“What are you accusing me of? That I have some connection with the Titanians?” Gareth said, suddenly taking on an angry, defensive vocal tone, narrowing his eyes.
“No… it’s just that… you’ve killed so many of them that their scent is on you. And I have no reason to trust a lone warrior who fights just for the sake of fighting.” The Anbieter said, remaining unmoved.
“I don’t have to tell you why I’ve been doing this. I just have to.” Gareth spoke, his eyes locked on to the center of Anbieter’s mask, as if trying to see through it at the man behind it.
“Ha!” the Black Shield’s leader scoffed. “A stubborn child, just as I thought. Guards!”
The dozens of soldiers in the hall immediately aimed their rifles at Gareth, their index fingers dangerously close to their triggers. Leon stood as close as he could to Stefan, as if his presence would keep him safe. However, the guards knew better than to fire on a 16-year-old, one whom many of them were acquainted with and respected. Anwen did the opposite. She rushed over to the Gareth’s unprotected back, spreading her arms apart as if to create a shield for him.
“When Angel-hunting’s as easy as it is, what makes you think these Terrans won’t be fair game?” Gareth hissed under his breath.
“Sir, you don’t have to--
“Don’t shoot, please! There are better ways to solve this!” she pleaded, cutting Stefan off. There was no way she was going to lose the closest thing she had to a father over a simple lack of communication.
“Back away, Miss, unless you want a couple of bullets in you.” The Anbieter said in a calm yet menacing tone.
“Hear me out, please. I—I think I have a way we can all join the Black Shield. J-Just put your guns away and listen.”
Looking at the girl through the holes in his mask and hearing the conviction in her voice, the Anbieter decided that whatever she had to say might perhaps have some significance.
“Guns down,” the Anbieter ordered. The soldiers promptly lowered their weapons but continued to hold them so that they might be aimed again at any time. “Miss, might I know your name?”
“Anwen Koppel, sir.”
“Very well, Anwen. Please, do call me the Anbieter if you do wish to join our organization. So, what do you propose we do to save this man’s life?”
The wording of his question confirmed to Anwen that if she did not have a proper answer formulated, Gareth would be killed. She narrowed her eyes, affirming to herself her resolve.
“You should give him a test to prove that he can be useful to the Black Shield. Anything you can think of, I know he can get it done.” She said with full faith in Gareth.
The Anbieter’s tense stance relaxed, hinting that he was open to find a solution for the dilemma at hand.
“That, I can do. Jay, fetch me a map of Yeupis, would you?”
“Yep.” The southerner said, entering a door situated in one of the long walls of the Black Shield headquarters. Moments later, he returned with a rolled-up scroll of paper in his hands. He gave it to his boss, who spread it across his desk.
“Gareth, you’re damn lucky that this sweet little lady chose to speak up for you.” The Anbieter spoke.
“Give me my test already. I’d rather not be away from Stefan longer than I need to.”
“We’re currently here,” the Anbieter said, going straight to the point as his gloved finger directed those around him to a spot in the hand-drawn mountains in the centre-east of the continent. “And I need you to go here.”
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He moved his finger further northwest, but not so north that it was near Derban. Stefan quickly understood just how isolated and far-off his birthplace was.
“What do I need to do there?” Gareth asked.
“I’m going to guess you already know what Utrium is, so I’ll cut to the chase. Right here is a former underground Titanian warehouse that was used to store heaps and heaps of Utrium. The Titanians, many, many years ago once had a vision for a full-on takeover of our world, but for some reason, they did not go through with it. But their Utrium still sits there. So, what you will need to do is bring back as much of it back here as you can. Some of my troops have been Initiated through scraps we’ve found throughout the mountains, but we need much more if we’re to be an army capable of besting the Titanians.”
“What if I can’t do that?” Gareth asked about a hypothetical scenario.
The Anbieter breathed through his mask, then pressed a button on his desk. It was an intercom.
“Vi, would you please make your way over the hall?” the Anbieter asked in a singsong tone.
