Hero's Curse (26 page)

Andi was still in the front passenger seat looking sullen—the perfect picture of a teenager being treated unfairly. Tim and Aidan were awake but still looked groggy.

None of the men outside matched my image of Bill Samson. One was dressed in black with a priest’s collar. The other four looked like Hollywood movie nerds. In movies, nerds have just two body types—skinny with the beginnings of a pot belly or obese. There were three of the skinny kind and one of the fat. If the Boise Brotherhood were as good as they looked, we were in trouble.

“Guys, stay inside until we know what’s going on.” I stepped out of the van and closed the door behind me. “I’m Victor Paladin.”

The Priest stepped forward and shook my hand, “I’m Father Mallory.” He waved at the others, “Matt Shrank, Todd Singletary, Jim Black, Larry Summerhays.”

Father Mallory looked at me; I tilted my head toward him in acknowledgement and waited for him to tell me what was going on. The silence seemed to make the Father uncomfortable. “Uh, Paladin Samson asked us to meet you here. We’re all members of the Boise Oath Brotherhood.”

“What’s the plan?”

The Priest pointed to the church. It was an A-Frame style brick building, with concrete blocks designed to look like limestone surrounding the solid metal double doors and the windows facing us. The windows, relative to the size of the building, were tiny and protected by steel burglar bars. I could feel the presence of defensive spells. They weren’t quite as strong as the spells the Jotunn had broken at the monastery. As jury-rigged fortresses went, it wasn’t bad. “Paladin Samson wants you to stay in the church until the Jotunn attack.”

“You used the word ‘until’ not ‘if.’”

“How do you feel? Do you have the compulsion to get back to Salt Lake City?”

Now that Father Mallory had mentioned it, I noticed I didn’t feel the need to head back.

My expression must have been my answer. He smiled grimly as if he’d proved his point.

“Father, do you know my background?”

His smile morphed into an expression of slight confusion. “No. I know you’re the new Salt Lake City Paladin. That’s it.”

“Until a couple of days ago when I became one, I had no idea paladins existed. I need you to explain the relationship between my compulsions and the Jotunn.”

Father Mallory looked equally surprised and apologetic. “I can only tell you what Paladin Samson told me.”

“Yes?”

“He said the only way you could leave Salt Lake City was if you were unconscious or directly threatened by the Jotunn. Your compulsions are direct expressions of God’s will. When it comes to threats, they’re based on what God knows, not what you know.”

B and Aidan had been surprised by my suggestion of leaving Salt Lake City while asleep. Based on their reactions, I had mistakenly assumed no one else knew about this technique. I wondered how many other wrong assumptions I’d made. “Is this common knowledge?”

“I just learned about this myself when I talked to Paladin Samson a half-hour ago.”

“Thirty minutes ago, I felt the need to go back to Utah. Now I don’t; does this mean the Jotunn have started heading our way since then?”

“I really don’t know enough to answer that question. Paladin Samson may know.” When I reached for my phone, the Priest pointed to the doors. “It’d be a lot safer for all of us if we continued this conversation inside the Church.”

That made sense. I opened the van door. “Guys, let’s get our gear and head inside the church.”

It only took a minute for me to briefly explain the situation and conduct quick introductions. The Boise Oath Brothers helped unload the van, and with all of us, it only took one trip.

I didn’t see a container large enough to hold Sanguinis, Obex, and my armor. I pulled the leprechaun off to the side and asked, “Aidan, where did you put my gear?”

“My boy, the Jotunn are in our Universe to kill paladins and claim their weapons. If you get mortally wounded, you will need a safe place to send them. I’ve stored them in a secure location. Since it won’t affect how quickly you can access them, it’s best you not know where they are.”

“Does Tim know the location?”

“Only I know.”

Mina came up beside me, a backpack in her arms. “Hey.”

