Saul climbed off the table, looking gruesome in his tattered, crusty shirt. He simply tied his silks around his waist, not wanting to smear blood all over them. He looked at Sika thoughtfully, then asked, “Why did Gray help us?”
Daniel spoke up before Sika could answer. “Because he wants us to leave the Guild. He wants us to escape. Not only that, but he needs us to want to escape.”
“Excuse me?”
“I couldn’t quite put my finger on it before, but something has been seriously fucked up since all this started. But when Gray took the Guards out of here, it all made sense. Once you figure that Gray was working against the council, then suddenly the attacks on my life make sense. It was never about trying to kill me.”
Comprehension dawned in Saul’s eyes. “Gray is the guy that shot you in the hallway, forcing us to get you off of Olympus and away from the council. He knew that the Guild had to go through with the Scinte pickup, and that Iyah and myself were the only ones that Keldon could trust not to be involved with the assassin. If we were, we could have easily killed you any of the times we were alone with you.”
“And once he forced them to send me to Buellere,” said Daniel, “I was somehow located and attacked again, forcing me to be under constant guard, which meant you had to bring me into the Scinte plant with you.”
“Where guess who showed up and made sure we chased an empty box all the way down into the nursery,” said Saul. “It all seems kinda obvious now that I’m looking back on it. I guess being chased and tortured kinda crimps my detecting skills.”
“Same here. I guess he wanted me to see the Scinte victims. And my mom.” Daniel clenched his jaw and took a deep breath before continuing as the sight reared up in his mind’s eye, as it would in unguarded moments for the rest of his life. “I’m thinking that Gray wasn’t sure if seeing strangers impaled in the Ilahi patch would be enough to make me reject the Guild, so the bastard put my mom in there to make sure.”
“Actually,” said Gray from the doorway, “I didn’t put her in there, but thanks for that bit of melodrama.” Daniel spun around, his heart hammering and prickly heat jumping into his face with shock at the sudden appearance. “She was ever so slightly Veil Potent, so Keldon had her dropped in the patch. You were never meant to know. Instead she would be used as leverage on you for years to come. I am sorry about that, believe it or not, but you had to see it, not only to be free of that extortion, but so you would clearly understand what you were dealing with. Other than taking the obvious path and assigning me the black hat in all of this, you did a much better job of putting things together than I would have given you credit for. Now, my question to you is why are you still here? I’ve given you everything you need, so go!”
“And do what?” shot back Daniel. “Run from hiding place to hiding place for the rest of our lives?”
“It’s better that than being dead. Better than being a tool, creating more misery everywhere you go.” Gray’s face was dark and angry. “I can’t even imagine what atrocities the current council could aspire to with you as their puppet. Do you realize that everything the Guild has today was acquired only with the help of the Founder? It was he who kept order among the council heads, he who forged the paths to the new worlds, he alone who could reopen a world if all the Wayguides were lost, or bring in a team of executioners at a moment’s notice where no Wayguide was placed. Imagine a second age of expansion with you leading the way, or some new perversion visited on the worlds they already have! Show some responsibility for once in your life! Either go, or kill yourself so they can’t use you.”
Daniel shook his head. He was tired and every nerve was scraped raw from all the Veil current he’d been working with for the last twelve hours. He looked at Gray without anger and said simply, “No. I’ll die here or get us free. Those are the only options we’ve ever really had.”
Then he turned to Saul and said, “Take everybody out of here, maybe back to your place in New York, okay?”
“And leave you to face the council alone? What are you, a martyr now? No fucking way I’m Walking out of here.”
“If you don’t, and I screw this up, Bruce’s people will die. You have to get everybody away from here. If I don’t follow, then go on the run. You must know every trick in the book. You’ll keep a step ahead, I’m sure.”
“Not going to happen!” said Saul, his voice rising.
