Dragon! Book Two: "Revenge"

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

All eyes turned to the pool of self-lighted water. Ann’s declaration didn’t upset them if their demeanor was an accurate description. They had expected her, or Gareth to come to that conclusion. Most of the Sisters either smiled or nodded in agreement.

Gareth observed their reactions with the dawning of understanding—at least for a few items. “This place, this village, is responsible for all people like me. And you. Women carrying babies who drink from that water bear children with our mental abilities. Some abilities are greater than others, but it is what makes people like us. You and me, and everyone in this room except the boy I brought. Is that a correct statement?”

“Only a few Brothers and Sisters were born here. Many mothers sipped from the water of our pool before birth without knowing,” the Brother said, and as soon as the words fell from his mouth he clamped it shut. Hard.

The obvious impression was that he’d accidentally revealed information not intended. At first, Gareth didn’t understand what information was not intended until he focused on the second part of the answer. The first part was incredible enough to make Gareth rise to his feet in excitement, but it was what came after that revealed more. Gareth centered on wondering ‘how’ and ‘why’ mothers “sipped from the waters of the pool.”

The revelation and the Brother’s reaction to the misspeak hinted at darker deeds, ones not spoken about, but immediately Gareth imagined young women preparing for birth unknowingly drinking the glowing water. If the Brother was believed, every Brother and Sister was the result of water taken from the glowing pool and carried to a pregnant woman in another land.

However, Gareth’s early history with the closed-mouthed Brotherhood also brought forth a sense of distrust at the ‘accidental’ revelation. When was the last time he’d heard a Brother misspeak? Not only a slip of the tongue but a massive admission. Couple that with the Brother’s stated position that he was the head of the Brotherhood, Gareth paused in disbelief.

The Brothers he’s known and met over his lifetime never made such a careless mistake. This man was too important and wise to make that sort of blunder. That told him the Brother intended to reveal the information. Gareth glanced at Ann.

She had her hands held to her mouth in horror. Her eyes were on Tad.

Gareth, who had been almost ready to stand and verbally confront the Brother leaped to his feet and dived across the huge table, his hands grasping for solid finger-holds around the Brother’s neck. He squeezed. Hands from the women clawed and pulled at him, but he held on until the face turned purplish-red and the brother’s eyes closed.

Ann was in his ear shouting. Her words finally penetrated his rage. “If he dies he can’t answer your questions.”

Gareth relaxed his grip while his mind spun. The Brother breathed a gasp of air and his eyes opened. Gareth tightened his grip again. “You are going to answer questions with no evasion or you will die in this chair.”

The Brother nodded slightly, his eyes wide in fear. Gareth snapped at the Sisters over his shoulder, “All of you, get away from me. Now. Sit.”

The women backed off, including one holding a knife as long as his forearm. Gareth relaxed the grip again, but only enough for the Brother to gasp a breath of air. “What will the water do to my grandson?”

The Brother struggled to speak, croaking the first few syllables until he cleared his throat again. “It is a blessing. In some cases, the children of those who drink from our pool have children blessed with the abilities to be Brothers. Or Sisters.”

“So my grandson can grow up to wear a green robe and be one of you?”

“You, yourself have admitted to the good deeds we perform.”

The thought of facing Tad’s mother and trying to explain almost sent him into another rage, but he also heard Ann, still standing at his ear.

“How will this effect Tad?” she asked.

Gareth understood the question below the surface, but in his anger couldn’t find a way to ask it without revealing that Tad already possessed powerful mental powers, possibly surpassing his own. He turned the Brother loose and climbed off the table.

With a show of wisdom, the Brother remained silent and didn’t anger Gareth further. Gareth realized now that they had swallowed the water, his task was to find out what that meant. Would more of the glowing water do them harm? Would his future children be affected? Ann probably wouldn’t have more children but were there other effects that would manifest?

The women in the room had again settled on chairs and the original two who were working in the kitchen returned to their preparations. Gareth decided he would learn far more by calming himself, at least outwardly, and then killing the Brother if he still felt the need. But he admitted to himself that the need to kill the Brother was strong.

The Brother finally spoke. “We came together today to eat and talk. However, I understand if you choose not to eat with us. Everything presented on the table grew from the glowing water. The animals whose meat we will eat knew no other water.”

Gareth’s eyes narrowed, and his stomach twisted in revulsion. “How many times does an expectant mother have to drink the water before her child is changed into one of you?”

Looking directly at Gareth, the Brother said, “A few mugs in a single day is as effective as daily consumption.”

“So any damage is already done? Each of us had several mugs when we arrived and more to drink later.”

