Convergence (30 page)

They moved into the elevator. Anna remained with Angel. Hope leaned against Will and he put his arm around her, feeling her tremble. He couldn’t fathom what Arthur had said that so disturbed her.

Adam stood nearest the doors and didn’t turn as he asked the uncomfortable question. “What should we do with… those still back there?” The elevator began its descent toward the ground floor.

“We’ll come back for all of them, Adam,” Fil replied. “Nobody’s getting left behind. All of us just need to breathe.”

They rode the elevator in silence and exited into the empty lobby. Dozens of Energy bursts from the lower level had pushed the beautiful marble tiles of the floor up, buckling the floor like ancient roadways during earthquakes.

They began moving toward the exit doors, meandering through the upturned flooring. Fil followed Adam through the three-dimensional maze until he stopped suddenly and sucked in his breath. He spun on his heels and his gaze fell upon Hope. “Mom?”

Her personal daze ended at the sound of her son’s voice, recognizing in his tone deep concern. “What is it?”

“We were the only two in the room for a while, when the guards were there with the hostages, and I wanted to confirm I heard something correctly.” He paused. “Didn’t Grandfather say that he would have his people seizing human hostages throughout the Island?”

Hope frowned as she searched her memory for the conversation. “You’re right. He did, didn’t he?” She instantly recognized the implications. “Everyone, remain alert. There may be Aliomenti still on the Island who aren’t deprogrammed, and who are very much ready to attack us without warning.”

Fil nodded as he wrapped a protective arm around Sarah, who glanced around with an expression of deep concern. As the sole member of their party without Energy, Sarah would be at the greatest risk of a sneak attack. And she’d not be able to fight back if attacked. Fil’s protective embrace made it clear he had no intention of letting anything happen to her. “That’s what I thought.”

Will glanced at Adam. “I didn’t get a chance to ask earlier, but is it safe to say that the only reason you’re here now is that everything is under control back at the Cavern?”

Adam nodded. “All of the surviving invaders have been successfully deprogrammed.” His face turned grim. “That includes the man we once called Athos.”

Fil glanced around. “We have proof that one of Ashley’s virus uploads was successful, but at this point we can only guess that the communication disabling virus was successful as well. That’s another potential source of concern here on the Island. Where are the Aliomenti who were previously on the Island, but who weren’t in the Headquarters building? And what of those who might be on their way here, summoned via an email or a phone call or some other communications media?”

“When we’re more certain everything is under control here, we’ll need to disable the virus and call Aliomenti back in small waves for their medical dosages,” Hope said. “That’s always been part of the plan.” She shivered. “They may return more quickly than we’d intended.”

Will nodded. “I guess it’s
not
over just yet. Stay on guard, everyone.”

They finally moved outside the building, feeling oddly exposed after recognizing that there were other Aliomenti still on the Island. They made their way through the Plaza, moving away from the building as far as they dared, inhaling deep breaths. They’d not realized the depth and extent of the smells until they moved outside where the air smelled so sweet in comparison. Even with the new lack of closure, their collective spirits rose.

Will grabbed his communicator. “Ian?”

He responded a moment later. “I’m here, Will.”

“The Leader noted that there were additional Aliomenti on the Island who never entered Headquarters building. They’re still out there. Be alert.”

“Understood, Will.” There was a pause. “Should we organize search parties to find all of them and bring them in?”

Will considered, and then nodded before realizing Ian couldn’t see him. “It’s probably for the best. It’s critical that Shields remain up and strong. We do not want any massive firefights, though. Make sure that everyone knows they should teleport away as soon as there’s any threat, and make sure everyone has adequate supplies of the medicine.”

“Understood, Will. I’ll begin the process here and try to get search parties out quickly. I suspect that a few of the former Aliomenti will help. That should increase our chances of keeping the fighting to a minimum.”

“Thank you, Ian. That would be fantastic, as they’d be far less likely to be questioned or attacked.”

“Exactly, Will. I’ll keep you posted. Ian out.”

