thing I was, he sure wasn’t giving anything away.
“Stop!” a hidden voice shouted from nearby.
I froze dead on the path.
“What’s going on?” I whispered to Eli.
“Security measures.” Eli’s voice held a bored tone, like he had been through this a million times already.
Two men appeared from the bushes, pointing black machine guns at us. I felt the blood drain from my face. Sensing my discomfort, Eli took a slight step in front of me—protecting me from staring down the intimidating barrel. The men were camouflaged from head to toe in thick black and brown clothing. Even their face was covered by fabric and goggles.
“Mr De Luca, are you expected?” the man with the machine gun shouted, his voice muffled through the thin veil of mesh that covered his face.
“No.”
“Then turn around.”
Eli took a step toward them.
“What are you doing?” I whispered hastily, grabbing at his forearm.
“Tell Ivan that Ruby Moore and I would like to see him.”
He peered around Eli to get a better look at me. Being under his hidden gaze was nerve-racking. The masked man pulled a cell phone from one of his bazillion pockets and dialed a number. A few seconds later, he spoke.
“Ruby Moore and Eli De Luca are here to see you, sir.”
The loudspeaker was on and Mr. Aleksandrov’s voice played clearly. “Send them through.”
The gunmen stepped aside. In the trees, I spotted more people with guns, just waiting for an intruder...but what kind of intruder? Guns don’t kill vampires, unless it was a wooden bullet to the heart.
“What the hell was that?” I asked when we’d made it to the open field next to Mr. Aleksandrov’s house and my heart slowed down.
“The higher power’s new security team...”
“I thought Sage was safer than ever?” There was no point in a security team for Mr. Aleksandrov, he said himself the school was safer than ever.
“It is, but the council seems to think that nothing is concrete with magic.”
I frowned. They were willing to set up people with guns to protect a single grown man that already had god knows how many guardians at his disposal, but nothing to protect the students. That didn’t seem fair.
We approached the steps and I stared into one of the cameras, just waiting for the door to open. With an annoyingly loud buzz, it did. We were greeted by a young Indian woman, in her mid-twenties at most. Her hair was as dark as night and braided down the side of her head, stopping at her waist.
“Please come in. Mr. Aleksandrov is in the tea room.”
We thanked her and headed toward the tea room. Last time I was here, the house was empty. Mila and Mr. Aleksandrov were its only inhabitants. This time, there were guests, reporters, camera men, maids—the list went on and all of them eyed us strangely because we were in our gym clothes and Eli still had his towel slung over his shoulder. I couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe Mr. Aleksandrov had let all of this go to his head. One person doesn’t need so many people to depend on. We approached the tea room and the maid held the door open.
“Ah, Eli and Ruby, please, come sit down.”
The doors were closed behind us and the busy whispers disappeared. I was happy we could talk alone with Mr. Aleksandrov, away from his vast entourage. Eli and I took a seat across from him. I glanced around the room and noticed it had been remodelled. The beautiful antique gold-edged table we had sat around last time was replaced by a long, dark wooden table with chairs to match. It didn’t feel inviting or warm, it felt intimidating, like we weren’t worthy of his presence.
“Excuse the mess and the people. The council is still sorting everything out.”
I wanted to chastise him about the men with the guns, the maid at the door, the reporters, the camera man, and even the tea room, but those didn’t affect me directly. However, Mr. Aleksandrov making me one of his head guardians? That affected me, big time.
“I hear you made
“Stop!” a hidden voice shouted from nearby.
I froze dead on the path.
“What’s going on?” I whispered to Eli.
“Security measures.” Eli’s voice held a bored tone, like he had been through this a million times already.
Two men appeared from the bushes, pointing black machine guns at us. I felt the blood drain from my face. Sensing my discomfort, Eli took a slight step in front of me—protecting me from staring down the intimidating barrel. The men were camouflaged from head to toe in thick black and brown clothing. Even their face was covered by fabric and goggles.
“Mr De Luca, are you expected?” the man with the machine gun shouted, his voice muffled through the thin veil of mesh that covered his face.
“No.”
“Then turn around.”
Eli took a step toward them.
“What are you doing?” I whispered hastily, grabbing at his forearm.
“Tell Ivan that Ruby Moore and I would like to see him.”
He peered around Eli to get a better look at me. Being under his hidden gaze was nerve-racking. The masked man pulled a cell phone from one of his bazillion pockets and dialed a number. A few seconds later, he spoke.
“Ruby Moore and Eli De Luca are here to see you, sir.”
The loudspeaker was on and Mr. Aleksandrov’s voice played clearly. “Send them through.”
The gunmen stepped aside. In the trees, I spotted more people with guns, just waiting for an intruder...but what kind of intruder? Guns don’t kill vampires, unless it was a wooden bullet to the heart.
“What the hell was that?” I asked when we’d made it to the open field next to Mr. Aleksandrov’s house and my heart slowed down.
“The higher power’s new security team...”
“I thought Sage was safer than ever?” There was no point in a security team for Mr. Aleksandrov, he said himself the school was safer than ever.
“It is, but the council seems to think that nothing is concrete with magic.”
I frowned. They were willing to set up people with guns to protect a single grown man that already had god knows how many guardians at his disposal, but nothing to protect the students. That didn’t seem fair.
We approached the steps and I stared into one of the cameras, just waiting for the door to open. With an annoyingly loud buzz, it did. We were greeted by a young Indian woman, in her mid-twenties at most. Her hair was as dark as night and braided down the side of her head, stopping at her waist.
“Please come in. Mr. Aleksandrov is in the tea room.”
We thanked her and headed toward the tea room. Last time I was here, the house was empty. Mila and Mr. Aleksandrov were its only inhabitants. This time, there were guests, reporters, camera men, maids—the list went on and all of them eyed us strangely because we were in our gym clothes and Eli still had his towel slung over his shoulder. I couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe Mr. Aleksandrov had let all of this go to his head. One person doesn’t need so many people to depend on. We approached the tea room and the maid held the door open.
“Ah, Eli and Ruby, please, come sit down.”
The doors were closed behind us and the busy whispers disappeared. I was happy we could talk alone with Mr. Aleksandrov, away from his vast entourage. Eli and I took a seat across from him. I glanced around the room and noticed it had been remodelled. The beautiful antique gold-edged table we had sat around last time was replaced by a long, dark wooden table with chairs to match. It didn’t feel inviting or warm, it felt intimidating, like we weren’t worthy of his presence.
“Excuse the mess and the people. The council is still sorting everything out.”
I wanted to chastise him about the men with the guns, the maid at the door, the reporters, the camera man, and even the tea room, but those didn’t affect me directly. However, Mr. Aleksandrov making me one of his head guardians? That affected me, big time.
“I hear you made
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