by Morgan Wylie
“Lo and Vi, please get these people whatever they need until we get them somewhere safe,” Rylen requested. The girls nodded and moved closer to their adopted group.
“I will fight back with you,” Ricky said as he stood, crackling his knuckles. “I have some magic, you’ve seen it. I want to help.”
Rylen nodded. “Enock, see what he can do and what you can train him to do.” Enock nodded and rose from the wall.
“We want to stay and fight too,” young Jasmine said, her first words to Rylen. He could see she would be a great little fighter and an asset to any future team.
Rylen kneeled in front of her. “Thank you, little warrior.” She beamed at him. “There is a family that I need you and your brother to look after. Would you be willing to do that for me?” She bobbed her head excitedly. Jasmine reached over and grabbed her older brother’s hand, volunteering him as well. When Rylen saw the older woman’s expression of shock, he rose and whispered to her, “We have a ‘safe house’ in another area. They will be safe there and taken care of by several families we have in hiding with other younger children.” The woman visibly relaxed and smiled gratefully at him, nodding her understanding.
“Vi…” Rylen began but was cut off by the buzz of the intercom.
“Boss to HQ. Boss to HQ, it’s ready,” Tom’s voice excitedly came through loud and clear via the intercom into the entire room.
“That was quick,” Enock said.
“Vi make arrangements to get them to that special family that I need Jasmine to watch over,” Rylen winked at her, but her smile and nod said she understood perfectly. “Mai, Mather with me. Let’s go see what our little red flower has discovered,” Rylen turned and stormed out of the Throne room, the others hot on his heels.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Rylen, Mather, and Mai quickly proceeded down the hall, heading directly to Headquarters. The thunk of their boots on the wide wooden planked floors got louder the closer they drew to their destination. At the door, Rylen placed his forefinger on the security system flat screen, waited for the green light, and then opened the door wide. Tom’s expression was caught off guard seeing more than just the boss enter his domain of electronics. The charge in the air carried a buzz that crawled up Rylen’s skin, eliciting a shiver that broke out across his arms. Rylen didn’t care for technology as much as he saw the necessity in being able to use the basics like his iPhone—he preferred to have people like Tom and Poppy to do what they do best and let him do what he did best. He was from another era and, though he had adapted well to each new generation, he still preferred to keep things simple. Except for the boys that he had kept close for these past many years, he was a solitary creature and preferred his space, which was why his strong reaction to Alana was so surprising.
“It just finished decoding the message, Boss,” Tom said as he stood up quickly at attention, greeting Rylen and team.
“Good job, Tom.” Rylen sat causally in the chair next to Tom that usually was occupied by Poppy. He gestured to Mather and Mai to sit in the theatre seats behind him, giving Tom the illusion of space. Poor guy was nervous enough having “the boss” right next to him. He didn’t have any reason to be nervous, it was just the kind of guy Tom was. “So, what do we got?”
“I guess I should have waited for it to complete the translation before calling you in,” Tom began as he fumbled around a pencil and some stray sheets of paper.
“Can you just read it to me?” Rylen asked, his hands folded across his chest as he looked around the room trying to remain casual and non-threatening, though what he wanted to do was hiss out that Tom hurry and tell him the damn information. Rylen’s skin was crawling, he could feel the animal inside him pacing, wanting freedom to run… to hunt. Something must have shone in his eyes though, as Tom’s eyes widened a fraction more than Rylen thought possible and he hurried to pull up the screen with the exact code on it.
Mather and Mai each looked at Rylen then back at each other with alert readiness in case they needed to get their boss out of the claustrophobic room. With their next Lair, they would need to remember to make HQ larger with more space to move around.
“Ok, here it is,” Tom squinted up at the screen in front of him and touched several places on that screen and shot the file he was looking at over to the large screen overhead so they could all see it. The code was not something any of them could figure out and decipher on their own.
“I don’t get it. Can you read that?” Mai frowned at the screen.
“No. No, no, no… one second please,” Tom stuttered as he hit a few more buttons and typed in several things. “There, see it now!” Tom sat back in his chair, obviously satisfied with himself and his work to unlock the gibberish. The symbols, numbers, and letters on the screen began to shift around and create words they all knew and could read.
“Whoa… it’s like another language,” Mather spoke in awe, his eyes never leaving the screen as if he could see Poppy written into the words themselves. “She’s brilliant.”
“True,” Tom agreed, his eyes lighting up with how impressed he was with his co-worker. Mather growled from within his chest, his stare piercing Tom. Tom shrunk back clearly frightened.
“Mather, stop. You’re scaring him,” Mai smacked him on the arm with no apparent self-preservation. Mather turned his glare to Mai, but she didn’t back down and she wasn’t cowed by him. Mai simply ignored the brooding Neanderthal and went back to reading the message.
“You surprised them. Hitting Vegas. Need new resources to retaliate. Flowers grow.” Rylen mumbled the words out loud as he read them. His scowl said he wasn’t too happy about the news.
“What does ‘Flowers grow’ mean? I mean, the first part seems pretty straight forward,” Mai wondered, her fingers steepled in front of her mouth, elbows resting on her knees as she stared at the message as if more was about to appear.
