Keeper

III. Vague, Yet Menacing

Morgan knocked on the door of her former training officer's office quietly, stomach still knotted into a tight ball. She'd thanked Áed, tipped him well for his help, and quickly exited Riverside's hollow hill after slamming her whiskey down. It was a shame not to enjoy the taste, but she beginning to get a very bad feeling. If something could frighten Áed so badly, she was up against something that she didn't understand and that was never good. If anyone knew something, it would be Stheno.

Keepers tended to reflect the myths and legends of the lands they were in, but in America, it was a veritable grab bag. People carried with them the magics and folklore of the countries they'd come from, mingling with what was already present in the new world. Hamistagan was particularly diverse, mostly because it was headquarters for the American branch of the agency. The fact that the building itself existed in numerous places and times simultaneously seldom did much for the confusion of the new hires or occasional visitors.

"Come in," a silky voice said.

The human keeper let herself in. Stheno was probably one of the most powerful of those guarding the way, though she didn't have Gayevoi's magic and was clearly one of the most monstrous keepers. Well, unless she was out among humans, when she used glamor to hide her appearance behind a façade. The one thing she couldn't help was her vision, which was why she wore mirrored shades everywhere she went, even in the dark. Her temper could put dragons to shame, not that Morgan had ever pushed it. Stheno had the face of a beautiful woman, though her sharp fangs were visible when she smiled. The hands that rested on her desk gleamed like brass and ended in vicious claws. In the place of hair were dusky red serpents that constantly moved, even if only slightly when she was calm. "I'm not bothering you, am I?" Morgan asked. Beady serpentine eyes focused on her along with Stheno's dark ones.

"Of course not," Stheno said, leaning back in her chair. She had a nicer office, but then again, she had serious seniority on Morgan. Paintings of columned temples and Mediterranean beaches decorated the walls, along with a beautiful, white marble Grecian statue of some heroic man in one corner across from a grandfather clock. Morgan had always done her best not to question how Stheno had acquired that statue, considering she was fairly certain she knew what the answer was. "Just have a seat and tell me what can I do for you. Unless this is a casual visit?"

"Unfortunately not. I have a question for you, about a case," the human said, taking a seat across the desk from her own old mentor. She'd been terrified of the gorgon at first—even more so than Gayevoi—and perhaps she hadn't been completely wrong, knowing her mentor's temper. Still, they had a good relationship, and if anyone would know anything, it would be Stheno.

"Shoot," the gorgon said with a smile meant to reassure. The fangs could be off-putting, but the human was used to them.

Morgan leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "What can you tell me about the Lords and Ladies?" she said.

Stheno's immediate response was to raise one eyebrow and purse her lips. She was quiet for a long moment, studying Morgan to try and gauge her seriousness. She sighed and leaned back in her chair once it became clear that this was a question with a relevant point. "You're in dangerous and uncharted waters if you're dealing with anything like them," Stheno said. "I've never heard of a human getting the best of them. They were old when I was young."

"What are they?" Morgan asked. "Spirits?"

"Something between spirit and human. Something divine," Stheno said. "Immortal. Their most recent incarnation is, well...I've read Tolkien and so much other fantasy about them. All your people remember now is how beautiful, how graceful, how noble they seemed. They've forgotten why they warded their homes with iron and stayed out of the woods at night. They've forgotten that the beauty is the beauty of a blade, a fire, a poison vine."