TWENTY-THREE

“Well, this is it. Casa de Chade,” Dave said as he opened the main doors to what could loosely be called a hotel.

Max squinted through half-closed eyes because she was a little afraid to look. But as it turned out, the place wasn’t as much of a pit on the inside as it looked from the outside. She hadn’t been joking when she said the building looked like the kind of place serial murderers went to find their next victims. From the front of Dave’s pub one could be forgiven for not even noticing the large building at the back. Even at the back, the densely populated bushland obscured it somewhat and she had barely even given it a glance the first time she had been back here. Though to be fair, she was being attacked by chades at the time.

Looking around the reception area now, she was pleasantly surprised to see the large space was sparse but clean. It housed one sad looking desk, no computer, a surprisingly very green and healthy looking potted plant, and a washed-out green lounge that had seen better days.

“There are forty-one rooms – twenty on the first floor and twenty-one here on the ground floor. One of those is the manager’s quarters and has a living room, two bedrooms, and its own kitchen. There is a large dining area and also a professional chef’s kitchen but it hasn’t been used in years,” Dave explained, walking them through the doors to the left of the desk.

Max was relieved to see the restaurant area was likewise clean and furnished with the bare necessities. It was obvious the place did not see a lot of traffic. She stayed next to her host as Diana, Cali, Dex, and Darius quickly checked out the large space for security risks and other such boring details. She started to space out the second Darius and Dex began talking about blind spots, locks, and man-hole covers. Turning to her companion, she asked;

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Don’t insult me, woman,” was the hairy man’s gruff response.

Max felt herself smile and fall half in love with the taciturn man on the spot. He was gruff and borderline rude more than half the time but she knew now that he had been watching out for her best interests practically from the moment she had stepped her weary feet into his bar. In fact, as she continued to observe him now, a small piece of information revealed itself to her, direct from his thoughts to hers. She hadn’t meant for it to happen – she rarely did. But such occurrences were happening more frequently and with greater ease now than ever before. It was something she wasn’t really a fan of, considering the things she often discovered.

Take now for example, what she had just learned from Dave had her taking a few shaky steps backwards. Her feet tripped over themselves and she would have done a decidedly non-graceful face-plant if large, steady hands hadn’t gripped her upper arms tightly.

“Okay?” the reticent man asked gruffly, quickly removing his hands.

“I … you …” she stuttered.

Dave frowned at her, that creepy mono-brow of his dipping low over his eyes, “What?”

But she could only continue to stare at him as things about their first encounter began to make more sense to her.

“Max, are you okay?” Diana asked her, gripping her by the elbow.

“It was you,” she said, sure she was making sense to no-one but herself. “That day in your bar – the day I met Lark, Darius, and Axel. It was because of you. You rang Ryker and told him I was there!” her voice rose several octaves before the end of her sentence.

Dave’s face went blank and he shrugged his shoulders. Max found herself turning to her paladins, who were now all congregated around her, “Did you know about this?”

Diana frowned, “No actually …”

“Darius?” she questioned. Darius had been there that day. He would know.

He shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot for a moment but he did speak, “We were driving past on our way home from the Lodge when I felt a certain shift in the air. It wasn’t really anything big but it was enough to catch my attention. We were already there checking the place out when Ryker sent us a message saying there could be some trouble at Dave’s. We assumed chade or paladin trouble – that’s why we stopped in any way. Dave always gives Ry a heads-up when mischief is afoot,” he added, nodding his head in thanks at the other man.

“But when we arrived, we didn’t see any disturbance, so we figured it was nothing. To be honest, to this day, I had no idea he was referring to you. I honestly assumed he was referring to real trouble. It didn’t even click with me that it was about you – even when I saw you.”

Max didn’t need to look at Darius’s see-through counterpart or use her other skills over the elements to determine he was telling the truth. She could tell by the look of contrition and chagrin on his face that he was … and kicking himself that he hadn’t put two and two together before now.

“Dave, man. Is Max why you called Ry that day?” he addressed the bar-owner directly.

The man in question gave a mix between a nod and a shrug like it was no big deal.

“Damn,” Darius exclaimed. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

“Thought it was obvious,” Dave grumbled, causing Cali, Diana, and Dex to laugh.

“Wow,” Cali breathed. “Thank you so much.”

Dave shrugged bulky shoulders again, “No big deal. Been keeping an eye on unusual things for Ryker for years.”

“And I was unusual?” Max asked, finally getting her swirling thoughts back into order.

Dave huffed, “Darlin’, you’re about as unusual as they come. I might not be one of you magical folk, but I know special when I see it.”

That had her mouth closing and her frenzied thoughts quieting, “Special?” Was it only her imagination or was the big, hairy man blushing?

“You heard me,” he grunted.

Max felt a slow smile bloom on her face and the other half of the love she had been holding onto joined its counterpart. She was a little concerned that she was now emotionally invested with yet another gruff, testosterone-filled soldier but she wouldn’t change a thing about her new life. That was despite the overprotectiveness of her new family, who were now pushing her behind them because the rear doors were opening. She could have told them not to bother – it was only their invited guests – but she knew it would be a waste of breath.

