by Emma Glass
Nestled in the crook of his arm was a featureless binder that, were it unceremoniously dropped onto the international black market, would have gone for bids that rival the GDP of small nations.
This man did not crave power.
He was content enough to protect it.
He knew that power was a fickle thing. Once it was yours, it became difficult to maintain; too many of his betters had chased it, only to be destroyed by their own inability to know when to let go of it. Power had consumed and destroyed them, and that was a path he chose to never walk.
What he enjoyed most was to serve those who knew how to consolidate and defend it.
The man strolled along the office corridor, eyes strictly to the front with his infectious smile. Respectfully, he gave a quiet nod to the few others he passed on his way. Some were workers, briefly given access to this floor to perform some brief, menial task or another. Most of them were other executive assistants, forced to scurry around to meet the revolving whims of upper management.
His polished shoes took him around two corners before he came to the door of his master. The executive assistant gave a polite knock, and he awaited further orders. Once he’d heard a command from inside the room, the man quietly stepped into the office of the Chief Operations Director for Clover Pharmaceutical.
Embroiled in a phone call, Vera Partridge barely paid any mind to him. He could see that she was deep in her element – her eyes were like those of a viper, her voice deceptively sultry, yet laced with poison. As her most trusted servant, he was allowed access to her office for her corporate politics; quietly closing the door on his way in, the man patiently leaned back against the wall until she was ready, clutching the featureless binder in both arms against his chest.
The widowed Mrs. Partridge ended the call with a pleasant tone that hid her utter contempt. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she sighed quietly before composing herself.
Her snakelike eyes turned to him.
“There you are…” she feigned sweetness in her smile. “I find myself dangerously low on good news… what do you have for me this time?”
Her assistant nodded once.
“There’s been a vision.”
“A vision?” Her smile fell, and she sat straight up in her chair with an intent stare. He always admired her most when she was all business. “Tell me what you know.”
The man tapped the binder in his arms. “The vision comes from one of our higher level seers. It was reportedly strong enough that two others have given similar, albeit murkier, accounts.”
“Interesting…” Her eyes narrowed intensely. “What was content of this vision?”
The assistant couldn’t resist smiling. “There’s been a traveler. Completed a cycle, back and forth. It seems a rift has opened.”
Vera Partridge’s posture instantly stiffened at his words as she stoically lowered her gaze upon him. Her question was simple: “Where?”
“Europe,” he casually replied.
Pensively tenting her fingers, she leaned back in her executive chair. “The ancient records all suggest two gateways in present-day Europe: one in Romania, and one in England.”
Her assistant merely nodded in agreement. “The seer, unfortunately, could not quite clarify. The first-hand account details the experience as fleeting, yet quite overwhelming.”
“Where is this seer now?”
“Medical wing. Comatose.”
Vera locked eyes with him. “But you extracted an interview with her?”
“Him,” he subtly corrected, “and yes.”
“How did you manage that?”
The assistant smiled noncommittally. “Well, the few visions we have on record always seemed clearest while the experience was at its freshest.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Go on.”
Noncommittally, he shrugged. “Since seers are generally not in an agreeable position during this time, I simply had all his sedation completely withheld during the cool-down procedures until I learned what I needed to… oh, don’t look at me like that. The doctors all assure me that they have him stable now and that he’ll probably be fine. If he survives the ordeal, he’ll be back upright in his chair in two to three weeks’ time.”
He stepped forward, reaching into his button-up pocket to place a small audio playback device on the counter. “But more importantly, you’ll find everything you need to know right here.”
As he took a couple of steps back, Vera’s eyes flickered from the device to his face. Even with him, she was skilled at hiding or fabricating her emotions until the right moment.
For the most part, he actually appreciated her ambiguity; it kept him sharp, quick on his feet.
“As always, you never disappoint.” His boss smiled with great affection, “You have done very well. Thank you.”
He modestly nodded. “I aim to serve.”
She kept her smile, reflecting on the great many times that he’d proven those words right, all in the four years since she had chosen him.
“Leave. I’ll update you as necessary.”
Mrs. Partridge watched him politely leave the room. Once she was alone again, she considered the implications of the seer’s vision. With barely any magic on Earth, it was a tremendous surprise that such a powerful burst of clairvoyance had struck one of the few still capable of receiving it.
And a long-lost rift, at that…
Without wasting time, she clicked the device in her hand and listened to the twelve minutes of coherent audio. By the time the seer’s incoherent screaming overcame the playback, Vera Partridge had heard everything that she needed to.
She lifted the landline phone at her desk and dialed a number. After a few rings, the connection clicked, and a voice on the other end of the line responded.
“Vera?”
“It’s time to activate Project Layers,” Vera Partridge spoke with the calm, collected restraint of a chess grandmaster. “There’s been a vision. I think we’ve just found another Earth…”
Are you ready to find out what happens next in Clara and Elliot’s story?
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Also by Emma Glass
A Witch Between Worlds Series
The Vampire’s Witch (Book 1)
Trials of the Vampire (Book 2) - Available Now
A Vampire’s Fate (Book 3) - Coming SOON
