Chapter 52: Chapter 52

Ouch, my head! Oh, light! I had again forgotten to close the shutters and the rays penetrated my irises with such violence that I had difficulty using telekinesis to remedy this situation. Lying on my bed, I felt an urge to take a shower. It must have been 35° and the sheets were sticking to the skin. My first action was to run a lukewarm bath. The bathtub was near the bed and the shower upstairs, I could lie down in the bath while showering required standing up, the choice was quick: lazy! Once in the water, I rehashed the events of the strange evening the day before. In reality, it was difficult for me to conceive that this ball in honour of Carmichael was real and yet I remembered perfectly how it ended: me, intoxicated by the power of the new Master Hand, the general atmosphere and a few glasses of champagne while dancing in a most indecent fashion in the midst of hundreds of castes whose behaviour was equally reprehensible. Luckily, one of the estate guards had come to fetch Carmichael on urgent business, and I was torn from my dreams so abruptly that it took me a while to regain my lucidity.

Then Carmichael later joined me in the garden courtyard. I had gone out to get some fresh air to recover my wits, something difficult after such an evening!

“We’ll have visitors tomorrow,” he had said observing me, “I’d like you to attend this interview.

“Who’s visiting us?”

“Your guardian and an army general.”

“Sam! What good news!”

“I’m not as sure as you, sweetie, we’ll see when they get here.”

“Sweetie?! So there it is, do you think a few dances can allow you to use that kind of familiarity with me?”

“It depends on the dance, don’t you think?” he replied with a smile. “So, ready to go back down into the lion’s den?”

I had taken some time to answer because I myself wasn’t sure of my decision. The temptation was strong to go back. I flashed him a smile, which he immediately took for assent, but I took his hand to make my words better accepted.

“I think for a first caste ball, I’ve seen enough for tonight. But one thing is certain, it was the most extraordinary evening I’ve ever experienced.”

“And there’ll be many others,” he had added, reassuring me about his intentions.

“Yes, there’ll be many others,” I repeated with a mischievous grin.

We parted that way. I let go of his hand, an experience more painful than I expected, I returned to my room and collapsed on the bed.

Once out of the bath, the suffocating heat dried my throat. I put on my bikini and a long white beach robe and left with the firm intention of taking a dip in the pool after a hearty breakfast. The garden courtyard was crowded, the swimming pool requisitioned by half-naked bodies glued to each other for lack of space and the volume of the music was already being increased. I took my courage in both hands and attempted a breakthrough in the courtyard garden.

“Hello, Everliegh.”

“Hello.”

“Hey, Eve!”

“Hi.”

“How are you, Eve?”

“Good, how are you?”

A coffee! I screamed to myself. Lost cause, Johnny was already throwing himself in my direction and blocking my way.

“Hey babe!” he said without worrying for a second about the headache that he should have calculated just by seeing my crumpled face.

“I had never seen such an atmosphere, it was hot!” he persisted. “And I’m not talking about the weather!”

“Okay, I’ll get my coffee and I’ll come back.”

“Seriously, I have to change the music.”

“Is it to you that we owe the sound system near the swimming pool?”

“Yeah! A party like that deserves an after-party!”

I giggled when I saw him rush off at full speed because the track that was playing was coming to an end. I finally arrived in the south wing and discovered the kitchen taken over by a crowd of castes ready to do battle for a Colombian medium roast. Estelle tried to make her way through, but it was a waste of time. I gave up too. The idea occurred to me to pay a visit to Thomas in order to raid his refrigerator, always much fuller than mine. Along the way, I passed the old chapel where Carmichael had made his quarters. Finally, why embark on a long walk under a blazing sun when Carmichael, Master Hand, had privileges that allowed him not to queue in the kitchen... I ventured on a visit and realized that it was a first to come to his house as a friend. Indeed, the last time I had set foot at Carmichael’s, I had blown up his front door, insulted him and finally kissed him before he rejected me.

I knocked on the door.

“Come.”

So I entered his lair.

“I know it’s not my habit to pay you courtesy visits, but would you give breakfast to your second in command?”

“Second in command?!”

He laughed but got up from his bed anyway to prepare a tray.

“And coffee. Lots of coffee.”

