by H. R. Moore
‘Because it’s not without its moral issues and I can’t trust them not to abuse it. Imagine what Austin would do with such an ability, the things he would learn.’
‘That’s rich coming from you,’ Anita sniped.
Helena looked away again, her guilt consuming her, every fibre of her being screaming at her to run away, but her mind keeping her in place, telling her flight was impossible. ‘Who did your orders come from?’ asked Alexander, hoping now Helena was on the back foot she would divulge more. ‘You said you couldn’t know what the others had been asked to do. Why?’ He was surprised the Institution was so secretive. It sounded to him worse than the Councils, up until now, the most slippery bunch of people he’d ever met.
‘I don’t know who the orders ultimately come from. I’m not allowed to know, nor is anyone but the very top echelons of the organisation.’
‘You’re not in charge of the Institution now?’ asked Anita, an unsettled feeling spreading across her insides.
‘No. Nowhere near. I have a handler above me who I report to and take orders from. He, I believe, takes orders directly from our leader and sits on The Guiding Council, but I don’t even know that much for sure.’
‘The Guiding Council?’
‘A group of powerful individuals across the world who advise our leader. It’s all quite democratic actually, they vote on the best way to proceed, but if there’s a disagreement, the leader has the casting vote.’
‘And you have no idea who this leader is?’
‘None whatsoever. I have no idea who it is, where they live, what they do for a living. I think the same leader has been around since your parents were involved, but that’s all I know.’
‘And you’ve never thought to question the motives of your illustrious leader...? Why so secretive? What if they’re a total psychopath and everything they get you to do is simply for their own amusement? What if Austin or someone equally poisonous is the real leader?’
‘It’s possible, but unlikely, I’ve been in the Institution for all my adult life and I’ve never been asked to do anything that contradicts with our aim of energy stability. I reported my misdemeanour and the presence of Austin’s brass cylinder a few weeks after the fire, and we’ve been trying to recover it ever since. Milly had orders to try, I’ve tried, you’ve now tried Anita. Everything we’ve ever been asked to do has been to benefit the organisation and there’s nothing to suggest the leader is benefitting personally through any means.’
‘How do you know that? You don’t know the orders of everyone else, you said that yourself,’ said Alexander, now a little agitated.
‘I don’t know for sure, but sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith, otherwise, what’s the point of living? You’ve got to believe in something.’
‘And what if I believe the way to energy stability is to send the relic back?’
‘Fine, you may really believe that, but what have you or any of the other Descendants ever done to try and find a way to send the relic back? Austin banned energy research for goodness sake. You might be friends with Anderson and I know you’ve been finding covert ways to support his research, but it’s not enough. It will be too little too late unless we can find a way to make a meaningful difference quickly.’
Alexander was going to argue, but in truth he had to admit Helena was right. The Descendants had never really done anything to try and find a way to send the relic back, predominantly because most Descendants were greedy, selfish, people who cared most about sustaining their own comfortable situations. The idea they could no longer rule by right was terrifying to them.
‘Who is your ‘handler’,’ asked Anita, curious as to who it was Helena had to answer.
‘I’m afraid I can’t tell you that. We’re not allowed to reveal to anyone the identity of the next level up. I don’t know who Milly or Rose’s handlers are either.’
‘But everyone here at the farm knows that you, Rose and Milly are all handlers. You must be the handlers for everyone here.’
‘We never confirm or deny anything to anyone. Nobody should know who reports in to who, but in reality, at this level, the secret is less important. Everyone suspects I’m a senior member of the Institution anyway, so it’s not going to surprise anyone that I’ve recruited a few people.’
‘And if we agree to help? You become our ‘handler’?’
‘I suppose so, yes. But all it really means in practice is that I’m your connection to the leadership and I provide the communication channel from you to them and back again.’
‘And what if I only agree to help if I can meet the leadership?’ asked Anita, purposefully pushing the boundaries Helena had laid down.
‘Impossible,’ said Helena, her eyes flashing with annoyance. ‘I’ve never met the leadership. They simply won’t meet anyone, regardless who they are or what they could do to help.’
‘Well that’s too bad then, because I’m not sure I want to help someone who won’t deign to provide me with the common courtesy of letting me know who they are.’
‘Anita, you could have the key to energy stability, or sending the relic back locked in a cylinder in your head. How can you sit on that and say you won’t help us?’
‘Because we have no idea what’s actually in the cylinder. It could kill me when I open it for all you know and maybe there are others I’d rather throw in my lot with, whose ideology is more aligned to mine.’
‘Unlikely,’ said Helena, a little too dismissively. ‘Your mother put it in your head. I doubt very much she would have given you something with the power to kill you, not after the lengths she went to to make sure you were kept safe. And who else is there to work with who realistically has the resources to make a meaningful difference?’
Anita stood up abruptly. She’d had enough of Helena’s tone. It amazed her that even in a situation such as this, where Helena was asking for help, she could be more concerned with establishing control than getting them onside. ‘Well thanks for the history lesson but I think it’s time for us to go. Unfortunately we can’t help anyway, the cylinder is lost and won’t be found, so I guess you’ll have to find some other way to stabilise the energy.’ Helena looked blankly at Anita, her face now tinged a greyish shade. Anita walked out of the potting shed into the bright sunshine outside, Alexander following in her wake.
