A/N yes to those who speculated. I am bringing the story I had started working on into this one because...it fit with what I was doing and it made no sense to write them separately. Thank you to those taking the time to leave reviews and send me messages! Once again, brought me back to this, the alert reminding me I hadn't posted in longer than I had meant to!
Desna
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Music thumped through the club. It was elegant, beautifully decorated with plush comfortable seating. Marble floors, fittings in brass and crystal. It smelled vaguely of flowers and the clientele was all dressed well. Beautiful…men, moved about delivering drinks, smiling and reacting nicely to being touched…groped, all wearing very little.
When a patron pulled one into their lap a large berserker took a step, brow going up until a soft green light lit at the man's table…indicating he had paid well, would pay for whatever services he took…so the guard stepped back into place and the slender male pulled into the older man's lap kept their smile in place, allowing themselves to be handled.
Most eyes were on the stage…and even the handsy man slowed his hands removing what little clothing the male he'd grabbed had on, becoming transfixed by the beautiful man on stage, singing…with a voice like no other. More than that…long thick silver hair tipped in black swayed as the man sang, a plush fox tail swayed behind him as well and sharp tall fox ears atop his head moved, the gems adorning them glinting in the lights, the golden gem adorned slave collar around his neck gleaming as he moved his tall body. He was stunning, slender but very well defined muscle flexed as he danced, a barely there silver thong covered what looked to be a proportional endowment between his legs and the gold chains dangling from his hips showed how valued he was by the club's owner. Clear blue eyes danced as the man whirled, patrons licking their lips seeing no Golden Dragon across his back…which meant the shifter was a purebred, not a creation of the neighboring country of Seven that was known for their human/animal shifters that made up their military forces.
Pure shifters were very rare anymore…and a stunning silver fox shifter with the voice of an angel…a jewel any man of the purely Patriarchal country of Pegrand would be immensely proud to own.
The Club boasted several shifters, though the fox on stage was the only one that didn't have the golden dragon across their back. It was why this club was so popular, add in it was just outside the Political center of the capital of Pergrand in the City of Romell, an easy walk from the senate, the palace, or the massive complex that was Skysreach stadium, which was the central most popular entertainment venue in the country.
"The Red Door" Club belonged to Uram Karadin. The youngest brother of the King of Pergrand. Uram hadn't gone into politics. He dealed in slaves and entertainers…artists too. He owned some of the finest artists in Pergrand, like the beautiful fox on the stage in his club, who sang like an angel…in more than 45 languages, could play 11 instruments…was a trained Minstrellan Bard…not that the patrons of the club knew that…it was none of their business what the pasts of the slaves here were. No…Uram guarded the histories of his slaves well, and treated his slaves well so they were less prone to trying to escape.
The Red Door was the only club in that part of the city…Uram's careful work with friends in the licensing and zoning part of the Senate had made it impossible for anyone but royalty to open a club in this part of the city. It also happened to be…the only place open that served food after midnight…and…the only place Freed Justine could dive into to hide from, what he was certain were, slave runners that had been following him since he'd gotten separated from Laxus and Bickslow about two hours earlier.
The Raijinshu, Freed's team, was finally in Pergrand seeking that specific shifter…a Snow Leopard male…who was a Celestial Summoner, the very one who had started on the path to becoming the Starseeker…the titled mage that was part of the six points.
They had been preparing for a while, the King of Seven himself was paying for this mission and the others that coincided with it to find the Points of Humanity. Since Freed had learned about the Points…a lot had happened. He was married now, the mate of the Mid-Day Star and they had, among many things, had to find a way to hide that, so he'd endured a magical tattoo beyond just the military service seal of the Pergrandian military he, Laxus and Bickslow all wore now. So much had needed to be done to get ready for this mission, and it had taken them over a month to get into Romell itself, and were in Romell now after exhausting Damaskas…the slave city. "Giermo Lusing" the missing shifter, was a high value slave, beautiful, slender, and holding a coveted rare magic…he had been passed around some…and they knew whichever brother of the King held him valued him a lot…they just had to find out which one that was.
