Gods From the Machine (13 page)

“
Was that the reason you left?” Matt said.

“
It was the final straw in a long line of constant betrayals.” Garreth grew rigid in his seat, as if the question managed to unnerve him. “If you ask me, both of you should cut your losses and leave as soon as you can because once Peter’s done using you, you’ll be discarded like yesterday’s trash.”

But Nick wasn
’t in the mood; he could feel his temperature rise as his anger grew. The room became quiet, as they sat and looked around to each other, with no one saying a word until Garreth spoke again.

“
If looks could kill Nick, I’d say you’d like to see me dead Why? Does my disdain for Garrisons make you upset?”

“
No, but I’d definitely like to punch you in the face right now,” Nick said. His hands gripped tightly onto the arms of the chair to prevent the demon within from lunging at him.

“
Calm down, Nick. Garreth, there has to be something more to this than you not wanting anything to do with us. Forget Paul, Peter, and whatever problems you had in the past, and try to see the bigger picture,” Matt said.

“
I’ve seen the picture and I don’t care,” Garreth said.

“
Just like that, huh? So what was the point of seeing us when you were just going to blow off the idea anyway? You knew who we were and what we wanted, but you really had no intention of ever helping us, did you?” Nick said.

“
No I did not. I just wanted to see you Garrison lapdogs come groveling on hands and knees. I wanted to see you all fall off your damn high horses just once, and realize that the world isn’t here to serve the order of your angels anymore. I’m not some kind of magical genie that can be summoned with a snap of Peter’s fingers. Things have changed. I’ve changed. And there’s nothing you can do that will make me reconsider,” Garreth said.

Garreth had a prominent history with the knights, so he had to have been briefed about th
e importance of the sword. With all the knowledge he had, he must know how much leverage could be gained on their side if he helped. Why did he have such a grudge against the knights? What happened between him and the others at the Garrison that drove him to put the world at stake?

Garreth adjusted his glasses.
“Anything else? As you know I’m a very busy man, so if you please.” He stood up, prepared to show them out.

Nick,
sitting complacently in his seat, had just about given up on their mission. It was futile to convince the multimillionaire to help when he obviously detested anything related to the holy knights or the Garrison. Suddenly Nick’s eyes became fixated upon an object in the back: a black katana on the mantle directly behind Garreth, and in between two Pailean-styled paintings. The sword looked much different than anything else in the room, but the real reason it stood out was because the scabbard was worn and old, something that wouldn’t normally catch the interest of someone with Garreth’s stature.

“
That’s an impressive sword.” Nick pointed to the rack. “I’ve never seen something like that before. Where did you get it?”

“
Pailo, like everything else in this room.” Garreth rose out from his seat to better look at the sword. “It’s called
Rosewind
. It was the original katana I used during my days as a knight. Better than the old regulation rapiers, don’t you think?” He gave a resigned sigh. “I’ve always enjoyed Pailean culture and among the choices of weapons, their swords are by far my favorite design. Such elegance, such grace is the katana.”

“
I’ve only seen them in pictures,” Matt said. “But if you ask me, they seem a little flimsy for my taste.”

“
I’m sure that was the reason Peter never incorporated them.” Garreth drew the sword off the stand, cradling it as if it were the most delicate object in the world. He sighed softly. “Such a long time ago, wasn’t it?”

Matt nodded.
“Yeah, you were a great swordsman. One of the best we had.”

“
I was, wasn’t I?” Garreth placed his hand on the dingy katana sheath. His mouth curled into a frown as he dropped his hand from the scabbard and turned back around. The sweet sentiment from his face had been replaced with bitterness.

“
Unfortunately, like everything else in this world it changed, for the worse. No matter what you do the Crowned Princes cannot be defeated, not even with the power of the Inferno Bearer. It would take years before you could even begin to master his skill in combat. By then it would be too late.”

Nick
slammed his fists into the chair’s arm support breaking both sides into wood chips.  “You got to let go of the past,” he said, his voice hard as steel. “I don’t know what happened to you, and I don’t want to sit here and listen to a sob story. This isn’t a therapy session. This is about war. It’s about lives on the line. We came here for the purpose of resurrecting the broken sword that could help, but you’re turning us away for your own selfish reasons. Fyria won’t be the first casualty. The world will sink into despair and it won’t be long before Hyperion does too. So you can either sit there sulking about the past or you can let go of your hatred for the knights and help us make a stand in defending our future.”

Garreth walked to the window and gazed outside. He seemed to be struggling with
inner turmoil, muttering silently to himself. After a back and forth exchange with himself, he spoke, but only to serve disappointment.

“
I expected more from him.” Garreth stared out the window, his arms crossed behind his back. “I expected him to acknowledge my potential and see me in his footsteps, but I was wrong.” He turned around now, his teeth seething with rage. “I fought and bled, but I was never good enough, no matter how hard I worked or how strong I became! I would have given my life for Peter’s Garrison—for some shard of his approval! But in the end my service meant nothing.  And now, after years of silence they decide they need me again. Well you can forget it! You’ll receive no help from me.”

“
Garreth…” Matt said.

“
You’ve already insulted me enough. Now leave now before I call security,” Garreth warned.

“
Come on man there’s no need to—” Matt began.

“
LEAVE NOW!”

Matt was stunned, but Nick knew that at this point they were just wasting their time. Garreth Graves had left everything in Glenhaven for a different life in Hyperion, for an escape from the knights and be free to make his own choices. The thought of that alone made Nick envy Garreth. It wasn
’t enough that he was richer than Matt, or probably more successful than the president, but he also had the choice to do whatever he wanted. He wasn’t forced to live out a destiny, to have his whole life planned beforehand. It was something Nick would never be able to do, and it made him angry to think about it. He had the option to deny them. And as great as the Garrison was, it was still a system Nick was attached to. It was prison despite its noblest intentions to be anything otherwise.

“
Forget it.” Nick stormed off to the elevator. “He’s not going to help us.” He stabbed at the button with his finger to go down.

“
Just wait a second, I think he’ll come around.” Matt followed him with the bag of sword pieces jangling in his hand. The door chimed and opened before them. They shuffled into the elevator just as they heard footsteps. Matt held the door for a split second, awaiting Garreth to appear. But he never did.

There was only the sound of another bottle opening. The smell of alcohol filled the air as its contents were poured into a fresh cool glass.

Outside they met with Quinn, who was leaning on the side of the car. She tilted her sunglasses upwards, “Something tells me things didn’t go out as well as planned.”

“
You think?” Nick said, as they climbed into the car.

“
So what now?” Quinn said.

“
We have to report my first mission was a complete failure,” Nick said.

The whole way back to Glenhaven he kept thinking about their conversation with Garreth, replaying
it over and over in his head. The whitesmith who had served loyally for several years now regarded his past with such contempt. Nick couldn’t blame him; on the contrary, he felt sorry for him. He’d gone to Hyperion looking for help from the knight, but the man he found wasn’t a knight at all, just a shell of a man consumed by his own hatred.

7
. Doctor Numerous

A few weeks later Nick was eating alone one afternoon in the community ca
feteria when Matt joined him. Today he looked more energetic than usual, with his bright smile and the strange, sparkle in his eyes he usually had when there was interesting news to be told.

“
The word on the street is that despite our unsuccessful mission, Peter hasn’t revoked your spot at the frontlines. What do you think about that?” Matt said.

“
That seems really unlikely,” Nick tossed the last piece of sandwich into his mouth. Since their last mission was a failure, he wasn’t exactly in the mood to be discussing the next one.

Matt frowned.
“I expected a better reaction than this. What’s wrong? Are you still mad about what Garreth said? Forget him. He’s just bitter about everything.”

Nick nodded across the room to Daniel whom he had been watching for some time. He was sitting by himself, wrapped head to toe in bandages. Being hospitalized was bad, but
having virtually everyone shun him for losing was such a pathetic sight to behold. Every member of the Garrison was at the knight initiation and they all saw what had happened, but no one came by to ask how he was doing or bother to help him when struggled to carry his lunch tray. No one offered to sign one of his various casts. Not a single person cared. They all just went about their business, passing him by as if he didn’t exist at all.

“
Some warm welcome,” Nick muttered.

“
You mean that Daniel kid?” Matt asked. “You know, if you put the two of you together, you look sort of similar, like he could be your long-lost cousin.”

“
Doubtful.”

It was true that he had the same sad slouc
h Nick had the first couple of years as a soldier. Other than that, no way he bore any similarities to the bright-eyed apprentice. He may have had Matt as a support system through all the rough times, but there was no way this light hazing could compare to the constant rejection Nick had to endure for years.

Daniel was the new guy;
he was the transfer. This was normal and after a few months, it would eventually stop. However, as far as he knew Daniel was also the youngest apprentice in the Garrison history, which meant he was currently resented by all other envious older knights who deemed they were cheated out of the position. Earlier Nick saw him wave at Paul, only to be rebuffed and earn the jeering laughter of the other knights. If a fellow apprentice like Paul and his goons seemed to despise him, it was more than likely because he didn’t consider Daniel an equal for his crushing defeat at the trials. Strength was the only way to become popular among warriors, and he had pretty much ruined his chances the day he lost.

Worst of all though:
Nick knew that he was the cause of Daniel’s misfortune. It was his lack of control that put Daniel on a stretcher and alienated him from his peers. Knowing this, how could he be excited to go into war when he could potentially be dangerous among his own soldiers? He couldn’t control his crazy rage when he became Agrian.

“
I should go talk to him,” Nick said. “I mean, after all I did I should at least attempt to make things right.”

“
You did set back the Garrison budget by blowing him through a wall, but trying to patch things up is going to be social suicide,” Matt warned. “He’s an apprentice who not only publically lost, but lost to a
demon
. Get it? His reputation is as good as gone. None of the other knights will ever accept him now. Everyone already sees you as an outcast. Do you really want to jump into the deep end by adopting that kid?”

“
My reputation never stopped you from being my friend.” Nick stood up. “Now are you going to come with me, or not?”

Matt grinned.
“You know, I think Peter got the wrong guy. You’re way too soft to be a blood lusted demon. Fine, let’s bring the welcome wagon to the little guy.”  They moved their trays a couple tables over next to the sad-eyed knight.

“
It’s good to see you’re doing much better, Daniel.” Nick took on of the many empty seats next to the boy. He was rewrapping the loose bandages around his arm. Somehow he still retained the goofy smile on his puffy face even after being so battered.

“
I must look better than I feel.” Daniel’s mouth drooped sadly. “For an apprentice to lose, especially during the knight trials, is just embarrassing. Maybe Lucius was wrong to have chosen me.”

“
I say look at the positives. Doesn’t it make you feel better knowing Nick here was actually part demon?” Matt sat on his other side. “And not just any demon, but the Prince of Rage! I mean, getting the stuffing knocked out of you by a demon that high on the food chain is what would have happened to anybody.”