“There will be no ill effects. Over the years’ thousands have lived in this community and if anything, we enjoy longer and healthier lives, but that is just my opinion.” The Brother fingered his red throat and as if to prove a point, lifted his mug and emptied it. Then he refilled it from the pitcher before him.

Gareth knew that sometimes Brothers were taken aback by abrupt changes in conversation. “You welcomed me back. As if I had ever been here.”

“You’re searching for your roots, I see. Yes, you were born here of a mother who voluntarily came to us and lived here long after your birth. She came from the lands to the east, as I recall, but I can check our records if you’re interested.”

“My mother lived in the west, not east. We lived near the ocean as I can clearly remember.”

The Brother folded his hands together and said, “Yes, that woman loved you as her own. But that woman was your adopted mother. Your birth mother died of a fall in our orchard. A simple act of wanting an apple in one of the trees, a specific apple that caught her eye, one higher up. She climbed, not really all that far, but when she fell struck her head and died there.”

Gareth simmered in anger and disbelief, but no Brother had ever lied to him. “She died here in this place?”

“We can visit her grave later if you wish. A Sister knew of a woman over the mountains to the west who wanted one more child. You were placed with her.”

“And then stolen again when you found out my powers.” The statement had been planned, and Gareth threw it out with as little effect as a small stone tossed at a charging bear.

“We did do that.” The Brother said simply, refusing to argue or apologize.

Gareth was not finished. Not even close. “Belcher also lived here?”

The room had been respectfully quiet. Now it went deathly quiet. The Brother said, “Yes.”

“The others, too?”

“Yes. I would offer you a quick explanation and the ability to ask questions later if that might suit you?”

Gareth motioned with his hand for the Brother to begin, not having agreed to anything.

“Very well, Belcher was born in the far north in a land called Pleroma, a place of heavy snow and short days in the winter. He lived there for two years, but there was trouble. A Brother escorted him here. The Brother had determined that Belcher might have special powers so brought.”

“And you educated Belcher?” Gareth completed the thought.

“We tried. Belcher lived with us many years, and he hid the extent of his powers from us. Oh, we knew he was beyond that of the Brotherhood, but not that he was at the pinnacle, or that his mind was twisted. He hid that defect all too well.”

Gareth waited for more. So far he had learned very little. But he noticed the twitch of an eye on a young woman and a tear at the edge of another’s eye. He suspected he would not like what he was about to hear.

The Brother said, “There were other boys of various ages living here, all with powers similar to yours. You are sitting with their mothers. It is our hope and prayer that you might be able to return all the boys to the mothers.”

That had not been expected. Gareth felt Ann’s eyes on him. He was going to make one of them very unhappy but saw no choice. “Who is the mother of Ramos?”

A woman three chairs away raised a limp hand. She said, “He’s dead, isn’t he?”

“Belcher made him remove his coat and blanket while we slept in the snow at the top of the mountains. I’m sorry. I was trying to take care of him and protect him, but he froze to death.”

She slowly stood and went to the great door and slipped outside. The room echoed the thud of the door closing.

Gareth saw the expressions on the faces of other women. He quickly said, “I wish that I could tell you all the other boys are alive, but Belcher killed two and another died of illness. I cannot confirm that in any way, but it is what I believe. Of the three left, I think he will kill at least one more, soon.”

“Which are alive?” A woman sitting across from him asked.

Lying wouldn’t help. “Alive. That is a sour subject. Poor Ramos was dressed in filthy rags and had sores all over. He hadn’t eaten in days when we took him. From our brief conversations, I suspect the other are much the same.”

One woman said in a trembling voice, “We expected no less, but we hoped.”

Gareth said, “I will try to rescue them and send them here.”

“Belcher will kill you. It’s his mind. As he learns how to use his powers he grows more insane,” The Brother said. “We were unaware of the monster he became. He hid it from us for all those years until one day he just snapped.”

Ann perked up. “Over what?”

A woman who had spoken earlier said, “Each boy had chores. One of Belcher’s was to take the trash out and feed the animals the scraps. He did it every other day. I mixed up my days and demanded he carry the scraps out on the wrong day, and he went crazy, accusing us of hating him.”

She paused, but Ann said, “Then what?”

“He made us all go to sleep with his mind. When we woke the scraps of garbage were spread all over me, and the boys were gone. All of them who were old enough to walk.”

Gareth’s eyes fell on the goblet of water sitting in front of him. Suddenly his mouth was dry. But he didn’t reach for the water. Instead, he said, “We have to leave.”

The Brother said, “There is more to tell you. Each woman has a story.”

“Will any of them help me kill Belcher?”