Freed had issues they hadn't fully expected too. To an extent they had known all three of them might have issues. Laxus was handsome, had an amazing body, was tall…he had that "gladiator" look that made him attractive in Pergrand. Bickslow was taller than Laxus, and because of choices he'd made to get the markings at his eyes many clan-born Boscans had and he had Boscan clan markings down his right side, broad shoulders, again a fine body, he was prime material in Pergrandian eyes. Cobra caught attention as well, slender build, maroon hair, his pointed ears and caramel colored skin…but…many did recognize him as a dark mage and that had actually helped them many times no, of them all Freed had proven to be the worst. The problem was…Freed was…pretty. He was slender and pretty and held himself a certain way…a way a lot of Pergrandian men found attractive. He'd been propositioned, more times than he could count…openly pursued…and…before they had left Damaskas, someone he had turned down had paid some slave hunters to just…remove his ability to say no…to capture the Rune Mage and get a collar onto him. Farron had warned him this could happen…he just hadn't expected it to happen so SOON.
They had dodged the hunters well, but Freed had strayed from Laxus and Bickslow, distracted by a very nice book store that had more than just books…scrolls…from as far away as Xillian and he'd just gotten distracted and there was an event at Skysreach that had the city very busy this evening so…they had ended up separated and Freed had spotted one of the slave hunters…and had BEEN spotted by the same and…now here he was, hurrying into a dark booth, wishing for all Earthland his hair wasn't so distinct…that he hadn't been stubborn about hiding that…he could have bought a charm to color it black or something but no…stubbornly he'd insisted he could handle himself fine…and alongside Laxus, Cobra and Bickslow…he really could, but alone. Well, they had seen men handled…witnessed things Freed had never even imagined human beings would do to other human beings.
Demons walked freely about Pergrand, so did Vampires they had learned, and slaves were bought as…"feeders" for those species. Usually female slaves and never attractive males…but they had watched that happen to people. Had seen people unloaded from boats that had…come from Fiore even…and watched people get branded, have their minds altered…those collars could do so much more than just deliver shocks for disobedience…
He pressed back into the booth, hoping the darkness hid him well, looking up sharply when a high…clear…beautiful note filled the air and his eyes locked on the silver haired shifter on stage, widening as the man danced around a pole.
His skin was…so smooth, tan and glowing with health…and the silvery hair was just…stunning. He almost forgot he'd just dived into the club to hide from slave hunters when the men came in…and he pressed back in the booth, keeping to the shadows and watching as the door guards stopped the men, heated words being exchanged.
"Look…I don't give a flying FUCK who hired you shit head, you ain't hunting in here. You wanna push me? I'll see YOU in chains in the back till the owner shows up tonight. Hand over the seals…and if you lay a fucking finger on a single patron in here? I'll cut your arms off…you get me?" The lead bouncer snarled right in the face of the lead hunter.
Slave hunteres were…usually…respected and could do damn near anything…paid to dog someone? Most places didn't get in the way or even slow them down…Freed let out a breath seeing this but then that breath stalled when one of the hunters had gone still and he realized they were looking right at him.
He sat back again, looking around desperately…and his eyes widened as the silver fox glided across a table, singing and dancing his way right onto Freed's table…the spotlight following him…fortunately casting Freed well into the black shadows as the light stayed on the shifter. The eyes of the hunters strayed right to the shifter too…even those of the one who had spotted him, getting a little glassy…the men wandered in and sat at a table by the stage, watching the singer raptly.
The fox turned, winking a vivid cerulean eye at him, the dancer stepped gracefully down from the table, dancing and swaying his way to the slavers he used one, stepping onto his thigh and then onto their table, dancing and smiling and singing and the men were riveted.
"Go…those slavers won't look away till he finishes that song…go and hurry…we'll keep em occupied long as we can…but you gotta run…they have you marked, someone big paid for you…" A powerfully built male was suddenly by Freed, wearing nothing but a thong and a golden collar, his black and orange hair falling over vivid fiery orange eyes.
"Who…" Freed breathed, staring in wonder because the man was…stunning…Gods help him every slave in the club was breath taking and Freed knew what they all faced and dealt with and wanted to save them all…
"His name is Jessie, and I'm Druin, he's from Stella and I was stolen from the Bellan army. If you just…remember us? Tell Seven there's 11 of their people here…tell Stella one of their Moon Fox shifter is here…we're even. Now GO." Druin hissed and Freed moved, noting all but the slaves were transfixed now, Jessies voice was just…beyond amazing…and Freed suddenly realized…magic had to be involved, in spite of the command collar on the singers neck…he had to be doing something to hold this crowd so completely.
