The Clandestine Saga

New Home

Jamie stopped the SUV in front of one of the two apartment buildings. "This is the building where team members live, and that building over there is for the trainees."

"What? You're going to make her walk?" Eliza chimed in.

Cadence and Jamie exchanged glances before he responded. "No," he replied, "not any further than you are. Cadence is on our team now, Eliza. Didn't you realize that?"

"What?" Eliza asked. "How is that possible? You haven't even completed training yet. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's great to work with you and all, but what if you suck?"

Jamie just shook his head, and Cadence didn't know how to respond. She was beginning to understand why Aaron had warned her that Eliza didn't get along well with other girls. "I'll show you to your room," he said, climbing out of the car. He tossed the keys to a valet who came out to move the car, which raised another question for Cadence.

She got out of the car and followed Jamie toward the building. "So, who are the other people that work here? They know about Clandestine Ternion, too, right? Are they humans?"

The doorman pulled open the heavy glass door, and Cadence found herself in a fairly large lobby. The center of the building was open all the way to the top where there was a skylight. It wasn't a towering building, perhaps only twenty floors or so, but it was still impressive, and Cadence was feeling more and more at home.

"Most of them are non-Transformees," Jamie explained. Eliza was behind them, but she was loafing, obviously still offended that she wasn't consulted before Cadence was asked to join them. "A few of them are Transformees who either couldn't cut it or decided it just wasn't for them. It's not easy doing battle with the powers of darkness every night," he said attempting a bit of humor. Cadence chuckled, but she also saw the truth in what he said.

Jamie manually pushed the up button on the elevator, though he could have called it through his IAC, and they all stepped inside. "Are you going with us to see Cadence's apartment?" Jamie asked Eliza. The look on his face made Cadence think perhaps he was also praying she would say no.

"Sure!" she said in a chipper voice. Cadence couldn't determine if it was genuine or forced. "I have nothing else on my agenda. For now."

"Great," Jamie exclaimed. This time, there was no question the remark was disingenuous. The elevator started to move, and Cadence looked at him questioningly. "IAC," he explained.

Cadence nodded, marveling at everything the device could do.

As Eliza's face began to tell them she was otherwise engaged, Jamie tugged gently on Cadence's sleeve so she'd take a step closer to him, away from Eliza. Leaning into her ear, and in a voice Cadence could hardly detect, he whispered, "I really hope she doesn't notice we're going to the twenty-second floor."

While she had no idea what he was talking about, she nodded. A glimpse back at Eliza told her she was still on the IAC and was also distracted by her phone. Cadence couldn't imagine she would ever need it to communicate with anyone, but apparently, she liked to play games with it. "What are you playing?" she asked, trying to be polite.

It took Eliza a second to respond. "Oh, uh, Candy Crush. Easier to swipe with my finger than my eye."

Cadence laughed politely as the door opened. They stepped out into a short hallway. Looking around, Cadence realized they had gone to the top of the building. It narrowed up here, and there were only two apartments. Jamie took her to the right and pulled a physical key out of his pocket to open the door.

"What the hell are we doing here?" Eliza asked, suddenly realizing where they were. "This is the penthouse!"

"We are showing Cadence to her apartment," Jamie replied, popping the door open. He waited for Cadence to go in first and then followed her in.