Chapter Seventeen

 

Declan was so disgusted and frustrated he picked up the coffee table and threw it into the wall so hard it was buried in the drywall. It didn’t make him feel any better. As much as he wanted to outright kill the guy for impregnating his little girl, Declan had far too much honor to take advantage of the idiot’s inebriated state.

“Can you sober him up?” Declan growled at Tristan. He wanted the guy to know and understand why he was going to die.

“No. That’s beyond my capabilities with one such as this.” Tristan watched Declan pace around the room while the idiot still tried to right himself on the couch.

Declan grabbed a lamp and threw it against the wall behind the couch causing chards of it to fly around the room. The drunken fool reached to the back of his head and pulled it away to see blood on his hand.

“Why you breaking my shit man?” the guy asked.

Declan stomped outside and roared his fury to the darkened sky above. Tristan came to stand beside him while he sent his brother bolts of calming energy.

“Fuck this,” Declan muttered as he stormed back inside the house.

He stood in front of the fool who was still staring at the blood on his hand.

“Castani retarninian, sobleki bosarn captavi, sonotangi eventi!” Declan noted the inebriated fool was utterly unaffected by the ritual to expulse an anomalous beast, but Declan was undaunted.

"Toqori snixion Repartnium sawan baniqua sotamini Valtarus stelenar xinimin caftar." Declan finished the ritual for a daemon and waited expectantly for the telltale darkness to be expelled from the idiot. Nothing happened.

“What the hell you talking, dude? Do you speak English?” the idiot mumbled as he fell sideways on the couch again.

Declan used both hands to gesture at the idiot while glaring at Tristan.

“What the hell can I do with this? He’s not afflicted! Just an evil bastard!” Declan snapped.

“Need some help, bro?” Chris asked as he came in through the broken door, followed by Isabel and the other brothers.

“We having a party?” the drunken moron muttered with wide eyes as he looked at the large men crowding the room.

“I get it,” Luca said with a grin.

He slapped a mediband on the guy’s wrist and programmed it to remove the alcohol from his system. Declan only sighed in relief that someone had found a solution to getting the guy lucid.

“What about the others?” Declan asked.

“Not as drunk as this jerk,” Isabel said with a disgusted snort.

“Got daemons from two of them. They offed themselves afterward. Isabel killed the other one when he attacked her. You try it on this guy?” Chris looked at the man with loathing as he swayed back and forth on the couch.

“Nothing. He’s just a piece of shit,” Declan growled. “How long can it take to rid him of the alcohol?”

Luca and Grant looked at their comms and checked the status of the nanotechnology swarming the man’s system.

“It’s not just alcohol, it’s a pharmacy of drugs being cleared out too,” Luca explained, wondering how the guy was alive with such high levels in his system.

Declan growled and kicked at a side table, shattering the cheap piece of particle board into pieces.

“Who the hell are you people?” the drunken fool slurred.

“What’s this ass’s name?” Declan wanted nothing more than to punch the guy in his face. A couple of dozen times.

“I’m Jon Posenda, who the hell are you?” Jon demanded weakly as he struggled to stop swaying on the couch.

Declan leaned over and pulled Jon up by the front of his filthy sweatshirt until his face was inches from Declan’s.

“Do you remember an abused little girl named Amber?” Declan snarled in Jon’s face.

“Who the hell are you?” Jon asked, his voice shaking. The slur was almost gone.

Shane roared with bitter laughter, drawing Jon’s wide-eyed attention.

“We’re her real family,” Shane suddenly growled as he manifested throwing knives of energy in his hands.

Jon began to squirm in Declan’s grip until the shirt ripped and he fell back to the couch. He scooted backward until he was pinned against the back of the couch as he stared at the men in the room.

“What do you want?” Jon asked in a whining voice.

“What’s his status?” Declan growled.

“Almost clear,” Luca replied as he watched Jon’s health statistics scroll through his comm.

Declan folded his arms across his chest as he stared down at the pathetic bastard on the couch. Jon’s beady little eyes nervously scanned the room before he stood up, keeping a wide berth between him and Declan.

“Who are you people? Get out of my house!” Jon tried to puff out his chest but ended up in a coughing fit.

Declan closed his eyes and prayed for patience he just couldn’t seem to muster. He wanted to kill the guy, but Jon was already so sickly looking that Declan couldn’t bring himself to hit him. He had too much honor to fell an obviously incapacitated person.

One punch and he’d be dead, Declan thought with disgust.

“Give me all the stats,” Declan ordered, knowing something else had to be going on.

Luca sighed, and Grant lowered his comm as if not wanting to say anything.

“He’s terminal. Maybe a few weeks to a few months left. The former if he keeps up with the drugs and drinking, the latter if he quits everything right now,” Luca admitted, uncaring if the guy died today or a week from then.

“Is it painful?” Declan asked as his mind spun with the news.

