Convergence (16 page)

There were murmurs of understanding filling the room now.

“The reason he didn’t use, or suggest, clairvoyance in that manner is now obvious. Scott already
knew
how to get aboard the sphere.” He resumed pacing. “There was another clue he provided as well. Scott seemed to have a very accurate sense about how long the journey through that tunnel would take. But how could he know? We only identified the approximate location of this base a few weeks ago, and just found the mouth of the tunnel less than an hour before he went inside. We had no way of knowing the length of that tunnel or how long it should take to reach the primary base. Yet he suggested we should worry he’d failed if he hadn’t transmitted anything after about twenty minutes. And that’s how long it took.” Athos shook his head. “He either made a very accurate guess… or he’d made the journey before.”

The men nodded. In hindsight, it seemed obvious now that Scott had fooled everyone, not just Athos. They were
all
to blame. But…

“Sir? How do we get out of here?” It was Jude again.

Athos nodded slowly. When Scott had told them they were trapped, they’d tested it, called his bluff. Efforts to teleport had resulted in men slamming into the impenetrable walls. Energy blasts of every intensity and concentration were absorbed. They’d quickly realized that Scott was correct. They were trapped.

He sighed heavily. “That’s a good question. Let’s be good guests first and send all of our trays back to our hosts in the hopes that, should we be unsuccessful in our efforts to escape and kill them all, they might consider feeding us again at some point.”

That brought a much-needed laugh from the group. If nothing else came of this effort, he’d at least won back the favor and confidence of the men he led.

Athos brushed his sleeves off once more, and then took his tray to the wall. They’d seen the trays come into the room without need of any type of doorway, and had gotten a verbal confirmation from one of the Alliance hosts that they’d be able to push the trays and trash—but not themselves—back out of the room in the same manner.

Athos pushed his tray through the wall, slowly, watching intently.

He watched seconds later as the wall dissolved before him.

Shouts erupted. “He’s done it!” Jude shouted. “The Hunter has taken down the wall! We’re free!”

The men rushed out, full of righteous indignation at their entrapment and overwhelming rage at their enemy. Their surprise ouster from the room would put them on the offensive against an enemy likely unprepared now for their attack.

Athos turned to look back at the wall where Scott had told them they’d been trapped.

They’d never been trapped. The technology the Leader provided to him before departure, the dust sized machines he’d claimed would disable the walls of the “magic rooms,” had been his private secret as the invasion progressed. He’d known there could be a spy among the team, and had thus waited until all seemed lost before brushing the “dust” from his sleeves to the tray.

And it worked.

His lip curled into a sneer as he looked back inside his now-empty temporary prison. “Guess who’s got the upper hand now?”

He rushed out of the room into the Alliance base to lead his men into battle.

They’d thought Eva had been
Outside, working in a human community heavily populated by members of the Alliance. She’d been expected to work on building up support for the invasion among those Outside, and where possible encourage them to detach from human society ahead of schedule to join in the fighting.

Instead, she’d provided to Arthur Lowell the secret they’d worked hardest to protect.

Eva hadn’t been rewarded for her efforts. They could see past the bruises to the more natural lines beneath her eyes, suggesting that in addition to physical trauma she’d been denied sleep. They sensed no Energy from her, suggesting she’d spent significant time in the presence of Aramis. They’d no idea when she’d told Arthur of Will’s true birthday… or other secrets of the Alliance.

The damage she’d done could not yet be assessed.

But she’d done enough to fill mother and son with an anger that scarred their faces and brought fire to their eyes.

Eva didn’t shy away from them. She looked at Fil, sympathy upon her face, warmth behind the bruises swelling around her eyes. Her eyes narrowed slightly when she looked at Hope, the deep warmth fading away. She flicked her eyes back and forth, the transformation obvious as her gaze traveled between mother and son.

Fil wondered if the eye movement, repeated so often and in such rapid succession, might be a signal. Eva’s eyes were fixed on him as the thought entered his mind, and she blinked rapidly.

Fil didn’t know what it meant. He had little time to dwell on the message, wrapping the Tracker in a tight cocoon of nanos, thwarting the man’s effort to draw his sword and advance on the enemies distracted by the sight of one of their own.

