Council of Peacocks

by M Joseph Murphy

  ‘Maybe that’s why they didn’t hear the gunshots,’ he thought. ‘Either that or they’re just so used to hearing shots they no longer pay attention.’

  He put a hand on the door. It was cool to the touch. When he took his fingers away, there was a thin layer of grime on them, like oil. He reached for the large handle, turning it slowly.

  When the click came it was soft, like an inhalation.

  Josh held the handle down for a moment, listening.

  When there was no hint of movement or noise on the other side, he pushed the door open. It led to a room lined with unfinished wood shelves filled with metal cans of food. He looked behind him and motioned for Matt to lead the others up.

  Josh moved into the pantry. There was another metal door with a large window near the top. Peering through it, Josh took in details of a bright, cheerful kitchen. An old woman stood at the stove stirring a pot. Her gray hair was up in a bun. She wore a sleeveless floral summer dress.

  Josh cocked his gun and threw open the door.

  The woman turned. Her smile turned to shock, then slid into disbelief and pain. She looked down at her chest, her fingers touching blood as it spilled out over her dress.

  Josh realized he was holding his breath. He fought to breathe again. He couldn’t remember pulling the trigger. He had not even heard the gunshot. He looked down at the gun in his hands. It was warm. He looked back up at the woman and watched her fall to the floor. The wooden spoon she held clattered against the floor.

  “Jesus!” Matt rushed past him and knelt beside the woman on the floor. “Was the old woman such a threat? You’re losing it.”

  Jan walked over to the woman, bent over and spat on her face.

  “Have you all gone mad?” Matt stood up and led Jan away from the body.

  “She has to be in on it.” Jan stared down, unable to meet Matt’s eyes. “There’s no way she didn’t know what was going on down there.”

  “Still, you don’t know…”

  With fast, large steps, Josh walked over and put a hand over Matt’s mouth. He put a finger against his own lips, the sign for silence, and looked around the room.

  It was a pleasant kitchen. There were two other doors, one leading outside and the other into the guts of the house. The walls, painted yellow with white trim, were lined with glass-covered cabinets. Inside, cups and dishes reflected the light that shone through the large window embedded in the western wall. Looking through the window, Josh saw the sun setting behind a distant row of trees. In between the house and the woods was a large red barn. Two brown horses ate hay in a pen. Josh saw movement. A man in overalls, with large arms and a pitchfork, ran toward the house.

  Before Josh could react, something smashed into his head. Everything spun, the world blurring. It stopped when he hit the floor.

  He saw a thin, black-haired man hitting Matt in the knees with a hammer. An olive-skinned man in a white ceremonial robe pointed a shotgun at Rebecca and Jan. Two redheaded men, who looked to be identical twins, stared down at Josh. Like the men below, they bore an uncanny resemblance to Robert Redford.

  ‘Brothers,’ Josh thought. ‘What kind of family is this?’

  “Damn maggot,” one of the twins said. “You killed me mumsy.”

  The other twin kicked Josh in the ribs. Josh felt something crack. He coughed up blood. Then both twins began to kick him repeatedly.

  He heard a door open. The beating stopped.

  “What the hell happened?”

  Josh looked up from the floor. It was the large man with the pitchfork.

  “They killed Mumsy, Sasha,” one of the Redford twins said. “Shot her like a bleeding animal. Let me skin him alive.”

  Sasha, the man with the pitchfork, stepped forward and looked down at Josh. “You know we can’t. Otto will have our heads if he dies. Go check on the others.”

  “But…”

  Sasha slammed the butt of the pitchfork against the hardwood floor. “Check on them now! Remember why we’re doing this.”

  One of the Redford twins kicked Josh in the head before stomping off downstairs.

  From the floor, Josh looked around the room. It hurt to move his head, so his view was limited. Matt held up hands covered in blood as he screamed in pain. One leg twisted at an unnatural angle. Josh couldn’t see much of the women from where he was, only their legs and the man who held the gun on them.

