A Reunion of sorts (Closed to the Casters)

The room hung in suspended silence as only the sound of a single air conditioning vent hummed. Anthony silently muttered something in an ancient language as he sat in the midst of a large auditorium cross legged. This was his alone time, the time he meditated on higher things. Since he was young he was taught to do this as if it would grant him a higher plane of being or something. Finally become one with the soul stream that was the source of all magic on this plane of existence. Possibly even increase his already massive store of magical energy, one that had only grown with age.

He was dressed casually for the occasion. In a simple white muscle shirt, gray pajama pants and ankle cut socks. Hair cut into a neat style that was easy to manage but still attractive. His pink lips were pressed into a thin line as the shadows around him began to write and form into a single serpent that slithered up his back as it let a single tongue flick out. The shadows had a mind of their own and he simply moved them accordingly. It perched upon his shoulder with its body trailing down his back as if a parrot or something before slinking back into his shadow.

He was alone an enjoying the quiet time he was allotted before he would be interrupted by someone. It was likely that he would, considering that it always happened before he could reach any sort of zen. His hands were pressed together in a sort of prayer position in front of his chest as he felt the energy flowing through him like a river within his very core. His eyes began to form a ring of dark purple around them, though it wasn’t visible through his closed lids.

Anthony let a deep breath through his lips as he for a second swore he felt a massive sourced of energy he did not recognize nearing the manor. It was equal if not greater than his and that worried him. His father was already deep within the manor doing whatever it was that busied him but who could it be. He did not recognize this feeling and it worried the Heir greatly. A single sensation of cold went up his back as his eyes now back to their green color snapped open. His body was beginning to break out in a cold sweat.

”This is not a good thing.” He muttered chewing on his lower lip lightly. In the span of a few minutes one of the mansions’ workers stepped slowly stepped through the entrance door,as his shadow extended into a serpent and quickly wrapped around his neck,its fangs only a few inches from piercing his neck. Anthony turned to him with a neutral expression. ”Please tell me you have a good reason for interrupting my meditation. I will not hesitate to put you down.” His voice was cold as ice. The guy would have gulped if his throat were not so close to being punctured.

“Theres a man at the front door who claims to be a member of the Caster family.” He said meekly. The serpent retreated from his neck and back into Anthony's shadow. He raise an eyebrow as the man explained it..

”I want you to direct him here. Do not dawdle or I’ll make sure you regret not being faster.”

Something clicked within his mind as the man spoke, dredging up an image he was sure that he had forgotten. He had seen this man’s face before but it was so long ago, when his mother was still alive. He could remember him being well received by her but not by his father, who barely even gave him the time of day. It was as if he had something against the old man. Who’s power was at an inconceivable level. They may be capable of the same output but in the long run the man had a larger store of magical energy than the heir did. In fact he was a major threat if he ever decided to simply attack him here and there.

There was the matter of that strange girl with him but she didn’t really matter to him, considering she radiated no magical energy of her own. Anthony could safely ignore her for the time being,until she proved herself more than a simple girl. His face was kept in an impassive mask as he stood in front of the two with hands behind his back. He was claiming to be his great uncle,which made sense due to his age and appearance. Casters tended to age slower than your average human based upon the fae blood within their bodies. If Anthony were luckily, he could live up to two hundred years without adversely being affected by age.

”Well it’s a pleasure Uncle.” Anthony said in his business tone forgoing the add on’s to the title and simply calling him Uncle. He already had ignored the young girl and was focused on the powerful man in front of him, the one who matched his father if not exceeded him. He turned on the heel of his foot and stepped backwards what seemed like a foot before turning back to them. ”I assume you would like to move this out of here. Its so….dull.” He said trying to think of the correct word.

Anthony stepped around the two and motioned for them to follow him with a semi-cordial motion. He was aiming to lead them to the grand dining room with its large table,though he was sure that it would have been set for the three of them and possibly any of the other Casters who lived in the household. All that Anthony knew of that were home were his father and Lucas.

