Page 30 of Custodian

Mordecai’s own eyes turned hard, “Damn right I did! He betrayed me, betrayed his element and has been lying to our people for years. Yes. I tried to kill the fucker. But he is not without his own powers and I –”

“He beat you, huh?” Ryker smirked.

“He attacked my paladins!” Mordecai growled back.

Max gasped, stepping forward quickly. “Are you all okay? I can help ...” her voice trailed off and she came to an abrupt halt. Cali knew she hadn’t been thinking when she made the offer and stepped that close to Mordecai. It had been an automatic reaction to someone in need.

Bastien bowed his head to Max, “I thank you, my lady, but I am healing well. It’s why we weren’t here sooner as a matter of fact. I couldn’t travel and Mordecai wouldn’t leave me alone even to deliver the information,” the look he cast his liege was filled with disgruntlement.

Cali understood the feeling well.

“Oh, do shut up, Bas. I wasn’t about to leave you when you were at death’s door. Deal with it.” Mordecai snapped, revealing his affection for his paladins yet again. Cali saw the others notice it too and knew they were beginning to soften toward the man.

“Well then, boss-man. Do we have a go to meet the ‘rents?” Diana asked.

All eyes turned to a scowling Ryker and although he looked like he was chewing glass, he finally nodded his head in assent.

Well, this should be interesting,Cali thought, dryly.

THIRTEEN

Darius didn’t like it. He didn’t like it one bit and knew his fellow paladins felt the same way. The tension through the Order link was tangible. But Max had been adamant about meeting with the entire IDC and they were duty-bound to obey their liege. Despite the news Mordecai had shared about his encounter with the deceitful duo, Max was determined to give Garrett and Autumn a chance to explain themselves. Darius had always admired her deep sense of fairness and justice but in this instance, he feared her sense of fair-play was going to get her hurt. The many years of lies, the premeditation, and the degree of duplicity that went into maintaining their upstanding personas hinted at dangerously damaged psyches. And that scared the hell out of him.

Darius barely refrained from grimacing; walking into the Lodge felt like walking naked into battle.The condemnation in the eyes of his fellow paladins and wardens was a palpable thing and the sound of words, whispered harshly,had his blade hand twitching. The Lodge was a place where he had always felt at ease, happy, and appreciated but that was no more, thanks to the lies that had been circulating throughout the ranks. The loss of comfort and familiarity as he stepped over the threshold was just another thing to resent in this whole mess.

He, Ryker, and Axel stepped through the doorway first with Max following, flanked by Diana and Cali, and Lark and Beyden bringing up the rear. Max was effectively in a very large paladin cage and although none of them had dispensed with their weapons as protocol demanded, Darius still felt as if Max was too exposed. Dex and Ivy followed close behind, presenting a united front despite the fact they weren’t technically a part of Max’s Order. But they were family and that’s all that mattered to Max – as well as the rest of them.

Despite the judgemental and critical looks they were receiving, the crowd nonetheless parted quickly and easily, and Darius was satisfied their reputation still held some sway. But then again, Ryker had his very intimidating ‘fuck you’ face on, and despite the absence of his sinister scar, it was still extremely forbidding. Not many people were courageous enough to mess with his Captain, he thought, with no small amount of pride. After his brother had turned into a chade and his previous Order had disbanded, Darius had thought he would never be serving under a Captain ever again. Darius had also been the second in command in the Order of Magne under his potentate, Henry. Darius had respected the man and followed his orders without question. But even after a thousand years of service, Henry hadn’t evoked the same level of dedication Ryker had managed to do in just a handful of months as his Captain. Darius knew why; he loved Ryker like a brother.

Clearing his head of the happy but somewhat distracting thoughts, he kept his eyes sharp as they entered the meeting room and took their place at the end of the large, central table reserved for council members at the front of the room. Darius heard the murmurs as Max took a seat, but his liege didn’t so much as blink. She was, after all, a member of the IDC whether the wardens and paladins surrounding her liked it or not. He placed himself behind her and felt the others spreading out behind in a horseshoe shape, effectively blocking her in from three sides. Darius wasn’t thrilled that the front of her was exposed to the room, but unless one of them stood in front of her, there was no way to prevent it. Opening his mouth to speak, Max cut him off;

“Don’t bother, Darius. How can you expect me to see people and talk to them if your big paladin butt is in the way?”

