THIRTY-EIGHT

“Ivy tells me you want to know about a chade who wore a ring,” Nikolai stated.

Silence met her commander’s statement and he raised his eyebrows at her. She shook her head at him. After all, what could she say? The last twenty-four hours had been a doozy. Lark’s confrontation with Mordecai had resulted in the biggest secret reveal since Star Wars and the whole household was still reeling with the information. Unfortunately, the urgency for information about the chades remained and despite what had to be a very fragile psyche, Max had donned her goddess hat and summoned Nikolai to the house first thing this morning after Ivy had explained what little she knew about a ring-wearing chade.

It was pretty much nothing, only that Nikolai had spoken of a unique chade who had kept a reminder of his previous life by wearing a ring. It was strange because chades had no awareness of vanity or possession or pride. Nik had only mentioned it a handful of times and hadn’t gone into much detail. It had always made him somewhat uncomfortable – nervous even – so she had never pushed for details. The idea of a jewellery-wearing chade had been intriguing to a degree but she wasn’t really the curious type. To her mind, most curious people were just nosey and needed to mind their own business.

They were all now congregated in the large living area off the kitchen. And by all, Ivy counted no less than sixteen occupants in the room, including Max and her seven paladins, Dex, herself and Nikolai. But the real surprise was the addition of Mordecai and his four paladins. She had been surprised to see he had taken Lark up on his suggestion to return today, given he looked so unbelievably uncomfortable. Even his blank, stoic face couldn’t hide his discomfort. And she would know; she had perfected that exact same poker face many years ago. His four paladins were alert behind him and looked to be as thrilled with the situation as their liege was. But, he had professed to want to help – to be given a chance – so here he was, Ivy supposed. Even if Max was pointedly ignoring him and the rest of her Order was glaring daggers in his direction. It didn’t escape Ivy’s notice that Max hadn’t ordered him away either.

“That’s right. Thanks for coming, Nikolai. I appreciate it,” Max finally responded, her smile a little shaky.

Ivy watched Nik smile slowly in Max’s direction – it was his ‘pillaging’ smile, she knew. The one he used to bait, hook, and then reel in unsuspecting women. The man was dangerously good looking, a complete rogue, and a tireless flirt. When she had first arrived, Axel had reminded her so much of Nik that they could have been twins – in the personality department anyway. They both even had that glint of bitterness buried in their shining eyes that hinted at complicated and unresolved pasts. Although the flirting was a natural part of Nik’s personality, it also served to hide deeper issues. Issues she was honoured enough to be privy to because she was his best friend.

“Stop it,” Ryker demanded, causing Nikolai’s eyes to widen.

“Stop what?” Nik asked innocently, as if it hadn’t been hundreds of years since he’d had an innocent bone in his body.

“You know what,” Ryker glared at him, dragging Max closer to his chest and earning an eye-roll from his woman for his efforts.

The possessive behaviour amused Ivy and was kind of sweet in a way but she sure as hell hoped Lark wasn’t going to start with that kind of barbaric behaviour – not in public anyway. It would most definitely piss her off, even though she revelled in his jealousy over her past lovers. She caught his eye and noticed he was grinning at her as if he could hear her thoughts. How does he do that? she wondered, a little grumpily.

He chuckled a little, earning curious stares from his fellow knights. They looked from him to her and back again and she cursed herself for getting caught mooning at her boyfriend. Talk about embarrassing. She firmed her jaw and pointedly ignored the humorous looks aimed in her direction, most especially the wiggling eyebrows of her commander. She huffed; the man was such a dick.

“The chade with a ring …?” Darius prompted.

Nikolai cleared his throat and straightened his back, his demeanour turning serious but also still a little coy as he asked, “Why do you want to know?”

“None of your fucking business,” Ryker growled, clearly more than a little annoyed with the man.

“Well, considering you demanded my presence at the butt-crack of dawn to ask me about long-forgotten confidential information, I’d say it’s most definitely my business,” Nik rebutted, his temper on the rise.

Ivy shared a look with Dex – the only other occupant who knew Nik on a personal level. Years ago, Dex and Nikolai had been drinking buddies, well before Dex had taken his sabbatical as a chade. He wasn’t as close to her commander as she was but she knew Nik had considered the famous Charlemagne a friend. Seeing the rolling eyes and shaking head of the former chade, he must have known Nik well enough to realise when he was gearing up for a fight. A long, stubborn, completely irrelevant, time-waster of a fight, Ivy predicted.

