Birth of the Alliance Page 11

  Adam glanced around. “Let's go for a walk. It's best if we're not overheard.” He turned and walked toward the lesser-populated outskirts of the city. Though he felt not one ounce of trust toward the man, curiosity won out. Will followed him.

  “I'm actually glad you described what I said to you back in Waterloo that way,” Adam said. “If that act fooled you—the only person who might have expected me to leave—then it must have been quite convincing to Arthur and all the others. They had no reason to think your plea was anything more than the desperate act of a man condemned to a lifetime in prison.”

  Will turned his head briefly to look at Adam. The man shuffled along, drips of sweat sliding down his forehead, his face toward the ground. Was Adam nervous, or just perspiring in the stifling summer heat? His face and stature gave him the appearance of one far older than his usual visible age, as of one carrying an enormous burden only he could sense. “Then why say those things? Why tell me I should stay? Why not just tell me you weren’t coming?”

  “Because of the audience, Will, and the opportunity the situation provided. Think of who was there and listening. Arthur. Those three lackeys of his and many old, very powerful Aliomenti. You could have taken on any single one of them, except maybe Tacitus. But even you couldn’t take on all of them at once. You could certainly get away, and I know that’s all you wanted. And trust me, I wanted to go; that organization has been rotting from the inside out and the top down for at least a century. I wish I’d been the one with the guts to break ranks, but I wasn’t. The problem, though, is that you showed Arthur up when you walked out of there unscathed. You created doubt about his invincibility. He failed. When I started thinking about leaving, quite a while ago, I realized a lot of what you’d figured out there—about the whole changing of people during recruiting—not long before we got to Waterloo that day, and I figured it couldn’t be a complete takeover, where he’d literally think every thought for them. They’d still need to act as individuals. If that was the case, then enough doubt could crack that shell. If I left against his wishes, I’d do just that: create doubt. The only way for him to fix that was to retrieve me, bring me back, and either imprison me or get me to say leaving was a mistake. He’d have done that to me, and he’ll do it to you.”

  Will shrugged. “So? I didn’t figure he’d be happy, but he’d have to find me before he could do anything about it. Looks like he’s finally done that. So I adapt.”

  Adam shook his head. “He still has numbers, Will. It would be exhausting trying to do it all yourself. Knowing what Arthur’s planning, what he’s having his people do, would be extremely valuable, wouldn’t it? There was, and is, only one person in the Aliomenti who could get that type of information without raising suspicion, who is the only other person besides you not afflicted with that modification thing.”

  Will stared at him. “So it was all an act so you could stay and spy on Arthur and pass information along to me?”

  “Exactly.”

  “You waited almost ninety years to fill me in on this plan, Adam?” Will's voice was tinged with bitterness. “Sounds to me like you changed your mind after the fact, rather than having some amazing master plan like you claim.”

  Adam rolled his eyes. “Had I known you were planning to walk away like that, perhaps we could have coordinated things a little better. If you don't tell me what you're planning to do, I can't exactly help, can I?”

  “I didn't know that was going to happen!” Will snapped. “If you had told me about those new oaths everyone was supposed to be swearing, then perhaps I could have alerted you to the fact that I wouldn't be part of it. And just how long had you known about Arthur's little recruitment and hypnosis combination?”

  “It sounds like both of us haven't shown enough trust toward each other, or communicated enough,” Adam growled, eyes blazing. “But that's what I'm offering to do now. I'm your eyes and ears inside Arthur's inner circle. You'll know what he's up to and planning. As often as I can get away to communicate, I will. You have to tell me what you're planning as well so that I can try to maneuver Arthur and his inner circle in the opposite direction. Deal?” He held out his hand.

  Adam wanted to be a spy for him? “You didn't answer my question. How long did you know about Arthur's mind manipulation of new recruits? And how do I know you aren't spying on me for Arthur?”

