Page 173 of The Satyr's Guilt
“Doll, save the rough play for when we’realone. What will ourfreronsthink?”
Kole pounded out sparks which landed on thepapers in front of him. “Cut the bullshit and let’s get down tobusiness. Dax is wherever the hell he goes when we can’t find him.Thorn won’t be here.”
Not a good sign. What the hell had theshifter done now? Dax was no surprise. He’d show up when hedid.
“To answer your first question, Ramirez,those new mugs are all recruits, fresh-faced and untrained.” Koledropped the bomb on his audience.
“More recruits?” Everyone voiced surprise atthe same time. ExceptBade and Sig. They didn’t know enough tobe surprised.
“A shitload of them is arriving. We’ve gotmore than the ones in the gym. We can’t hold them all at one time.Not only that, but Jarek and Nace are reporting the same story.It’s a damn crisis.”
“We’re busting at the seams.” Rein slouchedinto his chair, resting an arm over the back. “We haven’t used thedormitory for years, except for emergency stay-overs. Now, two andthree newbies are bunking on the floor in a room. The stronghold isfilling fast. Brae and I have a suite, Chay and Margo, you andSkyler, Nico, Denim. Are you moving in, satyr?”
“Already done, Rein Man.”
“How about you, Sabine? You spend all yourtime here,” asked Rein.
Nico answered for the nymph Firebrand.“She’s already a resident. We’re living in sin. I want to make anhonest woman of her, but she keeps sayingsoon.”
“Awe, throw the poor dog a bone,Sabine.”Chay jostled her shoulder. “He’s a big enough assholewithout you stringing him along.”
Sabine cocked her chin, smirking at theylve. “Stay out of our biz. We have plans.”
“Glad to hear it.” Kole inclined his headtoward Nico. “You better be good to her.”
“Hey. Is nobody concerned about me? She’swicked strong. I have bruises.” Nico pointed to a bluish mark onhis neck. “An elbow followed by a jab during a sparring session.”He started to raise his shirt.
Heads shook. Nobody bought his sad line, andnobody wanted to see his chest. Maybe Sabine did.
Kole raised a hand for quiet. “Anyway,Margo’s quick-timed the rehab on our building. Descendants andmates will continue to occupy the upper floors. The currentremodels are complete, but we’ll add more apartments to the thirdfloor, if necessary. The gathering room, kitchen, dining areas,library, and game room on the main floor are for all Firebrands.Even those off-site. Chay’s mate king-sized everything, and workersrushed to finish it.”
“Nice.” Brak waved an upright thumb at theylve Firebrand. “I’m all for your mate’s improves.”
“The level below is nearly done. My officewill move downstairs. Larger and better training facilities areunderway. A new armory. Margo beefed up the lower-level barracks atIndigo’s suggestion. Since Alarik opened the way for guns onFirebrand properties only, she added an indoor shooting range. Fornow. Who knows what the future holds. Outdoor drills and war gameswill take place behind the stronghold on the field.”
“Okay. We’re expanding. Which still doesn’texplain so many recruits.” Ram pushed his chair away from thetable, cocking an ankle on his opposite knee.
“No. It doesn’t. I wish to hell I knew whynew warriors are flooding the stronghold. They’re eager but shorton skills. Some of them look too young to shave, but they all havethe brand. The Phoenix called them.”
Sig waved a hand in the air.
“Spit it out, recruit.”
“Is this a hint something big is coming,Commander?”
“Yeah. And it’s about as subtle as adownpour of elephants. I’m afraid it’s going to be war unlike anywe’ve seen. Bigger than the Ylve Revolt. Bigger than the BerserkerRaids. Bigger than the Demon Insurrection and the War of theCoalition. Cerberus is hovering over us like a shadow. Earth knowswe exist thanks to Dante’s military guys who escaped in thechopper. Drugs are running rampant, and Arisen Dawn is rearing itsugly head. Now we have more warriors than we can handle. Rein?”
“Yeah?” He swiped his free hand over hismilitary-cut hair, his other still settled on the chair back.
“You’ve just become formal management.You’ll oversee all recruit training. Shut the fuck up. No backtalk.No posturing. Just do it. Choose an assistant. And before you goall asshole on me. Yes, you still fight. You can kill as many badguys as you want.”
Rein’s lids lowered and he blew out abreath. “Got it, Commander. I don’t want a fucking title, though.Ram, you’re my assistant. Lucky you.”
The satyr nodded while Denim poked hisshoulder.
“Nico and Sabine, dig deeper on Arisen Dawn.Who’s organizing them? Who’s funding? Identify leaders. Where thefuck are they? Tyr, you and Dax, if you can find the vamp, stay onthe drug thing for now. If you four bump into each other, confab.We know Arisen Dawn and the drug biz are up each other’s asses. Seehow far. Another thing, warlock. Get over to the med center at theMinistry of Well Being to see about the female you saved. She’sstill in a coma, but get whatever intel you can from thehealers.”
The silver bar through Tyr’s brow glinted inthe overhead light. “Why me?”
