Chade

by Montana Ash

  “Let it go, my love.” Cali heard her say.

  Darius narrowed his eyes for a second, before simply rolling them and walking from the room. Diana chuckled, “His training is coming along nicely, don’t you think?”

  Cali laughed, linking her arm with Diana’s as she steered them into the comfy main living room. “It certainly looks that way.” She agreed, in good humour.

  It only took a few minutes for the seven of them to be draped over the brown leather and suede armchairs and lounges and for Max to perch herself on the edge of Ryker’s chair. That hint of nervous expectation was back and she couldn’t help glancing toward Darius. She hoped he would be okay with the upcoming conversation. He looked comfortable enough, she mused, with Diana practically in his lap and his arm slung casually over her shoulders, hand playing idly with an errant curl. Diana gave her a small smile and quick nod. She smiled back, relief filling her; Darius was apparently fine.

  “Firstly, I just wanted to say thank you for taking such good care of me over the past few weeks. I know it’s not easy for any of you and I really appreciate it.” Max began.

  Cali rolled her eyes at that as the others muttered and grumbled and cleared their throats; a paladin didn’t need thanks for performing their duty. Still, it pleased her to hear the acknowledgment all the same.

  “I also want you all to know that I recognise how difficult it must be to have someone like myself as your liege.” She raised a hand for silence when objections immediately sprang up. “I’m not a traditional warden or custodian or whatever and I never will be. I don’t want to be. I also know many of you didn’t believe you would ever be in an Order again or at all. So I acknowledge the huge adjustment you are all making on my behalf. I especially recognise how difficult it must be for you to accept all my crazy ideas. I don’t want you all to blindly agree with everything I say, believe me, but I also need to know that you will consider what I have to say seriously. Even if you don’t like it.” She ended, making eye contact with each and every one of them.

  Cali noticed the flushed faces of the men, clearly contrite for their lack of faith in Max’s ideas. “You’re right on all counts.” Beyden said, speaking up, “You’re not a normal liege. I never expected to be in an Order and didn’t really want to be, to be honest. And it’s very hard to try and accept new ideas and theories. Seeing you so depleted scared the crap out of us Max. And knowing it happened here? When you’re under our care? It’s shameful.”

  “But …” Max tried to interject.

  “No buts, Max. It is literally our birthright to ensure no harm comes to you. On top of that, you’re like a sister to me now. It doesn’t excuse our lack of faith in you, I know, but … that chade almost killed you. It took us weeks to restore your vitality and then you want us to try and accept that this chade is some kind of friend instead of a monster. It’s a tall order, sweetie.”

  Max nodded, “I know. I know it is. But he isn’t a monster. I think a lot of them aren’t. You saw the blood? I think that’s possible because of all the vitality he took from me. I really, really want to know what he’s like now and what more I can do to help. But that means …”

  “That means finding it – him.” Darius said, quickly amending his statement.

  Max smiled at him, “Exactly.”

  “And how do you expect to do that? What makes you think it will even let you talk? What if it just attacks again?” Ryker asked, shoulders stiff.

  “He won’t just attack again – he rarely does. He’s a friend. He’s saved my life more times than I can count. He’s been the one constant presence in my life over the years. I know it sounds strange but I trust him. Even after what happened last time. I trust him.” Her voice was earnest and Cali really wanted to believe her but it was hard to reconcile a ‘trusted friend’ with a chade who had practically sucked her liege dry.

  “So how do I prove it to you …?” Max’s voice trailed off and she tapped her fingers rhythmically upon Ryker’s knee in thought. “Holy shit!” She yelled, slapping Ry’s knee and making him wince, “I’m such an idiot. Why don’t I just show you?” She asked. “The IDC is big on demonstrations after all, it’s only fair that you guys should demand proof too.”

  “Show us? What do you mean?” Lark asked. He was infinitely curious, Cali knew. Must be because of that giant brain of his.

