"Could someone bring me something to drink?" he asked diffidently. Marcia went and got him a glass of water. He glared at her, drank it and said "Okay, now how about something stronger" through gritted teeth. When it looked like she was going to suggest that was a bad idea he continued. "I've just had everything I've believed in for longer than you and your parents have been alive turned on its head. I don't care if it's a bad idea for me to have alcohol for whatever reason. I think I'm due a drink or six, wouldn't you say?" Marcia looked mulish, but Einar had already gotten up and gone to one of the cupboards, and started rummaging around in it.
"Aha, here it is!" Einar said with a tone of triumph, and pulled out a large wax sealed earthenware bottle. He carefully opened the bottle, sniffed it and snagged another cup. When he reached the chair Griffin sat in he moved a small table closer to it and poured first for Griffin, then himself. "To a better tomorrow" he toasted, clinking glasses with his brother and drinking some of his cup. Griffin downed his in one gulp and poured another. Einar raised an eyebrow to the others, who got the hint and went to get themselves cups.
"It's a bit sweet isn't it? What is it anyways?" Griffin asked.
"Fortified mead, brother. We usually keep some in any of the properties we own." Einar said as he savored another small drink.
Griffin downed his next glass and by the time he was finished everyone else arrived there with cups. Einar poured all round and then with a profound look on his face began to speak.
"I was ordered, by our father, to tell my brother the truth as we knew it and to bring him home. I was, however, given no time frame to complete this task. I do not trust his goals and cannot trust him, since he executed my mother. The Shadow Conclaves are fractured, and I now know about a conspiracy to wipe all my friends and relations off this earth."
"I suggest a compact. That whether we work together or independently, we work to bring down this organization, this so called 'High Council'. I have some ideas that may help but that is for later. For now I just ask that you share a goal with me." Azim and Joakim stepped forward quickly, though Liam was more hesitant. Agatha looked at Marcia, who shrugged and stepped forward. Agatha reflected on what she's learnt and knew that what the high council planned was wrong. How long until they decide some other group is undesirable if they achieve their first goal? She also stepped forward. "To the fall of the so-called 'High Council'." Einar finished. They all clinked cups and toasted.
Over the next several hours they discussed what they should do over more mental lubrication. Cider for the most part, although Joakim and Marcia nursed a couple of Indian pale ales. It was agreed they would avoid the larger shadow conclaves until they had greater resources. Although Einar at first objected to this, Griffin was adamant. "We cannot go hat in hand to a powerful organization that is quarreling with its own already. We need the neutrality and to build ourselves up before we approach them, at least as equals. Joakim's mage groups sound more promising - all agreeing to relatively similar codes of conduct, few if any long term antagonisms, and all of them relatively small. But if we approach any of the five shadow councils they will expect us to join them, not them joining us. If we do that, we will take on all their antagonisms and baggage. It's the last thing we need. If we do that, we may as well hand victory to this 'High Council' and be done with it." Grudgingly Einar agreed, but then he came up with another option to grow their ranks.
"We could try to track down more of the Lost, those whose bloodlines have come forth from parents with no power or those, like you Griffin, who come from flings. Also there are some splinter groups who are large enough to protect themselves from the shadow councils but refuse to follow their edicts. The Hathori, the Einjanrr, amongst others. They are considered neutral in all conflicts and are often asked to mediate. If we can convince them of the threat they would be most useful." Einar suggested.
As the night went on they continued to make plans. Einar was sure he would be able to draw on his mother's family's resources without his father finding out. Azim assured them he could get his organization, or a large portion of it, involved. They had some resources that would definitely be useful. For other funding they could offer their services directly to governments, through cut outs.
Griffin grew more and more detached as the conversation went on, but he was drinking at least twice as much as anyone else. After a while his expression grew darker. He was obviously brooding about something. Einar noticed and kept a careful watch on him, but everyone else was deeply involved in getting together a plan for what they should do. Suddenly Griffin grabbed one of the empty bottles, smashed it and charged Joakim. He moved so fast that Einar couldn't intercept him before he had the bottle at Joakim's throat.