“Hey, yourself.” We walked together into the church and she set the pack down on one of the pews. Other than the lack of windows, Our Lady of Good Counsel was a typical Roman Catholic Church. The front doors opened into a vestibule. Past the second set of doors was one large room filled with pews and high vaulted ceilings. Once her hands were free, Mina took my arm and led me away from the others, saying in a soft voice, “Andi told me and Ben why she poured sugar in our van and planted the listening devices.”

Near the far end of the church, Mina brought me into the shadow of a column and pulled me close, laying her head on my chest. In response, I wrapped her tight in my arms. “Victor, this is so crazy. It feels like we’re in a nightmare. Andi said an angel told her to do it. She’s certain she’s following God’s will. Why would God want to kill us?”

“Did she tell you the angel’s name?”

“Samael.”

It was interesting that an archangel with millions of underlings was willing to do his own dirty work. Was he trying to hide what he was doing from his own people or did he just like doing things himself? Shit, I needed to break myself of the habit of mulling over questions I couldn’t answer. “Mina, Samael probably has been visiting her. You know how if it seems too good to be true, it usually isn’t? An angel’s visit is not necessarily a good thing.”

Mina pulled back so she could see my face. I could see her wonder where I was going. Somehow, I knew she wasn’t just torn up about Andi’s sabotage. Mina believed in a loving God Who personally cared about her. She was a true believer whose faith was being sorely tested. I couldn’t figure out why I knew this, but I was sure she was hurting.

I told her the version of the truth that was least likely to cause her pain. “God has millions, no billions of angels working for him. The idea of billions of intelligent creatures all working in harmony with peace, love, and sugary goodness is too good to be true. There are assholes playing politics everywhere, including Heaven. Samael is the kind that doesn’t mind a few deaths by friendly fire or collateral damage in the service of the greater good.” Mina laid her head back on my chest. I didn’t know if what I said helped, but I’d tried.

I’ve always viewed surprise as a personal failure. Reality in the end is simple; it is what it is. Whenever I’ve been surprised in the past, it has almost always been because I failed to see or correctly interpret what was in front of me. I doubted the existence of God even though I had been raised by nuns and surrounded by people of faith for most of my early life. I’d never been able to believe in an all-powerful and loving god who would allow our imperfect world to exist. Every religious attempt to explain why shit happens always seemed like a cop-out. The answer to my religious question was simple; Jehovah was a nice enough deity—according to B the best in the known Multiverse—who wasn’t the all-powerful God of Mina’s faith.

The most astonishing thing of all was how little I cared about being wrong for so many years. The thing I cared about most was this young girl clasped within my arms. Jehovah, God Almighty had hooked me up with a girl over twenty years younger than me and I was good with it. Fear comes from having something to lose. I’d found something I couldn’t bear to give up.

I focused on her body next to mine. I breathed in the earthy scent of a healthy young woman on a hot July afternoon. I listened to the slow beat of her heart. I felt her hair against my cheek.

Loud, hurried footsteps coming toward us made me look up. Mina pulled back from my arms and self-consciously brushed her hair out of her eyes. It was Father Mallory. “Victor, I have Paladin Samson on the phone.

I took the phone. “Yes.”

“Father Mallory said you’re not feeling the need to go back to Salt Lake City.”

“Yeah, the last time we talked I was. Does that mean they’re headed our way?”

“Yes.”

“So I’m not the first paladin to work around the compulsion to stay in our own area by putting himself to sleep.”

“No.”

“Is this technique common knowledge?”

“Father Mallory said you became a paladin just a few days ago and that you haven’t had any paladin training”

“Yeah.”

“As part of our training, and to avoid making the same mistakes, we learn about the paladins who’ve lost their weapons. There have been two paladins in the past who’ve tried your technique. Putting yourself to sleep to get out of your territory is something that’d be known by anyone who went through paladin training, but it’s unlikely that anyone else would know about it.”

“Would that include Archangels?”

“I know Michael does. I’m not sure about the others. It’d depend on the Archangel.”

“Has anyone else besides the two who lost their weapons used the technique?”

The amusement in Samson’s voice became obvious. “No.”

