Nathan sits on the motel bed and thinks about Seren. She is a weird one. She was calm and composed when they were breaking and entering, but she freaked out when he mentioned powers affecting her mind. She swings between shy girl and complete Ice Queen. Last but not least, who the fuck uses the word “Anathema” in a normal conversation!? It has four syllables!
Nathan sighs. He is being too hard on her, someone who has gone through so much without being broken has the right to have a few quirks, not to mention she is a great business partner. Not even a month into the job and she already helped him commit a crime. Talk about employee loyalty.
Nathan hired her for a bit over 2K USD per month, which is a garbage salary for a consultant but hey, it’s a start up, and she can get some bonus. He pays himself the same.
The good news is that they have a bit of cash, courtesy of Australian Skeptics Inc. A bit over 70K USD to be precise, this should provide a nice cushion.
Of course there would be funds that give rewards to people who can demonstrate supernatural abilities. It had been the matter of a flight to Sydney (fucking long and really costly), and a few hours spent in a garden, and boom! Cash in the bank baby. It really helped that December down under is the height of summer. It was just a shame that the American equivalent stopped in 2015 because the cash prize was one million dollars and that would have helped them a lot. Why could he not awaken three years earlier?! Fuck.
Well it’s too late now, but they are moving forward and that’s what matters.
Nathan just hopes he did not set off any alarms, at least he got to demonstrate anonymously.
Nathan decides to turn out for the night. There is no need to worry about what is beyond his control. Tomorrow would be a busy day.
On the morning they decide to settle in one of the ubiquitous Starbucks near Central Park to review their leads. They start with the Resumes and assorted notes that Katagrias gave them.
There might be only a handful of jobs on earth to have that amount of difference between two applicants.
The first one is Jericho Lei, 22 years-old, second generation American-born Chinese, currently pursuing a master degree in Materials Science and Engineering at the MIT. Not much job experience at this stage. Hobbies include: piano and building custom made figurines, she even got a prize. Jin’s notes indicate that she almost got in serious trouble with her administration a month ago. She designed a material with new and surprising properties, but other could not replicate the process to get the same results. She would have been accused of dishonesty were it not for the fact that she was able to make the material in front of witness. Jin suspects that Jericho has some sort of magic that can affect what she works on. Nathan agrees, and now the prospect of an infused flamethrower isn’t so ridiculous anymore.
The second one is John Barrett, 67 year old, US army Master Sergeant (Retired ). The Resume mentions he is recipient of the Silver Star Medal, the Purple Heart as well as a truckload of other medals, citations, commendations and ribbons. Seriously the guy is more decorated than a Christmas tree.
“Wow” Says seren.
Jin’s notes mention that this dude is a guerilla warfare and recon expert, and that he has seen action in Vietnam, the Gulf War and Afghanistan. Small weapon expert, demolition expert. The works.
“Well if we ever needed a combat expert we found him.”
“Yeah this guy can definitely teach us a thing or two. So Seren, what do you think about the girl?
Seren gives him a measuring look.
“It’s not like we can refuse any application. Look, I know what you’re doing. You’re giving us a structure so that we have some legitimacy doing what we do, and a salary. That said the real objective is survival. We are banding together because we will win together or die alone, hunted one by one by monsters and who knows what else. Those Resume and notes are just for show.”
“Not exactly, we still need to weed out idiots and assholes. Anyway, let’s call them and set up an appointment.”
Not only were both candidates eager to meet, Jin Mirrah also offered to graciously host the meeting at the House’s main office when asked. The rest of the day is spent in relative relaxation.
Nathan expected the House to be either a grand Gothic manor full of gargoyles and statues, or a hidden door in a seedy part of town. As usual, reality surprises him by being, for once, completely normal.
