Life And Death

"Maybe she is in danger again," said Bevan, breaking the silence that enveloped them all. His optimism was expected, and quite frankly, was refreshing. In some ways, it served as a segue for Maitho to focus on the important points.

"That is a possibility," said Maitho.

"Hold on," said Brigid, showing him her palm. "Before we go there. What did they tell you?"

Everyone's eyes fell on Maitho. He knew that if Quinn had eyes, then he would be having the same looks of anticipation the others shared. Maitho didn't know where to start. He had heard too much, but it made no sense to simply throw in one information after another.

Then he realized that he was supposed to be somewhere. "I think we might find the answers together," he said, taking out his smartphone and opening a note file. "I was supposed to go to this address and meet someone named Erik Odinson." He handed the phone to Brigid, who frowned as she looked at the address.

"Odinson?" said Bevan, one eyebrow raised.

"Yea," said Maitho. "No points for guessing which God's descendant he is."

"How many from the Norse pantheon were there?" This came from Quinn.

"Thor's and Freya's Guardians. Now we are going to meet Odin's. They admitted that they have the entire Norse pantheon behind Cray."

"They said that?" said Epona.

Maitho nodded. "They didn't just hint at it subtly. They downright confessed it."

The silence that settled on the group was filled with restlessness. It was as though each Guardian wanted to say something, but they had no idea what to say.

Epona ran her hand through her hair. "They are a powerful pantheon. Whit chance dae we have against thaim?"

Maitho was biting his lips. He knew that trying to focus on several problems at once might lead to analysis paralysis, the inability to make a decision in the face of overwhelming questions or information. He allowed himself to settle down. What's the most important problem that they should solve? What can they do next? What is in their control?

He knew that inaction tamed the fear. The longer they didn't do something, the more frightening the problem would be. They needed a sense of direction. They needed action.

"Right now," said Maitho, noticing that everyone instantly looked at him, as though they were eager to free themselves from their thoughts. "We need to get out of here. I don't want to stay in front of the mansion longer than I need to."

No one complained. They simply moved towards the car, getting inside and waiting for Quinn to drive away. As soon as Bevan closed the last opened door, the car took off, almost crossing the speed limit of the area.

Maitho was in the back seat next to Epona. Bevan had taken the driver's seat and Brigid had called shotgun.

"We are supposed to meet Erik at that address," said Maitho. "But I think we can afford a stopover."

"What are you planning?" said Brigid, catching his eye in the rearview mirror.

"We know who is part of your next mission. So before we follow their directions, let's head down our own path first. We can find out more about Jennifer."

"In case you didn't notice, I have two more months to save her."

"It's not about saving her. And besides, I have just twelve days to live."

Maitho just let it slip. It wasn't something he had intended to say at that moment. He was hoping to reveal his fate at a much later date.

What happened next was something he hadn't expected.

Quinn braked to a stop. Hard. Maitho almost had his face meet the headrest of the seat in front of him, but his hands blocked the impact. When he settled back into his seat, he could not help but react in surprise. "Quinn, what the heck?"

A second later, all the surprise escaped his system. It felt as though someone had plugged an emotional vacuum cleaner to his head and just sucked out his expressions. Everyone in the car was looking at him, although with different reactions.

Brigid had already mentioned to him about his one month duration earlier in the morning, so he wasn't certain what her surprised look was for. Perhaps it was because she had never expected him to reveal his fate. Perhaps it was something else.

Bevan, on the other hand, looked like someone had just told him that the world was coming to an end within the next few seconds. His entire body faced the back seat. He had even leaned back towards the steering wheel so that he could angle his body more, which seemed rather uncomfortable from where Maitho was able to see.

Epona had turned towards him, but her lips were pursed. Her eyes quivered, as though holding back suppressed anger. She turned her head outside the window, bringing her thumb and forefinger to her lower lip.

"When were you going to tell us this?" asked Bevan.

"Look, I barely knew you all and you guys didn't exactly roll out the friendly carpet. There's no way I was about to say something like that." Maitho looked from one Guardian to the other. He didn't know what else to say at that point. "I don't need you guys to treat me differently. This isn't your problem."

"But, Maitho dear," said Quinn. "You can't keep that from us. It changes things. And to put it simply, I'm just shocked. You are definitely not acting like someone who is about to die."