“Thanks, Ian.” Will disconnected the communicator and looked around. “In theory, with Arthur dead, the rest of them should stop fighting without too much persuasion. They might just stop in time. But I’d rather not take that chance. The risk is simply too great. Ian’s search teams will find them all, but it will take time.”

Will formed chairs from his nanos and they sat down, waiting, trying to determine the steps they should take next. Fil glanced at Adam. “You said that your mother was born inside a forest, right? I’m guessing from Mom and Dad’s reactions that it’s a rather important bit of news, but I don’t understand what the implications might be.”

Adam glanced at Will, who nodded. “You’ve been told that our mothers left the North Village after their respective apparent deaths, correct?”

Fil nodded.

“You’ve also been told that they were eventually joined by your father and began a journey that took them to a forest where they encountered ambrosia, right?”

Fil nodded again. Angel moved her nano-chair next to her brother.

“When they joined up and decided to travel, they had no initial destination in mind. Your father had no interest in returning to the North Village in the near future. My mother encouraged them to travel to the northeast, eventually admitting that she’d been born somewhere in that direction and that she hoped to find her ancestors. She knew she wasn’t from the same region of the world as the others; her hair coloring alone made that clear. Your parents found that a worthwhile goal and, with no alternative destinations, they agreed. As they moved along, the trio located an unusually abundant, vibrant forest.”

Fil nodded before smiling. “Dad does like his trees, doesn’t he?”

Sarah gave him a gentle nudge in the ribs.

Adam chuckled. “He does indeed. In any event, they were invisible when they entered the forest from the air. They had no idea that there were people living inside the forest, or that those people had set up barriers to both entry and exit. Before the trio knew what had happened, they came upon a sweet, succulent fruit. Your mother took a bite.”

Fil glanced at Hope. “That was the ambrosia, wasn’t it?”

His mother nodded.

“One of the forest’s residents arrived. She took them to their main living space, where the largest congregation of residents lived. She explained what ambrosia did, told them there was no cure, and informed them that they’d not be allowed to leave. She then told them that they’d basically be treated like the other residents of the village.”

Fil laughed. “I’m sure she got a nasty surprise if she tried to enforce those rules. So what did everyone do?”

“They pretended to consider her offer, but mostly they were in a bit of shock. Will thought the purge he’d undergone in the future had already made him immortal, and realized that history would change dramatically if they’d never happened upon this forest. That meant he had to eat the fruit, even though he’d been told the side effects. In his mind, he had centuries to figure out how to reverse the problem. Your mother was upset because she’d just learned that she needed to live a long time—and like your father, thought that the morange and zirple had conferred immortality on her already—but she’d just been told by that woman that she’d lost the ability to have children and that there was no cure to the condition. It was a far bigger deal for your mother than your father, because for all they knew, the Will Stark born in the future would be the father of his children long before he had any idea what Energy might be.”

“That set everything in motion for the next several centuries,” Fil observed. “They spent all that time trying to figure out the way to reverse the effects of ambrosia.”

“We did,” Will replied. “But we never found it.” He gave Adam a curious look. “We were given the answer at what seemed the last possible moment.”

Adam nodded. “But that’s at the end of this story. You see, as Will and Hope learned about ambrosia and the effects and the supposed permanence of those effects, my mother watched everything unfold with no small sense of irony. You see, she’d been in that forest before. And she encountered someone there she’d not seen since she was a small child, many, many years before.” He glanced at Will, who’d jumped slightly in his seat. “You understand now, don’t you?”

Will nodded. “She met Ambrose, the first to discover the effects of the fruit that bore his name. He was the first to figure out the cure.” He looked at Hope. “And that was critical… because Ambrose was her father.”

Hope’s blue eyes showed an
internal fire, as if she’d figured out some unspoken puzzle. “So, it was her, then?”

Adam looked puzzled. “What do you mean?”

“I’ve been trying to figure out how your father got the blood he needed to… well, to create you,” Hope explained. “The only thing that made sense, in my mind, was for Ambrose to be his father. We’d been told Ambrose reversed the effects periodically, and during those times he’d be able to provide clean blood to his children. If Adam went to him during that time and retrieved Ambrose’s blood, then the problem is solved. But then we found out about Eva, which raised the question again.”

