Keepers of Time

2. The Council

Hey guys! (: So I know it's been a long wait for this next update and I offer my sincerest apologies! I hope you can forgive me! :) Thank you for staying with me and I hope that you enjoy this chapter :)) This chapter is dedicated to innamorare for helping me edit! (: She's a great friend for always being there even when I ramble...she helped me figure out another aspect of this chapter too by just listening and I truly appreciate her for that :D The graphic on the side of all the Italian Council members is also courtesy to her!  Thank you sooo much Anna!! :))

Well, without further ado...happy reading! (:

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Chapter 2

There was a loud knock on the door that awakened me from my slumber.  I groaned and lazily rolled out of my bed, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.  I focused my eyes on the nightstand where my clock rested and was furious to read that it was 4:37 A.M.  I was furious at the intrusion and wondered who had the audacity to wake me up this early in the morning.  The sun wasn’t even on the horizon and in my standards that meant that absolutely no one should be awake at this ungodly hour.   Grabbing the door knob I quickly turned it and was about to unleash my anger until I saw who was standing in the doorway.  It was Elder McNolie.

“Calder.  Your father has asked for your audience.”

I crossed my arms over my chest and stood up straight, alert.  “This early?  Is something the matter?  Has Gabriel been summoned also?”

McNolie rolled his eyes at me and spoke in a precise and deliberate voice.  “No.  He has only asked for you.”  He then turned on his heels and walked down the hall.  I closed my door and quickly prepared, grabbing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.  McNolie has never taken a liking towards me.  Things didn’t add up to my favor after I dated his daughter for a month and then ended the relationship.  I received a stern reprimand for that one.  Jessie apparently was heartbroken and it was my fault.  After that McNolie couldn’t have cared less about me.  He only treated me with the slightest of respect when my father was in the same room.  But my father wasn’t blind to McNolie’s animosity.    

Walking down the corridor to the Council Chamber was eerie in the early hours of the morning.  The only visible light shed was from the torch that McNolie carried in his hand.  It had the whole medieval castle vibe (we actually were located inside one of Italy’s oldest castles).  The youngest of us Keepers have told the Council that we needed to have innovations done in the castle.  We couldn’t be stuck in the sixteenth century for all of eternity. 

All was quiet in the eve of the night as we walked down the corridor.  The only the sound was that of our heavy footsteps, echoing off the walls.  From the corner of my eyes I saw our shadows flicker on the walls as we passed, bleak and unsettling.  I hated walking down these corridors at night because of the chills that ran down my spine.  There were things that went bump in the night, things that I hunted and killed. 

I checked my watch on my wrist and read that it was now four fifty-two.  McNolie opened the tall, looming door to the chamber and he bid me to go in first.  As I walked into the chamber I saw that my father was the only one up on the dais.  Behind me, McNolie began to close the door, creaking until it thundered closed in the empty room.  I found it odd that Elder Montehue was not present for the audience.  It made me wonder what my father wanted to talk to me about.

“Calder.”  He said.  I walked towards the dais to the right side of the room and kneeled before him.  I bowed my head before I stood up and looked into my father’s weary eyes.  He was tired.  Who wouldn’t be at this hour?  There were dark circles rimming his eyes from lack of sleep and I wondered if he had even gone to bed tonight.  As I stood in front of him, I started to realize that this wasn’t Keeper business that I had been summoned to.  No, this was personal.