Chapter 15
Oren
“Shut the fuck up!” Nathan yelled at everyone sitting at the large table.
Sylvester, one of the longest-running council members, narrowed his eyes at him. “You can’t speak to us like that.”
Nathan’s entire body lit up with flames, “Why the fuck not?”
Ever since his ability had leveled up, he never missed an opportunity to “flame up”, as he liked to call it. It was a cool look, but I’d never admit it out loud to the idiot.
I blew out an exasperated breath. “What my Faction brother is trying to say is that none of this is productive.”
“That’s not what I was trying to say at all,” Nathan muttered.
I narrowed my eyes at him, then turned back to Sylvester. “You can understand his frustration. We’re trying to explain that we need to get organized so we’ll be ready for the attack on Langley. It might be a chance for us to jump through a portal earlier and get to our Nexus.”
“Langley isn’t our concern,” Claudia Louting, another long-standing councilwoman, spouted. “We have enough on our plates keeping Aurathion towns safe from attack. And frankly, your Nexus isn’t on our list of priorities.”
My jaw flexed, hand curling against the stone of the table. “Rescuing our Nexus aside, if Langley falls, your towns won’t matter. The country most of us were born in will be no more.” I scowled. “Where do you think they’ll strike next?”
A few eyes flicked toward me—disapproval emanating from their faces. But I saw the flicker of truth there, too. They knew I was right. I was beginning to wonder just how many of these council members were actually on our side.
“The council will deliberate and get back to you promptly.” Randell Hunter said, trying to keep the peace.
I leaned forward, voice low and dangerous.
“Then take this as a warning. My Faction will not miss this portal, and we won’t leave our allies to defend themselves.
” I curled my lip at Councilwoman Louting.
“My Nexus is at the top of all our lists, and if this council doesn’t see fit to help us get her back, then the next time it reaches out for help, we’ll be unavailable.
” Put that in your pipe and smoke it, bitch.
I pushed back from the table, the chair screeching against the floor.
Shadows curled instinctively at my boots—my power responding to the urgency building in my chest. The council members flinched as the air dimmed around me, lights blinking on and off.
I usually kept the extent of my abilities hidden, but I felt like a show of power was needed here.
“I’ll see to it that you get a response from us within the hour.” Randell nodded respectfully to me. “I give you my word of honor.”
Sly spoke up from where he’d been propped up in the corner, “You damn well better. My patience is at an end, and I won’t lose this opportunity to get my daughter back.”
“Are you all threatening us?” George Handston asked, his face turning a bright shade of red. He’d refrained from speaking until now because he was a coward.
“Take it as you will,” Jesse growled. “The time for action is now, and so far, this council has thoroughly screwed the pooch.”
“This insubordination can’t be tolerated!” Claudia screeched. The other three members had kept their mouths shut this entire time, perhaps wiser than their counterparts.
“You’ll not only tolerate it, but do it smiling, or I’ll make sure this council is no more.” She gasped, “You can count on that.” John stalked over to the table and leaned down in Randell's face. “You’ve got one hour. Make the right fucking decision.”
As a group, we filed out of the room, and Nathan teleported us to the Hawthorne warehouse. All of his abilities had leveled up since the flame up incident.
“So, what did the windbags have to say?” Adelaide met us in the garage.
“The usual bullshit.” Jesse stomped up the stairs and disappeared inside.
“I assume things didn’t go well?” She looked to Sly for answers.
“Randell promised to have an answer for us in an hour.” He followed Jesse, and the rest of us fell in line.
Delicious smells were coming from the kitchen, and, of course, Zane headed in that direction.
“Everyone, fix a plate. I made a pot of chili, and all the fixings are on the counter.” Adelaide entered, and Jesse handed her a bowl full to the top.
“I’m not really hungry right now. I’ll eat later.” She tried to hand the chili back to him.
“You have to eat.” John frowned at her, taking the bowl and guiding her to the table. “I know it’s hard, but we are going to get our baby back.”
“I know we are. I won’t accept anything else.” Adelaide sat and began eating. “What are we going to do if the council won’t help us?”
“We’re going to defend the base without them.” I took a seat beside her and dug into the delicious food.
She looked at Sly and John. “Can we win without their help?”
They both took a moment, then Sly nodded. “I think so. Between the nine of us and our friends and family, we have enough to put up a hell of a battle.”
John nodded. “Our abilities are strong, and the four-legged allies at our disposal aren’t to be overlooked either.”
