It would help if I weren't so drained; I rub my aching temple to ease the throbbing, my body trembling with fatigue. "I'm tapped out; the only way out of this is to get to Verando." Stealing a glance at her hand, unhealed and festering as it was, I prepared myself for the thought that she was probably going to lose it and wondered if she even realized the state she was in. 

How does one step out on the ledge, yet again, with the threat of being pushed looming overhead? I found my hesitance was sitting on my shoulder and sounding quite convincing, considering his admittance that he had been plotting this with Red all along. Tonic had hidden Soli from me, from Verando; he had intended to separate us.

What was left to save? Surely it couldn't have all been mind control?

"Can you walk? He's in the building." She pulls me from my musings. Her expression was absolute; she would do something if I did not. All around us, the camp is in turmoil, the inferno dragon glides through the air with such precision that the bounty hunters are hard-pressed to hide amongst the wreckage. 

Wolves weave in and out, tracking down anyone who hasn't surrendered to remove them from their hiding place. We had more than enough, but at the same time, we were laughably outgunned in experience and coachability. Any real force, and we would have been rendered useless. This was pure luck, a generous victory from the gods. 

Flinching, I taste blood and touch beneath my nose, noting a bleed before I force my gaze back to Legardo and Tonic. The gray-haired man frantically tries to keep his brother at bay, fighting back his own wolf, which is trying to free itself from a broken body. He's fighting against his failing robotics as Legardo's heavy blows rain down. 

"Your father has gone rogue. He could kill Verando, you know that, right?" I hedge. 

I feel cowardly.

 Someone had always helped me; it seemed unfair to leave Tonic to his fate, a death I had seen too many times over to fool myself into thinking it was a quick, clean death. Her eyes bore into me, unwilling to allow me to slip into forgiveness for my sins. 

______________________________________________________________

Helen remains hidden behind an overturned vehicle while I go; with the bounty hunters on the run, victory was practically assured. It was suicide to attempt a big move now. My mind was out of practice, but my body knew how to perform, conserving energy and slipping from hiding spot to hiding spot. The occasional stray bullet assured me that I was still very much a target. 

Stress turns the kindest into the most fierce, and turmoil unleashes darkness in all of us that could unite or terminate a standing force. The innocent members of our crudely formed unit used their meager training and abilities to subdue burned-out and aged members of an unspoken society. 

I should be coaching them, joining them in battle, instead, I'm on a rescue mission for a traitor in a body that was betraying me. My fingers had regained their color, yet my charge was less every time I tapped into it. It was taking me days to rebuild where it used to take me hours. Pushing back the fear of the unknown, I spy the holding building. 

Ducking through the door, the cage is unlocked, and yet Verando remains. The gray wolf was sternal, reminding me he's not dead, though it doesn't do much for my pounding pulse as I rush to his side.

 "Are you alright?" I asked the downed wolf who flicked one ear towards me. Slowly, the light eyes open, and I know he's as exhausted as I am. Between the wraiths and fighting Gabriel, coupled with his unwillingness to eat before this mission and the fact that he carried me all the way here and back, he was at the end of his tolerance. 

I stroke my fingers through the soft fur, knowing our job is not done. "It was safer for you if I were in here." Verando sighs, an amount of honesty I was expecting. The wolf pushes himself upright with a grunt, grimacing at the achy shoulder. "Sounds like a hell of a fight."

"Tonic and Legardo are attempting to kill each other."

"I saw." He gestures to the smashed gate. "Alpha called to you and you answered. You two are really becoming friends..."

I capture his muzzle in my hands, watching the arctic eyes, feeling the weight of his head in my hands. "We have to stop Legardo, but I can't allow you to risk your life for those two bastards. You need to call Tiberius." Verando's ears flatten at the suggestion, and I keep a firm grip on him. 

"Randy, neither of us is strong enough to stop Legardo, and your Alpha granddaughter just commanded me to do something. We are out of options and out of time. I need Tiberius. If he is truly on our side, then he would be our best chance." 

