Hope's Heart

Chapter 3 Part 1

Air Devlin walked back into his office. One look told Victor that things had not gone well. “Mr. Devlin, did the woman reject you again?”

“I did not get a chance to see her. The prince confronted me along with two other warriors from home. Stovacore Shadowsoul, and I believe the other man working with them was Wulfgar.If Wulfgar is here, Gregori either did not come or has already returned home. With those warriors protecting her, getting to her has become much more difficult, but not impossible. We will find a way to get to her. If they manage to return home, my chances will decrease substantially.” Ari walked over to the window and looked out.“Contact our main forces. I want some of our forces to be here as soon as possible. We will go back in force tonight.”

Victor merely nodded and left the room. Victor enters his office, takes the sending stone from his desk, and opens a portal to Ari’s palace. “Jareth, it’s time. He wants a small force of our strongest demons sent immediately. Open a portal when they are ready.” He ends the communication and closes the portal.

*********

Kole pulled up and parked in front of the Sheridan home, and before he was even out of his truck, Wulf and Steve were standing on the porch. "I Called Gary. He has eyes on Riley now. He is where we thought. Gary and Mal are there waiting for us, and Mal was going to call Pax. Fair warning: Gary said he is high as a kite.”

As he got out, Kole slammed the truck door shut, “Bhaeir an donas leis e. That kid is a dumb ass; I swear, Wulf. Gods, if he weren’t family, I would kill him for what he keeps putting us through. Hell, if it wouldn’t hurt Inara, I would still beat the s**t out of him. As it is, I am afraid she will end up hurt when this is done today.”Kole rubbed his hands over his face. He was so tired of going in and getting Riley from that place, and right now, he looked much older than his thirty-one years. He looked over at Wulf, and when he did, he saw a brief flash of silver in his eyes, something he had never seen before, but it was gone so fast he doubted he had seen it. “I don’t get it, Wulf. He was such a sweet kid, yeah, a typical annoying little brother who followed us around like a lost puppy, but he was a good kid. When he turned into a teenager, he changed, and I don’t even know my baby brother anymore.” Then Kole got a thoughtful look on his face. “You know something Inara told us this morning makes it all fall into place. Not long before their sixteenth birthday, she starts feeling the pull of home and Janthair. If she felt that he had to have been feeling something, too, I bet that changed him. Since then, he has resented her and been jealous of her destiny. He thinks it should have been him, not her. We must make him realize she needs him; I don’t know how we will.”

Beth’s voice broke through his thoughts and reminded him of what they had to do, “Let me guess, he’s at The Dragon’s Lair and high again?”Steve’s wife, Beth, handed him two bags, “Those are ready to go in the truck, lover. Sally, are you ready, honey? Just grab the basics. Drogoth will take care of the rest.”

Beth Sheridan was a tall, slender woman at roughly five feet eight inches. Her eyes were a deep sea green that reminded you of the shimmering teal feathers of a hummingbird or a deep Mediterranean pool. Her skin was the color of aged porcelain. Her lips weren’t overly full but looked like they were made of fine silk and soft mauve. Her hair, even braided, fell about halfway down her back and was a deep auburn. Her nose was thin, her face was a delicate oval shape; she had a long, slender neck, full breasts, a tiny waist, and full, rounded hips. Her figure was almost a perfect hourglass shape, a body that most women kill themselves exercising and dieting to get. Her legs were long and shapely. She was sweet and giving but had a directness to her and easily cut through the bullshit. Their daughter Sally had Steve’s ice-blue eyes and chocolate-colored hair that fell to the top of her hips, but everything else was the mirror image of her mother.

The two families had been close for as long as anyone could remember. Beth and Sara had been childhood companions, as near as sisters. It was Beth and Steve who had brought Sara and Art together. Steve and Art had grown up together in the palace, and Sara was the daughter of one of Varrissa’s teachers. Sara hadn’t grown up in the court but in the city of her mother’s people. Their children had become just as close until Riley began to change. No matter how hard they tried to include him, he kept himself on the outside. Even though Sally and Inara were ten years apart, they were just as close as their mothers, and it wasn’t unusual for the four women to go out at least once a week for a girls’ night.

“I know, Mom, I am just about done. Just need to grab a few more things.”Sally walked out to the porch and leaned against the railing. “So was I hearing Mom right, Kole? Is Riley at TDL again? Need me to come with?”