  “I didn't know for sure until you said it that day,” Adam snapped. “I got suspicious when we started going to the outposts and swearing those oaths, because nobody argued against it. That didn’t seem right; surely someone would complain, right? And they hadn’t been through the trauma that Waterloo had experienced; you could see why that group might be more easily mislead. Then you pointed it out that day, at which point it became completely obvious and I felt like a fool for not realizing it far sooner. So how long did you know, Will?” Adam's eyes blazed again. “How long were you holding that suspicion from me?"

  “I didn't realize it until I'd said it that day,” Will said. “Are you spying on me for Arthur, Adam?”

  “No,” Adam said, his voice resolute. “And to answer the next logical question on your paranoia journey: no, Arthur did not manipulate me any more than he did you, and for the same reason. Both of us would have known what he was doing and stopped him. He's evil, Will, but he's not stupid.”

  Will stopped and stared at Adam, and Adam gazed back at him with equal intensity, both waiting for the sign that the other was lying.

  Neither found that evidence.

  Will took a deep breath and held out his hand. “Deal, then.” Adam grasped his hand, and the two men shook.

  “So where are you living?”

  Will smiled grimly. “The main thing we don't want Arthur to ever learn is where we congregate. I don't know if our numbers will ever match his; any type of invasion force could wipe us out. So I won't tell you that, not because I don't trust you, but because I don't trust him not to try to pry it from you. If we need to get you where we are, we will.”

  Adam's teeth clenched. “That doesn't sound very trusting, Will. There's no way Arthur could get that from me.”

  “Victor could, especially if Tacitus is holding you down,” Will replied. “You had to withhold that you were on my side, much as you wanted to tell me otherwise, because it would enable Arthur to figure out what you were up to and ruin everything. That bit at the end, pleading with me to stay, to swear the oaths? Good move. I'll take you to our place any time you'd like, but you mustn’t know where it is until you formally leave Arthur.”

  Adam considered, and the nodded slowly. “I don't like it, but I can't argue the logic. At some point I'll take you up on the offer to visit, but I'm expected to check on a couple of recruits for Arthur and then round up those neophytes you passed on your way to me.”

  “I figured out how to reverse what Arthur's done,” Will said. “They won't feel compelled to agree with him and do what he suggests anymore.”

  Adam's eyes widened. “How did I never think to try that? That’s an excellent idea. I can try to reverse people randomly as I travel around with Arthur… or better yet, after he thinks he has them safely ensconced somewhere and heads out to find more. I can pick out the recruits that would be the very best, reverse them, and encourage them to defect to you when they get the opportunity.” He fixed Will with a glare, but there was humor behind it. “Do you trust me enough to tell me that secret?”

  Will chuckled. “Of course I’ll tell you. You've probed minds before; I know, because you did it to me, way back at the beginning. There's a section of the mind with our most unquestioned beliefs. Arthur's embedded a belief or two there that he's not to be questioned or disobeyed. You just need to erase those beliefs to free them from his grasp.”

  Adam looked thoughtful. “Brilliant,” he muttered. “I wouldn't have thought him capable of something so… subtle.” His eyes refocused. “I can do that, work up a bit of instability within the Aliomenti, and specifically develop a few who are able to tr
uly question his orders. Not too many, though; too many and he’d realize someone’s tampering, and then my ability to keep finding out what he’s up to will be destroyed.” His face clouded. “He's gotten worse since you left, Will.”

  Will had, on some level, feared that. He'd never been squeamish about disagreeing with Arthur, arguing with him publicly over those disagreements, and felt no need to seek permission or forgiveness for living his life in his own way. Will was also powerful, one of the few within the Aliomenti Arthur wouldn't be able to bully into obedience, either personally or with a group. He'd therefore needed to hold back to some degree, but with Will's lone voice of dissent now gone, Arthur had no reason to restrain himself. “I'll regret asking this, but… what's changed?”

