Chapter 28:  Nathanial and the Lion’s Den

	The room they were meeting in was just off the main sanctuary.  A funeral director was waiting for him at the main doors at the back of the building and pointed him in the right direction.  Geoff stood aside, “I guess I’ll see you in a bit.”
	“No.  You’re coming with me until Faelen gets here.  I promised Conor.”  Geoff went to protest, but Nathanial just gave him a quick look, and he relented.  Inside the room were his brothers, Garret, an elderly Akita couple, and an elderly Arctic Fox male and an Akita female.  Nathanial assumed the elders were his grandparents, on both sides.  His mother’s parents stood far away from his family and his father’s parent.  ‘I don’t even know their names.  First or last.’  He brought Geoff with him to stand by Nick and Micah.  Garret gave him an exasperated look.  He cast the Telepathy spell, *Garret, he’s wanted by the Hunters almost as much as I am.  I’m not letting him out of my sight until his father is here.  He will sit with them.*
	*Good.  This is already going to be a very uncomfortable event.  Anything to make it go smoothly is appreciated.*  Garret visibly relaxed at Nathanial’s promise.
	“Um, Garret,”  Nathanial’s voice was quiet, “Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
	Garret looked shocked, “Nathanial?  I- You don’t know?  Um.  Wow.  I’m sorry, I don’t know what to say.  Yes, I have a sister.  Older.  Her name is Martina, she lives in California, LA to be precise.  I don’t expect her.  This was the first time I talked to her in eleven years.  Since a week after Micah was born, actually.”
	The Arctic Fox must have overheard and sneered, “Garret, it seems you’re a worse father than husband, as hard as that is to believe.  He doesn’t even know he has an aunt on your side?”  He was as short as Nicholas, and very petite.  His outfit was very expensive looking, visibly so.  It made Nathanial cringe at how overdone it looked.
	Nathanial twitched, “He’s a better father than Lily was a mother.  He hasn’t tried to have us murdered, Mr… Who are you?  I don’t believe we’ve met.”
	The Fox snarled, and his wife made a fake sob and dabbed her eyes, “Oh, what an evil monster to speak about his dear, deceased mother like that!”  Her clothing was also overdone, with a long black veil hanging from her wide brimmed hat, and her large dress was decorated with dozens of large black bows.  The dress actually looked like a poofy prom dress with a hasty dye job.  Lily had much better taste.
	Garret snapped, “Nathanial, don’t start.  David, you, too.  Ruth, give it a rest, you always were a horrible actor.  You know perfectly well she was only with me for the money, and not my boys.”
	Nathanial’s paternal grandparents did an admirable job of pretending they heard nothing.  Ruth snarled behind her handkerchief, but put on a grieved face when she lowered it.  David resumed ignoring them.  Nathanial’s voice was dry, “I assume they were Lily’s parents, Dad?”
	Garret’s eyes widened when Nathanial called him ‘Dad’ but made no comment.  Nicholas and Micah noted it, too.  Garret tried to keep his voice level, “Yes.  As you can tell, Lily was very much like them.”
	Nathanial’s eyes narrowed slightly, “I’ll make sure to keep them away from anything that can be used to beat people.”
	Garret snarled, “I thought you promised to behave, Nathanial.”  Geoff put his paw on Nathanial’s shoulder and shook his head.
	Nathanial lowered his head submissively, “You’re right, I did.  I’m sorry.”
	Ruth sniffed, “Spare the rod and spoil the child.  You could use a good beating.”
	Nathanial’s voice was quiet but menacing, “Oh, you needn’t worry about that.  She made sure I had all the beatings I could handle, well, more than I could handle at times.  Half an hour to an hour almost every day for ten years.  Yet, Nicholas and Micah were never beaten.  That was our agreement.  They are wonderful pups, far more tolerant and forgiving than I am.  I suggest you keep away from them, lest…”  He broke off and shook his head, “Don’t talk to me, or them.”  Ruth looked frightened but quickly composed herself.  David was quivering, Nathanial couldn’t tell if it was in rage or fear.  Garret’s parents looked amused.  Geoff stood between Nathanial and his maternal grandparents, frowning.  “Sorry.  I couldn’t let that go by without an answer.”
	“Next time, let it.  Try to keep calm.”  He leaned in, “You’re scaring Micah more than Lily’s parents.”  Micah was hiding behind Nicholas and peeking around his brother’s arms with wide, tremulous eyes.
