Paladin (Book Two of the Elemental Paladins series)

by Montana Ash

  “I used you, Diana. Do you not have any self-respect?”

  The urge to punch him between the eyes had been monstrous but she had refrained – barely. He was clearly so far in the closet about his true wants and desires and far too cowardly to admit to them. Darius and cowardly were words she thought she would never use in the same sentence. So just like she had done eight hundred years ago when he had crushed her feminine pride on the battlefield, she had shut him down and cut him out.

  “Did you just? Well, did you ever consider that I may have been using you too, hmm? Perhaps I am the one who should be begging for forgiveness.” After gaining a sliver of satisfaction from his widening eyes and gaping mouth, she had slammed the door in his handsome face. Now here they were three days later and he had apparently not been using his time to get his thoughts in order. He was still struggling to reach the point where the rest of them were at.

  “You really don’t get it, do you?” She questioned him.

  He was frowning now, “I don’t understand what?”

  She shook her head, noting the way his hazel eyes tracked the movement of her errant curls. She knew he had a thing for her hair just as Max knew Ryker had a thing for her boobs. So of course, Max used them to her advantage all the time. Diana wasn’t above such small pleasures either, so she gave her coils an extra flip for good measure. “There’s a reckoning coming, Darius. A revolution. And Max is the trigger.”

  She literally heard him swallow and saw the dramatic movement in his throat muscles. Oh, yes, the man knew it. He felt it, just like the rest of them. He just wasn’t ready to accept it. Despite being acutely pissed off – and yes, hurt – by the man, she still wanted to help him. “You know the fact that Max is a Custodian is out of your control, right? It has nothing to do with you.” She kept her voice low, ensuring they couldn’t be overheard.

  Darius scowled. “Yes. I am fully aware I have no control over Max’s Custodian status.” He responded coolly.

  “Then why do you insist on trying? You’re making this about you; about your insecurities, and your wants. It’s exactly what Ryker did when she first arrived. It’s why she went so long running on fumes, when the first thing Ryker should have seen was how sick she was. But he was more focused on how her presence affected him – his emotions and his dreams, long thought lost to him. You are doing the exact same thing – albeit not quite as rudely.” She acknowledged. “Max challenges everything you thought you knew about the world. Everything you thought you knew about a society where rules and order are paramount. She upsets your sense of self – not just your sense of what you believed possible – and you don’t know how to cope.”

  Darius clenched his teeth. “My duty is first and always to the Wardens of the world. I always put them first. Equally, I am putting Max’s best interests first. It is my responsibility to do so, just as it is yours. I do not factor into the equation at all.”

  “Uh huh.” Diana replied, dryly. “You keep telling yourself that. But you’re never going to be comfortable with the whole situation until you begin to accept it.”

  Diana saw his smooth veneer begin to crack again in the flaring of his nostrils and the agitated hand scrubbing across his scalp. “You are wrong. I not only accept Max as a Custodian and that she is here to stay, but I am trying to ensure her smooth transition into society. Why am I the only one that gets that?” He threw at her, before leaving the room.

  Diana sighed as she made her way out front, needing some air. She hoped her little talk with Darius helped. She wasn’t anywhere near as good as Max was at putting people in their place, but she was good at psychology. It was why she often took on jobs as a consultant for various law enforcement agencies around the world. As a paladin affiliated with the domain of death, it allowed her a certain sensory compassion she supposed. Where Ryker was empathic – being able to read and sometimes feel emotions from people, Diana was able to analyse those emotions and discover the root of them.