  “It's been a long time since anyone left the group voluntarily and with permission, which you probably noticed before you left,” Adam replied. Will nodded; that was true. “In those early days, we let people decide each step along the way if they wanted to continue, or leave with their memories of our unique circumstances wiped from their memories. But Arthur's modified things a bit. Once in, you can't leave. Ever. I suspect a deeper aspect of that mind-altering thing he does is ensure that no one will refuse his gifts, so once he chooses you it's a lifetime sentence to the Aliomenti.” He chuckled mirthlessly. “And a very long life it is.”

  That didn't surprise Will. He wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead. “What else?”

  “I told you that because it’s a symptom of the primary issue right now, Will. Everything is about him. If someone wants to leave, it's important only in the sense that it could be seen as an indictment of him; wanting to leave means there’s a flaw with the group, and therefore it means the person thinks there’s a flaw with Arthur. His brute squad quashes any hint of a thought of that sort. And that means your departure is what keeps him awake at nights. He sees it as his sole failure now, because anything that might be seen as a failure of the group or him by extension is crushed, and everyone is told how to interpret the event in a favorable light… or to forget it. Getting you back is his obsession. He wants you to come back, admit the error of your ways, and fully integrate into his vision of a global shadow empire. Failing that, though…” His voice trailed off.

  Will shrugged. “Just another cog in his wheel, I guess, to be forced to fit into his grand design. Return or die. Is the order to kill me on sight or try to drag me back to 'fix' me, first?”

  They'd left the primary boundaries of the city at that point, traveling a dirt road dustier than usual due to the dry, hot weather. “No greater accomplishment exists in his mind than 'fixing' you, Will,” Adam replied. “That doesn't mean it will be a pleasant or gentle process, however. One way or another, he means to eliminate the threat of Will Stark.”

  Will nodded. “Glad to be seen as a threat by Arthur. What are his suspicions about what I've been doing?”

  “His initial suspicion was that you'd built your own private hideaway somewhere, and that you'd try to build your wealth back up for a few decades, or maybe even forever.” Will looked puzzled, and Adam explained. “When you left, they thought you’d left all of your money behind in your vault. It took several months for them to break each of the vaults open.” He chuckled. “It was a struggle to act shocked and horrified when we found them all empty. Seeing Arthur's expression of disbelief was one of the greatest thrills of my life.”

  Will smiled. “So what does he think I've been up to now, since he knows I have the fortune I built over the past seven centuries with me?”

  “He was stumped until that encounter with Sebastian, Victor, and Tacitus about twenty years ago. They came back and reported that you were clearly protecting that other man, and that the man had Energy skills. They recognized that you must be building your own organization based upon your own ideals and rules, which made the ‘capture Will Stark’ refrain grow ever louder. We couldn't figure out how long you'd been at it or how many people you’d gotten, but anything more than zero was viewed as too many. Arthur’s convinced everyone that you’ve got about ten people total, spread around the world. Low numbers, but difficult to find.” Adam’s eyes asked the question about the veracity of that interpretation.

  “I think you should tell him that he’s made an excellent guess,” Will said slowly. “If he thinks his random guesses are accurate, it will keep him from thinking and trying to figure out more accurate information.”

  “So, you don’t have ten, but you won’t tell me the actual number so that I can’t accidentally reveal it nor have it torn from my mind.” Adam was more amused than angered at the misdirection this time. “I know you well enough to suspect that the real number is probably in the hundreds, spread out across the entire world. I’ll propose that to Arthur and he’ll argue against it. That should make it an even more accepted fact that you’ve got a mere handful of acolytes. There’s just no possibility that more than a dozen people would fall for your lies and gimmicks." The last line was delivered with deadpan humor, and Will couldn't help smiling.

  “What about the men I fought when I left? Tacitus and Sebastian and Victor? What are they doing? I know they were here about twenty years ago.”

