Council of Peacocks (32 page)

Violently, he wiped his eyes with his
palms.

“Thanks.” He felt like sinking into the
floor. He looked back out the window. The storm still sporadically
lit up the waters in the distance, but the thunder seemed very far
away. It did not seem to be raining, either on shore or where the
lightning fell. Still, some summer storms were like that, even back
home. Sometimes it was just the heat and the humidity in the air
that brought the storms on. No reason to think it was anything
different. Only, it felt different. Maybe something had caused the
storm. Maybe, on some level, that something was Wisdom.

He shook his head and covered his eyes. ‘I
have no idea what’s going on. I’m surrounded by members of a secret
club, strangers who refuse to tell me what’s really going on. Not
that it would do me any good. I can’t even deal with what little I
know. I’m a murderer. A freak. Even if I leave Wisdom’s circle of
freaks, I can never go back home. I’m totally trapped.’

***

The Vulture Antechamber was dark, lit only by
burning embers in incense braziers around the room. At first glance
the chamber was deserted. Then Propates saw the whisper of a man
hanging in the air.

The agent from away.

“Why are you here?” Propates disliked this
man. He knew he was an alien, a creature from a planet far away.
The fact that he so closely resembled a human disturbed him. It
hinted at a common ancestry he could not explain. “Have you
acquired the Miscellany?”

“No,” the agent from away said. “But I know
where it is now. I’m assembling a party to retrieve it. We leave
within the week. But that’s not why I’m here. I was contacted by
the Djinnistani.”

“What did he want?” Propates shifted on his
feet.

“He was injured. He needs to retreat to the
Kaz for a few days, but he wanted to pass along a message. He
fought Wisdom and Wisdom won. Don’t let your chin hit the floor,
Propates. I need you to concentrate. Wisdom is more powerful than
his father expected, which means he’s probably more powerful than
you suspect. The Djinnistani also wants you to know Wisdom claims
he killed his father in the future. If that happens….”

Propates' headache was much worse now. He
felt faint. “If that happens, all our plans might be for naught. I
can’t let that happen. I’m not going to let the world be destroyed
simply because Wisdom doesn’t know when to lie down and die.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Josh knew things were moving too quickly. He
clenched and unclenched his hands repeatedly as he scanned the
room. He did not know these people, did not know who to trust. God,
he could not even tell which ones were human and which were things
like Wisdom. He wished his father was there. He would know what to
do.

The sudden emptiness in his chest made him
realize it was the first time in almost a week that he had thought
of his father and the rest of his family. Jan. How was she coping?
Had she recovered from the horror of the Laurentians? What did she
tell her parents? And what about Matt? Was the damage to his knees
permanent? How was he dealing with Tonia’s death?

But of all the questions that ran through his
mind, the worst was: ‘Will I ever find out one way or the
other?’

By now, his father would have scores of CSIS
agents looking for him. Nothing was more important than family to
Richard Wilkinson. His father was a tall man with the well-groomed
look of a Mormon. But behind his eyes, visible now that Josh knew
what to look for, was a cold strength. They never talked about the
work his father did, but from time to time Josh caught fragments of
regret and rage coming off him in waves. Richard Wilkinson knew
things about the world. He’d seen things other people were never
forced to see. That knowledge was the reason he had trained
Josh.

“I’m heading to the washroom,” he told
Elaine.

“I think Todd’s in there.” She watched him
with a cold look that reminded him of his father. “I hear you took
out a demon unarmed and by yourself?”

Josh swallowed hard. “Guess I’m just
lucky.”

Elaine nodded, a vacant look on her face.
“There’s more to you than meets the eye. I think we need to find
out what that is. I know you don’t remember how you killed the
Edimmu, but that type of amnesia is a luxury we can no longer
afford. Can’t say I blame you. About the not wanting to remember
thing. There are several things in my head I wish I could forget.
Like my brother. He was like you, an Anomaly. The Council took him.
It’s how I met Wisdom. Long story. Point is, we need you to
remember what happened. Talk to Jessica. She can help.”

