Some of what she was thinking must have shown on her face for Beyden wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders and gave her a hearty squeeze. “Hey, what’s wrong? You look a little pale.”
“I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want to do this anymore.” She said in a rush.
Beyden frowned, “What do you mean you’ve changed your mind? Max, this is a good thing. The people in there can help you.”
Max was already shaking her head, “I think you’ve all helped me enough already. I have enough information to get by on my own now. There’s no point in dragging a whole society into the mix.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Ryker demanded in his usual blunt fashion. “Get your arse inside. I haven’t wasted the last two weeks of my life on you just so you can puss out now.”
Before she even knew what she was doing, Max found herself out of Beyden’s grip and in front of Ryker. The man was staring down at her in complete disdain again like she was nothing but shit beneath his shoe!
Bastard!
She thought, her fear completely forgotten in her rage. The big toe of her right foot connected solidly with the shin bone on Ryker’s left leg. The curse he let out would have made even the most seasoned sailors blush and the pang in her toes told her the five little piggies would be sore for a while. But it was well worth it to see the big bad ancient knight hopping up and down on one leg and whining like a pansy.
“Who’s the pussy now, huh?” She goaded.
“Why you little …” The big brute made a grab for her but Darius was already holding him back.
“Easy now. Let’s all just calm down. Ryker, you can’t touch her you know that. And I’m sure Max is sorry. This whole situation is very overwhelming for her.”
Max laughed loudly and insultingly, “Sorry? Me? Fuck no, I’m not sorry. Let him loose Darius. There’s plenty more where that came from.”
Darius exhaled roughly, “Really Max? Couldn’t you just pretend to work with me here?”
Feeling a little bit sorry for him, after all, he was just trying to keep the peace, Max relented. “Fine. But he deserved it. You are such an insensitive jerk!” She snarled the latter toward Ryker.
Axel slapped her on the back, “He did deserve it. Good job mini ninja.” He was red in the face and still chuckling. Taking a look around, she realised the others were all in similar states of amusement and she began to see the humour in the situation as well. She had responded like any child would in the playground when confronted with the school bully. She really shouldn’t let her emotions get the better of her but Ryker just … well, he pissed her off quicker than any other person she had ever met. And for some reason, his words had the power to hurt her more than any other person she had ever met too. Which was just insane, Max lectured herself.
“As entertaining as this is, we really should be getting inside.” Cali said.
That brought Max quickly back to the matter at hand, the fact that she had indeed been ‘pussing’ out. “Are you all sure this is the best thing to do?” She asked, seeking reassurance.
“Of course Max. Why wouldn’t it be? Why are you so worried?” Lark asked, looking concerned.
Max bit her lip and glanced around at the concerned faces surrounding her. Without meeting any eyes, she voiced her biggest fear, “What if they don’t like me?”
Lots of shuffling feet and throat clearing met her question and Max rolled her eyes at herself. She sounded like a doofus! Shaking off her reservations and pretending like the past ten minutes never happened, Max moved forward and grabbed the door handle, “Just forget it. Let’s get this done.” And so saying, stepped inside.
****
To Max, the inside looked much like a mess hall she had seen at an army barracks with dozens of tables and chairs on one side of the room next to a serving station stacked with plates, glasses and cutlery. The other side was open plan with lounges, coffee tables, wall-mounted big screen televisions and pool tables. Various doorways looked to lead to offices or outside to the outer buildings. There were more than a dozen people milling around, with the amount of men outnumbering the women four to one. Her entrance garnered a few stares and halted conversations but beyond that not much interest. Max let out a relieved breath, no one was staring at her. The whole room seemed to take a collective breath however the moment Ryker and his crew stepped in. People didn’t stop moving exactly but they all seemed to pause for a second or two before continuing on with their conversations or tasks. She noticed subtle nods of acknowledgment from some of the strangers and clear snubbing from others. Max found the whole dynamic very interesting. Maybe her paladins
were
bad arses! Not that they were
her
anything, Max amended, but if she was going into the lion’s den then maybe it was a good thing she had these particular soldiers at her back.
