They all gathered around Max as she made her way begrudgingly out of the room, down the hall, and into the large kitchen and dining space. Cali couldn’t help smiling when she entered the room and found her new brother-in-law predictably being the perfect host. He was standing politely at the kitchen counter, back military-straight and he was nodding his head to something Madigan was saying. Mordecai was looking incredibly stiff and uncomfortable as he stood off to the side. Aiden placed a hand on his liege’s arm and Cali caught the hint of a smile which accompanied Mordecai’s small nod of thanks. She assumed the Captain had just shared some words and perhaps even vitality with his liege in order to help put him at ease.
It was clear Mordecai and his knights were close and that he respected them – a respect that was mutual. Watching Mordecai’s cool green eyes warm as he looked at his knights, also spoke of a deep affection. The knowledge that Mordecai didn’t treat his paladins as mere battery packs or servants made her warm to the man a little. Although, if she was being honest, she was already thawing to the man who was her liege’s biological father. She agreed with all of Lark’s reasoning, but it was also more than that. Now that she was about to bring a child of her own into the world, she sympathised with a father not being able to know his daughter.
Her own little man chose that moment to give a healthy kick, and she soothed her hands over her swollen stomach. Not that the movement would calm the babe; her little hitchhiker was incredibly active. Sure enough, a series of pokes and jabs followed and she shook her head even as she smiled down at her stomach. She was now almost thirty weeks pregnant and despite the unique circumstances of the conception, the pregnancy had been textbook. Although the pregnancy was unplanned and had come as a very big surprise, Cali couldn’t be happier over the abrupt change her life was about to take. In no time, she would be holding a tiny person in her arms that was half of her and half the love of her life. The knowledge still tripped her out, but it also made her heart sing.
“Here, honey.”
Speak of the devil, Cali thought as Dex handed her a glass of water. She accepted it graciously, even though she wasn’t thirsty. Her man was always trying to hydrate her. It was weird.
“Thank you,” she pecked a quick kiss to his lips, loving the caressing palm he ran over their growing child.
Looking up, she caught Mordecai watching Dex’s hand with a look of such naked longing, that she felt herself tear up a little. Damn hormones were always surprising her with tears these days, but she knew it wasn’t just that. She was no mind-reader like Max but she knew exactly what Mordecai was thinking in that moment; how he had missed out on seeing his own child grow – and every wonder that came after. She knew Max was still resistant to the idea of a father – her insecure liege feared the possibility of rejection. But Cali knew that was the one thing Max would never face from Mordecai, because a man who looked at a pregnant woman that way would never turn his own child away.
Cali’s eyes met the death warden’s for a moment and he surprised her by allowing her to see the emotions he was feeling for a brief second more before his green eyes turned cool and impassive once again.
“You have information?” Cali prompted.
Mordecai turned to face Max and Ryker but focused his gaze just above their heads. “Garrett and Autumn’s son, Emmanuel, is still very much alive as you suspected. What’s more, they are both complicit in his actions. All these years they have been helping him, feeding him.”
“Feeding him?” Cali felt her stomach roil over the disgusting images that information wrought.
Mordecai nodded, crisply, “They have been providing him with wardens to drain – paladins too, I bet. Just as we wardens become more powerful the more vitality we receive, chades become more powerful the more life they consume. Over fifty years of feeding? I shudder to think how powerful and unique Emmanuel must be by now.”
“And you’re sure Garrett and Autumn are involved?” Darius asked.
Tobias snorted, rubbing his left side, “Oh, we’re sure. Sick fucks admitted it right to our faces.”
“And yet you had no idea?” Ryker’s tone was filled with disbelief.
Mordecai looked directly into Ryker’s eyes as he answered; “None.”
Ryker shook his head, arms crossing over his chest, “You expect us to believe that? Isn’t he your best friend?”
Mordecai’s jaw was clenched so hard, Cali feared his teeth would crack. “Was. He was my best friend.”
And just then that cold mask cracked once more and the man’s pain over the betrayal of his friend burst free. Cali heard Diana suck in a sharp breath from the overwhelming feeling of grief that must be radiating from Mordecai. Given she was associated with the domain of death, Diana was sensitive to those darker, pain-filled emotions. She may not be able to absorb them like Max could, but they still reached out to her like a friend seeking shelter. It was the same for Cali’s own element of water. She couldn’t command it to do her bidding, but it embraced her and comforted her and brought her peace in times of chaos.
