by Montana Ash
“To destroy evidence, to kill the most powerful wardens, to diminish paladin numbers,” Lark ticked off his reasons.
“Wait … destroy what evidence? And what makes you think the powerful wardens were targeted?” she asked, trying to keep up.
He stood in front of her, “Don’t you think it’s interesting that not a single member of the council was killed during the massacre? I know a lot of other powerful, well-respected wardens fell victim to the chades – Verity and Flint included,” he said, naming Diana’s and Ryker’s first lieges. “I think we should consider who within the council was present during the massacre. I think we should also look into who recalled all the most important Orders back here right before the attack,” he continued.
“Ryker’s Order, Dex’s Order, Diana’s Order … three of the most reputable, respected and strong Orders at the time. And there was at least a dozen more. The council pulled dozens of wardens away from their usual tasks – even the ones who had permanent postings. I know for a fact that Ryker had never been to Australia before, for example. And Dex’s Order – sure, Darius is great with the history books but so were a lot of other paladins and wardens, including the majority of the council members. Any number of local wardens could have helped with mere research like they proclaimed. So why was his Order reassigned here?”
“Because there was a chade epidemic and they needed the extra numbers to help fight as well as to help get answers. They needed the numbers and the soldiers,” she was playing devil’s advocate, but her brain was ticking.
“No, no, no. That doesn’t work,” his energy was positively frenetic now as he warmed up to the topic. “If that was the case, why didn’t they call in more rangers? There were hundreds of rangers around the world that could have been called back. But they weren’t. Only the truly powerful wardens.”
Ivy felt her mouth drop open, “Holy shit. You’re right. I never thought of that.”
“Apparently nobody else has either,” he said. “You see? It was never about stopping the chades. It was about herding specific wardens into the one area. And that area? The training centre and council headquarters which were all coincidentally burned to the ground.” He sat on the edge of the bed, his face filled with excitement, “What was stored in those buildings?”
She frowned, knowing the answer was important but not quite there yet, “Records?” she hedged.
“The Chronicles!” Lark said. “Written documentation of everything in our society from the beginning of time.”
“By the Great Mother …” she whispered, feeling the rightness of all that he’d said in her gut, “What was in the Warden Chronicles that would cause someone to instigate an attack, slaughtering hundreds of Mother Nature’s keepers, just to ensure they were destroyed?”
“Now that, my dear Ivy, is the real question. And one I don’t have the answer to – yet.”
She expelled a breath, rubbing at the now faint claw marks on her arm. They no longer bothered her and the wound was healing quickly. She knew not even a scar would remain by the time Max got her hands on her back at camp. Lark had already informed her of such.
“Are you okay?” he covered her hand with his own.
She smiled weakly at him, “My head is spinning,” she admitted. “So … what now?”
He stood up and began gathering up the rest of his clothes, “Now? I think it’s time we headed home, don’t you?”
She sucked in a deep breath and nodded. Home sounded pretty damn good to her.
THIRTY-THREE
He was so lost in his thoughts, he didn’t see the wall of human flesh until he almost ran into it, “Aargh!” he screamed, clutching his runaway heart, “What the hell do you think you’re all doing?”
Cali, Diana, Axel, Darius, and Dex were blocking the doorway, arms crossed, faces looking serious. He felt his belly clutch, “What is it? What’s happened?”
“Nothing’s happened. Everything’s cool,” Axel immediately reassured him.
Lark was glad to hear it but something was clearly bothering them and he didn’t allow himself to relax, “What’s going on, then?”
Cali cleared her throat, “It’s an intervention.”
“Pardon?” he asked, sure he was hearing incorrectly.
“An intervention,” Cali repeated. “Like the one you guys held for me.”
Lark eyed the five of them now with a mixture of annoyance and amusement. He allowed the amusement to win – for now, “And why exactly would I need a Dex-sex intervention? I promise we haven’t been together like that since I found out about the baby.” That made them all laugh, even the ever-serious Darius.
“It’s not about you and Dex and your sordid affair,” Cali informed him.
“Then what’s this all about?” he was positive he already knew but he wanted to make them say it.
“It’s about Ivy,” Diana said.
Just as he suspected and that’s why he was equal parts annoyed and amused. They had been home for exactly fifteen hours and thirteen of those had been spent debriefing and catching everybody up on what had transpired over the last four weeks. He was beyond pleased to hear the redeemed chades were doing well and their friends were happy and safe monitoring and serving them. He had been more than a little shocked to learn Knox was Kane, Kai, and Kellan’s father. The man hadn’t once mentioned it the entire time they’d been away. Thinking about it now, he couldn’t believe he had missed the signs. The triplets certainly resembled their father, particularly their grey eyes.
They had also discussed the episode with the ‘evil’ chades, although he had glossed right over the part about him being born a potentate. It didn’t escape his notice that Ryker hadn’t brought it up either and he knew the other man was just biding his time. The upcoming confrontation bothered him a little but there was nothing he could do about it, so he chose not to dwell on it. He and Ivy had rehashed their theories about the council, the chades, and the massacre. Many of their points had not been well-received at first but as they began to toss the ideas around, everyone agreed it all made a terrible kind of sense. Lark had other theories – big ones – but he was keeping them to himself for now. It wasn’t something he could afford to bring up and then be wrong about.
