Chapter 35
Matt
After what happened yesterday, I’ve decided to stick out the school year and then get my GED this summer. I might change my mind later, but until Robbie is actually settled and safe at school, I’ll feel more comfortable if I am there in case shit hits the fan again. I don’t think it will happen, but I’d rather over-prepare for nothing to happen than under-prepare and the worst happens.
To that end, I sit on the floor in the living room working on my homework while Cary and Jasper play with Robbie. I really like that the guy has started to add not just his body to our family, but his heart as well. He doesn’t spend as much time cooped up in his room, choosing instead to spend time with the family. I find it really easy to like him now that he has gotten less guarded and more comfortable with me. Plus, the kid saved my life, so I have learned to respect his skills as well.
Robbie’s phone dings. It’s not mine, but I look up anyway, checking on him to make sure he’s ok. He looks confused for a moment, but not worried, so I go back to my homework until he clears his voice. “Matt.”
I look up, raising my eyebrows questioningly.
“Gage wants your contact information. Is it ok if I give it to him?” he asks.
“Yeah, that’s fine.”
I wonder if Gage is going to take me up on the offer I made yesterday before things went to hell with Robbie. I shudder at that. For a moment I ponder what happened to Robbie, but he plays his cards close to the chest. All I know is that he ended up spending the rest of the day with Chanda, and that the Diviner spent the night in one of the unoccupied rooms upstairs.
After a minute, my phone dings.
Gage: This is Gage Swanson. I want to borrow that book you have on non-humans.
Me: When?
Gage: ASAP. I will come get it if that’s a possibility.
Me: Is your fire under control?
Gage: At the moment.
I have no problem with him theoretically, but I don’t want him around my family if he can’t keep his fire burning on the inside. He already shot a fireball at me accidentally; I wouldn’t want Cary or Jasper to startle him and get a fireball to the face. I’d probably end up killing him for that, and I don’t think I’m exaggerating saying that.
I shoot him a text to give him our address and warn him to keep his fire contained, but the message doesn’t immediately get labeled as read. If he doesn’t come by to get it today, I’ll take it to school with me tomorrow.
I resume working on my homework and about the time I finish the set of math problems I’m working on, the doorbell rings. “I got it,”
I tell Robbie, though I would never expect him to answer the door even if he were expecting company; he would have told us if he invited someone over. He may not share his secrets, but he does keep us apprised of his movements, even if he’s just heading to the toilet or bed. I think he wants us to know where to find him if he doesn’t return in a timely manner.
I answer the door, expecting to see Gage, but instead, Chanda stands under the colonnade, wearing a lavender shirt with leopard print pants, hair standing up like he gussied up to come over. “Not who I was expecting,”
I note, stepping aside to invite him in. “What’s up?”
I ask, shaking his hand on his way in.
“Is Robbie here?”
he asks, looking around the house.
“Living room.”
I knock my head toward the living room and lead him that way. I suppose he’s checking in with Robbie after yesterday’s events. I know the man likes him, so I’m not too surprised to see him.
Robbie is on the floor playing cars with Cary and Jasper. He smiles questioningly at Chanda when he sees us, so I guess he wasn’t expecting Chanda either. “What’re you doing here?”
“I think I may be here to play cars with some kids,”
Chanda answers as he sits on the floor with everyone else. “I’m Chanda,”
he introduces himself to the boys.
Jasper holds out his hand to Chanda. “I’m Jasper. It is very nice to meet you.”
“It is nice to meet you too. I like your manners,”
Chanda says, shaking the offered hand.
I’m also impressed with his manners and smile like an idiot to myself when he explains why. “I’ve been watching Papa and Daddy,”
he whispers, glancing at me.
I grin and wink at him before Chanda grabs his attention back. “They are very good examples to follow,”
he whispers back loud enough I can hear him.
