Chapter 54: Chapter 54

“In the name of God, who were they?!” protested Salomon, who had first resumed the use of speech.

Carmichael leaned over me and helped me up. It was very difficult for me to reach my seat as the mental confrontation with Althea had exhausted my resources. It was the first time that I felt such weariness after having exercised my powers, and the concern that I let appear wasn’t reassuring to my fellow castes. I observed Carmichael and recognized the leader that he was, his posture showed all the assurance that I was lacking at this moment. Thomas was the first to come to make sure I was fine, then came Caleb, the Hanlons, the Andres and many other castes who, although very pale, seemed alarmed by my situation. Eric watched me for a brief moment and went as everyone resumed their place.

“We believe that our visitors were released by mistake during the attack in Amsterdam,” said Prisca.

“By mistake? How is that possible?” Salomon said.

“Next to Carmichael’s cell, there were six bodies wrapped in old shrouds,” I managed to whisper. “They somehow managed to regain their strength.”

“One of ours helped them,” Carmichael said confidently. “Bodies dead for centuries don’t come back to life so easily, and they knew far too much about us.”

“Are you thinking of anyone in particular?” I inquired.

Carmichael remained silent and exchanged a few words in his sister’s ear. She motioned for Alysson to come over and repeated the gesture. Alysson immediately left for the exit on the orders of her mistress.

“Has anyone ever heard of these people?” Prisca asked loudly, “Blake? They seemed to know Magnus well, have you ever heard of them?”

Blake fidgeted in his chair, ready to utter his first words of the evening. I suspected he was still furious with Carmichael over their dispute over our action with the military.

“I doubt that Magnus knew these people, because, of all my existence, he never spoke about it. Especially since Egeria had always had her secrets. However, their number reminds me of a legend that was told to me towards the end of the Middle Ages.”

Every caste in the assembly held their breath as they waited for Blake’s words. The wise old man had always known how to capture everyone’s attention.

“I heard this story during a stay in Turkey when I met the Lord of the territory of the East of the time. Méziane was a caste warrior feared by all. His life wasn’t that of an immortal, but his time on earth left traces of his tough fight against his colleague from the West. He had boundless admiration for Egeria, and during a private interview, I had undertaken to question him about this particular veneration. His words, I remember, were almost unintelligible. He spoke of the Blood of the Seven, of Egeria the priestess, of the invincibility of the caste kings. As I had a friendship with him, I advised him never to repeat these words to my brother, lest he make him pay dearly for his lack of allegiance.”

“So Magnus was the first and last Master Hand before Carmichael?” asked Nicolas Hanlon, who wasn’t lacking in wit.

“Indeed,” replied Blake. “He had been proclaimed as such by Egeria, and my brother, so greedy for power, didn’t need to be asked to accept. When we met her, she was already living in Mortain. The castle had been built on Roman ruins which, according to her, had always belonged to our community. At the time, I hadn’t believed it, especially since in a few centuries of existence, Egeria was the first of ours that I had met. Over the years, she had built an empire and had once gifted it to Magnus.”

“The Blood of the Seven? Did Méziane tell you more about that?”

“According to him, the Seven have reigned over the castes since the dawn of time. They were blood brothers and sisters and married to each other… It was the only way to keep their blood pure. According to Méziane, they had disappeared in an unexplained way around the beginning of the 10th century, along with a good number of castes with them. I don’t know more.”

The silence weighing on everyone’s shoulders was mixed with a terrible anxiety. Althea’s words had been clear and the choice narrow. Either we submit or we die. I had of course heard Blake tell his story, but the frustration of having let Magnus escape so easily gnawed at me more than the rantings of six stiffs. Suddenly, the ambient gloom became unbreathable, and as I recovered my energy, my anger rose like a wall against this melancholy contagion.

“Wake up, castes!” I shouted as I stood up.

Everyone looked at me in surprise, their eyes wide with amazement. I myself was surprised by so much initiative. Carmichael was snapped out of his thoughts as surely as a band aid is ripped off, and turned to me.

“Are you going to let strangers become your masters? Magnus’ tyranny is behind us. A new era begins today, and it is to Carmichael that we owe it. I have never been so fulfilled as in the last few days when tranquillity permeated each brick of this castle. Here you are at home. This is the cradle of the elect and no one will take it away from us. These people have freed a torturer, a man who imposed his power through fear and who believed that the longevity of his existence allowed him to do so. Are we going to let this happen again?!”

The ambient atmosphere warmed up and the tension was palpable. I could feel each of them joining my anger, tempers were rising. It was time to conclude.

“I consider their act as a declaration of war.”

“And you’re absolutely right,” added Carmichael, who stood. “My choice and that of Eve are definitely decided. Your conscience will let you make your own choices.”

With these words, Carmichael called the audience to dispose. He asked Prisca and me to stay. Blake stepped forward, but Carmichael waved him away. The discord between them was consummated.

“You found the right words, Eve,” Prisca said, looking proud.

“Although you didn’t consult me beforehand,” finished Carmichael.

“I know,” I conceded, “it was stronger than me. We can’t let them, I hope you agree.”

