Madeline Jordan

Serse

Novel extract

The tube doors slammed right in her face. It hurt her ego, but it was probably for the best; she had no idea if that was even the correct train. Better to wait than to be wrong and more lost than she already was.

Serse David walked around the station, resembling a tourist in her new city. She didn’t resemble a tourist; in many ways she still was one. Her family had moved to their new post less than a fortnight ago. At this point it was just a long vacation.

The hustle and bustle of London continued to move around her, not sparing her a second glance. She was used to feeling like a face in the crowd. The David family had lived in many busy cities throughout her life. The only problem was that Serse felt a bit more on her own this time around. She was technically old enough to be figuring life out herself, but it would be so much nicer if someone would just do it for her.

Serse had spent the first 18 years of her life homeschooled. Kept in a bit of a bubble by her mother. From what she knew, that was the norm for witches; not that there were many left to consult with. When she finally left that bubble for university it was jarring. All of a sudden, the real world was thrust upon her, and she couldn’t say she enjoyed it. Thankfully she had gone to school in a city she already known and loved. London on the other hand was a much different story. She was en route to start her first real job, and she had no idea how to get there. She hadn’t done as much studying of the maps since she arrived. Frankly, she had barely left her new house. At least that was nice.

Her mother had said she needed to take the Mythic Line to the HQ. The only problem: there was not a singular sign for that line in this station. Or any station for that matter (she had checked on her phone). If she was remembering correctly their family had taken that line, the other day. The only problem was that she had no idea where she had been or even where she was currently. People had made it seem like London was so easy to navigate but it sure didn’t feel that way right now.

As if it were a bolt of lightning, a memory hit Serse. Suddenly she recalled how her family had found that line, how they had gotten to the platform. It was her mother. Aurelia had revealed it to them. Serse had never been as grateful to be a witch as she was in this moment. She may not know much about her people, but she knew how to use her abilities. Lucky for her it was not a low point in the month for her. The moon was on her side today.

She paused in the center of the busy station, closed her eyes, and let the world continue around her. She blocked out the movement around her and tuned out the noise. She reached inward as much as she could, until she felt a calmness wash over her, there it was. She grabbed hold of that sense of calm, held it in the palm of her hand, and crushed it. Smashed it, pulverized it, whatever you would call a complete decimation of serenity. She opened her eyes and like an airplane tarmac, her path was lit for her. There were still no signs, nothing out of sorts except for lights emanating from nowhere, lighting her way. She looked around, to make sure no one else was any the wiser to her powers, and once the coast was clear, she followed the path.

The world around her seemed to slow, people walked slower, talked slower, and trains were boarded at a snail’s pace. Serse put that out of her mind and focused on the task at hand. She wove in and out of foot traffic, careful not to run anyone over, or to lose her lighted pathway. She made sure to keep her head up and her wits about her. Her father loved to tell her how easily distracted she could get. He always joked about the time she walked into a koi pond at a Japanese garden because she was looking at the greenery and not where the bridge ended. He rubbed in how detrimental her lack of awareness could be in battle. Ha, as if she’d ever be in that position. War was unnecessary since the Reckoning and hopefully it stayed that way. She was barely equipped to navigate a new city, let alone a battlefield. She had already almost tripped over a small dog and a rogue suitcase. Needless to say, awareness of her surroundings was not a skill Serse possessed.

What she was painfully aware of at this moment was how odd her mother had been acting as of late. Aurelia David was a powerful woman (and very powerful witch) and with that came powerful emotions. Her mother was known for her famous mood swings that coincided with the moon. It was normal for witches to have these, but her mother seemed to take it to an entire new level.

Maybe it wasn’t on purpose, her mother had been off recently, not herself. She seemed swamped with work in a way that was abnormal for her. When they first moved to Venice her mother scheduled a tour for the family around the city. They saw all of the canals and hidden walkways throughout the city. It seemed she was slacking in London, letting them all learn on the job, and get lost doing so. If work wasn’t the problem the alternative was that Serse’s mother was ignoring her and that couldn’t be the case, right?

