Hi guys! I wanted to apologize. I didn't realize it'd been so long since I posted anything for this! Not sure if anyone is still reading this, but I have the chapters, so I figured I might as well keep posting them.

I hope you guys enjoy the banter between the men. I had a bit of fun writing this.

Ketill stood silently behind Till, his gray eyes scanning the holographic screen. He, along with all the other warlocks still present, had put up a protection spell around Marcel's property. After they had managed that, they had waited around until Till and his team had scrounged up what remained of the broken portal. Luckily for them, Till always kept two extra sets to make a new one. Ketill was still getting used to Till's eccentric ways. For once, it had paid off. After the shapeshifter and his team reassembled a new portal, Ketill and the other warlocks had quickly made a Gate. They had all decided to anchor it to the most secure portal they could think of: the portal in Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica. Any of the guests were open to jump from here to there and from there to any other existing portal since that particular Gate had been anchored to the rest.

Marcel had insisted on helping with the Gate, but Ketill advised him to seek out his guests, offering them either a place to stay, or words of encouragement. Marcel had barely put up a fight, his mind clearly still bothered about tonight's earlier events. The attack on Luca had been swift and planned almost perfectly. The culprits had been well informed on almost all of the attendees of the party, concocting a sleeping spell that knocked out even Luca, Marcel, and himself. But they hadn't realized a tracker such as Lena would have been in attendance, nor had taken account that others, such as Rose, would be far away from the sleeping spell. If it hadn't been for Lena's warning to Madilon or Rose's abilities, the culprits would have gotten away with only the sleeping spell as evidence.

But even the spell had been a slight error on their part, for Ketill knew there were only a few warlocks able to pull one off of that magnitude. He knew almost all of them by name, and even counted a few of them as acquaintances. He had quickly contacted them, demanding any information they had on the attack. He had come up empty handed, but some of them had given him the names of the few he hadn't known. He had asked Till for help on finding information on the warlocks. The shapeshifter had extensive files on almost all supernaturals, something Ketill found eerily vexing.

So here he stood, reading what information Till had on the warlocks. He'd been profiling them, categorizing them as either potentials or discarding them altogether.

"Add him to the discard pile. He doesn't fit the profile," he smoothly said. Till just nodded his head, moving his finger across the screen.

"This would be a lot easier if she just stopped being so stubborn and just showed me the men," came a frustrated voice to the left of him. Marcel had been silently stewing when he had first entered the room, but that had quickly changed.

"She's punishing you for snubbing her earlier," Ketill replied. Silently, he agreed with Marcel, but he knew better than to get involved in the squabbling cousin's antics.

"And fighting via text messages didn't help, I'm sure," Till quipped. He'd pulled up another image for Ketill to analyze.

"No one asked you," Marcel snapped back, running his hand through his already ruffled raven hair.

Till laughed. "You should know better than to fight with women. They can be quite the vindictive creatures." Marcel shot Till a look, but didn't respond.

"Apologize to her. We both know she won't ever do it. She's too prideful." Ketill stared at the computer screen, processing all the information with a steely look. This last one had potential. "Add him to the list," he commanded easily.

Till moved his fingers across the screen deftly, adding the man to the small list on his other screen. "Yeah, doesn't matter if she's in the wrong. We all know women think they're always right, regardless of their race. Just swallow your pride and say those three little words women go crazy for. She'll be eating out of the palm of your hand in no time." The insinuation hung heavy in the air.

Ketill vaguely wondered, not for the first time, what was wrong with Till. Marcel stopped pacing long enough to throw Till a disgusted look.

"That's disgusting! She's my cousin!"

Till just shrugged his shoulder. "Our ancestors did it. Incest ran rapid in the beginning of times. Be happy she's not your sister."

Marcel made a weird, choking noise as he flushed red with anger. He seemed too furious to form any coherent words.

"I believe we've moved past our more primal ways." Ketill made sure his tone held a hint of warning for the shapeshifter.

Till seemed unfazed by it all. "I'm just stating the facts. I, for one, am not a strong supporter of it. Besides, I don't know what weird things you're into these days." Here, he threw Marcel a sly smile. "Plus, she's smoking hot. She's got those do-me-eyes on lock. Speaking of, did you see that lycan that came in with Nico? The rack on that one is sublime! Even bigger than Milica's if I'm deducing correctly."

Marcel looked ready to murder Till as he said, dangerously low, "That's my cousin you're talking about." Ketill wondered how long it'd take for Till to realize he stood on dangerous grounds with Marcel. But the oblivious shapeshifter kept prattling on.

"Yes, yes, you've made that abundantly clear. Now, that Madilon just exudes sex, doesn't she? That little vixen can have her way with me any day! And Anya, well, like the saying goes, it's always the quiet ones you've got to watch out for. She's wonderful, isn't she?" Till had stopped pulling up files, mulling over his own question with a serious look on his face.

