“What? Someone’s dead?”
“Dixon.”
“Oh shit.” Patrick sounded sincerely upset. “Kelton, I can’t express to you how sorry I am that this has all happened. You know that I would never have sanctioned such actions.”
“But it happened.”
Patrick sighed. “From what I can gather, they weren’t there about Trey. They came for Caleb and Rees.”
“It doesn’t really matter why they came here, does it? They came here.”
“Verynai told me that you still have some shifters there with you?”
“We’re arranging the bodies as we speak. The injured are being held in secure cells.”
“I’m on my way.” Patrick said.
“I don’t think that’s a very good idea, do you?”
“Well, what the hell do you propose I do? The longer they’re with you, the more the unrest will escalate.”
“We’re not holding them hostage.”
“That’s what it’s going to look like.”
“Patrick, I don’t give a flying shit what it looks like. I’ll call you shortly to arrange a safe meeting place. Coming to the academy isn’t a good idea.” Kelton hated to sound so harsh, but he had to put his own people first. There was no way that Patrick or any of the other shifters would be welcome anywhere near the academy. It would be safer if they met somewhere far away from there to pass over the dead and injured.
“I understand.” Patrick sounded weary and beaten. “Once again, I’m so sorry that this happened.”
Kelton sat for a moment, listening to the dialling tone in his ear. He wanted to speak to Kayleigh, to hear her voice and see how she and their son were doing. But, he couldn’t do that over the phone. He had to go to speak with Mira and tell her face to face what had happened to her husband.
That was the next thing he was going to have to do, after informing the rest of the warriors and trainees about Dixon’s death. In an ideal world, he would have gone to see her as soon as he had all the facts. Luckily, she hadn’t thought anything of it when he’d had to rush out of her house and back to the academy. This was probably the last thing she would think of happening. Kelton hadn’t even known at that point. However, with the shifters still under their roof and their uncertain future, everyone at the academy had to be on high alert before he ventured out of the walls.
Slowly rising from his chair, Kelton headed out of the office towards the dining hall. Even though it felt like only mere minutes had passed since Verynai had left to rally the troops, he had been lost in his own train of thought and the time to address the academy was upon him.
Walking through the double doors, a hush quickly fell over the crowd as soon as he stepped into the room. Every face turned toward him, fear etched on their features. He couldn’t blame them for that in the slightest. They’d been attacked in their own home, a place they should have been safe.
He wasn’t stupid enough to think that the gossip hadn’t already started to spread, but it was clear that most of the people in the room had no idea about the news he was about to deliver.
Walking steadily to the front of the room, Kelton glanced around, making sure that all eyes were on him and that they were all ready to listen. This was going to be hard for him to say, but even more difficult for them to hear.
“I have gathered you all in here tonight to speak of the events that occurred a short time ago. As you all know, the shifter pack attacked the academy.”
“Why did they do it?” Someone piped up, but Kelton couldn’t see who’d asked the question.
“I will not be answering any questions.” He barked. “However, I will tell you that there were multiple reasons, but nothing justifies what they did.” Kelton glared around the room to make sure the rest knew not to speak out of turn again.
With all eyes on him, Kelton continued. “You all worked very hard to maintain control of the situation. After all the additional training you have received, it just goes to prove that what we do here really does matter.”
Kelton paused, more to gain the courage for what he had to say next. Of course, they had lost warriors before, but never within their own walls. This was going to hit them all hard.
“During the attack, the shifters sustained several injuries and fatalities.”
“Yeah! Don’t mess with the Sons!” Someone called out. Kelton thought that it may have been one of Denver’s cronies. The rest of the crowd remained silent and respectful, knowing this this wasn’t at all appropriate.
“We didn’t come away from the ambush unscathed. Several warriors and trainees are being treated by our medical staff as we speak.” Kelton took in a deep breath, the pregnant pause putting everyone in the room on edge. “It pains me to tell you that we lost one of our own tonight. Master Warrior Dixon fought valiantly, but ultimately lost his life during the bloody battle.”
A collective gasp rose throughout the crowd.
“I know that for some of you, this will be the first death that you’ve had to deal with, of someone that was close to you. Anyone who feels that they need to speak through what they’re going through, there will be counsellors on hand.” Kelton glanced around again at the shocked faces and the reality of what he was telling them sunk in.
They’d lost one of their own.
He’d lost a brother.
“This is a hell of a blow for the Sons of Satrina. Master Warrior Dixon was a man of worth. He will be greatly missed by all. He was the kind of warrior that you should all strive to be. He was someone we were proud to call a brother.
“However, this is a lesson that you are all unfortunately having to learn early. As you progress through the training and graduate to the warrior ranks, death will be something that is no longer a stranger in your life. This is the life of a warrior. It is a dangerous job that cannot be taken lightly. I am sure that you all think that we push you too hard on occasion. But that is because we want you to be fully prepared when you graduate and get out there on the streets.”
