Page 29 of Custodian

“What am I, blind?”Max grumbled back, causing Cali’s lips to twitch. It was a little hypocritical because Max insisted on being blind to everything Mordecai did. “Don’t laugh at me, Cali. You think I won’t bitch-slap a pregnant woman?”

“Please! Even growing another human, I’m still way faster than you are with those short, gnome-legs of yours,”Cali poked back. One of her favourite things about the women in the house was that none of them were hypersensitive drama queens and could all give as good as they got.

Max glared at her, clearly fighting her feelings of amusement and annoyance, but slowly pulled back her power over the death domain.

“Thank you,” Mordecai said, softly.

“Don’t mention it,” Max muttered, leaning into Ryker and looking at her feet.

It was the first words Max had really spoken to her father and they were nothing words, really. But Mordecai didn’t seem to care. The look on his face as he gazed at his daughter was filled with such a stark look of hope, Cali saw even Ryker give a grudging nod of acknowledgment and encouragement in his direction. Some of the awkward tension had thankfully been expelled from the room and Cali felt they were all able to breathe a little easier. She perched her butt on Dex’s lap where he was sitting at the table, feeling his arms immediately rise to wrap around her;

“So, what do you know about Emmanuel?” she asked, “I never met the man when he was a, well, a man.”

Mordecai exhaled roughly, “He was a good man – a good warrior and a faithful guardian to his element of Life. You fought with him on many an occasion, didn’t you?” he asked Dex.

Dex nodded, “I did. Like you said; he was a good guy. Always willing to lend a helping hand. I can’t reconcile that honourable warden with the freaky super chade you’ve described. But then, I feel the same way about me and look how well that turned out.”

Her man’s tone turned self-deprecating and that was something Cali simply wouldn’t allow. She ground her butt against his groin and whispered; “Oh, I don’t know. I think it turned out rather well.”

His very dark hazel eyes turned even darker as his pupils dilated in arousal. “You’re right. What was I thinking?” he murmured, taking her lips in a deep, drugging kiss.

Cali wished they were alone so she could banish any lingering doubts from Dex’s mind, but duty called and she forced herself to pull back. “Tonight,” she promised him, loving the smile on his handsome face.

He had been smiling just a little bit more over the last couple of days and she knew it was due to his old friends showing up. She was so happy for him now that he had three of his old paladins back in his life. They were currently staying at the training lodge in the barracks but Dex had spent many hours reacquainting himself with them. Sid, on the other hand, was another matter entirely. They had let him go crawling back to his liege because they couldn’t very well kill the man or even imprison him. He hadn’t broken any laws and other than scaring the shit out of her, he had done little damage. She could admit, hearing her old liege was in the area and still thinking about her, made her feel sick to her stomach. And although half of her wanted to hunt the bastard down and shove her scythe up his arse, the other half of her knew her priority was Hitch. And she didn’t want Stefan anywhere near her baby.

“Mordecai, do you have any idea where Emmanuel is now?” Ivy asked, politely. Cali knew she had worked closely with the death warden over the years and had always liked the man.

“No. I have no clue. There has never even been any indication of his existence until now.” The frustration in Mordecai’s voice was plain to hear.

“Well, in hindsight, it seems it was Emmanuel who was responsible for coordinating the attack fifty years ago. He’s no doubt responsible for the declining number in wardens if his parents have been feeding him. He must also be responsible for the increasing number of chades – especially those with that creepy awareness. So … kind of plenty of indications,” Axel pointed out.

Cali knew Axel wasn’t trying to be a dick by stating the obvious or pointing out Mordecai’s ignorance over the years. Luckily, Mordecai seemed to know that too and understand what Axel was alluding to.

“All of those incidents were centred around this area,” Mordecai acknowledged, looking at the fire paladin. “You think he’s here?”

Axel shrugged, “It makes sense.”

And it did, Cali thought. By the Goddess, it galled her to realise their greatest enemy was right under their nose the whole time.

“But where?” Cali hadn’t realised she’d spoken out loud until Max answered;

“Well, that’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it? How about we go ask his parents?”

Mordecai peered around at them, “I believe you proposed calling a meeting with the IDC?”

“Eavesdropping?” Ryker taunted.

Mordecai shrugged and Cali couldn’t help the way her eyes followed the movement. The man sure could fill out a tee shirt.

“Cali, gross!”Max whined in Cali’s head and Diana and she snickered even as the men grumbled.

“We simply overheard,” Madigan soothed, following up with; “And it’s a good idea.”

Ryker looked surprised as he looked at the brown-haired paladin, “You think it’s a good idea? Sending Max into the lion’s den?”

Mordecai shook his head, explaining, “Garrett knows you’re onto him now. For years, he and Autumn have relied on stealth and subterfuge for their plans. That is no longer a possibility. He has a lot of scrambling to do in order to con wardens and paladins to his side. I have no doubt it’s why he asked me to recall so many Orders. It’s part of his endgame. We need a chance to sway the council and the community. A meeting will be dangerous but it’s the only way to gather so many of us in the one location and actually be heard. Although, it would be unnecessary if I had been able to succeed in killing him two weeks ago ...”

“Wait a minute; you tried to kill Garrett? The head of the International Domain Council?” Beyden questioned, his amber eyes wide.

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