After thirteen hours of talking and thirty minutes of hugging he had finally managed to escape to his room with Ivy for a shower – and shower sex. He had made no attempt to hide his affections for the ranger but he also hadn’t been obvious either. He knew she wasn’t ready for that yet. However, given they had both emerged from the spiral staircase ten minutes ago with wet hair and satisfied smiles, he knew the gang would be wanting answers.
“What about her?” he asked them in response to their comment.
“You’re in love with her,” Cali pointed out.
He nodded once, “I am.” Even if he hadn’t told her that yet, he knew it was obvious to the people who knew him the best.
“But she’s not in love with you,” Axel added.
Lark scowled at his friend. How dare he make assumptions about Ivy’s feelings! So what if she didn’t love him? He sincerely hoped she would one day but he would never pressure her or expect more from her than she was capable of giving. What they shared now was more than enough for him. He told them as much and they all clearly heard his anger in his waspish tone.
“I’m sorry, man. I just don’t want to see you get hurt. I know what it’s like to be in a one-sided relationship,” Axel’s voice echoed with past hurt.
Lark felt his irritation deflate. He knew they were just concerned for him. He had been the same when he realised Cali was sleeping with Dex – an ex-chade. And as loud and as brash as Axel could be at times, he really was a genuine, caring guy who’d been crushed by a past relationship. He sighed, “I appreciate the concern – I truly do. But you don’t need to worry about my feelings. Or Ivy’s.”
“You sound very sure of her,” Cali stated.
“I am,” he promised.
She fidgeted a little
, “Well, it’s just, she’s not exactly the most demonstrative person. How can you be sure?”
“Not demonstrative?” he questioned in surprise, his mind immediately going to the bedroom last night when Ivy had ridden him like a cowgirl and proceeded to sleep ranged over his chest for the remainder of the evening. He couldn’t help the raunchy grin that tilted his lips as he looked at his friends.
“Okay, ick. I can tell your mind has reverted to the gutter,” Cali shook her head at him.
He laughed, “Trust me, Ivy shows her affection more than enough. Just because she’s not as touchy feely as the rest of you, or into kinky public sex acts –”
“Hey! It was one time and you were supposed to be in bed!” Darius interjected, blushing and making them all laugh.
Diana picked up his hand, “It’s not that we’re not happy for you, Lark. We just want to make sure you’re not alone in your feelings.”
“I’m not,” he assured them, completely confident in Ivy’s feelings for him. They were hard-won by him and so darn reluctant on her part, he knew there was no way she would be with him if she didn’t feel something special for him down to her very bones.
“Okay, Lark. We believe you,” Diana smiled brilliantly at him.
“But would it kill her to hold your hand or something?” Cali demanded.
He shook his head at her, she was like a dog with a bone and her protective instincts had gone up ten-fold since she became pregnant, “I’ll tell you what, we’ll hold hands and skip along the beach at sunset, holding a bunch of white daisies and singing a love song. How about that?”
She pouted at him a little and Dex wrapped an arm around her, his dark eyes twinkling, “That ought to do it. I mean, that’s how we prove our love, isn’t it?”
Cali huffed, “Fine, fine. You win. I give up.”
Lark walked over to her, kissing her on the cheek and giving her far rounder tummy an affectionate pat, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” she responded, quietly.
“Am I interrupting?”
Ivy’s voice had them all whirling to the doorway and Lark grinned at his lover. She looked decidedly uncomfortable, as if she were encroaching on him and his circle of friends. But she didn’t back away or excuse herself. That more than anything told Lark she was determined to give their relationship a chance.
“We were just discussing public displays of affection,” he informed her. “Cali believes hand-holding is the only way to show someone they are liked.”
“Not the only way,” the woman in question said, “just an easy way.”
“Is that so?” Ivy queried, her face remaining impassive and her tone dry as per usual.
Cali finally had the good grace to squirm, “I’m just sayin’, a little hand-holding wouldn’t kill you,” she mumbled.
The corner of Ivy’s mouth kicked up minutely and Lark felt the impact of that tiny smile in the skipping of his heart. Such a small sign of amusement and yet to him it was as warm and as beautiful as the sun. He knew his woman now, knew her nuances and he recognised the mischievous glint in her eye. Sure, to most her feelings, thoughts, and affections weren’t obvious. But with his photographic memory and his high IQ, he was overly skilled in reading the smallest of facial expressions and body language. Ivy’s small reactions were like glaring beacons of light to him. He didn’t need or want her to suddenly become a giggly, bouncy, loved-up female with small hearts in her eyes and a spring in her step. She was absolutely perfect just as she was.
The small flash of amusement left Ivy’s face as she walked over to Cali, grabbing her hand and holding it without a word. Everyone was staring dumbstruck; “What?” Ivy demanded, “I thought you wanted to hold hands?”
A full ten seconds of silence met Ivy’s attempt at humour before they all erupted into unrestrained laughter. Cali pursed her lips before joining in the laughter and giving Ivy a quick hug, “You’re all right.”
