"You are right," Cove said with a sigh. He, Keeva, Dax, and Sera sat in a cramped, kidney-shaped bubble. Essie had stoneshaped a narrow sloping shaft from their cave to this one, and he had widened the passage. The grotto would have been perfect for one person, but with four adults, it was confined, stuffy, and reeked with fresh sweat and stale air.

At the moment, Essie's hidey-hole was hosting a private meeting for Keeva, Sera, Dax, and himself; the only people Cove was confident weren't spies, plus Dax's captive. They had been discussing how to organize their group, deal with the assortment of relationships, and their plans moving forward. The only significant decisions left were dividing the young priests and what to do with Dax's captive.

Cove ran his fingers over the strange artifact that had drawn his niece's attention. It was titanium with some aluminum and gold. The majority of the device had yielded to time, leaving only the priceless frame and what might have been six small blades. It could have been anything from any era. Yet, the titanium, a mythically rare metal, hinted it was an ancient military device, probably a flying drone.

Yet the remarkable find that started Essie's recent adventure and got her into trouble was the meandering, underground stream soaking their backsides. In one direction was a secluded box valley, and in the other, an outlet almost a kilometer away.

"It is the best path for your daughters," Dax said, "and a redemptive path for the men."

“Do you think they will survive the Duskfire Brotherhood trials?”

“If the youngsters wish to remain and court your daughters, yes. Only Jacob may fail.”

Cove shook his head.

Keeva frowned as she asked, “Why? He’s almost as big as Cove.”

“It’s the Duskfire Brotherhood. That blond-haired, blue-eyed guy is as un-dusky as you can get. I just healed his sunburn. How did he get burned? This cloud cover hasn’t broken in almost a week.”

Cove scrubbed his scalp as he said, “Why should he try? He could sunbathe, but that would not change his base color.”

“Dax,” asked Keeva, “you don’t strike me as a racist; why do you care about the shade of his skin?”

The dark man leaned forward, his eyes touching everyone and landing on the duffel bag at his feet as he said, “The answer is tradition and culture, both eons old. Our history and legends are sacred and not for the ears of the uninitiated. We are a people of the night, unseen and dismissed as we move in the shadows.”

“Essie is fair-skinned,” said Cove.

“She will change. Her training has begun.”

Keeva raised a hand as she asked, “Training? I can teach knowledge and train skills. Cove can make temporary changes to his body—”

“This will be a permanent, inheritable change,” said Sera.

Cove leaned towards Dax as he said, “You are changing her genetic code?”

Dax shook his head.

“Then how?”

A muted gasp came from the bag as Dax shifted his feet. “I will not speak of it before the uninitiated.” He nudged the squirming bundle. "What about this one?"

Key asked, "How did he follow us?"

"Essie told me Gath has been following her since Oberritterstein,” said Dax. “She has been slipping away, meeting him in nearby villages, dojos, or his hotel. I found them sparring in the stream near the outlet.”

“Sparring,” said Keeva. “So that’s what the kids call it these days.”

“No,” Dax said with an undertone of reprimand, “they were practice fighting.”

“Dance clubs, hotels, and dojos,” muttered Cove. “How did Gath pay for this trip?”

“Forget that,” snapped Sera. “Do his parents know where he is? We’re looking for a spy. Could he be reporting to them?”

“No,” Cove said, “Remember the two trains that collided a few years ago?”

Everyone shivered.

Kee stared at the shifting bag as she whispered, “He’s the survivor?”

Cove nodded. “That brings me back to my question. How can a boy from a state-sponsored orphanage afford food and shelter? How did he keep up and know where to go?”

“Essie,” said Dax.

Sera guffawed. “A twelve-year-old girl? Impossible.”

The conversation paused as Cove held up a finger. Snippets of his conversation with the girls a few days ago blended with other memories. “Sera, what happened to the swear jar?”

“It fell off Essie’s bike and into a ravine. We didn’t find out until… Oh," said Sera as she rolled her eyes, "She's been giving the cuss money to her boyfriend.”

"That explains why she's been such a raptor when we cuss," Kee said softly.

Cove snickered. “Clever girl.”