  ‘If ever there was a time for a miracle, this is it.’ he thought. Nothing happened. ‘Oh well. Guess I’ll have to make my own luck this time.’ He closed his eyes and focused past the pain, numbing it.

  Then, he opened his eyes and sprung.

  With his right hand he grabbed the remaining Redford twin by the crotch. He pulled down and twisted as hard as he could. The man fell to his knees. Josh slammed his elbow into the man’s nose. The man holding the shotgun pivoted, pointing the gun at him. Josh spun behind the Redford twin. He lifted him back up to his feet by the hair. Josh had another human shield.

  The man with the shotgun cocked it, readying it for fire.

  ‘Don’t know if this will protect me or not,’ he thought. ‘Better not chance it.’ He twisted the twin’s head with a sharp jerk. There was a wet crunch and the neck broke.

  “You mother….” The man with the shotgun fired, the sound drowning out his curse. Josh dropped, rolling away from the blast. He yelped as the movement brought sharp pain to his ribs.

  “Josh!” Jan cried out for him. She curled her fist and punched the man with the shotgun in the back of the head. His head flew forward and Jan hammered her hands down on his skull. He fell.

  The man with the hammer left Matt and slammed the hammer into Jan’s side. At the same time Sasha raised his pitchfork and jabbed it like a spear at Josh.

  “No!” Josh screamed.

  The weapon stopped midair.

  Sasha struggled, leaning forward into the pitchfork. No matter how hard he pushed, the pitchfork did not get any closer. Josh clenched his fists, his full attention on the pitchfork.

  Then something clicked.

  A grating hum filled his ears, like dozens of flies buzzing inside his head.

  He reached out with his hands and grabbed the pitchfork.

  His whole weight resting on the pitchfork, Sasha collapsed. Josh spun the pitchfork like a quarterstaff and brought the tines down into Sasha’s chest. As the body twitched, dying, Josh pulled out the pitchfork. He jabbed it into the throat of the remaining Redford twin. Blood spewed everywhere. Then he yanked it loose again and walked toward the black-haired man.

  “Stay right there, punk.” The black-haired man stood behind Jan, one arm wrapped around her throat, the other held a hammer above her head. “None of your tricks or she’s dead. You’re off limits but she’s not. Put the weapon down.”

  Footsteps came up from the basement. Josh focused his attention on the open door. Again, his head buzzed and the door slammed shut. The other Redford twin’s face appeared in the window. The door rattled but, no matter what the Redford twin did, would not open.

  “Listen, thin man.” Josh walked toward him, pitchfork in front of him. He noticed that Rebecca had gone over to Matt and was trying to help him to his feet. “Here’s what’s going to happen. Run away or I’m going to run this pitchfork right through you.”

  “You’ll have to stab through her first.”

  Josh took another step forward. “Yes, I will. I’ll put the pitchfork through her. Then it’s going through you. Afterwards, I’ll bandage her up and watch while you bleed to death.” Josh shrugged as if it didn’t matter which choice he made. “Run or die. Those are your choices.”

  “You won’t do that.” The man took a step back, dragging Jan back with him. “You can’t do that.”

  Josh put the pitchfork up against Jan’s bared stomach.

  “You have no idea what I’m capable of doing.”

  Suddenly, the room went dark. At first Josh thought it was just the sun going behind the clouds outside. Then, shad
ows turned pitch black, nearly opaque. Josh looked around. The shadows moved like liquid, rippling and swirling.

  “Josh, what is this?” Jan asked.

  “I… I don’t know.” Josh shook his head.

  One corner was significantly darker than the rest of the room. Josh held the pitchfork toward it. He sensed movement, like an army of eels thrashing in a pool of ink.

  ‘Am I being sent to hell for what I’ve done?’ he thought.

  An eight-foot-tall man dressed in a green business suit stepped out of the darkness. In his wake, the shadows rippled like eddies on a black lake. Josh tried to focus on his features but all he could see was the man’s…”

  “Wings…”

  Josh dropped the pitchfork and backed away.

  “Ah, there you are.” The man’s voice hissed like a serpent. “Come along. We’ve been looking for you.”