He laughs harder.

“Sugar?”

“Yes, just one. Uh, no, two!”

“The castle is crowded, right?” guessed Carmichael, handing me a cup.

“It looked like the first day of sales. Johnny has pulled out the sound system and we’re on the verge of witnessing a Roman orgy at the swimming pool!”

“Okay, finish your breakfast and let’s go!”

He chuckled when he saw my stunned expression and gave me a smile that almost convinced me.

“You’re joking!”

“Not that much,” he said, suddenly looking serious. “Guests are starting to leave tonight and it’s my duty to be present at all the festivities. Mmm… maybe you’re right. After all, I hadn’t slept that much before your stomach brought you here. An extra hour or two of sleep wouldn’t hurt me. I feel like the day is going to be long.”

“That’s for sure, Carmichael!”

“Can you repeat that?”

“What?”

“My name.”

“Carmichael,” I said with a sigh.

He smiled and looked at me, I did the same. His dreadlocks loose on his shoulders, he wore soft linen pants and a T-shirt that hugged his muscles perfectly. His imposing stature went to take refuge under fine sheets while I baked a last croissant.

“You also look like you need to rest.”

“I had left the shutters open,” I told him after another sip of coffee. “It woke me up.”

“Come next to me.”

“Sure!” I said, full of sarcasm.

“Everliegh, believe it or not, I’ll be able to resist for two hours. But if you want to go back to the castle, no problem!”

He scored a point! But what he didn’t know was that after the night before, I had never feared being near him so much. My sensations had been so powerful that I could still feel the after-effects. My decision was made, I went to join him. Once lying down, I realized that I wasn’t mistaken about what this rapprochement would cause. Yet he remained still and only turned his head in my direction. After a last look, he closed his eyes and it wasn’t long before I fell asleep myself.

I woke up later with no idea of the time and found that Carmichael had deserted the chapel. A note was waiting for me on his pillow. His handwriting surprised me. His letters were regular and the calligraphy seemed to date from another time. All he needed was to write with a quill so that I could project myself into the 18th century.

Everliegh, come join me at 3 p.m. in my office in the big tower.

Carmichael

The least we can say is that he hadn’t been extravagant on the number of sentences. As I stood up, someone knocked vigorously on the door.

“Carmichael! Carmichael!”

I recognized Nicolas Hanlon’s voice. I ran to the door presuming the worst. As I opened, Nicolas and Abi were speechless when they discovered me at the Master Hand’s in a light tunic and barefoot. They were as pale as chalk. I let them in immediately and Abi spouted out a stream of almost unintelligible words.

“Calm yourself!” I stopped her. “Sit down and tell me.”

“We had a vision,” said Nicolas, “and it was very strange because it didn’t look like any other. It looked like there was interference and we only picked up snippets of information.”

“What did you see?”

“It’s going to be complicated to explain, but I’m going to do my best,” Abi continued, exchanging a knowing look with her brother. “It happened during a council meeting in the Pomona room. Strangers arrive and the fear they inspire is palpable. We heard screams, sounds of objects being smashed or bones broken, we can’t quite determine what caused this, but the last very clear image that appeared to us was a finger raised from one of the strangers in your direction.”

“What did these people look like?”

“This is precisely what isn’t normal. There was like a veil in front of their faces. We couldn’t even work out how many there were, but I’d bet no more than a dozen.”

“Okay, it won’t happen for a while, we have time to prepare. Some guests of the castle are leaving this evening and the last should retire before next Sunday. No one is going to be mad enough to lead an attack on the castle when so many castes are here!”

“I’m not convinced,” replied Nicolas.

“Why?”

“There was still all the decoration from yesterday’s evening and castes who don’t normally stay in the castle.”

I was thinking about what to do, but the priority was to warn Carmichael.

“You did your duty by coming to see us, We’re very proud of you.”

“We?” Abi wondered. “So it’s official, you’re dating Carmichael?”

“But not at all!” I protested. “I’m his second in command!”

“Second in command?” Nicolas repeated with a burst of laughter.

“Uh… if you want, Eve,” said Abi with a little amused grin. “So nothing’s going on with Carmichael?”

“What makes you say that?!”

“Uh… well… already the fact that you’re at his house right now. Then, what we were told about last night. It seems that he didn’t leave you and that you both were the first to leave the evening.”

“We went to bed separately!”

“In any case, next time, we’ll come to the party,” declared Nicolas firmly, “because everyone says it was fantastic, but no one told us in detail. Tell us, Eve!”

“That’s out of the question, you’ll go when you’re 18, and as it’s in two months, you won’t wait very long! As for you, Abi, you’ll need a little more patience.”

“That sucks!”

And on these last witty words, she got up and left the chapel, slamming the door. Nicolas followed her, giving me a smile, reassured to know that, soon, he could participate in all the events of the caste Order.

I went out behind them and returned to my suite to put on a more decent outfit. I went through the back door of the north wing, very close to the Pomona room and thus avoided the crowd in the garden courtyard. The clock was already showing 2:45 p.m. and I was definitely not going to appear before an army general in a two-piece bathing suit. After putting on a long gipsy-style skirt and a white tank top, I tied my hair in a rough bun that freed my neck from the heat. After a few minutes, I found Carmichael in his office from another era. Behind his imposing desk, he had his head bent over a sheaf of documents that he put away as soon as I arrived. A huge Louis XV-style Bergere armchair was to the right of the desk and he motioned for me to sit down.

“Did you sleep well?” he asked while filing his documents in the monumental library behind him.

“Very well thank you.”

“So much the better. I need all your abilities to welcome our visitors.”

“Speaking of visits, after I woke up, Abi and Nicolas came to visit you at the chapel and their story alarmed me a lot.”

“Tell me,” summoned Carmichael, who sat back in his seat.

I then repeated what the two young seers had explained to me. As I progressed through this story, Carmichael’s face took on a worried look. Like me, he had a bad feeling.

“Are the Hanlons used to their visions being so evasive?”

“According to them, no,” I replied, “and that is what worries them. They failed to know the exact number of strangers or see their faces. All that came out of this vision was that these people looked extremely dangerous.”

There was a knock on the door and Mas Andrés let in Sam and a man in official uniform with an impressive amount of medals on his chest. The man had a posture and a charisma that didn’t fail to make me smile, he was the archetype of the military leader. Sam, in his ceremonial outfit, looked quite good. Naturally, Carmichael and I rose to greet them even though our outfits were much less formal. It hadn’t escaped the general, who was now examining us from head to toe. I ventured to kiss my cousin, but with a wave of his hand, he invited me to stay in my place. I realized then that the general had to be watching everything about Sam’s behaviour and that his presence at his side was no coincidence.

“Carmichael, Everliegh, this is General George Tavel.”

Carmichael and I nodded together in greeting again. It was obvious from his contemptuous look that the general didn’t have a high opinion of the castes. That said, I couldn’t blame him, I myself had been very suspicious the first time I had met them and yet I was one of them. It went without saying that the castes inspired fear in humans who didn’t move in their circle and the Magnus era had not been a model of citizenship.

“General, my name is Carmichael, I am Master Hand of the caste people and this is my second in command, Everliegh Burberry.”

Carmichael flashed me a small smile as he presented my hypothetical rank. I answered him with a wink and saw Tavel surreptitiously widen his eyes at the announcement of our functions in the caste hierarchy. Again, I couldn’t blame him, who could believe that a tall dreadlocked mestizo and a 21-year-old kid had power over an entire community!

“Are you Samuel’s ward?” inquired the general.

“Yes.”

“And it is also you who have been wanted by the police for three years?”

“Also correct.”

“Hmm. I trust Samuel enough to know that you had nothing to do with these murders; however, I’m sure you know the real killer, don’t you?”

This Tavel was decidedly shrewd, but I wasn’t going to denounce my brother, and Carmichael knew that perfectly well. So I remained silent and eyed him defiantly.

“Did you come to talk about murders that date back a few years?” asked Carmichael firmly. “If that’s the case, gentlemen, I think our conversation will be cut short.”

“That’s not why we came,” Sam replied, knowing Carmichael well enough to understand that provoking him in his home wasn’t very wise.

“I think getting straight to the point would save us precious time,” I add.

Tavel scrutinized our attitude to the millimetre. I hadn’t lowered my eyes, and Carmichael’s face was so hard he almost made me green with anguish.

