by Doug Welch
“I knew that Paris was physically unable to reveal facts about the People and the Council,” Elizabeth said, “but this is the first I’ve heard about the actual mechanism involved. What if the Adept doesn’t agree?”
“Then the Council burns out his or her brain,” Grieg said with a grim expression.
Elizabeth’s expression turned from revulsion to horror. “You can’t be serious.”
Grieg shrugged. “We’ve learned from past experience, Beth, that a rogue is a danger both to the People and to the Normals. They usually set themselves as some kind of religious prophet or seer. They can cause enormous suffering and conflict in the world, not to mention the harm they can cause to the People.”
Paris noticed Elizabeth’s lips compress but she didn’t say anything more. He’d likely hear about it tonight.
“You mentioned something else,” Paris said.
Grieg put his hand in his pocket and withdrew a small plastic bag. “We found this.” He tossed it to Paris.
Studying the contents, Paris saw two light gold-colored contact lenses. Looking at Grieg and pointing at the one-way glass, he asked, “He was wearing these?”
Grieg nodded. “Your supposed twin’s eyes are brown.”
Chapter 22
Who’s Your Mother?
Elizabeth’s mind whirled with this new information. If the twin’s eyes weren’t the same color as Paris’, it might signal a break in the genetic chain. She needed to find out everything there was to know about this man’s parents, particularly the woman who gave birth to him.
“Grieg? Does this place have an internet-connected computer with email capabilities?”
Grieg shrugged. “I guess so. Doesn’t everyplace have one? I’m not much of a computer person. I leave that to the staff. Check with the guard outside. He’ll know where it’s located.”
Paris cast a quizzical glance at her. “What’s up, Beth?”
“It’s just a hunch,” she replied. “I need to get something from home. Something I haven’t told you about –yet.”
Exiting the gallery, she approached the guard. “Is there a computer here that has an internet connection?”
“Yes, Mrs. Fox. It’s in the office, the door just behind me. The guard there can help you use it. I’ll buzz you in.”
Elizabeth opened the indicated door and saw a room containing multiple surveillance monitors. They were attended by a guard who sat in a swivel chair. Looking up he said, “How can I help you, Mrs. Fox?”
Not surprised the guard knew her name, apparently they been well informed, Elizabeth replied, “I need to connect to my House website and I also need access to a color printer.
Indicating an empty swivel chair, the guard entered a password.
Waving a hand at the keyboard, he said, “It’s all yours.” Pointing to a corner of the room he added, “The printer’s over there.”
Elizabeth sat in the empty chair and logged on to the Family’s website. It had been created by Tom Bradley and was one of the most secure websites in the world. She entered her password and browsed the stored files, searching for the one she sought. Finding it, she opened it and clicked the print icon.
Rolling the chair next to the printer, she waited impatiently until the picture emerged. Snatching the paper from the printer, she logged off the website and rushed from the office throwing a brief, “Thanks.” over her shoulder to the guard. She entered the observation gallery and joined Paris and the others.
Paris glanced at the paper she held in her hand. His face reflected many questions but Elizabeth shook her head. “Later,” she said.
Addressing Grieg, she asked, “When can we talk to the twin?”
He turned to Hiram. “What about it? Have they broken the imprinting yet?”
The Hiram stirred as if waking from a trance. “Partially. The compulsions run deep. I don’t think he can ever be considered trustworthy, but he’s shown a surprising willingness to cooperate. I think we’ve broken his dependence on the Borgia House, but questions about their activities may cause the imprinting to block his responses.”
Elizabeth broke in. “I don’t intend to ask him anything about the House, at least not directly. Can he answer questions about his past?”
Hiram shrugged. “I don’t see that his past should be an issue unless it reflects on activities the Borgias blocked.”
“I need to question him alone,” Elizabeth said. “You can observe from the gallery but I need to be the only one in the room.”
“Wait a minute,” Paris protested. “I’m not comfortable with that. We don’t know how he’ll respond or react to you.”