“We have my flame-up ability. That’s worth ten ordinary abilities, at least.” Nathan’s eyes gleamed. “I can’t wait to add to my collection.” He scooped a heaping spoonful of chili into his mouth.
“What are you collecting?” Zane raised a brow at him.
I rolled my eyes. Would these fools never learn to ignore comments like that from Nathan?
“Eyeballs and ballsacks.” He continued to eat, as if what he’d just said was completely normal.
“What the fuck? Where the hell are you keeping them?” Zeke looked a little green. He pushed his bowl of chili away.
“In my room. I’m going to make Reverie a purse and a necklace out of the ones that are the highest quality.” Nathan looked up when Zane started gagging. “What?” he asked in confusion.
“Son, surely you can see how disgusting that is?” Jesse looked at him in amazement.
All of us ignored the quality comment, but I was more curious than I’d like to admit. What constituted quality in a ballsack? I subtly glanced down at my lap.
At this point, nothing Nathan did shocked me anymore. He was completely deranged, and Reverie’s absence had only added to his insanity.
“Only if you don’t dry them properly. I’ve watched Mountain Men for years, so I know what I’m doing," he said, frowning at Jesse, as if feeling insulted.
Sly cleared his throat. “This is getting off topic.” He walked up behind Adelaide and leaned down, kissing her neck. “We’ll be ready with or without the council. I’m going to get our daughter back from that bitch no matter what it takes.”
“No matter what it takes,” I repeated vehemently.
True to his word, Randell contacted us exactly an hour later. The news was surprising because they had decided to help us defend the base.
“Maybe Randell isn’t on the side of the DF after all,” Adelaide said after we got the news.
“As far as I’m concerned, everyone is suspect until proven otherwise.” I turned to my brothers. “Jet, can you contact Josh and have him meet us?”
“Yes.”
Always a man of few words. I liked that about him.
“I’ll get Damien and Jasmine over here, too. We need to let them know that Deshawn is in Aurathia.” Sly ran a hand down his face. “Jasmine will be thrilled with that situation.”
After Damien escaped Aurathia and reunited with his family, it was quite a scene. Jasmin had assumed he was dead, and Damien still believed his son was missing or had perished with Jasmin’s sister, Rose. Saying they were all pleasantly surprised is an understatement.
Poor Deshawn was confused by everything.
Jasmine thought it was best to hide his heritage from him, even going so far as to change his name.
Damien still referred to him as Blaze most of the time.
After all that had happened, she just wanted to keep him safe.
I can’t imagine the scene she caused when he joined the military.
Deshawn, for his part, adjusted pretty well. Jet helped with that, but when he met Chloe, his fate was sealed, and he became more concerned with wooing her than giving his mother shit for lying to him.
It took several days to coordinate everyone, but I felt we were ready for anything the DF threw at us.
At least I hoped we were.
Our Faction had used the time wisely and trained extensively with our new abilities.
Well, they had. I hadn’t gained anything new, but my abilities had grown stronger.
Exponentially stronger.
Our ability to communicate with animals had been seriously underused, and tonight we were determined to change that. John generously offered us tips on developing this skill, and with his help, it could become the secret weapon that turns the tide in our favor.
We hadn’t been using everything at our disposal, and that changed tonight. In the past few months, I had held back, trying to be diplomatic and handle things the way my family has for generations—but that was over.
Behind-the-scenes plotting worked well for my father, but he was evil, and evil thrived in the dark. My love for Reverie was meant to be in the light, and from now on, that's where it would live.
I needed my Nexus back yesterday.
The council had sent several strong Factions, but they’d been less than cooperative. I was afraid that this would be the case when they agreed to help. I felt Randell was truly on our side, but I knew of at least three who couldn’t be trusted.
“I’m in place, but so far there is no sign of the enemy.” Mira’s voice sounded in my head.
“None here either,” I replied, using my invisibility to hide from anyone who could see the ridge I was on. I heard each of my brothers respond similarly.
Sly had suggested that they stay behind to protect the Aurathion towns near the base in case the DF attacked.
It made me proud that he trusted us to find and bring Reverie back.
I knew the decision was difficult for them, but ultimately, it was the right one.
Even without their fifth member, Adelaide’s Faction was still one of the strongest in this realm, missing abilities or not, and would guard our people well.
Our Faction was the strongest, and as much as they loved Reverie, we lived for her. If she were to die, none of us would remain in this world for long.
There was a flash of lightning, and I saw a large shape in its light. “Is that a relay tower?” I mumbled in confusion. “What the fuck?”