The House is a small warehouse situated on the edge of the Hudson River, not far from the New York City Harbor. The walls are made of brown bricks, the roof out of corrugated steel and there is even a loading dock for trucks at the back. As Nathan parks, he can spot Michael’s hummer and Jin’s sleek convertible. The smell of the river reaches his nostril and he feels some sort of draw, on the same scale as Gwahin’s tree since it was planted, but more diffuse and… Liquid. Nathan wonders how much he will discover as his affinity with weaving improves.
They find Michael deep in conversation with Jin Mirrah. Michael is still dressed in cargo pants, leather jackets and a baseball cap over his unruly hair while Jin Mirrah still looks like a GQ model, apparently immune to the cold. The twin looks frantic, while their guest seems slightly amused.
“And what about greek fire? Would that work?”
“It might, though you will need to gather and mix all the regents yourself.”
“Hot damn. What if I have one of the wizards engrave the fuse with magical squiggly? Would that make it even more explodey?”
“I admit that I have no idea. Oh! Knight Turner, Ms. Nechayeva, welcome!”
“Hello Mr Mirrah. Hi Michael.”
“Ah, enough of this, you guys just call me Jin.”
“Nathan then.”
“Seren is fine.”
“Since we are still waiting for two people, why don’t I give you a quick tour of our facilities?”
Nathan accepts if only to get out of the biting cold. They leave Michael frantically scribbling things in a notebook, his eyes bulging like crazy.
The House is much nicer on the inside. The main entrance is spacious, tastefully furnished with minimalist furniture and completely spotless. The room itself is dominated by a large desk with two, very large monitors. As they walk in, a figure stands up to greet them.
“Hello and welcome to the House of Mirrah and Z.”
The woman is of Middle-Eastern origin, with dark eyes and white hair. She is dressed in an impeccable black mavy suit with discreet yet tasteful jewelry. She makes Nathan feel inadequate in his street clothes. As they shake hands, the smell of jasmine fills his nose. Her hair color and crows feet make him think she is in the age category that is after fifty and that he should never, ever ask about.
“I am Leila El Filali, account manager and admin for the House.”
“Ah yes we talked on the phone.”
She quickly sits back down, obviously in the middle of something. Jin leads them through the facilities, pretty standard but strangely empty. While they walk Seren asks a few questions.
The House was founded in the mid 90’s with the purpose of becoming the most prominent trading company in North America. There are only four full times employees and they use a variety of contractors for various tasks. Nathan gets the feeling that Jin knows about magic coming back, somehow and set up early in order to benefit from the inevitable increase in demand. They have no catalogue and work mostly on an ad hoc basi, with very little inventory ever kept on site. Other questions are dodged.
“Who is Z?”
“That information is classified, and not available for trade I’m afraid, just know that Z is the cofounder of this firm and keeps a close eye on all transactions.”
“Do you know where the hunters are?”
“This information is available in our monthly VIP report, available at two thousand dollars per month and a thirty thousand dollar entry fee.”
Ouch.
“Do you keep the ark of covenant here?”
“No Nathan, nor do we possess the Graal, Excalibur or any holy grenade for that matter.”
“looks like Michael is working on it.”
“Yes he is very enthusiastic isn’t he? A demolition expert is always valuable, not even a great resistance to normal weapon will stop you from being blown up. Oh, and sorry but I cannot give you access to our vault for security reason Nathan.”
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
“Aw I wanted to see if it’s like Gringotts”
“You would be disappointed; I just cannot let someone with your acute sense of perception hang around our customer’s property. Confidentiality issues, you understand.”
Jin’s smooth smile make the refusal feel like a compliment. It’s not that he doesn’t trust Nathan you see, company policy give him no choice and Nathan is just too good! Right.
As they walk back towards the entrance Jin starts asking Seren and him more and more personal questions, mostly to him and mostly about his family and his hobbies. Nathan answers freely, and asks a few of his own.
“I was wondering. What species are Agrias and Katagrias?”
Jin smiles knowingly, but there is an edge in his amber eyes.”
“It is not for me to say, and I would advise getting closer to them first, as it is considered a bit tactless to ask this kind of questions too directly. Trust is paramount is our world.”
