Josh looked over at Wisdom. His father still had not reacted to him. Somehow, Wisdom was invisible. “I talked with a man named Wisdom. More importantly, I talked with these things called Edimmu. Sometimes they look like humans with wings, but they’re really more like lizard people. And they say they know you. I mean, I know they know you. That’s how they know me. The only thing is I don’t know how you know them. I don’t know why they respect you, like you’re their boss or…Oh.”
Richard folded his hands together on his lap. “What is it you think you know, son? You think that maybe I’m a member of this Council of Peacocks and I’ve hired these Edimmus for some reason?”
“Dad, please…”
“No, don’t hold anything back, son. I’m really curious now. What else do you think you know?”
Wisdom leaned forward and whispered into Josh’s ear. “Ask him about Propates.”
“Dad,” Josh said after a moment. “I know about Propates. I saw the factory and the demons. I just don’t know why. Tell me what’s going on. What’s the connection between the Orpheans, the Edimmu and this Council of Peacocks?”
His father lowered his head. A smile crossed his lips unlike any expression Josh had ever seen on his father’s face. The light from the nearby lamp flickered and dimmed, the shadows bled forward, filling the room with animated darkness. It was just like back in Quebec. Suddenly, despite appearances, his father was really not his father anymore.
From behind Richard’s face came a strange voice. “Wisdom, you should know better than pulling a stunt like this. I should fry the kid’s brain just to teach you a lesson.”
Wisdom squared his shoulders and squinted his eyes. “Propates, is that you, you little snake?”
“Careful with the name-calling, Wisdom. My patience is very thin nowadays.” The image of Josh’s father jumped, twisted and changed, as if someone had changed channels on a television. There was a different man in bed with his mother now, a man with shoulder-length black hair and dark, Mediterranean features. His eyes shone neon blue, like a fire was trapped in his skull. “You’re making it very difficult for me to stay civil, you know.”
“Civil?” Wisdom flicked back his cloak to free his arms, a motion that held such violence in it Josh thought instantly of blood flying from a bullet wound. “If you had any idea what I’ve been through recently, you would realize how incredibly civil I’ve been. I think you’ve forgotten who I am. But then, you seem to also forget who you are.”
Propates snapped his fingers and the bedroom disappeared. He now stood, legs spread in a defiant stance, dressed in a double-breasted black suit with a neon orange tie. In his hands was a pitchfork, orange flames dancing along the tines. “I know exactly who I am, Wisdom. I’m your son. I am what you made me, just as you’re what your father made you. Despite evidence to the contrary, I believe deep down you are a reasonable man. Let’s call a truce, shall we?”
Wisdom gave a sort of short cough that sounded like laughter. “That would be a ‘No’. I’ve seen the future. It’s time for me to stop you once and for all. So why don’t you head home, get a good night’s sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow. Oh, and for the record, the pitchfork is a bit much.”
Wisdom waved his hand before him, like he was wiping frost from a window and...
***
Josh sat up in bed, a scream of shock in his throat. He pressed his knuckles against his forehead. Whatever Wisdom had done, throwing him out of the dream like that, it left him with a killer headache. He sat there rubbing his head for a long time before he was able to lie back down.
No matter what he did, he couldn’t force himself to go back to sleep.
***
Wisdom came back to his body with a jolt.
‘How did he do that?” He wiped sweat from his forehead. “I never taught him how to walk in the Dreaming. When did he get that powerful?”
Only the sound of Echo’s deep breaths prevented him from flying into a rage. He looked down at her body, saw the peaceful expression on her face and wondered if everything he had done would be enough. Could he stop Propates from killing her?
He slipped out of the covers and went to this closet. He grabbed the first suit his hands fell on and left the bedroom. Getting dressed in there might wake her. He would get dressed in his office upstairs. Then he would spend a few hours calming down. After that, he was going to shatter every bone in Propates’ body.
Chapter Thirty-One
The sun had been up for some time. Josh stayed under the covers, unwilling to move. He found it hard to focus on anything. His joints ached from hours of twisting and tossing in bed. Still, it was warm under the sheets and his room looked cold. Pallid red light filtered in through the tinted windows and the shadows seemed far too solid for his liking. Something was going to happen today, something that would make the horror in the Laurentians pale in comparison. So he stayed in bed for a long time. He knew once he got up, events would start rolling toward an ending.
God only knew what kind of end was waiting for him.
Eventually he surrendered and threw back the covers. He knew they were no real protection from the things waiting for him. After last night, he realized there really was no place where he was beyond being touched by others. Not even in his dreams.
He walked to the bathroom, stripped and turned on the shower. He kept the water cold, hoping it would help him shake off the sleepiness under his skin. He stayed under the stream of water for about twenty minutes. Only when his teeth started chattering did he turn off the nozzle and step out. He dried off and wrapped a large white towel around his waist and went to the dressers to decide what to wear.
