Imagineer, p.8
Imagineer, page 8
part #1 of Imagineer Series
“Sounds like it.” Part of me felt overwhelmed by it all, but most of me tingled with anticipation. “Um, when do we start?”
“Not today,” Zoya answered thoughtfully. Her eyes went to the ceiling as she considered who-knew-what. “There’s much to do to prepare you first. We’ll start next weekend. I have a general guide of mental exercises I’ll give you first, as we must train your mind before you can do anything.”
That sounded reasonable to me. After all, I had at least one—potentially two—house guests/bodyguards I’d have to settle in with as well. And that would take at least two or three days, as the bedrooms at the house were completely empty. Moving them in would take a little while. Not to mention the kitchen and living room were something of a disaster because I’d been ignoring them for three weeks solid. I should probably clean up first before anyone followed me home.
“Okay. Um. How do I stay in contact with you?”
“I do have a phone, devushka,” Zoya answered, eyes twinkling in amusement. “The magical world likes technology, just like everyone else.”
So no Harry Potter-esque situations? Color me relieved. “Great. Can we exchange numbers, then?”
Zoya waited for me to pull my phone out of my purse and then rattled off her number. I saved it under Mactep to help me remember the word. She handed me her phone and I typed in mine. I almost didn’t put a name to it, but she was my master, right? She should know my full name. So I typed that in—Reagan Hunt.
She accepted her phone back and lifted both eyebrows to see my name there. “You were wise to be cautious, but those of the clan can know your name. They won’t abuse it.”
“That’s a relief,” I sighed, and smiled. “Good. Mactep, um, this might be a stupid question. But is an Imagineer a full-time position? Like, can I make this a career?”
“Of course.” Her head canted as she took me in. “It’s much like being a physician, or a repairman. There is always plenty of work to be done. Once you are trained, a master yourself, I can promise you you’ll be kept quite busy.”
That excited me. “So do I need to go to college?”
“A college degree will not help you in this,” she said with a shake of the head. “You must learn from me, and through your own studies. Learning from a Nixed institute of study has little benefit. A few have pursued degrees, though, and found it helpful.”
I put a hand over my heart, happy to hear it, and relieved as well. My parents were quite adamant about me going to college, but in truth, no career path appealed to me. I hated the idea of studying something for four years I had no passion about. Seemed like a waste of time and money. But studying under this woman and then stepping into a magical career I was talented in? Yeah, bring it. “That’s great. That’s what I would prefer to do.”
Zoya gave me a nod and understanding smile. “Da, it is a better fit for you. Ah. Mitsuki-sama, I see you have found two people?”
“So I have.”
I turned, rearranging my legs carefully as I did so to avoid knocking into the table, then stood as I realized he was followed by two men. Well, I say men, but only one of them looked remotely human. One of them stood tall and thin, his hair a romantic sweep of collar-length midnight black, mesmerizing deep-sea blue eyes set in moonlight-white skin. Handsome in an otherworldly way, he was sharply dressed in a forest green three-piece suit so dark it looked black. The other was short enough to be a dwarf’s height, also in a respectable-looking suit of brown, but he looked almost goblin to me—short, wispy, tawny-colored hair; pointy ears; sharp chin; his feet bare and clawed. Only difference was, he didn’t have green skin, more of a dark sand color.
Not wanting to be rude, I inclined my head in a sort of bow to both of them. That pleased both, and they smiled back and returned the gesture. Okay, bowing was good. Remember that.
“Rea, I have asked two of our stronger members to be your guardians,” Mitsuki informed me with an elegant gesture to the two at his side. “They very enthusiastically agreed. This is Klaus,” he indicated the shorter creature, “a kobold. Do you know what they are?”
My mouth went a little dry. Oh boy did I ever. The German kobold were much like an English brownie, or a French goblin. They were generally known to be the caretakers of a household. They were infinitely loyal to a family once they bonded to one, and as long as they were shown respect and not insulted, would stay with that family until the line died out. They were gentle enough on a day-to-day basis, but fierce and ruthless if riled. No one sane messed with a kobold.
