by A and E Kirk
“You did not.” Logan whacked his shoulder.
“Yeah,” Tristan said. “You agreed with us that having all that Mandatum presence in Gossamer Falls actually put Aurora in more danger.”
“Did not!”
“Did too!”
“Not your fault, mates,” Matthias sighed. “When you worry about the idiot, she makes you all idiots. She’s like an idiocy virus that infects your brains.”
Jayden frowned. “Aurora as a virus is not a viable physiological possibility. But I do wish we would have cognized your intent earlier. It would have alleviated Ayden’s overwrought state regarding her safety.”
“He was pretty worked up,” Logan admitted.
“We all were,” Tristan said.
“So go get him, Tristan,” Matthias said, taking a bite of cookie. “I’ll be happy to explain it to him too.”
“Fine,” Tristan said. “Where is he?”
“He was with you in your room,” Jayden said.
“Wasn’t there when I woke up.”
In short order, the Hex Boys confirmed Ayden was gone. Matthias snuck into a Novo office for a quick phone call to Aurora, but she claimed Ayden hadn’t showed up in Gossamer Falls or contacted her, which left the Hex Boys the last-ditch option of searching Novo in hopes of catching their lovesick teammate before he successfully escaped.
But as time ticked by with no sign of the fiery Hex Boy, Matthias began to realize they were too late. He headed back to their rooms in hopes one of the other guys had had more success.
Matthias rushed through the front doors of their suite. “I heard a group of guards coming close behind me.” He looked at Jayden, Logan, Blake, and Tristan. “At least the rest of us are here. Anyone have any luck finding Ayden?”
Logan said, “No. But no one gave any of us weird looks or acted suspicious when we were wandering around.”
“Although,” Jayden said, his voice tinged with concern. “Several guards informed me we would be expected to resume our interrogation soon.”
“And Director Renard will be in on this one,” Matthias added. “And it’s a debriefing. Not an interrogation.”
Jayden gave him a doubtful look. “Either way you would like to play the semantics game, it would appear our attempts at delay tactics are coming to an end. And if they discover Ayden missing…” He let the sentence hang on an ominous thread.
Blake shrugged. “Tristan, you can get rid of the guards next time they show up. It’s like in that movie you love.” He waved a hand through the air. “Just tell them, ‘We are not the hemorrhoids you seek.’ ”
Logan rolled eyes.
But Tristan didn’t even smile. Instead, he glanced away. “Maybe we should look for him again. Or fess up and tell them he’s missing, and that we think demons took him. Then we organize a search party. I know we all think he’s gone, but it could distract them and buy us some time.”
A sharp heavy knock brought the Boys immediate attention to the front doors of the suite.
Through the door, a man’s voice said, “Gentlemen, we have a situation regarding one of your team members which needs immediate attention.”
The Boys shared worried looks.
“What now?” Tristan whispered.
“I’m telling you, dude, use the hemorrhoid magic.”
“It’s not hemorrhoids!”
“I know that,” Blake said. “But the point is you can make them think it’s hemorrhoids. Sheesh, dude, try to keep up.”
“I’ve got this.” Matthias moved toward the door and tried to appear to the other Boys as if he had a plan. After a brief pause with his hand on the handle, he opened the door, ready for the worst.
He was not disappointed.
Two Novo guards propped Ayden up between them, holding one of his arms around each of their shoulders. At least seven other guards stood behind them. The Boys gathered behind Matthias.
Jayden pushed through, his cheeks flaring. “What did you do to him? If you have caused him any discomfort, I will hold you personally accountable. And so will my mother!”
Matthias held up a hand. As far as he could see, Ayden appeared unharmed. A few small cuts on his face but they were minor and already dried. On an odd note, Ayden was shirtless, but that helped provide evidence that there was no visible damage to his torso. Although an unpleasant stench of burnt flesh wafted into the room.
“What happened?” Matthias pushed the other Boys aside so the men could bring Ayden into the room.
