“Don’t fuck this up, Prey,” Bo said and knocked.
The classical music grew louder when Mr. White opened the door. He wore a dark button-down shirt that emphasized his narrow frame.
“Thank you, Bo. Come in, Jonah.”
I stepped inside, deeply relieved to not see a lab, though I still frowned at the sight of the small dining table. Food waited on two plates, and a candle burned at the center. I glanced at the wide bed at the side of the room, a pang of dread hitting my chest as I realized what was expected of me.
“Don’t let the bed fool you,” Mr. White said. “We will not be having sex.” He held my chin and tilted my head from side to side. “As lovely as you are, I don’t find the weakness of the flesh appealing.”
That made me relieved, but it also made this dinner stranger.
“I was told you’re vegetarian.” He moved to sit by the table. “I had the cook prepare something nice for you.”
“Thank you.” I sat on the other side of the table, the candle burning between us. My plate had vegetables, quinoa, and tofu. Mr. White was having what seemed like a veal cooked rare.
“I heard you have a taste for fine wine.” He picked up a bottle and poured me half a glass. “A few sips and you’ll feel less nervous. You are nervous, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Nervousness is a sign of a healthy mind.”
“I don’t know if my mind is healthy.”
“As a psychologist, I’m eager to find out for myself.”
“You’re a shrink?”
He raised his glass. “A psychologist, yes. Let us toast to your mind, Jonah Carter.”
Still jittery about this whole thing, I clinked my glass with his. The wine was stronger than what I usually drank with The Director, but it was still rich in flavor. I knew I was supposedto wait for Mr. White to ask questions, but I decided to take the lead. “I was told you’re in the High Council.”
“Yes, and have been for many years. It’s much less interesting than you might think.”
I cut a piece of tofu. “What are you supposed to do exactly?”
“A whole lot and nothing—if that makes sense.”
“It doesn’t.”
He sliced his veal elegantly, making me think of Eliot. “We govern, which is a fancy way of saying we make decisions that can affect our members. I’d be lying if I said we needed to make any major decisions recently, but that’s what you get with old societies—they either tick like a clock or fall apart. I’m assuming that we will begin to fall apart in… oh, a few years give or take, but we should be safe for the rest of the evening.” He winked.
“Why will you fall apart?” I asked, too curious to continue eating.
“Oh, many small reasons, all resulting in a dwindling number of members. We can’t just publish an ad in the newspaper, and with how fast technology is developing, it becomes a greater challenge to keep things hush-hush. Have you ever heard of cell phones? Very exciting technology, but once we start carrying our phones with us, what will stop nosy people from spying on us?”
“Eliot has a cell phone in his car. Do you know him?”
“Eliot? Of course. We first met when I became a member, a few years after he’d been adopted by dear Theodore. A wonderful man. Eliot, that is—Theodore was a pretentious ass, and that says something coming from me. I was the driving force behind Eliot gaining his freedom, though he has never been a prisoner, simply… limited.”
That meant that he had likely been the one to ask Eliot for a steady supply of captives. My wariness of him intensified, as did my disgust.
“I hate Eliot.” The words slipped out of my mouth.
Mr. White nodded. “He’s the reason you’re here.”
“He betrayed me.”
“Well, yes, I assume that’s accurate. Were you in love with him?”
