by Jamie King
He definitely noticed my staring. I enter my pin number into the key pad. A gentle beep announces our access and Luka swiftly tugs open the door allowing me to step through before following close behind. I turn into the lobby and press the button for the elevator.
The doors open with a gently rush of air. I silently step in and press the button for the fourth floor. “So.” I observe him in the reflection of the metal doors. His deep green eyes stare back, but they seem more reserved now. His playful demeanor gone. “This portal?” The elevator dings and the doors slide open. Luka quickly exits and leads the way to my room. How does he know where he’s going? I slide my key into the lock and push the door open.
The lights are off and Tiffany’s door is closed. I turn to erase my note and write that I went out with a friend. She must still be sleeping. Luka closes the bedroom door behind us and I stand near the bed awkwardly. “Everything okay?” He’s been weird since we left High Octane.
He clears his throat. “Yeah, just fine.”
“So, what are we doing here?” I motion to the bedroom around me.
“I’m going to summon a portal to take us to the Golden Oak headquarters.” His eyes wander over my cluttered floor. “Did a bomb go off in here or something?”
I inspect the clothes and books littering my floor and shrug. “I was in a hurry.”
He kicks most of it under the bed and then gestures for me to stand next to him. “Okay, Nuri, it may be uncomfortable, but please stay calm and trust me.”
I nod, “Yep.” His eyes narrow. “Yes, I understand.”
“Give me your hand.” He holds out his calloused hand to me. “Good." He says as he interlaces our fingers and faces the center of the small room. An unrecognizable floral scent floats off his body. I breathe it in deeply. “Trust me.” He whispers as he outstretches his free hand in front of us and mumbles in an unrecognizable language.
Bright blue light erupts before us. The light stretches and bends into a large shimmering wall. Golden symbols dance in the air as they spiral down to create a circle on the floor. The crackle of electricity fills the room and a deep rumble vibrates over my skin.
An image ripples into view of a room filled with sunlight and golden tile floors. Walls made of stone the color of warm sand kissed by a delicate pink rose.
Luka squeezes my hand tight. “Come on.” He breathes in my ear and tugs me into the shimmering image.
The portal is like a wall of gelatin. A force of wet suction presses against my body. The release from the suction as we emerge on the other side feels like a spring as it releases us into a vast world of deep blue and green. Muffled sounds are inaudible in the ocean of moving space.
Golden light streams in front of us from a small circle. With each moment the light grows closer and closer. Wait. Too fast. We’re moving too fast. A room becomes visible through the opening. The tile floor is fast approaching. Luka is completely relaxed. I try to speak, but no sound comes out – my voice is consumed by the ocean of space around us. I tug on his hand and fear streaks across his features as he tilts in my direction. We are coming up fast on the opening. My heart races as I panic. Luka forcefully pulls me into his chest and smashes my face into his body. His heart pounds heavily against my ear as a falling sensation overcomes me. I bounce against Luka as his body absorbs the impact of our fall. I try to sit up, but the world spins and nausea twists my insides forcing me to shove my face back into Luka’s jacket. I take a deep breath and shut my eyes.
I groan and slowly lift myself into a sitting position. Through the cloud of dizziness and nausea, I check his head for blood. Clear. I release a sigh of relief. I straighten up more, but the movement sends my body rolling in nausea. I curl in on myself and clutch my stomach. Luka stirs beneath me and a groan escapes him. Oh my god! I’m still sitting on him. I jump to my feet to avoid the awkwardness of continuing to sit on his lap. Pain shoots through my body and I retch on the floor.
A small chuckle escapes Luka. I scowl at him. “Are you laughing at me?” I whisper. I my voice is weak and I’m lightheaded. Another wave of pain and nausea hits and I curl into the fetal position on the cool tile floor.
Another chuckle escapes him. “I’m not laughing at you I’m laughing next to you.”
”Very funny.” I manage to whisper between the waves of nausea.
