Council of Peacocks

by M Joseph Murphy

  Silence filled the corridors. Jessica was breathing hard, her face pale and clammy.

  Josh looked over at Garnet. “Was that it?”

  Garnet shook her head. “Not even close.”

  Josh looked down the hall again. This time the stream of Edimmu went on forever. There had to be at least a hundred of them.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  “Where are the others?” David asked.

  Todd shook his head and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “That was…wow…sooo unbelievably wrong. Please tell me I get to kill whoever did that to me.”

  Echo went to the top of the stairwell and looked down. “I’m thinking no. That was Wisdom’s father. He’s not going to be killed by the likes of us. Come on, we have to catch up with the others.”

  Off to the left, the air shimmered and pulsed. A dark blur flew out of an oily patch of shadow and slammed into the rough wooden shelves. Wood splintered and bottles flew in all directions. Echo drew a deep breath and prepared to lash out. Then the dark blur stood and Echo relaxed. Wisdom shook the dust off his suit.

  “What the hell?” Todd took a step back and stared at the patch of still-shimmering air to the left.

  “Wisdom,” Echo went to him and put a hand to his head. “Do you need….?”

  “Please, Echo. Show a little faith.” Wisdom smiled, showing just a touch of teeth. Then he walked back to the patch of darkness and stepped into it. After he disappeared, the air stopped its shaking and the darkness receded.

  ***

  “What do we do?” Garnet asked.

  Elaine threw her shotgun aside and grabbed her sub-machine gun. “We do like Wisdom said. Kill everything.”

  “But what about…?”

  “No buts, Garnet. Wisdom said you three were strong enough for this.”

  Something in the way she said that made Josh uneasy.

  “What do you mean ‘us three’? What about the others? Did he know we’d get separated?”

  Before she could answer, the Edimmu attacked. They poured over the Anomalies like a wave: black oily feathers and glistening green scales. Josh saw razor sharp claws everywhere he looked. They raked at him but could not penetrate the psychic armor. Jessica was not so lucky. Even as she shot bolt after bolt of pinkish-white lighting, Edimmu slashed at her arm, pummeled her face and pushed her down. Garnet screamed, burned by her own flame. In the close quarters even as she set one Edimmu on fire, the flames spread. Elaine gave up using her machine gun and struck out repeatedly with her dagger.

  ‘How can we be strong enough for this?’ Josh pushed out with his mind, throwing body after body aside telekinetically even as he struck out with his fists. There seemed to be no end to them.

  Then a voice called out: “Enough!”

  A familiar voice.

  The Edimmu retreated until they formed a tight circle around the four of them. Elaine bled from several parts of her body. Jessica was also bleeding. Garnet’s face was red and blistering, her hands smoking. Josh ignored them. His full attention was now on the man who stood in front of him.

  “Dad?”

  Richard Wilkinson, dressed in a long robe of blue-green peacock feathers, stood just inside the Circle of Edimmu. He smiled and Josh felt his willpower dissipate. The shield around him weakened as he stared into his father’s eyes.

  “Have to say, I’m quite impressed, son. I had no idea you were this powerful.”

  “You knew, didn’t you?” The shield around him weakened even further. Josh swallowed hard. “You knew what I really was.”

  Richard Wilkinson laughed. “Of course I knew. Kind of part of the agreement, you might say. Oh, don’t look at me like that. It was strictly business.”

  “How can you say that?”

  “Because it’s the truth. You see, Josh, something big is coming. Something much larger than anything you can imagine. The Orpheans are always looking for new things to play with and the Council needs an ally for the days ahead. Years ago, all the members of the Council of Peacocks surrendered our bodies and our wives to them. I was one of the lucky few to have a son. It’s partly why I rose through the ranks of the Council so quickly. That and the fact I work for Candleworks, which gave me access to all sorts of information the Council found useful.”

  “Does Mother know?”

  Richard shrugged. “Of course not. She’s about as clueless as a brick. Helps for an easy marriage. I think you realize your little invasion has failed. Give up before anyone else gets hurt.”