"Thank you…" Freed said breathlessly and hurried to the door, moving right past the guards who ignored him, watching the Fox onstage as Freed rushed out into the cool night air and ran for all he was worth back the way he'd come…flicking his wrist, a tracer rune shooting ahead of him and leading him toward Laxus…
In the club…Druin moved, purring as Jessie's song changed a bit…the shifter unable to keep fighting his collar…using his magic would be recorded…video of what had happened would be reviewed..their owner would see they helped a man run from slave hunters. It was doubtful they would get in trouble for that…their owner did NOT like slavers trying to do anything at all inside his precious club…and the King's brother was more likely to make the slavers lives living Hells for daring to chase someone into his club in the first place…but Jessie would likely catch some sort of mild punishment for using his magic instead of just letting the guards handle it all.
The daze holding everyone slowly lifted, Druin straddling the lap of the lead slaver…his orange eyes staying vacant but he recognized the man…and nuzzled into him…letting the man handle him, push rough hands over his skin and grip his ass…rut against him. This slaver had been one who had made his capture a nightmare. Druin had been a young soldier, fighting for Bellum under General Demnos no less, one of the Princes of Bellum. He'd been so proud to make it into that division, to serve under one of the royal family protecting Bellum from pergrandes endless efforts to seize land and take over the country of Fire. He was a pure shifter, born able to shift into a native species of Bellum, a lava tiger, one of the apex predators of the nation that lived in the mountains among the volcanoes. Still, due to Pergrandes endless attacks and poachers and slave hunters his kind wasn't common anymore and he himself was an orphan, his parents had died serving Bellums fight against Pergrand and finally when he was 16 so had his grandfather but Bellums military had become his family.
He'd fought and trained and become a good soldier, a decent sized man of 20 when he'd been captured by Pergrandian soldiers that had been helping a group of hunters try to get past the lines into Bellum proper, the group had been driven back by Bellan forces, but Druin was one of the men lost, weakened by Pergrandian tranquiliser darts and taken back into Pergrand to where their forces were camped where he had then endured those hunters using him and the others captured with him to "pay" the Pergrandian military. He and his fellow soldiers had been beaten, raped and in the end, only he and one other of the 15 captured had survived the first week. He remembered this man as one of those who had been first to tear their armor off, whip them then rape them...maybe he didn't remember Druin…maybe Jessie's magic still had him in a lust ridden daze…but Druin remembered, and his claws drew blood a short time later in a private alcove as the man was pushing his dick down the shifters throat. Druin never forgot…and while he wasn't wasting what his King had done for him…how he had been sent here instead of to Skysreach by Karadin because the then Prince of Seven had manipulated Karadin …he'd get his damned revenge somehow.
The slaver groaned, had said he liked claws…well…Druin dug them right in until those claws hit bone as he handled the "customer" the way he "understood" the customer wanted to be handled…rough…a little pain and pleasure…he even pushed through the small correction his collar gave as his predatory drives kicked up from the smell of blood…behind him the black tail swung with his fiery orange stripes…Druin had fully adjusted to his alternate form a long time ago…and the Lava tiger was…vicious. The tiger ears atop his head pinned back and he smiled faintly as blood started pooling on the floor.
Elsewhere the slavers were occupied…a guard punched one in the face when he wouldn't stop trying to grab Jessie
"Prince Arum will be here soon…plans to fuck the fox himself and he doesn't like just anyone having him…so when you're told No…you'll fucking listen." The guard snapped, and was helped by another to heft the fallen slaver up and toss him out into the street.
Jessie watched from the stage, retreating toward the back to go clean up with a faint smile. Hopefully the lovely man with the green hair got away from Pergrande…before he ended up like all of them at The Red Door…or worse.
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In Alvarez
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Red eyes narrowed, shiny black hair falling over one of them as the big Encan crawled forward. The rounded feline ears atop his head slid back, one flicking forward to the side as a sound came up the sterile medically clean hallway beneath him.
He was in a crawlspace in the ceiling of a facility in northern Alvarez. Finding this had been what Vander and Presca had been working hard on for the last several months. Papers recovered from senators in Pergrand, purchase records…ownership registration for special altered slaves. They had learned the soldiers The Black Queen had given away as gifts had all been "trained" before they had gone to Pergrande and that this facility was where that happened. Kittar was here now because Vander had laid out exactly where the man could get in and how he could move through the facility without being seen to recover the information Vander and Presca hadn't been able to secure.
Getting Kit in was crucial…his magic was unique…special..as a displacer he could pluck anything, living or inanimate from where it was, hold it in a spatial void that was part of his magic, and place it where he wanted to. It added up to…the man being capable of getting people and things out of places and…he could move a lot at once. Up to 50 people and up to 100 tons of mass was his personal record. He'd run blood out his nose and needed to sleep for a few days after, but…he'd done it.
