by Montana Ash
“Oh really? Pretty sure being a walking stick man filled with hunger and hopelessness for fifty years as I tried to consume my brethren and defiled my element gives me an advantage,” Knox snarked.
“Will you two cut it out?” Dex demanded. “Sheesh, I had no idea the sexual tension was so bad between you.”
Knox was about to refute the comment – vehemently – when not one but two paladins staggered out of the trees, causing Knox’s inner radar to go haywire. Like Dex, and all the other chadens he assumed, he had a connection with the infection. Like recognised like, he supposed, and the two men were definitely infected. They were thin and dirty and their clothes were torn. They weren’t wearing any shoes and their eyes were hollow and listless. They were by far the worst infected paladins Knox had seen since all the wardens had been cured of the chade virus. There had only been a handful of paladins showing signs of the degenerative disease since the big battle, and Nikolai and Max had dealt with those swiftly. Although, Knox acknowledged, Dawn had been learning and doing all she could for them as well. But these paladins must have been lost somehow, they obviously had been living outdoors – perhaps even since the fight all those months ago.
‘No wonder they look so far gone,’ Kai’s voice could be heard loud and clear through the bond.
“What’s the plan?” Kellan asked, sickle at the ready.
“Incapacitate,” Knox was quick to say, pity filling him as he looked at the two listless men. He knew they were only driven by their infinite hunger now, but he stepped forward and tried to talk them down, nonetheless. It was the least he could do.
“We are going to help you, okay? But you need to stay still.” No response, and no indication they comprehended his words. Knox looked at Dex, receiving a small nod of encouragement. “Can you understand me?”
“They are too far gone,” Dawn murmured softly from behind him. “Their auras are almost completely gone. The void is close.”
Those four words caused a chill to skitter down Knox’s spine and he swore when he saw the two paladins move swiftly toward them. “Stay back,” he ordered Dawn.
“I can fucking help!” Dawn yelled.
Knox had heard Dawn swear only once throughout their entire acquaintance. Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to wonder why the sounds of Dawn cursing caused him to become aroused. He would have to analyse it later because as one paladin charged toward Dex, the other headed straight for Knox. It advanced in a lumbering gait, very different from the graceful floating the other chades used to do. His eyes were vacant and hollow – and black. So black and shiny Knox could see his reflection in them. And instead of seeing himself as he was now, whole and healthy, he saw the creature he had become all those years ago. And so, instead of fighting the paladin, instead of calling upon his own connection to his element, Knox froze. He simply froze.
Memories that had been dulled since his return and being reunited with his sons rose to the surface. Feelings of hunger and pain and that deep, deep abyss were like knives piercing his psyche. He therefore didn’t see the swift, outstretched hand of the paladin before it was too late. The air left his lungs with a painful whoosh, Kane falling on top of him after having tackled him. The infected paladin’s sharp claws passed harmlessly through the air. Knox shook his son off and attempted to get to his feet, but what he saw next froze him to the spot. Dawn was moving up behind the paladin and Knox had not felt such fear in years.
She was going to get hurt. She was going to get herself killed, he thought frantically. But before he could muster the wind, Dawn calmly placed her hands on the back of the paladin’s head. The paladin dropped like a stone, clearly unconscious. She didn’t spare Knox a glance as she walked over to where Dex was holding a snarling, spitting paladin with his powers. She placed her forefinger and middle finger to the centre of the paladin’s forehead, rendering the man unconscious as well from some kind of Vulcan mind meld or something. As she calmly walked away, not saying a word, Knox was frozen for a whole new reason.
Dawn was a total badass.
And he had royally fucked up.