  Josh felt sick. He knew the man before him better than anyone else in his life; yet it turned out he did not know him at all. Year after year of lies, and now this callous betrayal.

  “A father is supposed to protect his son,” he said. “Wisdom was right about you after all.”

  “I thought I taught you better than that. Never listen to the advice of vain men, my son, and he’s about as vain as you can get. He actually thinks he’s protecting the world with all his little games and intrigues. You know what Wisdom is? He’s a joke. The Council of Peacocks, on the other hand, we can change the world. And now that we have you, we will change the world.”

  “Father,” Josh said as he clenched his fists and strengthened his psychic shield. “You don’t have me yet.”

  ***

  Echo heard the fighting long before they reached the bottom of the stairs. Then everything went deathly silent.

  “The others?” David asked.

  Todd squinted for a moment. “They’re fine. Still alive but in trouble. We should get to them as fast as….”

  A spear of shadow shot out at Todd and struck him in the temple. He fell to the ground, his body convulsing.

  Echo spun, looking for the attacker. Before she could react, another spear of darkness shot forward. It stabbed her in the gut, threw her back against a wall and pinned her there. David raised his hands but, before he could ignite anything, three Edimmu flew out of the shadows and knocked him to the ground. Then, another figure stepped out of the shadows.

  Echo went pale.

  “Propates,” she said.

  He looked her up and down, then backhanded her.

  “Why couldn’t you stay out of this?” he said. He hit her again and her head bounced off the wall. “Why are you making me do this?”

  “No!” David erupted, pale blue flame shot out from his body in all directions, instantly consuming the Edimmu. He rose on trembling knees and directed the full force of his flame at him. Propates waved his hand and the fire deflected off an invisible barrier.

  “You know, you demonspawn are getting a tad tiresome. Why don’t you go to sleep?”

  David scowled, took a step forward, then fell.

  He was snoring before he hit the ground.

  “Now, my dear,” Propates said as he turned to face Echo. “Let’s get back to you.”

  ***

  Richard Wilkinson knew what was coming a moment before it happened. He didn’t have enough time to react. Josh used his mind to grab one of the dead Edimmu and hurled it at his father, throwing him far outside the circle. Following his lead, Garnet struck out with the full force of her flames. Thick curtains of flame rained down in concentric circles all around them as she set the very air on fire. Edimmu screamed as their bodies burned. Elaine picked up her sub-machine gun again and fired out through the flames, not caring what she hit. Jessica did likewise, flinging bolt after bolt of lightning at unseen foes.

  “I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up,” Jessica said. Her nose was bleeding and her eyes were bloodshot.

  “We have to push on,” Elaine shouted over the roar of the fire and her weapon. “Wisdom is counting on us to destroy the processing room.”

  Then the ground started to shake. What started as a low rumble built steadily into a full-fledged earthquake. Walls cracked, the floor twisted and broke. Josh struggled to stay on his feet as a voice filled the corridors.

  “Time has come.”

  This was their signal.
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  The voice of Wisdom.

  ***

  The earthquake knocked Propates back several feet, which gave Echo just enough room and leverage to kick out at him. Her foot struck him in the lower ribs and he doubled over. She grabbed the quasi-solid shadow spear in her gut and yanked it out. It dissipated as soon as it was free. Moving as quickly as she dared with a stomach wound, Echo clasped her hands together and brought them down hard to the back of Propates’ head. He fell the rest of the way to the ground.

  ‘Time to leave,’ she thought. Wisdom was right about her being no match for Propates. Her long life had taught her sometimes it was better to jump into a fight and other times it was better to run from one. This was definitely a running situation. She opened a portal of light and ran toward it. She saw Todd rising to his feet, disoriented. She motioned for him to follow her and he started to move. Then, next to her portal of light, the air shimmered and rippled. A second portal of light appeared and Wisdom stepped through.

  “Echo!” Wisdom’s face glowed with a smile wider than she’d ever seen on his face. “I did it.”

  “Did what? Killed your father?”

