Strange Love

"Oww I'll drive!" Chary said as she rushed over and looped her arm in Russ's.

Russ arched a brow. "You don't even have pants on..."

She stuck out her bottom lip. "But I haven't gotten to see the baby yet! Only pictures... and her hubby's back! I gotta meet him too!" She tugged Russ toward a door before stopping and looking around in confusion. "Oh right... um, which why out?"

Poseidon popped back in, dusting his clothes off. "Well, that's about as much work as I'm doing for the next millennia or so..."

Ry shook his head as he clamped his father on the back. "Hate to break it to ya, dad... but we still have some work to do..."

Poseidon shifted his attention to Arei who also nodded. "Well hell... Can't you guys deal with it on your own from here?"

Ry laughed. "Probably but having you here would make it a shit ton easier. Can't you just bippity boppity boop the little shits into the room or something?"

Poseidon sent him an irritated glare. "You know good and well my powers don't work like that. I have to know where something is to be able to materialize it."

Russ rolled his eyes. "Better yet, boop us over to the hospital. Rin has agreed to help and even if he couldn't track them, I'm guessing at this point we could use all the powerful creatures we can if we're going to find two vampires and go up against every crooked guard working here..."

Arei shrugged. "I mean the guards aren't going to be an issue... I'm more worried about what condition we're going to find those vampires in... If your uncle killed them and used it as a setup, we could be looking at a whole other issue entirely."

Russ let out a heavy sigh. "Well, fuċk... I hadn't even thought about that..."

"You're welcome as always." Arei sent him a wide grin.

"Alright, let's get going then." Poseidon said as he placed a hand on Chary and Russ. In less than a second, they were in the hospital. Poseidon smiled wide as he stepped forward toward Shelly who was rocking a sleeping baby. "And how are you tonight, my dear?" He said in a whisper as he pulled her into a hug.

She smiled sweetly up at him. "Good, just got this little guy back to sleep." A squeal from behind Poseidon caused her ears to perk up. She didn't have to ask as a wave of long red hair filled her vision.

Chary threw her arms around Shelly and the baby in a tight hug before releasing them and examining them both. "Alright, firstly, damn girl you a hottie! And secondly... look at this little guy, he's so perfect!" She used the tip of one finger to brush the blankets away from his face for a better look. She frowned when one tiny ear came into view. "Why doesn't he have your cute ears?" She pouted as she stroked the soft, downy hairs covering the baby's head.

Rin chuckled. "Because Gin genes are more dominant."

Chary's gaze followed the soft masculine voice, and her mouth dropped slightly. "Oh my... You are a looker as well..." She turned back to Shelly and nudged her elbow playfully. "You go, girl!"

Poseidon arched a brow at his daughter. "If you're done? We need to be getting back."

Chary frowned, "Can't you boys do it yourselves? I want to stay here... besides someone needs to guard these two while you're all busy."

Poseidon nodded, "Far point, but don't be too much of a bother. It's late after all."

Chary rolled her eyes. "You still speak to me as if I'm not a bajillion years old!"

Poseidon narrowed his eyes. "Sometimes I do wonder." Shelly and Chary both laughed, bringing a smile to his lips as well. "You girls take care then. We'll be back as soon as we can." As the dingy walls of the basement came into focus, he held his hands up to his sons and Jos. "Miss us?"

Rin looked around the dank room. "Well, if this isn't a torture dungeon..."

Russ laughed awkwardly. "Well, if it wasn't before... it was tonight..."

"I see..." Rin's eyes made their way around the familiar faces in the room. "So... do you guys have anything that belonged to guys you're looking for?"

Russ thought hard. "No... but I know the room they used... We might be able to find something there."

Rin nodded. "Good... if they haven't changed the sheets yet, I may be able to use those..."

"We're going to stay down here and look around." Arei said as the rest of the group turned toward him.

Ry nodded. "Yeah, me too... There might be some useful clues down here. Too many of us upstairs will rouse attention anyways."

Poseidon nodded in agreement as they disappeared from the room. Arei's attention moved to Ry as soon as the others were gone. "I think this is the first time since you were ȧssigned to the kid, you've let him out of your sight..."

Ry shrugged. "Not the first time... It's no big deal..." He shuffled around the room. "So what are you looking for? We've already searched most of this area."

