Ria couldn’t help the curl of her lip.

Tim and Dave never seemed to do any work. They were always in the kitchenette, making coffee and putting serious dents in the biscuit supply. With their hair gelled and spiked to within an inch of its life, their designer suits and award-winning smiles, those two ruled the sales team.

And Ria couldn't stand them.

She could hear them now, congratulating themselves on how truly awesome they were. It wasn't necessarily what they said out loud. Their auras seethed with arrogance and self-worth. Ria could see and hear all of it.

She didn't know where this talent came from. She'd always been blessed with the ability to read people. It made her a great saleswoman, but six months ago something had changed, like someone had flicked a switch. She heard all sorts of things she had no right to hear.

When it had first happened, she’d thought she was going mad, like the voices were in her head. But she’d refused to believe that and had grabbed her sanity with both hands. The voices said things she'd never dream of saying, in ways she'd never say them. She heard thoughts just the same as if they were spoken out loud, but they definitely weren't hers. They belonged to other people.

Right now, she could hear Tim betting himself he could get the new receptionist, Tina, into bed by the end of the week. Unfortunately for Tina, he would probably succeed. Tim could be very charming, Ria should know. Her eyes narrowed as she continued to stare. He really was a class-A arse.

"They haven't perfected the death-stare yet, you know."

Ria blinked as Jessie's spikey, black and purple hair blocked her view of the kitchen. "Huh?"

Her friend frowned at her. "We all know he's a complete wanker. No amount of evil stares will change that."

Ria puffed out a sigh. She could hear Jess berating herself for not stopping Ria going out with Tim in the first place. "It's not your fault, Jess. I should have listened."

"Don't do that!"

"Sorry."

A month or so ago, Ria had told Jessie about the voices. It wasn’t a conscious decision. More like her big, fat mouth ran away with itself when her sanity demanded she unload the burden. Jessie was cooler than Ria in just about every way imaginable, so she shouldn't have been surprised that her friend just took the news in her stride, but Ria was still amazed that Jess hadn't booked her a nice comfy room at the funny farm. After a few "what am I thinking?" questions, Jessie just accepted it. She did make Ria promise to try not to listen to her though, which was why Ria apologised. Again.

Jess grinned. "S'okay. I know you're trying."

Ria nodded. "I am. I promise."

Jessie crossed her arms. "You know, you should really practice not listening to Twatty Tim too. Listening to him is not doing you any favours."

"I know, Jess, but he's so bloody loud I'm sure I could hear him from the moon!"

An impish grin spread across Jessie's face. "Ooh! That reminds me. It's a full moon this weekend. You said you'd come."

Ria's forehead crumpled into a frown. "Come where?"

"To the club!"

Ria groaned. "I don't know, Jessie. It's not really my scene."

"Oh c'mon, Ria, play fair! How do you know if it's your scene or not? You've never been."

Ria knew she was right, but she and Jess weren't exactly cut from the same cloth. Jess was small and impish. Her clothes, whilst almost always "alternative," oozed sex appeal and a penchant for skull motifs. Her hair, black and purple today, changed colour and style on a weekly—sometimes daily—basis.

Ria looked down at her own outfit. Loose top, black trousers. Ugh. How predictably boring.

"C'mon, Ria. It'll be fun!"

Ria tugged at her shirt. "What am I even going to wear?"

Jessie's green eyes sparkled and Ria could hear a plan forming in her mind.

"W-what?"

"I smell a make-over." Jess beamed at her.

"Oh no!" Ria held up her hands. "No way!"

"Don't be a spoil-sport. It'll be fun and I promise I won't do anything you won't like."

Ria chewed her bottom lip. Was she seriously considering this? She looked at her friend and, despite her promise, listened in.

I know you're listening. Please do this. It'll do you good.

Ria laughed. "Alright."

"Yes!" Jessie squealed.

"But I get to veto anything weird."

"Deal." Jess pulled her out of her chair and into a hug. "You won't regret this."

Ria forced a smiled. Jessie might believe that, but Ria wasn't so sure. She was already imagining herself as the abominable goth monster, and her stomach tied itself in knots at the thought of the humiliation she was bound to suffer at trying to pull off anything remotely resembling goth couture.

Jessie released her hand and clapped. "I need to go shopping! There's so much to do," she squealed.

Ria couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Just don't go mad, okay?"

