Dead Men Smiling

3.1

I didn't make the right choices. I made the wrong ones for the right reasons.

_____

Dolan opened his eyes and let out a tired groan as he slowly sat up and stretched while taking in his surroundings. He noticed that Leilani was nowhere to be seen and frowned. "She left, didn't she?"

Malum gave him a slow, lazy blink which made him chuckle as he urged the cat to get up so that he could talk to the person who is the reason he had chosen to camp in that particular part of the forest.

He put on his cloak, sheathed his wand in the sheath on his thigh, sheathed the dagger in his leg sheath and placed his mask on his face. Malum then jumped on his shoulder and made no move to jump off causing the now known rebellion member, Hex, to smile beneath the mask.

He pulled out his wand and waved them in the direction of the campsite and nodded to himself, certain that no one could see or trace their camp. With a bounce in his step, Hex set off on his latest mini-quest, to find Beryll.

Hex was chewing on his fifth crystal when he bumped into someone.

Literally.

He groaned in pain while rubbing his chest and frowned to himself at how hard whatever he had collided with was as he opened his eyes. His look quickly morphed to apologetic as he hurriedly stood to help the other stranger to their feet while apologizing profusely.

The stranger waved off his apology with a smile, ready to verbally dismiss the younger. The pair looked at each other and froze like deers caught in headlights.

"Jesse?" Hex uttered, breathlessly.

The man assessed Hex with a slight furrow in his brow before smiling slightly. "Dolan?"

Before Hex could get any word out of his mouth, Jesse began to rant about how thorough the investigators must have been in order not to have 'innocents' locked up. He further reprimanded him for getting caught. He also sent his disappointments to Sora, Leilani and Rowan and a congratulation for Maximus for the same reason.

Hex, desperate for a change of topic, made a strange noise at the back of his throat causing Jesse to glance at him in concern. Hex waved a hand in dismissal as he faked a coughed. He then straightened. "Where are you headed?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Jesse retorted immediately, giving Hex the impression that he had something to hide. He smiled behind the mask. "Just taking a stroll. My cat needed to stretch her leg but obviously she doesn't want to do that."

"Oh..." Jesse let out a sigh, "I was off to church."

Hex nodded before frowning slightly. "Church?"

"is there a problem?" Jesse asked with a faint blush. "Not at all. It's just... don't you, y'know?"

Jesse drew his bottom lip between his teeth as he ran his fingers through his graying brown hair. "Look, I know what I was-"

"Was?" Hex squeaked. "Yes 'was'. I met a Priest who prayed for me- I know you just rolled your eyes behind that mask- and it left."

Hex had read books on Vessels who managed to rid themselves of the Demon they hosted. From what he remembered, it often ended with the Vessel running mad unless the Demon had agreed to leave. Besides that, Jesse was registered an Unwanted from birth and he could still feel the familiar level of strength coursing through the latter's veins. He glanced at the other's neck and furrowed his brow at the cross that hung there.

"So the Demon's gone? Just like that? But you were hosting a pure blooded Demon of magic and spells."

Jesse made a show of opening his Bible before closing it. Hex's gaze flickered to the well looked after book and grimaced slightly before turning his attention to Jesse who had started to speak. "I think the Priest can help you too. It's never too late to refuse the curse of your fore fathers and join the church. After all, our Creator is a forgiving father and loves all his children."

Hex hummed in neither agreement nor disagreement as his brain quickly; the Demon Jesse hosted was obviously suppressed. "I haven't seen the others since we were released." The older furrowed his brow. "You haven't seen them in three years?"

"Yup." "And you aren't the slightest bit worried about them?"

Hex answered the question with a shrug as he pulled his wand out of its sheathe. He dully noted the way Jesse flinched at the sight as he waved the stick and smiled at the trail of blue flowers that followed.

"What remarkable flowers," he said briskly, increasing his pace only for Hex to catch up and match his stride in ease while sheathing the wand. "You taught me that trick. Do you remember?"

"Oh, I remember. You were a natural; you still have a green thumb, obviously."

Jesse fell silent as he took in his masked companion who was currently scratching the cat under its chin. His eyes fell on the dagger strapped to his leg and he frowned slightly. "What's that for?"

"It should be able to summon spirits." "Should be? You didn't fail to use simple blood runes, did you?"

"Well, I didn't fail. I just don't want to use them. Si until I discover a better runic method, it basically does basic dagger things." "Try crystal runes," Jesse blurted before he cleared his throat. "I mean; you should really stop dabbling in that nonsense."

Hex had caught the red flash in Jesse's eyes and bit back a smile. He could remember how he first got Rowan to release Beast and hummed a catchy tune he once heard from Maximus. "Are you truly free of Mira?"

Jesse scoffed at the question. "Do you doubt the abilities of the church." "Never in my life would I do that. I just wonder if you by any chance doubted the ability of the Demon you carry."

At the glare that Hex received, he wondered if riling Jesse up was the smartest thing that he's done. He then decided, that not all his ideas were going to be smart if he wanted to get some things done his way for once. He bit back a smirk. "Are your feelings hurt?"

Jesse felt his temper rise and before he could think about what he was doing, he held Hex by the throat and lifted him in the air. The latter clawed at the hands in a futile attempt to be released before he reached for his wand causing Jesse to let out a chuckle. "Do you really think that will help you when you can't even say your spells?"

He then took hold of the wand and dropped it to the ground, smiling innocently at Hex after doing so.

Hex locked eyes with Malum who looked calm despite the situation. He tried to calm his mind before he kicked Jesse in the stomach which caused the older to drop him. Hex groaned at the impact and cursed under his breath before smiling at Malum, who was now in her panther form, as she handed him his wand.

Noting how the Rosary around his neck had snapped, Hex waved the wand and watched as thick vines grew around his previously favourite mentor.

Malum then helped Hex to his feet and inclined her head to the left as if beckoning him to look in that direction which he did.

"The mansion," he gasped, "Great. Let's go, Mal. We have to talk to King Beryll."

King Beryll rose a brow as Hex entered his office. "What do you want?"

He took off the mask revealing Dolan beneath it who smiled charmingly as he bowed. "May His Majesty live forever." "Rise, Dolan. Now, what brings you here?"

"Well..."

King Beryll rubbed his temples. "I've always known that Nero's stupid but I unfortunately can't promise not to join him if the opportunity presents itself."

"But-" "No buts about it, Dolan. I'm a King ruling a nearly extinct species." "And I'm a young adult who doesn't want to be put in the situation where I fight my own people."

The King tilted his head. "I heard what happened to the orphanage and to Mason; My condolences."

He folded his arms over his chest and huffed. "Whatever."

-----

Dolan was seated by the fire when Reign walked towards him with an unconscious Leilani on his back. He quickly attended to her wounds and carefully pulled out silver bullet from her left shoulder with a slight frown and tried his best to make her swallow an anti-toxin.

After half an hour, Leilani shot up and gasped, drawing Dolan's attention to her. He quickly rushed to her, "Reign brought you here on his back. Also, you had a bullet, a thin cut on your throat and a foreign jacket. What happened?"

She flexed her left shoulder experimentally and winced at the pain that she felt. At Dolan's stern gaze, she caved ad gave him a recap on her adventure.

As she concluded her tale, Dolan had heard something and was looking through the trees where he met a pair of glowing blue eyes staring right back at him.

He smiled slightly. "Did I tell you that one of the side effects of the pill was weird dreams? At least I know that it's working."

She opened her mouth to argue when he looked at her with urgency in his golden eyes. "I'm the healer, Lani. Trust me."

"OK, Dolly, I'll trust you."