Prophecy of the Nexus

Chapter 12

A shiver ran through my body. The idea of giving up your soul for something seemed madding. What could be possibly worth sacrificing the most essential bit of you? Still, it happened more than I liked to admit. Stories on the news sometimes tell of half-people, half-demons running for the Halo. I sometimes felt sorry for them, thinking that something had gone accidentally wrong. But it was clear you made a choice to give up your connection to the Divine. "Is there any escape, sir?" I asked.

Sir Petra shook her head. "Those are the laws of the Divine. They are final." The weight of her words rested on me for moment. No second chance, no redemption. The Divine had created the rules and it had maintained peace in the world at such a high cost.

A beeping noise broke the silence. Sir Petra raised her hand, and the radio went flying towards her hand. She caught it without a blink and turned around to speak into it. Sir Petra waved her hand, and the room became profoundly silent. I glared at her. She could have just asked me to leave. I watched as Sir Petra nodded, and her eyes narrowed. She waved her hand again and I could hear again. I was glad I was in the library; otherwise, the sudden burst of noise would have hurt. Sir Petra turned to face me. "Sir Atticus has summoned you," she said. Her lips were tight, and her eyes were alit with anger. "Go to him now." She marched up to me and pushed me. I nearly dropped my lexicon as I stumbled backwards. Sir Petra was many things, but not physically violent.

I looked around. I wasn't in the Matrix anymore. Right in front of me was Sir Atticus' office door. I realised what she had done. I smiled to myself. Sir Petra must like me if she was willing to do something nice. I straightened up and knocked on the door. "Enter," Sir Atticus barked. Wondering what I could have possibly have done, I marched into the room.

The air was thick as I walked into the room and saw an angry Sir Atticus and a confused Marcus. Marcus seemed to be covered in dirt and leaves, an Arcfire-fifty-seven sniper rifle swinging limply on his back. I glanced at Marcus, who shrugged at me as I took my place next to him. Sir Atticus was pacing the room. On his desk, a bland-looking folder lay on it with a piece of paper sticking out. I couldn't make out what was on the sheet, but I knew it was the cause of the problem.

Sir Atticus finally came to a stop and looked at us both. I braced for whatever was coming. "I've been assigned orders." He bent over the desk, and his eyes were deadly serious. "What you're about to see is top secret. Understood?" The sharpness in his words told me there were no second chances here.

"Yes, sir," Marcus and I said, not daring to hesitate.

"My orders are to go with Sir Iris and Sir Otto to meet with the witches that live near Guildmain. A group of ghasts recently attacked them and they require some help." Sir Atticus went silent for a moment as we both processed this information. Questions were burning inside me. So much excitement here in so little time. Witches, demon attacks, and a secret mission. I wanted to know all the details, but I held my tongue. Even I knew how delicate this mission was. The Order didn't want to be seen as being too close to witches. After all, they had rejected the very God we represented.

"What's our orders, sir?" Marcus said. I thought back to the City of Light festival and Sir Iris with Lex. Sir Atticus must want to assign us training before he heads off to the witches.

But the dark look on his face told me there was more to this.

"Your orders are the same as mine," Sir Atticus said through gritted teeth. I gasped. Even Marcus looked dumbfounded by this news. They were sending in Squires to do this job too? That was insane. Though both Marcus and I had experiences with demons, neither of us had fought them on their home ground. Sir Atticus straightened up. "You are to accompany me and act as support while I assist the witches." Sir Atticus took in a deep breath. "You have permission to ask questions," eyes flicking between the two of us.