When the door had safely slammed shut behind them, Rose stepped in from the secret garden, an unreadable expression on her face. ‘Well that didn’t go as well as we’d hoped...’
‘...I know,’ Helena snarled.
‘Do you think she was telling the truth about the cylinder being lost?’
‘Honestly, I have no idea.’
Chapter 5
Marcus stormed through the empty archway and slammed the door behind him, failing to notice Austin’s brooding form slumped over the kitchen table. He stopped short when he saw him, briefly entertaining the idea of vacating the kitchen and finding somewhere else to be angry, before curiosity overtook him.
‘What’s wrong with you?’ he asked his obviously distracted father.
Austin’s dangerous eyes flicked up. They were a hostile pot of emotion, sneering at Marcus as he replied, ‘I can see that question applies equally to you.’ Marcus said nothing. It was best in situations like this to wait for his father’s true agenda to be revealed. Austin never let an uncomfortable silence stand for long; it made him feel out of control, so only a few moments passed before he continued. ‘I hear you’ve been to visit your treacherous girlfriend again, and this time she let you in to see her.’
Normally, Marcus would have been outraged at this obvious invasion of his privacy; clearly his father had had someone follow him to see what he was doing, but given what had happened when he last saw Anita, he couldn’t muster the energy to have that fight right now. ‘You’ll be pleased to hear Anita broke up with me, so you no longer have to worry about my ‘inappropriate’ girlfriend. And to add insult to injury, she and Alexander have disappeared, conven
iently at the same time and from the same location, so you were probably right. She was probably lying to me the whole damn time.’ Marcus slumped down on the bench opposite his father at the enormous, aged wooden kitchen table. The furious tension had left his body and he bowed his head forward, resting it on his hands. ‘I can’t believe she would do this. Not so soon after breaking up with me...’
‘Unless of course, as you say, she was cheating on you from the start. Maybe Alexander had her spy on us.’
Marcus’ head shot up. ‘Why would Alexander need to use someone like Anita to spy on us? He can get as close to us as he wants at any time.’
‘Or maybe Anita has been using both of you. She’s been working with the Institution; that’s the only explanation for why she would try to steal that particular cylinder, although I doubt very much she would have known what she was stealing.’
‘For the last time, she didn’t steal that cylinder.’ Marcus said, agitated, emphasising each word in turn.
‘Really? You’re sure about that now she’s dumped you and disappeared?’
Marcus almost defended her, but now he had to say the words out loud, even he wasn’t so sure. Had she been using him the whole time? Had she never felt anything for him? ‘What was in the cylinder?’
Austin dodged the issue. ‘More importantly, where is she now and what’s her next move? I’m sure she’ll come back, and when she does we need to be ready for her, Alexander, and the whole Institution, if it comes to that.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘The Institution are spreading rumours that we’re the cause of the food shortages. People are starting to believe their lies and if we don’t do something to stop the momentum, who knows where this whole sorry business could end up.’
‘Well what if they have a point?’ said Marcus, without giving adequate thought to the words escaping his mouth. ‘What if it is all to do with the energy, and it could all be solved if we found a way to send the relic back?’
Austin’s fury was plain to see. His jaw was set, his eyes cold, his brow furrowed. ‘Sometimes I wonder if you’re truly my son,’ he said venomously. ‘Firstly, this is not to do with the energy, there is simply no conclusive proof. Secondly, even if we wanted to send the relic back, it’s impossible, the Body bloodline is broken; the prophecy is dead.’
‘What’s causing the shortages then?’ he snapped back, unwilling to roll over easily with the sting of his father’s cruel words fresh in his ears.
‘We’ve just had a bad year, that’s all. Next year we’ll be back to the bumper harvests we’re used to.’
‘And the fish stocks? And dead birds that seem to be falling out of the sky?’
‘All part of the same problem. Bad weather effecting their food supplies.’
Marcus didn’t argue any further. Austin wasn’t paying any attention to the actual argument, instead using standard, rehearsed responses that slid effortlessly off his tongue. ‘So what do you suggest we do then? Nothing? Sit back and let people starve whilst we carry on as normal?’
‘Don’t be so melodramatic; it’s really not that bad. People won’t starve as the result of one bad year, it will take much longer than that before people really feel the impact on their lives. And by the time they do, we’ll be into another year and the crop yields will have returned to normal. What we really need to do is be patient, and most importantly deal with the Institution, before they can stir up enough of a movement behind their lies to cause us real problems.’
‘And how do you suggest we do that?’
‘I don’t yet know, but Anita is at the centre of this somehow, so I suggest we start with her.’
*****
Anita and Alexander left the farm without telling anyone they were going, walking the several miles back to Empire in relative silence. They walked without touching, each agonising over what Helena had told them, Anita thinking about her parent’s brutal deaths, and Alexander contemplating his parents’ own demise.
