HEART OF THE CHOSEN (CASTE BOOK 1)

Chapter 42

The Van Durens had been found dead near the lake. What they were doing there remained an enigma. We only knew (if we can say so!) that they had been gutted and that they suffered countless fractures. Thomas and Caleb had found them first, and seeing their pale state six days later, one could conclude that they were still struggling to recover from their gruesome discovery. I liked the Van Durens, although I had to admit that all three were very strange. I was ashamed to think so but felt relieved when I learned that, of all people, only Salomon had been found alive. If I had to choose which of them should stay alive, it was cruel to say that my choice would have been on him. The poor man couldn’t remember anything and his injuries forced him to move around in a wheelchair.

Thomas had again wanted to convince me to reveal to others that I had seen the vision of this fatal event, but I didn’t want to speak about it for the moment, afraid to admit that I had glimpsed the future and ashamed of failing to act in the face of danger and the signs that should have alerted me. I blamed myself, and to rid myself of guilt, I participated in the meetings responsible for strengthening the security of the castle. Castes of all the territories were recruited to protect the walls of Mortain, telekinetics, telepaths and the powerful took turns day and night. There were four of us recruiting. This jury was made up of Salomon, Blake, Caleb and me. I remained silent during all the interviews and observed the candidates with extreme attention. Many were surprised by my magnetic talent and lost their composure from the first few minutes. This experiment turned out to be beneficial because it made it possible to test some castes from all over the world who, in the end, were for the most part retained, after having passed Salomon’s telepathic inspection. Caleb was the first to be surprised by such fervour around Carmichael, the new Master Hand. We had enlisted powerful and highly developed telepaths, but I was unhappy with the few telekinetics who showed up. The range of their power was very limited, compared to mine. Blake then reminded me that this gift was rare and that my power went far beyond the average caste. We nevertheless proved to be satisfied with our recruitment and the large number of applications. The relief could be read in the faces.

Blake was finalizing the coordination of forces in the castle while I chatted to my native American friend. The evening of the reception, he had been found unconscious at the entrance to the castle, his legs broken. Everyone still suspected Ethan, his past of murderous madness was the cause. The day after this atrocious evening, I questioned him bluntly.

“Ethan, if it’s you, tell me now.”

“You already know it’s not.”

Indeed, at such a short distance, I would have felt his bloodthirsty wrath or at least the satisfaction he would have felt as a result of this act. But that evening, nothing had alarmed me and it was a point on which I remained constantly vigilant.

“You won’t mind me asking you the question, I’m sure,” I said, a slight sneer on my lips. “You’re not on your first attempt.”

“You should perhaps remember that I only killed humans!”

“So that’s how you defend yourself?!” I said, outraged. “You’re forgetting Thomas and everything Magnus made you do!”

“Thomas and those humans disrespected you!” he retorted as if his behaviour was obvious. “As for Magnus… I was only following orders from a man I had always considered my father. But it suits you to give me moral lessons, Eve! You may forget that you pulverized your enemies, and not just once!”

“It was self-defence!”

“And that Amsterdam caste you stabbed!”

There, my gaze darkened. I tried in vain to forget even though I considered that I hadn’t done it in cold blood. This b***h had revealed to everyone what I was looking for at all costs to hide, she had witnessed my punishment. Should I apologize for acting out of revenge when that woman was telling everyone what Magnus’ men had done to me?!

So I left Ethan by telling him I believed his words even if he remained at the top of the list of suspects for the others. I was beginning to believe that the threat had come from outside, and Blake agreed with me.

A little later, I went to Magnus’ cell, it was already the fourth time I was going to visit him. The guards had alerted Blake, and then a few others, castes in the pay of Prisca, had joined them and Blake regularly went to inquire. I used the same process, however, except that I watched his exits through the window in the corridor of the north wing. As soon as he went to the common room, I ran under the big tower. He must have suspected that I was the source of the bruised heads of his subjects, but since I hadn’t yet been questioned, I concluded that no one had yet noted the marks on Magnus’ chest. It was both a godsend and a tragedy. The scalpel was not a weapon ruthless enough to leave an indelible mark on the flesh of my former torturer, my only satisfaction being the suffering that my visits caused him. Magnus was nearly unconscious and delirious that day.

“Eleanor!” he tried to scream as my scalpel stroked his belly. “I deserve your punishment!”

“You said it!” I say, voice grim.

