by Montana Ash
“And how do you know that?” Ryker growled at his woman.
“You mean other than the fact that I can feel it? Because he followed us to Caspian’s place. I may have given him a little extra energy when I was putting on my performance.”
“You did what?” Ryker yelled this time.
“Calm down. You didn’t even know he was there, so clearly he wasn’t there for sinister reasons. And he was starving again. I only gave him a little – just enough so he can hopefully control himself so you don’t go skewering him with your toys.” Max’s voice held clear disapproval.
“Max …” Level-headed Beyden began but their liege stopped him.
“Please try, guys. You all know who he was in the past and you’ve seen what he is from my memories. Give him a chance to become something else in the future.”
They were all wavering, Cali included. As desperately curious as she was to see Dex once again with her own eyes, she was still a knight first and foremost and her loyalty was to Max. If anything happened to her … “How are we going to do that?” She asked.
Max smiled her way in thanks, stroking a now-quiet Zombie. “I have an idea about that actually. I think if I give him my vitality voluntarily, it might just work longer, be permanent.”
Lark, who had relaxed somewhat against the counter, cocked his head in thought, “But it’s still the same energy Max. It obviously hasn’t had long-term effects in the past. What makes you think it will make any difference whether or not you give it to him or he takes it?”
“It worked with you.” She said, looking at Ryker before turning to Darius, “And you.”
Ryker opened and closed his mouth for a moment before deciding not to speak. He frowned instead; “You really think it matters?”
“I do. Remember on the beach when I told you that you had a choice? I honestly don’t think it would have worked if you weren’t open to it. It’s a soul healing guys. I couldn’t dabble with your soul without permission. I’m not the Grim Reaper … I don’t think.”
“And you haven’t tried to give him vitality in the past?” Lark asked, obviously seeking more clarification for that giant brain of his.
“No, actually, I haven’t. I was clueless, remember? I didn’t have the faintest idea what I was or what he was or what vitality was or what –”
“Okay, babe. We get it.” Ryker stopped Max mid-speech.
“I’m not talking about a big healing like with you two,” She said, looking at Darius and then Ryker, “It won’t work – at least not yet.” She added quietly as if it were an afterthought. “But just more of what I did back at Caspian’s. It clearly had no detrimental effect on me.” She pointed to the empty plate in front of her.
The whole room seemed to hold its breath as Ryker paced, kicked at the furniture, and grumbled to himself for a few minutes. “Fine.” He snapped. “But you stay next to me and Darius; Axel and Beyden front flanks; Lark, Cali and Diana; behind. I’m sorry Darius, but if he so much as twitches wrong, he’s dead.”
Darius nodded his head, his grip tight on his scythe and opened the back door without further ado. Looked like they were really doing this. Cali could hardly believe it as they all took up their positions surrounding Max and waited tensely for the appearance of a mythical chade.
No rustling of the leaves or disturbance in the air, alerted them to his presence. Just a shadow growing larger and Cali felt her stomach drop at seeing the usual sign of the chades. She always dreaded seeing those elongated shadows, sliding sinuously along the earth, because they always manifested into cursed creatures that stole and maimed and killed with a single minded purpose. So she was both surprised and relieved when the shadow merely preceded a wiry-framed man in jeans and a tee shirt.
This was going to be bad. Should she confess and tell the others that she had shagged the half-chade on a cheap hotel room mattress? No, definitely not, she decided. After all, she could be wrong. She’d been wrong in the past … once or twice. And even if she wasn’t wrong, he was some kind of weird chade-warden wannabe. His head was probably all levels of fucked up. What was the chance that he remembered her anyway?
She held her breath when those black eyes flicked over her, seeming to fixate on her breasts before rising again to meet her own. Oh yeah, he remembered her all right.
Talk about awkward.
SIXTEEN
Awkward. Awkward. Awkward. That was all he could think. He’d once been caught bare-arse naked on horseback by a King – a real-live King. But this was worse. The baby brother who detested the very ground he walked on was standing just a few metres in front of him; the one person in the whole world who had tried to help him and who he had tried to kill repeatedly was to his left; and his first and only lover in forty years was standing to his right. Yep, awkward summed up the situation well.