	“Oh, hey, I’m sorry, Sprite.  I’m trying.  I’ll try harder, okay?”  Micah nodded, but stayed behind Nick.
	Garret spoke up, his tone was rigid, “Father.  Mother.  I am pleased you could make it.”  He didn’t sound pleased.  His parents were walking over.
	The woman spoke first, “Then sound like it, pup.  I didn’t want to miss the chance to see my grandchildren, since we receive so few invitations to visit.  Perhaps, now that things are more hospitable, we will receive more.”
	“Yes, Mother.  It’s been some time since you’ve seen them, so allow me to introduce you.  These are Nathanial, Nicholas, and Micah.”  They each bowed to her and her husband in turn and shook paws.  “Boys, these are my parents, Wallace and Rosemary Marks.”
	Wallace looked at Geoff, “And who would this be?”
	Nathanial slipped in before Garret could answer, “Grandfather, Grandmother, please allow me to introduce a friend of ours, Geoff McDougal.  He has recently moved here and is in my class at Dalhousie Collegiate.”
	Ruth sniffed and cut in, “This is for family only.  You may leave.”
	Nathanial growled and stiffened, but Geoff put his paw on his shoulder, “I would, but I’m here at Nathanial’s insistence.  He’s been feeling stressed and liable to snap at people, so I came to help calm him down and keep him in line.  He was afraid that people would be extremely rude and be poking their nose where it doesn’t belong.  I’ll sit with my family when they get here.  But if you’ll excuse me, I believe we were having a conversation over here.”  Ruth looked like she was about to explode in indignation. 
	Wallace laughed, and shook Geoff’s paw, “I think I like you, Geoff.  Welcome, welcome.”  He glanced between Nathanial and Geoff and winked when no one else was looking.
	A petite Arctic Fox woman slipped in the room, and moved to the corner.  Her business suit was modest and understated.  The skirt hugged her small waist and hips before widening out around her legs, ending halfway down her shins.  The jacket fit snugly around her, showing off her figure, without looking like it was trying to.  The collar of the blouse went up to the neck.  Despite how well it fit, it was obviously off the shelf and middle class.  Nathanial thought it looked a lot better than Ruth’s dress.  He guessed she was his aunt, but her parents ignored her.
	“Dad, who is that that just came in?”
	Garret glanced over, “Oh, Lily’s younger sister.  A grave disappointment to her family.  She’s single, childless, and works in some sort of aviation office thing.  Can’t remember what.  I’ve only met her twice.  Her name’s, hmm, I can’t remember, Mom, do you?”
	Rosemary glanced over, too, “Oh, she’s nice enough.  You would’ve done better marrying her, pup.  Naomi McKay.”
	“Thank you, Grandmother.  If you will excuse me.  I will introduce myself, and then I have to make a phone call.  Geoff, if you’d care to join me?”
	Geoff nodded to the three adults, “Sirs, ma’am.”  He followed Nathanial over to the timid woman.
	Nathanial walked up to her, and carefully held out a paw, “You are Naomi, correct?”  The woman jumped and nodded, “Hi, I’m Nathanial.  Lily’s eldest.  This is my friend, Geoff.  I thought I should come over and introduce myself.  I don’t think I’ve ever met you.”
	“No, I haven’t seen you in a long time, our families don’t always see eye to eye.  You seem like you have something else to do, so I’ll let you go.”
	“As you wish, Ms. McKay.  I have to make a quick call, it was a pleasure to meet you.”  He gave her a friendly smile and shook her paw.  Geoff nodded to her.
	Nathanial stepped into the hall and made a quick mental check for any eavesdroppers.  He pulled out his phone and dialled Ella’s number.  “Ms. Ella, it’s Nathanial.  I needed to warn you of potential trouble before you got here.  The building is warded against magic.  The whole thing.  If there’s trouble it’ll be problematic, I can dispell it, but it’d take a few seconds.”  He kept scanning around, and picked up five people moving in.  Four had Hunter crosses, the third had the Knight’s shield, the Priest’s version.  “Crap.  We’ve got four Hunter’s and a Priest inbound.  The parking lot isn’t warded, just the building.  Hopefully, they don’t want trouble.”
	Ella voice was stern, “Don’t start any.  We’re on our way.  Arrie’s joining us, and I’ll let my boss know of the new development.”
