do is put words in people’s heads. Talk to them without physically talking. No real threat in that.”
“I’ll show you a threat!” Mr Anderson panted, still trying to fight off the attack.
Mr Reid was silent, but his eyebrows rose a few seconds later, looking mockingly scandalized. “Well,” he said, obviously having just received an imparted message from Mr Anderson, “that wasn’t very nice. There is a lady present, you know.”
“Aye, and you’re lucky for that!”
“What did I tell you two about dragging innocent bystanders into your nonsense?”
The flying papers fell to the floor and we all looked over to see Alex in the doorway, thumbs hooked in his pockets, shaking his head.
“Reid cheated!” Mr Anderson said, hunched over, catching his breath.
“Of course. As always, you lost, so I must have cheated!”
Alex caught my eye and motioned for me to follow him as he turned to go. I walked past Mr Anderson and Mr Reid, carefully stepping around the strewn paper squares, leaving the men to their argument. It sounded as though they might be squabbling until dinner, which was why I was shocked when, just as Alex and I turned the corner, I heard Mr Reid ask, “Do you want to go again?” to which Mr Anderson replied, “Of course, why not?” Alex chuckled under his breath, shaking his head.
“Are they always like that?” I asked.
“Are you kidding? You should see them on Scrabble night,” Alex laughed. After a moment, he continued more soberly. “I’m glad you came down. I was worried that, after yesterday…” He grimaced, looking guilty.
“It’s fine,” I assured him. “Really. No big deal. I made it back in one piece, and last night I hung out with Chloe.”
As we approached the rotunda he pulled a set of keys out of his pocket and began flipping through them. “I hope she isn’t bothering you,” he said glancing up at me.
“Chloe? No, not at all. Why?”
“She’s a wonderful person,” he said, singling out one of the keys on the ring. “I only ask, because I know how excited she is to have another girl around, and I don’t want her to overwhelm you. I love her like a sister, but she can be a little overzealous at times.”
“No, she’s great,” I assured him. “I can definitely see what you mean, but honestly, I like it,” I told him a bit sheepishly as we arrived at the only door in the rotunda. “I sort of missed out on all the typical girlfriend stuff when I was growing up.”
“Well, in that case you’re in luck. If there is anyone on earth who can get you caught up on all things girly, it’s Chloe.”
“I believe it.”
“All right,” he said, sliding the key he’d selected into the large lock on the door. “You ready?”
“Um, sure, I guess. What are we doing?”
“Remember on the plane when I told you there were some things I wanted you to see?” he asked with a smile as he held the door open for me.
I stepped into a large circular room with an antique marble floor and a high-domed ceiling. There were tapestries on the walls that I could tell were very old, as well as shelves filled with books and artifacts, each one looking far too valuable to even as much as breathe near, much less touch. Everything in the room felt as though it was from a different era. Even the metal lighting sconces on the walls looked like they had at one time held torches and had since been wired for modern lights. The whole thing was like stepping into another world; all we needed was a round table and some knights, and we could be in Camelot.
“This is incredible,” I breathed, tilting my head back and admiring the domed ceiling.
“We call it the Inner Chamber, and only a few people have access. It’s where all the sacred artifacts are housed, and where we hold meetings of the Order – or we used to anyway. Lately we’ve been going to Jocelyn’s office so we don’t have to stand the whole time,” he said, gesturing to the lack of chairs.
“Chloe mentioned that, what is it?”
“The Order? A small group of Holders all dedicated to… Well, let’s just say a common goal. Jocelyn is in charge, and then there’s myself, Mr Anderson, Mr Reid, Taron, and a woman named Min Stetz, who will actually be joining us here in a minute. There are a few others who help us on occasion, but they don’t reside here