MY CRUEL PROTECTOR
It wanted the secrets Nevan had dangled in front of me like bait.
I reached the door and slid the key into the lock. It turned with a heavy, grinding clack that vibrated up my arm. I pushed the door open, the hinges screaming in protest, and stepped into the sanctum of the Syndicate.
It wasn't a torture chamber, as I had half-expected. Instead, it was an archive. Floor-to-ceiling shelves were packed with leather-bound ledgers, mahogany boxes, and stacks of yellowed documents. A single desk sat in the center of the room, illuminated by a low-hanging green shaded lamp that flickered to life when I flipped a dusty switch.