Council of Peacocks

by M Joseph Murphy

  The last of the three crawled away from him, five-fingered talons pulling it desperately over rubble and ash. In one hand it held a portion of a wing Wisdom had torn off its back. The rest of it lay somewhere in the flames.

  “Tsk, tsk, not too far, lizard.” Wisdom bent down, grabbed the thing that had once looked very much like a man by the head and lifted it off the ground. “First I’m going to give you a message to deliver to Propates and his arrogant cult. Then I am going to throw you out the window. It should be a new experience for you, flying without your bloody wings. Then you will hit the ground and be in a great deal of pain. Fortunately for me, it won’t kill you. It is only twenty stories and you’re a whole lot less human than I am. Then you will run back to your master as fast as you can. Understand?”

  The creature tried to nod its head but it could barely move. Most of its scales had melted off the flesh.

  “Good. The message is this. Tell him I know what he has planned. Tell him I know he’s in bed with my father. Then tell them I will accept the loss of this building because I am a patient man. But if he comes at me again I will forget how patient I am. Do you think you can remember that?”

  The Edimmu tried to nod again.

  “Good.” Wisdom kept his grip on the creature’s head and dragged it through gaps in the flame to the space where a wall of glass had once stood. The Edimmu tried to struggle, kicking its legs and flapping the joints where wings had once attached to body. It refused to let go of the portion of its wing it held in hand. Wisdom did not wait until he was at the edge. When he was five feet away, he bent down and, with his other hand, grabbed the creature by the groin, raised it over his head and threw the Edimmu. Then he walked to the lip of the building to watch it fall. After the Edimmu bounced off a fire truck and hit the ground, Wisdom crossed his arms and waited. A group of firefighters and police officers rushed to form a semi-circle around the twisted body. Only when it got up and ran – causing police and firefighters to run away as well – did Wisdom back away from the window.

  As he teleported away, he said, “Let’s see how it goes this time.”

  ***

  “I have to go to the bathroom.”

  Sammy looked over at his sister and shook his head. “You’ve got to be kidding. Can’t it wait?”

  Catherine glared at him. “If it could wait, I wouldn’t have brought it up. Let’s head to that falafel joint over there.” Without waiting for a response, she started the slow process of pushing through the crowds.

  Downtown Toronto was thick with crowds of onlookers, all gaggling at the destruction of the building on Bay Street. The air filled with a strange oily smoke that made it hard to breathe, but people flooded the streets. Reporters and police were everywhere. After two minutes of it, his sister Catherine was ready to go home. Ten minutes later they were still pushing their way through the crowds trying to get back to the subway.

  They stepped through the door and found the restaurant empty. The guy behind the counter smiled, a perfunctory action, and then started the questioning. “What happened out there? Did you see it?”

  Catherine pushed Sammy forward, forcing him to answer the question while she headed to the back of the restaurant to use the bathroom. “Yeah, we saw it,” Sammy answered. “Whole building blew up. Fire everywhere. From what I heard, they’re wondering if the whole building is going to come down.”

  “Like our own 9/11,” the counter attendant said, slowly nodding his head.

  Sammy shook his head and winced. “Not even close. It’s probably just a gas leak.” He looked toward the back of the restaurant and willed his sister to pee faster.

  “So what will you guys have?” The guy behind the counter washed his hands as he spoke.

  Sammy looked over the menu. “How about two beef shawarma plates? I might as well sit in here while the crowd disperses.” The counter guy nodded and started to slice the meat for the orders as Sammy went to sit at the nearest booth. He focused on the crowds outside, most of them still pointing up at the darkened sky. He was so caught up in crowd watching that he forgot about his sister until the counter guy brought the food over to the table. Sammy smiled up at him, said thanks and then turned to the back of the restaurant again.

  “Where the hell is she?”

  He stood up and walked toward the bathrooms. A chill went down his spine. In that instant he knew without a doubt that something had gone inexplicably and horribly wrong. Each step he took made his body feel heavier, as if time was slowing down and gravity increasing. Invisible hands seemed to push him back, telling him to turn around and run. But he could not leave his sister.