The maids were scurrying about as they worked on making sure that the guest were well taken care of, as per the order of their heavy handed master. Nolan left most of the house discipline to Anthony and it was severe if they disobeyed. Anthony did not deal with failure very well and they all knew of it. While he was sure that his Uncle was far more jovial with his dealings and would have rather have made friendships with the house hands, Anthony simply saw no point in friendships with anyone; especially the hired help. They were never the best friends really. So he instead made them fear him and any repercussions that disobeying him would bring.

They reached the dining hall with properly stocked table, Japanese delicacies all placed neatly on the table. It was even placed to specifications if not better. Anthony would have to make sure the cook was given a slight raise, if only because his sushi was….divine. The cooking staff was the only staff that Anthony showed the least bit of slack upon and it was for the sole fact that they were responsible for keeping him nourished and with his training he needed competent chefs. Can’t go around firing every chef that displeases you can you?

”You are correct in your assumptions.” Anthony said folding his hands as he looked at the old man directly in the eyes. ”My skills in the arts of Caster magics has improved immensely since the last time that we have had the…pleasure to meet.” Anthony said as he picked up a silver fork and pulled a small piece of fish into his mouth,chewing gingerly on it as the flavor exploded across his tongue. It seemed as if only the cooks could do anything correctly. If only they could do the missions he assigned like how they prepared food.

So what brings you to our humble estate? I have a feeling its more than to make a simple house call.” Anthony said swallowing the food, making sure the question was straight to the point.

Anthony listened to what the man said with half interest as he took another morsel of the food into his mouth and chewed it before swallowing. Apparently something was stirring and it was more powerful than the man who claimed to have destroyed the world, though the Caster’s gave the man known as Holocaust no attention as well as his gaping portal. If they wanted to it would have been closed already, but they saw no immediate threat in it like some of the other families did, seeing as something like that could not possibly affect the implacable soul stream. It had served them through many crises that was said to have altered it but it remained the same.

” A deathly aura you say.” Anthony mused chewing gingerly on a roll of sushi as he let the idea roll around in his mind for a second, as it processed the variable with intensity. He ignored the loudly chewing girl who seemed to have no understanding of manner, though he doubted she could even speak English. This gave him no problem considering his extensive knowledge of languages, though he wouldn’t threaten the child in front of her powerful guardian. Of course the man planned to converse this with the head of the other families while he was likely to be on the sidelines as always.

Anthony was a perfectly capable heir, not some child that was simply there to watch. His father never seemed to give him any credit nor did he appraise his skills for what they were worth. The man treated him like a child and nothing more than that. It was likely that his father knew of this threat but that was not a definite fact of course. He wasn’t even sure if his father would wake from his deep meditation to give this man the time of day. He was always too busy for even his own son, which meant he wouldn’t give this man the time of day.

”I guess the heads will have to be called but I’m not sure how soon all of them can be called together. They all have their own agendas to attend to and usually can't be contacted but the most difficult will be the Thames head.” Anthony said simply looking from the old man to the young girl who was still devouring the food like a rabid dog.

It seemed that his little companion was enjoying the food more than the rest of them as if she had not eaten in what seemed like weeks. Anthony was internally curious of this but it could possibly be due to a large store of magic or her being a potentially powerful mage, seeing as a large amount of exertion can lead to an increased appetite. With his plate now empty, Anthony pushed it to the side and rested his chin on the back of his two hands. As he thought over the possibility of even gathering the heads beneath one roof which was harder than one would imagine it to be.

True the Hale and Thiel’s head would be easy enough to call to attention, considering that they always traveled together. Love only made them easier to track really, though Margaret Thames was a difficult woman to track given her ability to stay hidden until she was truly needed. While his father was readily available, so that only meant that the Thames’s would be the hardest to find really. Not that he couldn’t find her with the right amount of searching of course but that would require some work on his part. Not that Anthony was against it of course.