They headed for Cleo’s, needing to go back over all they’d recently learned and deciding Cleo was the person most likely to ask the most probing questions and pick the most effective holes in what Helena had told them, not to mention she was one of the very few people they both agreed they could trust. They reached Cleo’s in what seemed like no time at all, Anita not sure she knew how they had got there. Alexander rang the bell then pulled Anita to him, kissing her forehead before Cleo threw the door open and hastily ushered them inside.
Cleo was much more subdued than normal. She gave Anita a welcoming hug then showed them in to her vast, open plan living space where Bas was already lounging on one of Cleo’s enormous white sofas. Cleo lived in a converted warehouse next to The Island, the space a towering loft full of old industrial paraphernalia converted masterfully into furniture. It was spacious, light and entirely homely, managing a stylish convergence of old and new, Cleo always one to be on the leading edge of chic.
‘What’s up with you?’ asked Anita, Cleo’s downbeat mood making her nervous.
‘Several things actually; Bas has been filling me in on the ever declining energy levels he’s been recording at the Observatory, dad’s sent a couple of letters describing the effects in the Wild Lands, and Bas mentioned that Helena kidnapped you two, which I’m pretty interested to hear all about by the way,’ she said, revving up to more usual levels of excitement, the prospect of new, almost certainly scandalous information pepping her up. ‘What the hell is going on?’
Alexander and Anita exchanged a look, silently agreeing to tell the full story even though Bas was also present; he had been second on their list of safe people to tell and at least they wouldn’t have to repeat themselves to him at a later date. They told them everything Helena had said to them along with everything in Clarissa’s diary, embellishing nothing and leaving nothing out. They finished the recount and waited in silence for Cleo and Bas’ inevitable stream of questions, a strange feeling of relief washing over them now they had shared with others all they knew.
‘So you’re the Body Descendant?’ Cleo ventured, after an uncharacteristic and pronounced silence.
‘It would seem so,’ Anita replied.
‘And Helena is essentially responsible for the death of both of your parents,’ Bas said, weightily.
‘Yes,’ replied a tense Alexander, revealing so much information to relative strangers was stuffing him with conflicting emotions. He couldn’t deny it felt good to share, but his grandfather had taught him secrets were safest when locked away inside, and a lifetime of practice was a hard habit to shake.
‘So the prophecy is still intact?’ asked Cleo.
‘Apparently,’ said Anita.
‘And Helena thinks the answer to how to send the relic back is in a cylinder in your head?’ Cleo pressed.
‘She’s not sure what’s in there, but she thinks it’s the missing piece of the puzzle, so I suppose it would lead to that, yes. Although Helena isn’t set on sending the relic back. She and the rest of the Institution think it’s possible to achieve energy stability without fulfilling the prophecy, but I suppose if there was a way to send the relic back, the Institution would take energy stability through whichever route they could get it.’
‘Dad was part of this whole thing and never said anything about it,’ said a dejected Bas, confronted with the reality he didn’t truly know his father.
‘Well that’s what Helena said, and it would explain Cordelia and Alistair’s close friendship. But if he hasn’t wanted anything to do with the Institution since then, it’s not surprising he never brought it up,’ Anita replied as warmly as she could.
‘Not to mention that it’s an illegal organisation,’ added Alexander.
‘An illegal organisation stirring up bad feeling amongst anyone they can find who’s been affected by the energy drop,’ said Cleo.
Anita frowned, ‘what do you mean?’
‘In one of the messages dad sent me, he said those who’d been treated badly by the D
escendants were becoming militant. They’re holding small demonstrations in the Wild Lands already, complaining the Descendants are doing nothing to help anyone but themselves, saying that somebody needs to take action. Dad mentioned the Institution were getting behind the demonstrations, building momentum wherever they can, driving people to more significant action. The Institution want huge swathes of people to rise up against the Descendants. Even if they can’t find a way to send the relic back, they see overthrowing the status quo as the first step towards stability.’
‘Helena neglected to mention that,’ said Alexander, ‘and it seems a little counterintuitive that such upheaval should be the route to stability.’ Anita put her hand on his arm. She was a Descendant too, but at least nobody was going to try and remove her from power, she didn’t have any, whereas with Alexander it was a different story.
‘Then there is only one answer,’ said Bas. ‘We have to find a way to send the relic back before the Institution build enough momentum to overthrow the Descendants. Who rules afterwards, the people can decide, when the Descendants no longer have the sole right to lead. Anderson and I are already working on it but maybe we’d make more progress if you helped too.’
‘Of course,’ said Anita, ‘we’ll try to find a way to open the cylinder in my mind. If Helena’s right about its contents, then it should help.’
‘And hope it doesn’t kill you in the process,’ said Alexander.
Anita gave him a flippant smile, ‘if it kills me, it will probably kill you too, seeing as you’ll be in my head with me.’ He shoved her playfully and rolled his eyes.
‘We need to find a way to get Marcus and Gwyn involved too,’ said Cleo. ‘If we do find a way to send the relic back, we’ll need all the Descendant support we can get.’
‘I’ll speak to Gwyn when I can find the right way,’ said Bas, ‘but I’m not going to tell her she’s not really the Body Descendant, nor that Anita is her half-sister, nor that the Institution are launching a plan to have her overthrown.’