Gideon's Promise (Sons of Judgment Book 2)

by Morgana Phoenix

  “Valkyrie?”

  She was better at composing herself. The surprise in her blue eyes vanished as swiftly as the wall appeared, blocking her from him.

  “You’re awake.” She stepped into the corridor with him and shut the door behind her. “I knew that thick skull of yours would mend quickly.”

  Her hair was damp. It was swept away from her face and bunched in a dark, shiny ponytail down her back. Her jacket was off and she stood before him in a sports bra and black tights. There were sneakers in the place of her ass kicking boots and her makeup consisted only of eyeliner and nothing else, leaving her face open and young. It reminded him of the days when things had been simple between them.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked.

  “Didn’t your mother tell you?” she asked instead, finely plucked eyebrow lifting in an almost mocking challenge.

  Gideon tried to remember if his mother, Riley, or Magnus had made a single mention of Valkyrie and any reason why she would be in one of the spare rooms, and came up empty handed.

  “It must have slipped her mind,” he muttered, making a mental note to kick his brother in the ass.

  Squaring her shoulders like she was getting ready to take down an opponent, she said, “Your parents think that until we locate and vanquish those responsible it would be best if we join temporary forces. Father agrees. I’ll be staying here until that happens.”

  Stay? At Final Judgment? In his home? Living across the hall where he would see her every day?

  Not happening.

  Turning on his heels, he marched back to the main part of the house, determined to find someone, anyone, and make them fix this. She couldn’t be allowed to stay. His sanity would never survive it.

  He ran into his father first.

  “Gideon, good to see you up—”

  “She can’t stay here,” he said before his father could get another word in. “I’ll put in overtime. I will hunt night and day until we find the force behind the attacks, but she needs to go.”

  She was standing behind him. He didn’t need to look to know she was there. Her presence was a red, hot poker pressing between his shoulder blades.

  His father looked up from the papers in his hand, his eyes wide with bewilderment. “Gideon, whatever personal feelings you might have towards this matter—”

  “That isn’t—”

  “You need to put them aside!” his father finished sharply. “This isn’t about you. This is about our people being slaughtered in their homes. It is our duty to protect them. If we must join forces with the devil himself to accomplish that task, then so God help me, we will.”

  The bang of his fist on the table had Riley and Imogen’s heads coming up from several feet away. He paid them no attention.

  “You don’t understand!” he hissed, keeping his voice as low as humanly possible. “She can’t stay here.”

  Setting the papers down, his father met his gaze squarely. “You are being horribly rude, Gideon. Valkyrie is a guest and a fellow Caster. This is as much her home as it is ours.”

  Snarling in frustration, Gideon threw himself away from the table, barely restraining the urge to upend the thing in the process. He felt the familiar touch of his mother’s hand on his arm, but he wrenched away and threw himself out the front doors into the cool, spring afternoon. The forestry around Final Judgment rustled with the breeze. Their quiet whispers only infuriated him further, like they were mocking him somehow.

  Magnus should have told him. All that crap about keeping his promise and not doing anything stupid, well he should have thought to warn Gideon that his only weakness would be living under the same roof. Maybe then, he wouldn’t have been blindsided by the news.

  The doors opened behind him and he felt the warm wash of her presence sweep over him. He didn’t turn, not even when the soft clip of her footsteps alerted him to her approach. She said nothing as she pushed passed him and took off at a sprint across the parking lot, her ponytail a dark pendulum swinging at her back.

  Gideon watched her jog out of sight and prayed to whoever was listening that he got through this without doing something irretrievably stupid.

  Dinner that evening was practically a funeral march, somber and quiet with only the clink of silverware on ceramic interrupting the silence. Gideon wouldn’t have even bothered coming down, except his mother had threatened him with bodily harm—and guilt.

  Reggie sat on his right with their father on Gideon’s left. Their mother and Magnus sat across from them with Octavian on Magnus’ other side. Riley sat next to him with Imogen in the seat next to her. Valkyrie was on Reggie’s left. Only one seat away from Gideon.

