Wish upon the Stars chapter 1207 (Patreon)

The next morning, I called everyone together. All my friends, my cabinet, my allies. I called them all and I laid down the law. I told them what I was doing, where I was going, and why. And I was humbled by the fact that every single one of them volunteered to go with me and help. Unfortunately, while I WAS honored, I was also realistic enough to acknowledge that a lot of them shouldn’t be going.

“No B-rankers,” I said bluntly. Everyone had been chattering excitedly, but my words cut off the talk like a boulder tossed into a pond, the ripples silencing the dissent before it even started. Not that they looked HAPPY to be silenced, but they waited to hear my logic. Well, most of them.

“Oh go to hell,” Benny snapped. “I’m not letting you run off to pick a fight with an actual goddess without me.”

I grimaced. I had expected that. And honestly I was so grateful. But I wasn’t willing to take that risk. I held up a finger. “Gods are out,” I said to start. “Because of the way they manifest in realspace, following us in would risk getting them stuck in the Void. If one of the Void gods decided to slip through while they were away, they’d be stranded and we’d be screwed.” 

Raising another finger, I ticked off my second point. “S-rankers are covered. Lark is coming along, and he’s worth a hundred. He’s ALSO the only one we can really spare, because S-rankers are a strategic resource. Independents like Lark are rare, and of all of them, he’s the only one we know of who is strong enough to be worth bringing. At least from realspace. I’m planning to stop off in Mourne Kayze and try to leverage the Lady for help, but whether it works is up in the air.”

I raised my third finger. “B-rankers aren’t strong enough.” He flinched, but I kept going. “I know you want to help. I wish you could come. But the fact is that even if we boost you up to fight up ranks, we’re going to be fighting the kind of A-rankers who can already do that, and probably some S-rankers to boot.”

He glared at me hotly. “You’re telling me I’m too weak to help my best friend save his wife.”

“I’m telling you that I can’t take the risk,” I said bluntly. “I’m telling you I need my friend here where he’s safe so I can concentrate on doing whatever I need to do to help the woman I love. And that I need you to be ok with that, because it’s the best possible thing you could do to help me do that. You want to help Callie, I get that. She’s family to you. Like you’re family to me. So the question is, can you take a step back. Can you put her needs before yours? Or before mine? Because I need you to?”

He clenched his teeth so hard I worried they might crack. “You’re an asshole,” he said acidly.

“I know, man,” I said sadly. “But I don’t have the luxury of being nice right now. I hope you don’t hold it against me. But I’d do it anyway even if I knew you would. Losing you would devastate me, and I’m going on this trip to SAVE someone I love, not to make a trade.”

It was harsh, but I knew I was right. Benny was my brother in everything but blood, but he wasn’t ready for this. Not at early to mid B-rank. If I’d had more time I might have been able to push him up to A. Might have been able to bring him anyway. But I didn’t have that time. I was leaving today, and he wasn’t coming with me. I wasn’t wearing my mask, not for this, and I stared into his eyes, hoping he could see how badly I needed him to be ok with this.

“Fine,” he spat, falling back into his chair. “But I’m going to be busting my ass to hit A-rank, and once you’re back with them, and I make sure Callie and the kid are ok, I’m going to kick your ass so you can see how ‘weak’ I am.”

I could see from the glint in his eye that he got it, and I grinned at him. “That’s the spirit. Shoot for the stars. Nothing is impossible.”

“Your mom is impossible,” he snapped automatically.

Chelsea coughed loudly. “Hey,” she said in an offended tone. “Also she’s right there,” she gestured to my mother, who waved at him in amusement.

“Sorry,” he winced. “Sorry everybody, that was my bad, ignore me!” He called around the room like he was making a public service announcement. My mom was laughing, so I don’t think she minded, but Celine was rolling her eyes in a way that I was pretty sure meant he’d be getting yelled at later. Hah. Nerd.

I looked over to Jessie. “Am I going to have to give that speech again? Because I’d actually feel really bad if I had to talk to you like that.”

She giggled at Benny’s outraged yelp. “No,” she said with a laugh. “You can do most of what I can do on your own, as long as you’re not being stupid. And I don’t think your mom will let you be stupid.”

I looked over at Abel, but to my surprise, he didn’t back down. He just grinned. “I’m going with you,” he said bluntly. And then…something shifted. I blinked as I felt a wave of power roll over him, into him, and through him. A very familiar wave of power. He sat through it without much trouble, and when it was done, he was looking very smug.

“Really?” I said flatly. “You waited until NOW to bind your last page? When did you hit your stat cap?”

He chuckled, buffing his nails on his chest. “A while ago. I spent the last four months out on the battlefront racking up pages. I don’t think I’m the only one, either.” He frowned over at Bethy. “Am I?”