“I agree with Paris,” Grieg said. “It’s too much of a risk.”
Aware the truth of her time with the twin might upset Paris, Elizabeth nevertheless plunged ahead. “He slept in the same bed I did for two nights and never once touched me. If he’d planned to hurt me he had ample opportunity.”
Paris shook his head. “No! If this is the same man as the one in Italy, then he’s the one who raped Audrey. I won’t tolerate it Beth. If he did something to you I’d go insane.”
Elizabeth sighed. “Okay. You and me. But alone. No Adepts, no guards. You can stop him if he tries something, but I get to question him without interference. Is it a deal?”
Paris saw something in her attitude. He nodded. “Okay, you win, but I can’t be responsible for my reactions if he tries something.”
“I don’t like it,” Grieg said.
“This is important,” Elizabeth said. “It affects our Family’s future.”
Grieg sighed and pointed to a door at the side of the gallery. “Through there. And I hope you know what you’re doing.”
Elizabeth grim smile answered back. “As do I, Grieg.”
Beyond the door, a single step down led to the entrance to the interrogation room. The two Adepts and an additional two guards stood silently waiting. Elizabeth opened the door and walked into the room, followed by Paris.
The twin looked up at them and upon seeing Paris, broke out in a sad smile. “Hello brother.”
Paris didn’t reply. He walked to a corner of the room and leaned against it with his arms folded.
Elizabeth sat in the chair opposite the twin placing the paper face down on the table. “What’s your name?” she asked.
The twin leaned forward and crossed his arms, leaning on the table. “Brian, Brian Donnelley. And you are Elizabeth. I see you’ve had the baby. Was it a boy or girl?”
Elizabeth ignored the question. “Why did you impersonate my husband?”
Brian struggled to make his mouth form the answer but failed. He expelled his breath on a whoosh and replied, “I can’t answer that. But I never intended to hurt you.”
Elizabeth paused for a moment. “Very well. Perhaps there are some questions you can answer.” She turned over the paper. “Have you seen this woman before?”
Brian took one look at it and answered, “Yes.”
“What’s her name?”
Brian struggled. His head dropped to the table. “I can’t answer that.”
“Is she your mother?” Elizabeth asked.
Brian’s head snapped up. “God, no! What makes your think she’s my mother?”
Surprised at Brian’s answer, Elizabeth struggled to maintain her composure. “What can you say about her?”
“Just what some of the others said,” Brian replied. “They called her the Succubus. They said she could create lust in a rock.”
“Did she ever do that to you?” Elizabeth asked.
A look of anguish twisted Brian’s face. He struggled but shook his head. “I can’t answer that.”
“Very well,” Elizabeth said. “Did you know your mother?”
Brian looked puzzled. “Of course. Doesn’t everyone?”
“Can you describe her?” Elizabeth asked.
Brian pointed to Paris. “She looked a little like Paris and a lot like Alex. She had the prettiest eyes. I felt cheated when my eyes tur
ned out brown, but that was the color of my father’s eyes.”
“Do you have a picture of her?” Elizabeth asked.
“I think my father does. When the House took me they wouldn’t let me take anything with me.” Brian replied.
“You talk about your mother in the past tense,” Elizabeth said. “Is she still living?”
Brian shook his head. “She died in an automobile accident along with my twin brother.”
Paris gasped. It was the first reaction he’d shown since Elizabeth’s interrogation of Brian began.
Brian turned to look at him. “That’s right, our brother is dead,” he said.
“You seem quite certain Paris is your brother,” Elizabeth said.
“My mother said we had siblings,” Brian said. “She told us, my brother and I, we were the part of the People. She said it like it was spelled with a capital ‘p’. I didn’t truly understand it until the House took me from my father. I was sixteen at the time. My dad had a hard time coping with the accident. He loved my mother more than you can imagine or I can describe, and the death of both my mother and brother drove him over the edge. He couldn’t summon the energy to do anything. When the House approached him, promising to take care of me and support him, he agreed willingly.”
