by T. G. Ayer
"I'll second that." Evie turned to Ling, whose words were slightly slurred from sleep.
"Snobs are what you two are."
Ling shrugged and Evie sensed the same movement next to her. Li Ling's up-tilted almond eyes shouted her Asian heritage.
"So what's really bothering you? Apart from our distaste in the rabble you associate with?" Ash raised an eyebrow and Evie conceded. She may as well spill her fears to the two girls.
"I just think there's way more to Patrick's illness than just the tail end of his days. And I think he may be questioning his illness too. He probably doesn't want to worry us." Evie bit her lip, hoping she would not regret this confidence. "Don't you find it strange and convenient that Patrick's illness began when Marcellus first approached the Council with his application for the Mastership? Remember how everyone, including Patrick, was so surprised? And then Patrick began to get sick just when it looked like he would oppose Marcellus' bid?"
Both girls stared at Evie, finally comprehending the full extent of Evie's worries.
"But wouldn't you need really powerful magic to kill an Immortal?" Ash scowled, her fine eyebrows scrunched up as she considered the possibility that Evie may be on to something. "Does Marcellus have friends in low places then?"
"That's what is intriguing. Nobody really knows that much about Marcellus. Except that he's been with the Irin for the last ten years. He served Patrick for a decade without any indication he was unhappy. Then he up and usurped the Mastership. And he has Daniel as his uber-eager, right-hand-man."
"Oooh, he's delicious!" Ash sighed as if about to swoon.
Evie jabbed her in the ribs. "Even if he's hot, it doesn't make him any less creepy. And what's with the demands for the metals from the demon kills?"
"Yeah. You weren't the only one who found that odd. What would Marcellus want demon jewelry for?" Ling asked.
"Have you given him everything you've found?" Evie looked at both girls.
"Yeah! What would I need demon stuff for?" It was clear that Ash faced both the demons and the job of dispatching them with equal disgust.
"Hey, easy! Just wanted to check if any of you guys have kept anything back."
"Have you?" Ash probed.
"Er...yes. I have a few things with me. It just seemed so strange that he'd ask such a thing. I can't figure out why he'd need that junk or why he's so desperate to ensure we hand them all over." Evie frowned at Ling, whose eyes were concentrating on the door to the common room and not on the conversation at hand. She was so easily distracted.
Neither of the other girls had an answer for Evie. The sun had passed overhead and no longer shone directly into the room. Evie was beginning to get frustrated with the feeling of helplessness that seemed to permeate the air around the Warriors these days.
The girls struggled out of the couch reluctantly, knowing they had to get going. They had uniforms to change and warm-ups to complete before the afternoon classes. Theoretical and Practical Combat including Chinese Martial Arts for this semester. Followed by Daily Debrief.
"Right then. Back to it!" Ash grabbed the two girls' arms, linked them, and pulled them out of the room. Evie sighed. Perhaps she could just enjoy the afternoon without thinking about doom and gloom and the funny feeling in the pit of her stomach that said something bad was about to happen.
Chapter 5
Evie shut her room door behind her and locked it. She'd hidden the strange piece of carved metal behind a lose brick in the fireplace and the last thing she needed was for someone to walk in on her while she took another look at the ring. And she needed to change before the afternoon combat sessions. She was keen to have a look at the disk before she left for class.
She went to the fireplace and ran her hand along the inside of the chimney about two bricks above her shoulder. Where a brick should have sat, was now a hollow, which housed a few of the metal pieces she'd recovered as well as the one special piece that had so caught her eye.
Her fingers closed around the metal disk and Evie slowly removed it. It clinked against the stone mantelpiece and a sweet ringing echoed around the room. Evie clasped the disk close to her chest, glancing at the door and hoping to stop the ringing as she shielded it with her hands and body. Soon the sound died down and the door remained shut. Only then did Evie feel safe enough to inspect the disk. The metal was engraved with eight different designs, each depicting a different scene.