  “We’re all connected right? You can hear my thoughts and I can talk to you in my head. Why don’t I just show you my history with Dex? Let you decide for yourselves.” Max’s idea was met with stunned silence. It was so obvious in its simplicity that not a single one of them had thought of it.

  Ryker cleared his throat, “That … that is a very good idea.”

  Max beamed at him in thanks and Cali saw his shoulders relax before he leant over and kissed her softly on the mouth. “You are so smart, sweetheart and I am so sorry for my pigheaded behaviour.”

  Max gripped his shirt before he could pull back, planting a much longer and much steamier kiss to his lips. “You’re forgiven. I happen to love your pigheadedness.” She pecked his lips again, whispered not quietly enough to be private; “Make up sex later, stud.” She glanced around the room, eyes halting on Darius. “Are you okay with this? I don’t want to upset you.”

  He shook his head, “Max, you don’t need to be worried about my delicate psyche. You already fixed that, remember?” He smiled at her. “Besides, I happen to agree with Ryker – it’s a brilliant idea. I really want to see what I’ve been blind to all these years.”

  “What we’ve all been blind to.” Axel corrected, obviously not wanting Darius to take the full force of the responsibility for their tight hold on traditions.

  Max nodded and took a deep breath, “Ok. Well, no time like the present. Here goes …”

  ELEVEN

  Cali sucked in a breath of her own; one moment she had been sitting on the lounge in the living room and the next she was outside in what appeared to be an empty field. She looked around and saw a very old, very run down planked house and a shed that looked as if one good wind gust would knock it over. She couldn’t see anyone else but somehow she could feel them. Not people, no, she knew what they felt like. This was something different, something … less. But how did she know that? Her affinity was to water, not to people. Looking down she gasped as she saw feet that weren’t her own start to walk in the direction of the house. Legs that were far too short were attached to the feet and hands that were smaller than hers appeared to be attached to her arms.

  Cali gaped in confusion for a moment before shaking herself out of her head – or Max’s head rather. For that is obviously where she was. She couldn’t talk and couldn’t force herself to move. It seemed like she was only along for the ride, unable to change the proceedings. Which made sense she guessed; this was a memory, history, an event that had already taken place – there was no changing it. She couldn’t feel the others but figured the rest of her Order were experiencing the same out of body sensation that she was. She also couldn’t hear Max and figured Max couldn’t hear her. Maybe Max was just along for the ride too.

  The feeling of unease intensified as the sky seemed to darken perceptibly. She shivered as she looked towards the trees then back at the house, judging the distance and deeming it fruitless to try to make it indoors. It wouldn’t stop them anyway. Sighing, she reached behind her and pulled the handgun from the waistband of her jeans. Checking the chamber and thumbing off the safety she shivered as the shadows lengthened and the ground gave a tremble. Her hand wanted to do the same – she was so fucking tired – but she firmed her jaw and tightened her two-handed grip on the butt of the gun the way she had been taught. The gun was all but useless, she knew that from experience but it brought her a measure of comfort and confidence. Besides, not all predators were phantoms that crept from the earth and the trees. Some were actually human and the gun sure did work on them.

  Two pale beings sprang from the trees from one moment to the next – their hair was dark
and stringy, their limbs so thin she wondered how they could possibly hold the creature’s weight, and their eyes were dark pits of … despair, she thought, even as their emotions swamped her with the force of a tidal wave. Hunger. Cold. Desperation. Desolation. She reeled from the shock and saw her gun waiver again. Toughen up Max, she told herself.

  Cali found it hard to remove herself from Max’s thoughts and emotions. It was like she was experiencing them herself and she kept getting trapped in the tangled web that was Max’s extreme form of empathy. By the Mother, Cali couldn’t fathom living like this, feeling like this every day. It must have been like an endless nightmare for her liege. Forcing herself to stay as removed from Max’s mind as she could, she focused on what she was seeing instead. She was a bystander here, nothing more, she reminded herself.

