Luminescence 55

Eros and Marcus hadn’t said much following the incident in the shop.

            They’d spoken in brief sentences, alluding to what they’d learned but neither had wanted to openly voice that there might be another Portal.

            It wasn’t until the next morning when they were seated in the restaurant for breakfast that they finally acknowledged each other and the task at hand. The opulent golden drapes dappled off some of that rare English sun. The hotel was fashioned in Victorian luxury and surprisingly not dated, simply historic and empirical. As much as Eros had insisted on the finer things in life, he’d taken a liking to the hotel and subsequently hated it as well. It somehow came with a price tag more in line with businessmen and aristocrats. The latter had yet to make an appearance.

Eros scrolled through his tablet, taking advantage of the wifi when their hometown was a dead spot for such things. It had been intentional so as to keep the city and its vast array of secrets hidden from the rest of the world.

It made it hard to network at times. Many Guardians across the world had taken to other means of communication outside of the networked systems. Other cities, towns and villages existed that hid their kind, some completely off grid and even harder to get to than Aurelia was.

            “We need more information,” Eros said at last. “I don’t trust Ramon regardless of what he thinks he knows. The man is”-

            “I know,” Marcus Ambruge set down his knife and fork. He’d ordered six poached eggs with salmon on the side, nothing else. Eros had ordered the same if only to appear like he took his physique seriously too.

            “It’s hard to know who to trust,” said the third voice.