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I COULDN’T BELIEVE what happened during the Freshman Orientation speech. No one could have anticipated such an outlandish bit of behavior from members of the community.
“I just don’t understand it, Sig. Two and a half years without a single act of violence from either side. Now this... And why now?” I couldn’t rightly wrap my head around it.
Sig leaned against the wall, his arms crossed casually as he shifted from one foot to the other. “I don’t know Boss, but it is strange. You’re right, Greisen was pretty well damaged too. They were apparently after Collette and Aella, the new Deviant Class freshman.”
I nodded, cracking my knuckles, the tension in my shoulders was running down into my hands. “So the question is, what do we do about them...?” I turned my head, looking at the three goons we had caught of the six that had jumped Greisen and the girls. They were still limping out of the Quad when Gage and Sig arrived to look it over for signs of the attack, so they snatched them up before the campus security arrived. It was a Deviant Class matter after all.
“Well, I’d say kill ‘em, but that may be too extreme.” Sig smiled. The three bound and gagged men struggled and whimpered. From the smell of it, one had just shit themselves as well.
“Ugh, really? Get them off my chairs, they’re gonna leave stains!” I demanded and Sig slammed them to the floor with a hard smack to the back of one’s head. The three men toppled down on top of each other with a reverberating thud. We had hooded them and thrown them into the truck, taking them to my house on the cliffs. The privacy was better and no one could hear them if they screamed.
“Perhaps they just need to disappear. You think anyone will miss a few pieces of shit like these?” I sneered, kicking one in the ribs for measure. He grunted like the animal he was. “You picked a fight with one guy and a couple of women, six of you!” I snarled. “Where was the sport in that? What did you think you were gonna do to those girls? Huh?” I lifted another’s head with my hand, slamming my fist into his face.
The violence felt good. I needed this. It had been too long since I had unleashed this beast inside me. These were a few idiots from town who probably peaked in High School, and were on the grounds just looking for trouble. Well, they’d found it now.
“Were you gonna rape them? Take them on in shifts, three, four at a time? That’s what your sick little minds had in store for them, wasn’t it?” The anger in me was boiling over as I roared and spat, taking turns hitting and kicking them. I finally stopped when they were nothing more than blubbering pulps of coiled sobbing meat. My chest was heaving, hands dripping with blood. I stepped back from the pile, wiping the blood on my jeans, watching as they twitched.
“Feel better now?” Sig asked flatly with a click of his tongue and a short chuckle.
“They won’t be fucking any girls, any time soon.” The violence was ebbing, turning in on itself.
“That one won’t be able to see them either. You popped his eye like a grape.”
“Good. Now help me get this cleaned up before Ryane gets here.”
“Yeah, something tells me she doesn’t need to see this side of how we do things... Like ever.”
“Indeed not.” I reached down, grabbed one of the men and he let out a moan. “Oh, shut up.” I began to untie him when a knock came to the main door. “Fuck... Sig?”
“On it.”
I continued with my task as Sig went to the door. After a few moments he returned clearing his throat.
“Hey Boss, you got company.”
I looked up, seeing my father. Of all the times to stop by unannounced.
“I see you handled today’s incident in the vilest way you could imagine.”
“They are still breathing, so no, I didn’t actually. The vilest way would have involved a lot more duct tape and some power tools. Maybe I.V. fluids.” I smiled widely.
My father did not. Instead, he sighed, looking around until his eyes settled on Sig once more. “Why don’t you let my men take care of this... Matter. Go and fix a Vodka Tonic, so I might have a word with Keegan. Besides, someone will need to be available to answer the door who is not covered in blood, should anyone else arrive.”
Sig nodded with a short bow, before leaving the room.
I straightened up. “It’s been quite some time Father. I was beginning to think you were avoiding me, as usual.”
“Let’s get you cleaned up. I gather your woman is on her way?”
I nodded. He was always good at reading me and my thoughts. I hated that he could do it so easily. Where my specialties were in strength and speed, my father’s were always more diplomatic and socially inclined.
***
FATHER WAITED IN THE master bedroom while I showered and changed clothes. When I emerged, no longer stinking of shit, piss and blood, I found him staring at himself in the mirror.
“Feeling time?” I asked with a small laugh. Although he was well over four hundred years old, he only appeared to be in his late forties. The lines around his eyes were barely defined and the streaks of white in his platinum blond hair only served to highlight and define its rich color. His violet eyes caught mine in the mirror sternly as he shook his head.
