Page 11 of The Vampire's Receptionist
Kian was redirecting a phone call when the SR rep came back out of Dorian’s office. He didn’t want to speak with the man, though he knew he’d have to since Dorian already reported it. In his opinion, there were some things better left unsaid. It was a private issue that occurred between himself and Dorian and should have stayed between them. He wasn’t exactly pleased that Dorian immediately called in Supernatural Resources. In his experience, Supernatural Resources only caused trouble for him.
The man waited a polite distance away until he hung up the phone before approaching. He seemed nice enough, and he didn’t have that air of superiority Kian sometimes saw in SR reps from other companies. He smiled when he stopped at Kian’s desk, and Kian couldn’t see any prejudices when they locked eyes.
“Mr. Kuramori said you were involved in the incident that occurred earlier. Do you mind if–” He paused suddenly, his brows furrowing. “I can’t use my magic on you, can I?”
Magic? He thought the man was human. “What kind of magic?”
“I’m a telepath,” Elijah explained. “In incidences like these, with your permission, I would use my magic to see the incident through your eyes, so there are no biases in my reports.”
Clever, but not helpful in this matter. “You can’t use mind-altering magic on fae. We’re immune.”
His eyebrows flew up in surprise. “I didn’t know that. Thank you for telling me.” He turned thoughtful for a second before shrugging. “I suppose a normal interview will work just fine. Do you have a few minutes?”
Kian looked down at his phone, then back up at Elijah. “I’m not sure how to answer that. I don’t control when people call me.”
He chuckled, nodding. “I suppose that’s true. Well, do you mind if I pull up a chair and ask you a few things here? Or would you prefer to step away from the desk? We can ask someone to cover for you.”
He waved that idea away. The division was already short staffed. He didn’t need someone stepping in for him just to answer a few questions. “If you don’t mind me answering the phone when I need to, I’d prefer to stay here.”
“I don’t mind at all,” Elijah said, grabbing a chair from a nearby empty desk and rolling it over to join him. He sat, a notebook and pen in his hand, already covered in scribbled notes. Probably from his interview with Dorian. Kian tried to discreetly take a peek, but he couldn’t read the messy script upside down.
“So, in your words, can you tell me what happened?”
He lifted a shoulder. “Mr. Kuramori came into the breakroom for coffee. I suggested bringing him a cup, since the pot was empty, and he was on his way back out when Morgan cut his finger. When Mr. Kuramori lunged at him, I used my magic to stall him long enough to get Morgan away. He wasn’t in any real danger. Once I released him, Mr. Kuramori showed greatrestraint and asked me to leave. He probably didn’t even need my help. I offered him a blood donation, because I used to be a paramedic, and I could see the signs that he needed to feed.”
“And that was fully consensual?” Elijah prompted, his expression serious. “You didn’t feel pressured or like you or your friend would be in danger if you didn’t offer the donation?”
He made a face. “If I didn't want to do it, I wouldn’t have. I could have gone through the portal with Morgan and left. He was struggling and instinct took over. Decades of being a paramedic, I guess.”
Pressing his lips together, Elijah made a note in his notebook before saying, “I have to say, I wish I could get your account of it with my magic, to be sure. I’m not saying you’re lying, but when it comes to things like this, I want to have as clear a picture as I can.”
“Would a vow of honesty help?” Because he wanted to get this done so he could stop thinking about it. He was still annoyed with the whole situation, though he couldn’t exactly figure out why. He had never had such strong reactions during or after a blood donation before.
Elijah looked surprised at the offer. “Oh, uh, no, that’s alright. I wouldn’t want to–”
He thrust out his hand, raising his eyebrows at the man. “It’s fine. I wouldn’t offer if I had a problem with it. It’ll just be for this conversation, and if I’m specific with terms, it’s not dangerous.”
The way Elijah looked at his hand said he either never took part in fae magic before or he didn’t trust Kian not to hurt him. He was going to take back the offer, but Elijah pushed past his nerves and took his hand, frowning at it.
“How does this work, exactly?”
Ah. Inexperience then. He could work with that. “We say the terms and what will happen if the terms are broken. For thisinstance, something visual to show it’s a lie would probably be best.”
“Would a mage light work? I don’t have much power outside my telepathy, but I can summon that,” Elijah offered.
He nodded. “That works.” He waited for Elijah to summon the mage light before focusing on their hands. Whispering a spell, he wove in the honesty terms and the reaction changes to the mage light as a result as well as the timeframe. The minute Elijah walked more than twenty feet away, the spell would break and he would be free of it.
Elijah watched as their hands glowed for a second before Kian let go of him. He didn’t always need to touch, but a handshake was more symbolic and usually people preferred that over just saying the words.
“That’s it?” Elijah asked, looking dubiously at the mage light that hadn’t changed. Kian smirked.
“I’m ten feet tall.”
The light turned red and stayed that way until he corrected it. “I’m five foot ten.”
The red went away and turned green instead. When Elijah shot him a questioning look, he shrugged. “I figured it was better than just having the red go away. Red for lie, green for truth. Okay?”
He nodded, and they started again on the questions Elijah had for him. The ball stayed a steady green as Kian said he was never forced or felt compelled in any way. The only time it turned red was when Kian said he wasn’t upset about it and that color change surprised even him.
