It had taken more than two hours to settle the Lodge back into some semblance of order. Max hadn’t even been able to hear her own paladins inside her own head over the noise in the room after Garrett and Autumn had made their grand exit. Unsurprisingly, after a few minutes of yelling and accusations, a handful of people had become violent and before Max had the chance to give them a thorough spanking, several members of the council had stepped forward to do it for her. They included, Mordecai, Blu, and surprisingly, Cinder. Ares and Ravyn had both predictably turned accusing eyes and words on her, serving to whip the crowd into even more of a frenzy. Her Order had tried to whisk her away but she had balked; the community needed answers and she wanted to be the one to give it to them. Many wouldn’t listen and she knew they would be running to Garrett the moment they left. But she had also been surprised to see the large number of wardens and paladins defending her. Looking around the room now,
And knew the future she had been dreaming about was now set in motion.
“Well, this is a fine mess, young lady,” a voice said, rather cheerfully, from beside her position on the floor.
Max couldn’t help smiling at the grey-haired old rogue. Blu was like a dirty old grandpa – you couldn’t help but love him and feel comfortable around him. Max was glad he wasn’t the one behind all the scheming and the lies. Although Garrett and Autumn’s deceit had been a shocking and painful blow, it would have been far worse had it been someone like Blu. Someone she had genuine affection for as well as respect.
Without conscious thought, her mind strayed to how Mordecai must be feeling after the betrayal of such a good friend. She didn’t want to feel anything for the man who had been lying to her from the day they met but she found herself unable to stop thinking about him. She knew her Order was steadily thawing toward him, despite their protectiveness of her. Even Ryker wasn’t threatening to maim him every time they occupied the same space anymore. Although, her guy had questions for Mordecai. Serious questions. She did too – lots and lots of questions. But she just couldn’t bring herself to talk to the man. Couldn’t bring herself to look him in the eyes.
Thinking back, she remembered the feeling when she had walked into the training lodge for the very first time. She had been terrified nobody would like her. She had finally been offered a safe place to stay amongst people just like her. People that understood her and wouldn’t look at her like she was crazy. And the fear of rejection from such a place had been immense. Well, it was nothing compared to the fear of rejection from the man who was her biological father. No, Max decided, she couldn’t talk to the man. There was just too much to lose.
“Did you know?” she blurted out without meaning to.
Blu turned his head to face her, “Know …?”
“Know who I was? Know who Mordecai was,” she expanded.
His blue eyes softened and he shook his head, “No, my dear. I truly had no idea. I confess, I have met a Custodian or two in the past but you are so unlike them, I didn’t even consider it. And as for Mordecai, I have known the man for years upon years and consider him a good friend as well as a good man. I certainly noticed a change in him over the last fifty years or so but I put that down to the Great Massacre. Not once did I consider he had a secret love-child with Mother Nature.” His wink softened his words and Max scoffed at his word choice;
“Love-child?”
Blu simply shrugged, looking across the room at Mordecai where he was talking with the only remaining council member, Cinder. “Hindsight is a funny thing, isn’t it? Now that I know, I can certainly see the similarities – in looks as well as temperament.”
Her rebuttal was swift and strong, “I’m nothing like him.”
Blu turned back to her again, “Ah. Okay, then. Another topic perhaps?”
Max took a couple of deep breaths, shaking her head at Ryker, Cali, and Axel who were all heading her way, having sensed her anxiety. Ryker and Axel stopped but Cali kept coming until Max shook her head again, adding a frown for good measure. Cali pursed her lips for a moment and narrowed her eyes before turning in a huff, her scythe returning to its home in her harness.
“That is going to be one fierce mother,” Blu drawled.
Max snorted, “Right? She’s always been protective. But now? She’s like a feral, pregnant tigress.”
“Lucky baby.”
Max smiled, “Very lucky baby.”
Blu made no attempt at further conversation and Max couldn’t blame him. He had to be reeling just as much from the day’s revelations as the rest of the citizens present. He had known Garrett and Autumn just as long as Mordecai had – longer even, given he was one of the oldest wardens in existence. Thinking of Blu’s age and his earlier comment, sparked a thought and Max broke their comfortable silence;
“You’ve met a Custodian before?”
“My dear, I was here to see the River of Life flow for the first time. There isn’t much I haven’t seen,” Blu replied, with no hint of arrogance.
