Chapter Ten
Reed
"S he has a point," Ransom replies, responding to Neith's words and effectively bringing me out of my thoughts. "There isn't anything that we can do about that. He's going to see her. So if we were to tell her that she can't use any of her supernatural side when she is already at such a disadvantage, then it would pretty much ensure that she will get seriously hurt or die."
Ty nods, "Agreed. As far as Neith is concerned," he looks at her, and starts to talk directly to her, "you need to use everything at your disposal, that includes anything more than human that you already experience and anything that may appear during the trails," he pauses and frowns, "actually let me amend that. Use it to your advantage if any more of your supernatural side appears and is fairly typical. If anything more unusual appears, try not to use it unless you have absolutely no choice."
Neith narrows her eyes, "Because my mother was an extinct supernatural."
Ty's expression tightens, and his head nods only once. I imagine that the silencing spell is ensuring that he can't say anything else.
"That makes sense," Evander replies. "The rest of us are all keeping various things hidden anyway, so we can help Neith do the same if something does come up. Plus, it's the best way to keep her safe. We will just have to deal with any problems that come from the blue fucker realizing that Neith is still alive."
"You'll have a backup as well, and I imagine that the blue fucker as you call him, will realize how well-protected Neith is the moment that he sees her in the Choosing," Ty replies.
"That's a really good point too," I say.
Neith's eyes widen slightly as she seems to realize something, "Of course, if we are right and Dimitri is working with the blue fucker then there is a really good chance that he already knows that I'm still alive. Dimitri knows."
"Fuck," Raiden curses.
"How the fuck could I forget about that?" Ransom says, shaking his head.
Ty raises his eyebrow, "Does someone want to explain?"
Evander quickly explains to Ty how Dimitri knows that I'm alive.
Ty's frown is deep as he shakes his head, "That's really not good, and Neith is right, if they are working together, then the blue fucker already knows that Neith is alive. You need to be really careful in the weeks leading up to the Choosing. You will be safe as soon as you are there, and I will work on a plan here to ensure you remain so when the Choosing is over.
"Thanks, Ty," Neith replies gratefully.
"Of course. Something else that you should know is that before you get called into the pocket realm, it will be announced that you are taking part at some point in the next couple of weeks," Ty explains.
"Does it have to be?" Van asks.
Ty nods, "Yes, it is a requirement for it to be announced."
"Does it have to be announced sooner, or can we leave it until the day before we go in? That way, we have less chance of the blue fucker doing something before we get into the Choosing if he doesn't already know. I don't think that we should risk just assuming that he already knows she's alive," Raiden asks.
Ty seems to think about it for a moment, "I don't see why not, and it would certainly make more sense from our point of view if we don't announce it until the very last moment. It's a requirement that it's announced, but there's nothing in the rules about when it has to be announced."
"Perfect," Neith replies with a grin.
"I think that's everything that I can tell you. Obviously, you will be off of all cases for the next two weeks and while you are in the pocket realm where the Choosing is held," Ty adds.
It makes sense. We need to focus on finding as much out as we can about the Choosing. Although Ty has filled us in on everything that we can know, I do think that it would be a good idea to find an original Warrior Team and see if they will talk to us. We need to focus on doing that and training. We have no idea what they are going to throw at us, but it's not going to be easy. I do know that.
"After the Choosing, the team that becomes the Warrior Team," Griff starts.
Ty smiles, "You mean your team?"
Griff smirks, but there's worry in his eyes, "Fine if we win, can we still work at SID?
Ty's eyebrows rise, "Would you want to? You will get a lot of offers from very high-profile supernaturals. You'll be able to travel the world and the realms."
I share a look with the others, including Neith.
"I am reasonably certain that we are all in agreement and that we would all like to stay SID agents," Evander replies, and we all nod in agreement.
There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that I want to stay a SID agent. I like what we do, and I know that the guys do as well.
Ty smiles, "I'm really glad, guys. I can definitely work with that. I'm assuming that you still want to be on the hybrid case after this is all done."
"Of course," Evander replies, sounding confused, like he doesn't understand why the question needed to be asked, and honestly, I agree with him.
"If we did intend to leave and work for some supe or in a different realm, we wouldn't leave a case open," Ransom says with a frown, "especially not one that is as important as this one. He's not just creating hybrids, he's responsible for the war, the shutting of the gates, and countless lives. He needs to be brought to justice."