Hope spoke first. “Eva… how… what happened to you?” Fil could hear the trust in his mother’s voice, the faint belief that the visible damage to Eva meant she’d not betrayed them, but had been forced to speak through the experience and threat of physical torture.

Eva’s strained voice barely reached them, “I did not provide enough information to satisfy that man.” She nodded toward Arthur, struggling to bring her head back to its usual proud perch. “He found my refusal to speak unacceptable.”

Hope turned to Arthur, who’d walked back toward her, and slapped him across the face, and a second bruise spread across Arthur’s face as the sound of the slap reverberated through the room. The guards jumped. Porthos’ eyes flashed, his face showing added fury as he tried—and failed—to teleport free of Fil’s nano cocoon. “How
could
you?” she seethed.

Arthur’s hand moved to the freshly bruised cheek. “How dare you strike me!” he roared.

Hope jabbed a finger at him, then nodded in Eva’s direction. “I won’t be disappointed if your face looks like hers,” she hissed.

Arthur pulled his hand free of his face. “So the Alliance supports traitors as well as Oath-breakers? What a pathetic organization. I suppose one can expect nothing better from a group founded by a fr—”

“
Easy, Fil,
” Will said. Fil’s hand stopped inches from Arthur’s face.

Arthur looked at Fil. “You defend your father’s honor at the merest hint of a negative comment, and yet you don’t stand in defense of your mother?”

“I’m an obedient son,” Fil replied. “She doesn’t need my help. Dad’s not here—not yet.” He shrugged. “Why am I explaining myself to you?”

“A curious group, indeed,” Arthur replied. “One with misguided priorities. Perhaps that’s what encouraged this woman”—he offered a half-nod in Eva’s direction—“to reach out to me, rather than staying behind in your undersea lair to fight on your behalf. Even now, one of my Hunters and his troops are devastating the fools you’ve left there.”

Porthos applauded the news.

Fil stared at Eva. This woman had acted as almost a second mother to him at a time in his life when Hope had been too ill or completely absent to fill the role on her own. He couldn’t believe she’d gone to Arthur; clearly, he must be lying, must be hiding the truth that he’d captured her and forced from her every truth she’d told him. He searched her battered face, but he didn’t find the answers he’d sought. “Why, Eva?” he whispered. “Why would you do such a thing? Why would you tell this man—?”

Eva’s eyes filled with greater pain and a deep sadness. “I did what needed doing, Joshua Phillip Stark.” She took a deep breath. “Loyalty… it is something… not everyone learns.”

Hope’s face fell in bewilderment at Eva’s words. “
That’s
why you did this?
That’s
why you betrayed my husband, the man who saved your life? That’s why you betrayed my
children
? That’s why you helped that
monster
?”

“Hey, he can hear you, you know,” Porthos hissed.

“My reasons are deeper and more complex than you will ever know or understand,” Eva replied. Her voice was laced with tension and strain, but her eyes were firm in her conviction that she’d done the right thing.

“But you told him everything!” Hope shouted. “How much did you tell him, Eva?” Hope was shaking in her anger. “How many died because of what you’ve done?”

“None have died due to my actions,” Eva replied.

“
Eva?
” Will called from the communicator. “
When did you arrive
?”

“She betrayed us, Will!” Hope snapped. “Told
him
everything about who you are and where you came from. And who knows how long she’s been working with him?” She wheeled on Eva again. “I trusted you like you were my own mother!”

Porthos gripped Rand by the shoulder. “Don’t shoot anyone. You can’t buy entertainment like this. It’s like television… but real!”

“Yet you chose to leave me behind, all alone, and to explore the world without me,” Eva replied. Her eyes filled with pain, and flicked once more to Fil, softening as the image of the son replaced that of the mother.

“You know perfectly well why I did that!” Hope shouted.

Arthur had moved back toward his desk and cleared his throat. All eyes in the room turned to him. The Assassin lifted Eva effortlessly and turned her to face the Leader. “I’m enjoying this argument; truly, I am. But… as I recall… there
is
the minor matter of a war going on. I suppose we must deal with that issue at some point.” He leaned back against his desk, turning his gaze upon Fil. “Young man, I believe you demanded my surrender.”