Nathan looks up at Jin’s golden horns and gets the hint. Jin gives an imperceptible nod.
“So what are your hobbies?”
“I love playing the violin.”
“A musician? Have you played long?”
“Yes, I have played for twenty years now, I find it incredibly relaxing.”
Nathan imagines Jin walking around playing the violin like a virtuoso. Wet panties would slap the ground at terminal velocity. Life just isn’t fair.
“Oh, our guests have arrived!”
Seren scratches her nose. An engineer, a disgraced business student, a fired After-Sales manager, an infantry veteran and a demolition expert walk into a room. Hilarity ensues.
Jin closes the conference room door tactfully and everyone starts gauging everyone. Like everything here, the conference room is tastefully furnished in shades of ochre and white. It would feel like the office of a big four consulting group if it were not so empty.
Jericho Lei is a short Asian girl, stocky without being chubby. She is not pretty, yet her smile is infectious and she has a strange sort of magnetism, double with a boundless energy. She is currently playing with her MIT hoodie and doodling a diagram on a piece of paper. She brought herself and a tablet. She might look aloof but Seren isn’t fooled. The keen brown eyes have taken everything into account, from mannerism to clothes, catalogued it and filed it. Jericho isn’t looking anymore because she already gathered all the data she could and her time is better spent doing something else.
By contrast, John Barrett is sitting ramrod straight in his chair, and wears an actual business suit, navy blue. No tie thankfully, or else Seren would have felt too embarrassed in her grungy clothes. He is tall and has the built of a man who could run across a state without stopping. Not a single ounce of fat. He placed his back on the one chair that gives vision on both the windows and the door, and his percing blue eyes go back and forth between Nathan and herself. He looks old but dignified, like a Roman general.
Michael is currently unpacking and setting up burner phones for the two newcomers.
Nathan just sits there with his eyes closed.
Something weird is going on. No one is talking. She would have expected Nathan to take the lead, what with this being his idea. Instead, he is sitting in silence with his eyes slightly closed. There is something else. John and Jericho (call me Jerry) know Jin Mirrah personally. She’s sure of it. It’s the way they greeted each others.
Something is going on, but what?
Nathan opens his eyes.
Today has been enlightening. Leila el-Filali is human and does not weave, and Nathan gets the impression she does not approve of him, no idea why. Michael is still human and can still not weave. After Jin left the room and his aura of amber and overheated metal stopped overwhelming his senses, he was able to find out a bit more about the newcomers. First, the good news is that the two persons in front of him are not related to the psycho pet slayer. Jericho feels like rustled paper and bubbles, and John Barrett feels like some kind of weird wet earth he has never felt before, and glass. They are also natural weavers, like him. By contrast, Seren’s aura is much more subdued, which Nathan suspects is a consequence of her magic manifesting internally.
“Alright I’ll start. Seren and I got your Resumes but this isn’t a job interview. We’re here to decide if we want to work together to face the Eaters, the things that kidnapped you, and whatever else the world throws at us. I propose that you ask your questions, then we ask our questions, then I tell you what we are planning and then you decide if you want to join. You guys ok with that?”
Jericho lets out a small “Yup!” and John Barrett just nods.
“Then ask”
“Ladies first.”
Jericho squirms in her seat until her position mirrors Nathan’s, arms on the table and chest leaning forward.
“What magic can you guys do?”
“I can detect magic pretty well.”
Seren hesistates for one moment, then relents. Nathan believes she is right to be circumspect, but at this stage they have to gamble to make allies
“I can see the best way to do something… With severe limitations.
What kind of limitations?
It only works for violence and self-preservation.
I see.”
John Barrett fixes her with a strange intensity.
“Does that mean that you can predict if someone is going to shoot us?”
“Well, I can only focus on one thing at a time, but if I’m not fighting… And if I’m the one who’s targeted… Then probably.”
