Chapter Seven
Neith
S ully's eyebrows rise, "Really?"
I nod, "Yeah, and they all seem to be changing color like Mael and the other bonded are. They are just doing it at a slower rate if that makes sense. All of them have patches on them that are starting to appear brighter."
"Well, I'll be damned," Sully says. "For as long as I have been alive, I have never heard of anyone being able to call on an entire herd. In fact, it hasn't happened for so long that stories of it moved into legend."
I raise my eyebrows, "Well, that's definitely interesting. Ethel said that not many supernaturals could do it, and that it had now moved into the realm of the forgotten."
Sully nods, "Ethel is right. As I said, it hasn't happened in my lifetime, and I have been alive for a very long time. You should be able to find information about it in the kelpie books though. The original ones, not the ones made for the humans."
River grins, "You know, it's actually really refreshing to ask something and actually get an answer."
Sully grimaces, "Yeah, I can imagine how frustrating that must be."
"Yeah, it is, but at least this time when we asked a question we got an answer," I grin. I change the subject, "Ty said that you guys had all been trying to find a way to get me out of the Choosing. Thank you for trying."
Sully's expression clouds, "Yeah, we've pulled almost every favor that we had, and it's done fuck all."
I smile, "It's okay. We're going to help Coen, and besides, I can kick fucking ass."
Sully smiles, "Yes, you can." He glances down at his watch, "You had better get going, Ty is waiting for the flash drive, and I am sure that you have questions about the Choosing that you want to ask him as well."
"Shit yeah, you're right," Van says as he looks at the clock on the wall. "The time difference has thrown me, especially since we've come through a portal."
"At least we still have time to get the USB to Ty before it gets too late," Doc says, "We need to try and get an early night tonight so we can get our sleeping schedule on track."
"Good point," Reed frowns. "I hate jet lag."
Something has been playing on my mind since we had the vision, well a lot has, but this particular thing I think can be answered with a pretty simple explanation, or at least I hope it can be. Some things that I think will have simple explanations end up being more complicated than I could have ever fathomed.
"You know we told you that we witnessed the meeting in the castle, the one where Wynonna cast that silencing spell over all supernaturals to ensure that no- one could mention the blue fuckers name," I start in a somewhat long-winded way.
Sully nods, "Yes."
"Well, we know that Ty was a part of the group. I don't really know what to call all of you. But we know that he was close with you all, so why wasn't he at that meeting?"
Sully's confused expression clears, "Oh, well, in Trieneliea, Ty was second in command of the armies, so he was most likely caught up with something to do with that."
"Oh wow," Ransom says. "I had no idea that he did that. Although to be honest, it makes sense. He is incredibly good at running SID and all that entails."
Sully nods, "Yeah, that's why he was put in charge of developing SID when the gates shut. There wasn't a need for a supernatural task force before then; there was a small agency of very well-trained humans that dealt with any issues, but with the sheer amount of supernaturals that came here after the gates shut, there was a need for a bigger team, and Ty was perfect for that role."
"That's really impressive," I say.
Sully nods, "It is, and I am absolutely certain that the reason why it is so successful and why the other realms are once again calling on us for our assistance. It took a while for the other realms to realize that Ty is still incredibly good at what he does, but now they're calling him and SID a lot more often."
"I'm not surprised," Griff says. "If he was the second in command, who was the commander?"
A good question that I hadn't thought to ask.
"Ro," Sully surprises me by saying.
River frowns, "I thought Kyrous was the commander of the Warrior Teams?"
Sully nods, "He was, but he was so good at what he did that he became the commander of Trieneliea's armies, and he was fucking good at it too. He commanded the armies that fought in and won two wars before the war with the blue fucker as you called him. I actually believe that if he hadn't disappeared that he would have been instrumental in winning the war against the blue fucker, and we may not have had to close the gates."
"You said disappeared and not dead?" Raiden says, picking up on the subtle change in Sully's language.
Sully nods, but his eyebrows draw down, "It's pretty fucking difficult to kill a Berserker."
"No fucking way!" Reed grins. "He was a Berserker?"
Sully smiles and nods, "Yeah, he was the last one."
I frown, "I have no idea what a Berserker is."
