Maitho had to intervene. He had to stop whatever this whole situation had turned into. This wasn’t just a conflict that they could walk out of and call it a day. It had turned into something worse.
From what he could gather and from what Raiden surmised, Charon had committed a mistake. Maybe something more than a mere mistake. One could call it a crime in the world of the Gods. If that were indeed the case, then this fight had to come to an end.
Maitho didn’t know the rules of the Gods. He didn’t know if Charon would stand trial or if he would be punished without a chance to appeal his case. Either way, it would be best for the ferryman to discontinue whatever course of action he was about to take right now.
Then there was the world serpent.
Never had Maitho once thought that he would indeed witness Jörmungandr in person. Even though he was merely looking at the eye of the serpent, he could already guess its size. After all, the eye was easily four feet wide from eyelid to eyelid. He could only imagine the sheer size of the creature.
Yet that made him wonder; did the serpent live underground? How did it move around without causing earthquakes everywhere it went? What about machines? There is no way a creature of its size could avoid all modern detection technologies, from submarine sonars to seismographs to practically anything governments around the world used.
It was nearly impossible.
But that was a problem for another day.
In front of him, Charon moved backwards. It was the first time the ferryman had ever backed away from a fight. His reaction only confirmed the sheer danger that Jörmungandr posed.
“What’s the matter Charon?” said Raiden. “Snake got your tongue?”
For the first time, Charon did not respond immediately. He didn’t speak, nor did he try to communicate physically. He just stood there, the void in his hood staring directly at Raiden. It was impossible to say whether he was making eye contact, or if he was examining his surroundings.
The hole in the ground had grown larger. The eye was now entirely focused on Charon. The eyelids narrowed, as though the creature was issuing a threat. A thought came into Maitho’s mind. The world serpent was probably one of the more ancient beings of the Norse pantheon. There was no way it would make an appearance for a small fight between two beings who were not exactly gods.
So why was it here? What was its purpose? How could Raiden, a mere Guardian, call upon such a powerful entity to his side at such short notice?
Charon grabbed the lantern around his neck. He pointed it sideways, yet he could do anything else, Raiden’s voice interrupted him. “You have one chance to end this. I will guarantee you that nothing you do will ever come close to the power that Jörmungandr possesses. So don’t even try. You have already lost your position with the Gods. Don’t lose your life as well.”
“I aim to go down fighting,” said Charon.
“If you truly want to be a martyr, then this is not the place. You might just end up dead and there won't be anyone left to stop me. Well, not anyone powerful enough.”
"My fate is sealed. Now I have nothing to lose."
"Your fate is decided by the Gods. Besides, you are no match for the world serpent."
“That’s enough,” said Maitho. He surprised himself by not raising his voice. All the tension that was building up inside him needed an outlet. It seemed that the only way it would make an exit out of his body was through an explosive outburst. He should have been screaming at the top of his lungs. Yet all he did was speak loud enough for everyone around him to hear, particularly the ferryman and the Guardian. “There may not be any witnesses right now. But there’s no guarantee that no one will spot a giant, definitely more than 20-feet, snake in the middle of the city.”
Raiden raised both his hands to his sides and shrugged. “You think that’s what I’m worried about?”
“There are rules,” said Maitho. He thought back to what Quinn had said earlier when they ran into Raiden standing in the middle of the road. “You can’t use your powers out in the open. Not in front of civilian witnesses.”
“You see, unlike Charon here,” said Raiden as he pointed at the hooded figure, “who thinks that his death or sacrifice is going to make a difference, I don’t just intend to throw away everything on a whim. Even if I give up my life right now, my plan will continue. There are people who are willing to pick up from where I stopped.”
“All of this just to have a conversation?”
“Wrong. All of this to bring you to our side by having a conversation.”
"What if I don’t want to join you?”
“And you know that because you can see the future, right?”
The way Raiden asked that question made it seem as though it wasn’t just intended as a retort. Was he aware of Maitho’s powers?
Looking at the others, Maitho saw faces masked by expectations and apprehensions. No one provided any answers. Probably because they had no answers. Whatever decision he was supposed to make was his alone, and no one would bear the weight of its responsibility. Perhaps no one could. Yet he did see in their faces the hope that he would stay as far away from the Norse Guardian and his machinations.
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“What about the rest?” said Maitho, referring to the other Guardians and even Charon.
“No. Don’t even consider it,” Bevan said sharply. He looked at Maitho with an expression of shock. “We can fight. Look how close we came to defeating him. All we have to do is repeat our strategy. Together, we will win.”
Maitho shook his head. “Him and the world serpent?”
“He’s not going to use Jörmungandr against us. We are so close.”
“We are not close to anything. We’re so far from even making a small impact.”
