“I understand that this must be very difficult for you,” This was not how things had been meant to pan out, on any score. Had Newton simply swallowed some of his pride and come visit, this entire debacle might well have been avoided. Had he gone to his brother, that would have been noted far more than if the other had come to him – but he supposed now, the court of fault was weighed equally between them.
What mattered now was altering the course of matters – despite every failure up until this point. There was no point in lamenting the mistakes of the past when the future remained so tenuous and unclear. If Credence was to have any hope of surviving all of this, he would need Newton’s help – and the only way to achieve that would be for Theseus to go against his orders, deliberately disobey his commanders, and commit an act of treason against the Ministry in order to harbor this dangerous obscurial in the thin hope that his wayward sibling might get his act together in time to be of use to all of them.
“And I wish it could be different – “ He had no desire to see another needless corpse on the ground, not if he could help it – but of course it was easier to acknowledge the more pressing fact that his brother would never forgive him if he harmed this young man. “But I am afraid there is no alternative that does not end in another horrible circumstance like New York. I have it from credible sources that you are not a cruel man, Mister Barebone – I beg of you, do take this opportunity to prove it,” If he was caught at this it would be the end of him, “Preferably before the others get here.” He held out his hand – knowing, as he did, that he was sealing their fates together on no greater authority than the bleeding heart of his brother, and the endless staring eyes inside his own mind.
Severely Archived 