Chapter 22 - XXII. | Quiet guardian, take respite... (1/2)
First, the chin regrew. Bone cracked into existence, followed by arteries and muscles, then tendons, cartilage, meager fat, and dark brown skin. His neck drew out, down to the shoulders, then the chest and arms. And soon enough, Hector's body was restored in full.
He did not wake immediately, however. He lay lifeless for several days more before his eyes finally opened again.
He sat up. He was in a bed, he saw, and a rather large one at that. The room held an air of wealth and comfort, but he didn't spare it much attention as he saw Garovel there next to him.
The image of the reaper was weak, almost transparent, like a cloth stretched thin enough that light shone through the weaves.
'There are clothes on the chair behind you.'
It wasn't exactly his typical wardrobe. The black jeans felt soft and expensive, but they were too broad, so he had to use the accompanying belt with its flashy silver buckle.
'Thank you for protecting me. I certainly would have died if you hadn't shielded me the way you did.'
”Y-you're, ah... you're welcome...” The silky white shirt fit him better, though the sleeves were a bit long, so he rolled them up to his wrists. ”It couldn't have been enough, though. They saved us, I guess?”
'Seems that way. I'm not sure where they are. I've been in and out of consciousness.'
He wasn't sure if he wanted to wear the dark gray waistcoat as well, but after a moment, he opted to, and then started on the socks and shoes. ”You don't look so great, by the way.”
'I'm just tired.'
Abruptly, a blond woman entered the room. She jumped when she saw him. ”Ah! Whoa! Okay, then! Hi there!”
”H-hello.”
”You are Hector, yes?”
”Ye-yeah...”
”I'm Gina. It's a pleasure to meet you. I believe you met my employer, Master Roman.”
”I, ah... yeah.”
”Are you hungry?”
He nodded hesitantly.
”Please follow me, then.”
He grabbed his battered helm, and she escorted him through a series of hallways.
'Ask her how long we've been here.'
He tried to speak but faltered, achieving no words at all.
'Oh, come on, Hector. She can't see me. You have to be the one to ask.'
”Um... h-how, ah...”
She stopped and turned. ”Yes?”
He flinched at her sudden gaze. ”H-how long have I, uh... I mean...”
She tilted her brow at him. ”Um. You've been here for two weeks. Well, your head has, anyway.”
'Ask where the others are.'
”W-where, uh...”
”You're in Walton. You came from Sescoria, right? It's east of there, if you didn't already know.”
”Ah. But. Where are the others? Roman and...”
”Oh, they left the country.”
'What?'
”W-why?”
”Ah.” Gina reached into her vest and pulled out a small notepad. She handed it to him. ”Master Roman left this for you. I believe it will answer your questions.”
He flipped through and noticed quite a few pages full of text. Gina led him to the kitchen and began whipping up a meal while he sat down to read.
The first few pages said that they believed Atreya would go to war in a matter of months and elaborated upon their decision to seek the Vanguard's help. Roman advised Hector not to follow, as they apparently didn't know where their travels might lead them.
The later pages were in different handwriting, more feminine, and it soon identified itself as Voreese's words through the Queen's pen. It offered details on aberrations.
'Ah,' said Garovel upon reading it from over Hector's shoulder. 'Voreese remembered my inquiry. She's more thoughtful than I would have expected. I'll have to thank her the next time we meet.'
'Aberrations grow stronger the more people they kill,' Hector summarized.
'I suppose that explains why Geoffrey seemed more powerful.'
Hector's mouth twisted as he scowled. 'He's been killing even more people... and he's not going to stop.'
'With everything that's happened, you may be the only person in Atreya who can kill Geoffrey right now.'
'I'm not so sure I can. It's been two weeks. He's probably even stronger now.'
'It doesn't really matter as long as Abolish is protecting him.'
'I need to train...'
'Let's go back to Brighton first. You've been gone too long, as it is.'
Gina placed a plate full of pancakes in front of him. Then came eggs, sausage, waffles, hash browns, toast, strawberries, cantaloupe, wheat cereal, and a single banana.
He watched her as if she were bringing him solid gold bars.
”Master Roman said you'd be hungry.”
”You... are amazing...”
”I know.”
He dove into his meal.
Gina sat down to eat with him. ”So what's your deal, anyway?” she said, biting into a waffle.
”W-what do you mean?”
”Master Roman didn't seem to know much about you, but he still wanted me to treat you like an honored guest.”
”Ah, uh... well... I don't know much about him, either.”
”Hmm. Where are you from?”
He glanced past her at Garovel.
'You should tell her. Roman and the Queen may need a means of contacting us when they return to Atreya. Gina may be able to help us with that.'
”I live in Brighton,” he said.
”Pretty far away. Why were you in Sescoria?”
”I just... wanted to help...”
She paused to tilt her head at him. ”How old are you?”
”Sixteen...”
”And how long have you been undead?”
He blinked at the question.
'Tell her five months,' said Garovel.
”Uh, five months or so...”
”I see.”
'Why'd you make me lie? It's only been a few weeks...'
'You're stronger than you should be. And it's better if people don't know.'
'I... uh--'
”Well, Master Roman said you're welcome to stay as long as you like.”
”Ah, I should actually get going soon...”
”You have business in Brighton?”
”S-sorta, yeah...”
”What do you do there?”
”N-nothing special...”
She pursed her lips at him.
He poked a pancake with his fork and let it linger there. ”But, ah... do you have a pen?”
She gave him one.
He scribbled his phone number onto a page of the notepad and ripped it out for her. ”In case, uh, Mr. Roman wants my help...”
She took it and then wrote a phone number of her own. ”Same goes for you, then.”
He tried not to blush and failed.
They finished their meal, and Gina showed him to the garage beneath the house. She handed him a key.
”Master Roman said you're a motorcycle guy.” She motioned to a red cruiser with black and white flames painted on it.
Hector looked at Gina. ”Mr. Roman is just giving this to me?”
”Yep.”
”Ah--wow...”
”There should be some gas money in your clothes, by the way.”
He felt his waistcoat and found a small roll of bills in the inside pocket. ”Th-thank you.”
”Sure.”
'I didn't realize that guy was so generous,' said Garovel. 'Hope he doesn't care about this bike too much.'
'Um. Third time's the charm?'
'Chyeah, right.'
'This one's not a Revenant.'
'I don't think the manufacturer was the problem, Hector.'
'I'll just blame you, then.'