Page 29 of Creed
“You. What’s your name?”
The young man, and everyone else in the room stationed behind me, gasped as if I’d just spit in their face.
The older man, however, just laughed quietly.
“An observant boy, aren’t you.”
His voice was rough but flowing, like a river of sand.
“Your reaction is different from everyone else’s,” I explained. “This is personal for you. But these events happened a hundred and twenty-five years ago. For you to have a personal connection to those events, there’s only a few options.”
The man adjusted something just below the table, and a moment later, I could hear the whirr of a machinery. He glided out from behind the desk in an electric wheelchair.
The young man reached out as if to stop the man in the chair from getting any closer. “Father, wait, you don’t have to.”
“Nonsense,” the older man cut him off. “I’m not so old that I can’t even handle one conversation. Besides, Mister Landry here is a respectable man. He deserves to know the importance of what he’s found himself involved in.”
The wheels of his chair rolled slowly over the carpet, stopping just a few feet in front of me.
“My name is Chester Grieve. Angus Grieve, our founder, was my great-uncle. Obviously, I never knew him personally, but my grandfather did, and he told me about the man. This is not just a matter of our community’s history, but it is about my family’s legacy.”
“So, the Milford sisters stole something from your great-uncle.”
“Milford.” Chester Grieve spat the word between his teeth, like a cherry pit that he’d nearly swallowed. “Even in death, all these years later, they continue to mock us. The name of those unfaithful harlots isn’t Milford. It’s Grieve. They were our founder’s wives. He gave them the honor of marrying them, and they upheld their vows by betraying him.”
Before I could say anything in response, Kayden suddenly interrupted.
“Wait. All three of them?”
He’d been so quiet up until now that most people had forgotten he was even in the room, but now he had everyone’s attention. His shoulders hunched and he slouched where he knelt, clearly regretting that he’d spoken at all.
I wished he’d remained quiet, but I couldn’t blame him for his shock.
Determined to get everyone’s attention off of Kayden and back onto myself, I laughed with the harshest sound I could muster. “Your founder married a set of triplets? What? Was one not enough for him?”
Chester Grieve clenched his jaw so hard that his aged teeth were in danger of shattering to dust. “It is an honor to be chosen as the leader’s wife. It was their job to help lead our community, and they abandoned that duty.”
I cut my laughter off abruptly, and gave the old man the most disgusted look I could muster. “I was told that those sisters were only teenagers when they were taken in by the Milford family. Your founder certainly had an...interestingtaste in wives. Your little cult was founded by a pedophile and based on the number of times you’ve tried to kill the people I care about; I doubt you’re much better. So, why would I help you?”
The metallic click of a gun sounded behind us. Kayden flinched, and I felt the buzzing of familiar panic stabbing at the edges of my mind.
Before the gun-wielder stepped into view, Chester Grieve waved them away. The threat was clear even if they didn’t point the weapon at us directly.
“It’s simple. If you don’t help us, then we’ll kill your friend here.” He said the word “friend” with almost as much disgust as he said the name “Milford”. The cult had probably been following us for a while and must have seen me with Kayden. They knew how important he was to me.
I had a decision to make. I already knew I was going to give in to their demands, at least until I could figure out a way to escape. However, if I gave in too easily, it wouldn’t be believable, and I’d only make them more suspicious.
How much resistance was enough?
Remembering the number of gun fights and other life-threatening conflicts that Magnus and Brody had with these people, I guessed that their expectations of resistance were pretty high.
Squaring my shoulders, I hoped that Kayden would recognize my act for what it was.
“Do you think such a little threat is enough to control me? I’ve been threatened by enemies much more intimidating than you, from all over the world. You aren’t even the first ones to take me captive. I didn’t give in to their demands then, what makes you think I’d give into you so easily.”
Chester Grieve also wasn’t a man so easily intimidated. Despite sitting in a wheelchair, he held his ground.
“We’ve done our research on you, Creed Landry. You’re an accomplished soldier, a talented pilot, and a determined survivalist. You’re also an honorable man. This man here is important to you, and despite the stoic face you put on, the guilt of causing his death would eat away at you, and you know it.”