"That's because they don't exist, and I thought they hadn't existed for a really long time. We get taught about them at the academy. Even though they don't exist anymore, we are still taught that we need to exercise extreme caution if we are ever to come across them. Berserkers aren't known for their calm and friendly nature. They are absolutely formidable, insanely strong, hard to kill, and by that I mean really fucking hard to kill. The usual failsafes to kill most supernaturals won't work on a Berserker," Raiden explains.
"That's incredible," I reply, my eyes wide.
"They all had various magics, but their magic tended to be in combat or attack magics. They were incredible hunters and trackers, and they terrified more people than Reed did. No one wanted to go up against one, hell no one wanted to meet one, and as I understood it, how it was taught in the magical academy, is that the general consensus wasn't sad that they had died out," River adds, he started off smiling like usual but by the end, he's frowning.
Sully nods, anger igniting in his expression, "Ro had a really fucking hard life, one that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy, and although I considered him a friend, there was always an inbuilt cautiousness in him, and he never lowered his walls. He'd joke about it and would have gotten on well with River, although River is more outgoing. But it was all surface deep. He wouldn't let anyone get close to him."
"That's a horrible way to live," I mutter, sadness swirling in my stomach.
"But understandable. He had lost a lot of people early on in his life and was the only surviving Berserker after his village got attacked; he survived purely because of how insanely strong he was. He ended up at the Warrior Academy and graduated far sooner than he should have. He rose through the ranks incredibly quickly and was the youngest commander we have ever had," Sully explains, pride shining in his eyes.
We're all silent for a moment as we absorb what Sully's told us.
"I would have liked to have met him," I say honestly.
"Me too," Griff agrees.
"He would have liked you guys," Sully says with a fond smile.
"Before we go," Van starts as he watches Sully closely. "My parents are royalty?"
Sully grins, "Yep the King and Queen of the Water Kingdom in Trieneliea. I have no idea why they choose not to tell you, but since you already know, and I'm not under a damn silencing spell, I can confirm that yes, they're royalty, and yes, that means that you are too. In fact, anyone who is from the old world and recognizes you will use a certain level of respect with you, which is more than they will give to others."
Evander frowns and starts to shake his head in disagreement, but River interrupts, "Dude, I've noticed that. It's only happened a couple of times, and I'm pretty sure only with the water supes, but it has definitely happened."
"I've noticed it too, but why wouldn't they refer to him with his title? Why didn't anyone ever refer to Calia and Eamon by their titles?" Doc asks.
Sully smiles, "Because they choose not to be referred to with them. In Trieneliea no one referred to them as king and queen unless there was an official ball in which the royals from the other realms were in attendance, and then they were referred to by their titles."
My eyebrows rise, "I had absolutely no idea. I know that they garnered a lot of respect, but I thought that was just because they were the leaders at the compound."
Sully nods, "Their people are spread wide and far now, a lot are here in the Earth Realm, but many went to Kealiaquafeoul." He looks at Evander, "That's ruled by your grandparents."
"Wait, what?" Van asks. "I remember going there when we were kids, really little before Neith showed up, and I don't remember anything that would have told me that they were royalty either. I know I was young, but I think I would have remembered words like king and queen being thrown around."
Sully shrugs, "Your parents didn't want you to know that you were a prince, and technically speaking, the next ruler of their lands in Trieneliea."
"I, what!" Van exclaims.
"Dude, what did you think that it meant?" Reed asks with his eyebrow raised.
"Well, yeah, I mean technically, I knew that, but it hadn't actually really occurred to me," Van explains with a furrow between his eyebrows. His eyes widen in panic, "Shit does that mean I have to rule here? I mean, they're still in charge of the water supes here, right?"
Sully nods and then explains before Van can lose it even more, "Yes, they are still rulers, although not in the same way that they were in Trieneliea because of the way that the Earth Realm works. Eventually, you might have to take up the helm, but your parents are still really young and have a couple of centuries left yet."
Evander's expression fills with so much relief that it's almost comical, but to be completely honest, I get it. I think I would feel the exact same way if I were in his situation. Being in charge of a whole species? Actually, it's not a species, is it? It's all water supernaturals, which means hundreds, possibly thousands of species of water supernaturals. Yeah, no thank you. I'm good.
