by A Y Venona
Xander looked up to his herculean size father. Ironically, Lawrence was the one who was a direct descendant to the great Hercules. He glanced to his right and saw Melo leaning against the wall a few feet away from them. Xander grabbed his father’s offered hand and got up to his feet.
“I'll walk you to your room,” Melo said when they got near him.
Xander raised his brows. "Really, a bodyguard?"
Wearing a slight smile on his face, Melo shrugged. “I just want to talk to you.”
Hector gave his uncle a side eye. “Or maybe talk him out of knitting?”
Xander glared at him. “Like there’s anybody in this house who can teach me how. The most likely I will end up doing will be cooking.”
“Hey,” his father said before he pulled him into a hug. “It’ll be over soon.”
Xander gave his father a sad smile before walking toward the door with Melo beside him.
“How are you feeling?” Melo asked when they reached Xander’s room.
“Like I need a shower,” he answered as he turned around to face his uncle. “Can this talk wait? Because I really need a shower.”
"I really want to check on your health. Are you feeling nauseated? Eating more than your usual?”
“A little sometimes, and yes, I’ve been eating a lot thanks to Terrence’s cooking.”
Melo sighed. “Okay, but you need to tell me if you don’t feel good. Anything, from a headache, stomachache, dizziness."
“Are those supposed to be signs when you’re pregnant?” He asked and then looked pensive. “How do our kind get pregnant, anyway?”
Melo smiled. “Nephew, I think your shower awaits you?”
Xander clenched his lower lip. Sarcasm threatened to slip out of his mouth but decided against it. “Alright then, I’ll talk to you later.”
✽✽✽
“You missed the emergency meeting,” Sara said the moment he entered the living room. She was sitting on the couch with a magazine in her hands.
Xander gave her an amused look. “You’re reading that stuff?”
Sara stared at the picture of a colorful dish on the cover of the magazine. “I was just trying to get a feel of what has been taking up much of your time.”
“I'm sure the longer I stay confined here, the more I'm considering learning how to cook. I don't know if I can take it much longer," he replied as he sat beside Sara.
Sara gave him a pensive gaze. “What’s going on?”
Vaque. And very Sara-like. She knew that if she asked a specific question, then the answer would be specific. But broad and vague meant that she wanted whatever it was he could discuss.
“I’m forbidden to see him.”
Sara’s eyes narrowed. “Have you been watching what was happening in the world lately?”
Xander shook his head. “You said we had a meeting so what was it?”
“The thing here is that the gods formalized the appointment of Jason as the new captain. And here’s a thing.” Sara paused to look at him closely. “I assumed you already know his parentage?”
“That he is of our kind? Yes, I know about that.”
Sara’s mouth hung open. “Alexander,” she whispered. “Are you telling me you’re a god?”
“What are you talking about?” Xander was aware that no werekin should know of the house’s relation to the gods. He never told his friend about it. Not even Adrian. His heart skipped a beat just thinking about his former lover.
“You just admitted it that Jason is of your kind,” Sara said, still looking incredulous.
“Okay.”
“Xander, deity Janus told the whole world that Jason is deity Fenrir’s son.”
Xander sprang to his feet, holding his head. “So they confirmed it.”
Sara rose to her feet and took a few steps toward him. “So the houses and the gods, they are actually the same. People think they’re just very distant cousins.”
Xander stared at her and then grinned. “You didn't hear it from me.”
“I swear,” Sara said. “So,” she continued, going back to her seat. “If you two are a match, why are your parents keeping you two apart?”
“Reasons,” he answered dismissively. He took a couple of steps and gazed toward their family portrait hanging on the wall instead of looking at Sara. “There’s some kind of conflict between our houses.”
“Oh. And you’re letting your family dictates who you sleep with?”
Xander took a deep sigh. “It won’t be for long.”
“But you’re not giving up on him, right?”
Xander whirled back to face her. “No, Sara. I love him. I will not give him up. I’ll find a way for us to meet.”
“Good, because, my dear Xander, I think Jason needs you.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s been gone for three days now. Delvin said Jason was summoned by a god that was not Fenrir.”
Xander frowned. “Janus.”
“Question is… this god is making all the call. He instructed us to move all of Jason’s stuff from Delvin to his new house, which is the top floor of the Guardian Pershiane headquarters. When asked where the captain is, he gave us a cryptic answer. He will come out when he is ready.”
Xander’s frown deepened. “What the heck does that mean?”
"So, yeah, Xander, our captain is missing, apparently abducted by the gods."
Chapter 20
Seated at the barstool, Jason poured himself a drink from the bottle of wine that Janus gave him. Despite the darkness of his surroundings, he did not bother to turn on the light. Five days he stayed inside Janus’ temple and five days he mourned his father. He was still mourning now, and he might never stop mourning. But he had a responsibility as Janus pointed out. Now that Marcus… or Fenrir was gone, Jason was the new deity of the werekin, a legacy that he was given no choice but to continue. And then there was Alexander.
He refilled his glass and gulped down half of its content. Janus believed that Xander was carrying a Shii, something that Jason had not considered possible. If that was the case, then Jason had to be strong to provide Xander his support. Another more gulp and he emptied his glass.