Cali quickly looked at Max, and knew she was feeling the pain too. How could she not be? Max was the most empathetic creature on the planet. And although they had all worked hard with her to erect strong barriers to protect her from the constant bombardment of emotions, there was no blocking them completely. And definitely not such fresh, raw pain. It was a part of Max’s purpose, after all. That’s why, when Cali felt the others all rally around Max with the aim of blocking the pain, she heard herself speak up;
“Don’t,” she commanded them all silently.
Cali felt the sharp reprimand from Ryker, even though it was non-verbal. Like a zap to her brain but she didn’t back down; “Don’t shelter her from this pain. It’s her burden to feel it just as much as it is his.” She made no move to censor the comment from Max and knew Max heard her loud and clear.
Cali felt a second of indecision before Max nodded her head and surrendered herself to the emotions swirling around the room. Max had been holding herself back from feeling anything related to Mordecai and Cali couldn’t blame her. But she knew if Max kept blocking her natural instincts, it would be far more damaging to her liege.
Cali’s coat of arms came roaring to life, writhing on her skin even as her druidic symbol for water glowed a vibrant blue. She sucked in a sharp breath from the emotions she felt; pain, betrayal, anger, bitterness, grief – it was all there as Max drew the dark emotions into herself. The entire Order winced as it cycled its way through Max. Max then drew on everyone’s vitality via their heraldries, not needing to physically touch them anymore – they were well past that now. Lark’s little adventure to heal the chades had proven that once and for all, along with the question of distance.
“Stop! Don’t do that!” Mordecai’s sharp command rang out loudly in the room as incredulous eyes turned to him. Mordecai held Max’s eyes as he explained; “I’m sorry. It’s not that I’m not grateful, I am. But I don’t need your healing. I … I want to feel this – need to feel it.”
“He thinks he deserves it,” Diana volunteered.
“What am I, blind?” Max grumbled back, causing Cali’s lips to twitch. It was a little hypocritical because Max insisted on being blind to everything Mordecai did. “Don’t laugh at me, Cali. You think I won’t bitch-slap a pregnant woman?”
“Please! Even growing another human, I’m still way faster than you are with those short, gnome-legs of yours,” Cali poked back. One of her favourite things about the women in the house was that none of them were hypersensitive drama queens and could all give as good as they got.
Max glared at her, clearly fighting her feelings of amusement and annoyance, but slowly pulled back her power over the death domain.
“Thank you,” Mordecai said, softly.
“Don’t mention it,” Max muttered, leaning into Ryker and looking at her feet.
It was the first words Max had really spoken to her father and they were nothing words, really. But Mordecai didn’t seem to care. The look on his face as he gazed at his daughter was filled with such a stark look of hope, Cali saw even Ryker give a grudging nod of acknowledgment and encouragement in his direction. Some of the awkward tension had thankfully been expelled from the room and Cali felt they were all able to breathe a little easier. She perched her butt on Dex’s lap where he was sitting at the table, feeling his arms immediately rise to wrap around her;
“So, what do you know about Emmanuel?” she asked, “I never met the man when he was a, well, a man.”
Mordecai exhaled roughly, “He was a good man – a good warrior and a faithful guardian to his element of Life. You fought with him on many an occasion, didn’t you?” he asked Dex.
Dex nodded, “I did. Like you said; he was a good guy. Always willing to lend a helping hand. I can’t reconcile that honourable warden with the freaky super chade you’ve described. But then, I feel the same way about me and look how well that turned out.”
Her man’s tone turned self-deprecating and that was something Cali simply wouldn’t allow. She ground her butt against his groin and whispered; “Oh, I don’t know. I think it turned out rather well.”
His very dark hazel eyes turned even darker as his pupils dilated in arousal. “You’re right. What was I thinking?” he murmured, taking her lips in a deep, drugging kiss.
Cali wished they were alone so she could banish any lingering doubts from Dex’s mind, but duty called and she forced herself to pull back. “Tonight,” she promised him, loving the smile on his handsome face.
