“Everyone likes me.” Gabby’s blush became more vivid, expanding from her cheeks to include much of her face. “Maxim just took a bit more effort.”
“Not me. I’m easy as hell,” Alistair said, grinning at her. “You’ve already won me over.”
“Is that so?”
“Nice place you got here,” Alistair said, glancing around at the stark and austere grounds of the estate. “You spend a lot of time in Iceland?”
“Quite a bit, just lately. It’s dull,” Gabby said. “I was born in Central. I spent my childhood in a little town in Spain, and I was brought to the Thule estate when I was twelve.”
“Born in Central, huh? You don’t hear that much,” Alistair said. “You are just all sorts of exceptional, aren’t you, Gabby?”
“Flatterer.”
“Guilty as charged. You know who I am, right?”
Gabby nodded.
“I’m sure you do. You know all about me. Everyone does. I’m a genius and a traitor, and the greatest telepath in the entire world. I don’t have time for people that are beneath me, and I don’t tolerate fools or weaklings. Yet here I am, talking to you. You’re special, and I know exactly why your uncle has kept you hidden.”
The guards stirred and muttered around them.
“Tell me,” Alistair said, sliding closer to her. “You studying with anyone? You have a teacher or a master?”
“I was taught by my family,” Gabby said. “That was all the training that I required.”
“Right, sure. Who needs teachers?” Alistair grinned. “You got a boyfriend, Gabby?”
For a moment, Gabby’s practiced composure cracked. She looked away quickly.
“I have a fiancé. Grigori Aushev.”
“The Auditor?” Alistair laughed. “You’re kidding me. We’ll have to do something about that, won’t we?”
The guards at the door to the manor shifted position, tensing up. Alistair looked up expectantly.
Gaul Thule emerged from the manor, walking slowly, his head wrapped in bandages and his glasses askew. A doctor followed closely, wearing a white coat and a look of concern and obvious disapproval.
“Hey, boss,” Alistair said, standing up. “Nice to see you. You had me worried for a minute there. I heard a rumor you were dead.”
“Katya Zharova did her best,” Gaul said, his voice soft and weak. “It was not unanticipated.”
“You sure about that?” Alistair smirked. “You don’t look so hot.”
Gabby stood up slowly, her exhausted face kept carefully neutral.
“Hello, Uncle,” Gabby said. “I have returned.”
Gaul glared at her briefly, before returning his attention to Alistair.
“If you have done anything to her,” Gaul said, red veins winding throughout his pink eyes, “I promise you…”
“Relax, she’ll be fine,” Alistair said. “Daniel Gao tried to kill her, but I misdirected him at the last moment. She’s a little beat up, but she’s fine.”
Gabby gave her uncle a furious look but bit her tongue.
Lóa hurried out of the manor as fast as her crutches would allow, hobbling to her uncle’s side, and barely seeming to notice Gabby at all.
Alistair noted the dissension and the lack of familial concern, and his smile grew. He could not help but notice that the sisters looked nothing alike. Gabby was dark and lithe and frustrated, while Lóa was blonde and radiated confidence, sturdy despite the crutches and leg braces.
Intuiting the family dynamics with only a minimal amount of telepathy, Alistair grinned.
“I will not apologize for the delay,” Gaul said, leading Alistair to the other side of the garden, where dwarf evergreens were arranged amid raked white gravel. “Nor will I thank you for the return of my niece. I will, however, consider the debt between us cancelled.”
“Polite as ever,” Alistair said, kicking the gravel. “We need to talk.”
“Yes, we do,” Gaul said, taking off his glasses to rub his eyes. “You seem to have retention issues of late. I’m surprised. You were never so reckless with Auditors.”
“I haven’t lost anyone I didn’t plan to lose. You haven’t done so well yourself. Lóa isn’t looking too hot. I can feel the pain she’s in from here.”
Lóa glared at him from her uncle’s side, while a doctor attempted to coax Gabby inside the manor for treatment.