“We found him on the ground behind a storage facility,” the main guard said. “Next to what looked like a human corpse, which was burnt to a crisp. But the thing was wearing a wristband and when we took that off, sure enough. Demon.”
The men gently set Ayden on the couch. The Hex Boy’s body slumped, his head falling back. Then he blinked a few times and brought his head back up, eyes glassy. Finally, he focused and recognized the Boys.
“Hey,” Ayden said, his voice rough. He tried to smile, but couldn’t seem to get his lips to cooperate.
“Why is he in this state of distress?” Jayden said, his voice rising in an accusatory tone.
A guard pointed to a small red puncture wound on Ayden’s neck. “We think the demon drugged him, but your boy managed to kill the thing before he went unconscious. Which is how we found him.”
Jayden moved close to Ayden and began checking his vital signs.
“I’m fine,” Ayden mumbled and initially tried to push Jayden away, but then seemed to lose the strength and relaxed back into the couch.
“Nice work,” the main guard said. “But why was he so far out on the grounds? We told you guys to stay in the immediate area.”
“What did he say?” Matthias asked, wondering what story he needed to backup.
“Says the last thing he remembers is being in here with all of you,” the main guard said.
“The drugs will do that,” Tristan said. “I’m still really like, you know.” He waved his hands around his head. “Messed up. Don’t remember anything.”
The guard nodded. “But why was he out by himself?”
“We all went for some fresh air,” Matthias said. “It’s been a hell of a day. He said he was hungry. Went to get something to eat, so when we all got back here and couldn’t find him, we were about to go searching.”
The guard frowned. “You should have informed us immediately.”
“Was there anything on the security feeds?” Logan asked.
“No,” the guard admitted. “Still having trouble with missing footage. It’s been a mess.”
“Obviously there are still demons afoot,” Jayden said. “You should be grateful for my brother’s heroic assistance.”
“Of course,” the guard said. “And don’t worry, we’ve got a whole army of Mandatum coming in droves tomorrow. This place will be locked down six ways from Sunday. We’ll get this handled.”
“Great news,” Matthias said, hoping he and the Boys would be long gone by then. “And thanks for finding him.”
“Want one of our healers to look at him?” the guard asked.
“No, we’ve got it from here. But I’ll let you know if something comes up.” Matthias put a hand on the man’s shoulder, led him toward the door, and opened it. “But I think the rest of our debriefing needs to wait until tomorrow.”
The rest of the guards strode out, but the main guard paused. He gave Matthias a long look. One with suspicion frayed around the edges.
Then finally he said, “Okay, but I need all of you to remain here in the room. If you need anything, ask and we can get it for you, but no more wandering the grounds. For your own safety. Plus, you can’t be talking about this to anyone. We’ve confiscated every wristband we could find, but have yet to release all the information about what’s happened to the staff. Only a few key people know. Director Renard is still deciding how to make that call. Do we understand each other?”
“Absolutely.” Mat
thias shook the man’s hand. “Mums the word. And thanks again for your help.”
“Sure.”
After the man left, Matthias marched over to stand in front of Ayden. “He okay?” he asked Jayden.
“Yes. Just residual effects from a mild sedative.”
“Good,” Matthias said curtly.
“I’m fine.” Ayden pushed himself up off the couch.
With a palm against Ayden’s chest, Matthias shoved him back down.
“Okay, fine,” Ayden said. “I know you’re upset, but I can explain.” He started to stand again.
Matthias threw a right hook that connected with Ayden’s jaw.
Hard.
Ayden slammed back down onto the couch.
“Stay!” Matthias shouted, pointing a harsh finger. “You put yourself and all of us in danger.”
Ayden rubbed his jaw, but stayed sitting. “No, just me, because I had to make sure she was safe.”
“Aurora. It’s always Aurora who screws everything up!” Matthias started pacing, lights flickering. “I had her safety handled.”
