Chapter 44
2066 Words
Perhaps two hundred long kilometres passed before the silence was finally broken in the passenger compartment.
“Do you have any idea how you’re going to do it?” Eric asked, focused.
“I guess I’ll just reveal his true nature and what we can offer him.”
“So you’re going to snatch him unscrupulously from his parents and his younger sister.”
“Of course I have scruples!” I suddenly protested. “But what do you want me to do? Blake didn’t explain to you the importance of this mission?”
“Yes, but I wonder if persuading people in this way is an honourable way to go about it, that’s all.”
And it was another hundred kilometres before our tongues loosened again.
“We’ll stay in Manchester for the night,” he declared coldly. “We’ll go see the pre-cog tomorrow.”
“I would prefer that we call him Nicolas.”
“You’re right.”
And new silence until Manchester. The journey hadn’t been easy. I felt Eric’s indifference as well as his intention to get closer to me. He wasn’t impervious to my attraction gift and it made him nervous. When we arrived at the hotel, we each took a room and met again the next day after a sleepless night. He telephoned a contact in Somerset who informed him that the young Nicolas Hanlon wouldn’t be present until the next day. Eric seemed upset, he didn’t want to drag on with me in this situation and my incomprehension was growing. But I didn’t have time to dwell on my thoughts any further when, with the screeching of tires, two military trucks blocked our way. And there, Sam, my cousin and guardian, in uniform, got out of one of the trucks before throwing himself on me, wrapping me in his warm arms.
“Eve! Honey, thank God you’re alive!”
“Of course I’m alive, but what are you doing here?” I asked, smiling.
“A great story, my dear, and I would wring your neck if you weren’t so precious to me.
Sam nodded to Eric and we headed for a bar not far from the hotel. Sam looked radiant and hadn’t changed much, except maybe his hair, which had turned grey over time, and that made him look rather charming. He explained to me that he had been moping with worry for months since our last contact. This went back to the time when I was living as a recluse in Ariège. I hadn’t had the slightest news, nor had I given any. Eric reared when he heard Sam’s words. He had kept the place of my exile secret at my request and had never disclosed it to anyone. Thanks to the channels of information provided by the army, he had tracked us down when Eric had given his name to the concierge at the hotel.
“Eve, I would like you to come home.”
“That’s out of the question, Sam! I’ve settled in at Mortain and I won’t move.”
Given the turn the conversation was taking, Eric retired and went to his room.
“Things are going on that you can’t understand, Everliegh!”
“In case you forgot, I’m twenty-one now, and I’m able to understand. Although, I’m not sure that you take in the fact that, over there, I’m surrounded by my people.”
“And that’s why I hid you for so long!”
“And that’s why our relationship has deteriorated so much! So if you don’t want to permanently cut me off from your life, forget about it!”
He looked down, acknowledging the blow. I couldn’t forget that relations with my cousin had darkened when I learned that he had hidden not only my true nature from me but also the truth about my father’s death.
“So I must warn you, you’re in very great danger.”
“What do you want to talk about?”
“A branch of the military has made new discoveries about the castes and it’s not the kind of discovery that can be easily stifled.”
“But what discovery?!”
“They heard about a lab at Canary Wharf Tower in London.”
“DNA strains,” I commented, so obvious was the answer.
“Exactly. And the army wants to find them.”
“And what do you suggest?”
“Stay away from anything related to the castes.”
“But that’s impossible! Can’t you do anything to stop them from getting them? What can they do with them?”
“In your opinion, Eve, what would the military do with DNA strains from powerful creatures?”
“It would test them, for sure. But until now it has always pretended to ignore their existence!”
“Because it didn’t bring them anything. I was there precisely for that: we couldn’t determine exactly how many castes there were and who they were. My duty was to hush up any business concerning them. But the discovery of the strains completely changed the situation. They don’t care about castes as long as they don’t make noise, but if it’s good for our troops…”
“Who is at the head of this project and how did they know that we had these strains?”
“I don’t care for the moment and they don’t let me into their confidence, which has a strong tendency to get on my nerves, by the way. All I know is that, for the past few days, my superiors have been in turmoil.”
“It goes high then!”
“Indeed, but nothing will be disclosed to the Chief of Staff without concrete evidence of such strains.”
“It’s a real relief because I wouldn’t have given much for the castle otherwise.”
“Don’t rejoice so quickly. The situation can change from hour to hour, and given my relationship with you, Eve, I think I’ll be the last to know the details of their plan.”
“How much time do you think we have ahead of us?”
“I don’t know.”
“You’ll keep me informed?”
