Page 65 of Inception

“Precautions,” he said simply. “This particular sector of the Order isn’t open to the public, for obvious reasons. What goes on between these walls is one thing, the invaluable artifacts we safeguard here is another. We cannot allow just anyone to walk in.”

“What sort of artifacts?” I asked as I blindly followed him through the large, double doors at the end of the atrium.

My head was still turned to him when he lifted his chin, directing my attention into the room.

Two men stood together at the center of what looked like a large, empty assembly hall. The rectangular room had high ceilings, black and white tessellated flooring, and was flanked with theater-style seats on either side of the room. At the crown, a platform with seven leather chairs positioned at different intervals was regally presiding over the space.

I immediately recognized the man on the right as Gabriel. The other one was older, possibly in his late fifties, with hoary hair tapered around a smooth face, and he was wearing an all-black ankle length robe fashioned with silver buttons all the way down the front flap. It had the distinct look of a cassock though the wedding band on his finger made it apparent that he wasn’t a member of the clergy.

“This is she?” asked the man as we approached them. He already had his hand extended to me when he asked the question.

“Yes, my youngest niece, Jemma.”

I shook his hand and glanced over at Gabriel. He was standing quietly with his hands crossed in front of him and his head slightly lowered. He reminded me of a well-trained lackey.

“This is William Thompson,” said my uncle, steering my attention back to the man. “He’s our Council’s SeniorMagister.”

That tidbit told me nothing.

“I’m quite pleased to finally meet you, Jemma,” said William. “We’re all incredibly fond of your sister and the work she’s done. She’s one of our brightest pupils.”

My sister? I thought dimly.

Of course he knew Tessa. What was I thinking? She probably stood in this very spot, walked these very halls, trained in this very building. Strangely enough, the thought hadn’t occurred to me until just then.

“Indeed, she is,” agreed my uncle, the pride evident in his eyes whenever he spoke of Tessa. “Jemma has much to live up to, but let’s not forget that she too is a Blackburn. I imagine she’ll be a natural, just like her sister.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt it,” agreed William, his smile reaching all the way up to his benevolent brown eyes.

Um, I do. I couldn’t help but think of my past run-ins with vampires, particularly the last one with Dominic and how I’d only narrowly escaped with my life, thanks solely to Gabriel’s aid. Nothing about that feltnaturalto me, certainly not the part where I almost got myself killed.

My eyes bounced to Gabriel who smiled back faintly—probably out of pity, becauseheknew the truth.

“You’ll be in good hands with Gabriel,” assured William, catching our exchange. “He’s one of our finest Warriors, and truly an invaluable member of this Order.”

“Thank you, Magister.” Gabriel dipped his head in gratitude.

It was nice to know that not all Council members were against our pairing.

“Ah, Julian, right on time,” smiled William.

I followed his eyes to a slender, dark haired man that had come up from behind us. He greeted William and my uncle but made no eye contact with me or Gabriel.

“Julian here is one of our top Sentinels,” informed William. “He’ll be overseeing your training with Gabriel.”

“Overseeing?” I couldn’t help but wonder what that meant. Was he going to be evaluating my performance and reporting back to the Council? Or was he there to spy on us because they didn’t trust Gabriel to be alone with me?

“Think of him as a guard of sorts, for your protection. You won’t even notice him there.”

“Right.” I eyed Julian suspiciously.Spy it is.

“Very good then,” chimed my uncle after a brief repose of uncomfortable silence. “What do you say we leave them to it?”

“Certainly,” agreed William and then turned to Gabriel with his hand extended. “She’s in your hands now, Gabriel. Do right by her, and your brethren. I’ll expect to hear an update on her progress by the end of the week.”

“Of course.” Gabriel shook his hand, and then my uncle’s before leading us out of the room and back into the atrium.

I followed behind Gabriel and Julian as they led us through a slender corridor that connected to a large steel door on the opposite side of the atrium. We passed through the threshold in silence and descended a dark, winding staircase into the lower level of the building. The underground tunnels—built with a mixture of concrete, steel reinforcements, and fortified wood paneling—stretched deep into the underbelly of the cellar, and seemed to split off into several directions, each one peppered with doors at various points in the procession.

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