“It means she’s fine,” Mather answered broodingly, his arms folded across his chest. He looked at Rylen who agreed.
“Good. What do we do with the rest of it?” Mai asked once again.
“Would you like me to send a warning to the Vegas group?” Tom asked preparing his computer.
Rylen stood in silent contemplation for more than a minute. The others grew restless with lack of direction, unsure what to do.
“What’s the call, Boss?” Mather asked breaking the unease. “Warn ‘em or no?”
“No.”
“Don’t send help? Don’t send a warning?” Tom’s confusion was apparent.
“No.” Rylen turned and walked out of the Headquarters without further words, leaving the team in silence. Mai and Mather looked at each other, but Mather gave her a nod that they would back him up. They stood and moved toward the door as well.
“Let us know if you get anything else from Poppy, Tom,” Mather requested before he left.
“Or anything you deem important or curious. Okay, Tom?” Mai questioned.
“Understood.” Tom turned back to his computer and began typing in codes and punching buttons, returning to his work.
~~~~~
Later that day, the team assembled in the Den for a closed meeting with only those Rylen trusted the most. Scattered about the room, relaxing on different couches sat Enock, Mather, Mai, Vi, Lola, Lucius, and Gracie. Gracie was not always included in the team strategy meetings, not for lack of trust but for the preservation of her innocence of mind regarding their decisions and tactics. Perhaps it was because Rylen liked her pure motives and the idea that something pure could remain so in his corrupt presence.
“Check in,” Rylen said over the chatter throughout the room. Immediately, everyone stopped what they were doing and focused on Rylen.
“The new kid, Ricky, actually has some talent with magic. He is a bit raw, but he’s scrappy and uses what he’s got to work with. I don’t know much about the magic side of things, but he can hold his own in a street fight,” Enock informed them as he picked something out of his teeth, his legs s
tretched out in front of him with his feet propped up on a coffee table. Rylen nodded and took a few steps over to a picture on the wall he absently glanced at.
“The girls and the little boy, Jessup, are all settled in at the safe house. Lola got them clothes and whatever necessities they needed.” She waited for visible confirmation that Rylen was paying attention to what she said, then continued. “That little Jasmine is something else. We walked in to meet the Stantons. She introduced herself and pulled out a small dagger hidden beneath her socks. She raised it in the air,” Vi chuckled with a gleam of pride in her eyes as she imitated the girl with her finger, “and said, ‘I may be small, but I will protect you and yours.’ It was priceless. The Stantons were a little blown away and not sure what to do with her, I think, but they will all be safe.” Vi smiled satisfied with Rylen as his eyes sparkled with pride as well.
“Very good, Vi, thank you,” Rylen said. She nodded.
“Well, I’ve been trapped in my room all day like a prisoner,” Gracie shot out with casual sarcasm as she folded her legs underneath her and pretended to examine the bright pink polish on her fingernails. Out of the corner of her eyes, she flung a glare at Lucius who was leaning casually against the wall not far away.
Rylen laughed out loud. “You are not, nor have you ever been a prisoner, Gracie. What are you talking about?”
“Ask him,” she then glared openly at Lucius who simply shrugged his shoulders unaffected by her look.
“You told me to make sure she got to her room safely, so I did.” Lucius looked from Gracie back to Rylen whom his response was directed at. “I also made sure she remained there to recover from her last sight.”
“Are you rested, Gracie?” Rylen asked her.
She sighed. “Yes.”
“Then mission accomplished. The means were not specified on how that should come about.”
“I’m not a child, Rylen. I don’t need to be babysat,” Gracie countered.
“You’re right, you’re not.” Rylen came close to her and knelt down in front of where she sat to be at eye level. “But you are very important to us… to me.” She started to interrupt him, but he silenced her with a look and kept going, “Not because of what you can do for us, but because of who you are. We just want to protect you because even within our walls there are those that might try to use your gift for their own advantages. We want to continue to enforce that this is your home and you should be safe here.” Pacified with what he was saying, she relaxed. “However, that said, how about I try to come up with some other alternatives for us to do that in order to let you feel you’re getting a little more freedom?”
“Thank you, that is all I was hoping for,” Gracie concluded. She smiled, back to her light and refreshing self.
Rylen stood back up and returned to where he had been standing. “The message from Poppy was straight forward and simple. She is fine and gave us some intel. The alliance was thrown off by our recent operation. They are hurting and in need of money and resources.” Rylen paused and paced. “They are going to hit Vegas.”
He let that sit with them and watched their individual reactions. Most were composed, but a couple had slight creases of uncertainty etched into their brows.
“We’re not going to intercede, are we?” Vi asked with hesitation. She had a cousin in that arm of the web.