Shaking his head, Verando shrugs me off as he glares at the ground. "You know better than to make a deal with a Siren. There is nothing to be gained from it; he will want something in return, and that something always comes with a catch. Tonic is a dead man walking; let Legardo have his blood."

It's a risk I have to take. "That's not who Legardo is--" Shutting my eyes, I know I have to convince him; he had all but disowned Tonic for his acts against me. I couldn't allow him to turn his back on his son, if nothing else, for the sake of the child we are to raise.

"Tonic was my only friend when my parents died; without him, I might not have had the strength to pursue our relationship. I know that he has fucked up, and he will answer for those crimes, but Randy... this isn't Tonic. Something is wrong with him, and he needs us right now. And I don't know who Legardo will be when he comes out of this, knowing he's killed his brother. They've already lost Reid. They can't lose each other." 

My warlord softens minutely, his shoulders relaxing just the slightest bit. Stroking my fingers through the heavy fur, I force the smallest smile, a silent plea for his aid instead of his analysis. Finally, Verando nods, standing; he gestures for me to follow as he heads toward the door. 

"I don't know if this will work, but I will try." Every step he takes fractures me just a bit more as I focus on the limp in his left front leg. 

Tonic is battered and bloody, on his feet but hardly capable of fighting off a rogue lycan. In his peak physical condition, Verando was brutally humbled by Marcus and hardly managed to defend himself from his father. Tonic stood little chance of nearing the same goal.

 I parted my lips to ask the male what he intended to do, but he left me as quickly as we could exit the door. In my haste, I rush over to Helen, who is nearly where I left her, save for Tyler, who had found his way to her side. I note he lacked the reasoning to move her to a safer spot or, at least, to find clothes. "Verando is going to attempt to summon Tiberius."

Tyler frowns at the thought, "A Siren? Wouldn't he have to walk here?"

Frankly, I wasn't sure how it worked. "A Siren is a creature of lore, so it's not as if they follow our rules. Judging by his behavior, he should be able to come to us at will, as they are merely visitors on this plane." It could be entirely out of the realm of possibility. Verando was not capable of doing such things, and he was practically a demi-god, though I did recall his wolf appearing to help me in essence alone.

I notice he's no longer limping as he shoves Legardo out of the way, sending the white wolf rolling the small distance across the snow-covered concrete. In unison, we all duck as the dragon whirls overhead, the blaze melting the snow around us. 

"Jed, calm Legardo," Verando commands the slender magic-user, who appears uncertain as the white wolf barks violently. "You don't have to hold him long."

The young mage's eyes glow as he focuses on the white wolf, causing the beast to paw at his ears as he staggers backward. With a reluctant sigh, Verando squares up to Tonic, who struggles to right himself through his malfunctioning limbs. 

"You'd better be under some form of mind control for all the suffering you have caused," Verando grumbles low in his throat before tilting his head back to howl, a long, low sound that brings the entire lycan force to a halt. They joined in as if unable to help themselves, and as quickly as it began, it was over. 

Tonic scoffs. "That's it? You're going to sing for me? You've finally lost it, old man." The mechanical man picks up a machete in his human hand, "I wondered where you were hiding; seeing that limp, I understand now that you were saving your own skin. Awfully heroic until it's your ass on the line." 

Verando doesn't entertain him-- trying to split his focus between Tonic and Legardo. His ears swerve, listening for any confirmation that the Siren was coming. "Yes, well, your brother was doing quite a fine job giving you a thorough beating, so I was just trying to pick a favorite. Whoever wins, and what have you." 

Tonic grinds his teeth, taking a step forward. "Right, this is just a game for you."

"I'd surrender before your brother does my job for me." Verando retorts, his tone flat, dismissive. "You need help, Tonic."

"Just do your damn job and come get me then! Stop screwing around and put me down if you're going to do it!" Tonic shouts, taking quick steps forward as Legardo breaks from the mage's hold and rushes to intercept the charge. 