Kelton shook his head sadly. “Unfortunately, all the training in the world couldn’t have helped Master Warrior Dixon. There are times in life when you may be outnumbered or in a vulnerable situation. This life holds no certainties.” He wanted to drill home the fact that this was a dangerous life that they were entering into. Sure, they had the mark and therefore no choice, but he needed them all to see the reality of what they were getting into.
Out on the streets, the dangers are known. Everyone knows that fighting the enemy is a dark task, but at the academy, they should have been safe. This kind of thing hadn’t happened before the shifters came on the scene. Not even the Mortuorum got chance to breach their boarders.
It made Kelton’s blood boil to think that they now had a new enemy. The human books always make out that there is an age old war between shifters and vampires, but that hadn’t been true. The two races had managed to live amicably for generations. Now that was all changing and Kelton didn’t see a peaceful future for them all.
While the trainees were still at the academy, there was a false sense of security, a feeling that nothing could touch them there. The death of one of their own brought home the fact that they weren’t safe anywhere, that there would always be a threat and that they’d have to be on their guard.
“Now, we will have a minutes silence to remember a great man. Master Warrior Dixon.” Kelton closed his eyes and lowered his head.
Telling the kids and the warriors had been harder than he thought it would be. It wasn’t like he could detach himself from the situation. Dixon hadn’t just been a colleague; he’d been a friend and a brother. The emotions had been thick in the air and everyone had been affected. Each and every one of them knew Master Warrior Dixon in various degrees and it had hit them all hard.
After he’d informed the crowd of what had gone down, Kelton had left them without another word. Walking out of the dining hall, he avoided the trainee’s gazes. Accidently, he glanced to the left and looked directly at Cal
a. He saw the unmasked fear in her eyes clearly. All he could do was look away and keep walking.
He didn’t have time to be a father to her right now. There was too much that he had to do. Plus, he didn’t even know if she wanted comfort from him in that way. Making a mental note, he decided to catch up with the twins later to see how they were taking the news of the attack and the death of the warrior. For now, he had other things to deal with.
“What? You’re not even going to stop and ask how we are?” Rhian snapped loudly, an evil sneer on her face.
“Not now, Rhian.” He growled quietly with his hand on the door.
“We’re fine. Thanks for asking, Daddy.” She laughed.
The room was quiet before, but now you could have heard a pin drop.
“Wrong time, wrong place, Rhian.” Kelton refused to rise to her bait and walked out of the room. He had to keep his head focused on speaking to Mira. He’d deal with her brat-like behaviour later.
This was not the moment to face that situation. He admitted that he had been putting the situation off and that he didn’t want to deal with the twins’, but he knew the time was approaching. After seeing the birth of his son, he knew how important his family was to him.
Honestly, he didn’t know if the twin’s wanted anything to do with him, but he was going to try. That time wasn’t now. He had the safety of all his trainees to think about, but the time was coming quickly.
Heading straight to his office, Kelton grabbed his coat and car keys. He had to wait a couple of minutes for Master Warrior Verynai to catch up with him.
“You did him proud with that speech.” Verynai nodded solemnly.
Kelton didn’t know how to respond to that. He’d done the best he could, but knew it would never be good enough to express what he felt. He’d lost a brother and he was proud to have known him.
“I’ve got to go. I need to see Mira and explain what’s happened, before she finds out from someone else.”
Verynai nodded again. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“I’ll call Patrick on my way over there. I told him that I don’t want him coming to the mansion to pick up his pack members. I didn’t think that was very wise.”
“Good call.”
“I’ll arrange something with him to offload them. The sooner we can get them out of there, the better.”
“Damn straight. It makes my blood boil to know that they’re still under our roof.” Verynai growled menacingly.
“I’ll arrange a meeting place far from here and I’ll let you know where and when so you can start arrangements at this end.”
“I think that’s sensible.”
Kelton zipped up his leather jacket. “For now, you’re in charge while I’m gone.”
“What?” Verynai snapped to attention.
He would rather have done this under different circumstances, as Kelton had planned for Verynai to move up the ranks anyway. However after what happened to Dixon, that process was now being accelerated exponentially. “I want to officially appoint you as my second-in-command. I’ll be letting the council know my decision as soon as I’m back from Mira’s.”
“Isn’t this all a little too soon?”
“Look, man. You know what you’re doing. You’ve been doing the same job as Dixon for several months now. I was going to officially swear you in as joint SiC in the next few months anyway. Now, with all this happening, it can’t wait. We need to do it now.”
“It just doesn’t feel right. It feels too soon.”
“No, it’s not. Do you think that Dixon would want this place to fall apart without him? Or do you think he’d want you to step up and carry on his work?”
Verynai glared for a moment before his face began to soften. “What do you need me to do?” It had been a bit of a low blow, but Kelton was right. Dixon wouldn’t want all his work to go down the toilet and he was honoured to be the one who would carry it on.
