Colour of Death, The

by Cordy, Michael

  “When we get out of the tower we run for the forest, right?” he said, panting from the exertion of clattering down the stairs. “Any more objections to letting Jordache handle it from here?”

  “Nope. Not anymore.”

  When they reached the red level Delaney must have regained consciousness because they could hear him screaming above, demented with rage. “Stop them. Stop them.”

  As they left the stairwell the two Watchers in indigo robes appeared. Both were armed but unprepared: a blow to the throat dropped the first to his knees, a kick to the solar plexus doubled over the second. Fox kept moving forward, dragging Sorcha in his wake. The Wives appeared when they got to the door but Sorcha helped push them out of the way. Then Fox opened the door and they were outside. Never had fresh air felt so good. Fox stopped for a second to get his bearings. The crowd of cult members had thinned but many remained, gathered in clusters around the tower. Some were talking, some dancing, others lay on their backs looking up at the moon. No one was paying much attention to them and he could see a path through the groups to the forest. He pulled Sorcha with him. Assuming the horse was still where they’d left him, they could make it. They could get away.

  “Stop them,” shouted Delaney. His voice sounded incredibly loud. The loose groups of cult members quickly joined together, forming a cordon around the tower and closing the path to the forest. Fox turned and saw Delaney standing in the door of the tower holding a megaphone to his lips. “Stop them.” More Watchers appeared as the crowd closed in, forcing Fox and Sorcha back.

  “Look at me,” Fox shouted. “I’m an indigo. I’m one of you. We didn’t volunteer to be Pathfinders. The Seer forced us. Why do we have to obey him? He’s not a god. He has no divine powers or third eye.” He pointed to the tower. “There’s a room in there where he spies on you from cameras he’s placed around the settlement. He doesn’t care about you. He only wants to control you and use you.”

  “I am the Seer,” Delaney boomed through the megaphone. “Return them to the tower.”

  “He is the Seer,” voices echoed from the crowd.

  “Why is he the Seer?” responded Fox. “Why do you obey him?”

  “He has the aura,” cried a host of angry voices, as the crowd closed in.

  “So have I,” said Sorcha, taking her cue from Fox. Standing in the moonlight in her dazzling white robes, she looked like an angel. “My aura is purer than his. If my father is the Seer who must be blindly obeyed, then what am I? Why should I not be obeyed? Why should he force me to do his bidding? Why does he not obey me?”

  “He is the Seer,” some shouted again. But as the crowd pressed around them Fox could hear questioning voices. Some began to reach for Sorcha and pull her to them. Others tried to push them back to the tower.

  “Bring them to me,” ordered Delaney, as the Watchers and the Wives fought through the jostling chaos and dragged Sorcha back to the tower. Fox reached for her but the increasingly frenzied crowd drove them apart. As Sorcha tried to escape, some in the crowd attempted to help her, while others aided the Wives.

  Above the noise of the mêlée, Fox heard another sound. When he looked up into the night sky he saw nothing at first, just heard the rhythmic whup-whup of rotors. Then two helicopters appeared above the sequoias, silhouetted against the full moon like giant locusts. Searchlights shone down, picking out the eye on the tower and scanning the crowd. When the lights settled on Fox everyone around him panicked, intensifying the chaos.

  “I warned you of this, my people,” Delaney shouted above the noise, as the Wives and Watchers dragged Sorcha back to him and bundled her into the tower. “The government are coming for us. They’re coming for you — the indigos.” Delaney pointed at Fox, dazzled in the spotlight of the helicopter beams. “He brought them here,” he screamed. “He brought them here.” Then Delaney stepped back into the tower and closed the door. Fox tried to follow but the crowed held him back. He heard Jordache’s voice, amplified by loudspeakers, rise above the roar of the rotors, appealing for calm and calling his name. But Fox ignored him, totally focused on one aim: rescuing Sorcha. As the helicopters came in to land, forcing the crowd to run for cover, Fox fought his way back into the tower.

  Chapter 66

  “Come on. We must hurry. We haven’t much time.” As the Wives dragged Sorcha into the tower, helped by the Watchers, Delaney refused to let his dream slip away. Sorcha belonged to him. As a product of his loins she was born to serve him and realize his destiny. He could still complete the Great Work. He had the Wives with him and three Watchers.

