Council of Peacocks (8 page)

Josh looked at Wisdom and nodded,
understanding the ramification. He turned to Jan, kissing her on
the lips.

“
You can’t go with him,” she
pleaded.

“
If I stay, you won’t be safe.” With a
look of apology, Josh turned away as Wisdom opened a second portal.
“The Edimmu are after me. You saw that.

***

Josh glanced over at Wisdom. He stood on the
veranda staring out at the ocean. Still dressed in the same red
suit, Wisdom hadn’t moved since breakfast. Then, Wisdom motioned to
Annisa and whispered something in her ear. They both looked at the
ceiling. The servant nodded and then headed toward the stairs that
lead to the second floor.

When Annisa returned, she wasn’t alone.
Beside her was one of the most beautiful women Josh had ever seen.
Long brown hair fell down over her shoulders in waves and curled
around her face. It was hard to determine her nationality. She had
high cheekbones and a delicate chin with large amber eyes. She wore
a tight, white jacket buttoned over a cream-colored bustier. Along
with loose white slacks, she wore matching white pumps.

“Found yourself another stray, I see,” she
said. She crossed her arms over her chest and fought the urge to
scream at him.

“Something like that.” Wisdom smiled but kept
looking out at the ocean. “I’m sorry about your condo, Echo. You
must be thrilled to see me.”

“Well, somebody’s having delusions of
grandeur.”

“I know you’ve been to see Propates.” Wisdom
stopped smiling.

“How?”

“You know me. I have my ways. We don’t have
much time. Events will move quickly now. I’ve tried to slow them
down but nothing I do works. I could explain more to you but it
would only make things harder.”

“Christ, is it your father again? Did you
have another dream?”

Wisdom frowned. “Didn’t I just say ‘no
questions’? I’m fairly certain I just said that?”

“Zip it.” Echo walked over to Wisdom and put
a hand on his shoulder. “Cut the tough guy act. You’re scared. I
can see it in your eyes. What is going on?”

Wisdom turned and brushed a curl of hair out
of Echo’s face. “Just the thought of losing...” He stopped and
pulled his hand away. “I can’t stand losing, you know that. It is
bigger than I expected. The Council made a deal with the Djinn. I
know, I know. No need to hyperventilate. I have a few tricks up my
sleeve yet. The boy over there is Joshua Wilkinson. He’s an
Anomaly, like the others but somehow different. I did not find out
about him the first time. As far as I know, neither did Propates.
He’s a wild card, and I hope it’s enough.”

“What do you mean ‘the first time’?”

“Just trust me, okay? It’s for the best that
you don’t know any more. I need a favor.”

Echo exhaled slowly and stepped away from
him. “Of course you do. Not enough you get me to spy on Edimmu. Now
you show up, tell me the end is nigh and not to ask questions. This
isn’t my thing, Wisdom. I gave up all this Illuminati nonsense
nearly 200 years ago. I like my nice quiet life.”

“I never stopped loving you. You know
that.”

She stopped, bit her lip and crossed her arms
again.

Wisdom cleared his throat and looked back out
at the sea. “I just wanted to tell you at least once before things
get hectic.”

Echo bit harder into her lips. “Bastard,” she
said as tears built up in her eyes. Then she walked back into the
house.

***

Echo did not reappear until supper. Josh
looked up occasionally from his seven-layer lasagna, unable to
fully concentrate on eating with the tension in the room. Wisdom
kept his eyes averted from everyone and barely touched his meal.
Echo ate slowly, each forkful a statement louder than words.

Echo turned to Josh. “What are you staring
at?”

“Umm...” Josh looked away.

“Echo,” Wisdom said. “This is childish.”

“Excuse me?” Echo’s eyes flashed bright blue.
Behind her a vase exploded. Her face went red and she placed her
fork back on the plate.

“Thank you for proving my point.” Wisdom
stared at the space where the vase had been. “I need a favor and I
can’t wait any longer for you to calm down.”

“I am perfectly calm. If I wasn’t, it
wouldn’t have been a vase that exploded.”

Wisdom shook his head. “Always the same. Such
a drama queen. You know…”

Echo jumped up. “You did not just call me a
drama queen!”