He didn't have to do that here, here he just had to get one file cabinet out of the commander who ran this place's office. Inside, Presca had seen and gotten pictures of a couple files before he and Vander had been forced to withdraw. There were actual demons that patrolled the place, and two of them seemed to have a special sense for Vander's void movement.
So Kit was crawling through the crawlspace and moving fairly quickly until he heard sounds. So far the rooms all seemed well sealed, warded to keep everything silent as a damned grave so he'd had to watch how he moved so as not to make noise. The sounds were because a door wasn't closed all the way…the mage in him said get the mission done…the cat in him wanted to know what was happening.
He didn't get too much closer though before he knew what the sounds were, and his ears pinned, his ruby eyes narrowing as he moved, sharp white fangs peeking between his full lips as he moved and got to a vent, nose wrinking as the smell of fear, sex and pain reached him right before he bared his teeth, the scene below him sparking outrage and anger.
He knew what the "training" was, it was so high value slaves meant for Pergrand, as they were processed through the slave city of Damascus they would inevitably be "tried" by officials and if not…broken in…before going there then internal injuries could slow their arrival with their owners. Now it was true the officials who took those liberties could be caught and punished for touching another man's property…but Pergrande just did things so…dark…that it was almost accepted, a perk those officials enjoyed, being able to fuck a slave heading to be in the Kings personal harem for example.
It wasn't just slaves bound for Pergrande either, no…this facility handled the intake and special training of slaves bound for slave accepting countries all over Earthland. Alvarez had found a lucrative business in providing the services.
Below him a young woman was being raped…every single way a woman could be. Seven large men in the room clearly taking turns…there was blood on the floor…it had to be her first time..the men wore condoms, and they were clean…in fact as the man currently fucking the woman was pumping in and out of her another was cleaning, carefully spraying something into a fluffy cloth and dabbing away so there wasn't blood running down the womans legs.
She was crying, choking on the dick in her mouth…and they were working her…schooling her body so she could take it…a man lining himself to take her ass while the other fucked her vagina and Kit let out a breath. He shouldn't do anything…the information in the nearby office was crucial…incredibly important to his King, to his people, to his guild and to the whole damn world because it would tell them who owned Xavier Magnussen, the Starseer and also the King's grandfather. It would tell them who owned Giermo Lusing…the Starwalker. It could tell them of other missing shifters they could find and rescue…
Gritting his teeth he made a decision and knew there would likely be some hell to pay for it but he didn't care.
Moving fast he found the office not far past the room where the woman was being "broken in" exactly where Vander had said, was a filing cabinet. Kit's magic worked such that all he needed…was to see it…get a 3d placement in his head of where something was and he could get it, move it or go to it. In this case…he moved it. The filing cabinet gone in an instant, cameras in the room would show nothing, wards didn't go off because nobody moved in the room, the cabinet was there one moment, gone the next with no magical traces…displaced. This was why his magic was so damned valuable. It couldn't exist in a normal human being either, only a pureblooded Dire Shifter could contain it because the flow of the magic was different, and a human body flat could not hold it.
That done, the man returned to his spot over the woman's room and his eyes narrowed, lips curling just a bit in a hard nasty smile. Like the cabinet…the men were there one moment…gone the next…so was the woman.
Unfortunately…the woman had a command collar on so when she vanished, it did set alarms off but Kit smirked…and vanished himself.
A moment later he was leaning on the bar of his favorite casino in Sin, smiling as he ordered himself a glass of rum and coke and winked at the waitress as he took a seat.
He was just unwinding when his com went off and he pulled it out to check it.
Kaleb to Kittar: WTF Kit?! The Filing cabinet we were expecting, the seven men? Not so much…the girl…well…Cristoff is looking after her and what the hell…why are their dicks gone? I swear to the Gods Kit if there's a bag of dicks somewhere….
Kit smirked…oh…there was a bag of dicks alright…on the desk in that office.
The big Encan finished his drink, ruby eyes scanning over the crowds of tourists for a bit. He enjoyed people watching. He'd been born in a black panther form within the swamps of Enca, on of it's last pure Dire shifters because the dires had now, except for him, as far as he knew…gone extinct in Enca due to poaching and the constant fighting within the sanctuary to keep the denizens of the rift at the heart of it from going out into the world.
He would enjoy a little gambling, maybe some poker, and the knowledge that woman was in the hands of the best healer he knew of, safe, and those men were now all eunuchs and that their commander would be oh so happy to find a bag of bloody dicks on his desk and no filing cabinet when he came to his office. Kittar smirked, reaching up and pushing a hand through his thick black hair and heading for the poker tables while sipping his drink. Yeah…he was feeling like maybe karma would bring him a bit of luck…
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"They've made it into Romell." Hestor said as he sat sipping some coffee, wrapped in a white fur lined cloak he'd stollen out of Kaleb's office before he'd left. "Laxus and his team." he said to the screen before him on his desk.
He was set up now in Silver Ledge City in Iceburg. It was a trade hub for the country of Iceburg and White Sea owned the large house he was in that sat in a wealthy section of the city, nestled on an acre lot well covered in the hardy Ice Pines that were some of the few plants that could grow in Iceberg's forever frozen soil and climate.
Iceberg was as it was because the God Thoth had lost his fight with Apollo millennia ago and had been imprisoned beneath the country. Iceberg had become a frozen wasteland consumed by Thoth's bitterness over his plight and much of what had been the civilization of the country when that had happened had sunken under the ground and had become the "fallen cities of the dead" where the undead wandered forever seeking to invigorate themselves by devouring the living.
Iceberg had many challenges as a nation. It had been warded by its neighbors, powerful ward walls placed along all of its shared borders by neighboring countries to keep the undead out. Wards weren't quite enough to handle another issue. Thoth also created what were called "Great Walkers", gigantic humanoid beings, mindless, they shambled along, most 15 meters tall or bigger, naked, many with exposed muscle and bone showing…they ate people, livestock…anything living that they came across. They could sometimes get through wards.
Cities like Silver Ledge had walls around them to protect them from Great Walkers and to reduce damages and security problems when an underground area got access to the surface and the undead would spill out for a bit until that could be sealed. There were two countries that dealt with the undead on this scale, Iceberg and Enca, Enca of course got theirs through the rift protected by the Encan Guardian corps and that country actually had "Zombie Years" that were seen as a sort of rolling festival when the zombies would come from the rift and start invading the cities…average citizens would grab up weapons and go hunt them and the government had taken to giving out amazing prizes to the top 100 hunters during Zombie Festival time including money and houses and all manner of fine things…Enca was a unique place.
Hestor pursed his lips sipping his coffee…Enca was also warm…which was so much better than this frozen bullshit he was dealing with. He tugged the cloak about him tighter, eyes half lidding when the smell of Kaleb came from it…that apple and spice scent that was unique to his husband and the real reason he'd stolen Kaleb's favorite cloak. Kaleb was smiling at him on his screen.
"Good, try to keep tabs on them. Vander and Presca are doing well on their mission, should be back in soon and have more records for us to go through that should help." Kaleb said
Hestor scowled "I'm unhappy we still have no information on the Starbinder…aside from the Blade? They're the most…combat oriented of the points and the Dean at the Academe believes the title has been claimed because the keys to it have all been found, the last one less than a week ago in Glaciar." he said
"There's nothing for it except to keep hunting for them, Kit got the file set were were after, and some other things…" Kaleb made a face "I'll send him north, he's been there before so can jump there easily, he can start looking for the Starbinder, maybe assign him a team…."
Hestor nodded "A team Kaleb, we don't know who has the title, they can be held by good or bad mages…and the way the second key of the set was taken…the Dean says Medatron was in the hands of a young man that was murdered for the key…"
"I'll make sure Kit has some good people with him. Rowan has just finished up a job, I can send him and Beck with Kittar." Kaleb said and Hestor's eyes flashed at the mention of Beck.
The big Beastmaster was one of Kaleb's best friends, had known the guildmaster since they were small boys…and…had slept with Kaleb twice that Hestor knew of and had confessed to being in love with Kaleb back before Kaleb had become guildmaster.
Kaleb had refused him, had insisted they remain friends and not pursue a romantic relationship…but Hestor knew Beck harbored that love for the man…HIS man. He and Beck had been…friends that were enemies for as long as he'd known the big man. Yes Beck was a powerful mage, he was honorable, intelligent, a hard worker, loyal to the death to Kaleb and White Sea and Hestor could fault none of that…but…Kaleb was his One…and Hestor was a possessive bitch, something he would proudly admit to if crossed. So he and Beck had been clashing for years, as long as Kaleb had had his personal team together and both Hestor and Beck had been on it.
There was a respect there though. Beck had gotten a long ugly scar from his left hip to his right shoulder during the brutal fight that had happened when Hestor was 17 and had been abducted by a dark guild that had planned to use him to open a gate into another plane to bring forth beings to help them increase their power and dominate their nation north of Pergrand. Hestor had been seeking one of the keys of the Hall at the time and was still very much walking that fine line between tipping into darkness and staying in the light. Kaleb and his team had defied Grenlow, who had wanted them to wait for some older seasoned mages to return from the field before rescuing the celestial mage.
