Post Chapter Six - Gabriel

“Who are you?”

Gabriel had opened his eyes, taking a long moment to come back to himself. It had been a gamble, as of late, whether or not he knew where he was. Most of the time he woke feeling as if his head was stuffed full of the screams of the damned. A constant nagging beat down on him, asking, compelling, saying please until his ears bled. His sleep was never a restful one. His night thoughts were filled with the orders from the Knowing and their weariness for not working fast enough.

When Gabriel opened his eyes this time around, he saw the clear shape of a man in the shadows. Perhaps another hallucination. Maybe it was another messenger coming to tell him of his next assignment. Yet, a pair of familiar blue eyes sought him out upon his question. The same ones that he often had seen peeking at him from behind the bars of a cell.  

“Caliban Odinson?”

Calbina winced. “Ravenson. Not claiming that parentage.”

“Your papers say different.”

“Ah, but you see?” The man leaned forward from out of the dark, pale skin looking a bit more worn from the last time Gabriel had seen him.  “I’m not a market resident. Heard I caused some problems the last time I was here. Whenever that was. Best if we just kind of keep my visit to ourselves, Warden.”

Caliban had always been a particular nuisance that had tired Gabriel far more than any other prisoner. That old weariness came wafting back as he sunk back into his pillows, fighting the urge to fall back asleep. But Caliban had always been a bit of the annoying sort.

“So, you’ve got yourself kind of in a pickle, huh Warden? Knocking on the door of the conspiracy theorist. Finding religion once more. Is this your midlife crisis? Do you even have a midlife?”

“I should arrest you,” Gabriel sneered.

Caliban scooted his chair back an inch. “If you get out of bed I’ll letcha do it.” Gabriel couldn’t move. They both knew this. But Caliban was always one to press a little further. 

“What do you want, Ravenson? I hear I am no longer the Warden. I can’t help you out of trouble at the moment.”

“Not here to get help from you. I’m here to provide help for you.”

Gabriel nearly laughed. It couldn’t shake past his chest, however. ‘What help could you possibly provide?”

“A way back to the Knowing.”

At that, Gabriel paused. The voices in his head were even curious as to what the trickster had up his sleeve. “You are not part of the Knowing,” he said suspiciously.

“Aren’t we all part of the Knowing?” Caliban asked. “We may call it different names but in the end, we all have a Knowing. A cosmic daddy that has screwed us and yet we so desperately want to impress.”

“Get out.”

Caliban put his hands up. “Sorry. I’m a bitter one today. Missing out on a village party. Have you ever been to a Viking soiree? The food? The drink? There’s nothing like it. Plus, my kid is performing tonight. Would really like not to be late.”

“You have a child?”

“I hear I have four,” he said with a shrug. “Some are born. Some are not. Depends on the timeline. But we aren’t talking about the fact that I’m repopulating the world with the wonders of my genes. We are talking about you. And the Knowing. You want back in, I have the way.”

It felt too easy. The Knowing was about suffering. It was about bringing yourself to the brink until there was nothing left and then and only then, would the Knowing save you. If they did not, it was because you had not suffered enough. It was because one could not endure.  

Yet, even Gabriel was curious.

“Not that I plan to take your advice but I do wish to hear your blasphemy simply so I know how to refute your claims.”

Caliban smiled. “Your note of confidence has always given me such joy.” His face grew serious though, a grave certainty crossing his eyes. “Kill them,” he said.

Gabriel froze. “Who?”

“All of them. I’ve received the message, Gabriel. Everyone. You were on the right path the other day with what you did. Now it is time to continue. Kill all of them. Every officer you have. The people within Artisan Alley. The Albrights. Reese. Elias. Belladonna. Kill the Night Market.”

Kill the Night Market. The very being he was trying to save. The only person he had ever truly loved. Not because of obligation or out of some sense of duty and belonging. But actually loved.

“What you did the other day was only the beginning. The Knowing wishes for you to do more. To slaughter them all and cleanse this land.” He laughed loudly, spreading his hands. “It’s what I’m doing, after all. Ragnarok is upon us and I am doing what my gods demand. It is time for you to come to the call and be the dutiful soldier you have always tried to be.”

There was a manic glaze in Caliban’s eyes and Gabriel could see it. The way the trees burned back where he was from. The world crumbled as the cosmic bridge that stretched across the realms fell into the sea.  The screams of the dying echoed all around as pleas of mercy were written across Caliban’s skin. And in front of it all, he stood. The enforcer. Leader of the charge. All for his god.

His god.

Not the Knowing. Caliban’s god.

“The Knowing does not partake in the same rituals that your gods do,” he stated.

Caliban rolled his eyes. “Really? Are you still holding onto the idea that yours is a separate entity? It’s not. It’s Odin. Zeus. All of them. They are one in the same.”

“They are not.”

“Believe what you want but we still have a call for action.” Standing, Caliban looked at him. “If you want to get back into the Knowing’s embrace, I would advise following the call. I certainly have. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a world to end.” He clucked his tongue at him as he exited the room. Leaving Gabriel reeling.

~~~~~~

The door to the cottage clicked shut leaving both Caliban and Reese to stand by the old waterwheel.

“Did it work?” Reese asked. He stood shoulder to shoulder with the man. Elbows brushing.

“Gabriel Caine has always hated me,” Caliban snorted. “So if I say I’m doing one thing because the gods have told me so, he’s bound to do the opposite.”

“But did he buy it?” Reese demanded.

“I showed him what I was doing back home. The destruction. I showed him the calling. He knows that I’m at least telling the truth.”

Reese turned to him then, watching the shudder run through him. “The fuck?”

“No,” Caliban protested. “It’s not the reality I live in. But it is a reality. I don’t really know which one but there is a version of me out there somewhere who is still Odin’s whipping boy. Who snapped. Who helped Loki bring about Ragnarok and took it as my own fight.  I can see it. And I am avoiding it. But that doesn’t mean Gabriel needs to know that.”

Reese scratched his chin, shaking his head a little. “You are a crafty little fucker,” he told him. 

“You miss me. Face it.” There was a small smile of familiarity at the corners of Caliban’s eyes. He had never thought he would be back here, let alone as an equal to Reese.

“I can show you how much I miss you, if you want,” Reese suggested. His hand brushed against Caliban’s.

Caliban laughed a little, cheeks turning pink. “Nah. Thanks, but I’ll take an eternal raincheck on that. I’m an honest man now.”

Reese snorted. “That’s got to be a lie. You run from everything.”

“Not anymore. I found something that was worth staying for.” He looked at him, swallowing thickly at what he knew was ahead of the man who had taken him in. “I hope your son is okay.  If I can help in any other way–”

Reese raised his hand. “You’ve done enough. Thank you for coming.”

“I’ll always come, Reese. I owe you.”

“You don’t owe me shit, Caliban. Get that the fuck out of your head now.”  And despite it all, Reese still stepped forward, taking Caliban by the back of the head before pulling him forward and pressing a searing kiss against his mouth.

When they pulled away, Caliban blinked at him in surprise. “Did you just…?”

“I don’t need it anymore. Take back your life, alright?”

Tears welled up in his eyes. Long ago a promise had been made. A way for Reese to hold Caliban close and keep him at heel. But now, it was gone. Just like that.  “Thank you.”

“Yeah, you won’t be thanking me when those partners of yours realize you have another man's spit on your lips.”

“They’ll deal when they realize you’ve given me a fraction of my soul.”

Reese turned back to the house, looking at the window that led to Gabriel's room. “Don’t come back, Cal.”

A flutter of wings sounded behind him and as Reese entered the house, a caw echoed on the wind.