* * * * *
Varrik raked his hair with both hands. He wanted to disintegrate his invisibility shield and question Charlotte about the woman they’d found in Mystic Valley, but Echo had much still to share. He inhaled slowly and released his breath in a silent rush. It wasn’t just the High Queen’s understanding that he craved. Every word Echo spoke in his defense was a warm balm to his weary soul.
“I’m sorry Varrik’s past was tragic, however, it doesn’t justify his actions, much less lend him nobility.”
“There’s a bit more you need to understand before I explain his thinking.” Echo paused to rub her temples. Had the deluge of information given her a headache? A lesser mind would have shut down.
“Are you all right?” Charlotte asked. “We can continue this after you’ve relaxed for a while.”
“I’d rather finish now. Once we get home, I’m going to sink into a hot bath and stay there until my skin wrinkles.”
“Sounds perfect.”
Varrik pictured her reclining in a tub, water swirling around her naked body, surrounded by luxury and candlelight. She deserved to be coddled and protected after what he’d put her through. So why did he see himself beside her, climbing in with her, kissing and caressing her until their bodies put off more heat than the water? Even now he couldn’t imagine a future without her.
“As I said before, the maze can only be entered or exited via teleportation.”
“You know this or you suspect?”
“For many of the images to make sense it has to work that way.”
“Explain what you mean.”
“The elders, the hunters, and some of the sweepers can teleport. The soldiers are separated into squadrons, and only the squad leaders are able to teleport. The rest of the soldiers are trapped in the maze, until their squad leaders take them out for specific assignments.”
A long pause followed as Charlotte digested the details. She shook her head and compassion clouded her gaze. Varrik watched her closely, wishing he were truly empathic. “No wonder Sekall was so desperate for change.”
“Sekall wasn’t the first or the last inhabitant to oppose the Customs.” Varrik dragged his gaze back to Echo, trepidation squeezing his heart. That sounded like a segue into the night Bemzire died, but he hadn’t transmitted those memories. “Varrik did everything in his power to disguise his abilities from the elders. He didn’t want to be a sweeper, but his uncle realized his potential.”
How did she know this? He hadn’t included Bemzire in the infusion. He never spoke of that night, did his best to avoid ever thinking of those wretched events.
“How do you force someone to manipulate memories? It requires a level of control few can master.”
“There was a hunter named Bemzire. I got the impression he and Varrik were very close.”
Bemzire had taken over his supervision after Sekall’s death. Bemzire had been both friend and mentor to Varrik, a complex mixture of father and brother. Varrik turned away from the women, memories ravaging his composure. Echo had to finish her explanation, so he reinforced his shield.
“Bemzire was Sekall’s staunchest supporter. He stood beside Varrik at his brother’s execution, soothed him and calmed him, so the elders wouldn’t have the pleasure of seeing Varrik lose control.” Varrik trembled as she spoke. Each word pelted his soul like hail. “Bemzire waited for Varrik to mature, hoping he’d take up where Sekall left off.”
“Did he? Is Varrik a rebel?”
“If I don’t relate the events in order, you’ll never understand.” Charlotte accepted the gentle reprimand, so Echo continued her tale. “When it came time for Bemzire to hunt, he found a woman who appealed to him as no other woman ever had. He brought her to the maze and intentionally kept her from conceiving for nearly three cycles. Then she gave birth to a boy.”
“Is this leading where I think it’s leading?”
Echo crossed her arms over her chest, her gaze bright with unshed tears. Her pity compounded Varrik’s tumult. Why would she feel sorry for him? He’d been so merciless with her.
“The lovers came to Varrik the night before the woman was scheduled to be released. By then, Elder North had realized Varrik was hiding his abilities and decided to use the situation to his advantage. Varrik warned the elders that Bemzire intended to take his family and escape.”
“Why would Varrik warn the elders? Didn’t the lovers have a better chance away from the maze?”
Embers of guilt burst to life within Varrik, consuming his calm and tormenting his mind. He smothered a groan, clenching and unclenching his fists. Heaped on top of his brother’s memory, that question had haunted him for the past two cycles.
“They never would have made it that far. There is a special team that has honed their skills beyond those of the other hunters. Bemzire wouldn’t have stood a chance against the alpha hunters.” She spoke the excuse Varrik always used to silence his self-recriminations. It might even be true. He would never know. “Varrik thought he was saving Bemzire from himself. Instead the elders summoned Varrik to the discipline hall and tortured Bemzire to death while the woman watched. They told Varrik she would live with the memory for the rest of her life unless he swept it from her mind. She refused to let Varrik near her, so the elders raped her, one after the other. When they finally allowed Varrik to touch her, he cast her into sleep thrall and purged her mind of the abuse as well as of Bemzire’s murder.”
Charlotte stared at her daughter, too stunned to speak. Varrik wrapped his arms around his middle, fighting back the need to vomit. He hadn’t meant to share this much, to subject her to those memories.
“From that day to this, he has used his abilities to ease the suffering of the captives. If they need to remember the child they carried within their bodies, he leaves them with the memory of the baby’s face. Those who want oblivion, he sweeps completely, leaving no trace of the world below. Are you beginning to get the picture?”
Rubbing her eyes with her fingertips, Charlotte took a long time to answer. Was she still unmoved by the events? “I don’t know what to say. His life has been rife with hardship and tragedy. Still, it doesn’t justify what he did to you and E’Lanna.”
“His abilities are unusually strong, yet they are no match for the elders. Not even the sweepers know the location of the maze.”
Little by little, balance returned to Varrik’s emotions. Curiosity eroded his sorrow. Determination allowed him to push back the pain. He hadn’t intentionally revealed these things to Echo. How had she absorbed so much without his knowledge?
“If they teleport in and out, how is that possible?” Charlotte’s question drew him from his musing.
“There’s a sort of homing signal. Only the elders know the actual location of the maze. All the others lock on to the signal and teleport on faith.”
“What exactly was Varrik hoping to accomplish by capturing you?”
“He knew who my parents were and thought our child might stand a chance against the elders. He intended to train our son, to shape him into—”
“Echo, are you pregnant? Did this man—”
“No. I constructed an energy barrier.”
“Then…he did rape you.”
“No. He took nothing I didn’t offer willingly.”
Charlotte wrapped her arms around Echo as tears streamed down the High Queen’s cheeks. “He seduced you. He used your passionate nature against you and…”
Echo rubbed her mother’s back and whispered in a language Varrik didn’t understand. The bittersweet irony was more than he could stand. He was the villain Charlotte presumed, yet Echo defended him still. Every gasp, every sigh, returned to mock him. How could he have used her so ruthlessly?
“You still don’t understand.” Echo eased her mother back so she could look into her eyes. “The elders are manipulating Varrik’s actions to mount hostilities against each other. They’re on the brink of war. That’s why he released us from the maze.”
“Where is he now
?”
Echo looked right at him, and Varrik’s heart missed a beat. How long had she sensed him standing there? Nothing could penetrate his invisibility shield.
“Despite his uncle’s betrayal, despite everything, Varrik is going to return to the maze and fight to free the soldiers trapped there by the Customs.”
Royal Obsession (Shadow Assassins 1) Page 24