Chasing Fate (Sentinel & Guide)

Chapter 33

[I have been reading some SAGAK stories to get my inspiration. Hopefully, this will come easier now]

This staircase was towards the back of the house and ran directly into the kitchen. Fate's eyes widened. It wasn't your average home kitchen. Though the decor was most definitely homey with the dark wood cabinetry and friendly tile backsplashes, the sheer size of everything was on par with a commercial kitchen!

To match the decor, a swathe of cooks were bustling around making enough hors-d'oeuvres to cover the front lawn. The bustle didn't stop for a moment with the arrival of two intruders. the cooks simply passed around them to get to the pantry as needed. It seemed like they'd entered a beehive with the sheer amount of activity. Of the cooks, each dressed in a comfThere were about seven altogether, each orbiting around a tall, portly man in his mid-sixties with coke bottle glasses and a short, olive-skinned woman of similar age who were inspecting each piece before they passed towards the bar.

Fate felt the soft pull of a guide from this woman, and the tall man was a sentinel, though perhaps not for sight.

"Finally come down have you!" the man bellowed, beginning a flurry of movement as his guide huffed when he disturbed her plating. She didn't speak, only pouted and leaned in closer to arrange a bean sprout with tweezers. He didn't allow them a word in edgewise, seeming to never stop for breath as he continued ordering the cooks around.

"Georgia get those out of the fryer in 10 seconds or you've ruined them," he yelled towards the saute cook, "Jack, the seniors are all waiting for you two-Penny! The meringue!- in the solarium. Let us wash our hands -Hans, you're in charge- and we'll catch up!"

The guide looked up offering them a slight smile and nod before raising a blow torch to some poor, innocent looking appetizers.

Jack chuckled and led Fate through the kitchen towards the dining room which was being used as a staging area for all the food.

"That was Giles and his wife Cesara, he's the senior alpha of the lower east side. They've been together for almost 50 years." Jack said proudly. Though the Hammond family was the top clan in the region, it was ineffective to try and micromanage all of the small communities and their needs. Most major metropolitan areas had a complex system of interconnected clans, both above and below the table. Though the respectable clan seniors of the area would be invited to meet the head clan's newest guide, it was needless to say that the criminal underworld and their leaders were not allowed to participate.

For the Hammonds, the entire metropolitan area was considered their jurisdiction, but they knew that some pockets of the territory were unaccounted for. Having close relations with sub-clans allowed them to have a better eye on those who simply did not operate within the rules of good clansmen.

In the dining room, several waitstaff in jeans, plaid and aprons were efficiently prepping cocktails and wine on platters to rush back outside. Fate felt no ping of her senses to signal a sentinel or guide from this group. The waitstaff was all made up of nulls, which made sense. An unfamiliar sentinel -even just a waiter- was an insult and a threat to an intimate clan gathering. Still, her mind was boggled that there was hired staff! It wasn't that she hadn't been to a fancy party before, there were weddings, grand openings, and release parties she attended for work, but this was supposedly just a clan affair.

Perhaps she'd spent so long in Bent Valley that she'd gotten used to clan gatherings being little potlucks at the conference center or barbecues in the backyard, perhaps renting out the retreat for a really big reunion. This was a whole other level, and she hadn't even stepped outside yet.

Right as they reached the door leading into the solarium, Jack stopped, turning around with a flushed and frustrated look on his face. Fate was taken by surprise, she hadn't had the chance to notice his emotional spike because it happened so quickly. Without any warning, he made a hard left and veered behind an alcove made for the fine china and pulled her into his embrace.