5. Who Changed the Rules?
CHAPTER 5
Who Changed the Rules?
Rez
I stand motionless for a moment, just staring at the bundle of wiggling arms in front of me. Did Lennox say this was Lynx’s sister? I thought Storm Shifters only had one offspring. Shit, that word sounds so…gross. I mean…child. How did that happen?
I’m faintly aware of motion behind me, and I can only guess that my friends have decided to venture out from the front room. It’s not until I hear JP forcefully say “Stop” that I’m knocked out of my daze.
Shit.
‘ Lynx!?’ I look down and see that he has indeed passed out by my feet and…singing to the rhythm of an old song …?
‘Shake that, mmm, mmm butt.
Gimme that, mmm, mmm strut,
Gimme that, that, that smut,
Gimme that, Gimme that, gimme that slut!’
“Does someone want to help me?” I ask as I try to rouse Lynx but think better of it and try to move him to the sofa.
“Here.” Lennox steps forward and holds out Tempest to me. My jaw slightly drops as I freeze like a deer in headlights. Wait, he wants me to hold her?
“Here, Lennox. Let me take her,” Sierra intercedes, walking into the room. She finishes drying her hands with the dish towel over her shoulder and gently cradles her daughter.
Lennox reaches down and helps Ryker lift Lynx and carry him to the sofa, propping him up in a sitting position. Reaper jumps up and curls on the opposite side, quickly falling asleep.
I finally shake myself out of my stupor and mumble thanks before shaking Lynx awake.
“Ugh.” He groans and then smiles up at me. “Rezzi-bear. I had an amazing dream where you were in skimpy lingerie, dancing on a cloud of fluorescent cotton candy. But then, right when you were doing the splits, someone yelled surprise, and a baby with bright sapphire eyes popped up on a lollipop!”
I bite my bottom lip to hold back the laugh, but it bubbles out of me anyway, and the room fills with laughter.
“Well, that’s one way to slice the tension,” Chester says, coming to lean on the sofa with Moni by his side.
“What do you mean?” Lynx asks, giving me a bewildered look. His eyes go wide when gurgling cuts through the room. “You mean I wasn’t imagining the baby?” he says, peeking up and over at his mother.
“No, Son. This is Tempest. Your baby sister,” his mother explains before cooing down at the blonde-haired beauty in her arms.
“How?” He stumbles while getting off the sofa and approaching his parents, but it’s Ryker who answers.
“I would think after last night, you wouldn’t need the birds and bees talk.” He snickers before turning to me and raising an eyebrow. “Did you teach him nothing? Do you need a refresher?” he asks, giving me a heated look.
My jaw drops. I don’t know if I should be embarrassed or livid that he just aired my dirty laundry in front of Lynx’s parents, whom I just met .
Before my mind decides what to do, Lennox chuckles and reaches for Lynx, ruffling his hair and thankfully ignoring Ryker’s comment.
“It’s okay, Son. Given the fact that we typically only have one offspring, we understand the confusion. We wondered the same thing. But one thing is for sure: the times are changing. Come on, I’ll give you guys the tour while Sierra gets dinner started.”
The mention of food causes my stomach to grumble and clinch. The last time we ate was breakfast, right? We follow Lennox out of the family room and down a hall lined with portraits. Hoping to catch some embarrassing pictures of Lynx before I met him, I take in the portraits but quickly realize I don’t recognize anyone in them. Then again, that’s understandable since I only met Lynx’s parents a few minutes ago. Some are of single men or women, and some are of families. All of them ranged in different ages.
“Who are they?” Moni asked, sipping on a coffee cup. Did she have that a second ago? I swear my bestie can’t go long without that sweet nectar.
“These are some of the past Storm Shifters that have served as the Gatekeepers here.” Lennox stops and bows his head at the last portrait. “This is the last family to serve before we were asked to intervene while they conducted a search for them.”
The family that smiles back consists of a mother and father with dark brown hair and orange eyes. Their son has pitch-black hair and yellowish-green eyes and looks about ten in his picture.
“What happened to them?” Knots asks, leaning on Knox’s shoulder. Already, he’s looking better and not as pale as he did in the hospital bed.
“We don’t know, but a few months ago, when we came to visit, Kirkland said he felt like he was being stalked but laughed it off. We didn’t think much of it until a few weeks ago when we got the call to come and replace the family since they went missing.”