Chapter Six
Dawn was both nervous and excited to attend the formal IDC meeting that day. The brand-new Headquarters had officially opened the day before and she and her counterparts had broken in their new council chambers with the appointment of the Local Council. Caspian had been beyond thrilled to take on the position of the chief, and Darius had been given the role of the local paladin member. One other paladin, one chaden and three other wardens – each from a different domain – completed the local council, and Dawn was satisfied they would do an excellent job. Even though the IDC was now going to be based out of the area, there were still many things the local council would be in charge of. The new IDC were about inclusion and delegation. They were wasting no time now that the HQ was open, and Eden was officially the hub of their society. It was basically their parliament. And that day, they were going to be formalising Orders.
Dawn couldn’t wait to place paladins with wardens they felt a natural bond with. With her own experiences of two failed Orders before finally finding the right paladins, she was a big advocate for the rights of wardens and paladins alike to choose their own Order. Of course, it wasn’t as simple as a warden choosing a paladin they liked, but the days of forcing strong paladins onto powerful wardens was over. The same went for the seemingly meeker paladins and wardens.
“Are you excited?” she asked Dex, who was standing next to her, searching the room. There were three wardens and five chadens that were hopeful to find their paladins that day. And then there was Dex. He had decided it was time to enlist some paladins to provide him with vitality on a permanent basis. Dawn wasn’t privy to the deal Dex and Ivy had with each other regarding recharging, but Dex felt the time was right to take on paladins once more. He also wanted to set an example for other chadens, as he would be only the second chaden to create an Order. Knox was the first.
Dawn had not seen Knox since the incident with the sick paladins four days earlier. To say she was disappointed in his reaction to her initially staying was an understatement. She had thought Knox respected her more than that. Although, she supposed it was her own fault. She had made such a big deal over being seen as a woman, as Dawn, and not as her title, that it made sense he would disregard her abilities. I can’t have it both ways, I guess, she thought to herself.
Willow snorted rudely and loudly in Dawn’s head. ‘You most certainly can have it both ways. And you should. Do not accept anything less.’
‘I haven’t. Ever,’ Dawn reminded her. ‘It’s why I’m still single at over six hundred years old.’
‘To be fair, I think Knox was just trying to protect you. I mean, he certainly looks very sorry. Look at him, he looks like a sad puppy,’ Piper said.
Dawn looked over to the corner where Knox was talking with Simon, Patrick, and Vance. The three paladins had once been a part of the Magne Order when Dex had been known as Charlemagne. Today, they would be re-forming that bond as the Order of Absolution – and Dex would once more be their liege. Dawn was so happy for all of them, and clearly, Knox was too as he looked to be encouraging the three men and offering support. But Piper was right, there was a shroud of sadness and regret around Knox. Dawn hated seeing his usually pretty aura so dim and she resolved to speak with him before the day was over.
“Dawn?” Dex prompted, looking down at her with an indulgent look on his face.
“I’m sorry,” she said, realising Dex had probably been trying to answer her question for the past five minutes. “I was speaking with my Order.” It was half true, she told herself.
“That’s what I figured. It’s all right. But in answer to your question; yes, I’m excited. Scared too. I failed those men once before. I don’t want to do it again,” Dex revealed.
Dawn turned to him, giving him her full attention. “Dex, you didn’t fail them. You got sick.”
Dex shook his head, “I abandoned them. The circumstances don
’t matter. I let them down.”
The words were remarkably similar to the ones Dawn had used when discussing the chades with Knox. It struck her then, as it had when she saw Knox with the ill paladin, just how hard it was to come back from such a dark place. Knox and Dex and all the other chadens were heroes in her eyes.
‘I’m sure Knox would like to hear that,’ Micah, of all people, pointed out.
‘Perhaps,’ Dawn allowed, setting aside such thoughts for the moment as Blu called the meeting to order.
Dawn seated herself at the horseshoe shaped table in the front of the room. It was a good set-up and ensured all members could see everyone clearly. It was also on the same level as the rest of the room – unlike the last table which had been set high above the citizens. Dawn looked around, noting that there were more female paladins than male paladins in the room – a testament to days gone by when male wardens believed women were the weaker sex. It meant there was a skew in the ratio of female vs male paladins needing to find an Order. Trying to get a gauge on potential bonds, Dawn took a look at some auras. Searching the room, she was angry and saddened to find so many unhappy paladins. The vast majority of them being women.
