Gods From the Machine by Andrew Ly Page A

fear because you guys weren’t born during their reign. A blessing because if any of you had only seen some of the atrocities we saw…well, you wouldn’t have this death wish.”
    “ Over time, Nicholas’ cultivation of skills will be a huge asset,” Peter said.  “However, right now we need to press every advantage we can get. We need to fix that sword immediately.”
    “ I’m sorry, I still don’t understand why we need Garreth. We have plenty of great whitesmiths here in our own Garrison,” Matt said. “Last time I checked, Garreth left because he hated us.”
    Nick knew very little about whitesmiths other than they were a part of the Wisdom Unit. As far as he knew whitesmiths were weapon forgers that specialized in blessing weapons for the Garrison armory. Every soldier and knight had their weapons crafted and imbued with holy magic because it was the most potent weapon at their disposal to vanquish demons. However, very few people chose to spend their lives training to be a whitesmith because it seldom offered glory. Also, many considered spending hours or days crafting equipment for other people to be boring. Then there was also a strict policy for whitesmiths to work in the confines and the safety of the Garrison, which outwardly made them appear as cowards.
    “ Unfortunately there is no one remotely as skilled as a whitesmith as Garreth Graves. Though it’s true he left our Garrison for his own personal reasons, it has become both your responsibilities to convince him to make an exception for this one instance. Every member of Sir Marcus’ family has long since been deceased. We can’t turn to anybody else,” Peter said. “I trust this request is simple enough for two knights to handle?”
    Nick nodded. “Of course.”
    “ Good. We’ll have vehicular transportation available for you both in thirty minutes. Take this time to properly equip yourselves before you leave,” Peter said. He adjourned the meeting and Nick and Matt left to get prepared.
    Even though he had a new uniform, Nick was more comfortable in his own attire. He put on a simple, white V -neck shirt with black pants, combat boots, and his signature jacket had the Glenhaven sigil sewn on the left arm, with a red Brave Unit patch on his right. He strapped on leg holsters and fitted them with knives. There would probably be no battle with Graves, but it never hurt to be prepared for the trip.
    As he finished, Matt walked into his room, wearing his full uniform as usual. His sword, Wolfsbane was sheathed at his waist.
    “ Let’s get this show on the road,” Matt said.
    They went to the garage facility where all the cars were located. Every car ever manufactured could be requested or delivered for use to their Garrison. However, they all had to be painted in a variation of the same white and gold color scheme with their Glenhaven crest located somewhere so that people could identify them. Nick passed over some of the fancier cars because he already had his choice in mind.
    “ The usual?” Matt said.
    Nick nodded as they jumped into his favorite silver spo rts car and sped along to the industrial city of Hyperion. However, an idea suddenly crossed Nick’s mind.
    “ We’re going to make a quick pit stop somewhere,” Nick said.
    “ Where would this be exactly? You know Peter wouldn’t like it if you brought someone along, especially a civilian,” Matt said.
    “ Since when are you the voice of reason?” Nick said.
    Matt chuckled . “You know I don’t care about bending some of the old man’s archaic rules. I just don’t think he’d be happy with you taking some girl for a joy ride around town.”
    “ She’s not just some girl, Matt.”
    His time was well spent into solitary confinement, as his punishment allowed his relationship with Quinn to blossom with daily call transmissions. He told her the good news and about the events that occurred in between, but omitted the details about his demonic side. It was a nice treat to