“She must have overheard Sera asking for grocery money,” Dax said.

Keeva asked, "What do we do with Gath?"

"Let me out," said the bag.

"I do not trust you," said Dax, nudging the duffel with his toe. This snake slithered out of my grasp twice." His soft words evoked reserved admiration.

Cove stared at the bag. He'd only seen Gath at the dojo's awards and advancement ceremonies. Cove had attended to support his niece but always left early; her fawning affection for this classmate had been a poignant reminder of Missha. Gath had been skilled with martial arts, a close match to Essie, yet he'd never struck Cove as subtle. "He got away from you?"

"The child could become a scout. If I don't hang him first," said Dax.

"Behave," teased Sera, "he hasn't disgraced our family or clan or tribe or whatever we are."

"Wife," Dax said with the tenderness of chiseled granite, "we have accepted Essie as our daughter. She is a princess of the Duskfire Brotherhood. This serpent is unworthy to snap at her heels."

"Love," Sera cooed with the skill of a gifted courtesan, "Essie is a teenage girl. This bloomweaver has sniffed her flower but has yet to taste her nectar. I checked; she has never been plucked."

The canvas duffel squirmed and shook as Gath said, "Hey! Bloomweaver? I'm a man, not a teeny-tiny snake! And I'm right here! Please let me out of this bag..."

Dax huffed. "A man would not allow himself to be carted around in a sack."

"Mister, you're as big as a mountain and faster than lightning. You could stuff Master Liebide in a jelly jar."

Cove gasped and stared at his bonding bracelet. The boy couldn't know the fate of his beloved master. “I will take him.”

“I don’t think so,” Kee said. “Just how many children do you think we can handle? Four teenage girls and a newborn are enough. Gath should join the other teenage boys under Dax and Sera’s care.”

"It would be inappropriate for us to raise this boy," said Dax.

Cove cocked an eye as he said, "Why not? You are the best example of manhood—"

"You Elystria brained ass," Sera said as she kicked Cove's ankle. "You want us to raise our daughter's boyfriend as her brother?"

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Kee said, "That's disgusting! If Dax doesn't train him to death, you'll cut off his rocks the first time you catch them alone."

"Point well made," Cove said as he raised his hands in surrender. "That leaves Roy and Hanna or Wendy."

"Not Wendy," said Dax.

Cove asked, "Why? She has been a good mother to Peyton and Kendra."

"A boy growing into manhood needs a father," said Dax.

"There are three grown men in our team—"

"None have claimed Wendy. I cannot, Roy will not, and Keeva has forbidden you."

"Fine," said Cove, "I will talk to Roy."

"I don't want no stinking Riddere—"

Dax thumped the bag with his foot and said, "Boy, you need parents."

"I don't need um!"

"Children need adult guidance to grow into good adults," soothed Keeva.

"I'm a man! I can protect myself! The only thing I need is Essie."

"Sera," said Cove, "can you calm this kid down?"

"You want me to use erotomancy on a twelve-year-old? No!"

"I don't want no mage touching me," said Gath, his voice cowed and his body still.

"If you stay with us," Cove said, his voice kind yet firm, "then you will have parents, obey our rules, and go through the Rite of Opening."

"And if I don't stay?"

Dax shook his head as he said, "Young one, you know too much."

"We can't kill him," gasped Keeva.

"Can you erase his mind? The boy knows who we are, where we are, and our plans."

"I won't tell nobody, I swear!"

"Little man, even I cannot withstand a psycomancer," said Dax, "you will break, everyone does, and we cannot allow you to tell the Riddere what you know."

"Don't kill me!"

Cove made a calming gesture towards Dax as he said, "Gath, we don't want to hurt you. Yet, if you stay, you must follow our rules and be part of a family."

"Only a god, priest, or priestess can assign a child," said Gath.

"What about the son of a goddess," said Keeva.

Cove glared into Kee's mischievous eyes and shook his head.

Sera gently punched Cove's shoulder to get his attention, waggled her eyes, and said, "Would you accept the assignment if it came from a demi-god?"

Cove rolled his eyes and groaned under his breath.

Gath froze, and reverent excitement filled his voice as he said, "Like Gill or Fear?"