  His mom had made coddle, an Irish dish consisting mostly of leftovers floating in a stew of potatoes and onions. It wasn’t one of his favorites, but it wouldn’t have mattered even if it had been. He had no appetite.

  “We should discuss a strategy for tonight,” said Magnus.

  Their father and Valkyrie agreed. Gideon speared a potatoe with his fork.

  “No business talk at the table!” their mother reprimanded almost immediately.

  “But, darling, this is important,” his father insisted.

  “No business!” she repeated, warning him with her eyes not to push the matter. “Dinner is family time. We should talk about our day.”

  No one thought that was a very good idea considering Gideon’s outburst, but no one said so.

  “Well,” Riley ventured cautiously. “I caught a rabbit today.”

  “And she didn’t let it go,” Magnus agreed, sounding as close to proud as his brother ever could.

  “That’s wonderful, Riley!” their mother said.

  Gideon wondered if that was what was filling her steaming mug. Since strigoi didn’t eat food, Riley only had her drinking mug at dinner times. Usually it was filled with the synthetic blood some scientist on the strigoi payroll had invented. It was supposed to be like the real thing without the need for a human donor. The only problem was that it couldn’t be drank cold. The contents were more jelly than liquid. It could only be boiled into the perfect consistency.

  Unfortunately, the packs weren’t enough. As temporary solutions went, they were great if a strigoi was in a tight bind. But fresh, human blood was mandatory. Except, Riley refused to drink from humans. It had taken Magnus three months to finally convince her to even drink from animals. So if she had finally made a successful hunt, Gideon was happy for her.

  “I’m actually very happy to hear that,” their mother went on, setting her spoon delicately down in her bowl. She smiled at Riley, then at Imogen. “I was thinking we could take Imogen shopping tomorrow for some new clothes.”

  “What?” Imogen and Riley said at the same time.

  “Well, it’s just that you’ve been wearing Riley’s clothes the last few days and I thought maybe you would like a few outfits of your own.”

  “I don’t mind,” Riley said a little desperately. “Really. It’s fine.”

  Imogen, however, had other ideas. “Really? We can go to an actual store?”

  His mom nodded, smiling as big as Imogen’s eyes. “We could make a day of it. Maybe get our hair done and our nails—”

  “I can’t,” Riley blurted. She’d lost all the color in her face, except for her lips which were still painted a bright red from the blood. “It’s too dangerous. You guys go. Have fun.”

  Mom’s smile dimmed. Then vanished all together. “Riley, you can’t stay locked up in this place forever.”

  “I know, but—”

  “Mom’s right, Green-eyes,” Octavian murmured. He placed a gentle hand on her arm. “You have to at least try.”

  She started to shake her head. “What if I hurt someone? What if I lose control like I did before and...?”

  “You should have a trial run,” Valkyrie said from across the table. “You can bring that twiggy girl back here and—”

  “No!” Reggie said before anyone could guess who twiggy girl was. “You�
�re not using Daphne as some kind of guinea pig to test your theory.”

  Valkyrie shrugged. “You’re right. It’s only a matter of time before another human just waltzes in here. That seems to be the trend after all.”

  “Valkyrie has a point though—”

  “What?” Reggie growled.

  Their father put up a hand, stopping him. “I only mean that we should break Riley in slowly. I think a full day of shopping might be a bit too much.” He shot his wife a sheepish smile. “But maybe if we took her somewhere small, somewhere we could watch her and intervene if anything should happen, like a park, perhaps.”

  “A park might be too open,” Octavian said. “I think the best place would be here at Final Judgment. It’s contained and Riley feels safe here.”

  “And how do you suppose we get a human here?” Magnus wondered. “Especially since it’s against the law to begin with.”

  “Like I said...” Valkyrie said dryly. “You already have—”

  “And I said no!” Reggie interjected. “No one is going near Daphne.”

  “It makes sense though,” Magnus argued. “Riley knows Daphne and she’ll fight twice as hard not to hurt her.”