"Why didn't you try to explain this before now? You were my friend, I trusted you. You should have trusted me. I have at least a hundred more innocents' blood on my hands - innocents you could have helped me save." He screamed at Joakim, with tears streaming down his face. By the end of his rant Einar had grabbed his arm and was slowly pulling the bottle back from Joakim's throat. The guilt and pain was evident on both Griffin and Joakim's faces, but before he could respond Agatha was yelling at her teacher.
"How, Griffin. Tell me how he could have told you without all the evidence that we've shown you. Your faith in what we were doing was too strong. Stop acting like a teenager and think - for longer than anyone has been alive you've been doing the Order's bidding because you truly had faith. Without the evidence of your brother here and the truth about the 'holy water.' What could he have told you that wouldn't have ended Joakim's life or the protection he was offering to his people?" Everyone just stared at her. He shook himself from Einar's grasp and charged at her.
Without warning an unseen force threw him back against the wall. He was held there as if a mighty hand was crushing against his chest. Both Joakim and Einar looked at Agatha in shock. They had considered her just a normal human. She was exceptionally trained and conditioned for a normal human. However now they could feel that it was her drawing on the planes. She drew with such strength and focus that she was not only one of the Lost, but a very powerful one. Yet she was so angry at her teacher she didn't even seem to realize what she was doing. Einar muttered "I'm really glad I took the Claiomh Solis from her. She could kill anyone with it, even one of the Gods."
Agatha's rant at Griffin continued. "You are the one that taught me a person can only act as they think best. Yet here you are blaming Joakim for your pain. Surely William had a better idea of what was going on but you aren't ranting about him. Instead you attack one of your friends and try to put responsibility for your actions and mistakes on him! Like a petulant child you useless shitehawk sodding brainfucked zealot!" At this point her eyes glowed, and something on her back shed enough light to be seen through her shirt. Her face was red with fury and tears rolled down her cheeks. The man she had idolized had gone from being on a 200 foot pedestal to burying himself in a 500 foot hole.
"Agatha, calm down or I will knock you out. You'll break his ribs, and that will take weeks to heal, if it doesn't kill him. Take a few deep breaths and calm down NOW." Einar thundered. He prepared to grab her neck in a sleeper hold, but before he did she went white with shock and stumbled back a few steps. The force holding Griffin up loosened, and Azim stepped forward to take the broken bottle out of his hand and threw it aside.
Shame filled Griffin's face as he dragged in deep gasping breaths. This mixed with shock at the blood-tinged odour, and the odour of power, that had filled the room with what Agatha had done. Fear crept into him as he relized she was like the... no not the demonspawn. Like himself and his brother.
"You are doing that Agatha. Not me, not Joakim, certainly not Griffin. You are one of the Lost I was talking about." Einar said.
Fear and shock filled her face and Griffin suddenly dropped to the ground. He started crying, great keening sobs wracking his body. Agatha dropped to her knees from shock at what had just happened, at what she had done. S
lowly the glow faded from her eyes and back, but still flickered weakly on her wrists. Einar grabbed her wrists and looked at them. Symbols of a crossed sword and spear were now clearly glowing. A helmet and hoplon, a Greek shield was on the other wrist. The glow finally faded and the marks now looked like birthmarks. She was a descendant of Mars, but her marks had somehow been too faint to see before she drew so deeply on the planes. "Agatha, do you have a birthmark on your back?" When she didn't respond he shook her gently and repeated the question.
"Yes, but I've never seen it." she whispered.
"I'm going to lift your shirt to look, okay? We need to know who you are descended from." She nodded limply in response. As he lifted her shirt so they could all see the symbol of two horses, running towards each other on her back. "Okay, well now we know." His voice was grim "You have cross lineages. You are from the Graki and the Keltoi. You descend from Mars and Epona." He looked around the room, a grim expression on his face. "We have to keep this just between ourselves for now. Those of two heritages are often feared and if the Ajyetos find out they will hunt her. They consider it an abomination for two lines of the five to be crossed." Everyone looked at him and slowly nodded, taking in his belief of a threat that would come at them if this left the room. None of them wanted more answers, let alone more questions.
Einar then stood up and took control of the situation.
"Liam, Azim take Griffin to his bed and schedule a watch so he's not left alone. We don't want him to hurt himself. Agatha, go to bed, you need to rest after what you did or you'll be out of it for days. I'll clean up out here and be here if you need me. I suggest everyone who can, go get some sleep." Everyone except Marcia moved to sort out what they'd been told. The young medic stayed in the room helping him collect the bottles for the garbage. Finally she spoke up, anger in her voice.
"Why did you let him get so drunk? Surely you realized he could attack one of us if he got drunk enough."
"Yes I did. In fact I hoped for it. He needed to get past his anger to reach the shame and grief he assumes for his past actions. The anger would keep poisoning him over time. Better by far to lance it and make it burst out, surely."
Marcia glared at him. "You could have warned us, so that we were prepared."
Einar shrugged "But then you would have acted off around him. I needed everyone's reactions to be as normal as possible or the boil might not have been lanced. I was only acting as I thought best."
He walked up to her, placed a hand on her arm, and continued "It's admirable how much you care for all of them, but we don't have time to go softly, softly. We have an enemy and no idea what they are planning or how far along they are in their plans. If I have two paths to help any of you at this time I have to chose the faster but more dangerous one."
"We don't have time for slow and relaxed options. For all any of us know, we don't even have time for fast and brutal options. So I'm sorry if this distresses you now, but if we are to survive we must move as fast as we can without leaving our asses hanging in the wind. Think on it before you feel anger at my acts again, please."
"Besides, I had no idea about Agatha. Sometime life throws curve balls at you, and you have to roll with the punches." He kept cleaning up, leaving Marcia to think on what he'd said.
Chapter 9
February 25th 2014, Blue Mountains, Australia.
For two weeks Einar taught Agatha and Griffin the basics of how to draw from the planes. He was amazed at the affinity that Agatha had for the skill, but Griffin's progress was slow at best. It wasn't that he deliberately slacked off, but he made mistakes that someone with his experience should avoid, formal trainng or no. In combat training it was worse still.
It was as if Griffin was lost without the confidence his belief provided for all his life. As if he had to fight himself before he could fight someone else. In fact, it was exactly that. With his faith in shards leaving him no confidence, second guessing whatever he saw before he reacted. He was still skilled enough against Marcia and Liam to win bouts and evenly matched against Azim. The delays that this caused in his every action left obvious openings for Einar, Joakim and Agatha though. That failure battered his self worth.
At the end of the two weeks Einar sat down with Marcia.
"I need your advice on something, Marcia. Griffin just isn't the legend I'd heard so much about. I never expected he would hesitate this much. I've come to the conclusion that something must be off." Einar started.
"What clued you in genius?" Marcia snorted. "He's found out everything he understood was a lie. He's taken that to mean none of his judgments can be trusted, so of course he's second guessing himself everywhere. Why, do you expect you can beat it out of him?"
Einar shook his head "No. In fact, I guess him staying with us isn't going to help him at all. I expect he needs to re-find himself. I think we need to send him a-viking. We're just in the way."
Marcia tapped a fingernail on her front teeth, considering for a while "Well, it sounds like it might work, but are you sure you've taught him enough for him to be safe with... well you know, his abilities?"
Einar smiled "He's been safe with them for 200 years. I've taught him all he seems to be able to learn at this point, he has the theory down pat. But his lack of belief in himself and his abilities makes it hit or miss as to if he can achieve anything with them. He needs some time alone to regain belief in himself, but I don't want him to feel left out. The biggest problem is Agatha's attitude to him since... well you know."