	Nathanial and Geoff went to slip back into the meeting room, but the Priest opened the door, down the hall, separating them and stepped into the hall.  He was a large Boar, somewhat muscled and had a slightly protruding paunch.  His tusks were long and polished to a shine.  “Nathanial Marks, I was hoping to get a chance to talk to you.  Would you please follow me?  I’d like to talk in private.”
	“I’m sorry, my father is expecting me back.  You can talk to me in there.”
	“What I have to say is for your ears only.”
	Nathanial snorted as he looked at the four Hunters.  They were two Crocodiles, a Rabbit, and Mr. Harper.  They were dressed in suits, but he could sense they all were carrying guns.  Mr. Harper’s black tail was flicking back and forth, and the Panther looked extremely smug.  “That’s why you have those four Hunters with you?  All of them carrying guns?  I know what you Priests do to young boys when you get them in private.  Not interested.  You aren’t my type.”  He opened the door.
	Mr. Harper snarled, “That’s a detention, Marks.  You need to learn to respect your betters.”
	“Shut up, asshole!  Show me a ‘better’ and perhaps I’ll respect them.  You and your co-thugs certainly aren’t, you’re a blight.  Besides, I’m not at school or doing anything associated with school.  You can’t give me a detention.  Now, go do whatever it is you guys do when you aren’t trying to murder pups.”  He motioned Geoff through the door, and followed him in.  The group followed him.  Garret was glaring at him, as were the elder McKays.  
	Garret looked at the Boar, “Pastor Yuke.  What seems to be the problem?”
	The pastor looked annoyed, “I wanted to speak to your son in private, to pray for his wellbeing and to grant him strength to get through this difficult time in his life, but he was extremely rude.”
	Nathanial snorted, “Bull.  I don’t want your ‘prayers’, and you never offered any.  I want you guys to leave me and my brothers alone.  We wouldn’t be having  this difficult time if it weren’t for you.”
	Ruth looked like she was going to burst, “Mind your tone and manners, whelp.  Pastor Yuke is a great man, apologize to him.”
	Garret snapped back, “Mind your own business, Ruth.  Pastor Yuke, I apologize if Nathanial said anything wrong, but he’s having a difficult time, as are his brothers.  I had asked that you leave them alone, please honour that request.  Their only experience with Christianity was through Lily, and they’ve developed a… distaste for your religion.  Keep your distance, please, and remind the rest of your staff to do so, as well.  Now, how can I help you?”
	“I had merely wished to speak with Nathanial.  The funeral service is going to begin soon.  Are these all of the relatives of Lily?”
	Garret glanced around, “These are all of the in-laws that will be attending.  I don’t know if her brother and his family will be here.”
	David’s voice was dry, “I’ve told him he must attend.  He shows proper respect to his father and his elders.”  Nathanial bit his tongue.
	Garret motioned for Nathanial to get closer, Geoff moved over, too.  Nathanial scanned around, “Dad, Ms. Ella, has arrived.”  He pointed out the windows behind them, where Ella, Jay, and Arrie were walking toward the doors.  Ella and Mr. Harper locked eyes, and they both growled with hackles raised.  
	Nathanial couldn’t resist, “Wow, Mr. Harper, you really are popular with the ladies.  Ms. Ella seems to like you almost as much as Ms. Paul.”  Mr. Harper snarled at him and stalked out of the room, as did the Rabbit.
	Geoff fixed Nathanial with a glare, “Nathanial, he’s my soccer coach.  Please try not to make my life more difficult.”
	“Sorry.  I couldn’t resist.”  *Geoff, it’s Nathanial.  I’m talking to you via telepathy.  Your Dad just pulled into the parking lot.  Can you call him and tell him to meet you at the back parking lot?  Dirk’s driving.*
	*Hey, this is neat!  Make it really easy to cheat during class.  If either of us actually needed it.*  Geoff was smiling.  He stepped aside and called his father.
	Pastor Yuke had started talking while Nathanial was talking to Geoff, “Now, if you please gather together, I’d like to pray for the loved ones of Lily.”
	Nathanial just caught the last bit, “Nicholas, Micah, that doesn’t apply to us.  Please come over here, so we don’t disturb them.”  Garret glared at him but didn’t say anything, but Nicholas smiled and followed Nathanial.  Micah trotted over with him, while Garret walked over to the pastor.  The elder Marks joined Nathanial.
	The pastor glared at Nathanial and addressed Mr. and Mrs. Marks, “Sir, ma’am.  If you’d join us?”