Missing? Oh my god! I look nervously at Lennox, and a sour taste floods my mouth. Did someone go after them because of this place, or was the family singled out? Could something happen to Lynx’s family, too? I wonder if it has something to do with what’s been happening in Purgatory and now Hell?
At the end of the hall, it breaks off into three directions. “To the left behind that door is a spare bedroom with an attached bathroom. It works like most things in Purgatory, so just think of how many beds you need before opening the door. Sorry that you have to share,” Lennox says, giving us an apologetic look. He continues, pointing at the hall straight in front of us, “Down there is mine and Sierra’s bedroom, and this way is the rest of the house.” He leads us down the right hall and stops in front of the next room on the left. “This is the nursery, and on the right is the all-purpose room.” At the bewildered looks on our faces, he elaborates. “This room changes to accommodate what we need. Be it a lab, meditation room, garden, things of that nature.”
“Oh! Could I make it a coffee shop?” Moni asks, raising her cup of java with hopeful eyes.
Lennox gives her a thoughtful look and smiles. “I never thought of that, but I don’t see why not.” He shrugs, and Moni lets out a whoop and does a little dance in mid-air. “All you need is coffee,” she sings in a high-pitched melody. “Coffee is the nectar of life. All you need is coffee! It’s better than sugar and spice!” She does a little twirl in the air as she continues singing to the tune that sounds suspiciously like Everything is Awesome from that movie. She does a little shimmy before suddenly jerking to a stop, her brown eyes going wide, and JP and Chester react immediately. Chester catches Moni as she passes out while JP dives to save her nectar of life.
Lennox’s jaw drops, and before he can ask, I lightly grab his arm and turn his attention back to the hall. “So, you were saying,” I prompt, and he takes the hint with an awkward smile.
We continue down the hall, which curves around before an open archway reveals a small gym. We come to another archway, and Lennox steps inside indicating for us to follow. The room turns out to be a library with multiple bookshelves that cover the back three walls. There’s a fireplace, a desk, and a few sofas and lounge chairs scattered around. There’s a familiar picture over the mantel, but I can’t place where I have seen it before.
“This is our library, and we often come here in the evenings to sit and read before bed,” Lennox explains.
“It’s a nice setup,” Levi comments as he browses a few of the books closest to him.
The shelves hold a vast array of subjects. If I had more time down here, I would love to get my hands on some of these books.
Continuing down the hall, we end up where we started in the living room, where a delicious aroma filters out from the kitchen.
“Ready for some food?” Sierra calls as she pulls something from the oven and beckons us over. She walks around the kitchen island and through a door I didn’t see.
Following her, we walk into a dining room, and I spot Tempest in a highchair, playing with some food. Reaper is doing a great job making sure she’s not making a complete mess of the floor. He’s evidently been eating whatever she’s dropping, and I just hope it all agrees with his stomach. I didn’t notice when Lennox had her, but she’s not a small infant; she’s a toddler. My guess is she’s small for her age.
“Come on in, grab a seat, and help yourself,” Sierra calls cheerily, placing down the casserole dish and making a smaller plate for her daughter.
The table is a simple, light wooden design, and already set with plates, silverware, and wine glasses. Beside the filled wine glasses, there appears to be water on the table as well. We all grab a seat, and I find myself between Knots and Lynx.
I lay a hand on Knot’s forearm to get his attention. “How are you feeling?” I ask, full of hope. “And don’t lie.” I hate having to say that, but he’s kept enough shit from me that now my trust in him has been shaken.
He purses his lips as he thinks of his answer and then gives me a slight smile. “I’m feeling better than before. I can tell I’m healing, but it’s slower than I’d like.” Leaning in to whisper in my ear, he adds, “And I have this killer headache from where I have these stitches.”
Despite his pain, his answer gets the biggest smile from me. I know it wasn’t easy, but he told me the truth and didn’t hide any of the pain that he was feeling…finally!
‘Thank you!’ I tell him through our link, not trusting that my voice won’t crack.
‘Only for you.’
“Drink some water,” I tell him, handing him his glass once I get control of my emotions. “Hydration helps with headaches.” He smiles before taking it, finishing it in three big gulps and refilling it before taking another smaller sip.
I feel another poke at the barrier around my mind as if it’s testing for any weakness once again and my theory falters. I’m not sure if it’s Lynx’s dad.