Maitho sighed. He understood the sentiment he was receiving. It was a strange combination of concern and confusion. Concern for a person's life but confusion about how exactly to deal with the situation. "This does not change anything." Maitho did not know if he believed that. And so, he repeated his words. "This. Does not. Change. Anything." He wanted to believe that he was doing it to emphasize his message to the others, but he knew that he was doing it to convince himself. Fake it till you make it, he supposed. "I have twelve days to live. They have twelve days to get me on their side. At least when it comes to time, we are on equal footing with Cray."

"An why dae they want ye on their side?" said Epona. She looked like she wanted to break something.

This was it. This was the moment to decide whether it was finally time to reveal his powers to everyone or if he should continue to take his secret to his grave. He thought back to the past day and realized that despite the fact that he had worked with others, it wouldn't matter how he felt about it in the long run. Soon, concepts such as camaraderie, Gods, Guardians, and friendships won't hold any meaning to him, since he won't be alive to think about them.

He was so lost in his thoughts, that the silence he held went on for longer than anyone could wait.

Brigid was the first to react. "It does not matter. He's going to die anyway."

Despite how much he wanted to respond to that statement, Maitho realized that she was right. It won't matter whether he reveals his power or not. Yet he couldn't help feeling a slight sting at her words. They seemed so nonchalant.

That was when Quinn's voice broke out. "Brigid love. If the next words that come out of your mouth are a trash compilation of your aggravation, then you can step out of the car and walk the rest of the way."

This time, another wave of shock spread through the car, but for a different reason. Bevan blinked a few times, and tried to say something. In the end, he pursed his lips and avoided making eye contact with Brigid. Epona, on the other hand, gave a quick look at her leader before turning away to face outside.

"You don't get to talk to me like that without consequences," said Brigid.

"Let me tell you something, my dear. You are a Guardian. I, on the other hand, am a vessel of the Gods. Which means, I follow a different set of rules. Rules that give me more power and privileges than you. So you're not a threat. You're just a passenger. So why don't you sit there and, I don't know, pout or something like the child that you are?"

Brigid's chest rose and fell in quick succession. Her exhales escaped her nose audibly. Maitho spotted her grip on the seat tighten. She was a lioness about to strike.

The Celtic team had been together long before Maitho joined them. He felt that perhaps that is how it should be long after he left them, alive or dead. He decided to step in. "Thanks Quinn, but I'm okay. I know how things are going to play out. Cray is not going to let me save him. At the end of this month, you guys are going to get rid of me anyways." He gave a quick laugh, but felt none of the humor behind his reaction. "Regardless of the outcome, you are going back to being just the four of you." He took a deep breath. "Maybe I haven't given it much thought. I never considered death as something inevitable in the short run. Or maybe this is some weird kind of normalcy bias, and my mind is calm because it does not know what else to do. Either way, I'm not bumbling around in shock. And I'll honestly take that over any alternatives."

A void settled in Maitho's heart. It felt like he could tap his chest and the sound would simply echo endlessly. The atmosphere inside the car was also void-like, with everyone looking as though they were diving deeper and deeper into a dark pit of questions that have no good answers.

"Let's focus on what we need to do," said Maitho. "We should find out more about Jennifer."

"Whit are ye plannin tae dae?" said Epona, eager to change the subject. She visibly brought herself under control, straightening her posture and changing her expression.

"There's something you all need to know. Cray and the Norse team told me that we are not saving innocent people. At least, not all the time." Maitho then proceeded to explain the conversation he had earlier to everyone.

When he was done, no one seemed to speak for a whole minute.

"They are tricking you and you are falling for it," said Brigid.

"But whit if they are right?" said Epona. "Whit if we have no juist been savin innocent lives, but scum an aw? Whit if aw our actions were for a specific purpose? A mean, if Charon coud lie tae us aboot oot lives, whit else coud he have liit aboot?"

"That is why," said Maitho, "we need to be certain. We need to find out more about Jennifer. If everything about her is true, then we are just about to save a criminal twice."

"Then in that case," said Bevan. "Do you know where she lives?" This he asked Brigid.

For a moment, it seemed as though the Celtic leader wouldn't say a word. Then she signed, turning to look outside the window. "I'll enter the address in the navigation."

Bevan looked pleased. He reached out to touch Brigid's hand, but the woman detached herself with a little more force than necessary.

Maitho pretended not to notice the embarrassment on Bevan's face. "Time to see if someone is worth saving or not," he said.

"Yea. Then maybe find a way tae save yer life," said Epona.