Chapter 6 #2
Laughter pierced the air as Kai finally figured it out.
Poor fucker was cracking under all of this bullshit.
Whatever. Talon joined him in his laughter right away, followed by Felix and Ashland.
If laughing was something I did, I'm sure I would have too, but I was content watching the show.
Kai wiped his now tear-streaked face and got a hold of himself. "I know who you are…"
“Say it then,” Felix taunted, leaning toward Kai from across the table. “Say our name.”
“The Exiled,” he replied, with a grin dark enough to rival Ashland's.
As Kai sat there smiling, I could practically hear their leader thinking. He was undoubtedly running through scenarios and situations in his head about how best to utilize our crew in this war. He appeared to be about to voice some of these thoughts when Fischer spoke.
“I thought they called you The Exiled because, you know, you’ve been exiled.” His delivery was flat and bored. I could hear the shifting of Talon and Felix’s bodies in their seats, and I knew they weren’t impressed with Fischer’s comment. Neither was I.
An unsettling quiet fell upon the room as we all contemplated one another from across the table.
Ashland leaned back in his chair and silently studied their leader, Cam, even though he wasn't the one who had spoken.
I knew he was the one who he would be sizing up because that's just Ash.
Leader to leader, mage to demon, he needed to know more about who he was dealing with.
“Well,” he finally said, crossing his arms in front of him and leaning forward on the table. “That’s a long story. One that, unfortunately, we just don’t have time for right now. Let’s just say our isolation has now ended. That’s all that matters.”
Cam slowly ran his fingers through his beard. “Actually,” he started, “what matters here—the only thing that matters here—is our mate. That’s number one.”
I shook my head, and a grumble left my mouth. “It always comes down to girls, doesn’t it?” I didn't want to be reminded of her, not at this exact moment. Not when I didn't have the time to really figure out what this new information about mates might mean…
“Not just a girl,” Fischer snapped, and I tracked the way his hands formed fists. I found myself gripping the hilt of a blade that was tucked in nicely against my leg… just in case anyone wanted to try something stupid.
“That’s fine.” Rhodes shrugged. Of course he’d have no interest in talking about women. Talk about emotionally unavailable.
“We’re here because our interests align with yours. We want to see Asrael destroyed today, and I think that all of our goals will lead us to the same destination,” Ashland explained.
Cam was certainly going to hurt himself if he thought any harder, and I wasn't the only one who noticed.
“What are you thinking about so hard over there, big man?” Felix asked, taunting him.
He clicked his tongue and sighed, not rising to the bait. “Look, we need your help. This entire fucking realm needs your help. We need to come up with a plan that gets everybody what they want, and we need to stick to it.”
Ashland straightened up in his chair. “Is this the same kind of plan as the one last year, where you and your team snuck into our city to spy on us?” His head tilted, studying their reactions as the air grew thick with tension.
“No, it’s not,” Kai growled. All five of us turned our attention, in perfect unison, from Cam to Kai.
“That was for our job. This is for our lives. There is absolutely nothing similar. Every man has his limits, how far he’s willing to go in the name of his work.
I can tell you honestly that for me and the other five men who are bound to our beautiful mate, there is no limit on how far we’re willing to go. ”
Their mate.
There was that fucking word again. I hadn’t even realized the low-pitched growl that had started building from my chest.
Balor’s chair scraped against the floor as he suddenly stood.
“Alright, everyone needs to get a hold of themselves. Everyone in this room is on the same side. You wouldn’t be here right now if that wasn’t the case.
We don’t have time for this.” He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at us, and gods damn it all if I didn't feel the slightest twinge of discomfort at his disapproving tone and expression.
Balor had been like a mentor to all of us. He was one of the demons we held the highest respect for, and it seemed that the bastard knew it.
“Alright then. Balor’s right,” Rhodes agreed with little reluctance, and I knew he felt the same way I did. “We have more important things to discuss than your less-than-professional ability to sneak around without being detected.” His eyes glinted; he just couldn't not have the last word.