“Yeah, I would guess it’s why he’s self-medicating so extensively. Stomach cancer rips the guts up, and his disease has already spread to his intestines and started several bowel obstructions that can cause a rupture at any moment. That would be a pretty horrible way to go,” Luca explained, thinking it would be a good way for the bastard to die. He wanted Jon to suffer for what he’d done to Amber.

“What the hell are you talking about? How can you know something like that? What did you do to me?” Jon whined as he covered his stomach with his hands.

Tristan stayed back with Tiernan and watched his brother’s figure out what to do with the sniveling bastard. He trusted them to do the right thing and was no longer concerned about Declan’s rage.

“Seems to me, you’ve already been judged and sentenced. We should speed it up a little bit so you can’t hurt anyone else before you die,” Declan suggested as he looked at Luca and Grant.

“Works for me,” Grant quickly agreed.

Each of the brother’s nodded their heads in agreement with Declan’s suggestion, then they turned to Tristan and Tiernan to see what they thought of it.

“It protects the innocent,” Tiernan said with a firm nod.

“I will be outside,” Tristan said before he walked out of the house. Tiernan followed.

Isabel walked up to the now weeping Jon and spit on him.

“You’re getting off easy,” she snapped before storming outside.

“Wait!” Jon screamed after the girl. “Don’t go! Don’t leave me with them!”

“Shut up,” Chris warned as he slapped the guy.

“Do it,” Declan ordered. “Then everyone leave.”

“With pleasure.” Luca programmed the nanotechnology in the mediband to accelerate the cancer.

Jon continued to cry and whine as the room emptied of everyone but he and Declan. The moment they were alone, Jon made a dash for the door. Declan waited, and when Jon got close, he slammed him in the chest with his flat palm to prevent caving in the man’s lungs.

Declan watched dispassionately as Jon flew backward onto the couch and cried and screamed harder than before. Declan could feel and smell the fear and pain Jon was beginning to experience and didn’t care. Usually the suffering of others bothered him more than he cared to admit, but in this case, Declan felt only relief and a sense of justice.

“Why?” Jon screamed out as spittle flew from his mouth. “Why are you doing this to me? I don’t even know you!”

Declan could feel the waves of pain radiating from the man and knew the nanotech in the mediband was speeding up the rate at which the cancer was eating him alive. He couldn’t help but grin at the justice of it all.

“Why? Do you even remember what you did to Amber?” Declan snapped.

Jon looked panicked for a moment before another wave of pain overtook his abdomen and he doubled over. When it finally subsided a little, Jon turned tortured eyes to Declan.

“I’m sorry!” Jon cried out. “Please stop this! Whatever you did to me, please fix it!”

Declan chuckled bitterly and shook his head.

“That’s not going to happen. But you can console yourself with the fact that you caused the same kind of pain you’re feeling, to that little girl. Not only when you raped her, but she’ll experience it again when she gives birth to your daughter in a few months,” Declan growled the words as power sparked in his eyes.

“What? That’s not possible! She’s a retard! They can’t have kids!” Jon stupidly replied.

Declan couldn’t stop his fist from flying and breaking the guy’s knee. Even the crunching sound of the bone shattering didn’t tone down his rage, and he had to pace on the other side of the room to keep himself from killing the guy. The now non-stop crying and keening as Jon clutched his knee wasn’t helping.

“Dude, I’m going to be a father! Stop this so I can raise my kid!” Jon begged between crying.

Declan turned blazing eyes to Jon.

“She stopped being your kid when I adopted Amber. Amber is my daughter now, and that baby is my granddaughter. As far as a father is concerned, the baby has one of those too. One of the best, so you’re not needed. Evil like you is the reason this world is so messed up and it’s my job to fix that so I’m starting with you,” Declan growled through gritted teeth.

“I can change! Give me a chance!” Jon said the last in a long groan as he clutched his stomach in agony.

Declan snorted in disgust. “Evil doesn’t change what it does, only its tactics.”

“Please!” Jon begged as he writhed on the couch. “Don’t let me die like this!”

“I bet Amber’s soul screamed every second that you violated her and it will take years for it to stop!” Declan snarled, clenching his fists in rage. “Your pain is nothing compared to the hell you sentenced her to!”

“She’s just a re-” was all Jon got out before Declan shattered his other knee.

“She’s a powerful guardian of this world, and you are so evil you tried to destroy the beauty of Amber’s soul and power of her spirit!” Declan roared at him. “What you’re experiencing is only a fraction of the justice you will face when you leave this world. So suck it up asshole and enjoy these last moments.”

Jon sobbed in agony as his shaky hands clutched his broken knees.

“I didn’t want to ruin her! I was just . . . jealous! I wanted the peace she seemed to have that I can’t!” Jon cried hysterically.

Declan wanted to hit the guy so bad his hand was shaking. Jon, and those like him, sickened Declan to the core of his being. In the past, he would have just ended the guy and felt better knowing he’d done the world a favor. Now, Declan had to think of his new duties and the ramifications of actions without justice. It calmed him down enough to lean against the wall and watch Jon as he writhed in pain on the couch.

