Splinter - 8. Ex Post Facto

I wasn’t the only one unpleasantly surprised. I mean, I love my mate, and I was mondo excited he was alive and well enough to come down here…but what the actual fuck was he doing down here and with Alice? I could hear Goldie gasp and bite back a sob. Her only child was here, with the power-hungry asshat du jour, and sipping on a root beer through a straw. Not even an A&W or IBC. Nope, she had a Barq’s. Good brand, but not my preference.

Rhisi was eyeballing Pat like he was a threat. “Patrick Farris, I presume.” My mate nodded, walked over casually, kissed me on the cheek, and took a step back. “Here to check on your mate?”

“No. I knew he was alive and well. I came to escort Miss Kirkland to meet you.” Of all the whacked shit my husband could have said, this was about the last one I expected. I should know better, though; what Alice wants, Alice gets. Thankfully, she doesn’t want much.

She fearlessly walked up, sucking down her root beer like it was the thing to do. She slurped up the last few drops, pulled the straw out, handed Rhisi the can, pulled another fucking root beer out of her mini backpack, popped the top, and began on that one. All of us just stared at the can in his hand. “Hi, I’m Alice. Why is my mommy bound to the wall? Is this some kinky sex thing? Cause mommy has a mate, and Daddy wouldn’t like it.” She blinked up at him with the most innocent expression I had ever seen.

I facepalmed. This little turd was not only unafraid of Rhisi, but she was also asking him questions while making root beer vanish. God, I loved this kid! “Pumpkin, this is the big boss. His name is Rhisi. Angus was just the mini boss.” Trying to explain all of it in the quickest and simplest terms came out in gaming references. She’d understand those without any trouble.

“Oh. Mr. Reese’s, can I have my mommy back? I kinda need her to grow up into a functional adult, take over the pack when she retires, be a grandma to the tons of kids I’m going to have with my future mate, and generally stay around. I’d really appreciate it.” She gave him the most winning smile in existence. That smile would get her anything she wanted. She inherited it from her father.

“It’s Rhisi, young lady, not Reese’s. I’m not a peanut butter cup.” How he could say that with a straight face was beyond me. I tried not to grin. I failed. “So, you’re an alpha pup.” When she nodded, I could see his mind starting to work quickly. As strong as he was now, having absorbed all that power from Angus McFucknut, how strong would he get with the power of a born alpha? “Well, Miss Kirkland, I must decline your request. For now, at least. You are free to leave with your escort.” He dismissed her with a wave of his hand.

“Oh,” she said, her little brow furrowing. “I must strongly insist I get my mommy back. The others as well, since you wanna be a poop head.” Alice slurped up the last of her second root beer, handed him the can, and pulled out a third. How many did she have in that little pack?

Rhisi gave me a look as if pleading for help. I held my hands up like she was now his problem. “A poop head,” he muttered with the slightest smile on his face. “Again, I am sorry, Miss Kirkland, but I will allow you to leave. This time without your escort because you called me a poop head.” He set the cans down on the ground.

I was surrounded by children.

“Well, that really puts a spanner in the works. See, I was going to be taking them all to the movies for a victory celebration, and I need the adults to pay for it.” She was once again sucking on that straw like it was the thing to do, looking up at Rhisi from under slightly turned down brows. “With the mini-boss dead and dust, it was s’posed to be time to party.”

A fine crease appeared between his brows. “You are starting to try my patience,” he said with a bit of a growl.

“Only starting? I’ll have to try harder,” she shot back without even the slightest bit of irony or sarcasm. I heard a snort from the walls as the alphas and beta couldn’t keep it in. This little girl was completely handling him without even batting an eyelash. “Mr. Reese’s, I let them go.”

I watched Rhisi’s brain register TILT and reset. “What? Who?” Oh, he was really getting annoyed, but there was nothing I could do. I couldn’t attack Rhisi or even move to assist Alice. To do so would hurt the others.

“The kids in the not-so-secret room.” She rolled her eyes while her tone said he was being a stupid adult for even asking such a ridiculous question.

His face turned red as his scent really went angry. “You…did…what?”

“Duh. I just said I set the kids free. They needed to shower and get a burger or fifty. Really, you weren’t taking very good care of them. It is soooo obvious you aren’t a dad or even a pet owner. Kids and puppies need room to run and play. Lycan kids need tons of both or we get depressed and mopey and pee in the corner. Which reminds me. You have a mess to clean up in the corner of their room.” Alice just blinked up at his furious face and slurped the last few drops. She handed him the can again.