Nobody got a chance to fire back before Fischer held up a hand, his head angled slightly, as though he was listening to something only he could hear.
“It’s Saige,” he said quickly. I glanced around but didn't see a woman.
I did watch as Fischer held a hand to his forehead as he stood and walked over to a quiet corner of the room.
This must've been a normal occurrence for their group because nobody reacted aside from a slight nod.
“Why the masks?” Kai asked curiously. “You didn’t have them last year.”
Felix chuckled. “Because they’re cool as shit.” He held his hands up as though this was common fucking sense. Kai didn't hold in his laugh at Felix's answer, and I felt the tension evaporate.
“So, everyone here is aware that Asrael has dragons that he either captured or created, locked in enclosures around the outskirts of the city?” Cam asked.
I could practically hear the eye roll from Ashland as he said, “Oh, we’re aware.
” Cam didn't hide his surprise at that information, and Ash continued, “That’s right. We’ve known about this for a while, and in addition to keeping tabs on our city, we’ve been working on our own little project.
” He looked over, giving a sharp nod to Talon.
Talon hopped up and retrieved a small canister from his pocket. “We’ve created this.”
“What’s that?” Kai leaned in to get a better look.
“This is a vapor. Essentially, what it does is free a person from being under the persuasion of anyone else,” Rhodes explained calmly.
“Why have you created such a thing?” Cam asked, his eyes dancing with curiosity.
I grunted, “It was necessary.” They didn’t need to know all of our secrets.
“Now listen—” Cam began, but Ashland wasn’t having any of it.
“No, you listen. We’re here to help. Yes, we have our own agenda, but I can assure you that our end goals are the same. Asrael will be defeated here today. The reason why we do things has nothing to do with you, and quite frankly, it’s none of your business.”
The challenge in Ash's words was plain. They may not like us or what we stood for, but today that didn't fucking matter. Today, we were on the same side, and it was a take-it-or-leave-it situation.
Cam's jaw jumped, clearly frustrated, but he relented. “Fine. How does it work then?”
“This little canister is enough to saturate the air in a three-acre radius,” Felix proudly boasted.
Cam frowned. “And you only have one? We have it on good authority that there are at least ten enclosures, so one can isn’t going to cut it.”
Rhodes waved off his worries. “Leave it to us. We’ll handle it. You know what you need to know, and that is all you need to know.”
We created the gas with the dragons in mind.
Asrael’s mental hold on them took them out as a threat against him.
By taking his power away, the dragons would finally be free.
I grinned thinking about how wild and vicious they were going to be once that happened.
There were so many beings that wanted revenge against that piece of shit.
Cam glanced at Kai from the corner of his eye, and the two exchanged unspoken words, which, in the end, said what we all knew to be true: They needed us.
Fischer strode back over and reclaimed his seat. “So,” Kai asked eagerly, “is she okay? Where are they?”
Fish rubbed his temples as his brows pulled together in discomfort.
“She’s fine. Her, Sloane, and Vaeryn’s dragon army are flying on the capital’s outskirts, in a little town about five minutes from here.
They plan to break off into five teams to free the captive dragons.
I told her we want it timed so they could create a distraction during the execution, and that’s when we’ll strike. ”
“That works for us,” Ashland announced, wasting no time pushing himself up on his feet. “We’ll meet them at their current camp. That way, one of us could go with each team, so we can ensure the vapor is set off in the correct way.”
Balor, Cam, and Kai began giving Fischer the rundown on what he'd missed during his little telepathic phone call, and Felix stepped up next to me.
"Fucking dragons, Mishy! Can you believe this shit? When's the last time you saw a dragon?"
I honestly couldn't remember. A long fucking time. Fischer's voice broke off my thoughts.
“What are we going to do with her?” He was pointing at the lump of bones that was Laurie.
“What do you think we should do?” Kai asked.