  “Oh, well, that too. But I…Oh God, I’m just glad you’re alive.”

  Relief like nothing she had ever known rushed through her. Echo ran into his arms. They kissed. For a moment, she forgot all the centuries of violence. She pulled away and looked up into his eyes.

  Then Wisdom took a slow step back.

  “What’s wrong?”

  The color bled from his face. He grew paler with every moment.

  “What is it, Wisdom? You’re scaring me.”

  Wisdom stared at her, looked down at her chest. Tears fell down his face.

  “Too late,” he said.

  Echo followed his eyes down to her chest. She saw the spear of darkness that pierced her chest.

  “I don’t feel any pain,” she said, her voice weak. She looked back at Wisdom for answers.

  Then she died.

  Wisdom watched the body as it fell before him, grief and rage warring within him. Then rage won and he looked back at the man who, once again, had killed Echo.

  “He told me, you know.” Propates brushed dust off the edges of his colorful robe. “Your father. He told me you jumped back in time just to save her. What I don’t get is why? You never loved her like I did. She was just a toy to you. We all were.”

  “She was my salvation.” Wisdom took a half step forward then stopped. He could not trust the strength of his legs. “Do you know the myth of Andromeda? She was the daughter of vanity. Her mother, Cassiopeia, was full of pride. She believed she was more beautiful than the sea nymphs. So the gods demanded recompense. Poseidon forced her to give up her beautiful virgin daughter to a sea monster. Then along comes Perseus, her knight. He saved her from the beast. I guess I thought that if I could save her, maybe I could be her Perseus. Instead, I’m just the monster.”

  “You’re pathetic.” Propates shook his head and stared at Echo’s body. “She wasn’t a princess who needed saving. She was a person and you were never good enough for her. Maybe if…”

  “Die.”

  Wisdom focused his rage and all the futility. Propates’ body twisted and flopped until it seemed a two-dimensional image, bent paper in a three-dimensional world. Liquid shadow the consistency of oil bled wherever a bend appeared. Wherever the shadow-blood hit ground, it bubbled and ate through concrete and dirt like sugar under water. When Wisdom tired of the torture, he opened a portal and flung Propates through it.

  He fell to his knees and cried silently for a long time. Afraid to move, everyone simply watched him until he rose again to his feet.

  “Where did you send him?”

  Wisdom shrugged and stared down at Echo's body. “The center of the sun. It’s a faster death than he deserved but I want to make sure he’s dead.”

  Todd's eyes went wide. A rush of footsteps came from the stairs. He turned toward the sound, ready for a fight. He relaxed as Josh and Elaine entered the storage room. A moment later, Garnet appeared. She carried Jessica in her arms.

  “Is she....?” he asked, rushing toward them.

  “She's just tired.” Garnet lowered her to the ground. Then her eyes fell on Echo and she moaned. “Oh, my God. What happened?”

  Elaine knelt beside Echo. After a moment she stood and shook her head. “You could try again, Wisdom.”

  Josh looked back and forth between Elaine and Wisdom. “What do you mean, you can try again?”

  Surprisingly, Wisdom smiled. “That's just the thing, Elaine. I have tried again. I've tried over and over. This was the fifteenth time I travelled back through time to save her. She dies a little different every time. But she always ends up dead.”

  Josh rubbed the back of his neck. “You traveled through time? Then, couldn't you have stopped this? If you went back to the beginning, you could have saved Brian. You could have stopped me from ever going to Quebec. You could have...”

  “Josh…” Garnet put a warning hand on his arm but Josh shook her away.

  “This is the first time you've been a part of this, Josh,” Wisdom answered. “Maybe if I tried again I could do those things. Maybe not. That's beside the point. I'm finished.”

  “Wisdom....” Elaine said.