“Of course,” answered Sam, finishing his coffee. “Here’s a number you can reach me at any time and without being detected. The castle lines are super secure, so you can use them without any problem. Let’s go. I miss you a lot.”
“Me too, Sam.”
“I know you’re lying, come on! You’re still mad at me?”
“Let’s say that I got over it a little over time.”
“I can’t regret what I did, or maybe the way I did it. But I’m relieved that Eric is coming with you now that he’s found you. You put me in a very embarrassing position with him.”
“I’m aware,” I said softly. “You already told me when I was in Astien.”
“The air of the South suits you well. In any case, you’re resplendent. Be well, my beauty, and take care. Think about eating too, because you’re not very thick, my pretty.”
After a hug, my cousin left me and went to join his truck. I found Eric in his room. He was coming out of the shower and came to open the door shirtless. The red radiated to my cheeks and Eric immediately went to put on a T-shirt. Once the vision of this ephebe with the velvet skin passed, I came to my senses and told him everything that Sam had just revealed to me. Eric gave me his cell phone and I called Blake to tell him the whole story.
“You think Morgan is behind all this?” I asked, surprised at such a coincidence.
“I don’t see Morgan associating with humans even for his own interest. I’ll contact Carmichael and let you know.”
“Maybe we should move the strains, don’t you think?”
“It’s possible, but in India, it’s too dangerous, and I certainly wouldn’t put them in Connor’s hands. I don’t think Mortain is a problem with you and Ethan here, so I’m asking you to hurry.”
The situation was indeed complex. Maybe it was better to destroy them, after all. Once the phone hung up, I remained dubious, searching in vain for a solution to this thorny problem. I thought back to Johnny, Elvis and Daddy Forbe. I didn’t want them involved in any of this. They were safe for now. Ethan knew of my attachment to the Forbes and Thomas was with them. Blake had inordinate resources and had accepted their arrival with all the benevolence one would expect from a gentleman of his rank. There were also the powerful, recruited guards who resided at the castle, Caleb and… Allyson, the telepath. Thinking of her, I looked up at Eric.
“You should go back to your room,” he said.
My brain was scalded by all the revelations and bad feelings, it didn’t take more than his acerbic tone to make my anger burst.
“But what’s your problem, Eric?!”
“I simply asked you to return to your room,” he repeated, inflexible.
“Don’t worry, I’ll go back to my room! Is it my presence that bothers you? You didn’t have to come if you can’t stand me anymore!”
My rate of speech accelerated. I had instinctively taken a few steps forward and was less than a metre away from him when I finished bombarding him with reproaches.
“You would prefer, I’m sure, to return to Mortain, so nothing is holding you back! We haven’t seen each other for over two years and this is how you treat me!”
“Whose fault is that?!”
Stunned, I took a step back and he took another step forward.
“You left all this time without giving me any news! You could have been dead! No, you remained cloistered in your silence and I know now that Sam knew where you were. You asked him not to tell me anything. You did everything to encourage my misfortune of having lost…”
He stopped short. Our rapid breaths and the tension in the room were unbearable and his words tore at my heart. He had suffered and resented me for keeping him out of my life for so long.
“I did it for you, Eric, as well as for the others! I couldn’t risk Magnus using anyone to get at me. Sam wasn’t aware of the exact location where I was hiding.”
“No matter! It didn’t even occur to you to find me after your return to Mortain.”
“Thomas didn’t know where you were!”
“But Salomon, yes!”
“He didn’t tell me!”
“Of course, he didn’t tell you! I asked him to be quiet unless you showed the desire to see me. This allowed me to know if you were going to use all possible means to find me. I couldn’t ask my brother for such a favour! Your lover!”
My eyes went back and forth all over the room until I could take it all in. Lost, I was lost, and unhappy.
“I don’t know what to tell you, Eric, I’m sorry!”
This time the tears began to flow. His cold gaze remained unchanging. Ashamed, mortified, that’s what I was at that precise moment. After a long minute, I managed to say:
“I haven’t been dating Thomas for a very long time, and you know it.”
“You’re hiding the truth from me, Eve!” he replied, icy. “Naomi told me she saw you kissing in the lake and it was not the first time. There was also Amsterdam. Thomas told her to make her angry and refrained from telling her the rest, according to her. Naomi had a blast watching my head fall apart. I hadn’t been in the castle for five minutes and I wanted to blow everything up!”
Collapsed, I could no longer make the slightest sound. I had even stopped breathing and my already pale complexion had turned transparent.
“Get out!” he spat, furious.
I complied without a word and all night I cried.
- Writer
