Dark Angels: Creation Part 8 Insurance, Sean and Declan
Sean: Just before we’d misted out I’d telepathed to Adrian to head to the guesthouse Sin kept for the two wolf shifters he called “servants”. Sin might have offered Celia and Declan the opportunity to stay together in their afterlives as housekeeper and grounds man for his properties, but I knew damned good and well they saw themselves more as security than servants. True, they served more as early warning systems for him, but I’d seen them in action and neither one was a slouch with a blade or, when shifted, with tooth and claw. They were even better with Glocks. I’d shown them how to inscribe runes on the bullets that insured they could kill pretty much anything except a one of us. It made them a pair of bodyguards even I’d think twice about trying to go through if I wasn’t a reaper. And right now, I’m going to get them some weapons that will kill even reapers because I highly doubt they’re going to sit this one out, no matter what Sin wants. Wolves are loyal to their pack and Sin had become their alpha the moment he offered them an opportunity to keep their souls together.
Adrian materialized in front of the guest house just after I did. Speaking to him mind to mind…
‘This will only take a minute and then we’ll get a move on. I just want to make some arrangements with the wolves. Keep a look out. Sin won’t want them involved, but they already are. He’s their alpha and they won’t let him go down.’ Adrian nodded at me and ghosted into that half-world we walk when we reap. It lets him watch my six, and Sin will have to be looking for him or dematted into that dimension to see him.
As I lift my hand to knock on the door it opens. Declan stepped out into the night, his long pale hair bound back at the nape of his neck with a leather thong. His gray eyes are grave as he looks at me, saying only ‘So the meeting is over?’ I arch my eyebrow at him questioningly.
“How…,” but before I could finish he taps his nose and answers ‘Wolves. Scent.’ Then he just smirks a little and adds ‘Besides, Sin ‘pathed Celia to stay put until he called for her. Being naturally curious, and knowing how little he cares for his own skin, we shifted and took up sentinel around the house.’ His face grows serious. ‘So we heard. We’re not staying out of this, Sean.’
I should have known they’d be on it. Declan had been head of security and enforcement for his pack. That they’d been massacred on his watch he considered a failure on his part and one that wouldn’t happen again.
“I was pretty sure he wasn’t going to get away with shuttling you off to one of his properties to wait it out. So,” I continued, “I figured you were gonna’ need weapons that would kill reapers. Because that’s likely what you’re going to be up against. Where’s Celia now?”
I followed him as he stepped off the porch into the moonlight and scented the air. ‘About now she’s confronting Sin with this and not taking any crap about being left out. So,” turning to look at me, “what have you got for us?’
“Reaper weapons and angel blades.” I meet his gaze, knowing he’s an old hand with this stuff and will get it. “Your guns will be useless against reapers with the ammo you have now. You can melt down the reaper weapons and recast the metal for bullets. The spells used to make our weapons lethal to everything will hold and they’ll be just as deadly as they were as blades. The angel blades will replace the daggers and short swords I gave you earlier. No inscriptions needed on those. Just like reaper weapons, they kill everything.”
Declan nods slowly, rubbing his chin as he contemplates firing up his forge. ‘Why not melt down the angel blades instead? Certain parties won’t be happy when they realize you’ve been collecting them. That way they’d be impossible to trace.’
I snort a laugh at this, “Buddy, there’s not a forge on this plane or any other capable of melting down those weapons. Not even Hades could do it. They were forged with the heat of a sun. The metal is unmeltable by anything less, unbreakable, and impossible to clone. Trust me. I’ve tried.” Shaking my head, “No, stick with re-purposing the reaper sharps and both of you keep the angel blades on you at all times.” My blue eyes grow serious now, “This is the big leagues now. It doesn’t get any bigger. If the Horseman gets wind of what we’re doing he’ll move first. I don’t think Lucifer will get his demons directly involved, at least not yet. He’s still got carte blanche to take any reapers he can hold, though, and Sin would be a coup. So don’t let Sin shake you off. He’ll try.”
A mirthless laugh echoes through the night. ‘Not happening. As mortal shifters we wouldn’t have been able to follow him everywhere, but as ghosts with scenting capabilities? There’s no getting away from us if we decide not to let him. And we’re not letting him.’
I clap my hand on top of his shoulder and nod, smiling a little. “Brother, I’m glad you’re on our side.” It was a declaration of a kind. Wolf shifters don’t consider those outside their pack as brothers. I’d just expanded his.
His hand mimicked mine, landing solidly on my shoulder, his eyes grave. ‘Brother, we will not let you down.’ We held eyes a moment, and I felt the ancient magick of the changelings rise from the earth. My skin tingled as it surged between us, the changeling pack bond establishing between us and through me, to all the others. My vision blurred for a moment and I could see the others as it connected them. Aiden inhaled at it in the ether and Bryn looked up from a phone. Zav almost fumbled ink he had been pouring into a small cup and, recognizing my touch as well as the strange magick, mentally reached out to me
‘Sean?’
I respond the same way, ‘It’s fine brother. We just became a pack.’
Tentatively I reached out to Declan mentally. His bond with Sin allowed him to communicate with him that way. The connection made should allow that for all of us now. I felt his surprise at my deft touch and then the warm welcome. ‘So we’re part of the club now, are we?’ He opened and through him I touched Celia’s mind as well. She had been in the midst of a heated diatribe about Sin not going off and getting himself killed when she faltered. Sin felt it too and questioned me
‘Sean, what is this?’
With a mental grin at all of them, I answer ‘We just formed a legitimate pack mon Chaptaen. Don’t think you’re getting out of this. And’ going more serious, ‘don’t worry. I’m taking care of weapons for them. They’ll be fully armed for reapers.’ I can feel his mental nod, both glad the shifters would be able to protect themselves and irritated that he couldn’t bench them, as he severs the connection. As the magick settles, both my and Declan’s arms drop back to our sides.
“How long will it take you to cast the bullets?” I ask, stepping back.
‘They won’t need inscriptions as they’ll already be spelled, so a day once I fire the furnace. It will take a while for it to get hot enough to melt reaper blades, maybe another 10 hours of gradually stoking it and magicking the heat to bring up the temp and hold it. So two days all told, if I work through the nights.” Declan’s eyes narrow. “How soon will we be needing them?’
“Soon.”
It comes out grimly. Sooner than I’d like, given the read I got on Sin’s emotions today. He’s not in a good place mentally for this fight. Oh, I have no doubt he’ll kick ass, and fuck takin’ names, because nobody on the other side of this is going to walk away, but whether or not he lives through it? I don’t like where his head is. He doesn’t really care, and really not caring when you’re going into a battle is generally a one way ticket to a toe tag.
“I’ll send the weapons directly to your workshop. Don’t forget to arm yourselves with the angel blades immediately. I know Sin is going to have some things to take care of while you’re making bullets, but Celia needs to stick with him. He’ll need to talk to Freya, at the least. Valhalla should be safe for him, and they’re used to women warriors there so Celia should feel right at home. Sin needs to get used to having someone at his back until this is all over.”
Declan nods at me, ‘I’m on it then and I’ll relay it to Celia.’ He grins, saying “She’s a little busy now going toe-to-toe with our fearless leader.” His grin fades, “But seriously, Sean, we’re in this to the end. We owe Sin our eternity together.’
“Then we’re on the same page, because all four of us do as well. I’ll be back in touch soon. Sin has us checking in every 12 hours. I’d appreciate if you do the same with me.”
At his nod of agreement I give him a two-finger salute, then step away and mentally let Adrian know we’re done here. Time to go talk to some reapers. Time to find our fighters.
#TBC
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