Chapter 2 #2
“Killing his father was a regrettable necessity.”
“That heretic took it there,” Lucian interjected.
“Ryker doesn’t deal out death, but Morien forced his hand.
He tried to take out a vampire clan that was located beside a human settlement, a large town.
It would have resulted in a massacre and exposure.
Ryker was on the scene first, then several Guardians arrived and Morien attempted to murder them.
So Ryker took his life, just before Morien was able to invoke Risen Reckoning. ”
Ryker smiled at Lucian and brushed his knuckles over his cheek, before focusing and telling me, “Sending Sylas to The Void was never my intention. But it was important that he believed it could be a possibility.”
“To reel him in.”
He nodded. “To have him recognize the severity of his actions, to help him develop a line to walk so he didn’t push it too far.
Sending him to The Void would have been a great loss of somebody with his potential, an utter waste.
He’s not like the others who are held there.
He has a good heart. His actions come from a place of protection, not domination or megalomania.
He’s a force for good. He just needed boundaries. ”
“Which is what you sending him to Wraeven Academy actually managed to achieve,” I mused aloud. “Highly calculative and ingenious.”
Ryker lifted a shoulder.
“What about him performing Auctoritas Mortis? Where does your no-arrest stance come in where that’s concerned?”
“He has the means to mend what was broken when he performed that spell. And that’s what will be enforced—once this immediate Morien situation is dealt with. Something Remnant is currently assisting him with.”
I started. “Remnant?”
“Yes, his undisclosed presence to the Guardian Movement. His clear connection to Lazriel Thaine. He doesn’t allow emotion to drive his actions, yet he thrust himself in front of Velra to shield her.
Velra remaining alive serves no strategic purpose to him, and he risked his life to safeguard her.
He’s clearly the Ancient who fathered Lazriel.
That also means that Sylas is safe with him.
More than that, it’s known to me that Remnant has connections to a specific black magic user in Ambrose Wisteryn.
Ambrose is the same individual who once tried to help my dad when he was consumed by black magic many years ago.
He is the one being who hasn’t been corrupted by it, who can think clearly, and who doesn’t do harm with it.
He just… enjoys wielding it. Morien claimed he infected Sylas with black magic during that showdown, so Remnant has clearly taken him to Ambrose in order to siphon it from him before it gets its roots too deep.
Sylas won’t be taken out of play like Morien had clearly intended as a last-ditch, desperate move to compromise his son. ”
“The concerning thing is how deep Remnant will try to pull Sylas into his world as a result, though,” Lucian pointed out.
Ryker nodded. “Morien is a severe threat to the vampiric underground with his Undead Domination ability. But it’s come to my attention that Remnant’s intentions for allying with Sylas may run deeper than tackling that threat together.
Fortunately, Cassius, Sylas is now tied to you, Lazriel, and Velra, so there’s a barrier there to him sinking too deep. ”
“So, what’s the deal here?” Lazriel’s voice came, and I looked to see him bursting beside us with his vampire speed.
I turned my head to see that Velra was now where Ketheron had been, on the bench and talking with Ariana.
Ketheron was standing with Kai, Vorzyr, and Nyx, while Nyx held his glowing blue hand to Ketheron’s temple, soothing him with his Incubus abilities, the empathic and dreamwalking aspects, clearly trying to assist Ketheron’s mind healing.
Lazriel came up on my side, acknowledged Lucian with a chin lift, then glared at Ryker. “Putting a hunting party together soon to go after Sylas? Is that it?”
His aggression was expected, given what had happened. But it was definitely a jolt from the calm discussion we’d been having.
“There won’t be a hunting party,” Ryker responded coolly, completely bypassing the aggression.
Well, he was intimately familiar with such a thing as Jaxon Silver was one of his loves and especially in times of crisis and threat to their family, he reacted in a very similar way.
Lucian’s lips twitched as he regarded Lazriel. “You certainly possess your father’s forthright nature. Yet, not his restraint at this juncture. You’re young, though. There’s time to learn.”
Lazriel started. “What?”
“They know Remnant is your father,” I informed Lazriel.
“Huh.” He took a moment to absorb that, then asked Lucian, “So, you know him?”
“We’ve crossed paths once or twice over the centuries.”
“As allies or adversaries?”
“Neither. Passing acquaintances.”
“Well… good. I guess.” He eyed Ryker. “So, you’re really not going after Sylas? Because what he did… those murders… he had no choice. You get that, then? Sylas isn’t like that, he’s not a killer. It makes him sick to his stomach. He only did that to save you all. Morien forced his hand.”
