Page 35 of Ever Dark Academy, Vol. 3

“Demos and I were tasked with hunting the Weryn War Children that broke the rules, which you know. I kept waiting for Legion’s name to come up on that list. It never did. Which means they are clever. Actually, I know they are clever,” Ryder said as he finished off his champagne in one long swallow.

“How so?”

“They were Lawson’s Sire, my Grandsire, but I never even knew what gender they go by,” Ryder said. “Lawson never spoke of them. Ever.”

Grayson’s forehead furrowed. “Not at all?”

“Lawson wanted to be seen as the powerful leader of the Weryn. To have a Sire, especially one like Legion who was said to nearly rival Weryn’s power, would have undercut that,” Ryder explained.

“At least, that’s why I thought Lawson didn’t talk about them.

But now I wonder. A long time has passed since the War.

A lot of the Vampires from that time have gone away.

Gotten their Second Deaths or simply… left.

By keeping who they are a secret, Legion has an extra layer of safety. ”

“Especially if they are the leader of the Sect of Dawn,” Grayson agreed.

“Especially that.” Ryder nodded. “But I’m also not surprised about Legion being behind all of this, because…”

“Don’t say it. This is not your fault.” Grayson squeezed Ryder’s arm.

“It is. I was the first one to make War Children, Grayson. I made more of them than anyone else,” Ryder told him.

“You were in mourning for me,” Grayson reminded him.

“I was. And I was out of my mind. It was like a switch had been flipped. I had no reason to hold back without you there and with Daemon asleep. But the truth is that some part of me reveled in just letting go.” Ryder extended an arm to the side.

“The killing. The battles. The soldiers. All of it. I loved some parts of it.”

“We are all predators, Ryder, but I think for you that predator is more primal and nearer the skin,” Grayson admitted. “Which is why you are Daemon’s Soldier.”

“And your ability to disengage from your emotions makes you the General.”

Grayson gritted his teeth. “I almost didn’t earlier tonight.”

“What do you mean?” Ryder glanced down at him.

“There’s a reporter here. She’s an old friend.

I barely remember her. Or maybe I don’t want to.

She’s at some small, local station where I used to live with my–my mother,” Grayson explained, surprised and aggravated by how his throat grew thick with emotion simply talking about his mother.

“She’s only here because my mother has entrusted her with an exclusive. ”

He felt Ryder’s surprise though he didn’t look up and have to see it. “In exchange for what? Why would your mother go with a nobody instead of a major network personality? The school is the news story.”

Grayson nodded. “Right. If my mother only wanted money or notoriety that would be the way she should have gone.”

“But she didn’t. Which means she doesn’t want those things?” Ryder asked slowly.

“Rachel–that’s the reporter’s name–insists that my mother never stopped looking for me,” Grayson said and swallowed the lump that had annoyingly formed in his throat.

He was keeping his emotions out of the forefront of his mind, but his body was reacting to them anyway.

“That she loves me and just… wants to see me again.”

“Do you believe her?” Ryder asked, not qualifying if he meant Rachel or Grayson’s mother.

“I don’t have to believe her. I can know. I will have Balthazar read her mind,” Grayson said.

“That will tell you what Rachel believes, but not what your mother does,” Ryder pointed out gently.

“Well, what am I going to do? Bring my mother here? To the Ever Dark? To the school? Or go to Earth to find her? How can I justify either of these things considering what we are facing?” Grayson’s questions were curt, cold and cutting, but they were tinged with this frazzled emotional edge that he couldn’t hide.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to take that tone with you.

You’re just asking the logical questions. ”

“I didn’t take offense.” Ryder stroked Grayson’s arm. “Dealing with her can wait until this matter with the Sect is concluded.”

That was, again, the rational thing to say and do. It was the thing that Grayson should do considering all he had just said and the facts as they were. Yet Grayson let out a sharp laugh.

“That’s assuming the Sect doesn’t go after her before then,” Grayson said bitterly. “They’ve come after me twice , Ryder. First time was an accident. But this time it was not.”

“You’re right.” Ryder stopped walking. His gaze was distant. “Balthazar is already having her guarded.”

“Yes, I supposed he would. You just confirmed with him?” Grayson asked.

Ryder nodded and they proceeded to walk. “He didn’t tell you because–”

“Because everyone’s walking on eggshells around me about this? I know.” Grayson shook his head with disgust. Not at them. But himself. “I did tell him I wanted her dealt with. I was quite clear that I wanted her silenced in whatever form was necessary–”

“No matter what you said, no one believed you wanted her killed,” Ryder interjected. But he paused for a moment too long as if he was going to say something more.

“What? Who was the outlier who did believe I wanted her…” Grayson couldn’t even say the word.

“Caemorn,” Ryder said simply. “He’s worried about you.”

Grayson’s eyes widened. “Is he? I suppose he recognizes the danger of emotional attachments–”

“No, that’s not it at all,” Ryder interrupted smoothly. “He thinks the opposite actually. He’s worried that you will withdraw into the cold, logical part of yourself and cut off your softer side.”

Grayson’s mouth opened and shut for a moment with no words escaping him. Finally, he got out, “But surely he sees the dangers in allowing myself to be ruled by a wounded boy’s feelings?!”

It was a bleat of pain, which just proved that he was being ruled by them to some extent no matter what he wanted to tell himself.

“Knowing Caemorn he likely sees most everything. But my guess is that he’s looking into the past rather than the future,” Ryder let out a breath.