  After preparing everything so carefully he couldn’t believe it had come to this. Moments ago, he had been on the brink of taking the Great Work to the next stage. And now…

  Climbing the stairs, he could hear the muffled sounds of approaching helicopter rotors. The children of men must have come for Fox but why were they here tonight of all nights, and what right did they have to meddle in his divine business and threaten the Great Work? He couldn’t countenance failure. Not after all the time and work. He was the Seer, born of gods. Nothing must stand in the way of his divine birthright.

  He was near the top of the tower now. All was not lost. The Watcher above him had only a knife but one of the Watchers following below had a rifle, which should be enough to secure the staircase. When they passed the indigo floor, the heavily pregnant Maria was panting hard but Delaney could hear footsteps on the stairs below. “Hurry,” he hissed.

  “It’s over, Regan. Let Sorcha go.” The sound of Fox’s voice echoing up the staircase inflamed Delaney’s rage. Why was he still interfering? This had nothing to do with him. “Let her go,” Fox shouted. “The police will be here in a few minutes. Sorcha, can you hear me?”

  “Nathan, I’m here,” Sorcha shouted, pushing against the exhausted Maria and twisting out of her grip. Immediately her arm was free she turned to Zara, who was gripping her other arm, and lashed out with her free hand. “Get your goddamn hands off me.” Zara let go to defend herself and Sorcha turned on Deva, kicking and punching in a frenzy, desperate to get away.

  “Stop her,” Delaney ordered. As Sorcha ran back down to the indigo level one of the Watchers slammed her against the wall and put his knife to her throat. At that moment, Fox appeared around the curve of the staircase. “Kill him,” Delaney screamed. “Kill him.”

  The Watcher with the rifle raised it and fired. The shot ricocheted around the enclosed stairwell and Fox jumped back, out of sight. Delaney ran down to Sorcha, filled with a sudden hatred for his daughter. Everyone else on the settlement knew their role in the Great Work and did exactly as they were told. They understood the necessary sacrifices and performed them willingly. But Sorcha had never played her part. She had never done anything for the Great Work. She would learn, though. He would make her understand her place in the world. He took the knife from the Watcher then slapped Sorcha hard across the face with the palm of his hand. As he fell he grabbed her by the throat and pulled her to him. “You will obey me.”

  “Never,” she said, glaring at him. “Whatever you do to me now, you’re finished.”

  “You will obey me,” he said again. “You’re nothing. You never lost your identity because you never had one. You’re nothing more than an extension of me. You belong to me. Your identity is mine.”

  “No, it’s not,” she screamed. “You’re history, part of my past. You’re nothing to do with who I am now.”

  “You don’t even know who you are now.”

  “I’m whoever I choose to be,” she roared, drumming her fists against his chest. “I am what I decide.”

  “You decide nothing,” Delaney said, pushing the knife close to her face until it was inches from her left eye. He wanted to cut her, punish her for defying him. “You will obey me, Sorcha, or I will blind you.” He began dragging Sorcha back up the stairs, then turned to the Watcher with the rifle. “If Fox or anyone tries to come up those stairs, shoot them dead.”

  Pressed against the
wall, Fox peered around the central pillar of the spiral staircase and studied where and how the armed man was positioned. He briefly considered waiting for Jordache and his men — who would also be armed — but there wasn’t time. He had to get Sorcha away from Delaney now. If the man had a pistol or a semi-automatic then stepping out would be suicide and Fox would have no option but to stay where he was. But the man had a hunting rifle. Deadly at long range, it was inaccurate and unwieldy at close quarters.

  If he rushed the Watcher at the right angle he could reach the rifle before the man could get in an accurate shot. The risk was high but worth it, especially if he could engineer some surprise. He could hear Delaney and his Wives dragging Sorcha up the steps. “Don’t worry, Sorcha, I’ll get help,” he called up to her. Then he ran down the steps to the next level, where he stopped, turned and silently crept back up to where he had started. Lying low on the steps, he peered around the column and saw the man had dropped his guard and lowered his rifle. Taking his chance, Fox rose to a crouch then sprinted around the corner and leapt at him.

