Ghosts of the Erlyn (Catalyst Book 3) by C.J. Aaron (books like beach read .TXT) 📕

the hallway, the bouncer stopped, turning to the door on his right. The dark wood featured an ornately scripted “Eight” carefully etched into its face. His gentle knock on the thick wooden door belied the strength of his bulging arms.

A moment later, a muffled, coarse female voice bid them enter.

He opened the door, moving a step across the threshold. The bouncer held the door ajar, waving his arm forward, beckoning Ryl and Andr into the room. His eyes followed them as they shuffled past, and he stepped inside after, closing the door behind him.

Ryl took a moment to survey the new room they’d entered. Thankfully, it was not a bedroom, but a stately adorned office. The lush red fabric covered the corners of the walls, leaving ample space for the large pieces of artwork that hung between them. Most images were scenes of serene natural settings, though a few were of women posed confidently in the nude.

To their left, a small circular table sat in the middle of the room. Four high backed chairs ringed its perimeter, and four sets of silver waited eagerly on either side of glossy white plates. At the end of the room was a massive desk, seemingly too large for the room it inhabited. A wall of pleated red fabric hung from floor to ceiling a few meters behind.

Sitting with her head down, a plain clothed woman readily scratched away on the ledger spread across the table in front of her. It was a few moments before she finished her writing, carefully placing the pen down, closing the large book, sliding it to the side. A single coin remained on the table in front of her.

She leaned back in her chair, tilting her head to the side, appraising them from afar.

“Step closer. These eyes don’t work quite as well as they used too,” her scratchy voice was hushed yet seemed to reverberate through the chamber.

Andr stepped forward, Ryl followed a pace behind just off the mercenary’s right shoulder. Something felt off about the room that he couldn’t place. His eyes rapidly studied the entirety. The woman had her hands folded comfortably on the table before her. She was small in stature, her face wizened with age yet kind. Her long silver hair was tied up casually into a bun that sat atop her head.

The curtain behind the desk, closer to the right wall shifted ever so slightly at its folds. He picked up the unmistakable creaking of a bow stretched to its peak.

The alexen in his blood coursed through his veins. He readied the speed and the wind should they be needed.

He stopped alongside Andr a few meters from the table. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the grin from the mercenary standing at his side.

Behind the desk, the woman collected the coin that remained on the surface. Her attention shifted from them to the gold in her hand. She examined it with a reverent care that was curious.

“There are few who would offer their gold to the Maiden. Few who knew the words you spoke,” she said questioningly as she carefully placed the coin down on the desk. “The last I heard, all had been dead for cycles.”

The woman rose slowly to her feet, rounding the table and stopping in front of Andr. She moved gracefully, with a lithe gait that belied her apparent age. Her eyes catalogued Andr curiously for several moments.

“I can clearly see my information was wrong,” she said with a smile.

“Aye, that it was,” Andr said quietly. “Hello, Breila. It’s been too long.”

Chapter 17

Ryl watched as the smile spread across the woman's face. An unseen weight seemed to peel from off her shoulders; she stood taller. Her posture straightened. Her eyes sparkled with the added moisture that welled in their corners. She took a quick step forward folding her arms around the mercenary.

Ryl stood silent, his eyes carefully observing the room suspiciously throughout the exchange. After what seemed like an eternity, the woman broke from the embrace, stepping back, eyeing the mercenary. Her amber colored eyes catalogued Andr, moving from head to toe, then back again.

After a moment, her gaze traveled to the bouncer still standing guard a few steps behind.

“Thank you, Findel. You and your men can stand down,” she said calmly.

Ryl heard the distinct creak of the bows as the tension was released from their limbs. A pair of muffled footsteps hastily moved behind the curtained false wall. He tracked the wave of motion as the curtains shifted from the wake of their movement. The soft click of a door announced their exit.

“Please, fetch us food,” Breila called to the bouncer, who'd yet to move from his station. “And a bottle of wine from my private cellar.”

“Yes, ma'am,” was all he replied with a shallow bow as he retreated from the room.

The tension Ryl felt hanging in the air diffused immediately. He exhaled a long, slow breath of relief as he relinquished his tentative hold over the powers at his command.

“Let us sit,” she said eagerly. “For I am anxious to hear the tale of how you've arisen from the dead.”

She moved to the table. Andr was a step ahead, pulling her chair out for her, waiting patiently as she gracefully eased herself into its comfortable embrace. The chair slid noiselessly across the tile floor as he eased her closer to the table. She leaned her elbows on the wooden surface, interlocking her fingers.

“Does your friend have a name?” Breila asked rhetorically. “Or a face?”

Andr chuckled as he rounded to his chair. He nodded at Ryl as he motioned for him to sit.

“Fear not, Ryl. We're in the company of a trusted friend,” Andr assured him.

Ryl was reluctant to remove his hood, though at the urging of Andr he obliged. He bowed slightly as he greeted Breila.

“It's a pleasure to meet you,” he announced politely, letting a wave of sincerity flow over the woman seated across from him. She shifted slightly