“Jason?”
Jason smiled upon hearing the familiar voice. He turned around to greet his friend properly.
“Hey, Aaron,” he said and then frowned. Aaron was on the floor. “What are you doing down there?”
“Kneeling? That deity Janus just told everybody that you’re the son of a god, and therefore you are a god.”
Jason chuckled. “Get up. I don’t care what they told everybody, I’m still the same person you’ve known since we were young.” The frown returned on his face when remembered his younger self in the arms of his father.
“So where have you been?” Aaron said, rising up to his feet. He went to sit on the barstool beside Jason.
“I found Marcus who as Janus said was Fenrir the god of the werekin.”
“Oh, that’s great then. We should celeb…” Aaron stopped when he saw the look on his face. “What happened?”
“He’s dead,” Jason said, his voice flat. He looked down and then turned around to refill his glass. “Do you want to drink? This is a gift from a god.” He emphasized the word ‘god.’ Despite the seemingly amused tone in his voice, he knew he could not fool his friend.
"Even if you've now moved up to the uppermost echelon of the society, as you earlier said, you're the same person I met when you could hardly pronounce my name. So come here. Bring it on me."
Jason then went to him and hugged him tightly. He did not want to show how badly affected he was of his father’s death. But he could not help it. And he could not help it now when the floodgate of tears reopened as he sobbed on his friend’s shoulder.
✽✽✽
The next morning, Jason sauntered to headquarters. The guardians immediately stopped the conversation as soon as they noticed him. It was Anthony who first saw him and tapped Sara on the back who turned around i
n annoyance only to have her eyes bugged out when she laid eyes on Jason. Hearst was surprised himself. He ran toward Jason and hugged him tightly.
“Where the heck did you go! You scared the shit out of us. We're actually here to devise a plan on how to rescue you from a god. Glad, we don't have to do it because I have no freaking clue how to fight a god." Hearst put his arm around Jason's shoulders, but when he turned around the guardians were on their knees. Confused, he swiveled his head to ask Jason. But words froze in his throat when he was hit by a realization.
"Holy freaking cow," Hearst said as he brought himself to kneel in front of Jason.
“Please tell me you’re not going to be doing this every now and then,” Jason said. Irritation was evident in his voice.
“Once you tell us to rise, then that would be it,” Anthony said. His face was a mirror of amusement.
“Alright, you all rise, and I’m giving you permission not to kneel to me ever.”
When everybody was back on his feet, Hearst jumped back onto him and hugged him again.
“This is you right? Not some kind of trick?”
“Yes, Hearst, it’s me, so you can let go now.”
As soon as Hearst was off him, Jason faced the guardians. Today would be his first formal meeting with his elite team as their captain. But he was missing one member.
“Where’s Xander?”
Anthony side-eyed Sara who quickly found a fixation on the flowery carpet on the floor.
“Sara, didn’t you see him two days ago?” Hearst said. “Aaron and I were actually considering going to his house because we thought you were… you know… sleeping there.”
"He's not coming, but if you want to know why, then we'll have to talk about it in private, not during our guardian time," Sara answered.
Jason squinted at her, trying to decipher what else was hidden behind that pair of cerulean eyes. Sara revealed no pertinent emotion that could show the gravity of what she knew. Expert, as usual, Jason deduced.
“Since you all know that months ago I had never even heard of the guardians, much less know how to lead them, I need your guidance.”
Sara gave him an assessing look. “We are not the only guardians, but we are your team. We have about 20 guardians—”
“Nineteen now,” Anthony said, his face grim.
Sara paused for a minute, her eyes turned glassy a little like tears were starting to well but she was able to hold it down. With a heavy sighed, she continued, "Nineteen, but including you, now we're back to twenty." Her forced smile did not go unnoticed.
“Do I have to talk to them now?”
“They can wait. If you want, I can speak to them on your behalf, give them instruction on what to do,” Anthony said. “But sooner or later, you’ll have to show your face. They’ll be more excited to meet you since it’s been known that you are deity Fenrir’s son.”
“Alright then, I’ll assign you and Sara to take care about it. So what are we supposed to be talking about today?”
Sara’s gaze shifted to Hearst, “Before we discuss anything else, what is he doing here?”
Hearst grinned. "I’m his personal assistant.”
“A runner,” Sara corrected. “You might want to brew us some coffee while we discuss guardian business.”
Hearst glared at her.
“Your friend needs to know how to respect guardians,” Anthony said, but the smile on his face eased up the bite in his words.
“How can I make him into a guardian?”
Sara and Anthony burst into laughter.
"Hey, that's not nice," Hearst said.
"I guess that answers my question," Jason said. "Maybe you can make us coffee?"
Hearst's jaw dropped wide open. But upon Jason's apologetic look, he marched toward the kitchen.
The chuckled died down and the surrounding air sobered.
“The guardians are champions of the gods,” Sara started. “We only investigate incidents that require high-leveled skills or power. Others, we give them to the Alpha Elite squad that deals with magical phenomena, then on their end they will determine if the case is to be taken care of at the local area. That’s the chain of command. Sometimes the Alpha Elite will elevate some matters to our level if they deem it appropriate. But that’s about it, we deal with high caliber cases.”