“I agree, Daniel,” said Iyah, coming to stand closer to the two men. “I’ll stand beside you, as you did for me.” Daniel opened his mouth, and Iyah said, “You’re welcome to try and force me to leave, if you like.” Daniel shrugged in defeat, not quite able to hide his smile of relief. “And,” she continued, “Sika’s coming with us as well, right Sika?”
The tall, ebon-skinned Protector put one hand on Daniel’s shoulder and said dryly, “Thanks. I would have hated to be left out of this group suicide that Daniel has planned for us.”
Daniel was embarrassed and touched, so he changed the subject. “This may be the only unguarded moment that Bruce’s people have to get away, and they deserve to use it. Somebody has to take them out of here.”
On the far side of the room, Bruce spoke up from the group of escapees huddled in the corner. “Now that Sika has freed us from these restraints, I do think we can rescue ourselves. Emile here is strong enough to get us to his home in Madrid. If you make them see reason, we’ll be free. If not, well, I think I speak for us all when I say I’d rather die a free man tomorrow than be a prisoner in the cells today.”
“Okay Doc, we’ll find you later.” What the hell, he could spare a little unwarranted optimism.
“We’re staying to help, too,” said Ekani, as she and Boro stepped forward out of the group.
Daniel shook his head. “As much as I would love to have you stand with me,” he said gently, “somebody has to protect these guys. If the council rolls over us, you’ll be all that stands between them and the Trackers.”
Boro started to protest, but Ekani interrupted him. “We’ll keep them safe if you don’t come back. You do your best to make sure we don’t have to.”
“‘Kani, no!” said Boro, “They need us!”
She took one of his huge hands in both of hers. “Bruce’s people need us more, love. As much as my heart is with Daniel, tomorrow will likely see these men and women in their own last stand, and we should be there.”
He nodded unhappily. She turned and led him back to Bruce’s side.
The escapees linked hands with a tall, lean man who still had dried blood under his nose from the Arc swap in the security level a lifetime ago.
“See you on the other side,” said Bruce with a smile, but before Daniel could answer, they vanished.
Daniel squared his shoulders, and with his remaining friends at his back, turned to Gray and said, “Let’s go see your boss.”
34
Gray led them down the plush arteries of Walker Hall one last time. Every color and scent seemed sharper to Daniel, every breath sweeter. Even the huge, bland hallway landscape paintings seemed to carry a somber poignancy that lent them a fleeting beauty.
Daniel was calmer than he had expected to be during this long walk. He chalked it up more to stubborn stupidity than to bravery, and maybe a bit of fatalism thrown in for good measure.
“I’m not going to stand with you,” said Gray conversationally as they walked. “No matter what happens, I need to stay inside the council. When you die, I’ll need to be in position the next time someone I can use comes through. Someone with more sense than you, hopefully. Even if by some miracle you do manage to leave the council chambers after challenging the authority of the most powerful men in the Guild, you’ll still need someone inside to help you stay alive and ahead of the Trackers.”
“How noble,” said Iyah caustically, “and safe.”
“I’m risking more than you today, bitch. You’ll just be killed out of hand. If I’m discovered as a rogue council member, I’ll be subjected to quite a bit worse.�
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“If you hate the Guild so much,” asked Daniel, “why not just fight with us?”
“I don’t hate the Guild, Mr. Thorsen. On the contrary, it may well be the finest institution that mankind has ever managed to create. It’s the current council that I can’t abide. They have to be removed, and soon. Now be silent, we’re getting too close for this kind of talk.”
A moment later they passed between grim sentries to enter into the presence of the rulers of all the lands, and all the people, in all the known worlds.
The council sat behind a low, curved wall that ran the length of the room itself, polished granite on top, rough hewn on the sides. It served as both desk and symbolic barrier for the nine people who normally sat behind it, three groups of three people each.