“After all this?” said Bevan. The pleading in his voice swelled the guilt Maitho was already feeling. Deep down, he wanted nothing more than to walk away from this. All he wanted was to return to his apartment and continue about his day. Yet there was no apartment. He still didn’t feel welcome at the Celtic team’s base. His financial situation wasn’t exactly one that could afford a place to stay. In short, he had little to go back to right now.
Maitho took a deep breath before answering. “What exactly have we accomplished so far? We have done nothing but go from one fight to another.”
It was obvious from the way Bevan used his eyes to communicate that he wanted to say more. He was trying to ride the fine line between making his pleas honest, yet not sounding downright desperate. Maitho had noticed him cross that line many times before, seemingly unaware that he was doing so. Yet this time he couldn't. Probably because he might be afriad that doing so would make him sound unreasonable.
Maitho took no pleasure in what he was about to do. But all he had seen was that they were a small group of people up against a powerful force. A force that held considerable power and numbers.
“Let him go,” said Brigid. Her eyes narrowed, as though she was accusing Maitho of something. “He never belonged with us anyway.”
“Brigid,” exclaimed Bevan, turning his head quickly to face the woman, as though he was tracking a fast moving object.
The leader of the Celtic team simply gave him a cold look. Bevan’s shoulders sagged, as though any motivation to speak further was entirely extinguished.
“Are ye gonna be okay?” said Epona, looking directly at Maitho.
“He’s not your concern,” said Brigid. “Forget him and focus on us. He’s nobody now, you hear?”
But Epona didn’t hear. Or at least, she did nothing to look away. She didn’t even flinch a muscle.
Maitho gave a small smile. “I’m not sure.” He looked around. He wasn’t trying to pay attention to anything in particular. He simply needed a few seconds to organize his thoughts. “But I think it’s time we catch our breaths and use words instead of fists. It doesn’t, well, hurt to try.”
Epona smiled, the expression lightening up her face. “Wis tha a pun?”
“Unintentional, but yes. Words hurt less and convey more. Fists hurt more and convey less.”
“Fists get the job done.”
“Not this time, I’m afraid.” Maitho swiped his arm sideways. “Look at what we have accomplished. Nothing. We just broke stuff and risked our lives.”
Raiden clapped his hands. “I’m sure you have so much to say, but so do we and we are waiting for your response. What have you decided?”
Maitho looked at the Norse Guardian. Then he looked at the three people he had fought alongside. He even turned his attention to Quinn, who was oddly silent throughout all of this. But then he realized that it was probably for the better. After all, why make it difficult? When the time comes for decisions, words only make the inevitable more painful.
“Just me?” said Maitho.
A nod of approval from Raiden. “I don’t need anyone else. At least, not right now. Think of it this way. If you don’t like what we have to say, what’s the point in anyone else being there?”
There was a certain truth to that idea. Yet the more Maitho thought, the more he realized that Raiden was indeed someone who lived by his code. He had never lied. At least, not yet. “How do I meet Cray?” asked Maitho.
In response, Raiden looked at the eye in the ground and gave a quick nod. Within seconds, the swirling mass of rock and dirt began to close in on themselves. The hole was soon covered and the patch of land looked like someone had dug it and hastily tried putting the soil back in.
Charon exploded and when the black smoke cleared, he had reverted back into his original form. He ran a hand down his tie. "You're making a mistake." He fixed his eye on Maitho.
Raiden brought thumb and forefinger to his mouth and whistled loudly. An engine started somewhere on the other side of the outer wall surrounding the warehouse. Maitho saw a van take a turn around the corner of the entrance. The vehicle parked itself next to Raiden. The Norse Guardian walked up to the door and pulled it open. There was no one inside.
“Maitho.” Epona called out. When he turned around, she didn’t say anything for a few seconds. “Ye better come back.”
Maitho didn’t realize how much he wanted someone to say something like that to him for a long time. Not until he heard Epona speak. It still felt odd. Like those words were meant for someone else.
“You may have lost a home, my dear,” said Quinn, breaking his silence for the first time since Raiden summoned Jörmungandr. “But you have another.”
Maitho knew that the vehicle meant it. This was not Quinn’s way of trying to show sympathy. Even though he didn’t have a human body, he still had a lot of humanity in him.
Bevan joined in. “We’ll be at our base. Just let us know if you would like for us to pick you up or something.” His face looked like it was about to fall apart. He seemed torn, as though he was struggling with many choices.
Maitho looked at each of them and then at Brigid, who simply stepped up to Quinn. “We’re done here,” she said.
Turning around, Maitho made his way towards the van. The empty interior beckoned him like a monster about to gobble him up and remove him from the world outside.
“No one will harm you,” said Raiden. “I personally assure you of that.”
There was a moment of hesitation. But Maitho had come so far. There was just another step to take.
Raiden leaned against the door and folded his arms. “Trust yourself to make that decision.”
Eventually, Maitho did. He grabbed the edges of the doorframe and pulled himself into the van. It was finally time to meet Jonathan Cray again.