The edges of the disk were about an inch in height and the piece filled Evie's open palm. She stared at the disk a few moments more, seeing nothing more than she had seen before. She sighed and dipped her fingers into the little hidey-hole, depositing the disk back into the relative safety of the brick hideaway.
Evie stepped away from the fireplace and dusted her hands before sitting at the edge of the bed, trying to recall if she'd found anything else with similar markings before. But she came up with nothing. She'd wanted to tell Patrick about the disk, but she'd been terribly afraid to upset him. Patrick was a stickler for the rules and he was sure to blow his top at her for disobeying her Master.
Evie clenched her fist. This subservient role was getting old fast. It may have been easier while Patrick was her Master because she loved him, but she had neither respect nor affection for her new Master, especially not when he treated all the Nephilim like circus animals. To perform as he bid them. Do as he told, no questions asked.
At her bedside sat a small heap of random metal pieces she'd also retrieved from her recent kills. They didn't seem as important as the disk. Perhaps she'd pass them on to Marcellus anyway. She made a note to hide them away, just not with the disk in the fireplace. She cast a forlorn eye over the traitorous rocks and yearned for the days when her work was simple and good.
Combat classes were in a few minutes. And in Debrief, they'd all be getting their next targets. Evie sighed and stared off into space. There must be more to life than killing for Marcellus. Shockingly, Evie found herself considering the possibility of leaving the service of the Irin. But not before she figured out what was going on with Marcellus. And what he had to do with Patrick's illness.
Evie was zipping up her boot, stowing the last of her knives when the door slammed open, crashing so hard against the wall it vibrated as it hit the stone behind it. Evie was sure the brass knob had left a nice enough dent in the wall. She didn't have much time to wonder how the door had opened when she'd been so careful to ensure it was locked tight. The room was suddenly filled with a dozen of Marcellus' new army of bodyguards.
"What's going on? What are you doing coming in here?" Evie was not overly modest having been around for so many centuries, but she was still young at heart. Had they stormed in just five minutes earlier she would have been very much undressed, and very much pissed off. Right now, she was pretty pissed anyway. "This room is private and off limits."
She rose to her feet, pulling herself up to her full height. All Nephilim were tall, but she towered over most of the men. Being six foot, she was often taller than most mortals. The group of men held their stance in the face of Evie's height and her boiling anger. Seemed they were not afraid of little old Evie. Perhaps they were misled by her youthful, gamine facade? Evie shivered with anger, slowly losing the battle to contain her fury. Her shoulders pulsated, her bones shifted beneath the skin of her back, and her neck grew heavy. In the next instant, her wings exploded behind her in a rush of white and silver feathers.
The sudden appearance of her wings did two things. The mini-whirlwind it created startled the band of armed men encircling her. It also instilled the leaden weight of fear in her attackers. The circle around Evie widened as each of the men took a step backward, alarm etched on each separate face.
A hiss of impatience and annoyance announced the presence of Marcellus somewhere behind the black rank of bodyguards. The very existence of this small army of guards had raised the ire of many members of the Brotherhood. Patrick had overseen the Irin for over a millennia and never did he feel the need to protect
his back. Never felt threatened in any way. Perhaps it was true; it was the guilty who feel the need for protection. Marcellus sure had something to hide.
"Fools!" He shouldered the men aside and placed himself nose-to-chest in front of Evie. For a man whose intention was to rule the ancient Brotherhood of Irin with the hand of fear, he was incongruously diminutive. Despite his lack of stature, he resonated an essence of negative energy. Energy which Evie sensed was black and filled with hate and anger. Evie wanted to step away from him. She felt violated just by sharing personal space with the man.
But stepping away would acknowledge his authority and confirm her status as a mere servant. Evie was getting tired of her servitude. She stared him down. And he was the first to turn away. He glared hotly at his men. "She won't hurt you, you idiots."
Now where did he get that idea from? Why would he be so confident that I wouldn't harm him or his men?