“But –” he tried again.

“Nope. Move on, Dare,” Max interrupted once again.

He heard a few snickers in his mind but no-one cracked a smile. They were all showing a united front as a formidable Order – one to be reckoned with. Giggling would not be conducive to their tough-guy image.Nor would kicking their snickering butts, Darius sternly reminded himself.

“Fine,” Darius grunted, resigning himself to his current position. Well, if he couldn’t place himself bodily in front of his liege, he would at least catalogue the rest of the room.

A quick but thorough look determined that Garrett and Autumn were the only members of the IDC yet to make an appearance. Blu, Cinder, Ares, and Ravyn were already seated along with Mordecai at the same table. They all looked tense and aggravated, even the usually calm and collected Water Warden, Blu. The only exception was Mordecai. The man had his usual aloof mask firmly in place – not that Darius was fooled by that anymore. He had seen evidence of a passionate personality beneath the frosty demeanour.

Scanning the table again, Darius noticed Mordecai was sitting in adifferent seat. He was now seated at the very end rather than directly next to Garrett’s seat in the centre. Darius was relieved. They’d had a hard time garnering assurance from Mordecai that he wouldn’t kill Garrett the moment he stepped through the door. The Death Warden had made no secret of the fact that he wished to fillet his one-time friend and leader of their society. Darius knew it was only because Max had been the one to demand no harm should come to Garrett, that Mordecai had agreed. Darius was pretty sure the man would do anything Max asked.

Although there was still so many unanswered questions and much healing to be done, Darius felt sure that Mordecai genuinely cared for his daughter. Max was still – understandably – hesitant about the whole thing and Darius sincerely hoped the two would be given a chance to forge a relationship. He would do anything to be able to be with his parents again and he would love it if Max got her own chance at that special form of relationship. He nodded his head ever so slightly when those intense green eyes focused on him, receiving a small nod in return. Darius then shifted his eyes to the four paladins standing as close behind Mordecai as Darius’s Order was to Max. He didn’t know the men well on a personal level but he knew they had been bound together for a millennium. Having been bound in his previous Order for almost that long himself, Darius knew the deep bonds that formed and knew they would do whatever it took to keep their liege safe. No matter what their liege had to say about it. And Darius had a sneaking suspicion Mordecai was as much of a problem-child when it came to his safety as Max was. Not that he would ever admit that out loud of course.

A small sting of energy plucked at his coat of arms and he cringed; seems he didn’t need to admit it out loud. Max had still heard him loud and clear. This time, the urge to smile was too great, and Ryker smirked from beside him. Darius had the sudden urge to punch his Captain in the face all over again. The man was just a little too pleased with Darius’s predicament.And I just called that man my brother,he shook his head at himself.

The room was beginning to get a littlerestless, rumours as to what this meeting was about were rampant.There was plenty of nervous energy in the room but also a lot of curiosity. And withwell over fifty wardens and three times that number of paladins currently occupying the main meeting room, that was a lot of mixed emotions. It was also a lot of potential threats.Nope. I do not like this at all,he thought once again,seeing faces old and new in the crowd.He recognised Terran and Isaac as well as Stefan and his sizeable Order. Darius fought the urge to likewise shield Lark and Cali from their beady, malicious eyes. But he knew he would need to get in a very long line before he would be given the opportunity to have a go at the rotten men.

For every face he recognised, there was one he didn’t. So many of the Orders who had been recalled or who had shown up were unfamiliar to him. There were so many bodies now that people were forced to stand outside the main room and observe through the open doors to the recreation area. As the chatter became louder and the pointed looks longer, Darius wondered if the husband and wife duo were even going to show.

“They’ll show,” Max murmured from in front of him.

She sounded very sure, he thought.

“That’s because I am. They’re here,” she informed them, “and being accompanied by a Ranger Unit. A Ranger Unit that isnotNikolai’s.” Max revealed, even though they hadn’t stepped foot inside the door yet.

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