Chapter 10 - Spanish Lies

No triggers this time around - 37 pics.
 

 

Karena pushed the laptop away, not wanting to see the screen. She palmed her eyes, her breath hitching. She felt warm hands on her shoulders as Gabriel leaned over her.

“I’m sure there’s an explanation of why he didn’t…”

“You give human beings too much credit, Gabriel. Lothar was right. God DAMN it…”

Karena reached for a tissue and blew her nose, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. Gabriel was at a loss as to what to do, and just continued to massage Karena’s shoulders. He wanted to pop upstairs and shake Walter awake, with all the righteous anger that his being could muster; but he realized he was needed more here.

Manfred tugged at the bottom of his sweater and snapped his fingers at Moritz, who groaned as he left the bed. He descended the stairs and nodded at Death, who was reading the paper at the counter, the coffee-maker finishing the brewing cycle.

Manfred went out the back door, Moritz close behind. The dog wandered off to do his business, and Manfred went to the barn to let the horses out. He left Pepin for last, and had to slightly jerk the line as the horse tried a few tricks to test his authority. That task done, he left the stall doors open with the intention of cleaning them after breakfast. He whistled to Moritz and the two re-entered the house.

Manfred noted that the office door was ajar and his curiosity got the better of him. Motioning Moritz to stay in the living room, he poked his head in through the door.

 

The squarish, strawberry-blond head of the older Richthofen brother peeking into the office made Gabriel sigh in relief. He knew that Manfred would definitely have some idea on how to proceed.

“Karena? Gabriel? Is everything all right?” Manfred knew at a glance that everything was, in fact, not all right, but he figured he’d ask anyway to see what kind of answer he got. By the look on Karena’s face, he knew it might have something to do with either his brother or Vogel.

Karena wiped at her eyes and looked up at Manfred.

“Um, yes. I’m fine. I’ll… I’ll make breakfast in a little bit.” she stammered.





Manfred scowled. Now he KNEW it was something to do with the other men in the household.

“Poppycock. I know that look on your face. Gabriel, bring us some coffee, please. I think Karena and I need to talk, alone.”

Gabriel removed his hands from Karena’s shoulders, mildly put off by the imperious tone.

“Archangel, ahem.” he said indignantly, his eyes briefly taking on a preternatural glow.

Manfred fixed Gabriel with a stern gaze that seemed to go straight through him.

“Chief Guide, ahem. Go, now, before the other two come down. Two sugars in mine, cream and sugar in hers.”

Gabriel exhaled sharply and left the office in a huff.




Manfred closed the office door and sat in the chair opposite the desk, resting his hands on his knees.

“So, tell me what’s up.”

Gabriel came to the kitchen, grumbling as he filled up the coffee cups as ordered. Death was reading the morning paper with an empty cup, and Gabriel filled it as a courtesy.

“I didn't know Archangels knew that sort of language, Gabe. Something wrong?” Death asked from behind the paper.

“Damn mortal shit, telling me what to do. I’m an Archangel, dammit, not one of his servants…”

Death set down the paper, raised his eyebrows, and sipped at his coffee, waiting for Gabriel to finish ranting.


 

"Karena’s been up all night, and it’s not good. She mentioned that Lothar seemed to think that Walter wasn’t fully truthful about himself, and he was right. She wasn’t the only mistress Walter had.”

Death sighed. So it was beginning. He knew this was going to be a difficult time for Karena, and he wished he had better prepared her for it. Sometimes necessary growth was painful, though.

“So what have you done about it?”




Gabriel leaned against the counter, sighing.

“Nothing. I didn’t know what to do, or how to fix this. I want to go upstairs and shake Walter until his damn teeth come out for lying to her. But you said not to interfere. As you can see, I’m reduced to being someone’s coffee-slave.”



 

Death knew he had to say something, but it wasn't going to be easy.