  “Their peculiar abilities are wonderful gifts for a man like Arthur. Sebastian can find anyone. Tacitus can stifle even the most powerful Energy users. Victor can prove their guilt in any so-called crime Arthur wants. It’s a fascinating thing to watch, or it would be if weren’t so tragic.” Adam sighed. “If Arthur gets word that someone is saying or even thinking traitorous ideas, that trio gets sent after them. He’s bragged about it to me. ‘It’s like hunters chasing a rabbit, because just like hunters, we trap and capture our prey.’ Disgusting man.”

  “Surely that’s a traitorous thought, Adam?” Will asked, arching an eyebrow.

  Adam chuckled. “It takes a lot of willpower to avoid being labeled a traitor. Arthur seems to trust me. I suppose that’s because he’s known me for such a long time.”

  “Or perhaps it’s because you could have killed him easily all those years ago.” Adam had eliminated every person living in the North Village, save for Arthur and Will. While Adam could have killed Arthur, efforts to eliminate Will would have met with significant resistance.

  Adam considered that. “True. I often wonder if that was the right decision. I suppose it’s a moot point now, though.”

  “So the focus now is on rooting out potential traitors before they can act, and capturing the villainous criminal Will Stark.” Will’s voice was laced with irony. “I suspect Arthur knows I'm not really interested in cooperation.”

  “They’re really focusing on building up teleportation distances,” Adam noted. “I’m not sure why, but I think it’s meant to help capture you.”

  “More likely the people in my group,” Will replied. “Teleportation is very Energy-intensive, and a few long-range hops in succession could leave someone vulnerable.”

  Adam nodded. “So they become skilled at long-range teleportation so that they can chase targets down until the target is exhausted. I’m beginning to see the basis of the analogy about the hunters chasing a rabbit.” He glanced at Will. “What's your range at this point?”

  “I don’t know,” Will admitted. “But I suspect it’s enough that Sebastian would notice the effort no matter where in the world the two of us were at the time.” He shrugged. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d teleported a great distance. He’d coached the Alliance to act human to the greatest extent possible, and the technological developments of the flying craft and the submarine meant he could travel long distances without needing to expend much Energy. He suspected he could probably make it back to the European mainland, a distance of several thousand miles, but had no interest in testing that suspicion.

  “Enough about me and Arthur’s ragtag band of merry men,”" Adam said. “What have you been up to? What's your major focus?”

  “My main focus is finding the right people for the group. Training them how to use—and n
ot abuse—Energy. I’ve been trying to teach all of them these abilities are meant to help everyone, not just ourselves. I want that philosophy to be part of our day-to-day approach to life.”

  Adam shook his head. “Not that. You’ve always had a knack for building things, whether the Wheel or the gears or all sorts of other innovations. What are you working on?”

  Will sighed. “A few things, but they’re all part of the same key effort, and that’s figuring out how to reverse ambrosia’s effects.”

  Adam’s face fell. “Oh. That. I do remember you mentioning that back at Waterloo. What have you found?”

  Will shook his head. “Very little, unfortunately. Elizabeth and I went back to the place we’d found the fruit originally, and—”

  “How is she?” Adam asked. “Is she still… around?”

  Will frowned. “Of course she is. We haven’t figured out the secret to reverse any aspect of ambrosia, though. I don't know if we’ll ever find the cure. We went to the place where we found the fruit originally to talk to the one man we knew had reversed the effects periodically. But when we got there, he was already dead, killed in a fire set by William. All of the others there were dead as well, so even if he’d passed his secrets along to another, the source of that information was gone.”

  Adam nodded. “Those deaths prevented Arthur from getting the secrets of reversing ambrosia. For that, we must be thankful.”

  Will stopped walking, and only Adam’s footsteps sounded in the dry underbrush of the forest. When he realized that Will had stopped moving, Adam stopped and turned back toward him. Will’s stare was full of anger. “Thankful? Are you kidding? I have people in my group who have eaten ambrosia who’d like to start a family. I’m one of those people, Adam. The only man in the world who was able to provide us with the method to reverse the effects is dead, and you think we should be thankful?”