Adam nodded. “You didn’t know who my mother was before and probably guessed a human wife for my father who’d not be constrained by ambrosia’s effects, so that makes sense. But now you know they both had to overcome that issue.”

Fil looked at Adam quizzically. “It overcomes the issue for Eva. But what about—?”

“With the blood issue resolved, my parents were able to bring me into the world.” Adam spoke over Fil, which surprised them. Fil’s frown deepened. “I was born exactly three hundred and fifty years before you, Will. Interesting bit of trivia there.”

Hope glanced at Fil before looking at Adam. “You’ve explained how it is that your mother overcame the ambrosia issue, Adam. But I think we’re all interested in understanding how your father did the same.”

Adam hesitated. “He… he said he grew up in a group that believed in preserving their dead in some fashion. When his father died, his blood was saved and preserved.”

Will frowned. Adam was clearly lying… but why? “But he told me that the village he lived in growing up was decimated by invaders. You’re saying after his people were slaughtered, he went back, found his father, and preserved his blood?”

There was another slight hesitation. “It was their tradition. It was his duty.”

Fil leaned toward Adam, frowning. “Adam? Why aren’t you telling us the truth? What are you hiding? Who are you trying to protect?”

Adam’s eyes flashed at the accusation. But he was interrupted by the loud buzzing from Will’s communicator. “Will? It’s Ian. Did you say that there were two dead Hunters on the eastern plaza?”

Will tapped the communicator. “Yes. Athos and Porthos. Why do you ask?”

“I… I think you need to come see this for yourself.”

Will frowned and glanced at the rest of those assembled and seated in the makeshift nano-furniture. “Well, that was… strange.”

“Are you going?” Fil asked.

Will nodded. “We should probably all go.”

They stood and Will recalled his nanos. The group jogged around to the opposite side of the mammoth building where they were able to see the gaping hole in the wall high above. Ian was there with two additional Alliance warriors, huddled and conversing. All were battered, bruised, and bloodied, but their faces showed a fierce determination as they sought to finish their final duties. Ian noted the approach of Will and the others.

Ian gestured behind him. “Look.”

They looked.

Victor, the man they knew best as the Hunter Athos, lay there with his eyes closed in a small crater in the concrete. His face seemed calm and serene, and one might have thought him asleep but for the impossible angles of his legs and arms.

Will winced at the sight. Victor’s death had been anything but pain free. He looked around, frowning. “Um, Ian? Where’s Porthos?”

Ian nodded grimly. “That’s what we’re trying to figure out and it’s the reason I called you. His body’s not here.”

Will felt his breathing still. “But I saw him hit the ground. I saw him lying here, just a few feet from Athos. How…?”

Ian looked grim. “There’s nothing here to indicate that a second body fell from a height similar to that of the Hunter Athos and struck the ground.”

“But…” Will chewed his lip.

A hand descended upon his shoulder, and Will turned to see the concern in his son’s eyes. “I don’t think Porthos ever meant to kill himself, Dad.”

Will replayed the events in his mind. Porthos had tried to escape on several occasions. Eva had finally tipped him and smothered him with the net, preventing further chances of escape. They’d even injected him with the medicine to undo the mental transformation imposed by Arthur. After he saw Athos walk through the hole in the wall, he’d told them he wanted to do the same, to follow the man who’d served as his nominal lead on Hunts for centuries. He’d asked them for the freedom to throw himself out of the building, to know that in the end he’d done it himself. And so they’d removed the net, and…

His pulse raced. Oh, no…

“He moved to the hole very slowly, giving his Energy time to rebuild,” Hope whispered. “He slowed his fall so that it looked to us as if he’d hit the concrete hard, and then he kept still.”

“His Energy sensing skills are so strong that even with a minimal recharge, he’d be able to sense when Dad moved away from the hole in the wall,” Angel added. She’d recovered enough from her grief for now to recognize the threat; she’d continue her mourning later. “As soon as we backed away, he fled.”