No Regrets

by Jan Stryvant

  "I love how you always remember to cut me in!" Sawyer laughed. "What are the restrictions?"

  "Restrictions? Sawyer! I can't believe I heard such an evil word pass your lips!" Sean said and laughed.

  "So, everything's on the table?"

  "Well, no selling to djevels, or anyone who wants to kill either of us. Nothing that either of us is going to regret later. But other than that?" Sean shrugged. "As long as I'm not adding to people's misery, I don't have a problem with it. Not like I can shut down the black market. Besides, it does have its uses, right?"

  Sawyer grinned. "Right as always, Kid! First off, you know those medallions of yours? The ones that keep people from being possessed or taken over by the djevels?"

  Sean nodded. "Of course."

  "I can sell those by the boatload. They're cheap for you to make and easy for me to sell. Even at only fifty bucks apiece, we'll be raking it in."

  "But I'm already giving those away left and right! Same for my people in Munich!"

  "Ah! But there's a lot more demand than there is supply, and there are a lot of people who either don't like waiting, or really can't go through 'regular' channels. Then there are the people who live in places where they'll never even see a djevel. Trust me, some of those people would rather pay than do without."

  "Gotcha," Sean said. "What else?"

  "People are terrified about running into one of those djevels. They've seen the news clips. Sure, the medallion will stop 'em from having their souls ripped out, but it's not gonna stop a djevel from tearin' 'em apart."

  "A gun with iron bullets will do that."

  "True, but there's a lot of folks who don't like guns. Plus kids, women and kids. Something that'll protect them? Sean, you'll make us both rich."

  Sean rolled his eyes. "You're already rich, Sawyer."

  "Okay, richer. But, come up with something that fits that bill, and you'll be doing the world a favor, Kid. Again."

  "I don't know, that's an awfully tall order," Sean said, thinking about it.

  "So was mass producing those silver tags and the lycan collars. But you did it! Don't worry, Kid. I got faith in ya'. You'll come up with something, you always do!"

  Sean shook his head and smiled. He was getting a pep talk from Sawyer. That was something different.

  "I'll get working on something to churn out those medallions. I can have that for you by tomorrow, day after at the latest. As for the other thing?" Sean shrugged. "Let me sleep on it, and I'll see what I can come up with. I'm sure there's something out there. Cause you're right, anything that can at least give folks a fighting chance to get away is something I should be thinking about."

  They talked a while longer. Sawyer was curious about what it was like in the Onderwereld, and he also asked how Cali was doing, and said to convey his sympathies for her having been injured. He then asked about the rest of Sean's wives and children, and got Sean to promise to bring them all by sometime soon.

  "Well, thanks again, Sawyer," Sean said as he got up to leave. "I couldn't have done this without you. I think it's safe to say that the lions will count the Hà`kætunis line as allies from this day forward, and if you ever need us, we'll be there for you."

  Sawyer paused a moment. "You know, Kid. That means just as much to me as your willingness to always cut me in for half. That's why I value our relationship; you've always played it fair with ol' Sawyer. Not a lot of people do that for us goblins. So yeah, right back at ya! The Hà`kætunis line will always be there, too. Especially if you're gonna cut us in on the profits!" Sawyer added with a wink.

  Sean smiled and waved, heading out. For the first time in over a year, things seemed to almost feel normal again. Nobody was trying to kill him, and he didn't have the world arrayed against him. Every day wasn't a fight for survival.

  Sure, there was still a war on, but at least he knew they were going to win this one.

  Getting back in the car, he drove back to the base. He'd see if the party was still going on, then round up the girls and have a little party of his own.

  Los Endos

  Sean stepped out of the gateway and looked around. He'd picked a good spot; there were dunes around, so he wasn't spotted by some anyone as he all but appeared from nowhere. Closing the gateway behind him, he slung the towel over his shoulder and walked towards the beach. It wasn't a long walk, and he came in sight of the water immediately. It was amazingly clear; he'd never seen water quite so blue before. The beach was also quite lovely, lots of white sand, a few small vendors set off a way from the beach, a lot of lovely young women, and obviously a few very wealthy young and middle-aged men.