He had been smiling just a little bit more over the last couple of days and she knew it was due to his old friends showing up. She was so happy for him now that he had three of his old paladins back in his life. They were currently staying at the training lodge in the barracks but Dex had spent many hours reacquainting himself with them. Sid, on the other hand, was another matter entirely. They had let him go crawling back to his liege because they couldn’t very well kill the man or even imprison him. He hadn’t broken any laws and other than scaring the shit out of her, he had done little damage. She could admit, hearing her old liege was in the area and still thinking about her, made her feel sick to her stomach. And although half of her wanted to hunt the bastard down and shove her scythe up his arse, the other half of her knew her priority was Hitch. And she didn’t want Stefan anywhere near her baby.
“Mordecai, do you have any idea where Emmanuel is now?” Ivy asked, politely. Cali knew she had worked closely with the death warden over the years and had always liked the man.
“No. I have no clue. There has never even been any indication of his existence until now.” The frustration in Mordecai’s voice was plain to hear.
“Well, in hindsight, it seems it was Emmanuel who was responsible for coordinating the attack fifty years ago. He’s no doubt responsible for the declining number in wardens if his parents have been feeding him. He must also be responsible for the increasing number of chades – especially those with that creepy awareness. So … kind of plenty of indications,” Axel pointed out.
Cali knew Axel wasn’t trying to be a dick by stating the obvious or pointing out Mordecai’s ignorance over the years. Luckily, Mordecai seemed to know that too and understand what Axel was alluding to.
“All of those incidents were centred around this area,” Mordecai acknowledged, looking at the fire paladin. “You think he’s here?”
Axel shrugged, “It makes sense.”
And it did, Cali thought. By the Goddess, it galled her to realise their greatest enemy was right under their nose the whole time.
“But where?” Cali hadn’t realised she’d spoken out loud until Max answered;
“Well, that’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it? How about we go ask his parents?”
Mordecai peered around at them, “I believe you proposed calling a meeting with the IDC?”
“Eavesdropping?” Ryker taunted.
Mordecai shrugged and Cali couldn’t help the way her eyes followed the movement. The man sure could fill out a tee shirt.
“Cali, gross!” Max whined in Cali’s head and Diana and she snickered even as the men grumbled.
“We simply overheard,” Madigan soothed, following up with; “And it’s a good idea.”
Ryker looked surprised as he looked at the brown-haired paladin, “You think it’s a good idea? Sending Max into the lion’s den?”
Mordecai shook his head, explaining, “Garrett knows you’re onto him now. For years, he and Autumn have relied on stealth and subterfuge for their plans. That is no longer a possibility. He has a lot of scrambling to do in order to con wardens and paladins to his side. I have no doubt it’s why he asked me to recall so many Orders. It’s part of his endgame. We need a chance to sway the council and the community. A meeting will be dangerous but it’s the only way to gather so many of us in the one location and actually be heard. Although, it would be unnecessary if I had been able to succeed in killing him two weeks ago ...”
“Wait a minute; you tried to kill Garrett? The head of the International Domain Council?” Beyden questioned, his amber eyes wide.
Mordecai’s own eyes turned hard, “Damn right I did! He betrayed me, betrayed his element and has been lying to our people for years. Yes. I tried to kill the fucker. But he is not without his own powers and I –”
“He beat you, huh?” Ryker smirked.
“He attacked my paladins!” Mordecai growled back.
Max gasped, stepping forward quickly. “Are you all okay? I can help ...” her voice trailed off and she came to an abrupt halt. Cali knew she hadn’t been thinking when she made the offer and stepped that close to Mordecai. It had been an automatic reaction to someone in need.
Bastien bowed his head to Max, “I thank you, my lady, but I am healing well. It’s why we weren’t here sooner as a matter of fact. I couldn’t travel and Mordecai wouldn’t leave me alone even to deliver the information,” the look he cast his liege was filled with disgruntlement.
Cali understood the feeling well.
“Oh, do shut up, Bas. I wasn’t about to leave you when you were at death’s door. Deal with it.” Mordecai snapped, revealing his affection for his paladins yet again. Cali saw the others notice it too and knew they were beginning to soften toward the man.
“Well then, boss-man. Do we have a go to meet the ‘rents?” Diana asked.
All eyes turned to a scowling Ryker and although he looked like he was chewing glass, he finally nodded his head in assent.
Well, this should be interesting, Cali thought, dryly.