Chapter Fourteen #2
Killian and Jaxx fell quiet, lost in their own thoughts but the rest of the guys started joking and playing around, needing to get the jitters out from the adrenaline dump.
Bréagha smiled as she watched Aiden catch Bracken in the same neck-hold he always used on her, then rubbed his head hard.
Bracken screeched and swept a leg out in an attempt to trip Aiden up, but that was a move Bréagha herself had tried many times, so Aiden was prepared.
He never broke stride and laughed when Brackens’ hair, which had been pulled back with a strip of leather, came out of its man bun and fell in his face making him lose his own footing again.
Bracken sat in the small creek that ran along the side of the road and glared at the newest member of Killian’s team.
The other Sentinels laughed and ribbed him, Aiden and Cathal both offering to help him up.
Bréagha knew what was coming but let it happen.
Bracken grinned milliseconds before pulling both Cathal and Aiden into the creek beside him.
Liam, Mason, and Travis joined their teammates, and the water battle began.
Bréagha, Killian, and Jaxx just shook their head as they passed the group, all three smoothly dodging the efforts of the group to egg them into joining them.
They’d made it nearly to the headquarters when they heard the other six hurrying to catch up.
Bréagha couldn’t help giggling when she saw the water-soaked Sentinels and their exasperated familiars behind them.
Killian looked toward the sky as if searching for patience while Jaxx just grinned at his friends.
“You guys go grab dry clothes, then meet us in Drago’s office,” ordered Killian, Jaxx nodding his agreement for his own team.
“The familiars can stay out here; not sure the office has room for the nine of us plus nine animals.” The two dragons had already landed and watched from a cliff in the distance.
The various big cats, as well as the bear, and wolf, all sat down to stand guard outside the cave entrance.
Those who had stayed dry headed to where Drago and Colin’s offices were.
Killian wasn’t sure why they had separate offices when his dad was always in Drago’s office anyway.
Sure enough when they walked through the door, his dad sat on the couch the other Elder often slept on when he worked long hours doing paperwork, reading some papers.
Drago was bent over something on his desk, studying it with a magnifying glass.
They both looked up when the Sentinels walked in.
“Good morning, Sentinels! We seem to be a few light,” observed Drago as Colin stood up to give Jaxx a hug and fist bump Killian before giving Bréagha a hug as well.
“Apparently, the newest member of my team is a jokester like Bracken,” answered Killian, before grabbing a glass and filling it with fresh water from the container that Drago always kept in his office.
Jaxx swiped it from him, and he sighed deeply before going to get a second one.
Bréagha had been around Killian long enough to know that his sighs were just a bluff.
He more than likely meant that glass for Jaxx anyway.
She smiled when he came over and handed her the second glass before heading over to get his own.
“Well, let’s start the debrief. Who knows how long the others will take,” said Drago as he pushed the papers he had been staring at to the corner of his desk and took out another pad of paper. “Killian let’s start with you. Give me a rundown.”
Jaxx and Bréagha walked over and sat in two overstuffed chairs next to the couch Colin was sitting in.
Killian stood in front of Drago’s desk in parade rest and gave him his report.
Drago nodded along, taking notes, and only stopping the narrative a few times to clarify certain things.
Killian was done with his report and Jaxx had just started his own when the other six members of the two teams came stumbling in, their hair still wet but all of them wore clean dry clothes.
Bréagha grinned when she realized all six had on black tactical pants and henleys, the only difference between them were the colors they wore.
Bracken walked over to Killian and tried to swipe his glass of water. Instead of letting him take it like he had Jaxx, Killian pushed him back and growled. “Get your own damn water Bracken!”
Bracken grinned and winked at Bréagha, who was chuckling at his antics before swaggering to the glasses and getting his own.
He gulped down a full glass right there, then got seconds.
He then took his water and sat down next to Colin.
The other guys got glasses of water as well before arranging themselves around the room.
Cathal, Liam, and Travis leaned against the built-in book shelves, Mason took the chair Jaxx had been sitting in before his debrief, and Aiden sat on the remaining seat left on the couch.
Bréagha couldn’t help smiling at the three giants who made the couch look like a tiny delicate Victorian piece.
“Okay. I think I have all the details for the reports. I’m sure one of the Record Keepers has every detail in their books.” Drago glanced down at his notes and shook his head. “All these centuries of fighting these things and no one thought to create bonfires in the midst of them.”
“Must be the female touch.” Bréagha spoke up from her comfy seat. She had moved Sperwa to her lap and the phoenix was still sound asleep. The battle had really taken a lot out of her.
“We have lots of female Sentinels,” protested Colin.
“Yeah, but none of them have fire,” insisted Bréagha.
“You should’ve seen it, Colin! One second there was just Sentinels and their familiars fighting shadows, the occasional fire arrow lighting up the sky, then…
BAM!!...rows upon rows of freaking gingerbread looking strawmen, all holding hands…
and then WHOOSH!!.... fire all around us!
” Bracken stood up, using his arms to illustrate the bam and whoosh as he tried to show the elders the awesomeness that was Bréagha, Roz, and Sperwa.
“So much light that no shadow could withstand it…so POOF! There they go. Then the sun started to rise, and it was over.” He exhaled and sat back down, overcome with exhaustion suddenly.
The adrenaline was starting to wear off it seemed.
Bréagha looked at the other guys and noted that Liam, Travis and Cathal looked like they were asleep, leaning against each other and the bookcase behind them.
Mason had curled into the overstuffed chair, his slightly too long hair falling from the hastily pulled back knot and covering his face.
Bracken, after his dramatic retelling, laid his head back on the couch and started snoring a few seconds later, Aiden was also sound asleep, his head resting on Colin’s shoulder.
She caught Killian’s eye and motioned to the others with her head. He looked around and rolled his eyes.
“It looks like our teams are exhausted Drago, so please excuse us to get a few hours of sleep. We can reconvene after because we have a few questions.” Drago looked around and laughed softly.
“Yes, go home and rest. I think we have all the details we need.” He stood up from behind his desk and clapped both Jaxx and Killian on the shoulder. “Everyone did very well today. I’ll swing by the infirmary later and check on the other teams.”
Bréagha giggled when Killian woke Liam, Travis, and Cathal with matching slaps to the head while Jaxx roused Bracken and Mason with their own head slaps. Bréagha gently shook Aiden awake and motioned to the door. “Time to go home and get some rest.”
They all walked slowly from the caves into the bright sunlight and groaned.
Liam and Cathal were holding each other up.
It had been over 24 hours since any of the Sentinels had any more than a couple hours sleep.
Thankfully their manor homes weren’t too far from the caves.
Bréagha waved to the sleepy boys as they made their way into their two houses.
Then she took the small path that led through the small, wooded area separating her cottage from their manor homes.
She smiled as the Lumenfae brushed against her cheeks and danced around her feet, lighting the way.
She called a thank you and waved to them as she opened her front door, then climbed the stairs to her bedroom.
She took Sperwa to her room and laid her gently in her comfy nest. The phoenix snuggled down into the soft feathers and made a small chirping sound. Bréagha patted her head gently and then walked to her own room, falling asleep before her head even hit her pillow.