Page 23 of Custodian

“We’ll kill you first and your bitch liege second.”

“Good luck with that,” was Beyden’s bored comment right before they all sprang into action.

They came at him as a unit and Beyden had to admit, it was a good approach. Four against one probably seemed like the most expedient option. Too bad for them, Beyden had been training six against one within his Order. And more recently? He had been battling up to a dozen chades at a time. Well, reformed chades but they were just as skilled and just as deadly – even if they were on his side.

Beyden took out one of Trent’s companions with a quick jab to the temple. He didn’t even bother to watch him crumple to the ground, instead he blocked the twin punches delivered to both sides of his head with his raised arms. The blows had enough power behind them to have his forearms singing and he quickly took a step back, smiling when a flock of seagulls launched an attack. Beyden was able to knock another one of his opponents out with an elbow to the man’s throat, followed by a heavy knee to the face. The amount of blood streaming from the guy’s nose indicated it was broken.

Trent and the other paladin had been kept busy by the birds but Trent broke away now, running and diving at Beyden in an attempt to take him down. Beyden could understand why he would go for such a move, it was what Lark tended to do too – get him on the mats. Lark succeeded more often than not, but then again, he was ten times the knight Trent was. Trent merely bounced off Beyden’s back as he turned, putting all his weight behind him.

“Stay down,” Beyden told him.

“Fuck you!” Trent spat.

Beyden smirked, “I wouldn’t fuck you eight years ago. I’m certainly not going to do it now.”

As expected, Trent lost control of his temper, his kicks and punches becoming sloppy and uncoordinated. Still, he managed to land a glancing blow to Beyden’s cheek, hard enough to leave an ache in its wake. Annoyed with himself for allowing the blow to land, Beyden decided to stop playing around. He whipped out his scythe and hurled it at Trent, seeing it embed in the tip of Trent’s boot. The man released a thin scream but Beyden didn’t know why – he had deliberately not hit any flesh. His aim was always true and he knew the sharp blade had slid harmlessly between the man’s first and second toes. It did anchor Trent in place though and Beyden found he had one more thing to say to his old friend;

“You chose the wrong side,” he declared, before kicking him in the sternum.

Air rushed from Trent’s lungs as he landed heavily on the ground. Beyden winced when he heard the loud thump of Trent’s head making contact with the hard ground. He didn’t move after that but Bey could see the rise and fall of the man’s chest and knew he hadn’t killed him.

As for the remaining paladin who hadn’t said so much as one word during the entire encounter, he was now screaming like a banshee under the assault of multiple animals; birds, kangaroos, insects, and even a wombat. Beyden would have laughed but even he could admit, the scenario was rather terrifying. Still, Beyden waded between his furry, feathery rescuers. They parted like the red sea did for Moses and Beyden reached down to give the man a hand up. The second he felt a palm against his own, he delivered a swift uppercut, knocking the man out. It wasn’t really the move of a gentlemen but Beyden had run out of patience.

“Are you okay?” Fawn suddenly yelled, hurrying to his side, now that all four men were incapacitated.

Beyden couldn’t stop himself from bowing in her direction when she approached, even though she had long since asked him to stop. After Ryker, Fawn had been the first person he had met at the training centre. He had been looking for a glass to drink from in the kitchen when a soft, feminine voice had spoken behind him. Turning quickly, he had been struck dumb, not only because a warden had been talking to him, but also because she was stunningly beautiful. With her long, caramel-coloured hair, matching eyes, and tall, slender body, the beast warden could have graced any catwalk in the world. They had become good, if casual, friends since then and Beyden also really liked her four paladins – two of whom were also female.

“I’m fine,” he assured Fawn and her Order. “Thank you for the assistance.”

Fawn smiled at the menagerie who were all returning to their homes once more. “It was my pleasure. I must admit, I was a wee bit surprised when I suddenly heard Max’s voice in my head. I didn’t know she could do that.”

“She can do all kinds of things,” Beyden hedged. He trusted Fawn, he truly did, but his bond with Max demanded he remain circumspect. Fawn didn’t appear offended in any way and simply smiled at him, waving an elegant hand in the direction of the four unconscious knights.

“We’ll take care of them.”

“Are you sure?” Beyden asked, feeling responsible for the mess on the ground in front of them. But the buzzing in his head was now impossible to ignore, as was the writhing, itching brand on his arm.

“Your liege?” Fawn asked, grinning at him.

Beyden winced, Max’s worried voice was drowned out by Ryker’s scolding one. He sighed, “Time to go home.”

TEN

Ryker scrubbed his hands over his face as he studied his second in command. He and Darius were in his home office, trying to draw what amounted to a concept map on the whiteboard. They were attempting to gain a clearer picture of who was on the dark side and who was on the light – Max’s description of course. Another three days had passed since Dex’s old paladins had shown up for their surprise visit and Beyden had been accosted by his dickbag of a childhood friend. The time had been spent going round and round in circles as they all tried to tie up loose ends without a knot.

It was impossible; how could they form a game-plan when they didn’t know what game they were playing? What they needed was firsthand information. Ryker knew the time was coming when he was going to have to press the issue of Mordecai. But seeing the hurt and fear in Max’s eyes whenever the man was mentioned, had him holding back. He knew he was giving his liege what she wanted. But was he giving her what she needed? Ryker wished he knew.

“Ryker? Do I have something on my face?” Darius asked, startling him.

“What?” Ryker questioned.

“You’ve been staring at me for the past five minutes,” Darius pointed out.

Ryker shook his head, sitting heavily in his chair. “Sorry.” He was trying very hard not to be exhausted by the ongoing events that plagued the household and its occupants. “How many Orders have been confirmed, again?” he repeated his earlier question, realising he hadn’t heard a word Darius had said.

Max had put Darius in charge of identifying the wardens and paladins who carried loyalty brands. Many had contacted them, recognising the druid symbols for Max’s unique coat of arms, but very confused as to why they should all be sporting some new ink.

“As of this morning, there are 17 Orders with 17 wardens and a combined total forty-five paladins from those Orders. There are also an additional twenty-two unbound paladins plus the ninety-five ex-chades. That’s one hundred and fifty-eight individuals on top of Ivy and Nikolai now carrying around Max’s symbols.”

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