  She knew others made the assumption that a Death Warden or paladin were dark or cold and spent their days dealing with ghosts or predicting people’s deaths or the like. But that was entirely wrong. As a paladin associated with the elements of loss, grief and pain, she was actually able to bring peace. She was able to analyse the evidence of a crime and all the people involved, while staying completely removed. She could judge the natural reactions of a person. The crux of her domain was acceptance. She understood the cycles of the world better than anyone because death and loss were like family to her, it made her very zen about the shitty things in the world. She was very accepting of the unchangeable things in life. She understood how the world – with all its people and places and things – evolved and changed with time. It was inevitable. But that didn’t mean justice shouldn’t be served and people could just get away with anything. She was accepting – not forgiving. Big difference. So consulting work had fit her like an old glove and she truly enjoyed it. It had also enabled her to spend large amounts of time away from a certain air paladin. It was a shame she was going to have to stop. She would miss it, and being a trainer too. But there was no way any of them were going to be able to continue with their day jobs now that they were bound to Max as she had earlier thought. There was also no way Diana was going to be in the same room as Ryker when he told Max that. She had a feeling that the feisty female wasn’t going to be too impressed.

  “Darius is having a real hard time with all this, isn’t he?” Max’s voice startled her so badly, she actually reached for her sickle before cursing when she remembered she didn’t have it on her. No weapons in the Lodge. She wasn’t surprised Max had sought her out and she knew Darius was having a huge problem with ‘all this’. She was a genuinely caring person and very astute. After the heated discussion about the chades earlier in the week – she still hadn’t explained to any of them why she had chosen to let that chade go – Diana knew she had talked with Darius privately and the two had agreed to move past the tension. Darius hadn’t revealed why talk of the chades caused him such pain but Max was ensuring he had the time and space he needed to work through it. She was a good friend. Diana found herself nodding in response;

  “He is. His whole world is structured around rules and laws. His position in society is dictated to him by how well he follows the rules. Although he has evolved with the times, in many respects he remains an old fashioned guy at heart. Change is difficult for him. Especially change he cannot quantify in his little books.” Max nodded, biting her lip. “Hey, don’t worry. He’ll come around.” She assured her.

  Max looked directly at her then, her oceanic eyes piercing and bright. “I hope so. I’m going to need him. He’s the final one.”

  “The final one for what?” Diana questioned quietly, unease filling her. But Max didn’t answer her. Her old liege, Verity, had a touch of premonition so she was very good at reading the signs for that particular trait. She sure hoped she was reading Max wrong right now.

  “When do you think we can do some more normal stuff?”

  Diana had to blink several times in order to clear her mind enough to follow Max’s tangents. The woman was going to give her whiplash. “Normal stuff like what?”

  “I don’t know. Like going shopping the other day. Coming here to work with you guys is okay, but I just figured now that I’m not being hounded by creatures everywhere I go, I might be able to do some more … normal.”

  Diana winced. Not only had Max been unable to enjoy the mundane things everyone took for granted due to her being so sick, being stalked constantly, and being afraid of powers she didn’t understand, but she also had a restless personality. Diana recognised a woman of action when she saw her. She wasn’t going to be content to sit around the camp all day growing daisies and petting the dolphins. Perhaps she had a touch of coward in her like she had accused Darius, because there was no way Diana was going to inform Max that was exactly what the other wardens were going to expect. And as nightmarish as that scenario was likely to be to Max
, the other scenario was worse to Diana. And that was that the IDC was going to try to take advantage of Max and they were going to lose her to the Council.

  “We don’t really do ‘normal’ Max. This is it. What you see is what you get, I’m afraid.” She spoke lightly.

  “Don’t you find it all a little boring?”

  “No.” Yes!

  “Hmm.” Max’s non-answer was slightly concerning. Perhaps she should talk to the others about ensuring Max’s devious brain was kept active. She had the feeling that a bored Max was a dangerous Max.

  THIRTEEN

  Thus, two days of inactivity later, Diana had managed to talk the rest of the group into doing some more ‘normal’. Well, she really only had to convince Ryker and Darius. The others were wholly on board. Later that day they were going to go out for drinks and dancing. She had the strangest feeling that Max would prove exceedingly entertaining under the influence. Wardens didn’t encourage their paladins to imbibe often but it wasn’t actually a rule that they weren’t allowed to drink. That’s why Lonnie’s was so popular amongst the knights in the area. They could get together and be social in a casual environment. Not that Diana had any intention of taking Max to Lonnie’s. After the whole ‘dick slit’ threat, she figured it was probably wiser to take Max someplace where the male occupants wouldn’t be holding onto their genitals in fear all night. She was looking forward to getting dressed up and relaxing as well.

