Page 18 of Custodian

Cali and Ivy were watching the petrified paladin with clear glee and Dex felt himself getting a little desperate. As much he hated the filth Sid had just spewed and the sting of betrayal from his old paladin, he couldn’t very well allow the women to slice him up. “Now, girls …” he began.

“Girls?!”

The quiet, synchronised reply had him shrinking back a little himself, “Warriors! I meant to say warriors. Why don’t we all just stand down, huh?” He scrambled to take his foot out of his mouth.

“Well, I see you have this all under control. I’m heading back to the zoo,” Knox slapped him on the back before turning away.

“What? You wouldn’t dare!” Dex hissed at his new friend. He left unsaid the rest of his sentence;you wouldn’t dare leave me with these crazy females.But Knox merely chuckled, giving him a jaunty wave over his shoulder before disappearing into a swirl of warm air.

“Problem?”

Dex closed his eyes in relief and stopped his internal cursing when he heard Ryker’s voice behind him. Turning around, he saw the entire occupants of the house standing there, scythes out with Max barely visible in the centre of their bodies. “We have some guests,” he explained.

“So I see,” Ryker crossed his arms over his chest, looking pissed off and formidable. “Uninvited guests.”

Patrick took a small step forward, his movement slow and non-threatening, “I apologise, sir. We were once bound to Charlemagne and when we heard he had returned, we had to come see for ourselves.”

Ryker grunted, “Ever heard of a phone?”

“Ryker! Don’t be rude,” Max’s muffled voice could be heard from behind the large Captain.

Ryker ignored her, gesturing toward Sid, “Doesn’t seem like everyone is happy about it.”

“No,” Dex said, becoming serious. “It seems Sid may have some ulterior motives.”

“He’s bound in a new Order,” Max suddenly revealed. “His loyalties now lie elsewhere. I’m sorry, Dex.”

Her turquoise eyes held compassion and Dex felt himself shrug; he was disappointed and hurt. But he was also realistic. He had left his entire Order to fend for themselves after shaming them in society. He knew he couldn’t expect to come face to face with the exact same people he had left behind.

“We were just about to turn his one dick into two,” Cali offered the information, smilingly.

Max clapped happily. “Cool! I’ve always wanted to see a two-dicked man.”

Dex groaned as Max repeated Cali’s previous words. All the women in his life were so weird. “Ryker …”

Ryker snorted, “I don’t know what you expect me to do about them. You think I can control these blood-thirsty she-demons?”

Dex was about to respond – probably with another inane comment – when his brother cleared his throat;

“How about we start with why Sid is really here?” Darius suggested.

Mother bless him for always being the voice of reason, Dex thought. Even though the appearance of the four paladins must be just as much of a shock to him as it was to Dex, Darius was still sensible and practical. But before Dex could interrogate the knight, he heard Max gasp.

“Oh, wow! Is that Joyuese?” Max suddenly asked, eyes latching onto his sword.

Dex had all but forgotten that his old blade was lying on the ground in front of him, its sharp edges glinting in the sunlight. His fingers itched to pick it up but he was afraid. Cali, sensing his distress, handed Ivy’s sickle back to her, before striding forward and picking up the famous sword. She ran an admiring hand over the pommel before holding it out.

“Take it. It’s yours,” she said.

“Maybe it’s not.” he murmured, remembering the darkness and the cold which had plagued him the last forty years. “Maybe I don’t deserve it anymore.”

“Oh please! Don’t be so dramatic, sweetheart,” was Cali’s tender reply.

Dex grinned, grabbing the sword with little ceremony. Instead he was more focused on the perfect, red lips in front of him. “Damn, you’re perfect.”

Cali smiled, hands stroking the stubble on his cheeks, “Perfect for you.”

He kissed her, uncaring of their audience, unconcerned with the douche on the ground. All that mattered in that instant was the miracle he held in his arms. Unfortunately, their moment was interrupted with a series of very loud and very fake coughs. He felt Cali chuckle against his lips, tasting her humour and affection for the idiotic family behind them. Still, he took one last sip from her lips before walking over to Sid.

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