Screeechhhhhh!
That’s the sound of tires, brakes, and bodywork all screaming at the same time.
It’s been a while since I drove any car, and though this is one of the nicest beasts I’ve ever been in, I’m not the best driver. The stone-walled country lanes come at me fast, scraping the sides of the vehicle and curbing the tires. Shit. I’m going to fucking kill myself.
The cops haven’t lost me. There’s a real chance I’ll crash before I lose them. I have to focus. I have to…
“God help me!”
I've never called for divine intervention before. I don't know why I’m doing it now. I know I’m in danger of the mortal kind. Every corner is another opportunity for disaster, and stopping is not an option.
“If I might be of assistance, miss.”
Crichton sits up in the back seat, and I scream in shock. Where the fuck did he come from?
He leans between the seats, perfectly composed, not a mousy brown hair out of place.
“If you’d like to move over…”
"I can’t! They're chasing me!”
“Slide over the center console. I’ll take the wheel.”
He’s so calm I find myself doing what he tells me to do. I dive for the passenger seat, abandoning the wheel and expecting us both to end up in the prominent ditch. But that's not what happens. Suddenly, he’s in the driver's seat. I didn’t see him get into it, but he must have slid through that center console like a snake.
He has the wheel and we stop sliding around and hitting bits of road. We straighten up, and the car is suddenly one with the path ahead of it. The police are still behind us, but Crichton is in control.
Thor
Bryn is glowering at me intensely. I am attempting to regather the Brotherhood, but that is proving difficult. I hold a finger up, asking him silently to wait. I have one of the other brothers on the phone, someone capable of dealing with the matter at hand. Anita is the least of our worries. The blood trade happening in Direford beneath our very noses is much more of a concern.
“I’m not coming back there," Cosmos insists. “Bryn summons demons at his convenience. He lives in a house of demons. We are demon slayers. I can’t abide being expected to follow someone who breaks every rule we have at his slightest convenience.”
Cosmos looks like a rebel but talks like an authoritarian. Blue hair, tattoos, and piercings can’t make up for a soul destined to make rules and ruthlessly enforce them.
“We are sworn to protect the blood at all costs. Besides, things aren’t crazy like they used to be. I swear. He's married. He’s settled down. Nina has had a calming and moderating effect. But there is blood trade happening, and we need to keep it out of the hands of the true enemy. I have reason to believe our old friend Craig was supplying Fleish directly.”
“Fuck off," Cosmos curses.
"You don't need to come here, but I would appreciate you gathering those whose anger is not too great and going to Germany. A targeted raid on any Fleish laboratories is warranted.”
“That's something you’d usually lead. You delegating that to me?”
“I can’t leave the abbey at this time. There are other matters to attend to.”
“You don’t trust Bryn on his own,” Cosmos says. “You know he’s a fucking maniac.”
“It’s really not about Bryn,” I say. “Let me know if you want to undertake the mission. If not, I’ll come and lead it myself. Talk to you later.”
I disconnect the call.
“I can go to Germany,” Bryn says. “I trust you’ll look after Nina in my absence.”
"You can, and perhaps you’ll have to. But it’s time Cosmos led a mission. He's more than ready. His anger at you is something we can use to our advantage. A schism in the Brotherhood doesn’t have to mean we are inefficient.”
“What would we do without you, Thor,” Bryn says. His sarcasm is at a lower level than normal. Close to heartfelt.
“How can I help you?”
“It's about Anita.”
"She's with Crocombe.”
“Yes. Well. I don’t want her with Nina. Ideally, I don’t want Nina and Anita crossing paths at all. Nina is an angel. Whatever Anita is, it isn't going to be good for her. She's far from the companion I would have chosen for Nina.”
“You know that sometimes you talk about Nina as if…”
“As if what? She needs guidance?”
He knows what I mean. I don’t have to outright say it. Nina is so young. And so innocent. And Bryn, bless his soul, is older in so many ways. Even his eternal spirit bears marks of advanced age and suffering. He wants to protect her, and yet he cannot. Not from life itself.
“You don’t guide her, Bryn. That implies that you let her experience the world. She stays in this house, day in, day out. She barely walks the grounds. Someone like Anita would be good for her. She needs female companionship.”