”We are doing well as of late. My step-mother is busy doing her business and so is my father, so they are keeping themselves busy these days. So that leaves me in charge of the estate mostly, though my cousin Lucas does visit occasionally and even stay when it suits him.” He was unsure if the man remembered Lucas, seeing as he was a hard person to forget once you met him, though Anthony didn’t really consider his cousins anything but hindrances’ who thought themselves entitled to his birthright. There was of course no way that he would allow them to take it.

”I can make the call now if you want. The Hale and Thiels heads are easy enough to track down.” Anthony said simply motioning as the waiters went to fetch dessert, which he had specially made not too long ago. It was proper etiquette to spoil your guests, even if you were not the best when dealing with people.

"As for the library,its still there." he said almost as an after thought.

”Yes,very…..spritley.” Anthony said not skipping a beat as the servants came with a bountiful dessert. It was no secret that Lucas was in a somewhat greater favor with his father, if only for the fact that he wasn’t prone to screw ups. While Anthony was only getting sloppier in his work and that did not reflect good upon Nolan Caster whom was very conscious about his self image. Which lead to less than wholesome bonding moments with a rod and his torso; his ribs were still sore from the multiple breaks that had to be healed. Nolan was intelligent enough to keep himself from killing the young heir. He was more intelligent than he liked to put on at any rate.

”Well look who it is,Uncle Cornelius in the flesh.” A somewhat chipper tone chimed in as what seemed like a semi attractive man with well kept blonde hair and enigmatic blue eyes walked into the room. His smile was almost disarming if you could look past his many personality flaws. He was dressed in simple jeans and a white v-neck. This was common for him to wear, even when dealing with Caster family business, unless of course if it was of the highest importance. He was the man known as Nolan Caster and a man to be feared.

He took a seat and picked himself out one of the many treats and took a bite. The help seemed to have calmed down considerably, tension not as thick as it once was. Nolan was strangely kind to his help, seeing as they at least did their jobs correctly. ”So I’ve heard that Elena’s son is the new head of the Thiels,not that I’m very surprised by that. I always knew that the boy was destined for great things, especially after all he’s been through and that old witch Elena is active even after death.” Nolan said finishing off his pastry and wiping away powdered sugar from his fingertips.

”Father,he was just asking to see the library.” Anthony interjected raising an eyebrow as Nolan shot him a quick gaze that caused him to stop whatever he was thinking of saying next.

”I suppose we can lead the way, after I finish this dessert of course.” His father was being surprisingly happy today and that did not sit well with Anthony. ”And from what I’ve heard,the young heiress Theresa Thames has disappeared. It’s a mystery and the family is going crazy trying to find out what has happened with her.” He added that bit in, something he had heard from special sources.

”You’re not looking bad yourself Cornelius!” Nolan Caster said in what would seem like a friendly tone, a smirk forming along his light pink lips. If anything, something was strange about the head of the Caster family this day and possibly that could be noted as his unusual friendliness. Something about it even threw Anthony off track for a second, though his mask did not waver. His serious green eyes moved from Nolan, to the girl and then to his great uncle. Whatever his plan was with this, he wanted to know but it wasn’t like his father to reveal anything before he thought it was time.

”Of course Cornelius, I would never dream of trying to bar you from the library.” Nolan said offering to lead them to the grand library, one that held an untold amount of magical knowledge. This was the more important part of the household, next to the vault used to store ancient and powerful artifacts held by the family. Nolan motioned for all of them to follow as he lead them down one of the long hallways that went through the house like veins, openings opening occasionally to more hallways. Anyone not acquainted with the home was likely to get lost, thus making stealing near impossible for anyone not acquainted with the house really.

It took around five minutes but they came to what looked like a large wooden door that opened with a simple push from Nolan and lead into the large library. Shelves of books lined the walls and took up most of the immense room, smell of old parchment permeating the place. ”Enjoy browsing.” Nolan said quizzically. ”Maybe you’ll meet the new addition to the family.”