Julius Nix Meets A Nun, part 3

The morning station news made Julius rethink his plan. The body of an Arakyn with a scar under its leftmost eye had been found, apparently killed with a poisoned blade. If whoever had done it could kill an Arakyn, then they were either scarily fast or ridiculously strong. Or both.

 

He thought of the two that had attacked him in the garden. Maybe instead of one killer that was either fast or strong, he should be keeping an eye out for one of each. Either way, he had to warn the Sister. His comms were still out of service, and he couldn’t show up in person or he might lead whoever it was right to her.

 

Father Dominic would let him use the comms for free, even if it would take longer to get to that sector than it would to the Sister’s hotel.

He figured he’d decide as he walked, just to get moving in a direction, and grabbed his jacket off the hook by the door on his way out. He had one arm in the jacket and one foot out the open door when a large shape blocked his way.

 

The person standing in front of him was about his height, twice as broad, with a face that looked like it was literally chiseled from granite. All of it looked like it had been hewn from rock, actually, which Julius was in perfect position to see considering the alien wore nothing but a gold sash Julius assumed had some cultural significance he was ignorant of. He glanced down. The feet had hooves. Well, it looked like hooves, if hooves were crudely carved from jagged rock, but close enough.

 

“Sorry, office is closed right now,” Julius said as he closed the door. He heard the automatic lock engage. He got his other arm through his jacket and straightened it with a wince as his ribs protested. “You gonna let me pass, or are you here to rough me up some more?”

 

“Where is Sister Lysh’sk?”

 

It didn’t have any trouble with the glottal stop. “Not here. Where’s your furry friend?”

 

The question was ignored. “We know she contacted you.”

 

“I don’t discuss my clients with people who fracture my ribs, sorry.” He gestured behind him, “Need me to leave the office unlocked? I’d rather you not kick the door down if you want to look inside.”

 

“Your residence is attached.”

 

“Yeah, that door’s unlocked inside. Come on in, have a beer, but just so you know I haven’t done laundry in a couple weeks.”

 

Granite-Face said nothing for a moment, then took a single step back. “Unnecessary.”

 

Julius hesitated, wary. “Right. Ok.” He’d gotten pretty good at ‘amiable talking without saying anything helpful,’ but this might have been the first time it actually worked the way he wanted it to. He made his way past Granite-Face and called over his shoulder, “No kicking my door down while I’m gone!”

 

It didn’t follow him. He also hadn’t seen the furry one, which made him wonder if he was being followed by it. Since he didn’t want to lead them to the Sister, that meant he was calling on Father Dominic after all.

 

The church was always open during the day, as long as Father Dominic was present, and Julius hurried inside. He wondered briefly if he should ask the priest to lock the door in case he’d been followed… and stopped thinking of anything as he saw Father Dominic kneeling by the holy water font, a hand reached up into the water, something black and viscous dripping from his mouth onto the floor as he shuddered.

 

“Father Dominic!” Julius hurried over but the priest stopped him with a warning hand.

 

“I’ll be fine. I think.”

 

Father Dominic’s horns were somehow thinner but branched all around his head now, obscuring the copper feathers almost completely. The hand he’d held out to stop Julius’s approach was rough, like some sort of natural armor.

 

Julius winced as more black stuff poured forth. “How do I help? What happened?”

 

“I’m expelling the toxin,” Father Dominic groaned. 

 

Julius blinked. “You’re— what the hell happened?!”

 

“Please get more water from the sacristy.”

 

“Where?”

 

“The room behind the altar.”

 

Julius took off. A sacristy, it turned out, was a prep room where vestments and altar coverings were kept, among other things. It also had a sink. Julius found an empty pitcher and filled it, unsure of how this was going to help but what the hell did he know about Slanae biology?

 

“Into the font,” Father Dominic groaned as Julius returned with the water.

 

Julius poured the water into the almost empty font over the priest’s hand, which didn’t really look like a hand anymore as much as a hand-shaped mass of roots.

 

“... Huh,” Julius observed.
Father Dominic chuckled, or would have if another mouthful of black stuff hadn’t interrupted. With a cough he said, “I believe I’ve met your client.”

 

“You what?!” He was starting to sound like he was stuck in a loop, and felt just as confused.

 

The priest nodded, “Hisshek’k female, blue scales. Came into the church shortly after I opened the doors. She did not wear her robes, but I recognized her voice.” He coughed again, chagrined, “I probably shouldn’t have mentioned her cult.”

 

Julius knelt next to him with a sigh. “Father, I know you feel like shit right now, but I’m really gonna need you to start from the beginning. Even if you only get a few words out between black stuff.”