  “We? Are you an Edimmu?” Josh noticed other figures starting to come out of the shadows.

  The buzz in his head went wild. He pushed his palms against his temples, trying to ease the pressure. He couldn’t see straight. He stepped back, his body colliding with someone else. He felt a strong grip put an arm around him. The room became very hot.

  “He’s going nowhere with you.”

  Josh looked up. The man behind him was a black man dressed in a red three-piece suit. Something in the curve of his mouth, the set of his eyes, left a taint of very bad things.

  “Why are you here, Wisdom?” The winged man’s face flickered. For a moment, Josh swore he saw the face of a reptile instead of a man.

  “Be gone, Edimmu.” Wisdom tightened his grip on Josh. “Run back to your puppet master. You have one chance to sink back in your hole. Then I get angry.”

  The Edimmu glanced over his shoulder. The shadows flickered. Then, without turning his body, the Edimmu stepped back into the shadows. When he was gone, the shadows faded to gray and the sunlight reappeared.

  Wisdom released Josh and straightened the lapels on his jacket. Josh ran to Jan’s side and they embraced.

  “Screw this.” The black-haired man dropped the hammer and ran into the guts of the house. Jan collapsed to her knees, crying. Josh looked toward the basement door. There was no sign of the Redford twin in the window.

  “What the hell was that?” Matt looked up from the floor. Both his knees were shattered. He wouldn’t be standing for some time. “Was that like the other ones? The ones you killed?”

  “You’ve killed Edimmu?” Wisdom cocked his head and focused on Josh. “That’s very interesting.”

  Josh rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t remember killing them. Who are you?”

  “A friend. You are capable of extraordinary things. I know why you can do the things you do. I can train you to use these abilities. Let’s get your friends home. After that, we’ll talk.”

  “My friends?” Josh felt his mouth go dry. “What about me? Don’t I get to go home?”

  Wisdom looked around the room. His eyes rested on the spot where the Edimmu had entered the room. “I’m sorry. I don’t think that’s an option anymore.”

  Chapter Six

  August 1st

  Thessaloniki had grown into the second largest city in Greece. Like most large cities it had great theatres, booming tourism, and wild dance clubs where people tried to forget how civilized humanity had become. Old women shopped at corner fruit markets and the police did their best to keep crime off the streets.

  Unlike most modern cities, Thessaloniki’s history reached back thousands of years. Many of its ancient buildings stood side by side with newer structures. Aside from the largest church in Greece, there was the famed White Tower: a this former fortification that later served as a prison. Not far from the White Tower was an apartment complex in a constant state of reconstruction. From the outside, it was nondescript, consisting of three eight-story buildings clumped together. Wood scaffolding covered most of the external concrete walls, obscuring the windows and balconies. Inside, cans of paint cluttered narrow hallways. Drywall dust hung thick in the air. Over the years, many tenants had left in a defiant protest to the incessant construction. With each departure, a member of the Council of Peacocks moved in.

  By the time Wisdom rescued Josh Wilkinson, over 80% of the men and women in the complex were devoted to Propates. Beneath the complex was the real headquarters. Propates chose the complex solely for its proximity to an underground network of tunnels dug in the fourteenth century. Few outside the Council knew about their existence.

  ***

  Propates sat behind a mahogany desk in a stone room. Across from him, Echo sat, legs crossed. Her gray suit was covered in dust and ash. Her hair lay loose around her face.

  “I told you already, I was just doing him a favor.” Echo pulled her hair back off her cheek. Using an elastic, she tied it in a ponytail. “I don’t care about Council politics.”

  “I know you don’t. That’s why I’m so intrigued. Why were you sneaking around the ritual room?”

  Echo rolled her eyes. “Spying, of course. Then you followed me back to Prague and destroyed my home. I think that made us equal. Then you dragged me to this ant-hill.”

  “You can’t actually approve of the way Wisdom is collecting these little monsters. You know how he is. Wisdom and his toys. That’s all they are to him. It’s all we ever were.”

  Echo leaned forward. “They’re not monsters. They’re children. And I don’t care what he’s doing with them. Let it go. Whatever you’re planning, Wisdom’s onto it. Have you seen him lately?”