I watch Cary sit in Chanda’s lap with his favorite car before I go back to my homework, tuning in and out of their conversation as I work. I get distracted when I hear Robbie softly chuckle, and look up to find him making a recording of Chanda with a look on his face I would never have guessed in a million years that he would make where I could see it. Chanda’s interactions with Cary and Jasper amuse him, but Robbie also looks at the Diviner like he wants to kiss the man, which is a fucking miracle because Chanda is as big as I am, though not as brawny, and Robbie looks at him like he isn’t worried about his size. In fact, Robbie’s aura says he’s happy, and the slight magenta around the edges tells me he really, really fucking likes Chanda.
When he puts his phone away, he catches me staring at him, looking at me with a question on his face like he wants to know why I’m staring. I teasingly arch my brow and glance at Chanda before raising both my brows. Do you have a crush on your teacher? I ask with just my expression.
He briefly squeezes his eyes shut, flushing red before looking at me with wide, pleading eyes. Please don’t tell him, his eyes beg me.
I can’t help but grin and give him a thumbs up. Good for you, buddy. I’m proud of you.
Jasper suddenly jumps up off Chanda’s lap. “I want to be a superhero!”
he announces, running to the toy box that holds all the dress-up clothes, costumes, and accessories stuffed into it.
“Me too!”
Cary exclaims, following him. “I want to be a super cowboy space laser man!”
I get up to give Robbie and Chanda the chance for some kid-free time, and go with the kids to the box, helping them dress up in their choice of costumes. We don’t have a laser gun, but we do have a fart gun, so I give that to Cary and tell him to pretend it’s a space laser. The doorbell rings as soon as I get them into their costumes, and this time I’m pretty sure there won’t be any surprises, so I instruct my boys to stay with Robbie and Chanda and head to the front door again.
I open the door again, this time to find not just Gage, but also Loki, standing under the colonnade. Gage wears athletic shorts and a t-shirt, a huge contrast to his brother, who looks ready for actual combat. Gage’s blond hair looks a bit wild, but his aura appears calmer than the last time I saw it, and happy if the yellow lazily floating through the red means as much. The violent red hasn’t gone away, but I think that’s just his base personality.
Loki is dressed to kill, literally. He stands behind Gage wearing four different gun holsters and a sword strapped to his back. Leather clothes and combat boots, he looks grim, and his shiny aura is pure carmine, a shade of red that indicates his entire personality hinges on his survival instinct. Or possibly that he’s a pathological liar. I’d bet on the former.
“Hey Matt, this is my brother, Loki,”
Gage introduces us. “This is Matt Blank.”
I offer Loki my hand, shaking his in greeting. “Good evening, Headsman.”
“Hello, Obsidite. Have you seen the Chaos Eater since the last time we met?”
Loki asks like he knows Tio came to school yesterday.
Gage gives his brother a pointed look, forest green jealousy slashing through his aura. “You know him?”
he demands sharply.
“We met at the zoo last Friday,”
I say, trying to calm him. I didn’t realize that Loki is the person he said he has to wait for until this very moment—that is the jealous rage of a lover, not a brother. “And yes. I saw the Chaos Eater at school yesterday,”
I tell Loki, opening the door to let them in even though I doubt I want to if Gage gets emotional. “I had a lot of shit going on and I didn’t think to call you.”
Loki and Gage look around the house as they enter. Before I can stop him, Cary runs out of the living room pointing his ‘laser’ gun at us and announces to Loki and Gage, “It makes poopy sounds!”
Then he pulls the trigger to demonstrate.
“Cary,”
I warn him. “Didn’t I tell you to stay in the living room with Jazz?”
“I did, Daddy!”
he insists, wide-eyed. “I stayed, but then I heard a noise, and it was a spider! So, I chased it, and I got here.”
I pick him up. “I think you’re making up stories. Are you making up stories because you were curious about who was here?”
I ask as seriously as I can.
He turns big blue eyes on me, frowning a little. “Yes, Daddy.”
“Thank you for telling the truth,”
I say, kissing his cheek. “This is a friend from school, Gage, and his—friend, Loki.”
I really do not want to introduce Cary to them as brothers especially if there’s any chance that they become regular visitors. They aren’t related, so it’s none of my business if they do things normal stepbrothers wouldn’t do, but I don’t think we need to introduce that kind of element to the kids just yet.