“Make sure that the Master Warriors stay posted. Double them up with some of the older trainees.” Kelton stood up and began to pace around the small office space. “The phones are already ringing off the hook and soon enough, there are going to be several worried parents trying to call in. We’re going to need some extra hands ready for that.” It was a wonder how fast word got around their community, but that was why it was so urgent that he get straight over to speak to Mira. There was no time to waste.
“I’m on it.”
“Some of the trainees, especially those that Dixon worked with, may feel the need to talk it out. See if Doctor Phillippe needs any extra staff brought in to help her with that.”
“Will do.”
Kelton grabbed his phone off the desk and stuffed it in his pocket. “If you need me for anything, call straight away.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep things running smoothly here.”
“Can you send someone to check on Caleb and Rees? This isn’t going to be an easy time for them.”
“Will do.”
Kelton clapped Verynai on the shoulder as he walked by. The last thing he wanted to do at this time was leave the academy, but at least he could check on Kayleigh and their son while he was there delivering the tragic news.
He knew that Verynai would be worried about being in charge again after what happened, but it couldn’t be helped. Kelton had to leave and Verynai was more than capable. What happened was beyond his control.
Walking out to his car, Kelton looked up at the lightening sky. This had been a long night and even as daylight was quickly drawing near, it was nowhere near over yet.
Chapter Eight
“I can’t believe this is happening.” Ash shook her head sadly. She knew that things had been bad with the attack, but she hadn’t realised quite how bad things had got.
Master Warrior Dixon was a man that they all looked up to and they all wanted to be like him when they grew up. It was so hard to believe that he was gone.
“What a mess.” Jackson took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. They were all doing what they could to comfort one another.
Dylan moved up next to them. “I’m heading up to the medical suite. I want to see what’s happening with Trey, and I thought with everything going on around here, they might need some extra help.”
“Good idea. We’ll come with you.”
As they walked in silence up the stairs, they were all lost in thought. So much had happened and the academy had been shaken badly. It was horrific to think that they’d lost one of their own, especially a warrior like Dixon.
Everything seemed to be falling apart. In such a short space of time, one of their own had been killed and another badly injured. They never envisioned something like this happening at the academy. Out on the streets, they didn’t expect to get through their battles unscathed, but here? At the academy? This was where they were supposed to be safe. It was a fear they all held.
“Where do you lot think you’re going?”
Ash spun around to see one of the warriors standing behind them with a stern expression on his face. Everyone was on edge.
“We’re going up to the medical suite.” She explained, wanting to back away from his harsh expression, but standing her ground.
“You were all told to stay in your rooms if you aren’t on duty at your posts.”
“We thought Doctor Phillippe may need some help.” Ash explained.
“One minute.” The warrior held up a finger and turned to speak into his radio. After a moment, he turned back to them, “You have clearance to head up to the medical area. Straight there, and then straight back to your rooms when you’re done.”
“Thank you.” Jackson said, relieved that they weren’t in trouble. That was the last thing they needed right now.
It was strange feeling that they couldn’t walk around freely like they had only hours before, however it was understandable. Everyone was feeling the strain and following their orders to the very letter.
Jogging the rest of the way, Ash knocked on the
door of the medical suite and waited. Marshall opened up the door carefully, peering out to see who had come calling.
“Yes?”
“Marshall? It’s me, Aisline.”
He opened the door a little wider and the tension drained from his face. “So it is! Sorry, my dear. My eyesight isn’t what it used to be. What can I do for you?”
“We’ve come to see if there’s anything we can do to help out.” Dylan said with a small smile. He really liked the old man. Marshall was old school and Dylan loved sitting and listening to his stories for hours on end. Unfortunately they wouldn’t have time for that today.
“And to see Trey if possible.” Ash added.
Marshall nodded. “Give me a moment to check with the good doctor.” And he abruptly shut the door.
They didn’t have to wait long before Doctor Phillippe opened up the door herself. “Come on in. We’re rushed off our feet in here, so to be honest, having you sitting with Trey would be a big help to me.”
“Does he know? About what happened with the shifters?”
“Not yet.” The doctor shook her head. “I don’t want you to mention it yet, either. That’s something we need to leave up to the warriors to explain.” She didn’t know what that kind of information would do to his mental state and she wasn’t willing to put him under that kind of strain. It would derail his recovery, which was something she wasn’t prepared to do.
“Understood.” Jackson nodded.
“We don’t want to do anything to upset him.” Dylan reiterated.
“Is there anything else we can do for you while we’re here?” Ash asked, noting that the doctor looked tired and harassed, which was very unusual for her. Doctor Phillippe usually looked nothing less than elegant, so the sight of her proved how hard things were for her at the moment.
“No, no. That’ll be helpful enough. I appreciate you coming to help out.”
“He’s our friend. We want to see him get better.”
“Hopefully having you around will help him.” She led them in through the suite, putting her hand on the handle of the room Trey was in. “If you notice any changes in him, call me immediately.”
End of an Era: A Sons of Satrina Novel (The Sons of Satrina Book 4) Page 8