“A superior has asked you a question. Max is a Custodian,” Ryker informed Nikolai coldly. “If nothing else, chain of command should be something you understand.”

Nik leaned back in his chair, “Oh, I understand chain of command very well. I also understand confidentiality orders and sealed records. This particular chade falls under both those jurisdictions.”

“Nothing trumps Max,” Ryker growled.

“Really? Since when? You’re not planning a little coup, are you? There are so many nasty little rumours flying around, after all,” Nik shook his head.

Ryker looked ready to throttle Nikolai and Ivy sighed, knowing Nik could dance around like this all day. She also knew Ryker could not – he’d very soon punch her commanding officer and good friend in the face. Chaos would then ensue and Nik would no doubt find the entire debacle extremely hilarious.

Ivy knew Nik had every intention of sharing his information with them. He was just fucking with the surly Captain because the opportunity presented itself. Besides, Ivy knew he believed in Max and also trusted her and her intentions – even if she hadn’t known the full extent of his confidence until a few moments ago when he had removed his jacket.

“Instead of whipping out your dicks and comparing length, Nikolai why don’t you just roll up your sleeve?” she suggested, cutting the tension. She couldn’t believe the number of man-children in the room.

“Aww, Ivy,” Nik pouted, “You always spoil my fun.”

She shook her head at that, “I always save you from yourself is what you mean.”

He winked at her, blowing a kiss and she smiled one of her rare public smiles at him. The man was incorrigible.

“What does she mean by rolling up your sleeve?” Lark asked, obviously trying to follow her lead and steer them back on track.

Nik shrugged, his expression turning a little wary but not enough to suppress the constant twinkle of mischief in his eyes, “She probably wants to check out the guns. Since you all Shanghaied her, she doesn’t get her daily fix anymore. Poor deprived woman.”

He was looking directly at Lark, no doubt waiting for a scathing response or a flash of jealousy or something. She hadn’t been able to talk with her good friend about the new circumstances of her relationship with the earth paladin since he had goaded her over the phone days ago. But he had obviously come to the correct conclusion that she and Lark were now in a relationship. Too bad Lark wasn’t a hot head like some of his fellow knights and couldn’t be drawn so easily into such a transparent trap.

Lark leered at Nik, his eyes turning sultry, “Well now, don’t tease. I haven’t had the privilege of ogling your guns yet. Lemme see.”

Nik grinned in appreciation, “You’re funny,” he informed Lark, before turning to her, “He’s funny. If I knew you had it in you to fall for a funny guy, I would have tried harder.”

“No you wouldn’t have,” she knew. There had never been anything remotely sexual between them. “Now, will you stop faffing around?”

He considered her for a moment, testing her seriousness and recognising her impatience, “Fine,” he huffed. “I’m on your side, you know. I’ve given you all the benefit of the doubt before. I don’t think it’s too much to ask for you to enlighten me as to why this is so important to everyone. Besides, there’s another council member in this room – one I follow orders from directly. I can’t just roll over and reveal state secrets, as it were,” he pointed out.

Mordecai stirred, “Tell them anything they want to know.”

Ivy saw Nikolai’s eyebrows wing up in surprise even as he dipped his head in acknowledgement, “Would you like to take the lead then?” he asked, respectfully.

All eyes turned to Mordecai, who remained cool as a cucumber; “I have no idea what everyone is referring to, nor why it is so important. I have never heard of a chade who wore a ring.”

He looked and sounded sincere, Ivy thought. And he was one of the members of the council whom she actually respected and trusted. She only hoped that trust wasn’t misplaced and he truly was in the dark about this and many other things. Otherwise, it would be a hard blow to the little custodian, even if she had only just learned the truth about who Mordecai was.

“And just how do we know you’re on our side anyway?” Ryker demanded, glaring at Nik. He clearly didn’t want to back down from their little pissing match. Nikolai must have really irritated him.

Nik flattened his lips, a sure indication of stubbornness. She walked over and smacked him up the back of the head, “Grow up and spill. You’re wasting time.”

“Hey! I’m your boss, you know. Where’s the respect?” he whined.

Ivy said nothing, just continued to stare at him with her arms crossed. But Ryker finally seemed to deflate a little, grumbling;

“Mine don’t have any respect either.”

The room suddenly filled with snorts, coughs and eye-rolls and she saw Nikolai and Ryker make eye contact and share a look of long-suffering. Great, the two idiots were bonding over their perceived hardships. Arms still crossed, she prompted, “Nik …”

He huffed one last time but proceeded to roll up the sleeve on his left bicep. A perfect circle of seven small symbols was mapped on the muscular appendage. The mark was new. He didn’t have it the last time they had seen each other, although she’d had hers. He had taken a great interest in the brand, out of concern for her, she knew. She wondered how long he’d had his.