“Sit!”

Echo flinched as if struck. Tears fell down
her cheek.

‘Has he abused her?’ Josh thought. ‘The way
she’s looking at him, she looks terrified.’

“What do you want?” Echo glared at Wisdom.
Each word she said was measured and overly precise.

Wisdom sighed and sat down. “You know what I
want, Echo. I want to stop hurting you. It’s why I left years ago
and it’s why I’m leaving right after dinner. But what I
need
is for you to take this boy to my London offices. The Council has
seen him with me. They may be able to track my movements. Propates
won’t be expecting anything from you. Not so soon after he’s caught
you playing spy. Unless I’m mistaken, they plan to use Josh for
something, some purpose I have yet to work out. Somehow his
existence has been kept a secret from me. That’s a story in itself.
I’m heading to Toronto to meet a new arrival. I know you have
questions. I would in your shoes. But believe me, I can’t tell you.
No good would come from telling you.”

Echo seemed calmer now. Her eyes were
dry.

“Is that it?”

Wisdom shook his head. “One more little
thing. Another delivery I’ll tell you about later.” He looked
around the room. “Just in case the shadows here have ears.”

After a deep breath, Echo continued eating
her lasagna. “Fine. But when this is over I don’t want to see you
for at least a hundred years.”

Wisdom flinched and stared at his plate. “I
pray you get the chance to stay angry at me.”

Chapter Seven

August 2
^nd

David stared out the window of the Greyhound
bus at the streets of Toronto. The view overwhelmed him. There were
piles of garbage and throngs of prostitutes in one neighborhood
followed by mansions hidden behind high walls and security cameras
in another. Restaurants, their names written out in Chinese
characters, cluttered entire neighborhoods.

‘So many people,’ he thought. ‘It’s like a
zombie invasion. It was never like this back in Dartmouth.’

It was also much hotter than anything he had
experienced before. He overheard other people on the bus saying it
was the hottest summer on record in Ontario. The windows kept
fogging over because the bus’ air conditioning was on high. David
cleared the window with the palm of his hand so he could watch the
city slide by him. He tried to do the tourist thing, to keep his
eyes on the busy and well-lit areas, but that was not who he was.
At his core was something else. Again and again, he was drawn to
the dark alleys, the vague hostility in the eyes of the homeless.
In a city like this, it was easy for him to believe the world was
filled with evil.

That made him feel a little less alone.

His reflection stared back at him from the
foggy window, like a different person he was trying to ignore. He
had not showered in days. It had been much longer still since he
had slept through the night. His coppery red hair hung limp and
greasy, an inch longer than he would have liked. His right ear was
pierced with a small hooped earring constructed of surgical steel.
The only other jewelry he wore was a simple medallion with the
symbol for his birth sign – Aries – bound around his neck with a
thin piece of raw leather. He had worn the same loose-fit jeans and
light blue T-shirt for three days now. His face was pale and
bloodless with dark circles around his eyes. It made his bright
green eyes seem all the more unnatural.

When he stepped off the bus, he saw a
six-foot tall woman standing beside a black Hummer. She had broad,
imposing shoulders and her skin was nearly as pale as David’s. Her
hair was a sharp blond crop cut, making her look militant and
feminine at the same time. Despite the heat, she wore a dark blue
turtleneck that matched the bruising on her face.

‘That’ll be Wisdom’s assistant,’ he thought
as he struggled to pick up his canvas bag from under the bus.
According to the letter David had received, her name was Elaine
Radegund. As he walked toward her, she opened the door to the
backseat.

“You’re late,” Elaine said. She grabbed his
bag with one hand and threw the bulky weight effortlessly into the
backseat. “Get in.”

David tensed, thought of a thousand ways to
respond to how rude she was, but in the end said nothing. He slid
in and let her close the door. His eyes fell on the driver and he
held his breath. The driver was well over seven feet tall, with
shoulders like a human pit bull. There was nothing vague about his
hostility. As soon as Elaine snapped her seatbelt, the driver took
off.

They drove in silence for several blocks
before David’s skin started to itch.