THIRTY-FOUR
Lark thrashed, trying to break free of the icy fingers of terror that was his nightmare.
“Lark! Lark!” he heard her voice and was finally able to draw in a shaky breath of the frigid air which surrounded him in the soulless pit he was in. Drawing in another ragged breath, he decided that breathing was good – very good. But he still couldn’t see a way out of the blackness.
“Lark, can you hear me? Come on, my sexy boy-toy, come back to me.”
Boy toy? he thought. The notion was such a stark contrast to the desolate environment he was trapped in that he was able to fight his way back to consciousness. He opened his eyes and sat bolt upright, seeing Ivy watching him with concern. Lifting a shaking hand to his face, he wiped at the cold sweat which had accumulated there.
“Bad dream?” Ivy inquired, mildly.
He barked out a rough laugh, “How’d you guess?”
“I’m observant,” was her droll response.
The very clear joke warmed him as nothing else could and he smiled genuinely at her this time, “Thanks for waking me up.”
She shrugged, “No biggie.”
“Trust me, it is to me,” he assured her. “These dreams … they’re changing. Or staying the same, rather. Repeating the same thing over and over …” He knew he was mumbling and likely not making any sense but he was trying to figure out what about Max’s ongoing nightmares that bothered him – more than usual, that was.
Ivy tucked the sheet around her naked body more firmly and crossed her legs, “What’s staying the same?”
“Max’s dreams, they used to change every night. I mean, there’s always common elements; the blackness, the cold, the helplessness. But they’ve been shifting. A few weeks ago, when I woke up I felt a sense of familiarity – like déjà vu. Now I know why. It’s because the dreams are repeating themselves. She’s dreaming about a particular chade …” he trailed off, trying to align his scattered thoughts.
He knew Max felt the pain of the chades, that she dreamt of them and took the weight of all the pain and the hopelessness and the fear of those lost wardens into herself. But lately, he could swear what she was feeling was coming from just one chade – not them as a collective. And the chade was bad news. It was like all the other chades were Storm Troopers and this one was Darth Vader. There wasn’t just a sense of nothingness or despair about this guy. There was maliciousness, evil – intent. And there was something about a finger …
He shook his head hard as the nightmare fell through his fingers like water. “Dammit!” he muttered, wishing his mind would hold onto it long enough to fit the puzzle pieces together.
“Dreams are fickle,” Ivy offered, stroking his arm.
He really wanted to lean into the touch but he knew she was doing it subconsciously and he didn’t want to alert her to the fact. Instead, he drifted for a while in the comfy quiet of the room. “Wait a minute,” he swung his head toward her, “Did you call me your boy-toy?”
Ivy pursed her lips, “No.”
He grinned at her in the darkness, “You did. I heard you even in the midst of my nightmare. You called me your boy-toy.”
“So what if I did?” she asked now, “You are a boy and I do toy with you …”
He dived on her, making her gasp when the decidedly un-boyish evidence of his desire pressed against her hip, “Hmm,” he nuzzled her neck, “I think I like being your boy-toy.”
She gripped his arse, bring him closer, “That’s a good thing because I like it too. In fact, I love it,” she admitted.
He felt his love for her bloom and he couldn’t resist leaning down to kiss her, slow and deep. After a minute, he pulled back and simply stared at the graceful angles of her face.
“What’s with the look?” she asked him, breaking the spell they were under.
“What look?”
She touched his face, “That look right now. It’s the same look you got when I thought you were stroking out.”
He laughed, “Only a woman who thought niceness was contagious would confuse the lo
ok of love with a haemorrhagic brain bleed.”
She snorted, only to choke when his words registered, “Love?”
He had intended to wait to tell her but oh well, “Yes, Ivy. Love. I love you.”
She shook her head, aggressively, “You can’t.”
“I do.”
“Well, stop it.”
“No.”
“I won’t say it back,” she warned.
He shrugged, settling his weight more fully upon her, “That’s fine. Your response is irrelevant.”
“It’s irrelevant?!”
Wow, he hadn’t known her voice could go that high, “Sure. It won’t change anything. I don’t care if you don’t feel the same way. I’m in love you. That’s all there is to it.”
She pushed at his shoulders, “You’re insane.”
He laughed, “Why? Because I love you?”
She shoved at his shoulders again, this time bringing her knee up dangerously close to his goodies. He allowed her to push him back and she immediately sat up. “Well, now you’ve ruined it. We can’t go around doing this anymore,” she waved a hand between them, indicating their naked state.
He lounged on his side, completely unconcerned but thoroughly entertained, “We can’t? Because I was kind of thinking being in love might add a little more spice to the sex.”
“I’m serious, Lark,” her voice held a note of anger. “Things are going to change now. You’re going to expect me to change. Maybe leave the rangers, come play house with you? Keep recharging Dex, maybe be his personal paladin?”
He didn’t so much as flinch at her harsh tone, “Why would I want you to do any of that? I fell in love with you just as you are, Ivy. I wouldn’t even know what to do with the Ivy you just described. I want you – just as you are right now.”
“Will you stop saying that?” she growled at him.