The elevator was gold.
Not gold-plated. Real gold that hummed with Rank 4 energy and moved without cables, powered by whatever arcane machinery the Gilded Lily's designers had hidden beneath the floors. The doors closed with a soft chime, and the elevator began its ascent.
Ten floors.
The four enforcers stood around Holden in a diamond formation. The shaved-head woman stood in front, two men guarded the sides, and a fourth stood directly behind him
None of them spoke.
Their glassy eyes stared straight ahead, locked on nothing while still seeing everything Serith's psychic link wanted them to see.
Holden's 10,000x processor quietly assessed each of them. Rank 2, 6-Star. Their bodies had been strengthened through constant cultivation, and each carried a Rank 2 stun baton. Their minds were completely enslaved. There was no independent thought or real will behind those empty eyes.