Frankly, none of them had been themselves since they got to their new post. Her mother had been scrambling to tamp down this rebellion that seemed to come from nowhere. While her father and Elissa were busy with their new pack assignments. Her father was the Mythic Pack Leader, but the London base seemed different. He came home exhausted and unsure; her father was never unsure. Not that he would ever talk about a struggle at his new post. Her father was known for hiding those emotions to push forward, ever forward. Elissa on the other hand looked insanely overwhelmed, she normally didn’t confide in her sister, but Serse could only hope she would. Being a family that sat at the head of two different Mythic bodies should split them, but her mother and father would never allow that to happen. She started to wonder if that’s what was happening here, but she had to keep her head above water and contemplating that would only do the opposite.

She watched the people of her new city flow by her. She was enraptured with her new city. She had carved a small place for herself in every city she had inhabited, and she had the same plan for London. Serse didn’t need to take over London, she didn’t need to make herself known, she just had to stay sane. Figure out the shit with her family and survive this new job.

Finally, she arrived at the platform. It was on the opposite side of all of the others, hidden from those without the Sight. She was relieved to have found it, but goddess her mother could have given better directions. She looked down, straightened her pinstripe dress (one that her mom picked out), and fixed her hair.

The train rolled in, ruining every part of herself she had fixed. The wind the train produced was more than she had ever felt in the past. It ruffled her dress, knotted her hair, even got some of that hair in her lip gloss. While she didn’t expect to show up to work looking picture perfect, this was problematic. It seemed the city had it out for her on her first real day.

So, this is how London wanted to play? Game on.

She fixed her hair and makeup in the reflection of the window as best she could and stepped onto the train, ready for her first day on the job.

* * *

“You’re the new intern?”

Serse jumped. She had been caught staring at the gorgeous building in front of her. Of all the Mythic buildings she had seen all over the world, the London Mythic Headquarters was in a league of its own. Most tended to represent the area in which they inhabited, and London’s headquarters did exactly that. The architecture felt simultaneously ancient and modern, just like the city, a mixture of all the long years it had endured. It held an aura of elegance while still feeling approachable, something you’d photograph or meet a friend inside for lunch. She couldn’t help but stare in awe, unable to believe that she got to work here every day.

She made eye contact with the man on the other side of the large corridor. He looked less like other gargoyles she’s seen. This man appeared to be in a constant state of transition. He had the horns of a gargoyle and the face of a man; it was abnormal for those to appear simultaneously. Maybe it was normal for them to appear this way in the headquarters? She’d have to get used to that, especially if everyone appeared as a transitional form, even the shifters.

She nodded in response, and he motioned for her to follow. She picked up her things, struggling to keep pace with him, his legs were that of a grey cement ram. Maybe this was how all gargoyles appeared normally. Compared to other beings her age she had been a bit sheltered; the life of a young witch is sacred. She had only ever heard what her mother had told her, what she had shared from her personal experiences. Her mother loved to share, at least that’s what she thought. It appeared her mother didn’t share a lot about how these places actually functioned. She hadn’t said much about how the different beings interacted in this particular office, or even what they looked like. What else did she choose not to share? What else should she prepare herself to be surprised by? Everything here felt so out of her realm of knowledge, even though it shouldn’t be.

Why did she know so little about the world she had resided in her entire life?

“Pick up the pace kid.” The gargoyle yelled over his shoulder. Serse took larger steps to keep up, barely staying on his heels.

Everything around her felt so new, so different from their past posts. Granted, Serse has never been given a government internship that coincided with her mother’s ambassadorship. She had never been given this kind of inside access, ever. This was her first real look into the inner workings of the Mythic government, and it was definitely not what she expected. Whatever expectations she had were based on things she had read, and no one had ever said much about the London base. Looking past the fact that every being seems to be in a state of transition (except for her of course, witches don’t have a separate form), they all seem to be working together for their mutual benefit. She remembered in New Delhi that the vampires were ousted from the main government office and had to have their own next door. In daily practice, this required additional staffers to be the go between, costing Mythic creatures millions of tax dollars annually. Whereas in Buenos Aires, the Mythic government was split in two, the water-born and the earth-born. The two offices existed next to each other but never interacted. They only met twice a year to discuss massive issues and budget plans. Serse never understood how her mother put up with any of those systems, she must be grateful that this place is much more well-oiled.

