16. Chapter 16
16
K ade led the way through the back of the chocolate shop, not fazed in the slightest. Kelly looked around in the darkness, searching for some detail that told her where they were going next and came up empty-handed.
When Kade stopped, Kelly almost ran into him, but she looked forward just in time.
They all stood there, in the long dark hallway, for what felt like ages. Then, there was a click, the sound of metal scraping against metal, and more clicks, and then the door in front of them swung open.
“Good evening, Master Keegan.”
Kade gave the man who held the door a curt nod. “Charles.”
As they walked into the room, Kelly took notice of the heavy-duty door. It looked like the door to a bank vault with huge rods that locked into the wall. It was at least a foot thick and appeared to be solid metal.
They walked into a somewhat small lounge that looked like it had last been updated in the 1920s. A beautifully stocked bar lined one wall, with quaint booths against the other. Small tables with high-backed chairs on either side of them made a row down the middle.
Charles closed and locked the door behind them, then led them to a booth in the back corner of the lounge. Kade and Fabian stood, waiting for Kelly to take her seat. When she finally realized they were waiting for her, she sat, scooting to the back corner where she could see everything. Kade slid in next to her, and Fabian sat across from them.
“Luther will be with you shortly.” Charles announced before departing.
“Thank ye, Charles,” Kade said politely.
They sat in silence for a few seconds, but Kelly couldn’t bear it any longer.
“What is this place?” she asked Kade.
“It is a safe haven for Arcane,” Fabian answered. “In the case of emergency, it can be locked down so that it is impenetrable to any and all races. It also serves as neutral ground and has a longstanding rule that there will be no fighting or arguing between Arcane on the premises. If you know the password, you are guaranteed to leave unharmed. They also provide privacy for all conversations that take place between members.”
She was about to ask how they took care of the privacy part when a beautiful woman who looked to be in her forties came to their table.
“Luther said he’d be right over. I’ll silence the booth after he arrives. Can I get you folks anything to drink while you wait?”
Kade and Fabian both stared at Kelly expectantly.
“Oh, um, I’ll have an old fashioned, please.” It was her favorite, and this place just seemed like the type of establishment where one would order a nice mixed drink.
“Organic O negative, please,” Kade followed.
“Negroni for me, please.” Fabian smiled genuinely as he ordered.
The waitress smiled and left them alone.
“They serve blood here?” Kelly couldn’t help her curiosity.
“Aye, most Arcane establishments do.”
She was never going to get used to this. Ever.
The waitress brought their drinks to the table more quickly than any waitress Kelly had ever dealt with before. She was truly impressed.
Staring down at her glass, Kelly was mesmerized by the intricacies of what was usually a simple drink. She was staring into its depths when presence prickled at the back of her neck. It wasn’t something she could describe if anyone asked her to, but she could feel someone’s power.
Kade’s hand touched her leg under the table in reassurance. She looked up to him for an explanation and caught sight of a man approaching out of the corner of her eye.
The man made his way to their table with a confident stride. He was dressed in what had to be an extremely expensive black suit, complete with a pocket square to match his platinum tie. He wasn’t tall or muscular; he looked like a normal, well-dressed businessman, but he somehow managed an extremely commanding presence.
“Keegan, it’s nice to see you, old friend. It’s been almost a decade.”
“Aye, I believe it has, Luther. Thank ye for giving us yer time tonight. Please, join us.”
The man sat next to Fabian, and the waitress appeared almost immediately. She held her hands in front of her, one over the other as if she was holding a precious orb close to her torso, except nothing was there. Swirls of white light began to form between her hands. They were barely visible at first, but they grew brighter as she worked her hands around them. The light continued to grow until it was almost too bright for Kelly to look at. Then the waitress spread her hands and sort of tossed the light at them. A faint white orb surrounded them all like a bubble. It held in place for a moment, and then faded into nothing.
Kelly was about to voice her astonishment, but Kade’s squeeze of her thigh advised her not to say a word.
“Before we get down to business, tell me, Kade, why do you feel it’s appropriate to bring a potential into my bar?”
“Someone in the Council is after her, and we’re trying to figure out who.”
Luther looked her over for a moment, and Kelly made sure to look him in the eye rather than look away, not wanting to seem weak.
Luther spoke as if she weren’t there. “How is she a potential? It’s obvious she knows nothing of this world.”
“Ye surprise me, Luther. Ye dinnae feel her power? She cannae control it yet. As for this world, she was introduced to it less than a week ago, but she’s picking things up quickly.”
