scrubber6620

You said-- "This is why I don't schedule postings! I always find something as I do my final scan of each chapter. Even then things get missed. Oh well. " I understand at some point Persian rugs always had a design defect imprinted in them. It was believed that only God was perfect, and man was fallible and the rug creators should not try to be equal to God.

BTW--I am accepting your artistic license to describe SF. A crime ridden( last DA was recalled because of crime) scene with human excrement and drug needles on the sidewalks as I saw around Fisherman's Warf is not an inviting place for tourists. Elijah and Kage would have more on edge in present day SF. Sorry, if I have offended any residents of a once glorious city.

Hmm--as you say, Phase one is completed . They have the office layout and Kage will go after him at his office. But, isn't Kasar's Phase one also completed, too? He must have assessed his target and given his people marching orders. Would a tracking device be in the material given Elijah? They checked out both his home and office. They know Kasar has lots of shifters on his payroll. I imagine these surveillance efforts could have been observed along the way and they could have been followed a least after the office visit if he was not given a tracking device. Kasar did not have him kidnapped, But, he could have had him followed or tracked afterwards so he could be taken at a good place or in his hotel room without his disappearance being connected to him. Kasar's people could be disguised as hotel staff for the capture. Findng Kage with him could mean Elijah will be taken when he is alone. They might know from surveillance back in the small town that Kage and Elijah are an item and Elijah's kidnapping could be a way to extract info as well has keep Kage at bay. I still have a sense of doom and of an upcoming battle with things not happening as planned. Interestingly, Kasar said he held Elijah's father in high regard. Was he more than an adjuster of minor cases in his small town? Did his father meet people when the family was in SF? Did he handle exceptional cases that were important to Kasar? Will this knowledge give Elijah any insights? Onward--we need more information. Kasar has not yet showed his hand or his wants. We know he cares little about survival of others. Should not Kage's friend, Elijah, now go far away from SF if Kage is going to be killing Kasar in Phase two?

BTW--as the tile warned Rusty Parker did clean up his act. Maddox is relieved and wants Jonathan back. Will the next steps be confusing and upsetting? Lots of options have been discussed, The delay due to Jonathan running away to come up with answers could go the right way to hope or the wrong way and take him away from the campus. Going home will open a can of worms and potentially a long delay. Finals are coming up. He cannot be gone too long. Will he return in time to properly study and take his finals? Will Maddox see him as soon as a returns, Ray needs to notify him when Jonathan returns, I believe So, will the author continue the pain? Instead, might she give us hope they can be reconciled?

Everyone is getting along. Tony seemed pleased. Colin and Armand's visitors from Italy are enjoying their time in the US, Thomas is becoming a regular part of Armand's family, We see several examples of young love in action and it feels wonderful.

Ok--Essell has come up with the key issues for who is after them --Fear of change and loss of power. So The Kardoval are motivated to stop them . They have most to lose. The Kardoval want them to be shown as a threat and hypocritical. So what does Essell do? What can he and Ases do? They need to find and to save Garjah since this is so serious and the top leaders are behind it. It stands to reason they will be kept alive till they can be shown to be doing something hurtful. The Kardoval will stage a false situation to put Essell et al in a bad light.

How about a different outcome--? I am kinda thinking Jonathan goes off and takes long walks in a big city, unaware of the danger, and gets badly mugged and put in the hospital. His parents are notified, not friends at Sunny Hill, and the family drama re-starts. Jonathan needs to stay in the hospital and then goes back home since he has lost Maddox. Jonathan due to his hospital stay misses out finishing the semester. He then checks out of Sunny Hill. Maddox is distraught but when he finally finds Jonathan, the family keeps them apart . Rusty provides a distraction for the family and sings opera. at a party in their mansion Maddox sneaks in, confesses his love to Jonathan and they run away and make mad passionate love ---over and over. Gosh--this scenario is so over the top. Not enough sex and drama , though

Damn Xpress viciously made up a series of stories. Maddox would not listen to Jonathan or Rusty. Finally Maddox burns through his anger and gets common sense . He talks and listens to Rusty. What he said convinced Maddox, The note Jonathan left in his book clinched the deal. Jonathan loved him--he knew it for certain Maddox ran to see his BF. But Jonathan had left for for an undisclosed location for days depressed and lost. He needed to figure out a new way to reach Maddox Is something bad going to happen to Jonathan alone and pain?

