Fourteen complied wordlessly, but there was a glint of irritation in his eyes that told Cym he wasn’t being rolled by Cym’s handler status over him. He was complying reluctantly because he chose to.
Once they reached Marshall, Cym announced, “Marshall, if you call me Stillbringer one more time without explaining what it means, I am going to go fucking feral on you.”
“Later, short stack. Let’s deal with this crap bag first,” Jack called, giving Hester one final poke before allowing Adelle to drag him out of poking range.
“Ugh. Fine.” Apparently, Cym was getting closure whether he wanted it or not. “Can you put me down?” Cym whispered. He realized he was petting Fourteen like he was a comfort animal, and he forced himself to stop.
“No.”
“I’m not going to run away again.”
“Still no.”
“No one is going to respect me if I’m getting carried around like a spoiled little prince,” Cym hissed. He was trying to keep their little squabble private, but Fourteen wasn’t making it easy.
“Suck it up.”
Cym huffed and then turned back to the Hester situation and proceeded to act like he was perfectly happy to use Fourteen as a lounge chair and that he’d planned to do so all along. “You can take us over there when ready.” He waved toward Hester.
Fourteen gave a soft sound that could have been a laugh to an optimistic observer and carried Cym over to stand with Jack and Adelle. After a moment, they were joined by a weary but satisfied looking Marshall.
“Sure must be nice to have a human chariot. I could go for one of those right about now,” Marshall said.
“Don’t look at me, asshole,” Adelle said in a snotty tone and flicked her hair. “I only carry people who don’t try to get themselves killed on a regular basis.”
Jack just smiled at him with mischief in his eyes and said, “Any time, pookie,” and threw Marshall a wink.
Marshall gave him a helpless little laugh. “You’re both useless.”
Cym could tell from Marshall’s tone that he didn’t mean it at all, and that he probably loved both of his teammates more than his own life. Cym’s gut twisted in envy before he looked up at Fourteen as covertly as possible. Would it be possible for him to have something like this with Fourteen?
Marshall’s fond expression faded, and he pulled on an air of responsibility so abruptly Cym was startled. “All right Hester, enough putting this off. I’ve got more than enough authority and reason to cut you from the Source right here, but I’ll give you your say before I sentence you.”
Cym made a little wow shape with his mouth. Where the hell did the gentle, easy-going man Cym had met earlier go? If Marshall was directing that energy at him he’d be attempting to crawl inside Fourteen and never come out again.
Jack stood smirking cockily beside him and Adelle bracketed Marshall on his other side, looking like she was a loyal guard dog poised and ready to eagerly obey the order to kill the moment Marshall gave the command.
What the shit? Guardians didn’t fuck around, did they?
Cym’s hand began to pet Fourteen again without his permission, and he went to pull his hand away but stopped when Fourteen juggled Cym around enough to free one hand and place Cym’s hand back on his chest. Fourteen stayed silent the entire time, but he’d made his feelings loud and clear.
Cym shrugged and whispered, “Fine by me. I’m more than happy to treat you as my personal stress toy.” He went back to stroking Fourteen’s leather-covered pecs like it was the most normal thing in the world.
Hester was muttering something under her breath that sounded like monster, but Cym didn’t catch the rest.
“Excuse me, Hester, can you say that a little louder for the kids in the back of the classroom?” Jack’s words were light, but his tone made Cym think she’d said something nasty.
“I said, you’ve still got one more monster to kill, Guardian. If you’re so excited about your self-righteous quest to rid the Real of monsters, don’t ignore the one at your back.” Hester spat in Cym’s direction. “Just because he’s small and pretty doesn’t mean he’s not just as dangerous as Sekt is… was.” Her voice wobbled and her vitriolic diatribe trailed away awkwardly.
“Oh yes. He’s definitely dead.” Marshall walked around Adelle and kneeled down next to another body Cym hadn’t noticed. When Marshall turned it over, Cym saw the lifeless eyes of his aunt Stella staring up at the sky. Motes of shimmering glitter drifted up from her body, and it was an oddly beautiful, if gruesome sight as it sparkled in the firelight.
“Then get on with it and kill the other monster before you sentence me. I’m still the Blaike matriarch, and I have the right to request justice for my family before I go.”
“Justice? What could a nineteen-year-old kid who’s spent most of his life locked away possibly have done to deserve a call for family justice?” Marshall’s voice was more amused than anything, and Cym had a feeling he was putting on a show for Cym to make up for killing Sekt before he could get his closure.
Marinating in Marshall’s soul for the better part of an hour had apparently given Cym some insight into how the man worked.
“He’s not a kid,” Fourteen said in a sullen tone.
“No, I’m really not.” Traumatized? Very likely, but Cym hadn’t been a child for a long time.
Hester sneered. “His magic has been a bane to the Blaike family since he came into it. He corrupts the very nature of people. That’s the Guard’s main objective, isn’t it? To defend and protect the basic nature of sentient creatures? Well, this one is the biggest offender out there. You should see what he’s done to my family.”
“You’ve eaten your way through half the Blaike family, Hester. I wouldn’t be using this as part of your prosecution strategy.” Marshall continued to be large and imposing, and Cym would be halfway to shitting a brick if he hadn’t seen what a good man Marshall was on the inside.
He was at least eighty percent certain Marshall wasn’t going to kill him based on Hester's hurtful ramblings, so no bricks were currently necessary.
“It doesn’t matter what I’ve done,” Hester continued. “I’m still the matriarch until I die, and our laws claim that I have the right to protect my family before I go. I demand immediate sentencing for Cymbeline. After that, you can kill me. I don’t care anymore now that Sekt’s gone.”
Fourteen tightened his grasp on Cym and gave a low growl.
Jack sidled over to them and whispered, “Easy big guy. No one is going to hurt your man.”
“Except you’re not, are you?” Marshall asked Hester, ignoring the by-play going on behind him.
“Excuse me?” Hester seemed to gain more life and hauled herself off the ground shakily.
“I saw Cym’s thoughts when we shared a consciousness earlier. He was chosen by the Source to be the Blaike family patriarch. According to your own laws, that makes Cym in charge of your family. Not you.”
