Chapitre 15: Just Rex
Aisling composed herself as she reviewed what had happened. She could not fathom it. Moreover, she had been in a daze, so she could not account for the sequence of events.
The thing that bothered her most was her unusual behaviour.
She had always been self-possessed and never acted irrationally. She would always consider all outcomes before taking action. Her intuition had always been sharp. Plus, she had foresight even without divination as well as her ability to hear nature spirits.
However, since she had met Abaddon, her mind seemed to have checked out.
She felt like a different person, and she did not like it.
Before she had come to Panthalassa, she would not go on dates with men she did not know, let alone behave so brazenly minutes after meeting them.
She would always see steps ahead, regardless of the situation. And she had never been wrong.
The only problem was when she was near Abaddon, she lost control of her thoughts and powers. She could not hear nature spirits, and her foresight did not seem to work on him. Moreover, her intuition seemed to check out.
"I should not be here." She spoke out loud without prelude.
She had believed that she was needed in Panthalassa because of some grand plan. But now, she could not help doubting herself.
What if she was allowing destiny to lead her by the nose?
What if she was part of a self-fulfilling prophesy and by coming to Farallon, she was the one who would lead to the destruction of the world?
She had divined that a time of darkness, confusion and death was coming to the world, and it would begin in Panthalassa. She had also learnt that a powerful man would look for her, and she must join forces with him to fight.
But her divination was not a blueprint for the future.
One action could cause the path of the visions to unravel.
And sometimes, the future wanted to happen. Nothing could stop the predestined things.
She was kidding herself by attempting to tamper with the fate of the world.
Abaddon could see that countless things were running through Aisling's mind. However, he did not agree with her conclusion. She was supposed to be in Panthalassa.
"Ms Flynn, Aisling, let us talk inside." He said.
Aisling refused to look at the man directly. When she did, she would lose her train of thought. She would behave unusually. She could not be sucked in again.
Still, she nodded.
She had come a long way to return to the secular world without at least learning the specific reason the man had looked for her.
The two people stepped into the building through the access door and went down a single flight of stairs into an open plan lounge on the highest floor, just below the rooftop. Close to the large windows overlooking Farallon City, there was a table with two place settings.
Abaddon pulled a chair for Aisling before sitting opposite her. He took out his phone and tapped lightly.
Aisling found the entire thing a little hysterical in her mind. A flying man in a continent hidden in the Pacific Ocean using a phone…
She had realised that Farallon was much more advanced with regard to technology than the rest of the world. However, the image of this powerful man with a phone was still a weird thing to consider when one thought about it practically.
It would make more sense if the people in Panthalassa had flying swords or carpets or spiritual beasts or even flying cars.
Panthalassa just felt normal but abnormal.
"You should be here." The man spoke.
Aisling was lost in her strange thoughts, so she was a little startled. After a moment, she realised that he was responding to her earlier statement.
She wanted to respond, but the elevator dinged, and a man in white pushed out a trolley. She closed her open mouth and waited for the man to come to the table. She sat awkwardly, trying to remember her rebuttal as the chef served the food.
After the man bowed lightly to Rex, he left with the trolley.
"Mr Rex," Aisling started.
"Just Rex. Or Abaddon." The man interrupted.
"What?" She asked with a frown.
"Rex is my name, but it is a title. No need for an honorific." He responded.
"Was that necessary?" Aisling looked at him flatly, though she did not stare directly into his eyes. She did not want to fall in whatever voodoo he was brewing in there.
"I just thought that you would like to know." His lips stretched into a smile.
Strangely, Aisling felt a little more comfortable after the disruption, even though her original tough-stance rebuttal was no longer in her mind.
She lifted a hand to stop him from talking further.
"Whatever! I'll just call you Abaddon." She capitulated.
The man did not show the satisfaction within him at her choice.
People did not call him Abaddon.
Like Rex, it was also a title from the times of old. Both of his names were a reminder of the creature he used to be thousands of years ago, and what he could be again. The king of destruction…
Almost everyone called him Rex because he was the king.
However, only a few dared to call him Abaddon.
He did not want Aisling to be distant by calling him Rex like the masses.
"That's acceptable. Continue." He nodded without changing his facial expression.
Aisling took a deep breath. "How did you know to look for me?"
She had prepared a speech in her mind about the fabric of destiny and letting things take their natural course, but she realised that she was being irrational once again.
She could not dispose of her entire belief system because of a setback.
"The story is quite long and complicated." He said.
She lifted a platinum brow and smiled in a classic Aisling-like manner.
"Dinner and a show, I like the evening already."
Abaddon laughed for the first time in a long time. The laugh was a bit hoarse and his face was a bit stiff, but he laughed.
"Are you saying that you did not like our earlier activities?" His voice held a teasing quality.
Aisling blushed a bit, but she did not dignify the question with a response.
Abaddon became serious once again as she began eating.
"There have been some murders in Farallon. Their nature is very specific. After a bit of evaluation after the first three murders, we determined that we had a serial killer in the city." He paused. "In the beginning, the Order was going to handle it like a regular case. But the Temple of Oracles got involved."
Aisling stopped chewing. "What is the Temple of Oracles?"
Abaddon sighed. He had asked for the Order to make arrangements for Aisling to learn about Panthalassa, but it was too much to expect that everything would be covered in a single day.
"What have you been told about Panthalassa so far?" He asked.
Aisling swallowed food and drank some water.
"Let's see. I know about the major attractions. By the way, people fear your black building a lot. I know a little bit about the Order. Also, Farallon is the most boring of the three countries. Your main export to the secular world is pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. How disappointing!" Aisling spoke in one breath.
Abaddon felt like he could no longer trust the Order with important business like educating someone about their land. Moreover, he felt like Farallon had lost face.
"But do you know why Farallon is the most important country in Panthalassa?" he asked.
Aisling lifted her hand in a mock manner. "I know, I know."
He did not allow her to guess. "Because I am here."
"I did not know that. So, you are the much-feared king." She commented with thick sarcasm.
Rex did not know if she was playing or if she did not know. He wanted to ask about it but realised that he had digressed. They had much to cover.
And if they were to work together, she needed to understand his world.
And he was the best person to tell the story.
"I will start from the beginning." His voice had a heavy solemnity.
Aisling groaned inwardly because she could tell that it was going to be a long and possibly, highly tedious story.
Cadeaux
-- Cadeau
reçu État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone