by Frank Morin
They gave Curly a few minutes to recover while Eirene repeatedly checked his vitals. Finally, she said, “He’s as stable as he’s going to be without weeks of rest.”
Gregorios crouched next to the man, who they propped against the couch. “Can you hear me?”
Curly started to laugh, a manic sound that raised goose-bumps along Sarah’s arms. His face might have looked handsome on a better body, but at the moment it looked a bit lopsided, as if not quite working properly.
Gregorios and Eirene took turns prodding him with gentle questions. After several minutes of crazed laughter and incomprehensible babble, he began to sound a little more coherent. He rocked back and forth without seeming to be aware of the movement and started to speak in broken sentences.
They learned that he was indeed an occultist, who had worked with Dalal on the island project researching runes of enhancement. Sarah didn’t know what island they were talking about. She’d ask Tomas about it later.
Eirene showed him the close-up photos of the runes on the machine. Curly stopped moving, his eyes widened in fear, and he clamped his mouth firmly shut.
“Tell me about the runes,” Eirene pressed.
He shook his head violently.
Gregorios leaned forward. “Very well. If you won’t talk, we’ll put you back in the box with Dalal.”
Curly screamed a long, tortured sound, then snarled at Gregorios, “You’re unworthy to see them, to touch them! The runes of ancient power are sacred.”
“Why?”
Curly’s voice dropped to a hissing whisper and his eyes bulged in their sockets. “The grand masters will destroy you all!”
Gregorios slapped him. That shocked him back to something almost resembling sanity.
“Talk,” Gregorios growled, his expression turning so grim that Sarah feared what he’d do to Curly next.
Curly shrank back from Gregorios’ wrath, whimpering with fear.
Eirene moved between them, her expression kind. “I know you’ve suffered a lot. Tell me what you know, and I’ll make sure the suffering stops.”
Curly sagged with relief and whispered, “The runes enhance the machine.”
Gregorios shifted farther back while Eirene continued the interrogation. His rage vanished and he winked at Sarah.
After almost an hour of questioning Curly, who repeatedly slipped into incoherence, Eirene leaned forward and placed glowing fingers on his face again. “Thank you. Why don’t you sleep now?”
His eyes drooped as he succumbed to the influence of the alcohol in his system.
Eirene sat back. “He won’t wake up any time soon.”
“Did that make sense to you?” Sarah asked.
“Some.”
Gregorios said, “Either those runes can actually affect the reversal of at least some soul fragmentation, or Mai Luan’s convinced the council that they can.”
Eirene said, “More interesting were the tidbits about accessing memories. He more or less confirmed my theory that the person wearing the second helmet can drive back through the memories of the person wearing the first helmet. I believe Mai Luan was using me to fine-tune the process. When she perfects it, she’ll control access to the victim’s entire life history.”
“Two functions blended,” Tomas said. “But the council only sees one.”
Sarah asked, “So what’s the danger to the council if the promise is a lie?”
“Severe soul fragmentation,” Gregorios said. “Even with mortals, that gets ugly.”
“The ones we don’t put down right away usually end up making a huge mess,” Tomas agreed.
Gregorios said, “Even facetakers feel the effects eventually.”
“Like strange memories in your head?” she asked.
“Exactly. Those are early symptoms.”
“Usually degrades to psychosis,” Tomas said. “Think Jack the Ripper.”
“Just like Irina’s nervous breakdown,” Sarah said, thinking of one of the models she’d known who’d disappeared from the program.
“Yes,” Tomas said. “She snapped and had to be put down. The same should have happened to you, but it looks like they improved the technology enough to keep you going longer.”
“Now they’ve added to it,” Eirene said.
“I should’ve seen it,” Gregorios said. “I had just put down the last council member who broke the consistency barrier before Asoka set me up.”
“What’s the consistency barrier?” Sarah asked, struggling to keep up with the flow of new information.
“It’s the point where the integrity of the soul passes the point of no return,” Gregorios said. “The point where mental dissipation and soul fragmentation leave a person broken, with too many gaps filled with bits and pieces of lives from their hosts’ previous owners. At that point, be they mortal or facetaker, they have to be put down.”
“You think they’ve been hovering at that point since the nineteen-forties?” Eirene asked.
“It has to be,” Gregorios said. “I would’ve seen the signs. It was my job to remove them when they broke down. They saw me as a threat. That finally explains Berlin.”
“They’ve hunted you for the past century, colluded in sealing me in a coffin for years, and gave their souls into the keeping of Mai Luan all out of a desperate attempt to prolong their final lives,” Eirene said angrily.
“I think so,” Gregorios said softly, his expression grim.
“So you think the new machine can actually reverse the process and restore their mental health?” Sarah asked.
“Potentially,” Gregorios agreed. “It must do enough to appear convincing.”
“If it really can ...” Eirene said, voice tinged with awe.
“There’s nothing stopping us from living forever.”
“The only problem is that Mai Luan’s Cui Dashi,” Tomas said. “It’s clear she’s concealing the second function from them.”
“She needs something from them,” Gregorios said. “She has access to the council. If she wanted to hurt them she could just detonate a bomb.”