“Why the fuck do you keep giving these to me?” he screamed.

“Use your inside voice, and watch your language,” she said and shook a finger at him while pulling out can number four. “You’re a shaman, right?” He nodded even though he was pissed. “Well, I figured you would want to recycle the cans rather than have me just toss them on the ground. Earth first, and all that.” The sound of the can opening was just perfect.

I just lost it. I couldn’t help but laugh now. I mean the entire situation was one shit pile after another, but here was Alice just being herself.

Rhisi didn’t find it all that funny and the Kris came back into his hand like magic. Probably was, come to think of it. “Since you deprived me of my sacrifices, you are no longer allowed to leave.” He gestured and she rose off the ground and floated to him.

“Please!” Goldie cried out. “She’s just a child!” I could hear the tears in her voice. We all knew where this was going, but I had no clue what to do to stop it.

“Precisely,” he said as he sank that squiggly blade into her chest.

Alice gasped and drooped lifelessly in the air, the silver dagger sticking out of her like she was a bug ready for study. Goldie screamed and thrashed against her bonds. I couldn’t look away. There was only one hope, but it was slim. Alice’s head came up suddenly, her beautiful eyes filled with anger and glowing the most terrifying red I had ever seen. Her hand came up from her side, and she sucked on the root beer. “What the fuck is that supposed to do, Mr. Reese’s, tickle?” Rhisi dropped her like she was a hot potato, and she landed effortlessly on her feet.

“Language, young lady,” Goldie and I scolded. Goldie was still sobbing, but Mommy Mode is a reflex.

As Alice pulled the Kris from her chest, she looked back at her mother. “Sorry, mommy.” Then she turned and handed me the dagger. “Are you particularly attached to this man?” she asked me.

“No, Pumpkin,” I said, wiping my own tears with the back of my hand.

“Then I can kill him?” she asked with hope in her garnet eyes.

“Of course, Pumpkin,” I grinned.

“Thanks, Daddy-O. This is gonna be totally tubular! Papa Patty-Cakes,” she said and went over to Pat, “Hold my root beer.” She handed him her drink and turned to face Rhisi. Her face was calm, her posture relaxed, her eyes filled with death. “You ripped my favorite shirt, you raging butthole.”

Rhisi just blinked. I could see him curious but wary now. Why hadn’t the dagger worked on her? “Simple,” I said aloud. Rhisi looked at me. “Rhisi, I’d like you to meet my biological daughter.” His eyes went wide. “Silver doesn’t hurt her. Doesn’t even make her bleed.”

“Im…impossible,” he stammered. Then he had to pick himself out of the far wall. No one had seen Alice move, but her tiny fist was thrust forward. She had just turned eight and had leveled a full-grown man. “Little bitch is fast,” he groaned. He stood up to see her cute face gloating. His eyes flashed dangerously, and I heard a little oomph sound as Alice hit the wall next to her mother, the concrete cracking.

When Alice stood up, she looked at Rhisi and nonchalantly brushed powder from her shoulder. How the hell had I contributed to such a badass munchkin. I lost it again when she tilted her head to the side, raised her hands, and made the universal “bring it” gesture with them. Someone had been watching too many Kung Fu movies. Rhisi’s face reddened in rage at this little girl holding her own against him.

A brisk wind gusted in the room and blades of air were flung at Alice, but she pulled some Matrix shit and dodged them all while rushing to attack her foe. How did she move so fast? She was suddenly in his face and flicked him in the forehead, him falling backward but rolling to his feet. She flicked him again and must have caught the head of his dick as she flicked his crotch. As he howled and doubled over, I winced and thought it was a low blow. She was just messing with him, and that seemed to be pissing him off more.

He lashed out, his heavy fist striking her and sending her bitty self rocketing back, but I could see her arms had crossed to defend as she skidded on her feet. Right before she would hit the wall, she flipped and pushed off the wall with her feet, launching herself back at Rhisi for another stinging hit. This time she flicked his ear. Nothing she was doing would really hurt him even in the short run. It was like she was purposely trying to rattle him.

Rhisi blocked her next flick and punched her in the face. I heard a nauseating crunch as her nose broke. A fine spray of blood misted out, and this time she didn’t land so gracefully. Alice landed on her back and then magically lifted into the air and was thrown against the ceiling. She stopped herself from hitting too hard, but she had lost her advantage of speed. Kinda reminded me of when I saved Dylan from being eaten, or maybe taken for sacrifice. When Rhisi tried to pull her back down and slam her against the floor, he found she had dug her hands into the ceiling and would not budge. He pulled harder and the material tore free.