Lennox sits at the head of the table and smiles at each of us as we get settled. “Sierra and I are beyond relieved that our son…Lynx is back with us, even if it’s in passing. So let’s celebrate this occasion and get to know our new family.” He raises a glass before him, and we all toast, taking a sip of sweet drink.
The serving trays, filled with chicken, tull? strips, salad, and an assortment of fruit, pass around the table sans magic, and it reminds me of growing up. A jolt of homesickness hits me, remembering how my mother’s family would all come together for special occasions. I wish I knew what was happening back there and why I was so suddenly cut off when I reached out to my grandmother when I first got to purgatory.
“So, how did you all meet?” Sierra asks flippantly as she focuses on helping Tempest to eat some fruit.
If that isn’t a loaded question.
“Well, I guess that starts with me,” I start, and throughout dinner, the entire room shares our story with Lynx’s family. I tell them about my father disappearing, my mother’s murder, Lynx being with me throughout my entire life, and how we came to be in Purgatory. I weave the stories of how I came to meet each of my friends and my first impressions, although I do sensor my first meeting with Chester. I don’t want to traumatize the entire table
The boys take turns filling in the pieces about how the Council wanted them to spy on me since the Sulks coincided with me coming back. Also how we’ve uncovered a few spies in high positions that are Rebels or at least working for them. Lynx’s parents ask a lot of questions that we can’t answer as to how we freed Knots from his prison or how we even pulled him here in the first place.
When I bring up how I was threatened and Lynx was taken, Lennox and Sierra are extremely disturbed. Yet, they didn’t seem too shocked about him dying and coming back to life. Hell, they don’t even ask any questions except how we fell into Hell without a paddle. Naturally, I tuck that piece of information away to bring up at a later time.
As we explain our short stint in Hell, I leave out the fact that JP and Moni are the heirs of Hell and leave it up to them to share their secrets. Since they don’t, I figure they don’t want everyone to know and keep it to our close family.
Family.
That’s what I’ve found in this new world. I look around the table and watch as my family finishes up and laughs at Lynx’s antics when he had no memory of himself.
“That must have been a hoot,” Lennox chuckles as he collects the serving bowls and heads into the kitchen.
I start gathering up plates when Sierra stops me. “Sweetie, you don’t need to do that. Lennox has it handled.” She looks over my shoulder to speak to the rest of the group. “Why don’t you all go straighten out your room, and we can meet later in the library for some post-dinner education,” she suggests.
“Thanks, Mom.” Lynx kisses his mom on the cheek as she lifts a sleepy Tempest.
JP leads the way down the hallway full of portraits, and I can’t help but wonder what happened to the last family that was here. Was there a struggle? A message? A clue left behind? How did they know they were gone?
JP pauses in front of the door we were shown earlier and places his hand on the doorknob for a moment before opening it and walking through.
It only takes me a moment to notice JP’s personal touch to the rooms. The floors are covered in plush cream and blue rugs, and off to the right is a floor-to-ceiling treehouse with branching limbs and vines everywhere. The wooden structure looks big enough for a lemur and a bite-size Moni to be comfortable in. Underneath it is a see-through dome with a decent size bed made up in different greens. It reminds me of Moni’s bedspread back home.
Walking into the rest of the room, my breath is taken away. “Please tell me you’re joking,” I say, and it’s Ryker who starts laughing as he leaps onto the bed.
“Aww, yeah! Gangbang, baby!” Lynx says, joining in after him. I turn to JP and raise an eyebrow.
“What the hell is that?” I point to the monstrosity taking up the entire wall on the left side of the room.
JP gives me a small smile and shrugs a shoulder. “Looks like a bed to me.” He too takes off and joins the dog pile on the bed. There’s a lounger off to the side next to a fireplace, a dog bed with plenty of toys, and a door, that, I’m guessing, houses our bathroom.
I shake my head at the increasing pile of guys wrestling before I slowly grab Knot’s hand and pull him toward the bathroom.
‘ Come on. We need to get cleaned up.’
‘ Does this mean you’ll be my nurse?’ he asks, giving me a heated look. Well, if I needed proof of him feeling better, that’s it, but I don’t want to take a chance until he’s fully healed or we’re topside. I couldn’t bear to lose him to Hell.
‘Maybe if you’re a good patient, I’ll be the naughtiest nurse for you later,’ I tease.