Ketill could feel his face slip into a cold, hard mask. Till really had a way of wheedling under anyone's skin. "I think it wise for you to continue your work." The steel in his voice had the desired effect. Till began pulling up the files a lot quicker.

Marcel laughed, making his way over to the other two men. He clapped Till hard on the shoulder, using a little more force than necessary. "You really are revolting, you know that?"

Till flashed him a saucy smile, but continued to work. Ketill noticed how his back was a little straighter than before. "I'm just an admirer of beautiful things."

"I'm surprised that mouth of yours hasn't gotten you killed yet." Ketill motioned to discard the two sorceresses on the screen. They were the last ones on the list.

"I'm too beautiful to be killed." Till turned to the other screen and flicked his finger upwards, the files of the six people Ketill thought of as potentials spreading out across the air. "And my tongue is the reason—mmfmdfm!" Till rose from his chair quickly and leaned over, spitting out a mouth full of brown gunk that made a nasty little splat noise when it landed on the pristine floor. Ketill made sure he'd been standing far away from the foul concoction.

"What the hell was that?" He turned to Marcel, an appalled expression written clearly on his face. He let out a frustrated little growl when he stuck his tongue out for inspection and it didn't meet his criteria. Ketill spied little brown chunks of dirt still attached to the appendage.

"That's for insulting my cousin." Marcel was grinning happily. Ketill just shook his head and waved his wrist quickly, the sludge on the ground disappearing.

"I could have choked on that dirt and died!" Till huffed indignantly. He spat again, this time aiming for Marcel's shoes, but Marcel nimbly sidestepped out of the way of the brown sludge. "Quick, give me some water!"

Marcel just snickered and shook his head no. Ketill sighed and shot Marcel a warning look before flicking his wrist. Water appeared in Till's cupped hands. The shapeshifter hungrily gulped it down, swishing the water around his mouth.

"Before you go spitting that on the ground as well, I suggest you find somewhere else to deposit it."

Till, with puffed out cheeks full of water, glared but did as he was told, making his way to the waste basket in the corner of the room.

"Send these pictures of the warlocks to Rose. See if she can identify any of them as the ones that took Sir Luca."

"And what makes you think she'll actually tell me? She hasn't been forthcoming since she's left here," Marcel griped. He tapped on the screen and used a finger to flick over to his phone that he'd positioned next to the screen. The images showed up on his phone.

"Apologize and say I need them. She can't be too unpleasant with that scenario." Ketill watched as Till made his way back to his chair and sat down, facing Marcel and him. "And make it sound convincing," he continued, "or she'll see right through your half-assed apology."

Marcel sighed but nodded his head. He swiftly typed out a message and hit send. "Any idea why we were knocked out longer than some of the others?"

"The attackers had a broad generalization about who was in attendance. They took us, among a few others, into account and personalized the spell. For everyone else, they used a typical sleeping spell. They didn't take into account Ms. Lobo and her unique ability. She must have warned Ms. Carter before getting knocked out."

"Unique ability?" Marcel asked while taking a seat, leaving Ketill to stand on his own. Here, Till visibly brightened, shaking his head hurriedly. Ketill let the enthusiastic shapeshifter answer.

"Oh yes! She's one of the best trackers I've, well can't really say seen since I've only just met her, but gathered data on. She's rumored to be even better than her father, who was a legend in his own right! Obviously all lycans have impressive senses, but hers are unheard of. Oh how I'd love to run tests on her," Till crooned, his eyes glazing over.

Ketill noticed Marcel shift uncomfortably in his chair and cleared his throat to get Till back on track. "As Till mentioned, she's one of the best trackers. She's not better known due to Sir Sophos keeping a tight rein on her."

"Remind me to thank her for coming when she gets back." Marcel pulled his phone out and sighed, running his hand once again through his hair. "How's everything else running?"

"We've cast the best protection spells around the property and Nicolás saw to the lycan patrol. He should be here shortly to report back."

"And I've installed this new program I've been working on to your phone. If anyone messes with the protection spell, you'll get a warning. Don't rely on it too heavily though. I didn't get the chance to properly test it out before tonight. I figured we could run some now that it's up and running."

Marcel nodded his head distractedly, pulling his phone out again and staring at it with an unreadable expression on his face. The tall, double oak doors opened up to reveal Nicolás. The imposing lycan made his way to the little group and bowed low to Marcel, his right hand fisted across his chest.

Marcel waved his hand up. "You're among friends, Nicolás. No need for all the formalities."

Nicolás smiled ruefully at Marcel. "Whatever you say, High Ruler Marcel." He teased lightly. "Halldóra and I made sure the patrols are on high alert, though I doubt anyone will attack again. They got what they came for."