  “I've made up my mind. You're right about one thing, Josh. You can change things when you travel through time. The first time I made the trip, it was mostly out of pride. Propates won, killed Echo, and turned you all into killing machines. It was insulting. I went back several months, had Ms. Ryerson increase the training on the Anomalies. I saved them all from being killed by the Edimmu and killed Propates in his sleep. My father came by and killed Echo while we celebrated. Each time after that I did things a little different. Each time I lost Echo I realized a little more how much she meant to me. It became the only important thing. I found my odds were better if I weakened my father instead of saving the Anomalies from the Edimmu. With all my power I can’t be in two places at once. No matter what choices I make, all paths end the same. Echo dies.”

  “What if you, I mean, couldn’t you just kill Propates and your father at the same time?”

  Wisdom rolled his eyes. “Gee, why didn’t I think of that? Why does everyone think I’m stupid? Of course I thought about killing them both at the same time.”

  Josh gulped. “I just mean… if you can travel back through time, isn’t anything pretty much possible?”

  “Apparently not. Because, like I said, I can’t be in two places at the same time. I can’t even be in two times at once, which I guess is actually the same thing. There can only be one of any given thing in at a certain time. I don’t claim to know everything about time travel, but I know the way those portals work. When you step through, it destroys your original body. All that transfers through the circle of light is your consciousness and a stream of energy that reconstitutes into a new version of your body. It’s the consciousness that’s the key. Your consciousness exists outside of time and space. I can’t create another one. That’s why I can’t be in two places at once. It’s why I can’t kill Propates and my father at the same time.”

  Now Garnet knelt beside Echo. “Did she know?”

  “No.” Wisdom's voice cracked. “Not this time. Things were harder on her the times I told her. No matter what I said, she wouldn't run away. Once I even forced her. Kidnapped her. I wiped her memory and moved to New Zealand. My father found us eventually. That's why this has to be the last time. I hoped finding Josh would change things. But in the end....” Wisdom shook his head, smirking at a private joke. “It looks like even Wisdom can't change destiny.”

  For what seemed an eternity, no one said anything. Then Wisdom opened a portal directly under Echo and her body disappeared. Only then did he turn back to the Anomalies. “Did you destroy the processing room?”

  Josh looked back at Elaine and then spoke. “No. We couldn’t get to it. Too many Edimmu. After your signal, Jessica felt out where you were. Jo
sh collapsed the ceiling of the tunnel but the Edimmu will be here soon. We came to regroup.”

  Wisdom nodded slowly. “That was smart. We should move quickly. While we’re regrouping, so are they. I know you’re all wounded but we have to keep going. I found out what the Council has planned. It’s worse than I could have ever expected. We have to put them down once and for all. Not to be melodramatic and all, but the fate of the world may be in our hands. Let’s try not to screw it up.”

  Epilogue

  Josh looked across the coffee table at his mother and watched her sense of reality steadily crack. She wore a flowery summer dress that seemed both whimsical and formal. It was totally inappropriate for this conversation. She had just come back from church when he'd arrived with Wisdom and the others. Two hours later, he finished bringing her up to speed. She took it all very well. In fact, Josh was surprised at how easy it was for her to believe even the strangest parts of the story.

  “I should have known,” she said. “Not all of it, because how could anyone know? But there were signs. I knew your father kept things from me. I just convinced myself it was because of his job. The job with the government. Still, when you disappeared like that and he didn’t make a big deal out of it, I knew something was wrong.” She looked past Josh out the front window. “Do you think your father is dead?”

  Josh shook his head, tears welling in his eyes. For a moment he was too choked up to speak. Then he cleared his throat. “No. I don’t think he’s dead. When we went back to destroy the processing room, we saw a lot of Edimmu. But most of the Council got away. We think they felt Propates die. Wisdom says even the first stage of Eyeness makes you sensitive to things like that. By the time we got to the processing room, there was no one left. We smashed the equipment. Wisdom transported a bunch of files and computers back to his offices. He’s having people look them over for clues now. By the time we made it out of the underground tunnels and into the apartment complex, everything else had been cleared out. We don’t know where the Council went but we’ll find them. They took the other Anomalies with them, too. I’m pretty sure Dad is still alive. I think I might feel it if he was dead.”