"Ransom's right, man, you should know by now that we wouldn't do that," River adds.
Ty sighs, "I do know that, but I thought that about the last two teams that became Warrior Teams in this realm, and they very quickly changed their minds and ended up working in other realms."
Right, that makes his surprise a bit more understandable.
"We won't be going anywhere. We need to make sure that the blue fucker is taken care of, and we all love our jobs. Besides we would get bored if we were just following someone around and protecting them," Griff replies.
Ty chuckles, "That's a very good point. I'm surprised that you take orders from me."
Raiden shrugs, "We wouldn't if we didn't respect you and like what we do."
Neith's eyes widen at Raiden's admission, and she glances at Ty somewhat nervously but relaxes when Ty just chuckles.
"Oh, I know," Ty replies.
"I know that we all agree that I need to utilize whatever I have, but what about everyone here at SID? As far as they are concerned, I'm human, and I'm on the guys team as the human liaison," Neith starts to explain, and then her eyes widen, "shit, are you going to fire me?"
"Neith, I mean this with all the love in the world, but why the fuck would Ty fire you if we go through the Choosing and come out as a Warrior Team?" Evander says.
The panic disappears completely from Neith's expression. "Oh yeah."
We all chuckle, and I shake my head. She's fucking adorable.
"You were saying?" Ty asks, trying to get her back on track.
"Oh, yeah. What I was trying to ask is, aren't people going to think I was lying? Is it going to damage my credibility? I would really like to help out in Griff's flying class and with the combat class since I was asked to do that, but I don't want anyone to lose faith in me or think that I was lying and not trust me to teach them anymore. Does that make sense? I know I rambled a bit there."
She clamps her mouth shut as if she is physically stopping any more words from coming out of her mouth, and an image of her rambling and me kissing her senseless flashes through my mind. My lips tilt up into a smile as my chest swells with emotion. I hope we get to the point where I can do that.
"I don't think you have to worry about them losing confidence in you," Ty replies. "I have got a sign-up sheet for a combat class where you're teaching and requests from quite a few people to know which of Griff's classes that you will be in so that they can adjust their schedules accordingly."
Neith's eyes widen, "No way? Really?"
Ty nods, smiling as he replies simply, "Yep."
"I'm not surprised at all," Griff replies.
"Don't forget, you've still got our classes to check out too. You never know. You may have a similar response in those, and then you could just bounce around the classes?" River suggests a flicker of hope in his eyes.
I get where he's coming from. It would be awesome if we each ended up sharing a class with her; not only would it mean that we get to spend time with her during the days when we have to work here and teach, but it would also mean that we know she's safe. I know that seems a little overprotective, but after everything that we've already been through and now the Choosing, I think we're going to be overprotective for a while. Maybe forever.
Make no mistake, she is going to be with us forever, one way or another, so long as she wants to be, we will ensure that she is.
She thinks about it for a moment, "You know, actually, I think I would like that."
"I thought you might. The thing that you need to know is that we can always explain to SID and anyone else who asks that you are a late bloomer. It's rare, but it does happen, and it's even more believable since you don't know who your parents are and so didn't know that there was a possibility that you were going to be a supernatural," River suggests.
"That's true, and to be honest, no one here would bat an eyelid. Besides, it's going to come out eventually since you work here now and are planning on continuing to work here after the Choosing," Ty agrees.
Neith nods, not looking as worried as she was moments ago.
Ty sighs, his eyebrows dipping into a frown, "I think that's everything for now, but if you think of anything else that you would like to know, just call me, and if I can answer, I will."
"Thanks, man," Van says as he starts to stand up.
"Oh, before you go," Ty says as he opens a draw and pulls out a thick envelope. "Navy wanted me to give this to you. It's the official invite to the graduation ceremony. She said that you may not be able to come, but she's not entirely sure."
Neith grins as she takes the envelope, "Thank you. I hope that we can make it."
"Me too. Her brother was her last surviving family," Ty says sadly.
"Fuck," I curse.
"Oh no," Neith says, her voice quiet. "I am going to be really fucking pissed if I miss it. Even more so now that I know that."
"Hopefully, you won't," Ty replies. "She didn't sound too sure that you were going to be able to go, which is strange for Navy. Anyway, I'll let you guys get home. It's getting late, and I'm sure that you want to unpack and settle in."
