by Craig Zerf
Emily sat in Ambros’ study across the desk from the old man.
His hair hung loose about his shoulders as opposed to his usual ponytail and he was thumbing a wad of tobacco into his pipe with a calloused and nicotine stained thumb. It had surprised Emily when she had seen that all of the Shadowhunters smoked. But when she brought it up with Bastian he had simply laughed as he informed her that the normal rules did not apply to them. They were immune to mortal disease, he explained. No cancer, no dementia. Not even the common cold. So if they wanted to smoke it was merely a lifestyle choice. Not a health issue.
He had offered her a cigarette but Emily simply couldn’t get over her natural prejudice that she held towards the cancer-sticks and she had refused. Bastian had chuckled and said that he would give her fifty years or so and she would be an addict just like the rest of them.
Ambros finally got his pipe to take and he leaned back in his chair and worked up a head of smoke with a contented look on his face.
‘So,’ he said. ‘How are you getting on?’ Emily shrugged. ‘Okay, I suppose.’
‘You suppose?’
The teenager nodded. ‘I mean, I like it here. But, honestly, I feel a bit useless. Everybody is better at everything than I am. Bastian beats the crap out of me, Lyle’s like more than twice as strong as me, Karl can shoot multiple weapons at once and Piet is like the Terminator. Not to mention Josephine, who’s just the ultimate super-geek. I thought that I was meant to be this super-hero, uber-mean dude but all I am is the playground nerd.’
Ambros raised an eyebrow. ‘I see,’ he said. ‘Strange way to see things.’
‘Maybe,’ agreed Emily. ‘But it’s true.’
The old man shook his head. ‘No, my dear girl,’ he countered. ‘It is patently not true. In fact, I would venture to say that it is quite the opposite. Firstly, how long have you been training with the other Shadowhunters?’
‘Ten days,’ answered Emily.
Ambros nodded. ‘Gosh. A whole ten days. How many days do you think that Bastian has been training to perfect his art?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Well I do,’ said Ambros. ‘Approximately forty six thousand days. When Karl started training with firearms, his first weapons were a Napoleonic era flintlock cavalry pistol and a Baker muzzle-loading service rifle. He has been shooting since before cartridges were invented. Before semi-auto pistols and machine guns. That is a serious amount of practice.
And do you know that Josephine actually knew Charles Babbage? The man who invented the first proto-computer back in the nineteen thirties. Piet fought against the British in the first and the second Boer wars back in the late eighteen hundreds. These people have put in serious time to perfect their skills, so you cannot be disheartened that they may be better than you.’
‘What about Lyle?’ Interjected Emily.
Ambros grimaced. ‘Lyle is…well, he’s Lyle. He’s actually a relative youngster. Thirty five years old. But he’s driven. Trains hard and, to be brutally honest, he’s a bit of a freak.
Even without Shadowhunter powers he would be unbelievably strong. It’s just one of those things. But I’ll tell you something,’ continued Ambros. ‘After Lyle you are the strongest here. And another few facts that may interest you; you’re pretty much second best at everything.
Bastian reckons that you could take anyone here, except for him. Karl says that you are the best shot that he’s come across for over a hundred years. And as for Piet, well let’s just say that he didn’t say anything overtly bad about you, which is the closest that you will ever get to a compliment from him.’
Emily didn’t react.
The old man shook his head. ‘Do you appreciate what I have just told you?’ He asked.
Emily nodded. ‘I think so. You’re saying that I’m not the best at anything. But that’s what I’ve just been telling you.’
‘No,’ said Ambros. ‘I’m telling you that you are almost the best at everything. Even though you are a mere stripling that has only had ten days training. I’m telling you that you are special. I’m telling you that you are the most amazingly talented Hunter that I have come across since your mother and father. And I would venture that you surpass even them. Emily,’ he continued. ‘You have the potential to be the very best of the best. The ultimate Shadowhunter.’
Emily smiled. ‘Wow,’ she said. ‘Thanks. That’s cool.’
‘I’m sure that it is,’ affirmed Ambros.
‘And what about Nathan?’ Asked Emily. ‘Everyone seems to have a specialty except Nathan. What’s his thing?’
Before Ambros answered Emily was sure that she saw the tiniest flicker of sympathy cross his face. ‘Nathan is a bit of an all-rounder,’ he said. ‘In the past he was referred to by all as “The Fixer”. He is gifted at arbitration, negotiation. A born diplomat. A politician, I suppose. He used to keep the gears greased between the Olympus Foundation and the government, the captains of industry, the news and entertainment moguls.’
‘And now?’ Asked Emily.
‘Now, things are different,’ admitted Ambros. ‘A hundred years ago, before the internet and social media, we didn’t have to keep such a low profile. Obviously we were a secret organization but there were many notables who were in the know, as it were. Basically, Nathan took care of these notables.’
‘I see,’ noted Emily. ‘Wow, no wonder he hankers after the old days. Seems like a real come down. He was almost like the public face of the Foundation and now he’s…well, an all rounder.’
‘Yes,’ said Ambros. ‘It has been a difficult transformation for Nathan. Anyway, now, that said, I think that it’s time for you to venture out into the field. Nothing too overt. A short trip to London. I’ll send Bastian and Nathan with you. There are a few things that I’d like you all to check up on. I’ll explain fully before you leave. So, go to your room, pack a few outfits and be ready to leave after lunch.’
Chapter 9