Arei nodded to Jos who knowingly stepped away and began thumbing through the wreckage of a cellar. "What's bothering ya man?"

Ry shrugged again. "It's nothing... Stop worrying about me and start looking. This place has been torn apart even more since the last time we were down here. Something must have happened."

Rin frowned. "There's nothing in here I can use... I'm sorry..."

Russ let out a sigh as he scrolled through his contacts list. "Ah, here it is." He hit the number saved as Shady ȧss Vamp kid. A muffled ring sounded in the room.

Rin's brows went up. "Well, he definitely didn't take off and leave his phone behind..." Rin followed the ringing to the bed. He tilted his head. "I think it's either in the sheets or... between the mattresses..."

Poseidon lifted the mattress and sure enough, a phone continued to ring. He grabbed the phone and a scrap of paper beneath it. "Can you use this?" He asked handing the phone to Rin.

"Yeah, I believe so." Rin said as he took the phone and began studying it. "It's got a lock code so I can't access anything but since it's a personal belonging, I should still be able to use it."

A smile curved Poseidon's lips. "Those sly fools." He held the letter up to the other two men. "Drake suspected Fern was up to no good. He left the code for his phone as well as a message outlining how to find all the files we need to bring Fern down. Too bad it looks like we'll have to bring down half the council just to get some damn justice on this front..." He called out the number combo to Rin.

Rin smiled down at the phone. "It worked." He quickly pulled up a selfie the vampire had taken and placed his palm over the picture as he squeezed his eyes shut tightly. Not even a full minute had passed before the gin was reopening his eyes and smiling at the waiting men. "Got him..."

Russ took an involuntary step back as he watched his friend's eyes shift from a strange glowing dark blue to his normal color. Russ shrugged as he followed him from the room. "I don't know why this shit still surprises me... at this point, I wouldn't be surprised to find out... well pretty much anything at this point..."

Poseidon chuckled. "And as much as you don't know... I'm sure there will still be plenty more surprises for you..."

Rin shot them a grin over his shoulder as he followed the pull of the phone down the hallway. He stopped in front of the large staircase and arched a brow in question.

Russ stepped forward. "Back to the basement then... of course..." He looked around the hall before pushing open the secret door. "Right this way to the Boosilis dungeon of doom."

Rin rolled his eyes as another grin curved his lips. "Glad to see you still haven't changed any."

Russ frowned, "I wouldn't go that far... There's been a lot that's changed."

Rin nodded as he stepped inside. "Yeah... Same... I haven't said anything to Shelly... and I'd appreciate it if you didn't say anything... but the past several months have been an absolute hell." He shrugged. "What would one expect from purgatory... I guess..." His eyes shot to Russ. "I mean it, I don't want you saying anything to her. She beats herself up enough about not wishing me back sooner. Honestly though, if her time in wolf form helped her to heal from that horrible night then I'd gladly endure it for another hundred years or longer..."

Poseidon came up beside Rin and clasped him on the shoulder. "I'm glad to hear it, my boy. I've been wondering what kind of character laid beneath your well-controlled demeanor. After all, you're not the first person I've known to undergo a suspended death. I wasn't at all convinced of your performance."

Rin let out a grunt. "I hope that it was at least good enough to keep my loved ones from worrying..."

Poseidon nodded as he released his hold on Rin's shoulder. "I'm sure you're parents were well aware of what their spell would cause, but as for Shelly and the others... Your miraculous return seems to be enough of a shock... You'll not have me telling your secret."

"I appreciate it... Truly." Rin turned his focus back to the phone. "This way... Oh and we're being followed..." He whispered in a lower voice as they descended the spiral staircase.

Russ's ears perked as he sniffed the air. "Gigi..." He said on a low growl. "Go on ahead, I'll deal with her."

Poseidon stopped him before he could even get fully turned. "No... You go with your friend and I'll take care of the girl. I believe you've done enough where she's involved."

Russ gave a huff as he turned back toward Rin. "Fine... looks like it's taking us back toward the cellars anyways, we'll just wait for you there."

Rin waited until the sea god had vanished before he crooked a brow to Russ. "So, what happened between you and miss bag of crazy herself this time?"

Russ shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it. I've not taken my break up with Jos any better than I had the last time we hung out... and I guess I might have taken a lot of that pent-up rage out on Gigi... The shitty part is, I'm still not sorry I did it... I feel like an ȧss for the exact acts themselves, but my feelings on the matter haven't changed. Even if she was sent by my uncle... she didn't have to take things as far as she did..."

