Page 12 of Custodian

Beyden scrunched up his nose, “Huh?”

“Get your big butt off my lungs!” Lark finally yelled.

“Oh, shit! Sorry!” Beyden’s eyes widened comically as if only just realising he was sitting on Lark. “Here, give me your hand,” he offered, reaching down and yanking Lark to his feet without waiting for his assent.

Lark went from being squished to flying through the air in seconds. If he didn’t have the grace of a dancer, he was positive he would have face-planted on the mats. Shaking his auburn locks from his eyes, he eyed his friend sternly.

Beyden had the good grace to look sheepish, “Sorry. I thought you were ready.”

“Uh huh. I bet,” Lark responded, drolly.

Beyden surprised him by turning serious once more, “Seriously, Lark. I couldn’t be happier for you and Ivy. I know you truly love her and I’ve never seen her happier. Not that everyone can tell, but she loves you too, you know? I know people think she’s a bad, scary ranger with no feelings and –”

Lark grabbed Beyden’s arm, quieting him. “Hey. Do I look like ‘people’ to you?”

Beyden’s bronzed cheeks flushed and he shook his head, “No.”

“Damn right I’m not,” Lark confirmed, watching a small smile grace his new brother-in-law’s cheeks. Glad that was settled, Lark moved on, “What are your plans for the day, now that you’ve successfully tortured my girlfriend?”

Beyden rolled his shoulders, “I’m heading into the Lodge to check on things.”

Lark frowned at that. Tensions were running high in their little community with the whispers and rumours becoming more and more ridiculous every time they passed from one ear to another. “I thought Ryker said no-one goes anywhere alone anymore.”

Beyden scoffed, “Ryker has turned into a mother hen.”

Lark couldn’t help smirking – it was an apt description. Ry had always been defensive and even somewhat possessive of the people he had taken under his wing. Not that the man himself would admit to being any kind of saviour or protector. But ever since they had formed their Order and Ryker had officially become their Captain, the man’s protective tendencies had ramped into high gear. Ryker would say it was due to the turbulent times they were in, but Lark knew the real reason was because the big, scary potentate was loved-up and all sappy because of Max. Being in love and happy tended to make you want the same for those around you – Lark could certainly attest to that. Now that he was with Ivy, he wished his few remaining single friends could find the same happiness and contentment which he had. Especially after all the drama Bey had been through, and the heartbreak of Axel’s past.

Getting back to the matter at hand, Lark decided to begin attaining his payback from becoming a Beyden pancake. He widened his eyes and darted a quick look behind Bey, clearing his throat. He had the immense satisfaction of seeing his tall friend freeze and gulp audibly;

“Crap! He’s behind me, isn’t he?”

Lark nodded his head gravely and Beyden closed his golden eyes, lips moving soundlessly. Lark barely suppressed his laughter – the man was praying. Bey took a deep breath, shaking out his arms as if he were about to face a challenge to the death, and slowly turned around. The apology fell from his lips when he realised no-one was there – least of all their protective, yet surly, Captain. The beast paladin spun back around quickly, a beefy arm reaching out to grab but he was too slow this time. Lark was already on the move, side-stepping and slapping the hand away. Laughing, he said;

“You should have seen your face!”

Beyden mock-growled, “You little shit!”

His response only made Lark laugh harder, the curse word sounding strange from his placid friend’s lips. Beyden rarely swore and was only just now beginning to not cringe every time their foul-mouthed liege turned the air blue with her colourful vocabulary.

“Funny,” Bey grunted, crossing his arms over his chest, his mouth forming what could only be described as a pout.

“Serves you right for riling up your sister that way. I’ll be lucky to get laid again this century,” Lark grumbled.

Bey winced, “Can you stop reminding me you’re sleeping with my sister?”

“Hey man, you brought it up when you parked your arse on me,” Lark pointed out.

“Yeah, yeah,” Beyden rolled his eyes.

“Anyway, back on track. Why are you going to the Lodge? Nobody is scheduled to go in today.” In fact, Lark thought, normal operations at the training centre had pretty much ground to a halt over the last two weeks. With the arrival of so many Orders and speculation rampant that something big was going down, training of the new recruits had been suspended.

Ryker hadn’t made a formal announcement but after the third time a fight had broken out between new trainees and old ones, Ryker had declared a cooling off period. Technically, he couldn’t shut down the training lodge without the approval of the local council, if not the international one, but he had spoken with Lake and they had agreed a few days with no gruelling training schedule would give the paladins and Orders some time to settle. Little did they know – a few days was not going to cut it. But it was a start and it was giving them the time they all needed to work through some logistics – including the missing Death Warden and the secret super chade.

It had been two weeks since Mordecai had dropped his paternal bombshell and they had all been expecting to hear news of Garrett’s messy demise. They had assumed Mordecai had left so abruptly because he was seeking out the head of the International Domain Council in order to demand answers about his son. But they had heard nothing from Mordecai or Garrett and had certainly seen no other evidence of Emmanuel – Garrett and Autumn’s long-dead-but-maybe-not-dead son. Ryker had grumbled and growled about it being proof of the death warden’s duplicity – that he was somehow involved and plotting something against Max. But Lark didn’t buy it, and even though Max pointedly ignored all talk of her father, he knew she didn’t really believe he was corrupt either. For one, Lark knew Mordecai had spent countless years hunting down chades and creating a good relationship with the rangers. Ivy had vouched for the older Scotsman and that was good enough for Lark.

Speaking of the chades, more and more chades were popping up, seeking healing, hope, and shelter. Lark had been prepared to head back out with Ivy in order to find more chades with souls but Max had told them it wouldn’t be necessary. At the time, he’d had no idea what she was referring to. But two days later, three chades had popped up out of the ground like freaking daisies right behind Dave’s. Lark had been there with Ivy, Ryker, Diana, Darius, Dex, and Max, checking on the newly healed ones inside. Ivy had promptly raised her sickle, its lethal edge coming within an inch of one of the chades’ necks. Only Max’s power over the air had saved the chade’s life, as she had halted the blade and pushed it off its course. After grumbling at the wall of bodies surrounding her and pushing her way past an unmovable Ryker, Max had smiled and welcomed the newcomers. She had then healed them and instantly charmed them at the same time. And just like that, they had three new redeemed earth wardens-come-chades on their side.

After that, the stream of chades seeking healing had become steady. Redeemable chades were being drawn to the hotel. Whether it was because of their brethren within or something else, Lark couldn’t say with certainty. But he did know that those malevolent, cursed creatures with no souls were likely being drawn to the big evil – Emmanuel – just as those with the potential for good were being drawn to Max. With that in mind, he asked;

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