“What were they like?” she asked. They had been trying to gather information about Custodians for months, but facts were few and far between. All records had been destroyed or lost.
Creases formed across Blu’s forehead as he considered her question, “Well, they weren’t exactly like anything. Custodians aren’t exactly people. They are energy, spirit if you will.”
“Energy? Spirit?” She wondered out loud, causing Blu to nod.
“Yes. They have no physical bodies like you or I. They are wisps of colour in the air, crackles of electricity in the atmosphere, bursts of light on the ground – that kind of thing.” Blu gave a chuckle, seeing her incredulous look, “Don’t look at me like that. I’m not mad. They might not have been substance but the custodians were able to communicate and even form a human-like appearance when they wanted to. I could hear them in my mind and they often appeared as light-filled shadows with a human outline.”
Max felt herself go still, “Life-sized, see-through, and human-shaped with limitless colours?”
“That’s right,” Blu confirmed.
The description was exactly how she perceived souls. What’s more, Blu said he could hear custodians in his head – even though he wasn’t in an Order with them. Max was able to do the same thing. She could hear anyone’s thoughts and if she chose to, could also speak to anyone telepathically. Perhaps she had more in common with the missing beings than they thought.
“Did they require vitality?” She asked, as soon as the thought popped into her mind.
Blu quickly shook his head, “Oh, no. Not that I’m aware of. They were made of energy, you see. What use would they have for vitality?”
“And being made of energy is what makes them able to interact with their elements?”
“Interact?” Blu seemed surprised. “Create. Max, custodians were able to create elements.”
“But …” the thought of creating a domain out of nothing was mind boggling. Wardens were able to manipulate and communicate with their domains. They were able to heal them and nurture them. But they couldn’t make air out of, well, thin air. They couldn’t make a plant grow if there was no seed, couldn’t spark a life into existence. “Perhaps, I don’t have as much in common with them as I thought,” she murmured to herself, but Blu apparently heard her anyway;
“I suspect you do. Not only are you more powerful, but I believe that power is more energy-based, more energy dependant, than the rest of us. You appear to expend a lot more energy than any of us normal wardens do when maintaining our domains. Your recovery also seems much more intense.”
“And you think that’s because I’m more energy than the rest of you?” she asked, trying to follow his logic.
“I have no idea. But it would make sense. You are half warden and half pure goddess. It would make sense for you to share traits with both sides of the DNA contributions,” he offered.
Max was startled into a snort, “DNA contributions?”
Blu patted her on the knee, “Well, I didn’t think referring to them as your mother and father was all that appropriate.”
She rolled her eyes over that, “I’ll say. So, I’m actually half warden and half custodian – if we assume Mordecai’s tale of Dana is true. Maybe you all shouldn’t go around calling me a custodian anymore.”
“Given you have control over all seven elements and are the most powerful being on the planet, I think it’s safe to assume you have a lot of your m–” he broke off abruptly.
Max grinned at him, cutting him some slack. The man was trying desperately not to offend or upset her in any way. “You mean, I seem to have a lot of maternal DNA contributing to my powers?”
He laughed, “Yes.”
“Hmm …” The notion gave her some pause and had her feeling some fragile hope for the future. “If that’s the case, do you think it’s possible I could go full custodian-mode?”
Blu’s greying eyebrows lifted, “As in …?”
“As in supernova.”
“Supernova?” She saw his lips twitch but he was also contemplating her question seriously. “I’ve honestly no idea. Do you believe the world is going to need supernova?”
A frigid blast of fear hit her, and she fought not to cringe. The idea truly frightened her elderly friend and she found herself lying to him for the first time; “I’ve honestly no idea,” she said.
Max saw Blu’s paladins moving restlessly from across the room where they were giving their liege space but also keeping an eye on him. She knew they were feeling his unease, and, feeling guilty for causing the Water Warden discomfort, she quickly steered the conversation in another direction;
“What happened to them? The Custodians?”
Blu shrugged, “I can’t say. There was never that many around at any given time to begin with. And then, suddenly, they were just gone.”
“But there was always one, right? At least one. I mean, that’s what the Chronicles say, isn’t it?” That’s what Darius had always told her.
“Yes. You are correct. Tradition – history – states that there must be a Custodian on Earth at all times,” Blu admitted.