 

Father Dominic’s horns-branches visibly constricted as he straightened. “I discovered there is a connection between the Key and the Ark, though tenuous. Apparently, the Celestial Key is considered to be not just a symbol of the faith, but a holy relic direct from the Goddess herself to their first prophet. It is the ‘key to the universe,’ and there’s a great deal of debate concerning what that means. The dominant practice is that the key is meant to ‘unlock the hearts of beings,’ symbolizing the great concerns for harmony and peace the Sisters of Celestial Harmony maintain. Once peace and harmony are achieved, the doors to paradise will again be presented, the key will be used, and the universe will achieve its pre-fallen state.”

 

He paused to spit out more toxin before resuming like he’d never stopped. “However, there was a cult that formed perhaps a thousand years ago with the belief that the key was meant to open a lock, a physical one, present somewhere in the universe. As contact was made with other cultures, the Seekers of the Lock came to the conclusion that if there was only one ultimate being, it must have different aspects to account for the different understandings of it. If the Celestialites had the Key, what if another faith had the Lock?”

 

Julius had honestly been more focused on watching the priest pull himself together than the history lesson, but that got his attention. “And they decided on Christianity?”

 

“Judaism, Mr. Nix,” Father Dominic corrected with an arched brow. “The Ark of the Covenant was on Earth long before Jesus was born.” He cleared his throat, “Of course, if a Seeker of the Lock were to take the Key to the Ark, if she could find it, she would be disappointed to find there is no lock on it.”

 

Julius smirked. “I hope that means this is a case of an overzealous believer running with an idea and not an entire cult incapable of research.”

 

“Likely so. Unless the thought is that the Key will make the Lock appear.”

 

Julius rolled his eyes at the idea. “So my client is one of these Seekers, and when you let on you knew her secret, she poisoned you?”

 

“Bit me. Hisshek’k are fast and venomous, please be careful when you go after her.”

 

“I can’t leave you on the floor of the church spitting up venom!”

 

“I will be fine, Mr. Nix,” he glanced at him with a small grateful smile, “though I appreciate the concern. Thank God she decided to come to me first. If she’d attacked you, you would have died.”

 

Julius only frowned and got up to use the comms. He placed a call to the hotel and confirmed that the Sister had left earlier that day. Then he called the Docks and made sure there actually was a ship to Earth scheduled to sail at 13:00. There was. There was also one leaving in thirty minutes.

 

“Shit.” Julius ran out the door, and stopped short at the sight of two figures on the street. “For fuck’s sake, I do not have time for this!”

 

Granite-Face folded its arms, a tiny furry humanoid beside it twitching in either nervousness or excitement, it was hard to tell which.
“We have realized you are not helping her steal the Key,” Granite-Face said.

 

Julius’s jaw dropped, then he scowled. “You what?” He stalked forward, “Hang on, you’re the ones sent to come after her! You’re Celestialites, here to get back the Key, right? And you thought beating the shit out of me was better than, I don’t know, explaining what the hell was going on? What sort of universal cosmic mercy is that?!”

 

The furry one was super twitchy and Granite-Face was, well, stone, but both their eyes rose to look a foot and a half above Julius’s head.

 

“I suggest,” Father Dominic said from behind him, “you give my friend the explanation he is owed on our way to the Docks.”

 

Julius spun around, “You’re not coming, you’re recovering!”

 

“I’ve already locked the church, I’m coming.”

 

Julius looked him over with a skeptical frown. His hands looked like hands again, though still rough, and his horn-branches had retreated some to reveal more of his feathers again. His face was thin, though, thinner than usual, and his skin had lost its purple tint. Julius felt guilty, which made him frustrated. “Fine, all of you hurry up.”

 

He didn’t wait to see if the two Celestialites followed or not. He felt Father Dominic behind him, his long strides keeping pace easily with the rushing human. “You shouldn’t be doing this,” Julius grumbled.

 

The priest tilted his head, “Perhaps, but you do not trust either of the women following, and if you face the rogue Sister of Celestial Harmony alone, you will die. I cannot stand idly by and watch that happen.”

 

“You’ve more than made up for me helping you out once.”

 

“I’m not doing this out of debt, Mr. Nix. I’m doing this because if your client makes it to Earth, the prophecy states existence as we know it will cease.”

 

Julius stared at him.

 

Father Dominic grinned. “If you believe in that sort of thing.”

 

Julius laughed in surprise. “Did you just make a religion joke?”

 

“Priests can have senses of humor, Mr. Nix.”

 

Julius shrugged, “Not something I think of when someone says ’priest,’ but I guess they’d almost have to.”

 

Father Dominic shook his head, “I’ve known a few who most certainly did not. Look, the shuttle’s pulling in.”

 

They boarded the station shuttle, with the Celestialites close behind. The little one was being carried on the back of her stone-faced companion, and scurried down to sit by the window. She chirruped something high pitched. Granite translated, “According to the Guard, you are a man of loose morals who is little better than a mercenary, hired for blackmail and failing to help those who cannot pay.”