  Walking down towards the water, he quickly singled out his goal. A lone male in a recliner, surrounded by seven empty recliners, who was watching seven lovely women playing in the water, or swimming around in it.

  The man himself Sean had never seen before. Well, not looking like this. Sean figured he was probably five foot ten, maybe eleven. He was heavily built and had straight black hair that was kept fairly short. He had a tan complexion, and unlike the other men on the beach, he looked like he'd had a hard life. One that included a lot of physical labor.

  "Hi, Dad," Sean said and dropped into one of the recliners next to his.

  "Ah, I see you found me."

  Sean snorted. "It wasn't hard to figure out the power we use to locate lycans could be used to locate lions."

  "I wasn't sure if you got that or not. After all, it has been quite a few months since I left."

  "Oh, I got everything you knew when you were kicked out of my head, it's just I couldn't use all of it until after Mahk."

  "Ah, I see. So what brings you here? You're not going to spoil our vacation, are you?"

  Sean gave a slight shake of his head. "Nah, if anybody deserves it, I'd say it's you. Though I think Raban and a few of your other kids are a little pissed they're not getting some time off as well."

  The First laughed. "That's rich. I can't count the number of times they ran off, leaving me and their mothers to deal with things. So, how do you like being in charge?"

  Sean turned and eyed the First. "You are planning on coming back, riiiight?"

  "Oh, of course. I figure once the rest of you have killed off all the remaining djevels, it'll be safe enough," the First said, looking over at Sean and grinning.

  "Thanks for the vote of confidence. But I'd still appreciate it if you popped in once in a while to check up on me. This isn't going to be as easy as everyone seems to think."

  "It never is," the First agreed. "I think if you can get it done in two hundred years, I'll be suitably impressed. They're very tenacious little bastards, and they'll show up where you least expect it.

  "So, how's the family?"

  "They're all very well. And very pregnant," Sean said with a smile of his own. "Daelyn got her family and the rest of the dwarves to build us a new place up on Lyon Peak. It's nice, as well as nice and far from everything."

  "Maybe we'll visit."

  "You better. I think the girls will kill you if they don't get to show off their babies to grandpa!"

  "Just don't let my wives hear you call them 'grandma'. You'd think after all this time they'd get over that. But women can be funny."

  "Like you're not?" Sean teased.

  "I'm crotchety. At my advanced age, it's allowed."

  "Uh-huh. Sure. Lovely spot, by the way."

  The First nodded. "It's an old favorite, and the girls love it. We used to migrate down here every winter to avoid the harsh weather up north."

  "It sure is peaceful, that's for sure," Sean said, leaning back into the recliner. "I may have to bring the wives here one of these days."

  "Isn't there a rule against using portals like that?" The First smiled while he pondered that question, rubbing his chin.

  "Yes, but I'm in charge now, so until you get back, I make the rules!" Sean chuckled. "But honestly, except for this trip, I won't be abusing the gateways again. Though I may see about learning some sort o
f teleport spell. Something like those recall stones I used to take out the Gradatim. I'll have to think about that. Don't want to make it easy for someone to weaponize them. Maybe I'll link it to lions only."

  "Just keep it to a minimum. If you turn this place into a tourist trap, the wives will skin you alive, and I'll help."

  "I think it's already a tourist trap, Dad."

  The First shook his head. "Nah, we bought this place over a thousand years ago. Set up a foundation about a hundred years ago to preserve it. We use a bunch of accountants and other cutouts to pass it along from one set of fake owners to another every few decades. We let some of the rich and famous," the First motioned to the others on the beach, "in, so it distracts attention from us."

  Sean looked suitably impressed. "Damn, I had no idea."

  "Yeah, well, I learned a few things over the years," the First said, grinning. "Now that we got the pleasantries out of the way, what brings you here, Son?"

