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“You won’t regret this, Commander,” said Roark.
“I know, but you might.”
Chapter Seven
Alarik donned a black cloak for the late meeting with the witch who supervised the monitoring of the Whorl and portals. An ancient and a traditionalist, Ursela expected him to conform to the old ways, to dress as their breed did centuries ago, long before even the Cambion walked among them. On the best of days, Ursela was cranky. So the director of the Ministry of Well Being had no plan to cross her in something so minor as an uncomfortable, pretentious robe.
Ursela sat with her spine rigid, hands in her lap, ready to report on the state of her department when Zora set a folder on his desk. His succubus assistant sashayed toward the door, the sway of her hips and her sultry smile a part of her nature, as impossible to control as a vampire’s need for blood.
Yet she had never tempted Alarik. Only Castia was his downfall, a purebred vampire and his true love. Though he was certain she felt the same about him, she never broke the ties with her family by taking him for her mate. They disapproved strongly of interbreed mating. Nonetheless, she bore two children with him, Rein and Elisabeta, leaving them in his care. Except for once with Rein when she forced a vampire Awakening upon him, she never interfered with their upbringing. Alarik condoned her intrusion on that occasion, believing his son was more vampire than warlock or incubus.
Rein forgave neither parent for his violent Awakening, his blood needs impossible to control for centuries. Even now, Alarik recognized the struggle he faced daily, the battle to manage the frenzy within him. With great power often came great anguish. So it was for his son, the perfect vampire, pure hunger, pure desire, restrained only by a sense of duty and honor. Alarik was fiercely proud of his offspring.
Ursela cleared her throat.
Alarik shook his head to erase his meandering thoughts. Lately, he ruminated too frequently on his past. Perhaps a crisis did that to a male. “What is the status of the Whorl and portals?”
The witch smoothed a fold in her dark cloak before speaking. “The Whorl continues to hold. It does, however, misbehave a bit.”
Alarik scooted his chair closer to his desk. “How?”
“Do you remember the glass in early windows?”
“You mean the wavy distortion, Ursela?”
“Yes. The glass was solid and transparent, but the view was deformed. This is the best description I can give.” She rested one hand over the other on her lap.
“What about the portals?”
“My crew who manages them asked me to join them yesterday. We linked so I could see what perplexed them. The gateways hold, but their behavior, like the Whorl, is odd.”
Alarik leaned onto his forearms to listen with care. “Can you describe this oddity for me?” Ursela was a witch who never raised alarms about her duties. She was direct, grouchy, often condescending but never troubled.
“Sometimes they emit a hum. On rare occasions, they flicker. Here. Gone. Here again.”
Alarik gripped a pencil.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
When Ursela arched a vexed brow, Alarik returned it to the holder. “Are you concerned the portals will fall?”
“Such is my job, is it not? To expect the worst so I may prevent it. But after my crew stabilized them, I ran a systems check. The gateways were good. In fact, in excellent condition.”
“Any other concerns?” Alarik eyed the pencil holder. It was so much easier to think with an object in his hand.
“Yes. A few of my mages who maintain the Whorl and portals are becoming ill.”
He cocked his head to the side. “What do you mean?”
She shifted in her seat, impossibly sitting straighter. “It’s nothing serious. After being on duty, they seem to have a case of motion sickness. Another strange occurrence.”
“Too many anomalous phenomena.”
Once again, Ursela patted the folds in her robe. “Indeed. Though everything remains intact, I am disturbed.”
With a thoughtful stroke of his chin, Alarik asked, “Have you consulted with Echo? Since she is chief historian, she may have records of similar occurrences in the past.”
“We met. She assigned several capable researchers to study the anomalies. Nothing.”
