Page 28 of Dark Rebel's Mystery

"I'm glad I could help." Max leaned back in the chair. "Those monsters deserve killing, Ell-rom. Don't feel sorry for them. Think of them as cancer cells and of yourself as the medication that eradicates them. If you leave them alone, they will kill the organism. You are necessary to saving it."

The prince smiled. "This one is not as good. Anyone can kill, which means that there is nothing special about my kind of medicine."

Max chuckled. "Regrettably, I don't have any smarter analogies. I wanted to impress you with how deep of a thinker I can be, but the truth is that I'm a simple guy."

"I doubt that's true." Ell-rom was quiet for a moment, staring into his coffee. "Why did you come back to the Guardian Force?" he asked finally. "Why return to this darkness?"

"Because I was needed and also because I had to get out of Scotland, and joining the force here seemed like a good idea."

"What happened in Scotland?" Ell-rom asked.

"I made a mistake. One that cost me a friendship." Max sighed, the old guilt rising. "I betrayed someone who was like a brother to me because of a woman. I wasn't young so I don't have the excuse of youth. But I was competitive, always had to win. Ididn't realize—or maybe I didn't want to realize—that Din was in love with Fenella. I just saw it as a challenge."

"I assume you won?" Ell-rom's tone was neutral.

"I got the girl, lost my friend, and learned too late what really mattered." Max shook his head. "It happened fifty years ago, and Din still won't speak to me. Not that I blame him. Moving here was partly about escaping that constant reminder of my inexcusable mistake."

Ell-rom didn't look surprised by the revelation. "I was told that the woman looked a lot like Jasmine."

Max frowned. "Did Kian tell you about that?"

"Jasmine did. Amanda told her not to get upset over the way you reacted to her and explained why. Not that I accept it. I think it was immature of you, and given that you have lived centuries longer than I have and have vastly more life experience, you should know that."

Max met Ell-rom's gaze directly. "You are absolutely right. It was unfair and unprofessional of me. Jasmine didn't do anything to deserve the cold shoulder I gave her, and I should have apologized a long time ago."

"It's never too late, and you will discover that Jasmine does not hold grudges. She will forgive you easily." Ell-rom smiled. "I imagine carrying that guilt for fifty years is its own kind of punishment. You really should let it go. Your friend should have forgiven you a long time ago, and the fact that he didn't indicates that he might not have been as good of a friend as you thought he was."

"You know what? You are right." Max shook his head. "The training you got seems to have made you a good counselor. Have you thought about combining your occasional death-ray service with consulting? It could provide you with a professional balance."

Ell-rom gaped at him, looking unsure if Max had been serious or had meant it as a joke.

"I'm serious, Ell-rom. One does not preclude the other. We have only one counselor in the clan, and she is overworked because she takes care of the trafficking victims we rescue. Your services would be in high demand."

The prince shook his head. "I know so little of Earth's customs. How can I give advice to earthlings?"

"You just gave me excellent advice. You might want to take a couple of online classes first, or maybe more than that, but hey, you're immortal, so there is no rush."

"True." Ell-rom lifted the paper cup to his lips.

Max had hoped the prince would be cheered up by their talk, but he still seemed pained.

"These men chose their path," Max said. "They knew what they were doing was wrong. They knew that they were destroying these children, and they didn't care and did it anyway. By stopping them, you're saving countless others."

"I know." Ell-rom's voice was barely above a whisper. "It shouldn't be as hard as it is. I guess I need some of that hammering you mentioned before I turn into a sharp blade."

18

ELL-ROM

The conversation with Max had helped settle some of Ell-rom's nerves, but as Kian led him down the keep's corridors toward the cells, anxiety crept back in. His palms were sweating, and he felt nauseous.

"We'll start with something simple," Kian said, pulling out his phone and bringing up a photograph. "I want you to try directing your ability at this man."

Ell-rom stared at the image of an ordinary-looking middle-aged human. Nothing about him suggested the monster he apparently was. "I can't," he said. "Not without verifying his guilt myself."

Kian's expression hardened. "The test is to see if you can affect someone you've never met, using only an image. We need to know if your ability works at a distance." He paused, meeting Ell-rom's eyes. "The clan would never ask you to execute an innocent person. The Guardians have thoroughly verified his crimes. He's a monster."

The logic made sense, but something in Ell-rom still resisted. But hadn't he just been talking with Max about trust and necessary evils?

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