The machete swings, covering the ground in fresh red as Legardo knocks the half-mechanical man off-center, and suddenly, Tonic is encased in ice save for his head. Without thinking, Helen pushes past me to get to her father. Much as my legs are numb, I rush to follow her with Tyler close behind. The wound to Legardo seems to be more of a surface wound on his chest than anything else. 

My eyes scan, and I spot Pascal, panting as her outstretched hand trembles. It was impressive; Tyler hadn't even seemed to consider trying to stop Tonic. Conjuring on the fly like that without being connected to the ice was advanced. Stress seemed to be doing well for her abilities, just like all of us, but as I look further, I know we are at the end of our limits.

 As the remaining bounty hunters are placed in a small circle, there's a sinking feeling resting on my shoulders as to what to do with our victory. We are not equipped to take prisoners, nor to return home with the bodies of those we'd lost. Did any of these people even have families? Nobody had come looking for them, and we'd hardly even seen notices for missing people on the news. 

 As much as I had hoped Tiberius would appear, we have no such luck. With Tonic under ice, much to his screaming and protests, we assemble our small party of higher-ups. Trying to establish some rank, we drift away from the proud group of celebrating mages and lycans to discuss our reality. 

I close the door as we file back into the holding room. "So, no Tiberius." I sigh, frowning as Verando favors his shoulder.

"We can wait?" Helen offers hopefully. "We need to tally up the injured, see who we've lost... and now we have these bounty hunters, we could use the help--"

For the first time, Tyler looks genuinely angry. "No, Helen. We can not wait! Look at your damned hand! You are human now; we need to get you to Sef. Also. Sir-" The word is strained. "Why in God's name are we now saving Tonic? Did you not see that he had my wife by the throat? I was damned sure we had decided that Tonic was an enemy! Because of him, Helen disobeyed and was nearly killed! She's out of her mind, Helen should not be allowed to have an opinion, she should be medicated for the trauma-"

Helen shoves him away from her so roughly that he flies backward, slamming into one of the posts. "Stop trying to control everything! Nic is doing as I asked because he believes in me! Why can't you?"

I extend my hand but pause, noting the warning glance from Pascal that I shouldn't get involved. To my surprise, it's Verando who gets between them.

"Children." Verando snaps, laying his ears back. "You are leaders; act like it. Do not bicker in front of your team, save it for the bedroom or at least have the self-respect to excuse yourself."

 Tyler's expression is one of horror; he looks to all of us to defend him, yet not one of us makes a move. Just as we'd let him correct her, we would happily stand aside for her to protect herself. 

"The issue at hand is not Tonic; what we need to discuss is the fact that we can not stay here. They have notified their master, and we can not stand to fight him again. We will all be lost if that is to come; our priority is to leave this place immediately and return to the Dead City before nightfall. If we become trapped on this terrain, with all of the dead surrounding us, the wraiths will be on us before we can even worry about that rogue Solomonari. 

That means we need to leave right now." My warlord was back in his element, commanding all before him, and yet I feel as though we weren't addressing the real issue. What were we going to do with our captives? 

Pressing my lips into a thin line, our younger recruits seem oblivious to the apparent choice we are to make. My warlord limps toward me, a jacket in his teeth, and I accept quietly, sliding my arms into the sleeves. I'd grown numb to the chill. With a slow nod, Pascal loads her gun in silent acceptance. She'd been with my future husband too long to believe he meant anything different. 

"I will do it." Pascal quietly acknowledges.

"Do what?" Tyler retorts with a disgusted laugh. The room falls silent, our younger members distance themselves, and the realization fills the space that there were not enough of us to make it back with so many extra bodies.

She swallows, straightening, facing Tyler with a stony expression that my warlord surely taught her. " We can not take these prisoners with us, Tyler." 

His face falls. 

I hold up my hands to stop the escalation. "There can't be a leak that there is a black market for magic users and beasts. We must keep this information to ourselves; the only way to do that is to leave no evidence to find. This isn't what we thought it was, these men... they will do this again if we let them go." 

Tyler runs a hand roughly through his hair. "Kill them? Kill ten-plus people? In cold blood?"