  “Catherine?”

  He knocked on the door to the women’s washroom.

  No response.

  “Cathy?”

  He put his ear to the door and listened. At first he heard nothing. Then, softly, he heard a whimper. And heavy breathing. Images of rapists and mass murders flew quickly through his head. He slammed his shoulder into the door. It caved so easily that it took him a second to recover. When his eyes caught up with his brain, he started to scream.

  It happened so fast the scream never left his throat.

  He saw his sister, hair tousled, talking to a black hole that swirled in the mirror over the sink. She turned toward him. From the look in her eyes, he knew she was no longer herself. When he tried to scream, something shot out of the black hole in the mirror and lodged itself in his body. It all happened so fast, he never knew what happened.

  From inside the body of Catherine Laymon, a voice like static and the hum of electricity spoke.

  “Well, that was convenient.”

  In response, a voice came from inside Sammy’s body. It was similar in cadence but with a quirky yet masculine quality to it. “Dear poppet, nothing is convenient for us nowadays. I tell you, it is destiny.”

  “Humph. Well ‘destiny’ could have given me a prettier host. How can I possibly have any fun with this thing?”

  “We’re not here for ‘fun,’ Carla,” the thing inside Sammy said. “No fun until after this whole thing is over, if you ask me. At least now we can move around in the world.”

  “Fine,” Carla answered. “But, nothing’s worth doing unless it’s fun, if you ask me. I suppose we should just move quickly and track down that Edimmu before it reaches Propates. We have to make sure it delivers the right message and not the one Wisdom told him to deliver.”

  “Absolutely. Do you think we have time to get a bite to eat?” Sanchez looked down the hallway, his eyes searching for the guy who had been working the counter. He saw nothing.

  “Eat later. If I can’t have fun, you definitely can’t eat. Come on. Call him.”

  Sanchez manipulated Sammy’s body and completed a complicated series of motions while chanting in an ancient language. More shadows flew out of the black hole in the mirror and coalesced into a pool of night between the two possessed beings. The pool shimmered and twirled and the restaurant filled with the sounds of thunder. Then the pool of darkness disappeared in a flash and, in its place, stood a wingless Edimmu. It was the same one Wisdom had thrown to the ground.

  “Masters,” the Edimmu said. It knelt on one knee, the action obviously putting it off balance without the extra weight of its wings. It did not look them in the eyes. Instead, it trembled in place.

  “Tell me what happened,” Carla said. “Don’t forget anything, either. Tell it all.”

  The Edimmu bowed its head. A quiver ran through its body.

  “Yes, master. I will tell you.”

  Chapter Eleven

  August 3rd

  David stepped through the portal and found himself in a very different place. If Toronto had felt like a different country to him, this was another planet. As people streamed out behind him, he looked around at what he first assumed to be an enormous, natural cavern. Then his eyes adjusted to the dim light.

  “Whoa,” he said. The 46 Anomalies gathered in a circular foyer the size of a basketball stadium.
Fist-sized crystal spheres placed on pillars emitted a soft, steady light. What he first assumed were stalagmites and stalactites were actually thick granite columns. They rose from a tiled floor to a smooth ceiling fifty feet above his head. Numerous passages branched out on either side, many blocked by twelve-foot-diameter stone wheels, their edges cracked with age. A spiral staircase carved from stone rose to a second floor.

  “Look at that,” Todd said. He pointed at one of the walls covered in an immense mosaic of a peacock crafted from blue, green and black tiles.

  “That’s bloody creepy,” Bethany said as she wrapped her arms around herself. “Gives me the chills.”

  “What is this place?” David felt a dry breeze blow along the back of his neck. “How far underground are we? The air actually smells fresh.”

  “This is Turkey,” Echo said as she brushed dirt off her suit. “This is what I get for wearing white. Well, actually Kurdistan, but Turkish officials don’t like to acknowledge that. We’re currently about 500 feet below the surface.”