“You’re irresponsible, Keegan. You know that. Bringing these men into your home, to beat and torture them? That is beyond idiocy. You don’t have the power of compulsion to take the memory of your face from them, so what were you to do? Hmm? Killing them would cause an upheaval we cannot afford to have. You are on your way to destroying everything you have worked so hard for these past two years.”
“I know what I’m doing. Firstly, they have no idea where they are, we hooded them. And as for my face, do you really think that they would be stupid enough to-”
“Keegan. They are Humans attacked by Otherkind. They absolutely will go to the Hunter’s Association.” He sighed deeply facing me. “But I will step in. It’s part of why I am here. I knew you would fly off. Do something extreme. I will compel them to put the beating on their friends, this way the others are punished as well. Will this satisfy your blood lust for now?”
“You do understand that I had to take a stand here. I couldn’t let it go.”
“I do. You were protecting your own. I understand that, but there are more diplomatic ways. There are laws now, ones of the Human Kind that we all must adhere to as well.
“I know.” I ran my hands through my hair, smoothing it behind my ears. “In the future, I will try to think it through... Better... Have you found anything out about-”
“The Ravencrest death? Very little. Not enough to speak on. Yet, there is something else I need your attention turned to. With the inclusion of over fifty new Deviant Class members it is imperative that you show a strong and decisive face to the community at large. That you have solid foundations and support behind you. Siegfried is a good start. I have added the young wolf Gage Louvell to your ranks as well. He will need guidance, but that is coming for him soon enough. In the meantime, he can manage so long as he gets the usual lockdown procedures on the moon.”
“Right. The dorm’s outfitted for him. So that isn’t a problem.”
“There is also the matter of a young lady that we are sponsoring now.”
My eyebrow rose curiously. My father very rarely showed an interest in anyone outside of the family, so who was this young lady? “Sponsoring?”
“I terminated our contract with the Fey this summer, but while doing so, I bore witness to the unfurling of a Dragon. She is now at Grigori, but the company she keeps is not the most ideal. She must be swayed to realize there is more than one path to choose.”
“I really don’t have the time for this. What with acclimating Ryane, trying to figure out what happened to me, keeping the Deviant Class as a whole in line. When am I supposed to also take on a Dragonborn I know nothing about?”
“Just listen to me, for once. Her name is Aella Rhonwena, but she has been exiled, so she is going by Aella Rowan. I cannot tell you too much more as it could sway things for her. Just make sure someone makes contact with her, that’s all that I ask. As soon as I have more information pertaining to Vanessa Ravencrest’s death, I will let you know.”
I nodded as he clasped my shoulder and we headed downstairs. I had heard the door earlier, and if the smells coming up from the kitchen were any indication, I was sure that Ryane was here by now.
***
“THANK YOU FOR THE KIND gift, Your Majesty.” Ryane put in the diamond and sapphire earrings that my father happened to have with him, for her. It was strange, ever since I made my intentions for her firm with him, how he had changed his manner toward her. Then perhaps his kindness to her had been going on longer, he had been feeding her blood addiction while I could not. Perhaps he felt her love for me was as genuine as I knew it was.
“Call it an early engagement present. The real gift is still being worked upon. I did not want you to think I had forgotten. Please, call me Lord Herlihy, or perhaps even Father?”
I coughed, as her mouth hung open with a tiny quiver. Even his Guardians seemed to gasp, surprised by his request. I know I was floored. My chest tightened and I could barely breathe. My father was many things, but never a sentimental man. Who was this standing in my kitchen? Just half an hour before he had excused himself to compel three stooges to forget that they had been beaten to a pulp by a pissed off Vampire and now here he was, telling a long fatherless woman to please think of him in that way. My head and my heart began to ache. I rarely experienced so much thought from him.
Ryane hopped down from the counter and flew into his arms. He laughed gently as she squeezed him tightly. “Thank you...” He smiled.
“For what?” She sniffed.
“For excepting us all.” He kept the smile, Hell, he was near to beaming as he grabbed me by the head and pulled me into an embrace. I almost fell on the floor.
“Oh, the feels...” Sig sniffed from the doorway. The bastard couldn’t help himself as he and Gage returned from taking care of the other matter.
“Shut up Siegfried,” my father grumbled. There was the man I knew.
“Yes, your Highness.” Sig still grinned as we broke our embrace. “I just wanted a hug,” he bemoaned. “I never get the hugs.” He fell onto Gage, who wrapped his arms around him.
“Oh, the poor guy. Nobody loves him,” Gage teased, kissing Sig on the top of the head through his hand before shoving him off.
