by Jan Stryvant
"Stacy! Get your men sorted and into their cars! We're following Ruth here over to the Vestibulum!"
"Guess that answers that!" Ruthelma said with a chuckle and headed over to one of the vans they'd come here in. Surprisingly, this Henry guy had decided to follow along. Leading him on had been fun, but not as much fun as delivering a little 'divine retribution' onto the group that had started tonight's events was going to be.
She really hated being called out to fight and not getting to. She'd just have to make sure this Gerold guy didn't go overboard. She didn't have any stomach for killing the innocents. But she definitely wanted to do at least some damage tonight.
Sunday Morning
Sean sighed and looked at Ruthelma. "Seriously? You razed all of their buildings?"
Ruthelma shrugged, "Not all of them, just the main one and the kennels, oh and the garage. The people guarding them all ran off after I killed the first two, so what was I supposed to do?"
"So you only killed two?" Sean asked.
"I was lucky to get them too! I guess they thought I wasn't anything to be afraid of, because I was a girl."
Sean snorted, "I doubt that. I've seen you in your armor, Ruth, I'd be afraid to go after you if I didn't have to. Maybe they were worried about their families?"
Ruthelma shook her head, "The place was pretty much deserted. I tell you, cousin, after the disappointment of them not attacking us at the other place, I was at least hoping for some nice fighting when we got there. Yeah, that first fight was fun, but since then, it's been nothing but a bore. Girl can't even get laid around here!"
Sean coughed, "I've got hundreds of men all over the place, and you can't get laid?"
Ruthelma shrugged. "If you ain't faerie, it takes a lot of work to get into our pants." She paused a moment, then giggled, shocking Sean with the sudden transition. "Actually, even if you are, it can take a lot of work to get there!"
"What about that Frank guy?"
"Eh, he's a bit too passive for my tastes."
"Doesn't stack up well against dad, huh?" Sean said with a grin, then laughed as Ruthelma blushed.
"Maybe you should start chasing some of the wolves or other lycans around here? If you want, I could tell them you're fair game," Sean said with a smirk.
"Don't you dare!" Ruthelma growled.
"Okay, now I'm definitely doing it, cousin," Sean said and laughed again. "There's gotta be someone out there who'll at least help rid you of some of those frustrations!"
"If your mother wasn't my best friend..." Ruthelma grumbled.
"If we weren't cousins, maybe I'd consider it," Sean said, then stuck out his tongue. "Damn, even thinking about it, I just can't get the fact you're family out of my head! Besides, it didn't work last time, it wouldn't work any other time. Now go find a place to clean up, I think your dad wants to be on the road by lunchtime."
Ruthelma got up, still grumbling, and left the room. Sean yawned and stretched. He hadn't slept at all either.
"Want me to spread the word?" Roberta asked.
Sean grinned. "Definitely."
"Send Jonathon after her," Cali said.
"Who?"
"One of the tigers; he looks a little funny, I think he's magical or something."
"All lycans are magical, Cali dear," Roberta said.
"Not like him or Sean!" Cali said with a grin.
"Okay." Roberta shrugged.
"Where's Peg?" Sean asked.
"Sleeping, where we should be," Roberta said with a yawn of her own.
"Well, I've got a bunch of phone calls to make, then I need to talk to Maitland. Phoenix is next on the hit parade, so I need to start planning that with him."
Borrowing Roberta's phone, Sean called Roxy.
"Hi, Hon."
"Gee, is that how you greet Roberta?" Sean teased.
"Yup, it's how I greet all of 'em, even Dae. What's up?"
"We're about to leave LA and head on to Phoenix. What's up back home?"
"Well, let's see. We need you to make more collars, now the tag machine is running. So perhaps you should come back and make a collar machine as well?"
"What else?"
Roxy then proceeded to run down a laundry list of things he needed to come home and take care of.
"Plus, Roberta and Cali probably shouldn't be out in the field anymore, Roberta has got to be starting to show by now."
Sean looked over at Roberta and put his hand on her belly, causing her to smile at him. She was two and a half months pregnant, and yeah, she was starting to show.
