Blue solace complete ser.., p.66
Blue Solace: Complete Series Boxset, page 66
“Actually, we’ll be there in a few days to resupply,” Sebastian said. “I thought I’d come by to see Sai and Salla.”
“That would be perfect,” Carleen said, relief filling her eyes. Alois frowned. Something wasn’t right here. “Come right to the house when you arrive. I’ll send you our new address.”
Fire bounced beside them on the bed, waving at the woman. “Oh, this is…” Alois cut Sebastian’s introduction off. “I’ll make sure he gets there, Carleen.” He gently shoved Fire out of the woman’s view.
“One other thing,” Sebastian said, pinching Alois’s leg. “Do you have any of Gramma’s stuff? I was thinking about her the other day, and I’d like to have something of hers to give to our daughter if it’s possible.”
“Daughter?” Carleen’s face lit up. “Is she with you?” Alois didn’t like the eagerness in her voice. Something was definitely not right.
“No,” Sebastian said. “We had to leave her behind for this mission.”
“Mission? Oh, never mind,” Carleen said. “I don’t want to know. Just come by the house when you arrive. Your mate should probably stay on the ship. I don’t know how your father will react to him.” She smiled a sickly sweet, fake smile. “I hope you understand, Alois.”
“Of course,” Alois said.
Sebastian ended the call and turned in his arms, eyes questioning. “You aren’t going with me?”
“Why didn’t you introduce me?” Fire pouted.
“Alright, guys. Something is wrong with that woman,” Alois said.
“Yeah,” Sebastian said. “She’s a bitch that sold her child.”
“She seems really eager to get her hands on you,” Alois said. “A little too eager. I’m going to ask Draif to look into your parents’ finances real quick.” He shot off a message to Draif, then looked at Fire. “I didn’t want her to know about you in case she’s up to something. We don’t want you to get hurt.”
“Okay,” Fire said, shrugging. “I’m going with you though. I won’t let anyone hurt Sebastian either.” He pulled Sebastian and Alois into a hug. “You’re the best, honey bear.” He let them go and bounced out the door.
Alois heard Dru yell. “Damn it, Mustachio.”
“I like your bird now,” Alois said.
“That was fast,” Sebastian said. “It’s only been several months now.”
Alois was about to respond when Sebastian’s face grew white, and his mouth dropped open. His eyes were fixed on the door. Alois turned to look. There was nothing there.
“What’s wrong, beautiful?” Alois asked. He pushed Sebastian behind him and faced the empty door.
“Gramma?” Sebastian’s voice was barely more than a croak.
“Your dead Gramma?” Alois’s head ached. Seeing spirits was fucked up.
“Yes,” Sebastian said, then grinned. “She’s my second spirit guide.” He started bouncing behind Alois. “She said you’re hot.”
“Well…” Alois stood straighter. “She seems like a nice woman.”
Sebastian laughed and moved around him. His laughter stopped, and his face grew red with anger. Alois had never seen Sebastian mad before, but damn, his mate was pissed. Alois’s comm chimed, and he looked at the message. Draif had checked into Sebastian’s parents, and they were covered in fucking debt again. Shit.
“Gramma says Mom and Dad are in debt again,” Sebastian said.
“Draif just messaged me about that,” Alois said. “Shit. What are they planning?”
“Gramma says they were planning on selling Sai and Salla. They’re fifteen, and one of the guys my parents owe is a serious perv and wants them,” Sebastian said.
“Not happening,” Alois said. “We get there in two days, and we’ll save them.”
“Oh, that’s not all,” Sebastian said. “Since we talked, Mom and Dad now plan to sell me again too. My old boss misses me.”
“Those fucking pieces of shit!” Alois yelled.
“Uh, you guys okay in here?” Dru poked her head in. Monty perched on her shoulder and tilted his head, watching them.
“Sebastian’s dead Gramma just told us his parents plan to sell him again along with his younger sisters,” Alois said, teeth gritted.
“His dead… Never mind. Okay,” Dru said, stepping into the room. “Obviously, that’s not going to happen. What do we do?”
“We?” Sebastian looked at Dru, confused.