I managed to find my tongue long enough to answer, “Yes, Mitsuki-sama, I’m familiar with the race in general. Mister Klaus, you honor me by coming to my family. Thank you.”
His mouth split in a grin, revealing lots of pointy teeth. “You’re well-mannered. Good. Mitsuki-sama said you were. I am honored to be chosen to safeguard a young Imagineer. Not many people are extended that invitation. You have a house for me to manage too, yes?”
“Uh, yes.” I winced at the knowledge of how I’d left it. “It’s, uh, well it’s really messy at the moment. I haven’t done many chores in the past three weeks. I was kinda distracted by, um, everything else.”
He tsked me. “That’s no longer your worry.”
Okay, as long as he wasn’t going to rip me limb from limb for leaving the house dirty, it was all good.
“And this is Ciarán,” Mitsuki-sama introduced with another wave of the hand. “He is a pooka.”
My eyes bugged out of my head. When Mitsuki called in the heavy hitters, he wasn’t doing it by half-measures, was he? The pooka were amazing shapeshifters from Celtic mythology, able to take any form from goat to seal. They were benevolent by nature, as they liked to be helpful to humans, often safeguarding them from malevolent fairies or spirits. But man, don’t piss them off. They were terrifying—all the legends agreed.
“Miss Rea,” Ciarán greeted with an elegant bow. “I am delighted to meet you.”
I had to reboot my mouth to get it running again. “Thank you, Mister Ciarán, nice to meet you too. Wow, uh, what can I say? I feel suddenly much safer now. Both of you have formidable reputations.”
They grinned at me in twin male delight over being described as ‘formidable.’ But then, I think most men probably liked to think of themselves as tough as nails. That attitude apparently transcended species. I glanced back at Zoya to get her take on Mitsuki’s choices.
My master regarded both men through narrowed eyes before stabbing a finger in their direction. “Both of you, you keep a close watch on her. She has no family to protect her. You are family now, da?”
“We won’t let anyone touch her,” Klaus promised faithfully. “We don’t dare. You’ll skewer us. If Mitsuki-sama doesn’t do it first. And truly, Rea, we are pleased beyond measure you’ve joined us. An Imagineer is always a blessing to a clan.”
I smiled back, trying not to feel overwhelmed by all this and failing completely. Yeah, I’d need to sleep on this for a while before it felt normal. “Thanks. Uh, not sure what to do first. You want me to show you to the house so you can figure out what you need to settle in? Or…Mitsuki-sama, you said you wanted to speak with my grandmother too.”
He nodded in confirmation. “Yes, but I have other business to attend to this morning. We can go in the afternoon. Show them to the house first, I’ll come and fetch you later.”
“Sure.” I wasn’t sure if Zoya intended to go with, but when I glanced back, she waved me on. Okay, then. I stooped down, collected my purse, smiled, and bowed a quick goodbye at Brigid, because not pissing a goddess off seemed like a good idea. Only then did I leave the room with my two new guardians.
Let me just say, nothing in my life prepared me to walk out of a Japanese castle with two intimidating creatures tagging on my heels like bodyguards. I wasn’t VIP enough for this, seriously. It felt awwwwkard. But at the same time, I looked forward to really getting to know them. As we walked, I kept glancing at them, one on either side, and tried to get a general idea of how they felt about this.
“So, um, did you really volunteer? Or were you voluntold?”
“We didn’t need to be commanded,” Klaus assured me, a benevolent expression on his face as he looked up to meet my eyes. “Mitsuki-sama came to us both and explained the situation. He didn’t even need to ask. You don’t understand your position among us yet, Miss Rea, but be assured we are very happy to be with you.”
Well that just gave a girl happy tingles.
“While we respect Master Zoya a great deal, we also worried about the near future,” Ciarán added. “She’s human and growing very old. We didn’t know what would happen to the clan when she became too old to work. Your discovery eases our minds.”
Oh. Yeah, duh, if their only Imagineer was in her golden years, of course they’d be worried about that.