“No, not in the way you’re thinking.” A maniacal spark lit his eyes. “Vegas has been openly antagonistic toward us. This is the opportunity we have been waiting for to take Michelson out.” Rylen paused, letting information rest with them. “I am not heartless, Vi. I know you and some others have good connections there. I’ve set it up for Jagger, the second in command in LA, to get wind of it and to warn those who will remain loyal to us, endearing them further to our cause.” Rylen began pacing again. “They will call for aid when they sniff those dirty bastards in their territory. We won’t ignore their call, we will simply be too late… but just in time to rip those assholes from the Fairfax group a new one, finish them off and take the territory of Vegas for ourselves.” Rylen’s eyes glowed with predatory gleam, the excitement of the hunt, and maybe a little something else that remained in his system from the poison.
A strange mix of excitement stirred in the room along with concern. The hunt, the fight, ignited a fierce passion in each of the guys especially, but also in the some of the girls too. They liked the fight, the adrenaline rush, the surge of using their powers in the greatest capacity they were given. The only one not too excited was Gracie who kept a passive expression on her face, watching each member there and waiting. Lucius’ eyes simmered like coals in a dying fire, the hunger for a victory surged within him but you would never know it from his casual stance against the back wall. He remained controlled and expressionless.
Rylen was burning with pre-fight energy, his face was flushed with excitement as he paced back and forth in the Den. He suddenly stopped and turned on Gracie. “What say you, Oracle?” He only referred to her that way, when he was looking for an official seeing from her.
“Your choice is the right path, however, be warned there are always prices to be paid for unnecessary violence.” Her eyes flicked away from his then she got up and exited the room, leaving them in pondering silence.
“So now we wait,” Mather growled, standing up to stretch.
“Now we wait,” Rylen concurred. “Stay close enough to come when I call. Vi, we’ll need a transport to Vegas when the time comes. Be ready.” Rylen strode to the door and threw it open, his strength unchecked in his fervor, causing it to slam back into the wall.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“You’re not as stealthy as you think you are, you know,” Rylen said looking at no one as he took a deep drink from his frothy pint of dark beer. He sat at the bar of the pub only a few blocks away from the Lair. Being one of his favorite establishments, he liked to go there knowing he could blend in more with the crowd. The bar itself was well kept and reminded him of a place he had visited in Ireland long ago, but the patrons that frequented this bar were rougher in appearance. No one brought in violence though, they respected the owner too much, he was one of them… not a supernatural, but an outcast just like the rest of them.
“I wasn’t trying to be,” Alana smacked with attitude as she took the seat one away from him. Her long blonde hair framed her pale face and her red lips brought out her dark eyes. Rylen’s appreciative gaze traced her outline from head to toe. She wore a blue three-quarter length sleeved tunic over thick gray leggings with rips and tears in the knees and thighs that seemed purposeful, accented this time by some feminine flat slip-on shoes. Traces of ink peeked out from her neckline and where her sleeves met skin just below her elbows.
“You a glutton for punishment? Or you setting me up?” Rylen asked looking straight forward again as he took another sip from his glass. The barkeep sidled up right in front of where she sat.
“What are ya havin’, lovely?” the barkeep interrupted just when she was about to answer Rylen. He had a nice British accent, kind eyes, and was decorated well with his inked-up muscular arms. Overall, he was a nice specimen to look at.
Rylen glared at the bartender, but quickly averted his eyes, tampering down the beast that was clawing its way to the surface. Rylen usually had more control, he was probably still keyed up from their meeting or from, you know, dying and coming back. The bartender didn’t seem to notice and if he did, he was good at not bringing attention to the more disconcerting clientele.
“Rum and Coke, please,” Alana answered with a smile, but didn’t pay him more attention than that. The bartender went to the other end of the bar to prepare her drink and take another man’s order that had just taken a seat.
“Rum and Coke, huh?” Rylen interrogated with a twinge of his mouth.
“I don’t get out much, it’s all I know to order.” She shrugged her shoulders without a care, but from the way her eyes quickly glanced away, Rylen could tell her naivety bothered her.
“I can teach you more,” Rylen’s voice was smooth and suggestive with a raised eyebrow. The innuendo was not lost on Alana as she rolled her eyes.
“No thanks on that front, but… I did come here to ask you to teach me something else,” she said nodding at the bartender as he deposited her drink on a napkin right in front of her before moving toward dishes to dry and put away at the opposite end of the bar.
“Oh?” Rylen asked with interest, barely glancing at her as he took another sip.
“I’ve been thinking. You mentioned I might have…” she paused not wanting to say too much as the bartender moved nearer to attend a customer a little too close to them for her to speak freely. “You mentioned I might have other than normal abilities,” she turned fully toward him on her tall bar stool. “I want to know how to use them, if it’s true.”
Rylen turned directly toward her on his stool as well, the seat in between them banging against his knee, keeping a barrier of separation he wished was no longer there. “What is it you think I can do for you?”
She looked down, then back up at him, exposing a moment of raw desperation in her eyes. “I need to know the truth. I need to protect myself.”
“Are you in danger?” Rylen stiffened, looking behind her as if someone might be standing there.
“Not yet, but things have happened…” she trailed off and looked behind her as well then back to him skittishly, “I’m afraid I might be. Is that something you can help me with or not? I don’t have much time before someone realizes I’m gone.”
“It won’t be easy for me to train you the way things are now with you there and me… the enemy. You’ll have to come stay with me at the Lair.”