“She will recover,” Gaul said. “The Anathema soldiers lost in your senseless conflict with the Auditors will not.”
“How’s Brennan Thule, then?” Alistair said, smirking. “Still dead, or is he going to recover from that? For that matter, how’s his dad?”
“There is no need to be juvenile. I must admit that your betrayal came as shock to me. I truly thought more of you, for some reason.”
“Oh, please. You’re a legendary precog. You must have seen it coming.”
“The basic circumstances were unavoidable,” Gaul said. “I knew that Central would be betrayed, but I thought it would be Mitsuru, or Alice, or even Rebecca. I did not particularly suspect you.”
“Then you weren’t paying attention. Not my problem.”
“It did very much become my problem.”
“Well, we both made it to be here together today, fellow traitors, hunted by Central. Isn’t that nice?”
“My uncle is not a traitor!” Lóa snarled. “You should watch your mouth.”
“I did not betray Central,” Gaul said. “I have done nothing aside from meeting my obligations to my cartel.”
“You don’t say? I had no idea that your obligation extended to attacking the Black Sun and starting a damn war. That’s a unique interpretation of your obligations.”
“I do only what is necessary. What is it that you are doing, Alistair?”
“Me? I’m not like you or John Parson. I don’t give a shit about the big picture. I’m just trying to survive. Auditors don’t live long lives and neither do Anathema. That’s one of the hazards of a perpetual war, I suppose, but that’s not for me. I want a comfortable early retirement, and not the kind that starts with a bullet to the back of the head. Something with swimming pools and pinot noir.”
“You’ve taken a very dangerous path and burnt any number of bridges. What makes you think you can just walk away?”
“I’ve done nothing but take the best offer as it became available. We can’t all have a higher purpose or a secret agenda, Gaul. Nothing would ever get done.”
“You frustrate me,” Gaul said impersonally. “You insist on being enigmatic, to your own detriment, and I suspect you do it to amuse yourself. You remain as much of a wildcard as Emily Muir.”
Alistair laughed.
“Funny you mention her,” Alistair said. “That’s just what I came to see you about. But you know that already.”
“I do not, as a matter of fact,” Gaul said, pointing at his wrapped head. “I survived an assassination attempt earlier this week, Alistair, but in the process, I suffered some damage.”
“You lost your protocol?” Alistair shook his head. “What a time to not know the future. That’s almost enough to make me rethink my offer.”
“What offer is that?” Gaul looked annoyed. “Why did you come here?”
“Aside from returning your niece, mostly safe and no less sound? I came bearing gifts.” Alistair moved close and activated a telepathic channel that had been dormant since the final day of Alistair’s tenure as Chief Auditors. I have it on good authority that Emily Muir is no longer working for John Parson, though I’m not sure if he’s aware of that yet.
Is that so? I’m not surprised. Miss Muir is independently minded.
She isn’t the only one. I’m looking for a new position myself.
I see. You intend another betrayal, then?
As many as life requires, but I’m honestly hoping this is the last one. Alistair looked him in the eyes. I’m tired, Gaul. John Parson is insane, and I think it’s getting worse. This whole thing with the Changeling and the Church –
he doesn’t seem to care that it will destroy whatever is left of the Anathema. He didn’t tell any of us what the transformation entailed, and now, unless he forces that Fey to do what the Church wants, I’m screwed.
You’ve made any number of mistakes, haven’t you, Alistair?
Shit, boss, I won’t argue. I never should have turned on you in the first place, but then again, if I hadn’t, it would have been you who turned on me, wouldn’t it?
I have never understood your motivations, Gaul said, removing his glasses so that he could polish the lenses with the back of his tie. What compelled you to join the Anathema?
I didn’t see a route to the top in Central, Alistair thought, looking slightly abashed. I’m the last of an extinguished family and a proscribed cartel. My family was declared Anathema when I was eight, Gaul. It was practically destiny that I’d go down the same road.
Not necessarily. I thought your family’s history had been left behind you.
