Reflected

Chapter One

I lifted my head to stare at a sign directing travelers to restrooms, baggage claim, and customs, wondering what precisely it was about airports that made them all just look the same regardless of whether you were traveling for a photo shoot or to trace some secret church-endorsed brotherhood to its roots. Not that we had any idea whether Brother fucking Christian, the murder-agent-monk -- or whatever the fuck he was -- would lead us that far, but retracing his steps was what we had come to London for. And to Heathrow Airport.

The Prague train station had given me so much more, and with my camera bag slung over my shoulder and nothing useful to photograph, I gave in to the whimsicalness that came with little sleep, woke my phone, navigated to the photo app, and snapped a selfie with me and Auris in it.

The phone brought out my blue eyes, sharply contrasted against my pale skin, although Auris, pale and wearing nothing but black, was the pure embodiment of contrast.

I put my phone away again, and he put a hand on my back. Do you want to stop for a rapid test? He carried our bags, leaving me only with my camera bag. His hand settled at the small of my back, black eyes reflecting the light.

Oh. I glanced at the rest of our odd little group, Lucas, Danielle, and Matheo, the werepersons, and walking between Matheo and Lucas, Brother fucking Christian. Do you guys get sick?

Danielle turned, tugging her hair back behind her ear. My aunt swears she had a cold about half a year ago and blames it on the Covid. She’s a bit cuckoo, though.

We don’t, Lucas clarified. I assume, Auris, since we’re having you traveling with us, testing isn’t really mandatory?

Brother fucking Christian sort of growled. Auris had him entranced, but while the murder monk looked like he’d been on a three-day bender with his bloodshot eyes and wrinkled clothes, he was apparently still fighting Auris’s mind control.

It’s not, Auris said. Ethan?

Uhm, I guess I’ll let them swab me. Feels unfair not to. I remembered Auris saying something about how Christian had complained about having to take a test, back when he’d pretended he needed our help. And can you please make the medical staff ram a swab up that one’s nose?

I jerked my thumb at the Gladius agent.

I like him, Danielle said, jabbing her thumb at me. Ethan, I like you.

Thanks, I said.

Danielle, can you go get us a rental in the meantime? Lucas asked.

We were headed straight for the test station. At this time of the night and with us coming in on a charter flight rather than commercial, there wasn’t even a line there that Auris needed to help me skip.

Sure. Do I just -- She pointed at the medical staff in their protective gear.

Yes, go right past, Auris said.

The rest of our group moved along while Danielle hurried away.

Thanks to Auris, there was no paperwork at all for the test. I wasn’t a fan myself, but watching Brother Christian squirm as one of the staff did a very, very thorough swab of his nostrils was rewarding.

Don’t you look happy? Auris said. He drew me with him to a row of chairs, a sign next to them reminding people to keep two seats apart from each other. He didn’t and sat next to me.

I can’t believe we fell for him. I can’t believe I felt sorry for him. I took out my phone again and set the photo I’d just taken as my screen background. I should’ve probably set something nicer as my background to keep up my professional appearance, something more elaborate than a selfie, but Auris already had me set as his background, so this was only fair.

Back at the testing station, they finished with Christian, and Matheo roughly pulled him toward us, followed by Lucas, although the two gave Auris and me some space. Especially Lucas -- the green-eyed leader of the group was mindful of keeping his distance.

There was no way you could have known he wasn’t what he said he was, not when we found him by the bone church.

I sighed. I don’t want to move. I like Prague.

For now, we’ll not talk about moving. If this excursion goes as we hope, there will not be a reason to move.

Auris turned toward Lucas, caught his eye, and waved him over. The berserker -- bear -- still wore his light jacket and infinity scarf, a small backpack on his back.

Yes?

Where exactly is your safe house?

South of Kensington Park, Lucas said, glanced at me, then lowered his head. I was beginning to think that was either a show of respect or deference, possibly both. Ethan will be able to rest soon.

I’m fine, I said.

You’re tired, Auris said. "And you don’t enjoy being near him." He indicated Brother fucking Christian with a nod.

I snorted. You helped him, and then he wanted to do fuck knows what to you. I looked at Lucas, who met my gaze for once. Did he tell you anything about your friend? That vampire?

Our Gladius agent grudgingly admitted Jonathan’s alive, Lucas said.

Before I could ask about Jonathan, about how long they had been looking for him, Danielle came back, twirling car keys.

I’m driving, she said.

Lucas turned. Nope. I’ll drive. Remember the last time you tried sticking to the left side of the road and almost failed?

"I remember," Matheo grumbled.

Danielle rolled her eyes. Fine, but what’s that thing you say to get the passenger seat?

Shotgun, I said.

