I looked over at him and was surprised to see a look of genuine fear on his face. There was much more going on than he was willing to tell me. I settled for a diplomatic response, knowing that he wouldn’t feel comfortable opening up further about it. “It’s a dark time we live in, Samuel, when people are willing to steal from the church.” I could see a small smile at the corner of his lips.
“It’s a dark time, indeed,” he echoed quietly.
When we pulled up to the church, several more men in black cassocks came out to help with unloading the crate from the back of the cart. I jumped down and headed to the door where I saw Father Thomas standing. I moved up the stairs toward him and shook his hand in earnest. I really liked the man. Father Thomas had always done what he could for my family, and although I hated coming all the way out here at night, the pay would keep us fed and afloat for at least another two months.
Father Thomas greeted me with a warm smile, just like usual. “Sorry for asking you to travel out here so late, Joseph, but we have been having some unfortunate incidents lately and wanted to make sure this package arrived safe and sound. I would normally invite you in for a drink and the chance to warm up, but this time, I think it’s probably better that you head home as soon as possible.” He reached inside his cassock and pulled out a small envelope with my payment, and to my delight, a large skin that had to be full of the church’s famous mead. “Something to keep you warm on your trip back.” I shook the father’s hand again to let him know how much I appreciated his generosity.
“Thank you again, Father. You have always done right by me.” He smiled and nodded, but then seemed to sense something, and his expression darkened.
Father Thomas ran down the stairs and shouted in a commanding voice, “Everyone inside now!” The priests simply dropped the crate and started running for the doors to the church. One of them grabbed my arm on the way by and pulled me inside with them.
Father Thomas stood alone at the bottom of the stairs. He stripped off his cassock, revealing his naked chest and back. He was covered in scripture from a language that I did not understand. The scripture sparkled and flowed around him, almost seeming to move in the light cast from the lanterns. He pulled a small silver rod from behind his back, and when he held it out in his right hand, it expanded into a full-length staff. He expertly twirled the staff around until it was positioned behind his back, ready to strike out. A soft golden glow appeared around him as if he was covered in a beautiful holy light. I couldn’t pull my eyes away from him.
Once the initial shock had faded, I looked around until I found Samuel in the crowd and rushed over to him. “What in the hell is going on?” He looked up at me, a mix of fear and awe on his face.
“I don’t know how to explain it to you, Joseph. You are just going to have to watch and see. I’m sure Father Thomas thought you would be gone and on your way before anything like this could have possibly happened.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw other priests removing their robes and pulling out all types of weapons. Some held silver swords, others, daggers, some had blades with hilts that wrapped around their hands in a circle. Samuel shrugged off his cassock and pulled out a curved sword and a small axe with a silver blade. He nodded at me, his expression grim. “Whatever you do, do not step outside of this church.” He alone walked down the steps to join Father Thomas for whatever was coming. I was surprised to see the glow on the other priests was not nearly as bright. The only one that came even close to Father Thomas’s was Samuel’s.
The other priests formed a half circle barrier around the stairs leading into the church. I stood well behind them but could see over their heads down to Father Thomas and Samuel standing below. Everything was well lit, and I didn’t understand what was happening. Why did these priests have weapons, and skin that could glow? I wasn’t sure if I should be terrified or excited to see into their secret world. I saw Father Thomas tense right before all the torches blew out at once. I heard a loud thud below as something heavy landed on top of my cart. I started to push forward through the priests, ready to yell out, and then I heard Father Thomas in what sounded like a whispered command, and the torches all relit. I stopped moving forward immediately, my voice swallowed up by fear.
I couldn’t be sure if what I was seeing was real. I guess it had to be as real as priests with silver-edged weapons and bodies that glowed softly gold in the dark. Men I had known my whole life that I could have never guessed held such a secret. With the torches relit, I could see what landed on the seat of my cart as it crawled down to stand by the box the priests had unloaded. It was solid white and crawled on all fours like a beast, but it was clearly a man or at least had once been. Its face had been elongated, and it was all flesh and bone. To make that noise landing on the cart, it either had to be extremely heavy or had jumped from a great height. I could see the fingers on its hands were longer than normal. They seemed to be about twice the length and thickness of a person’s and were tipped with some kind of claws instead of nails. I heard the priests around me murmur, “Berserker,” and I thought that was a perfect name for it. The creature’s eyes were black with hatred, and saliva dripped from the edges of its mouth, over its larger-than-normal canines.
I watched Samuel take a small step back, but not in fear. He wanted to make sure Father Thomas had room to work with his staff. The creature tensed its back legs and was ready to pounce. Father Thomas’s voice rang out. “Creature, I know you are not here alone. Where is your master?” Then the father looked out beyond the lamplight, into the darkness. “Hiding in the shadows is unbecoming for one of the Fallen. Do you not wish to show yourself? Are you worried that we may be equal to the task?” There was no response from the shadows beyond my cart, but the creature standing in front of it did not move to strike out at Father Thomas.