Loki offers Cary his hand, which Cary takes, comfortable shaking hands with strangers. I’m not sure if I’m proud of him because of his good manners or terrified for him because I have seen the way unscrupulous non-humans look at him. “Hello, Cary. It’s very nice to meet you.”
“It’s very nice to meet you, Woki!”
In an attempt to help him with his pronunciation, I correct him, exaggerating my mouth movements so Cary can see how the letters form. “L-L-Loki.”
“La-La-Woki!”
Cary imitates doing his best.
“Good job, buddy,”
Loki praises him, laughing. Loki turns to Gage who looks a little dumbstruck at Loki. “Reminds me of you.”
Gage frowns. “Gross.”
Cary giggles. “I’m not gross! I’m grody!”
he corrects. “I’m a grody, nasty, disgusting boy.”
Gage gives me an uncomfortable look. “This…is your kid?”
he stumbles surprised.
“I’ve been his parent since he was born, but biologically he’s my half-brother,”
I explain, though I’m not sure if it’s any of their business. He’s my kid, it doesn’t matter how that happened.
Gage’s whole demeanor changes. He stands up straight and looks at me with respect that I didn’t know he was capable of. “I get it. Loki did the same for me.”
He looks back to Cary. “Be very thankful for your Daddy. Not a lot of people would raise a brat that didn’t belong to them. You and I are the same and we are very, very lucky that our brothers care about us enough to take care of us.”
I see Deejay walking toward us from the kitchen, somehow looking that way at just the right time like my instincts searched him out, knowing he’d be there. His expression morphs to surprise at seeing our guests. “Loki?”
Loki walks over to Deejay, offering a handshake. “Hey, Deej.”
Cary jumps in my arms exclaiming loudly, “He’s got a sword!”
I nod silently and put my fingers to my lips so I can hear Deejay and Loki’s interaction.
Unsurprisingly, Deejay pulls Loki into a warm hug instead of shaking his hand. “Normally people call if they’re coming over for dinner,”
he teases.
“Normal? Who’s normal?”
Loki chuffs.
“Well, not you, obviously. What’s with the get-up?”
Deejay asks, giving Loki a serious examination at the end of his arms. “Why are you carrying the sword?”
Before Loki can answer, Chanda grabs Deejay’s attention when he walks in with Robbie. “Chanda? Hello. I didn’t realize you were here,”
Deejay greets him, surprised.
“I slipped in on a whim,”
Chanda smiles. “Loki, Gage. Good to see you.”
He shakes both Loki and Gage’s hands.
Gage grunts and looks at me with a smirk, giving Chanda and Robbie a significant look. “Odd duck, eh?”
I chuckle and clap his back, surprised he picked up on that so fast. “Yep.”
Loki offer’s Robbie a handshake, but I can tell by the way Robbie is eyeing his weapons he’ll probably decline the handshake. Robbie doesn’t like being touched even if it’s something as innocuous as a handshake—he knows giving someone your hand can be dangerous, and I hate that he learned that the hard way. “You’re that kid from before. Did you figure out if you’re legal yet?”
Wait what? Is Robbie not legal?
Robbie shakes his head. “I’m not going to shake your hand. I can’t. And no, sorry, I haven’t had time to look.”
“No problem, I don’t like to be touched by strangers either. We’re here for the encyclopedia, we can look you up while we’re here,”
Loki offers, glancing at Deejay.
“It’s unnecessary. I have the right book, and we’re going to look it up later,”
Chanda interjects, passing a significant look at Robbie.
“Oh, ok.”
Robbie agrees without looking at any of the rest of us—yep, these guys are hiding something.
Obviously, Robbie and Chanda have more going on here than just a little teacher crush if Robbie is taking his cues from Chanda. Just what the hell happened between them yesterday?
“The encyclopedia of non-humans?”
Deejay questions me.
I nod with a smile crawling across my lips because I am still pretty giddy about being his boyfriend and for the simple reason that the man makes me happy no matter what we’re doing. “Yep. This guy’s a dragon and needs some info on his own species.”
