Chapter 7
Chapter
Seven
CLAYTON
“Wait,” Eira said. “You mean to tell me people from another dimension were taking our stuff and then moved onto our kids?”
“Actually, they were trying to take the children but kept getting objects near them instead,” Mal interjected from his seat on a rock near Eira’s door stoop.
He didn’t look anything like a man who had nearly died from magic drain.
But then sucking the life out of two kidnappers probably did a world of good for… whatever species of Other he was.
At what point would it be polite for Clayton to simply ask what Mal was? Because he was currently dying to know.
“Why wouldn’t they just hop over here and take the children? Seems unnecessarily complicated,” Eira groused.
“I got the feeling they weren’t supposed to be over here in our dimension,” Clayton said without thinking.
Mal’s eyes cut through him like a blade, but he didn’t say anything.
“Oh yeah? What makes you say that, boy?” Grampy called from inside the house. He might have been old and occasionally confused, but his hearing was obviously still good enough to participate in the conversation while he made post-battle snacks for everyone.
Clayton sighed. It had been nice being called Guardian while it lasted. “Just a hunch.”
“I didn’t know the Guard hired people because of their hunches.” Mal flashed an irritating half-smile showing a hint of fangs.
“Well, you learn something new every day, don’t you?” Clayton retorted.
He had no intention of relaying his little hallucination to the group. It seemed like little more than a dream now that all the excitement was over. Had he really tapped into something back there? Or had he just had an unbelievable string of good luck for once? He was probably due, considering.
Clayton prodded the spot in his head where he’d felt the switch flip earlier. Did it feel different now? Or was it just wishful thinking? Maybe… no. It would be better for him if he didn’t allow his thoughts to go down that path.
Things like that didn’t happen to Clayton. He was support for the real guardians. Today had been nothing more than a small break from reality. When he returned to the chapter house, he’d go back to being a glorified gofer.
Except…
“What about the children?” Clayton asked.
“What about them? Do you think they’ll be okay now? Or will more dimension-hopping kidnappers come for them?” Eira put an arm around both children and pulled them close to her minuscule form.
Merry clutched her brother and shivered.
Clayton kneeled, took her tiny hand, and said, “If they do, they’ll need someone to look after them. There’s no telling how many more of those guys are out there.”
Here came the tricky part. He wasn’t sure how things happened with the Benighted, but among the Beloved, children didn’t tend to fall into the cracks.
Cym’s case was one of the rare exceptions, which meant Clayton didn’t know how to propose what had been dancing around in the back of his mind since the moment he’d laid eyes on that little cardboard box home.
He plunged in, hoping the Benighted had as loose a social structure as he guessed.
“You could come home with me.” He looked Merry in the eye, willing her to trust him.
“I have friends who can help keep you safe.” Eira gasped, and Clayton spoke quickly.
“No one down here will have a problem with that, right?”
“Well, no, but…”
“Then they can stay with me. Problem solved.” Clayton could get Samantha and team Fire to put stronger shields on his home, plus there were all the elemental sprites that always seemed to flock to him.
If he talked to them, maybe he could convince them to keep an eye on the kids, too. If he bribed them, they might even help keep them safe from Clayton’s affliction.
“What do you think?” Clayton asked the children. They deserved to have a vote since it was their lives. “Do you want to live with me?”
“I dunno,” Tommy mumbled from where he had buried himself in his sister’s armpit. “Sounds scary.”
“Did I mention that I live on a boat?”
Tommy’s eyes went wide. “You mean you don’t live in the big scary place?”
“Absolutely not. You think I’d live in that mausoleum? It’s far too big for my liking. Besides, I like having somewhere I can call my own.” Clayton tapped his chin. “But I do have to work. Perhaps you could stay with Eira while I’m at work?”
Both children threw themselves at Clayton, shouting yes, thank you, and can I have a unicorn. Eira’s face flushed, but a smile broke out on her usually stern face.
“If she doesn’t say yes, I’ll do it,” Grampy said as he came out, holding a tray of chopped apples. There appeared to be something off about them, but Clayton didn’t dwell on it.
Eira bristled. “Of course I’ll say yes. I’m practically their caretaker already, so it won’t be a stretch.”
“I’ll keep them safe, Eira. I promise,” Clayton gave her his best Marshall impression, hopefully conveying strength, justice, and reliability. Or at the very least, not radiating pure trash fire energy like he usually did.