Marcel nodded his head in agreement. "And the lycan?" He asked cautiously, not wanting to upset Nicolás any further.

Nicolás shook his head sadly, the gesture sending his curly brown locks swaying with the movement. He had taken it out of its neat bun, making him look wilder than before. "Completely siphoned, like Lena said. He'd been in training, so we posted him at the Gate. Didn't think he could get into too much trouble greeting the guests."

The sadness hung heavy in the air and it made Ketill uncomfortable, not that anyone would notice. He had never been good when it came to feelings and emotions, unlike Nicolás, who wore his with pride.

"It's no one's fault, you know," Till offered. "Wrong place, wrong time. Can't be helped."

Nicolás nodded his head slowly, a small smile on his face. "Always the philosopher."

Till ignored the jab. "How's everyone holding up?"

"Most everyone's gone. The one's that stayed are faring well. Marcel's offered them everything they need, so I don't see them being too keen on leaving such a heavily guarded place. Have fun dealing with them, by the way." Nicolás addressed Marcel with a wry smile.

Marcel just shrugged his shoulders. "Rose will deal with them sooner rather than later. As long as they don't intrude, I don't mind."

"Have you heard from any of the other Rulers?" Ketill finally took a seat, relaxing a half a fraction as his most urgent work had been dealt with.

"Yeah, Jerrard informed me that Konstantin sent him word. Apparently they attacked him as well. Nothing serious he claimed." Ketill noticed the slight disappointment in Marcel's voice. "He's opted to stay there and deal with the aftermath of the attacks. He appointed Jerrard as his medium."

"And Sir Sophos?"

"He's out of immediate danger. Most of the healers say he'll pull through. He just needs to recuperate now."

"I'm glad to hear. I'm sure you're relieved, Nico. Nerthus has left, gone back to her territory to see if it was attacked as well. She's left Milica here to deal with anything else."

Till perked up at the mention of Milica. "Is she staying here then?" He asked, trying to sound casual.

Ketill turned his gray gaze to the blond shapeshifter. "You'll have to ask her that yourself. But please, don't do anything else stupid, she's already disgusted with you as it is."

Till smirked. "She's just playing hard to get."

"Yeah, somehow, I really don't think that's it," Marcel replied. Both men started squabbling on the intricacies of Milica with Nicolás adding his thoughts here and there while Ketill easily ignored it all. His phone vibrated in his pocket and he pulled it out, glancing at the name.

Rose had texted him. He internally sighed. The two cousins occasionally butted heads, which always left him dead in the middle of their arguments. He scanned the text. Tell Marcel I know it was you that told him to apologize. I'll deal with the both of you later. We have the girl. Should be back soon. As for the warlocks, I've isolated the two that I saw. Happy hunting. Ketill clicked on the image she had sent with the message.

The Nemes brothers, Drustan and Suibhne was listed under their pictures. Both were powerful warlocks who happened to not follow The Order and their regulations. They had caused trouble a few times, but nothing substantial. At least, nothing The Order could pin on them. Both brothers were good at keeping a low profile. Drustan troubled Ketill more, since he had heard rumors about his apathetic views of humans and other supernaturals.

How interesting that they had attacked The Order, and at such a large scale. They must have amassed a large following, which was a little disquieting. They certainly had been busy.

"What is it Ketill?" Marcel asked, stopping his banter with the other two men.

"It seems we found two of our trouble makers." He handed his phone to Till, who quickly had the image of the two brothers floating on his larger screen.

Marcel quickly made his way closer, examining the screen. "Till, what information do you have on them?"

"Not much," Till answered, his eyes scanning his other screen. "They don't fall under our jurisdiction. Their clan refused to follow The Order, so they were branded as outlaws. No substantial evidence can be pinned on them for any of the crimes they've allegedly committed. That list seems to be extremely long. Mostly disappearances of humans and supernaturals."

Ketill nodded his head. Nothing he hadn't already gathered. Marcel didn't look too pleased with the information either. "That's not much to go on. Are you sure that it's them? For all intents and purposes, they seem to be the least likely to have attacked. They have no previous accounts against The Order."

"Just because we've never caught them, doesn't mean they never did anything. They've got quite the rap sheet. Rose also identified them."

"Allegedly," Till quipped. "Although, I'm inclined to believe it. I wasn't the one who collected the data on the two, so I can see what I can dig up?" He looked at Marcel eagerly.

"Yeah, go for it."

"What about those other two? The one's Lena mentioned?" Nicolás said Lena's name with a neutral expression, but Ketill caught the slight melancholy look to his eyes.

"I can see if the Nemes brothers have any known associates?" Till's eyes were glued to his screens, but he paused to give Ketill and Marcel a quick look.