As if out of nowhere, a man landed on the bench of my cart, taking the place of the creature the priests called a Berserker. He landed silently, the cart not creaking or shifting at all, then gave an exaggerated bow toward Father Thomas. He was the exact opposite of the Berserker. Where the Berserker was all muscle and coiled tension, this man was standing still, the model of relaxation. He looked down at the father with disdain. “Do not presume to know me, brother.” His words dripped with acid. “As much as I wish to kill you, my only concern is for the box. If you wish to live, you will let me take it. Otherwise, you may choose death.”
To his great credit, Father Thomas did not back up as six more of the creatures emerged from the shadows around us. The Berserkers formed the same type of semi-circle around my cart as the priests had created around the entrance to the church. They appeared perfectly placed to keep the priests away from the prize their master had claimed. Two more men appeared from the shadows and lifted the box off the ground with unnatural ease. They faded back into the shadows with it, almost as if it and they were never there. The man continued to look down from his perch on my cart, and a look of sadness spread across his face. “I had hoped for some sport tonight, brother. I can see that you are not the warriors I thought you were.” I watched as Father Thomas’s left hand made a quick motion toward the man on the cart. As fast as the man moved, he wasn’t able to completely dodge whatever Father Thomas had thrown at him. A small wound appeared on his cheek, and a single drop of blood slipped down his cheek before the wound closed. A hiss escaped the man’s mouth as he dropped down to all fours and then leaped away into the night. Father Thomas moved to give chase, and all seven of the white creatures sprang into action at once.
As the creatures moved to close in on Father Thomas, whatever spell that had kept my horses calm finally broke, and they bolted off into the night. I watched as Father Thomas ducked away from the first attack and at the same time spun his staff around to catch another one of the Berserkers as it lunged in low from the opposite side. When his staff hit the creature, a golden light appeared at the impact point, and the creature flew away into the night.
Samuel had wasted no tim
e attacking one of the Berserkers as it circled around behind Father Thomas. He firmly planted his axe in the back of its head and slashed the creature’s throat with his sword. As he stepped back from his kill, one of the creatures barreled into him, knocking him back toward the church. One of the priests stopped to check on him as the rest dove into the battle. I could see from my vantage point above the melee that the battle seemed well in hand.
The Berserker Father Thomas had thrown out into the night charged back to attack him again. In one fluid motion, he tossed his staff into the air and reached behind himself, then threw whatever he grabbed out of the pouch on his back toward his attacker. Four holes appeared in the Berserker, and it started to slow as it reached him, the damage from whatever the father had thrown already taking its toll. The father hit it once again with his staff, and this time, it did not get up after the impact.
By the time I turned my attention back to the others, the fight was over. Six Berserkers and two priests lay dead. Samuel was being helped into the church by the priest who had stopped to check on him. I could see that the priest’s hand was glowing faintly gold where he was holding it against Samuel’s wound. I wondered what the golden glow was doing to Samuel. As for the three men who had retreated into the night as quickly as they’d come, there was no sign.
Several of the priests moved off into the night and started to construct a large bonfire. Once it was completed, and the fire was burning with incredible intensity, the priests started dragging the white corpses over to the bonfire and throwing them in. The priests treated their own dead with much more respect. They were covered in soft white cloths and carried back inside the church. Then the priests brought out buckets of water and cloths and started cleaning the blood of the beasts off of the church’s steps. As all of this happened, I stood there in shock. Father Thomas had disappeared into the night, and I was not sure what to do, what to say, and if this had all really happened.
To my surprise, I heard the sound of my cart coming back up the path into the churchyard. Father Thomas jumped down from the bench and walked forward to speak with me. “Joseph, I’m sorry for what you witnessed here tonight. I did not think they would be so bold as to attack us again so quickly. I know you are confused and have many questions. They are questions that I cannot answer tonight. There is much work that needs to be done, and you are better off heading home.”
I started to back up further toward the church as terror gripped my heart. “You want me to drive back with those things out there? Father, no offense, but you must be out of your mind.”
He gripped my arm tightly at the biceps and whispered, “Would you rather be here when they return?” I started to slowly shake my head. He gave me a warm smile. “I will send Samuel with you to make sure you make it home safely. I also have one more delivery for you to make.” He handed me a small envelope sealed with wax. “Ensure that this gets to the address on the front, unopened.” He then handed me a new payment that was twice as large as the one for coming out to the church in the first place. “Thank you again, Joseph. You will be in my prayers.”
With that, I stepped up into my cart with Samuel beside me and road off into the night.
2
Adam
There was a knock at my study door that I almost did not answer. I had nothing else scheduled for the afternoon and was looking forward to retiring early with a good book and a glass of whiskey. With a heavy sigh, knowing whatever it was must be urgent for them to disturb me, I got up and unlocked the door. “Come in.” I headed back to my desk and sat down as I waited for my assistant to enter my office and tell me what was so important.
He walked in and wasted no time getting to the remaining business for the day. “I have a Joseph and a Brother Samuel here to see you. I would have had them come back tomorrow, but from the looks of them, it must be important.” I nodded toward the door.
