Ranger (Elemental Paladins Book 4)

by Montana Ash

  His eyes flicked around the room before returning to Lark as he answered, “No. She didn’t just answer the prayers and grant the wish of one lowly warden. She demanded a sacrifice,” he explained, voice cool and flat. “Balance. The scales must be balanced. A gift given requires a sacrifice returned.”

  “What kind of gift?”

  “What kind of sacrifice?” Darius and Ryker asked simultaneously.

  Ivy saw the death warden’s jaw clench as he remained stubbornly silent. Unfortunately for him, Lark was in total badass mode and she realised that giant brain of his had figured out the mystery that was Mordecai and Mother Nature well before this impromptu meeting. She found the combination of simmering violence and intelligence a heady and arousing mix … and was going to demonstrate her appreciation to the earth paladin as soon as humanly possible.

  “Max,” Lark stated, “Max is the gift. And Max is the sacrifice. She’s your daughter.”

  *****

  “You’re my father?” The whole room turned as one as three words whispered brokenly into the room. Ryker rushed over to her but she quickly side-stepped him and she spoke again, her voice forceful this time, “Is it true? Are you my father?”

  “No,” Mordecai whispered but he looked completely devastated to Lark and he knew that everyone had been able to see the lie.

  “Lying piece of shit,” Axel stepped forward, palming his blade and all four paladins behind Mordecai did the same.

  Mordecai motioned them back, “I’m not lying. I’m not her father,” Mordecai yelled, controlled façade finally slipping. “I’m not her father any more than you are. It takes more than a bit of DNA to make someone a parent – to make someone family. You know that better than most,” he said directly to Lark before raising his eyes and looking at each member of their Order in turn, “You all know what it takes to make a family. I’m not it, nor was I ever supposed to be.”

  “So, she was just what? A sacrificial lamb?” Darius’s voice held barely suppressed rage and Lark saw the situation deteriorating quickly. This was exactly why he had wanted to talk to Mordecai on his own. He had been hoping for cooler heads to prevail. And deep down, he had been hoping he was wrong so he didn’t have to see the look on Max’s face that was there right now.

  Ryker advanced on Mordecai, “Do you have any idea what she went through?! She was on the streets! She was a child on the streets with no memory, no protection, and no name. And you’ve known about her all along? For fuck’s sake! She named herself after a stray fucking dog!”

  With that, Max let out a tiny noise of distress and fled the room.

  “Max …” Mordecai’s voice cracked and he took a single step in her direction only to be brought up short by a wall of paladins. Mordecai’s paladins snarled and took up arms next to their liege and Lark did something he had vowed he never would; he created a psychic bridge and yelled at his Order, using his potentate abilities.

  ‘Stop it! All of you! Ryker, go after Max. She needs you. The rest of you, back the fuck off! Fighting the Valhalla Order isn’t going to help Max and I promise you, once she has time to process, it’s not something she is going to thank you for.’

  His Order had no choice but to listen to him because they couldn’t ignore or break the link. The only people stronger than him in their Order now were Ryker and Max and they were too preoccupied to care. Ryker had thankfully heeded his advice and darted out after her. Lark felt the same desperation as the rest of them to tend to their liege but Ryker would be the best person to handle his love right now. And they needed to handle Mordecai.

  He knew the others would just as happily kill the man along with his paladins. But he couldn’t allow that to happen. He had a feeling they were going to need the Death Warden in the coming weeks. And he was positive the man was going to need them. Because despite the fact Mordecai was once again looking cool and collected, he could no longer fool Lark. Lark had seen the look of utter devastation on his face when Max had learned the truth. The man cared. His little speech had been worth exactly shit-all.

  “How about we call it a day, hmm?” he suggested casually. “Mordecai, thank you for coming. Ivy will see you out,” he spoke formally, hoping to infuse some common sense into the room. Ivy nodded at him and he knew he could count on her to think and act rationally.

  To his surprise, Mordecai balked, “I can help.”

  Several rude snorts and suggestions about just what he could do with his offer of help came from behind him and Lark spanked them all through the link again as if they were wayward children; ‘Quit it! Remember who you are and who you’re representing.’

