The Colour of Death (28 page)

“What happened to them?”

A shrug.  “He says some left the commune on a mission for the Great Work.  He claims to have guided others to the spiritual realm where they chose to remain.”

Sorcha remembered Zara saying something similar. “What do you mean, guided them to the spiritual realm?”

“The Seer believes his astral body — what some call the soul — can leave its physical shell.  Anchored to his physical body by the silver cord attached to his crown chakra, he can travel the astral plane in search of the spiritual realm.  He claims to be able to take those less gifted with him.  And if they choose to sever the silver cord and stay in the astral plane, then so be it.  It’s a great honor and privilege to be chosen.  Each Esbat everyone desperately wants to be summoned to the tower.  Those that are selected and return are forbidden to talk of what they experience there.”  Eve sighed.  “Sadly, just after you mother expressed her concerns to me, she got ill.”

“My father said she had an aneurism.”

“He told me that, too.  He said she got ill so he took her to the tower to guide her to the other side.  I never saw her again.  Her death worried me, for many reasons, but I
really
began to worry when your father started involving
you
in his Great Work.  Until recently you were left alone but your mother always worried that your father would involve you sooner or later.”

“Why?”

Eve smiled and stroked Sorcha’s hair.  “Because you’re special —
really
special.  I have your mother’s gift for seeing auras but you have
all
the gifts of the third eye.  Your father’s aura is violet with an indigo tinge — almost unique — but yours is purer still:  violet with a white border.”

“White?”

“If you combine the major colors you get white light.  A pure white aura is the purest of all.  Some call it the divine aura — a halo.  Although the Seer sired a number of children with other pure indigos, Aurora was the only woman who produced a violet for him and survived the birth.  He tried many more times with her but after her first pregnancy — which produced you — all her other babies were stillborn.  In the past his focus on the Great Work has been elsewhere but recently he’s become convinced you’re the key to completing it.”

“Why?”

Eve shook her head.  “All I know is that something about your father’s work, and your role in it, made you leave — made you run for your life.  You may have lost your memory but whatever frightened you then hasn’t gone away.  In fact I think it’s going to happen at Esbat, the day after tomorrow.”

“So what do I do?”

“You have two choices.  One, you confront your father.  Make him tell you what he’s doing.  His whole authority and status as the Seer is based on his aura.  Yours is purer than his.  You have the power to challenge him.”  She paused.  “Two, you can leave again.  Get away from here, as far as you can, and never come back.  Whatever you choose, I’ll support and help you.”  Sorcha heard a noise, which made Eve start like a panicked deer and stand up.  “It’ll be dawn soon.  I must get back.”  She bent and kissed Sorcha on the cheek.  “If you do confront your father, ask him about Kaidan.”

“Who?”

“His mother died in childbirth but he’s the only other violet your father sired.  Aurora said the Seer always saw Kaidan as the key to creating his brave new world.  Ask your father why he’s suddenly shifted his attention from Kaidan to you.  What’s changed?  I must go.”  Eve patted her shoulder then hurried into the night.

“Wait,” Sorcha hissed.  As she watched Eve disappear, her mind raced with questions.  Why had she run away before?  Should she run away again?  Or should she stay and confront her father?  And who the hell was Kaidan?  God, she wished Nathan Fox was here now to help her decide the best thing to do.

Chapter 41

Eve hurried back to her cabin, anxious not to be seen.  The Seer and his Watchers had already marked her out as a troublemaker and she didn’t know who they would react if they knew she had been talking with Sorcha.  Seeing Aurora’s daughter again had filled her with both fear and hope:  fear that Sorcha might be in danger, and hope that in coming back here with no preconceptions, free of her father’s brainwashing, she would see the Indigo Family for what it was.  As Eve reached for the door of her cabin she allowed herself to feel optimistic.  If Sorcha stayed and confronted her father, then her gifts and courage could change things, help restore the family to its original, simpler values.

Suddenly, a figure appeared out of the shadows and stepped in front of her.  When the moonlight revealed his face Eve froze.  She started to speak:  “What are you—?”  Before she could say more he clamped a hand over her mouth and she felt a needle prick her arm.  Her legs buckled beneath her and as she fell, he threw her over his shoulder.  She tried to struggle and cry for help but the only muscle in her body that appeared to be working was the heart beating frantically in her breast.  As he carried her away from the cabin into the shadows, she tried to regain her bearings, wondering where he was taking her.  Her panic swelled as he changed direction and carried her toward the looming tower, its conical helm silhouetted against the moon like a black spearhead aimed at heaven.

