Council of Peacocks (7 page)

‘Am I being sent to hell for what I’ve done?’
he thought.

An eight-foot-tall man dressed in a green
business suit stepped out of the darkness. In his wake, the shadows
rippled like eddies on a black lake. Josh tried to focus on his
features but all he could see was the man’s…”

“Wings…”

Josh dropped the pitchfork and backed
away.

“Ah, there you are.” The man’s voice hissed
like a serpent. “Come along. We’ve been looking for you.”

“We? Are you an Edimmu?” Josh noticed other
figures starting to come out of the shadows.

The buzz in his head went wild. He pushed his
palms against his temples, trying to ease the pressure. He couldn’t
see straight. He stepped back, his body colliding with someone
else. He felt a strong grip put an arm around him. The room became
very hot.

“He’s going nowhere with you.”

Josh looked up. The man behind him was a
black man dressed in a red three-piece suit. Something in the curve
of his mouth, the set of his eyes, left a taint of very bad
things.

“Why are you here, Wisdom?” The winged man’s
face flickered. For a moment, Josh swore he saw the face of a
reptile instead of a man.

“Be gone, Edimmu.” Wisdom tightened his grip
on Josh. “Run back to your puppet master. You have one chance to
sink back in your hole. Then I get angry.”

The Edimmu glanced over his shoulder. The
shadows flickered. Then, without turning his body, the Edimmu
stepped back into the shadows. When he was gone, the shadows faded
to gray and the sunlight reappeared.

Wisdom released Josh and straightened the
lapels on his jacket. Josh ran to Jan’s side and they embraced.

“Screw this.” The black-haired man dropped
the hammer and ran into the guts of the house. Jan collapsed to her
knees, crying. Josh looked toward the basement door. There was no
sign of the Redford twin in the window.

“What the hell was that?” Matt looked up from
the floor. Both his knees were shattered. He wouldn’t be standing
for some time. “Was that like the other ones? The ones you
killed?”

“You’ve killed Edimmu?” Wisdom cocked his
head and focused on Josh. “That’s very interesting.”

Josh rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t
remember killing them. Who are you?”

“A friend. You are capable of extraordinary
things. I know why you can do the things you do. I can train you to
use these abilities. Let’s get your friends home. After that, we’ll
talk.”

“My friends?” Josh felt his mouth go dry.
“What about me? Don’t I get to go home?”

Wisdom looked around the room. His eyes
rested on the spot where the Edimmu had entered the room. “I’m
sorry. I don’t think that’s an option anymore.”

Chapter Six

August 1
^st

Thessaloniki had grown into the second
largest city in Greece. Like most large cities it had great
theatres, booming tourism, and wild dance clubs where people tried
to forget how civilized humanity had become. Old women shopped at
corner fruit markets and the police did their best to keep crime
off the streets.

Unlike most modern cities, Thessaloniki’s
history reached back thousands of years. Many of its ancient
buildings stood side by side with newer structures. Aside from the
largest church in Greece, there was the famed White Tower: a this
former fortification that later served as a prison. Not far from
the White Tower was an apartment complex in a constant state of
reconstruction. From the outside, it was nondescript, consisting of
three eight-story buildings clumped together. Wood scaffolding
covered most of the external concrete walls, obscuring the windows
and balconies. Inside, cans of paint cluttered narrow hallways.
Drywall dust hung thick in the air. Over the years, many tenants
had left in a defiant protest to the incessant construction. With
each departure, a member of the Council of Peacocks moved in.

By the time Wisdom rescued Josh Wilkinson,
over 80% of the men and women in the complex were devoted to
Propates. Beneath the complex was the real headquarters. Propates
chose the complex solely for its proximity to an underground
network of tunnels dug in the fourteenth century. Few outside the
Council knew about their existence.

***

Propates sat behind a mahogany desk in a
stone room. Across from him, Echo sat, legs crossed. Her gray suit
was covered in dust and ash. Her hair lay loose around her
face.

“I told you already, I was just doing him a
favor.” Echo pulled her hair back off her cheek. Using an elastic,
she tied it in a ponytail. “I don’t care about Council
politics.”

“I know you don’t. That’s why I’m so
intrigued. Why were you sneaking around the ritual room?”