I wasn’t even allowed to use my last name, Alistair thought. Did that really seem like putting it in the past? You were the only one who didn’t hold it against me. I had moved up the ladder as far as I could in Audits, and the Assembly would never have permitted me higher office or a transfer to Administration. I was stuck. What was I supposed to do?
Gaul sighed and replaced his glasses.
I understand your frustration. I simply wish that you had chosen a different outlet.
Me too, some days, but you can’t change the past. The future, though? We could do something about that. Alistair grinned at him. What do you say? Boss?
I am tempted, Gaul said. What do you want?
Nothing much. I want to help you send Eerie back to wherever she came from…
Ah, but that’s an issue. You see, we plan to let the Church manifest, Gaul thought. That has been my intention from the start.
Then there’s no way for us to work together, Alistair thought, his eyes narrowing. You know that’s the end for me. If that’s the case, then I guess there’s no choice but to…
Control yourself. There is still a way, Gaul said, heading for the house and waving Alistair along with him. “The Thule family is in your debt for the return of my niece. Won’t you come inside, Alistair? I believe we have something that might interest you there.”
***
Eerie immediately ran over and kissed him, causing Katya to grumble and swear.
He didn’t respond properly, but she was too excited to notice.
“You have to come to the kennel,” Eerie said, taking his hand. “They have dogs! Like Derrida! I’ve always thought that I was a cat person, but after Derrida was so, so awesome, I think maybe I’ve changed my mind. Maybe dogs are better? Hayley’s dogs are so smart, too! They knew who I was right away, because telepathy, I guess, and…”
“I know all about it,” Alex said, so out of sorts that he bit his tongue. “John Parson told me, and then Emily…told me, I guess.”
“Told you what?” Katya asked. “What are you talking about?”
“What did she…?” Eerie made a face. “Oh. I see.”
“Either tell me what’s going on,” Katya said, “or stop having these conversations in front of me.”
“We have, like, three days before the Church comes, whatever it is,” Alex said. “Then Eerie is…then she’s gone, and there’s nothing we can do about it.”
“You knew that,” Eerie said neutrally. “You didn’t know it would be so soon, I guess, but you knew it would happen. I told you.”
“You told me,” Alex agreed. “I knew, but that is…that’s soon, Eerie.”
“Is that what upset you?” Eerie looked at him closely. “Or is it about Emily?”
“Emily?” Katya groaned. “What did she do now?”
“She will disappear when the Church comes,” Eerie said, staring at Alex. “Is that the problem?”
“It isn’t just that,” Alex protested. “They said Central, and…everything. That’s what they both said. It will ruin everything.”
“I’m going to just find someplace else to be, while you guys fight,” Katya said, pivoting and retreating. “Have a nice dumb argument.”
They let her leave without a word. Alex felt like it was better that way.
He knew the feeling of standing on thin ice by now, so he did not want unnecessary witnesses.
He had enough public failures already.
“This isn’t about Emily,” he blurted out. “This is about you.”
Eerie waited, expressionless and still.
“You should have told me,” Alex said. “I need to know what we are doing.”
“Why?” Eerie said. “It would just upset you.”
“I can’t do anything about it if I don’t know.”
“You can’t do anything about it,” Eerie said bluntly. “At all.”
“That can’t be true,” Alex said. “I know it.”
“You need to accept this, Alex. For us to make the best of our time together.”
“I’m not arguing because I don’t want it to be true. I’m telling you I know that I must be able to do something about it. I can figure things out on my own, sometimes.”
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” Eerie said. “Are you feeling okay?”
“Not really. I feel pretty damn bad, but that’s nothing to do with…listen. You made me the way I am, right?” Alex waved her off when she tried to object. “Not everything, I get it, but coming to Central, and my protocol, that was by your design. Right? You wanted me to be this way. Right?”
Eerie looked at her shoes, ever guileless.
“I’m right,” Alex proclaimed, putting his hands gently on her arms. “You know it. The Absolute Protocol, the feedback thing. The thing between us. You know. The way it…the way we are. That’s the way you wanted it to be. Isn’t it?”