“I say we kill her and get it over with. That bitch has been nothing but bad news as long as I’ve known her,” Ashland chimed in, ever so eloquently. It was almost comical the way the three mages’ mouths dropped open in shock.
Kai recovered first. "What did you just say?"
“What? You seriously are surprised that we know who Laurie is?” Felix sighed.
“Honestly, I think there’s not much we should be surprised about anymore,” Cam muttered, shaking his head.
“You’re probably right about that. They always say to expect the unexpected.
But I say fuck the expected and fuck the unexpected, and fuck everyone in the ass because the only people who matter are you and your circle.
Who gives a shit what anybody else does?
” Talon giggled as he held his hands out wide.
Felix raised his hand, and the two high-fived. Cam's mouth opened and closed before he decided it was best just to let it go.
“We can’t kill her yet,” Balor said as he checked to make sure she was still breathing. “We may be able to use her to get out of a sticky situation. I’d hate to kill her now and not have her later if we need something.”
I rolled my eyes and walked over to the window. Whether that bitch lived or died, I could’ve cared less. I was ready to fucking fight. Balor joined me and pulled back a curtain slightly to peek outside. “Nobody’s out there yet.”
We knew the execution was coming, and if they weren't out there yet, they would be very soon—
“Fuck,” Balor cursed. “They’re bringing the prince out now.”
I suppressed a growl. If I didn't get to commit some cold-blooded violence soon, I might explode.
I stepped back, allowing the trio of mages to look out of the window, and I felt a wave of what I could only describe as sympathy.
Despite the fact that our loss was so long ago, being back here, in this nearly identical circumstance, the past was rising with each second, and I knew that wasn't a place that any of my brothers wanted to go. History could not repeat itself.
As though he read my mind, Ashland spoke. “Alright, let’s get this show on the road. We’re going to need to move quickly.”
“Fischer, tell them what they need to know so they can meet up with Sloane and Saige," Cam instructed, and Fischer nodded.
We listened intently as Fischer began to explain where we needed to meet Sloane and Saige. His voice was tinged with urgency as he described a small village situated just beyond the capital’s eastern border. We knew exactly where to go.
Felix spoke to Fischer as we prepared to jump. “Once we free them, we’ll meet you in the courtyard. Don’t worry, we’ll find you. I hope you’re ready to spill blood.” Sinister and unhinged cackling echoed as we were sucked through time and space.
This was happening. There was so much riding on everything coming together perfectly, but I had an overwhelming sense of calm. We’d waited, been patient. This was a day of reckoning.
We landed from our jump just outside of the castle walls and immediately launched into the dark sky, heading for the village. The energy coursing between us was electric.
Nobody spoke. That was shocking. We were all so lost in our own thoughts and plans, but that was perfect. I always said a little silence would be good for those fools.
Palmer’s face flashed in my mind, but her navy blue eyes were full of fear. What the fuck? I shook my head, and the memory faded as though it had never been there. It was a look I’d never seen on her face, though. How could it have been a memory then?
What was she doing right now? The thought suddenly overwhelmed all others, and I couldn’t shake it, even when our boots hit the ground. Were the others thinking about her? How could they not? I couldn’t wait to get this shit over with so I could go fucking find her.
I bent over, tightening my holsters and blades, when a wolf whistle halted my progress and the thoughts of Palmer. I stood up straight and turned around, snarling, coming face to face with a smiling Talon.
"Okay, okay, big boy. No need to get defensive." He patted my chest with both hands as though calming a wild beast. He shook his head. "Next time, I think we should get you a bear mask with all of your"—he held his hands up, imitating a bear—"rawr-rawr type behavior you like to do."
I was ready to grab his throat when he suddenly jumped and spun three times in the air, like a sadistic ballerina, before landing ten feet away from me.
“Let’s go, Misha,” he called out, running to catch up with the others. “We are on a deadline here.”
I grunted and followed. He was going to be in trouble when we got back home.