“This little gem popped up about two months ago,” he revealed, answering her silent query. “I assume it means something to everyone?” he asked.

“It means you’re loyal to me,” Max smiled at him, eyes shining with happiness now.

“It does? I am?” he appeared to think about it for a moment, before shrugging negligently, “I guess I am. Gotta believe in something, right? And a goddess seems like a good bet. I should mention though, only one other member of my Unit has the same mark, other than Ivy.”

“Dylan?” Ivy guessed but Nikolai shook his head;

“Cayson,” he supplied.

“Really?” Ivy was shocked. She had been sure Cayson was working as a spy for the council. “I thought he was spying on us,” she revealed.

“He was,” Mordecai said. “For me. Cayson is Aiden’s brother,” he gestured to the Captain of his Order.

“No shit? Well, what do ya know?” Nik murmured, casually. But Ivy recognised the annoyance and anger simmering beneath the surface. She had no doubt he would be taking his subordinate to task in the near future for keeping secrets.

“Okay, now we’ve discovered that Nikolai isn’t an all-around dick and is on Team Max, can we please focus on the original purpose of this meeting?” Cali asked. Once a morning person, she was now rather grumpy first-thing because she could no longer stomach her morning cup of coffee.

“Certainly,” Nik agreed, easily, as if he hadn’t been the one stalling. He rolled his sleeve back into place, covering the physical manifestation of his faith in Max. “I am most certainly familiar with a chade who wore a ring – on his right pointer finger to be exact. Only, he wasn’t always a chade, was he? He was a warden first – a damn good one – and he wore the ring almost religiously because it had been a gift from his father. It had his Heraldry on it, not an uncommon gift in those days,” Nikolai began his tale.

Ivy was so tuned into Lark now that she felt every move he made and she noticed how his gaze was pinned on Mordecai hovering in the doorway. Lark’s green gaze was intense but his head was cocked ever so slightly to the side. It was a sure sign that he had noticed something off with the man and he was trying to puzzle it out before storing it away. She followed her man’s line of sight and focused on the Death Warden as well. His posture was now rigid instead of relaxed. Had he recognised something Nik had said already? She flicked her eyes back to Lark and he gave her the barest of nods, indicating he had noticed too. Nik had begun speaking again and she focused her attention in his direction once more.

“It was over a hundred years ago. Although the chades were a persistent and troubling menace, they hadn’t yet reached the huge numbers we saw before the Great Massacre – or the numbers of today. Still, there were a great many rangers and wardens alike whose sole task was to determine why wardens were choosing to desecrate their elements.”

“That’s not what –”

Nikolai held up a placating hand, “I know, Max. That’s not what was happening. Chades don’t choose to turn their backs on nature – it’s an illness. But we didn’t know that back then. Well, I guess there were some who thought of it in that way – I know Blu did and Verity broached the subject many times too, Diana,” he said, looking at the death paladin and speaking of her former liege.

“I never heard him talk about it. The majority of time I was in his Order, we were tasked with following human criminal activity – balancing the loss, reconciling justice, providing new life in the wake of tragedy. That’s how I became a consultant for the FBI and other law enforcement agencies,” she explained. “But I do know talk of the chades made him sad though,” she added, contemplatively, “I was always curious why.”

Nik was nodding as she spoke, “He was quite the advocate for the poor beasts – in the beginning at least. I guess with him being a Life Warden and highly empathic, he wouldn’t have been able to block out the emotions and the plight of the chades.”

Ivy saw everyone turn to look at Max upon hearing Nik’s last words. They all knew she was highly sensitive and empathic and was continually battered by the chades’ feelings and emotions – or lack thereof. Ivy saw her shift uncomfortably in her seat, never comfortable being the centre of attention, before she spoke;

“Please continue, Nikolai.”

Her Commander tilted his head in her direction, “He was from a renowned family and also a loving one. They wouldn’t give up on him – were desperate to find a cure. As such, they volunteered him for the research projects that were being conducted at the time to determine a cause, treatment, and the hope of a cure.”

“What kind of research projects?” Dex questioned, jaw set.

Nik gazed back at him dispassionately, “The kind of research projects recorded in the Warden Chronicles. These things were always documented.”

“The same Warden Chronicles that were burned to a crisp when the chades attacked?” Lark asked.

Nik nodded, “The very same.”