Making her way back to her cabin, Sorcha had got as far as the Great Hall when two Watchers appeared from the gatehouse by the bridge and began walking toward her.  She stopped in the shadows, holding her breath, aware that dawn was coming and it was getting lighter.  When they turned and walked back to the bridge, she waited for them to re-enter the gatehouse.  Just as she was about to break cover and run across the moonlit ground she heard someone coming from the cabins to her left.  Holding her breath, she pressed herself flat against the timber walls and peered around the corner of the Great Hall.  A man passed within yards of her.  He was carrying something large over his right shoulder.  At first she thought it was a sack or a rug.  Then he stepped into the moonlight and she realized it was a body.

As she released her breath, she detected a faint malodor in the night air, then it was gone.  Blood pounding in her temples, Sorcha peered closer.  A woman was slung over his shoulder, two limp arms hanging down.  Even before she saw the face and hoop earrings she knew it was Eve.  Her eyes stared blankly at Sorcha.  Dismissing all previous thoughts of returning to her cabin, Sorcha followed the man around the wall of the Great Hall, careful to stay concealed.  When he turned out of sight, she ran and peered around the corner, almost tripping over the steps to the main doors.  Ahead she could see the meandering path and knew instinctively where he was heading.  Moving as quietly and inconspicuously as possible, she followed.  When he reached the tower he stopped and laid Eve on the ground.  Pausing by the door, he turned his head to look behind him and she saw his face in the moonlight.  The shock was so great she had to press a hand over her mouth to stop herself crying out.  She had to be mistaken.  It couldn’t be him.

How could the intruder who had tried to abduct her in Portland be here?  Why was the killer she had glimpsed in the death echoes of the three crime scenes taking Eve to the locked Observatory?
  She remembered back to the night at Tranquil Waters when he had slung
her
over his shoulder, as drugged and helpless as Eve.  Fox had saved her then.  But he wasn’t here to help her now.

Sorcha considered running to her father for help.  He controlled this place.  He could stop this happening.  But there wasn’t time.  She searched the ground beneath the trees and picked up a sturdy branch, then broke cover and ran to the tower.  As the man concentrated on the keypad she raised the branch and struck him as hard as he could over the head.  “Leave her alone,” she shouted.  The wood snapped like tinder on his skull and the man turned to her, surprised but unhurt.  He rubbed his head and frowned.  Then he pushed her to the ground and jumped on her, winding her.  His smell filled her nostrils.  She punched and kicked him but he was too strong.  “Help,” she cried.  “Help.”

As if in response to her cries, she heard a harsh voice bark, “Get off her.”  The a stinging smack as a riding crop swished through the air and struck her attacker across the back.  It came down again two more times.  “Get off her.”  The guttural voice was so thick with fury she didn’t recognize it at first.  Then she looked up and saw the Seer standing over her, raining blows down on her attacker.  He had at least four Watchers with him.  “Relief and gratitude flooded through her as her father reached down and pulled her to her feet.  He had saved her.  She tried to thank him but he turned away, scowling.

The Watchers took them into the Seer’s private quarters.  They laid Eve on the couch in the main chamber and Sorcha held her hand, wondering how long it would take for the drug to wear off.  The Watchers left the killer standing by the tapestry.  He looked even larger in the confines of the room.  “Leave us,” said the Seer.

“But he’s dangerous,” she said as the Watchers left.  “He’s a murderer.”

Ignoring her, Delaney focused on the big man.  “What the
fuck
were you doing?” he snarled.  There was a flurry of movement as his arm lashed out with the riding crop again.  The man showed no pain as he parried the blow with his palms.

“You haven’t hit me since I was a child,” he said, impassively.

“You haven’t disobeyed me since you were a child,” spat her father.  “Can’t you do anything right?  I expressly ordered you not to do anything in the city that would bring the children of men back here, but still you disobeyed me.  First you killed those men.  Why?  For a cheap thrill?  Then you tried to reclaim Sorcha by force. 
Twice
.  Now you do this.  You were supposed to be discreet, damnit.  Esbat is only a day away.  You know nothing must jeopardize the Great Work.”