  “Did you build this place?” Todd asked.

  “Hardly,” Echo turned to the portal and closed it with the flick of her wrist. “These caves were built around 9500 B.C. There are hundreds of these underground cities in this part of the world. Best thing about this one is that you can’t get to it from the surface. The old entrances are still caved in. Odds are this place won’t be discovered for at least another hundred years. Only way in or out is the way we took.”

  “How many others can make those things?” Jessica asked. “Those circles of light.”

  Echo raised her hands and shrugged. “A few. You should be less interested in the portals and more in Wisdom’s little vendetta.”

  “What vendetta?” Jessica cocked her head to one side and grabbed Amy’s hand. “Wisdom never said anything about a vendetta.”

  “Right. Because Wisdom is always so good about explaining himself. We’ll be here for a few days until Wisdom comes.” Echo walked away from them and headed up the spiral staircase.

  Jessica stormed after her. “How are we supposed to stay here for a few hours, let alone a few days? It is just a dirty cave. There’s nowhere to sit and there’s…. whoa.”

  Jessica stopped talking when she reached the top of the stairs. David pushed his way through the crowd to where she stood. Before he reached the top, he saw what made her speechless.

  The second level was furnished like the loft apartment of a Hollywood celebrity. Silk curtains hung from the wall, giving the illusion of windows. Fifteen red plush sofas and chairs stood atop several hundred square feet of thick gold-colored carpet. Ornate marble statues and gold-trimmed light fixtures were everywhere he looked. Crystal vases filled with scented, artificial flowers helped hide the sensation of being submerged in earth. The whole thing was far too gaudy for David’s liking but, in this setting, it was nothing short of magical.

  Echo smiled. “It’s amazing the things you can afford when you don’t have to pay for them.”

  “You stole these things?” Bethany asked.

  Echo shrugged. “Listen up, everyone. Watch where I’m pointing. Down that hallway you’ll find the library on the right and the media center on the left. I have a few large televisions so you should not have to fight about what you watch. There’s obviously no cable or satellite but there is an extensive library of movies and video games. If you follow the other hallway over here you’ll find the apartments. There are fifty-three living quarters on this level. On the lower level is the gym, the pool and the greenhouses. Feel free to visit them. Your rooms have already been assigned. Look for your name on the door and make yourself at home. I did not have time to arrange for much clothing but make do for now. The room at the very end of the hallway is mine. Steer clear of that one, please. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to send a message to Wisdom. He’ll want to know we made it here safely, and that Garnet and Jared didn’t make the jump.”

  With that, Echo smiled and walked away, heading toward a second set of stairs leading to a level above them.

  “Wait. Aren’t you going to tell us what’s going on?” David suddenly realized that everyone was looking at him. He wished he had the ability to turn invisible. “I mean, uh, what were those things? Why were they after us and why are you helping us?”

  Echo turned around and walked away. Over her shoulder she said: “Maybe we’ll talk after supper. Let’s meet back here in four hours. I’ll have the chef prepare a meal for us.”

  Todd and Bethany exchanged a look. “Chef? She has servants down here?”

  Most of the Anomalies went to look for their rooms immediately. For several minutes, David and his four classmates kept to the living room area. Todd rummaged through a stack of newspapers from various parts of the world that had been left on a large oak desk. Jessica and Amy sat on one of the couches, engaged in a quiet conversation. Bethany leaned back in one of the chairs, eyes closed. The expression on her face was far from peaceful.

  “Am I the only one with a serious case of not liking this?” David asked as he sat down on a loveseat near Jessica and Amy.

  No one responded.

  “What exactly do you guys know about Wisdom? To start with, how did you all meet him?”

  “Why should we tell you?” Jessica asked. She pulled her legs up on the couch, crossed them and leaned back against the cushions.