Echo rolled her eyes. “Spying, of course.
Then you followed me back to Prague and destroyed my home. I think
that made us equal. Then you dragged me to this ant-hill.”

“You can’t actually approve of the way Wisdom
is collecting these little monsters. You know how he is. Wisdom and
his toys. That’s all they are to him. It’s all we ever were.”

Echo leaned forward. “They’re not monsters.
They’re children. And I don’t care what he’s doing with them. Let
it go. Whatever you’re planning, Wisdom’s onto it. Have you seen
him lately?”

“Thankfully, no.” The phone beside Propates
buzzed. He picked up the receiver. “I’m busy. I don’t care what
Lucius said. Deal with it. Now hold the rest of my calls.” He hung
up and turned back to Echo. “I haven’t crossed paths with Wisdom in
years.”

“I’ve never seen him so focused. He’s going
to stop you. You know that, right?”

“He can try.” Propates leaned back. The smile
disappeared from his eyes. The light in the room faded. Shadows
slunk in the corner of the room like water breaching a sinking
ship. “Times change, Echo. I’ve changed. We were together for a
long time.”

“Centuries, but that doesn’t count.”

“After everything he’s done to you, to us,
how can you choose him over me?”

Echo turned away. “Not this again. We had our
moment. It’s gone. And I’m not choosing Wisdom. I’m choosing me.
Let me go and I’ll disappear. Tell me, how exactly are you blocking
my abilities?”

Propates put a finger to his lips. “It’s a
secret. I’ve learned so much from my time with the Council of
Peacocks. Things you couldn’t even imagine. Why don’t you stay? I
can arrange rooms for you.”

“Please,” Echo waved her hand before her
face. “Why would I stay in a dung pile like this? I told you. I
want nothing to do with you or your Council. Just let me go.”

Propates sighed. “Fine. I’ve released the
barrier. Get out of here. But don’t get involved in Council
business again. I don’t want to hurt you, Echo, but things are
moving quickly. I can’t let you jeopardize our plans.”

Echo sighed as her powers rushed back to her.
She stood and clenched her fists. A portal of light appeared beside
her.

“We both know what Wisdom is,” she said.
“Whatever secrets you’ve learned, you can’t hope to think you’re as
powerful as him.”

“The plan is bigger than me. I couldn’t stop
it if I wanted to.” Propates picked up a cigar. It turned to ice at
his touch. He tossed it over his shoulder where it shattered into a
dozen pieces.

Echo put one foot in the portal. “Then it’s
been nice knowing you.” She stepped through the circle of light and
was gone.

For several minutes Propates stared at the
space she’d occupied. Then, a knock at the door interrupted his
trance.

“Come in, Ferris.”

Paeder Ferris walked in the room. He was
dressed in white robes and carried a thick manila folder in his
hands. He was in his mid-twenties with strawberry-blond hair and
ice-blue eyes.

“Please tell me the tracker is working,”
Propates asked, even though he saw the answer in Paeder’s eyes.

“He’s difficult to track with all the
teleporting, but we have the maggot.” Paeder opened the folder and
took out a satellite photo. “The signal’s coming off the coast of
Argentina. When can I kill him?”

Propates reached for a new cigar. “You can’t.
You know that. Josh’s crucial to the plan. Wait until he’s back on
the mainland. Then bring him here.”

“He killed me mumsy. Slaughtered my brothers.
I watched him stab my twin. You can’t expect me to just let that
go.”

Propates stood. “Yes, I can. We don’t have
time for vendettas. Not yet. When you retrieve him, bring him to me
unharmed. Understand?”

Paeder nodded tersely but would not meet his
eyes. Then he left the room.

Propates smoothed the front of his shirt and
stretched his shoulders. He returned to his paperwork, humming
happily. Everything was going according to schedule.

***

Echo stepped out of the portal and stood in
the bedroom of her summer home. The island off the coast of
Argentina was beautiful, a welcome retreat from the hectic city
life in Prague. She had bought it from the French 150 years ago.
She’d never been able to rightfully determine if the island had a
name before she had arrived. At the time, it was uninhabited. She’d
brought over a dozen locals from the mainland. They had built her
home, cultivated the land, and tended her crops. Over the years,
those dozen had become several hundred. A village had sprung up on
the other side of the island. They called it Port Echo, which
amused her to no end.

