“He must have had some device,” I say, shaking. My voice shakes too. “Something that could transport him from place to place.”
“How many more devices does this man possess?” Ernest rises to his feet and offers an arm to his sister. “What power does this man have over us? How can he … how can he say those things so assuredly—that he will create a new world, that he will rule it, that we will … we will fall at his feet?”
“I don’t think we’ll fall at his feet, Ernest,” I say wearily. Both anger and fear have deserted me. I’m hollowed out. “I think we’ll be dead long before this new world comes about. And he knows that; he wouldn’t have told us any of that if he thought we’d survive to tell someone.”
“Perhaps he thought nobody would believe us,” Nell suggests weakly. She leans against her brother for support, pale and terrified. “It doesn’t mean we’re going to die.”
Nell and Ernest have gone by the time I emerge from the house. Two of their guards stayed with us while we searched the rooms. I knew nothing would turn up.
As we climb wearily into the carriage, a man comes running down the street, his arms flailing about. He goes straight for Jeremy and grabs him by his coat lapels.
“Are you his family?” the stranger asks, manic. He shakes Jeremy. A guard steps in to pull him away but he hangs on determinedly. “Are you William’s family?”
“It’s okay,” Jeremy says to the guard. “We’re William’s family. You knew him?”
All strength goes from the man. “I knew him. I made it—that damned thing. I made it and now I can’t take back my actions because it’s gone.”
Jeremy, Carolina and I share a look. My father wasn’t the only person who invented for the Olympiae.
“Come with us,” Jeremy says quietly, “and you can tell us all about it over tea.”
*
When Bennet and I enter the dining room—after apologies and reconciliations—the stranger is devouring a bowl of soup.
“This is George,” Carolina tells us, trying not to look uncomfortable. I sit at one end of the table beside Jeremy while Bennet stands against the wall in between Edward and Joel. Both our eyes are fixed on the man. “George, you remember Branwell from the carriage ride. This is his sister—William’s daughter—Bennet.”
George looks up from his food for a moment, nods to Bennet and me in turn, and returns to the bowl.
Carolina frowns, some sympathy in her eyes. “When was the last time you ate?”
“Three days ago,” he answers, finishing the soup. “I’ve been running since then. Those men … they broke into my home and tried to murder me. I couldn’t believe it. These were my colleagues, my friends.” He shakes his head, some way between furious and sad. “I laid on the floor and acted as if they’d killed me. My injuries are painful but they’re not likely to kill me, so I count myself lucky. As soon as I was sure they believed my death, I began to run—and search for you.”
I lean forward, elbows on the polished table. “You did?”
George glances around the dining room, skittish even when safe. “It’s not easy for a man to seek information and stay hidden at the same time. This morning one of the club members saw me. He chased me for a good few hours, and after he lost me, after my heart stopped trying to throw itself from my chest, I chased him. I followed the bastard all the way to Holborn and that house. When I saw the carriage outside, I knew they were up to something so I waited. I half expected the ground to fall from under my feet—that’s what the Weapon does, I’m sure you know—but it proved stable. And then you emerged.
“As soon as I saw you—” He glances at Jeremy. “I knew you had to be a relative of William’s. And Branwell of course is practically identical to William in his youth. And you know what happened next; you brought me here.”
The question burns inside me but I wait until the moment he stops talking to ask, “What do you mean that’s what the Weapon does?”
George’s eyes widen considerably. “You don’t know its capabilities?”
“No,” Jeremy and Carolina say at the same time. They both have the same hungry, inquisitive glint in their eye. “We don’t know,” Jeremy continues, “but if you could tell us, we would be very grateful.”
“It…” George falters. A faraway look crosses his face. “It destroys. There are two uses—it can be buried beneath the ground’s surface, and the very earth beneath our feet would cave in. Buildings would fall, chaos would ensue.”
“And the other use?” Carolina presses.
“If left above the ground, and powered with something of immense energy, it would burn the world—beyond recognition. People, buildings, rivers, cities, all signs of life—everything in its radius would be scorched.”
“And you invented such a thing?” Jeremy says angrily. “What possessed you? What is wrong with you? Are you a part of this new world as well as everyone else in the Olympiae Club? What did they promise you—wealth, status—?” Jeremy stands, heaving with anger, and I’m guessing before he can throttle the man, he storms from the room. With a look of complete loathing at George, Carolina runs after him, leaving the entire dining room stunned.
“What good did you think would come of inventing it?” I ask quietly. I can’t process what I’m feeling—disgust, confusion, apprehension, anticipation.
“I didn’t.” George laughs humourlessly. “You misunderstand. You think I’m like your father. You think I used my genius to create things. I did not. I was a banker, and I was completely happy with my life. My own father recognised that I had a brain for creation and told me to keep it secret. I think he must have known that a genius mind will always be exploited.
“The Olympiae came to me two years ago. They said my father was indebted to them, and that I, as his eldest son, had inherited the debt. I ignored them for a time, but then my youngest son died of blood poisoning and the Olympiae sent me a message the following day promising that the same would happen to the rest of my family if I didn’t cooperate.