“If you had stayed calm, Ri, this wouldn’t be nearly as painful.” He gently scoops me into his arms.
He called me Ri. How does he know my nickname? How much does this man know about me? “Where are you taking me?” I groan and bury my face in his chest.
“Somewhere you can rest and recover.” I relax in his arms and attempt to ignore the cries of my body. A door opens, and I listen as his footsteps echo around us. Luka punches the button to an elevator and it quickly dings. He steps in and presses another button. “Most of the coven are on patrol or in a conference, so it’s going to be quiet for some time.”
The elevator dings and the doors open to a long-lit hallway. The cream-colored walls are bare and jut against cream tiled floors.. White painted doors with silver handles line the walls. Luka stops at one and pushes through the doorway.
“You can rest here for a bit until you feel better.” He sets me down on the sofa. “This is my apartment.” He disappears down a dark hallway.
I lean back against the sofa. The room spins around me and the nausea teases my throat. I squeeze my eyes shut. The loss of sight only makes my body feel as if I’ve gone into freefall. Soft footsteps pass by and the refrigerator door opens.
“Come on Nuri, open your eyes and take this.”
I peek at him. His hand is in front of me holding something. I blink my blurry vision away. A small brown pill rests in the center of his palm.
“What’s this?” I pick it up and sniff. “It smells repulsive.” I shake my head back and forth, my hair flicks over my shoulders. “Like death and dirt.” I crinkle my nose and shove the pill back at him.
He bursts into laughter. “You weren’t supposed to smell it! You just pop it and go.” His laughter continues as he sets the glass of water on the table.
“I’m glad you find this amusing.” I pinch the pill between my fingers. “Will you at least tell me what it is?”
His laughter slows. “It’s a mixture of herbs to help with the vertigo. We take it to help with the nausea and dizziness. It’s also packed full of vitamins to help with recovery from passing through portals. Just basic alchemy, nothing special.”
“Alchemy? Like herbal remedies?”
“Well, yeah, I guess.” He slumps his shoulders. “However, this is real medicine, not some hippie nonsense ruse that humans invented. These are ancient medicines that have been used for thousands of generations.”
He just used human as if he isn’t one. “Aren’t you human though?”
His eyes narrow. “Yes, but I’m a witch and witches are considered supernatural beings in the same category of vampires and werewolves. Human, but not quite.”
“Interesting.” I grab the water he left on the coffee table and toss the pill in my mouth. I hurriedly gulp the water down. The bitter pill slides off my tongue and down my throat leaving a trail of bitter decay behind. I shiver and hold in a gag. “Oh my god.” Another shiver moves through me. I gulp down more of the water in hopes of removing the after taste. “That was utterly repulsive.”
He smiles and sits beside me. “You should feel better in a little few moments.”
“Moments?” I whisper and lean back into the pillows.
“Our alchemy works much faster than human medicines. Our healers that create these medicines infuse their own healing magics into each pill.” He glances at the clock hanging on the wall over the television. “Do you want a blanket or anything?”
I nod my head, too awkward to say no. I’m uncomfortable sitting in a private room with someone I barely know who sent me through a magical portal. I’m inside the headquarters of the white dragon coven which is a group of magical hu
man beings. Then the man sitting next to me inadvertently told me vampires and werewolves exist and acted like it was no different than talking about the weather.
He reaches into a drawer in the side of the coffee table and pulls out a large gray blanket.
“Thank you.” I take the blanket and wrap it around my body.
“You’re welcome.” He leans back and crosses his arms. “You know, I have never had anyone freak out inside a portal before.” He gazes down at me with a raised eyebrow. “You could have killed us. If we had gone off course any further, we could be drifting for eternity or splattered like a bug on a windshield.”
“Well, you could have told me what to expect. That was a shocking experience and I thought we were going to face plant into the floor.”
He moves quickly, so quick that I barely see the movement. His eyes pierce mine. His face only inches away as he stares down at me. “You didn’t trust me.” He breathes into my face.