The gargoyle in front of Serse came to a stop, distracted, her feet continued to move forward, ramming her into his rock hard back. She peeked around the solid creature to see an unopened door in front of them. He pointed to the doorway, gesturing for her to open it herself. Wasn’t that his job? She pushed open the massive ornate doors and was immediately awestruck by the massive library that awaited her. The ceilings were high enough to reach the clouds with books filling every available space along the way. Wheeled ladders cover the remaining space, allowing people to slide from shelf to shelf. She watched as people moved from area to area with piles of books. At least she thought they were people, from this angle everyone looked so small she was unable to discern any kind of species resemblance. She was awestruck by the sheer volume of works now at the palms of her hands. She wanted to be married in this library and then buried here decades later. If possible, she’d like to have her first-born child here and then name them library or archive, or whatever stupid guy’s name was on the outside of the room.

“Really Walter? This is who you brought me?”

Serse turned to find a gorgeous specimen standing to her right. He looked no more than twenty-four but held himself as though he was much older. His shoulders slumped forward, as though they held the weight of the world. He couldn’t hold himself up, tied down by the expectations of others. She looked up, latching onto the bags under his eyes. They weren’t particularly noticeable, but she could tell they didn’t fit in with the rest of his picture-perfect face. Those eyes, she couldn’t help but get stuck on his eyes. They were the most calming color of green, a green she hadn’t seen since she was a child in Whistler. She used to run through the woods behind their home there. It seemed to go on forever, at least in the eyes of a 6-year-old. Those eyes made her feel the same way that forest did, safe.

“Hello?” he spoke again.

Shit, her staring problem reared its ugly head. He waved his hand in front of her face to get her attention, a bit rude.

“Oh, um.” She couldn’t seem to form words. It was like her tongue was too big for her mouth. Sadly, it wasn’t an allergic reaction, that probably would have been less embarrassing to explain.

“Cat got your tongue?” He was taking the piss out of her. At least that’s what she thought the Brits said. If not, then he was just being a dick.

“Sorry, I’m just a little out of it.” Serse responded.

“Ya, I can tell.” Serse cringed, this was not the best way to start out a new position. She was ruining this already and all she had done was walk in.

He continued. “What’s your name?”

“Serse David.”

He reached out his hand to shake hers, “I’m Nessan Adlani.”

Serse shook his hand, unsure and confused, her grasp was loose. She knew he looked familiar. Maybe her mother had shown her photos of the Adlani family in the past. Or maybe she had seen something online about them, the brothers and their relationship statuses were always the hottest Mythic gossip. Why was he here? This was the son of the Mythic head Ronen Adlani. Why is he leading her internship program? This felt unnecessary. He should be preparing for some higher government position. Some kind of administrative position is usually given to the siblings of the Head. His aunt is Head of the Department of Mythic Justice. He could probably do that too. It wasn’t that hard, from what she knew they just pardoned important people for war crimes, nothing major.

Her confusion and trepidation must have shown on her face because the man in front of her gave the same look right back. In a mocking manner or a legitimate look of confusion she wasn’t sure.

“I assume the last name caught you off guard.” Well, that was embarrassing. She hated it when her emotions showed so strongly on her face. Her father always said she could never play poker, good thing she never even tried.

“No,” she responded firmly. “No, nothing like that.”

“You don’t have to lie to me, Serse.” He was a bit nice actually, he probably got this kind of reaction often, so it was nice he wasn’t rude about it.

She blushed. “Okay, I was caught a little off guard.”

“Honest. I like it.” He laughed as he said it, as if he couldn’t hold the sound back.

“You told me not to lie to you!”

“Yes, but most people still do.” Wow, that must suck. She would hate it if people lied to her just to placate her. People used her for her mother or her father but at least everyone she met didn’t do that.

“I can lie if you really want me to.” She thought this might be flirting. If not, she was just messing with him a bit, it didn’t matter to her.

“No, I like this honesty, it’s refreshing.”