Verando, who had been quiet, finally allowed the careful facade to fall. "Did you not see your kin out there? My people stripped of their furs? Elves mutilated? This has to stop; it has to end with us. No matter how much you may not want to, it is up to us to do the hard things, to make the difficult decisions. Nobody is cleaning up after us; medieval problems must be handled with medieval solutions." 

The last part is directed towards me; his gaze narrowed as he suggests I'm coveting Tonic and putting us all at risk. I can't even look at him when he sees me in such a light; Tonic had been my best friend a lifetime ago. 

"Death seems harsh for what could just be following orders, as we are forced to follow yours?" Tyler brings me to a pause, and I know it's my turn to step in and control him. I needed to present a united front; it was time to stop treating him like a child. 

"You don't have to like it. You have to do as you're told in situations like this. We are the ones with experience; if you don't like it, you need to hone your skills and surpass me to call the shots. Very soon, Tyler, you will be all on your own, and I hope to the gods that you can make these decisions, because Helen and your family will suffer the consequences of costly mistakes, such as allowing those who wish to harm you to live. 

These people live by a different set of rules than you grew up by; we have to play by their rules when we are in their world." 

The world of man had not yet caught up to the punishment required to keep a magical society in check. They were bored, wild, and untamed in the outlands of humanity. Handing these people over would be a fate worse than death; the most humane thing was to end their lives. The group shifts uncomfortably, but for now, they're following me. 

"Taken Helen to see Sef, Tyler, pray to the gods we can still save that hand. We will handle this." I take a step away from Grayson, who lingers too close. "Go with him, Grayson, and take the fledglings. Pascal will help Verando and me." 

They bow their heads in respect, fist over their hearts. I ignore Tyler's scowl as they leave the room, and we follow closely behind.  A rebuttal was good; it kept one in check, for absolute power was the root of all evil, yet one had to know one's place when one was unwilling to take responsibility for all. 

Verando looks exhausted, his expression unreadable beyond the weight of his fatigue. "Thanks for the backup. I know it isn't easy with that one. He doesn't think like us, but he's going to forgive you," he attempts.

The concept of leaving Verando to carry the blame made me grimace, but I know I'd done it before. My loyalty couldn't come into question; I knew who I agreed with, and I couldn't keep pretending to be one of them. Laughing sadly, I drag my fingers through the heavy scruff of his neck. 

"No, he's not, but that's okay. Heroes die, he will find someone else to look up to, and that will be fine. It's for the best; we won't be here much longer. I wish Tyler could see that I don't like this either."

Pascal resists the urge to touch me; my ability to get so close to her boss made her squirm. "I think it's very noble. It's why I follow Mr.Mercer, even though he's an ass who shot me. He's usually right, and getting to know you has been a dream of mine, Your Grace." 

I snort, not thinking of Verando as someone who was always right. Perhaps always driven by powerful means. While he did have a way of getting to the correct answer, he was an emotional creature, much as he tried to hide it. "Nicolas is just fine. Your Grace doesn't fit any longer." It amuses me that she pegged him so thoroughly; he must be drained, for he doesn't even have a response to her insults. "How long have you been a Solomonari, Pascal?" I ask her curiously. 

She freezes, staring at me wide-eyed. "I- I..."

"The leader of this troop told me there were American versions of what I am. You haven't had the schooling, but there's no denying you are the same. With power like that, you will be quite a force."

Verando rolls his eyes. "Are you done kissing each other's asses? We have ten minutes to finish these executions and get out of here before we finish this journey after dark. The sun is not forgiving." 

His limp makes me wonder whether he factored in his own limitations in that timeline, but I was well aware that he would do whatever was necessary to get us out of here. Pascal seems to mirror my thoughts, but she says nothing, counting bullets quietly from the various clips fastened to her belt. All that combat, and she had hardly fired a shot. 

"You're well trained," I comment to her, bringing the most minuscule smirk to the corner of her mouth. Reaching the circle of prisoners, guarded by Jed and two others, Jed was using his ability to keep them calm. "Jed, change tactics, and try 'trusting.' I have a couple of questions for our friends before we sentence them. "