Guildhall Guardian: Thamesian #1 (Thamesians) Read Online Free PDF Page A

the car, I won't be long" he said.
    I watched his silhouette gnawed by fog and contoured by in the headlights. He was rapidly walking over to the accidented lorry.
    Creepy silence made me uncomfortable and I kept my eyes on Roydon.
    I had become jumpy in England, it seems.
    I lectured myself. Strictly business, the lorry had left the road, maybe because of bad weather or maybe the driver had sampled some of his shipment.
    And I had been the one to tag along secretive, composed yet mercurial Mr Thamesian.  'Belonging is fragile' he had said. As if he would even try. He was a domineering force, no worrying if he fitted or not, at the top of the foodchain, on every level.  Money, knowledge, power and attractiveness. A whole package, Mr Thamesian and he had a knack for probing into the delicate, lightless parts of my life.
    Yes my grandmother had been British born somewhere in Devon, but it was not the real reason, far from it.
    A few months before my leaving, I had broken up with my boyfriend of five years, cheating,arrogant,competitive bastard who wanted to become a Fine Arts Exbition administrator too. We had applied together in the same programme, for the same jobs and ironically were tie candidates for the internship in Rome.
    I couldn't bear the idea of working with him. I applied for the temporary job in England at the last minute, messing up the plans of a lifetime.
    Got the job, took off on a plane to London Gatwick, took a train, started working without a second thought. And Roydon Thamesian had the audacity to tell me I could find myself in Rome instead.
    Wait...
    I never told him anything about Rome!
    I stormed out of the car and ran after him. Running in heels is easier than you think once the adrenaline and anger has kicked in.
    Roydon was opening the lorry's door.
    "You owe me an explanation!" I shouted at yard's distance.
    Roydon's face was still and
    "Stay where you are, Ms Di Terzi" he said calmly.
    What the heck? He was checking something on the driver's side.
    I didn't listen to him and approached.
      "How did you know about Rome? You've been spying on me, haven't you?"
    Hi, Gioia di Terzi, paranoid date, never to repeat again.
    Roydon's eyes scanned the area, as if looking for a possible threat. So I was not the alone in this delusion of danger.
    "It's not the moment, can you get back to the car?" he asked with a clipped voice.
    *
      Situational recap, Roydon thought, a crashed lorry, shipment missing, driver's throat sliced open.  For the briefest moment, seeing all this blood went to his head.  His frustration was immense. He was craving the wine.
    Someone had drunk from the driver and left him as yet another warning to the Guildhall, to Roydon.
    And now he had to contain Gioia's anger at being the target of his customary background check. 
    He could deduce nothing more from the scene, all evidences had been carefully disposed of, the only signature was the dead body.  It could be anyone from the underworld, a vampire, another hybrid, or a lycan, they were said to be extremely rare these days in Britain but some sightings in Wales and Ireland proved they were not extinct. 
       "You have to answer first" said Gioia ''Why would you spy one someone like me? I'm no part of your world, or the Quarter you control, whatever that is, I am just...me."
       "You intrigue me, Ms. Di Terzi." he admitted. "And I just speculated about the eternal city."
       "Speculated about my application to a Roman museum? That's a hell of an educated guess!"
    Roydon's instinct went off the chart. Speeding up he took her hand and took them to his car.
      "What's going on?" she said.
    Nothing, he swore that could get her into trouble.
    *
      Just like that, he had carried me into the fastest sprint ever witnessed, almost making me fly in the air.
    Something big and worrying enough to make Roydon Thamesian run away. Not good at all. I should probably say a prayer. To Filippo Neri the Apostle of Rome , to the Pope also just