10. ~Orpheus~
10
~Orpheus~
Things moved slowly at Exemplar.
Yes, I’d already known that. Already heard about it from secondhand accounts and complaints, yet seeing it and experiencing it up close and actually at work was another story.
I also hadn’t know where the drag had come from before, except to blame bureaucracy itself in a very vague way. But spending the last few days up at the compound shadowing Elliot Sabre had made it clear where it was rooted.
In far too many checks and balances.
In the strong and very loud differing opinions of those sitting at the proverbial—and literal—table.
In conflicting agendas, many of which were hidden behind concern for the supernatural world, some loyal to specific factions too.
It was an inherently complicated setup.
My previous experience with governing bodies of this sort was very different. My father had his High Council in the Dark Fae Realm, but the members were essentially tools that he wielded to do his bidding. He told them how things were going to be and he rarely entertained opinions and certainly didn’t allow policy and procedure to get in his way. It was most definitely his way or the highway and the Council knelt to him on all things.
When it came to Exemplar , the complicated systems and protocols worked well when it came to managing the wellbeing of the supernatural world and all its intricacies under regular circumstances, when it came to the day-to-day operation of things.
But it was weak and ill-equipped when a significant issue or threat arose that detracted from the norm. Because it was bogged down with due process and the like, Exemplar couldn’t respond swiftly or effectively.
And that had cost us all dearly during this war against Constantine.
The madman obviously knew it well and he’d been using that weakness against them to great effect.
I’d discovered that Elliot had been trying to strike more of a balance lately.
For instance, enlisting my father’s help with some of the more dangerous uprisings of late. But he’d faced a great deal of backlash for doing that, especially when he’d done it without putting it to the members and running it through the proper channels to obtain authorization first. There was also the issue of the Dark Fae King intervening in matters outside his territory. They didn’t like that one bit, and saw him and his interference as a rogue element that proved dangerous to their carefully crafted modus operandi.
The bottom line was that the current setup wasn’t conducive to what we were up against with Constantine Vale.
But bringing about change to an organization like Exemplar , the depth of bureaucracy it was infected with… it just wasn’t feasible.
Fortunately, that wasn’t the only way forward.
I put those thoughts to bed as I passed through the ward, then I touched down in the courtyard of the mansion, folding my wings away.
As soon as I stepped through the entrance doors, the smell of smoke wafted toward me, irritating my lungs and sending a shot of adrenaline through me from concern too.
Voices reached me, commotion coming from the kitchen further into the house.
In the next beat, I was teleporting to just outside the door.
The moment I did, a smoke alarm went off, making me wince, as it was right overhead.
Before I could even react, a wisp of cobalt-blue magic floated out of the kitchen and up to the alarm, switching it off.
“What the—”
I stepped into the kitchen, my words catching in my throat as I took in the scene happening within. The extremely chaotic scene.
There Xavier was lounging at the kitchen table, his feet kicked up on the top, while he flicked more wisps of his magic, this time opening the patio doors, then the window over by the kitchen sink basin. He was laughing as he took in the source of the trouble.
Talon and Alena.
They were over by the oven, the thing wide open with thick smoke billowing out of it.
And fire.
Alena was tossing two pans of some charred food concoction into the double sinks and dousing them with water, while Talon was fighting to control the flames raging from the oven with his agnikinesis ability as a phoenix.
He managed it and then the fire was put out.
But the smoke was lingering.
I took care of it with a sweep of my magic, my purple power surrounding it, gathering it in a funnel, then sending it out through the patio doors.
“What a shit fest,” Talon breathed, stepping back from the oven and shoving a hand over his bright orange head.
“I’d say so,” I spoke.
The two of them spun toward the sound of my voice and took me in leaning against the kitchen door, my arms folded across my chest.
“Uh… Ore… hey. You’re back early,” Tal uttered, looking all sheepish.
Alena was right there with him, telling me, “You weren’t supposed to see this.”
“But I’m so glad that he did,” X said, still chuckling.
“Cut it out,” Alena told him, but she was grinning as she said it.
“Yeah,” Tal told him. “You’re just sore that you weren’t a part of it.”
“I told you to wait for me to be done with therapy.”
“We thought we had it covered,” Alena told him.
“Besides you always get to be the romantic and thoughtful one. It was our turn,” Tal said.
“There you go discounting yourself,” X said, pushing off the table and walking over. “You’re plenty thoughtful.”
Alena gave his bicep a squeeze. “You are, angry bird.”
His eyes lit up and he nuzzled against her cheek making her giggle. “Aww, I love you too, feisty Nephilim.”
