De'Vas Chronicles Book 4: Chapter 36

Ash ran his fingers along Haylee’s back, tracing along her tan lines. She had wanted to spend the night with him since only he and Selena would be making the journey to her childhood home.

“Good morning,” Haylee yawned as she snuggled closer to him.

Ash smiled at her. “Good morning,”

Her ears twitched as she buried her face in his chest.

“I’m sleeping in your room while you’re away,” Haylee announced. “It smells like you.”

His hand moved south and gave her a gentle pat on the butt before squeezing it. Haylee let out a cross between a moan and a growl and looked up at him.

“You start that, and you won’t be leaving this morning,” she warned with a smirk.

Ash kissed the otterkin before rolling out of bed and grabbing his clothes. Haylee let out a disappointed sigh before she did the same. A few minutes later, they were eating breakfast in the kitchen, where Selena met them.

“I checked on Rachel,” Selena said.

She took a seat across from him, picking bites from a loaf of fresh bread.

“How is she doing?” he asked.

Selena smirked.

“Very well. She realized you left more candy bars for her. I had to warn her not to eat them all at once, or she would get a stomachache,” Selena said. “The surgery wound is healed, but I do worry about her mental state.”

Ash nodded.

“It’s been a bit since my Psychology 101 courses in college, but some of the things Rachel does remind me of the coping mechanisms mentioned in the course. I’m hoping with time and support, she will heal,” Ash said. “I doubt there’s a psychologist in De’Vas to help her.”

Selena’s lips thinned.

“Grace, Eva, and I will watch over the little elf while you two are gone,” Haylee said. “I know Eva is already digging out some of her old books to give to her, and I thought she might like to play one of the games on my phone.”

“Thank you, Haylee,” Selena said, now smiling before turning to Ash. “I guess we’re close to starting our trip?”

He chewed the last bite of his breakfast.

“Just about, there’s one last thing I need to do,” he said before looking at one of the cooks in the kitchen. “Can I get a dozen apples?”

A short flight later, Ash watched as the behemoth emerged from his mud hole and stared at him.

“Good morning, Shaggy. I got a treat for you,” he said, watching the monster paw the ground as it took a fighting stance.

He quickly poured out the bag of a dozen apples he brought with him. Checking to make sure one had a small cut with a hint of white plastic sticking out of it.

The behemoth let out a roar, and Ash’s wings of Lightning Magic quickly lifted him into the air. The monster glared at him as he slowly moved away from the clearing. Once he was far enough out of the area, the large bastard approached the apples and devoured them along with a bit of the ground in a single bite.

“Give them hell, Shaggy,” Ash said before turning and flying back to Castle Markal.

When he landed in the courtyard of the castle, Selena was waiting for him with saddlebags and two horses.

“No wagon?” he asked.

Selena held out one of the reins to him.

“A wagon would be slower,” she said. “Besides, this trip will be good practice for you. I think I’ve only seen you ride a horse up and down the path by the castle.”

Ash sighed and took the reins from her.

I wonder if I could get Sparky to turn into a horse?

NO.

Once he and Selena mounted the beasts, they started their trip. Ash waved at Haylee, Eva, and even Rachel, who was watching them from the ramparts as they left.

“So, what’s your childhood home like?” Ash asked as he rode beside Selena.

***

“I’m sorry, Aerial,” Cleo said, looking down at the sleeping banshee.

This is all my fault.

Her hand clasped around the banshee’s hand, squeezing it. She should have turned down Aerial’s offer to pretend to be Councilwoman Cleo Blackthorn.

She shook her head. Given everything she had learned looking into the Coalition, she should have expected something like this. Instead, she put one of her sisters in danger just so she could play pretend and spend her days with a man.

The bell on the door rang, letting her know someone had entered Lilly’s shop. Instantly, Cleo shifted back to her Silver persona.

She heard light footsteps approaching the back of the shop.

“Oh, sorry, Silver,” Mei said. “I didn’t mean to interrupt you.”

She turned to see the black haired rabbitkin holding a large vase of flowers. Mei moved to the small table in the room and set the vase down.

“I’ll give you some privacy. Just wanted to drop those off,” she said.

Silver felt a tear run down her cheek.

“You brought flowers for the Nightmare Queen,” she said, staring at the roses.

Mei stopped and looked at her.

“Of course,” Mei said, gently placing a hand on Silver’s shoulder. “I know she’s someone important to you, and you’re my friend.”

Friend.

Silver reached up and touched Mei’s hand.

“You call me that, but I’ve been lying to you since we met,” she said softly.

Mei was silent.

“I know you’re not a rabbitkin, Cleo.”

A gasp escaped Silver as she dropped the disguise and turned back into her banshee self.

“You knew?” she whispered.

Mei smirked.

“You’re kind of a horrible rabbitkin. I had my suspicions, but didn’t fully piece things together until recently when District boss Ash left,” Mei said, then frowned. “He’s not training, is he?”

Cleo shook her head.

“He was taken from us, but we’re getting him back,” she said defiantly.