"Yes," said Dax, his voice low and dramatic, "the son of Gisaluna and the grandson of Fear."

The glare Cove gave his friends could silence volcanos and shatter mountains. He mouthed, "Please do not do this..."

"Really?!?"

Gath's exclamation rocked Cove. He hid his face in his hands as he muttered, "I am going to kill all of you... Slowly..."

"Who? Is he here? Can I meet him?"

"I am not a—"

"He's right here," Keeva said, fighting to restrain her giggles.

"Mr. Dax, let me out. Please," said Gath as his frantic fingers fought to reach the knots holding the duffel closed.

"Do you swear," Dax asked with the gravity of a high priest, "to obey this demigod?"

“He used a lightning bolt to change granite into Azure,” said Sera. “Imagine what he’ll do if you break your promise.”

"You have got to be kidding me," whispered Cove as he gazed at the cavern roof, wondering if he should pull the mountain down to stop this farce.

"I promise!"

"We will hold you to your sacred oath," said Dax.

"I swear!"

Keeva kissed Cove’s ear and whispered, “Shoulders square and back straight, my demigod. You have an image to maintain.”

“You are painting me gold and putting me on a pedestal. This is not fair to the boy or me. I am not a deity.”

Kee pecked his cheek and whispered, “Have we lied? You are the son of Gisaluna and the grandson of Fear and Wasserlyn.”

“Yes, but—”

“And how often have you not died when you should have?”

“Four?”

“Oh, so few,” said Keeva with mock disappointment. “You can’t apply for demigod until you’ve survived five deaths.”

“The double compound fracture doesn’t count,” said Sera.

“Neither does blowing up the bridge you’re standing on,” Dax said solemnly yet with a mischievous smile.

“I didn’t include those in my count,” said Cove with a hint of defensiveness.

Dax mused, “What was on your list?”

“I was shot through the heart by Johnathan the Betrayer–twice, swam dressed in the ocean with a tidewraith – I’m not sure that counts, stole blissfire from a cinderweaver hive and survived their revenge, and was thumped by lightning while being chased by the Riddere.”

"The girls saw you get smacked down by Gisaluna’s finger," said Kee, "and the miracle of changing granite into Azure."

"That was not a miracle," stammered Cove, "it was physics."

"Twas not physics, lad," said Grettaluna, "not in all recorded history has anyone used a gift to make new Azure; meld and merge, yes, but not virgin crystal.”

"How many Stoneshapers," mused Cove, "have been struck by lightning halfway up a cliff?"

"None," snickered Gretta, "making you the first."

"And," said Keeva, "the last if I have anything to say."

Gretta sighed before saying, "You did something ten eons of physicists said was impossible. Worse, you did it twice."

Cove stared at his family bracelet, saying, "Twice? Wasn't making Azure from granite miracle enough?"

"Coveland, the first time you made Azure, but what you created after is new. Azure is solid; from the smallest sphere to the grandest Takamot, it does not mold itself to skin and move like a thin elastic bodysuit. The outer plates are also a miracle. Do you even know what you've done?"

"We make new materials and elements all the time—"

"Sure, Laddie, but I didn't see a whopping great particle accelerator on the side of the cliff."

"I didn't need one. I had the energy from the lightning strike. All I had to do was nudge it in the right direction," said Cove. He saw the absurdity of his comment the moment it left his mouth. People didn't go around thinking new forms of matter into existence. The idea flew in the face of every scientific principle he'd been taught. Yet that was precisely what he had done. Cove sighed. “It is not magic; I just do not understand the science — yet, but I WILL figure it out.”

Sera snickered.

“Don’t you dare,” said Keeva.

“You think I should discard this chance to study and learn? I am a scientist, a biophysicist, the leading researcher in Elystria and its effects on the human body; nobody is more qualified than me.”

“No, sweetheart. Sera told me she was getting you a lightning rod for the Amelia name day celebration.”

Sera laughed as Cove’s eyes widened, and he stroked his chin. “I told you he’d like the idea.”

“Hey, Professor,” said Gath, his big hazel eyes sweeping the cavern. “Where’s the demigod?”