Kaleb though had been completely adamant, he'd felt Hestor, just a faint hint of him when he'd reached out with his magic for the man's mind and he'd sensed, deep down…if he waited it would be too late. He'd been right…had Kaleb's team arrived even an hour later than they had, Hestor would have been turned into the evil side of the Hall and that gate would have been opened, killing him in the process.
The young mages though…had had one hell of a fight to get it done. Kaleb's personal team consisted of Beck, Cristoff, Thane, Rowan, Gaza and Hestor. Sometimes Vander and Presca joined the team as well and fortunately they had for that rescue mission because the Dark Mage guild had been nearly 70 mages strong and even though Kaleb was Double S class himself at that point, and Beck and Rowan were S class (Vander technically was but had been busted down to B class for stealing the Princess's ship) the group had struggled to put that guild down and had it not been for Cristoff being capable of healing others while still fighting himself…Beck would have died when two mages had gotten past Rowan and Thane and rammed a scythe into the Beastmaster.
Beck had summoned in some rather large wolves and a wyvern at that point in the fight though and the Wyvern had killed the two attacking Beck and Cristoff had gotten to him, closed the wound and Beck had actually kept fighting though he'd stayed astride the wyvern he'd called in.
So Beck had nearly died to save Hestor…and Hestor had on two occasions in other fights…saved Beck. Hestor liked to point out he was one up on the man any time they argued (which was every time they got near each other) and Beck liked to rub his scar and mention the wound never had healed right, leaving that scar there.
"Rowan is very capable, it's a good idea." Hestor said lightly sipping his coffee and Kaleb snorted, shaking his head, a lock of platinum hair falling over a pale lavender eye and Hestor felt his chest tighten when he wanted to reach out and brush that soft hair back. Kaleb's eyes softened. Even at a distance, he felt Hestors emotions and his love for his mate warmed the summoner right along with his smooth voice that came to his head as well as his ears through the com. That presence…Kaleb's soft loving touch with his magic had Hestors eyes fluttering shut.
"I miss you Hes…so much." He said softly.
"I know…you're such a sap." Hestor smiled faintly, eyes still closed, then he sucked in a breath when his own hand moved without his guidance between his legs and rubbed over his crotch.
"Behave." Kaleb purred "And when you go to bed tonight we can play."
"So unfair you can do that…" Hestor breathed, licking his lips.
"You can make me do things Hes…just takes a little push of my core magic into our bond and you can do to me all I can do to you." Kaleb responded and Hestor smiled wickedly.
"Well then…we'll just have to play with that tonight." He said
"Oh I agree. Not as good as actually holding you, but we'll work with what we've got." Kaleb stilled abruptly and Hestor opened his eyes, sharpening feeling the silky playful mood suddenly gone. Kaleb's eyes were glowing faintly, meaning he'd gotten called for by someone he didn't maintain a passive link with.
A few moments passed and his eyes focused back on Hestor. "Lucy is inbound to you in just a few minutes."
Hestor frowned "What? NO, Kaleb she just gave birth to twins!" He objected.
"I'm aware, but she says she has information on a Dark Celestial mage and has to bring that to you personally with some files the Dean of the Academe is letting her take that she promised not to let out of her sight." Kaleb said and Hestor rolled his eyes.
"Lucy makes far too many casual promises…" he growled and Kaleb shrugged
"Maybe, but she's on her way, I just caught up to Kit…who has been hiding from me since he dropped some Alvarez slave trainers in the middle of the guildhall with their dicks missing…and sent him to get Lucy and take her to you."
Hestor stared…taking a full minute to process that before he snorted and laughed.
"Oh I'm getting him some sort of reward for that…."
"No you are NOT, I get the sentiment, I share it, the young woman those men were raping when Kit found them was in rough shape but dropping a bunch of men bleeding with their dicks removed in the middle of the guildhall is not appropriate!" Kaleb objected and Hestor pursed his lips looking away and sipping his coffee.
"Nothing big…maybe a shot at a rank promotion early…" He said Idly.
"Hestor! We don't reward that sort of thing! You know Vander would just…get worse and so would some other mages!" Kaleb frowned but Hestor FELT his mate's amusement unter his responsible protest.
"Yes dear…of course." He purred, making no effort to hide the placating tone or intent, or the wicked determination to reward Kit for a job well done…
"Hes…" Kaleb growled but there was a flash as wards on the house allowed an entry and Kittar appeared with Lucy. Hestor stood leaving the com open and narrowed his eyes on Lucy.