Darling little Alice used the double-handful of concrete as missiles and both struck Rhisi in the head, dazing him enough to where she could at least get back on her feet. Her nose was bleeding, her hands were bleeding, but she wasn’t done in the slightest. Moving in, she punched him in the knee, the joint nearly shattering. Her left jab caught his jaw and sent his head snapping back. Damn near broke his neck, but it was much harder to kill an average shifter than that. No telling how much damage she had to do to kill off someone as powerful as Rhisi.

The floor exploded beneath Alice, tossing her aside mostly unharmed. It gave Rhisi the moment he needed to do something I didn’t expect. His form shifted into something out of a nightmare. Cross a wolf with a spider, add a scorpion tail, and make it ten feet tall. From his maw we two wicked mandibles and fangs from the icky spider part. Yeah…that was what he looked like now, and I knew this was some mix of whatever powers he had absorbed from Angus.

“Eww,” Alice said and mimed that she was going to vomit.

“I’m done playing with you, little bitch,” Rhisi growled out.

“Funny, I was thinking the same thing,” she shot back. This time she didn’t hold back. Her hits came in fast and deadly, but Rhisi seemed to be able to block or avoid them. He couldn’t be knocked over easily since he had eight legs, and his strength now seemed more than a match for hers, but that tiny girl didn’t let up. She was punching, kicking, and doing everything she could to get him.

Rhisi was able to grab her by the throat and bring her up to his toothy, nightmarish maw. He was going to eat her face by the way he opened it up. “You know what, Mr. Reese’s?” Her voice came out strangled but clear.

He paused and looked at her. “What, lunch?”

“You may be good with magic,” she said without struggling, “but you’re not very good at being a Lycan.” Her face contorted in pain, the first real look of hurt on her face. Rhisi’s eyes closed as she began to flail, her arms and legs flying every which way. Her skin erupted in black fur, her hands turned to golden-furred claws, her feet to golden-furred paws, and her adorable face became the face of a black wolf with a golden mask. When she stopped her shift, she calmly looked into Rhisi’s face with her glowing sunset eyes and said, “You’ll never beat a born alpha.”

I wish I could have caught the look of sheer surprise he had on his face. It was like someone punched him in the gut after shoving a cactus up his butt. Honestly, we all gaped in shock. Was this her first shift, or had little Alice been born with the ability? She gripped the hand that was choking her, snapped the wrist in a few places, smashed his elbow and then ripped his arm completely off. She then proceeded to beat him senseless with it.

I just shook my head and went to go get people unstuck from the walls. With Rhisi’s attention elsewhere, he wouldn’t care about the others. I wasn’t even strong enough to help her, and from what I could see, she didn’t need it. “So, Goldie, what do you think of your munchkin?” I asked as I ripped the bonds free.

“I knew she would be strong, but wow. When you father a child, you really don’t half-ass it, do you?” I couldn’t argue. When Goldie had said she wanted a child, I had offered to donate the necessary part, but she said she wanted it done naturally. So, I did the deed with Pat’s blessing. By blessing, I mean he was right there banging her senseless with me. Goldie wanted her child to be special and knew enough about us to not care if either Pat or I was the bio-dad. We never asked which of us was the father, but the immunity to silver and my black fur pretty much said it was me. Since we had no claim over her paternally, we just never bothered to check. She obviously knew who knocked her mom up, but I would have to stop that Daddy-O business, although Papa Patty-Cakes was totally cute.

The freed Lycans and I just watched as Alice was just destroying Rhisi. His magic wasn’t fast enough to catch her no matter what tricks he pulled out of his ass. Fireballs, lightning bolts, poison clouds…nada, as in nada damn thing hit her. With only one arm, he couldn’t hope to attack her physically. Sure, he had a ton of legs and a scorpion tail, but she ripped the tail off and just used it as a whip to sting him. The only thing he had was he healed everything she did almost as fast as she was doing it. She just couldn’t seem to do enough damage.