Ryane bent over laughing as my father shook his head, trying to hide his amusement.
“There. There it is again. I swear to God! I have been hearing it half the night. Every so often there’s this sound.” Gage tried to get everyone to stop laughing and not move.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, my ribs stinging.
“Every once in a while, I hear this noise, it’s faint, so I can’t pinpoint it and it’s making me nuts.” He stepped towards Ryane as she shifted her legs uncomfortably. “There it is again. Do you hear that? It’s like a little... Click.” He flicked his tongue against his front teeth lightly, imitating the sound and I saw Ryane’s face drop and her breath stop.
I sputtered, trying not to laugh outright. “Gage, don’t worry about it. It’s not your imagination, or your business. Okay. Just back off”
He looked at Ryane, then back to me and exhaled slightly. “I don’t wanna know, do I?” he asked low.
I looked at my father and Sig. My father shook his head, as always, and Sig was making faces. He knew exactly what I’d done to her, and nobody had even told him.
“Think I’m going to walk your father out and do my perimeter checks now. I will see you in the morning for the ride in to Grigori.” Gage nodded his head to me and to Ryane, then turned to go with my father.
“I will be in touch, Son. Ryane, have a good evening.”
“Thank you,” she managed through an embarrassed smile.
***
“OH, MY GOD!” RYANE laughed, mortified, as the door shut behind them, her hands covering her face. Every contraction of her stomach, I was sure, made those balls shift and move. “Get these things out of me! Now!” She went for her jeans button and I grabbed her hands.
“Are you really going to strip down to your thong right here, in front of Sig, and push those out on the kitchen counter?” I was half laughing, but the thought of her doing such a thing made me rather angry at the same time. All day she had gone, and yet now that we were relatively alone, she still had little patience. What was I going to do with her? “You’ve gone this long, a few more moments will be of little difference.” I sighed and kissed her forehead gently, running my thumb across her parted lips. “I love you,” I breathed in a whisper. “Now go to the carriage house, you will find that your thumb print will unlock the door. Wait for me how I prefer. You do remember?”
She looked down slightly, I’m sure she could feel my need for her growing in my jeans as I pressed it against her. “Yes, Sir,” she answered obediently, sliding by me and without looking at Sig, she let herself out through the back door toward the path to the carriage house.
I ran my hands through my hair, a sure sign of my stress and Sig sighed.
“Boss, what’s going on, other than the obvious? Your father doesn’t just stop by for a cuppa and a chit chat, like ever.”
“It’s complicated, and apparently getting even more complicated as we go, but no matter. I’ve a little job for you.”
“Do tell, aside from shadowing you and Ryane, training Ryane, God knows when I’ll get back to that, arranging social events and going to my own classes, and trying to eke out some time to sleep and eat. What, pray tell, have you for me now?” His nostrils flared, and a bit of flame sprouted from between his teeth.
My shoulders shook in a silent laugh. He was sorta right, he was getting spread awfully thin as of late, but this was the life of the First Guardian. Charles ran on very little sleep. Then again, Vampires could go weeks without it if need be. Sig was, however, not a Vampire. I needed to remember this.
“Sig, I know this has been... A very long day. We will have more like them, I’m sure of it. This assignment will fall right in with your new social status and possibly your classes if you’re quick about it. It involves a freshman in the Deviant Class, Aella Rowan.” I used the name that would be on her transcripts, according to my father, so as not to raise any questions.
He raised an interested eyebrow at me. “Go on.” He tried not to sound as interested as he suddenly looked. It didn’t work.
“Well, apparently she is a Dragonborn, which should already have her on your radar. Also, my father is sponsoring her and feels she would do well to be away from the company she is currently keeping.”
“So, you are telling me to do what exactly?” Sig leaned into the doorway with a smirk.
I smiled open mouthed. “I’m saying, get to know the girl. Stop being so aloof and cagey all the time. I swear, if I didn’t know better I’d think you didn’t like women at all.”
“I like um just fine and they tend to like me, but are we forgetting this particular one, just today, tried to melt my balls off!”
“I think she was just trying to get your attention. Something tells me if she had wanted to hurt you, she would have.”
“Possibly.” His smirk widened. “I’ll see what I can do, but I can’t promise immediate success.”
“Of course not. She doesn’t particularly like you right now. If you’ll excuse me, I’ve a woman who’s going to kill me if I don’t go and take care of her right now.”
“About that. The diversions were working, but next time, maybe something less audible?” Sig laughed as he walked me out.
“What’s the fun in that?”