“Yeah, makes sense. Well, I don’t know how you two want to work this. There’s three empty bedrooms in the house, and I do mean empty. No furniture in any of them. Mister Klaus, I assume you want to actually stay with me?”
“Yes,” Klaus said as if it was obvious. “I will remain in the house from now on. Unless, of course, you move, and then I move with you.”
It seemed a bit much for him to latch onto me so quickly, but I didn’t question it. According to legend, that was just how kobolds operated. They either liked you and followed you around the rest of your life, or hated your guts and chopped you up into a stew. “Yeah, I figured. Mister Ciarán, what about you?”
“Ciarán,” he corrected me with a sweet smile, lifting a hand to stay me before we exited through the main gate. “While you may be in training, you are an Imagineer. You are not below me in station.”
I blinked up at him. That seemed odd to me. Ciarán had the eternal, ageless look like most of the supernatural creatures I’d seen, but something made him seem middle-aged to me. Was it the square jawline? The wider width of his chest and shoulders? I couldn’t put a finger on it, but I knew he had to be much, much older than he looked. “Am I really?”
“You’ll understand in time,” he promised, giving me a pat on the head. I felt five. “And yes, I will live with you, at least until you are a master Imagineer. It’s too dangerous otherwise. Klaus is fierce, but there are dangers in this world that can threaten even him, and we do not want to leave your defenses up to one person. This way, too, we can switch with each other. Klaus will see to your protection at night, and I’ll be with you during the day.”
It sounded like a sensible approach, but I still felt surprised by it. They could drop everything they were doing and switch to protecting me full time? I’d have to dig into this later and figure it out. Otherwise it’d bug me. “Okay. Then let’s go, that way you can see which rooms you’d like. I guess ride with me?”
“Certainly,” Klaus answered briskly before stepping through the gate. “Hanan, Shiro, we’re escorting Miss Rea back to her house. From now on, anything regarding her is to be reported directly to myself, Ciarán, and Master Zoya.”
Shiro inclined his head in understanding. “We will do so. Do I understand that Rea-san is now a part of our clan and Master Zoya’s student?”
“She is,” Klaus confirmed.
“Excellent. Welcome, Rea-san.”
I smiled up at him and strangely felt a little shy. “Thank you, Shiro-san.”
We left them behind and crossed the street to my car. I slipped into the driver’s seat, the other two climbing in as well, and we drove off.
Thankfully, it was a short trip, which kept things from feeling even more awkward. I pulled up in front of my house and parked, all of us getting out, and I could see the way they evaluated the two-story thoughtfully. I paused after unlocking the door, wincing, and apologized over my shoulder, “Seriously, sorry about the mess.”
“It can’t be that bad—” Ciarán started, then got a good look over my head toward the inside. “Well. Perhaps it can.”
Klaus just sighed. “I see now why Master came to me.”
I shrugged, not knowing what else to say. I normally kept the house up better than this. But I doubted either of them would believe me at the moment. “So, um, let me give you a grand tour. This is the kitchen and dining room, obviously. There’s a formal living room through here,” I walked them through the dining room (which I never used) into the stuffy living room with its antique furniture and starched chairs, then through another doorway. “This is the library, and honestly, I spend most of my time in here.”
They took in the room with appreciation. It wasn’t a small room, and the walls were all built-in shelves, crammed with books, most of them mine. I had a single desk in the middle of the room where my laptop sat, and a brace of comfy armchairs next to the window. I adored this room. It was by far my favorite part of the house.
“It’s pleasant here,” Klaus noted. “The atmosphere of it speaks of comfort.”
I suppose a kobold would be able to pick up on things like that. I smiled at him. “Yeah. Anyway, upstairs are all the bedrooms, so if you’ll follow me.”
We trooped up the wide, wooden stairs, which honestly could use some dusting, and I gestured to the closed door on the left. “That’s my parents’ bedroom. You can just ignore it; they’re still semi-packed but don’t want me messing with any of it. This is the hall bathroom; it connects to the bedroom next to it. That one and the one next to it are empty. I’m in this one,” I gestured toward the right bedroom door at the top of the landing, “and the bathroom connected to it is mine. There’s another mini-master at the end of the hallway that has an en-suite bathroom. So, I guess, take your pick?”
