when I finally walked down the hall to Ryan’s suite. Prior to his arrival in the United States, he had been meeting with various groups regarding the new naturi problem. A trio of warlocks from Quebec had made an unexpected appearance at the Compound during my last stay in the UK, demanding to speak with Ryan. There was no particular hierarchy among witches and warlocks. While small and large covens existed around the world, no single being ruled and set laws for the group. No king, president, or dictator.
But there was Ryan. In their small sect of the world, he was one of the oldest and strongest. He was also one of the only warlocks that were in contact with all the other creatures of the world. And as the head of Themis, he had near limitless amounts of information at his fingertips.
No, Ryan wasn’t their king, but if he asked, their first thought was “How high?”
Outside Ryan’s suite I paused for half a second. Mira was in there. I had hoped for a private meeting with the head of Themis, but I was beginning to see that was an impossibility. Still, the sight that greeted me when James let me into the room brought me up short. The entrance to the suite opened immediately to a large parlor of sorts with a sofa, chairs, and coffee table. To one side sat a large desk, stacked with several tomes that the warlock most likely brought with him from England. Ryan sat relaxed in a high-back leather chair, while Mira was perched on his desk before him, her bare feet resting on the edge of his chair on either side of his outstretched legs. There was a strange intimacy to the tableau that made me want to back out of the room, but I didn’t move.
Both creatures looked up at me, their expressions unreadable. Had this been planned, and if so, by whom? Ryan had summoned me and both would have sensed my approach. There was no surprise in their eyes.
Mira moved first, placing her feet on the floor and sliding off the desk. As she walked around to the front of his desk, neither looked at the other, but I saw the fingers of Mira’s right hand grasp Ryan’s right hand for half a breath and then release it. Mira strolled past me, a strange smile on her lips. It wasn’t her usual smug or teasing smile. It wasn’t even seductive. A deep foreboding sank into my bones and I suddenly had the feeling that I had fallen in with a shark and a lion. It wasn’t so much whether I was going to be eaten alive, but just a matter of how.
“It’s good to see you again, Danaus,” Ryan said, drawing my attention back to him. The warlock with the liquid gold eyes rose smoothly to his feet and shoved his hands into the pockets of his black trousers. A smile lifted his lips, making him look completely at ease.
Ryan had been with Themis for less than two centuries, joining several years after I had. While he didn’t speak of it much, I had the impression that he had been a warlock for a long time before that—nice accomplishment for a human.
Of course, to look at him you wouldn’t guess he had seen more than three centuries of life. His thin, angular face held an ageless quality, giving him the appearance of a man somewhere between the ages of twenty-five and fifty. His completely white hair hung loose just below his shoulders, casting shadows about his golden eyes. But in a few, unguarded moments, Ryan had spoken of being a young boy with brown curls and eyes in a small farm village. Heavy magic use had left its unmistakable mark on him, as it did with all powerful warlocks and witches.
“We need to speak,” I said, still not moving from the doorway.
“Yes, we do,” he replied, his smile slipping from his face. “Please come in.” His eyes briefly drifted to James and then back to me. James left the room, closing the door behind him. I had no doubt that the researcher would be down at my room until the meeting was over.
My narrowed gaze fell on Mira, draped over the sofa against the back wall directly across from Ryan’s desk.
But there was Ryan. In their small sect of the world, he was one of the oldest and strongest. He was also one of the only warlocks that were in contact with all the other creatures of the world. And as the head of Themis, he had near limitless amounts of information at his fingertips.
No, Ryan wasn’t their king, but if he asked, their first thought was “How high?”
Outside Ryan’s suite I paused for half a second. Mira was in there. I had hoped for a private meeting with the head of Themis, but I was beginning to see that was an impossibility. Still, the sight that greeted me when James let me into the room brought me up short. The entrance to the suite opened immediately to a large parlor of sorts with a sofa, chairs, and coffee table. To one side sat a large desk, stacked with several tomes that the warlock most likely brought with him from England. Ryan sat relaxed in a high-back leather chair, while Mira was perched on his desk before him, her bare feet resting on the edge of his chair on either side of his outstretched legs. There was a strange intimacy to the tableau that made me want to back out of the room, but I didn’t move.
Both creatures looked up at me, their expressions unreadable. Had this been planned, and if so, by whom? Ryan had summoned me and both would have sensed my approach. There was no surprise in their eyes.
Mira moved first, placing her feet on the floor and sliding off the desk. As she walked around to the front of his desk, neither looked at the other, but I saw the fingers of Mira’s right hand grasp Ryan’s right hand for half a breath and then release it. Mira strolled past me, a strange smile on her lips. It wasn’t her usual smug or teasing smile. It wasn’t even seductive. A deep foreboding sank into my bones and I suddenly had the feeling that I had fallen in with a shark and a lion. It wasn’t so much whether I was going to be eaten alive, but just a matter of how.
“It’s good to see you again, Danaus,” Ryan said, drawing my attention back to him. The warlock with the liquid gold eyes rose smoothly to his feet and shoved his hands into the pockets of his black trousers. A smile lifted his lips, making him look completely at ease.
Ryan had been with Themis for less than two centuries, joining several years after I had. While he didn’t speak of it much, I had the impression that he had been a warlock for a long time before that—nice accomplishment for a human.
Of course, to look at him you wouldn’t guess he had seen more than three centuries of life. His thin, angular face held an ageless quality, giving him the appearance of a man somewhere between the ages of twenty-five and fifty. His completely white hair hung loose just below his shoulders, casting shadows about his golden eyes. But in a few, unguarded moments, Ryan had spoken of being a young boy with brown curls and eyes in a small farm village. Heavy magic use had left its unmistakable mark on him, as it did with all powerful warlocks and witches.
“We need to speak,” I said, still not moving from the doorway.
“Yes, we do,” he replied, his smile slipping from his face. “Please come in.” His eyes briefly drifted to James and then back to me. James left the room, closing the door behind him. I had no doubt that the researcher would be down at my room until the meeting was over.
My narrowed gaze fell on Mira, draped over the sofa against the back wall directly across from Ryan’s desk.
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