  "You know when the last time I got to hang out with my father was? Just hang out, no problems, no pressure?"

  The First shook his head.

  "I think I was eight, Dad. It was a very long time ago. Besides," Sean looked over at the First and grinned, "I have seven pregnant wives at home, along with a bunch of very rambunctious one-year-olds, and you're surprised that I just want to spend some quiet time hanging out with my father?"

  A waiter came over then and handed Sean and the First a drink. They thanked him and waited until he was out of earshot.

  "So, gonna stay for dinner?"

  Sean smiled. "I think I'd like that, Dad."

  End of Book Seventeen

  And so ends the Valens Legacy.

  For now at least...

  Afterword

  Hello everyone. I'd like to start by saying, as always, if you enjoyed this book, please go on Amazon and give me a review and a rating. I've said it before, and of course I'll say it again: Ratings are my lifeblood as an independent author, with 4- and 5-star ratings being the ones that help me the most. The more of those I get, the more likely Amazon is to show my work to other folks.

  So, we've finally come to the end of this series. I know some of you don't want it to end, but I'm not a big fan of series that never end. Plus, to be honest, I'm worried about repeating myself and getting boring. Writing a series is like dragging a hundred-pound chain, and with each book you write, they add another hundred-pound chain on the end. There is so much stuff you have to keep track of that went on before, that it gets very difficult to avoid continuity errors. Also, the amount of planning you have to do, in advance…well that's not easy, either.

  As I've mentioned elsewhere, this series was conceived one night after a very frustrating week, before a whiteboard, after a couple of glasses of Jameson Irish whiskey (one of my favs). I plotted out the first six in detail, the next six roughly, and just had a general outline for the last six.

  I honestly thought I'd never get past the first six. In fact, if someone had ever told me I'd write a seventeen-book series, with three small short story anthologies (soon to be four) which would sell strongly all the way through to the end, I'd have asked what they were smoking. Seriously. I still can't believe I did this. Not at all. Black Friday was started on August 6th, 2017. It was published about a month later, after I finished Perfect Strangers. Today is October twenty-seventh, 2019. I'll be sending this to my editor tomorrow, and it'll probably be published in about a week.

  With the exception of a short break to write Portals of Infinity #8 (The Seven Worlds), this has pretty much been my life for the last two years and three months. Hard to believe. In that time I've moved halfway across the country, had an accident that laid my arm up for a few weeks, and had to deal with some legal issues I wish I could have avoided. But I guess that last bit is the price of success.

  Now that we're here, I first want to thank ALL of you. Really, thank you! You're the reason I do this. The response to this series has been overwhelming, and I've been very humbled by it. I also want to thank all of my Patreon supporters, past and present. I value their feedback a great deal, and the supporters I had back in 2017 had a lot to do with encouraging me to write this series. They were totally responsible for my publishing Shadow and starting this pen name. Up until then I'd had no intentions of ever publishing that book, but their help and encouragement set me on the path that has brought us all here today.

  So again, thank you!

  I also want to thank my beta readers. I know it's a thankless task, and my editor Tiffany Reynolds.

  Now, what comes next? I have a few small things I'd like to take care of next that I've been promising to write. But I'm sure most of you want to know what will come next in this, the Valens Legacy universe. Well, I have a whiteboard just full of notes for the follow on to this series. I had to chart that all out while writing this book, because I know a lot of people are interested. So if enough of you tell me you want another series in this world, I think it's safe to say I'll write it.

  The working title for that series will probably be 'the Valens Destiny'. Though I have to warn you, I'm well known for changing titles at the last minute. It will most likely follow the life of Sean Jr. Also, I'm hoping to put out a 'Wives Tales #4', and I may do a standalone story in the interim. We'll have to see.

  But right now I'm thinking maybe a short vacation might be in order as well. We'll all just have to see.