Mei nodded.

“Good,” Mei said before asking. “Is she one of your banshee sisters?”

“Aerial. The second-in-command of my sisterhood,” Cleo said. “She’s been beside me since the death of my mother.”

Cleo felt her phone vibrate in her pocket; it went off twice more before she finally pulled it out.

“Hello,” she answered.

Vivian’s voice was on the other line.

“Sorry to bother you, Silver. We are about to discuss the plans,” she said.

Cleo licked her lips.

“I’ll be there in a moment, Vivian,” she said before ending the call.

Mei gently patted her on the back.

“I’ll stay with Aerial for a bit,” the rabbitkin said with a slight smile. “Tell her about some of the trouble you caused in my restaurant.”

Cleo let out a small chuckle and stood, letting Mei take her chair. A thought crossed her mind, and she paused, looking back at the rabbitkin.

“How did you figure it out?” she asked.

Mei looked up at her.

“That you were Cleo? Both she and Silver look at District Boss Ash the same way.”

Cleo drew a sharp breath before shifting back to Silver and stepping out of the room. She moved with purpose toward the Flatiron.

We both looked at Ash the same way…

She bit her lip before pushing the thought from her mind. She needed to focus on the task at hand. She already knew what this meeting was about. Revenge.

The guards of the Flatiron led her through a few checkpoints, each one placing a piece of silver on her to see if she was a changeling, before she finally arrived at a meeting room. She saw faces she expected sitting around the large table, Faylen, Naomi, Lilly, and their seconds-in-command, but some surprised her.

“Oh, it’s the bunny that’s not a bunny,” Agatha greeted.

Silver frowned at the dryad as a man with red glowing eyes raised an eyebrow at her.

“That’s an odd riddle,” Belath, the djinn from District 44, said. “It’s good to see you again, liaison for Councilwoman Blackthorn, though I wish it were under better circumstances. I wish Blackthorn a quick recovery.”

Vivian cleared her throat and stood from her seat as Silver quickly took her own.

“I didn’t gather you here to pick fights,” Vivian said, looking at Agatha. “We’re here to discuss delivering a blow to a common enemy.”

She turned and nodded to Agent Miller, who stepped forward.

“I was accompanying Mrs. Grayson when she met with many of you and explained the situation we find ourselves in,” Agent Miller started, looking at those gathered.

Belath’s eyes glowed brightly.

“My clan owes Ash. His enemies are ours,” Belath stated. “More so since they were in dealings with the ones that killed my brother and kept the truth about Vas a secret.”

Silver saw the djinn’s hand tighten into a fist as Agent Miller nodded to him.

“This won’t stop them, but it will be a blow to their operation,” he said, then gestured to Perry.

The tattooed goblin started typing on a keyboard as a white screen lowered on the back wall of the conference room. A second later, the projector on the table came to life, and Silver saw the faces of four individuals she recognized.

“These are the known members of the Coalition,” Agent Miller said. “Councilman Kaito, Councilwoman Scarlet, Councilwoman Piper, and Councilman Victor.”

Agent Miller paused as the room stared up at the projector. Then the slide shifted, showing the layout of four different districts.

“Tomorrow night, we will be raiding a district from each of them. The offensive will be led by three teams. Belath and his forces from District 44, Agatha and her grove from District 18, and Alyndra with the gangs of District 114. Each team will enter the same district, but with different objectives. Once all the objectives have been achieved, they will move to the next district together.”

Silver’s brows furrowed, and she looked over to Faylen, Lilly, and Naomi, then back to Vivian.

“Why are we not in on this?” she stated, locking eyes with Ash’s mother.

It was Agent Miller who answered.

“Mrs. Grayson’s orders,” Agent Miller said before looking back around the table. “We have allies on the Council that will be keeping tabs on the portal in District 1 and alert us should any known Coalition members try to enter a portal.”

Silver frowned as she glared at Vivian through the rest of the meeting. When Agent Miller was done, and the conference room started to empty, Silver waited until it was just her, Vivian, and Master Rory.

“Vivian, it was my sisterhood that was attacked!” Silver growled. “I’m not sitting this fight out!”

Rory sighed.

“Why didn’t you tell her before the meeting?” he asked Vivian.

Vivian just smiled and held out a slip of paper to her.

“I know. Originally, I planned for you and the girls to lead the raids, but I made a last-minute change when I received a text message on my other cellphone,” Vivian said, her smile shifting to a savage grin. “And I thought you would want this more.”

Silver unfolded the paper and saw two numbers written on it. She looked up at Vivian, confused.

“Councilwoman Piper was spotted in that district two hours ago. I don’t know the reason why, but she’s hiding in the slums there,” Vivian said.

Silver’s eyes widened, and she turned and hurried for the door.

“Happy hunting,” Vivian said from behind her.

As she stepped out of the conference room, she spotted Faylen, Naomi, and Lilly waiting for her. Looking at them, she saw Naomi had her sword, and Lilly wore a belt with several vials of potions holstered on it.

“So where are we going?” Faylen asked.