Chapter Five
Neith
“That’s okay, you can always buy more books,” Griff says with a big smile, knowing that Raiden is going to love the idea.
Raiden grins, “A very good point.”
“Navy did say that she couldn’t see us as well anymore, so maybe she can’t because you can?
” I ask as the thought occurs to me, and then frown, “Although I’m not sure that would make sense though because she said that she couldn’t see much now that she met me.
You, obviously, know us better than Navy knows us, so you shouldn’t be getting visions of us either. ”
“Maybe Griff is getting the visions because of how sensitive the information in them is. I mean, there are things that Navy shouldn’t know, right?
Not because we can’t trust her, but because it could put her in danger,” Raiden starts, his mind clearly going a mile a minute.
“What if we need these visions, but we can’t have anyone else know the things that are in the visions, so Griff’s gift has been strengthened? ” He suggests.
We’re all silent for a moment as we think it over, and honestly, it would make sense to me.
There is a lot going on that other people shouldn’t know about, even Navy, and despite the short amount of time that I have known her for, I do trust her completely.
Most things I would probably tell her anyway, but there are some that I wouldn’t.
As Raiden said, for her safety, or because it’s not mine to tell.
“It’s a good theory,” Doc replies eventually. “I would be happy to agree and say that’s the probable reason why you are getting more visions.”
“It’s not just that I’m getting more of them.
They’re more intense, and I’m getting feelings without the actual visions, too.
Ones that I know are more than just feelings.
The visions themselves are more intense, and my eyes have never turned black when I’ve had a vision before,” Griff adds.
“I have to admit that I’m more than slightly worried about getting a vision while I’m in the middle of a fight or something. ”
Reed shakes his head, “I don’t think you need to worry about that. Magic always protects us when it can. I don’t think your magic would deliberately put you in danger.”
“Reed’s right,” Ransom agrees. “Plus, it’s almost as if it’s a new magic. If we treat it as such, then it’s going to take some time to settle, it never takes too long though. You never know, you may find that you can fight and have a vision at the same time, eventually.”
“That would be wicked, not going to lie,” Griff grins. “Now I hope it’s that and not that I just don’t get visions in dangerous situations.”
“Well, we always seem to be in dangerous situations, so if that’s the case, then you won’t be getting that many visions,” I point out.
“That’s true. I guess we just wait and see what happens?” He replies, still sounding a bit unsure.
“Whatever happens, we’ve got your back, you know that,” Coen reassures him, and Griff smiles.
“Great, now that’s settled, I want to see my room,” Raiden says in a rush.
I burst out laughing, “You’ve been very patient. How long have you been holding that in?”
Raiden shrugs and then grins, “Since we first realized that House had given us rooms.”
“Come on then, let's see what he’s done for you,” Reed chuckles.
“We’ve still got your room to see as well,” River reminds him, still bouncing on his toes and still as excited for the other to see their room as he was for himself.
Reed chuckles, “I know. I don’t mind waiting a little bit longer though.”
Raiden has already disappeared out into the hallway to find his room, and I rush to catch up with him. I don’t want to miss seeing the space that House has created for him.
Thankfully, House must know that we all want to see it, because it waits until we’re all in the hallway before it opens the door to Raiden’s room.
He practically runs in there and then immediately freezes.
“Wow,” he breathes out in wonder, and we all peer over his shoulder to see what his room looks like because he’s frozen in the doorway still, and none of us can see anything.
“Oh my god,” I gasp.
His room is a library.
It’s fucking awesome.
The bed is in the middle of the room, but it’s clear that it’s not the most important thing in the room, despite the fact that this is supposed to be a bedroom. Which means House has read Raiden perfectly, pun intended.
I swear the Voices groan at my internal joke, so I mentally flip them off in response and go back to studying Raiden’s amazing room.
Every single wall is floor-to-ceiling books, and the room is at least two stories high, with a balcony running around it to reach the higher-level books.
The carpet is black, and all the furniture, including the bookcases, is made out of deep, rich mahogany wood.
There are side tables with lamps on them, comfy-looking armchairs, a nice big fireplace that’s of course already lit, and lots of comfy places to sit, read, and do research, including a huge table so he can spread out, which I’ve learned he likes to do.
It’s the perfect room for Raiden.