“Who we used to be allowed us to enter into the War. The softer sides of us–the sides that came from being reborn as human–are what is allowing us to work together now. To see our mistakes more clearly. He fears that you see no value in this life. That you won’t take any lessons from it. ”

“And he tells you this and not me because?” Grayson already knew why. His offended tone couldn’t quite hide that knowledge.

Ryder kissed his temple. “Because he thinks you listen to me.”

“I do.” Grayson closed his eyes. “I love you so much. I just want to keep you and everyone else safe. This thing with my–my mother feels so unnecessary to that.”

“It’s necessary to you,” Ryder said.

“Is it? Should it be? Twenty-five years is all I’ve lived in this form. Most of that time, I wasn’t even with her,” Grayson said with a shake of his head as he opened his eyes again.

“Mother is the same as God on a child’s lips,” Ryder murmured.

“She wasn’t a bad person! She wasn’t even a bad mother! She just made mistakes,” Grayson said. “Big ones at the end, but she tried to fix it. But it was too late.”

“Does knowing that she didn’t reject you because of your gifts help you any?” Ryder asked as they strolled past the fountain.

“I don’t know if that’s true. It’s the story you’d tell a reporter to make yourself look good. It’s the story you might even tell yourself to assuage your conscience,” Grayson pointed out. “I think the truth will be more complicated.”

“Such as?”

“That she was afraid of me. That part of her was glad I was gone. And that part of her was thrilled I’d killed him and saved her,” Grayson said flatly. “But I don’t think she wanted me back. Not one-hundred percent for sure.”

“Could she have looked for you and not found you?” Ryder asked.

“Possibly. I hid myself well. I was scared of being found by the police. And then through the policy by scientists or the government,” Grayson admitted with a shrug. “I didn’t even consider the idea that she might look for me.”

Ryder tightened his hold on Grayson’s arm. “You were afraid of what you’d done, too, I’m sure.”

But Grayson shook his head violently. “No. When I used my powers on him, I felt right . I had no doubts. That was what scared me. How easily I had killed someone–someone who deserved it, mind you–but wasn’t scarred by it.

What I didn’t know, of course, was that I’ve killed countless people in far worse ways.

But I thought I was just a kid. I had no idea of the life I’d led before. ”

“If you had been caught, I wonder if we would have found you sooner,” Ryder said with a grimace. “There’s always a chance that a newborn Vampire could lose control and show their powers. Someone might have been watching for just such a report.”

“Maybe. I thought I hated Vampires for so long, because they might expose me. How ironic that they would have saved me,” Grayson admitted and rested his head on Ryder’s shoulder once more.

The Kaly Palace was not far away. Each of the palaces had their own flavor reflecting the personality of the Immortal whose palace it was, Kaly’s was the most Vampire-esque.

It looked like a gothic cathedral with high, pointed towers, narrow stained glass windows, and dark stone.

A bright green flame–oddly, the color of spring shoot–burned at the very top to let all know that the Immortal Kaly had returned and claimed his palace.

“That is the creepiest palace I’ve ever seen. It looks like a crypt,” Ryder stated as they stood at the bottom of the stairs before the sharply arched front doors to the Kaly Palace. “Do you suppose Caemorn feels the same way? And that’s why he spends so much time at the Eyros Palace?”

“He is at the Eyros Palace so often because he views Balthazar as his fledgling, best friend and safety net,” Grayson said. “But maybe the creepy palace does give an additional reason.”

They grinned at one another.

Before they had taken a step up the stairs, the doors opened and Balthazar was revealed in the ghostly light of hundreds of soul gems. “Ack! Bone Bear, stop it! Stop humping my leg!”

Grayson’s eye widened as he saw a bear, made of bones, attempting to jump up on Balthazar like a rather large puppy.

Balthazar turned his head to yell back into the interior of the palace, “If you don’t get Bone Bear under control, I’ll tell everyone that he is just expressing your secret feelings for me!”

“Yes, my secret feelings that are so secret it is almost as if I do not have them,” Caemorn replied dryly as he came up behind Balthazar and Bone Bear. “Good, you’ve arrived. The prisoners are prepared.”

“Yes, they’re quite ready as Caemorn has been making them uncomfortable ,” Balthazar laughed and then he was wrestling with the loving bear skeleton again. “Gods dammit, Bone Bear, I will convince there werewolves that you’re prey if you don’t quit it!” Balthazar threatened.

The Eyros Vampire was already well inside by the time that Grayson and Ryder reached the top of the stairs.

As Caemorn closed the doors behind them, he said, “A strategy question, Grayson.”

“What is it?” Grayson asked as he stared at the glowing soul gems above their heads that must contain hundreds of trapped souls and were being used simply to light the foyer.

“When should I tell Balthazar that I am not controlling Bone Bear?” Caemorn asked.

Ryder frowned. “If you aren’t doing it then who is?”

“Balthazar is, of course. It’s his latent Kaly gift coming online,” Caemorn answered.

Grayson’s eyes widened. “And he doesn’t know?”

“Seemingly not, though I am not keeping it a secret exactly. Not that Balthazar enters my mind and pokes about, but still, he seems to have ignored this line of inquiry,” Caemorn answered with a slightly furrowed brow.

“No one is so blind as the man who does not want to see,” Grayson murmured. “You’ll know when to tell him. It’ll be the moment he figures it out himself. He’ll be ready to hear it then.”

Caemon inclined his head. “Wise words. Let us see what our prisoners have to tell us. I wonder if we will be ready to hear them.”

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