  “Try not to be such a worthless prat, Jessica,” Bethany said. “It’s unbecoming. And you can stop looking at me like that. Amelia Ryerson may have put you in charge of our little escape, but that was only because you’ve got a lot of power in that frail little body of yours. Don’t go letting yourself believe you’re some sort of leader. I can still take you down a peg or two.”

  Jessica raised her lips in a smirk. “Any time you think you’re ready, old woman.”

  A ball of crunched up newspaper sailed through the air and hit Jessica in the side of the head.

  “Knock it off, you two,” Todd said. He walked over to sit on the coffee table in front of David. “Wisdom found me in Alaska. My parents work for an oil company up there. At least they did until I accidentally blew up an oil container at the plant. I was dropping by so I could walk home with Dad after school. The school was pretty close to the plant and all. My dad and me, we were pretty close. Kind of like best friends.”

  “Why don’t you be a little more melodramatic, Todd,” Jessica said.

  Amy put a hand on Jessica’s knee. “Don’t be mean. Say you’re sorry.”

  “Sorry.” Jessica turned red in the face and clenched her lips.

  David looked over at the two girls and shook his head. There were some strange power dynamics in that relationship.

  “Go on, Todd.” Bethany came over and sat beside David on the loveseat.

  Todd nodded and looked down at his fingers. “Well one day – it was a Tuesday, I think – I was walking by this truck they were filling with petrol and I noticed the driver. His name was Emilio Lee. He was this neighborhood bully a few years older than me. Got a job at the plant right after school. He used to beat me after school. Nothing sinister, really, just the typical ‘give me your lunch money’ crap. My dad told me to take it if I couldn’t stand up to him. You see, I was never much of a fighter. Didn’t have the guts for it. But what I did have was a good imagination. That day as I walked by the truck, I saw his face and I thought – no I wished – dozens of little demons would crawl out of the ground and set him on fire. I imagined him burning in hell.”

  David started to nod. It all seemed disturbingly familiar.

  Todd continued. “Well, the next thing I know, the truck just explodes. Fifteen people, including yours truly, were sent to the hospital for burns. Two, including Emilio, died. I was far enough away that I didn’t get burned too badly. I was out in a few days. By that time, Mom and Dad had been laid off. The company had to repair the damage. It …” Todd let out a deep breath and stood up. He stretched his arms behind his back and started pacing in a circle. �
��It wasn’t just the truck. A few pipelines were compromised, too. Millions in damage, from what the TV said.

  “When I got out of the hospital, there was a letter from Mr. Wisdom. He offered me a job in Toronto. He did not go into much detail at that time, but I was looking for an escape.”

  “How did Wisdom find you?” David asked. “Did you, like, send a resume or something?”

  Todd stared at David. The way he blinked his eyes showed contempt very clearly. “No, I didn’t send a resume. He found me the same way he found you, the same way he found everyone. He felt me using my EFHB.”

  “EFHB?”

  “Extraordinary Functions of the Human Body,” Bethany said. “We’ve already covered this, so try to keep up, dear. If we ever get back to taking classes, you’ll learn more about them.”

  “What do you mean ‘if’?” Jessica uncrossed her legs and leaned forward.

  “Well,” Bethany said, her eyes narrowing and her lips twitching. She looked uncertain. “I just thought, I don’t know, maybe things are going to change after this. Nothing like this has ever happened. People died. Maybe Wisdom won’t want to continue.”

  “Wisdom will need us more than ever now,” Jessica said. “Things progressed faster than expected, that’s all.”

  David felt his head buzzing. “Do you mean you guys know what’s going on here?”

  Bethany opened her mouth to speak but Jessica held up her hand. “Don’t say anything. He’s not ready.”

  “Damn it!” David said. “Teleporting around the world to escape an exploding building and flying guys that want to kill me makes me ready. Now tell me what the hell is going on!”

  Silence.

  “We don’t know everything,” Amy said.

  “Don’t you dare say another word, Amy!” Jessica whirled to face Amy so quickly David thought she was going to hit the other girl.

  “Jessica, he’s right,” Todd said. “We should tell him what little we know.”