The volume of the television couldn't drown out the sound of Cece yelling on the phone from her office upstairs.

"A fucking coup?!" Cece's angry exclamation echoed down the stairway, startling the Wardens in the living room. Something slammed on the ground in the room above, vibrating the ceiling and the following silence suggested Cece was listening to her correspondent.

The Wardens wide eyes darted between each other and Anders whispered, "the boss is not happy about something." He grabbed the remote to turn the TV down in hopes to overhear Cece's argument.

"No shit," Vel huffed with an eye roll from her seat on the couch, looking back at a bike magazine. Her legs bent to her side, occupying most of the loveseat. The lack of movement in her vision suggested she wasn't reading the contents, also waiting for Cece to say more.

Siggy pretended not to pay attention, fumbling with conceptual drawings in a sketchbook while Oghren grinned, rising from his seat and walking to the stairs.

"It's none of our business," Nate mumbled as he walked into the room. His creased forehead showed worry for whatever went on upstairs, but he sat down next to Vel. The elven woman tucked her feet in to give him more room not withholding a scrutinizing glare in the process.

Before anyone could answer, Cece yelled again. "The club hired you to mitigate shit like this, Mira!" The livid exasperation in the club president's tone was palpable.

"She'll tell us at the next meeting if it's something we should hear." The VP's gaze traveled to the remote in Ander's hand, but Cece's voice continued, raised but inaudible.

"Shut yer yapper," Oghren muttered, peeling his ears to the sound upstairs. The group barely heard the faint sound of Cece talking in a lowered voice. After a moment of listening, Oghren translated what he made out. "Said somethin' 'bout Mayor Howe and Amaranthine nobility and. . .a name. . .Theirin?"

Eyes widening, Nate stayed silent, not wishing to involve himself in a conversation about his father. But Siggy piped up for him. "Amaranthine's upper class has been complaining about us for months, and Cece killed that Howe scumbag last year. I'm sure the rich folks are missing the money Howe slipped into their pockets on a regular basis. But what the hell would the King have to do with any of this?"

None in the group had met the King despite his brief stint as a Warden. His sparkling clean reputation had not been marked by his time in the club, and he cut all ties to MC after his departure. Duty and heritage had called him to the throne after Cece's destruction of the Darkspawn's last boss, bringing the enemy's uprising and destruction of Ferelden to an end.

Dumbfounded stares passed between the group, quickly interrupted by the sound of Cece's hurried footsteps traveling from her office. Anders rushed to turn the volume of the TV back up and Oghren hurried back to a seat in the living room. The evening news blared coverage of another tragic event somewhere in the Blackmarsh region but none listened as they nervously waited for Cece to arrive.

A distressed Cece walked behind the couch where Nate and Val sat; glazed eyes stared at the television. The club president twisted her right ring finger with the digits of her left hand. Bunched eyebrows and a deepening frown showed her worry, but none dared question the Queen.

"Rumor has it Amaranthine's elite is hiring the Crows for a hit... on me," Cece thought out loud, a concern for the entire group to hear. Her phone vibrated in her pocket, but she kept explaining, looking to no one in particular. "They want to bring down the club."

"And who's going to take care of his Darkspawn problem if we're not around?" Turning in his seat, Anders voiced a reasonable question.

"They see us as more a threat to their income than those brainless bastards," Siggy responded with certainty.

Cece gave a solemn nod. Her cell phone stopped vibrating for a few long seconds before resuming again.

"Ye gonna get that?" The uncomfortable mumbling came from Oghren, watching Cece with concerned skepticism.

Startled as if she hadn't realized her phone was ringing, she moved to answer it. Anders muted the television so she could hear. The Queen only listened as a voice explained something the group could not make out on the other end. Watching her pensive expression grow darker, she only hummed a confirmation before hanging up.

Looking toward the television, she tilted her head in its direction. "Darkspawn have a hostage at Blackmarsh. We need to go now."

The group rose from their seats, grabbing their jackets and hurrying toward the garage. Weapons carried in holsters, each secured extra magazines in their pockets before leaving.

"What if it's my sister?" The inkling of hope in Vel's tone was unanswered by the group. The deserted Blackmarsh, occupied only by spectres and blighted wolves, made no haven for humans or elves. Darkspawn using the unpleasant grounds as a meeting place for their club's illegal enterprises did not seem promising.

