Chapter 31

A sea of Templars turned my way.

I became acutely aware of my vulnerability in the midst of the tightly packed room. Even with my strength, I couldn't hope to fight my way free of this many trained soldiers, each one with supernatural abilities of their own.

"Arrest me? On what charge?" I said, my voice cracking like the time I'd had to read a love letter aloud in tenth grade English.

"Almost too numerous to list," Artemis said, his voice calm and cold. "The Divinity detailed your most heinous crimes to us. Hers is the absolute authority."

"Then name them." Asshat.

"He hasn't done anything wrong," Elyssa said, gripping my arm.

"So says the one most corrupted by him," the knight said. "You, child, are troubled. This boy has led you down a path of darkness and moral iniquity."

"I will hear no more slander against my daughter," Thomas said. "Not even from a Templar Knight."

"Then it pains me to do this, Thomas Borathen, but your judgment is obviously too clouded where your daughter is concerned." The knight scowled. "I am of the opinion you are no longer fit for command. By the power vested in me, I hereby relieve you of duty and assume command of your legion, effective immediately."

Shocked murmurs echoed throughout the room.

"I completely disagree with this decision," Salazar said, standing. "And I must also point out only the Grand Master and a complete vote by the Synod can relieve Commander Borathen."

The knight nodded. "True, true. But I do have the authority to place him on temporary leave and assume command until a vote is passed."

"If the Divinity has her hooks in you, it's pretty obvious how that vote will go," I said.

Artemis's face hardened. "Why is this boy still in here? Did I not order him arrested?"

Again, nearby Templars gave me uneasy looks, but nobody made a move to restrain me.

"Belay that order," Christian said. His eyes met mine. "Justin, it might be best if you leave."

"You cannot disregard my orders," Artemis said. "To do so invites your own suspension, Commander Salazar."

"You can try to suspend me all you like," Christian said. "But I doubt you'll find many takers here."

A loud cry went up from the assembled Templars. "Hooah!"

Or they might have said "Hoo-hah." I wasn't really sure, but the sudden uproar startled the crap out of me.

Christian raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Answer enough, Honorable Knight?" He stepped forward. "I call for an Imperator Concilium. The leadership of the Synod is in question."

Artemis's face went purple. "To do so would be an illegal order since you are no longer in command, Salazar!"

"You never gave the order relieving me of command, Honorable Knight. Therefore, I have the privilege to call forth a council of commanders." Christian smiled, baring his teeth. "Procedure and Templar law dictate that, should the Synod's loyalty to the cause come into question, the commanders must meet and vote on whether to dissolve the Synod and elect new members."

"This is an outrage," Artemis said. "You can be certain, reports of this treachery will be spread to the other commanders so they can see how poisoned this legion has become."

Grumbles and angry stares from the crowd turned on the knight.

"Poisoned, my ass," said a voice from nearby.

"I'm gonna stick my honorable foot up his honorable ass," muttered someone else.

Christian shrugged. "Since I took the liberty of recording this session, I'll be happy to pass it on to the other legion commanders. In the meantime, Honorable Knight, it might perhaps be best if you took your leave and reported back to the council."

Artemis seemed ready to launch another salvo when the thin man reappeared from the shadows and whispered into the knight's ear. Artemis scowled and straightened. "You can be certain the Divinity will not be pleased. Beware her wrath, Salazar." He stormed up the stairs in the auditorium, long red robe sweeping behind him, trailed only by the thin man. As he passed near me he stopped and glared. "You are the cancer, spawn. May the Divinity wipe your kind from the face of our fair Eden." With that sweet little pronouncement, he turned and left.

The thin man paused a moment. Looked at me, a greasy smile spreading across his face. His skin looked especially pale and doughy in the light. "Good day, Your Excellence," he said, flourishing a mocking bow, and leaving.

I stood, stunned for a moment by the odd behavior when it occurred to me where I'd heard that cockney accent and mocking salutation before. Mr. Bigglesworth.

"Stop that man!" I shouted, pushing through the crowd.

Unfortunately, while the crowd parted for the Knight Templar, it didn't for me, closing in behind the departing guest and making it a struggle to get through, despite my shouts to make way. After working our way outside, Elyssa and I watched as a slider disguised as a jet lifted into the air and flew away.