"You make too many thoughtless promises." He chided
Lucy smirked "Who said it was thoughtless? I've never been to Iceburg and now I can say I…shit it's fucking cold…." she hissed rubbing her bare arms. The Academe Celestine sat nestled at the base of the Skygazer mountain, the largest mountain in Bosco and so tall the whole mountain range separating Bosco from Seven was called the Stargazer range. The shores of the Grass Sea lapped at the edge of the town of Cellis right at the base of the Academes massive facilities. It was a sub tropical climate, beautiful, with clear skies most of the year, always warm and Lucy was dressed as one would expect in a thin shirt, capris and sandals.
"It's minus 15 outside." Hestor smirked back "Welcome to Iceburg. Now what did you find so we can get you back where you belong with your children and husband before Zen shows up here and I have to calm him down…stretching your bond like this right after giving birth, it's only been what…3 days?" Hestor asked sipping his coffee.
Lucy snatched a blanket off the back of the nearby couch and moved a little closer to the roaring fire Hestor had going while Kit yawned, stretched and headed for the coffee pot.
Hestor slapped the mans ass as he passed "Good job." he said smiling at the Encan who laughing lightly. "Yer 'usband is still chewin ma ass."
"And I plan to continue until you agree dropping men with their dicks cut off in the middle of the guild hall isn't appropriate." Kaleb snapped from the com on Hestors desk.
Kittar eyed the com and the image of his guildmaster on the screen.
"I apologized ta Jina fer the blood on the floor an I didn' cut em off…just…moved their dicks an balls inta a bag I left there." Kittar said lightly as he went and poured himself some coffee. Hestor always had the best coffee…Kit was Encan, Enca did everything big, spicy food, hard drinks and espresso was practically given in baby bottles after birth it was such a big part of the culture. He loved good coffee…and felt he deserved a bit, he'd been working a lot lately and his poker game in Sin had been cut short so his guildmaster could lecture him and send him to get Lucy.
"It wasn't the right choice." Kaleb snapped.
"Nex time if I come cross men doin tha' I'll drop em dickless and balls off in tha infirmary?" Kittar offered.
"That's better, yes." Kaleb agreed and Kit smirked leaning on the counter taking a sip of coffee and moaning over the taste enough both Lucy and Hestor eyed him a moment.
The shifters swishing tail stiledl and he froze at the looks blinking.
"Wha? It's good, Hes always makes fuckin amazin coffee." Kit said lightly. Getting a wistful sigh from Kaleb who had already bitterly missed his husband as it was and an eager look from Lucy who hurried to the coffee maker to get herself some, keeping the blanket wrapped around herself.
"So the dean had a report in from Glaciars military, a picture of the mage who they believe got the last key of the Starbinder set." She said, putting a folder into Hestors hands as she went to the coffee pot and poured herself a mug, going to the fridge to hunt down cream and then adding a silly amount of sugar while Hestor was frowning reading first the report on where the man was seen, how the scouts who had seen him knew he had the key due to the magic that had been present in the area dropping to normal levels after being high for almost 15 years while the key had waited for a mage to come take its trial.
"Says they had a total of 3 mages in the last 15 years that came and attempted the trial, all of them died but all of them had told the nearby town of Radmore they were going to attempt the trial and left their effects and family contact information with the town clerk before they left." Hestor read pursing his lips.
"So Alpha…the final key, one of the Angelics…was registered to the area and was being monitored as is customary for a high powered key that has a potentially lethal trial, and 3 deaths in 15 years absolutely makes Alphas trial a lethal one…but this mage completed it, took the key…and had not checked in in Radmore as is customary." Hestor frowned
"Yeah I was learning about how summoners are expected to register with nearby towns, announce their intention to take on upper level key trials." Lucy said sipping her coffee.
"I'm ashamed to admit it's something I've never done before but only because I didn't know it was a thing to do. I was learning about it, what's proper and all and the Dean showed me this case and also said you probably should know about it since Alpha is the last key needed to complete the set of the Keybinder title." Lucy hummed, the coffee was amazing and she hadn't had a good cup in a long while because of her pregnancy so was very much enjoying it in spite of the pain in her chest from her stretched bond with Zen and their children. She felt him though, warm reassurance in their bond that he was fine, at home with their babies. Arman was staying in Cellis with Zen while Lucy was away to help with the twins. Zen has sensed some sort of dark menacing magic hovering at the edge of his awareness right up until they had gotten into Cellis, the cities powerful wards and heavy celestial magic in the air had cut the feeling off but even Zen was left wary and unwilling to let the babies out of his sight.