  Now! Some Recommendations: As mentioned before, I do have another name I write under: John Van Stry. If you haven't looked at it, you might appreciate my 'Portals of Infinity' series. It's currently at eight books and will continue; I will hopefully be writing the ninth book in the series within the next few months.

  Some other people I enjoy reading in this genre, and you might, as well:

  William D. Arand (aka Randi Darren)– Please check him out, he's good. I've been a big fan of William's since I discovered his work. It was kind of a funny moment for me when I found out he was a fan of my stuff as well. I'm honestly beginning to suspect that he can't write a bad story, because every book he writes is just so much better than the one before. I just finished 'Swing Shift', and it was great. You should really buy his books.

  Blaise Corvin – The Delvers books are really a lot of fun and very much worth it. When I first came across his Delvers LLC books, I almost felt kind of jealous, because I was like 'why didn't I think of that?' I do think if you like my stuff, you'll like his as well, so check it out! And definitely give the Nora Hazard book a try ('Mitigating Risk' is the first one), I'm reading it now and really enjoying it.

  Michael-Scott Earle – Yes! Michael-Scott IS back, he's just not on Amazon anymore. If you want to find him and read his works again, please go here:

  https://www.michaelscottearle.com/books-1

  One of these days I'm going to bribe him to finish Lion Quest. Please check him out, and if you can, support him. He's another great author.

  Hondo Jinx - I'm a big fan of 'Power Mage'. Lots of action, lots of fun. I love that his main character is a former Bull Rider. Those guys are crazy!

  Daniel Schinhofen - another great author you should consider checking out as well.

  They're all good people and great writers.

  If you're into 'Harem' type fiction, you may also want to check out this group on Facebook to see who else is writing it that you might like:

  https://www.facebook.com/groups/haremlit/

  Again, thank you for your support and for buying my books.

  My Amazon Author's webpage:

  https://www.amazon.com/Jan-Stryvant/e/B06ZY7L62L/

  Occasional announcements at:

  https://stryvant.blogspot.com/

  Jan Stryvant website at:

  http://www.vanstry.net/stryvant/

  (The stuff written under my real name - check it out, you might like it too!)

  John Van Stry website at:

  http://www.vanstry.net/

  Email:

  stryvant@gmail.com

/>   Some Notes on Lions (F1, F2, F3)

  F1: 18 – These are the members of the original pride. The First was the alpha male leader. There were a couple of other males in the pride (cubs at the time). These are all the lions who were originally 'infected' by Omushkego. Sean and Estrella join this group (making it 20) because of what happens with Mahkiyoc.

  F2: 721 – Pure lions. These are the direct descendants of the F1s (they still have kids occasionally).

  F2.5: ~8000 – These are direct descendents of F2 + F2, or F1 + F2, or an F1 biting someone (Note: Originally, in the 'old days', a lion biting someone was death).

  F3: ~27000 – Normally the result of an F1 or F2/F2.5 breeding with a lycan. Or an F2/F2.5 biting someone and it being successful. (Sean is originally an F2.5—because of his interaction with the First). An F3 breeding with an F2/F2.5 creates an F2.5. Breeding with an F1 creates an F2. F3 + F3 = F3

  Note: Sometimes these rules get bent in the F2.5 area; no one knows why (well, the First might, but he's not talking).

  (There are 35,739 of the above, total, when the story starts)

  ---------------------

  F4: ~50000 (until the die off) F3 + lycan. None of these survived the die-off.

  Note that after the die off and the changes, F4s aren't possible anymore—not until ALL the F1s, F2s and F3s are inhabiting bodies and there are no more lion souls left to fill a newborn lion. Lions will avoid creating an F4 again (under current rules) because they didn't like losing them at the die off.

  Note: A lion does not have to be reborn if it does not wish to be. Also, sometimes an 'original soul' appears—a lion is not reborn into a cub even though a soul was available. Estrella and Adam are both examples of this. So is Sean, Jr.

  Note: F1/F2 bites no longer turn animals into lycans. But they don't kill people either, they turn them into lions. What will happen when all the lion souls are alive again?