"Son of a biyatch!" I shouted, smacking my fist into my palm. "It was Bigglesworth."

"I knew the voice sounded familiar," Elyssa said. "Not to mention the attitude."

"When I catch that—that thing, I'm going to puree him in a blender, dump in a bunch of flour and bake his gooey ass into cupcakes."

Elyssa gagged. "That's disgusting."

A sudden flood of Templars formed an exodus from the auditorium, rushing in all directions with a sense of purpose. Elyssa and I waited for the crowd to disperse and went inside where we found Thomas and Christian huddled over an image on the conference table.

Elyssa went to her father and pecked him on the cheek.

Thomas Borathen, a man I'd never seen crack under pressure, looked almost alarmed at this sudden gesture from his daughter.

"Thanks for standing up for me," Elyssa said.

Thomas opened his mouth to speak, but Elyssa cut him off with a wave of her hand.

"But don't for a minute think I've forgotten about the White or all the hell you've put me and Justin through, Father. You have a long way to go before you make up for everything."

Her father's face regained composure. "I—" he stopped whatever he was about to say and shook his head. "You're my daughter. My own flesh and blood. Templar Knight Artemis made me realize something very valuable today. He made me realize what it's like when someone in a position of authority over you refuses to listen to reason and sees only what he expects to see." Thomas sighed. "I must have looked exactly that way to you, Elyssa."

She returned a stern nod. "Did he also show you how a pompous ass looks?"

Her father's lips curled into the faintest smile. "Indeed."

"The way I see it," said a female voice from behind, "you owe someone an apology."

I turned and spotted Leia Borathen, Elyssa's mother walking down the ramp toward us.

"Yes, you were right, Leia," Thomas said. "Right all along." He walked away from the table, face set in grim lines. "I have commanded loyalty from my soldiers, and gone without defeat for so long, I thought I was always in the right. My focus shifted. And when we finally had another family, I saw them only as Templars."

"Another family?" Elyssa said. "What does that mean?"

Leia shook her head. "We can discuss it another time."

Thomas turned back to us. "I let my own foolish pride and sense of self-worth stand in the way for too long. And because of it, we lost Jack." He took a deep breath. "I am so proud of you, Elyssa. Forgive me for not listening to you. Forgive me for not being the father I should have been."

Tears glistened in Elyssa's eyes. She nodded, and wiped her cheeks. "I forgive you, Dad."

Thomas Borathen, mighty warrior, commander of a legion of Templars, and the scariest, most overprotective dad a boyfriend could ever meet, hugged his daughter.

It was enough to make my eyes mist up.

When he pulled away, he cleared his throat and looked a little uncomfortable. I figured, within the last five minutes, he'd used up his emotional quota for the next century.

"There's still one apology left," Leia said.

Thomas looked at me, his eyes displaying what had to be pent up horror. "Surely, you don't—"

"Surely, I do," Leia said.

Elyssa's eyes went wide. "What's going on? Since when do you even like Justin, Mother?"

Leia smiled. "You have shown time and time again there is no force on this Earth that will keep you two apart." She shrugged. "Not even a mind wipe."

Thomas turned his glare on me. "I hoped you would drop off the radar as most of the boys who have met me have done. But after everything that has happened, I must admit, painfully and under duress," he shot a look at his wife and sighed. "You have proven yourself adequate."

It took everything I had not to respond to that backhanded compliment in kind. Instead, I simply said, "Thank you, sir."

He extended a hand. Not wanting to keep him hanging, I extended my own. Thomas shook it.

"You may be spawn, but you've proven yourself more a man than others." He leaned in closer, his grip tightening until I heard the bones crunching in my hand, and whispered, "And if anything happens to my daughter, there is no place safe on this Earth for you to hide."

I forced a smile as his grip relented. "Understood."

Thomas released my hand and grunted. "Now that this is settled, I believe we are ready to proceed. Correct, Commander Salazar?"

Christian, who, up until now had been pretending to read something very important on his phone looked up, and nodded. "We're nearly ready to ferry troops over to La Casona. The Custodians report that Maximus's compound is sterilized and there is no longer a need for the perimeter your people are holding."

Thomas pulled up the holographic map of the compound. "I'll have them report to La Casona. We can send everyone over in one wave to the Grotto and use my compound, The Ranch, as a staging area."