“So do we have cases as of this time?” Jason asked as he took the seat across from them.
Anthony picked up the folders on the center table. "We have a few, but not anything that requires our expertise. Cases like this, we mostly give them to the other guardian teams."
“So what are those?”
"There's a report of increase underground purchases of glamor necklace," Anthony answered.
Jason raised his brows. “Glamor what?”
“It’s a kind of magical necklace that disguises any wearer. It can make him blend in to his surrounding. For example, if the wearer is in the crowd, he will look like just an ordinary person. If he is in the forest, he will look a tree or a rock depends on where the wearer is near to."
“Everybody can use it?”
"Only the guardians and the Alpha Elite can wear it. Anyone who purchases or sells it will get arrested."
“So why is the Alpha Elite not investigating this?”
"They are actually. They just informed us that this case may be of our interest," Anthony replied.
"Which should be of our interest," Sara joined in. "Glamor was once used four years ago when the vampires attacked Delvin's wedding."
Jason’s curiosity perked upon hearing Delvin’s name. “Alright, then we’ll investigate this.”
“We?” Anthony said. “You’re not going to give this to the other team?”
Jason took a moment to answer this. If he were to admit it to himself, his mind was not really focused on the guardians. He needed to see Xander and discuss their engagement. The gods told him to prioritize their mating ritual especially that Xander may have been carrying a Shii.
He sighed again. “What’s your recommendation?”
Sara stared at him with a pity in her eyes. "Let's give it to the other team. I think we should concentrate our effort on getting Xander back."
“It’s not our business, Sara,” Anthony said.
"No, it is. The gods are powerful. Guardians deal with high-leveled powers."
“What are you talking about?” Anthony asked, confused.
“Maybe it’s time I present to you our next guardian case,” Sara said, her eyes stern and determined.
“And what is it about?” Anthony asked.
“The Legion.”
✽✽✽
"Why is Janus doing Fenrir's job?" Sara asked. She got up from her seat and took a few steps away from them and then turned around. "We know we are the champions of the god, but all through those years I've served as guardian I have only been following one god, and that is deity Fenrir. We even had a situation where we were hunting a god, fun memories, but it happened."
Anthony's eyes shared Sara's sentiment about this god hunting incident.
“I agree with Sara,” Anthony said. “We were privy to some incidents where the gods were involved. For example, a god once tried to kill Daniel, Delvin’s mate.”
Jason’s eyes widened at this. “What are you saying?”
"Deity Fenrir told Delvin that the legion, the name of the council of the gods, is divided into four factions."
“And now that Fenrir seems to be out, which a faction of the gods are we actually following?” Sara said.
“Believe me, I wish to find the answers myself,” Jason said.
Sara eyed him with curiosity. "I meant no disrespect, Jason, but we don't know you. What we have on you is our trust in Delvin, not in this deity Janus. We don't know him though he is from the legion. Since Fenrir's non-appearance, I called it such because I don't want to imply that he disappeared, this Janus has been giving all the orders. He appointed a non-werekin to lead the guardians. Riker Ono who came out of no
where. But because he was chosen by the gods, we were left with no choice but to accept him. And then, you challenged him, and then after you defeated him, Janus once again came out declaring you to be both the captain and the deity of the werekin. And again, we were left but no other choice but to accept that. Yes, we can accept that. But with all our past dealings with a not-so-benevolent god, our trust might not be easily given." Sara took a few steps toward him, her eyes fixed on Jason. "Without this Janus word, what do you have that will prove you are, indeed, deity Fenrir's son?"
Jason held her gaze. “How do you want me to prove it?”
“For once, you’ll let us investigate Janus, you will let us investigate you, and you will let us find deity Fenrir.”
Jason closed the distance between him and Sara. "I will let you investigate Janus, and I will let you investigate me, but I'll save you from wasting your time looking for Fenrir." Jason's eyes began to sting. "This is a privilege information and what you are about to hear shall not leave this room. And that's my first order as your captain. Fenrir, my father, is dead. He has been dead for two years now."
Sara’s defiant face crumbled. “No, you’re lying.”
“Sara, he might be a god to you all, but he was a father to me! If you want to investigate it, then why don’t you investigate what happened that night two years ago when your deity was in the room with your former captain.”
Gasp reverberated in the room.
"Adrian was beloved to Fenrir." This came from Anthony. "And that's the same day he died too, along with his mate Eli."
“Then that’s what you should be focusing about,” Jason said. “Tomorrow is his funeral. Gods will be in attendance, and… Xander will be there too. After that, you can ask Xander yourself. If you don’t trust Janus’s word, do you trust Xander’s?”
“I do,” Sara answered. "Are we not allowed to see his face one last time?” Her voice was broken as tears lurked in her eyelids.
"I'm afraid the answer is no. It's the gods' rule. They probably don't want their subjects to see what a god looks like when dead." Jason's voice was tight as he tried to distance himself from Fenrir who was a god to Fenrir who was Marcus, his father.