“Yeah, he is, and no, Sal, I think Inara needs you more right now. When I left, she looked broken and alone, plus I got Wulf, Gary, Mal, and Pax.”He turned to Steve and Beth, “Mom and Dad are expecting you, and my grandparents will be here with Drogoth the day after tomorrow. We will be leaving within ten days after that. It just depends on how long it takes Drogoth to make the needed preparations.”He headed for his truck, “Come on, brother, let’s go get the little s**t. Steve, could you please let Dad know what’s going on and where he is? But don’t let Mom and Inara know. It will break their hearts. They are dealing with enough right now, and let Dad know it shouldn’t be more than an hour.”Kole and Wulf got in the truck and were gone. “Oh, and tell him Ron will be at the house after his retirement party, so around seven o’clock this evening, unless he finds a way to get out of it. And Shilah will be over after her shift at the hospital is done.”

They pulled up in front of The Dragon’s Lair about ten minutes later. In its day, this was the best nightclub in town, a clean, famous club. It had been considered a goth club, with dim interior lighting and red and black décor. No drugs were allowed, and they had been extremely strict about IDs and who they allowed in. They would even have the bouncers frisk customers before they entered, so that no drugs or weapons could be snuck in. It was the club all the rich kids went to, but since the original owner had passed and his son had taken over, it had become a druggie’s heaven. The cops were called to the club nightly, and close to twenty-five percent of the murders in the city had happened there, most of them drug dealings gone wrong. From the outside of The Dragon’s Lair, the building was old and run down and looked like it should have been torn down years ago. There were broken alcohol bottles all over the parking lot. There were a few old beat-up cars and Riley’s motorcycle parked in front of the place. There were used condoms, needles, and other drug paraphernalia everywhere. A couple, well, probably not a couple, but one of the resident working girls and her latest Jon were having s*x against the side of the building. There was other everyday trash scattered everywhere. Weeds were growing up in the cracks of the asphalt. There were old barrels scattered around the parking lot where the clientele and the homeless gathered around fires to get the little warmth they could. There were cardboard boxes that the homeless used as their shelters. Even some old, ripped-up, faded tents the homeless lived in were scattered around the parking lot’s perimeter, surrounded by shopping carts filled with their belongings. Stray dogs were foraging through the trash looking for food, an old homeless man was digging through trash cans looking for recyclables to turn in for a few cents, and an old homeless lady was sitting near the door asking for change.

Inside was no better. When you walked in, you got hit with the smell of urine and feces mixed with the smell of vomit, unwashed bodies, and blood from last night’s fights and murders. There were people snorting cocaine, shooting up heroin, or smoking crack all over the room, and a man slumped over the bar, already so drunk he had passed out. In most of the booths, there were couples or groups having s*x, both male and female. The smoke from people smoking cigarettes and drugs was so thick it burned your eyes and throat, and could give you a significant contact high. Any average person would be sent running from the building for fresh air.

When Kole and Wulf pulled up, they found Gary, Mal, and Paxen leaning against Gary’s truck, waiting for them. Gary and Paxen were identical twins. They stood six feet four inches. They had golden eyes that reminded you of a jungle cat stalking its prey. Their hair looked as if it were made of spun gold with hints of rich copper. Gary still wore his in a standard military fade. Paxen wore his hair long and usually pulled back in a ponytail that fell to about his shoulder blades and had thick, soft curls that would make any woman envious. Their skin looked like tanned, bucked skin stretched tight over sinewy muscles. Their faces looked like the statues of a Greek god come to life.

Mal was a masculine version of his older sister, Sara, and an older version of his nephew, Kole. He had thick, straight black hair that would remind you of the paintings of Indian braves that fell to about his shoulder blades, and he usually just wore it loose. He had rich, laughing hazel eyes with the slightest hint of gold around the pupil. His face was soft and boyish, with full cheeks and a gently angled jawline. His nose was thin and sloped elegantly. His lips were full and had just a hint of soft pink. He stood about six feet five inches and had a broad chest and shoulders. His legs reminded you of small oak trees. Looking at him, you would swear you were looking at the model on the cover of the romance novels Sara, Beth, Sally, and Inara loved so much.