She pouted. “You’re the worst, Axel. You always ruin my fun. Biggest killjoy I know.”

“But you DO know me,” he said smugly. Sure enough, Bethy sighed and repeated his words, using her decision to join the team as her final page and ascending to A-rank. That was less of a shock, considering her position in the Frozen Moment Academy, and the fact that it was known for providing page binding opportunities.

So, Bethy and Abel were at A-rank. That was a surprise, and not an unwelcome one. They were two of my most formidable friends, and I was glad to have them along. Similarly, I glanced over at Crell, Alanna, and Fade. “What about you three? I know you said you’d go, but I need you to confirm it. This is a volunteer only mission. We’re going somewhere we might not be coming back from.”

From their flat looks, I could tell that I didn’t need to ask, but they all confirmed anyway. “Grandma and Grandpa will be staying behind to mind the shop,” I said, glancing to them for confirmation. Once they gave it, I looked at my parents. “Mom and dad are coming along, and Zeke, you’re sure you want to come?”

“Boy, I’m still stronger than you,” he said archly. “If you try to give me that speech you gave the kid, I’ll show you how ‘weak’ I really am. Don’t go thinking hitting A-rank means you’ve caught up to us old timers. We’ve still got a few tricks.”

“Don’t lump yourself in with me,” my dad snorted. “I hit A-rank years ago. You BARELY beat him here.”

Zeke raised a snarky eyebrow. “Go ahead and comfort yourself with that knowledge while you can. Once he hits S-rank you’re going to be making just as many excuses as me.” He snickered at my dad’s sour expression, and even my mom got a bit of a chuckle.

She reached out for my dad’s hand. “Both of you stop it,” she said gently. “You’ve both been part of helping Shane become the man he is. He did most of it, granted,” she said, shooting me a proud smile. “But his success is thanks to you too. You should celebrate how strong and brave he is. I know I do. I don’t know if I ever really thanked you, Ezekiel, for being there for my son when I couldn’t. But I will now. Thank you. From both of us.”

“See what she does?” my dad said with a soft smile. “Can’t even let me act tough in front of my friends. Has to be all sentimental and wonderful.” He raised the hand she was holding to his lips. “Don’t ever stop doing that for me, love. It’s why I need you most.”

I smiled at the byplay. It wasn’t often I saw my dad sincere. My mom was just kind of like that, she was a kind person with a strong moral compass and she felt it was her job to let people know she cared about them. But he wasn’t the type to wax sentimental. Not when she wasn’t around. That was what she did for him. Kept him human, horns and all.

My eyes closed for a moment, opening on a world of strings and wires, following a shining white chain from my heart into the distance. I stared at it for a moment, then closed my eyes again, and opened them back on the world I’d left. The one with a hole in it that I needed to fill.

“So, that’s the team,” I said, looking around. “Abel, Bethy, Mom, Dad, Zeke, Crell, Alanna, Fade, Lark, and me. Small, elite, and hopefully with a few more helping hands from the Order of Mercy if the Lady is feeling generous. I considered recruiting someone from the family, but I don’t trust any of the council enough for this kind of job. No offense, dad.”

My father shrugged. “None taken, I don’t trust those old bastards any further than Benny could throw them.”

“Hey,” Benny whined. “Why is everyone taking shots at me today?”

We all chuckled at that, even Benny. “Anyway, everyone get your things ready and talk to whoever you need to talk to before we go. Alara says Atlas is sending someone to pick us up tonight, so that’s when we leave. Bethy, is your dad going to be here in time?”

“Oh daddy’s been here for days,” she shrugged. We all turned to stare at her. “He agreed on the trip over and he beat us here. He’s been skulking around in people’s shadows for the last couple days for fun to see if anyone would notice. I think he was testing Ansel today,” she smiled at Abel sweetly. “You pick up on anything?”

“I think I’d have noticed if the old man was-” he turned and screamed in fear as Lark’s pale, aristocratic face appeared in front of him, emerging from the darkness. 

Lark smiled darkly. “You were saying something about noticing me? And about my age?”

“What?” Abel said in a high pitched voice. “I would never. I have the deepest respect for you, master.”

Lark nodded to the rest of us. “I’ll make my appearance among you when it’s time for us to depart. Until then, I’ll be borrowing your training room. My apprentice appears to have forgotten his training now that he’s a powerful A-ranker. I suspect I’ll need to remind him of his fundamentals.”

He stood and began to walk away, Abel floating weightlessly in the air in his hand, struggling to get free. “No, I didn’t mean it, I was wrong, please, somebody HELP ME!” That was the last sound we heard as the door slammed shut.

“So before we go, does anyone have any requests for snacks,” I said, clapping my hands enthusiastically. As it would happen, people did.