I felt my draw drop. “You know her father personally. Which means you know Alyson."
Nicholas poured himself another cup of coffee as I spoke. He set the carafe back on the hot plate. “I met Alyson a very long time ago, before she came to live with her father. Things were simpler then. But I believe I can say that you've gotten yourself involved in more than I think you can handle."
I felt a bit irritated. I hadn't gotten myself into anything. I'd actually sort of stumbled into it.
But the Professor was smiling at me. "I've known the Cooper family since before Alyson was born, Olivia. I used to work along side Alastair. We were colleagues once. But…times change, and so do people and their ideology. I remember the day when a Seer Legacy told Alastair and Barbara that Alyson wouldn't become a Legacy. I think in truth, the news angered Alastair, but made Barbara a very happy woman."
"Wait—a Seer Legacy?” I rubbed at my face. “Is that different than the normal Zodiac?”
“Yes, and no. Most individuals don’t count the sun and moon to be a part of the Zodiac, but they are. A Moon, or Seer as we call them, can see the future. And a Sun can see the past.”
I put both my elbows on the table. “Are there just one of each of those? Like there’s just Gemini?”
“Unlike the rarity of the Twelve, there are more Moons and Suns. Many of them never even know their potential and live productive, normal lives. But those we find with strong intuitive powers we train to be our eyes and ears.”
I shook my head. “You mean you work on what they foresee?”
“It’s not just foresight, Olivia. Suns and Moons also have the ability to see events as they happen. But that’s enough of that—and you probably have more questions.”
I did. “You said they thought Alyson wouldn't be a legacy. Is that why the Coopers split up? Why she lived in Savannah and he lived in Oregon?"
"Mostly. What's most important to Alastair is the Legacy program. The finding and training of these special people to do special ops for the government. When he learned his daughter wasn't going to be one, he lost interest in her. Barbara took that opportunity and moved back where she grew up."
I rested my chin on my hands. "And when Alyson accidentally teleported that day in the water—“
"Then Alastair came and took her. Not only was their daughter a legacy, but she was a Gemini with extraordinary powers." The professor sipped his coffee. "It was his idea to have his daughter’s death faked. He knew no one was going to question it, and by having his daughter’s death on public record, it gave him the impetus to use some of his mind altering drugs on Alyson."
"Mind altering drugs?"
"The Alyson I've known for the past three years—or I should say the one I've heard stories about—is not the same young woman you know, Olivia. Alastair created a masterpiece with Alyson by putting her through the same rigorous training Soul Automatic puts all of their forced recruits through, to mold them into the good little automatons Alastair wants.”
I heard bitterness in his voice. A subtle anger. "Are you telling me he brainwashed Alyson?"
"Quite successfully. He brainwashes all of his operatives. And that's what they are. Little soldiers that do the underhanded dirty work of governments all over the world. Need a political figure dead in twenty-four hours but it needs to look like an accident? Send in Soul Automatic. No one will remember them and they'll do the job. Teleporters like Alyson are key for those kinds of high paying jobs. They get the team in and out."
"You mean…Alyson's killed people?"
"I don't know. But don't be surprised. For three years Alyson did as her father told her to do. She followed and obeyed orders without question. She was merciless in her need to please her father.” He leaned forward on the table. "So whatever happened to break that control, to snap the hold Alastair had on Alyson—it had to be something pretty bad. Bad and traumatic. And please understand—Dr. Cooper has to know by now something is wrong. Those bodies are a clue that something out of his control happened. Alastair would never leave them to rot in a warehouse for someone to find. Or have half of them show up in the Mercedez-Benz Field. It was epic—whatever it was. And Dr. Cooper will be looking for Alyson to control the damage and to get answers.”
"But you talk as if he wasn’t there. Alyson says she thinks she saw her dad kill those people."
“What I’m saying is speculation, which is all we have. We don't know, Olivia. I've know Dr. Cooper a very long time. He's capable of a lot of things, but not that kind of mass-murder. He doesn't have that kind of power. And Alastair Cooper doesn't make those kinds of mistakes."
Knowing that did not help the ever growing knot in my stomach. "You don't like what he's doing, do you?"
"When the government learned about Legacies, there were several proponents of their extermination. Alastair and I fought for their rights as human beings."
"You mean like professor Xavier from X-men?"
"You might say that. But Alastair wanted to make them weapons. I didn't. I couldn't believe in this—so I left. And formed my own group. We're here to try and stop him." He sighed. "We don't always win. Sometimes we lose. But, we are fighting to win them their freedom."
"What is your power, professor?"
He nearly shocked me out of my chair by unlocking his fingers and pointing his right index finger into the air. A small point of light hovered an inch or so above the end of his finger. It was like a tiny little sun, and pulsed like a star. "I can recreate the sun. It's a great trick at parties like this, but what I can do with it on a larger scale—" the small sun went out like a fire doused in water. It turned to ash and blew way. "Well, let's just say, it's not pretty. I am a Sagitarian.”
“Fire Element,” I swallowed and looked at him, thinking about all the bad things that kind of power could do. Knowing that Alyson could make people disappear, or make their brains disappear like she'd done to that guy, made it more understandable why the government might want to control these people, or destroy them.
The door opened and Lydia stepped in. I recognized her from the van ride. She smiled at me and then handed the Professor an envelope. He took it and opened it, his eyes moving back and forth as he scanned the contents.
I watched his face, as did Lydia.
His eyes widened and he gave her an accusing look. "This isn't possible."
"I know that, sir, but we double checked. It's what we found."
"You're absolutely sure?"
"Yes."
"Damn," he put a hand to his head. "Inform the teams. Tell them to pull back until they hear from me. We have to get things ready."
Lydia seemed to understand this and left the room.
"What's wrong?" I was feeling a bit uneasy. And very anxious because the Professor looked downright upset.
"Olivia, when you were in that warehouse did you cut yourself in any way? On paper? Or maybe on some metal? Did you leave any blood behind?"
I shook my head. I hate blood and I sure would have known if I'd have had a cut. "I didn't cut myself, but I threw up."
"No, they found that. So you didn't cut yourself in your house earlier? Or anything?"
"No, I didn't." I stood up. "What's wrong?"
He laid the papers on the table in front of him, his cold coffee still sitting to his right. "I'm not sure yet—but your blood—your DNA—was found in that room, Olivia, from a sample my team says is seven days old."
Up Next: Eyes Inside
Olivia learns more about the Legacies and the young man named Shibuya August and his connection to Alyson and Alastair Cooper.
About the Author
Ariadne Eldritch is a lover of all things gaming, urban fantasy, and high fantasy. She lives with her 2 cats in the south and spends her days watching people for character, and her nights (when she’s not gaming) writing her adventures.
For more information
https://ariadneeldritch.wordpress.com
ne Eldritch, The Dead Girl
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