  Or tried to.

  Fox was so intent on speed and reaching the man before he raised his rifle that he slipped on the steps, lost his footing and lurched forward onto his knees. Extending his hands to break his fall he looked up and saw the man raise the rifle and take aim at point-blank range. Beyond the rifleman, Fox saw Delaney look over his shoulder and smile, as if Fox had made it too easy. He could hear Sorcha shouting his name. “Nathan! Nathan!” as she struggled to break free from her father and come to his aid. Then he detected a familiar taint in the air and saw Kaidan step onto the stairwell from the indigo level. In that instant, as Fox looked down the barrel of the gun and the man’s finger tightened on the trigger he knew all was lost and he was about to die. This time he had no plan, no insurance. Nothing. It was over.

  Suddenly, time seemed to slow and Fox could only look on in helpless amazement as Kaidan threw himself at the gunman, ripped the rifle from his hands and, holding it by the barrel, broke it against the wall. “It’s finished,” Kaidan shouted at his father. “Let Sorcha go.”

  For a second, no one moved. Delaney stood frozen in shock. Only when Kaidan reached for his half-sister did the Seer react. “How dare you tell me it’s finished?” he bellowed, his face white with rage. “Just because you couldn’t kill Fox it doesn’t mean it’s over. It’s not over till I say it is.”

  Kaidan stood his ground and prized Delaney’s hands off Sorcha’s neck. “Let her go.”

  Delaney turned to the remaining Watchers, who stood back, uncertain what to do. “Stop him, you fools.” The Watcher above Delaney could do little but the other two rushed at Kaidan. Fox didn’t hesitate. He swept the first Watcher’s feet from under him and pushed him down the stairs. The second was already on Kaidan when Fox punched the Watcher hard in the kidneys and slammed him against the wall. As Delaney released his grip around Sorcha’s neck she kicked her father hard in the groin. When Delaney doubled over, Kaidan pulled Sorcha away and pressed her hand into Fox’s. “Take her.” For a second, Kaidan’s eyes met his. “Save the angel.” Then the killer pushed him away. “Go. Now.”

  As Fox pulled Sorcha toward him, Regan let out a howl of pain and rage. “How could you betray me, Kaidan? You’re my son, a part of me. You’re mine.” Still bent over in pain, Delaney reached up and thrust his knife deep into his son’s side, and twisted the blade.

  Chapter 67

  Kaidan fell as Fox pulled Sorcha down the steps, away from danger. When Sorcha saw Delaney bend to stab her half-brother again she stopped running. She refused to be scared any more. She had to end this now.

  Breaking free of Fox, she ran at Delaney and pushed him off Kaidan. “Leave him alone,” she shouted, standing protectively over her brother. “You’ve hurt him enough. You’ve hurt everyone enough. Stop this madness. Don’t you understand? Your pathetic Great Work is over.”

  Delaney raised his bloody knife and, for a second, Sorcha thought he, along with his Wives and the remaining Watcher, were going to attack her. Then Fox appeared beside her and someone called from below: “Nathan? Nathan?”

  “Up here, Karl,” shouted Fox.

  “You OK? You got Sorcha there?” Detective Karl Jordache’s voice sounded faint but clear.

  “We’re fine, but we could do with some back-up.”

  Sorcha kept her eyes fixed on her father. “The police are already in your precious tower and will be up here in a few minutes. Like I said, you and your Great Work are finished.”

  Delaney glared at her, eyes filled with hatred. Suddenly, Maria collapsed to her knees, supported by the other Wives. The steps beneath her were wet. “Her waters have broken,” Deva said.

  Delaney glanced at Maria and then at the knife in his hand. He seemed to come to a decision. “Come. There’s still time.” He turned to the remaining Watcher. “We’re going to the top of the tower. Let no one pass.”

  “Give it up,” Sorcha called after him. “You can’t complete the Great Work now.”

  “I can still do it without you,” Delaney spat. “The Great Work’s bigger than you. This isn’t over. It hasn’t even begun.” Then he hurried up the stairs.