CJ has goals and is on to his next step toward being President. He is a genuinely nice, inclusive person who is uncommonly open to building and keeping friendships. Brion has found a niche and maybe a place to live in DC. He is ready to find a spot to make a difference. He won't be held back by his wheels working for CJ. It will be a wild ride.

The Kardoval might have suggested to their followers that Garjah and others should be gone, etc. Indirectly the Kardoval could have incited others. Then some overzealous warriors could act on what they perceived as orders Henry II cried out famously in 1170 "Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?" And some of the King's knights murdered Thomas Becket , Archbishop of Canterbury in his cathedral. The King was so shamed and vilified that he had to perform serious, panful penance

So I am suggesting the sword in the stone legend--Many tried to pull the special sword out of the large stone and be the rightful king , but only young Arthur was judged worthy and was able to pull Excalibur out of the stone, Vincent is like young Arthur and the divine affinity is his magical sword

How about the divine affinty cannot be sought or taken, It must be bestowed by the gods on an individual who was proved himself of being supremely worthy by action and deeds. The affinity is so rare that little is known about it and what is known is confusing and not able to be verified Stefan is always going to fail because he wants it and is a nasty, criminal. The gods will not favor him.

Trouble, trouble, trouble--nothing solved Essell had a panic attack and Ases brought him back to reality. They are going farther in the wild and Ases will be shifted to better hide himself. They hear that the bad guys are destroying Gadjah's home looking for a secret room and maybe something in it. Nothing more is said about Garjah. If the Essell and Ases and Garjah get free and safe, the recording might help identify who is trashing the house and is involved in the plot to take Garjah et al down. Will some allies come to the rescue? Thanks for the bonus chapter---

Mrsgnomie said What if… What if Kage orchestrated the drive by so he could manipulate Elijah? Gain his trust so he can swoop in and steal the computer and take it back to his boss and live happily ever after? Classic misdirection, I bet--she knows and is toying with us with something outlandish--If Kage did this, the story would be over too soon

I liked learning about how close and passionate Kage and Elijah had become--- "He was easily distracted as they spent the past forty-eight hours experimenting with a variety of positions, mostly in bed, but occasionally on the couch, in the shower, and a couple of times in the kitchen. At this moment, Elijah’s head was stalled in its journey south of Kage’s border." What a nice way to start a chapter and capture our attention.

Now we know lots more--People have knocked out Garjah and have stolen his transport. They seem to be opposed to outside contact. The bad guys said --How could he have known we were going to capture him and then come get his mutated freak and the offworld invader?” Essell and Ases have a voice recording so far and can use it later to identify the ones . Video might be taken late by the mech, also. Who will escape first and help the missing party? Garjah must be in a type of jail. Essell and Ases are in the jungle lost. Bouncer is running around them being very active. He is being protective.

Kbois commented--- "The supernatural world is interconnected. Huntington is high enough up in the hierarchy that I'm sure he has a wide network of resources. He probably thinks of himself as The Godfather of shifters." These few sentences are very chilling and put into sharp relief how supremely dangerous this mission is. Think of taking out Marlon Brando in the Godfather movie. It was a production and the repercussions were massive. Kasar can know about Elijah's and Kage's capabilities and may take precautions. He will be ready and have professional help. Saying Elijah has been baited to see Kasar( thanks 84Mags) fits in with my earlier theory. Elijah is too naive and not expecting Kasar to want him and use him. He is in deep trouble if he meets Kasar Huntington in his office alone and not in a public area. Kasar wants him for his deadly purposes. He might be captured with serious consequences.. He might even want to turn or blackmail him to work for him. Elijah might have to play along for a while until Kage kills Huntington.

