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((Triple Wednesday -- Page 3 of 3))
‘...Are you certain you can help him?’ said Nerovoy.

“No,” said Gohvis flatly. “He has internalized his mutations, which will make them almost impossible to counteract properly until he is significantly more experienced.” He eyed Germal again. “I imagine you are in constant pain, no?”

Even Germal didn’t want to lie about that. He gave a meek nod.

“Our first objective will be to heighten your pain tolerance, then. This will likely fail and make matters far worse for you, but it will also serve as an invaluable learning experience. If you can endure that, then there may be hope for you yet.”

That wasn’t exactly what Germal wanted to hear, but he supposed it provided him with more hope than he’d had five minutes ago. “O-okay...”

Gohvis lifted the boy up and again placed him on his shoulder. “Come. I shall teach you of the nervous system.”

“The what?” said Germal.

Gohvis began walking and explaining.

But they didn’t make it far before Engomat interrupted.

‘Our work here is not yet done,’ the reaper said. ‘You have not been excused.’

Gohvis just looked at him again, then at Dozer.

“There are two more areas I wish to check,” the old man said. “After that, you are free to take your leave.”

“I am sure you can handle it without me,” said Gohvis.

“I am sure I can as well,” said Dozer, “but your senses will expedite matters.”

“Fine. Lead on, then.”

The wind and rain seemed only to worsen as they headed deeper into the mountains. They deviated from the path entirely and descended into a narrow valley.

Germal remained on Gohvis’ shoulder, even as they ran briefly along the side of a cliff and bounded over a twenty meter gap.

‘...This has gone a lot better than I thought it would,’ said Germal.

‘You think so?’ said Nero in the echo of privacy.

‘Yeah. Engomat already trusts you and everything.’

The reaper kept his laugh private as well. ‘No, he doesn’t.’

Germal didn’t understand. ‘What? But he--’

‘It’s been almost a hundred years since he last saw me. We parted on good terms, so he doesn’t have an excuse to distrust me yet, but you can bet your last meal that he is looking for any reason at all to believe that I might betray him, right now.’

‘...How do you know?’

‘Because he is a reaper. Our loyalties and motivations change all the time. Your most trusted friend a century ago could be your worst enemy today. We all know this.’

‘Huh...’

‘It is something of a game, really. Or dance, perhaps. He suspects me. I know he suspects me. He knows that I know he suspects me. To say that we should be careful with our words right now would be an understatement. Even the mere perception of betrayal could doom us.’