Ghost Silk (Ghost Perfume, Book 2) | ✔

17 - Now you see me - Part 2 (Lukas; Rose)

Lukas (continued)

Marcus walked slowly, eyeing the flowers blooming in the vases. The utter lack of weapons and family tapestries.

He didn't comment. He started grumbling again. "I must have been stuck waiting outside for over ten minutes after you confirmed that you were coming to open the gates, Michael."

"This is a place where I rarely get visitors."

Alexander ducked inside from the courtyard and snickered when he saw Marcus. "Can't you dress right for this world?"

"Why should I care for the fashions on this side?"

"Scotch?" I handed him a glass.

Marcus finally smiled. "A fashion I can understand. I once visited the island where it originated. It was very pretty."

Alexander turned back towards the courtyard, where he had been lighting the outdoor fires. I took the bottle and more glasses, and we followed after him.

Under the tarp, it was dry and warm to sit.

"You do have a charming home here, Michael."

"Thank you."

"Ahem. It's rather small. And I see you don't keep a servant except for Lukas."

What an ass. Three, two, one –

"The other one lit the fires," Michael said blandly, pouring his own glass. "But we're not formal here."

I glanced at Alexander. What's worse than an elder mediator?

Alexander's mouth tightened. Two elders.

Michael drummed a hand on the table. "At this point you would explain the rude surprise, Marcus."

Marcus put down his glass, instantly aggressive. "Is it rude, Michael? Is it?"

"It's the middle of the night."

"But do you consider it polite, Michael, moving house without a housewarming? No invitation to your friends. No explanations. And do you really think you could keep your existence a secret while you live so long among the humans? You can't seriously think we'd allow this state of affairs to continue too long. I –"

"No one has moved house," Alexander said. "This is Michael's secondary abode, which he's held for some time."

"We're staying here for the night, as we had a late meeting," Gabriel said.

"Michael's secondary abode," Marcus repeated. "Alexander, what would you consider Michael's primary home?"

"What is this, a trick question?"

"You have been highly peculiar, spending so much time in the material world," Marcus said to Michael. "I would imagine that your home is, as it always has been, in your palace in our realm. But I find myself wondering if it may not be the case."

"I like it here," Michael said. "I like to be away in the peace."

"A leader cannot be away. A leader must always be available."

Michael gave him a cold look, and his voice chilled. "Have I been accused of being unavailable?"

Marcus made a placating gesture. "But see how long it took for me merely to be shown in here. And should an emergency arise, I wonder whether you might be more likely to be found here, where you cannot respond immediately, than close by."

"I'm never more than twenty minutes away from my portal," Michael lied. "And look how easily you found me. How did you find me?"

Marcus smirked. "I looked for you yesterday. I could not find you. I looked for you again today, and I could not find you. And so I had to resort to tracking you down, as if you'd hidden away. As if you did not want to be found."