Josh asked himself what his father would do
in a situation like this. There was not much doubt about that.
“Sure. Let’s see what she can get me to remember.”

***

Echo accepted the bowl of noodle soup with a
smile. The Chinese man in the white uniform of a waiter reached out
his hand, smiled and bowed, under the delusion he’d been paid and
tipped well. He wouldn’t realize he was short for hours. By then
Echo would have faded back into the crowds.

She came to New York partially to hide in the
crowds, but mostly to be reminded what civilization felt like. This
affair with Wisdom and his Anomalies seemed to take up her whole
life. Here amongst the noise and the carefully regulated chaos of
Chinatown, the secret war seemed a million miles away.

She was halfway into her noodle soup when she
felt the presence. She kept her eyes on the bowl, hoping to hide
the fact that she was aware. She scanned the restaurant casually,
her eyes brushing over the tables filled with smiling patrons all
engaged in quiet conversation. The air was filled with scents:
garlic and fish sauce, ginger and deep-fried batter. But there was
something underneath it all. Something dark and subtle. Despite the
well-spaced lights around the restaurant, there were still puddles
of shadows. One in particular stood out. Near the swinging door
that led to the kitchen, the door to the broom closet stood
slightly ajar. Dropping all pretence, Echo stood and started
walking toward it. From the shadows, inside the closet something
glistened. A flash of gold. Echo stopped mid-step and looked over
her shoulder, judging how long it would take her to make her
escape.

Then, as clear as a bell, she heard a voice
whisper from deep within the closet: “Found her,” it said. “Tell
the Djinnistani.”

Echo bolted for the front door of the
restaurant. She pushed it open too quickly, too forcefully. It
shattered in a rain of glass. She was barely aware of the
destruction in her wake. She was too focused on trying to think of
somewhere else she could run.

***

Josh sat in a beige armchair and watched the
others swirl around him. The power was still out. Garnet and Todd
rearranged the candles in the room, making Josh the center of the
light. Jessica took a wooden chair from the card table and sat
opposite him. She slipped the elastic out of her hair, unraveling
her ponytail so her blond hair fell loose around her face.

“It might help if you take your shoes off,”
she said.

“Why?”

She shrugged. “Don’t know, really. It just
always seems to work better if the other person has their shoes
off. Actually, it works best when they wear as little as possible,
but I don’t want to see you naked, so don’t do that.”

“Okay.” Josh bent down, suppressed a grin,
and took off his shoes. She was a strange little girl. “Should I
keep my socks on?”

She shrugged again. “Doesn’t matter. Just let
me know when you’re ready.”

Any other time, Josh would have found the
little girl precocious. Under the circumstances, he found her a
little frightening. He left his socks on and placed his shoes to
the right so they were out of his way. As he settled back in his
seat, he became aware of all the eyes on him. Garnet and Todd sat
nearby on the beige sofa, watching him expectantly. Elaine stood
near the foot of the stairs at the edge of the living room. She
would not stray too far from Wisdom, but she kept her eyes on Josh
with an unblinking stare.

‘It’s like they’re all getting ready to watch
a movie,’ he thought.

He nodded. “I’m ready.”

“Good.” Jessica squared her shoulders and let
her hands rest on her legs, palms up. Then she closed her eyes.
“Now, this is not like hypnosis. I’m not going to count you down
from ten or whatever those guys do. It’s more like I step inside
your head and we walk around together.”

“Have you ever done this before?”

Jessica opened her eyes. “Of course I have. I
do it all the time. Just ‘cause I’m a ‘precocious little girl’
doesn’t mean I’m a newbie. Now, any more questions or can we
actually get started?”

Josh cleared his throat. When was he going to
learn to watch his thoughts around these people?

“If you must know,” Jessica said, closing her
eyes again. “I used to do this all the time with my big brother. It
was like a game for us. At first, I thought I was just a good
guesser. Then I told him I knew what our uncle did to him at the
cottage. We stopped playing after that.” She stopped talking and
Josh felt his head grow heavy and distant, like he had ingested too
much cold medication. Something was happening. Then there was a
vibration in his head, almost as if he could hear something: a
distant noise.