She sat on the edge of her bed and slipped
out of her jacket. The heat was palpable, almost sentient. A cool
breeze blew in through open windows, gently tousling the curtains.
It sank into her bones, dissolving the tension from her shoulders.
She closed her eyes and let her head fall back.

“Annisa? Roma?” She called out to the two
servants who cared for the house in her absence. No response. She
glanced at the alarm clock beside her bed. It was mid-afternoon.
Perhaps they were in town getting supplies.

“Whatever. I need a shower anyway.” She
pulled her hair free of the elastic and slipped out of the rest of
her clothes. In the bathroom adjacent to the bedroom was an
extravagant shower: concrete and stone came together to create an
artificial cliff. When she turned on the taps it became a
waterfall. To each side of the shower, tropical plants in
terracotta pots rose to the ceiling. They reinforced the illusion
of bathing in the jungle. She kept the water cool as she washed the
dirt and oil from her skin.

She toweled dry and walked back to her
bedroom. As she dressed, she admired the room. In every direction,
windows offered stunning views of the ocean. The water seemed to
take over the rest of the world. From here, there was no sign of
any other piece of land. It made it easy to believe she was on a
completely different planet. Planes rarely flew overhead and, being
so far from a major port, few ships dotted the horizon. Of all the
homes she maintained, she chose this one now because of its
isolation. For the moment, she wanted nothing more than to be
alone.

“I’m sorry, miss. I must not have heard you
come in.”

“It’s been too long,” Echo turned to find
Annisa in the doorway. She embraced her warmly. “It’s good to see
you. Unfortunately, I’m only here for the night. Can you get my
blue suit ready? I’m heading to Toronto tomorrow to see
Wisdom.”

“Begging your pardon, ma’am, but Mr. Wisdom
is not in Toronto. He’s here.”

“What?”

“Yes, ma’am. He arrived last night with a
young man.”

“That bastard. Where was he when the Edimmu
torched my home? Tell him I’ll be down in a minute.”

“Yes, ma'am. Would you like me to prepare
something for you?”

“No. Wait…yes. I’d love a mimosa. Several
mimosas actually. And a quiche. What is he wearing?”

Annisa giggled, hiding her smile behind her
fingers.

“Never mind. I’ll be down in a minute.”

Annisa curtseyed and left without another
word.

***

Josh stared at his cell phone and chewed on
an ice cube. He knew he should call his parents, but what could he
say? Everything about yesterday seemed impossible. Still, every
drop of sweat forced him to admit where he was.

‘Barely slept last night,’ he thought. ‘That
and this heat is making it very hard to stay awake. Every time I
close my eyes all I see is blood and darkness. And wings.’

***

Back in the Laurentians, Josh wanted to
chase down the remaining kidnappers. Wisdom stopped him.

“
Bad idea,” Wisdom said.

“
We can’t leave them,” Josh countered.
“You never leave guys like this alive. They always come
back.”

Wisdom narrowed his eyes, studying Josh. It
was like he was truly seeing Josh for the first time. “Normally I’d
agree with you. However, we have no idea what they are doing. They
could be setting explosives or getting reinforcements.”

“
All the more reason to act quickly.” Jan
grabbed Josh by the chin and pulled him closer, making sure he only
focused on her. “There are other people down there, people who need
help. We cannot leave them.”

“
We can,” Wisdom said. He looked Jan
squarely in the eyes. “And we are. Call the police when you get
home if you want. There are more important things at
stake.”

Jan grunted in frustration. “What kind of
monster are you?”

Wisdom glared at her impassively. Finally,
Josh looked away.

Wisdom created a disk of light.

“
What is that thing?” Matt asked.

“
Localized low-gravity wormhole,” Wisdom
said. “You can think of it as a teleportation disk. We can use this
to get you home.”

After a little coaxing, everyone stepped
through the portal. Jan and Josh worked together to carry Matt
since his shattered kneecaps made it impossible for him to walk.
Rebecca moved stoically, as if walking through a passive dream. On
the other side of the portal was the Civic Campus of the Ottawa
Hospital. As soon as Josh and Jan placed Matt on the ground, Wisdom
closed the first portal and opened a second one.