His closeness emits a tangible pressure on my body as if his existence is reaching in and touching my soul. Do I not trust him? Of course not. I barely know him! I glance down at his soft lips only a few inches away. I wonder what he tastes like. I push the thought away. The pulse in my neck is pounding with the intensity of my heart. Why does Luka have such an effect on me? What if I kissed those perfect lips? Or run my fingers through his silky golden-brown hair. What if I find out what he’s hiding under that tight shirt of his? I let out a soft breath at the thought. No time to be timid, Ri. I lean forward closing the gap even further and stare into his eyes defiantly.
“What reason do I have to trust you?” His eyes darken, and I see his gaze move over my face. All or nothing. I close the gap between us and press my lips to his. My heart explodes in my chest. He stiffens at the contact. Oh no. This was a mistake. What was I thinking? My heart sinks and I pull away. Of course, he wouldn’t be interested in me. My cheeks flush and I turn away from him.
Luka’s hand catches my face forcing me to look into his eyes. His chest moves heavily with each breath as his eyes wander over my face. He strokes my cheek gently and moves his thumb over my lips. The pressure I had felt before surges in waves against my skin. His lips meet mine and I melt into him. He tastes like salt and honey. A hint of flowers fills the air between us.
His large hands pull me close to him as he leans me back and climbs on top of me. His raw energy consumes me as his hands run along my abdomen and move beneath my shirt. I gasp at the contact of his skin against my chest. He takes the opportunity and slides his tongue into my mouth. He presses himself against me and lets out a growl.
The sensation has me losing all sense of reality. I trail my tongue along his neck to the base of his ear. A low rumble emits from his chest and he presses his body harder against mine. His hands gently grip my face as he stares down at me. He blinks a few times and his face darkens. . He quickly pushes off of me and rushes for the hallway. Before he disappears around the corner he glances back at me. I could swear his eyes are glowing.
I take deep breaths and sit up. What the hell just happened? A door closes in a distant room and I hear running water. My first time making the first move turned out great. Just great. I sigh heavily and let my embarrassment sink in as I sit on the sofa staring at the pristine white ceiling. My cheeks are warm and my pulse is pounding. Excellent job, me. I close my eyes and rub my face before reaching for the glass of water on the coffee table. I catch a glimpse of Luka watching me from the hallway.
He pushes his fingers through his hair. “I have a fiancée.”
My stomach drops. What was I thinking? That this completely attractive older man would be interested in me? That he wouldn’t have a girlfriend or in this case a fiancée. It had just felt so right. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t-.”
He raises his hand to stop my apology. “It was my fault, you didn’t know. Let’s just pretend it didn’t happen, okay?” He picks up his leather jacket from a chair and slips it on. “You ready for that tour?”
CHAPTER SIX
6
“Come on.” Luka says as he pulls me through large double wooden doors. The room must be at least three stories tall with metal spiral staircases leading to balconies encased in wrought iron cages filled with bookcases overflowing with books along the edges of the room. Each balcony contains a sofa and overstuffed chairs. Brass lamps dangle from the wrought iron cages. Books line the walls from floor to ceiling and bookcases create a valley on each side of the room. Large towering bookcases surround alcoves of reading areas beneath the balconies. In the center of the room sits a round pit containing multiple burgundy sofas and mahogany brown reading tables. Small brass lamps adorn the side tables giving off a gentle warm glow. A fireplace sits at the end of the reading pit with a deep green loveseat facing it.
“I told you.” Luka says with a big toothy grin. “It’s huge.”
I stand in awe. “There must be thousands of books in here.”
His smile widens. “This isn’t even half of them! They built a second library that is almost as big as this one and this doesn’t even compare to the library at the White Heart Towers in Washington.” I stare at him in disbelief. “Well, the white coven has been around for about eight thousand years, give or take.” He shrugs and turns back to the double doors.
