Eoin had checked him into a room that was luxurious and grand, yet Will barely notices. He takes a long hot bath and washes away the dirt and dried blood from his skin; most of it his own but some of it the blood of his friends.
Someone had been into the room while he had bathed. Waiting for him on the bed are a new set of clothes: a red collarless shirt, blue tweed trousers with braces and a brand new navy blazer embossed with the golden Beaulieu crest. He is one of the Beaulieu elite now. A few days back he might have been pleased but now he is numb inside and feels nothing.
He dresses and hears a knock at the door.
He almost doesn’t recognise her. Dressed in a flattering pale blue dress is Anna. Her hair is shiny, her lips are red and her eyelashes seem longer and darker.
‘You look beautiful,’ he says without even thinking.
She laughs and it lifts his mood.
They say nothing for a moment and then she steps forward and wraps her arms around him. He seems to float and pulls her close until he can smell the fine scented soap drifting on the surface of her smooth pale neck. He kisses it, feels her shiver and then finds her lips, where he becomes lost and, for a few glorious moments, forgets everything.
Later that evening Will is sitting at a desk opposite Eoin in one of the hotel rooms the Secret Service has taken over and converted into an office. Despite the events of the past few days and his reluctance to hear bad news, he cannot stop thinking about Anna. He wants to hold her and kiss her again, but that would have to wait.
‘What will happen to the Stones?’ he asks.
‘They will be shipped abroad, possibly to the colonies, and buried in a very deep hole somewhere.’
‘Someone will find them again.’
‘Aye, I have no doubt. God willing that will not happen in our lifetime.’
‘What about the Fellowship? They have a lot to answer for.’
‘Yes, they do, and we will deal with them in due course.’
‘Why was Tim in league with them? The Pastor was an evil man.’
‘Yes, he was. Although one could argue that we are on the same side of the Fellowship. They are a society sworn to protect mystical and religious objects. However, their methods for doing that leave a lot to be desired. The Grandmaster and his cronies turn a blind eye to the Pastor’s practices, believing what they do is for the greater good. As I say, we will deal with them.
Against the odds, Will and Anna had escaped the collapse of St Mary Le Bow. Had the Pastor also managed to break free? Will felt a quiver in his stomach. No, he was dead. He had to be.
Sitting on top of the desk is a manila folder stamped CLASSIFIED. It is slim yet it sits there like the elephant in the room. Is this really the record of his life before he lost his memory?
‘Are you ready?’ asks Eoin.
Will nods.
‘I went back to Tim Chittlock’s house and found some files locked away in his basement. The news is not good, Will. I’m sorry.’
‘Are my parents dead?’
‘I’m afraid so. They were killed by VIPER and you would have been too had Tim not intervened and prevented you from going home that day.’
He rubs his arms and swallows. ‘Why were they killed?’
‘VIPER wanted something.’
‘What could they possibly want that would require them to kill innocent people?’
‘I’ll come to that in a moment. Tim was a friend and colleague of your father’s. They had much in common.’
‘Was my father a spy?’
‘Not quite. He was a scientist who worked for a research organisation called Teleken. They led the world in telekinetic research and believed certain people had the power to move objects with their minds. Unknown to your father, mother and Tim, Teleken was funded by VIPER. They had developed a drug, which they claimed could make a person telekinetic. It was a sensational claim at the time and people were queuing up to become part of the trial. Your mother was one of them.’
‘Did it work… was my mother…?’
‘No, the drug did not make anyone telekinetic. The research was dropped as was the funding. However, it was not a total disaster as your father discovered some years later. When your mother took the drug, she was not aware that she was pregnant.’
‘Pregnant?’
Eoin picks up the file, removes a photograph and hands it across.
It is a shot of Will, smiling and happy, when he is perhaps eleven or twelve years old. But he is not the only person in the picture. He is holding someone’s hand. He can almost feel it now, small, warm, with a firm grip as if it does not want to let go. He blinks and remembers the flashback when he held Anna’s hand at Butler’s Wharf only hours back. He stares at the picture. Smiling up at him is a little girl. Like him, she has thick dark hair. Will’s stomach lurches. He recalls the dream he had on The Outcast: the one with him running away from the wolves to the safety of home where he found four graves. Two with coffins for his mum and dad; the other two were empty. He had thought nothing of it. It was just another confusing dream.
‘In my dream, I saw four graves.’
‘To the outside world the Starling family are dead, killed in a terrible accident. Tim saw to this to ensure you were not exposed.’
His mind swims and for the briefest of seconds a memory flashes through. He hears her laughing and calling his name and then he remembers.
‘Rose…’ he whispers, unable to take his eyes from the picture.
‘Yes, you remember. She is your sister.’
From the recesses of his mind sparks of emotions ignite every fibre of his body – happiness long past, grief, and the one that feels so familiar to him now: rage. Rage at what he has lost. Rage at the murder of his parents. Rage at the kidnapping of his sister, his blood and the heart of the family. He trembles and feels nauseous.
‘Through some quirk of nature, VIPER’s telekinetic drug trial worked on your mother’s new-born child, although they did not become aware of it until she was older.
He searches the folds of his memory to find even a scrap of something that will help him recall any of his sister’s telekinetic behaviour, but he finds nothing.
‘Tim recruited you and primed you as a sleeper agent so that you could train, listen and learn about VIPER. He promised you your heart’s desire if you helped bring them down. Do you remember what that was?’
He nods his head slowly. ‘To find my sister.’
‘That’s right, but when Tim told you about the Stones and the danger they presented you diverted your attention to preventing VIPER from finding them. You did a most honourable and brave thing, Will. We cannot thank you enough.’
He is only half listening. ‘Where is she?’
‘First things first…’
‘Where is she?’ demands Will.
‘Rose is being held in a VIPER stronghold known as the Red Tower.’
‘I have to go there and bring her home.’
‘Before we make any decisions you must understand you are still in danger. VIPER will not allow the indignity of losing the Stones of Fire to pass by without consequence. Also, in that head of yours lies VIPER intelligence that makes you valuable to us and a threat to them.’
‘But I don’t remember any of it.’
‘But you are starting to. You’ve had flashbacks and you just remembered Rose’s name.’
Will folds his arms. ‘What do you want from me?’
‘Let’s do this my way. We will find your sister and we will tear down VIPER forever. But trust me, Will. Trust me and I promise I will make this happen.’
He can’t stop thinking about what he has lost and the void it has left in his soul. His heart feels twisted and out of shape, its only desire is to rescue his sister and seek retribution for VIPER’s crimes. If he has to he will bring them death and destruction. But Eoin is right, they cannot rush into this and Will knows he cannot do it alone. And Eoin cannot do it without him. For four years he was undercover, learning and waiting for
his moment. He knows what he must do now. He will go back behind enemy lines, break them and destroy them.
Sleeper. Liberator. Executioner.
That’s what he was. That is what they have all made him. He smiles, his destiny clear to him at long last.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I'd like to thank my partner, family and friends for their support, patience, love and humour. Without these pillars, Sleeper would not be published today.
Thank you, Rebecca Lloyd for your expert editorial advice. Every author needs writing buddies. Thank you Jean Levy and Olivia Kiernan for your encouragement, critiques and partnership on our many literary networking events.
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