Hi! Here is the next chapter. Thanks for all your reviews. Let me know what you think about it.

Thanks to Moonjat54 for beta-reading!

The Order Elhaz

Lily thoughtfully sat on her bed. Jack was right, she would never have gone with him if she had known that he wasn´t a policeman. Then there were so many uniformed and civilian-clad police officers, paramedics and of course the press that she would not have thought that Jack wouldn´t be one. Especially since he had saved her; he has been there from the first. He had never told her directly that she was in the witness protection program, no, he had lied to the police when he had spoken with them. And then one of the officers had brought out a cell phone and told her she should call her family and say that she was fine and that she was now in the witness protection program. The phone call was anything but easy.

Her feelings told her that she was really safe here, that they wanted to protect her and she really did feel that way. Maybe she had been at the wrong place at a wrong time. There were apparently two groups, of which the public did not know about who fought against each other and she belonged to one of the groups without having known it before. But why do these two groups fight against each other? And did this Legion know about her origins? If this really was the truth, was it then her fault that the Legion had done attack? Did they come because of her? Had she been the target?

Lily took a deep breath and tried not to burst into tears. She had to talk to Jack. She had to know whether this attack of the Legion had been because of her. Determined, she got up and left her room. First she knocked on Jack's door but there was no answer so she continued her search for Jack. She found him in the living room. He was sitting thoughtfully on the sofa and had not noticed that she had entered the room.

"Jack," Lily said to get his attention and succeeding when Jack raised his head and looked at her. Lily could see in his face his guilty conscience, but there was more. It looked as if he felt he had failed. Before Jack spoke, he got to his feet.

"Lily ... I'm really sorry. I didn´t want to abuse your trust. I ..." in Jack's voice reflected what could be read on his face showing that his apology was sincere.

"Jack, I accept your apology," she said with a smile. "Only one thing I need to know: Was the Legion there because of me? Were they trying to get to me?" Lily could not keep the fear from being heard in her voice.

Jack went up to her and looked her straight in the face. "No, they were not there because of you. I think it was coincidence that you were there or fate, I do not know which."

Lily breathed deeply in relief. She did not know how she would have handled it if it would have been her fault.

"Anna told me that it is your job telling me everything about the Order," Lily said very curiously.

"Yes, it is. How about we sit down and I'll tell you something about that?"

Lily nodded and they sat down on the sofa. Lily felt like Jack was nervous and did not feel really comfortable. Presumably he was afraid of how she would react to what he was about to tell her.

"Jack, I promise you I will listen to you and not immediately run away," Lily let Jack know.

Jack smiled at her and pulled something from his pants pocket. "Lily, before I begin, I would like to give you something." Jack gave Lily a pendant attached to a leather strap. The round pendant seemed to be made of silver and in the middle was stamped a symbol. It was a V, which was bisected by a long line in the middle, the V was at the upper end of the line.

"Jack, thank you ... but ..." Lily did not know exactly what to say. Jack had never given her anything and if she was honest, this necklace was not to her liking, not to say ugly. She was sure she would wear it because Jack had given it her. The round pendant was quite okay, but the symbol on it bothered her.

"Lily, I admit that this necklace is just not very pretty," Jack said with a smile at Lily's hesitation. Jack must have seen the look on Lily's face and her critical expression said she did not like the necklace. Lily now looked at Jack and said nothing rather than say something that she would later regret. This prompted Jack just to start explaining.

"This is the symbol of our Order. It´s called Elhaz and that is what our Order is also called."

"Elhaz? I have never heard of it. What is it?" Lily asked now curious.

"Actually, Elhaz is a term for a rune. You know, each rune has its own name and meaning. Because of the meaning of this rune our Order has taken this name. Elhaz means life force. It is said that the rune provides protection and leads to victory by the natural life force and ... "

Jack paused for a moment and was interrupted by Lily. "Okay, that sounds all very nice, but what does that have to do with your Order?"

"Elhaz stands for something else. This rune represents the Valkyrie, too." Now Jack looked at Lily very closely. He didn´t want this conversation to end in disaster also. But she still looked encouragingly and Jack took a deep breath. "Our Order is also called „The Order of the Valkyries".

"Okay and what does this mean? So, I mean, do you pray to the Valkyries or something like that? Is the Order a remnant of this ancient pagan religion?" Lily asked expectantly.

"No, we don´t pray to the Valkyries. Um, the women in the Order are Valkyries."

"What?" Lily was now confused.

Jack noticed Lily's confusion and quickly tried to find another way with which he could explain it to her better.

"What do you know all about mythologies and religions?"

"Well, I think, what everybody knows." She replied.

"In mythology and religion, there are things that really happened, or people who have really lived, but it does not necessarily mean that it was exactly as it is reported. Often there is a point of truth in these traditional stories, but most is not necessarily the truth, but has been embellished over the centuries."

"So, you want to tell me that probably my idea I have of Valkyries isn´t accurate?" Lily interpreted from Jack's statement.

"Exactly. Formerly they were very respected and had a special position in society. It was said they were very special women. The Order had laws that were intended to protect them, but now they don´t play as great a role because now it´s barely surviving." Jack paused to give Lily the chance to internalize what he has told her.

"And why were they special women?"

"Honestly, I don´t know for sure. In the ancient writings is always written that they were special. What exactly is behind it, I do not know because Valkyries are just ordinary people. Perhaps it has something to do with their job that they were always referred to that way."

Lily didn´t give Jack an opportunity to speak further. The subject now captivated her completely. She did not even know why, because until now it was such a strange tale. But she could not hold back her curiosity. "What was their job?"