On top of one of the dressers was a jewelry box. He opened it and pursed his lips at what he found. There were dozens of gold and silver rings with different types of jeweled settings, at least ten different chains and four different watches. While his family had never lacked for money, they did not have the kind of wealth Jan’s family had. Yet these pieces of jewelry spoke of wealth on a completely different scale. Josh was not the type to steal, but, if he was, he could probably pawn off one of the diamond-rimmed Rolexes and live comfortably for a year or two. There were two of them, one with a platinum wristband; the other had alternating rows of platinum and diamond studs.
“Is every room here equipped like this?” Just how rich was Wisdom, anyway?
He decided on a silver Movado watch. Though not a cheap watch, it was the least expensive he could choose. The thought of losing or damaging any of the other watches tied his stomach up in knots.
He was just slipping the watch on when he noticed a dark blur over his shoulder. He spun, expecting to see shadows and wings. Instead, his eyes focused on Jared. He started to relax, his face breaking into a smile. Then, slowly, the smile died. There was something about the look in the young boy’s eyes, the way he stood. The way he repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fists.
The way the light slid away from him and shadows pooled around his feet.
***
David stood in front of the vending machine in the lunch room trying to decide between a chocolate bar and a bag of chips when the feeling hit him. He took a deep breath and looked around. The corridor outside the lunchroom was empty. It was still too early for most of the staff to be here. So far the only other sign of life he’d seen was Garnet. She was dressed in a form-fitting emerald-green suit. She smiled at him as she passed by, making a comment about meeting up with Wisdom.
‘Something is wrong,’ he thought. He turned his back on the vending machine and went to the doorway. He looked up and down the corridor but there was no sign of anyone. He shook his head and tried to get back to his hunger, but the feeling would not go away. It reminded him of the prom, back when he'd had the sudden impression of Ramona cheating on him in the parking lot. He walked back to the vending machine and decided on a chocolate bar. He bent down to retrieve it when Todd and Jessica rushed into the lunchroom.
“Where’s the fire?” he a
sked as he unwrapped the Big Turk.
“Quiet!” Todd spoke in a whisper. His hair was uncombed and wild, and he was still dressed in a pair of blue silk pajamas. There was a nearly-identical pair in David’s room.
David started to speak again, but Todd just raised his open hand in the universal signal for ‘Wait’. A moment later a Chinese man in a dark blue suit passed by the doorway. He barely paused to look up at Todd. Jessica, also still dressed in her pajamas, bit her nails and paced back and forth. Todd watched the man disappear from view. Only then did he turn back to David and lower his hand.
“What the hell’s going on?” David asked.
Jessica stopped pacing and looked up at him. “Can’t you feel it? God, why do you have to be such a newbie? I wish Amy was here instead of you. I wouldn’t have to explain everything to her.”
“You know, where I come from they wait till after breakfast before they start insulting people. Why don’t you….?”
“Quiet! Both of you.” Todd pushed Jessica further into the lunchroom so their voices would not carry so far. “We’re in enough trouble as it is. Last thing we need is for Wisdom to know I’ve been playing psychic detective. See, I woke up this morning and everything just felt, I don’t know, wrong somehow. So I took a quick peek into Wisdom’s mind.”
“You did what?” David felt his mouth go dry and knew there was no way he was going to be able to eat the chocolate bar now. “You can do that?”
Jessica started pacing again. “Well, obviously he can do it or he wouldn’t have just done it. Loser. Keep up, will you?”
“Again with the no-rude rule. In case you forgot, I’m not the heroic type. I am not above hitting little girls, you know.”
“Please, keep quiet! Jessica, behave yourself. He obviously has no idea what’s going on.”
“What is going on?” David found it hard to concentrate on the drama being played out before him. Something kept drawing his attention away. He found it hard to focus on anything.
Jessica cupped a hand to her mouth and whispered as if she did not want anyone to overhear. “Todd thinks Wisdom’s gone crazy.”
“I did not say that!” Todd realized how loud he was, moved to within a few feet of David and continued at a barely audible volume. “I didn’t even think that. Remember, be careful what you think around here. Having said that, I can feel him, Wisdom. He’s all over the place. His anger, actually I don’t even think anger is the right word. It’s like the kind of rage you see in caged tigers, when you just know they would rip you to shreds if it wasn’t for the bars keeping them in.”
“So how is that different from yesterday?”
Jessica walked over to him and punched him in the stomach. “Stop being stupid. Maybe we should have gone to Josh instead.”
“Don’t do that again.” David resisted the urge to smack her upside the head, and then decided there was no reason to resist. He slapped the back of her head, not hard, but enough to set her ponytail swinging. “And if you want to go see blondie, be my guest. Let him be all heroic and noble.”
Jessica, her face turning steadily red, raised her fist again. Todd grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her away from David. “We don’t have time for this. I’m glad you two have bonded so well, but you can act like brother and sister later. We are going to see Josh, but you were on the way to him so we thought we’d come get you first.”
“Come on, Todd, let’s just leave the baby alone.”
“Jessica, enough!” Todd’s voice rose above a whisper again.
Behind them, someone cleared their throat.
***
Josh was confused. “Jared, what are you doing in here?”
Jared’s upper lip twitched and the light in the room dimmed ever further. “I don’t see what’s so special about you. But Propates says you can’t be allowed to stay here anymore. He says you’re dangerous and I have to bring you in. You don’t look so dangerous to me, though.”