"Well, at least I don't have to worry about it for a long time, I guess," Evander says. "Besides, ruling here somehow seems a hell of a lot less scary than ruling over a kingdom in Trieneliea, and the gates are closed to Trieneliea, so I won't have to worry about ruling there."
"They'll open again," Sully says firmly.
There is absolutely no doubt in his voice, and it makes me wonder if he knows something or if he is going on pure hope that he will be able to see his wife again.
"I'll deal with it when that happens then," Van replies, looking unsure.
Sully chuckles, "Don't worry. I have a feeling that by the time that you take over, it won't seem as scary or as impossible for you as it does right now. After all, you're going to be well over a hundred by that point. That's a lot of life experience that you're going to have."
"True," he agrees.
"Besides, you'll have us, and we could totally help you rule," River replies.
Doc chuckles, "I'm not sure how good we would be at it, but we would be there for you regardless of whether we're helpful or not."
"Thanks, guys," Van chuckles.
Despite knowing that supernaturals live for a lot longer than humans and having been around supernaturals for the majority of my life, it still shocks me when they talk about how long they live. I think it's because I have always been acutely aware that I am human, and therefore, they are all going to outlive me. Not only that, but they are also going to still look young and healthy when I'm an old woman. If I'm being completely honest, I didn't let myself think about it if I could help it since it upset me too much.
Now though, I don't have to worry about that anymore. I'm a supernatural, we may not know what kind yet, but all supes live longer than humans.
Huh.
I think I may come back to that revelation at a later date. I've got enough to think about at the moment without throwing new shit that I've got to think about into the mix as well, and that one is a big one. I have denied myself a lot of things that I have desperately wanted because I am human and don't live for very long compared to supes. Having that changed makes me acutely aware of the things that I have missed out on, and some of those things, I now won't ever get a chance to experience. I swallow thickly, trying to get rid of the knot of emotion in my throat.
Yeah, that revelation can wait until later for me to deal with.
"Alright, we really should get going," Ransom says.
We all say goodbye to Sully, and I promise that I'll see him soon before we get very far though he calls out after us.
"Oh, I almost forgot. I reached out to Lucius, but I'm still waiting to hear back. He likes to keep to himself, especially since the Reaper Council have fucked everything up for the reapers. It's going to be a while before he responds."
"Lucius?" I ask curiously. I don't have any idea what he's talking about, although, from the way that he's speaking, I think that I probably should know.
"The Reaper Elder you asked me to contact," Sully explains. "He's the only one from Trieneliea that I know how to contact. Well, I have a vague idea, at least. He's also one of the only reapers from Trieneliea who didn't blindly follow the new council, so he's good people."
"Reaper Elder?" Raiden questions, looking confused and slightly alarmed.
My eyebrows draw down, "Oh shit, I don't think we told you. It's nothing to worry about. Like Sully said, it's someone that he knows and trusts." Raiden's expression clears of the alarm, but he still looks confused, so I carry on explaining, "When we were going to get the flash drive, the guys mentioned how unusual your wing color is, and you don't know why. We were trying to figure out a way that we could find out what it means without talking to the rest of the reapers because they're all dicks. So, we thought we would ask Sully and see if he knew of one that wasn't a dick and wouldn't immediately tell the Reaper Council about it."
Raiden smiles and pulls me under his arm, dipping to kiss me once and shocking me once again. "Thank you. I have looked into it, admittedly not extensively, since we have a lot going on at the moment, but I can't find anything. My only hope of getting answers is to speak to an elder, but as Sully mentioned, they're all loyal to what I now know is the new council, so they aren't the best people to speak to if I'm hoping to fly under the radar or stay off their radar for as long as possible."
Sully nods, "As I said, I've sent word to him, but it could be weeks, maybe even months before he receives it or decides to respond."
Raiden nods, "That's okay, I appreciate it. The Reaper Council shouldn't be getting in contact any time soon."
Sully shakes his head, "I would be very surprised if they did. They usually take a while to get around to shit, but rumor has it that they're dealing with something at the moment, which means all their focus is on that. You should be good for a while."