Page 42 of Forging Bonds: Part One

I shrug, “What can I say? My mind is a strange and mysterious place. Not even I understand it.”

“I don’t think anyone ever will,” Van replies with a teasing smile.

I grin, “Nope. So, what are we going to do today?”

“I think that we should head to the library, just in case there’s something that we can find out that Ty either didn’t think to tell us or maybe even didn’t know himself,” Griff suggests.

Chapter Fourteen

Neith

Raiden nods, “I think that’s a great idea. I have been collecting rare books from every realm that I’ve been to for a long time, so there is a good chance that I have something Ty hasn’t read.”

“I’m good with that,” I reply. “I’ll never say no to some time spent in the library, plus you mentioned before that you had some books that speak, and I would very much like to find them.”

Raiden chuckles, “Yeah, I do. They will only talk if they want to though, and they look exactly like all of the other books, so you won’t necessarily be able to hear them.”

I smile, “That’s okay. I can be patient, and if they don’t talk to me today, then I’ll just wait. One day, they will.”

“Before we head to the library, I think we should all pack the bags that we intend to take to the Choosing. I know that we’ve got two weeks to do it, but we have no idea what is going to happen in those two weeks, and we are still hoping that Sully is going to be able to find a Warrior Team for us to speak to. I would just feel better if we got it done, and then it’s one less thing that we have to worry about,” Evander says.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea actually. I’m likely to forget if we don’t get it done straight away,” River comments.

“Same,” I reply, with a slight frown as I wonder how much I need to pack and what I need to pack. Mentally shrugging, I figure I’ll just pack a little bit of everything, and weapons, lots and lots of fucking weapons. Hopefully, Luke will be able to get my triple-knuckle knife made in time. I fucking love that weapon, and I have a feeling that it’s probably going to be very useful in the trials of the Choosing.

Which reminds me, I need to talk to the guys and see if they can get Luke to shut down the shop for Navy, the others, and me on Friday.

“I think I might get a jump on practicing with my other magic. I want to get better at flying, and I want to see what else I can do with this side of me,” Raiden says. Adding, “As much as I love research, I want to make sure that if I need to use the stronger part of me, I can and do it well. I also need to practice because the Reaper Council is going to call on me at some point. As I have mentioned before, their timelines tend to work a bit differently than everyone else’s and it could be months before they call me, or it could be a couple of weeks. They won’t be able to call on me while the Choosing is happening, but if I am on their list, so to speak, then seeing me involved in the Choosing could put me closer to the top. I would rather be ready for it.”

“Hopefully, it will push you further down the list,” Ransom says. He continues, “If we can keep the other side of you concealed while we are in the Choosing, and you appear just as you always have, then they’re going to assume that their readings were wrong, and although they have a duty to investigate it they will put it off for longer because they will assume that it was an anomaly.”

River nods, “That’s true. I mean, if that’s how it happens, then it would be reasonable to assume that they may just call you in briefly and dismiss you. We could work out a way to properly conceal the stronger part of you and your wings. Maybe something similar to what Ransom makes for me?”

Ransom nods, “Yeah, I can do that. I would need to tweak things a bit, and I would need more time to make than we have before the Choosing, but yeah, I think it’s most likely something that we can do.”

Raiden smiles, “Thanks, I really appreciate it, and I think we should do it as an option, but if I’m being honest, after what Sully told us about the Reaper Council and the fact that they aren’t even supposed to be in power, I think I might want them to know exactly how strong I am and what I’m capable of. It doesn’t sit right with me that the whole of the original Reaper Council didn’t make it through to the Earth Realm before the gates closed.”

“You want to figure out what happened?” I ask with a smile.

Raiden nods, “Absolutely. I want to figure it out and then hopefully fix it, or at least find out enough information that I can give that information to someone else so that they can fix it.”

“I think that it’s going to be a really complicated thing to do, but you won’t be doing it alone. We will help as much as we’re able to,” Ransom replies.

“I think it is definitely a good idea to look into it,” Evander agrees. “What Sully said didn’t sit right with me as well. Especially since he said that the original council behaved in a much different way to the way that the current council does.”

“Are you prepared to deal with all the shit that it could bring up for you?” River asks. “I mean, your dad is on the council.”

“Which means that he may have been a part of whatever it was that insured that the originals remained in Trieneliea,” I point out.

Raiden nods, “Yes, I am prepared to deal with all of that, and actually, if my father was involved, which I am almost one hundred percent sure that he was, then I think it’s my responsibility to make sure that it’s fixed.”

“We are not responsible for the mistakes of our parents,” River replies in a rare show of being earnest.

“He’s right,” Griff agrees. “Don’t take on this dangerous situation just because you feel responsible.”

Raiden nods, “I hear you, but I’m not doing it for that reason. It’s just a bonus outcome if that makes sense. The current council has caused so much damage not only to the reapers themselves by turning a tier system that didn’t really mean much, I mean, Sully said that his friend on the council was training someone to take his place that was a lot lower tier. So, although they still used the tier system, it didn’t carry the same weight that it does today with the new council. Not only that, but they have also made sure that the reapers are isolated and have ensured that the stories of our crazy and incredibly dangerous reapers have been told, which has meant that the majority of people view us with fear and distrust. It has isolated us. It has also put us in danger because we have been hunted, especially in the smaller towns and countries around the world.”

Griff nods, “It doesn’t make any sense though. I mean, why would they want to put you all in danger?”

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