“Yes, Master.” The youthful yet androgynous voice on the other side said.
‘Another invention of our ancestors,’ Stefan thought. ‘Cool!’
Two minutes later, the masked and cloaked sniper appeared before the Anbieter.
“Thanks for coming. I have a job for you to do.” He said.
The sniper nodded, acknowledging the request.
“I’ve given Gareth the task of recovering from Utrium from an abandoned Titanian warehouse. You’ll accompany him and make sure he completes it.”
“Oh, so that’s it?” Gareth asked. “Is this all that keeps me from doing this oh-so-monumental mission?”
“Don’t fight it, Gareth.” Anwen whispered, obviously to his intentional oblivion.
“Anwen will be joining you. If for whatever reason you decide to turn back or otherwise unable to recover the Utrium, Vi… kill Anwen swiftly and painlessly. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Master.” Vi said, bowing their head slightly.
“Hey, hey, wait!” Stefan cried. “Leave her out of this!”
“Anwen is certainly an intelligent girl… but this is the only way Gareth will not veer from his task. I can’t have you going of course, and not young Leon either, since he’s a medic-in-training from what the soldiers of Marius tell me. We wouldn’t lose anything if she were to pass, as cruel as it sounds.” The Anbieter said with an empathetic tone.
“Gareth, don’t mess this up!” Leon cried. “If neither of you come back…”
“Gareth can’t mess up,” Anwen said, with a tone that hinted no fear at all. She threw her arms around the boy’s waist. With trembling hands, he reciprocated. “We’ll all be together again soon. I promise.”
Leon glanced at Vi through the corner of his eye, before tightening his grip on Anwen’s body.
“Take care, friend.” He said, before letting go of her.
“You too,” Anwen said. “And take care of Stefan too. He’ll need it.”
“Why does… why is everything so unfair?” Stefan grumbled, staring down at his feet with his fists clenched at his sides. “Why does everything have to be so cruel….?”
“Stefan,” Anwen said, holding her hands out. “Come here.”
“N-No.” he spat adamantly.
“I’m not going to ask you again. Come over.”
“Do I… have to?” Stefan said, rapidly building a dam in his head to hold back a flood of emotions. He didn’t want to show them. He wanted to appear indifferent.
Without another exchange of words, Anwen pulled him by his wrists and wrapped her arms around him. With her man-strength, it was just about impossible to escape. But Stefan didn’t try.
“Come back quickly, dumbass,” Stefan said in a sniffly voice. “It’ll get boring with just Leon around.”
“No need to tell me. Someone’s got to keep you in your place.” Anwen said in jest.
“Sure.” Stefan admitted.
Anwen let go of him and smiled before Gareth tapped her shoulder, notifying her of their immediate departure.
“Oh, before we leave,” Gareth said. “Leon, I’d like you to have this.”
He dug into his pocket and produced a ring which consisted of a mostly flat, silver band. The exception was a small, crudely carved chunk of Utrium serving as the bezel.
“I promised Grandpa I wouldn’t use evil magic. I can’t take this.” Leon denied respectfully.
“The only true users of this so-called evil magic are Initiated. You can keep true to your promise and still possess its power at the same time.”
“How? And what does this even do?” the boy asked.
“By making a contract with an Initiated, you can use a portion of their Reserve and transfer it through the ring to a sick or injured person, which you can use to greatly speed up the healing process. I must go now, but Stefan will explain it to you as soon as he can. Just know that you aren’t using Utrium yourself, since its power depends on the person you’re contracted with.”
“You’re not going to be Initiated, don’t worry.” Stefan said to his friend comfortingly.
Leon smiled at his younger but taller friend, relieved that his promise to his grandfather would not be broken.
Without any semblance of a farewell, Gareth headed straight for the corridor that exited the mountain. Anwen looked back at her friends for a final time before leaving, just behind Gareth. Vi trailed a considerable distance, but not so far that they couldn’t read their body language.