Arman being there had helped Zen to be able to cope with Lucy being out of his sight and if Lucy had to call him to her side, his father would be there to watch over their children.
Hestor stilled pulling out the pictures in the file. "Shit…"
Lucy and Kit both frowned and Kaleb hissed, getting an image in his head of what Hestor was looking at.
"I'll warn Vander and get him and Presca onto it as soon as possible." Kaleb said.
"No…no we need Vander and Presca on the job they're on…fuck." Hestor said shaking his head as Lucys eyes rounded at the reactions.
"You know who that is?" She asked and Hestor turned to her nodding.
"This is Ciel Ramsey. He's one of very very few double S class Celestial Summoners…he was born in the north, in a country called Tian Xia." Hestor said and Lucys eyes widened more, she now knew what Tian Xia was, recently going over it in her studies.
"The birthplace of Celestial magic." she said quietly and Hestor nodded.
"Because it is the seat of the Eternal Emperor, Tsugu Tianxia, who is the only known Nephilim living on our world…his sons, Kayliss, Jacamar and Galasfriel were the first Archangel Mages, it was through him the Gods placed all Celestial Magics into the world, including summoning magics. HIS children were the firsts of each type. He still is there, still rules over Tian Xia in the royal city of Pa Lien. Ciel Ramsey is not a child of Tsugu…but he was born in Tian Xia, hence him being an exceptionally strong Celestial Summoner." Hestor explained.
"He's also a dark mage." Kaleb said flatly and Lucy sucked in a breath. Alarm surging up through her to the point her com went off and she felt Zen reaching out before she grabbed it turning to answer and reassure her husband she was fine.
"The fuck is going on?" Zen demanded over the com.
"We've located the Starbinder…and it's a Dark Mage." Hestor sighed.
"A dark mage? Great, how the hell are we going to unify the six points if one of them is evil?" Zen demanded.
"Lets get the others recovered first…then we will worry about Ciel, there is a…" Hestor let out a breath, his own alarm over this development high enough he had to hold Kaleb at bay, the man reaching through their bond ready to come to his side and provide comfort.
"The Starbinder creates celestial keys…they can bind any magical soul into a key…making them immortal and sending them to the Celestial Plane, removing them from the mortal realms. They can also…with weaker ones…unmake celestial keys and destroy the spirits attached to them. They…they can't unmake generation keys, or keys like the Hall, the Enochian 7, golden zodiac and such…but…well..plue? My Pegasus? They can unmake those. The key set they hold is very much a powerful combat set too, designed to help the binder overwhelm powerful magical entities to weaken them so they can be bound into keys." Hestor said quietly
"Shit." Zen growled over the com.
Hestor sighed nodding "Yes…we're in it…we need the other points…badly now. The only mages who can fight the Keybinder..are the other points, his magic won't work well on any of us and it's possible Xavier with his sight, could give us an idea of which direction Ciel may be leaning. Having completed that set…it may influence him to seek us out, the desire to unify and work together will be strong...but if that is not his intent…Xavier might know."
"Making recovering him and the Starwalker all that much more important." Lucy said and Hestor nodded.
"Yes…not that the need wasn't already high…but now? Now its a must…we have to get to them…before Ciel does. Ciel will try to turn them…and make the points a 50/50 split of good…and evil. Xavier, I don't believe he'd ever turn, the man has been around a long time, his grandson just overturned the Black Queen and is restoring his homeland to it's former glory…he has too much invested into the light, but the Starwalker…he was sold to be a pleasure slave when he was 4, has grown up being…used and abused in Pergrand, there's no telling where his loyalties will go if Ciel gets to him before we do." Hestor frowned
"We have teams in the field, working on this and I'll direct Vander and Presca to stay open com in case we need to pull them from what they're doing. For now? At least we know where the last point is…or…who it is anyway. Kittar, get Lucy back to Zen and her children as soon as possible. Hes…" Kaleb smiled "I'll talk to you a little later." he said before the com went dark.
Hestor smirked, it was terrible news that a known dark Celestial Summoner had gathered the keys for the Starbinder title, but they would move forward and he…had a date with his mates magic…
"I am heading to bed early, Lucy…enjoy your coffee and no you are not welcome to stay and help." Hestor said lightly as he headed for the stairs hugging Kalebs cloak around himself.
Lucy gave the man a sour look but it didn't last…because Kittar, not wanting to aggravate guild leadership anymore in one day, tapped his magic and he and Lucy vanished.