“Well, welcome to the Lodge.” Lark smiled, “As you can see, this is the main hall where everyone comes to eat and relax. There are main offices to the right where the wardens and paladins conduct business. The big room off to the centre there is the council meeting chambers. That’s where the Council gather to discuss matters of importance, make rulings, that kind of thing. And the back door there leads to the half dozen or so recruit barracks and training facilities. It’s quite a large set up.” Lark pointed appropriately as he explained.
Max nodded and asked, “So you guys have an office here for when you train the newbies?”
Axel replied, “Yep. Last door over there on the right. But that’s more Ryker’s gig than any of us. He’s in charge of the admin shit, we just get to knock heads together.” Axel seemed inordinately pleased with that last fact.
“And how many young paladins live here that you train?”
“Anywhere from a dozen to thirty at a time. At the moment there are eighteen, which is fairly standard. This place is actually the largest facility in Australia. There’s another one in Tasmania that houses about half that. The greenies come from all over the world and are only here on a rotational basis. They get trained all over by many seasoned paladins to ensure they’re exposed to multiple skill sets and fully qualified before hopefully being bound to a warden and their own Order. As the Captain, Ryker has to sign off on every new recruit.” Axel explained.
“And you guys are permanent trainers here instead of being in your own Orders?” Max asked. There was no way she could wrap her head around Ryker being a teacher. He just didn’t have the patience or the social skills, she felt really sorry for the trainees here. And Ryker sitting in an office doing paperwork? That just boggled the mind. He was more suited to biting heads off chickens or making number plates.
“Someone has to train the new soldiers.” Darius responded rather stiffly to Max’s question.
“Besides, that whole Order thing is too restrictive. A man needs to be free to feel the wind in his hair!” Axel exclaimed with a wink. Max laughed at his antics, the man was never serious.
“That’s dogs, man.” Beyden nudged Axel with his shoulder, “Dogs like to feel the wind in their
fur
.”
Axel narrowed his eyes, “Are you calling me a dog?”
Beyden held up his hands, all innocent-like, “Hey if the collar fits …” He managed to duck the responding punch aimed his way. He laughed and grabbed Max’s hand, “Come on squirt. Let me introduce you to a couple of friends of mine. Caspian is a Water Warden and his two paladins are brothers. They’re really nice and not pretentious in the least. You’ll like them.”
Max let herself be dragged over to one of the lounges where a blond, slim young man of around twenty-one was seated watching a re-run of
MASH
. Next to him was a dark haired man almost twice his size, with another equally built guy on the bench seat opposite. All three were extremely good looking. All paladins had to genetically engineered to be hunks or something. It made her wonder if maybe Vin Diesel or Dwayne Johnson were paladins. They certainly fit the bill. Maybe they were in need of a lonely little warden to bind to? Max snickered to herself, that would be awesome!
“Max! Did you hear what I said?”
Max cringed, “Sorry. I was just thinking of something.”
“Must have been something pretty good, judging by the gleam in your eyes.” The cute blond said, drawing her attention. He looked much shorter than all the giants around her and had clear blue eyes that sparkled with life. Although he was amused, he wasn’t laughing at her and Max felt herself relax further as she responded;
“Hmm. It was. The Diesel and The Rock. Pretty great thinking!”
Ryker frowned, “The what and the what?”
“If you don’t understand, then you’re too young to know.” She shook her finger at a frowning Ryker.
The blond burst into laughter, obviously understanding her references. Beyden was right, Max thought, looks like she was going to like Caspian.
“Max, this is Caspian, guardian to that which sustains life. These are his two paladins; Lawson and Leo. Together they form the Order of Riparian.” Beyden introduced formally.
Max responded in kind, dipping her head in a respectful nod and murmuring, “It’s an honour to meet you.”
Beyden grinned at her like a proud papa, “Caspian, this is Max … she’s new.”
Caspian arched his fair eyebrows, “New to what?”
“New to the area.” Ryker responded before anyone else could. They had all agreed not to advertise her ‘stray’ status until absolutely necessary.
“Whatever you say Ry.” Caspian smiled but Max could tell he wasn’t convinced. Seems cutie was also a smartie. And he must know the gang fairly well given he had just called Ryker ‘Ry’ with no adverse effects.