“So you see,” he says, looking at me with a bleak expression, “I had very little choice but to follow their instructions.”
“What about my father?” Bennet whispers, coming to stand behind my chair, gripping the wooden back. “Was he … threatened?”
“Not that I’m aware of. He blindly trusted the Olympiae, and not because he knew what they planned and wanted a part of it for himself—because they believe what they’re doing is the right thing to do. And that was enough for William.”
She takes a tight breath. “So he helped them...”
“Because they needed help. And he could give it.”
“And then they killed him,” I say, looking at the whorls in the table, “because he had outlived his usefulness.” I finally settle on one cohesive emotion—hollow grief.
“No,” George says, and for a second when his eyes meet mine, a smile ghosts across his face. “They killed him because he dared to say no to them. Once William found out what their plan, he’d have nothing more to do with them. He assisted them because he thought he was helping, but when he knew they weren’t the kind of men he’d thought, he was brave enough to walk away. Not a single one of us, other than William, ever was.”
“He told us he was working for the government,” I say, cold on the inside. I cannot begin to comprehend my father’s secrets.
“That’s what the club tell everybody when they first enrol in their employment. They even have official-looking papers. People trust their government to do the right thing, so they rarely question when a supposed branch has a dubious request. And of course the monetary benefit is enough to keep most doubts from growing.”
“If their employees think they’re working for government officials, how did William know about the club and their motives?” This comes from Joel, standing tall beside my sister, anger in every taut line of his body. I wish I still felt angry. “He found out about them somehow, didn’t he?”
“No.” George runs a hand down
his face. “Norcross told him. He’s the one in charge of recruitment here. The thing about The Olympiae Club is they employ people with the sole intention of inducting them into their ranks—so after a while they assess their employees and single out those they think are useful to them and discard those who won’t fit. William was one of those singled out. They asked him to be a part of the Olympiae, told him what that entailed, and he declined. He resigned from their employment shortly after that.”
I laugh bitterly. “Resigned.”
“How do we stop it?” The words erupt from Joel as if he can’t stop them. “The Golden siblings said their mother could disable the Weapon—if she could, then so can we.”
George looks at Joel—a long, sad look. The place where hope used to reside in me is a gutted wasteland. “That is indeed a solution to this problem. You find the Weapon and disable it so it can no longer hurt anyone. Reclaim your Lux with it. Once it’s disabled, you’re able to destroy it.”
“But,” I prompt.
“But the Weapon is no longer just the Weapon. If it were as simple as that, I’d have attempted to get it back myself. But the club anticipated this. I’m surprised they haven’t let you find one of them to fool you into thinking you’ve halted their plan. The truth is there’s not only one Weapon. The device has been duplicated. I wish I knew how many times—it could be ten, it could be hundreds.” He avoids eye contact. “And I’m sad to tell you that the Lux will have also been duplicated. So there’s really nothing you can do to stop this, unless you have some way to discover where their new headquarters is and gain access.”
“So it’s hopeless?” Joel’s shoulders drop.
“I’m sorry, but yes. It is entirely hopeless.”
My mind spins fast, making connections. “What if I do?” I say.
Unless you have some way to discover where their new headquarters is and gain access. But I do, don’t I? Those bracelets my father left in the box in his attic. They will take me wherever I need to go—they will take me wherever the Olympiae is keeping these devices.
“Tell me how to disable the Weapon,” I say, the aching emptiness of my soul rapidly filling with hope and determination.
“I do not see how that will—”
“I don’t care.” I’m sure I look feverish, halfway out of my seat with bright, wild eyes. I can feel my heart beat in the hollow of my throat and I take a deep breath. This could fail—it will fail. But it also might work. Might. It’s so much more than I had ten minutes ago. “Just tell me how to disable it. What harm can it do?”
“What are you thinking?” Bennet lays a hand on my shoulder. I wince as her hand comes down right above the cut and she draws her hand back sharply. “I’m so sorry. I forgot. Are you alright?”
“I’m fine, Benny.” It hurts all the time, but there I go with the lies again. I narrow my eyes on George who has begun to look uncomfortable. He won’t be here for much longer; I can sense the urge to flee, to hide, in him. “Tell me how to disable it.”
“There’s a metal panel on the underside of it. Beneath are a number of wires and connections and a place for the Lux to sit. Below the Lux, I installed a safety mechanism. It’s a gold lever-type thing. Pull it and the Weapon will no longer be able to function. Detach the lever completely if at all possible and the thing will be rendered useless to the Olympiae for good.”
“Thank you,” I breathe, and jump out of my seat.
“Bran, where are you going?” Bennet shouts as I make for the hallway, trailing after me. She runs down the corridor, shadowing me to my room. Joel follows too. I stop, looking at their confused faces.
“I know how to stop this,” I whisper.
Joel sort of … stills. “How?”
“I can get to the place they’re keeping the Lux and the Weapon. I’m such an idiot for not thinking of it before but—”
“Weapons,” Joel corrects me, his soberness clashing with my sudden frenzy of hope.
I look at them both, waiting for the hope to catch, waiting for them to understand. “I have a way to get to them, and now we know how to disable them. I can stop all of this!”