Then she went for the coup de grace. I watched her feint to the left and let him grab her, let him bring her in close enough to bite her with those monstrous mandibles, but he should have known better. That darling little girl took her right hand and thrust it into his chest and literally pulled out his still-beating heart. Rhisi didn’t even know he was dead because she removed his head with one powerful swipe of her claws. The monster formerly known as Rhisi just slumped to the ground in a pile of yuck. Alice goal kicked the head and heart in different directions. As she was coming back toward us, I could see she was limping. A sickly green ichor was running from her left leg. Maybe he’d gotten lucky with a sting.

“Game over,” she said softly and shifted back into her normal cute self. Goldie scooped her up and began looking over her leg as I watched Rhisi’s remains shift back to a normal human. “Daddy-O?” she said in a soft questioning tone.

“Yes, pumpkin?”

“Thanks for being immune to silver,” she said with a pretty grin on her face.

I kissed her forehead. “Turd. Now, you said you freed a group of kids?”

Alice nodded and pointed back the way we came. Going back up the elevator, we walked quickly over to see the formerly body-strewn lobby was empty. There were no more gunshots. No more storm overhead. No more cries of injury and death. In fact, it seemed like we had stepped into the building on a weekend. She pointed to the cafeteria on the first floor and we went in to see a dozen children.

“Dad!” Including Sascha Ianevski’s pups. His three teenage sons came limping over, and Sascha scooped all three into his embrace. He didn’t give a shit if he was crying. His boys were safe.

“Beta Gracin?” came a gentle voice from the group. “Alpha Jon?”

Nine.

Nine of the kids who had gone on that science trip had survived. I recognized them all. I didn’t want to know what happened to the other three that weren’t here, but nine is better than none. Foster and I went over to the kids. I gave more hugs at that moment than all of Dylan’s life with me. “You’re safe now,” I said softly. I couldn’t stop the tears in my eyes. Thinking of Dylan made my heart stop. “Pat, can you check to see if we’re clear to leave?”

My mate nodded and jogged out of the doors. He came back in a moment later with three young men in white shirts, black ties, and badges that proclaimed them Elders in the Mormon church. They came in with medical supplies, food, blankets, and friendly smiles. “Once we get the children checked out, you are free to get them home, Alphas,” said one of the Elders.

Jack put his hand on my shoulder. “Go find out,” was all he said. I looked around and saw I wasn’t needed. I handed the girl over to Alpha Hayes for hugs and all but ran out the doors. Pat stayed to help.

I had to ignore the battlegrounds. I overlooked the bodies that were laid out for identification. I jumped over craters left by explosions and ran past barbed wire wrapped around rebar. My only thought was to find my son.

I did find him. He was stretched out on a cot, about a foot of leg hanging over the end. Holding his hand was Mariam, my sister-in-law. She had a bandage around her left arm and leg, her color was ghastly, but she was alive. Score one for the family. When I walked up, she turned her eyes to me with a look of anger. “Why did you let him fight?” she snarled at me.

“Because he would have ignored me, defied me, and still would have gotten hurt. At least I knew he would be there and might survive.” I swallowed hard and looked her in the eyes. “Did…did he? Is my son alive?” I swiped the tears from my eyes, and I knew she could see that small bit of hope in them.

“Nope, I’m dead,” he said as he opened his eyes. They were entirely rimmed in red like he had multiple aneurysms go off in his head at once.

“Cheeky fucker,” I said and grinned. “If you ever scare me like that again, you’ll wish you had died.” Dylan slowly raised his hand to give me a thumbs up. He knew I was serious. I’d kill his ass if he died on me.

“Who won?” he asked quietly.

“No one. Angus is dead. So is your cousin Rhisi.” The Little Dude looked shocked. “I’ll tell you later. Do you know how many lives were lost total?”

He sighed and adjusted himself on the cot. “Too many. I guess the fighting stopped once Angus was dead, but that was an hour ago.” When he sighed again, I sat next to him and took his other hand. Seeing the gentle rise and fall of bare chest was a blessing.

Then I stared. “Where is your scar?” That scar he’d received a decade ago from his own failed sacrifice was gone.

“When the healers fixed my brain, they fixed that too. The Tribunal Eldest said I would have to spend a few months with Equis Camp to either learn enough about my now active magic,” he said with a sneering grin, “or decide if I want to give up my creepy side. Guess where Heather and I will be for a few months.” I know he saw the look in my eyes. “Dad, I don’t want magic, but I would have to give up my boys if I had them block my magic.”

“Does your fiancée know you have boys?” It was actually funny to think my son was getting married and his poor bride-to-be would have four men in her bed.