The garage door opened, each member climbing onto their bikes. Ignitions turned and buttons pressed to start their vehicles, and in succession beginning with Cece and followed by Nate, they rushed from the Keep. A full moon illuminated the sky, and the empty roads welcomed the riders. Tanks filled, growling engines revved to higher RPMs, each rider keeping in time, a few short seconds between each person. A longer ride than to the city, they raced east along the coast of the Amaranthine gulf.

For over an hour uncomfortable limbs tensed and released as the ride waned on the Wardens. Shoulders flexed, head stayed bowed to the wind rushing past them. Soon the scenery changed; ominous trees sprouted along the hilly coastland. Barren branches reached toward the moonlight, and deserted buildings left glimpses of the town that had once existed at Blackmarsh. The Wardens passed a news van, well outside the town, reporting updates of the Darkspawn activity. Riding past the van, yelling voices reverberated through the darkness from the town's interior and smoke climbed from a bonfire ahead.

As Cece expected, there were no lights or sirens, no law enforcement near this active crime scene. Police avoided Darkspawn at all costs, knowing from experience the interactions only resulted in death or blighted officers. They called the Wardens to take care of these disturbances. It worked well; law enforcement willingly turned a blind eye, allowing the Wardens to take care of the villains by whatever means necessary.

Approaching a building structure, Cece's right hand let off the throttle; she signalled for three to go around the back. At a fork in the road, Nate, Anders and Vel diverted, leaving the staggered formation to follow a separate path to the back side of the unit. The sounds of their bikes faded as they disappeared.

Darkspawn bikes parked along the walls of the enclosure, an old estate opening to a courtyard where the rival gang gathered around the bonfire. Cece signalled for the remaining group to slow down, spreading around the open gates of the entrance, blocking the Darkspawn in their self created presumptive trap. The vile, mindless drones stopped their fireside festivities, snarling at the Wardens and moving to grab their weapons.

A woman stood at their center. Assuming her the hostage, Cece squinted, overcoming the vibration of her running engine to observe. Untied, she moved freely among the Darkspawn dressed in outdated clothing, a high-necked dress with lace frills. In her hand, Cece identified a staff. I haven't seen a mage use a staff since I was a kid. The thought barely registered before a shot was fired from the Darkspawn toward them. It missed, hitting the ground near their bikes.

"Move!" Cece yelled over the roaring engines to Siggy and Oghren, her right hand gesturing for them to move to the right side of the courtyard wall. The Queen took a different path, quickly parking her bike on the left of the entrance. Pulling a gun from the back of her jeans, she sidled up to the wall and aimed at a thug nearing the courtyard entrance. The trigger pulled and she brought down the foe with one shot. Siggy and Oghren followed suit, parking their vehicles and nearing the wall to shoot enemies coming from the other direction.

A bolt of flames shot from the courtyard, charring the road a few steps from Cece. Her eyes widened, glancing to her counterparts on the other side of the entryway to see if they saw the source. Both shrugged, and continued their alternating shots into the courtyard.

Then Cece felt it. The coldness of magic sucking the energy out of this realm, connecting it with another. The Fade. That woman's no hostage. Demons joined the Darkspawn, sliding from the unseen portals somewhere inside the courtyard and toward the Wardens.

"There's too many of them!" Siggy yelled over gunfire. Darkspawn shots ricocheted off the corners of the wall near them. The demons required more bullets to take down, expending their ammo.

Come on, Nate. Cece pleaded for her second in command to pull through.

***
The old building rotted, floorboards creaked and some gave way to the slightest pressure. Human bodies in different stages of decay strewn about the floor.

The Wardens covered their mouths to keep from breathing in the stench. Val and Anders illuminated the path with their free hands; the group took cautious steps through the old house, not stopping to explore as they heard gunfire from outside. The activity rattled the windows, flashing lights and yells reverberated into the house.

"We need to hurry," Nate whispered, wary of the battle occurring.

"We're hurrying, Nate." Tiptoeing over a hole in the floor, Val gave an annoyed huff, referring to the conditions of the mission. "If we go any faster, we'll kill ourselves trying to get there."

A purple light glowed from outside, joined by eerie sounds from the source. It took no need to see the catalyst to know evil magic occurred.

"Okay," Anders said, gesturing the window. "Now I know that's Templar wheelhouse. I love how they're nowhere to be found when there's an unregistered mage causing legitimate problems."

"Bitch about that later." Nearing the front door, Nate grumbled to Anders, irritated by the mages needless griping. "For now we need to get outside and help Cece."

