Chade

by Montana Ash

  Okay, this was obviously serious, Cali thought. “What’s this about Max?”

  “I want you to be on my side. I need you to be on my side.” Was her answer.

  Shit. This was about Max wanting to go after the chade that had attacked her ... again.

  “Max. I am on your side. We all are …” She began but Max shook her head, stopping her. Her deep red hair moved freely in its typical messy fashion and Cali was pleased to see it once again shined with health and vitality.

  “You’re not. Not fully. And that’s ok. You’ve known me for all of six months where as you guys are a unit, made and bonded over decades. I get it. But …” she paused and her unique eyes seemed to burn with that ancient knowledge they did sometimes, “… I am your liege, aren’t I? No matter the newness.”

  “Yes. Most assuredly.” Her response was prompt, if a little nervous as to where this was heading. Max was still watching her, head tilted slightly to the side. She noticed Zombie held an identical pose and wondered if that was conscious on either’s part. Max continued;

  “So tell me; in your old Order what would have happened if you defied the wishes of your liege?”

  Cali closed her mouth abruptly at that – Max was serious. And it was tricky ground. Her old liege was a big believer in the old ways; his punishment would have been physical. She cleared her suddenly dry throat, “Most likely corporal punishment.”

  Max nodded as if she already knew that, “And yet, you all seem to think it’s perfectly acceptable to defy me at every turn. Why is that?”

  Cali struggled to form her answer. She wasn’t talking to her friend here; she was talking to her liege – a goddess. Even so, she couldn’t be anything but honest; “Because you’re not just a liege to us – to any of us.”

  Max seemed to soften at that, “I know. Just as you’re not merely a battery pack to me. But that doesn’t change the fact that you have all sworn to follow me.”

  “You’re right, it doesn’t.” She blew out a breath. This was why forming personal or intimate relationships between wardens and paladins had been banned years ago. Such relationships muddied the waters, caused distractions, and caused mixed loyalties and priorities.

  “And now you’re thinking maybe the council was right to forbid relationships within Orders.” Max smiled, looking more at ease now.

  Perhaps she had only needed to hear where Cali’s motivation was stemming from, Cali thought. After all, she had been so alone so long it was not surprising she was still a tad vulnerable. “Reading my mind?” She teased.

  Max shook her head, “Don’t need to. But that’s wrong thinking. If anything the relationship should make it easier. The trust and loyalty should be organic if it springs from affection. I do think compromise is the key though – and patience. I think I’ve been showing you all that in spades. Problem is, I’m not seeing it reciprocated.”

  Cali had to choke back her automatic snort at that statement; compromise, patience and Max were not three synonymous words. However, as she gave it some more thought she realised that Max had indeed been very patient with all of them. She always listened to their perspectives and although it must have felt like torture to her, she had been compromising with her need to be outdoors and their need to keep her safe inside. Max knew about all of their histories now and she was always careful not to say or do anything that may bring up bad memories. She always respected their individual needs and took them into account. Too bad they hadn’t been returning the same courtesy to her.

  “Well, shit.” She said. “I’m sorry.”

  Max shrugged, “All good. Learning curve. But now that you’re seeing my perspective a bit more …. I know you have Ryker’s scythe.”

  She had just been starting to relax again when Max dropped that little bomb and Cali felt her heart jolt at the news.

  Max smiled sympathetically now, “It’s okay. I know why you kept it and why you haven’t mentioned it. You’re loyal to Ryker. I understand, honest.”

  Cali bowed her head in shame. She held a secret that could very well change how everyone thought when it came to Max’s attack and also to the chade whom Max was set on saving. Feelings of remorse and even embarrassment slithered their way in as Max sat patiently, legs crossed with a slater bug crawling over her hand and a puppy chewing a hole in the bottom of her pants.