“So what happened? What was X left out of?” I asked.
“We know you’ve been dealing with a lot of pressure lately,” Alena told me. “With all of our issues, then getting kicked out of the Academy, and now taking on a role at Exemplar . So we wanted to do a little something to show our appreciation, to cheer you up, bring the levity. We were making a homemade dinner. Lasagna and a couple of your favorite crumbles.”
“But we got impatient with how long it was taking to cook and it kind of got away from us after that.”
I looked between them. Knowing how she was, it was clearly Alena who’d gotten impatient and Tal had just gone along with it, because he was a little suck for her these days, a lot like X.
“You’re not trying to butter me up?” I asked, looking between them.
“What? No. What the shit for?” Tal exclaimed.
I saw a look pass between Alena and X, but it was indecipherable and too quick to deduce.
And then she assured me, “We were just trying to do something heartfelt. Talon told me about that fruit plate you sweetly made for him without your magic. That’s what gave us the idea.”
I smiled and went to them, wrapping an arm around each of them. “Thank you. That’s really nice. And appreciated.”
“If only it had worked out,” Alena groused, as we eased apart, eyeing the mess over by the sink and the oven.
X stepped forward. “Go get out of your smoky clothes and I’ll take care of it.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Alena said.
“I want to.”
“Feel bad for laughing at our expense, huh?” Tal teased him.
“Oh no, that was the funniest shit I’ve seen in so long,” he said, laughing again.
I smiled to myself as the two of them shook their heads at him, then headed on out to sort themselves out.
“You’re in high spirits today.”
“Just trying to focus on the good where I can.”
“Being with Alena and Talon?”
He nodded. “Just screwing around, hanging out. It would’ve been great if you’d been here too.”
“Well, I’m here now.”
“Right. Finally back from Exemplar.”
I tensed at his tone. The bitterness in it and the charged nature of it too.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Nothing. Getting to live two legacies, that must be nice.”
“Two legacies?”
“Yeah, so many people counting on you, looking to you. Your father in the DFR and now my father at Exemplar.”
Ah, of course.
“It really isn’t like that. I’m just an asset to him, something to use, really. You’re his legacy, no matter what you do. You’re his son. No one can fill that role.”
He shook his head. “Sure,” he muttered. “You know what, let’s not do this. Alena and Tal were right, you need some happiness and relief. Let me sort this dinner.”
As he went to move past to head over to the oven, I stepped into his path, pressing my hand to his chest. “You’re only seeing the concept of a legacy through a romantic lens. Believe me, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. In fact, you could say it’s a difficult burden to bear.”
He started. “What? You’re not enjoying your time there? Why are you even doing it then?”
“It needs to be done.”
He frowned. “What does that mean?”
Instead of answering what I couldn’t yet at this juncture, I laid my hand on his shoulder, telling him, “Xavier, I know where this is coming from, this bitterness. And you should know that you’re an invaluable member of our found family. No one could ever replace you. Together the four of us fit. Change anything about that and it won’t work.” I shifted my weight. “Is that what the hunting is about with Alena? Not just you capitulating to her out of your guilt, but wanting to feel useful?”
“It’s something I can do—and do for her —that no one else in our group can.”
“I see. Just be careful.”
“Careful?”
“She’s finally come out of her numbed state, she’s dealing with things, but I’m not fool enough to think for one second that part of dealing with it for her doesn’t include her wanting vengeance on Constantine.”
“As she should,” he bit back with an obvious edge.
“There’s a difference between harboring those urges and acting on them.”
“Her power, Ore, it’s—”
“ No,” I ground out. “The hunting stays relegated to training.”
He stared at me, intensity flaring, and I could see his urge to argue it further, to press the issue.
But then he surprised me as his narrowed eyes softened. “Okay. I hear you.”
“You do?”
He reached out and fingered my hair. “Yeah, now let me get this dinner underway, while you go and relax. The two of them were so excited about doing this for you. Let me get it going again, then I’ll bring them in near the end to finish it up.”
“That’s very sweet of you.”
He lifted a shoulder. “They deserve it. And so do you.”
“All right,” I responded, more than just a little suspiciously.
He’d backed down much more easily than I’d expected. I wasn’t fool enough to think that was the end of it, though. It meant I’d have to keep a close eye on the situation.
I couldn’t allow the two of them to carry on in this current vein with their hunting.
They didn’t know what they were truly risking by doing so.
And at this point, I couldn’t stop them with the truth.
I just needed to contain things in the meantime.
Just a little longer.