“Sebastian,” Dru said. “Haven’t you figured it out yet? We’re family, and we stick the fuck together.”
“Oh,” Sebastian said, eyes watering. “Gramma really likes you, Dru.”
“She sounds like a wise woman,” Dru said. “Now, what the fuck do we do? Obviously, we can keep them from selling Sebastian, but what about his sisters? How old are they?”
“Fifteen,” Alois said.
“Let me get Ava on it,” Dru said. “We can just take them and sort it out later. Ava has a gift for smoothing our fuck-ups out.”
“We could just pay them for the girls,” Alois said. Their safety was more important than his own pride.
“No,” Sebastian said. “I refuse to let those assholes benefit from hurting Sai and Salla.” He tilted his head, clearly listening to his grandmother. “Gramma says that Sai found her life-mate already, and he’ll need to come with us. They’re in love and plan to marry in a few years, which is another reason my parents are doing all this now.”
“She’s fifteen,” Alois said. “That’s way too young to have a life-mate.”
“Gramma says you just try to stop it.” Sebastian snorted. “What would you have done if you met me when you were fifteen?”
“Yeah, Alois,” Dru said, smirking. “What would you have done at fifteen?”
“We’d have ten kids by now,” Alois said, grumbling.
Sebastian laughed at him but cuddled into his side. “Gramma says Sai is a science freak like Nina. She has a good head on her shoulders and plans on going to college. She’ll marry her beau, but they won’t be popping out babies right away.” He listened for a second. “She says they have two guinea pigs and a cat too.”
“Okay. How do we make this happen?” Dru stroked the hilt of her phaser. “Wait. The Lord Admiral said it just the other day. No one governs the stars. Whatever happens, happens.”
“So? We’ll be on Union Station, and until the age of eighteen, children belong to the parents there. They can do whatever they want with their children,” Sebastian said.
“What if we had a few stowaways like Leti and Draif? We wouldn’t know about them until we were off planet,” Dru said. “We simply wouldn’t have the time to turn around and return them.”
“Ava could explain everything to Union Station,” Alois said, grinning. “Smooth things over. We probably couldn’t get back to Union Station until they were eighteen though.”
“We are really busy people,” Dru said, nodding.
“What’s the mate’s name?” Alois looked around the room. “Gramma?”
Sebastian smiled wide. “She says she loves that you call her Gramma. His name is Lorry Philbert.”
“Philbert?” Dru snickered. “She’ll be stuck with that name. Poor Sai.”
“Let’s give Lorry a call,” Alois said. “We’ll arrange everything, and then Sebastian and I will go visit to distract the assholes.”
“I’m coming too,” Fire said, and Alois yelled in a very manly fashion.
“Fuck! Where were you? I didn’t even hear you come in.” Alois held a hand to his chest.
“I sneaked,” Fire said. “I wanted to know what was wrong, so I eavesdropped. Hi, Gramma!” He waved toward a spot near the window. “Did Alois’s squeal scare you?”
“I didn’t squeal,” Alois said.
“No, honey bear,” Sebastian said. “You didn’t squeal at all.”
Chapter 18
Silverlight System, Planet Union Station
“Now, sweetheart, Lorry is a good boy, but he’s very young,” Gramma said. “Tell your mate not to startle him.”
“Startle him? Really?” Sebastian had a feeling Sai’s mate was a baby deer or something. When they called Lorry’s house yesterday, his dad had answered. Since time was running out and they arrived in the morning, Dru had taken Gramma’s advice and told the Betonize man everything. Luckily, Valentine Philbert was a good man. He was a single parent and worked in one of the factories on Union Station.
“Just be nice,” Gramma said. “I’m glad Dru talked Lorry’s dad into coming too. They don’t have a lot, but he’s a good person. He’ll be a good worker for your station. Lord knows that place needs more than soldiers.” Gramma’s bright form moved around the room. She was just as he remembered her – short, chubby, and sassy.
“How do you know he’s a good man?” Sebastian watched her suspiciously.
“I’ve been keeping an eye on my grandbabies,” the old woman said, indignant. “It’s my job, sweetheart.”