“I feel something,” he said. “Is that
you?”

“You’re fighting me,” Jessica said. Josh
watched the way her face was scrunching up and looked to Garnet for
a clue. He didn’t know how he could be fighting something he did
not understand.

“Close your eyes, Josh,” Garnet said. “It’ll
help. Think about whatever you’re trying to remember. If you don’t
concentrate, your mind will fill up with random thoughts. That will
make it more difficult. For both of you.”

Josh nodded and closed his eyes. It really
was like fighting someone. If your mind was on anything outside the
fight, you had a better chance of losing. He took a deep breath and
concentrated. He thought back to the bush party, focused on the
memory until he could smell the smoke from the bonfire. He saw
himself standing next to the keg, laughing with Brian, but he could
not remember what they were laughing about. Then, the vibration in
his head changed. It stopped being a faint rumble and became a
clear ringing, like metal hitting crystal.

***

At the bush party, he stood next to Brian.
They were checking out Moira McDonald, a cheerleader wearing a
tight blue turtleneck. He started his third beer from the keg when
he saw Tommy Delonki running.

***.

“I knew.” He said aloud as the thought ran
through his head. “As soon as I saw him I knew they were there. I
knew the Edimmu had come back for Tommy. They were going to kill
him if I didn’t stop them.”

***

Tommy collapsed at his feet, as if he had
reached a safe place. There were long bloody gouges along his legs
and arms.
A few people swarmed around Tommy. Most, the
under-aged drinkers, ran for their cars. All this blood meant
someone was going to call the cops. They were more worried their
parents would find out about the drinking than whether Tommy was
going to live or die.

“
They came back for me,” he said. “I told
you they would.”

Several of Tommy’s teeth were missing.
Several others hung by threads to his gums. Somehow, this seemed
the worst of his injuries. Josh wiped tears from Tommy’s eyes.
Something inside him went very hot and solid.

He leaned close and whispered: “I warned
them.”

He stood, reaching into the bonfire to take
out a burning log. He chose not to let his hand burn: a solid,
conscious decision.

***

“How is that possible?” he asked.

“Don’t fight it.” Jessica’s voice seemed
clearer than his own. “Don’t think. Just focus.”

***

He walked into the woods. He didn’t need to
ask Tommy where they were. He could feel them. The stink and
wrongness of the creatures pulled on him like magnetic North. They
called themselves Edimmu. They wanted to do things with Tommy. They
said he belongs to them. They said he has been promised.

Josh’s memory changed. Dark trees and the
smell of blood dissipated into a fog, only to be replaced by clean
walls and the smell of a good dinner still lingering in the
air.

He
stood beside the closet door while Tommy Delonki sat up in the bed
behind him. Tommy wore his
Star Wars
pajamas, the ones with C-3PO and R2-D2 repeated over and over
against a blue background. Tommy pulled the blankets up to his
chest. He looked cold, shivering against the headboard, even though
it was mid-July, the temperature well into the
80’s.

“
I’m serious,
Josh.” Tommy drew his knees up, hugging them close to his chest.
“They’re real, and if you don’t get away from the closet, they’re
going to get you.”

Goosebumps rose over Josh’s chest, but he didn’t move. Sweat
trickled down from his armpits, but he also felt something inside
him get as strong as steel.

“
Maybe,” he
said, “or maybe I’ll get them.”

He stood there staring at the door as Tommy
turned off the light. Tommy cried into his pillow. Josh saw a flash
of purple light under the closet door. It seemed familiar.

The thing inside him burned even hotter now,
but he wasn’t sweating. And he wasn’t afraid, even though he knew
he should be. He stepped in front of the closet. As it opened, he
moved with it, hiding behind the door while the monsters from the
closet came out.

The room looked so dark. Though some
illumination came from the streetlights outside and a nightlight in
the shape of the Death Star, everything seemed much darker with the
closet door opened. He could just barely make out the shapes. There
were three of them, but their bodies did not seem normal. He stared
at them, bile rising. These were the things that made his best
friend so scared. Even though they were much bigger than him, he
made up his mind to hurt them.