 

“You can’t fix this, and neither can I. It’s part of the geis and it has to iron itself out. Not even I know the full story; the Old Gods were deliberately quiet on some aspects of it. I do know it has something to do with both the warp and the weft, the wyrd and the orlog. I was hoping it wouldn’t come to a head until much later, but I apparently miscalculated the taller brother’s interest in Karena and how Manfred’s strong sense of duty would come up against Walter’s more casual approach.”

 

Gabriel's eyes flashed blue briefly in anger. 

 

“You, you KNEW of this and didn’t tell me?” he hissed. “Sonofabitch, Grim, it would have been usef--”
 

Manfred poked his head out of the office door, redirecting his aggravation at Walter towards the errant archangel and the lack of caffeinated beverage.

“HEJA! WINGS! Kaffee, SCHNELL!”

Gabriel jumped, startled out of his train of thought.

“Wings? WINGS?”

Grim picked the paper back up to hide his smirk; despite the situation, he found Manfred’s ordering around of the archangel rather amusing.

“Better hurry, Wings. Officers like him don’t like to be kept waiting.”

Gabriel frowned and picked up the coffee tray.




“You need to fill me in on this, soon. I don’t CARE what Balthy says or you think – this is important information I needed to know, like, yesterday. I’m sure Karena would like to know, too, you know. How can you expect her to settle this ‘apocalyptic’ problem if she doesn’t have all the information? What, is this like Yeshua’s freakin desert dilemma bullshit? She has to PROVE she’s worthy or some crap?”

Death set the paper back down and looked up at the scowling angelic being. He was right, in a way, Grim thought.

“You do have a point. I’ll tell you what I think is safe for you and her to know. Then you can tell her. But no one else. And yes, this is sort of a trial of worth, in a way. Didn’t know you felt that way about Yeshua, either.”



 

“Dad’s favorite little mistake, yeah. For someone who made such a fuss about picking the right woman, the right family, for him to let it end that way. A mother’s agony seeing her son up there, choking for air, bleeding, calling out for a Father that didn’t seem to care...or did you forget it was I that announced to Mary who she was carrying?” Gabriel muttered, turning to leave the kitchen.

Grim watched the archangel leave towards the office. He had an often poor opinion of the angelic beings, liking them to so many fluttering chickens; but Gabriel’s outspokenness intrigued him. He’d have to discuss it with the Old Ones, but perhaps some sort of compromise could be made regarding some of the information he was initially warned not to share.



 

Gabriel entered the office with the coffee tray in hand, surveying the scene in front of him. Karena still sat at the desk, the laptop open again, Manfred leaning over her, his face like thunder.

He harrumphed to get their attention, setting the coffee tray down on the edge of the desk.

Manfred picked up his coffee and sat back in the single unoccupied chair, silently mouthing a “danke” to the Archangel. Gabriel silently handed Karena her coffee and leaned up against the wall, waiting for the lightning that would accompany the coming storm.

Karena sipped her coffee and sniffled a few times, closing the laptop and pushing it away again. Gabriel felt her pain fill the room and apparently, so did Manfred.

 

 

“I can’t believe he lied to you like that. This younger generation is so…irresponsible. I knew it. I knew there was something wrong. That bastard!” Manfred hissed.

Karena slumped in the chair, nursing her coffee.

“I mean, I kind of suspected it – he wouldn’t have taken me as a mistress if he hadn’t done something similar before. I was honestly surprised at his attention at first, but...he was hard to resist. Very persistent. Always going on about how officers should play as hard as they worked, that I was special. I knew he was married, I saw the ring. I was too, but..”

Gabriel shifted his position against the wall. Here was something he knew of Karena’s past.
“Your marriage then wasn’t happy.”

 

Manfred’s expression softened.
“So both of you weren’t faithful to your spouses.”

Karena realized she needed to tell Manfred about her past now; maybe the situation would make more sense to him if she did. She’d have to tell Lothar the full story as well, and soon.

“Manfred, my husband then was an abusive martinet. I was a prisoner of my own house. I still had healing bruises when Walter hired me to work for the Geschwader.”