He turned to Evie. His eyes grazed her from the tips of her shiny boots, to the silvery glow on the edges of her wings as they undulated behind her. His gaze remained on her wings a few seconds more, before he dismissed them.
"Impressive. But so unnecessary." His eyes were cold, flat. None of the usual admiration or respect which Evie was so used to whenever she stood shadowed by the glory of her angelic nature.
It was possible he wanted her to retract her wings, but with Marcellus, every action had a meaning. And retraction would be tantamount to an admission that he was not only Master of the Irin but Master of Evangeline too. And Evie would die before she fell at his feet.
"What do you want?" Evie asked softy.
"I do believe you have been holding something from me?" Marcellus' eyes pierced her, a hawk watching for the slightest twitch.
Evie brows knitted in confusion. "Huh?"
He walked around Evie, keeping his distance from the shimmering tips of the feathers behind her. "I have it on good authority that you have been stealing from me?"
"Stealing? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard." By now Evie's head was hot, her blood simmering with rage at Marcellus' invasion of her privacy and now his accusation.
He made a circling motion above his head and commanded, "Search the room. Bring me what you find."
The men fanned out and began searching. A lamp crashed to the ground and Marcellus winced before he could restrain himself. Evie looked straight at him, hot anger still flaring in her eyes. "Anything that is damaged or broken—you will replace. This is my home! And that was a Ming Dynasty authentic piece."
"Try not to break anything, boys." Marcellus remained in front of Evie's face and crossed his arms while an expression of amusement washed his deep features. The skin on his face was a pasty white, his hair stringy and balding, and the muscles beneath the fabric of his cloak soft and puny. A lot can be said for stature, but Napoleon had long managed to make everyone around him forget that he was often the shortest person in the room. It had to do with personality. And Marcellus' personality seemed to want to pull him down. Probably down to where he belonged—within the fiery depths of the Underworld. Hades, Hell, Patala, he simply had to chose which one.
A grunt from one of his men and a rush of boot heels on the wood floor—they had discovered the pile of metal she'd scavenged from her last few kills. Evie remained unmoved. His man dropped the collection into Marcellus' open palm. He rifled through them, nonchalant. As if he knew that what he searched for was not there. Immediately Evie thought about the disk. He was after the disk, but there was no way he'd have known she'd anything specific in her possession.
"Are there any more?"
She shook her head, her eyes narrowing dangerously. After all the years living with humanity Evie had learned well the art of deceit.
"Hopefully you will remember this. Ensure you bring me every piece of metal you find."
He drew so close his face was a mere inch away from hers. She squelched the urged to laugh. She knew he must have raised himself at least to the balls of his feet to get this close. The idea was so comical that his attempt at intimidation fell far short. "Every piece of metal. Do you understand? It is vital. Not only to me, but to the existence of the Irin itself."
I wonder what that means? Evie thought as she smelled the noxious remnants of Marcellus' lunch on his breath. Stale garlic and weak tea. Awful. She forced herself to stop her nose from wrinkling in his face. But she needn't have bothered.
He was already turning on his heel and walking out the door. But then he paused abruptly, looking back at Evie with a hand on the doorjamb. "I know you will follow the rules, Evangeline. If not for your loyalty to me, then for your fealty to the old and ailing Master, Patrick."
That sneering smile stayed with Evie for hours after. The subtle threat stayed longer.
The team usually met in the common room before the afternoon classes. This day was no different, except each of the girls had similar expressions of shock plastered on pale faces. Other Warriors milled around also waiting for the next class. The girls moved to an unoccupied end of the long dining table.
"They got to you too?" Ash asked Evie as she sat down and dragged her chair closer. Eating was the last thing on her mind. Mainly because her mind was too busy processing her suspicions. Suspicions of what Marcellus wanted with the metal pieces. Suspicions of how he'd known she'd kept back some of the metal pieces. Suspicions of who would have told.