	Wallace smiled and waved him away, “Oh, Lily hated us, too.  She made it perfectly clear, and the feeling was mutual.  I’m here for my grandsons.  Besides, we’re of the Olympic faith.”  
	Dirk parked his car and Faelen jumped out.  Geoff opened the door and stepped outside.  Nathanial scanned around, but couldn’t see any threats.  He was still impeded by the anti-magic wards, but Nathanial was fairly certain it was safe.  The Agents saw Geoff exit the building and waited.  Nathanial sensed the Rabbit Hunter step up to a window on the second floor of the church and start to pull out his pistol.  He quickly dismantled the wards as he ran to the door, “Look out!  He has a gun!”  The gun fired at the same time Nathanial said ‘out’.  Geoff dove to one side the moment Nathanial yelled, and Ella put a shield over him and her team.  The bullet bounced off of the shield, and a bolt of lightening struck the Rabbit in the chest, killing him instantly.  Avery was Manifest, and electricity was crackling off of her. Nathanial saw Geoff was safe and turned, flattening the Boar against the wall with enough force to crack the drywall.  The shadows deepened around Nathanial and two of his Shadow Mastiff’s appeared at either side.  He strode angrily toward the Boar, “You.  Priest.  You will answer my questions, and you will answer them truthfully.”  He was holding Pastor Yuke off the floor and against the wall, “Why are you after me?”
	The pastor sneered, “I don’t answer Demon spawn.”
	“Wrong answer.”  Nathanial shot him with the Weaken spell. “We’ll see how many shots it takes before you don’t have the strength to pump blood through your veins.  If you die before you answer, I’ll just bind your soul to your corpse and keep asking.  As you can see, you can’t stop me in the heart of your own stronghold.  Why are you after me?”
	Micah stepped over, staying a distance from his brother, Nathanial could feel the magic in Micah’s voice, “Please, answer him, I don’t like it when he’s mad.”
	“Your tricks won’t work on me.”  A second bolt of darkness hit him.
	Ella and Geoff ran inside, with Jay and Faelen close behind.  Ella looked furious, “Let him go, Nathanial.  I’ll take him in for questioning.  Don’t do this.”
	The pastor’s grin widened, “You heard her.  Let me go.”
	Nathanial stepped up to him and looked him in the eyes, “Hunh.  Sorry, Ella, he’s paid off your bosses.”  He created a portal behind the Boar and pushed him through, and followed in behind.  The portal collapsed behind Nathanial.  The Boar began gasping and collapsed in pain.  His muscles were atrophying before Nathanial’s eyes, and it looked like he was aging rapidly, too.  Nathanial did something, his conscious mind wasn’t sure what, and the pastor collapsing sobbing inside a ring of pale purple light.  “So?”  His entire pack appeared around him; they began circling the light, panting and growling, as they watched the Boar with hungry eyes.  Nathanial could feel their satisfaction, both at the meal, and that he had finally joined them, where he belonged.  The landscape was dark and blasted, without a sign of life anywhere.  Pastor Yuke didn’t seem capable of answering; he could barely lift his arms, and he was having trouble breathing.  Nathanial walked over to him, flinching slightly as he entered the magic ring.  He flipped the Boar onto his back, and knelt beside him.  The Boar could breath a little more easily, now, but each breath took effort.  Nathanial laughed at his foe, and leaned over the man, peering into the cloudy eyes.  He giggled and clapped his hands in delight at the raw terror that shone in them.  “Oh, you’re just so delicious!  I am really going to enjoy this.  Let’s sing to him, my puppies!”  He howled, and his pack joined in; the sound seemed to wrap itself around the senses of his prey and inspired primal terror.  Nathanial felt strength pouring into him and his pack as Pastor Yuke tried to scream and writhe on the ground.  His heart also seemed to weaken, so Nathanial stopped before the pastor died without telling him what he wanted to hear.  A gun shot echoed in his ears.  He cast his senses out, but there was no one around.  He heard a scream as a woman died, and he lowered his head.  The deaths he’d caused were resurfacing, and he knew they’d haunt him for a long time.  He looked down at his ‘prey’, seeing him anew.  A man that was in his early fifties, now appeared to be in his nineties.  He used to be a healthy and strong individual.  He was now shattered and broken, terrified of his own shadow.  He couldn’t tell Nathanial what he needed to know, he couldn’t even say his own name, if he remembered it.  Nathanial knelt on the ground and sighed.  “I can’t return you like this.  How can I reverse this?”  His pack seemed agitated at the question.  “Tell me.”  He cast his senses into the darkness around him and felt Pastor Yuke’s energy being rapidly consumed by his pack.  He ‘grabbed’ the remnants of it and pulled it in.  The Mastiffs growled and snarled at him, Nathanial snarled back, his temper flaring again.  His pack seemed to grumble but lay down around the circle, watching closely.  He pushed the last of the energy into Pastor Yuke, and watched as he seemed to grow stronger.  He ended up looking close to seventy, and he looked quite frail, but a far sight better than he was.  Nathanial felt a measure of relief, but still felt horrible, “I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean for this to happen.  Even if you guys are complete monsters, I don’t want to become like you.  I’ll bring you home, now, and turn you over to the Society.  Even if you paid off the Agent’s boss, it’ll put him in a compromised position to let you off the hook.”  He extended his paw, but Pastor Yuke jerked back in terror.  Nathanial’s pack made a happy grumbling noise, causing the Boar to twitch away from the edge of the circle.  