Jack smiled at Lily, because apparently this time he had found the right words and she seemed to be interested in the topic. Only he did not know how long she would still believe him. The question which she had asked was not easy to answer. He knew already that she would not believe everything he would tell her and he hoped fervently that she wouldn´t leave the house now.

"Let me think briefly, where to start," Jack began. Lily looked at him intently and did not give the impression that she was impatient as the minutes passed slowly.

"Well, I've already told you of our Order. There was another order you should know about. This order was actually more of an alliance between our Order and another group. This order was called Ehwaz."

Again Lily interrupted Jack. "Let me guess, it is also a term for a rune."

"Yes, you're right," Jack answered with a smile. "Ehwaz means partnership. This means that a harmonious relationship is formed between two forces which complement each other. And a beneficial symbiosis is only possible if both sides integrate the other rather than ignore it and exploit it. Loyalty and reliability are the foundations of this partnership. And if it works properly, it creates a unit which contributes to the benefit of the whole."

"That sounds pretty complicated and somehow mysterious." Lily said voicing her thoughts.

"Yes, that's true, but there is more to this description. The laws describe it clearly. But I cannot tell you all these laws in just a few minutes. I think this sums it up pretty well."

"What does this rune look like?" Lily wanted to know now.

"You can compare the rune with our letter M."

"M is for Michael?" Lily asked with a smirk on her lips. She liked talking with Jack and she wanted to create a relaxed atmosphere, because Jack was still quite tense while sitting next to her on the sofa. But somehow her lighthearted question missed the target because Jack looked quite surprised. Had she said something wrong? But what? Many people do that when they say a letter to compare it with a word.

"Jack, did I say anything wrong?"

"No, actually you did not. It just surprised me that you chose that name."

"It was the first thing that came to mind. I could have said mouse." Now she saw Jack was smiling. "Why did it surprise you?"

"Just because I read something about the origin of that rune and in that context the name showed up," Jack said, but it was clear that he did not want to dwell on it.

"And what now is the job of the Valkyries?" Lily asked, becoming impatient.

"Maybe I should tell you beforehand that there are two types of Valkyries, or I should say there were two because today there is only one. As I have told you before, every woman is a Valkyrie in our Order because of her origin. But earlier there were the so-called true Valkyrie. I would say that only this type of Valkyrie really deserves the name Valkyrie." Jack paused because he could see Lily's questioning, facial expression and that she was about to interrupt him again.

"There is another thing I wanna know. If all women are Valkyries in the Order, what then are the men?" Lily asked.

"Um, we are Fylgjur. In the mythology we are represented as female, but ... well, we are not. We are kind of guardian spirits who accompanies a person from birth and watch over him. Over time, the word guardian arose. Well, ... and I´m your guardian," Jack answered Lily's question.

"My guardian? What do you mean, you are my guardian?"

"That means I'm responsible for you and it is my job to protect you and to explain the habits of Valkyries, the laws and a few other things. Lily, I know that this must sound to you pretty crazy to you. I grew up with it and therefore I have a different understanding of the Order and what is behind it. And I also know that I´m not able to explain everything at once," Jack said, and hoped she would understand and she won´t run away angry.

"You are responsible for me, is that right?" Lily asked irritably. "I thought, as an adult I am responsible for myself." Lily's eyes flashed angrily at him.

Jack knew that he now under no circumstances should say something that would make her more angry. Because he knew that Lily was proud and valued of her independence, her freedom and her rights. "You're right, Lily. You are responsible for yourself. And I should have explained it better. Usually, the laws of the Order have always adapted to new circumstances. Only since we now live in the underground, the laws of the Order haven't been enforced as closely and that is why they (haven't) been changed in the past centuries and ... "

"Okay, I understand. It wasn't so long ago that women gained equal rights," Lily said with understanding. "But now I really want to know what was the job of the true Valkyries?" she said to him with an impatient expression. Patience was not one of her strengths.

"Valkyries were when they were members of the Order Ehwaz something like a policeman and a judge in the same person. They were responsible for compliance with the rules and to punish those who violated these rules. However, they didn´t do it alone because that they would not have been able to. I know it is a very short description and I will gladly tell you more about the old stories, laws and rules. I think that I have given you enough to think about right now."

Lily was taken aback by his last sentence. Jack had never said something like that to her. And how much more was there for her to learn? Okay, it seemed she landed among by people who believed in things that fall within the range of myths and legends and it was a little crazy. But at the same time very interesting. And just as it appeared that Jack and Anna seemed to be the good ones who wanted to protect her from the Legion. Lily knew one thing for sure the Legion was ruthless and brutal. And they would stop at nothing to enforce their views and their conception of the world. And now she was also on their hit list of that, she was sure.

Jack was already making preparations to get up when Lily asked a further question: "Well, there is one thing I´m still interested in and then we can stop for the question-and-answer session for today. Who were the Allies? Who was this other group?"

Jack took a deep breath and weighed in on whether he should immediately tell her the truth, or make up this nice mythological version. He looked at her and once again saw her eager, curious look. And he did not want to give her the feeling he was abusing her trust again. Sooner or later she would know both. He opted for the truth.

"Does it mean that you stay here?" Jack just had to ask this question before he answered.

"Yes, but you have not answered my question. Who were they?" Lily´s gaze on Jack.

"Lily, this other group still exists," Jack said seriously.

"Okay, who are they?" Lily asked, and could not suppress a rolling eyes.

Jack prayed that she would not leave the room immediately or would regard him as crazy. Finally, he answered clear, simple and sincere: "Vampires."