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Chapter 83: Unbreakable and Unforgettable
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2024-10-29 19:42:56As they were leaving, they had been approached by a small contingent of Koln groups, carrying a small stone block between them. It had been carved, they explained, by a Koln who had once belonged to a stonemason, and on it, he had inscribed the names of the soldiers who had been killed in the attack. He had left a blank space in the center for more names to be added in the future, and from the tone in which they explained this, they seemed to expect that the names it would bear would be their own, but they seemed oddly proud of that fact.
“I have an idea for what should go in the center,” Ellis said.
If Mitch had thought that attacking the Koln shelter and training camp would deter any others from joining, he had been grossly wrong. Kolns from all over the galaxy were pouring in and there were a few protests from Zothean citizens, but their help was sorely needed. Zothea got a close-up look at what the Kolns were capable of and it shattered the stereotype t
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Leo was waiting for them when they arrived back at their secret house. "You're not going to believe this," he said. "But we've got a vid-call from Horace."“Mitch’s second in command, Horace?” Ellis asked. She was shocked. It was like getting a call from the devil himself, something improbable and alarming at the same time.“The very same,” Leo’s voice was grim.Ellis and Logan went into the office and sat down at the desk, side-by-side. A man's face filled the viewscreen set up on the desk's edge.“Logan,” the man said, giving a nod of greeting.Ellis felt a dart of anger that Horace had used Logan's name instead of his title. They were not close friends or family who could use his given name with impunity. Whatever this call was for, he was certainly starting it out with a jab of antagonism.“You have my leader’s son,” Horace said. “Return him to his father.”
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Ellis was seated at the office desk, grinding her way through the tedious paperwork that had backed up since the attack. Logan came in, his tail swaying playfully behind his head.“Family time!” he said. He beckoned her to rise and swept her up into his arms. He ticked her nose with the tip of his tail just to hear her giggle and then started down the hall.This was part of Logan's continuing efforts at "family time". He insisted they take frequent breaks throughout the day to play with the babies or just spend a little while cuddling together in their nest. She knew what he was doing. Part of it was that she needed the rest but wouldn't stop working simply for herself; if he posed it in terms of her family needing her presence, she couldn't say no. And the other part was that he was building memories ... just in case.The subject lingered in the back of their minds, shadowing every conversation, lending a desperate edge to every embrace. But they ne
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“Ellis!” Logan shouted. “Come quickly!”Ellis was in the bathroom. She hurriedly finished and rushed out into the nest. “What is it? What’s wrong?”“Nothing. I don’t want you to miss this.” He stood and walked a few feet away from where Little Isabella was sitting on the floor.“Come to Daddy,” he said, crouching down and opening his arms. Lil Izzy pushed herself to her feet, using her tail for balance, and took a few wobbly steps forward before losing her balance and falling back onto her behind.Athena watched this turn of events with interest.Lil Izzy hauled herself upright and this time reached Logan, who swooped her up and planted kisses on her plump little cheeks.Ellis joined Logan and Izzy in their hug. Athena apparently felt left out and nonchalantly hauled herself to her feet and trotted over to them. Ellis squealed and picked them up, smothering her with kiss
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Perhaps he should have been surprised, but wasn't. Nin saw more than those eyes of hers. "I saw Mitch kill Ellis. He broke her neck before I could reach them." What Logan did not describe was the look of fierce joy that had been on Mitch's face as he twisted Ellis's head to the side with a sickening snap, an expression that made his bones feel like ice when he thought of it.“You do not have the gift of prophecy," Nin noted.Logan scrubbed a hand over his face. "I think I'm glad for that. I'm not sure I want to know what the future holds for all of us.""The price of our sins is to see those we love to suffer for them," Nin said. "I must tell you that I have failed in my duties by becoming emotionally attached. I should recuse myself, but I do not have the strength."“I want you to stay with her. I trust you and only you with her safety,” Logan urged.“So be it.”Nin was silent. Logan admired her stillness. In s
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Isabella drove out the Council members and the cameras, her manner so brisk and officious that no one dared question her, and shut the door firmly. She sat down beside Logan and drew him into her arms, just as she had done when he was a little boy and hurting from his parents' neglect. He was too large now to snuggle into her as he once had done, so he laid his head on top of hers and wrapped his tail around her arm."It can't have been him," he said. "It can't."She pulled back to look up into his face. Her eyes were soft with compassion. She said nothing. She didn't have to.Logan buried his hands in his hair and tugged. The pain was the only thing that felt real. But Isabella gently reached up and tugged his hands away. He wanted to scream, to attack something with his claws and shred it to bits. The pain was swelling within him to the point where he thought he might burst if he couldn't let it out in some way.Isabella pulled him back into her arms an
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"I saw a doctor less than an hour ago." Izzy unwound her tail from her leg with effort and gnawed on the end of it anxiously.Her father stood and without a word, headed for the door."Daddy, wait, please!" Nessie pleaded. "I'm so sorry! Talk to me.""I can't." Logan's eyes were on the door and his tail lashed in either agitation or anger; she couldn't tell which."Please," Izzy pleaded. "I need to know what you're thinking. Do—do you still love me?""Of course, I do," Logan said tightly. He twisted the doorknob."Don't leave," Izzy begged."Sweetheart, your father just needs a little time," Ellis interjected. "Let him go, and we'll all talk over this later."Goddess, didn't her mother understand that her anxiety was increasing exponentially every moment? She wouldn't survive a wait of a few hours. "Daddy… please.""You want to know what I'm thinking?" Logan turned from the door and marched back to stand in