Before they could organize their strategy, a foreign voice spoke. "And kill that wench, the Baroness."

The three Wardens faced each other with confusion, unsure of the speaker. Their baffled looks stopped when a tall man walked to them from the shadows of the house from which the Wardens just came. At least it looked like a man. Discerning his gaunt features, sallow flesh barely clung to his cheekbones, dark circles surrounded his eyes; even the skin on his arm drooped from the bones.

Vel scowled, but remained quiet, and Anders watched with fascination. Nate stepped forward, noticing the patches on the man's vest as Warden.

"You're from the Orlesian chapter?" Nate inquired, not stepping forward to shake the man's hand. "Kristoff?" Having heard the name from Varel, Nate assumed the missing Sergeant-at-Arms from the Orlesian Wardens MC. He had visited Ferelden not long after Cece's destruction of the Darkspawn's previous leader to bring news back to the fellow chapter.

"No," the man looked down, assessing his attire. "You can call me Justice. This body is Kristoff. He's dead."

"No!" Anders gave a mocking gasp. The body's status as undead needed no explanation.

"I'd explain why I'm using his body if I knew how I got here." The body continued, looking down at his frame.

"Well, it doesn't matter," Anders interjected, extending his hand from around Nate and pointed at the being. "Are you going to kill us?"

"Do I have a reason to?" The man questioned, the skeptical expression defined despite his undead features.

"None whatsoever. Name's Anders." He flashed a wide grin. "You're welcome to join us in killing these assholes if you can still shoot a gun."

"Wait," Nate said, extending his hand to interrupt the communication between Anders and Justice. "That's a decision for Cece to make."

"We don't have time to wait." Vel ignored Nate's caution and walked around him to the door. She looked back at the group with irritation, a hand on her hip. "She'll decide later if she doesn't like it."

Another purple light shined through the dirty windows. Nate realized he needed to make a decision and quickly. The expectant group stared at him and he weighed the options, electing to allow Justice to join. Nate warily gave the new ally a spare weapon and a plan developed quickly.

They opened the door, the Darkspawn's attention fixated on Cece, Oghren and Siggy who tactfully rounded the corners of the walled entrance to shoot with precision into the horde. Oghren's shouting became audible. No Wardens looked injured and Darkspawn and demons lay on the ground. The Baroness, as Justice had named her stood tall sending magic to summon more enemies from the Fade. Unlike the Darkspawn, they didn't rely on weapons. The ominous creatures slid on the ground, sweeping large arms toward their targets.

Signalling for the new group to take fire, Nate aimed. The sneak attack focused on the Baroness. Isolated shots joined Anders' and Vel's magic, slowing her pace and overcoming her power. Rounds of bullets reached her, piercing flesh that didn't bleed. But she fell to the ground and the group thought her dead until the body of the woman disintegrated, and from it a larger demon erupted. Large and muscular, covered in thorns and surrounded in a purple aura. The Pride Demon was unlike any Darkspawn drone the Wardens had faced.

Darkspawn picked off by pointed shots from Siggy, Oghren focused his attention on the remaining lesser demons. The group surrounded the demonic form of the Baroness. Cece and Nate met in the middle, hiding behind debris opposite the unkempt courtyard of Vel and Anders. Oghren and Siggy did the same between them. But their new counterpart, the spirit assuming the body of the dead Warden, came full force toward the Pride Demon. Her blows knocked him down and he got back up determined to destroy her.

Cece glanced at Nate with wide eyes, perplexed at the new ally's fighting style. "Who the hell is that?"

The demon growled at a blow from the undead man's weapon.

Nodding toward the action, Nate answered, "Justice."

"Come on, Nate." Rolling her eyes, Cece shoved him and shook her head to insist a serious answer.

After restating the name and briefly explaining the interaction in the house, the pair returned to shooting the demon from hiding spot. Cece hollered to Anders to heal Justice, unsure of the effect of healing spells would have on the dead Warden body Justice inhabited. The gunfire continued and the enemy's attacks increased in intensity until their combined efforts made the beast topple over to the Wardens' victory.

The mages gave final healing spells to those in need and the members returned to their motorcycles. Impressed with his fortitude and commitment to the fight, Cece extended an invitation for Justice to join them. He reclaimed Kristoff's cruiser and the joined the group back to Vigil's Keep. Rushing adrenaline crashed, replaced by a desperate need for sleep.

