07-18-2014, 12:03 PM
Nikolai Brandon, the Destroyer. The thought amused him far too much considering the gravity of what Aria had revealed. No wonder he wanted the Atharim bent to his will.
That aside, the prospect was difficult to swallow. He had no belief in prophecy or predicting the future, but he could not deny the Atharim had ancient knowledge, and if he could do whatever it was he did, why not see the future? It was equally absurd and perhaps very real.
Whatever the truth might be, he had already decided his course. "I won't help you kill him,"
he said bluntly before continuing in a softer voice. "But I am sorry. I see why you came here now."
He stopped to think a moment. So much to process. There was a woman with his powers? He had not met one. Tony did not say much, Michael had never really asked, but he had suspected it was possible. Women were also dying of the Sickness. Perhaps a meeting would be worth the danger.
And what of her plan to kill Nikolai? Killing her would be foolish. At best, he knew who they would send. Or were there others? So many damn questions!
"So this Regus fellow sent you to kill the most powerful man on earth? How does he expect you to do what the Atharim have not been able to for half a century?"
He frowned. "It sounds like suicide."
He could have let her die, but he would be damned if he'd let the Atharim ruin another life. Even its own members weren't safe from their zealous malice.
"Set up a meeting with this woman, it is the least I can do. As for your...assignment. How long do you have? And is there anything else I should know? Any more prophecies? I don't suppose they mention me?"
The humour was black. They certainly seemed to want him dead badly enough. The thought was sobered by Aria's mission. He did not really know what others faced, did he? The people he had faced could have been little more than raw recruits. He certainly did not warrant his own Sentient assassin like Nikolai.
Ideas whirred through his head. He needed time. In a few months, he would have a force strong enough to hold their own against the Atharim. Sooner if others that had experience like him were found. He would need to be careful, but it was a lead he could use. Aria needed help, she had friends who did not agree with their superiors. In time, they could use that to splinter the Atharim and put the rest in their debt. Above all, it was a step closer to ending the attacks that plagued him and the rest of his kind.
That aside, the prospect was difficult to swallow. He had no belief in prophecy or predicting the future, but he could not deny the Atharim had ancient knowledge, and if he could do whatever it was he did, why not see the future? It was equally absurd and perhaps very real.
Whatever the truth might be, he had already decided his course. "I won't help you kill him,"
he said bluntly before continuing in a softer voice. "But I am sorry. I see why you came here now."
He stopped to think a moment. So much to process. There was a woman with his powers? He had not met one. Tony did not say much, Michael had never really asked, but he had suspected it was possible. Women were also dying of the Sickness. Perhaps a meeting would be worth the danger.
And what of her plan to kill Nikolai? Killing her would be foolish. At best, he knew who they would send. Or were there others? So many damn questions!
"So this Regus fellow sent you to kill the most powerful man on earth? How does he expect you to do what the Atharim have not been able to for half a century?"
He frowned. "It sounds like suicide."
He could have let her die, but he would be damned if he'd let the Atharim ruin another life. Even its own members weren't safe from their zealous malice.
"Set up a meeting with this woman, it is the least I can do. As for your...assignment. How long do you have? And is there anything else I should know? Any more prophecies? I don't suppose they mention me?"
The humour was black. They certainly seemed to want him dead badly enough. The thought was sobered by Aria's mission. He did not really know what others faced, did he? The people he had faced could have been little more than raw recruits. He certainly did not warrant his own Sentient assassin like Nikolai.
Ideas whirred through his head. He needed time. In a few months, he would have a force strong enough to hold their own against the Atharim. Sooner if others that had experience like him were found. He would need to be careful, but it was a lead he could use. Aria needed help, she had friends who did not agree with their superiors. In time, they could use that to splinter the Atharim and put the rest in their debt. Above all, it was a step closer to ending the attacks that plagued him and the rest of his kind.
"She saw a flaring halo around his head, radiant in gold and blue. It shouted of glory and power to come"
"No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it."