting continued. Nix’s shoulders hunched forward, as if he was worried Cyprian would appear at a moment’s notice and continue berating him.

Percival turned towards him. “Yes, Nix?”

Nix stopped before him. “I wondered if we could add some water and food to the cool room. If the workers are not hungry or thirsty, I believe they can work better.”

Percival considered that. It made sense. When hungry, he struggled to work. His stomach gurgled at the thought of the pies still sitting on his desk. “Very well. See it is done.”

“Thank you, my lord.” He bowed his head and turned to leave.

“And, Nix.”

The imp stopped and looked back. “Yes?”

“Good idea.”

“Thank you, my lord.” He smiled.

“Also, soon the factory will be under my control,” Percival said. “Which means you will only have to answer to me.” At present, as the foreman, Nix worked for both him and Cyprian,implementing both their orders on the different halves of the factory.

“That would be good.” The imp bowed his head. Then he turned and hopped down the corridor.

His uncle still shouted and berated Cyprian.

Letting out a heavy breath, Percival turned and entered his office. It seemed he’d be listening to shouting whilst he ate.

Chapter

Seven

“Today we have a spiced lentil pie with mashed potato on top,” Leo said.

“Spiced lentil and mashed potato?” Lord Percival Everflame’s nose wrinkled. “That sounds odd.”

Leo was getting sick of this bloody game.

Over the last few days, shortly after the eleventh bell rang, the phoenix would come into the bakery. Every day he came in with rude words about the bakery, Leo, and his pies.