Prospects made breakfast as the Wardens came downstairs late the next morning. Tired bodies grabbed cups of coffee from the large pot brewing before members collected around the high countertop.

Sleepy grunts to one another made for wordless greetings until the Queen arrived. Her hair braided tighter than usual, awake as ever despite the exhausting day prior. Uncommon for the leader to join them, Caoilainn addressed her fellow Wardens with a review of the last night's mission. Dumbfounded, they watched her.

"The Templars better get off our case after last night," she sighed, cutting in front of Anders at the coffee pot. He huffed but knew better than to object. As the aromatic beverage poured into her mug, steam rising, she vented, "That should have been their job. I bet they made up the hostage situation just to get us out there." She drank the coffee black, an intense glint in her eyes as her thoughts continued. Gazing out the window, she watched Justice care for Kristoff's bike.

Eyes shifted between the group, uncertain how to respond to her heavy presence. Siggy and Oghren remained silent, nodding as they ate. Vel ignored her; none broached the subject of Vel's disappointment not finding her sister the previous night.

Braving a reply, Anders chuckled, "Templars are nothing if not… humble, right?" Mirroring Cece's motions at the coffee pot, Anders added cream and sugar before drinking.

Wide eyes shadowed by a creased brow gazed at the floor ahead. Cece hummed distracted acknowledgment of Anders' statement, but continued listing worries. "The Darkspawn cooperated with that Pride Demon, even in her human form. It doesn't make sense. They don't have a club leader now. I've never seen them act like that independently." Her blank stare maintained.

Stuffing most of a piece of toast into his mouth Oghren successfully avoided any obligation of talking. Siggy's chewing slowed, and she made an awkward swallow, clearing her throat before darting her eyes to Anders. Questioning looks pondered the same inquiry. Where is Nate?

The club vice president had a knack none of them possessed for taking the leader's fears in stride. He had yet to arrive downstairs.

"They've been acting strange for a while." Siggy made a cautious assessment, connecting information they already knew about the recent Darkspawn activity.

"But this isn't just strange, it's sentient." Mumbling, Cece's gaze shifted to Siggy as she sipped her coffee.

Before anyone else could add to the conversation, Nate came downstairs. Clean jeans and a button-up plaid shirt under a leather jacket opposed his usual oil stained attire.

"You look nice." Vel's dead stare scanned Nate and gave a compliment. "Going on a date?"

"No," he scoffed, shaking his head with exaggeration and grabbing a piece of toast. "I have a meeting."

Standing next to Oghren, Anders smirked and elbowed his comrade. He spoke loud enough for the whole group to hear, waggling his eyebrows. "If it's not a date, he at least wants to get laid." Oghren chuckled loudly in response.

A single eye-roll and Nate retorted, "Maybe if some of you bathed more than once a week, you'd get out more."

Setting her mug down, Cece's hands rose to her hips. "Please tell me you're not worrying about a date when we need to make progress on the Darkspawn."

"I said it was a meeting." Nate snapped at all of them and drank from Cece's coffee mug. "I'm getting intel from that hacker at the bar. The one who took Damia home, by the way."

The prospect had finished her food and sat silently at the table, reading the manual on the bike she would be working on that day. She gave a low glance up to the group, her cheeks turning red.

"You better hurry up then," Vel huffed, rising from her chair and taking her plate to the sink. "Since you're all dressed up in the name of progress."

Chuckling again, Oghren chipped in. "I bet that hacker chick's got all kinds of intel, Nate. Make sure you get it from her nice and slow."

Another huff from Vel and the elven woman departed from the kitchen. Nate's apologetic eyes followed her on the way out, and he prepared to scold the dwarf, but Anders spoke first.

"Too far," Anders sighed. "Buddy, that right there is why you don't get any." He wrinkled his nose. "And not bathing."

"Hey, I shower every sodding day like the rest of you!" The argument didn't hold to the specks of dirt on Oghren's hands as he extended them to prove his point.

"Try soap." Nate muttered and walked to Cece. Assuring of the intent of this meeting, he put his fist to his chest. "It's not a date. Wardens' honor."

Cece only nodded and Nate turned to leave. Plans to meet the young woman at a diner in Amaranthine had been made by text the day prior.

On his way out of the kitchen, Siggy called to Nate's back. "Be careful. If it's who I'm thinking of, I don't trust her."

Sighing, Nate brushed off the warning and left the Keep. He rolled his bike from the garage and started it up, letting the engine warm a few seconds before leaving. Who can we trust these days?