“Huh. And yet, the world seems to be spinning just fine without them,” she mused, wondering how much of what Blu was saying was tradition, and how much was fact. There was, after all, a huge difference.
“Ah, but you’re here, aren’t you my dear? A custodian in the flesh,” he added, merrily, giving her a little poke in the arm.
She dipped her head at him, “Touché.” She didn’t believe her presence had anything to do with the world spinning on its axis, but she was happy to humour the man. “When was the last time you had confirmation of a Custodian’s presence?”
Blu thought for a moment before responding, “From my personal experience? A couple of years before the Great Massacre.”
Max was surprised, “Before the massacre? Not after?”
Blu nodded, “Definitely before.”
“And do you know if anybody else had personal experience with a Custodian?”
“Not many, that’s for sure. There was Verity of course. Being as old as he was, and attuned to the element of life, meant the spirit beings were particularly accessible to him. Mordecai as well had some fleeting experiences. And then there was also –” he broke off abruptly, worry lining his forehead.
“Garrett?” she guessed.
Blu nodded slowly, “Yes. Garrett. I believe he also had some contact with those revered beings. I remember because we spoke of them in great detail right around the time of his son’s death. Well, supposed death,” he amended. “It was, in fact, the time of Emmanuel’s regression into a chade. Actually, I believe the conversation was remarkably like this one if truth be told.”
“Because he asked about custodian energy – custodian power?” She pushed for clarification for what she already knew in her gut. In her mind, she felt her Order stirring, listening more intently from where they were otherwise preoccupied in the background. But they were picking up on her increasing tension just as Blu’s paladins were doing for him.
“Yes,” Blu responded, beginning to look a little pale. He held up a staying hand to his three paladins when they took a step forward and looked Max in the eye when he spoke again, “He wanted to know everything I knew about them. But I was by no means an expert. I pointed him in the direction of the person with the most knowledge.”
Max looked at Diana, who was watching both Blu and her closely. Max sent a silent apology through the link, even as she spoke the name; “Verity.”
Blu nodded, “Yes. Verity. I also informed him that what Verity didn’t know could likely be found in the Warden Chronicles.”
“The same Warden Chronicles that were conveniently burned to ashes during the Massacre.” Max pointed out.
“The very same,” Blu confirmed. “But they weren’t destroyed … were they?” Blu asked, but Max could tell he already knew the answer.
Puzzle pieces were beginning to click into place for Max and she felt her heart breaking for the good man beside her – as well as her own paladin who would feel hurt once more. Still, Max had to respond; “No. I don’t believe they were destroyed. I believe Garrett staged the entire massacre just so he could steal the Chronicles and the priceless information they held. I believe he took the opportunity to kill as many wardens and paladins as possible in the process. And I believe …” she took a deep breath, “I believe he had Verity killed specifically because he knew too much. Because a Life Warden of such calibre would have realised who and what Garrett really was sooner rather than later. And because Verity was pre-cognitive – and Garrett knew it. He was too much of a threat.”
Max heard Diana’s keening cry and felt fresh grief tear through her body for the loss of her liege whom she had been connected to by her very soul. Across the room Darius was quick to gather Diana into his arms despite the public area and the many eyes watching them. Diana folded herself into his strong arms without protest.
“So, Garrett’s son became a chade and he started asking about custodians – a pure energy source. The last of the custodians then disappeared from the world, and a year or so later, chades launched a co-ordinated attack against wardens and their Orders. As well as destroying the one place where all the records of the warden’s history was kept,” Max summarised.
Blu’s deep sigh said it all. No way was all that a coincidence. Max ran her hands through her hair, wondering how she could feel exhausted and energised at the same time. They were on the cusp of something. She could feel it.
“Blu, I was told that Garrett’s son was given experimental treatment but that it didn’t work. It had the opposite effect, acting as a trigger and making him even more twisted – even more evil. Do you know what the treatment was?” she asked, knowing it was important but not sure why.
“I’m afraid I don’t. Everything was recorded of course and placed in the Records Room with the Chronicles,” he revealed, regretfully.
“Which were also destroyed. Or more than likely also stolen. Bugger!” Max huffed.
“That would be correct. But,” Blu continued, “I do know of someone who was there. Someone who happens to never forget a thing.”
Max felt herself share an appreciative grin with Blu when they both spoke at the same time; “Nikolai.”