"I don't know, Hon," he told Roxy. "I'm not sure they can do this without me being here."
"Chad's doing it without you being there."
"Actually, he's still stuck in Seattle. So I have no idea."
Roxy sighed into the phone. "Don't make me start calling people on you, Sean."
Sean laughed. "Okay, I'll bring it up. Love you and the others. Let them know. I gotta go track down Maitland and see what's up."
"Bye!"
Hanging up, Sean looked at Cali and Roberta. "Let's go see what Maitland's up to."
"Sean!" Maitland said when Sean caught up with him a few minutes later. "I've been talking with Vincent and his counterpart in Phoenix. I've already got a basic plan, but it looks like we'll have to be there a few days."
"Well, Chad's still in Seattle, so I don't see that as an issue. Are you sure you want to move everyone on today?"
"Actually, I was thinking we should stay here a few more days and clean out all of the minor councils in the area. Turns out there's a couple dozen of them here."
"Really? I had no idea."
"Well, that's not really your job anymore, is it, Sean? You did give it to me, after all."
Sean tried not to look too embarrassed at that.
"It's hard to let go, Son. Seen it a hundred times. You go from being the guy in the trenches with only your own butt to worry about, to the man in the castle managing a dozen armies and worrying about thousands of people."
Sean blew out his breath and nodded. "I just kinda feel like I'm abandoning everybody if I'm not out there with 'em."
"Yup, but they all signed up because they believe in you, and not a one of them wants you out front in the day to day slog. That's their job, and they know it."
"So, what are you saying?"
"That you should probably take some of the new folks we freed last night home to Reno. Give them some time to get used to the way things are now."
"Did Roxy call you?" Sean asked suspiciously.
"Not yet," Maitland smiled, "but wouldn't matter either way. I can handle this. Phoenix isn't going to be that big of a battle."
"Umm, I thought the Vestibulum had a pretty big presence there?"
"I talked to Oak and Claudia an hour ago. Between the two of them, they're sending me a couple hundred more. Plus I picked up a hundred and fifty good fighters last night. Between them, what's coming down from Reno, and the folks I'll be able to borrow when I get there, I daresay we'll have close to a thousand to deal with the situation."
Sean nodded. "Well, there are a lot of reasons for me to be back in Reno, but I just don't want to abandon you out here, which I guess is pretty egotistical of me, seeing as you've probably fought a hundred times the battles I have."
"Don't worry, if I need you when we get to Phoenix, I'll call you," Maitland said with a smile.
"And now I don't know what should worry me more, if you call me, or if you don't!" Sean said with a chuckle.
"Well, let me show you my plans, so at least you have something to think about on the ride back to Reno."
Sean nodded, and they spent the next two hours going over Maitland's plans for dealing with the minor councils here, in Las Angeles, and the situation in Phoenix when he got there. Sean was a little surprised that Maitland planned to send a hundred of his people ahead, having them leave tonight.
"What's that for?"
"To keep the Vestibulum from getting any ideas about Sapientia before we get
there, of course."
Sean nodded and agreed. Then he went off to find Vincent and Guillermo. Some of the people they'd rescued from the Vestibulum weren't fighters, same for the Ascendance. Those fifty-some-odd people would be going back with Sean and the girls, so he was going to need to rent a bus for the trip.
In the end, he took one of the buses they'd rented back in Reno, while Maitland made arrangements to rent several more to deal with the next leg of his campaign.
"I still feel like I'm abandoning them." Sean sighed to the girls when the bus finally pulled out to head back to Reno.
"You can't be everywhere at once, my Husband," Cali told him. "You are starting to stretch yourself a little thin."
Roberta and Peg both nodded.
"She's right," Roberta agreed.
"Besides which, now if they lose a battle, you get to show up and save the day," Peg said with a grin.
"Huh?"
"You can't lose the battle if you're not there. Everyone will just blame your subordinate. Then you can come in with the second wave and clean house. Sooner or later you're going to lose one, Hon. It's just the odds of the game. It's a lot better for that loss to go to someone else."