‘Someone is watching me.’

He turned slowly to look behind him. Two
prepubescent girls stared back at him. They wore identical black
skirt suits. One was Asian, the other Caucasian with blond hair and
blue eyes. He saw in their eyes why they were there.
‘Protection.’

“This one can read our minds,” the Asian girl
said. “He’s stronger than he looks.” She looked to be about ten
years old. David noticed she was wearing lipstick and mascara. He
hoped that his employer was not using them for more than one type
of job.

“Don’t be a pervert,” the blond girl said.
“We work for him the same way you do.”

“She means the way you
might
work for
him if you pass the test.” The Asian girl jutted out her chest in a
way that would have shown off her breasts if she had any. There was
something monstrous about the two of them.

The Asian girl spat at him.

He wiped it from his cheek.

“We’re no more monsters than you are. Now
stop talking to us.”

‘They heard my thoughts,’ David thought.
‘How’s that possible? Are they like me? Wisdom said he knew all
about me, what I could do. He said he could train me but I never
expected this. How many others like me are there?’

He turned back to the girls, questioning them
with a look.

They stared at each other for a moment, as if
holding a detailed conversation. Finally, the blond-haired girl
turned back to him. “You’ll find out soon enough. Now stop talking
to us. Don’t make me say it again.”

“Play nice,” Elaine said. “Back down and keep
up the surveillance.”

The blond-haired girl, Jessica, glared out
the window. The Asian girl reached out and held Jessica’s hand.
After another silent conversation, Jessica nodded and closed her
eyes.

“I’m not a monster,” he whispered to himself.
But he didn’t believe it. He was a murderer. The first time was two
years ago, an accident like a gun going off when you least expect
it. Still, he knew there was a gun, knew it was loaded with no
safety. He was just as responsible as if he had willfully pulled
the trigger.

***

Prom. He stood by the punch bowl,
uncomfortable in his tux. Around him, classmates danced, making
fools out of themselves even though most were completely sober. His
date, Ramona Straub, was a cheerleader with large lips, a small
waist and long brown hair. He hadn’t seen her in an hour.

When she first left, he assumed she was just
in the restroom. Later, he assumed she must be just chatting with
friends. Now, he knew something was wrong. Punch drink in hand, he
made his way through the crowd of familiar faces. Quickly, he
realized people were looking at him. Pointing. Snickering behind
their hands.

He leaned up against a wall, took a sip of
punch, and tried to stop his head from spinning. In the darkness
behind his eyes, he saw everything so clearly. She was in the
backseat of a car, topless with another man. Paedrag Lucki.

David dropped the cup of punch and walked
out to the parking lot. He was furious. Ramona was cheating on him
and everyone would find out tomorrow. Forget tomorrow; most of them
knew now. Face flushed with anger, he wiped tears from his
eyes.

He wanted them both dead.

Ramona and Paedrag didn’t see him coming.
They were too focused on each other. He stared at them through the
foggy windows of Paedrag’s car. David clenched his fists.

An explosion knocked people to the
ground.

Car parts flew in all directions. People
screamed, ran and cried. Everything around David dissolved into
chaos and flames.

But inside, David was calm.

***

“You killed your girlfriend,” Jessica said.
“I knew you were a monster.”

David’s eyes flew open and he spun round to
question them.

Jessica smiled and tapped her forehead.

“It was an accident.” He turned around and
stared at his feet. The first two times, he hadn’t meant to use his
abilities to commit murder. The last time, though, he knew exactly
what he was doing.

The last time.

Maybe that did make him a monster.

In the back seat, the girls snickered behind
their tiny hands.

The Hummer pulled into the parking garage of
a tall glass skyscraper on Bay Street. David saw two armed men in
the attendant booth. The show of strength was unnerving. It spoke
of a back-story he knew nothing about. They pulled into a parking
spot and Elaine opened David’s door. He reached for his bag but
Elaine shook her head.

“Leave that,” she said. “I’ll have it brought
to your room. Wisdom will want to see you first. Girls, hurry back
to class. No detours.”

“Class?” David watched as the two girls
walked away, hand in hand. He hoped he’d never see them again.