Page 14 of Earth's Paladin

“Well, this rule is to ensure only those with training are on the roads to avoid accidents.”

“So train me.” Seemed like a simple enough solution.

“I doubt you’ll want to stick around for a few weeks to learn.”

“No, I don’t want to be here that long. I’d like to leave in the morning.” Daphne had all the supplies she needed to get started on her mission for the Mother.

“There’s a bus you can take. It will get you out of Nexus, and then depending on your mission, you should be able to find another that will get you close to your destination.”

“A bus. That is the crowded transportation humans use.” She didn’t hide her disdain.

“It is.”

“That won’t suit me. You will drive me,” she stated. She liked Nelly and could tolerate her presence.

“Sorry, Daff. No can do. My job is here, working for the SMU.”

“But there is a king now to govern the monsters.” Daphne learned that the Special Monsters Unit stationed in the town of Nexus policed misbehaving cryptids. Apparently, they practiced apprehension rather than execution these days.

“We only take the really bad cases to the king. The minor stuff is still our job to handle.” Nelly paused, then said, “You know, Baptiste has a license and can drive.”

The suggestion curled Daphne’s lip. “I don’t want to ask him for aid. He smells.”

Nelly coughed. Clive must be contagious. “He used to be a very clean man. He’s just fallen on some rough times.”

“The beast has no interest in helping me.”

“He did once before.”

“Because I forced him,” Daphne pointed out.

“No one forces him to do anything.”

“You speak as if you know him well.” Daphne cocked her head. “What happened to him?”

“The shortest version? A love curse.”

The revelation made Daphne snort. “Oh no, he fell in love.”

“More like the spell forced him to be obsessed with a woman who wasn’t his fiancée. No one realized it at the time. We all assumed he really did love Ruby. Unfortunately, it drove his wolf insane, and he killed Diandra, the woman he was supposed to marry. When the curse was broken, he became despondent with guilt.”

“But he wasn’t at fault,” Daphne pointed out.

“Technically, no, but in his mind, it doesn’t change what he did. Baptiste took it very personally.”

The sorrow in Nelly’s voice prompted Daphne to say, “You are still his friend.”

Nelly ducked her head before replying. “I am, but only because I know he would have never done that under normal circumstances. Baptiste is a good guy.”

“He’s a wolf. Wolves kill.”

“Not this one. He doesn’t even eat meat. At least not in his man shape. His Garou is a bit more savage.”

“And is the Garou suffering from the same guilt?”

Nelly shrugged. “Don’t know. He ran off when the curse lifted, and no one’s been able to talk to him since. When he showed up with you the other day, that was the first we’d seen him since it all went down.”

Guilt wasn’t something Daphne ascribed to. “This is why he’s chosen to wander around and not bathe?”

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