“Nothing
will
,” the big man said.  “As always, I’ve done this only because you demanded it of me.  Everything is in place for the Great Work.  I didn’t know Sorcha had seen me with Eve until she attacked me.  I had to defend myself.”

Sorcha stared at Delaney, too stunned to process what she was hearing.  “You know him?” she demanded, hating the tremor in her voice.  When she had first lost her memory she had felt alone and abandoned but this betrayal by her own father, the one man she thought she could trust, was worse.  “He’s the killer who murdered those men in Portland and tried to abduct me — and you
know
him?”

Delaney frowned.  “Of course I know him,” he said.  “So do you.  He was supposed to keep a low profile until after Esbat but Eve forgot the golden rule — loyalty to the family — and had to be dealt with.”

She looked down at Eve’s motionless body and blank eyes.  “What are you going to do to her?”

“Don’t worry about her.  If Kaidan had been more discreet we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

“Kaidan?” Sorcha said.  It was the name Eve had mentioned.

A cruel smile curled her father’s lips.  “You won’t remember, of course, but Kaidan’s your half-brother.”

Sorcha’s rage turned to horror.  “He’s a killer.  How can he be my half-brother?”  A cold realization swept through her.  “Is he why I ran away?”

“Kaidan wasn’t meant to kill anyone.  He was only supposed to find you.”

“He tried to kill me.”

Kaidan shook his head.  “Not true.  If I’d wanted to kill you, you’d be dead.”  He turned back to Delaney.  “You have no cause to be angry.  Now you’ve got Sorcha back you can use her to take your Great Work to the next stage.”

“Use me for what?” Sorcha demanded.  She turned to the exit and saw the three Wives blocking the doorway.  “What did you bring me back for?  Why do you need me?”

Her father frowned, eyes cold and dismissive.  “Stop asking stupid questions, Sorcha.  We all have sacrifices to make and a destiny to fulfill.  You ran from yours once.  You won’t do it again.”  He turned back to her half-brother, who was heading for the door.  “Don’t walk out on me, Kaidan.  I haven’t finished with you yet.”

“Haven't you?” Kaidan retorted.  “Sorcha’s the important one now, the
special
one.  Well, you’ve got her back.  Nothing stands in your way.  Don’t worry, I’ll still do my duty at Esbat.”

“Will you?” Delaney taunted him.  “You failed last time.  How do I know you’ll succeed this time?”

For the first time Kaidan’s cold eyes flashed with anger.  “I’ve always done everything you’ve asked of me.  I’ve only ever failed you
once
.  It won’t happen again.”  At that moment, the dawn light seeping in through the windows caught Kaidan’s profile and Sorcha noticed his aura for the first time.  Though similar to the Wives’, his hue went beyond indigo.  She had seen only one other aura like it:  her father's —
their
father’s.

As the gravity of her predicament sank in, she felt nauseous.  One thing was clear:  her father hadn’t brought her back out of love.  She had a futile urge to pick up Eve, push past Kaidan and the Wives and flee, when a man appeared in the doorway.

“I must speak to the Seer,” the Watcher said, breathlessly.

“What is it?” said Delaney.

“You have a visitor.”

Delaney glared accusingly at Kaidan.  “Who have you brought here?”

The Watcher glanced at Sorcha.  “His name’s Fox.  Dr. Nathan Fox.  He says it’s about her.”

Sorcha’s heart soared.  Fox had traveled through the wilderness to find her.  She was no longer alone.  Then she saw the look on her father’s face and her elation evaporated.

“What happens now?” said Kaidan.

“I’ll tell you
exactly
what happens now.”  Her father looked at the Watcher.  “Where’s Dr. Fox?”

“In the gatehouse.”

Keep him there.  Make him welcome.  Tell him I’ll be with him shortly.”  When the Watcher left, Delaney went to a drawer by the bookcase, pulled out a silver cord with a knot tied in the middle and glanced at the Wives.  “Hold her.”  The three women pulled Sorcha away from the couch.  Zara clawed at Sorcha’s locket, popping open the clasp on the silver chain.