Eria snorted. “You'd better. Or I’ll give this guy a call and have him break your knees.” She jerked a thumb at Mal, who flashed him a smile showing off a mouthful of razor-sharp teeth.
Clayton definitely didn’t flinch.
Instead, he plucked an apple piece from the tray and popped it into his mouth.
Eira’s eyes flashed in alarm, and she cried out, “Wait!” but it was too late.
Clayton was gifted his first lesson on why he should never eat anything Grampy prepared.
After Clayton’s body ejected the apple piece as violently as it could, he spent half an hour recovering while the children gathered their meager belongings.
While he recovered, Mal poked Clayton’s ribs far more than necessary, citing that he needed to make sure Clayton hadn’t died because dead guys made for terrible foster parents.
Eventually, Clayton soldiered up and made the long trek back to the surface with Tommy and Merry in tow.
Eira had chosen to come with them, claiming she needed to make sure Clayton’s home was habitable, and she was currently waiting with the children on the street for Clayton to join them.
“If you want, you can help too.” Clayton said as he stood with Mal under the manhole leading out of Boston Below. “You aren’t entirely useless, you know.”
“True, but you are. If I stay, I’ll get stuck doing all the heavy lifting. Besides, I prefer to stay mobile.” Mal’s gaze was fixed on an indeterminate point somewhere down the tunnel. His thoughts likely already on his next job, even though his body hadn’t caught up yet.
It wasn’t like Clayton wanted him there anyway. He’d only asked to be polite. The last thing he needed was some stupid jerk with a dumb face and a bad attitude annoying him all the time.
Clayton shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
Fuck that guy anyway. Who needed him? Clayton pulled himself up the ladder and didn’t look back.
Which meant he didn’t notice Mal’s gaze follow him as he climbed up the ladder and out to the surface. Nor did he know how long the man stood there staring after him.
“Of course my companion can ward your house! You should really ask Marshall to do it, though. He’s better at crafting quick shields, and they’re just as powerful. Clayton…” Samantha threw her arms around him in a bone-cracking bear hug. “Congratulations on becoming a dad!”
On becoming a what, now? “No, it’s not like that, I’m just—”
But Samantha wasn’t listening. She bustled around her office, rummaging through a drawer, making excited noises, and completely ignoring Clayton’s protests. “Where are the kids now?”
“At my place, with a friend.” When Clayton had returned with his new entourage, he’d thought it best to come to the chapter house to explain things alone, so he’d set everyone up at his place.
When he got to the chapter house, he was somewhat less than surprised to see it buzzing with activity. Samantha had returned from her errand, and Marshall and his team had returned successfully with everyone intact from whatever the hell they’d been up to.
Once again, they had saved the day, and, honestly, why wasn’t Cym throwing himself at Marshall right now in gratitude for taking him on as a student? What was he thinking? Was Cym’s soldier so special that he could just ignore what was right in front of him?
Witches. Who knew what they were thinking?
What surprised Clayton was that Samantha actually managed to make time for him in the hustle and bustle of team Fire’s return. Not only had she made time, but she seemed genuinely excited to help. Samantha was such a good friend.
“I found them!” She pulled her head out of the impossibly deep drawer and showed off her find.
In one hand, she held a ball. She shook it, and it began to sparkle and shimmer with a rainbow of colors. He took it, and it blazed with light. Swearing, he dropped it, and Samantha gave him an odd look.
“It only reacts like that to powerful magic…” she mused thoughtfully.
Ha! In your face, Fang Boy!
However, since his power was to be a walking disaster, Clayton would be okay with being less powerful.
Picking up the ball, Samantha placed it in a velvet bag and gave it back to Clayton.
“Give this to Tommy, and tell him he’s welcome to visit here anytime.
They both are.” Tucked in the crook of her arm was a doll with black hair and warm, brown eyes, just like Samantha.
She handed it to him too. “This is for Merry.”
“Thank you, Sam.” Clayton would have said more, but for some reason, the back of his throat was prickly.
“I know it’s cliché giving a little girl a doll, but I adored her when I was young, and I’d love to find her a new person to look after. There’s a spell in her that tells her caretakers when her owner is in trouble. She protected me when I was little, and now she can protect Merry.”
Clayton’s face went hot, then cold, then hot again, and his mouth moved, but no sound came out.
“Go on now, Clayton. Go back to your family and get them settled. I’ll handle things here until the weekend. And make sure to tell me if you need anything!” Samatha shooed him out of her office.
Clayton nodded and didn’t run out of the room. No, he exited gracefully and manfully.
Time to go home.