For reasons I couldn’t begin to understand, I got an especially dirty look from Christian for that. Maybe he wanted a shotgun. Maybe he thought I was disgusting for chatting with Danielle. Maybe he just didn’t like me very much.

Christian, sweetheart, Auris said. You’ll make Ethan angry if you glare like that. Consider looking elsewhere before he pockets nasal swabs to torment you with later.

Christian had enough time to consider that and look away before one of the test personnel walked over and handed two negative results to Matheo. With that done, our strange group traversed the airport in relative silence.

* * *

Danielle had rented a black van. Lucas took the driver’s seat, and Danielle jumped in the front with him after I surrendered the privilege to her. Matheo shoved Christian in the back, and Auris drew me into the middle seat next to him. All this happened with minimal talking and the kind of coordinated speed that told me our three new friends had done this before.

The London skyline wasn’t anything at all like Prague, and yet there were similarities: lights and colors, those old buildings, sprinkled within the glass and steel ones of a newer, brighter age.

As we got into the city, I lowered my window to take a few nighttime pictures out of the moving car, allowing the lights to blur with exposure like watercolor brush strokes. The snow that had descended and the sky turned into a canvas by dense cloud cover worked in unison to reflect and break up the illumination, and what it did was allow me to capture the outlines of the buildings against the sky. In some images, they appeared like kaiju almost, something gigantic dominating the multitude of small humans beneath.

The urge to go through the photos after I was done was there, but I didn’t want to let Christian see. Knowing he’d followed us before in Prague, knowing he and his cronies had intruded on those precious moments, that was already more than I was okay with, and I didn’t want him to gloat now, even if he could just do that in his own head.

Next to me Auris was tense. I don’t think anyone but me knew. He was quiet, subdued. At the same time, he sat close to me, stroked the back of my hand with his glass-like nails while seemingly looking off into the distance.

Is he still fighting your entrancement? I asked.

I caught Lucas looking back at me through the rearview mirror.

He is, Auris said.

Danielle turned around in her seat. So, you two, all by yourself. In the Prague National Museum. With the priests. How did that go?

I saw Auris open his mouth, but before he could, I said, I found an almost empty rum bottle and went to raid the museum shop.

Lucas chuckled. Those damn socks.

He stole them. Auris doesn’t wear colors, I said. He --

My sweet, don’t you dare.

He’s been considering a vampire cult. I knew when I really said it out loud that I needed sleep. At the same time, I hoped that Brother Christian would be very and excruciatingly annoyed at the idea. Maybe he’d even take me literally. That would be fun.

Danielle’s eyes narrowed. Then what are you? A cult bride?

I was hoping more for the cult leader position, I said. Auris was grinning. It looked intimidating. It was too wide a grin.

I don’t see it, Danielle said after appearing to give it a good five seconds of consideration.

See, my sweet? Finally someone else disabusing you of that unhealthy fixation of yours, Auris said.

Danielle stared at me a while longer, then turned back around. I wasn’t a complete idiot. She wanted to know what exactly had happened in the museum, and then when that unraveled, she would want to know everything else that had happened before, everything that had brought me and Auris together and had then flung us across the Atlantic during a pandemic. I’d need a quiet moment with Auris to talk about what he thought we should tell the weres, who were, after all, still strangers. Although I did like them. And I really wanted to know what they looked like as wolves. And what Lucas looked like when he went full berserker, well, bear.

Lucas didn’t let a minute lapse before he said, I apologize. We do not mean to pry.

You and yours gave no offense, Auris said. But Ethan is unused to being in those kinds of situations, both when they happen and when they return in memories and tales.

I’m fine, I said, but Auris squeezed my hand, a small gesture that still shushed me and made me feel cared for.

Apologies, Lucas said once more, but this time looked into my eyes from the rearview.

The rest of the drive was quiet but for Christian’s frustrated groans that came every now and then. I hoped that place we were headed to had a basement he could get comfortable in.

* * *

The safe house had a garage the door to which Danielle activated from her phone. She was apparently able to run the whole place from her phone, although a number lock by the door that connected the parking garage to the rest of the house would allow access to regular people, provided they managed to get into the garage in the first place and knew the code.

Not the thing I imagined when you guys said ‘safe house,’ I said.

Auris had taken my hand when he went through to the interior, following Lucas. Danielle and Matheo had vanished to put Brother Christian away wherever they kept their hostage guests in such a fancy space.

It’s not much, but it’s functional, Lucas said, leading us into the building which, despite having no black anywhere I could see, seemed icy compared to the apartment in Prague.

This house was dominated by concrete and glass, the windows darkened by metal shutters. No curtains covered the angular windows. When Lucas switched on the lights one after the other, it revealed more of the same, three rooms with one glass wall each facing the corridor we were in, just like conference rooms in fancy offices.

Except here, one was a kitchen with a long, rectangular dining room table, another was a tech setup, and yet a