 

“The Guard can kiss my ass,” Julius stated.

 

Father Dominic looked confused.

 

“I’m not talking about this with people who think it’s acceptable to attack without provocation and ask questions later,” Julius grumbled.

 

“The information from the Guard was our provocation,” Granite said. He hadn’t asked for her name, she hadn’t offered it, and he didn’t give a damn.

 

“You don’t get out much, do you?” he snapped. “You’re on Port Station, a rundown rust bucket held together by luck and stubbornness. The Port Guard’s first concern is security for anywhere trade happens, which is essential since that’s the only reason this place is still running. I wouldn’t trust any of them for an honest character assessment if it was their own mother, which you would have known if you had talked to anyone who actually lives here.” 

 

He clenched his fists, “Fuck, I’m so annoyed right now.” He quietly ranted to Father Dominic without looking at him, guilt still knotted in his core, “You got attacked and now she’s getting away because I’m too dense to see when I’m being played. She never lost the damn Key, I was just a distraction! When these two clumsily ransacked the IECS church, I assumed her concerns were legit and alerted her to the fact that someone else was looking for the Key. So she killed the Arakyn because she didn’t pay it enough to keep its mouth shut and it would have told the Celestialites everything if they could afford to pay for it, if they even thought to ask it in the first place. And then she nearly kills the only person on this goddamn station who takes me seriously…” he stopped himself.

 

Everyone was quiet for a long moment.

 

“You are right,” Granite said, “we do not ‘get out much.’ I was selected because I am strong and immune to her venom.” She made a high pitched sound and gestured to the little one, “—is here because I am not fast, or stealthy, and she volunteered to help. We apologize for the misunderstanding.”

 

Julius nodded, unable to trust himself to speak.

 

“You can apologize by covering his medical bills,” Father Dominic said. 

 

Julius almost laughed. “Bills?”

 

Father Dominic smiled, “For the ribs you still haven’t tended to.”

 

Julius rolled his eyes, but he was a little less angry at himself, so that was something. And unusual.

 

The shuttle reached the Docks, and they hurried to find the next ship to Earth. “How did she manage to steal the Key in the first place? Don’t you have guards or something?” Julius asked.

 

The little one with the high pitched name responded, her friend translating again, “Lysh’sk was one of the guards. We had no idea she was secretly a Seeker.”

 

Julius scoffed, “You might want to be a little more thorough in your background checks.”

 

“We have realized this,” was the flat response.

 

Julius checked the list of departures to find what docking bay the ship would be in. “Why didn’t you two tell the Port Guard to haul her in?”

 

“We do not have any diplomatic authority, and asking for their assistance would mean revealing our sacred relic had been stolen by one of our own people.”

 

Julius nodded. “Bad PR, I get it.”

 

“P. R?”

 

“Public relations, press. Looks bad if an organization dedicated to helping people has a cult that wants to bring the apocalypse.” He started moving again, “Found it, let’s go.”

 

“What is the plan once we reach her ship?” Father Dominic asked.

 

“It hasn’t started boarding yet, so if we hurry we should get there before she gets on.”

 

“And then?” the priest prompted after a moment.

 

“I’m working on it.”

 

They found the ship, just as the boarding began. Sister Lysh’sk was standing in line.

 

Before Julius even had time to swear, Father Dominic strode forward to the nearest Port Guard, his voice earnest, “Guard? The Hisshek’k in the Celestialite robes is a fraud. She attacked me in the church, I’ve no doubt she’s the one who ransacked the IECS chapel as well.”

 

The Guard blinked and stared at the Slanae for a moment before looking at the Sister of Celestial Harmony waiting in line. “Are you sure?”

 

“Unless you know of another venomous blue scaled species, yes.”

 

He eyed the priest suspiciously, “How’d you survive?”

 

Father Dominic looked down from his full height, “We are very resilient.”

 

“Must be.” He grumbled with a sigh, “This is gonna look great, arresting a Sister.” He spoke into his wristcomm, “Hey, Mark? Yeah, pretend there’s a problem with the Celestialite’s boarding card. Just do it, I’ll talk to her.”

 

“Thank you,” Father Dominic inclined his head.

 

Julius was amused, and tried not to draw attention to himself as they waited. He realized after a moment they were a person short.

 

“Where’s your friend?” he asked Granite.

 

“Preparing.”

 

Julius thought about asking for more details, and decided he’d find out soon enough.

 

As Sister Lysh’sk reached the Guard checking boarding passes, it seemed like for once the Guard were being helpful. Her back went ramrod straight as the Guard said something, then she followed his gesture to step to the side with a quick look around… and saw the horned head of the seven foot tall priest she’d just left for dead watching her.

 

As the Guard Father Dominic had spoken to approached with the priest close behind, the Sister started walking the opposite direction. Julius circled around so he could head her off when something small, black, and fast tripped up the Sister’s feet. She went down with a hiss, giving the perfect opportunity for a “concerned stranger” to hurry to her side.