“They should be here in two hours,” Dru said, pacing the floor of the small cargo bay.
“Calm down, sweet mama,” Lerais said. “Val seems like a sensible guy. He’ll get them here while Sebastian and Alois distract the assholes.”
“Why do our missions always get weird? Somehow, we seem to end up with more people than we start with,” Dru said. Lerais just pulled her to him and kissed her until she stilled.
“Ready to do this, beautiful?” Alois held his hand, and Sebastian was so damn happy to have him here. Sebastian knew he was strong, but doing this alone would be horrible.
“I’m ready.” He looked to his right. “Fire, are you sure you want to come?”
“Yep,” Fire said. “Death’s coming too. We’re your friends.”
“Death?” Alois looked around. “Why is he coming?”
“Right behind you, Alois,” Death said, laughter in his voice. Alois squealed and jumped, making everyone laugh.
“Damn it, Morrick.” Alois spun around, glaring at their friend.
“Anyway,” Death said, smirking. “I’m coming to make sure Fire doesn’t do anything stupid. Plus, he’s right. We’re your friends. Your crew has to be here to deal with supplies and meet with Sebastian’s sisters, so we’ll watch your backs this time.”
“Good man,” Dru said, punching Death’s arm. “Okay. You guys get going. We’ll have the stowaways settled in by the time you get back.”
Sebastian took a deep breath and pulled Alois down the ramp. He didn’t want to see his parents, but life wasn’t always fair. He had to think about Sai and Salla. They loaded into a shuttle and rode out of the spaceport. His parents’ new house was in the upper city. It was in a nice neighborhood, which definitely explained their new debt since neither of his parents could keep a steady job.
Sebastian closed his eyes and felt the planet around him. Death had been right when he said a planet felt a lot different from Charybdis Station. There was a deep strength and beauty to the planet. Even with the surface mostly covered in cities, the planet still had a vibe all its own.
“You feel it?” Fire lay his head on Sebastian’s shoulder.
“Yeah. You?”
“Yep,” Fire said. “I like planets, but Charybdis Station is home now, so it’s the best.”
“I miss it too,” Sebastian said. They pulled up to his parents’ neighborhood, and the car stopped. Despite Alois’s protests, they had decided Sebastian would go in alone. He wanted to see what his parents had planned. Alois and the others would be backup.
“Be careful, beautiful,” Alois said.
“I’ll keep your honey bear safe, Seb,” Fire said and kissed his cheek.
Sebastian laughed when Alois growled. “Thanks, Fire. I’ll leave my communicator activated. You guys can come save the day if my parents get too weird,” Sebastian said. He leaned up and kissed Alois. The taste of his mate always made him feel safe. He turned and walked toward their house before he could change his mind.
Carleen and Shaine Dolarnio answered the door together. They looked like nice people, well-dressed and pleasant looking. Sebastian knew them though.
“Sebastian, darling,” his mom said and pulled him into a hug.
His dad shut the door behind them and patted his back. “It’s just so wonderful to see you, son.” Sebastian wanted to throw up. Fasi and Pops could call him son. His bio dad could eat shit. His father’s wide grin would look better with Alois’s fist in it. “I’ll be right back. We found some of my mother’s things for you.”
He went upstairs, and Sebastian turned to his mom. He forced a smile. “Hey. I guess Sai and Salla are in school right now.”
“Yes,” Carleen said, pulling him farther into the house. “They’ll be back for dinner though.” She looked around the kitchen. “Their cat is around here somewhere, but I haven’t seen it this morning. You’ll probably like the rabid creature.” She invited him to sit with her at the table. “I wish your daughter was here. It would make things easier.”
“What do you mean?”
“Sebastian, darling, your father and I have made some bad choices recently. There are some very mean men who want to hurt us.” She patted his hand and looked at him earnestly. “You don’t want us to be hurt, do you? If we’re dead, what would happen to Sai and Salla?”
“What do you want?” Sebastian knew Alois and the others heard every word coming from her. They were there for him and wouldn’t let what he knew was coming happen.