  The morning after the attack she had made her way downstairs and out here into the garden. She had been consumed with self-flagellation, kicking at the ground in futile anger when she had spotted one of Ryker’s scythe’s in the flower bed. It was the one he had lost after throwing it at the chade. She had picked it up with the intention of delivering it straight back to its owner but a smudge on the edge had caught her eye. Dried, yet bright red blood was along the curved edge of the blade and she remembered feeling her heartrate accelerate. She knew neither Max nor Ry had been injured. Only the chade had taken a direct hit, which had to mean …

  She hadn’t believed it possible at first but there really was no other explanation. The chade had been injured and it had bled – real blood, real red blood. Cali knew it supported Max’s theory that they had the potential to become more human when allowed to recharge. So why hadn’t she ‘fessed up and delivered the veritable evidence to her liege and Captain? Because she thought her Captain might not want to know and she knew he was far too loyal and honourable to pretend he hadn’t seen it. There was also no way he would ever dream of lying to the love of his life either. It wasn’t that she felt more loyalty to Ryker than she did to Max. It was the simple fact that she owed Ryker; he had saved her.

  The scarred, moody man who Cali had met fifteen years ago had saved all of them in different ways, Cali knew; Darius from hate and despair, Axel from a broken heart, Diana from the loss of her liege and Order, Lark from an abusive father, and Beyden from persecution. He had offered them all a home and a purpose when their society appeared to turn their backs on them. He acted as though it was grudging aid, as though it was no big deal and they all let him think that way even though they all knew it was anything but. He had saved her from a life as nothing more than a sex slave, and not just because he offered her a place to stay when she left her Order. When she had spoken to Max about her past, there was just one part to the story she had left out; Ryker.

  Her old Order – the Order of Neptune – were notorious for being somewhat anti-social and for not travelling. Stefan was permanently in charge of a specific set of waterways high up in the Scandinavian Mountains. But they had travelled to the Australian training lodge right here fifteen years ago at the behest of the IDC when Stefan had formally requested another paladin to join his ranks. Although a local council could recommend and even approve Order members, the official ceremony was always conducted in front of the IDC whenever humanly possible. She had been excited to travel for her own sake, but more so because she was hopeful she would be awarded an opportunity to formalise a complaint against her liege in person. She had requested multiple times that she be allowed to leave the Order but Stefan had always refused. He had wanted his blonde little love-monkey where she belonged. She had also registered several complaints with the IDC via correspondence only to hear nothing back. She didn’t know if they had been disregarded or if Stefan or someone else in her Order had sabotaged her communications and they had never actually made it to the council. Either way, she had been stuck in an Order she hated and bound to a liege she despised.

  Stefan had pranced into the Lodge on his invisible pedestal as usual, nose in the air and his customary smirk on his face. Most other wardens and paladins present had fawned as anticipated but she had been pleasantly surprised to see a few frowns of disapproval. Seems word of how he routinely recharged his vitality had gotten around and not everyone was impressed about it. The fiercest scowl had come from a tall, broad, dark-haired soldier with a horrendous scar down the side of his face. His warm chocolate eyes were decidedly chilly as he eyed her liege and her Order before snorting and shaking his head –
clearly he found them lacking. The scar and his ‘fuck off’ aura should have made him ugly but Cali had thought him one of the sexiest looking guys of her acquaintance. Of course, most of that was likely due to the fact that he had stalked up to Stefan and reminded him with a few terse words that they were all scheduled to undergo their mandatory annual assessments while they were there. Stefan always tried to wiggle his way out of training – too soft.

  So Cali had pit herself against the newest recruits, the super fine and wholly unexpected trainers of the Australian Lodge, and a handful of other knights. It had been darn cathartic for her. The brutal hand-to-hand as well as the weapons refresher had allowed her to expend some much needed temper. Unfortunately, the result of watching her get all physical and sweaty was Stefan getting horny and demanding. He’d had her pinned to the wall outside the training barracks, one hand on her breast and the other fumbling with his fly for a quickie when the big, scarred Ryker had rounded the corner. Although she hadn’t spoken a word, she couldn’t have hidden her blatant disgust, hate, and rage blazing from her eyes if she tried. Ryker’s eyes had flashed in awareness but he hadn’t even broken stride; “They need you inside.” He’d said directly to her. Stefan had stiffened and only managed an imperious, “You –”, before Ryker had growled one more word; “Now!”. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, she had scrambled to obey.