All five men had served in various military branches at one point and had all been special forces personnel. Gary had joined the Army after high school and became a sniper in the Green Berets. During his service, he developed a love for country music and rodeos. Paxen had joined the Marines and gone on to become a force recon, and looking at him, you would swear you were looking at a man straight out of a Harley-Davidson ad. Mal had joined the Air Force, becoming a para-rescue just after they had arrived here almost twenty-one years ago. Everything about these men screamed warrior, and they had all just recently gotten out after long careers and now worked for Stone and Sheridan Security.

Wulf and Kole greeted the group of men, “So what’s the deal this time, man? Normally you let the little s**t stew here for three or four days before you come to drag his ass home.”Gary stood up and pushed his cowboy hat further up on his head, and caught the look that passed between Kole and Wulf. All three men knew exactly what was happening and said simultaneously, “f*****g Hell.”Mal stepped forward and looked Kole in the eyes, “Is my niece ok? When did it all start?”

“She’s fine for now, Uncle Mal, just scared and confused. The rest we will talk about when we get back to the house.”With that, the five men stepped inside the bar.

After their eyes adjusted to the dark interior of the bar, Kole scanned the room, looking for his brother, and spotted him at the bar. Riley was about six feet four inches and a little smaller than his father and older brother. Under all the makeup, goth clothing, and goatee, Riley was the mirror image of his older brother. He had long black hair that looked like it hadn’t been washed in days, and both ears were pierced. He had full-sleeve tattoos on both arms of scenes of devils and demons. He wore black leather pants that appeared to be painted on, a black net tank top, spiked leather wrist cuffs, and a spiked leather dog collar. His nails were painted black, his eyes lined with black liner, he wore black lipstick, and he looked like a character from the movie The Crow. Seeing him made all five men ashamed to admit they even knew him.

Right now, he was sitting leaning back against the bar, with his head back and his hands fisted in one of the resident w***e’s hair that was on her knees between his legs. Kole swore under his breath, and Wulf growled low in his throat. They headed straight for Riley. About halfway there, eight of Riley’s little lackeys stepped out before them, trying to block their way. Wulf crossed his arms over his chest, looked over the eight men, and then nudged Kole, “Get a load of these dip shits.”He looked at them and growled between clenched teeth, “Only eight of you? Get about four or five more of your buddies, and it may be a fair fight,” Wulf looked at the other guys and smirked, “but not likely.”

Mal growled, “We don’t have time for this s**t, Inara needs us.”Then, he leaned forward and was nose to nose with one of the groups and said low and menacing, between clenched teeth, “You little bastards can either move out of our way, or we will gladly move you. Honestly, I hope we get to move you.”Any average, sober person faced with this group of men, built like bodybuilders and looking like a group of Vikings set on pillaging a local village, would have stepped aside and let them pass unimpeded. Anyone with a sense of self-preservation would have turned and run for cover, but not these idiots. The shortest in the group was Gary at six feet three inches, and they had to be at least a thousand pounds of pure muscle, if not more. To put it mildly, they were a terrifying and intimidating group of men. Right now, everyone was mad as hell and would prefer to be protecting Inara instead of being here, dealing with this.

“Do you guys want to get your asses kicked for the likes of Riley Stone? He’s gettin’ a blow job and making you poor bastards fight for him. Come on, boys, is he worth it?” Gary was trying to avoid the fight. They all just wanted to get this done and get out of here. They all hated coming to this place.

The group of more petite men hesitated for just a heartbeat, then they armed themselves with knives, pipes, and even one baseball bat and charged the five men. Paxen shrugged and smiled. “Ok, looks like they made their choice.”One managed to slice across Kole’s chest, which pissed him off. For the man’s efforts, he was rewarded with a broken nose and at least two broken ribs. Another hit Wulf across the ribs with the baseball bat. Wulf punched him in the face, kicked him across the gut, and then kneed him in the crotch, which broke his jaw, at least three ribs, and probably ruptured one testicle. Another got Mal’s arm across his throat in a clothesline. Another one charged at Kole and managed to get him across his left bicep and received a right hook to the jaw and an uppercut to the chin. The one that charged Gary got a size thirteen cowboy boot to the gut. No one saw who or how the rest were taken down, but Gary, Paxen, and Mal managed to walk away with a black eye, a split lip, and a bruised rib or two. Wulf had a couple of bruised ribs and a cut across his chest, and Kole walked away with a knuckle cut from a tooth, a shallow cut across his chest, and a gash across his biceps. Riley’s little lackeys, on the other hand, were all either unconscious or writhing on the floor in agony.