“What was you mother’s name, Brian?” Elizabeth asked.
“Rebecca.” he replied.
For the first time Paris joined in the questioning. “It sounds like you knew a great deal about the people at an early age.”
“Mother told us,” Brian responded. “She said she’d been asked to do something for the House but when she met our father she fell in love with him and never looked back. She also warned us we’d see some things other people couldn’t and we were to not reveal it or be afraid of it.”
“What can you tell us about the time you spent with the Borgias?” Paris asked.
“Little,” Brian replied. “When I try it hurts too much.”
“Well what can you say?”
“At first they treated me like royalty,” Brian replied, “but when they found I wasn’t an Adept that all changed.”
“Changed? As in how?”
Brian turned away and compressed his lips together.
Paris pressed him. “Did you have sex with Audrey Warren?”
Another anguished look marred Brian’s features. Tears formed and ran down his cheeks but his lips remained firmly shut.
Elizabeth interrupted Paris’ questioning. “If your parents knew you’d raped a young woman how would they feel?”
Brian’s voice was almost inaudible. “They’d be horrified, especially my mother. She taught me to respect women.”
Paris opened his mouth to ask another question but Elizabeth cut him off. “I think we’ve learned enough here.” She shot a warning look at him. “Don’t you agree?”
He seemed reluctant to quit, but seeing her determination, he acquiesced and nodded. “Yes but I think we’ll be back. I’ve a few more questions to ask.”
Rising from her seat, Elizabeth gestured to Paris. Closing the door to the interrogation room they went back to the gallery.
Out of earshot of the Adepts and guards, Paris whispered. “Who’s the woman in the picture?”
“Not now,” Elizabeth whispered back. “I’ll tell you in the privacy of our room.”
Upon entering the gallery, Grieg spoke first. “What was that all about?”
“House business,” Paris said. “We need to know what happened to Audrey’s baby.”
Grieg nodded. “We’ll work on him some more. At least to the point he’s able to supply more details. What do you want to do with your other guest?”
Paris rubbed his chin. “Bernardo? I’d forgotten about him. Were you able to free up his memories?”
Grieg nodded. “I don’t know how much help he will be. He’s quite eccentric and terrified of the People.”
“Leave it to me,” Paris replied. “I think I know how he’ll be useful.”
I’m tired,” Elizabeth said. “It’s a long climb back to our room and I need to feed Dorri. Paris, can you assist me?”
Upon arriving back at the bedroom, Elizabeth checked her daughter and found both her and the servant babysitting her fast asleep. Deciding she’d feed Dorri later, she waked the servant and dismissed her.
As soon as the servant departed, Paris said, “Beth, I think we need to talk. Who’s the woman in the picture?”
Elizabeth walked over to the place Paris sat, and scooted an empty chair closer.
Leaning toward him, she handed him the photograph. “That’s a picture of your birthmother.”
Paris examined the picture. “Impossible,” he retorted. “She bears no resemblance to me or Alex. How could this woman be our birthmother?”
“Audrey’s father had the picture,” Elizabeth said. “He’s positive it’s Sybil. He should know. He was seduced by her like your father was. Now I think we know why.”
“You mean because Brian called her a Succubus? That’s superstition. Maybe she’s an Adept that can bend men to her will, but she’s not some mythological character.”
“I agree,” Elizabeth said. “But Audrey said Sybil was present each time Brian had sex with her. That’s too coincidental to ignore. Maybe she can incite lust. Something has to account for normally sober men acting like sex maniacs.”
“Well what do you make of Brian saying that Sybil was not his mother?” Paris asked. “It blows your whole surrogate theory out of the water. Either the woman gave birth to all of us and Brian’s lying, or he’s thrown us new curve ball.”