“Convenient,” Max snorted, looking more pissed by the second.

“I’ve always thought so,” Nik agreed.

“Have you just?” Ryker arched a dark eyebrow, scepticism clear in his tone.

Nikolai merely shrugged, not rising to the bait this time. No doubt, he felt the same as Ivy did on this subject; they didn’t need to justify their actions to anyone. They were soldiers just like sworn paladins and had a duty and a purpose to uphold. They might not always agree with their superiors and not like the tasks they were given but it was their job. Someone had to do it.

Abruptly, Dex pushed away from the wall he was leaning against and advanced on Nik. Ivy tensed, ready to defend her friend and superior, but remained where she was when Nik simply lifted a finger in her direction, “Can we please stop calling it ‘research’ and start calling it what it was? Experimentation. Torture.”

“Same thing really. It gets the same results in the end,” Nikolai sounded bored, cold even.

Ivy knew he was anything but. Just like her, he felt for the chades and wanted nothing more than to ease their suffering and end their plight. Looking around the room, she saw the same disgusted and livid looks on nearly every face – other than Max, Mordecai and his Order. Max could no doubt see and feel Nikolai’s true intentions and emotions. And Mordecai and his men had been around long enough to know the way of the world. They couldn’t afford to be dainty with their methods if they wanted results.

Ryker abruptly faced Mordecai, “Do you have anything to say about this?”

Mordecai’s paladins stirred at the accusatory tone but the warden’s green eyes remained steady, “Like what?”

“Gee, I don’t know. That you were aware of the torture of your own people? Maybe that you sanctioned it?” Ryker’s voice was laden with sarcasm.

“How else were we to get answers? We’re talking more than a hundred years ago. Not exactly the time for medical or scientific advancement. Methods were rudimentary, techniques were raw and experimental. The wardens and rangers involved in the research were the leading minds in society. Besides, it was determined very early on that chades don’t feel pain,” he added, as if it justified his actions.

“Don’t feel pain?” Max’s voice was incredulous as she spoke to the man directly for the very time that day, “All they feel is pain!”

Mordecai merely shrugged and Max turned away in disgust as if she couldn’t bear to look at the man who had helped give her life. If Ivy hadn’t been watching so closely, she never would have seen the anguish in those cold, green eyes when his daughter turned away from him. Ivy rarely felt sympathy for people in situations of their own making. Everyone had to live with the consequences of their own choices. But she knew there was more to the Death Warden than met the eye.

She had caught a glimpse of his left bicep the day prior when he had made his exit. Ivy had only seen a hint of black but she had recognised it for what it was. Mordecai was loyal, she was sure of it. So, why he seemed determined to keep painting himself as the bad guy, she didn’t know. Men were just idiots sometimes.

“I think we should get back on track,” Diana voiced, breaking the thick tension in the room. “Nikolai, do you have any idea if the research yielded any results?” she prompted.

“Oh, they yielded results all right. Just not the ones everyone was hoping for,” Nik shook his head. “The tests didn’t cure him. In fact, they seemed to make him worse.”

“Worse? How can anything be worse than a chade?” Beyden asked, looking worried. Ivy didn’t blame him – she didn’t want to imagine anything worse than a chade either.

“As we all know, men lose their humanity when they regress from warden to chade. They don’t feel anything anymore, they lose their conscience. They are like emotional blackholes – no joy, no fear, not even hate. They hunt down and feed off wardens based on pure instinct – not because they are evil,” Nikolai recounted.

“Right,” Max nodded along with everybody else, “but I take it this chade wasn’t like the others?”

“In the beginning? He was just the same as all the others I’d seen. I know I said they don’t feel anything and I’m still not convinced all of them do. But some of them – there’s a bitterness there, a disappointment, hopelessness. I guess those are the ones with their souls intact. The ones you’ve been searching for,” he added, glancing between Lark and Ivy before continuing;

“But this one? He didn’t show any of those subtle signs and in the end? Yeah, he was different. Very different. He was angry for one – totally pissed off all the time. He was malevolent and malicious – vengeful even.”

Max was frowning in thought, “Malevolent? How so?” she asked.

Nik ran a hand down his face, “He liked to hurt people. And not just by sucking the vitality out of wardens either. He would hurt them just to watch them bleed, just to see pain on the faces of his victims. You’ve all seen prey animals take down their meals, right? They do it for survival and are quick, merciful killers. That’s what most of the chades are like. But not him, he played with his victims. You don’t ever see a lion digging around in antelope entrails for the joy of it, do you? This guy loved entrails,” he shuddered, “And he used to laugh.”