I pictured myself in Samson’s shoes. If I was a traditionally trained paladin who came across a noob without any training at all, who came running for help using a technique previously used only by losers, how would I react? The fact I understood his attitude didn’t mean I liked it. My voice was dry when I replied, “You want me to be bait.”

He confirmed, “You and your people will be bait.” I could tell he was waiting to see how I’d react. When I didn’t say anything he went on, “The Jotunn will most likely attack tonight. My men will be leaving as soon as we’re done with this conversation. They’ve done what they needed to do. We have the church surrounded and we’re hidden well enough that the Jotunn shouldn’t notice us. After they break through your defenses, they’ll most likely enter through the windows and doors. After they’re all in the church, they’ll be rats in a cage with nowhere to run. We’ll attack then.”

“It’s a good plan but my people don’t need to stay in the church. It’ll work fine with just me in the church. The Jotunn are here for my weapons and armor. Take my people to safety and I’ll stay inside as bait.”

“That won’t work.”

“Why not?” I demanded.

“Since our last conversation, we’ve found audio surveillance equipment in my house and two spies for Samael in our Brotherhood. I’ve fed them false information. My first priority is my own people. The only reason to risk their lives against the Jotunn is if they enter our area, or if we have a chance to kill them all.

“I told the spies that it isn’t worth it for us to help you other than to let you fort up just outside our boundaries. I’m sure by now the Jotunn know this intel. Once they come within a couple miles of Our Lady of Good Counsel, they’ll be able to tell if all of you aren’t there. The Jotunn leader is smart and savvy; that’s one of the reasons they’ve survived for so long. They never fight without a clear advantage, and they’ve been able to avoid every trap we’ve set. If anything looks off, there’s a good chance they won’t take our bait. The only reason I’m optimistic we’ll be able to trap them this time is because the church is outside my territory in no man’s land, and because of the disinformation we’ve fed them.”

Samson wasn’t making any sense. “If this is outside your territory, how did your men get here and how are you planning on getting here? The Jotunn want my gear. If I’m inside by myself, there’s no reason for them to get skittish.”

Exasperation crept into Samson’s voice. “Victor, your remaining Oath Brothers don’t have the ability to abandon you. If they’re not inside the church, they have to be outside helping with the ambush. Territorial compulsions don’t apply in times of great crisis or opportunity; the chance of destroying the Jotunn war band counts as an opportunity. Father Mallory and his apprentices were able to leave Boise because their job was to turn Our Lady of Good Counsel into a cage that’s easy for the Jotunn to enter but difficult to leave.”

“I understand your position, Bill but your plan doesn’t work for me.” I forced myself to lower my voice, to keep my tone reasonable as I said, “I’ll get my people and drive into Boise, if that’s what it takes to get your help.”

I expected Samson to lose it. When he spoke he didn’t sound angry or even exasperated, his voice was filled with pity, “Man, you really don’t know much about anything. We paladins are designed to be territorial. You and your people need my permission to enter Boise, and I’m not giving it to you. If you try to go back to sleep and have Paul Swenson’s kids drive you and your Brothers into Boise, we’ll disable your van from a distance.” The tone of his voice changed. It sounded like he was trying to give me an order. “Victor, you have to do this my way. This is too good of an opportunity to let you screw it up. It’s either that, or the false information I gave to our traitors won’t be false. I’m sorry, but you and your people are walking dead. You can choose to die uselessly, or you can help us destroy the minions that have already killed two paladins and hundreds of Oath Brothers.”

“Bill, you do what you have to do. I expect I’ll do the same.”

I heard a weary sigh. “So, it’s going to be like that?” His voice became quiet. “It’s a damn shame.” He hung up.

I handed the phone back to Father Mallory. He couldn’t meet my eyes. He turned and walked out of the church. Without a word, his apprentices followed him. During my conversation with Samson, I’d tried to keep my voice under control. I hadn’t been all that successful. I may not have been shouting but my voice had gotten pretty loud. Aidan, Tim, Ben, and Andi had gathered close around Mina and me.