Luther raised an eyebrow, unconvinced. He turned to Fabian. “What business is this of yours?”
“Nice to see you too, Luther. I am here as Kelly’s Guardian.”
That seemed to surprise the man, but he tried to hide it. Luther sat back against the booth and crossed his arms. “A vampire, a potential mage, and a Guardian fae in my bar, wanting my help. This is a new one.” He looked at Kelly then. “So you’re the one that’s causing all the gossip around here. Not quite what I expected.”
Kelly set her glass down with a bit more force than necessary. “What is that supposed to mean?”
He shrugged, dismissing her challenge. “There has been much talk of a human who broke into the last Council meeting. You should be dead or equipped with a new memory of that night. Instead, you’re sitting in my bar, and the entire community wonders why Keegan spared your life. Arcane typically do not concern themselves with the business of others, but you meddled in the business of politicians, and those filthy bastards can’t keep their mouths shut.”
Kade took control of the conversation, clearly not in the mood for games. “It sounds like ye ken who is after her then. Would ye mind sharing?”
“You know I do not share information without reason, Keegan. Nor will I give you anything that could cause the demise of another. You must tell me why this knowledge is better in your hands.”
Kade ran his hand through his hair, debating the advantage of trading information.
Fabian made the decision for him. “You are aware of my abilities, yes?” he asked Luther.
Luther gave a slight nod.
“Kelly will change our world. Many will try to stop her along the way; we have just seen the first attempt. Someone is trying to acquire her, to force her to their side. This must not happen.”
Luther brought his hand up to his chin, seemingly deep in thought. “Hunches mean nothing to me, Fabian. Why is she special?”
Fabian squared his posture as much as he could in the corner of the booth. “You must first swear that this information will not be given to another. It is simply for your own benefit, no one else’s.”
Luther shrugged again. “That’s agreeable.”
He was so nonchalant about this entire meeting that Kelly wanted to reach over and shake some excitement into him.
Fabian was apparently satisfied with that. “She is a potential timekeeper.”
Luther’s calm demeanor was gone then. He stared at Kelly like she’d grown a second head.
Fabian cleared his throat in the way he did when he was telling someone they were being an idiot.
“She’s the one,” was all Luther managed.
“Ye want to expand on that?” Kade said with clear annoyance.
Luther leaned in to the table, clasping his hands before him. “Some have talked about a potential timekeeper for years now. There are different theories, but they all have a few things in common; a human girl, raised by a human father, purposely hidden from us by the Council. A couple of decades ago, there was talk about someone from the Council being placed to raise her and watch over her, but I never heard anything more about it. I’m fairly certain Camille is the one who is after her now. She has been asking around about mercenaries for some secret task; wouldn’t even tell them who they were after or why.”
“It is always the quiet ones,” Fabian thought out loud.
“Tread lightly in your search and inquiries from here; there are big players in this game. Hide her at all costs and trust no one.”
Kade nodded slightly at him. “Thank ye, friend. We are in yer debt.”
Luther smiled. It was a genuine smile that seemed out of place on his hard features. “Someday, being on your side will be payment enough.”
With that, Luther stood and left the table.
Kelly had so many questions, they were making her head spin. She somehow knew not to ask them here, though.
Desperate for something to calm her anxious mind, she reached for the old fashioned and took a large sip.
Kade and Fabian were silent, sipping on their own drinks.
They all sat there, deep in thought, for what felt like an hour. When Fabian finally finished his drink, Kade put a couple bills on the table and stood. He held out his hand to help Kelly up, and she took it.
Fabian led them out, Kelly at his heels, and Kade behind her with his hand gently on her waist.
The process to leave was as painstaking as the arrival, and the snap of the cold air on Kelly’s skin was a welcome feeling when they finally made it out the front door.
Kade opened the door to the SUV for her, but Kelly took an extra moment to enjoy the cold before getting in. She felt like she knew nothing in that moment. Some governing body had known about her from birth, had watched her and possibly manipulated her to be the person she was today. The cold was real though, sort of like the pinch a person gives themselves when they’re sure they’re in a dream.
Kade touched her arm gently. “Are ye all right, lass?”
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and nodded, climbing in the front seat.
Kade and Fabian were inside the car in seconds.
As soon as their doors closed, the dam she’d been holding in place broke.