  “What makes you think we need your help?” Lark asked quietly but politely.

  “I just need a chance,” Mordecai responded, not answering the question.

  Lark looked to his friends and family and one by one they relented, stepping back and sheathing their weapons. Getting a look filled with pride and love from Ivy gave him that added boost he needed to spank the Death Warden too;

  “Seems to me you were already given one – the chance to be a father. You may already have blown it. But, on the off chance that you haven’t … try coming back tomorrow when things have settled down a little.”

  It was the best he could do. He only hoped it was enough.

  THIRTY-EIGHT

  “Ivy tells me you want to know about a chade who wore a ring,” Nikolai stated.

  Silence met her commander’s statement and he raised his eyebrows at her. She shook her head at him. After all, what could she say? The last twenty-four hours had been a doozy. Lark’s confrontation with Mordecai had resulted in the biggest secret reveal since Star Wars and the whole household was still reeling with the information. Unfortunately, the urgency for information about the chades remained and despite what had to be a very fragile psyche, Max had donned her goddess hat and summoned Nikolai to the house first thing this morning after Ivy had explained what little she knew about a ring-wearing chade.

  It was pretty much nothing, only that Nikolai had spoken of a unique chade who had kept a reminder of his previous life by wearing a ring. It was strange because chades had no awareness of vanity or possession or pride. Nik had only mentioned it a handful of times and hadn’t gone into much detail. It had always made him somewhat uncomfortable – nervous even – so she had never pushed for details. The idea of a jewellery-wearing chade had been intriguing to a degree but she wasn’t really the curious type. To her mind, most curious people were just nosey and needed to mind their own business.

  They were all now congregated in the large living area off the kitchen. And by all, Ivy counted no less than sixteen occupants in the room, including Max and her seven paladins, Dex, herself and Nikolai. But the real surprise was the addition of Mordecai and his four paladins. She had been surprised to see he had taken Lark up on his suggestion to return today, given he looked so unbelievably uncomfortable. Even his blank, stoic face couldn’t hide his discomfort. And she would know; she had perfected that exact same poker face many years ago. His four paladins were alert behind him and looked to be as thrilled with the situation as their liege was. But, he had professed to want to help – to be given a chance – so here he was, Ivy supposed. Even if Max was pointedly ignoring him and the rest of her Order was glaring daggers in his direction. It didn’t escape Ivy’s notice that Max hadn’t ordered him away either.

  “That’s right. Thanks for coming, Nikolai. I appreciate it,” Max finally responded, her smile a little shaky.

  Ivy watched Nik smile slowly in Max’s direction – it was his ‘pillaging’ smile, she knew. The one he used to bait, hook, and then reel in unsuspecting women. The man was dangerously good looking, a complete rogue, and a tireless flirt. When she had first arrived, Axel had reminded her so much of Nik that they could have been twins – in the personality department anyway. They both even had that glint of bitterness buried in their shining eyes that hinted at complicated and unresolved pasts. Although the flirting was a natural p
art of Nik’s personality, it also served to hide deeper issues. Issues she was honoured enough to be privy to because she was his best friend.

  “Stop it,” Ryker demanded, causing Nikolai’s eyes to widen.

  “Stop what?” Nik asked innocently, as if it hadn’t been hundreds of years since he’d had an innocent bone in his body.

  “You know what,” Ryker glared at him, dragging Max closer to his chest and earning an eye-roll from his woman for his efforts.

  The possessive behaviour amused Ivy and was kind of sweet in a way but she sure as hell hoped Lark wasn’t going to start with that kind of barbaric behaviour – not in public anyway. It would most definitely piss her off, even though she revelled in his jealousy over her past lovers. She caught his eye and noticed he was grinning at her as if he could hear her thoughts. How does he do that? she wondered, a little grumpily.

  He chuckled a little, earning curious stares from his fellow knights. They looked from him to her and back again and she cursed herself for getting caught mooning at her boyfriend. Talk about embarrassing. She firmed her jaw and pointedly ignored the humorous looks aimed in her direction, most especially the wiggling eyebrows of her commander. She huffed; the man was such a dick.

