Page 25 of The Missing Sentinel
Adney would have to face his past and explain to his mate how he’d allowed an enemy to kill their child. Adney had done this to save his own worthless hide and avoid having to pay the money he owed the man. It had devastated Adney, but he could have prevented it, and Fate could not forgive that crime. Drexley knew none of these things, and unless Adney changed drastically in the coming days, he’d remain ignorant forever. It was for the best. The sentinel would have plenty to face as he navigated his future.
Determined not to get distracted and find out how he was faring with Ducarius until her current duty was completed, Fate forced herself to focus on the present. Scythe Lord Orpheus Daray was the lone reaper without his other half, and Fate wasdetermined to pair up as many of Death’s beloved resurrected as possible.
Not only would it please her sister, but for many of the men it was reuniting them with mates they’d lost in the process of being brought back to life. Orpheus was not one of those people. In death, he had been lonely. Like Masse, he had died young. Fate wondered if that was Life’s plan for Grymington’s people. To pick souls who’d barely had the chance to taste what the world offered.
Grymington himself had initially been picked to rejoin Earth as a sentinel, but Alaric’s decision to destroy the machine that paired his people with necromancers had altered his destiny. So, he had been like many of the sentinels and had died tragically in battle years or millennia before Faustus, Domitia, and Le’Terrius had crafted their spell.
As for the first reaper, Fate had paired two young enchanters, and they’d been casualties of some old war she could no longer remember. Death had ensured the pair had flourished in her realm until that idiot Sigimund had resurrected poor Rixon. Thankfully, that situation was resolved, and Rixon was reunited with his other half and happily frolicking in theebirlloba.
Realizing she was allowing herself to get distracted from her task yet again, Fate concentrated on Orpheus. The reaper was a cheery soul who thought about others first. He was obsessed with hyping the band formed by Grymington’s mate not just because he prized the music but because he believed strongly in supporting those he loved.
And Orpheus adored his family. The Darays were his world. So, it was imperative that a mate was found who would fit into Chander and Alaric’s household. Fate closed her eyes and focused on the unbound souls who lived closest to Orpheus first. To her surprise, there was a man in Las Vegas who caughther attention immediately. Where had he been hiding in her previous searches for Orpheus’s other half?
Fate rifled through his memories and analyzed his personality. As she had first suspected, he was perfect for Orpheus. She could not say when the pair would meet, but Fate carefully bound them together in a nearly impenetrable bond. One that could only be broken by the few demonic beings who were alive, and the pair would have to prove they were incompatible first.
It angered Fate that anyone had the ability to destroy her work, but Justice kept a careful watch on the ability given to the demonic beings. Fate trusted Justice to ensure no bond that could work would be shattered. Satisfied that her task was complete, Fate quickly shifted the view to Ducarius and Drexley.
“What are you doing with my sentinels?” asked a voice Fate easily recognized as Death’s. She had not heard her sister enter the room, and the question had come from nowhere, so Fate was pleased that she had not screamed in terror or given any other clue that Death had scared the crap out of her.
“You know I cannot influence them,” Fate chided as she turned to face Death. As usual, her sister was wearing a long black gown, and the red waves of her hair fell past her waist. There was a scowl on her beautiful face and irritation in her black gaze. “What is wrong?”
“I do not understand why there is no other place for Mayhem and Chaos,” Death groused. “The rest of you find it amusing that they are acting as if they are butlers or something, but I am the one stuck here with them, and they are driving me crazy.”
Fate smirked. “Maybe we thought you could use the company.”
“I enjoy being alone.”
“Me too. I find it far easier to think when no one is bothering me.”
“Wonderful, now answer my question. What are you doing with my sentinels?”
“Why aren’t you surprised to find them together?”
“Because I pay attention and knew the second another sentinel left Earth.”
With a swish of her skirts, Fate sprawled on the lacy white chair she’d crafted. “But you were shocked to find that they were mates.”
Death rolled her eyes. “No, I was not. I long suspected they were mates. While every sentinel was curious about what had happened to Drexley, most were content knowing that he was alive and could take care of himself. They searched but did not obsess. Alaric, as their leader, worried about him. But Ducarius was also strangely focused on it. He took it upon himself to search even when it was not a task assigned to him. Plus, there are few unmated sentinels, and hardly any of them have a name starting withD.”
“But several other sentinels have mates of different races.”
“Ducarius would be less successful than his brethren at being with someone who is not a sentinel. He has moved beyond his past and has dealt with his scars, but like the rest of the former skeletons, it defines him too. Ducarius prefers the simplicity of training, trusting those closest to him and his brethren. However, he is less adventurous than any other sentinel. I always pictured him with another of his kind.”
“Exactly!” Fate enthused. “Someone else besides a sentinel might grow frustrated with his deep love of everything that defines him as part of his brotherhood.”
“Plus, I cheated. As soon as Drexley was trapped in Adney’s realm, I went through the entire necromancer’s life.”
“But Ducarius was not the sentinel of Adney’s mate.”
“No, but I am not a moron. I looked past her.”
“And discovered that Ducarius was the sentinel of her twin brother.”
“What an awful man he was. It was no wonder he was eventually disowned and ostracized. Ducarius would have easily met Drexley if different paths had been chosen by all involved. Damnable free will.”
“For warlocks and their familiars, you chose more defined paths. Warlock to warlock. Familiar to familiar. It ensured they met and could easily stay together.”
“Easy to do when souls are born, Death,” Fate explained. “Sentinels were assigned by a machine created by three people who had no business defining bonds…let alone ones that gave those sentinels no choice but to obey orders. Sometimes I had to get creative so the matebonds would be successful. I figured that, being family members, the sentinels would still have the chance to be together. Little did I know that the necromancers would banish your sentinels to that horrible compound.”