Pursing her lips, she looked at her fellow IDC members. “Looks like we won’t be forming as many Orders as we initially believed.”
Hyde raised his eyebrows, looking confused. “What do you mean?”
“Half of these paladins don’t want to be here,” she revealed. The other seven members of the IDC looked at her then, giving her their full attention. “Truly,” Dawn added.
Max squinted into the crowd, her eyes doing that swirly thing Dawn thought was really cool before she sighed and shook her head. “Dawn’s right. A lot of these paladins are still recovering from the losses of their former lieges or have a great distrust for the whole process. And some of them are even here against their will.”
“Against their will?” Mordecai asked, looking pissed by the notion.
“Yes,” Dawn confirmed. “Perhaps we should have held private meetings first rather than arranging this one big day. We could have picked up on these issues before now.”
Blu shook his head, “We are trying to do better than the old IDC, but we still have a lot to learn. Do not be so hard on us,” he smiled kindly at Dawn. “We will get it right.”
She knew Blu was correct. Still, there was one thing she could do to help right then and there; talk to her people. “Do you mind?” she asked her colleagues, gesturing to the crowd.
Blu smiled, “Not at all.”
Dawn stood up, noting the way Knox’s eyes tracked her every movement. She commanded her racing heart to calm down, reminding herself she would deal with the Knox dilemma later. Right now, she had facts to straighten out. “Who is here because they want to be here? Raise your hands,” she called out, figuring being direct was the best approach. When nobody moved, Dawn frowned in frustration. “It is not a trick question. Who wants to form an Order today, receive their coat of arms, and begin serving a liege?”
Finally, there was some movement. Simon, Patrick, and Vance stepped forward. “Uh, we sure do,” Simon said, raising his hand high.
Dawn smiled at them in thanks. That was a no-brainer, but it was enough to encourage other paladins to speak up too. After much shuffling and much mumbling, three of the chadens and only one of the wardens would be forming an Order that day. There simply wasn’t enough paladins who wanted to join. “What is your real fear?” Dawn asked a group of four female paladins who had stood in stony silence, glaring at the earth warden who had petitioned to have them in his Order. He was one of the wardens going home Orderless that day.
“He wants us to have sex with him,” one of the women finally admitted.
Hemp, the earth warden in question, raised his chin, “So? It’s a perfectly effective way to recharge.”
Dawn felt her anger spike, knowing exactly how these women felt. No, it was not the same for her because she could more easily decline all the inappropriate advances she had been met with over the years. Her status allowed her that. But the female paladins of their society had not been afforded the same rights. Dawn ignored Hemp, as well as his idiotic, sexist, misogynistic remark. Instead focusing on the women.
“Ladies, listen up. Your vagina is not a sheath for a cock.” Startled gasps met her statement and she wasn’t sure if it was because of her word usage or because of the meaning behind them. “You are in charge of your own bodies – including your vitality and what is between your legs. Your vagina is not a placeholder for a warden’s erect penis. You are not responsible for your liege’s sex life – unless you want to be of course. Do you understand?”
There was nothing but silence for several heartbeats before one person clapping their hands could be heard. Dawn’s head popped up, her eyes meeting those of Knox’s, to see great pride in his eyes. Knox was proud of her – and it made her feel like a Queen. Others quickly joined in with the applause and Dawn was left feeling well satisfied with her little pep-talk. She only hoped the message sank in, not only to the women, but also to men like Hemp. She saw Knox moving through the crowd and she walked to meet him. She was on a roll and her confidence was at an all-time high right then. Talking out their differences seemed like a good idea. Before she could so much as open her mouth, Knox was apologising.
“I wanted to apologise for the other day. For what I said and the way I acted. I was scared and defensive and I took it out on you. I just didn’t want to see you get hurt,” Knox apologised, looking contrite.