“What the fuck? I mean, for fuck’s sake, they’ve known about me my entire fucking life? They’ve known I was out there, and just let me be? Why would they have someone watch over me but not teach me anything? And how far up does this go, anyway? Who was it that watched me my whole life? Were they manipulating me? Am I even my own person? What—”
“Enough,” Fabian said, in a calm yet stern tone she hadn’t heard him use before. “Calm your mind, or fall victim to it, but stop your rambling either way.”
“A little harsh, Fabian, don’t you think?” She spat back.
“No, I do not. You must not trap yourself in your own mind when there are important matters at hand.”
She sighed in exasperation. “Look, part of processing information for me is talking through it. If I can talk it out, then I’ll be able to think clearly and solve the problem. If I don’t talk it out, I get lost in my own head.”
“Learn to save it for later, when you are safe.”
“We’re in the car, and there isn’t anyone else here. How are we not safe?”
Kade cut in, supporting Fabian but being kinder with his words. “Fabian is right. An Arcane of any race could attack us between here and the house, and we couldnae do anything to stop them. We’d have to fight, and that means he and I would need to protect ye. I ken Luther just turned yer world upside down again, but try to stay alert until we’re at the house.”
Responding to the two of them seemed pointless, so she didn’t bother. Instead, Kelly watched the city pass by as they drove home.
They arrived at the house without incident. Part of Kelly wanted to tell them both they’d been ridiculous to worry, but a bigger part understood that their fears had merit. She had only experienced small disagreements between Arcane, but the books she’d read told her that what she’d witnessed was child’s play.
Kelly got out of the SUV without a word and went inside the house. The excitement it held before was gone, and she couldn’t care less which room she got. She even left her bag in the front hall as she passed through.
Asmund was the unlucky soul that Kelly happened upon first. “Asmund! Where is the library in this place?”
He looked at her for a moment. “You want the library? Now?”
“Yes.” She didn’t bother with an explanation.
Asmund shrugged. “Okay. Second floor on the right.” He pointed to the stairs that were just across the room.
“Thanks!” she said, running up the stairs.
There was no way she could miss the library. Its double doors were open and inviting, and every wall was packed with shelves of books. Two chairs sat on either side of a table in the center of the room. She’d have to fix that; a library needed a nice comfortable couch or a giant beanbag.
There weren’t labels on the shelves, so Kelly just started at the shelf closest to the door and skimmed the books for a title that seemed helpful. So many of them were in different languages, and others had titles that didn’t even make sense. The Art of Air Weaving. How was that even a thing? She pulled it off the shelf out of curiosity.
“Heya, Rookie!”
Kelly jumped, launching the book into the air.
“Jesus Christ, Ginna. Will you try not to sneak up on me, please?”
“Nope. You’ve got to learn to hear us coming. You’re on the second floor, and I came up the stairs. You’re really letting your guard down.”
Something in Kelly snapped. “You know what? I am sick and tired of everyone telling me to be more alert and aware of my surroundings, or to calm my mind and be someone else. You all want me to change into an Arcane overnight, but I can’t. I’ve been a human for twenty-six years, and it’s not something I can easily give up. Teach me all you can, train me, show me what there is to learn, but for fuck’s sake, don’t shove it down my throat and don’t tell me I’m not doing it right at every turn.”
Her hands were in fists at her sides, and every muscle in her body was rigid.
Ginna smiled at her. “Hold on to everything you’re feeling right now and relax your hands.”
“What does that have to…”
“Shut up, hold on to your anger, and relax your hands. Power is seeping from your fingertips, and you’re too worked up to even notice.”
Kelly’s mind came to a screeching halt, and she tried desperately to follow Ginna’s directions. She held on to all the frustration that had surfaced over the past week and carefully uncurled her fists.
“Good, now close your eyes and keep holding on to the anger.”
Her eyelids came down, shutting out Ginna and the library, enveloping her mind in darkness.
“Focus on your fingertips; feel the power radiating from them.”
Kelly tried but didn’t know what she was searching for.
“Use your breathing, like you always do, to center your mind. Remember what it felt like when I brought your power to the surface. Focus on that feeling, the energy and warmth working its way through your arms and out through your fingertips.”
Kelly focused her mind and slowed her breathing, using what Fabian had been teaching her about meditation to shut everything else out.
When she couldn’t feel it, frustration consumed her, and then something shifted inside her. It was like her body woke up and she could feel every part of herself. The feeling she’d had when Ginna read her power was back, and she felt every individual cell moving and working inside of it. She could feel the blood moving through her veins, delivering power to her fingertips so she could deliver it to the world.