  Not thirty minutes later, the ex-Captain of the Order of Ember had walked over to where she had been anxiously awaiting the arrival of her liege – he had yet to return – and thrust some papers into her hand;

  “Seems you’ve been discharged from your duties as paladin for the Order of Neptune. Dishonourably discharged of course, but whatever.”

  “I – what?” She had stuttered. But he had continued on as if he didn’t hear her;

  “I have a camp. It’s not much and its getting a little crowded but you’re welcome to stay there until you get your shit together. And I saw you fight earlier, not bad. I could probably use you around here too if you’re interested.”

  He had walked off, well stalked off really, leaving Cali open mouthed and completely speechless. Trembling, she had looked down at the papers he had given her and had found binding documents declaring her no longer a member of the Neptune Order and no longer bound to Stefan. Stefan and her Order – former Order – had bustled past her at that precise moment and Cali had the satisfaction of seeing Stefan’s perfect blue eyes blackened and full bottom lip split.

  Ryker had never said another word about that day and neither had she but she knew he had somehow managed to beat the shit out of a warden and threaten him enough that he had let Cali go. How Ry had managed it without being executed she had no idea and she didn’t really care. All that mattered to her was that she was free.

  And it was all thanks to Ryker.

  Shaking herself back to the present, she found Max just as she had left her before drifting off down memory lane. “Max, I’m so sorry. Please forgive me. I wasn’t trying to be deceitful or malicious, I swear. It’s just that – Ryker …”

  “Saved you. Ryker saved you. I know.” Max’s eyes swirled with colours and her hand seemed to warm where it rested on Cali’s bent knee. “I told you, I understand.”

  Despite herself, Cali teared as she threw herself at Max. The much smaller woman was predictably stronger than she looked and she didn’t even sway under the force of Cali’s affection. “You’ve saved me too.” She whispered into the thick mass of red hair.

  “Ditto.” Was the whispered response.

  Cali laughed, making sure to wipe her eyes before pulling back. “How about I go get Ry’s scythe and give it back to him? He keeps whining about how naked he feels with only one.”

  Max rolled her eyes, “Tell me about it. And that would be great. Things are getting a little … heated inside.”

  “Oh?” Cali couldn’t hear anything from out here but if she focused on the open threads of the Order she could feel unmistakable tension. Looks like it was her turn to man up.

  “And Cali?” Max called after her.

  Cali paused and turned at the threshold of the house.

  “Don’t worry, you won’t be too outnumbered. Darius will back you up.”

  Darius will back her up? Now that was unlikely given his history, but Cali would be lying if she said she wasn’t intrigued.

  NINE

  Ry’s second scythe had been just where she left it – buried in her underwear draw – and she swallowed nervously as she made her way downstairs and into the kitchen. Nobody even noticed her given the decibel of their discussion. Seems everyone had an opinion and everyone thought their opinion was the right one. Backtracking a little, she placed the scythe on the hall table and decided her Order needed a stern talking to first. She had always admired Max’s ability to deliver her often scathing but always honest little speeches. Now it was her turn.

  “We can’t do that, man. The IDC has expressly told us not to.” Beyden was saying.

  “We have a responsibility to do everything in our power to ensure Max is kept safe and healthy. I’m with Ryker; let’s go hunting.” Lark spoke next.

  “I agree.” Axel’s strident voice boomed across the room. “Max is better now. We can afford to leave half of us here and the other half can seek out that chade.”

  Diana snorted rudely, tossing her crazy curls over her shoulder, “Yeah, because dividing up worked out so well last time.”

  Cali could feel the anger and frustration mounting again and knew Axel wanted to snap back at the paladin of death.

