Page 2 of Oh, Sacred Dark
Already, Tyler knew his assumptions were correct—as the son of the high witch of his previous coven, Roman was bound to be used to a level of deferential treatment he wouldn’t find here.
“Roman,” Archie greeted. “Cross. Thank you for waiting. You’ve both eaten?”
“Yes,” Cross replied formally. “Thank you.”
Roman remained silent, although he nodded slightly. Tyler fought not to frown. Maybe he was just shy and wasn’t meaning to be disrespectful.
“Great,” Archie went on. “We have accommodations for both of you here in the Main House—I hope that’s okay. Of course, we can settle you into permanent housing after the six-month trial period, if all parties are happy moving forward. Cross, you’ve met Lark. Roman, this is Tyler. He’ll be taking care of you till the trial period is over, so if there’s anything you need…”
Again, all Roman did was nod, not a single emotion showing on his face. There was a moment of awkward silence before Lark got up and asked Cross to come with him, Tyler following suit. He exchanged a look with Archie as Roman got up with a huff. Archie just raised his eyebrows warningly.
Whatever. As if Tyler was going to be the problem in this little arrangement.
Tyler waved at Roman to follow as he walked out. “So you’re on the third floor, where the guest rooms are. This floor has some offices and meeting rooms, the lower floor is mainly made up of the kitchen, the dining room, and the rec room, although we also eat outside when the weather’s good.”
There was nothing but silence from behind Tyler, prompting him to turn around and check if Roman was still there as they walked up the stairs. The man had his eyes turned away as if he weren’t listening. Tyler forced himself not to comment on it.
“Breakfast is pretty casual—you can grab stuff all morning. Lunch is at one, though, and dinner at six thirty. People can be a little late, but we try to be on time.”
Tyler was relieved when they made it to their destination, opening the door.
“And here’s your room. Your suitcase is over there,” he pointed out needlessly.
Roman looked inside, walking forwards when Tyler waved him on.
“Attached bathroom, and like I said, the kitchen is communal. The key to the room is on that desk in case you want to lock it, although nobody is going to be stealing your stuff, obviously.”
Roman threw the space a cursory glance and nodded.
“Any questions?” Tyler asked.
Roman shook his head, and Tyler started wondering if he was mute, but Archie would have mentioned that if it were the case.
“Okay…I’ll check up on you in like a day or two. Give you time to settle in.”
For the first time, an expression crossed Roman’s face, so quickly Tyler couldn’t begin to decipher it.
Tyler frowned. “That okay? Do I need to come sooner?”
Finally, Roman spoke. “No. I’ll…I’ll be here.” His voice was soft and flat—uncaring.
“Right…okay.” Tyler stood there for a few more seconds before taking a step away. “I’ll leave you to it, then.”
Tyler closed the door at Roman’s nod, walking away slowly. There was an odd feeling in his stomach, as though Tyler had forgotten something, left something undone.
There was no denying Roman was a weird guy, but Tyler would be keeping a close eye on him.
If Roman was a danger, Tyler would find out.
**********
Despite Tyler’s insistence on being in charge of Roman, he had his own duties to take care of. A brutal storm had ransacked their coven a few weeks back, and although they had been pretty well prepared, they were still dealing with some damage.
Some covens duked it out for territory in big cities, but most were contained communities out in nature, where a lot of magic prospered. The Meliora coven contained about seven hundred people stretched over a five-and-a-half square mile area of semi-forested land—plenty of space for each person to own a home and at least a big garden, if not a small plot of land, with large communal areas and woodsy paths.
“Hey, Landon,” Tyler called as he approached the old man’s house. “How’s the tarp holding up?”
“Tyler,” Landon greeted, wrinkles multiplying on his brown face as he smiled. “Doing good, but happy you’re here to fix it. Bobby says he can’t sleep because of the noise the wind makes against it—you’d think the old grump had Listening Magic. Ears like a goddamn bat, that one.”