	“Is this hell, Demon?”  Nathanial could feel the Boar’s terror building, along with the pack’s excitement.  “Oh, God, why have you allowed your servant to be dragged to the depths of Hell?”
	Nathanial huffed in annoyance, “Dumb ass.  This looks nothing like the hells.  Any of them, from what I know.  Nor is it Tartarus.  It’s the Elemental Plane of Darkness.  As a Priest, you really should know something about the Planes.  I’m also a Mage, not a Demon.  As you know perfectly well.  My father is a member of the Arcane Society, but you’ve still had those brainless thugs hunting me.  You knew it and for some reason you didn’t care.  Why?”
	“I’ll never talk!  Do what you want with me, but I’ll see you damned to Hell for attacking a servant of God!”
	“You fucking idiot.  I was feeling sorry for what happened to you, but I’m not anymore.  Do you have any idea what you guys have put me and my brothers through over the last week?”
	“That’s only a taste of the suffering you’ll experience once your soul is judged.”
	“I doubt I’ve ticked off Hades all that much, you should be more worried than I should.  I’ve only killed in self defence and mercy.  You’ve sent armed thugs to try to kill innocent pups, and you’ve put many people in danger in the process.  People who aren’t part of the Hidden World.”
	The Priest smiled smugly, “They’d be martyrs, and properly rewarded in the afterlife.  Anything is justified to eliminate the Demons in Fur clothing, and you are the key.”
	Nathanial snarled and advanced on the Boar, “That makes you no better than the Demons you claim to fight.  To kill an innocent is unjustifiable, no matter the circumstances.  It’s the only reason people should fight, to protect the innocent and their loved ones.”  Pastor Yuke paled and backed up as Nathanial advanced.  The pack began to get restless as he approached the edge of the circle.  Nathanial stopped, growling in frustration, “I wouldn’t cross the line, there.  You’d die immediately.  I want a truce, and some information.  I’ll let you live and bring you home.  What do you mean ‘key’?  How can you possibly think you could kill all of the Demons, in all of the hells?”
	“I said I’d die before I’d help you and I mean it.”  The Shadow Mastiffs began growling and circling around.  Pastor Yuke cringed, “You bloody fool, you could have aligned yourself to any Power and you picked Hell?”
	“What do you mean, ‘aligned myself to any Power’?  What do you think I am?  Besides a Demon?  And this isn’t any of the hells.”  Yuke remained silent, his eyes mocking the Akita.  “I think I liked your eyes more while you lay dying.  Cloudy and frightened.”  The Mastiffs’ breathing was getting louder as they panted, they were so close, now, they were almost brushing the edge of the circle.  They seemed to be getting worked up as Nathanial’s anger grew.  Nathanial stopped and took a deep breath, the pack fell back a little, “I guess I have to choose, become like you, or let you go.  I refuse to turn into the thing I hate, so I have to bring you back.  Come here.”
	“Never!”  Pastor Yuke cried.  Nathanial snarled at his response, and created the portal beneath the Boar’s hooves.  He fell into the room they’d left, with the sound of snapping bone.  His leg broke, and he fell over, with a scream of pain.  Nathanial jumped down after him.
	“Idiot.  I could have gotten you through safely.”
	Everyone was staring at the Priest in horror.  Garret recovered first, “What in Tartarus did you do to him?!”
	“Nothing, much.  I brought him to the Elemental Plane of Darkness.  He didn’t react well to it.”