Josh licked his lips and backed up. He quickly searched the room, looking for a weapon. Then he saw it, exactly where it was last night. Now he just had to make his way over to it before….
Jared rolled his eyes. “Idiot. I am a mind reader, you know?” He looked over at the letter opener on a nearby desk. The sharp blade jumped into the air and flew toward Josh. Josh threw himself down and rolled back into the bathroom, losing the towel in the process. He got to his feet and closed the door just as Jared approached it. Luckily for him, he was able to get the lock in place before Jared could reach the handle.
Josh backed away from the door and stared at the handle. For a moment everything was completely still and silent. Then, with a small popping sound, the handle dropped off the door and landed on the tiled floor with a clink.
“If there was ever time for a miracle,” Josh said, “this would be it.”
***
“Mr. Ross?” The Chinese man had returned. He stood just outside the lunchroom and David was now fully aware of a small protrusion under his suit jacket that could only be a gun. David looked back at the other two. Jessica put a finger to her lips and Todd just shook his head.
“Answer him,” Todd said.
“What?” David asked.
“Just answer him. I’ll take care of the rest.”
David turned back to the Chinese man and smiled. “Yes. I’m Mr. Ross. Can I help you?”
“I heard voices.” The man’s voice was dark with strength and menace. It left David feeling like he was back in school and being sent to the principal’s office. The Chinese man slipped into the lunchroom and looked around. “Where are they?”
“Where are who?” David stared at Todd. He stood exactly where he had been, right hand pressed to his forehead, left hand held out before him, fingers stretched and palm pressed outwards. But the guard’s eyes did not seem to land on him.
“I saw them when I passed by before. The other Anomalies. Where are they?”
David shrugged and tried to look innocent. He also tried to keep his eyes from straying to the other two. He had never been a very good liar. “Oh, them. They left. Don’t know where they are now. Really. But there’s no one else here, right? I mean, you’re here and I’m here and we can see each other. You could see someone else if they were here and since there is no one you can’t see them. That means there are no other people, or another person here. Are you sure you saw them before? Maybe it was shadows or…I’ll just shut up now.” Five words in, David realized he should have just shook his head and kept quiet. As it was, he just let his voice fade away before his rambling looked any more suspicious than it already had.
The man looked at David and slightly shook his head. Then he walked back out into the corridor and disappeared again. When he was gone, David let out a breath he was not aware he had been holding and wiped his forehead with a shaking hand.
“Don’t do that to me again.” He walked briskly away from the door and stood in front of Todd. “I don’t think I’ve got a heart condition, but I’d rather not find out.”
“Wow,” Jessica said. “Nerves of steel. Can’t wait to see you in the battlefield.”
“Jessica!” Todd lowered his hands and sat on a nearby table. “Can’t you go back to the way you were yesterday? You were actually tolerable then.”
“How did you do that?” David kept looking back at the door. He was sure the man would be back any second now. “It was like you were invisible to them.”
Todd smiled. “It’s easy once you know what to do. You just alter the way their brain interprets the signals the eyes send it. You make someone see something that isn’t there or make them not see something that is there. Bethany used to be really good at doing it. I always told her the two of us could make a mint as international thieves. You know what she said? She said it was too dangerous. Irony is she’d still be alive if we had.”
“We don’t have time for this, Todd.” Jessica crossed her arms over her chest and stared at the ceiling. “Wisdom’s almost ready.”
&nb
sp; “Ready to do what?” David looked at her, but once again his eyes refused to stay focused on her. Something was distracting him.
“That’s what we’ve been trying to tell you.” Todd rubbed at his eyes and got to his feet. “From what I can read from the crap he’s throwing off, Wisdom plans on attacking the Council of Peacocks. And he’s going to use us as the weapons.”
David raised his eyebrows and felt his mouth go dry. He kept looking at Todd, expecting him to say he was joking any minute now. When that did not happen, he lowered his eyebrows and felt the strength bleed out of his knees.
“I think you’re right. I think Wisdom has gone crazy.”
***
The door swung open slowly.
Josh backed up until his back struck the back wall. He licked his lips – too dry – and tried to focus. ‘Think’, he thought. ‘I’ve faced Edimmu, escaped a slaughterhouse and broke a demon’s neck. One little boy should be no problem.’
Only it was. Josh had no idea how he did the things he did. He had never called them up at will. They just happened. Miracles. He was just extremely lucky. Or was he? Back in the Laurentians, the chains fell out of the wall when he thought about them. The car drove on missing wheels because he wanted it to. The pitchfork stopped in mid-air when he willed it to stop. Back in high school, at the bush party when he killed Edimmu, he made a conscious decision for his hand not to burn. And when he was a child, hit by a bus, had he not thought, just the moment before impact, please don’t hit me, please don’t touch me? Was it really that simple? Did he just have to will something to have it happen?
The bathroom door hit the inside wall, bounced slightly and settled into place. Jared stood in the empty frame, smiling.
The Shadow Box: Paranormal Suspense and Dark Fantasy Thriller Novels Page 111