Chapter Six

Deyro

My balls ached and my head was throbbing. I'd heal quickly enough – a gift of the Dragonborn – but until then, I was in as much pain as any human man could be after taking a hard bamboo shaft to the nuts. A blow delivered with the angry force of an enraged Latina woman propelling it, I might add.

But I didn't have time to go ice myself down or anything. I was standing against the wall of the training house conference room – a room usually devoted to film and study of the creatures we hunted – along with all of the other Dragonborn in attendance.

The mood was somewhat somber. Maybe even a little grim. Perhaps, with even a current of fear running through the still, silent air.

“You okay, Deyro?” Quint asked, an amused twinkle in his eye.

I nodded curtly. I didn't want to have to relive the moment, so I figured the less I said, the better. Except for the fact that the rest of my fellow Rangers wouldn't drop it – and kept trolling me with it. They seemed to be enjoying Alex's victory more than she had.

Alex's victory. Shit.

I shook my head and still couldn't believe that she'd bested me in a single combat match. I'd never been bested before. Not at all in my time at the Ranger Academy back in Chondelai, and never in my time as a Ranger in the world of man. My record had been unblemished.

Until now. Because of Alex's victory. Double shit.

“Do you know why he's here?”

I looked up to see that Zarik was addressing Quint. The Warden though, shook his head.

“I had no idea he was coming,” he said. “No warning whatsoever.”

“What do you think he wants?” Ella asked.

Quint shook his head again. “I have no idea,” he said, his voice a little tight. “But now that he knows about our alliance with the Children, I'm sure he's going to have even more to talk about.”

Ella cocked her head and looked at Quint. “What do you mean?”

Quint sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “There is a prohibition in our Charter against letting humans know we exist. We are to never reveal ourselves to you.”

“And the penalty for violating that prohibition,” Zarik said, “is either exile or death.”

“I don't think it will come to that,” Quint said. “I think he's – curious.”

“Curious about what?” Ella asked.

“About us,” he replied. “About this alliance between our two groups.”

I leaned against the wall, trying to focus more on what was being said than on my aching body parts. A moment later, the door to the conference room opened and two of the recruits came in bearing trays loaded with wine and other refreshments. They set them down in the middle of the table and scurried out again without a word like they wanted to be anywhere but there.

Even they could pick up on the undercurrent of tension permeating the room.

Just after the recruits had departed, the man of the hour stepped in. Everybody got to their feet and bowed their heads.

“Please sit, my friends,” the older man said.

Everybody took their seats and I moved over to the chair next to Zarik gingerly, dropping down into it and doing my best to not limp, wince, or give any sort of indication of the pain I was currently in. The last thing I wanted was to give them more fodder to rib me with later.

“Your Majesty,” Quint said as he poured a glass of wine and handed it to the man. “Apologies for the lack of formality and feast. If I'd known you were coming, I would have been better prepared.”

The man – King Shango of the Forest Clan – waved him off. “Formalities. Never cared much for them. Wine and cheese are good,” he said, a wide smile crossing his face. “It'd be even better if I could get some of those – donuts, you call them? With the chocolate on them?”

Quint's laughter was deep and rumbling. “It shall be done, my lord.”

Without being prompted, Zarik left the room – likely to track down a recruit to fetch some donuts for the King. He returned a few moments later and gave Quint a nod.

“They are on their way, Majesty,” Quint said.

“Excellent. Thank you,” Shango said. “I must admit that in the few times I've actually been to the world of man, I've developed quite the sweet tooth. Especially for those treats. I've been known to send a page through the Dragon Doors to retrieve me a couple of boxes from time to time.”

He wasn't anything like I expected a king to be. He seemed – normal. Like an everyday kind of guy. He seemed warm. Friendly. Even – kind. Most definitely not what I'd expected. I'd only been in the presence of a couple in my time, and both of them had been absolute authoritarian jerks. They seemed to get off on the power that came with their title and would wield it seemingly arbitrarily.