“Knows, approves, and we’re all getting married together.” I raised a brow. “Yeah, two weddings and a poly relationship. Beats your straight ass conversion.” He chuckled as I shook my head.

“So, I’m getting a daughter and three sons-in-law?” He nodded. “Just checking. Creep.”

We all turned our heads as a soft set of footfalls entered the room. Alice came in and got on top of Dylan. She curled up on his chest and let out a sniffle. “Don’t scare me like that again, big brother.”

Dylan looked at me like he was very confused. “Well, you are, since I am her bio-dad,” I said with a look of pride on my face. Part of me wished I did have some claim on her. She claimed me, though, and it was enough to have her acknowledge me as her biological father.

“Does Grandpa know?” I shook my head. He looked down at the top of her head and then gave it a smooch. “I won’t, little sister.”

*  *  *

It would take a few months to repair all the damage done to the city during the battle. Buildings had holes blown in them, streets had new potholes, part of the sewers had collapsed. All of it would be fixed because it could be.

How do you fix the people? In size, this was less than a thousand-man battle. To say there were only twenty-two lives lost sounds like a wonderful number. Unless you’re one of those lives lost or had lost those family members. You can’t fix that. You can patch it up, you can put a band-aid on it, you can get counseling, turn to drinking, whatever it takes to get through one more moment to where it hurts less, but you can’t fix it.

Some of the people lost were innocent. Mind control is a bitch, and Angus had used it to get his way. Only three allied men were lost, and of the nineteen left, only one wasn’t under some sort of mind control. Two were killed during the fighting itself. The rest died from wounds. Silver bullets, wolfsbane fog grenades, silver knife wounds. In the end, the means led to only one end, and that end was costly. Twenty-two lives lost from the fight. Three hundred sixteen lost to the sacrificial rites Angus had performed. Funny how the one who planned it all had only taken the one life. Perhaps he didn’t like to waste life after all.

There were hundreds of people injured who would be long in healing. Both sides had suffered, but those men and women would heal. They would move on and live their lives as best as they could. Some would make a full recovery. They were the lucky ones. Some would have scars. Some would lose a limb. Some were blind or had brain damage. Many would have wounds which could not be seen; God help those poor missionaries who only tried to save lives. They sat beside the beds of the soldiers, holding hands, wiping brows, listening to the cries of suffering. They bandaged wounds, stitched closed bullet holes, applied a tourniquet to help stop the bleeding when a person lost a limb. They sat through it all with more grace and dignity than I could ever dream of having, yet they suffered in silence. How do you fix the wounds of the heart?

I went to each bed, each cot, each person hurt. I didn’t try to hold back my tears. I didn’t suffer in silence. I wept with them, and if not with them, then with those who lost them. Could you explain to a child why their mommy would never come home because of a power-hungry monster? Try to tell a father why he had lost his son. Accept the yelling and the names, and the slaps from women who lost their mates.

I didn’t suffer in silence. My son was alive. My mate was alive. My home hadn’t been destroyed. I had reason to feel lucky, but I didn’t. To help save many more lives, I had led the attack that broke apart families. My own heart broke anew with each tear I saw fall, with each sob from a child or spouse or parent. This was my penance. This was my suffering.

In the weeks that followed, I attended every funeral, every celebration of life held in memory of the fallen. I was asked to leave one by the grandfather of a young soldier, and I did. I wouldn’t bring more grief. It still pissed off the grandmother that I hadn’t even shown, but I let her husband explain why I didn’t make it. Of all the goodbyes I had to say, all the apologies I had to give, all the explanations I made, that last one where I couldn’t pay my respects hurt the most.

*  *  *

I stood before the Lycan Council as I gave my report and findings. Those Councilmen from the east coast were being held pending investigation of their participation. All save one. The SFB was outright found guilty and sentenced to death before I even got back to DC. They had caught him sending info to Angus to help him prepare for the attack.

“In conclusion, it is my recommendation that those who took part in the fighting be cleared. The members of the ECP were defending their homes. The members of the allied pack were under orders from their alphas. Should any punishment be given to the allied troops for violating territory boundaries, for acts of war, or any other charges, I, Alpha Jonathan Davenport, take full responsibility for their actions and will accept any verdict the Council gives without protest.”

*** ***

To all the men, women, and non-binary people who have served in any branch of service, the first responders, and the medical staff and member of the clergy and psychology staff who have had to put them and their families back together, you have my thanks and utmost respect.

Fantasyboy