“Hot damn, wish I had known you when we were in Nam…”
Barrett’s eyes turn dreamy and a little bit sorrowful. Nathan doesn’t point out that Seren wasn’t born by then, not to mention women as combat personnel were usually frowned upon at that time. No need to antagonize the aging veteran, and at least he’s not sexist.
“When did you find out about your powers?”
Nathan and Seren answer a variety of questions on who they are, what they did and the Varog. Nathan answers truthfully, but restricts information on Gwahin, Sarah and Patience. Jericho speaks the most while Barrett studies them, only interrupting to ask for clarifications. After a while the questions start to go off topic.
“Are there Hobbits? Elves? Broody fighters who look like Viggo Mortensen?”
“My source says no. For broody fighters we know that there are human orders dedicated to hunting magical beings, I’m sure one of them can do broody.”
“Vampires? Werewolves?”
“Thankfully no.”
“Dragons?”
The whole building vibrates just enough for the water in Nathan’s glass to undulate. His teeth ache a little bit and the room grows darker and wider at the same time. Everybody holds their breath. Foot stomps echo in the corridor outside, moving ponderously to their door. A heavy fist smashes into the frame, the knocks echoing like bell tolls. The handle lowers and the door opens. Nathan’s hands are on the Makka, coaxing it to wake up, because he needs the weapon, now, he needs it right the fuck now and…
Jin enters the room holding a file and a basket of fruits. The room is normal. Jin is normal, well, except for the horns. Everything is fine.
Nathan blinks.
Everybody is staring at him.
He forces his hands off the Makka in his coat, knuckle by knuckle.
“Is everything all right?”
“Yeah…”
“Here, I have a list of typical tasks we would want you to do with the corresponding after-reports. All names were erased for confidentiality reasons but you should be able to learn enough to do some prep work. Ah last thing, names have power, so don’t say that word again, especially here. Thanks.”
The door shuts down behind him. They are alone.
“Hum sorry about that.
That’s ok you couldn’t know. Anything else?
Yes. How do you cast a fireball? Is it even possible?
Well, Gw… My source says it should be possible but she has no idea how, that I’ll have to figure out by myself and that I have to remember that I’m flammable.
Makes sense.
She also said that magic-wise we were all fairly weak right now and we needed time and lot of practice.”
Technically Gwahin had said that they were overgrown toddlers with an inflated ego but they didn’t need to know that.
There were a few more questions from the newcomers, then it was time for Seren and Nathan to learn more.
“Alright so what can you guys do?”
John Barrett stands up with as much dignity as if he were to declare independence.
“I will start. Mr Turner, please hit me with a chair.
Ok.”
To absolutely no one’s surprise, Nathan stands up and walks around the table, grabs the now standing Barrett’s chair and swings at him with slightly less force than a pro wrestler would apply. The chair bounces back on an invisible surface and crashes on the ground.
Nathan leans forward, there is not even a shimmer in the air and the chair was stopped completely soundlessly.
“Can you shoot through it from your side?
No, I did not try shooting but I tried stabbing and it stops everything in both directions, that said it’s two small panels which means I can block one side while you shoot from the others.
Nice. Really useful. Can they move?
They move with me, I can use them to push heavy stuff but there is a limit. The more I push or block, and the more my head hurts.
Alright. We can definitely use this.
As long as we kill those assholes, I’ll be your shield.”
Barrett walks back to the table and opens a suitcase. Inside are parts of what is quite clearly, a really big gun. Barrett stares Nathan and Seren in the eye. His eyes are icy blue and they promise cold, methodical violence.
“And I can shoot.”
A wise man said, beware an old man in a young man’s job. At this moment, there is no doubt in Nathan’s mind that John Barrett is still alive because other men are dead.
The man himself casually recovers his chair from the ground and sits in it.
Without missing a beat, Seren turns to the other woman.
“What about you Jericho?”
Just call me Jerry.”