“The Six, we’ll call them that for the moment, will return. I don’t know when or where, but we have to be ready when it happens. For now, we need to focus all of our energy on finding the traitors who murdered members of the council and maybe we’ll also find the one behind the return of the Six. We can’t be on all fronts at once, we have to find these traitors!”

“What do you propose?”

A huge explosion was the only response I got. Carmichael and Prisca disappeared the next second and then screams rang out. I ran for the exit, and as I moved forward and my breath grew hotter, the tumult outside echoed with broken panes, roars of effort, howls of pain, and I realised that outside a war was raging. I climbed the stairs and jumped to the first exit from the north wing leading to the garden courtyard. My very first feeling was sadness when I saw castes fighting among themselves. Power struggles in the community had plagued the lives of the castes for so many generations that fighting was the norm. I had to thank my father for choosing Sam as my tutor. Being raised among castes meant cutting oneself off from the rest of the world. I had been lucky enough to be raised by a human and especially to be socialised among humans. The absurdity of the spectacle made me realise it at that moment. A look around gave me an idea of how to go about stopping the slaughter quickly. I wasn’t going to let Mortain be taken and destroyed so easily. According to my estimate, there must have been a hundred enemy castes who luckily didn’t have the advantage of numbers. The late ball guests were all taking part in the battle. I quickly met Thomas’ eyes who was trying to counter another powerful. Ethan was in control against two enraged castes. I made sure the Hanlons weren’t there and saw Carmichael grab a running man by the throat and slam him to the ground. Two others threw themselves at him but he countered the attack and expelled them a few metres further. I ran to join him and threw a defensive barrier around us.

“Who is responsible for all this?” I shouted in all this din.

“Surely the Six! But they aren’t here.”

“It’s not consistent. Why attack us now?”

Carmichael didn’t have the answer. He pushed my arm away and went to settle his account with a man who was holding Prisca by the neck. Enemies dodged attacks while trying to find a strategy. My brother was the only telekinetic powerful enough to control several people at once, but this idiot had fun torturing the two women by throwing them tirelessly against a wall. The sight was appalling. I reached out to him and stopped him in his madness.

“Ethan, you stop now!”

“Leave me!” he cried aloud.

“Nope! You stop now, or it’s going to end badly. It’s up to you… my brother.”

I felt his hatred dissipate little by little, but his demented gaze fled towards the inert bodies of the two castes. Then came an idea that the Six, a few minutes earlier, had inspired in me. I walked to the centre of the courtyard and closed my eyes to concentrate. It was the first time I had tried this experience on such a scale. I opened my eyes and saw that my initiative had worked. All the castes present in the courtyard garden were motionless. I had paralyzed everyone. The silence that emerged made the scene supernatural. Thomas was closest to the door of the south wing, I freed him from his invisible chains.

“Run for Salomon!”

By the time I freed Carmichael, Thomas was back with Salomon, who was struggling on his still fragile legs.

“Salomon, I want you to probe all the consciences of our enemies, find out what is the image of the caste they see as a leader. If you notice them here, then discreetly identify them.”

“Okay.”

“Next, probe the minds of the residents of this castle.”

“What?!” Salomon said, visibly disgusted by my request.

“Do you think you can last that long?” asked Carmichael, who had understood that I was taking the opportunity to find the traitor.

“I was exhausted earlier, but my strength has returned.”

“It’s the least we can say!” Salomon said, taking the direction of a first enemy.

It was so strange to move among so many frozen bodies. It felt a bit like walking through a garden of statues. Some even levitated above the ground. I freed Prisca and Blake before spotting Eric and untying him as well. Salomon joined the small group we had formed, supported by Thomas.

“Have you found anything yet?”

I was beginning to feel my resources failing me. My brother, who must have sensed my confusion, took my hand, and my energy returned to its peak. I even seemed capable of paralysing the entire village if I had deployed my field of action even further.

“These castes all have a face deeply marked in their heads. I didn’t have to look far. The man is the very pale-skinned blond who stands a metre away from the common room.”

We immediately turned to the south wing. The man had a strange position but a sharp gaze. As he was conscious, he understood that we had identified him.

“Does anyone know him?” Carmichael asked, puzzled.

“He reminds me of one of our father’s paintings at the Wharf Tower, don’t you remember?” says Prisca. “A Renaissance painting in the hallway leading to his office.”

“Morgan!”

“That’s it!”

“Yes, it’s him,” confirmed Blake.

“He’s really desperate,” declared Carmichael. “I thwarted his plan of alliance with the army the day of the Monteiros’ death, and he thinks he can take the castle with a handful of men. His actions are ridiculous, what does he want?”

“Do you want me to release him?” I asked, not quite sure I understood his reasoning.

Carmichael nodded and went to meet the man, soon followed by the rest of the group. My powers fully regained, I asked Ethan to stay close to me for a while in case the now identified Morgan hid some powers from us.

Concentrated there, in the middle of the courtyard, I didn’t see him coming. I didn’t see his massive body approach me. I didn’t feel his particular smell or his incomparable presence.

“Eve?”

Surprised by his voice so close, I turned around.

“Eric?!”

Gun in hand, he shot me through my heart.