  Two chades made their way slowly but surely toward her, never picking up speed but never breaking stride. “Stop!” She yelled. Nada – no response. “Look, I know you guys are hungry but I am NOT food, ok? Not food!” Max rolled her eyes at herself. Why did she persist in trying to talk to them? They never listened and they never responded. She wasn’t even sure if they could understand her. Sick of wasting time, she decided to pull the trigger.

  The bullet found a home dead centre of the phantom’s chest … but it didn’t stop. It didn’t react and it didn’t bleed either. Shit, shit, shit, Cali heard Max chant to herself as the first Chade reached her, grabbing her with frozen fingers that she swore she could feel down to her very bones. Max executed a quick knee to the genital area and though she was released briefly a second pair of hands grabbed her from behind. She thrashed futilely for a few seconds before finding herself caught in her own reflection from the black mirrored eyes directly in front of her.

  Cali cringed. Max looked so young. Perhaps no more than twenty or so but lines of fatigue and strain already marked the young face. She saw hopelessness flash in her eyes for just a second before stubbornness replaced it. And there’s our girl, Cali thought proudly. Thickly gnarled roots burst from the ground beneath them, wrapping tightly around the torso of the pitiful creature in front of her. Its mouth opened silently as it was pulled to the ground and held securely. The arms behind her loosened as twin screeches met her ears. Pulling away forcefully, Max spun and saw the two magpies swooping and diving, aiming their sharp claws at the phantom’s vulnerable eyes and face. Bullets may not be effective against her enemies but her creepy X-men powers sure were.

  Her two flying saviours squawked as they were batted to the ground by the now pissed off gothic wannabe. Oh fuck. It always hurt worse when they were pissed, Max knew. Its mouth gaped open unnaturally wide and even though she was now a few metres away, she could still feel that terrible pull, that tugging on her insides that left her bereft, sick, and with no energy.

  Cali could do no more than gasp as the chade began to suck the vitality out of Max. The pain – oh Gods, the pain! It was crippling in its intensity, bitter in its coldness, and the rapid loss of energy felt like she was bleeding out even though she wasn’t losing a drop. Cali felt Max’s knees slam into the hard earth, rocks and debris biting into her even through the denim jeans she wore. The chade moved closer and the ferocity of the attack increased. Max slid sideways, crumpling in the dirt and just as her vision began to darken, horrifying Cali from her vantage point, the pain suddenly stopped.

  Max watched through bleary eyes as a tall, lean man with straggly black hair much like the phantoms, forced the one attacking her to its knees before swiftly twisting its neck. She couldn’t hear the crack but swore she could feel it as its neck broke and it disintegrated into a shower of water droplets. A shadow behind her unexpected rescuer caught her eye and she yelled a garbled warning. He spun, wielding a machete and decapitated the creature before it could so much as touch him, a freezing wind the only sign it was ever there.

  Forcing herself to her knees, she was just about to ask for a hand up when she noted the paleness of the man and the way his feet seemed to bounce off the ground instead of stepping on it. She had one second to make out a black iris through a veil of black hair before he turned abruptly, moving away from her.

  Her rescuer was one of them.

  But how was that possible? She had never met a nice one before. Determined to learn more she shouted at his retreating back, “Hey, wait!” He didn’t stop. Desperate now, she tried to rise only to fall on her arse. She knew it would be days before her normal strength would return. “Please.” She yelled anyway.

  Cali was surprised that it was the ‘please’ which made the strange chade halt. For indeed, there was no denying it was a chade. This must be the Dex Max had been trying to tell them about. It had saved her life, of that Cali had no doubt.

  “Please. Will you help me?” Cali heard Max utter, almost in a whimper, which was odd because Max wasn’t the whimpering type – even when she was at Death’s door.

  The chade half turned again, being very careful to keep its face hidden in the shadows and behind that black hair, she thought. And Cali realised why Max was playing up her femininity and vulnerability. Seems the chade was a gentleman. The thought absolutely blew Cali’s mind. Chades didn’t rescue people, they didn’t just walk away from a vitality buffet, and they sure weren’t gentlemen.

  “Get yourself a proper weapon. And some proper training!” It growled before turning again, leaving Cali even more flabbergasted. It talked!