Riley and his w***e were so stoned they were oblivious to what had just happened, not ten feet from them. This just pissed the group off even more. Kole tapped the w***e with his foot, “Get lost,” but she didn’t notice. He grabbed her arm, jerked her to her feet, and smiled at his brother’s cry of pain because she bit Riley as he did. Kole got right in her face and snarled, “I said, get lost, I have business with my brother.”She let out a squeak of fear, and he shoved her away. “Put yourself back in your pants, and let’s go, Riley.”

Riley was holding himself with tears of pain welling in his eyes. He looked up with rage, promising revenge, “Go to hell, Kole. I ain’t goin’ nowhere.” Riley winced in pain as he gingerly put himself back in his pants and zipped up his fly.

Kole leaned down, got in Riley’s face, and grabbed him by the dog collar, “Don’t me, Riley. You can either walk out of here on your own two feet, or we’ll carry your ass out of here after I knock it out; your choice. Our sister needs us. Don’t you care about that?”

“Like I said, Kole, go to hell, I ain’t goin’ nowhere. And as far as our whiny little prima donna of a sister goes, she can f**k herself. Or better yet, how about the five of you go f**k her since you love her so damned much” After he said that he heard a primal growl of rage from Wulf and looked up to see it was taking Gary, Paxen, and Mal all three to hold him back, and they were having a hard time of it. “Yeah, f**k you too, Wulf. None of you will lay a hand on me because we’re twins; she will feel the same physical pain I do, and you wouldn’t dare hurt your precious little Inara.”Wulf fought harder against the three men holding him back, and they could barely contain him. His eyes promise retribution to Riley.

“Dude, Kole, just knock his ass out. We can’t hold Wulf back much longer.”Paxen’s voice was strained from the effort it was taking.

“Kole, if Wulf gets loose, he’ll f*****g kill him, just knock the little s**t out.”Mal shifted his hold, so he had Wulf in a chokehold.

Kole looked at Wulf and saw the same flash of silver and the same something in his eyes he had seen earlier, but he knew this time he was seeing it because Wulf’s eyes were glowing silver. He touched Wulf’s shoulder, “Deep breaths, man, deep breaths. I got this.”Wulf started to calm down a bit. He looked at his brother and gave him an evil little smile.

Riley stood up and got in Kole’s face, “Do it, you coward, hit me, I dare you.”

Kole looked down at his brother, then towards heaven, muttered, “Forgive me, Nari, you know I have no choice,” then looked at Riley and gave him an evil little smile and said, “You know I was hoping you would opt for the hard way; I think Inara will forgive me.”He reared back, and his fist slammed into Riley’s jaw. They heard the pop of the joint as it popped out of place from the punch’s force. Riley crumbled like a wet newspaper and was down for the count.

“He always had a glass jaw,” Pax smirked a little, looking at the crumbled body on the floor.

They all let go, stepped back, and looked at Wulf, his eyes still glowing like molten silver and a low growl still rumbling in his chest, confusion etched on their faces. Mal moved around to pick up Riley and threw him over his shoulder like a flour sack. He looked at Wulf and shook his head, “I am made of questions right now, but they’ll have to wait.”Then, the five of them headed for the door.

As they passed Riley’s lackeys, a couple were on their hands and knees, vomiting and gasping for air. Gary and Pax knocked them back to the floor with a single punch each. The five men made a point to either step on or kick each of the eight as they walked past.

Once outside, Wulf turned to Paxen, “Call Ron and tell him to raid the place and call your wife and have her make it disappear.”

“You got it,” Paxen pulled out his phone and started dialing, “Hey Ron……. Yup, raid the joint. There are several local dealers and pimps inside…… Yup, I’m making that call next……… Yup, it’s time……… She’s fine for now. Kole said she is mainly scared and confused……… Ten days tops. Be there after your party tonight.”He hung up and dialed his wife’s number, “Hey, love……… Yup……... Yup……… Okay, see you there. Love you too.”Paxen returned his phone to his pocket. “All set, shall we get out of here?”

Mal dumped Riley in the back seat of Kole’s truck, making sure not to hurt him too badly because of Inara. Mal got in Gary’s truck, Gary got on Riley’s motorcycle, Wulf got in Kole’s truck, Paxen got into his own, and they all headed to the Stone home.

About fifteen minutes later, they pulled up in front of the Stone home, and Mal threw Riley back over his shoulder and carried him into the house.