“And he may very well attempt to force his hand again,” Ryker spoke. “That’s where he needs to be extremely careful, where the Guardian Movement would also be forced to take action.”
“It won’t come to that. But you forcing him into hiding is gonna not only hurt him, but everyone. I get that it’s risky with Morien wanting to take over Sylas’ power and maybe even his whole body, or whatever the fuck, but Sylas is also needed to put that bastard down.”
“The situation is already clear to me and to the Guardian Movement. Sylas will not be sidelined.”
He wouldn’t be, but it was clear the Guardian Movement would be watching closely.
No wonder. There was a great deal at stake.
So very much.
“Your father’s intentions where that’s concerned remain to be seen, though.”
“You think he wants to keep Sylas underground?”
“Don’t you?”
Lazriel flinched. “He needs Sylas’ help right now with the threat that Morien is to all vampire kind. But beyond that… I don’t know.”
“Then it’s a good thing you have influence over the likes of Remnant, isn’t it?”
“Influence… I don’t know about that.”
Ryker smiled kindly. “Something to think about.”
His intention hadn’t been to obtain specific answers, I realized, with the way he’d phrased all of that. He’d just wanted to plant certain notions in Lazriel’s head.
Ryker’s phone buzzed and he pulled it from the back pocket of his leather pants, his jaw tightening when he opened it to view whatever message had come in.
“I need to go. Head back to Wraeven Academy.” He gestured at Lazriel and then Velra in the distance.
“Both of you.” He eyed me. “Same. It’s been reinforced now. ”
“We’re in the middle of a fucked-up war,” Lazriel said.
“A war that is currently at a standstill, where nothing can be done by you at this juncture. Resume your normal lives in a place of stability that Wraeven Academy provides for you. Blackline Protocol will remain in effect. All hybrids are being evacuated across the supernatural world and secured in our sanctuaries that are being bolstered by Celestial magic as we speak, and will continue to be over the coming days. There will be no targets for Puritas to go after. It will put this current war in a lulled state. Take advantage of it while you can.” He told me, “Ketheron will stay with Ariana at Solumira until he has properly stabilized mentally, and I will meet with him there to work on a solution to Morien’s endgame—one of his endgames, that aligns with Puritas’ ultimate goal. ”
Velra had already told us exactly what that despicable intent was, something she’d discovered when she’d visited Cornelius and Warlow.
Puritas wished to use Morien to enact a massive surge of Risen Reckoning that would latch onto a specific hybrid “identifier” and thereby wipe out every single hybrid in existence in one fell swoop.
Ryker didn’t want us going off half-cocked or enacting our own version of justice, nor fighting this war alone, as we’d partially been doing all too much of lately, due to the many secrets we’d had to bear and keep off the Guardian Movement’s radar.
From a personal standpoint, Velra and Lazriel returning to Wraeven Academy at this juncture was the best bet. It was a place of stability for them both, of familiarity, of focus. And it represented a place of growth and working toward their futures.
Lazriel made a move to respond, but I grasped his shoulder, the touch pulling him up short and making him turn to me in question.
“I believe returning to Wraeven Academy is for the best at this juncture. For a myriad of reasons.” I gestured out at Velra, and Lazriel followed it, sucking in a harsh breath as one of those reasons became undeniably clear to him—she needed it.
“Yeah,” he breathed. “All right. Yeah, it’s time to head back.
” He didn’t care for the heaviness that came along with it all, and I saw his lips quirk as he then told me, “Also, I heard that the person they got to fill in for you with your Ritual Ethics & Celestial Lawfare class was a sorcerer from the Unity Council. Not even a Celestial or anybody who’s had a front-row seat to all of that.
I’m sure that hasn’t been going over well.
I guess, with hybrids not being able to attend until they reinforced the place, at least a bunch of students missed those classes.
The reason people were into that class in the first place, which could’ve been really dry subject matter, was because of your animated and passionate delivery, and your deep knowledge that they respected. ”
I hadn’t realized that I had been so appreciated as a professor. My students had seemed engaged, but Lazriel was painting a picture that went far beyond that.
“You didn’t know, huh?” he spoke, registering my surprise. “So funny that you’ve become so great at reading emotions and reactions in others now, especially given where you started off, but you aren’t registering the positive way others actually see you.”
I smiled and ruffled his hair, making his eyes light up and a laugh even escape him.
That laugh, that reaction, in the wake of what we had all just endured… it was everything.
In fact, it was proof that we could not only survive this, not only endure the trauma and pain, but thrive through it.
Together.
As one.