Jess just skipped off to her desk.

Oh God. What have I got myself into?

* * *

"So we're down to five of us?" Ryver asked.

"Yeah." Kaden lined up his shot for the corner pocket.

"And you're okay with that?" Of course, Ryver had already tried to listen in on what Kaden really thought, but Kaden had ramped up his shielding efforts and started doing quadratic equations instead of plain old multiplication to stop any eavesdropping.

Ever since Lena and Thorn mated, weird stuff kept happening. Ryver's telepathic ability had grown stronger than any of them could have imagined. Phoenix had always been an excellent medic, but even he had developed an inner knowledge of healing. Mercury's analytical mind had sharpened to the point where he was doing things no human without a massive computer had any right to do. Even Skylar was weirdly more empathetic than he ever used to be. It wasn't something any of them could really explain. Ryver had even asked Soraya since she seemed to know everything, but she admitted she didn't understand fully either. They only knew things were different now.

"I'm thinking of putting the call out," Kaden replied.

Ryver’s mouth dropped open. Phoenix and Skylar froze. Mercury spun around on the sofa to stare at the boss man.

"What did you say?" Ryver asked.

Kaden pushed his blond hair out of his eyes. "You heard me."

Yeah, he’d heard. He just couldn't believe it. The Order didn't ask anyone to join. Those who wanted the honour of serving had to ask, and even then, they may not make the grade. The Order had always been elite, with noble blood being a definite requirement. Even then, blood did not guarantee entry, only an interview. Putting the call out flew in the face of all that.

Mercury pulled himself out of the over-sized sofa. "What you gonna do—stick ‘the Order needs you’ posters up everywhere?"

"Not funny," Kaden snapped.

"Is there even a precedent for this?" Ryver asked, attempting to be practical.

"I've asked Soraya to check the Chronicles, just in case, but I highly doubt it," Kaden replied.

"So how you gonna play this then, Boss?" Mercury crossed his arms.

Ryver was thinking the same thing. He'd heard the report about the Squire, Rose, at House Bowman. Just because a vampire hadn't actually Fallen, it didn't mean they were loyal to the crown. How could they know who to trust? Inviting potential spies to the handfasting was one thing. Letting them have full access to the inner workings of the Order was quite another.

Kaden frowned. "To be honest, I have no idea."

Well if Kaden didn't know, they were screwed!

"That ain’t very encouraging, Boss," Mercury said.

Kaden sighed as he leant his pool cue against the wall and made his way over to the sofas. As he sat down, something flickered across his face. His icy-blue eyes locked on Ryver. "I do have one idea."

Ugh. "I'm not going to like this, am I?" Ryver’s shoulders slumped.

"Like what?" Phoenix asked, a confused frown tugging at his brow as he and Skylar joined them on the sofas.

Kaden continued to stare, making Ryver uncomfortable.

"C'mon, Kaden. Out with it," Ryver demanded.

"Well, there'll have to be a pretty vigorous vetting process."

"Ya think?" Mercury scoffed. "I doubt many civilians 'ave much combat experience."

Kaden shook his head. "That's not what I meant."

Ryver's shoulders slumped. "You want me to interview them, don't you?"

Kaden nodded. "Kinda, yeah. I'll ask the questions. You can listen to the answers, the real answers."

Ryver just nodded. It wasn't that he didn't want to help. Goddess knew he'd do it. He just wasn't looking forward to it. The inner workings of some people's minds were fucked up at the best of times.

"He's got a point, mate," Mercury offered. "It's the only way we'll really know."

"Yeah, I know," Ryver replied, resigned.

Kaden nodded. "We don't just need warriors. At this point, I'd take a couple of cleaners and a secretary; anything that will free the rest of you up."

"I'm with you, Boss. I'm 'appy to train 'em to fight, but someone to manage the coms and surveillance would be just as useful."

Kaden gave a weak smile. "Guess we'll have to see who volunteers then."

Ryver felt his brow knit. He knew most of the great Houses would see it as an honour to be of service at the royal handfasting. He just couldn't see how useful any of them would be. One thing was sure: it'd be interesting to find out.

He sensed Mercury staring at him. "What?"

"You haven't even started and you already look like you need a drink."

Ryver cracked a smile he didn't really mean.

"Diablo tonight?" Mercury asked.

"Best idea I've heard all night."