Jumper2: falsegods&knights

******text message*****

"Hey."

"Hey.. Is everything okay?"

''Yeah, why wouldn't it be okay? Are you okay? Is Jaden"?

"We are okay (emoji) I was just asking you."

"(emoji), I'm okay too."

pauses

''Can we talk?"

"Yeah sure, I can call you later."

"I was hoping we could meet."

"Yeah okay. When?"

"How about this Saturday."

"Okay. Just let me know the time, I'll drop Jaden at his Dad's."

"Okay!"

"And please don't tell your brother."

"I don't usually, tell him anything."(emoji)

*********

Chump lazes around swinging on his chair. His legs lay crossed on the table, his fingers scratching his mouth.

"They bled him dry." His eyes were on the laptop, Chump reported to his boss.

"What about his head?" Hands in his pockets, David looks out to the city his eyes blank.

Chump nodded and frowned at what he saw on the screen. "It was clean-cut, smooth as heck, they are saying it has to be done in a single strike." He exaggerated his words. 

"Has to be an expert," David replied.

"Do you think it could have been the same guy?" Chump questioned, out of curiosity.

David dropped down on the chair and moved it around, laid his head back. "No, he doesn't look like someone who would use a sword."

"Hmmm, could it be the girl?" Chump rubbed his chin.

"Putting a sword on the neck of the country's most Elder Night-walker, I don't think they would send a girl to that, but it does mean there are more of them, mostly skilled enough to slice the head off of one of the worlds oldest and most powerful creature. David put his head on his palms. "What about the girl, did your sister find anything yet?"

Chump shrugged, "Hasn't said anything since she reached the UK."

David, "sighs," and rubbed his forehead. "If it was 15 years ago I would Jumped there myself, I would have been everywhere by now. Sometimes I wonder, that if the right choices were made, but then I was young." He muttered to himself.

"Sir!" Lisa who looks to be in a rush walk in.

"Yes, Lisa."

Chump abruptly puts his feet down and straightens himself up, he starts focusing on his computer like he has been busy with something important.

Lisa made a face like she was displeased. She checked an iPad she was holding and answered to her Boss. "There is a meeting at 4.15, with your Mother and several other attendees."

"I can't,'' David said rubbing his temple.

"They say it's an emergency and your attendance is 'crucial', that's how she puts it."

''Tell my Mother I'll call her later, I need to know who these other attendees are first."

"Except, it wasn't your mother that sent me a message, it was her secretary." Lisa takes a look at her screen. "Besides, I did try to inquire, but she wouldn't say anything. Also, I'm still trying to understand, why she always talks to me in a very unpleasant manner every time we have any sort of exchange." She curved an unamusing smile.

"People that work there can be such dicks." Chump whose existence was not even acknowledged, let out an awkward laugh trying to gain some kind of favour.

"I'll talk to her.'' David grabbed his coat and walked out.

********

Take a deep breath."

The duo inhaled simultaneously.

''I'm sorry just don't feel as good." Rayla sighed as she sounded disappointed.

"You did great, You know let's end it here for today," Nika assured the girl. She looked at the young girl who seemed to be upset over something. "You want an avocado toast, and... how about some ice cream after this." She said trying to cheer her a bit.

"Is it a boy thing?" She teased her, walking to the open kitchen.

"More like ex-bestie thing," Rayla took time answering, as she sat with legs folded on the mat. 

"Okay, that's much worse, female friendships can be hard to navigate." Nika sliced up the avocado and kept her eye on both the girl and the toaster.

"Yeah.. It is, especially when they try to unalive themselves in front of you. Rayla stared at the street outside through the stained glass the bottom of which was covered by green moss from veins of plants growing around the brownstone.

"Oh..." Nika paused and put the knife down.

''I'm sorry... I.'' She abruptly got up and started folding the carpet. 

"It's okay." Nika gave the young girl a calm look, "You know what, why don't we just start with ice cream."

The two women flop down on the satin couch.

''This is so good."

"Don't you feel better already, reading practices or reading or see'ing in general can be very draining on the body." She nudged the 19-year-old who was sitting beside her. "So, when antidotes are not available, eat or drink something sweet preferably cold. And you will feel instantly better."

Rayla indulging in the chocolaty goodness nodded. She paused for a moment and put the bowl down, and bent down to pet a black feline that was scratching the green sofa.

"If must have traumatizing,'' Nika asked as she noticed Rayla feeling down.

Sighs....

"Yeah, I just felt like, It was my fault like I could have done, I shouldn't have gone there in the first place." Rayla picks up the cat on her lap.

"Hey, it's not your fault, I'm sure she's going through a tough time, but you cannot hold yourself accountable for other's actions, it's not your job to heal them yes we can create a safe space for them but that's it, if they themselves are not safe then you cannot do anything okay." Nika tried to validate Rayla's feelings as much as she could.

"You know what, you're right, especially when she never apologized to me after everything. All because of a boy." Rayla nearly muttered the last sentence.

"So there is a boy." Nika's eyes widened.

"Well, it wasn't anything serious, because I ended it quickly after I found out he was texting my best friend."

"Wow, he sounds like an asshole, both of them actually"

''He was, he tried to deny it, but not her, in fact, she tried to be confrontational. And I was just 'How can you act like this, after going above and beyond to not only search for the guy I like, add him on social media, but also start flirting? Like stop, I know I told you how cute and charming he is like European Novelty and stuff." Rayla ecstatic as she started telling her situation.

