2. The Debt that I Owe
Chapter two
The Debt that I Owe
Nicodemus
Odysseus and I sat beside Soren and Sebastian, who were equally nervous, but seemed to be holding it together well.
Neither seemed in the mood to talk, so we busied ourselves with glasses of rich wine that were passed out by waitstaff.
The alcohol livened up my stiff joints immediately, something I needed desperately to continue keeping up my facade, though I was careful with how much I drank.
Even Odysseus was sipping his like his life depended on it, his lips stained red from the drink.
He usually preferred white wine but didn’t seem to care tonight.
Xenobia took the empty spot at my left and slammed her salad plate down, her eyes wide as she panted. “My goodness, those Water Elementals! They wouldn’t let me out of their sight!”
I laughed lightly. “I take it you’ve been having fun?”
“Fun? I’ve been asked eight hundred questions!
I’m trying my best to keep up, but I seriously need a break…
” She tossed some of her hair back and stabbed a grape tomato, pointing to the other side of the room with it.
“There’s this weird guy that keeps asking for you, Nick.
He’s got short brown hair and grey eyes. I think he’s another Death Elemental.”
“He’s asking for me?” I questioned as I craned my head to peer through the crowd.
Xenobia popped the tomato into her mouth and munched passively. “I think he’s one of Seraphine’s old friends or something. He seems, like, super old.”
“I think I know who she’s talking about. He asked me about you earlier, but I hadn’t seen you, so I told him to look for Atlas and ask him. He’s… odd, to say the least,” Sebastian grumbled as he finally broke out of his statuesque stance.
“Maybe I should go find this odd fellow then.” I excused myself and slid through the crowd of guests, who were laughing as they shared in the delicacies of the evening.
The man everyone had spoken of was standing at one of the balcony doors, puffing a long cigarette like a chimney.
His hair was buzzed short, and his clear grey eyes were distant as he watched the setting sun fall behind the clouds.
When he heard my boot heels clicking across the tile, he turned curiously, and when he realized who I was, his mouth curled into a deep smile.
“Excuse me, sir, but I heard you were looking for me?” I prompted as I approached him, hand extended.
He flicked some cigarette ash out of the window and took my hand, but when he gripped it, he did so firmly that I flinched in pain.
“Yes, Nicodemus Crawford… I’ve heard so much about you, young God-to-be, and I wanted a chance to meet you firsthand.
” His voice was thick like tar and made the hairs on my arms stand up underneath my sleeve.
“And who do I have the pleasure of meeting?” I asked, tugging my hand away.
He didn’t seem bothered by my hesitance towards him. “I am Evander Ambermourn. You can call me by my last name, please. I used to be an instructor at Chandler Academy. I taught your father how to hunt demons, once upon a time.”
I shivered at the mention of Chandler. Dad, of course, never spoke of his time at Chandler, but with what I knew of it, it was nothing to exactly talk about.
I wondered how he would react if he knew his old teacher was here, and or if he would want me anywhere near this foreboding man to begin with.
“Pleasure to meet you,” I managed to get out.
Ambermourn looked me up and down with that same, sneer-like smile on his face. “You certainly resemble him well enough. Who would have thought Atlas Crawford’s boy would be the strongest Elemental to ever live?”
I cleared my throat harshly. “Yes, well, I certainly get much of my strength from him. H-Have you spoken to him at all, this evening?” I pressed nervously.
Ambermourn’s eyes darkened a shade. “Well, no, not really. He probably isn’t very fond of us Chandler professors after what transpired between he and Phillip, but that shouldn’t ruin our conversation.”
“I suppose it shouldn’t…” I carefully replied.
Ambermourn cut his deep eyes through me, procuring another cigarette from his coat pocket as he spoke, “You have seven Shadow Walkers, is that correct?”
“I was born with four, but contracted three more during my time, yes,” I answered.
“I can see why you are deemed so powerful. The Elemental who can control all the elements… my, you are a special little thing, aren’t you?”
His tone and word choice sent more goosebumps up my arms. I had to hug myself to shake the feeling away. “I guess so, sir.”
He nodded to Montgomery Hall. “I hear you are training your Elite Elementals soon?”
“Starting this Monday,” I said with a light shrug.
“Well, I’d like to offer you my card, if that’s alright.
” He slid me a thin business card, all black with gold lettering, that had his name, number, and email address pressed into it.
