Bloody Ransom

Once the band was called together and informed of the situation, the excitement in the air was palpable. It thrummed
through the air with an electric crackle. This was important. Their unity was important. The Syndicate would appear
at the borders with all of their brute strength and might on show. Even the women were fierce, perhaps more so than
the men at times. Norad would shake in their fucking fur before the day was over.
Kaino had kept Nolan, the boy, away from Sephiran, knowing damn well how her cousin operated. She knew that he
was suspicious of her since she hadn’t wanted to let him return the boy in pieces. Truth was, Nolan had something
that she wanted. None of these other heathens were avid readers. The boy would come upon more books in the future
and dammit, she wanted to read them. And so, as Kaino led the way towards Norad’s border, she told Nila to keep
him close at the back of the congregation.
The group arrived at the edge of Aspen Dam and then Sephiran called for the leader of Norad. Kaino had told the boy
that they were just escorting him back to his father as a group to keep him safe. Danger afoot and whatnot. She’d
given him a sack of books and some snacks and Nolan seemed to be happy as a clam. That was all good and well for
Kaino. The kid had grown on her. As they waited for the boy’s fathers to arrive, the Syndicate spread out to to show their
numbers. Kai took her place behind and to the side of Sephiran, near enough that Nolan could see her.
"Speech"