Manfred scowled at the new knowledge; though he was appreciative that Karena was giving him new information, it still pissed him off.

“So Vogel took advantage of your mental state. That makes me sick.”

Gabriel tried to defuse Manfred’s simmering anger.
“Perhaps he thought he rescued her, instead.”

 

 

Manfred huffed and sipped at his coffee, thinking. He didn’t like this new information and was bothered that Karena had not mentioned it to him earlier, when he was in the aether. It was damned important, he thought. Why hadn’t she? What else had she not told him? How could he do his job properly if she wasn’t totally open with him? The entire situation bothered him more than he thought it should.

“Be that as it may, the rescue should have had no strings attached.” he said finally.

Karena knew Manfred was irritated at her withholding the information from him. His fair face still held a frown and he was beginning to jiggle the leg that remained on the floor, two clear signs of his agitation.

“Manfred, there wasn’t. He didn’t hold that over me, that he had taken me out of a dangerous situation. I was… grateful to him that he had found a way to get me away from my husband, and then he used his clout to get the new German courts in town to arrange for a divorce. He saved my life. I had to repay him somehow, other than just being his personal secretary. I wasn’t sure I should have done what I did, but after a while, and his persistence….”

 

 

Manfred shifted his position in the chair, the leather creaking as he did so.

“That still doesn’t excuse him taking you as his mistress.  And now? I can’t believe he didn’t tell you about the others, after all you had been through in this lifetime. He wasn’t honest.”

Gabriel was just as agitated as Manfred now, knowing what Grim had told him. This was turning into a mess and there would be consequences if things weren’t ironed out between the inhabitants of the house and those holding the strings of the geis.

“I’m sure he would have told her, eventually.” he offered.

 

 Manfred brought his leg back down and shook his head.

“No, no he would not have. I knew men like him. Duplicitous. What else has he lied about?”

Gabriel knew he was going to regret what he was about to say, but he had to find a way to make Manfred understand why things had to go the way they did before his arrival.

 

 

“Rather like you, Kate and Lea? Did you tell your mother about that?”

Manfred froze, shocked. He thought only Lothar knew, and now Karena did. Come to think of it, he thought, the archangel was right. Now was not the time, however, to change tack and go after another target, not while the main problem was still hanging in the air.

Karena straightened in her chair and looked at her old friend, curious. If he had pursued two girls at the same time, why was he so upset, then, about her past life and the events of the past six months?

“Manfred?”

Manfred backpedaled, trying to bring the conversation back to where it was before they started talking about his own personal life.

“This isn’t about me and my….relationships. This is about Vogel’s lying to Karena and his treatment of her in the past. Let’s not go after another quarry while this one is still flapping about in the bush, Gabriel.”

 

 

Karena was too curious now, seeing Manfred put out of sorts by the question, a rarity for someone so in control of the outward expression of their emotions. She had to know.

“I thought the Nurse Kate thing was an invention by later authors...Lea I knew about, or at least suspected.”

“I promise to tell you later about that, Karena. Right now, we need to deal with this. What are you going to do with the new knowledge?”

Karena yawned as she looked into her cup, as if searching for an answer.

“I- I don’t know. I don’t know if I should confront him or...I… dammit. This is very upsetting.”

At that moment, the sounds of someone coming down the stairs brought an end to any more discussion.

Gabriel set his coffee cup on the tray and shook his head.

“Right now, say nothing. I am sure that Walter will have a good explanation for this.” he said. And if he didn’t, Gabriel thought, he’d SHAKE one out of him. All that he had done in the previous life for Karena and Walter had to ruin it by thinking with his dick. Oh, Gabriel would have some words with him, all right.

Manfred shrugged, standing up and stretching his back. He handed his now-empty coffee cup to Gabriel to put on the tray.

“What, other than excuses? I doubt it. Don’t do it publicly, Karena. In private. Where my brother can’t hear you.”