“Klaus, you’ll be here longest,” Ciarán observed. “Why don’t you take the larger room? I’ll take this one, across the hall from her.”
Klaus looked pleased. “I will, thank you. Tell me what furniture and things you wish to be in the room and I’ll see to it.”
“I’ll make a list,” Ciarán promised. “But I think that can wait for a moment. Rea—”
“Uh,” I interrupted sheepishly, “my name’s actually Reagan. I wasn’t sure what Hanan was dragging me into before, so I gave him my nickname.”
They blinked at me. I could tell they weren’t irritated, but rather seemed to approve of my caution. “Reagan,” Ciarán corrected himself, smiling at me. “I’d like to know your daily schedule.”
Oh, duh. “Sure. I’m not complicated, really. I get up about 7:30, shower, breakfast, and then head to school. School starts at 8:15. I’m there until 3:00 and then I come home again. Before I started seeing all of you, I’d either run errands or just hang out here at the house in the afternoons. I normally go to bed about 10:00. On Saturdays, I go check in with Nana for a few hours.” I rubbed at the back of my neck, thinking. “I’m not sure how that schedule is going to change. I’ll likely be training with Mactep in the afternoons and on the weekends from now on. She hasn’t really talked schedule with me yet.”
Something about my response didn’t click with Ciarán. He kept staring at me, like a man waiting for the punchline. “And your friends?”
“Only friend I have is currently mad at me for believing in magic,” I answered with a forlorn sigh. “Tabitha. Not sure how that’s going to pan out, honestly. I’ve had to hide everything magical from her, and with today’s events, that’s going to make things even more awkward.”
“Boyfriend?” Klaus inquired, eyebrows climbing into his wispy hairline.
“Uh,” why were they looking me like that? “I don’t have one.”
“Human males can be such idiots,” Ciarán observed to Klaus with a sad shake of the head.
“Truly. But it does make our life easier.” Klaus took my hand in his, patting it, almost exactly like a doting grandfather. “Don’t worry, child. I’m sure a boy who isn’t an idiot will come along in due time.”
I wasn’t really worried about not having a boyfriend, but okay. I took the words in the spirit they were meant. “Thanks, Klaus. Well, what can I do to help you guys settle in?”
Mitsuki came and got me about two hours later in one of those sleek, black luxury sedans. Zoya sat up front with someone I didn’t know—a woman in a starched black suit with incredibly red hair—which left me in the back seat with Mitsuki. I didn’t find that nerve-wracking at all. I also have beach-front property in Arizona, if you’re interested.
I slid in and buckled up while giving him an awkward half-bow. “Hello. Thanks for taking the time to do this.”
With a wave of the hand, he elegantly shrugged this off. “It is only right we assure a member of your family of our good intentions. There will be mundane human administration things to be handled. Best to have a known guardian sign for you in those cases. At least until you come of age.”
Fair enough. Nana normally signed for me, anyway. My parents were impossible to reach overseas. The car started up and I belatedly realized I hadn’t told them where Nana lived. Leaning forward, I addressed the driver, “Do you know where Green Spring Retirement Home is?”
“I do,” she answered with a glance back at me. Her eyes were pure white, but clearly she could see. She narrowed them thoughtfully while looking back at me. “She’s there?”
“Yeah. Nana’s health doesn’t really let her leave the home. But it’s okay, she’s expecting us. I just texted her.”
“Then, shall we go directly there, Mitsuki-sama?”
“If you would,” Mitsuki replied. He had a certain flair about him, a mantle of leadership in every word he spoke. I had no doubt if he’d said otherwise, we would be sitting here in the car for the rest of the year before the driver dared to put the car into gear.
With a nod, our chauffer pulled out of the driveway. I really wanted to know what race she was. She didn’t fit any description I knew of, but didn’t know if it was polite to just blurt questions like that out.