When Art saw them coming up the walk, he entered the guest bath and filled the tub with cold water. Mal dumped Riley, clothes, and all into the tub. Riley jolted awake and came up sputtering, cursing, and swinging. Art grabbed him by the dog collar and got nose to nose with him, “Shut your mouth before I shut it for you, you beagan crom. You have caused enough trouble for this family, and to pull your s**t today of all days is unforgivable. I know Kole, and I know he tried to tell you what was happening. If you had listened to a single one of your voicemails, your mother would have told you, but you decided to make it hard instead of just coming home to be here where she needs you most. We had been telling you this was coming for over a year, and Drogoth told you how hard this would be for her if you were apart. I won’t tolerate any more bullshit from you, Riley. Now get out of the tub, clean up all this water, and make yourself look normal.”He let him go and turned to his brother-in-law, “Mal, take him upstairs, and stay with him while he gets a shower and changes. He smells like something that just crawled out of a dumpster. Make sure he puts real clothes on and removes all that metal from his face. He isn’t to leave this house again until we leave.”

“Leave; what do you mean leave? My twin is having a mental breakdown, so we’ll uproot our lives and leave?”Riley turned and glared at Inara, standing outside the bathroom, “I hope you’re happy; you’re ruining my life. I am so sick of everything being about you.”He stepped out of the tub and started to walk towards Inara with utter hatred in his eyes. Before he got too far, Mal stepped in front of him, and Wulf and Kole were in front of Inara, acting as shields, crouched and ready to pounce.

Mal turned slightly, looked at Inara, gave a slight bow, “Forgive me bhana-phrionnsa, mo nighean gaoil,” and reared back and socked Riley in the stomach, and grabbed him by the shirt, lifted him until they were nose to nose, “We are going home and so are you whether you like it or not. Now you will apologize to my, uàrd, you, beagan crom, and you will do it now.”

Riley gasped for air and choked out, “Go to hell.”Mal dropped him, and as his Doc Martins hit the wet floor, he fell on his ass, and Mal was about to smack him upside the head when Art stopped him.

“No, he is doing it intentionally so Inara will get hurt.”

Mal growled at him, pulled him to his feet, and pushed him towards the linen closet. “Clean up the mess.”When Riley finished cleaning the water, Mal dragged him up the stairs.

Once Mal and Riley were out of sight, everyone turned to find Inara doubled over in her mother’s arms, holding her stomach, gasping for air, and crying. She was already heartbroken at his state when they brought him home, but his intentionally pushing the guys, knowing she would also get hurt, added insult to injury. Sara looked at all of them with tears in her eyes that were a mixture of rage and sadness. “I don’t understand it, Art. What happened to our baby boy? He was such a sweet little boy. He got everything in life he wanted, just like Kole and Inara did. We even tolerated his drug use and goth look. He never wanted for anything. For god's sake, we even bought him a brand-new Harley for his eighteenth birthday. What went wrong? Why did he change? Was it me? Did I raise him wrong? Did we favor Inara over him? I always tried so hard to treat all three of them equally.”Art was quickly there, pulling his wife into his arms, and Kole was on his knees in front of his sister, holding her while she cried. Sara let out a little scream of anger into Art’s chest and looked into her husband’s eyes, “How did our sweet little boy turn into such a selfish little asshole, Art?”

For a moment, everyone just looked at Sara in shock. None of them ever imagined she could call her child an asshole. When Sara realized everyone was silent, she looked up from Art’s chest, saw them all looking at her, and buried her face in his chest again to hide her blush. Then everyone started laughing when Inara said between deep breaths, “Mama language.”

Still shocked, Kole turned to his sister and said, “Cac, Inara, I am so sorry. We all hoped he would come peacefully, but he gave us no choice. He knew damned well you would get hurt. Gods, how can you ever forgive us, honey?”

Inara looked at Kole and gave him a sad smile, “It’s not your fault, Kole. Our link has strengthened, and I heard everything he said to you in The Dragon’s Lair. If I had been there, I would have done the same. He is upstairs now, trying to piss Uncle Mal off enough to hit him again. He is punishing me and getting sadistic pleasure from it. Hell, I think the jerk is getting off on it. No matter how hard I try, I can’t stop loving him. As much as I know I should, I can’t give up on him.”Before Inara finished what she was saying, Steve and Wulf were up the stairs and standing at Riley’s bedroom door.