Something was wrong with this woman, something she had said and which didn't at all match the nature she seemed to have for Lazar, 'I can believe that the person who saved me at the beginning of the Apocalypse asked her to help me. It's no coincidence that this guy seemed to have an eye on me all the time and that she knew exactly where to find me. On the other hand, I can't imagine that a person who seems as merciless as me agreed to come for such an altruistic motive.'
He tried to put himself in Amandla's place for a moment, imagining that the roles had been reversed, 'I am indebted to him it's true, but let's be serious two fucking minutes. If he had asked me to put my life in danger for the sole reason of going to save a stranger, I would have refused without even taking the time to think about it. I'm willing to bet that if it really came down to that, she wouldn't have given him a different answer.'
This Amandla was a difficult person to decrypt, but not impossible. Having shot an arrow in a man's neck without it seeming to disturb her more than that already said a lot about her. It wasn't the behavior of a person who discovered what real violence was with the Apocalypse, 'It's the behavior of a person who had already killed a human being and who is not afraid to do it again, you don't become like that overnight.'
It was a certainty, not a guess. Lazar had known enough killers in his life to be convinced that she was one too, yet he didn't began to judge her for that reason. He had blood on his hands too, however he didn't consider himself to be a bad person and until she proved him wrong he thought she wasn't too.
Getting back to the essential, what really worried him wasn't knowing that he was shaking a killer's hand, but not knowing her motivations, 'She has a personal interest in this.' He intended to find out everything she was hiding from him before engaging in anything with her. He was very curious to know the reasons justifying the fact that he had been saved several times.
Amandla didn't fail to notice a change in Lazar's behavior. She wouldn't go as far as to say that he had given her a warm welcome, 'polite' would be a much more adequate word, but in any case she felt his hostility when he abruptly ended their handshake, "Is there a problem?"
"Yes there is one, even several. I don't think he or you want to hurt me, but I don't like the impression that important things are being hidden from me. In this situation I know it's not just an impression, so I advise you to be honest with me right away by telling me what you two want from me."
Amandla again showed him that she wasn't easy to destabilize, what he had said hadn't disturbed her. It was quite the opposite, she replied very relaxed, "I haven't been lied to, you are far from being stupid. Sigh... I wish you had reached level 10 before we meet, it would have saved me from having this discussion."
'Level 10? It's one of the prerequisites for upgrading my weapon, but the way she talks about it is weird.' "I also regret it if it could have saved me from being spied on." Seeing that Amandla was slightly embarrassed on hearing this, he had confirmation that she had indeed followed him, as well as the meager satisfaction of seeing her finally drop her proud air.
"Um, so you also understood that... Sorry?" Seeing that he still had his accusing glance, she tried to justify herself, "Seriously, are you going to blame me while I saved your life? I'm sure you would have done the same in my place."
He replied calmly, "This morning I opened the shutters of my room before changing my clothes, did you enjoy the show?" She tried to stay as stoic as possible so as not to respond by stuttering, but her cheeks blushed so much that Lazar understood that she had seen him in underwear. He smiled grimly, "It will take me a lot to forgive something like that, you can start by telling me what I asked you."
'This is the first time that I have been stepped on by someone younger than me...', "Ok, first you have to know that you and I are helped by two different entities, I haven't encountered the person who helped you, I just know that he exists. If I know who you are it's just because these two entities are closely related."
"Okay... But what does that have to do with reaching level 10?" From then on he could only hope she was going to be honest with him.
"Well, this is just a guess. But if I told you that things are a little more complicated than what Hermes said and that the Gods are actually meddling in this war, what would you answer?"
"I'll tell you that I never took what Hermes said for the total truth and that I can totally believe that." Amandla looked relieved when she heard that.
"Phew... Seeing that, I thought you came from a very strict Christian family and that you would be narrow-minded on the subject." She pointed to a cross which was hanging on one of the living room walls.
He replied in an exasperated tone, "It's hung here just for decorative use, not out of conviction. Let's avoid talking about the decoration of this house, it's better for us two. So, what is the relation between level 10 and what you told me?"
"When you reach level 10 you get a class. I don't know all the details, but I know there are two possible cases. If you are a normal awakenee, then more or less strong entities agree to share their powers with you if they have found that you have shown yourself worthy of it. In this case you just have to choose one of the entities between all that have offered you their powers."
"Let me guess, you and I we are concerned by the other case?"
"Yes, exactly. The other case concerns a handle of people called 'Heirs'. They have special classes determined from their birth, we can say that it's fate. In short, these are classes that are bound to Gods or entities just as powerful as Gods. You and I are Heirs and the entities that speak to us are the source of our powers."