“I would love to give you some pointers or answer any questions you may have as you transition into becoming a God. I was quite close with Atlas, and my advice certainly helped him prosper, so I’d hope it would do you some good as well. ”
I turned the card in my hand carefully. “I’ll certainly consider it.”
“I hope so. My help can be invaluable to you.” He cast his eyes over me slowly, really soaking every inch of me up. “Rumor has it you had quite the victory recently, against a foe like none other. Something about stowing an Original God away?”
My blood ran cold at his words. How could he possibly know about Pandora, and why would he bring it up now?
“I, well, something along those lines. It’s not really information I’m meant to share with the public,” I worded carefully.
He looked offended by my comment and tilted his head curiously. “I wouldn’t consider myself ‘the public’ by any means. More, an old friend.”
“Not one of mine, sir,” I acidly shot back.
Ambermourn’s brows furrowed a little. “Yes, I suppose you’re right.”
I looked back to the table my friends were at, where all six were watching me with worried frowns. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to my table. I look forward to getting to know you better?” I said with fake politeness in my tone.
Evander gripped my forearm abruptly, which made me jump enough that he noticed, though he didn’t let go.
“Please, do not tell your father we spoke. I’d like to handle him on my own, if that’s alright.
I mean no harm, but I would hate for he and I’s tiff to ruin any kind of relationship you and I could develop. ”
I was getting serious red flags from this guy but still nodded rigidly. “I suppose I can keep this between us.” I jerked my arm free, this time without trying to be so polite. “I’ll be seeing you.”
“Enjoy your evening, God of Death…” he whispered as I slipped back into the crowd, shaking my head to myself as I clutched the card I had sitting in my pocket.
As I walked, I summoned my Shadows to my consciousness and closed my eyes so I could see their faces. “Does anyone know who that guy was? What a creep…” I thought to them.
Claude chimed in first. “He was a professor at Chandler, but I don’t know much of him. Each element kept to themselves at Chandler, so there wasn’t much room to mingle. Stark, any idea who he is?”
“I’ve heard the name, but never much about him. I tended to keep my distance from the Death Elementals. You may want to run this by Seraphine. She’ll know him much better than I, since he was one of her colleagues after all,” Stark offered.
“That’s exactly what I was thinking. I mean, telling me not to tell Dad about him? That seems super fishy to me. I need to find out what I can about this guy. Something tells me he wasn’t meant to be here tonight,” I thought back as I traversed the crowds, now on a new mission.
“Hey, welcome back. Who was that-…?”
“Not right now,” I barked as I whisked by Soren, who dropped the hand he had tried to put on my arm. He turned to the others nervously as I moved through bodies, trying to locate Seraphine in the dense crowds rapidly.
I found Seraphine pouting in the corner with Calypso and Esen, who were giggling at the abhorrent glare she directed towards Endymion every time he tried to reach out and touch Erasmus.
Erasmus would jerk free with a fake laugh, though his eyes cut through Endymion like glass, and that made me laugh, too.
I sat on the bench before Seraphine and tugged on the hand she had tucked under her arm firmly. “You couldn’t look more miserable if you tried,” I joked.
She rolled her lips. “I’m not exactly fond of watching Endymion try to win my partner back,” she snarled.
“I doubt that will happen. Erasmus is ready to karate chop him in the neck as is, and being this close to him surely isn’t helping.
” I pulled the business card out of my pocket, which felt like a million pounds in my hands.
“I hate to disturb your pouting, but I need to ask you about someone I met a few moments ago. He was asking everyone about me, but when we talked, he was really weird. He didn’t want me telling Dad I had met him, but since you’re not Dad…
” I handed her the card. She took it with a raised eyebrow and read the name over.
“What do you know about him? I asked Stark, and he suggested I ask you. The guy said he used to teach at Chandler…?”
Seraphine’s eyes widened at the name on the card.
“Ambermourn? Who the Gehenna invited him to this event? More, I didn’t even know he was still alive…
” She slid the card back to me but clasped my hand around it carefully.
“Evander was a close companion of Phillip, and of me a time ago, but there were rumors that he helped Phillip with his… desires.” Seraphine shivered at the thought but continued, “I don’t think he’s someone you should tangle yourself with.
Atlas will lose his mind if he finds out Evander is here.
They had quite the falling out last I remember, an ugly fight that ended a long-standing companionship. ”