Deejay unexpectedly yanks me and Cary away from Gage, then Chanda steps between us and Gage and Loki, giving Deejay a hard look. “Enough,”
Chanda growls, looking between Deejay and Loki, who put his hand to his sword while I was ogling Deejay. “Gage is a good-ish kid, and you are the last person in this room with room to judge a person on their species,”
he tells Deejay pointedly.
The Maledict doesn’t judge people on their species. He told me that. Just what is Chanda accusing Deejay of?
“And put your hands down—no one here is going to endanger Gage,”
he tells Loki before looking at me. “Matt did not know that it would be best to never mention any dragon ever,”
he informs me authoritatively.
Oh. My bad. I did not realize there was a problem with talking about dragons because the encyclopedia did not cover cultural norms and prejudices concerning them.
“Gage, your secret is safe here. So, everybody, just take a couple of Robbie breaths and calm the fuck down,”
Chanda finishes, looking around at everyone to confirm he’s been heard.
Robbie gives him an actual glare. I’ve never seen the kid get mean with anyone, but he has a mean look on his face looking at Chanda. “Robbie breaths?”
Chanda grins at him. “You’re really good at the deep breathing calming techniques and these fuckers could stand to learn from you.”
Robbie gives him a look of disbelief. “Are you actually qualified to teach, old man? The mouth on you shocks and appalls and also: Cary?”
“He’s an adult, he can say fuck. I’ll be allowed to say it when I’m an adult too,”
Cary points out, matter-of-factly, forcing me to hide my laugh behind a soft cough. He’s not wrong.
“That’s right, I’m an adult. I’m allowed to say fuck,”
Chanda smirks at Robbie.
“You’re barely an adult. If you were human, you’d be maybe nineteen. Adult-ish.”
Robbie corrects.
Deejay and I exchange a shocked look. Robbie can be witty. We haven’t seen this side of him, and to be honest, if Chanda is the one bringing it out, I’ll invite him over more often. He’s good for Robbie.
Gage hums thoughtfully. “I see. I thought it was weird that you two were friends, but you’re saying he’s barely legal as a non-human.”
“I’ve been legal for ten years,”
Chanda defends himself a little red in the cheeks.
“His species matures slowly. Ten years is like nine months in human terms,”
Robbie informs us levelly.
“Wrong. It’s more like two years, so I’m at least twenty in human terms.”
I do the calculation in my head, but Gage gets there quicker.
“A hundred? Seriously?”
Gage exclaims, surprised.
Chanda sticks his tongue out at Robbie, and I chuckle under my breath. Ok. He really is young for an old man.
“You did it to yourself, and you got it wrong too,”
Robbie snickers.
“I’m a hundred and ten years old,”
Chanda admits finally. “Now that we all have our secrets laid bare, what’s for supper?”
he looks at Deejay, clapping as a signal that he wants to change subjects.
Deejay snorts at him, though I can tell he’s only teasing him about his age. “You can have peanut butter and jelly.”
Then Deejay turns an apology on Gage and Loki. “I’m sorry. I should not have reacted like an idiot bigot.”
Gage scoffs it off. “I don’t blame you. If I hadn’t just fought a Chaos Eater off, I wouldn’t trust me in your house.”
What?
“Tio,”
Deejay growls. “That son of a bitch. What did he want with you?”
And there’s my dangerous Maledict.
And now I’m fighting a chubby because Deejay is sexy when he’s in protective mode, and really, I should be paying attention because: Tio. Again.
“Apparently he wanted to collect me. I don’t know what he meant by that, but I put him to the ground. He tried to take me out with Ketamine, I think.”
Gage shrugs it off, unperturbed.
“He wanted to abduct you?”
Robbie gasps, going pale. “Just now? Like on your way here?”
Oh no. This isn’t good. He’s about to have a panic attack and my arms are full of Cary.
“Before.”
Gage goes for reassurance but fails to hit the mark because he just does not understand Robbie at all. “I texted you right afterward.”
Robbie freezes for a second before shouting at the Dragonspawn. “You texted me about shopping after fighting Tio?”