“Why did you leave? Why did you abandon me?”

“Maybe because you had become an old madman!”

“But you came back, Eleonore, and we can stay together forever!”

My scalpel went up to the sternum and then split the skin to the navel. Blood flowed profusely. The cloth absorbed the reddish liquid and the flow stopped after a short time. Magnus was already healing.

I retired and went to the common room where the Sunday meal was about to begin. Around the table, I had the pleasure of seeing Elvis, Johnny and their father Elias, who came to embrace me in his powerful arms as if he were reuniting with a member of his family. His gesture touched me and I immediately felt guilty for not having gone to see him before. My obsession with Magnus and my frequent moments of solitude reflecting on my continual despondency robbed me of all spirit and went so far as to question my politeness towards a man without whom I would never have survived. I hid this feeling behind a huge smile and took my place at the end of the table. Blake faced me and gave us news of Salomon who was resting to speed up his recovery. Thomas, Naomi, Allyson and Caleb were present, I could also clearly feel that Caleb’s attention hadn’t eroded since our last meeting. He still had a hard time getting used to my presence. The Andres had gone on a mission and my brother had told Blake that he wanted to have lunch in his room. Given the context of suspicion around his person, Blake hadn’t shown the slightest reprobation.

“Everliegh,” he called out to me, a slight smile at the corner of his lips, “we’re going to have to talk about a young caste that you should recruit.”

“Oh!” I said, not quite sure what to say.

“We have to make sure he joins us, he’s a pre-cog, and since the Van Durens have left us, it’s imperative that you convince him to come among us.”

I put down my fork and looked Blake straight in the eye. Silence weighed on the table, everyone noticed my confusion, but no one dared flinch.

“Blake. I think my methods will differ from those you have used so far.”

Thomas smiled, I gave him a wink. Both of us remembered very clearly the infamous way we had been treated for this recruitment. They had first tried to kill us, Thomas had been kidn*pped and drugged, I had been persecuted… in short, a great introduction and a warm welcome. Most of the castes moved in this circle since childhood, so they were exempt from this treatment. For others, testing was supposedly necessary.

“Any caste whoever he is must deserve his place among us,” Blake protested immediately.

“This is where our opinions differ, my friend. I don’t question the merit, but the method.”

“We’ll talk about it later,” replied dryly Blake, who didn’t want to go further in this conversation in front of the other guests.

The rest of the meal nevertheless passed in a good mood, only Naomi retained her usual silence in my presence. Johnny amused the gallery while Elvis tried to contain the passion of his brother, whom he thought far too comfortable in this environment.

“Do you have any news from London, Elvis?” I asked with a smile.

“Yeah,” answered this big badly licked bear, brooding over Estelle, “Mohamed Belhak reports everything to me and asks me again for my opinion on this or that problem.”

“You must miss him very much.”

“He’ll be visiting us in a few weeks, and since he’s been unemployed for life, I’m sure he’ll be squatting here for a while.”

“We authorized him to come,” intervened Blake. He will however have to stay in the vineyard farmhouse and will only be able to come to the castle occasionally.”

“It’s indeed better that he is unaware of the singular nature of its inhabitants,” Papa Forbe commented in his West Indian accent to cut with a knife.

I smile even more. Having the Forbes with us was a perpetual delight and filled me with happiness. My old life was joining the new and I couldn’t be happier. At the end of the meal, Johnny joined me and we left for the woods to indulge in a very pleasant walk under the warm rays of the midday sun. We had taken the path that led to the lake pavilions, and I showed him where Thomas was staying with his son.

“I can’t believe that Thomas has a brat,” said Johnny while contemplating the landscape.

“Yes, it was the news that sounded the death knell of our relationship, but Guil is adorable.”

“I thought I noticed that you didn’t get along well with his mother.”

“Naomi used Thomas to get revenge on me, but I think she was really in love with him for a while.”

“Get revenge by making a kid?” Johnny wondered. “What did you do to her?”

“Absolutely nothing, except maybe attracting the attention of Carmichael.”

“I can’t wait to meet this guy!”

“Carmichael is… interesting,” I say as I walk.

“Yeah, well, whatever happens, I’m not going to find something to eat in this place!”

“Wait for the ball!”

We giggled at the absurd idea of participating in festivities from another age. But on the way back, an unexpected encounter cut short our progress in the middle of the woods. My heart skipped a beat and my cheeks flushed.

“Eric!”