Shango seemed different.

The others made small talk for a little while, the King catching them up on the goings-on in Chondelai. It hadn't been all that long since I'd been back and if there was one thing I knew about life back home, it was that things never really seemed to change all that much. Or all that quickly, at any rate. A problem brewing between clans could take a century to come to a head.

Things were more – deliberate in Chondelai than they seemed to be in the world of man. Humans seemed so hurried and rushed, with decisions being made on the fly. They didn't stop to think things through. Consider all of the ramifications of their actions.

But then, given their agonizingly short life spans, perhaps that was to be expected. With so few years available to them, perhaps things did seem more – urgent.

Eventually, the recruit came in with three pink boxes of donuts. He set them down, opened them up to display them, and then left the room again quickly. King Shango's eyes practically lit up at the treats sitting before him. He reached out and took a long bar smothered in chocolate. He took a bite of it and his eyes practically rolled back into his head. The sounds coming out of his mouth as he chewed the donut were noises of extreme pleasure.

I looked around the table and most were suppressing smiles or looking openly amused. King Shango was a little eccentric, it seemed, but a pretty likeable guy, all things considered. His enjoyment of the donut also seemed to defuse some of the tension that had saturated the air in the room earlier. Everybody else seemed a little more at ease.

After all, who could enjoy a donut – that much – and then turn around and order somebody's execution?

Shango finished his donut and immediately reached out and grabbed another. He took a bite and savored it every bit as much as he savored the first. Setting the rest of the donut down on the plate in front of him, he wiped his hands on a napkin and then took a moment to look everybody in the room in the eye.

“I would guess that you are all wondering why I'm here?” he asked.

Quint grinned. “The question had crossed my mind, yes,” he said. “Although, of course, you are always welcome anytime.”

His smile was gentle and sincere. “I come to you, Warden Quint, for a few reasons,” he said. “The first was to commend you and your warriors. I've read your reports and you have all been doing an outstanding job. You are doing Chondelai proud.”

“Thank you, Majesty,” Quint said. “I'm thankful to have some of the finest, bravest warriors in my territory.”

Shango nodded as he chewed another bite of donut. He was right, he had an incredible sweet tooth.

“Although, I have to admit,” Shango said. “I am surprised to learn about this – arrangement – you have. Especially since it so very clearly violates your oath and your Charter. I've always known you to be a by the book kind of man, Warden Quint.”

Now, was when things were going to get a little dicey. I could see the tension in Quint's shoulders and the tightness in his face. He was nervous about how this was going to play out – and he had every right to be.

“The Children of the Dawn are a valuable ally, Majesty,” he said. “With a limited number of Rangers at my disposal, they fill our ranks. And they are more than capable fighters. They are formidable. As you saw for yourself a little earlier.”

Shango nodded and I winced at the reminder of my defeat. I tried to keep the color out of my face and did my best to keep my expression neutral.

“Indeed,” Shango said. “I have to say that I was quite impressed with – what's her name?”

“Alexis,” Ella chimed in. “Alexis Vargas.”

Shango turned his eyes to her and gave her a small smile. “And you are?”

“Ella Bourne,” she said. “Founding member of the Children of the Dawn.”

“It's an interesting name,” Shango remarked.

“Many of us left a group known as the Order of Midnight,” she said. “It was – is – a group of fanatics. Their intentions are good – they're the same as ours, really. They want to protect humanity from the monsters –”

“But their problem is that they do not differentiate between the real monsters,” Shango said. “And those who are not. Yes, I've heard the whispers about this Order of Midnight and I've forced myself to become very well versed with them. And what is so different about your group? This – Children of the Dawn?”

“The difference, Majesty, is that they do differentiate,” Quint said. “The Children recognize that their mission is the same as ours – to protect humanity. Given that our two groups complement one another in the field very well, an alliance seemed perfectly natural. And we are very lucky to have them by our side.”