“It’s fine. I’m fine, dude. I texted you about getting Matt’s number and shopping just came up.”
“You are completely insane. You call the cops first, you call your brother, you don’t text some dude you’ve bullied one time. Someone tried to abduct you. Do you even know how bad that could have been? You could have been taken, Gage. Taken! He could have hurt you; he could have done anything he wanted to you because you would have been in his power. You can’t be stupid about this—you have to be careful. You have to take care of yourself and you need to take this fucking seriously!”
Robbie yells, panting, gasping for breath, and hyperventilating all at once. Deejay moves to help him, but Robbie hates being touched by us, especially when he’s panicking.
Chanda squats down in front of him. “Robbie. Stop. It’s fine—Robbie!”
It’s too late, Robbie’s face goes completely white as he faints into Chanda’s arms. Cary sobs in my arms, holding onto my neck in a death grip, scared for Robbie. I rock him and hold him securely to soothe his distress for Robbie while Chanda sits, shifting Robbie into his arms. If I hadn’t seen how Robbie lets him touch him, I would be concerned about that, but right now I’m just worried about what triggered his panic.
“Was he abducted?”
Chanda demands of Deejay.
Deejay looks down, furious, but he keeps it under control for Cary’s sake. “I don’t know. He hasn’t said anything about it.”
“I hope you aren’t attached to that sister of yours, because I’m pretty sure Loki’s going to end up killing her as soon as I get my hands on her.”
Chanda’s warning doesn’t even surprise me. If I know Deejay at all, he’ll track the bitch down himself.
“My sister? That bitch. She hurt him?”
Deejay demands vibrating with menace that pours out of his aura like the curse he’s probably thinking of weaving right now.
“For fucking years,”
Chanda spits out.
“Shit! Fuck!”
Deejay curses, losing it. “There’s no law protecting the male offspring of Naiads nor any of the male offspring of their mates. She had a kid with his father, so legally, according to Naiad law, whatever she did was permissible.”
And that is why the Demesne D’Aquino exists.
“This kid isn’t a Naiad, and I will raze the world to bring him justice,”
Chanda murmurs, brushing his curls off Robbie’s forehead.
“I will help,”
Deejay swears.
“Same,”
I add in. How could I not? That unconscious guy is my family.
Gage kneels beside Robbie’s head, staring down at him. “I hate people who hurt the weak. If there’s a problem getting our justice system to work for him, point me at your target. I know how to dispose of trash. You understand me?”
“I do. You understand that you are officially an adult now according to non-human law? If you get caught even making offers like this, you will be tossed in the Cage so fast your head will spin. And what will you do when they put you in front of your brother and one of you has to die?”
Chanda asks levelly, not like he’s discouraging Gage, more like he’s willing to put anyone in the line of fire for Robbie.
“I will burn Houston to ash before that happens. You’re willing to raze the world—I will burn it to ash. You get me?”
Gage answers, also not surprising me. I would do the same for my brother, but he’s a kid, so…
Chanda locks eyes with Gage. “I abso-fucking-lutely do.”
“What do you mean, he’s officially an adult now. How do you know?”
Loki asks softly.
Chanda indicates Gage’s face. “When a Dragonspawn’s fire turns blue, the law recognizes them as adult dragons.”
“I’m officially an adult. That means I can finally go to the Hub,”
Gage looks up, grinning broadly, which is when I see the blue dragonfire burning in his eyes.
“No,”
Chanda and Loki negate at the same time, exchanging a glance.
“It’s not safe for you to wander into the Hub until we get your dragonfire under control permanently,”
Loki explains.
Gage takes a deep breath and stands. “Ten more days,”
he mutters under his breath.
“Let me up,”
Robbie demands suddenly, struggling with Chanda until he’s on his feet.
Robbie comes straight to me, holding his arms out to Cary, looking regretful. I want to assure him that everything is fine, but Cary falls into his arms and clings to him, sobbing softly.
“Come here, buddy. I’m sorry I scared you. I’m ok,”
Robbie murmurs, petting Cary and talking to him for a moment before looking toward the rest of us without actually looking at any of us. “I’m sorry, everyone. I-I-I didn’t mean to freak out.”