“No, she wants to strip their minds first, take every secret.” Eirene said. “Then she’ll kill them.”
Sarah asked the biggest question they all seemed to be ignoring. “So?”
“What was that, dear?” Eirene asked.
“Why are you so worried about it? I mean, aren’t they trying to kill you? Why do we care if they do something stupid and Mai Luan kills them?”
She surprised herself more than a little with the callous tone of her voice. She feared Mai Luan more than any living being, and she knew the Cui Dashi scared the others too. It made no sense to risk their lives for the council unless the council could eradicate Mai Luan for them.
Gregorios shook his head slowly. “It’s not so easy. First, the council is involved in other things, and destroying them would have negative consequences on a global scale.”
“Plus, I guarantee Mai Luan is worse,” Eirene added. “Blocking whatever knowledge she seeks to gain through this elaborate scheme will prove well worth it for our own well-being.”
The logic made sense, but it still felt like they were taking on more risk than they should. It seemed unfair they worried about the safety of people who had treated them so badly.
“There has to be more to those runes than he’s telling us,” Tomas said.
“I agree,” Gregorios said. “That’s the key to the entire question, but it presents a problem.”
Eirene grew very serious, her gaze fixed on Gregorios. “You’re suggesting we take a terrible risk.”
“What?” Sarah asked. She still felt like she hadn’t understood half of what they were saying.
“We?” Gregorios asked. “Are you really sure you want to go there after all these years?”
“I had hoped to put it off another century or so.”
“At least.”
“We need to know,” Eirene said, “And they’re the only source of information.”
“Who?” Sarah asked
again, starting to feel frustrated.
“The Hunters.”
“Like the NRA?” Sarah asked.
Gregorios barked a laugh and Eirene cracked a smile.
“No,” Tomas said through his own grin. “Different type of hunters. Best rune experts in the world. If anyone knows what those markings mean, they will.”
“Why is that a risk?”
“They’ve sworn to kill us,” Eirene said.
“Well, me in particular,” Gregorios added.
Sarah wasn’t sure she wanted to ask why again. It seemed everyone who knew Gregorios wanted to kill him eventually.
“You’ll need to offer them something notable to survive long enough to ask their help,” Eirene said to Gregorios.
He smiled. “I have just the thing.”
“That’s your favorite toy,” Eirene said, sounding surprised.
“I don’t see another choice.” Gregorios rose. “It’s settled. We’re going to Jerusalem.”
“By way of Sweden,” Eirene added.
Sarah crossed her arms. “I’m not going anywhere until you explain what you’re talking about.”
Being deeply loved by someone, no matter which life you are living, gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.
~Lao Tzu
Chapter Twenty-Two
Sarah didn’t have to go anywhere.
The two facetakers left within the hour, however. Sarah and Tomas would stay in Rome while the others went to find the hunters. She tried not to think about the fact that Mai Luan was in the same city. Tomas had said the safe house was secure so she’d trust him.
Besides, the best camouflage she could think of while in Rome was visiting all the historical sites along with millions of other tourists.
She asked Tomas about the hunters Gregorios and Eirene were going to see.
“They’re a tight-knit group based out of Jerusalem.”
“They’re Jewish?”
“No. At least, I don’t think so. But they’ve lived within the Jewish community since the nation was restored. They have ties with the Jews that date all the way back to the time of Moses.”
“How is that possible?”
He smiled. “With everything you’ve seen, you still wonder about things like that?”
“How long have you lived?”
“I’m not a facetaker. I’m not on my first life any longer, but I’m not nearly as old as they are.” Admitting even that much seemed to be difficult for him.
“Have you ever been married?” She tried to keep her tone casual, but the words came out a little tense.
“I thought we were talking about the hunters?” he said with a smile that didn’t quite hide the worry in his eyes.
She let him change the subject. For now. “So tell me about them.”
They sat together on one of the couches and he explained that the hunters were descended from the family that founded the order way back in ancient days. Their primary purpose was to hunt the heka, or kashaph, as they called them. They considered it a divine calling to rid the world of those evil powers. They were a secretive, patriarchal order, whose family line was one of the oldest in the world.
“That’s incredible,” Sarah said. She felt deeply curious about the hunters as she considered Mai Luan. Ridding the world of people like her would indeed be a worthy life cause, albeit a dangerous one.
Tomas explained that they had developed contacts and alliances all over the world. They were well-trained, exceptional fighters, skilled in dealing with the devilry the kashaph conjured through their rounon symbols.
“So if facetakers hate heka too, why do the hunters want to kill Gregorios and Eirene?”
“Well, they also consider facetakers to be devils incarnate, possessed with an evil power that needs to be eradicated.”
“Oh.” That made things difficult.
“They’re not always at open war with the facetakers. It’s a complex relationship, but in the last century it’s soured, particularly where Gregorios and Eirene are concerned.”
“Why?”
“Eirene’s issues with them date back to the second World War, and I don’t know the specifics,” Tomas said. “But they swore vengeance on Gregorios after a hunter failed to assassinate him.”