Parts of this were so raw and full of pain-- It did start out right with knowing Kage and Elijah were having lots of sex in new positions all over the house, In fact, Elijah was rimming Kage when his boss called. Kage was ordered to take Elijah along since he might be useful. Kage realized his boss thought Elijah was expendable. Elijah was ecstatic He wanted to go and help Kage--that was his prime motivation. The huge, boisterous family gathering was a joy for Elijah. He fit in and was loved by all.Kage later told Elijah when prompted that he was made sad by the gathering. He saw Elijah blossoming and being a normal middle class male who wanted the standard lifestyle. Kage said he could never fit in that role. He was a killer and people wanted to kill him. He could not put people he cared about at risk Elijah is going to see Huntington based on his condolence message, He thinks he can ask for advice and charm him and scope things out. He and Kage have not thought this through. Kage is weak on this since he doesn't use a partner. Elijah will be like a Christian to the Lion in the Roman Coliseum. Huntington wants him killed and probably knows he is a shapeshifter. Seeing him might give Huntington ideas. I bet Elijah can get a meeting with Huntington and while he is talking to him, he will be captured ( shot by dart or drugged in water he is offered ) and kidnapped. Huntington will know how to keep him and he could be tortured to tell what he knows. If Huntington is game enough and needs more info, he might at some point try to force Elijah to work for him or Tyler and his family will be murdered. I hope Kage is acting as a shadow in a hall by Huntington's office to track Elijah. I cannot wait to see how you really advance the story....

I want to salute Stef for a brilliant constructive revision to the proposal Evelyn made to him which should be a teaching point to Will. Stef assumed the officers were highly competent and he did not want to replace them Evelyn suggested the three officers receive a 10% finders fee for bringing the proposal to Stef. They would get $15 million up front. Stef countered with 5 % upfront and 5% after 5 years based on performance. This revision accomplished two key results. The officers would carefully recheck and may revise their 5 year outcomes since their bonus would be based on achieving the outcomes they have proposed. They would aggressively work to reach their goals The officers would get a large amount of cash upfront and then have to stay for 5 years to get another $2,5 million each. As the company took off other companies might try to steal the officers away. They had to stay to get a large payout. In the trade this is called "golden handcuffs". Evelyn accepted the revision since she believed in the plan. It makes sense and she expected they would earn their bonus,

Now only one comment to go to receive a glorious chapter

I love your idea for a Tierny-Morrine spin off with an active child. I could also guess potential spin-off to consider---- a Shadows spin-off with a a victorious Vincent finding himself fully supported by the gods and growing into a super hero with miraculous powers? He could be called upon not just as a evaluator, but also a samurai type warrior to bring justice. at critical times, Vincent is very unassuming who people can misjudge. I sense a Kwai Chang Caine Kung Fu hero similarity.

We are given the impression that the coyote pack is serious trouble and has or will skirt the law and ethics to get what they want. At least Vincent and RJ will be lavishly entertained and can expect to be purposively distracted. I am thinking Vincent's shadow affinity might come in handy if he needs to be extra safe or needs to conduct a undisclosed investigation. He can follow individuals and hear and see them without being detected. He might well earn a good rating from this effort on his probationary period.

Just wondering--Will wanted a Gap Year. He had basic ideas on why it made sense. Will is doing lots of things in his interregnum between a shortened high school experience and college. Does he want or have a improved or new bucket list of things he wants to do to close out his experiences before college? He is still just 17 with so much ahead of him so he may want to be very flexible. But, he in some months will be moving far away and starting new challenges in a new , very demanding educational environment with an expanded social life. He will be beginning a new era in his life. He talked about wanting to do things in his gap year as he was proposing it. Is Will going to step back and evaluate what he has done and then what he wants to do before college or has he decided to be more open to unplanned fun and relaxation before the pressure of college? He might just seek to roll with the tide as events and activities others suggest to him. So far his friends and business and foundation and family matters have kept him busy right now since he returned to the US. He is learning and growing and has a good , healthy outlook on life.

Dear author can you please explain what the divine affinity is and what it enables? Why does Stefan want it?