Gideon had us all gather in the lobby to wait for Rook to arrive with the new transfer. Apparently we were getting another member who had been trained at the Citadel in London.

  It would be weird not being the new guy. It had been almost two years since I joined up with the Order, and several missions later, I was in training to be Team Leader. Gideon had taken me under his wing, guiding me into a role of leadership and pushing me to be more.

  Magnus had been displeased about my quick ascention, but his unstable personality would make him a poor leader anyway. And its not like Hector or Andrea had the capacity to do it either. I was obviously the right choice.

  I stood leaning against one of the support pillars in the lobby, standing amongst the other Chosen. Andrea and Hector were standing off to the side, chatting casually. Hector had a book open and Andrea was whacking him as she spoke quickly, surging with energy.

  Magnus had started to pace, bitching about how long we had been waiting. Gideon shot him a stern glare, so the large man put his pent up aggression into doing push ups off the stone floor.

  Griffin lingered behind the others, standing with his arms crossed, leaning against the far wall. He looked up from under his long greasy hair, glaring at nothing in particular. He was always on alert and nervous, having spent years being abused by Magnus, even before I had joined.

  Serena stood not too far away, and when she saw me staring, she smiled and wrinkled her little nose at me. I couldn't help but beam.

  When I heard footsteps descending, I stood straight and tall, hands clasped behind my back. Rook came first, the flourescent light reflecting off his bald head. His scruffy beard waved back and forth as he hopped down the stairs quickly.

  Behind him, I saw another skinny blonde kid descend into the lobby and sighed. The last thing we needed was another Griffin on the team. His blonde was a much darker shade than Griff's platinum. He had bright blue eyes and carried himself with pride. His posture was impeccable. He wore ripped black jeans and a Led Zepplin tee shirt.

  Rook stepped aside and motioned to the new guy, as if presenting him before Master Gideon, who stepped forward and shook the guys hand.

  "Everyone, I would like you to give a warm Cathedral welcome to Mr. Chase Morgan. Make sure he feels at home and bring him into the family." He told us. Chase looked around at all of us, and nodded. His gaze settled for a long time and I looked to see Serena smiling back at him. I sneered and stepped forward.

  "My name is Anders, I'm the Team Leader here. It's nice to meet you." I offered him my hand, trying to take his gaze from Serena. His cold blue eyes snap back to me quickly and he smiled.

  "Nice to meet you Anders." He said taking my hand and shaking. His grip was surprisingly strong. This guy wasn't anything like Griffin. I felt foolish for underestimating him right away.

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  "This is Magnus, Griffin, Hector and Andrea and Serena." I said, pointing out my team mates. Chase nodded at everyone again, and I could feel him looking passed me at Serena again.

  So I moved over slightly to block his view.

  "You seem nervous Anders." He said, not looking back at me, but through me.

  "Oh you know, just new people in my home is all." I said, looking down and noticing I still held onto his hand. I pulled away and he laughed, walking passed me.

  "It's nice to meet you." He said to Serena as he walked passed her, following Gideon down the dorm hall.

  I shot Serena a glare and she blushed, shrugging at me. She hadn't done anything wrong, but I couldn't help but feel angry with her. Or jealousy.

  I followed down the hall behind Gideon and Chase and watched as he looked at all the name plates outside the doors. He stopped at the one beside Serena's and turned to Gideon.

  "I'll take this one, thank you." He said, without even looking inside. Not that the rooms were much different at the base level. Gideon nodded and walked passed Chase, toward his office.

  Chase turned to look at me, standing at the end of the hallway and offered a little salute before entering his new dorm and closing the door. I felt a hand on my shoulder, suddenly and I spun.

  "Do not let him get under your skin. He's some kind of prodigy who thinks he's better than everyone else." Rook said in his typical deep rumble of a voice. I shrugged and crossed my arms.

  "I don't think him and I are gonna get along." I said indignantly. Rook squeezed my shoulder.

  "You best pretend then. Mr. Morgan came with recommendation from the Queen. Gideon is to show him the upmost respect and award him whatever he needs to be...comfortable." Rook said with a sigh. I stared at Rook.

  "Like the Queen of England?" I asked. When he nodded I rolled my eyes and flailed my arms in exasperation. Rook chuckled a little and then made his way to Gideon's office at the end of the hall.

  I headed back to the lobby to talk amongst my team, but everyone had dispersed. Except Magnus, who was the last person I wanted to see.

  The large man came over and clapped me on the bicep and laughed.

  "Did you catch the way he was looking at your girl?" He said, the biggest grin on his face. I scowled at him.

  "No Magnus, I totally missed it. Nothing gets passed you big guy." I said, pushing passed him. He grabbed my arm to stop me.

  "Don't let that big shot from yuppieville get you down. If he starts fucking around, we'll take care of him. He's just as small as Griffin and probably just as easy to break." He said.

  "I wouldn't do that if I were you. He's apparently important to Gideon." I told him, but the thought of Magnus beating Chase to a pulp did satisfy something growing deep inside of me.

  "And leave Griffin be. You torment him enough." I added.

  Magnus smiled, and it was like looking at a wolf, barring its fangs. It gave me a sickening feeling in my gut. Magnus was a loose cannon, but he was effective at what he did.

  I wondered how his wife, Hilde was. I worried about her and his young son Erik. Magnus didn't lend himself to being a good father or husband, but it wasn't my place to comment on his relationship. Hilde wasn't an Order member, but she had reluctantly accepted that Magnus was going to be away for long stretches of time which opened the door for all kinds of adultery. At least he had stopped harassing Andrea since her and Hector became a thing.

  When Magnus walked off, I moved for the iron spiral stair leading up to the secret panel in the church office. I pushed my way out, making sure to shut everything behind me and went to stand in the large open space. The pews had all been pushed to the walls, dusty white cloths lay over them. The large statue of Jesus from behind the altar had begun to crumble away, and I felt guilty for the disrepair. One day I would have to get the others to help me clean this place up.

  I sat on the single step leading down from the podium and sighed.

  I had spent two years trying to make a name and a life for myself here. I had worked so hard to get to where I was and I couldn't help but feel like this new guy, Chase Morgan, was going to turn everything upside down.