  “Thankfully, no.” The phone beside Propates buzzed. He picked up the receiver. “I’m busy. I don’t care what Lucius said. Deal with it. Now hold the rest of my calls.” He hung up and turned back to Echo. “I haven’t crossed paths with Wisdom in years.”

  “I’ve never seen him so focused. He’s going to stop you. You know that, right?”

  “He can try.” Propates leaned back. The smile disappeared from his eyes. The light in the room faded. Shadows slunk in the corner of the room like water breaching a sinking ship. “Times change, Echo. I’ve changed. We were together for a long time.”

  “Centuries, but that doesn’t count.”

  “After everything he’s done to you, to us, how can you choose him over me?”

  Echo turned away. “Not this again. We had our moment. It’s gone. And I’m not choosing Wisdom. I’m choosing me. Let me go and I’ll disappear. Tell me, how exactly are you blocking my abilities?”

  Propates put a finger to his lips. “It’s a secret. I’ve learned so much from my time with the Council of Peacocks. Things you couldn’t even imagine. Why don’t you stay? I can arrange rooms for you.”

  “Please,” Echo waved her hand before her face. “Why would I stay in a dung pile like this? I told you. I want nothing to do with you or your Council. Just let me go.”

  Propates sighed. “Fine. I’ve released the barrier. Get out of here. But don’t get involved in Council business again. I don’t want to hurt you, Echo, but things are moving quickly. I can’t let you jeopardize our plans.”

  Echo sighed as her powers rushed back to her. She stood and clenched her fists. A portal of light appeared beside her.

  “We both know what Wisdom is,” she said. “Whatever secrets you’ve learned, you can’t hope to think you’re as powerful as him.”

  “The plan is bigger than me. I couldn’t stop it if I wanted to.” Propates picked up a cigar. It turned to ice at his touch. He tossed it over his shoulder where it shattered into a dozen pieces.

  Echo put one foot in the portal. “Then it’s been nice knowing you.” She stepped through the circle of light and was gone.

  For several minutes Propates stared at the space she’d occupied. Then, a knock at the door interrupted his trance.

  “Come in, Ferris.”

  Paeder Ferris walked in the room. He was dressed in white robes and carried a thick manila folder in his hands. He was in his mid-twenties with strawberry
-blond hair and ice-blue eyes.

  “Please tell me the tracker is working,” Propates asked, even though he saw the answer in Paeder’s eyes.

  “He’s difficult to track with all the teleporting, but we have the maggot.” Paeder opened the folder and took out a satellite photo. “The signal’s coming off the coast of Argentina. When can I kill him?”

  Propates reached for a new cigar. “You can’t. You know that. Josh’s crucial to the plan. Wait until he’s back on the mainland. Then bring him here.”

  “He killed me mumsy. Slaughtered my brothers. I watched him stab my twin. You can’t expect me to just let that go.”

  Propates stood. “Yes, I can. We don’t have time for vendettas. Not yet. When you retrieve him, bring him to me unharmed. Understand?”

  Paeder nodded tersely but would not meet his eyes. Then he left the room.

  Propates smoothed the front of his shirt and stretched his shoulders. He returned to his paperwork, humming happily. Everything was going according to schedule.

  ***

  Echo stepped out of the portal and stood in the bedroom of her summer home. The island off the coast of Argentina was beautiful, a welcome retreat from the hectic city life in Prague. She had bought it from the French 150 years ago. She’d never been able to rightfully determine if the island had a name before she had arrived. At the time, it was uninhabited. She’d brought over a dozen locals from the mainland. They had built her home, cultivated the land, and tended her crops. Over the years, those dozen had become several hundred. A village had sprung up on the other side of the island. They called it Port Echo, which amused her to no end.

  She sat on the edge of her bed and slipped out of her jacket. The heat was palpable, almost sentient. A cool breeze blew in through open windows, gently tousling the curtains. It sank into her bones, dissolving the tension from her shoulders. She closed her eyes and let her head fall back.