Read Online INVISIBLE POWER BOOK TWO: ALEX NOZIAK (INVISIBLE RECRUITS) by Mary Buckham - Free Book Online

linden tree Philippe would have been standing under, but not that the Frenchmen would be with another, and with a pose of tension and discord marring his patrician features.
    It was the other, a younger male, who arrested Jeb’s attention. The man could not have looked more different than Philippe, with an open expression, laugh lines bracketing his eyes, a smile resting lightly on his face, and a build that was shorter and stockier than the Frenchman’s. An athlete’s stockiness, with wide shoulders and muscles that looked as if he used them. A Gene Kelly build versus a Fred Astaire look.
    When the young man turned toward Jeb his smile deepened as if greeting an old friend. Something about him seemed familiar but Jeb couldn’t place it. The impression disappeared as Philippe raised his leonine, artistic head and stepped forward, both hands outstretched.
    He greeted Jeb in the French way, grasping both Jeb’s hands while leaning forward to kiss his cheeks. The action was sincere and heartfelt but not from Jeb’s background so he still braced himself. It wasn’t the male-to-male kiss that bothered him as some might suspect, but the feeling of entrapment the closeness created. If anyone other than Philippe forced the action Jeb would have no problem putting him in his place.
    Pádraig, for that must be who the young man was, appeared to understand intrinsically, or Philippe had coached his protégé, as the Irishman extended his hand for a friendly, without competition shake. No proving who was stronger or higher in the pecking order. Just a quick strong motion and then a step back, allowing plenty of space to remain between them.
    “Jeb, this is the young rascal I’ve told you so much about.” Philippe’s smile took years off his face as he glanced between Jeb and the younger man. “Pádraig, you can ask for no finer friend or better ally than Jebediah. Remember that.”
    There were undercurrents here that were as obscure as the first time Jeb traveled from the physical realm to the spiritual many years ago. Jeb knew Pádraig was a druid as was Philippe, but there were different levels of druidism and even regional variants as to druid practice, which set the true druids apart from the neo-druidism that served as a reference point for many contemporary humans.
    Neo-druidism was to druidism like Wiccan practices were to true-born witches such as his daughter Alex or his wife Aideen. Philippe was not only Druid born but an arch druid, which one could only obtain after decades of intense study including shamanistic knowledge . It was one of the reasons Jeb and Philippe were drawn together. They were the only two on the Council, and among the few non-humans, who could easily traverse to the spirit world, travel and return to their corporeal form.
    Jeb didn’t know where Pádraig was on the druid hierarchy. His physical appearance indicated a younger age but the shell was often only that, an external manifestation that hid the true soul. How strong a druid he was, or what sort of druid he was, remained to be learned.
    Jeb kept his expression neutral as he nodded to the Irishman. “Please, call me Jeb.”
    The man’s smile ratcheted up. “A pleasure and one I’ve looked forward to for some time.” A quick glance back at his mentor before he lowered his voice and replaced warmth with wariness. “I just wish it wasn’t under these circumstances.”
    Van? Had something happened to his son while Jeb was in transit?
    He had not earned his position on the Council by hasty thought or action and now was no exception. He cast a quick look at his friend. No need to ask outright what was happening and how it involved the three of them, but he held his tongue, and his temper.
    Instead of answering directly, the Frenchmen waved them toward a weathered table and sturdy chairs that looked at home in the sculpted garden in spite of their wear.
    “ S'il vous plait ,” Philippe murmured, steering first Jeb and then Pádraig to