“Please, just kill me,” Jon mumbled on a groan as he clutched his stomach.

Declan remained silent and just watched the man for several minutes until his breathing became labored, and his skin turned ashen. Jon’s face twisted in pain and fear for a moment before his eyes rolled back in his head. He exhaled a sigh and didn’t take another breath.

Declan stared dispassionately at the twisted remnant of the evil bastard that had almost destroyed the life of his new daughter. He was so attuned to the energy in the room, Declan knew right away who’d come in behind him.

“No worries. I was a good boy,” Declan said as he pushed off the wall and headed for the door.

“I knew you would do the right thing when you calmed down and realized the situation. Are you OK?” Tristan asked, noting the way Declan’s jaw was tight. Like he was gritting his teeth.

Declan was going to just go outside, but the more he thought about it, the more he had questions.

“Am I going to have to do that often? Realize judgment has already been given and have to speed it up? Is that how this is going to work?” Declan turned to Tristan so he could read his body language better.

He’d always used that as a way to learn about Tristan and the unusual things he would do when in his normal physical state. It still worked when his brother was the Light Warrior as well.

“No,” Tristan said with a shake of his head. “This was a lesson in choosing your battles, not how you fight them. This was pure emotion, based on Amber becoming your daughter. This is not what you will normally deal with. My concern was for your emotions getting the best of you and causing you to turn it into vengeance.”

“So I could have just killed him?” Declan was incredulous.

“At any time. You chose to make him suffer,” Tristan admitted. He was glad that Declan had asked the question.

“I thought judgment had already been passed? If it were, then if I’d killed him outright then I would have violated that! Wasn’t his judgment to suffer? With the cancer?” Declan asked, wondering what the hell was going on.

“You are partly correct. Come let’s go outside so the others can understand,” Tristan suggested as he gestured outside.

Declan stormed out of the shattered door and broken frame and glanced at his brothers and Isabel who was looking at him expectantly. He merely nodded his head, knowing they were curious if Jon was dead or not.

They all began heading back to the ship when Tristan spoke.

“All of you assumed that the cancer was judgment. How does that explain children with cancer? Or the physical suffering caused by many other diseases?” Tristan asked.

Everyone was silent as they considered Tristan’s questions except for Declan who was a little pissed.

“If that wasn’t judgment then why did you let me kill him that way?” Declan growled.

“It is your right and your job to determine justice to those who embody evil. The willful attempt to extinguish the light inside of Amber, a true innocent, made Jon and the others subject to your justice. You assumed the cancer was judgment but physical diseases are man-made or environmental,” Tristan explained, feeling the confusion in his brothers.

“All diseases?” Shane asked for clarification.

“Yes. Smoking, excessive drinking, overeating, toxic byproducts of manufacturing, chemicals, etc. All of that creates energy disruptions that weaken the energy shield around a body that protects it from diseases,” Tiernan added, trying to help the Dranovians understand.

“Kids huffing toxic byproducts?” Shane asked in disbelief.

“In some countries, yes. But it’s not that simple. If the parent’s cell structure was compromised by something, they could pass it to their offspring as well,” Tristan replied.

“OK, so I could have just killed him outright and not made him suffer?” Declan asked, wanting to get back to the original topic.

“That’s right,” Tristan agreed. “Once judgment is passed, it is your right to kill immediately.”

“In a case like Jon and his friends, it was better to pass judgment and kill them before they could harm someone else,” Tiernan added.

“So if they aren’t anomalous or possessed by daemons how do we know if judgment is required? We guess based on their deeds? What if we’re wrong?” Declan had to know.

He hated the thought of making a mistake, though he knew he hadn’t made one with Jon.

“There is an aura of energy around all beings. People like Jon and his friends will have a black one. Those not contaminated by evil in their soul, are reflected by a rainbow of colors,” Tristan explained.

Everyone headed into the transport craft and Declan made his way to the cockpit and sat heavily in the pilot’s chair. He thought about Tristan’s words as he waited for everyone to get inside and strapped in for take-off. He knew the moment Tristan came in without turning around.

“Did I screw it up by assuming it was the cancer that was his judgment?” Declan didn’t regret making Jon suffer, he just didn’t want to make the same mistake again.

“No,” Tristan said with a chuckle. “It was exactly what Jon deserved based on his actions and an appropriate justice. But actions done out of anger, vengeance or a lack of justice can lead to a corruption of spirit. That is what I was warning you of and what you must help me teach the others as they learn their duties.”

Declan nodded his head as he mentally added that to the list of things he needed to remember. It was becoming a very long list, and though Declan loved a challenge, it was starting to get a little overwhelming.

“Stop worrying so much,” Tristan said with a chuckle. “You’re the rock I needed for this and the one our brothers will listen to the most. It’s why you will lead the Dranovians in the war against the daemons. At least until our Guardian of War can take over.”

Declan’s head was still spinning when he noted the time and launched them into the air without warning before he went at the ship’s top speed back to the Talunaha.