  “We’ll all be there, Reg,” Octavian added soothingly. “We won’t let anything—”

  “Screw you guys!” Reggie leapt out of his seat, sending it skidding back a full two feet. “You would never agree if we were talking about putting Riley’s life in danger. You won’t even leave the manor because you’re afraid something might happen to her, and she’s the strongest one of us! But you’re all perfectly fine with using my mate as bait. Well, over my dead fucking body!”

  “Reggie’s right,” Riley murmured quietly. “I won’t risk Daphne’s life.”

  “Okay.” Their father put his hands up, demanding silence from the group. “We will just come up with another plan.”

  It didn’t happen that night. No one dared touch the topic again when Reggie looked so close to tearing the head off a kitten.

  They finished supper in silence, helped clean the dishes, and gathered in the parlor over tea and brandy to discuss that night’s patrol.

  “We should call another Keeper meeting,” his father decided. The firelight sparked off the crystal rim of his tumbler as he raised his brandy for a sip. “I think we can cover more ground if all Casters joined forces.”

  Valkyrie shook her head. She wasn’t drinking anything and sat on the lip of the sofa with one leg stretched out in front of her like she was ready to pounce up at a moment’s notice and attack.

  “You’ll get no help from the south,” she declared. “Since the murder of her granddaughter, Tiana has her forces hunting demons around the clock.”

  His mother clicked her tongue. “That was such a tragedy. I can’t imagine the sort of suffering that family must go through daily, not knowing what became of her.”

  “It was their own fault,” Valkyrie stated evenly. “They got cocky.”

  “Even then—”

  She cut his mother off with a brisk shake of her head. “You can’t go taunting demons and not expect a retaliation.”

  “But we don’t know it was demons,” his mother argued. “It could have been anything.”

  “It was demons,” Magnus muttered. “Everyone knows it. Only problem is no one knows which demon.” He waved a hand absently. “And I have to agree with Valkyrie, they brought it on themselves.”

  “What do you mean?” Riley asked.

  “There’s this non-spoken bet between Casters,” Octavian explained. “Where each clan earns a point for every demon they hunt. It’s ridiculous, but there are some who take the gamble very seriously.”

  “Is there a trophy at the end of the year, or something?” she asked.

  Octavian chuckled. “No. Most do it for the glory of being the fiercest of the four houses.”

  “Up until thirteen years ago, the south held the record,” Valkyrie chimed in. “And they were drunk with the triumph, gloating about being unstoppable and stronger than any demon, or Caster. It was only a matter of time before they pissed off the wrong demon.”

  “That’s still horrible,” Riley murmured. “I hope they find them.”

  “Well, they haven’t in thirteen years.” Magnus shifted higher in his seat. “Neither will we by sitting around wasting time talking about it. We should decide what we’re going to do tonight.”

  “Father says he will send troops to the east and south if we take the west and north,” Valkyrie said.

  His father nodded slowly. “That sounds fine. Reggie, you and Magnus take the northern quadrant. Gideon, you and Valkyrie—”

  “What?” Gideon nearly tumbled out of his seat. “Why can’t—”

  “Because I said!” his father said sharply. “You will take the west.”

  “Perhaps I should go with—”

  Their father cut Magnus off with a single glance that warned not to push the subject. “I have already made my decision. Gideon will take the west with Valkyrie. I won’t hear any more about it.”

  “If that is the decision then I must prepare.”

  Without another word, Valkyrie got to her feet and left the room. Gideon waited until the crack of her boots had faded down the hall before turning to his father.

  “You’re making a mistake!” he said through clenched teeth.

  “No.” His father rose to his feet. “I haven’t. I may not make many of the decisions you boys do when it comes to hunting because I know it’s you out there doing the work. But I am your leader, as I am your father, and it is my final word.”