Francis Keldon sat in the center, going silent when they entered the room. To his left was Vincent Cannette, whose cool gaze swung towards them in the hush, and to his right sat a man that Daniel had never seen before. He was dressed in formal robes that contrasted sharply with the Savile Row, worsted wool, three-piece-precision of the other two men. He, too, turned towards the newcomers. Each faction head was flanked by two lesser councilmen with the exception of Keldon, who with Gray’s late arrival, had only one at his side.
Standing at their posts around the room were ten guards in formal dress uniforms, five on either side of the room, spaced down the walls. Their weapons were carried at port arms and glittered with silver rings inlaid all down the length of each rifle. They remained rigid, save for the unwavering tracking of their eyes on the intruders. Nine of them were stone-faced men and women who had a sameness stamped on their features, etched there by years of soul deadening work.
The tenth one was Leland, looking fresh faced and uncertain in their midst. Daniel’s gut twisted when he recognized his friend in the familiar high-collared black coat and jackboots, seeing him for the hostage the council intended him to be.
The front of the room swept outward in both directions to accommodate rows of desks and chairs, fifty to each side. These were empty.
A wide center aisle led to a large open space before the council, where Mr. Gray left the group standing while he strode behind the granite arc to take his place at Keldon’s side and become the ninth council member in attendance. All eyes were on Daniel, Saul, Iyah, and Sika, who now stood alone in the center of the great chamber.
Daniel peered into the Veil for a moment to take stock of the council and physically swayed as the revelation of the council’s raw power ran through him. Veil currents warped and twisted around the three like captured cyclones, their influence pulling the normally stately currents into a tempest.
His stomach dropped and he felt panic at the realization that they were simply beyond him. He had believed that he would be a match for them, that he was like the Founder in the scope and breadth of his power. But the truth was that regardless of what he might someday be, right now he had only a finer control over the Veil, an additional understanding that allowed him to manipulate the intricacies of it. For sheer strength, he may as well have been a child in comparison.
Keldon spoke, his voice comfortably filling the room as though he were addressing his friends over dinner. “Welcome, Daniel. We had expected you a little later, and alone, but I suppose that can’t be helped.”
He didn’t look at Gray, but the criticism was clearly there, causing a nervous shifting of the lesser council members to ripple outward. Except for Gray, of course, who simply gazed straight ahead, unperturbed.
“We on the council have been in private session all day,” continued Keldon, “to discuss the various opportunities and problems that you represent. I don’t mind telling you that we,” he leaned back in his chair conversationally and gestured to either side of himself, “have yet to reach a consensus despite some pretty rigorous debate.
“Now that you have destroyed our only source of Scinte, Mr. Cannette here feels that you should be forced to cooperate using any means necessary. His argument isn’t completely without merit.” He glanced at Iyah. “We’ve already proven that you will do whatever we ask if the right leverage is applied.”
Vincent frowned at Keldon’s bantering tone, but said nothing.
“Mr. Waldgrove, whom I don’t think you’ve met, agrees.”
“And you?” asked Daniel.
Keldon sighed theatrically. “Well, I’ll admit that I was disappointed when you rejected my offer down in the security block. Still, I’m willing to give you one more chance. My conditions are that you return the beacon to Autumn, as you refer to it, and that you give the Guild your full cooperation. In return, we’ll give you a seat on the council, as promised. A gift of wealth, power, and freedom, not to mention a very long life to enjoy it. What do you say?”
“What about my friends? And Doctor Wolternel’s people?”
“Pardoned. All of them. They can rejoin the Guild with no reprisals against them for their actions. Or they can leave and start fresh on any new world they choose. Just put the beacon back and work with us. That’s all we ask.”
“That’s bullshit,” said Saul loudly. “You’ve never let anyone go for any reason. Once Daniel gives you what you want, we’re dead, and we know it. We used to be the hunters, remember? I’ve heard this speech before.”
Anger flickered across Keldon’s features. It was gone so quickly that Daniel wasn’t sure if he actually saw it. “Times change, Mr. Erinbaum, times change. I give you my word that there will be no reprisals. It’s a small price for another Illahi specimen, and one we would be glad to pay. What do you say, Daniel? Do we have a deal?”
