Chapter 8

I’d been unconscious when they’d brought me to the chapter house, and my first proper look at it in the light of day showed a building that needed a lot of TLC. Large square windows sat beneath vaulted gables that jutted up toward an angry gray sky. A recessed wraparound porch was hidden behind worn balustrades that connected beneath crumbling arches, and ivy played havoc, digging its claws into the brown brickwork. My attention was drawn to the wooden perch built close to the porch with a bell attached to it.

Strange.

The carriage sat on the gravel drive, horses snorting mist and pawing impatiently at the ground, eager to be on the move.

It was a large carriage, black and sturdy, but not as plush as the one I’d entered Old Town in. Still if it was meant to transport the Singer brothers, then it needed to be spacious.

Ordell stood by the horses, whispering to soothe them. The dark hat on his head was a stark contrast to his golden features, eyes piercing beneath the rim. He strode to the carriage door as I approached, but I waved him off.

“I’ll ride up front with you, if that’s okay.”

I hauled myself up and parked my ass on the bench, regretting the move as soon as Ordell joined me.

It was an incredibly tight squeeze, and once we set off, it got worse, each sway of the carriage pressing me up against his taut frame.

My head came up to his shoulder when seated, and the smell of leather mingled with evergreen. A breeze lifted his hair, and the sweet scent of strawberries tickled my senses. It had to be his shampoo.

A winding track took us through woodland and onto a wider road.

“What do you think Ezekiel will do tonight?”

“I don’t know. But we’ll be with you. We won’t let anything untoward happen to you.”

Yes, I was safe but… “There’s nothing stopping him hurting you, though.” Crap. How had I not considered this?

“He can’t hurt us. The Order provided us with protection too. Emblems like yours.”

I glanced at his throat, but there was no chain visible. “You’re not wearing it.”

“I will tonight.”

Good. Knowing that Ezekiel couldn’t hurt them made us a stronger team. “Did you meet Ezekiel when you took your cargo?”

“We handed the cargo over to his staff.”

“He has staff? Aside from the bat boys?”

“The bats are his creation. He made them a long time ago, and they serve him unequivocally. They don’t have the intelligence to do much else.”

But he was wrong. Godor was different. “Creatures evolve.”

“Not these creatures. They sleep when he sleeps and wake when he wakes. In the grand scheme of things, they’re just children.”

“Then how do you explain the one that saved me?”

He sighed. “I guess I can’t.”

The road ahead opened out, fields stretching either side of us, gray and gloomy under heavy cloud cover. I didn’t have an aversion to shitty weather, but a little sun was always nice.

“Does the sun ever shine here?”

“I don’t know,” he said after a moment. “But it certainly creates an ambiance.” He threw a smile my way, and if I was poetic, I’d say that smile was like the sun breaking cloud cover. But poetry was for romantics, and romance didn’t belong in the Order.

We fell into companiable silence for a few moments, just the distant sounds of nature and the whistle of the wind beneath the clatter of the wheels and the rhythmic beat of hooves on the dirt road.

“Why did the Order choose to send you?” Ordell asked suddenly. “Is there some test? Some special skill or qualification for the job of a watcher?”

I’d wondered the same thing when they’d handed me the transfer. “If there is, then I don’t know about it.”

“But you took the job anyway?”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “You don’t say no to the Order.”

He lapsed into silence once more. “You think you can control him?”

“I have to try, right?”

“Yes…yes you do but be wary. From what I’ve learned, Ezekiel loves to play games. Do not trust him.”

“I don’t intend to, but I might let him believe I do.”

He chuckled. “Smart.”

“Okay, my turn to ask some questions. You know way more about me than I do about you.”

He sat back, arm rubbing against mine. “Ask away.”

“Have you and Hemlock always been hunters?”

“For as long as I can remember,” he said. “We never stay in one place for long.”

He sounded almost wistful about that, and for some reason I needed to understand why. “Where is home? I mean, where were you born?”

“A place in the Rim. It’s gone now.”

My spine straightened. “You lived in the rims?” There was so much I didn’t know about the Rim, and to be speaking to someone who’d lived there was an opportunity not to be squandered. “What is it like?”

He considered for a moment before speaking. “Wild. Free. Dangerous.”

Three words. That was it? I sat back, disappointed. “You could say the same about many of the places beneath the dome.”

He chuckled, low and sexy. “I suppose you could. I tell you what, let’s make a deal. Survive the year, and maybe I’ll take you on a tour of the Rim.”

Excitement simmered low in my belly, but I wasn’t sure whether it was related to the possibility of seeing the rims, or because I’d be doing it with Ordell.

“I’ll take that deal.”

The carriage lurched, and I grabbed hold of his arm with both hands. Muscle flexed beneath my palms as he tugged on the reins. It took every effort not to squeeze. I let go quickly and clasped my hands in my lap.

He looked over at me, suddenly serious. “Do you know how to drive a carriage?”

“No, and my last attempt was pretty pathetic.”

“You should learn.”

Once again, not an offer but an order. Still, coming from him… “You want to teach me?” There was a definite lilt to my tone—a slight flirtatiousness. Totally unintentional, of course. I cleared my throat. “I’d like to learn. And you can teach me.” His brows flicked up, and I realized I was giving him an order. I held his gaze, owning it.