“If we came to see you,” resumed Tavel, it’s because we had a visit from one of your fellow men who obviously doesn’t submit to your authority.”

“And who is he?”

“A certain Morgan…”

Carmichael and I stared at each other. What could Morgan do with humans he had always wanted to see chained up to serve him.

“This man offered us an alliance, and I don’t hide from you that his initiative isn’t lacking in interest.”

“Expand,” said Carmichael.

“He offers to help us develop a formula that would allow us to have soldiers with the same powers as you. He wanted to give us caste DNA strains so that we could inoculate our troops, and start a crusade against you. It was his condition. I don’t know what you did to him, but he wishes you all dead.”

“What did you answer?” Carmichael asked, looking unfazed by his revelations.

“That we’ll think about it.”

“And what makes you hesitate?”

“Colonel Samuel Burberry.”

“The colonel has long ensured that the castes aren’t worried by the British government, and believe me, his actions were far from unanimous. In high places, we are quite in favour of Morgan’s proposal, because it would reinforce our troops and destroy enemies much stronger than us, as far as I know.”

“Enemies?” Carmichael said.

“Do you consider that we can be allies?”

“Absolutely.”

“And what do you suggest?”

“For now, sit down.”

Carmichael never lost his repartee, and without letting anything show, he took the reins of the conversation.

“My question is the following,” Carmichael continued, “do you know at all what you’re dealing with in the person of Morgan and what will be the consequences if you return to war against us?”

“Well…”

“I doubt,” interrupted Carmichael, “that you consider with interest the proposal of this man and I think that your feeling is directed more towards the seizure of the DNA strains.”

Tavel remained silent, for Carmichael had thrown him off. His telepathic ability was finally proving very useful.

“There are no more DNA strains, General Tavel, we have destroyed them all.”

“You’re lying!”

“I would avoid calling me a liar,” Carmichael said in a voice so serious that I felt a shiver, “at least if you want us to remain cordial and that I make you a proposal myself…”

“Without the strains, I don’t really see what could interest me!”

I felt Carmichael losing patience and felt I had to get up and walk around the room so I would be ready if something went wrong.

“What exactly would you use stronger soldiers for? You’re not at war, as far as I know.”

“You know perfectly well that we engage in very dangerous secret missions and that terrorists today stop at nothing. We have hostages all over the world and we can only wait for meaningless negotiations to succeed, and even then, we can’t get them back.”

“So you want to create a commando that would necessarily have the advantage over your enemies.”

“That’s it,” confirmed General Tavel.

“So, General, I’m going to offer you an alliance,” declared Carmichael, “Morgan offers you hypothetical powers when I offer you our services. I’m ready to let three of my castes join your commandos.”

“Three, I’m not going to get very far with that.”

Now I had to intervene. I lifted the general’s chair and sent it flying to the ceiling.

“Everliegh!” Sam cried.

Carmichael nodded that everything was fine. The general didn’t want to show his fear but I felt it anyway. He looked at me wide-eyed in amazement as I stared at him with my translucent green eyes.

“Imagine, Tavel, that you had a telekinetic like me in your ranks.”

“Tell me…”

I muzzled him with a gesture and pinned him to his chair, which was now floating twenty feet above the ground. He was sweating with panic.

“Who did you think you were dealing with, General, by being so condescending? Do you even understand who you are talking to? The man behind this desk is the Master Hand of all castes and he just made you an excellent offer. If you left your pride aside for thirty seconds, you would see that you are more than a winner in this because, you, what do you have to bring us? Nothing but stupid threats from a caste who doesn’t have the resources to even scratch us. He’s also so desperate that he came to see you, that’s an understatement, isn’t it?”

Sam was amazed, Carmichael was on the verge of laughing and I was having a blast. I really liked being second in command.

“Thank you Everliegh,” said Carmichael, “you can rest the general on the ground please, and preferably in front of me.”

I obeyed, giving him a small grin. He returned it to me and spoke to Tavel again.

“I offer you a telepath, a telekinetic and a powerful.”

“The powerful ones have extraordinary strength and are very fast, General,” Sam said. “These three powers combined would give us the advantage for sure, provided that the castes he proposes have developed great abilities. I know that there are levels of power, we’ll have to ensure that the people proposed have the necessary power.”