  At the moment though, they were all outside watching in amusement as Max finally bonded with Axel and Beyden and added two more members to their eclectic Order. Axel was completely enamoured with his new coat of arms and kept running his hands over it just to watch it writhe. Diana wished he would stop. She could almost feel an echo of it through her own brand. A giggle had her turning her attention to her liege and her mouth dropping open.

  “Is she …?” Diana asked more to herself than anybody. She was standing a distance away from the general chaos and didn’t expect anyone to hear her. But Darius had obviously decided to join them, for he was the one who answered;

  “Swimming through the air?” Darius sighed, “Yes.”

  “You don’t approve.” It was a statement, not a question.

  “It’s not that I don’t approve …” He began.

  “But you don’t understand her. You still can’t find your answers in your little books and it’s freaking you out.” She could read him so easily now, and knew he was bristling at her words. They had continued to be polite to each other and she hoped he had given some genuine thought to their conversation at the Lodge the other day.

  “I am not freaking out.” He disputed but didn’t rise any further to her taunt. He continued to watch Max as she did breaststroke through the air. Diana had only ever seen Air Wardens with the ability to float. It was wicked cool.

  “She’ll calm down. This is still just all so new to her. With six of us sharing our vitality, she’s got energy and power in droves.”

  “Yes. That is what concerns me.” He admitted.

  “You think she can’t handle it?” Although her tone was level, she could hear the underlying tension in it. Because she was bound to Max, it was hard for her to fight the instinctual need to defend her liege against any form of criticism – no matter how veiled or minor. But Darius just shook his head;

  “It is not Max I am worried about. I think Max can handle anything. I think her powers have always scared her because she didn’t have the knowledge to understand them or harness them. And because, even in her weakened state, they were always so strong.” They watched her laughing now, both feet firmly planted back on the ground, and he was satisfied to see the healthy blush in her face. “Anyone else would have tried to cultivate all that barely-restrained power. Regardless of whether or not they understood it.” Darius continued, seemingly contemplatively, “But not Max …”

  “No, not Max.” She agreed. “But others might take it upon themselves to exploit all that power – and all that natural goodness.” She added, testing to see which direction Darius was taking the conversation.

  “Our society is inherently good, as are its citizens, but … I feel as though the International Domain Council is running on fumes. The chades are increasing in numbers again, warden births are continuing to decline, the local councils are being given more and more power, and the few wardens we have left are becoming more reclusive and passive with their domains.”

  And yep, Diana thought, his feelings were heading in the same direction as hers. Perhaps he had taken the last few days to consider things. Or perhaps she had been unkind and not given him enough credit. Perhaps his deep understanding of the politics in their world was the crux of his reservations and concerns for Max.

  “So what will happen when we present a Custodian – a daughter of the Creator herself?” Diana questioned.

  “Exactly. That much power?” He shook his head. “If you were suddenly handed a magic wand that could fix all your problems, wouldn’t you be tempted to accept it?”

  “She isn’t a magic wand.” She was quick to point out.

  “Not to us. No. Never. But to those who would do anything to see their species survive …” He trailed off, not needing to finish and likely not wanting to finish.

  She actually felt a little bad now. Seems he was on the same page as the rest of them in all that was important. She was going to respond but he had already moved off to congratulate Beyden and Axel. Later. She would talk to him again later. But for now she could give Max the good news of their plans for the rest of the evening. It might also serve to help Max burn off some of her new energy.

  “We should start getting ready for tonight.” She announced.

  Max turned to her from Ryker’s arms where she was securely snuggled. “Tonight? What’s happening tonight?”