“Wow. This is amazing.” I whisper and follow him out of the library.
“Many of the ancient texts were rewritten to prevent the originals from being damaged while also allowing all to gain access to the knowledge. The originals are stored in a safe room somewhere else.”
“Somewhere else?”
“Yep, the white coven has thirteen headquarters around the world.”
“Th-thirteen!”
He chuckles. “Yes, and the one in England is our main headquarters. Ah, but that’s for another day.” We pass through a maze of hallways and up a flight of stairs. “Next, we have the lounge which is really a fancy way of saying the cafeteria.”
The lounge is packed with large rounded gray and white booths and a connected kitchen. Trays are piled high beside the start of the serving line. A sign dangles above us announcing delivery to residences between five A.M and eleven P.M.
I follow him through another maze of hallways filled with closed doors and void of any human presence. Down a short hallway we stop at a large set of doors.
“This is where we train” Luka pushes the doors open. “This is the hand to hand combat training room.”
The room is the size of a gymnasium. The windowless walls are adorned with training weapons and padded gear and bright florescent lights recede into the ceiling.
“Here.” Luka opens a heavy metal door in the back of the room.
“Where does this lead?”
“You’ll see.” He smirks.
Thick glass windows slant downward to provide a view into a bunker style room surrounded by metal walls. Sprinkler heads protrude from the ceiling and the florescent lamps are encased in a clear protective cover.
“What is this place?”
“The magical training room.” Luka leans closer to the slanted glass windows. “You can safely practice magic in this room without running the risk of harming others or the environment around you.”
“Will I be able to use this room?”
“That would be the plan.”
I follow close behind Luka through the empty halls of the Golden Oak. “Where is everyone?”
“Most are either out on patrol or they are in the morning assembly. Like I mentioned when we arrived. The shops and businesses should start opening soon as assembly is over.”
“Assembly?”
“It’s a meeting where either I or another general will go over a list of items that need to be done for the day. Like if there was a crime committed during the night patrol or if we need to send a group on a search mission. Things like that.”
“So, you guys have your own police force or something?”
“We sure do. Well, we’re military who not o
nly protect our coven members from crimes committed by others under our watch, but we also protect our members from the other covens and supernatural beings.”
“Oh.” I breathe. A full-blown military? “Uh, how many other covens are there?”
“Three covens, each established at the same time. There is the white dragon coven, which you already know. The black dragon coven and the golden dragon coven. You may hear people mention the gray coven in passing. The golden coven was given the nickname the gray because they tend to be neutral when it comes to politics and wars between the black and white covens.”
“Can I ask what the name of the covens means? Why do you use colors and dragons?”
“Ah, great question. The original three watchers were black, white, and gold dragons. When the covens were established, the founders decided to pay homage to the dragons by creating the three dragon covens.”
“The watchers are that important?”
“Absolutely. They represent the balance of the universes.” He pushes open a door that opens into a spacious lobby. Sunlight pours through a large circular skylight. “Ri, you’re going to love this.” He whispers as we approach a metal door that has Authorized Personnel Only painted in red.
“Where are we going? Are we supposed to be here?”
“Relax, I basically run this place.” He smiles and gently grabs my wrist pulling me through the doorway.
“Stairs?” I eyeball the three or four flights of stairs before us.
“No silly, it’s what’s at the top that counts.”
I release a heavy breath. “Luka, this is a long way up. How much further?” I huff out another breath. My lungs are screaming, and my legs are burning.
“Ri, come on. This is only the fifth flight of stairs and its right at the top of this one. See.” He points to a door at the top of the stairs.
“Oh, thank god.” I groan and urge my body to keep moving.
Luka chuckles as he pushes the door open. “We need to get you in shape. These stairs should be cake.”
The afternoon sun blinds me as it pours into the dark stairwell. A gust of wind pushes Luka’s hair gently over his shoulders. The sweet scent of flowers flows over me. But its October, how does it smell like a warm spring afternoon?