She said nothing.
“I must be able to do something,” Alex said, giving her arms a little squeeze. “This isn’t random. None of this happened by chance. I can do something. Tell me, Eerie. Please. Tell me how to help. You know I’ll do anything for you.”
“That’s the problem!” Eerie pressed against his chest, and he put his arms around her. “You’re so dumb, Alex! You weren’t supposed to know.”
“Why not? You made me like this. You must have had a reason.”
“I did,” Eerie said, holding tight to him. “I really did. But I changed my mind. I always change my mind! I like you, Alex. I like you a lot. More than I expected.”
“I like you too.”
“I wanted you to be my way out. I wanted you to be my one-in-a-million chance.”
“That’s just it,” Alex said. “That’s what I want to be.”
“I can’t do it now!” Eerie pushed him away. “I like you too much.”
“You can…no, wait, I get it,” Alex said. “We can do it. We’ll do this together. Well, I mean, I don’t really know what we are doing, so it’s more like you doing it, and me helping you, maybe?”
“You don’t understand. I have to give you up, Alex, just for a chance at being free. Not even a good chance! I thought I could do it, and maybe I could have, but I wanted something special, too, something just for me. I was dumb. I was so dumb! I’ve made a mess of everything, and why? It doesn’t change anything. Nothing changes.”
“You wanted to be happy,” Alex said. “I don’t think that’s wrong.”
“Everything I did was wrong, and I knew it was wrong, and I did it anyway, because I wanted what I wanted,” Eerie said, nearly shouting. “I can’t help it! I just need to! Then, when it is finally here, I change my mind, and it was all for no reason.”
“I don’t think we are ‘no reason’,” Alex said. “I think it’s worth it to try.”
“Don’t you understand, Alex? I’m an awful person, and my plan for you was awful!”
“You’re not a—”
“You were meant as a sacrifice,” Eerie said guiltily. “I was going to give you to the Ch
urch, in my place, in return for more time.”
Alex grimaced.
“You see? It was a mean thing to do, but please understand, I was so, so desperate…”
“I get it,” Alex said, waving her off. “Doesn’t bother me.”
“I’m not going to lose you for nothing. I’m giving myself to the Church, Alex. I decided while I was with the club in the Outer Dark. I’ll go of my own free will, and none of this will have to happen. I won’t have to give you up, and my friends won’t die.”
“No, no,” Alex said, reaching for her, only for her to brush his hands away. “Don’t do that!”
“I’ll wait until the night before, so we can be together at least that long.” Eerie explained this to him with an apologetic resignation that reminded him of a parent gently disappointing their child. “I’ll go the Church, and everything will be fine. John Parson won’t change, so Emily won’t…whatever. Everything will work itself out, eventually, and you’ll be safe here at the Far Shores, until it is all over.”
“What are you talking about? I’m not going to just sit and watch!”
“You’ll have to sleep, soon, remember?” Eerie looked at him tenderly. “I’m holding it back for now, but if you fall asleep when I’m not around, you’ll have to sleep for a long time. You’ll need Emily to look after you, until you wake up.”
“I won’t go along with this,” Alex said. “I’m not fucking falling asleep, okay?”
“On the morning of the last day, I’ll get up quietly and leave you sleeping, and you won’t have to worry about it at all. When you wake up, everything will be better, and I’ll be long gone.” Eerie smiled at him, and his good eye stung, while his other eye was cold. “You’ll have Emily, and Katya, and Vivik. That’s the best that I can do, Alex. That’s as easy I can make this.”
“I don’t want it to be easy,” Alex said. “We aren’t doing it like this, Eerie. We aren’t going to give up.”
“We aren’t giving up,” Eerie agreed. “I’m giving up, so you don’t have to.”
“No! We are going to find a way, do you understand? We will find a way to fix everything.”
“They weren’t lying to you. John Parson and Samnang and Emily and all the rest. You can’t stop this from happening. No one can – except for me.”
The Church of Sleep (Central Series Book 5) Page 50