“Don’t worry about that,” claimed Carmichael, “you’ll be amazed at what they are capable of.”

“This proposal suits me,” said the general, who had recovered from his emotions and had finally realized where he had set foot. “When Morgan returns with his associate, I will refuse his proposal.”

“His associate?” I repeated, puzzled.

“Yes, a very strange tall redhead who…”

Within half a second, my brain began to boil with fury, the walls began to shake, and the objects on the desk wobbled dangerously. My eyes turned to Carmichael, who immediately understood my confusion. His anger joined mine and I understood that he knew everything. How could it have been otherwise, anyway… He also guessed that I would now only have one thing in mind: to find him and kill him.

“Do you know this man, Eve?” Sam asked me, knowing that I didn’t get into this state so easily anymore.

I couldn’t even utter a single word. Carmichael came to my rescue, and the calmness in his voice stunned me.

“We know him and we’ll take care of him and Morgan. In exchange for what I’m offering you, I want you to arrange for the charges against Everliegh to be dropped.”

“Agreed,” replied the general once more.

“And I also want to capture Morgan and Gregory.”

“As you wish.”

Tavel had finally understood the honour and the gift the Master Hand was giving him by parting with three castes on behalf of the army.

After a few minutes, General Tavel and my cousin left us. The separation was difficult.

“I see Mortain is your home now,” Sam said as I walked him out.

“You’re right, I’m at home here.”

“I’m sorry,” he whispered under his breath.

Our footsteps rattled on the gravel. The sun caressed my skin and dazzled my eyes. I stopped and Sam imitated me.

“Here, I’m where I belong. I could no longer live among humans. Now... You’re not the only family I have left.”

Sam looked me in the eyes and put his hands on my shoulders.

“You have changed, my Eve. What fell on you, these powers, this Order, your abduction… Only a short time ago I understood that I could never have prevented it. I trust you for the future, you have already done very well. Even though I know the general now thinks I was a mediocre guardian, I’m very proud of you.”

“If he’s not stupid, he’ll think just the opposite.”

With these last touching words, I left my uncle and returned to Carmichael’s office. I was surprised to see the presence of Monica, Allyson, Blake and Eric, all four standing in front of Carmichael’s office. Blake spun around and his impatient eyes triggered a shiver. His anger slapped me like a whip. The other three remained silent as Blake shouted at Carmichael.

“Have you gone mad, my nephew! Team up with humans! Since when did the castes sink so low?!”

“I’m surprised by your anger, uncle.”

“Surprised! Not only are you getting along with humans, but you’re allying yourself with their army. Do you know what happened when your father did that!”

“I know it very well,” replied Carmichael getting up, “but do I have to remind you that I’m the new Master Hand and that as such you too owe me obedience. You don’t understand my choices because you are part of a generation of castes with archaic customs and who see no further than their own interests. You may not notice it, uncle, but I may need the humans one day, and I won’t let anyone argue with my choice.”

“If this is your last word, then at least grant me the favour of leaving Eric alongside Everliegh in her recruitment missions.”

“Others can accompany her. Eve could grind this castle to dust if she wanted to, she doesn’t need Eric. Right, Eric?”

All eyes converged on Eric, mine first, as the harrowing image of Mortain Castle razed from the face of the Earth came to mind. Carmichael was right, I didn’t need Eric by my side for my missions. However, I suspected Carmichael of wanting to keep him away from me at all costs. He knew almost the whole truth about our former relationship, and I doubted that Carmichael would consider him an ally because of that. Just in the atmosphere of the room, I felt a strange feeling coming from Carmichael and it was accentuated when he spoke to him.

“Everliegh doesn’t need me and I don’t see anything against working with humans.”

Eric’s words sent a chill through the room. Blake remained speechless and with a weird grin rushed towards the exit with a furious step. For my part, I had the impression of receiving a punch in the stomach. I had definitely lost Eric. Only Allyson and Carmichael looked satisfied. They all left the office and walked past me without a word. The Master Hand remained seated and looked at me attentively. Caleb chooses this moment to burst into the room.

“The Monteiros are dead!”