  “The chade with a ring …?” Darius prompted.

  Nikolai cleared his throat and straightened his back, his demeanour turning serious but also still a little coy as he asked, “Why do you want to know?”

  “None of your fucking business,” Ryker growled, clearly more than a little annoyed with the man.

  “Well, considering you demanded my presence at the butt-crack of dawn to ask me about long-forgotten confidential information, I’d say it’s most definitely my business,” Nik rebutted, his temper on the rise.

  Ivy shared a look with Dex – the only other occupant who knew Nik on a personal level. Years ago, Dex and Nikolai had been drinking buddies, well before Dex had taken his sabbatical as a chade. He wasn’t as close to her commander as she was but she knew Nik had considered the famous Charlemagne a friend. Seeing the rolling eyes and shaking head of the former chade, he must have known Nik well enough to realise when he was gearing up for a fight. A long, stubborn, completely irrelevant, time-waster of a fight, Ivy predicted.

  “A superior has asked you a question. Max is a Custodian,” Ryker informed Nikolai coldly. “If nothing else, chain of command should be something you understand.”

  Nik leaned back in his chair, “Oh, I understand chain of command very well. I also understand confidentiality orders and sealed records. This particular chade falls under both those jurisdictions.”

  “Nothing trumps Max,” Ryker growled.

  “Really? Since when? You’re not planning a little coup, are you? There are so many nasty little rumours flying around, after all,” Nik shook his head.

  Ryker looked ready to throttle Nikolai and Ivy sighed, knowing Nik could dance around like this all day. She also knew Ryker could not – he’d very soon punch her commanding officer and good friend in the face. Chaos would then ensue and Nik would no doubt find the entire debacle extremely hilarious.

  Ivy knew Nik had every intention of sharing his information with them. He was just fucking with the surly Captain because the opportunity presented itself. Besides, Ivy knew he believed in Max and also trusted her and her intentions – even if she hadn’t known the full extent of his confidence until a few moments ago when he had removed his jacket.

  “Instead of whipping out your dicks and comparing length, Nikolai why don’t you just roll up your sleeve?” she suggested, cutting the tension. She couldn’t believe the number of man-children in the room.

  “Aww, Ivy,” Nik pouted, “You always spoil my fun.”

  She shook her head at that, “I always save you from yourself is what you mean.”

  He winked at her, blowing a kiss and she smiled one of her rare public smiles at him. The man was incorrigible.

  “What does she mean by rolling up your sleeve?” Lark asked, obviously trying to follow her lead and steer them back on track.

  Nik shrugged, his expression turning a little wary but not enough to suppress the constant twinkle of mischief in his eyes, “She probably wants to check out the guns. Since you all Shanghaied her, she doesn’t get her daily fix anymore. Poor deprived woman.”

  He was looking directly at Lark, no doubt waiting for a scathing response or a flash of jealousy or something. She hadn’t been able to talk with her good friend about the new circumstances of her relationship with the earth paladin since he had goaded her over the phone days ago. But he had obviously come to the correct conclusion that she and Lark were now in a relationship. Too bad Lark wasn’t a hot head like some of his fellow knights and couldn’t be drawn so easily into such a transparent trap.

  Lark leered at Nik, his eyes turning sultry, “Well now, don’t tease. I haven’t had the privilege of ogling your guns yet. Lemme see.”

  Nik grinned in appreciation, “You’re funny,” he informed Lark, before turning to her, “He’s funny. If I knew you had it in you to fall for a funny guy, I would have tried harder.”

  “No you wouldn’t have,” she knew. There had never been anything remotely sexual between them. “Now, will you stop faffing around?”

  He considered her for a moment, testing her seriousness and recognising her impatience, “Fine,” he huffed. “I’m on your side, you know. I’ve given you all the benefit of the doubt before. I don’t think it’s too much to ask for you to enlighten me as to why this is so important to everyone. Besides, there’s another council member in this room – one I follow orders from directly. I can’t just roll over and reveal state secrets, as it were,” he pointed out.