"Yeah. They came crashing into my room and took whatever I hadn't handed to Marcellus during this past week." Evie's eyes narrowed as she studied the two other girls. Both looked equally shaken, but it could have been either one of them who had ratted her out. They were the only two people she had confided in. "It brings me to the question of how Marcellus had known I still had the pieces with me."
Knowing she still had the disk tucked away in the fireplace hideout, Evie wasn't terribly angry about losing the other random junk. It was really the knowledge that she had been betrayed that stuck in her gut.
"If you're trying to accuse us of something, Miss E, come right out and say it, okay?" Ash flashed her baby greens at Evie, tapping her foot while she waited for a response.
"I'm not accusing anyone. I don't want to accuse anyone of anything. But I told only the two of you. Who else could have known about it?"
"Kara knew too," Ling announced. "She came in while we were talking. Then she turned fast and went back out. But since she left, I thought that was that. Then she grabbed me in the corridor on the way to my room. She asked if we were also keeping stuff from Marcellus and confided she was too."
Evie shook her head slowly, her lip twisting, the action both reproachful and regretful. Ling lifted her shoulders sadly. "C'mon, Evie, it's not my fault!"
Evie, deep in thought, patted Ling's arm distractedly and said, "It doesn't matter, Ling. If Kara ratted us out, we'll just have to find out why."
Evie wondered what Kara's reason would be to betray the team. Ling awkwardly embraced a worried Evie and said, "Don't stress, sister. I have a surprise for you."
Evie raised her eyebrows at Ling and said a silent, thankful prayer for the presence of these two girls. Living a long life was only worthwhile if you had decent companions.
Ling drew an object from her satchel and handed it to Evie. Wrapped in a soft scarf, the weight of the package felt decidedly familiar.
"No, don't peek. Let's take it somewhere private before you let everyone see it. It's going to be a secret!" Ling grinned.
Chapter 6
Back in Ling's room, which was closest to the common hall, the girls huddled on the bed and studied the disk which had been hidden within the folds of one of Ling's Pashminas. Only Heaven knew when Ling got the chance to wear things like scarves and gloves, but the girl loved them. Evie would rather have a new sword, and she knew Ash was eyeing a new set of those spinning spears she loved.
Evie's fingers traced the markings and symbols on the disk. It was identical to the one hidden in her chimney except for one symbol which was more
heavily outlined on this particular disk. It's possible that each disk had a particular meaning or signified one particular symbol on the disk. It would so help to know what the symbols meant, though.
"Wow! That's beautiful. How come I wasn't lucky enough to find one of these?" Ash sighed dramatically.
"So, what do you reckon I should do? Hand it over to Shortstuff before he attacks me for it?" asked Ling. Ash giggled.
The memory of Marcellus on tippy-toes coming nose to nose with Evie earlier sent her into her own spasm of giggles. It didn't take long for her to sober up, though.
As much as Evie wanted to offer to keep it with her, she wanted to ensure the girls had no reason to see her as anything but neutral regarding the disks. “I’d say hold onto it unless it's going to endanger you. We still need to figure out how Marcellus found out about us holding back in the first place. Did either of you have anything like this taken away?"
Both girls said no. "I had this in the armory," Ling offered.
"Well, put it back then, and let's find out what the deal is with Kara."
The girls left Ling's room, hurrying first to the armory and then to their combat class.
Master Marcellus loved to hold court. His daily briefings were held in the largest conference room, which overlooked the entire front garden of the estate. Each of the senior Warriors were seated around a conference table purported to be the largest on the eastern seaboard, carved from a single piece of ancient white oak. As magnificent as the table was, it couldn't hold a candle to the immense crystal chandelier that lit its meticulously polished surface.
Someone should have to told Shortstuff that all this opulence will take some of the attention off of him, Evie thought. She was not in a magnanimous mood, especially not since the privacy of her room was in serious question. Both Ash and Ling were equally unimpressed.