"Aren't you already busy doing whatever that is?" Nicolás waved at the screens.

Till scoffed. "Please. This is child's play. I'm wonderful at multitasking. Besides-"

"Before you grace us with another comment about how you can multitask in your personal life, don't. We don't care to hear it." Ketill quickly cut in, leaving Till to glower quietly.

Marcel chuckled as he patted Till's back good-naturedly. "Think it'd be any help? It's not like Rose gave us much to go on."

"It's better than nothing," Till replied.

Even if that were true, Ketill knew it didn't bode well. They honestly didn't have that much information. All they had with Rose's premonition were faces, no names or whereabouts. In the off chance that Till could somehow put a name to the faces, the probability of them having any information on the culprits were slim at best. Just like the Nemes brothers, they were grasping at thin air. He thought it best to send a quick text to his informants to see if they had anything else on the brothers he didn't already know. Maybe they could identify their accomplices, and in turn, more information about their last known locations.

The quick rasping on the door had Ketill glancing up from his phone midway through his text. He quickly finished it as Jerrard walked in, not waiting for an answer.

"Door was unlocked," he said as a greeting. He looked a little agitated as he made his way towards them.

"You seem…out of sorts," Ketill commented.

Jerrard quickly bowed to Marcel before answering. "Something's gone wrong, I can sense it."

"Am I right to assume you mean to your sister?" Ketill asked calmly. Both Marcel and Nicolás had tensed at the mention of Madilon.

Jerrard nodded his head. "We are blood bonded, much to my sisters chagrin, but it's the only way I can keep her out of trouble. She's too far away for me to pick up any of her thoughts, but I felt the quickening of her heartbeat, the taste of anticipation that normally comes before a fight. Have any of the others contacted you guys?"

"No, not for a while. Rose didn't mention anything troubling when she did either." Ketill watched as the other men pulled out their phones, checking to see if they had missed anything. "Till, can you track them somehow? See where they're located?"

"Give me one of their numbers and I'll hack into their GPS. I can't use Anya's since hers would take too long to crack, having programs that stop that sort of thing."

"Naturally, you've tried before."

"Naturally," Till said, a grin on his face. The other four men hesitated, not wanting to be the first to break the silence.

"I'm waiting." Till swiveled his chair around to face the other four. Ketill knew if he handed over Rose's number to Till, he'd get an ear full from her later, something he had no particular interest in.

"It's not my place to share Rose's contact information," he replied smoothly.

Marcel snorted. "More like you'd rather have me get yelled at." Marcel made no move to share Rose's information either.

"Sorry mate, but I'd rather you not have Maddie's number."

Till rolled his eyes, not even looking offended. "First off, I promise I won't look at her nudies, second, if I so chose, I could have any of their numbers in a matter of minutes, it's quite easy nowadays."

Jerrard visibly stiffened. "Yeah, I definitely wasn't thinking along those lines of why I didn't want you having my younger sister's number."

"I wouldn't exactly categorize your sister as young," Till had a wicked glint to his eyes as he eyed Jerrard casually. Ketill inwardly groaned. Having to babysit and play medium between Till and everybody else wasn't in his job description.

Nicolás howled with laughter and made his way over to Till. His hand clamped down on Till's shoulder good-naturedly. "You must be one lucky son of a bitch to still be alive if that's what comes out of your mouth. You can have Lena's number," he paused, his hand gripping Till's shoulder roughly. Till hissed and his chair whined from the extra force. "But if I find out you used it for anything else, I'll skin you alive." He let go, a friendly smile on his face that didn't reach his eyes.

Till rubbed his shoulder gently while throwing Nicolás a pouty look. Nicolás handed his phone over and Till quickly looked over the screen and then began his search. Ketill could tell from his stiff posture that he felt embarrassed from the reprimand.

"They're on E90 just past Partinico. Whoever goes I can send you their coordinates."

"Send it to Jerrard and Nicolás. And keep track of them as well, in case something else happens."

Marcel made a move to comment, but Ketill cut him off. "You've got other things to focus on. They can handle it. There's no need to put you at risk."

"Don't worry, Marcel, I'll look after Rose for you," Nicolás vowed. Jerrard nodded his head in agreement. Both men turned to Marcel and bowed.

Ketill watched them go, both men discussing strategies as they quickly left the room. "Till, inform me if you get anything else regarding the Nemes brothers. Also, keep a close eye on everyone and let me know if anything changes. Marcel?" He turned gray eyes towards his ward.

Marcel waved him off. "Yeah, yeah. I won't do anything stupid. I'll go check on everyone, see how they're faring and meet up with you in a bit."

Ketill nodded his head in approval and bowed low before swiftly exiting the room, his phone already in his hand. He had a few phone calls to make.

I know this was a bit shorter than normal, but I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you think in the reviews. Until next time.