''Oh, he sounds fancy."

"I mean, I don't know. He said his Dad's a High Ranking Lord and every woman on his Mom's side of the family has been a Birthing Maidens to the European Royal Families for centuries. That's what he told me, guess he could have lied, he sounds like a liar to me now, looking back.'' Rayla shrugged off.

''But I did see his dad though he came to the convention in Sicily, I mean that's how we met, can you believe he was so sweet when we first met.'' Rayla put the purring kitten and strolled to the kitchen.

Nika smiled at the girl who was already better after eating ice cream and gossiping.

"Fun fact, you know Birthding Maidens, Doulas or commonly known as midwives are Healers, with knowledge of the womb, it has been known that they can navigate a woman's reproductory organs like the back of their hand. But in long history, over time they the lost healing magic, but the knowledge remained."

"I think I know, someone healing magic like you mention." Rayla took a bite of a crunchy bread.

''Really.'' Nika who was slouching on the couch, straightened up as though she heard or seen something intriguing.

''Yeah, I mean I don't know if is a Healer like you said, but I did see her patch tree bark once. Oh, I think she sprouted a seed as well.'' She spoke with a mouth full of food.

"Oh is she like, I mean how are they usually like.'' The woman questioned trying to look calm.

"For real," Rayla replied uninterested, trying to spread avocado on a toast.

''Annoying, nosy, bothers people a lot talks a lot."

"Oh.. I heard they were very empathetic.''

"I don't know about that, she doesn't like my family very much, in fact, I don't think she likes us at all.'' She took another bite.

"You know her personally?" The woman asked full of unusualness, but not trying to sound like it.

"Not really, Mom knows her through her work acquaintance from OOTW, Mom's distant aunt works there I think. They used to send us to Autumn Harvest camp in Salem when we were young. The last time I heard she was an activist or something on a college campus. Oh... and we almost ended up going to the same college, thank god I wasn't accepted, can you imagine we already almost got in a fight once." The young girl rambled.

~~~~~~~

Nika lit the two candles that were on the living room table, she walked around in the dark room alone as the guest for the day had left, she lit the other two on the kitchen counter.

''When The High Priestess comes,' the Healer is borne,'

'she sings to the masses and knits' the forest,'

'her touch binds all magic, old and new,'

'she tethers the knights' and shields the maiden.''

*******

David lazily moved his chair from side to side, his legs spread like he had no respect for those sitting in front of the long conference table. His fingers twisting the rounded paperweight on the glass table.

"So you want me to bask in my murderous glorious past.''

"No, David we are just asking you to keep your head down, for now." Mary who was sitting across from his son replied.

"What does keeping my head down, imply?"

"It means nothing, go on a vacation, or maybe go leave for one of your million-dollar homes." Mary who had no time for her eldest child's shenanigans replied.

"So You want me to be a bait." David glared at everyone in the room.

"Look, Mr Rice, we just want you to hold off on any expeditions for now." The man sitting on David's right side advised.

''And considering your past will be better for everyone if you just lay off all sorts of appearances and activists.'' The other man added.

David inertly laid his eyes on the man that he finds extremely idiotic. "My past!"

He forwards his body and clasps his palms, "I did not kill Roland," his voice calm as one could be. "I don't know, how many times I have to say this, but I have not killed anyone in my 30 years of existence on this planet." His teeth gritted under pressed lips, and his fist closed.

"Look, David, we understand this can be frustrating for you, but this isn't a you issue anymore. This is dangerous for everyone, it could end up being something that none of us want, especially our young." Ramsey chimed in trying to diffuse the situation and make the youngest person in the room understand.

"Alright, how does my past help this situation," David asked keeping his composure.

"They are an organization without a leader," Mary announced. 

''A headless snake." Another person in the room said.

"Ahhh, a leaderless organization, that sliced the head off of one the world's most powerful creature, wasn't he one yours little group." David sneakily added.

"Besides, how do you know it's not Roland that's behind all this, you guys have nothing except my word." He asked

Everyone clears their throat.

"We know his dead,'' Mary answered in a clear voice.

''What?"

"We went there, to that place that you claimed to leave Roland,'' Ramsey spoke up.

"And?" David curiously asked, his expression almost unrecognizable.

''We found him, a few kilometers away from where you said to have left him, dead for few weeks most," Mary answered detached from the situation entirely.

David looked at his feet trying to keep his composure. 

"After you found your mother and came to her, she told the council, and Roland being number one on our list we immediately went for him," Ramsey told David.

"So you knew, "David who was already fuming, as he understood the situation clearly, he knew now what his young self in 20s didn't understand.

In a second pass, David was across from where he was sitting, he brought his mouth close to his mother's ear. "You knew he was dead."

All of the man and that was sitting on the chair stood abruptly

"Yet, you still want me to risk my life for this." David looked around at all the treacherous people.

Mary remained seated. Not answering anything.

David picks a water glass and threw it across the room, "I'm gonna wait, for when we come for all of you." His expression bleak and he was gone in seconds.

Ramsey who had seen his ex-wife do unimaginable things remained calmly seated, he blankly stared at all the documents/papers flying around from the extreme energy created by The Jumper.