I was hit with another smile, this one slow burn like melting chocolate. “We can start right now.” He held out the reins to me.

Ordell spentmost of our driving lesson holding on to my hands with his gloved ones. The contact felt intimate, even with the leather between us. It wasn’t as if I hadn’t held a man’s hands before, but not unless he was helping me up off a training mat or giving me a congratulatory shake. This was different because it was Ordell, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t attracted to him.

By the time the fog marking the boundary between Old Town and New came into view, I was happy to relinquish full control to him and sit back and enjoy the ride.

“You did well,” he said.

“Oh, I’ll do great if you’re there to hold my hand every time.”

“That can be arranged.”

He was flirting with me, and I wanted him to because there was no harm in a little flirtatious banter. It didn’t have to go anywhere.

The fog rushed up to meet us. I tugged my phone free of my jacket and switched it on just as we passed into the thick, cloying air that stuck to my tongue, leaving a residue with each breath. It lasted mere seconds, but I didn’t draw a full breath until we were through and the air was clear once more.

Reception bars sprang to life on my phone, but the battery was low, so I’d have to make this quick. “I’m going to make a call.” I hit speed dial for Micah. He answered on the third ring.

“Orina? Is everything okay?”

“Yes and no.” I filled him in on what Padma had told me about the fire, the dead operatives, about the Sangualex having taken over the Order offices in New Town. He listened without interruption, and by the time I was done, we were on a proper cement road with buildings springing up around us. “Padma says she called it all in and was told to suck it up. Micah, that can’t be true.” Micah was silent for several beats, and for a moment I thought we’d been cut off. “Micah? You there?”

“I’m here, just…thinking. Senior admin deals with anything Dracul territory related. They have a liaison officer. Padma would have been put through to that department.”

“You think it’s true? They told her she had to relinquish control to the Sangualex?”

Ordell took a right toward the carriage park and stables.

“I don’t know, Orina,” Micah said. “But I’m going to find out. If it’s true, then they’ll have a problem with me. I briefed you based on the information they provided, and if that information was incorrect, I’ve sent you in unprepared.”

“This is not your fault. But if it is true, then you need to tell them it’s not working. Our operatives died fighting a fucking fire. We’re not trained for that. We shouldn’t have been put in that situation. You need to tell them that it stops now. We’re the Order, and we don’t take instructions from suckers. We need more manpower, and we need our offices back so we can do our fucking jobs.” My voice rose in pitch. “I can’t work like this, Micah. I need boots on ground. I need my place of operations. I need control.”

“Breathe, Orina. Breathe.”

I was clutching the phone so tightly my fingers ached. “I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not. And that’s partly my fault. I fucked up with the brief. If I’d known how the infrastructure had broken down there, I would have fought against them sending you. But I will fix this.”

“Oh, I can fix it. Those offices are ours, and I’m taking them back.”

“Orina, listen to me. Hold up until I can gather more information. If you’re going in there, you need to be armed with a High Council seal. I need to look into these reports Padma made too and find out why they declined to send more operatives. Call me again in a couple of days. Until then, keep a low profile.”

“I’ll call you in two days. Make sure you pick up.”

There was a smile in his voice. “Don’t I always?”

“Bye, Micah.” I ended the call and sat back in my seat. “Looks like I won’t need to go into town after all. I’ve been asked to hold off on any confrontations.”

“I heard,” Ordell said.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I didn’t just come here to babysit Ezekiel. There are people here who need protection, and I won’t let the Sangualex stop me from helping them.”

“Oh, I believe you,” Ordell said.

Was he biting back a smile? “You think this is amusing?”

“The situation? No. But you sure are awfully cute when you’re all fired up.”

“You can’t flirt with me when I’m mad.”

“Why not?”

“Because…Because…Urgh.” I couldn’t help but smile.

“And there it is,” Ordell said. “That radiant smile. Angelic.”

And I was blushing? What the fuck?

The carriage came to a halt between two empty parking bays, and two stable hands rushed over to untether the horses.

“Two hours,” Ordell said to them. “Maybe three. Give them a massage too.” He handed over some cash before hopping out of his seat. “I have an errand to run,” he said to me. “You can sightsee for a couple of hours if you like. I can drop you in town.”

Sightseeing wasn’t my speed. It was something Quinn, my bestie, would do, dragging me and Nyx along with her. “I’ll come with you.”

He looked up at me, a ghost of a smile on his lips. “I don’t recall inviting you.”

I arched a brow. “Do I need an invitation?”

And I was totally flirting.

His summer blues warmed as he considered this. “You can tag along.”

I stood, intending to climb down. He grasped my waist and lifted me to the ground easily, but he didn’t release me right away. I swallowed past the sudden dryness in my throat and lifted my chin to look up at him, expecting to see a smile, but his gaze was troubled and filled with shadows.

“Ordell?”

He sighed. “It’s probably best you see. As the new head of the chapter, it’s something that you need to be aware of.

“O-kay…”

“But please don’t ask any questions until we’re done.”

I nodded. “Fine.”

Now I was intrigued.