  Sorcha let him go and knelt down to Kaidan. He seemed calm, despite the blood pouring from his side and dripping down the steps. As Sorcha touched his wound, he groaned. “I don’t think you’ll be able to dress this like you used to,” he said.

  Fox crouched down and tried to stem the bleeding but Sorcha could see that the wound was too deep. Fox shot her a glance and she knew Delaney had struck her half-brother a mortal blow. “You saved my life, Kaidan,” Fox said. “Moments ago you tried to strangle me to death and now you do this. Why?”

  “I didn’t do it for you,” Kaidan smiled at Sorcha. “I did it for her.”

  “Why?” she asked. “Why did you change your mind?”

  As Kaidan looked up at his half-sister he searched his mind for the answer to her question. To his surprise, after he had regained consciousness from Fox’s knockout blow, he had felt no anger toward the psychiatrist, only a perverse gratitude. Despite diligently and dutifully trying to do everything his father had demanded of him, Fox had stopped him. And in so doing, Fox had saved him from himself. When Kaidan had heard the faint whup, whup, whup of helicopters through the thick tower walls, he had felt no fear, only a surge of relief — almost euphoria. The authorities were coming. He could do no more except surrender. It was out of his hands. It was over.

  As he had got to his feet and brushed himself down, he had seen everything clearly for the first time. Fox had been right about the murders in Portland. For the first time in his life he was free to shed the person his father wanted him to be and become himself. When he had heard the commotion on the stairs he had known exactly what he had to do. Even now, after his father had stabbed him and his lifeblood was leaking away, his only regret was that he hadn’t acted earlier.

  He reached for Sorcha’s hand and tried to answer her question. “When I knew it was over I wanted to break away from my past and become someone different. For once — just once — I wanted to be the angel and not the demon.” He glanced at Fox. “You were right. We are more than our past. We can become whoever we decide to be — however fleetingly — through the choices we make.” A huge convulsion suddenly seized his body and he coughed up a lungful of blood. Gasping for air, he discovered he could no longer breathe. Then his head fell back, his hand slipped from Sorcha’s grasp and he was gone.

  Feeling both sadness and anger, Sorcha gently closed Kaidan’s eyes. Then she stood and continued climbing the steps. “Let’s finish this.” Fox followed silently behind until they reached the violet door to the seventh level and found their path blocked. The last Watcher stood guard, brandishing a knife. He looked terrified.

  Fox groaned. “You don’t need to do this. I don’t want to fight you. The police are coming and they’re armed. Throw down the knife and step aside.”

  Sorcha reached out her
hand. “Give me the knife. My father’s no longer in charge. Too many people have died in this tower. You don’t need to be another one.”

  The man hesitated for a second, then threw down the blade, pushed past them and ran down the stairs. Sorcha reached for the door but it was locked what a conventional lock and key. Through the door she could hear whispering and frantic activity. It sounded like the Wives were trying to placate Delaney as he gave them instructions. With a sickening jolt, Sorcha realized what her father planned to do. She banged frantically on the heavy wood then turned to Fox. “We’ve got to stop him.”

  “Stop him doing what?” Realization dawned on Fox’s face. “But it won’t work. It can’t work.”

  “I don’t care. I don’t want him to even think he might have succeeded.” Sorcha heard their names being called again. The voices were closer now.

  “Nathan? Sorcha? You OK?”

  “We’re fine,” Fox shouted back. “There’s a guy coming down. He shouldn’t be armed.”

  “Nathan, there’s a body down here. Who is it?”

  “That’s your killer,” Fox replied. “I’ll explain everything later. Just come up here.” He glanced at Sorcha then examined the lock. “And bring a gun. We need to get into this room fast.”

  Chapter 68

  “Help me,” said Delaney, frantically. “There isn’t much time.” He turned to Deva and Zara. “You understand what I need you to do?”

  They both nodded silently, too close to tears to speak.

  “Which one will do it?”

  Zara broke down and started crying.

  Deva held out her hand and Delaney passed her the knife. “Timing is everything, Deva. You know what to look for? You know the signs?” he said.