'I knew I liked that girl,' the First said.
'Oh hush, you. You like all of them!'
"Well, if there's nothing else, I'm gonna stretch out and work on the design for my collar machine. Rox told me I need to get working on that one, so no time like the present."
Moving to the back of the bus, Sean stretched out on a couple of seats and, closing his eyes, he opened up his workshop. He'd check on his stats later, not that he expected to see much having changed in the last week, but for now, he needed to get to work on his next machine. He had a lot of experience from the last one, so he was hopeful this one would go a lot smoother and faster.
Sean felt his body being shaken, so looking at his work, he made sure to save off all the latest changes, shut down his workshop, and opened his eyes.
"What?" he asked Peg.
"We're in Vegas, and Roberta called Roxy's parents to see if they wanted to do dinner."
"But Roxy's not with us," Sean said, looking at her, then immediately grunted as she smacked him on the shoulder.
"They're our in-laws, dork. All of ours. We're here, and we're visiting them!"
"Alright! Alright!" Sean sighed. "Just not used to having relatives, it's still kind of strange."
"Uh-huh. Sure. Grab your stuff, the bus will drop us off at their place."
"Huh?"
"Bill said he'd set us up with a flight back to Reno in the morning."
"Umm, does that mean we're going to sleep in Roxy's room without Roxy?" Cali asked, looking deceptively innocent.
"I'd imagine so," Peg nodded, "though I don't know how much sleeping our Sean is going to be doing." She smirked at him and winked.
"Lots! I haven't slept in two days."
"Then I guess you'll just have to go for three!" Cali giggled and patted him on the head.
Sean was actually quite happy to see Roxy's mom and dad when they got to her parent's house. They all took a few minutes to freshen up, then headed out to a small local restaurant Bill and Gloria were fond of.
As they were following their waiter to their table, Sean noticed a young man with his eyes wide, staring at him. It took him a moment to place the kid, what did it was the kid's father leaning over and asking him if everything was okay.
"I'll catch up with you in a moment," Sean told the others and walked over to the table. The kid, Josh was his name, gulped, and his father looked up, and after a moment he seemed to remember Sean as well.
"Josh, how's it going," Sean said with a smile, "I think I can honestly say I'm happy to see you here."
"You, you…" Josh looked around and lowered his voice, "you killed them all, didn't you?"
Sean sighed and nodded. "Not one of my prouder moments, I'll admit it. How did you end up here?"
"Hello, my name is Cory Booker, I believe we met before, Mr.?"
"Sean. Sean Valens."
"Yes, please excuse me if I don't shake hands. My son Josh here, well, he told me what really happened out in the desert, and he also convinced me we needed to take our maid and get out of LA when they started to talk about killing everyone."
Sean noticed there were two lycans sitting at the table, an older female wolf who was staring at him in amazement, and a slightly younger man, also a wolf.
"Well, good for you for listening to your son," Sean smiled, "and better still that you had the kindness to bring them with you." Sean nodded to the two lycans.
"Would the two of you care to join my friends and I? We could take care of your pellets, remove them."
"Is that an order?" the woman lycan asked.
"Yes, I'm afraid it is," Sean said with a nod. "All the lions, including myself, have decided that no one will have a pellet in them, or be forced by such methods to serve others."
"But, then what? What do I do after that?"
"Why, whatever you want to," Sean said with a smile.
"So I could come back here? And continue to work for the Bookers?"
Sean nodded. "If that's what you want to do, that's fine. The fact that they took the time to save you speaks highly of them."
"I just can't believe they're all...gone," the older of the two human women at the table said with a mournful look. She looked up at Sean then. "We lost everything, everything, you understand. What will we do?"
"Well, if you're looking for a job, I happen to know a few important people in this town, and seeing that you were willing to take a risk for your lycan maid, I'm sure they'd be able to hook you up."
"Why?" Mrs. Booker asked, looking up at him. "Why would you do this for us?"