“I have to admit that one’s got me stumped, but there must be an explanation. You weren’t delivered by the stork. I need to check Brian’s DNA. By the way, who’s Bernardo?”
“I met him in Italy. He has the intense attention of the Borgias,” Paris replied. “He worked for them. Some software he created caused them to tamper with his mind, and they’ve been watching him ever since. It might amount to nothing but it could be a break-through. Anyway I’ve granted him the Family’s protection.”
Elizabeth chuckled. “At the rate you add them, we’ll have every stray Shadow in the world concentrated in Jamestown.”
Paris shook his head. “Bernardo’s not a Shadow. He’s a genius, a computer scientist. Even if he doesn’t know anything about the Borgia’s plans, he’ll still be a valuable addition to the Family. He can work with Tom Bradley.”
“When do I get to meet this prodigy?” Elizabeth asked.
“Tomorrow morning,” he replied. “The rest of the day is for you to relax and recover. How are you feeling?”
Elizabeth shrugged. “Like a woman who’s just given birth, a little uncomfortable, but very content. Speaking of the baby, I have to nurse her.” She rose from the chair and walked over to the cradle.
From his vantage point, Paris watched as she woke Dorri and settled in a nearby chair. Upon Elizabeth baring her breast, Dorri immediately sought it and began feeding.
Curious as to what passed between mother and daughter at this moment, Paris cast his mind-glow in their direction, encompassing both of them. He sensed that the link that had formed between Elizabeth and Dorri during Dorri’s birth had grown stronger and the more Dorri nursed, the deeper it became.
Desiring to become part of their bond, he insinuated his mind-glow into the link, forming a three-way bond. His initial surprise at the depth of Dorri’s newly formed mind was overshadowed by the ease with which it locked onto his.
Dorri broke contact with Elizabeth’s breast and turned her head. Her eyes focused on him.
Elizabeth gasped. “That shouldn’t happen, not with a newborn.” Regaining her composure, Elizabeth added, “You’re distracting her, Paris. Let her feed.
Paris’s efforts to extract his mind from the link were thwarted by Dorri’s stubborn insistence on maintaining it. He tried to make the withdrawal as gentle as he could, reassuring Dorri by calming turbulent areas of her mind, but even as he was succes
sful, he could still feel the connection linger.
Shaken Paris said, “I don’t think I’ll try that again.”
After Dorri’s attention returned to her breast, Elizabeth stared at her baby with a look of wonder. “We’re all three venturing into strange territory, Paris, and I don’t know how this will affect her development. A newborn shouldn’t have that kind of control over its body. We’d better take this slow.”
Paris nodded, silently agreeing. He could still sense a tenuous thread of the connection but rather than it being something to alarm him, it warmed him. He sensed an overwhelming surge of love returned by his instinctive protectiveness, the bond between parent and child strengthening.
Dazed, he crossed the room and stared at the still form of his daughter. The only indication she wasn’t sleeping was the steady motion of her lips as she drank her mother’s milk. Looking up at Elizabeth he saw the same look of amazement he knew was reflected in his face.
“I think it’s too late,” he said.
Chapter 23
Night Dangers
Paris dreamed. In his dream he saw his daughter as a grown woman. To describe her beauty taxed the English language and rendered it inadequate. She glowed with an inner loveliness that no language could possibly depict.
Dressed in a sheer white gown that draped her feet, she stood amidst a patch of emerald grass, an island surrounded by a vast plain of wildflowers. The cloudless sky glowed with an iridescent blue that could never have originated on earth.
Breaking her stare at something in the distance, she turned to look at him. “The journey’s only beginning, Father, there are wonders yet to come. But they will never be realized unless you wake. Please Father, wake up.”
Paris jolted awake, momentarily disoriented. Awareness of the support of the soft pillow that cradled his head and the warmth of Elizabeth’s nearby body returned but slowly, as though his senses were occupied elsewhere.
Keeping his body still, he cast his mind-glow around the room, searching for anything out of place.