Dance of the Gods

Michael went into the library with Miss Robbins. They immediately looked towards the couch where Father Martin sat with the young lady in question.

Hearing them enter the room she turned towards Michael first. As he saw those bewitching eyes, he stumbled and nearly fell over. Behind him Miss Robbins cursed silently and went around him.

The woman was still staring at him with raised eyebrows and a small smile. He smiled back at her a bit awkwardly, then looked away while blushing.

'Really?! I have been an ascended for years! My movement is always perfect! How did I stumble?... Just because of this very beautiful woman... Dammit I forgot to introduce ourselves!'

While he was having an existential crises, Miss Robbins just stared at him. She was enjoying his struggle, but after a few seconds she had enough and began talking.

"You must be Miss Navarro! It's nice to meet you, my name is Billie Robbins and this is my fumbling partner Michael Kane."

His head snapped towards her and he used all the willpower in this world to not make a snide remark. Instead he took a deep breath, calmed his nerves, and turned towards Veronica.

She was trying her hardest not to laugh at their interaction. Next to him Father Martin was just shaking his head with a dry smile.

"Ye... Yes, we came straight from Madam Stout's house and would like to ask some questions about those events. You can also chose not to answer, but knowing everything might help us figure out what went wrong."

On the sofa Veronica's happy mood quickly disappeared and a bit of the previous melancholy returned. It took her a few minutes to answer, but eventually she told them everything.

"I... I'm not sure where to begin. At first everything seemed normal, or at least I thought it was since no one divined for me before... She said that I died, but got resurrected. That Someone killed me and brought me back with some ulterior motive... It was all very confusing, but whatever she saw it killed her."

The room turned silent as everyone began thinking.

'Ted was right not letting Billie divine Madam Stout's death. There was something much more important happening here if just by the knowing of this entity is deadly. We have to be careful!'

He was about to ask another question, but unexpectedly Veronica beat her to it.

"Father Martin told me that you are from some sort of secret organization... The Unbroken?"

Michael and Billie both nodded, they didn't plan to hide this fact anyway. It even made their job easier, they had to explain less.

"He also said that you can tell me more about the supernatural world... So before I answer more questions you should answer some of mine!"

This attitude wasn't something Michael expected, by Father Martin's description Veronica should be a smart, kind and shy person. But this woman sitting in front of him was more cunning than shy. It brought a small smile to his face, he never really liked timid people... They always act suspicious, even when there is no reason for it.

"Go ahead Miss Navarro. We keep our promises and will answer any question truthfully."

'And only because I'm a good person! Definitely not because I would be scared of the old priest's wrath! Not even a little bit...'

Everyone within the Unbroken knew not to mess with Father Martin. It's not that he was strong or anything, but out of all of them he was closest to the Goddess of Secrets. That was something that very few people dared to mess with.

After Michael's reply the quiet returned for a few minutes. Slowly Veronica formulated all the questions she wanted answers to, and soon she began the questionnaire.

"First things first, what are the ascended?"

"Straight into the action, I like it! I won't gonna go into details because then we would be sitting here until morning and technically my shift ended about three hours ago. Simply speaking ascended are what they sound like, people on the path of ascension... Don't ask me what they are ascending into, that's classified even for me."

Veronica didn't seem to be satisfied with the answer, so with a small sigh of annoyance he continued.

"There are 15 different paths with 8 different orders. I'm currently at the 7th order of the Mediator path and Miss Robbins is the 8th order of the Knowledge Pursuer path. Every path is different in a lot of ways, some give enhancements to your body, others to your soul and most is a mix of both."

When he finished Veronica looked a bit confused and excited. A weird combination to say the least. It took her a while to ask her next question.

"Which one of these 'paths' was Madam Stout from?"

Billie must have felt left out, as she answered before Michael had the chance.

"She was an 8th order Oracle, her powers were mostly related to divination and rituals. That's why she worked as a medium, her divination's are actually true unlike most of the others."

Whatever they said seemed to sadden Veronica, before they could ask what was wrong she asked in a small voice, "Is it always true?"

'Oh... There seems to be something she haven't told us yet! Most likely about her future, if I had to guess.'

Michael put on his most comforting smiles, which didn't even came close to Father Martin's kind expression, but it was something.

"Of course not! Especially if it involves people of higher order than your own, and since Madam Stout was only an order 8th there is a very high chance of interference. But what did she divine that made you feel this lethargic?"

He tried to bring the conversation back to its origin. And like a true mediator his voice calmed Veronica.

"It's... It's about my future... She said I will experience great sadness and tragedy... And that it will mark my soul until the day I die..."

With a mischievous smile Michael tried to lighten her mood.

"Huh... That's kind of vague. What counts as sadness and tragedy to you? For me when I have to work overtime without more pay, is a great tragedy and I will definitely won't forget it for the rest of my life!"

Billie punched his arm to make him shut up, but he already achieved his goal as a small happy giggle sounded from the couch. Seeing that her mood gotten better brought a little smile to his face as well.

They stared at each other for a moment too long, so Billie had to step in.

"Okay, I think we know everything we need to. But before we leave the Unbroken have a proposal for you, we offer this to most people who get in contact with the supernatural and survive. If you want to you have a chance to join our ranks and even apply to become an ascended!"

She began walking towards the door with Michael, but before leaving he said, "You have two days to decide, the work is not easy, and it's very dangerous, but has pretty good pay. It was nice meeting you Miss Navarro and I hope to see you again someday!"

He made a formal bow, then put his hat back on and went home.

Inside the room Veronica didn't know how to feel about this. It was a lot of new information and the job offer seemed good, just what she needed.

'I really want to join, but I also don't want to make any hasty decisions...'

While thinking about everything she began yawning and only now did she realize how tired she was.

'Okay, I decided! I will go to sleep, and make important decisions about my life with a clear head!'

Father Martin was just sitting next to her comfortably, enjoying the silence and peace.

"If you don't mind I would like to go home and sleep before answering." She said with a weary voice. He just smiled warmly and nodded.

"Smart choice! Would you like me to walk you to the Miles Inn, or if you want to there's an extra room with a bed within this cathedral. Sadly the public carriages are retired for the night, so that's out of the question."

Thinking for a few moments Veronica quickly made the choice, she still wasn't satisfied with the answers she had gotten. So obviously she wanted to go back to the Miles Inn and learn more, especially about that basement of theirs.

"Thank you for the offer, but I would like to sleep in my own bed."

"That is perfectly understandable, but I will help you get back there. The streets aren't the safest in this part of Hammon."

She nodded with a thankful smile and as they were about to leave her eyes stayed on that book she had been reading. Father Martin noticed it and with a light chuckle said, "Take it, I lend it to you."

Her eyes brightened a bit, then became a bit embarrassed.

"Are you sure? You were already at the end."

"Yeah, this way you will have to bring it back! You see living in this temple alone is lonely and you are a perfect talking partner. So, I won't lend it to you for free, I demand some of your time every few days to keep me company!"

The voice he used sounded strict, but Veronica knew he was just faking it. With a small giggle and a thank you, they went outside and began walking towards the inn.