Rin shrugged. "You don't know what motivated her, what he held over her... what he still holds over her."

"I know my crown had a lot to do with it. What more is there to know." Russ bit out.

"True, but after seeing the state of this place, I can only wonder if there wasn't more..." Rin continued as they walked into the basement. He looked around at the others still waiting in the room. "Hum... this is odd..." He looked down at the phone as he walked across the room to the storage cellar. "You guys didn't find anything while you were searching?" He asked.

Ry, Arei, and Jos exchanged confused looks. "No, why?" Jos finally answered as the other two shrugged.

Rin let out a sigh. "Because according to the tracking, they're in this room somewhere... It stops here... well it would stop just past this wall if there was anything past here." His gaze moved over to Russ. "Are you sure there's nothing behind this? Or more tunnels going around this area?"

Russ ran a hand through his hair. "I mean there could be. I don't know much about this place... That's fuċkėd since it's mine... right..."

"I may have the solution to your problems, boys." Poseidon said as he tugged the trembling wolf girl out from behind him. "Go ahead, dear, tell them what you told me."

Gigi's wide eyes stared in terror up at Poseidon. "Who...who are you?!"

Poseidon chuckled. "I'm sure I don't need to answer that, now do I, dear?" He nodded toward the table Ry and Arei were leaning against. "I'm positive you at least recognize my sons, yes?"

The color drained from her face as she nodded, her eyes moving from the massive twins to the very familiar woman wrapped in one of their arms.

Poseidon chuckled, "I see there's another face you recognize." He spun her around to face him. "You already know, you said so yourself, Fern has run. You understand the position you are in here now." He nodded toward Rin and Russ. "You can choose to remain faithful to a man who fled without you... or you can help your future king out."

Ry pushed up from the counter and made his way over to them. He tugged Gigi away from his father. "That's enough." He brushed the hair out of her face as he bent to her level. Ry searched the girl's scared, troubled eyes. "Gigi, you trust me, right?" He waited for her to nod. "You can trust them as well." He ran a soothing hand along her cheek watching as she leaned into his ċȧrėss. "If you help us now, I'll see that you're cared for after this, you'll not have to rely on anyone else ever again... not Russ, not Fern... not this shitty kingdom."

Russ rolled his eyes. "Thanks... wasn't like I don't already know it's shitty... ya don't have to rub it in." He sent Gigi a glare. "You here to help or not? If not, then you can leave already. I don't care."

Gigi swallowed hard moving her attention around the room before holding Ry's stern gaze. She nodded quietly.

Ry smiled down at her. "Good girl." He whispered as he pulled her close and placed a light kiss to her forehead.

Gigi nodded as she slowly backed away from him. She looked nervously around the room, her eyes quickly landing on Jos then moving away just as fast. "I don't actually know wh...what he did with them... but there's something you must see... and it's likely if they are alive... this is where they would be..." She began to shake uncontrollably as she neared the cellar where Rin and Russ stood.

Misunderstanding her unease, Jos quickly rushed to her side. Jos took the girl's hand and gave her as much of a reassuring nod as she could. "I... I know I'm probably the last person... but..."

Gigi tightened her grip around Jos's hand. "No... I appreciate it... it's been a long... long time since I was last in this room... and..." Her eyes shifted nervously to the wall behind Rin. "I... I'm not excited to see it again..."

Ry and Arei exchanged glances as they both began to follow close behind the girls. Ry noticed the uncontrollable shake of Gigi's hand as it lifted to an odd-looking stone in the wall directly behind Rin. To all their shock except Gigi, the wall began to move. The putrid odor of the room seeping out before the wall was even fully opened.

As the closest person to the horrors just passed the false wall, Rin's eyes widened, and his anger flared. His hand snapped into the air and a sword materialized immediately. The second it was in his hand, he charged forward.

"NO, WAIT!" Coughing sounded as the foul odor of filth, rot, and death filled the room. "It's not what you think!" The weak voice called out between another fit of coughing.

Rin snarled in hate-filled rage as he continued forward. "It's exactly what it appears, mate!" The blade of his sword was just about to pierce the blonde vampire's spine when he was knocked hard to the ground.