It even has a balcony leading to the outside so he can come and go with his wings.
“These are all my books,” Raiden announces in shock.
“You mean copies of the ones that you have, right?” Van asks for clarification.
Raiden shakes his head, “I don’t think so. I think these are my actual books from the other house.”
“Dude, you’re going to have to explain a bit,” River mutters when Raiden just stays where he is and stares at the shelves.
Raiden doesn’t reply. Instead, his eyes light with excitement as he moves further into the room and heads for the ladder. He climbs it quickly, and we all watch as he moves around the second set of shelves like he’s done it thousands of times before.
I’m assuming he’s looking for something specific.
“Ah ha, I found it,” he exclaims, as he casually jumps from the balcony, open book in his hands, and lands on his feet like it’s nothing as he continues to read.
It’s hot.
Really fucking hot and I can’t quite explain why.
I can say that I will definitely be thinking about it later, or better yet, I’ll get Raiden to join me later.
Damn.
“Look,” he says, completely oblivious to the fact that I am imagining doing the naked tango with him. He holds up the book and turns it around so we can all see it. “See, this is the coffee stain that Ransom made when he was studying with me in the library at home.”
Ransom throws his hands up in the air, “You are never going to let that go, are you?”
Raiden looks at him, his eyebrow raised and a slight smirk tilting up his lips, “No.”
I burst out laughing, making the others laugh too, while Ransom simply stands there looking dumbfounded.
“Wow, so these really are your books then,” Reed says.
“They seem to be,” Raiden replies, staring down at the book in his hands.
After a moment, Doc asks, “Is there anything back at the house that I actually need to pick up anymore?”
“I’ve got a couple of bags that I left there,” Van says.
“I’ve got some weapons that I put by the front door,” Coen adds with a grin.
“Me too,” River adds.
“I’ll head back tomorrow and grab them then. I’m too tired to head back now,” Doc replies with a smile.
Reed claps him on the back, “It has been an extremely long day. One of us can come back with you tomorrow. I don’t want anyone going anywhere alone from now on.”
“We didn’t really go to many places alone anyway, but I get what you mean.
We can’t risk one of us getting caught out.
We’ve got Casimir after us, which of course means that we’ve got HID after us as well, who are most likely waiting to get hold of at least one of us.
Casimir wants Neith, and he knows that Neith cares about us, so that means that he will most likely want to use one of us to get to her,” Griff summarizes.
“And that’s only one of the reasons why we shouldn’t go anywhere alone.” River agrees. “At least we don’t have to worry about being recognized because we won the Choosing.”
“Yeah, that was an unexpected perk that none of us thought to be worried about in the first place,” Coen agrees.
“Thank fuck for that. It would have been impossible to do our jobs properly if everyone knew what we looked like,” Ransom agrees.
A giant yawn overtakes my features, “In all of the realms too, not just this one, since it’s broadcast everywhere.”
Griff smiles, “That’s true.” He turns to Reed, “Let's go and check your room out, and then get to bed. We’ve got a lot to sort out in the morning.”
Reed grins, “I’m good with that.”
When we get to Reed’s room, he hesitates ever so slightly and then pulls open the door.
Reed’s room is blue, a soft shade that’s calming and instantly makes me feel at home.
He’s got the same fireplace as the others and a balcony so that he can come and go as he pleases.
He has a large wall covered with bookshelves, and in the corner is a workout area, complete with a punching bag and practice dummy.
I have noticed that he seems to work out a lot more than the others, and I assume that it’s because he has to keep such tight control over his magic when he’s anywhere but around us.
His room has beams crisscrossing the extremely tall ceilings. It’s something that none of the other rooms have, and I’m guessing that it’s something that is unique for Reed.
When I look at him questioningly, he smiles, “I like to be up high. The higher the better.”
I grin, “Like me.”
He nods, “Yeah. I feel happier when I’m higher, and I’m guessing that’s why there are beams in here, and why the ceiling is so high.”
“I always joke that it should be me who likes to perch high up and survey my kingdom,” Griff jokes. Adding, “You know, because I’m a gargoyle and that’s what we do.”
“You’ve got three doors in here,” Van points out before I can reply to Griff and ask if they actually do that.
I know that they used to, but I have no idea if it’s still a thing.