	The Mages all blanched, Garret’s voice was quiet, “Y-you went to the Plane of Darkness?  You survived?  He survived?”
	“Yeah, the ungrateful sod survived because I allowed him to.  He was in much worse shape before I healed him.  His life energy was being consumed, but I salvaged some and gave it back to him.  I still didn’t get any answers out of him, other than he’s behind all the troubles I’ve been having.  He’s completely unrepentant about putting innocent people in danger, he says they’d be martyrs and rewarded in heaven.  When does the service start?”
	Wallace was the first to answer.  The elderly Akita looked amused, “In a half hour, I think, depends if the power comes back on.  The police are on their way, someone called them when the Hunter shot at Geoff.  The Agents are dealing with it.  I don’t know what will be done about him.”  He jerked his head at Pastor Yuke.
	Nathanial’s voice was really weary, “He needs treatment, for his leg at the very least.  He also needs to be arrested, and the property searched for evidence of what they’ve been up to.  He’ll be set free before long; it sounds like he has a lot of influence in the Society, but that’ll still require a lot of political capital.  The more evidence that can be acquired before  that happens the harder it’ll be to buy his freedom.”  Nathanial closed his eyes and focused.  The power was still out, so the computers couldn’t be wiped, but he searched the building for people trying to destroy evidence.  There.  He saw three people go into an office and start grabbing papers.  He dropped a portal beneath them, and they fell into the room by him.  “Hello.  What are you trying to destroy?”  He pushed open their paws with his mind and took the papers, he tsked them when he saw it, “Orders.  Orders for all sorts of nasty stuff, including the murder of my brothers, and my kidnapping.  The Key, I’m referred to as.  This scum called me that, too.”  Jay walked in, “Ah, Mr. Jay, these guys were in one of the offices in the other wing.  They were trying to destroy some evidence of their crimes.  Take a look at this.”
	Jay started reading them, his eyes widening, along with a broad grin, before he hid it and assumed his professional demeanour.  “Here, Mr. Marks.  Take a copy, in case someone higher up the chain tries to bury it.  This will guarantee this chapter, at least, is shut down.  And as most of the Hunters left are directly implicated, we can arrest all of them.  And to be safe, we’ll detain the Knights, too.  We’ll probably have to let them go before tomorrow, but we should flex our muscles periodically to remind them that we’re still in charge of the Hidden World.”  The Jackal looked stern and forbidding, but Nathanial could sense his glee just beneath the surface.
	Pastor Yuke glared at Nathanial with venom, “You filthy Demon!  You’ve practically guaranteed the destruction of this world!  What’s the death of a few Magespawn, or even real Furs, against the fate of billions!?  I’m glad you’ll end up burning for eternity, but that’s still better than you deserve.”
	Jay cast a spell and Pastor Yuke vanished.  “You’ve made a lot of work for us, Nathanial, but I’m still going to enjoy it.  It may convince some bureaucrats that we need more Agents on the payroll, too.  I better talk to Agent Ella about this.”  He walked off in search of Ella.
	Nathanial began to calm down and felt his magic fade, too.  He sagged to the floor.  Garret rushed over and held him, “Hey, Son, what’s wrong?  Are you feeling sick, again?  The stress?”
	Nathanial smiled, weakly, “No, Dad, but thanks.  I used too much magic.  When I get worked up I seem to be able to use more magic than I have, and when the crisis is over I pay for it.  I’ll be fine, in a bit.”
	Geoff and the other Wolves walked in, with Avery and Geoff rushing over when they saw Nathanial slumped on the floor.  Avery knelt beside him, concern on her face, “Nathanial, are you all right?”
	He smiled, “Yes, thanks.  I just used too much magic.  I’ll be fine.”  She sighed in relief, as did Geoff.  “Mrs. McDougal, I’d like to introduce you to Garret Marks, my father.  Dad, this is Avery McDougal, Geoff’s mother.”  They shook paws and exchanged niceties.  “Are you all right, Geoff?  It looked like Ms. Ella saved you, but, you’re fine?”
	Geoff smiled, “Yeah, thanks to you.  And Ella.  Thanks for the warning.  I actually expected it to be Mr. Harper shooting at me.”
	Garret stood up and walked over to Conor, “Mr. McDougal, may I have a word in private?”  Conor looked surprised, but nodded.  They walked to a far corner and started talking quietly.  Nathanial felt an urge to eavesdrop, but decided not to.  He did see Faelen’s ears twitching on occasion, as the conversation continued.
