"How dare you try to kill him? You almost got the Regina killed in the process, you fool!" A hard slap across the face accompanied his father's furious roar.
The iron-eyed serpent curled around his father's neck; its eyes shining in malevolent glee. The traitorous snake had gone straight to John after the Warriors had escaped the explosion of the campus library. Damn it all, Zeke still lived!
Adrian didn't know which fact angered John more: the attempted fratricide or the near "accidental" manslaughter of the queen.
"You said to bring you the amulet. You did not leave instructions on the manner of retrieval," he replied, rubbing the sting from his cheek.
He kept his eyes lowered as he stepped back toward the rusty kitchen sink. To survive, never look a snake in the eyes.
"And you failed in your mission! Your manner of retrieval only cemented their knowledge of an enemy on their heels, nothing more! If you had merely stolen the amulet, it would have looked like a robbery. Now, Zeke knows we're after the artifact. What do you propose we do about this mess?" John asked, crossing lean arms over a lithe chest. His yellow eyes narrowed in a glare.
Adrian remained silent with his head down. An answer would only earn him more bruises. His role as a son required him to remain silent, obedient, and un-questioning. He'd do better to remember his lessons in the presence of his father.
"Zeke won't work for them without making sure the others are safe. Bring them to me. Alive," John stressed with a hiss. His eyes darted to the clock above the stove. "I have a meeting with the Council."
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Dutiful son, I am a dutiful son. I will follow orders to the letter; he mentally repeated the mantra of his childhood lessons.
"Yes, Sir. How shall I react if the Warriors arrive during the extraction of the others?" Adrian asked.
"Engage the Warriors, but don't you dare harm one flake of skin on Zeke or the Regina. We need them," John replied as he left the room.
Adrian breathed deeply. The rattle of scales announced the arrival of his personal viper, Maude. Her yellow ringed body curled around his neck in her version of a hug, comforting him as she had in his youth. He gently scratched her chin and pondered his next move.
The Madness ate at John with ever increasing urgency. They needed the Regina in order to find the cure; John had shared that much with him. Adrian didn't know the whys and wherefores. He didn't need them. He only needed to obey... but did they really need some slip of a girl to free them from their insanity?
After all, Adrian had never felt the Madness creep up on him; perhaps it only infected those of past generations? The Council didn't see a need to keep the Regina alive, either. In fact, several of them had requested that Adrian quietly eliminate her. If the Council wanted it, who was he to argue? He spoke a few soft words to Maude and unwound her from his neck. Adrian sent her off to gather some friends and join the Council meeting. If the Regina attended, she wouldn't leave alive. Someone needed to follow the Council's wishes; it might as well be him. He'd take John's beating and then return to being the dutiful son.
He sighed and left the room, walking through their personal ghost town to the grain elevator they used as a barracks. He'd need his best fighters to combat the Warriors. He hoped John's soldiers had trained enough in their pathetically short human lives to survive an encounter with the Qikan's elite. The Warriors had never lost a battle they truly believed in. Adrian didn't intend to end up on the receiving end of their blades.