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Nero Walker, Book 2 Ch.10 (42)
🕑 Added 2023-12-08 06:30:21 +0000 UTCNick and Vera had gotten home later than usual. The dinner with the city lord and the elite of the city was an unexpected and exciting end to their day. The course of their lives was altered, and they needed some time to decompress.
Vera sat in a deck chair on the veranda. She looked up into the night sky and debated the choices and moves she had made. Why did she do what she did? Was it really time to enter the game? She had a plan, why didn’t she stick to it?
Nick came through the doors with a bottle of wine and two glasses. Seeing Vera in quiet contemplation, he kept silent. After pouring the wine, he sat down and passed her a glass.
Vera noticed the offered wine, and gave him a smile as she took it. “Well, the privacy screen is up. We can talk. Say what you have to say,” she said with a rueful smile.
Nick just leaned back and chuckled while taking a sip of his expensive wine.
Vera huffed and said, “We were going to get into the game eventually, this just provided an opportunity.”
Nick raised an eyebrow and said, “That’s what your going with?”
Vera turned to look at him and said in a serious tone, “It’s the truth.”
Nick nodded and replied, “Sure. Part of it. I think a lot of it had to do with that little troublemaker. You like him, admit it.”
Vera looked back to the sky and took a minute to think before she said anything.
“I don’t deny it. The young man is interesting. He makes me laugh. I know we talked about children. But we had a plan. We decided to firm our position before you took the trials. With nobility, our children would have many paths open to them,” she said.
Nick said quietly, “He’s not our son Vera. We’ve known him less than a week. I admit I like him. He is a breath of fresh air. He’s funny, and always provides excitement. But you’ve tied our future house to his now. Why did you accept the position of his proxy? You of all people know what that means.”
Vera sighed and took a sip of wine.
When she didn’t say anything, Nick continued, “As his proxy, you will rise or fall with him. You know I will never leave your side, so I’m now tied to his house as well. In fact, you’ve essentially tied all of House Salvatore to House Walker. My brother is too afraid of you to cut my branch. Just tell me why?”
Vera kept her eyes on the sky. Nick watched her lips purse and her shoulders tighten.
In a tone of steel, she said, “Because of his potential. His drive. When he was in my office, the essence practically sang in his presence when he talked about his goals. He will be great. I’ve been helping people find their paths through the Center for decades. I’ve seen people with goals fail, and people be surprised when options opened. But I’ve never seen someone like Mr. Walker. He knows exactly what he wants and has no shame about doing anything to get it.”
She turned to face Nick and met his eyes with a smile. “He blackmailed you with me standing right in front of him. There was no fear, no hesitation. He just implied that there was a record of you doing something you shouldn’t have, and that his silence and allegiance were for sale. His price was that you would help him on his path. His position compared to yours was laughable, but he won. He won Nick,” she finished and leaned back in her chair.
Nick smiled at the memory. “He is a remarkable young man. I don’t deny it. But the fact remains, he isn’t family. I’m more than happy to help him. I’d even put myself in danger to help him. But you’ve tied us together, and that isn’t like you,” he said with concern.
Vera sighed and said, “During one of our meetings, he asked if we were friends. I told him that it’s possible we could be in a few years. He said to me, ‘Even if I’m not your friend, I consider you mine’. He trusts me. He believes in my character. He has offered me his trust. I don’t think of him as our child, I think of him as my friend.”
Nick smiled. That was what he wanted her to admit. She needed to hear herself say it.
He said, “I think of him as my friend too.”
Vera raised her glass with a smirk and said, “To House Walker, may their path be wide and clear.”
Tapping his glass to hers, Nick responded, “And may House Walker’s enemies feel the chill of their impending defeat.”
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Nero stood on the testing platform with shaky legs. He saw Nick and Kendra working the controls on the essence forge, as Jennings watched the proceedings with a frown. Trying to take deep breaths to calm his nerves, Nero couldn’t stop his eyes from darting around the room.
He knew he didn’t have a choice. He needed to use his stars. It should be fine. No one in recorded history had ever had a bad result from using a star. Their function was well studied, and their only danger was when they WEREN’T used. Repeating those facts in his head, Nero wrung his hands.
Jennings didn’t like what he was feeling. But, this was just the kind of excitement that he came to Dorchester to find. This situation reminded him that the unexpected doesn’t always lead to something fun. He had silenced his connection with the mage council, their blathering in his head was breaking his concentration. However, he could still feel them watching through their scry-link. As he looked at Nero with concern, he hoped for the best.
Nick and Kendra were focused on the forge. This time, Nick was stressing the importance of full spectrum recording. When Nick recorded Nero’s earlier star usage, he was just doing a standard scan. Now he was planning on an in-depth analysis. His palms were sweating in anticipation.
With a nod to Kendra, Nick activated the forge. The essence collection and monitoring nodes lit up. He spoke over his shoulder, “Nero, we’re ready. Just push a star into your mind stat. It will be just like last time. Whenever you’re ready.”
Nero opened his identity.
Name Nero Walker Level 7 Race Human Growth 0% Tier 1 Condition 100% Age 14 Center 96% Body 1 Mind 1 Soul 1 Confluence 10 Stars 3 Pillars 0/0
As the lights from the forge floated around him like a swirling kaleidoscope, he focused on his mind stat. He felt the potential. The feeling was much more than an empty bowl, it was a waiting chasm. With the lightest touch, he pushed in a star.