	Meanwhile, Geoff was frowning at Nathanial, “Where did you go?  I saw you push that Boar through a hole to somewhere dark.  It looked almost familiar, like that place I glimpsed when you brought me here.”
	“It was the Elemental Plane of Darkness.  You may very well have been there, earlier.  You did jump through some shadows to get here, and you are you.”  He glanced at his father’s parents as he said that.  The McKay’s seemed to have disappeared.  Geoff caught the look, “No, I don’t understand why it didn’t kill me, the way it almost killed Pastor Yuke.  I actually liked it there, sort of, and my dogs were really happy to see me.  Pastor Yuke almost seemed to know why.  Even if he thought it was his Hell.  I should probably talk about this later, maybe Ella or Jay would be able to help, once they’ve got some free time.”
	Geoff glanced at Conor and Garret, then at Faelen, “I wonder what our Da’s are talking about, Nathanial.  Your Da seems… emotional.”  Avery frowned at Geoff, but said nothing.
	It was true, Garret was very tense.  He didn’t look angry or sad, but he was definitely feeling something very strongly.  Nathanial sighed and looked away, “Don’t ask.  Either of us, please.  I’m trying very hard not to spy, and Faelen can’t tell us.”  Avery looked startled, then thoughtful as she looked at Faelen.  She probably kept forgetting how good Faelen’s hearing was.  Nathanial cast the Telepathy spell again, *I can guess, though.  It’s about us.  Me, really, but still us.  Garret is probably asking for advice, or for Conor’s opinion on the whole thing.  He really didn’t seem to know how to begin to deal with it.*
	Geoff sighed, *Yeah.  I feel a little sorry for him.  I’m actually impressed at how… restrained he was.  He certainly felt a lot stronger than he said.  I’m not sure if it was because he’s afraid of making you mad, or because he really wants to be part of your life.  Or even a bit of both.*
	Nathanial stood up and slowly walked to the window and put his forehead against the glass, feeling the coolness penetrate his fur after a little, and listened to the rain for a minute before answering, *He’s really trying.  I-I’m making it harder than I should.  I think he’s genuinely sorry, and really doing his best to try to be here, now.  I’m just scared.  He’s going to have to go back to work, and what then?  He’s still going to be flying all over the world, he’s still going to have to be away.  Will he want to come back, once he remembers how much he loves globetrotting and selling?  Are we going to be a burden, again?*  He had pulled his senses back when Garret and Conor went to talk, to try to make sure he didn’t spy, and he vaguely felt someone walking up to him.  He assumed it was Geoff, and jumped when his father put his arm around him.  “Dad?!  Sheesh, don’t scare me like that.  I thought you were still talking to Conor.”  He could tell Geoff was laughing at him.
	Garret smiled, “Sorry.  You looked so forlorn, I thought I’d come see what was wrong.”
	Nathanial looked back out the window, “I’m sorry, Dad.  I… was just thinking about us.  Our family.  You seem to be really trying to be here, but will you still want to when you have to go back to work?  Will you have time for us?  I don’t want to have a dad for these few days, and have to watch you walk out of my life, again.  But, I’ve been unfair to you, too.  You deserve a chance.  I’m sorry.”
	Garret turned him around and pulled him into a hug, “Hey, pup.  I’m here.  Yes, I will still have to work, but I can be here a lot more than I was.  I can do a lot of my work by video conference, and even when I do fly out, I can still call.  I can even bring you three with me on some of my trips, as long as it doesn’t interfere with your school work.”  Nicholas and Micah walked over cautiously, keeping a close eye on Nathanial, but they seemed hopeful that the two of them were getting along.
	“What about your drinking buddies?  Your business associates.  Won’t they get annoyed that we’re there?”  Nathanial noticed his tail was wagging and he was grinning widely.  He schooled his features and stilled his tail, but he knew his eyes were probably still dancing.  Geoff had a dopey smile on his face as he watched him.  Avery and Conor looked very happy, too.  Garret let Nathanial go and drew Micah and Nick into a hug, licking them on their ears.  Nathanial still felt a little worried as he saw how happy his brothers looked.  “Just, please, don’t leave us, again.  Not after this.”
	“I won’t.  I promise.”  Garret let his younger sons go and pulled Nathanial back into a hug.  Nathanial felt several tears leak out of his eyes.