Gabriel picked up the tray and started walking towards the office door, contemplative. He noticed how Manfred waited for Karena to come towards him before bringing her into a one-armed hug. Karena leaned into Manfred’s comforting embrace and yawned again. She realized she was so tired, but there were things that she had promised.

“Yeah. Let’s have breakfast first. I’ll make the pancakes.”

Manfred noted her look of exhaustion. “No, no, you don’t have to right now. Just rest at the table and we’ll take care of things.  Hey, Wings, how are you at making pancakes?

Gabriel bristled at the nickname Manfred had bestowed on him. Such blatant disrespect for a supernatural being from a mere mortal, he grumbled.

“That’s it! I’m telling your brother about your girlfriends!”

Manfred tossed his head back and barked out a short, sharp laugh.

“He already knows, Wings. Now chop chop, I like ‘em thick and fluffy. Come on, Karena, come sit at the table and have another cup of coffee with me while our feathered friend makes our breakfast.”

Manfred gently guided Karena past a sputtering Gabriel, who was nearly beside himself with indignation.

“Why why.. you..little…”

Manfred ignored the outburst and continued to the kitchen with Karena. As he passed, he looked back at Gabriel and gave him a serious look that the archangel took to mean “do not start with me, I am as angry as you are.”

Manfred filled his and Karena’s cups and went to to the table, setting hers down in front of her as she looked sadly out the bay window. He took the seat closest to her and noticed that Grim had taken the cue to sit in the chair opposite with his own cup of coffee.

Grim looked at Manfred and raised a single eyebrow. Manfred nodded curtly and darted his eyes at Karena. Grim nodded back and took a sip of his coffee.

Walter had poured himself a cup of coffee, grabbed the paper and sat at the breakfast bar. He harrumphed and fluttered the pages a bit. He definitely had not slept well, and when he awakened to find Karena not there, his mind imagined all sorts of scenarios, again. His mood had been further soured by Lothar, who had cheerily greeted him in the hall before taking the stairs two at a time. 

Fortunately for all, Lothar had taken his coffee and cigarette outside, watching the horses. He knew that Manfred wasn’t the exuberant morning person that he was, so he had learned this method of keeping his head on his shoulders early on.

Lothar noted that Karena had not exited the bedroom that Walter shared with her, and wondered where she had been all night. He poured himself a cup of coffee, nodded to Death and was headed for the porch when he saw Karena, his brother and Gabriel coming from the office. Karena looked absolutely wrecked, and he felt a twinge of guilt.

The kitchen was silent, except for the sounds of Gabriel making pancakes, when Lothar returned, his cup in need of a refill. He looked around, assessing the situation and the chances that Manfred was in a foul mood. He shrugged his shoulders and decided it was worth the risk.

Giving an overly-loud sigh, he leaned against the counter, noticing Walter snap his newspaper in irritation.

“Well, “ he said brightly, “aren’t WE a cheery lot this morning. Schlaft gut, Karena?”

Karena turned her head at Lothar’s voice and gave him a wan smile, then turned back to looking out the window. He winced at her expression, but the one his brother shot him was positively poisonous.

Walter set down the paper and glared at Lothar. The absolute cheek, he thought. 

Walter turned and looked at Karena, who was still looking out the bay window at nothing in particular. She looked tired, he thought, or was it something else?

“Karena, is everything all right?” he asked tentatively, not noticing Gabriel fix him with the nastiest of looks.

“I was just.. too keyed up last night to sleep well, Walter, so I worked on the client list.” lied Karena.

Lothar noticed Manfred and Grim exchange glances and furrowed his brow. He knew that was a lie, somehow. Had his plan worked a little bit too well? 

Karena pushed her chair back suddenly, standing up.

“Excuse me, I need to go check on the horses.”

Manfred stood up as well, out of habit.

“I let them out. Should I not have done that?”

Karena paused halfway to the back door.

“No, no, it’s okay. I’ll just go get Pepin. I have to give him his morning vitamin supplement. The other horses can stay outside.”