“How?”
“It doesn’t matter! The point is you didn’t trust me. If I need your help, I’ll let you know. Because we’re a team. We have each other’s backs, and you had better start having ours before one or all of us gets killed!”
“That’s not what I was trying to do. You don’t understand.”
“Of course I understand! I may not like it, but I sure as hell understand it.” The Aussie swept a hand to encompass all the Boys. “They all care about her too, but one thing you all seem to forget is that she survived long before we came along. She’s the Divinicus Nex for a reason. An odd, idiotic, annoying as hell Divinicus Nex, but a Divinicus Nex none the less. Although, I still can’t understand any supernatural logic that picked her.”
“But these guys are Sicarius,” Ayden said. “The worst of the worst!”
“And what about the demon gods?” Matthias countered. “Aurora took Aphrodite back to hell, survived Artemis, and somehow, some bloody how, has Eros as her new BFF! Who was, of all things, willing to take on a Sicarius today to save her hide. A demon god saving the Divinicus Nex? How the hell does that happen?”
Blake folded his arms. “So, you’re saying babe is awesome.”
“No!” Matthias dropped his head back, ground his teeth together, and fisted his hands. Then he brought his head back up and looked at each Hex Boy. “I’m saying that despite all her many stupid, moronic flaws, which I genuinely hate, she has proven to be way too hard to kill.”
Blake nodded. “I get it now. You’re saying we don’t give her enough credit for being awesome.”
Matthias slapped his palm against his forehead. “No, Blake. That’s not what I said. At all!”
“Right. Because you’re also saying that you like her,” Blake added.
“No! I definitely didn’t say that.”
“Aw, come on.” Blake punched Matthias’ bicep. “You know you do.”
“No, Blake,” Ayden said. “What he’s saying in his usual insultingly eloquent way is that I’d better get my act together and quit being a complete idiot.”
Silence followed.
Ayden gave them a sheepish grin. “Don’t all contradict me at once.”
Matthias huffed a laugh and shook his head. “Well, you’re not being a complete idiot.”
OPERATION:
Found One, Lost One
LOCATION:
Novo Prison Suite
“So you really don’t remember?” Tristan leaned on the island in the kitchen and munched on another cookie. “I thought you were just making that up for the guards.”
“I remember sneaking onto the plane to Gossamer Falls and being with Aurora, but then somebody jumped us and things went black.” Sitting on the couch, Ayden took another drink of water from the glass Jayden provided. “Next thing I know the Novo guards are picking me up off the ground next to a still-smoking corpse. God, I hate that smell.”
“And you have no idea how you got here?” Matthias said.
Ayden squeezed his eyes shut and grimaced. “Nope. Nothing. I was talking to Aurora, then— Oh, God!” He shot to his feet, but wobbled. His vision blurred enough that he lost his balance and fell back down onto the sofa.
Jayden caught the glass that dropped from Ayden’s hand, then flicked his fingers to reverse the spilling water back into it. He handed the glass to Ayden. “You must remain seated and drink in order to rehydrate properly.”
“But what if they took Aurora?” Ayden gave Matthias a pleading look. “I know you said she’s safe with the Mandatum there, but someone, whoever it was, got to me. They could have her too.”
“He has a valid point,” Jayden said.
“And if the traitor has the Divinicus Nex, that could be disastrous,” Logan added.
“Fair enough,” Matthias said. “Besides, she could do something stupid if she thinks Ayden’s in danger. Blake, with me. We’ll find another empty office to make the call from. With the place on lockdown, there are a lot of those.”
“But they told us not to leave the room,” Tristan said.
“Dude, when there’s a damsel to save, us heroes cannot let anything stand in our way,” Blake said as he followed Matthias out the door.
They quickly found a vacant office. Blake manipulated the metal to release the lock, then stayed just inside the door keeping watch while Matthias used the phone.