His hands flexed with the need to touch, the need to prove this was all real. What surprised him the most though, was that the need to touch the lovely blonde overrode his need to reconnect with his brother. What was it about the woman that pulled him in so thoroughly? She was physically stunning with eyes of pale blue and hair as golden as the sun. He had thought he had dreamed her up upon awakening from his first night’s sleep in years. If not for the evidence of their passion-filled night in the bedroom – the lovely lady had left her lacey bra behind – he might just have written it off as a figment of his imagination. But it was hard to argue when the proof was staring blue ice-filled daggers at him from mere metres away.
“Dex!” Max yelled, her smile as welcoming as always, and he couldn’t help shaking his head. The woman was unreal. How could she still stand there and grin affectionately at him after what he had done? He wished he could apologise. Hell, he wished he could fall at her feet and grovel for all eternity but something told him any move made on his part would result in him being six inches shorter.
“I’m so glad you’re here.” Her words rang with sincerity and Dex wished he could say the same and for the same altruistic reasons. But the monster snarling in his throat, coaxing him to feed, to take until there was nothing left to take, made a liar out of him. This was a mistake. A big mistake. He couldn’t be around her. Her energy was just too tempting.
“I wouldn’t move if I were you.” The warning came from Diana, the black-haired beauty. She had obviously seen his fight or flight mechanism kick in.
“No running, Dex. We’re going to try something. It’s dinner time!” She clapped her hands and he so wanted to smile. She had often referred to herself as dinner over the years. It used to horrify him but he now kind of found it amusing, a sentiment clearly not shared by the blade-carrying knights in his midst.
“Max …” The growled warning came from Ryker and Dex couldn’t believe the change in the man. After the loss of his liege and Order, Ryker had been a scarred, snarling bastard, deeply entrenched in his own pain and loss. Dex had seen the beginning signs of healing when he decided to join the training lodge and it seemed he had truly moved on, given his protectiveness of Max.
The woman rolled her lovely turquoise eyes and addressed Dex again, “I’m serious. I know you’re starving again and I’m going to feed that hunger. But this time, we’re doing it my way.”
What. The. Fuck? She was going to feed him? And in front of a group of paladins who were quite clearly her bound Order? What was wrong with them? Had they no sense of duty? The very thought of her offering herself to him in front of these honourable men and women was abhorrent to him. He may be an abomination and he may have stolen from her over the years, but he wouldn’t be some charity case to be publicly humiliated. He took a quick step back, only to find himself brought up short by two sharp points. The young-looking auburn-haired paladin and the striking blonde had moved incredibly fast.
“Take it easy, Lark, Cali. He’s no threat. Dex, you owe me. I’m calling in all your chips. You volunteer to let me do this and I’ll consider your debt erased. My Order here will let you leave and you have my word no-one will f
ollow.” She told him. “But, if this works. I want you to stay so we can follow this through.”
Follow what through? He wondered. He really didn’t understand much of what she was saying except for the part where he owed her. He owed her his life and he knew it. Going by the looks of disdain on the faces around him, they all knew it too. He may be a despised creature of nightmares but his sense of honour was ingrained down to his very bones. If Max wanted his acquiescence for a task, then he could do no other than ensure he was pliable. He bowed low in her direction and saw the looks of scorn turn to looks of curiosity. Yeah, the beast has manners. Go figure.
Max didn’t move from behind her wall of muscled protection but he saw the difference in her demeanour immediately. Her eyes focused on him and began to swirl strangely with a rainbow of colours just as power seemed to turn the air electric. At first he felt nothing. The coldness remained, his appetite for energy a furious beat within him still. But imperceptibly, almost too slow for him to be able to pinpoint, the chill started becoming less and less until after a few minutes he could feel a pleasant warmth begin to permeate his skin. He flexed his fingers desperately wanting to touch something – anything – just to see if his sense of touch had returned. And then, blissfully, a warm breeze blew past his face and whipped his hair over his eyes. Wanting to smile and dance in joy, he carefully kept his face the stoic mask it was so as not to appear weak in front of all those soldiers. He did reach up slowly and brush the hair back from his face though. As he did, he heard several gasps so turned to see what they were for.