She wanted to accept his apology, could even understand where he had been coming from, but she needed to make sure he understood her first. “I am not without my own power. I am not an empty figurehead,” Dawn told him.
“I know. You were amazing. You are amazing,” Knox vowed. His words, spoken with such brutal honesty and awe, had Dawn blushing. “And that vagina speech? Awesome.” Dawn’s mouth dropped open and she whacked Knox on the arm. “What? I’m being serious. No truer words have ever been said. I swear, the Vagina Speech will be whispered about for years to come.”
Dawn groaned, shaking her head. “Don’t do that. Don’t capitalise it.”
Knox grinned, looking boyish and carefree once more. “Too late.”
“You are incorrigible,” she said.
“I know. It’s a part of my charm. Does this mean I’m forgiven?”
Dawn nodded, “It does.” She then moved in close, lowering her voice for his ears only. “And I am sorry too. Sorry you had to come face to face with a paladin suffering the way you suffered. I know it was confronting. If you ever want to talk about it, I’m here.”
“Thank you, Dawn,” Knox said gratefully. “Does this mean I can have my old job back?”
“What do you mean?”
“As your personal assistant,” Knox clarified. “We’ve been avoiding each other these last few days.”
“I don’t really need an assistant, Knox,” Dawn told him. And it was true. She was busy but she liked it that way. She was used to being busy.
“Dawn, I’m going to let you in on a little secret; I don’t need to be an assistant.” His grey eyes snagged hers as he admitted, “But I want to be.”
Dawn drew in a deep breath, feeling the silent encouragement from her entire Order. She licked her lips nervously and tugged on her hair until she could twirl her fingers around it. “I still have a few tasks I could use an assistant for.” Knox’s relieved grin made her breath catch in her throat. Now all she had to do was figure out why.
Chapter Seven
Knox waited anxiously behind his bar, checking the door every time he heard it open. Dawn had said she would come for a drink that night and Knox was nervous as though it were a date. Which it is not, he sternly told himself. It had been just over a month since he had introduced himself to the pretty life warden, and although they had spent lots of time together, it had all revolved around work – or pseudo work anyway. With Knox’s duties as PA fulfilled – tha
t is, Dawn having no more jobs she could make up for him to do – they were having recreational drinks.
“Recreational? Then why are you so dressed up?” Kane asked from his position behind the bar. He was unstacking the dishwasher and passing the still wet glasses to Kellan.
Both of them looked at Knox with identical knowing expressions. If Kai were there, Knox was sure he would have had the same expression on his face too. The only problem with having identical triplet sons, Knox thought, was seeing identical looks of ‘you’re a moron, dad’ on their faces. “I’m not dressed up,” Knox finally retorted.
Kellan looked Knox up and down. “You’re wearing a shirt with buttons and a collar. I haven’t seen you in anything but a t-shirt and jeans since you came back.”
“I’m wearing jeans,” Knox hastily pointed out.
Kane snorted, his grey eyes twinkling in amusement. “You’re wearing new jeans. Besides, aren’t those the ones Cali said make your butt look good?”
Knox grumbled at his laughing offspring, choosing not to answer them. So what if he had only worn the dark denim jeans once before? And so what if that one time, his good friend Cali had informed him his butt was extremely edible in them? It didn’t mean he was trying to impress Dawn or anything, Knox assured himself.
“Dad, it’s cool,” Kai said, startling Knox. He had somehow snuck up on him. “Dawn is fantastic.” He grinned mischievously, “We’d be happy to have her as our new stepmother.”
“You –” Knox reached for Kai, but he was too quick, darting away and cackling like a hyena. “What are you doing here, anyway? I thought you were having a night in upstairs?” Knox was very much of the same mindset as Max. He believed paladins should get downtime. Not only did it ensure they were rested and therefore sharper on the job, but it was also just fucking manners. Last he heard, Kai was planning to eat dry cereal in his underwear as he binge watched Lucifer.