“He’s back,” Matthias hissed when Aurora answered the Lahey’s house line. To Blake, he mouthed, “She’s okay,” and gave a thumbs-up.
Blake smiled and returned the gesture.
“Oh, God,” Aurora said, sounding as if she were ready to cry. Matthias couldn’t understand why, considering he’d just given her good news.
“I’m sorry,” she said, now really sounding weepy. “I tried to get him to go, but they found him and took him. It all happened so fast. Have they hurt him?”
“What the bloody hell are you talking about? The Mandatum didn’t bring him back, they found him here at Novo. No shirt. Unconscious. Drugged. Next to a dead demon still wearing the wristband, its body burnt to a crisp. They think Ayden tracked it down, and even after it jabbed him with a needle, he managed to kill it before he blacked out.”
Another silence before Aurora said, “That isn’t what happened.”
“I know,” Matthias said. “He told them he doesn’t remember anything because of the drugs, but he told us the last thing he remembered was talking to you.”
“That’s true.”
After a few sniffles, she gave him a rundown of events. As he listened to her blather on about Ayden’s abduction, the attacker leaving her alone, and Ayden’s subsequent return propped up as some kind of hero, Matthias became more and more confused.
“It doesn’t make any sense,” he muttered. At least Ayden was safe. And so was she. One less problem to solve. “But never mind. Things are good, and I’ll keep him here even if I have to jab him with a needle myself. In the meantime—”
Logan burst into the room.
“What, Logan? I don’t want them to know I’m in here.” Matthias wanted to turn his glare on Blake for not watching the door, but the big guy was nowhere in sight.
“Blake went to rescue Heather and take her away from Novo,” Logan said in a rush.
Forgetting he was supposed to be quiet, Matthias thundered, “Blake did what?! I’m going to kill him. Aurora, just stay alive. We’ll be back soon.” He sighed. “I hope.”
On the way back to the suite, Logan explained, “Blake came back to tell me you needed me, then when we got close to the office you were in, he told me to keep watch for you while he went to get Heather and take her as far away as possible. Then he took off. This is all my fault.”
“Of course it isn’t.”
“No, I should have anticipated this.” As Logan spoke, he took his handkerchief out of his coat’s breas
t pocket and refolded it over and over. “He’d been muttering about another damsel to save. I just thought it was Blake being Blake, but I knew Heather had kept asking him to get her out of here because she missed her family and was scared of her treatments. Then Tristan told us about all the damage they’d done to her head. Plus you know he’s been edgy ever since Aurora’s parents fighting. It’s brought all the bad stuff up in his head, and I think once he found out Aurora was okay, he decided to go help the next damsel on his list.”
They’d reached the doors of the suite, but instead of going in, Matthias took the handkerchief out of Logan’s hand, folded it properly, and tucked it neatly into Logan’s breast pocket.
“We’ll take care of this,” Matthias said.
As they entered the room, the other Hex Boys jumped up from the couch.
“Aurora’s home and safe,” Matthias said. “Plus, the Mandatum are there in force in Gossamer Falls, so she’s fine.”
The twins and Tristan sighed in relief.
“But now we have to go save Blake.” Matthias opened the door and motioned for them to exit.
“From who?” Ayden asked.
“Himself,” Matthias answered.
OPERATION:
Damsel Detour
LOCATION:
Novo Patient Ward
The halls around the nurses station bustled with activity. Standing across the counter from Blake, the brunette nurse shook her head. “You can’t come in here and be so flagrant.”
“Why not? It’s a new cologne. I’m glad you like it.”
The nurse frowned. “What? No, I meant you can’t come in here and break the rules. What is it with you boys?”
“But she knows me,” Blake said.
“How? Are you a relative?”
“No. We, uh, went to school together.”
“What school?”
“The one where they have teachers and classes and you get an education. What other kind is there?”
“Aren’t you the funny one,” she deadpanned.
Blake grinned. “Thank you. And may I say you are looking quite gorgeous today.”