Jennings senses were entirely focused on Nero. While Nick and Kendra were looking at the data, he knew that the data could be reviewed later. Suddenly, his psychic field picked up a growing essence storm.
Nero had closed his eyes, so he could fully focus on what he was doing. As usual, he didn’t notice how his inner battle affected the outside world. His mind stat was sucking the essence from his star reservoir. He could feel his soul emptying, and his mind blooming like a flower in the morning sun. Unconsciously, he raised his arms in acceptance, and his feet left the floor. He was hovering an inch or two off the ground, held in the air by the surrounding essence.
Jennings jaw dropped open as he saw the ambient essence aid a star infusion. He didn’t know that was possible. The entire storm lasted less than 5 seconds. It looked like the essence just picked Nero up and gave him a quick hug. It was like an incredibly tiny tier transition. He remembered the essence storm that accompanied the one he had seen many years ago. The entire city of Hennings was affected. That gave him an idea as to what made Nero so unique.
Nero felt his stored stars empty like they were sucked out of him through a straw. He felt as though the choice wasn’t his. He collapsed to his knees and huffed in air. The aftermath was an entirely unfamiliar pain. It was like having the air knocked out, but deeper. The feeling quickly faded, but Nero was panting and rubbing his chest at the memory.
The lights from the essence forge were still flying around, and Nero heard Nick say, “Wow Nero, I’m not understanding what I’m seeing. But we can review the data later. While your center is still in flux, let’s move on to your next star. You decided on Confluence, right?”
Nero’s checked his full breakdown, and Nero didn’t understand what he was seeing.
Name Nero Walker Level 7 Race Human Growth 0% Tier 1 Condition 100% Age 14 Center 96% Body 1 Mind 4 Soul 1 Confluence 10 Stars 0 Pillars 0/0
Body 1
Base Operative Level Stress Presence 9 10.8 6.3 Durability 7 8.4 2 Recovery 13 15.6 14.6 Speed 11 13.2 4 Adaptability 24 28.8 17.2 Power 8 9.6 0.7
Mind 4
Base Operative Level Stress Weight 26 46.8 0 Control 29 52.2 0 Field 23 41.4 0 Precision 39 70.2 0 Endurance 46 82.8 0 Focus 48 86.4 0
Soul 1
Base Operative Level Stress Size 26 31.2 2.1 Density 101 121.2 0.8 Intensity 76 91.2 0.3 Pressure 23 27.6 3.9 Harmony 3 3.6 26.3 Adaptability 270 324 0.8
Nero sat back from his knees, and sprawled his legs out while leaning back on his palms. Ignoring the lights, he muttered, “I don’t understand any of this shit. What the hell is going on?”
Jennings was watching closely, and he could see that Nero’s psychic field had substantially grown in strength. The air around the podium was humming. He was going to have to teach the boy some control, and soon.
“Nick, turn off the forge. I think you’ve gotten all the data your going to get today,” said Jennings.
Nick looked over his shoulder, and saw Nero sitting down on the podium with a confused and angry expression. Raising his eyebrows, he turned to Kendra.
“Let’s shut everything down. I want you to personally create a private file, and use my office to organize the data. Wait for me there, I’ll be with you as soon as I can. Don’t tell anyone about this. Do you understand me?” he asked in a serious tone.
Kendra just nodded with a stunned expression. She whispered, “I have no idea what I’d say. What did we just record? The essence distribution makes no sense, and the amount is unprecedented. No one should be able to incorporate that much raw essence, let alone have the environment add more to the infusion.”
Nick nodded, and replied, “Look, I don’t have any answers. I didn’t expect this. And until we know more, we’re going to treat this as protected data.” Locking his eyes on her, he continued, “Kendra, It’s his path. The path of a noble, we can not let this data out.”
Kendra seemed to regain some of her composure. “I understand. I know I’m not entitled to any answers, but I’d like them. I’ll be in your office organizing this mess into something readable. Please ask Nero if I can be of any use. I would very much like to be part of this study,” she said with her hunger for knowledge on full display.
Nick nodded and offered her a strained smile. “Thank you,” he said.
As Kendra and Nick were turning off the essence forge, Jennings stepped onto the testing podium.
“Nero, are you all right? How are you feeling?” he asked in a quiet, cautious tone.
Nero looked up at him with a dull stare. “When I started to use a star, my mind just swallowed everything. It felt like my consciousness was opening like an umbrella, while my soul was emptied like a balloon,” he said in a flat voice, devoid of emotion.
Jennings watched as Nero pulled his feet in and stood up slowly. Rising to his full height, Nero looked different.
Jennings’ scrutiny isolated the differences. Nero’s eyes had changed. His posture was different. The boy was gone. A serious little man stood where the boy used to be. Jennings nodded to himself, as his theory seemed more and more likely.
Nero looked at Jennings and said, “I need to speak with you and Nick. You two ‘brilliant’ men are going to explain exactly what is going on with me. Right now.”
Kendra hurried for the door, and Nick walked up to the podium.
Jennings sighed and said, “All right Nero, I have a theory.”