“I did indeed,” Fil replied, folding his arms.

“I believe I shall decline, and counter with a demand for
your
surrender.”

He slid his hand behind the desk and pushed an unseen button.

Nets fell from the ceiling, nestling over Fil and Hope. A surge of Energy from the Leader pulled Porthos clear just before a net fell over him.

Hope sighed. “Daddy dearest, this isn’t the eleventh century.”

Fil felt the net sap at his Energy, much like he’d sensed during the pre-Outside training he’d undergone to familiarize himself with the effects of Aramis’ power. He remembered that he’d broken the machine when he’d surged his Energy just slightly. He turned his mocking smirk at the Aliomenti Leader and laughed. “Grandfather, you don’t
really
think this will work, do you?”

Arthur sneered at him. “Oh, I rather think it will.” He rose from the desk and stalked toward Fil. “Correction. I
know
it will.”

Fil rolled his eyes and began to surge his Energy, willing the fire to burn through the netting. He knew that his mother, standing at his side, did so as well.

His eyes widened and he cried out in surprise.

He fell to the ground on his knees, and heard his mother drop next to him.

Arthur walked toward them and knelt down, put his hand on Fil’s chin, and lifted it up. Fil wasn’t certain he could lift his head on his own anymore. “It seems that you’ve underestimated us yet again. You see, Eva’s supplied me with useful information for quite some time. I’ve known of your existence since your birth, before your birth, even. And I’ve known of that special level of power you alone possess.” He leaned in closer and whispered in Fil’s ear. “And I know you’re the one who brought the Cataclysm upon the world, killing billions of innocent humans by showing himself as possessed of human-like lack of self-control.” He leaned back. “Therefore, I knew a day like this would come. I knew that, one day, you’d come to my Island and try to take from me what I’ve earned. Not by cheating and going back in time against those powerless to defeat me, like certain cowards I know. With that knowledge, I was able to prepare.”

“In total secrecy from even the Hunters.” Porthos statement was factually one of support for the Leader’s words. But his tone betrayed his frustration at the lack of sharing of information now so evident.

He stood up and began pacing back and forth. “We’d struggled with containing the power of Will Stark using our Dampering Hunter, you see. It was clear that you—and the sister you’ve wisely hidden from me—would have power greater even than your father. The old methods wouldn’t work. We needed something more.”

Porthos looked at the Leader, surprise and confusion etched on his face. “Why didn’t you tell—?”

“I could scarcely have one of my Hunters reveal that I knew so much about the Alliance, now, could I?” Arthur’s tone was patronizing, and Porthos’ head, the only part of his body he could move, drooped. “No, it was best that you continue as if time was a straight line and we were all playing by the same rules until the time was right.” He looked back at Hope and Fil. “You see, we realized that we’d never be able to generate enough power of our
own
to damper away the Energy you possess. There’s only one energy source capable of generating the energy levels we’d need to create the impact we needed.” He knelt down once more, flicking his eyes back and forth from Hope to Fil. “You.”

“Wait—what?” Fil gasped.

“It’s quite simple, quite brilliant, really.” Arthur stood, folded his hands behind his back, and paced leisurely back and forth before his prisoners, his posture reflecting the control he felt over the entire situation. “It’s much like quicksand. The greater your effort to escape, the greater the suction to drag you down. The more Energy you expend to escape, the more powerfully the net will drain that Energy away. If you expend so little that you’d not notice the loss, you’ve not expended enough to destroy the net that binds you.”

Fil snarled and summoned the Energy to teleport to freedom, the few inches that would take him beyond the net. He screamed in pain as the net burned, blistering his skin.

“You really aren’t very bright, are you?” Arthur asked, tsking his tongue. “You must get your intelligence from your mother’s side of the family. Have I not already told you that you cannot escape? Yet you refuse to listen.” He shook his head before whirling to face them, eyes gleaming in triumph. “Now… which of you will have the honor of offering to me the surrender of the Alliance?”

Fil looked Arthur straight in the eye. He summoned the strength to speak. “Dad,” he whispered, his voice hoarse. “Time to initiate phase two.”