She opens a backpack and takes out a long object from it. Based on a police baton, the kind with a side handle on it, it has engravings everywhere and an additional guard near the handle. A silvery line of foreign material runs along the shaft, contrasting with the black matte coloring of the original weapon. On closer inspection, the lines are welded on and connected to the guard and the engravings are some sort of runic alphabet. Nathan doesn’t need to get closer to feel the object’s aura, cold, spasm and aching teeth. Electricity.
“Is that… A magic stun baton?
Yes! And it works! Would you like to test it?”
Seren cuts them off.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea…
You’re probably right, I’m sure it works. That would be super useful.”
Jerry nods and rummages in her backpack. She takes out a leather casing which she opens with reverence. The rest of the team peeks in, Barrett included. Jerry’s item is a long hexagonal bar cut in two along the length, with a blocky square at one end. Both half bars are linked together on one side, so that the bar opens itself like a book. The two halves look identical. Two lengths of parallel metal lines run along the length of each half with a small groove cut in the middle. The rest of the bar is made out of some form of shiny white ceramic. The whole thingie is absolutely covered in runes and engraving in dense lines and emits an intense aura. Nathan whistles. The amount of Jerry-hour spent on this must be staggering.
“That’s my baby.”
Seren nods approvingly, and even Barrett looks impressed. Jerry caresses the thing lovingly
“It could fire a solid projectile at 2,500 m/s, that’s Mach 7, and deliver an impact energy of over 0,2 Mega joules even several kilometers away, with barely any recoil.”
The room is dead silent.
“Unfortunately it doesn’t work.”
Three adults let out the breaths they were holding.
“That’s my life’s work. I can’t show it to my supervisor because magic, I can’t show it to the spooks because they would take it. It’s mine. I made it and I decide who uses it, and I can’t use it unless I can finish it and for this I need money.”
Jerry’s manic eyes drill into Nathan.
“Fund my research and you’ll get to wield humanity’s first man-sized rail gun.”
“I’m broke. Well, not really, but we don’t have the budget of General Dynamics. How much cash would it cost to have one anyway?
Hum I don’t know, but upward a hundred thousand maybe?”
Once again, the room is silent.
“You already have a prototype and it’s still going to cost that much?”
Jerry’s face flushes in embarrassment. She starts muttering.
“Hmm I got it… Arg nevermind, not like you couldn’t find out on your own. Anyway. My parents are loaded and I used my personal funds to buy the materials.”
She turns defensive.
“I built everything from scratch! Except now that source has dried. Apparently something that can hit like a tank and make projectiles reach orbit is a waste of time and money and not a valid pursuit for a young lady! Fuck!”
Jerry realizes that everybody is staring at her.
“A… Anyway. I can do stuff like that or the stupid nightstick, I’ll be your engineering department or whatever, as long as I get to build the railgun.”
John Barrett starts speaking like he has to tell her that Santa Claus doesn’t exist.
“A human size railgun would be incredible. That said, it might not be the best tool for hostage rescue in a building.”
Seren adds more sternly:
“Yeah we might kill the hostage. And the guy who lives down the road three blocks away. And everything in between…”
Jerry looks like a kicked puppy.
“But I’m sure we can find applications, I mean, this is a long term investment. Right guys?
Mh mh.
Don’t worry Jerry I think getting a science-fiction infused weapon is awesome, I mean we could put a whole through the biggest monsters with that thing for sure. It’s just that we just started and we don’t have a hundred grands lying around. Tell you what, why don’t you start by making a list of the cheapest things you need to get started and we’ll work from here?”
Jerry perks up at the prospect and gives everyone a brilliant smile. Obviously she has not been jaded by half a decade of managerial bullshit and doesn’t know yet the sound of empty promises. Nathan is speaking honestly though. A magical weapon with no recoil and the power of a tank gun? Fuck yes, I’ll take your entire stock please. It’s not like they can’t find a use for something that has the potential for collateral victims and hundreds of thousands of dollars in property damage with each shot.
In the meanwhile well, they have a nightstick.