Essence of Quinn Parts 3 & 4: Papa IV Era & The Main Event - Fate Breaker (MxM)

Potential

Secondo and his ghouls gathered in his study. Councillor Shay had joined them and he wore a dour expression. Quinn could tell that this had really affected the old ghoul. He seemed to feel as though he and the Council had failed and Quinn picked up that he’d been burning the candle at both ends to try and fix this. The ghoul looked and felt absolutely exhausted.

Secondo's ghouls took up their usual places around the room and the man himself perched on the edge of his desk, arms folded.

“This is a complete shit show.” The ghouls glanced at each other. Secondo barely ever cursed in English. It seemed that this situation was taking its toll on them all. “The Council have completed their investigations and sentenced Itzal’s sire. He is the one who sold him to Santos and he will pay for his crimes with his head.”

Quinn shifted uncomfortably. All of the ghouls were reeling from the news that it was Itzal’s sire who had betrayed him. The implications of this were just too horrific. He had to have known what would happen to him, had to have realised that he was not sending his kit to Earth to live a happy life. Surely he’d known that he was dealing with a monster? But in the end, he had traded his own flesh and blood in exchange for gold to pay off a debt. Gold fetched a much higher price in the hell dimensions than it did on Earth because of its rarity there. The price that Itzal had paid had been much higher than that though.

Shay spoke up.

“The execution is scheduled for tomorrow. Itzal’s mother will carry out the sentence on his behalf.”

That impressed them all. Usually the one who had been wronged would carry out the execution if they were able to. Itzal was stranded on Earth because of his collar so his mother had volunteered. The shadow ghuleh must be a force to be reckoned with. Despite what her mate had done, it would still be difficult for her to follow through and end him, knowing how much pain it would cause her.

Quinn found himself rubbing the centre of his chest at the memory of what it felt like when the mating bond was broken. He dropped his hand and frowned when he realised what he’d done. Air must have noticed and he took his hand, offering a reassuring squeeze.

“The next order of business is the Santos situation. Our police contact has been giving us a heads-up each time a mess is reported. Santos has left a trail of bodies in his wake, using sacrifices to try and strengthen his hold over Itzal. The inscription that we altered on his collar seems to be holding, but the witches tell me that our wards are being tested.” Earth growled and the others glanced at each other. This was not good. The magical wards that protected the Abbey and its residents were powerful. This Santos and his rogue sect were a threat to them. His witches seemed to be strong from what Fire and Water had discovered whilst watching them. “I anticipate that there will be more messes for us to clean up before this is over. We need to act. Seren, Helena and I are trying to properly establish what we are up against. We are going to question Itzal further to find out more information and I am hoping that we can make a move against them very soon. We need to finish this once and for all. They are a major threat to us and they need to be dealt with.”

The sooner they were dead the better as far as Quinn was concerned. He felt Air’s distress before he spoke.

“What about Itzal?” he asked. “He is not to blame for this. If Santos dies then he will too, won’t he?”

Secondo got that glint in his eye that meant he’d been plotting.

“This has been weighing on my mind. Doctor Michaels and I had a deep discussion about the nature of death and the science behind it last night.”

That caught Quinn’s interest. Doctor Michaels and Secondo made a formidable team once they got their heads together and their colossal combined brain power began firing up. He wondered what they’d been cooking up. He found himself chuckling and Secondo smirked at him.