Book Seven: Chapter 94

“Well done.” The words came from an Indian man sitting at an ornate dining table. His skin was the color of topaz, and smooth as if he had been carved directly from the earth. Though his eyes were brown, they had an intensity that pulled her in, set beneath a pair of well trimmed eyebrows. The left one had a tiny scar where the hair didn’t grow. His nose was wide with a waxed handlebar mustache beneath. He rose, revealing that he was wearing a full suit despite the warm weather. “Most people aren’t able to see the illusion from the inside.”

“Is this you?” she asked. “Or just an enchanted array of some sort.”

“Come,” the Director said, gesturing at the seat opposite him. “Sit.”

Beth moved to join him, fully aware that he had ignored her question.

“You stood me up last night,” she said.

The Director nodded. “You have my full apologies,” he said. “Though my physical presence is here, I was caught up in an operation in another time zone. Things did not go a