Dex straightened again, “Laugh? He could speak?”

“Not speak in so many words,” Nik seemed to hedge, “but laugh for sure. The sound was like nails on a chalkboard, only worse. It would send shivers down my spine and leave me feeling queasy. It was creepy as fuck.”

“You said he couldn’t speak ‘in so many words’. What did you mean by that?” Lark asked, picking up on Nik’s small capitulation.

Nik seemed to hesitate, looking at Max and getting a firm nod to continue. He sighed, “Sometimes … I think he was communicating with the other chades who were in the same facility.”

Ivy saw the colour leech out of Max’s face and Ryker’s arm immediately went around her. A quick change in pressure in the air told Ivy that Max’s Order was rallying around her and sending her energy, automatically adjusting to their liege’s needs. Looking at Lark, she saw his eyes were focused on Max as well as if she were the only person in the room. Ivy waited for jealousy to hit but it never did. There was no resentment, no envy that her man was bonded intimately to another and loved another deeply. There was just pride over him being a strong, valued member of his Order and fulfilling his duty. She had been worried that perhaps she wouldn’t be able to handle the dedication she knew all paladins had to their lieges. But it didn’t appear to be an issue they were going to face.

“Communicating how?” Max asked, presently, her colour looking normal once more.

“I have no idea. But it wasn’t verbal. It was almost as if he could get inside their heads. They would go from docile to crazed in seconds.”

“So, it wasn’t just communication. He could also affect others, make them angry like him,” Max’s voice was a low mutter, almost as if she was speaking to herself but everyone heard her loud and clear in the tense quiet of the room.

“That’s how it looked to me. And that’s what I put in my reports,” Nik assured her. “There was a series of instances where the chades got loose – even in our protected encampments where chades can’t manifest themselves as their elements – they somehow broke free. This chade wasn’t one of them but it looked to me like they were all heading in his direction.”

“They were working as a unit?” Axel questioned.

Nik nodded, “They were. I’d never seen anything like it. It absolutely terrified me. All the chades were beheaded on the spot. Research pretty much ground to a halt after that and we were ordered to kill on sight from that day forward. No more tests, no more research. The only ones who were to be imprisoned were those who had not yet turned fully or those wardens with violent tendencies, mental health issues and the like.”

“What about the chade with the ring? Was he beheaded on the spot too?” Max asked, and the whole room seemed to hold its breath waiting for the answer.

Nikolai looked at Max head-on, “No. He was still secure in his cage. But he was deemed too dangerous to live. He was slated for execution the next day.”

“And was he killed?” Max followed up.

“His father requested he be given the final rights to carry out the execution. He argued it was his duty and his burden,” Nikolai’s hand shook a little on his lap as he glanced toward Mordecai in the doorway. The warden of death looked positively green but his eyes were hard as they glared at the Commander of the Rangers as if daring him to continue. Never one to back down from a dare, Nik forged ahead;

“And given the chade’s father was a member of the International Domain Council, he was granted such final rights. The chade with the ring was given into the custody of his father at daybreak the following day.”

“You didn’t see him killed, did you?” Lark spoke rapidly, answering his own question; “Of course you didn’t. Because he’s still alive. He’s the one who amassed those chades and coordinated the attack that resulted in the Great Massacre. He’s the one unifying the chades now. It’s the only thing that makes sense. And who knows how powerful he must be now, all these years later … Mordecai, do you know –” he broke off abruptly when he saw the empty doorway.

“Fuck!” Ryker yelled, jumping to his feet and palming his scythes, “That son of a bitch! It’s him. It’s been him all along. He’s the father of that chade – the one he let go.”

“I’ll kill him,” Darius growled, chest heaving with his anger.

“Get in line little brother,” Dex was pure menace, his eyes now black once more as they stared holes through the blank space where Mordecai and his paladins had been just minutes before.

The ground gave a shake, causing Ivy to wince. Emotions were running high and she was worried about what could happen if they didn’t get a hold of themselves; Max’s paladins were mighty fierce and protective bastards. She looked at Max, expecting to see pain and rage on her face but all she saw was a puzzled little frown. Her eyes were locked on Nikolai’s and he shook his head as if they were silently communicating.

Max blew out a breath before whistling sharply; “Everyone calm down. Don’t bother hunting Mordecai down. He’s not the one you want.”

“What? Then who the hell is?” Ryker demanded.

“Garrett,” Nikolai stated. “The chade was Garrett’s son.”