Into the Spotlight by Heather Long

ring shattered the silence and jerked him around. Half hoping it was Jeannie calling to ask him if she could come back up, he plucked the handset from the cradle.
    “Reynolds.”
    “Mr. Reynolds. The Overseers will see you now. Please attend them.” The woman’s whispery, exotic accent cooled the ardor in his blood. His balls tightened with regret. Primed for sex was not how he envisioned the meeting, but rescheduling now would be an insult and could lengthen his stay at the Royale by weeks.
    Fifteen minutes later, he stood in the elevator as it ascended nearly to the top floor of the resort’s upper echelons. The doors parted to a single hallway that stretched a hundred feet to a solitary door. The institutional color matched the interrogation room he’d met Frederick in, but since much of the Arcana Royale relied on magic and illusion, he didn’t allow the lack of ornamentation to fool him.
    The gray-colored door swung inwards when he was less than a step away. Malcolm steadied his expressions, maintained his respiration and heart rate and focused on the task at hand. He shuttered Jeannie away in a safe place deep in the back of his mind. He still hadn’t made up his mind on whether the alluring siren was a trap by the Overseers or not.
    He also hadn’t decided if he cared. Still, it would be better for negotiations if his attraction for her remained secure and hidden. The door opened into a star chamber-like setting. Five chairs were arrayed in a semi-circle against a half-moon table.
    Five figures occupied the chairs, shrouded in gray cloaks. Their hidden faces betrayed no nuance of whom or what they were. The intimidation inherent to that nothingness impressed Malcolm. He walked several paces into the room and stopped. Each being represented a powerful interest in the Arcana Royale. Rumors of their identities floated through social circles around the world, but anyone who actually knew kept their code of silence.
    The Overseers didn’t want to be known and they weren’t. Malcolm inclined his head low enough to politely acknowledge their place in the power structure, but not so low as to signify obeisance.
    “Present your case, Mr. Reynolds.” The laconic instruction came from the gender-neutral figure on the far left. Despite their lack of color, gender or expression, the words echoed with a masculine tone.
    “I represent the Reynolds family in the matter of Frederick Reynolds’s incarceration. As a show of good faith, we would request that you release him into my custody.”
    “Is that the extent of your case, Mr. Reynolds?” The sibilant words came from the figure in the center of the five.
    “At this time, I am still investigating the charges. For example, with regard to the matter of the missing incubus, this charge has no merit as the incubus left with the two women accompanying Frederick Reynolds. He was not involved in the demon’s exodus.”
    “Yet, he accepted responsibility when we informed him of Adon’s abandonment of his duties.”
    “No culpability on the part of Frederick Reynolds should be admitted for the time he was without representation.” Malcolm resisted the urge to frown. His cousin really should have kept his mouth shut until he arrived.
    “The abduction of our property is hardly the greatest of charges facing Frederick Reynolds.” This from the figure on the far right, a distinctly feminine voice that dripped an icy chill down his spine with each carefully pronounced word. “I have no objection to dismissing the charges related to Adon provided that the Reynolds family exert its influence to encourage his return.”
    Not an unfair request. He didn’t have to force the incubus back, but he could refuse the twins any shelter and contact their family. “Agreed.”
    “The other charges stand. We shall consider his punishment.” The first figure with his masculine voice spoke as though the matter was settled.
    “No.” Malcolm took one step forward. “Mitigating factors