"Because you saved them," Sean nodded towards the two lycans, "and because you raised a good son."
Sean looked at the two lycans. "Now, if the two of you would join me for a moment?"
They both nodded and, getting up from their seats, they followed Sean over to where the others were seated.
"This is my father and mother-in-law, Bill and Gloria. These are three of my wives, Roberta, Peg, and Cali."
"Hi, I'm Rose, and this is Josue."
Sean nodded and took off his tag and his necklace as they exchanged greetings. "Put the necklace on, then the tag."
Rose nodded and did as she was told, shivering a bit from the sudden pain that momentarily passed inside her. She then took the tag and necklace off and passed it to Josue, who did the same.
"So, now that you're free, what are you going to do?" Gloria asked.
Rose blushed. "I'm going to go back with the Bookers. They'd be lost without me, and well, Mr. Valens here was right. They were kind enough to save me, so I will keep helping them."
"Bill," Sean asked, "do you have one of Ted's cards? Seems like Mr. Booker over there no longer has a job."
Bill nodded and handed it to Rose, who thanked him and left.
"And what are your plans, Josue?"
"While I'm thankful they saved me, I'd much rather make it on my own now."
Bill nodded and took out his phone. "Go out front, I'll have someone stop by and take you somewhere safe, where you can figure out your next step."
"Thank you," Josue said, and after shaking Sean's hand, he left the restaurant.
"Who are the Bookers?" Gloria asked.
"Their kid is the one Sean saved when he was here last," Bill said, putting the phone up to his ear. "I'll warn Ted about them."
"Everyone deserves a chance," Sean said with a smile. For some odd reason, he suddenly didn't feel so bad about what he'd done in the last few days.
Home Again
Sean was immediately mobbed by Roxy, Daelyn, and Jolene when he got home.
"It's only been two days," he said and chuckled as he hugged and kissed each of them.
"Yeah, but we're the ones who keep you in line!" Daelyn joked. "Without us around, who knows what kind of trouble you'll get
in!"
"I think we've been dissed," Roberta whispered.
"You got owned by your six-year-old daughter," Peg whispered back, "and he makes me pant like a dog, so I'm not complaining!"
Sean shook his head and decided to ignore the byplay.
"Anything I need to know about?"
"Nope, everything's fine," Roxy said with a smile.
"Good, cause I'm going to my shop to start work on the collar machine." Sean looked at Daelyn. "Did you get the hardware for that finished?"
Daelyn nodded. "Two of 'em, plus another two tag machines."
"Stewart's been wanting to see you, too," Jolene added. "From the looks of things, he's past the starting level on enchanting."
"I guess I'm going to have to sit down and decide what I'm going to teach him," Sean said.
"Why's that?"
"Because everything I know is pretty radical. Some of it I'm not so sure I want to share."
"So order him not to tell anyone," Peg said with a shrug. "He's a fox now, not like you can't rule him like you do the rest of us."
Sean grinned. "Yeah, but you love it!"
"We all love it, actually," Roxy snickered, "but go get some work done. I'll bring him by around lunchtime. You can discuss things with him then. We really need to get that collar machine done. Sawyer's been calling me up several times a day."
Sean nodded. "Okay."
"Oh, and here's a new phone," Roxy said and handed it to him. "John had one of Chad's wolves drive down here to give it to you."
"Why not just FedEx it?"
Roxy snickered. "You've known him for how long, and you still ask that question?"
Sean smiled guiltily. "Yeah, I guess you have a point there."
Walking out to his shop, he decided to drop John a line and see what was going on.
"Hey! See you got the new phone!" John said.
"Yeah, I feel bad about it."
"Ah, don't worry, you needed an upgrade anyway. That old one of yours needed replacing."
"John, you gave me that phone only six weeks ago."
"Yup, positively ancient," John said with a chuckle.
"Chad told me you're having a rough time of it, anything I can do to help?"
Sean heard John sigh then. "Honestly, Sean. I don't know how you deal. That was some pretty nasty shit I saw, and Chad told me you've seen worse."
