“Because I am a prince of nowhere,” he said with a sad expression.
“Which of these did you like?” asked the sales person. The old man smiled at her and shook his head.
“They’re all fine shoes,” he said. “I’ll take whatever is cheapest.”
“Cheap shoes are never a good idea,” smiled Hex. “You can wrap them all up. We’ll be taking them all with us.”
“No. No, you can’t,” said the man.
“We can and we will, along with the clothes they brought over from next door. We’ll get you some toiletries and things when we get where we’re going.”
“And where is that?” he asked, staring up at Luke and Hex.
“We own a private security company and our land is south of here,” said Luke.
“Private security?” frowned the man. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“Listen, Nicolai, if you’re in trouble we can help. We mean you no harm but clearly you could use some support right now. I hope that you’ll trust us. If you want to leave once we’re out there, we’ll bring you back here.
“But you said you have no home, no car, nothing. I think we’re offering a lot better than that. Warm bed, roof over your head, and some of the finest food in the state, maybe the world,” said Luke.
“Alright,” he nodded. “You’re right, of course. Another month on these streets and I don’t think I’ll be alive.”
With warm socks and shoes on his feet and a new sweatsuit that felt like the finest material in the world, he was happy to walk with Luke and Hex to their waiting car.
He seemed casual and unimpressed by the luxurious interior and said nothing as they kept driving further south. He even nodded off a few times, his head bobbing and jerking him awake.
“When did you last have a full nights’ sleep?” asked Luke.
“It’s been quite some time,” he whispered. “I don’t really know.”
“Well, we’ll get you settled in and if you feel like it, later we’d love to hear your story, how you ended up here.” Hex waited for the man to say something but he just nodded.
“You know I’m not from this area,” he said matter-of-factly.
“We gathered that by the hint of an accent you have,” said Luke. “It doesn’t matter to us. We want to help you either way. Do you remember where you’re from? Were you injured or hit on the head?”
“I was hit on the head. Multiple times,” he said calmly. “If it’s alright with you, I’d like to discuss it later.”
“Of course. We have an amazing medical team and we’re going to make sure that they check you out. If something is wrong, we’ll get it fixed.”
Nicolai stared at the two men in the front seat and then looked down at what he’d become. He was embarrassed. Humiliated and shouldn’t feel this way. It wasn’t his fault. These circumstances had nothing to do with him.
“I’m not sure anyone can fix what’s wrong.”
CHAPTER FOUR
“Nicolai Christodoulou. Servant of Christ,” said Code staring at Luke, Hex, Cam, and Eric.
“He’s a priest?” asked Cam.
“No. Christodoulou means Servant of Christ. In Greek,” smirked Code.
“So, he’s Greek. What else do we know?” asked Luke.
“Not much. He’s from a relatively unknown island that has ruled on its own for centuries. Technically, they are a Greek island, falling under Greek rule but have been left to handle their business by themselves. Which is probably what went wrong.”
“Code, can you just tell us what went wrong?” asked Eric.