“Wait a minute, if they were trying to assassinate him, where do they get off getting angry when he killed the guy trying to take him out?”
“Gregorios didn’t kill the hunter. He returned the assassin’s soulmask to Jerusalem in a box.”
Sarah grimaced. Those were the people Gregorios was going to see?
“So why risk it?”
“They’re experts at runes. No one, not even most heka, know so much. If anyone can decipher what Mai Luan is planning with that machine of hers, it’ll be them.”
Sarah thought about that for a minute, but only worried more than ever for Gregorios’ and Eirene’s safety.
“So I guess we’re stuck in Rome for a couple days,” she said to change the topic. She’d love to enjoy a little down-time with Tomas, just be tourists for a couple days and not deal with arcane problems until the facetakers returned.
“What would you like to do tonight?”
Sarah beamed. “You’re the local. Surprise me.”
They dressed up and headed out for a sumptuous dinner at La Pergola restaurant, located at the elegant Rome Cavalieri Hotel. The interior was gorgeous, with antiques and famous works of art. Tomas somehow scored a table near one of the enormous windows with breathtaking views as the sun set.
Sarah drank in the sight of the city, with St. Peter’s glowing in the distance, then gave Tomas a wide smile.
“Will this do?” he asked.
“It’s amazing,” she said. “I’m surprised we were able to get in.”
“There’s usually a long wait list,” Tomas agreed. “But I know the owner.”
“Really? How?”
Tomas dipped a piece of soft bread into olive oil and saluted with it. “It’s a long story. I helped his grandfather out of a tight spot a while back. I’ve been friends with the family ever since.”
“How far back?”
His smile faded. She could tell he was nervous about talking about his past, but he’d have to find the courage to discuss it if he wanted their relationship to go anywhere. For now she’d enjoy the evening. Maybe once he relaxed more he’d be willing to share.
The meal was delicious. By the time they left a couple hours later, Sarah was so full she could barely move. So they decided to walk for a while and took a slow tour through some of the downtown landmarks. She didn’t comment on the fact that the waiter hadn’t asked Tomas for any payment.
The Trevi Fountain took her breath away. It was bigger than she had imagined, and the soft lights illuminating Neptune and the sculpted horses concealed much of the wear they’d suffered through the centuries. She could imagine herself standing in ancient Rome, enjoying the same spectacular view.
Then a police car passed, siren wailing. The sound reminded Sarah of the dangerous situation they were still embroiled in, triggering a rush of fear. It brought to mind the unexpected, violent attack on the highway in New Orleans, the shock she’d felt at the brutality of the close combat with enhanced heka in the hotel, and worry for Eirene’s safety. They’d rescued Eirene, but the danger was far from gone. Mai Luan moved in the same city. She could be anywhere, could be watching them that moment.
Sarah suddenly felt exposed. They shouldn’t be walking the streets of Rome, pretending all was well when it so clearly wasn’t. Everywhere she turned, she glimpsed another ancient pillar or church that dated back to the Middle Ages, or older, but she couldn’t recapture the sense of wonder she’d felt earlier. Nowhere in the States that she had ever visited radiated such a weight of history, but she wished they’d stayed in the safe house. She couldn’t enjoy it now.
They paused on the Spanish Steps, and she forced herself to buy a gelato, fulfilling a lifelong dream dating back
to the first time she ever watched Roman Holiday. She barely tasted it.
She leaned against Tomas while they sat on the steps. “It’s been a good night, hasn’t it?”
“I think so,” he said, but his voice sounded distracted.
She turned to him, but found him scanning the crowd, a little frown on his face.
“What is it?”
He pulled her to her feet and led the way up the long stair. “We’re being followed.”
She knew it. This was such a bad idea.
Before she could turn and look around, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and whispered to keep going. She enjoyed having him hold her, but the motivation was terrible.
At the top of the steps, he flagged down a taxi and they piled in. He changed the destination four times, which sent them criss-crossing the city before he finally asked the annoyed driver to pull over at the corner of a shadowed piazza. He gave the man a big tip, but the taxi still sped off with a spin of tires.
“Are you sure we should get out in a place like this?” she asked. The shadows seemed longer than they had in the taxi, and the relative quiet and lack of other people heightened her sense of fear. Wasn’t the cardinal rule of traveling to always stay around other people for safety?
Tomas led her at a trot down a shadowed path through the piazza. Instead of continuing to the far side, where lights from another busy road beckoned to Sarah with the promise of safety, he turned off the path.
“Where are you going?” Sarah asked as Tomas approached a darkened building. Like so many others in Rome, the three-story structure sported a columned portico. Tomas pulled her into the pitch darkness behind one of the columns where they would remain invisible but could still view the piazza.
“I need to know who’s following us,” he whispered.
On a normal date, he’d have lured her into the darkness for a little romance. If only this was a normal date. She hated the fact that she was wearing a skirt and heels. If they had to run, she’d kick off the useless shoes, but slacks would have been a better choice.
“How do you even know they didn’t lose us?”
“I wouldn’t have.”
“Who do you think they might be?” she asked, trying not to sound as scared as she felt.