Marcia did know. Agatha had been cold and disdainful of him since he had attacked Joakim that night. She had also seemed disgusted at his inability to use his gifts. Watching someone's idol fall from grace was never pretty, but this was becoming particularly ugly. "So I suppose you are suggesting I talk to him about it. If it came from you or Joakim he might feel like he's being thrown out and Agatha isn't an option."
"That was the idea, yes. I also suggest we have another brainstorming session. I was hoping this would be enough time for him to heal physically and emotionally, but we need to get moving and get organized. I believe he would be a liability as he is now." Marcia nodded and decided to just bite the bullet get this done.
Marcia searched around the training areas first, then the house. She found him alone in his room sharpening his gladius. She walked in and sat next to him, waiting for him to open the conversation.
Eventually he sighed and said "What is it you want to talk about Marcia? I know you're not here for my 'fine companionship'. It's not like I'm not a brutal, conscienceless killer after all." He said with self loathing in his voice.
He reflected back on the young woman he'd gutted little more than a month before. She probably hadn't deserved what happened to her, probably wasn't even a Succubus as the Order defined them. He definitely hadn't had the right to judge her. Looking back he should have seen how the Order was using him. After all, the corruption in the churches that supported the Order was obvious, often enough. He shook himself as he realized Marcia was talking and he hadn't been listening.
"... obvious that you are still down on yourself. I don't think you are likely to throw yourself on your sword now. Although I was truly concerned you might after you got drunk that night. But we aren't helping you. And to be honest, we have no idea how long we have to disrupt the bastards plans. Have you considered taking some time away from us to figure stuff out? Going a-viking might give you the time you need, and if you take a clean phone with you, you just need to turn it on to get one of us to pick you up when you are ready. In the meantime, we can start organizing everyone for when you get back."
Griffin sat there, surprised at the suggestion. Also a bit offended that she thought he'd try to escape responsibility for his part in the mess by suicide. But then he had been in a state no-one, not even himself, had ever expected to see him in.
He thought about it a while. The more he thought about it, the more attractive it was. He could figure out who he was without his false faith, decide what
he wanted to be. He nodded his agreement with her words and went down to the basement where the gear was stored, to pack. Einar had already arranged some good fake IDs for everyone, and he'd used his to set up an account when they were in town. He'd then transferred about half his rainy day account into it so he'd be able to get more supplies as he needed them.
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It was time for Einar to sit down and have a chat with Agatha. Somehow her lineages had given her the powers of a first or second generation descendant. However all the conclaves kept careful records to the fourth generation. After that, the children without powers were sometimes dropped from the records. It didn't matter though. The Claiomh Solis had chosen her, so she had a strong draw on the planes. It was up to him to explain it to her.
He found her out the back of the house. She'd taken to chopping wood when she was frustrated by something. As she was frustrated often these days she was easy to find, just follow the sound of the axe. At least she'd recognized the futility and counter productiveness of beating on Griffin. He was so down he either wouldn't have noticed or would have accepted it as punishment for his mistakes. He hated seeing his brother like this but could not honestly say he wouldn't feel the same in his situation.
"We need to talk Agatha. Come." He waved her towards the path into the bush so they'd have some privacy.
Agatha followed warily. She saw he had the Celtic leaf blade and its sheath in one hand, and her curiosity grew further. "What do you want to talk to me about Einar?"
"You, lass. You have a problem. It seems that whenever you draw on your powers you get... well angry. You need to know why. It's a trait of both of your ancestors at a guess. It's not like they are described as war gods for no reason. They reputedly felt a joy in combat."
Agatha's face turned red in a mix of shame and embarrassment. The feelings she had in combat were so intense it was almost like arousal. Einar saw her blush, but assumed it was from shame.
Paladin (Betrayed by Faith Book 1) Page 7