Kirev's Door Read Online Free

part because they had noticed the collar. Most of them practically hovered, staring up at Kirev’s face with curiosity in their eyes.
    Fighting not to react, he felt his body stiffen.
    At first he thought Dan was asking Kirev what he thought of the female seer.
    Looking between the slightly blank faces, he realized that was unlikely.
    “I apologize, sir,” he said, looking deliberately at Dan. “What is it that you asked?”
    Dan grinned, clapping him on the back.
    “Call me Dan, Kirev…how many times to I have to tell you? Call me Dan…”
    Kirev smiled, politely, as the humans around him laughed.

3
    RECRUIT

    KIREV ESCAPED TO the bathroom at the first opportunity.
    He had not gone there deliberately for the drop; they had given him no real location, but told him they would contact him. Yet he knew he was not alone in the toilet area as soon as he entered the marble-tiled and apartment-sized bathroom.
    Tensing slightly, Kirev fought not to let his awareness show as he finished at the urinal then walked to the sink to wash his hands. Even so, his eyes were already on the relevant stall door when it opened. He hadn’t been sure what to expect; he’d had humans lie in wait for him bathrooms before, too. But when that door opened, he nearly let out a surprised laugh.
    It revealed not only a face and a body that he knew, but one that was welcome to him.
    That isn’t why he would have laughed, though.
    The humor came mostly because this particular seer was about as conspicuous as any seer could possibly be, particularly in this part of the world. He had to be at least four inches over six feet, with broad shoulders, a thick chest and handsome but very strong Asian features.
    Most of them weren’t visible at the moment, but Kirev happened to know that tattoos depicting the seer pantheons covered most of the seer’s upper body as well, including both arms and his hands and fingers. His thick, straight black hair hung down the middle of his back, wrapped in a hunter’s braid, and his irises, while more subtle in color than those of many seers, still shone an opaque, obsidian black that shocked on first glance.
    The mere incongruity of seeing him here was nearly enough to cause Kirev to let out a nervous and startled laugh.
    He didn’t laugh of course.
    Even so, an involuntary smile touched his lips.
    How the fuck had he gotten in here?
    “Don’t worry about that,” the muscular seer said.
    Gliding on graceful, catlike steps over to the restroom door, he opened it easily and ducked his head out into the corridor, presumably to check to make sure it was clear. Since he wasn’t collared, he had to be looking for seers. Once he’d scanned either direction, he turned back to Kirev, speaking in a low voice, his expression utterly still.
    “Come with me, little brother,” he murmured, giving him a grim look. “We haven’t much time. We’re live now.”
    Kirev felt himself tense. “But he’s not here. I’ve checked every one of the guests, and––”
    “He’s here,” the muscular seer cut in, giving him a warning look. “We’re not going to talk about this here, little brother. Follow me. Now. Before someone comes.”
    Closing his mouth, Kirev only nodded.
    He couldn’t really argue with that.
    Without another word, he followed closely behind the broad-shouldered seer, noting he was nearly twice his width in the chest and arms, although Kirev had maybe an inch on him in height. Kirev wasn’t at his full adult weight, or his full height, being only forty-one years old; seers weren’t usually considered physically mature until around the first century mark. They didn’t reach reproductive maturity until a lot later than that.
    Even so, he couldn’t help but feel self-conscious at the size difference between them.
    Following behind the large seer, he noted that he wore a human-style suit too, although it did little to mask his size, or even his race given the long black braid, not to mention his eerie