  Mordecai stirred, “Tell them anything they want to know.”

  Ivy saw Nikolai’s eyebrows wing up in surprise even as he dipped his head in acknowledgement, “Would you like to take the lead then?” he asked, respectfully.

  All eyes turned to Mordecai, who remained cool as a cucumber; “I have no idea what everyone is referring to, nor why it is so important. I have never heard of a chade who wore a ring.”

  He looked and sounded sincere, Ivy thought. And he was one of the members of the council whom she actually respected and trusted. She only hoped that trust wasn’t misplaced and he truly was in the dark about this and many other things. Otherwise, it would be a hard blow to the little custodian, even if she had only just learned the truth about who Mordecai was.

  “And just how do we know you’re on our side anyway?” Ryker demanded, glaring at Nik. He clearly didn’t want to back down from their little pissing match. Nikolai must have really irritated him.

  Nik flattened his lips, a sure indication of stubbornness. She walked over and smacked him up the back of the head, “Grow up and spill. You’re wasting time.”

  “Hey! I’m your boss, you know. Where’s the respect?” he whined.

  Ivy said nothing, just continued to stare at him with her arms crossed. But Ryker finally seemed to deflate a little, grumbling;

  “Mine don’t have any respect either.”

  The room suddenly filled with snorts, coughs and eye-rolls and she saw Nikolai and Ryker make eye contact and share a look of long-suffering. Great, the two idiots were bonding over their perceived hardships. Arms still crossed, she prompted, “Nik …”

  He huffed one last time but proceeded to roll up the sleeve on his left bicep. A perfect circle of seven small symbols was mapped on the muscular appendage. The mark was new. He didn’t have it the last time they had seen each other, although she’d had hers. He had taken a great interest in the brand, out of concern for her, she knew. She wondered how long he’d had his.

  “This little gem popped up about two months ago,” he revealed, answering her silent query. “I assume it means something to everyone?” he asked.

  “It means you’re loyal to me,” Max smiled at him, eyes shining with happiness now.

  “It does? I am?” he appeared to think about it for a m
oment, before shrugging negligently, “I guess I am. Gotta believe in something, right? And a goddess seems like a good bet. I should mention though, only one other member of my Unit has the same mark, other than Ivy.”

  “Dylan?” Ivy guessed but Nikolai shook his head;

  “Cayson,” he supplied.

  “Really?” Ivy was shocked. She had been sure Cayson was working as a spy for the council. “I thought he was spying on us,” she revealed.

  “He was,” Mordecai said. “For me. Cayson is Aiden’s brother,” he gestured to the Captain of his Order.

  “No shit? Well, what do ya know?” Nik murmured, casually. But Ivy recognised the annoyance and anger simmering beneath the surface. She had no doubt he would be taking his subordinate to task in the near future for keeping secrets.

  “Okay, now we’ve discovered that Nikolai isn’t an all-around dick and is on Team Max, can we please focus on the original purpose of this meeting?” Cali asked. Once a morning person, she was now rather grumpy first-thing because she could no longer stomach her morning cup of coffee.

  “Certainly,” Nik agreed, easily, as if he hadn’t been the one stalling. He rolled his sleeve back into place, covering the physical manifestation of his faith in Max. “I am most certainly familiar with a chade who wore a ring – on his right pointer finger to be exact. Only, he wasn’t always a chade, was he? He was a warden first – a damn good one – and he wore the ring almost religiously because it had been a gift from his father. It had his Heraldry on it, not an uncommon gift in those days,” Nikolai began his tale.

  Ivy was so tuned into Lark now that she felt every move he made and she noticed how his gaze was pinned on Mordecai hovering in the doorway. Lark’s green gaze was intense but his head was cocked ever so slightly to the side. It was a sure sign that he had noticed something off with the man and he was trying to puzzle it out before storing it away. She followed her man’s line of sight and focused on the Death Warden as well. His posture was now rigid instead of relaxed. Had he recognised something Nik had said already? She flicked her eyes back to Lark and he gave her the barest of nods, indicating he had noticed too. Nik had begun speaking again and she focused her attention in his direction once more.