“Qeavan Mcada wants you back,” she said, then sighed. “It hurts so much to have you with us again only to lose you.”
“He’s offered to pay your debts?”
“Well, most of them,” Carleen said. “If your daughter was here, we could sell her to pay the rest of it. Do you think Charybdis Station will send her to us once you’re indentured?”
“What makes you think I would agree to this?” Sebastian couldn’t believe she was so nonchalant about this. Last time, they had completely taken him by surprise.
“Darling, you won’t have a choice,” she said. He felt a band snap around his neck from behind.
“Qeavan here brought a collar,” his dad said. “It’s a nice little gadget that can kill you in an instant. I suggest you listen to him.”
Sebastian slowly turned around. Qeavan and his usual guards stood next to his father. The sleazy bastard smiled brightly. “So nice to see you again, Sebastian. We have a lot of customers asking about our Wednesday night special. They’ll be pleased that you’re back.”
He turned back to the woman that birthed him. “They won’t send my daughter to you. Alois is her father, and even if he wasn’t able to care for her, my friends and family would.”
“Family? We’re your family,” Carleen said. “A mercenary station is no place for a baby.”
“You are not my family,” Sebastian said. “You two are pieces of garbage that have no right to me, my daughter, or my sisters.”
“Sebastian, don’t talk to your mother that way,” Shaine said.
“My mothers are Renee Juren and Ma Brackenstone,” he said. “My fathers are Fasi Juren and Pops Brackenstone. The two of you are nothing to me.”
Carleen looked dumbfounded, but Shaine just shrugged. “It doesn’t matter what you think. You’re going with Qeavan and the twins will go to Drial. We’ll try to get custody of the baby later. There are a lot of people who would pay for a baby.”
“I can set you up with some buyers,” Qeavan said. “Let me know when you get her.”
“This is illegal,” Sebastian said. “I could defend myself and not face charges.”
“I would love for you to try,” Qeavan said, laughing. “My guards here missed you too, and you know they like to punish you.”
“Choose your path, sweetheart,” Gramma said. “They deserve to die.”
“What’s my other option?” He looked at her. She was one pissed spirit.
“What? You don’t have any other options,” Carleen said.
“We have the recordings because of your communicator,” Gramma said. She looked at him. “This is a very important choice, sweetheart. Neither choice is really evil, but it will shape who you are as a person.”
“I want to kill them,” he said.
“I know you do,” she said. “A very large part of me wants you to do it.”
“That’s a horrible thing to say,” Shaine said. “You have a purpose and not everyone has that in life. You should be grateful.”
“What is that bird doing here?” Carleen stood and went to the window. “It’s beautiful. I wonder how much someone would pay for it.” She opened the window.
Mustachio flew in and perched on the chair behind Sebastian, head curled over his own. Sebastian thought of Nina and his family back on Charybdis. He thought of Alois and Fire and Death waiting for his call. He thought of his sisters safe onboard the Blue Sparrow. He closed his eyes and focused on the circuits in the collar around his neck. With a bit of fire applied, it popped off in seconds. He reached deep below and pulled, using the earth element.
“What the hell?” Qeavan’s voice held pure surprise. The bastard squeaked when the house rumbled. It would be so easy to kill them all.
“What’s happening?” The panic in Carleen’s voice didn’t bring him any pleasure. She screamed when roots burst through the floor of the kitchen and wrapped around her. It happened so quickly. One moment, they all stood around Sebastian. The next, they were wrapped in roots, from their feet to their throats.
Sebastian opened his eyes and stood. Mustachio flew out the window, returning to the ship. They would be leaving soon. He met his parents’ eyes. “I’m not your son, and I’m not a scared child anymore. I will protect my family from you, don’t doubt that. This is your one and only warning. If I see you again, I will kill you.” He turned to Qeavan. “You aren’t even worth my time. You’ve made enough enemies that someone will kill you soon enough.”
“I’m proud of you, sweetheart,” Gramma said. “I think this was the best choice for you, and I don’t know if I could have made it myself. Now, if you go to my spawn’s office, I’ll show you where he put my will and the last of my belongings. I left them to you, but he kept them.”