Karena left through the back door in a hurry, nearly running. She wiped at her eyes and gave a shrill whistle to call her horse to her. Pepin pulled his head up sharply and trotted over, noticing his mistress’s distress. He followed her into the barn, flattening his ears to ensure none of the other horses followed.

Secure in his stall with his mouth full of grain, he munched quietly as Karena sat on a hay bale she had dragged into his stall to sit on. He whickered softly and nudged her with his nose as if to ask what was wrong. It was the nudge that broke the dam, and he whuffed softly as she stood and cried great racking sobs into his mane, telling him in halting breaths about what she had discovered about Walter.

Karena didn’t know how much English her horse knew, but she knew that he had some basic knowledge of it. Pepin blew softly and wrapped his head around her shoulder, giving small nickers from time to time. He understood she was upset, and that one of the human males was to blame. He didn’t think it was the one who was the master of the two new horses, so that left either his brother or the other one who didn’t seem to really have the enthusiasm for horses that his mistress did. He’d find out, and that human would end up with a nice new bite mark on his arm, if Pepin had anything to say about it.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, the tension was nearly palpable. Gabriel flipped the last pancake onto the serving platter and set it on the counter. Manfred had silently set the table in advance, with some help from Grim as to the location of items. Walter had smoked through half a pack of cigarettes, his mind now full of the conflicting emotions of anger and guilt. Something had happened last night, and Karena was deeply unhappy. Was it something Lothar had done? She hadn’t come up to the bedroom last night, either. Was it something HE had done? 

 

 

 Walter sat at his usual spot at the table and served himself. The extremely tender, fluffy pancake turned to glue in his mouth, and he tried not to choke on it. He took a large quaff of orange juice in an attempt to wash it down, so turned in on himself that he did not notice the stern looks Manfred was giving him.

The room was silent except for the sounds of eating, each of them alone with their own thoughts. 

Gabriel tossed back his heavily-sugared coffee and left the dining room, tossing an order over his shoulder.

 

“Don’t anyone follow me. Eat breakfast, clean it up after. I’ll be right back.”

Walter looked up at the back of the retreating archangel and swallowed heavily. Something was definitely wrong with Karena. He methodically finished his breakfast and stood up, taking his dishes into the kitchen.

He had to find out what was going on, and felt an incredible urge to talk to Karena in private.

“Excuse me, gentlemen. I hope you’ll pardon my rudeness, but I have something to do.”

Manfred glared at Walter as he left the house not ten minutes after Gabriel had. Lothar caught the look and set down his silverware, half a pancake left on his plate.

 

 

“Oh, something is definitely wrong, and you know what it is, Manfred. Spill it.” he said softly.

Grim sighed into his coffee. “Lothar, leave it alone.”

Lothar turned to Grim and shook his head.

“Like Hell I’m going to. She didn’t sleep; you, that archangel and my brother are staring daggers at Vogel and now she’s run off to be alone with her horse. I wasn’t born yesterday, you know.”

Manfred slapped his hand hard on the table, making the two men jump.

“Leave it alone, Lothar! Do not pry. For once, follow my damn orders!” he barked.

Oh, it was SERIOUS, Lothar thought – for Manfred to be that angry.

Worried, he asked his brother “Is she going to be okay? Can you at least tell me that?”

Grim noted the note of concern in the taller man’s voice and nodded.

“She will be, in time.”

Manfred nodded briskly at the confident tone the Reaper had taken. He must know something we do not, he thought. If he’s confident, then I shall be, too.

“I’m certain of it. She’s weathered worse. Lothar, I see you about to get up. Unless it’s to clear the table, sit back down and finish your breakfast.”

Lothar glanced down at his brother, who had fixed him with a calm, but serious gaze.

“I’ll… clear the table, then. I can’t sit. You know how I feel about her. I don’t like seeing her sad. I… I hope it wasn’t anything I said last night.” he said, reaching for the empty dishes on the table, stacking them, and heading for the kitchen.

Manfred and Grim looked at each other with questioning glances. What had Lothar said to Karena?