  “Wait! What are you … what am I?” Max screamed at its retreating back. The desperation in Max’s voice damn near broke Cali’s heart. So alone. She was always so alone.

  *****

  The scene changed within the blink of an eye and Cali found herself in a carpark instead of a field. This must be a different memory, she realised. Cali watched keenly but far from impassively as the four chades attacked her tiny little friend. Max held her own a little longer this time and Cali saw that she wielded a machete just like the odd chade from before. Decapitating one and incapacitating another, Max was brought to her knees by the other two before her mysterious saviour swooped in, promptly killing all remaining three. But instead of leaving like it had the first time, Cali was horrified when it laid its cold, lifeless lips over Max’s and pulled the vitality from her. It didn’t last long, but long enough for Cali to feel Max’s sense of betrayal down to her bones. The chade laid a hand briefly on Max’s shoulder – an apology? – before streaking away.

  *****

  What followed next was another half a dozen of Max’s memories. They played out much the same but Cali could see the progression of Max’s skills and the control over her elements as time passed. She could also feel the decline in Max’s health; the fatigue, the headaches, the seizures. It was debilitating. But Max had well and truly learned to take care of herself as much as she could with no knowledge of wardens and paladins and energy exchanges.

  By the fourth memory, Max had her Japanese tanto sword and had successfully kicked some serious chade butt! She hadn’t been lying about the martial arts training. In every memory, her unlikely saviour appeared. Sometimes on its own and it would simply take vitality from Max but more often than not, it always saved her – before then taking a hit of Max. Cali couldn’t help but start to feel more and more comfortable with the chade and a feeling of recognition even began creeping in – especially when the chade planted its lips over Max’s. She also couldn’t help noticing what Max had been trying to tell them; the chade looked less pale, its hair shinier and healthier, and its muscles more defined after every ‘feeding’. Although it was always very careful to keep its face hidden so Cali couldn’t tell the effect Max’s energy had on the chade’s black eyes. But she had a strange feeling that those would change too.

  Well, fuck. Looked like Max was right.

  Again.

  *****

  In the final trip down memory lane, Cali could feel Max’s exasperation and she even shared it. This was getting ridiculous! She had been walking back to her miserable excuse for an apartment
after a quick trip to the shops when her friendly phantom had grabbed her from behind and laid those icy lips of his over hers. She had struggled briefly in reaction before recognising the hold … and the lips. She had relaxed as much as she could as she allowed him to take what he so obviously needed. Now she was sitting on her arse on the side of the road, watching his retreating back as he ambled away.

  “Excuse me, phantom boy! A hello or a thank you would be nice.” It had been over a year since their last encounter as she had largely been out of the country. He slowed but didn’t stop. Max knew it cost him to turn and walk away. He desperately wanted to keep consuming her energy until there was nothing left to take. But he never did. He was strong.

  “This is getting a little ridiculous, don’t you think? We’ve been playing this game for years now. Why won’t you talk to me? You did that first time.” Nothing but silence met her question and she sighed. “Fine then. Will you at least let me have a proper look at your face? You always hide from me – you don’t need to. Please don’t be ashamed of what you are.” She saw his shoulders move as if he was sighing too and an almost imperceptible shake of his head. A response! He had just responded! Wishing her legs weren’t like jelly from being sucked on just moments before so she could actually stand and walk over to him, Max continued;

  “How about your name? Do you have one? I’m Max, remember?” Cali found herself smiling at that. Max had been sure to yell her name at this unique chade every time she saw it. How could it not know Max’s name?

  “Well, I’m not just going to keep calling you The Friendly Phantom. How about Dexter? It’s a new show on TV about a likeable serial killer. It fits you perfectly.” Lean but masculine shoulders stiffened at that and Max smiled when he actually half turned. Is it possible he still had an ego in there somewhere? “Well, you do try to kill me nearly every time we meet but you also save me too. I like you. So Dex it is. Unless you have something else in mind?” She cajoled.