Different People

Chapter 8: Different People

"What do I have to do?" William debated his next move. Due to his new responsibilities as a Nighthawk, he wasn't sure if he would be able to continue with his studies, let alone his job.

After giving it some thought, he decided he would go see and tell Darkwill that an important matter had come up and that he couldn't continue with his work. He also thought he could make it up to him, so he scraped together two pounds, which was even more than he had earned working for him.

But this would be later because first of all, he had to go to Blackthorn Security Company and let Captain introduce him to his new colleagues. It was quite early in the morning. Luckily, he had rarely missed class, so they wouldn't say anything to him for skipping a day.

Remembering how Klein had acted the day before, he entered the door without knocking. The same woman from yesterday, Rozanne if William remembered correctly, was in the same position. In his mind, the guy joked that she might not have moved all night.

"Good morning." He greeted her with a nod. He was still not very used to the courtesy of the times. The woman seemed quite surprised to see him again.

"Oh, I saw you yesterday!" William this time thought that she had used the same tone as last night. "You were with Klein, so have you joined us?"

William nodded again and confirmed her suspicions. "That's how it turned out. Are you part of the Nighthawks too…?"

The girl understood the implied question and introduced herself.

"My name is Rozanne. I am part of the civilian staff."

"My name is William Hastur. You can call me William if you wish." He looked down the hall that led to Dunn Smith's room. "Anyway, it's nice to meet you, Rozanne. Now I have to go meet the Captain."

He said goodbye to the girl, and she returned the greeting. He arrived in front of the Captain's door and knocked on the door.

"Come in." At Dunn Smith's deep voice, William didn't hesitate and opened the door. In the room was the same man he remembered. He was in his thirties, with light brown hair, a straight nose, and sharp gray eyes.

"Good morning, Captain." As he spoke, he took off his hat.

"Good morning. It is good that you are punctual. Come with me." William listened to him and, together, they went to visit several people. There was the accountant Mrs. Orianna, a serious-looking man named Bredt, and the receptionist Rozanne, whom he already knew.

Those were all part of the civilian staff, so they weren't Beyonders.

Finally, William met a formal member who came after him. He found him in the hall talking to Rozanne and drinking black tea. His name was Kenley White, and she got on quite well with William. The man had recently gotten engaged to his girlfriend and was very happy about it.

William then asked Dunn where the other members were, receiving the answer that they were on missions or standing guard at Channis Gate. The young man did not ask what Channis Gate was because he thought he would find out when the time was right.

"Here, go to this address. You will meet a man we call Old Neil, and you can take mysticism lessons from him. Klein, whom you met yesterday, is also receiving his teachings." The Captain handed him a piece of paper with an address on it. William took it and realized that he was not very far from the place.

"Okay, I'll head over to this site. Do you need me to come back later, Captain?" He asked as he put his hat back on.

"It's not necessary. From today you should go every day at the same time that you came here to Old Neil's house." The captain dismissed him, and William turned to leave, but at the last moment, the captain spoke again. "Ah, wait. If we need you for a mission, you will be contacted in some way, so don't worry. You may do your first mission with Klein since he also has to gain experience."

"Huh, fine. See you then, Captain." William said goodbye again and headed for the door, only to be interrupted again.

"Wait. You can come this way if you don't have anything to do someday, it's fine to interact with the other members. You can also order tea or coffee."

Dunn Smith was a forgetful fellow, William concluded. "He's definitely not a bad person, though."

"Anything else, Captain?" He asked him, trying to contain his laughter, something the other man didn't notice.

Dunn shook his head. "That is all."

"Well then." William finally walked out the door and was able to make his way to Old Neil's house, which was no more than a five-minute walk away.

The location was a building with a half-open iron door. He knocked so as not to sound impolite, and an aged voice motioned for him to come in from inside. He did as the voice told him, and inside he found two people, one young and familiar and the other much older and unknown to him.

"Are you William Hastur? Klein mentioned that you're already a Beyonder. That'll make things a lot easier."

"That's right, although I don't have any knowledge of mysticism as yet. Nice to meet you, Mr. Neil." Then he turned to Klein. "Good to see you too, Klein."

Klein returned the salute, and William took off his hat as a gesture of respect.

"To begin with, what languages do you know, William?" The question came from Old Neil.

William thought for a moment before saying he spoke Hermes and a bit of Ancient Hermes that he learned in school.

"Well, we'll have to brush up on your Ancient Hermes so you can delve into the arts of mysticism." Old Neil looked at Klein. "Since you speak so many languages, you'll probably be a good teacher. I'll need your help to teach him."

Klein nodded without much thought. Luckily, in his previous life, William had learned quite a few languages, so it wouldn't be too much of a problem for him to fully learn something he already knew.