Chapter 17: The Price Of A Secret

Chapter 17: The Price Of A Secret Andrew O'Kelley

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"You're Nicodemus," Daniel stuttered, realizing just who the man was. "I was given a sealed letter to give to you as part of my duties. I’ve been tasked to investigate the increased monster presence around here.”

"I kind of figured it was something like that, but I haven’t worked with anyone in a long time. I don’t know how much help I might be. Truth be told, I rarely leave this building anymore." Daniel examined Nicodemus’s expressions, his face betraying neither shock nor surprise that Daniel had been sent to him. "I really should have figured it out from the beginning as soon as I saw you, but you've got a lot more of your father’s face about you than I care for. Count yourself lucky that you at least inherited some of your mother’s features. Like the color of your hair or your affinity to monster harvesting. Both of your parents could, but still."

An uneasy feeling flooded Daniel’s body as he processed the words this man was saying. Nicodemus had known his parents or at least claimed to have known them. "How did you know them?” he asked suspiciously, his voice tinged with a healthy edge of skepticism.

Nicodemus laughed, an empty and hollow laugh that hinted at self-loathing and bitterness. "Of course I knew your parents, Elisha was my daughter, and her husband, your fool of a father, was the bane of my existence. His ability to irritate and disappoint me was legendary, and something he learned in turn from his own father, I’m sure."

Daniel hardened his jaw, avoiding the impulse to grind his teeth or attack the man outright. The more this Nicodemus spoke, the angrier he got. Resenting that he was making these outlandish claims and misrepresenting both the old man and the father he had never got the chance to know.

Seeing the look, Nicodemus frowned, raising an eyebrow but not backing down. "Yes, your grandfather, the one that’s kept you hidden away from the world, hoping no one would figure out what you are. He’s a damn fool, and I’ll repeat it as many times as needed to get that point across. None of this would have ever happened had he just listened to me when I told him how things were going to work out."

"I don’t believe any of this. This was a mistake; the old man must have made a mistake. I don’t belong here. There's no way that I can work with you," Daniel yelled as he turned to leave, getting ready to run out the door.

Nicodemus followed behind him, grabbing him by the shoulder before he could leave. "That would be a mistake for you to leave. If he sent you my way, it’s a sign that going back would be dangerous for you. That man was always jealously protective of you. He would never have sent you my way unless he thought he had no other choice."

"Let go of me," Daniel demanded as his Silver Shield started to pulse with a blue pulse of mana as Daniel prepared to dismantle the door in front of him and use the pieces to put distance between him and Nicodemus.

"Fine, you want proof, you don’t believe me? Here's your proof since you don’t seem to care enough about yourself to realize how hard the future is about to get. You said you didn’t bother to read the sign that showed my shop was closed, right? Did you at least catch the name?" Nicodemus shouted, trying as he did to make a point he thought was critical.

Daniel didn’t want to have anything more to do with the man. He shrugged off his hand, starting the process of destroying the door as Nicodemus tried to prevent him from leaving.

"Just look ok. Just look," he asked, his voice getting softer, pleading with him, wanting him to see reason. Why is it so important to him? Nothing is going to change my mind.

"I already saw it. You think you're clever, right? Having a store simply named supplies." Daniel’s words were intentionally cutting, and though he wasn’t a cruel person or a mean one, the man had angered him. He just wanted to leave, even if he had nowhere and no idea of where to go.

"Did you catch the full name, not just the last part that said supplies? Look again," Nicodemus asked, probing, guiding him.

"Fine, I’ll look, and then you can stay out of my way, and let me be," he responded irately towards him as he nodded, moving away, letting him open the door and peak out. Daniel glanced up, past the words reading supplies. The man was right; supplies were just part of the name.

When he saw what it said, Daniel’s hands went cold, wondering why he had missed something so important. Nicodemus tried to gently guide him back into the store, away from prying and unfriendly eyes that might see something and raise concerns.

The name of the store was "Richards’s Supplies." The man was right. They were family. Of course he had known his parents.

"I didn’t mean to piss you off, kid," Nicodemus said awkwardly, trying to defuse the situation, uncertain how to respond to his emotions. "Believe what you want to believe, leave if you want to, but you don’t have to. You’ve got a place here. You can follow me to the back, and you can stay in your mom’s old room. I’ve tried to keep it like it was when she was just a girl. Might not be to your taste, but I’m not changing it."

Nicodemus motioned with his head for Daniel to follow him and turned, walking away. He grabbed hold of the cloth curtain that separated the shop from the rest of the building and held it open. He turned away to see if Daniel was following him. "Come on now, don’t just stand there. Follow me. We’ve got a lot to cover and not a lot of time to do it."

Not yet moving, Daniel asked him one question. "Is this where my mother grew up? Running this store with you?"

"Ha, no," laughed Nicodemus as he held the curtain, leaning against the wall, knowing Daniel would follow. "She grew up here, but it wasn’t always a shop. This used to be the headquarters of the Soldiers of the Sword and Shield, back when that was still a thing. Back before the Empire outlawed the group. This is where your mother learned the basics of being a Mage and the basics of being a Weaver. You want to know more? Come along."

"Yeah, I guess I do," admitted Daniel as he did a light jog to catch up with him and passed through the curtain. “So, what does that make you to me, besides a stranger?”

Nicodemus smiled, and with a word towards the Golems Daniel had created, instructed them to lock up shop. “Kin for now. Family is more than just a blood bond. You’ll come to learn that in time. But first things first, let’s head to your mother’s room. It’s downstairs in the basement in the sparring quarters."