“That’s madness,” Bennet murmurs, but I see it in her eyes—she wants to believe it’s possible. “How on Earth can you know where to go?”
“Come with me,” I say and I grip her arm, towing her down the steps to my basement. Joel sighs through his nose and comes with us.
I leave Bennet and Joel in the middle of my room and dig under a loose floorboard for the box of my father’s things, carefully hidden. When I open the wooden box and scatter its contents across my bed. I feel Joel and my sister step up behind me.
I take the smaller metal box that contains the bracelets and remove the letter, handing it to Bennet. Jitteriness fills me, the need to act, the need to go.
“What is this?” Her breath whines on its exhale as she recognises our father’s handwriting. “Why didn’t you show me this?” Anger—hurt.
I lower my eyes. “He told me to protect you. I was protecting you.”
“By lying to me?”
“Will you read what it says?”
She does, glowering at the page. Joel reads over her shoulder.
“Is this even possible?” he asks when he’s finished.
“Is what the Weapon does possible?” I reply irately. “I believe what the letter says.”
“These bracelets…” Benny whispers.
“They will take us to the Lux, and to the Olympiae, and we can stop them.”
“We?” Bennet laughs, a sound that’s both sharp and bitter.
I look from her incredulous expression to the silver box, nervous. “There are two bangles and our names are engraved on them. We’re meant to do this together.”
She turns her back on me and inspects the pile of books still discarded on my floor from the night I failed to hide the inventions. “What makes you think I’d go with you?”
I turn to Joel for help but he’s closed up. He doesn’t even look at me.
“They’re meant for both of us, Benny. We’re supposed to look after each other. I won’t … I won’t leave you behind.”
“So we go to where the bracelets take us—what then? What are we meant to do when any number of The Olympiae Club finds us? They could quite easily kill us, Branwell. Have you even thought about that?”
I hadn’t thought about it—because I haven’t had to. “They’re going to kill everyone anyway,” I say, defeated. She’s not coming with me, and despite my words, I’m not sure I can ignore this. I would go alone; I’d have to. I can’t ignore a way to fix this. What person would I be if I did? Someone my father would be ashamed of.
Bennet turns around and, wordlessly, embraces me.
“Why are you—?”
She sighs, her head on my shoulder. Despite my urge to act, my fear to leave her behind, I relax as she holds me. “Because sometimes I forget you’re grieving too, and you’re still a child.”
“So are you,” I retort automatically.
“Yes, but … I always expect you to be strong for the both of us, but the truth is you’re as young as I am. And neither of us is coping very well with trying to act older.”
“But what about the bangles and—”
“And I’m coming with you of course.”
Shock thrums in my blood; I look at her with wide eyes. I’m going to cry.
“Bennet, I don’t think—” Joel says but she silences him with a look.
Benny looks at me closely. “You’re going to go running off on this mad quest whether I come with you or not, and I’d rather be there to keep you in line.”
I struggle to believe this—she’s coming with me, she’s coming with me. “And if we’re caught? If something happens to one of us?”
“You said yourself that we’ll die no matter what we do. We should act while we have the option. And I don’t want to die hating myself for being selfish, for not even trying to stop what’s coming.”
“How do you
know that it’s safe to use those things?” Joel asks, his eyes on the silver box.
“Our father wouldn’t leave something dangerous to us,” I say, though he does of course have a point. “He would know they were safe.”
But Joel doesn’t take notice of me; his eyes are fixed on Bennet. “Do you think it’s a good idea?”
“I think it’s an idea,” she answers carefully, “and otherwise we do not have one.” She sighs, her eyes gentling. “Joel, I can’t live with myself if I let this chance go.”
“And I can’t live with myself if I let you go off into certain death,” he shouts. I watch his words dawn upon him. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—I—wish you the best of luck on your journey.” He inclines his head and then vaults up the stairs before me or Bennet can utter even a syllable.
“How do they work?” Bennet asks me quickly. Urgently. “The bracelets—do you know how they function?”
I nod, worried as she becomes frenetic. “We just put them on. Are you okay?”
“Good. Yes. Don’t do anything until I get back.”
“Why? Where are you going?”
“To pack.” She gives into the urgency I see in her and disappears up the stone stairs without another word.
“To pack,” I repeat to myself, my eyes on the silver box. As if we don’t both know she’s gone after Joel.
***
Honour
17:05. 01.10.2040. Forgotten London, Shepherd’s Bush Zone.
We’re already in Lyric Square. Horatia made sure we were there early so we could get a front spot. She’s practically bursting with energy and excitement. Her eyes never stray from one Official stood in the heart of the square. I can’t tell if she’s scared of him or attracted to him, but she never stops looking.
The people around us are a combination of bored, anticipating and begrudging. I’m more of the latter. I don’t want to be here, but since I have no choice, I’m stood with everyone else, waiting for this thing to start and finish. I’m worn out. My fingers are stinging, my toes numb. This is the last place I want to be.
A new wave of military rolls in at ten to six and they stand in a row under the screen. The screen itself is huge, so big I can’t see it all.
The Forgotten Page 15