  “We’re hitting the town! Karaoke baby!” Lark crowed.

  Max’s initial full wattage smile dimmed and froze in place as the colour leached out of her face. “What did you just say?”

  Lark paused, eyeing Max warily. “Um … karaoke?”

  “Why do you hate me?” Max looked so forlorn it was almost comical.

  “What? We don’t hate you! What are you talking about?” Poor Lark.

  “Why else would you want to take me to such dens of torture? Why else would you want to punish me in such cruel, horrific ways?” She spouted dramatically. Diana could see Ryker rolling his eyes from behind his small love.

  “I take it you’re not a fan of karaoke …” Diana took a stab in the dark.

  “Absolutely not! Lucifer himself dreamt up that little peach of a nightmare. And it won’t die! It just won’t die I tell you!”

  “Lucifer isn’t real, Max.” Darius argued, rationally. As if that was going to help.

  “Oh yes he is! I’ve met him. And do you know where I met him?” She pointed an accusing finger to the sky. “That’s right! It was in a karaoke bar! Never again! Oh no, never again …” She muttered, shuddering from head to foot.

  Axel was eyeing Max, deep in thought. “Does this have something to do with the donkey and the train thing?”

  “Hush! Quiet you! We do not speak of such things!”

  As amusing as this was – and it was very amusing – Diana was keen to get the show on the road. “Fine. No karaoke bar. But we are still going out.” She could do with a few stiff drinks herself.

  “Definitely! Let’s go to Dave’s Dive.” She offered with enthusiasm.

  Ryker grimaced, “Dave’s? Max that place is filled with degenerate humans and smells like body odour, sweat and failed dreams.”

  “I know! Perfect right?” She smiled cheekily, “Besides, it’s where I first met you guys. It has sentimental value.”

  Diana looked around at everybody and received various nods and shrugs. Looked like they were going to Dave’s Dive.

  “Oh, and …” Max added, “… let’s invite Caspian, Leo and Lawson. And maybe Fawn and her paladins – they seemed nice too – a little res
erved, but that’s nothing a bottle of tequila wouldn’t cure. Oh, and the triplets! We’re definitely inviting the triplets!”

  Uh oh, Diana thought. What had she done?

  FOURTEEN

  “Dance with me.” Max demanded to her lover. They were about hour four into their evening at Dave’s. The human bar owner had raised his scarily hairy monobrow when he saw them enter but hadn’t said anything and had continued to serve them drinks as the night progressed. He had even plugged in the sad excuse for a jukebox in the corner. Diana couldn’t believe the thing even worked, it was so old. But it did have a great mix of old school tunes on it. Ryker seemed to have some kind of relationship with the owner, if she wasn’t mistaken, so she was sure that helped too.

  “I don’t dance.” Her captain responded flatly to Max. He wasn’t drinking – half of them weren’t. Some of them had to ensure they were protected.

  “Not even sexy dancing?” Max cajoled.

  Although his brown eyes lit up at the word sexy – typical male – he still shook his head. “Not even.”

  “I’ll dance with you, honey.” Beyden volunteered. He had been drinking, but only a little and was a far cry from tipsy. It was good to see him so relaxed. He jumped up and steered Max towards the dance floor. The beast paladin then proceeded to lead Max in an intricate series of steps, his hips and shoulders moving with a fluid grace as they glided across the ‘dance’ floor.

  Ryker raised his eyebrows, “I didn’t know he could dance!”

  Diana rolled her eyes, watching her fellow knight’s hips move appreciatively. “The man is Spanish, Ryker. He could Pasa Doble before he could walk.”

  “I’d be careful, Captain.” Cali smirked, cheekily. “You know what they say; a man who can move his hips on the dance floor, can move them off the dance floor.”

  “Dip me! Dip me!” They all watched as Max’s thick, long red locks brushed against the floor before Beyden righted her again, leaving her breathless and flushed.