A terrifying growl emanates from Gage’s chest. “Don’t fucking apologize for that. There’s no way any of us blame you for that shit.”
Robbie takes a step away from Gage, which is what I’d like to do too, but I manage to stay in my place. “That is terrifying,”
he points out, still delicate from his panic attack.
Gage grins wickedly and growls again. “It is, isn’t it?”
Robbie keeps his retreat up; he should definitely take Cary away now if he’s going to keep him. I don’t want my kid anywhere near Gage right now.
“Please don’t ever do that to me,”
Robbie requests seriously.
“I won’t,”
Gage promises darkly. “I have much more important people to scare the ever-loving shit out of.”
“Gage,”
Loki murmurs softly.
Gage smirks at Loki. “I’ll be good for ten days.”
For a moment Loki looks at him and his carmine aura goes completely lime green, the color of lust. Did not need to see that. Also: the man only seems to be able to carry one color in his aura. I have never seen that happen before. “Just be good enough not to get caught.”
Gage chuckles. “Will do.”
“I’m going to take Cary…away…”
Robbie announces.
Thank fuck.
“I’ll come get him in a minute. Let me just go grab the encyclopedia,”
I tell him before heading upstairs, reaching out to touch Deejay on the way by just to calm my increasing discomfort with having these people in our home. I think I want to get them out of here as quickly as possible.
I quickly grab the book and get back on the tail end of a vicious complaint from Gage. “This is why I need to learn.”
“I got you.”
I tell him, offering the encyclopedia. “It’s Deejay’s so return it when you’re done.”
Gage nods. “Thank you.”
“We should go,”
Loki tells Gage quietly again.
Thank fuck. Yes.
“Tch. You can’t stay for dinner?”
Deejay asks, clearly disappointed while I’m relieved, which kind of amuses me. The man really does love feeding people.
“Maybe another time. I have some research to do and a Chaos Eater to hunt down, now that I know who he’s working for,”
Loki declines and I let out a pent-up breath.
“Erroll of Morgaine,”
Deejay growls.
Loki makes a noise of agreement. “Fucker is going to die.”
“Get the right evidence and be careful about how you procure it. You don’t want to start a war, but please do let me help you. Tio has made enough of a nuisance of himself working against my demesne that I will happily provide any assistance you need,”
Deejay offers viciously.
“I will call when I need you,”
Loki agrees.
Loki hugs Deejay, then he shakes mine and Chanda’s hands. “I’ll call you Thursday,”
he tells Chanda.
“I look forward to it,”
Chanda responds with a smile. “I’ll walk you out. I need a private moment.”
I open the door for them and shut it to give them their moment.
I look at Deejay for a brief moment and then pull him into my arms, hugging him and kissing him soundly. “Those guys are too dangerous to be around the kids,”
I mumble against his mouth, forehead to forehead with him.
“Loki is a friend of mine. I’ve known him since he found Den six years ago. He’s good with kids.”
“Gage is not.”
“True,”
he agrees, kissing me again. “Are you going to rescue Robbie from the kids?”
“I am,”
I sigh. “Are we going to do anything about that?”
“I’m going to curse Melody,”
he replies without any hesitation. “I am going to make sure she can never hurt another child again.”
“Do it.”
He looks at me for a brief moment before stepping back.
I can see a shift in his aura, the menace that covers his aura becomes a near-tangible thing as he breathes.
He closes his eyes, as the tar of his curse starts forming into a black ball out of his savage fury toward Melody, separating out into the tarred ball of a curse.
The black ball separates from his aura with just a small tether remaining attached to his aura as he speaks.
“My sister, Melody née Aquino, may you never hurt another child. May the karma of your own actions come back on you that you may experience the fear and pain you’ve caused others. May the words you’ve spoken and the actions you’ve performed that have victimized others cause you the same harm you have caused.”
The black ball hangs in the air for a moment before the tether falls away and then it races off, shooting north, arcing through the ceiling of the house.
Deejay gives me a firm nod. “That’ll do.”
I suspect it will. Fuck.