  “But why?” Gideon leapt to his own feet. Anger curled his fingers at his sides. “Why can’t Magnus, or Reg—”

  “Because I want it to be you.” Features softening, his father moved to stand in front of Gideon. He rested his hands lightly on his shoulders and squeezed. “We must always fight for peace. Whether it is between us, between our fellow Keepers or the world. Valkyrie is our ally. We are not blessed with many of those. Alienating one would be a dire mistake.” he released Gideon and took a step back. “There is nothing stronger than the bond forged when two people have fought side by side.”

  It was on the tip of his tongue to tell his father who Valkyrie was and why it was so important this bonding experience never happens. But he didn’t. His parents wouldn’t understand. They believed imprinting was one of the most important things in life and to deny it was practically a sin. They would encourage him to find a way to make Valkyrie his rather than push her away. And normally he would agree, but not when he’d spent the better part of a century searching for a way and finding none.

  “I need to get my gear,” he muttered instead.

  Not waiting for anyone to stop him, Gideon charged out of the room. He felt her hurry after him even before she spoke.

  “I read somewhere once that the only time a guy wants to stay away from a girl as hot as Valkyrie is because he bats for the opposite team.”

  Besides the coils of anger still gripping him, Gideon laughed. “Darling, believe me, I am an expert batter for the very straight team.”

  Riley fell into step with him. “Okay, so what’s the deal with you two?”

  He looked at her. “Why does everyone think there’s a deal?”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Oh, I don’t know. Call it a hunch and the fact that you pop a blood vessel every time she walks into the room.”

  “Maybe I just don’t like her,” he argued.

  Riley actually rolled her eyes. “Oh please! She’s gorgeous, an amazing fighter, loyal, and—”

  “We’re just different,” he interrupted. “But enough about me.” He stopped and faced her. “What the hell were you thinking, leaping on a Daitya like that?”

  Riley just frowned at him. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean,” he stressed. “You could have been hurt.”

  “Possibly,” she agreed very slowly. “But I wasn’t going to let that thing hurt you, either.”

&nbs
p; Gideon pulled her to him and crushed her in his arms. He planted a kiss to the top of her head.

  “You’re not getting rid of me that easily, deirfiúr bheag,” he murmured into the silky strands, speaking the Gaelic words for little sister. He pulled back and grinned down at her. “You’re not that lucky.”

  He oomphed when she stabbed him in the gut with a finger.

  “Don’t talk like that,” she scolded him. “Aside from Octavian and Daphne, you’re my best friend, Gideon, and I couldn’t stand it if something happened to you.” Taking his face between her cool palms, she went up on her toes and brushed a kiss to his cheek. She drew back and grinned at him. “Besides, think of Magnus. You’re the only one he doesn’t glare at.”

  Laughing, he snaked an arm around her shoulders and drew her into his side as he propelled them deeper along the corridor. “Well, in that case, I guess I better keep living. Can you imagine a world with a perpetually grumpy Magnus?”

  Riley chuckled, laying her head on his shoulder. “Maybe it’s hard for you to imagine, but for the rest of us, that’s a normal day.”

  “What’s a normal day?” Reggie ambled over to them.

  “We were deliberating the mystery that is Magnus,” Gideon said. “And how he got all that sunny disposition.”

  Reggie glanced from one to the other, eyes narrowed warily. “Are we talking about the same Magnus?”

  Riley burst out laughing. “See?”

  Reggie, looking baffled, continued to look from her to Gideon and back, before shaking his head.

  “Can I talk to you before you head out?” He said to Gideon.

  “I’ll catch you guys later.”

  Riley ducked out from beneath Gideon’s arm and walked away.

  Gideon faced his brother. “What’s up?”

  Reggie paused and glanced over his shoulder. “I need you to make a run with me. It’ll be really quick.”

  Gideon frowned. “What? Why?”

  The other man hesitated. He scooped a hand back through his hair and did another survey of the corridor before speaking.

  “I just ... I have this feeling...” He rubbed a hand over his chest. “Something’s wrong with Daphne. I want to go, but I can’t...” His jaw tensed. The muscles there flexed. “I don’t trust myself...”