“Max is staying with us for a few days until she meets with the Local Warden Council. She is seeking out a new Order.” Ryker continued.
“Really? Was your last one not to your liking?” Leo, the paladin seated on his own asked. “Good help is so hard to find these days.” He winked.
Oh boy, another charmer!
Max thought. “Nah, it wasn’t them. It was me. I was too hot to handle.” She winked back, getting her flirt on and damn if it didn’t feel good.
He laughed along with his fellow paladin and liege, “Looks like you’ve got your hands full then folks.” He said to the six paladins ranged around her. “You know we’re just down the beach if you ever need extra help.”
“Thanks.” Ryker said dryly.
Beyden turned to Max and explained, “Riparian is only about ten minutes south of us, between the ocean and the river. They’re our closest neighbours.”
“Really? Then you must know the Buff Brigade pretty well then. This is excellent news!” She parked her butt on the arm of the lounge Caspian and Lawson were seated in and leaned close companionably, “You must tell me everything! For starters, have you ever seen this fabled stick Ryker has buried in his rectum? Does it ever come out or do you think it is lodged there permanently?”
Total silence reigned for all of a heartbeat before her newest three friends burst into laughter so hard, their faces soon turned red and they were gripping their heaving sides to contain themselves. Axel, Cali, Beyden and Lark were all sharing in the hilarity as well. The only one not smiling was the big man himself, although he didn’t appear angry. In fact, Max could have sworn she saw amusement in his eyes. Perhaps the stick was removable after all.
Caspian wiped the tears from his eyes, “Oh, I like this one.” He said to his soldiers before turning to Max, “I like you.”
“That’s my line.” Axel joked.
Max couldn’t be more pleased with how things were going. Seemed like there were a few good eggs in the whole warden basket and just because Ryker and his team didn’t want her around permanently, didn’t mean she couldn’t find another good group of people who did. As the laughter died down, Max watched as Caspian went to pick up a glass of water only to accidently bump it off the table. The glass landed with a dull thud on the wooden floor as expected but to Max’s astonishment the water did not. She watched in awe as it stopped a mere inch from the ground and formed a small ball of swirling waves as it hovered in the air. Lawson bent down and righted the glass before the wet mass somehow poured itself gracefully back into the glass. Caspian then casually picked it up and drank down the contents like nothing had ever happened.
“What the hell was that? That was so cool! Can you do it again?” Max asked eagerly.
Caspian appeared confused as he looked between herself and the others, “Um, I’m not sure why you’re so impressed. Water is my element. It’s kind of my thing.”
“Well yeah, but that was –” Max broke off when she saw the look of warning Ryker was giving her. Right. She was supposed to be playing it cool. Sophisticated, knowledgeable, Warden Max wouldn’t be phased by such childish tricks! Oh no, she saw this type of thing all the time, yes indeed! So she tried to cover her tracks although she hated to mislead such a nice guy. “It was just nice to see. Not all wardens use their powers so openly.”
Caspian nodded, “That’s true I guess … sad but true. I am somewhat more active with my domain than many of our brethren.”
Max tilted her head, “You think wardens should be more active?”
Caspian sighed, “I think the Great Massacre has a lot to answer for.”
The Great Massacre? She had heard that term thrown around but she hadn’t really been satisfied with any of the answers. Maybe Caspian would be a little more forthcoming. She was just about to ask some more questions when a man with five others trailing behind him joined the party. He sauntered right up and sat himself down in the arm chair next to Max. The other five men remained standing, arms crossed over beefy chests behind him like guard dogs or something. Max found the whole thing a little rude and didn’t think she was the only one if the amount of frowns was anything to go by. She then noticed that Caspian’s face was suspiciously blank and he tried to sink further into the lounge as if trying to disappear. Leo stood up and flanked him on the other side. Bad blood perhaps?
The guy who planted himself in the only remaining chair leaned forward and extended a hand to Max. The smile on his face could only be described as oily as he introduced himself, “I understand we have a new warden visiting. I am surprised I didn’t hear about your visit before now. My Grandmother is a member of the International Domain Council. I am Ignatius of the Order Vulcan.”