Chapter Thirty
As large as Simon’s office was, it was filled to capacity with the fiveWaryeors, Miller Armstrong and Simon himself within it. There was only enough seating for three, but many of theBredhrenpreferred standing, or as Col was doing, pacing.
Col was still reeling from the conversation he had with Tybalt before theBredhrenshowed up, and they hastened back to the house. But each step that he took seemed to drive the words deeper into his mind.Destine.Mate-bonded.Another.
Could it really be?
But without a Mage, FemaleShiftwere, or Healer, it was unknown if Katie Cooper was definitively aDestine, or if the mate-bonding would be enough to restore Col’s control of hisWaryeorsensibilities.
And if Katie Cooper were aDestine, it was still unclear if she was meant to behis Destine. That she would choosehim. In this new world, after all, he had seen the wenches that clustered around them, almost caring not which of them they were with. He had even seen some of the females with Merek one night, Barric the next, or perhaps with Aylwyn. Although the time with Katie Cooper had been as close to divinity as he had ever felt, mayhap it was not so with her. Mayhap that was why she had asked him to “take it slow,” which he had respected.
And in the meantime, Col was still finding it difficult to concentrate on the task at hand, unlike the others who were grimly focused what Simon was showing them.
On the monitor were images that Miller had taken with his phone after Simon had left the Realtor’s office. Simon had shared the photos, in the event that any one of them might recognize the pattern or methods of brutality that had been visited upon this male. The signs of strain were evident in Simon’s drawn face; he had considered this savaged male a friend.
It did not look like the work of aWaryeor, with the careless violence on the body, nor did it look to be of ritual design. Yet Simon was certain that there was a connection somehow. And, it was evident that a large laptop computer of some sort was taken.
Miller had photographed the top of the desk, in front of where Blake Rickert had been seated whilst he was being tortured. The splatter of coffee had distinctly outlined the straight edges of something that had blocked it from seeping into the papers underneath.
Something that mayhap contained what Blake’s assailants were in search of.
Simon could not bear to look at photos of the body, and Col was reminded again that as brave as the young man was, he was no trainedWaryeor. He could only admire Simon’s determination to get to the bottom of this, especially as it was likely to be the same person who had been looking into the ownership of Simon’s properties.
These were the properties that had been left to him by his parents, the Diviners, the ones charged with the care of theBredhrenthroughout the long sleep. The Sorceress of Plenty had explained it to her faithful wolf soldiers before they succumbed to her spell. She had used up much of her power to defeat her former lover, The Dark Warlord, and put him to sleep for a thousand years. She was not able to kill him, even in his slumber – once, she had lent him her magic and in doing so rendered herself incapable of ending his life.
But she knew that when her former lover finally awoke, he would wreak destruction on the world, yet again.
Rivers of blood. Terror and pain and sorrow. He feasted on dark energy, on negative emotions; that was how he amplified his power.
SevenWaryeorswere chosen to be put into a thousand year slumber, so they would awaken in the same years as The Dark Warlord. She gathered a group of faithful servants, the Diviners, and charged them, and their children, and their children’s children, with guarding theWaryeors. And then she used the last of her magic and her life force to send theWaryeorsinto their enchanted sleep.
Simon was talking about some of the results of hismagicks,what he did with the powerful altar he had in this room, with the large screens that yielded words or images at his command. Even the other three, normally boisterous, were in awe of this wizardry, and posed no danger to the room or its contents, unlike the living room downstairs.
In truth, Col could not fully apprehend what Simon was saying, he lacked understanding of the terminology that seemed the province of wizards. Miller Armstrong at least was able to prompt Simon to simplify at times, and Col knew only that Simon had looked into the person who had been inquiring about him, and it was suspicious that that person used the methods that they did to remain hidden.
It was information that Miller would find a way to share with the friends he had in the Gardendale Police Department, without compromising the very privacy that Blake Rickert had perhaps given his life, after excruciating pain, to safeguard.
Col stopped pacing and leaned his back against the wall, to the right of the entrance, and crossed his arms. On the other side of the doorway was Merek, silent and brooding.
Merek would make a fine mate for aDestine. He was strong, as they all were, but he was skilled in drawing the energy that was needed for healing. And perhaps that ability lent itself to other areas, as the many wenches that flocked to him atYe Olde Taverneseemed to evidence. It was not difficult to imagine Katie Cooper beside theWaryeor,looking at him much as the wenches did. Col had never been jealous of Merek before, but now he was gripped by an unfamiliar envy.
The ever-present laughter of Aylwyn’s japes interrupted his thoughts, and drew his attention. Little surprise that even in the midst of all the horror that was on display, the blond, aquamarine -eyedWaryeorcould still find some levity to seize upon. That was an asset too, that spoke to his fitness for aDestine. He too was a fearsome warrior, but he was affable, charming, and in truth, Katie Cooper seemed to seek out his company. Or at least welcome his banter and foolish nattering. Col’s fists clenched, and his jaw tightened.
And then there was Barric. Perhaps the most fearsomeWaryeorof them all, who fought best when seized with a berserker fury that came from some place as yet unknown on Earth. Even the beast that he was had somehow fallen under Katie Cooper’s spell. He would be protective of hisDestine, and, like Merek, have much experience with wenching, with which to please her.
Col would even fight a berserker-raged Barric unto death over Katie Cooper, if needs must.
Mine.
They were all looking at him. He had been growling. He cleared his throat.
“Nothing,” he muttered. They returned their attention to the horrific images on the screen.
Everyone except theVixar, who raised an eyebrow at him.
Col grimaced.
This was the crux of it. The very disunity that would destroy them as aWar-Pack,and he was the cause. His thinking of hisBredhrenas rivals, as targets for his aggression. That had to stop, right here and right now. He needed to focus on his duty first and foremost. And if Katie Cooper was meant to beDestineto one of hisBredhren, he would find a way to honor that, and live with the envy.
