Page 5 of Distinctly Daray
“I do not think it is a permanent issue,” Dudley stated matter-of-factly. “We learned from Samson’s resurrection that complications should be anticipated, and he is on hand to aid our new sentinel.”
“Oh, wow, Chand resurrected a shifting sentinel?” Victor asked.
Evergreen confirmed his hunch with a nod. More questions burned in Victor’s mind, but they’d arrived at the cafeteria. It was buffet style, so Victor rushed through grabbing salad, chicken, and some delicious-looking pasta. He filled a tall glass of iced tea on his tray, then rushed after Dudley, who’d somehow loaded up his tray faster than Victor.
Thankfully, the sentinel chose a table in a quieter spot in the bustling space.
“Did you just get a single shifting sentinel?” Victor asked his best pal.
“Chand and Alaric decided to stop adding to our population following the first sentinel resurrection,” Dudleyresponded. “Before they could even put him in stasis, his skin rippled as if he wanted to shift.”
“Shit,” Victor said. “Sam didn’t start having issues until he met Brynn. Was he in pain? Was he aware of why his beast was having issues?”
“Phillip had not opened his eyes yet,” Dudley replied.
Evergreen bustled to the small round table and frowned at them both as he sat. “Thanks for waiting for me, you jerks. I almost sat down at the wrong table.”
“Is your eyesight suddenly deficient?” Dudley asked, a teasing light in his gaze. “Why would you sit next to anyone but me or Victor?”
“He’s like this at home, you know,” Evergreen remarked as he scooted his chair closer and picked up his utensils. “Literally the worst roommate on the planet.”
“You’re such a liar. You love living with Dudley, and I visit your place constantly. I know what you’re both like,” Victor retorted. “He was telling me about your recruit.”
Evergreen gasped and fixed an outraged stare at Dudley, who continued to eat as if nothing was amiss. “You gossiped without me?”
“It is not gossip. I was filling Victor in on what happened this morning.”
“That poor sentinel,” Evergreen said. “Can you imagine? You don’t even get to open your eyes or reassure yourself that the Arch Lich pulled you across the veil with your stick and berries intact, and you’re in stasis.”
“I was unaware Chand was in the habit of casting incomplete spells,” Dudley commented between bites of a thick sandwich.
“I can’t deal with the sentinel desire to take everything literal today,” Evergreen replied. “Chand had that fucking linebetween his eyes and barely left his office all morning when he got back from the Ascension Center.”
Although Chander ran the Order of the Necromancia, he shared his office with Alaric, so Evergreen and Dudley were often privy to the Arch Lich’s whereabouts. Plus, Evergreen had spent a century as Chander’s assistant before he switched to the Sentinel Brotherhood, so he knew Chander’s patterns. Evergreen’s job change had happened while Alaric and Chander were separated, and a group of power-hungry necromancers had forced the Arch Lich into resigning.
Desperate to ensure Evergreen stayed employed, Chander had suggested the hybrid speak to Alaric about a position. It was an arrangement that had suited everyone now for many years, even though Chander had long ago resumed his title. Victor hated thinking about that period of Alaric and Chander’s lives—especially since it’d upturned everything for Victor in the worst possible ways.
“He’s going to need everyone to coax him into dealing with the guilt I’m sure he’s already heaped on his own head,” Victor said, his heart aching for Chander.
“I’m all for pushing sorcery, but if this is going to keep winding up with Chand berating himself, I don’t think it’s fucking worth it,” Evergreen added.
“Sentinels are already a race without flaw,” Dudley stated. “I do not think we need to have the ability to shift on top of our already-lengthy list of attributes.”
“Like their humbleness,” Evergreen muttered.
“Do we know what his beast is?” Victor asked.
“Dragon,” Dudley responded. “The oddest thing is the poison on Phillip’s blades swirls from green to sentinel gray.”
“Wow, what does Alaric think that means?” Victor asked.
“Without the ability to question Phillip yet, Alaric has done little more than cast his spell to inscribe the man’s nameon his daggers,” Dudley explained. Alaric had been resurrected with the ability to engrave the blades of his men, and it was a protection spell to prevent any sentinel from being killed by their own blades—as Arvandus had been in front of Albrecht by his necromancer and her mate two thousand years ago.
“I’ll run to the store and grab a few things to spice up the dinner I’d planned for tonight,” Victor said, thinking aloud. “The least I can do is give everyone a nice meal.”
Evergreen smiled. “Your Darays will love that, and you guys can help Chand deal with his guilt. No one makes him feel better than his family.”
“I will call your mother after lunch,” Dudley told Evergreen. “You’re worried too; we should go visit your parents tonight, and she will want to cook for us.”