  “Maybe this is all a moot point anyway. Hopefully the Ranger Units have found and killed the chade anyway.” Beyden jumped in, ever the peace-maker.

  “I don’t think so. None of the chades have matched its description.” Diana pointed out. “They’ve all been your typical filthy, skinny, creepy chades. Not clean and built like you described Ryker.”

  “I didn’t say it was built.” Ryker growled.

  No, they definitely weren’t the words Ryker had used, but they were Max’s. Seems Max had a wee crush on her pet chade. Not that Cali would ever say that out loud. She liked her head on her shoulders thank you very much.

  “Are you going to hover there all day? Or do you have something to add?”

  Her Captain’s question was clearly directed at her even though he didn’t turn around. She gulped, hoping he hadn’t heard her internal dialogue seconds before. Yeah, she had something to say; “I disagree with all of you. I agree with Max. We need to find the chade and bring it here – peacefully.” She added. Okay, so her and Max had a lot of things in common and lack of subtlety was definitely one of them.

  Ryker spun toward her angrily and actually snarled at her, “What?!”

  Not liking being on the receiving end of all that anger one bit, she took a fortifying breath and repeated; “I agree with Max. We need to find the chade.”

  Chaos broke out from the peanut gallery; chairs were scraped back as big bodies heaved themselves up, voices were raised in anger and indignation, fingers were being pointed – largely in her direction. She raised her hand for silence and when that didn’t work decided to get in on the whole yelling thing, “That is enough!”

  The room quietened instantly and she glared at the whole miserable lot of them. They were all flushed, chests rising and falling, posturing and carrying on like a bunch of children. Max had been totally and completely right – this was no way for an Order to behave.

  “It’s enough.” She repeated much more quietly. “Have you all looked at yourselves? Do you see how you’re acting? Do you hear what you’re saying? If your liege was anyone other than Max, do you think this kind of behaviour would be tolerated for even a minute? Do you think any other liege would even ask their paladin’s opinions?”

  Mouths opened and closed silently and flushes of anger quickly turned into flushes of shame. “Despite the fact that Max is our liege and we have no right to question her nor any right to defy her orders �
� it’s Max. Guys, it’s Max. We trust her with our lives remember? We trust her with the whole freaking world for fuck’s sake. We’ve all long since gotten over not believing her when she speaks. We all know that Max is a true miracle. Why are we even questioning her? We should be supporting her and grovelling at her feet for forgiveness.”

  Diana was the first to break the silence and stillness, flopping into a chair at the table. “We question her because we love her and we want to keep her safe. Seeing her so ill terrified us.” She held up a hand, motioning Cali into silence. “And it’s no excuse I know, to forget my duty and my pledge. Not for an instant.” She added.

  It wasn’t an excuse Cali knew, but given she had used almost the exact same one outside with Max just minutes before, she couldn’t fault her friend – or any of them really. Deciding to move right along, she thought back to what Max had said about Darius. “What about you Darius? You’re being unusually quiet.”

  Darius’s hazel eyes bored into hers and she felt a tentative query flash through the Order link. It was almost like he was gauging the depth of her support on the situation. She sent a load of warmth and encouragement back and saw his lips curve in a smile. Max was right; Darius was most definitely on her side.

  He shifted, eyes roaming around the room before settling on Ryker. “I agree with Cali. We need to find that chade – and in one piece.”

  “What?” Ryker growled.

  He held up a hand, forestalling more grumbles and arguments, “I’m not saying I’m fully on board with Max’s theory of a miraculous cure. And I’m also nowhere near convinced this chade is anything but a danger and a menace. But …”

  “But what?” Cali asked when he trailed off, not wanting him to lose his nerve now.

  He sighed and looked to Diana who promptly stood from her seat across the table and walked over to him. She ran her hand softly through his hair in a gentle but loving caress before claiming the seat next to him. Cali watched him smile again and couldn’t help appreciating just how handsome the man was. “But …” he began again, “Max is right about one thing; I know not all chades are created equally, so to speak.”