He turned and ushered two people into the room. One was a burly-looking older man with a mop of black hair and huge arms built from manual labor. The other was dressed in a black cassock; the hood was down, and I could see his blond hair and blue eyes. The older man stepped forward and handed me a letter. He looked as if he wasn’t sure why he was here, and kept glancing over to the priest, probably wishing he could go. “Joseph, I can tell that you would like to be on your way. Can I offer you a drink while I read this letter, and then we should be able let you go back home to your family.”
Joseph looked over at the priest again who gave a slight nod of his head. “That would be awfully kind of you, sir.”
I motioned over to the bar. “Help yourself to whatever you would like, and then pull up a chair and relax.” I looked over at the priest and motioned for him to sit down as well.
I started to read the letter. It was addressed directly to me from a Father Thomas of the Silver Brotherhood. He was the head of the West Coast order, if I remembered correctly. The Brotherhood was known in our community for being able to deal with minor Demons and could handle small groups of the Fallen and possibly even a single Demon. The priests were serviceable fighters once they completed their training. Members of the Brotherhood had access to low-level magic that helped them heal faster than normal; it also improved their strength and stamina. Their mortality rate for new recruits was quite high, mostly due to their magical enhancements. It seemed not every human was able to handle the power that the tattooed scripture imbued them with. They used those deaths to further recruit for their cause, saying it was divine acceptance for those who made it through the ritual process. In truth, we had no idea how they bonded themselves with a small amount of magic. The magic tattooed scripture also helped them to detect—and deflect—minor demonic energies.
The Brotherhood was not much of a concern for the Gifted. We tended to let them have free rein unless the issue was of greater concern to the city. As far as the Gifted were concerned, we followed their progress for two reasons. First, we needed to make sure that their actions did not draw the attention of the public. And second, they were famous for forging some of the greatest silver-laced weapons in the world.
Hiding their numbers inside the church helped them in many ways, but it also tended to make them fanatical. They tended not to want to reach out to members of the Gifted; they saw our magic as witchcraft. It must be something important for them to have not only reached out to us, but also to have sent one of their own. The message had to be of great importance, for one of the Brothers to be delivering it in person.
I spent a few more minutes reading over the letter before looking up at Joseph and Brother Samuel. “Joseph, I think you can head out now. Brother Samuel and I have a few things to discuss in private. I understand this situation has probably cost you a day of work or more. I want to give you a gift that will hopefully repay you for your time and your courtesy.” I reached into my desk and pulled out a small stack of bills and handed them to Joseph, then called out to my assistant and had him escort Joseph out of my office.
After the door was closed, I leaned back in my chair, and with a snap of my fingers, sealed the room for sound. If Samuel noticed the slight change in pressure, he didn’t acknowledge it. His blue eyes met mine, and they shined with intensity.
“Brother Samuel, it seems we have much to discuss. To tell you the truth, I am surprised you would reach out to us directly. The Brotherhood has not always worked well with the Gifted. Why don’t you tell me a little bit more about what you think is going on?”
He leaned forward in his chair and his look turned dark but remained thoughtful with a slight smile adding a glimmer to his eyes. “It is true that the Brotherhood in Europe is somewhat inclined to stand against the Gifted. Father Thomas, the head of the Brotherhood here in California, is more inclined to see what we can accomplish as a partnership of sorts. He has come to the conclusion that without some latent form of the Gift in our members, that our scripture is not as strong. What you would probably see as a one-off—someone descended from a half-Gifted, then paired with
only humans for three or four generations—would be the perfect fit in the Brotherhood. As to why I am speaking with you now, well, that is because the problem we have with the Fallen is much bigger than we can handle on our own.”
Samuel sat back and waited for my response. “Making an alliance with the Brotherhood would tend to make me rather unpopular with the Council, but since I founded it all those years ago, they will have to accept it for what it is.” I did not mention that I was rapidly becoming unpopular with the Council on my own. I doubted that one more transgression would really do much more to my status with them.
I tried to rein in my thoughts of the Council while continuing to talk with Brother Samuel. “Before I commit to helping you, I am going to need to know more about what is happening. Then we shall see if our resources are actually needed or if you will have to solve this for yourselves.” For the first time, the smile slipped entirely from Samuel’s eyes. I could tell he thought that we would help them no matter what and was just realizing how serious it would be if we chose not to help them at all.
When Samuel started to speak again, his expression was grave, the importance and weight of what I’d just said resting heavily on his brow. “When the sheep and cows first started to disappear, we could not be one hundred percent sure it was the Fallen stealing our livestock. It was unheard of in the Brotherhood that the Fallen could enter consecrated ground. So we started to stand watch to catch the thieves in action. We had two of our youngest initiates stand guard the first night. They had passed their trials and started to have the lord’s words added to their bodies. Already, they were trained in combat and would easily be able to take on a larger force of normal men, if needed.”
Ascendancy Origins Trilogy Page 2