 

“Just so you know,” Julius said as knelt by her, “if that Guard sees you attack someone, he will not hesitate to shoot you. Stun cartridges, but very unpleasant.”

 

A stone hand clamped over the Sister’s mouth from behind her. Granite said something in a language Julius didn’t recognize, but it was clear Sister Lysh’sk wasn’t happy to hear it.

 

“What did you say?” he asked.

 

“A formal declaration of discipline. We will take her back, now.”

 

“That’s not going to be as simple as you think,” Julius pointed to the Guard arriving behind him, Father Dominic alongside.

 

Father Dominic would have been content to let her go and let the Sisters see to her, but the Guard was involved now and unhappy with the story he heard. Letting the Sisters of Celestial Harmony take care of the rogue nun was all well and good, but there was a dead Arakyn and the vandalism of an IECS temple to consider.

 

Granite and her tiny companion promised recompense for all damage caused, as long as Sister Lysh’sk was delivered to their custody.

 

“We don’t have anything solid to link anyone here to anything, except the Sister’s attempted murder of the Father,” Julius pointed out.

 

“Everything’s circumstantial until you hear one of them confess.”

 

“And I don’t suppose you’d have heard anything like that?” The Guard looked like he had a headache.

 

Julius shrugged, “You want my help, you know my rates.”

 

The Guard scoffed, “Right.” He turned to the Celestialites, “Just get all three of you off the station as fast as possible, got it?”Granite and friend nodded. The Guard walked away, muttering to himself.

 

*

 

Sister Lysh’sk was restrained and taken away by her Sisters. Granite thanked Julius and Father Dominic for their assistance, her friend chirped an agreement (at least that’s what it sounded like,) and Sister Lysh’sk glared daggers. Julius felt pretty good about it. 

 

As the nuns moved down the Docks to the area for private vessels, Father Dominic steadied himself on Julius’s shoulder.

 

“Ok, back to the church. Come on.” Julius put a supporting arm around him as they walked despite the height difference.

 

“I know the way, Mr. Nix,” was the half-hearted protest.

 

Julius shook his head. “You look like you’re about to pass out, I’m coming with.”

 

“Mm. I have extended myself a bit… overmuch.”

 

“Told you to stay behind.”

 

“I couldn’t do that, and my presence was of use.”

 

Julius sighed, “Yeah. You were a huge help, actually. I owe you.”

 

Father Dominic chuckled, “I might take you up on that.”

 

They waited for a shuttle to the Religious Sector. “Hey, Father, you seriously don’t look good. Way too thin, skin’s the wrong color. You sure you’re ok?”

 

Father Dominic smiled gently, “Some nourishment and I will be fine. Trust me.”

 

Julius wasn’t convinced, but he hoped that was true. “Ok. We don’t have to go all the way back, there’s a place nearby that’s cheap but decent—”

 

“No, thank you. I have everything I require at the church.”

 

“Water?” Julius guessed, remembering his hand in the font.

 

“Nutrient supplement. I often mix it with tea.”

 

And everything clicked. “You drink through your fingers. I thought you were stirring your tea, but you were drinking it. Then when you were poisoned, you used the water to… force the poison out?”

 

“Something like that,” he said as they got on the shuttle. He sounded exhausted.

 

They arrived at the Religious Sector and headed for the church. It was slow going with Father Dominic leaning on Julius for support, but he somehow managed to stay dignified all the way inside and back to his office.

 

“Thanks again, for all your help,” Julius said as he followed Father Dominic’s instructions on making tea and how much supplement powder to add to it.

 

“You’re welcome, Mr. Nix.”

 

Julius set the teapot and cup on the desk where the priest sat. “I’ll let you get some rest. If you need anything… well, I still don’t have a functioning comms terminal, but—”

 

“I will be fine, but I appreciate the thought.”

 

“Sure.” Julius started to walk out and turned back, “Do people visit priests just to say hi? Is that a thing?”

 

Father Dominic smiled. “Yes, Mr. Nix, priests can have social lives.”

 

“Ok. That’s good.”

 

At Julius’s hesitation, Father Dominic added, “I hope to see you again.”

 

Should I tell him he sounds like he’s flirting, Julius wondered, and decided that was a conversation for another day. “Definitely. See you then.”

 

He hurried out and headed back to the office. Becoming fast friends with a priest was somewhere at the bottom of the list of things he thought he’d ever do, but he liked him and not just because he had a thing for tall, shoulders, and cheekbones, either. Father Dominic seemed like a rare decent guy, someone who was considerate of others but also didn’t feel the need to pretend for the sake of society. Julius still thought the religion was ridiculous, but the guy he liked.

 

This was going to be a strange friendship, that was for sure.