His friends could go free. He could save them. The escapees who suffered when Bruce’s plan went wrong could start new lives and try and put the Guild behind them. Bruce and Saul could get out before the things they were forced to do consumed them from the inside. Iyah would never again be subject to rape and torture because of him.
He could grant each and every one of them freedom and safety.
He looked at them. His friends, the council, the guards, into all of their eyes, both calculating and uncaring, determined and resigned. They were expecting him to make a choice, but for once, there wasn’t one to be made. A great weight dropped away as his path narrowed before him. It was both exhilarating and terrifying, like running with your eyes closed, an endless controlled fall. He took a deep breath and felt clear and relaxed for the first time in recent memory.
“That’s a pretty incredible offer, Keldon. Smiles and sunshine all around if I drop the beacon back on Autumn, shot dead on this very floor if I don’t. And all I have to do is condone endless war across all the worlds under Guild control. Oh, and look the other way when it comes time to pick the next crop of victims to be fed to the Illahi and then ground up for my next dose of Scinte.”
Vincent shot up out of his chair and pointed at Daniel. “That’s enough! You don’t question us, you obey! Now, you will return the beacon, or every one of you will die. Right now.” The guards along the walls put stocks to shoulders and sighted down at them. Leland joined in a split second after the rest.
“I don’t think so.” Daniel instantly reached into the Veil and swept a current along the row of rifles along one wall to prepare to snap part of them away—and was shocked to find that he couldn’t pass the current through the weapons. Instead the Veil flowed smoothly around them, as it would a person.
He drew back and looked hard at the rifles. The barrels were ringed with silver bands, each joined by a thin wire that ran down to clip onto the Arc of the wielder, making the gun part of their personal envelope.
Vincent smiled. “We’re not stupid. You left plenty of cut material behind, but never any people. It didn’t take our researchers long to figure out what you were doing. It’s time to surrender. Now.”
“I think you should go,” said Iyah quietly, slipping her hand into his. “Bring the beacon back to Autumn.” She spoke to him while staring defiantly all the while at Vincent.
; “Yeah, Dan, you go on. We’ll be fine,” said Saul. Sika nodded.
Daniel had no illusions about what would happen as soon as he left. Even if they survived the instant hail of gunfire, every single one of the guards on the wall save Leland were full-fledged Protectors, just like Sika and Iyah, and they outnumbered the good guys three to one. And if they survived that, Keldon and Vincent would simply tear them to little pieces by hand. They were offering to sacrifice themselves so that Daniel could escape.
He gave Vincent his answer. “No. We’re leaving. All of us. I’m not taking the beacon anywhere, and you’re not going to pursue us.”
Vincent laughed, a short incredulous bark. “Really? One word from me, and you’ll be missing a large part of your head. The same goes for each every one of your friends. And you’re telling me how it’s going to be?”
At the same time, Keldon said, “Daniel, think about what you’re doing. Work with us. Please.”
Daniel stared at them as the moment stretched thin. One carrot, one stick. Still no shooting. The room was coiled hard on the edge of mayhem like a hound watching a rabbit in the second before it bolts. Daniel stayed perfectly still on the outside, but inside he threw himself wide to embrace his power.
“He’s gathering himself! Kill him!” cried Woldgrove, the Wayguide faction head.
The fact that the man could perceive the current flowing through someone else at a distance registered alarmingly in Daniel’s mind, but he didn’t have time to worry about it.
Pouring everything he had into one convulsive effort, Daniel whipped fine strands of Veil current around the room in a blossoming sphere, their edges shearing through reality as they passed through everything in the room more than ten feet away from Daniel. The tendrils exploded outward and were gone in a moment, shocking an involuntary gasp out of every single person in the room. They felt the strands slide over them, but not through them, just barely held at bay by their subconscious animal will to be whole.
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