The wall of human flesh relaxed somewhat when they recognised the three faces that stepped into the room. Well, if she was being accurate, it was only the one face. But there were definitely three different bodies. Three very fine, very ripped bodies to be exact. She both heard and felt the feminine approval from Cali and Diana when Kane, Kai, and Kellan smiled and began heading their way.

“Hi guys!” Max greeted, trying to push Darius out of the way, no easy feat considering he was a solid six-foot-three to her petite five-foot-three. “Thank you for coming on such short notice,” she grunted, finally succeeding in squeezing past him. Even herself, having no shame, fought a blush when three identical sets of dimples flashed her way.

“Anytime,” Kellan purred.

Max cleared her throat, “I wanted to ask if you would all do me a favour …” she began, only to be interrupted by a subtle cough from Darius. She turned to him, eyebrows raised.

“Max does not have a favour to ask in the strictest sense. She has a job for you – a duty,” Darius pointed out, formally.

Max would have rolled her eyes but she knew it would do no good. Darius had lightened up a little since allowing himself to love Diana and since his brother’s return. But he was still a compulsive rule-follower and his duty was the foundation of his being, so she let him posture and lecture a little as she considered the three young men in front of her.

The three men with the dark brown, short-cropped hair, chiselled jawlines, smoky grey eyes, and adorable dimples were now standing to attention, looking the very epitome of soldiers. Max knew for all their cheekiness and flirtations, they were highly skilled paladins – albeit relatively young by warden society standards. Even Ryker, who scowled every time he heard their names, vouched for their skill and professionalism in the field. She had no idea why they were as yet unbound. She knew they had passed the entire paladin examination process with flying colours and many wardens had petitioned the IDC for them to join their Orders. The three men had so far declined every offer. She knew their polite and diplomatic refusals would not be tolerated for much longer. As civilised as the International Domain Council appeared to be at times, they were a dictatorship.

She also already knew they were trustworthy and reliable. She’d taken it upon herself to check out their colourful shadows when they had stepped into the room. All three were predictably vibrant, the men full of life. She was a little surprised to see a shadow of grey hovering around their hearts but supposed no-one was safe from some form of heartache in their lives. But what had sealed their fates, was the new circle of symbols their cheeky souls had avidly pointed out. The three men were loyal and had been deemed worthy.

She’d be lying if she said the magic brands didn’t freak her out a little. She hadn’t been lying to Ryker and the others when she’d said she had no idea how she was making them. She had no intention, let alone any recollection of transferring the brands – other than to Ivy and Dex, which she had witnessed first-hand. These others – Caspian, Leo, Lawson, Fawn, and now the triplets – it was news to her. But Lark’s explanation made sense and she had no choice but to trust that the universe knew what it was doing and the people being selected to be marked were indeed loyal and worthy recipients.

She was going to need them.

As Darius’s lecture wound down, Max refocused her attention on the brothers, “Will you three relax? Darius is just being dramatic,” she informed them. Kane’s lips twitched but he didn’t change position and she knew they were taking Darius’s firm words to heart. Or they were attempting to at least. Feeling a little nervous, she looked to her friends. And after receiving five individual nods she took a deep breath and began talking.

As suspected, the triplets took her ‘job offer’ in stride and had all professed to be willing to aid her in any way possible. Outwardly they seemed totally fine but Max couldn’t quite shake the feeling that they were holding something back a little. It was something to do with that little grey smudge over their hearts …

‘Max? What is it?’ Cali asked, picking up on her tension.

‘They’re withholding something,’ she admitted, not wanting to get them into trouble but needing to be honest with her Order.

“Okay boys, fess up,” Cali commanded, her fingers firmly enlaced with her fiancé’s.

They looked genuinely startled, “What?” Kane asked.

“You’re not telling us something. What is it?” Cali asked in her typical blunt fashion. “And before you try to deny it, remember; Custodian,” she pointed at Max.

The brothers looked at each other before Kane sighed and slumped a little in the seat he was sitting in. They had all migrated to the dining area when her long-ish tale had begun. “We’re sorry. We didn’t mean to offend. It’s just …”

“This kind of thing hits a little close to home,” Kai finished. “Our father is a chade – or was a chade. No doubt he’s long since dead.”

Max closed her eyes, cursing herself silently. Suddenly those little grey patches of pain and hurt made sense. If only she didn’t cling so stubbornly to her aversion to reading people, she could have seen this coming. There was no way she would have asked them had she known. Clearly sensing her distress, Kai placed a large, warm hand on her arm;

“I can see what you’re thinking and it’s not a problem. We meant what we said – we’re happy to help. More than that, we’re honoured to be entrusted with such an important task.”

“Besides, Kai’s right. It was a long time ago – the Great Massacre to be exact,” Kellan added.

“Close to half a century,” Dex murmured, clearly thinking of his forty years spent in exile and darkness.

“That’s right. That’s how we know he must be dead by now. It’s just too long. And if he weren’t. No chade could come back from that,” Kellan shook his head.

“But, that just makes this even more significant to us. If we can help save someone else’s father, then we want to do everything we can to make it happen,” Kane vowed.

Dex clapped him on the back and even Darius now appeared to be looking at them with less hostility. And then Max felt it. It was a tingle of warning, a split second of premonition in which all she could do was gasp before the back doors slammed open once again. Burying her face in her hands and wishing she would have seen this coming, she could only close her eyes in defeat when she heard three voices cry out simultaneously;

“DAD?!”