Him, apparently. Big surprise.
“Damn. Would you look at that.” Axel murmured.
Look at what? But he wasn’t left wondering long as Max grinned at him, “Your eyes aren’t that creepy black anymore. You have irises again. Score! It totally worked. I knew it would work.” Max’s voice was smug but also a little less perky than it had been and Dex noted that her cheeks no longer held the same vibrancy as before. The loss of energy had taken a toll. Nothing like in the past but enough for him to be concerned. Her paladins seemed to be concerned too for they closed ranks, practically cutting off his view of her as they all reached out to touch her anywhere they could. Max rolled her eyes at this but accepted the gift of energy from her Order.
“That is more than enough for the day.” Ryker spoke harshly and firmly, his brown eyes deep pools of distrust.
Dex actually agreed with the angry captain. He hadn’t spent this much time in such close quarters with people in years. The fact that these people also consisted of his brother and lover only made him twitchier to escape. Taking a step backwards, he quickly pulled himself up straight and to a dead stop. Several scythes had been raised and were now flashing sharply in his direction because of his movement.
“You can’t leave, Dex.” Max informed him.
Um, yes he could. And he was sure as shit going to.
“No, Dex. You are not.” Max responded as if she could read his mind. “Things are happening in this world – I’ve shaken a few things up. And although you are ignorant of that fact, you are definitely right in the middle of it. I need you to help me prove a point.” She informed him.
How the hell could he be in the middle of anything? He hadn’t been seen in society for decades. He flicked his eyes to Darius but the taller man was looking determinedly past his shoulder; there would be no aid from that corner.
“Max is right. You’re not going anywhere.” Ryker growled.
Max smiled and gestured him forward but Ryker stepped in front of her. “Oh hell no! It’s not staying in the house.”
It took all of Dex’s newfound control not to snarl over being called an ‘it’. He was very much a ‘he’ as he had proven just weeks ago, he remembered, a little smug with male satisfaction. Not that the ice princess seemed to remember if her blank mask was anything to go by.
Dex saw Max’s eyes narrow dangerously in Ryker’s direction. “Be polite!” She demanded. “Just where do you propose he sleep then? He’s not sleeping outside like some animal!”
Ryker crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s a chade. They don’t sleep anyway. It’s been outside for years. A few more nights won’t hurt it.”
Dex could hardly argue with that but apparently Max could, “He is not a chade and I guarantee you, he will now need to sleep. And I asked you to be polite. Him. Him, not it.”
Dex wished he could tell the curvy little warden that she didn’t need to defend him. He certainly didn’t want to cause rifts within her Order. But if the gleam in their eyes was anything to go by, it seemed Max and Ryker enjoyed the spirited banter.
“How about the gym?” The tall, bronzed paladin whom Dex had never met before, suggested. “It’s got a couple of cots plus a full bathroom and kitchenette. It also has the phone and intercom system. We can take it in shifts to watch over him there.”
Max smiled widely at the suggestion and Ryker gave a grudging nod. “We need it, err him, so we watch him every second of every day.” He said before turning hard eyes toward Dex, “We may need you and you may be something we’ve never seen before. But if you so much as blink in Max’s direction, I will kill you. Her displeasure over your death won’t stop me.”
No, he didn’t suppose it would. Looked like he was staying. Well, shit. He didn’t actually want to be this close to temptation. Knowing Max was just a few steps away from him, he was worried he wouldn’t be able to control himself. The perpetual hunger was assuaged for now but Dex knew it wasn’t gone. It was like an insidious beast, stalking its prey and waiting for the time when the prey was at its most vulnerable to strike. Dex was under no illusions that he was the prey in this scenario.