"We want to talk to the guys down at the labs before we go home," Doc says.
"Oh?" Ty asks.
Doc nods, "Yeah, they have been developing something that can de-glamor a supe, and I want to ask them to put it at the top of their list."
"That's a great idea," Ty replies. He pauses, considering his words carefully, and then continues, "I am not sure what I'm going to be able to say, but I'm hoping that I can tell you that he had a propensity for glamors, he had been told by Bhaltair, the king, and Emeri, the queen, to stop but he clearly wasn't great at listening."
"It would make sense that he is using a glamor since so many people who came over from Trieneliea would recognize him otherwise. So if we can get a suspect of some kind, then we would be able to use the de-glamor in order to confirm whether or not it's the blue fucker," Ransom adds.
Ty nods, "Great. Just a heads up though, the Draconian Team was here today. I have no idea if they are still hanging around, but I thought that you would probably want to know."
Evander nods, "Thanks."
"I'm going to assume from what you've said on the phone that you are going to be looking into the issue with Coen?" Ty asks.
Neith is the one who answers him, "Yes. As you know, Draith won't be able to do anything without solid evidence, and bringing it up to him before we have that could cause more harm than good."
Ty nods, "Yes, you're right. Let me know if there is anything that I can help with."
"We will," Neith says as we all leave Ty's office. Once we're outside, she pulls out her phone and starts typing, "I'm sending a message to Navy to thank her for the official invite and tell her that I'm hoping that we can make it. Before I forget."
"Good idea," River agrees.
"Will the lab techs still be here? It's quite late?" Griff asks Doc.
Doc nods, "Yeah. They run on a schedule similar to the one that I used to have. They probably aren't even aware that it's late."
I smile, "Yeah, that sounds about right."
"Huh," Neith says, interrupting the conversation and completely unaware as Ransom pulls her out of the way of a door that she's about to walk into but doesn't notice because she's still looking down at her phone. Ransom obviously decides that it would be safer if she's not left to wander the hallways by herself. Instead, he tucks her under his arm and drops a kiss on the top of her head. Her smile is stunning for a brief moment before she frowns again as she looks at whatever Navy must have texted her.
The rest of us share a smile, she probably has no idea how many times we've pulled her under our arms or held her hand in order to stop her from walking into things. I have no idea how she managed to walk around without banging into things all of the time. Actually, she may have just walked into them knowing Neith.
"What's up?" Doc asks.
"Navy just replied and said that we won't be able to make it to her graduation, but do I want to meet up with her and Joey on Friday? Apparently, he's the demon I met in Griff's class?" Neith starts to explain and looks over at Griff.
He nods, "Yeah, that's the guy that you helped with the sword work. He's a good guy."
Neith grins, "Oh yeah, I remember him. He rambles like me."
My eyebrows rise slightly, "There's no way that he rambles exactly like you do. I think that's a uniquely Neith thing."
"Thanks, I think," Neith replies with a slight smirk.
"Weren't you going to meet up with Neera from the coffee shop too?" Raiden asks.
Neith nods, "Yeah, and I have no idea when I'm going to get the chance to do it. Not with the Choosing and then figuring out how we locate and capture the blue fucker. I mean, we know that he isn't in Trieneliea anymore because the gates are shut, but he could be in any of the other realms since we know that he can somehow make portals."
"Yeah, you're right," River replies. "For now, though, or at least after Doc has spoken to his people, we will leave everything to do with the hybrid case until after the Choosing. That needs to be our priority at the moment."
"Agreed," Neith replies. "I know I probably shouldn't be excited about the Choosing. I mean, there is a good chance that I'm not going to survive it . . ."
We all tense, and growls echo through the thankfully empty hallway as I fight the urge to shift and decimate the threat that is facing her. I'm not the only one. Scales ripple across Van's arms, River's eyes flash to that of his kitsune, and shadows and darkness gather around Raiden as his eyes swirl with stars. Griff's skin has turned to stone, Ransom's eyes are narrowed as his fingers spark with magic, Doc's eyes are glowing, and the air around him is charging as his magic reacts to her words.
All of this happens within a few moments as we quickly get our reactions back under control. If she notices, she doesn't say anything, and she's definitely not afraid of us. Not that I expect her to be.