He nodded. “What troubles me though, is that you took this undertaking upon yourself,” he said. “That you sought neither guidance nor approval from the Council of Kings.”

Quint nodded. “That is true,” he replied. “And I mean no offense by this, Majesty, but I knew that approval form the Council would not be forthcoming. I've dealt with some of the other Kings before and let's just say that some of them are – very set in their ways. In their traditions.”

Shango laughed uproariously, clapping his hands together. “Well said. Indeed.”

I took a sip of the wine before me and realized that the aching in my body – most notably in my crotch – had more or less faded completely. My dragon blood was healing me even quicker than I expected – thankfully. Sitting there with aching balls was beyond uncomfortable.

“It is my position, Majesty, that these people have as much right to defend their world as we do. Probably even more, given that it's their world,” Quint said. “They have – and should have – a stake in keeping it safe for themselves.”

Shango seemed to think it over for a minute, stroking his white beard and then nodded. “You're not wrong, Warden,” he said. “And I'm not disagreeing with you. This is the human's world and if they want to defend it, that should be their right.”

“I do apologize for violating my oath and Charter, Majesty,” Quint said. “And if there are consequences to be paid, I will pay them. Alone. This was my decision. I entered into the alliance with the Children without consulting anybody else.”

A smile spread across Shango's face. “Relax, Warden,” he said. “I'm not here to demand your head. I actually think what you've done here is unexpected and unorthodox – but quite innovative. Progressive and forward thinking. I've walked around your training facilities and I've spoken with some of your trainers and recruits, and I've come away very impressed with what you've accomplished.”

“We've worked hard, Majesty,” he said. “All of us.”

“Indeed,” he said. “And it shows. As do the results you are getting.”

A moment of silence descended around the room as everybody – including me – seemed to be holding our breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Surely, it had to be coming, right? We all knew that what we were doing – allying with the Children – violated the oaths we took. We knew it violated the Council's Charter. Quint had given us all the opportunity to opt-out and be reassigned to another territory, just to avoid any potential blowback.

But nobody took him up on that offer. Because deep down, we all believed in what we were doing. Believed that the Children could augment our forces and be an incredible help in our fight against the dark creatures of the night.

We just never really expected to be caught. Once we left Chondelai and entered the world of man, we were pretty much on our own. We were on an island. The Council funded us, of course. Supplied us with bodies, arms, and whatever else we needed. But visits by Council members were so rare, they were almost unheard of. Usually, it was in response to something catastrophic.

So, when King Shango strolled into the training house, it was like our entire world had been turned upside down.

“Just so you understand, I applaud what you've done here,” Shango said. “I am impressed by it. And do believe that your alliance with these Children is right. Understand that I am on your side in this. It would take some convincing to get the Council on board. As you say, many of them are set in their ways. But, I for one, would back this alliance. Would vote to make it permanent and help strengthen it.”

A look of absolute relief crossed Quint's face and he let out a long breath I wasn't sure he even knew he'd been holding. And suddenly, like the air from a balloon, all of the tension went out of the room.

“Thank you, Majesty,” Quint said. “You don't quite understand what that means to me.”

Shango smiled and nodded. “I think I do,” he said. “I wasn't always this old, you know. I was known to push the envelope in my day – from time to time, of course.”

Quint smiled and nodded. “I've heard some of the stories,” he said. “Some of them have passed into legend.”

Everybody seemed to relax and the wine started to flow. I picked up my glass and took a long swallow, only then realizing how dry my mouth had been as I watched the exchange between Shango and Quint.

“There is something I would like to speak with you about, Warden,” Shango said and looked around the table almost apologetically. “Privately.”

“Of course, Majesty.”

Almost in unison, we all got to our feet and headed out of the room. I cast a glance back at the King and saw a tension creeping into his face. Whatever he wanted to discuss with Quint – likely the actual reason he'd come – wasn't good news.

I closed the door behind me and had to wait with everybody else and wonder what was going on.