Even though all his prayers had gone unanswered for years, he still prayed now to the Great Mother that Max knew what the hell she was doing.
SEVENTEEN
He was sitting on the beach, legs outstretched and leaning back on his elbows, more listening to the crashing waves rather than seeing them. It was pitch black and the moon wasn’t even half full. He imagined he must look pretty relaxed, and truth be told, he was feeling pretty damn relaxed. For the first time in more years than he wanted to remember, he actually felt pretty fucking normal. He was breathing fresh salt air, could feel the cool sand beneath his feet, wasn’t desperately hungry or frigidly cold, and … he could feel the air brush gently against his skin. The air – his domain, his burden, his friend – had returned to him.
Tears stung his eyes for a moment before his old friend blew past him, drying them almost immediately and making him want to chuckle. Most people would have no clue whatsoever that the air was actually a prankster. He imagined most humans wouldn’t give any thought to nature’s most miraculous happenings let alone wonder at the eccentricities of her creations. Unlike some wardens though, he couldn’t fault them for it. In his opinion, that was what the wardens were for; it was their burden and their joy. Over his long years, pre-chade detour, it had become more of a burden at times. Modern technology and the population boom resulted in an alarming amount of airborne pollution. And global warming was a real bitch. But the joy was something he had long stopped hoping he would ever experience again and he owed it all to a short redhead and her seven knights.
He had been here a week now and the odd little warden with the unbelievably powerful and unique vitality had been gifting him with her precious energy every day. It seems she had been correct in her theory of voluntarily giving him vitality. It seemed to be working much the same way as a paladin recharging a warden did – a painless, efficient energy exchange that resulted in him no longer presenting as a chade. Not that he was a warden, he reminded himself. No, he would never be that again. But it seemed he was no longer one of those cursed creatures, fated to forsake their birthright. He’d had no idea that a warden could even produce vitality in the same way as a paladin did – that’s what paladins were for. In all his years, he couldn’t think of a single time such a thing had been spoken of and he was sure the I
DC weren’t aware either. Surely they would have told everyone. Whatever the mechanism may be, he was treating it as nothing short of a miracle. It was also a miracle that none of the extremely protective paladins in residence hadn’t taken off his head yet.
There were always at least two of them ‘keeping him company’ at all times. He still wasn’t permitted inside the beautiful log house but he had been allowed to roam fairly freely around the property and had been spending a lot of time inside the gym – where he was still sleeping – and on the beach. He figured it must be pretty late given the height of the moon in the star-speckled night sky, but there were still two knights keeping a careful watch on him as he lounged against the sand. The Lady Diana herself and the very young looking earth paladin, Lark, were on duty tonight it seemed.
He smiled, knowing no-one could see the curve of his lips, when he thought of Diana. The stunning knight with the slate-grey eyes and the head full of black springs was just as beautiful and just as fierce as he remembered. He and his brother had first come across her in the Battle of Lisbon over eight centuries ago. It had been funny as hell to see his straight-laced brother poleaxed by a pretty face. The attraction between the two had been instantaneous and undeniable and Dex could admit, he had been a little jealous that he hadn’t caught her attention first. But she’d only had eyes for Darius – a fact Dex had been more than happy to support. Unfortunately, Darius being Darius had been more inclined to follow the rules than to follow his heart even with all of his nudging. Dex had harped on and on about Diana for years to Darius, urging his stubborn, responsible, anal brother to take some happiness for himself. He would have loved to have seen Darius fall in love, make a home, create a family.
And now, after four decades of absence, it seems he finally had. One would have to be blind not to see the love and devotion shining in the handsome couple’s eyes every time they saw each other. They were never overt and he never saw any displays of public affection, but he would bet on his domain that the two were now a unit for life. It was clear the others all knew and accepted the relationship. Although nobody ever really engaged him in conversation and they were careful what they spoke of whenever he was within hearing distance, he had heard a few comments in jest aimed at the lovebirds. An Order followed the lead of the liege and clearly Max had supported the very taboo relationship. It was just another thing he had to thank Max for.
