Authors: Sara Beaman
And Mirabel
uses this company to control people’s thoughts?
“Not as far
as we know. I have my suspicions, but nothing I can verify.
Theoretically, she’s only supposed to find and erase media
references to the existence of revenants.”
Why do you care
if people find out about you, anyway? What does it matter? You have
magical powers and shit.
“Magical
powers and shit aside, our numbers are dwindling. Some of us are
afraid that if the public knew we existed, there would be a pogrom or
something.”
But didn’t
you say that she can erase memories on a mass scale?
“Yes, well.
There have been a few times when she’s slipped up, missed
something, and a story has gotten out. In those cases she’s
been authorized to erase the story from public memory. From what I
understand, though, it requires a really complicated ritual—it’s
not something she can do all the time...”
I snort.
I
bet that’s what she wants you to think.
“Perhaps.”
I still don’t
get it. You said she has mass mind control. Wouldn’t it make
more sense for her to control all the minds of the news executives
and the journalists? Make them all believe vampires don’t
exist? Otherwise people would notice what she was doing. Journalists
would notice that their articles were being tampered with.
“I wouldn’t
be surprised if that’s exactly how she operates, but so far no
one has proven as much.” He removes his glasses and rubs his
eyes. “Honestly, Kate, it’s possible that somewhere in
the back of your mind you know much more about Mirabel than the rest
of us do.”
I consider this
for a moment, both exhilarated and troubled by the idea.
“It is
pretty fucking troubling.”
So
how do you feel about what she does?
“I think
it’s obscene. I mean, I see why the Wardens think it’s
necessary. They’re trying to avoid another Inquisition. But
still.”
What do you
mean? They don’t want humans to rise up against revenants or
something?
He nods. “It
hasn’t always been this way. It doesn’t need to be like
this for us to survive. Before the Wardens came to power, we didn’t
try to control public knowledge of our existence. We used to let
humans do that for themselves.” He slumps down into an
armchair. “Anyway, the Wardens’ entire policy is to allow
humans to determine their own fate, no matter the outcome.”
Right.
“Well,
doesn’t Mirabel’s work contradict that policy? If they’re
so serious about maintaining human autonomy, why do they get to
choose the terms?”
So you’re
opposed to it because it’s hypocritical?
He shakes his
head. “I’m opposed to it because she’s a monster.
But it is hypocrisy, if that counts for anything.”
The door to the
guest room opens. Haruko wanders in, rubbing her eyes. “Status?”
“Vincent
revived Tara, but she’s still too depleted to heal Kate.”
“Her name’s
Kate?” Haruko asks. “She doesn’t look like a Kate.”
Is she making fun
of me? For being a double?
Adam gives her a
look.
“Joking,”
she says.
Adam doesn’t
react. “We’re going to need to go into town,” he
says.
“I take it
you’re offering Tara your neck?”
Adam nods.
“Okay,”
Haruko says. “What are we going to do with Aya?”
“Bring her
with us?”
“Might leave
her here. Have her keep an eye on Gabriel.”
“Either
way,” Adam says.
“All right
then. Let’s go.”
The three of us
leave the ramshackle little house and climb into the car. We back up
onto the country highway and start driving into town. No one speaks.
The silence is oppressive. After five minutes or so, I wonder at
Adam,
Can’t
we listen to some music or something?
“No,”
he says. “It’s not safe.”
What? Are you
worried about subliminal messages or something?
“Precisely.”
I roll my eyes.
“It
shouldn’t take long for us to reach town,” he says.
I try to keep
myself awake in the interim. I fight for it.
I lose.
{Adam}
Early in the
evening, I was lying on the lounge trying to sleep—and failing,
once again—when I heard a knock at the door.
I figured it
wasn’t Aya. I hadn’t seen her since our half-spoken
conversation in the garden. I’d still been meeting with Julian
every night, just as before, but he’d been sending human
servants to ferry me back and forth from his office.
I’d asked
him what happened to her the day prior. He explained that he had
given her some long-overdue vacation time and that she was visiting a
friend in Atlanta. I wasn’t sure what to make of that. Part of
me wondered if she might be gone for good—dismissed, or even
dead.
I mulled this over
once again as I stood up and walked to the door. Julian was on the
other side.
“Good
evening,” he said, smiling. “I apologize for the
intrusion. You’re not busy...?”
I blinked at him
as my eyes adjusted to the light. “No. Not at all.”
“Did I wake
you? I’m terribly sorry.”
“No, I
wasn’t asleep.”
“I see.”
We stood there for
several seconds, close enough that the proximity made me nervous.
“Do you want
to come in?” I reached for the switch and turned the lights on.
“If you
don’t mind. Just for a moment.”
I stood aside to
let him pass. He walked around, surveying the room at a leisurely
pace, his hands clasped behind his back. He looked as if he was
visiting a museum. It irritated me.
“I do hope
you like your quarters,” he said. “Please let Aya know if
anything in here is not to your taste.”
So she wasn’t
gone. “When is she coming back?”
“Tomorrow.
Along with my daughter, Mirabel, and another colleague. A Warden.”
He sat down on one of the couches. “They’ll arrive
shortly after nightfall. I’ve sent a car and driver.”
“They’re
traveling during the day? How is that possible?”
He shrugged. “As
long as you’re intelligent about the logistics, it’s not
that difficult.”
I sat down across
from him, frowning, idly wondering what he meant but not caring
enough to ask.
“Adam, I
don’t mean to pry, but I don’t suppose you’ve had
any dreams of significance lately?”
“I haven’t
been able to sleep.”
“Not at
all?”
“No.”
“Why didn’t
you say something?”
“Well...”
I didn’t have an answer. “I’m not sure.”
“You don’t
need to suffer through things like that in silence,” he said,
shaking his head. “In any case, there are sleeping pills in the
medicine cabinet.”
“They work?”
“They should
work as normal.”
“How is—how
can I metabolize medicine if I can’t...?” I didn’t
even know how to finish the question.
“I’m
not sure I can give you a satisfactory explanation. In any case,
that’s not what I came to talk to you about.”
“Oh?”
He folded his
hands. “Neither the Warden nor my daughter know anything about
what I told you and Aya last week, and I’m not planning to tell
either of them. I’d appreciate it if you’d keep this
information confidential. If the Warden’s superiors intend for
her to find about my memory loss, they’ll tell her themselves.”
“Of course.”
“Furthermore...
well, it might sound peculiar. My daughter...” Julian smiled
through tense lips. “Mirabel is... I don’t want to sound
as if I am trying to malign her out of hand, but you must be careful
around her. She has much more in common with the rest of our family
than you or I do.”
“What do you
mean?”
“She’s
manipulative. Deceptive. If you lower your guard around her, she can
contort your will. Don’t assume that simply because you can
read her thoughts you can know her intentions. She’s accustomed
to dealing with people like you.”
“If you’re
so worried about her, why are you inviting her here?”
“Tomorrow is
the anniversary of her initiation. We meet at this time every year.”
This seemed
strange, even for Julian. From what I knew of him, he wasn’t
normally so sentimental.
He stood up. “That
is all. I hope I haven’t caused you too much alarm.”
I shook my head.
“I will not
have time for a proper lesson tonight,” he said. “I’ll
be busy preparing for our guests to arrive. I do, however, have
something for you. A gift.”
“Oh?”
I asked, standing.
He reached into
the pocket of his jacket, pulled out a thin deck of cards and handed
them to me. I turned the deck face-up and flipped through it. Each
card featured a hand-drawn image of a location. I was already
familiar with several of them: the ballroom, the library, the study,
my own bedroom, the stained-glass doors leading to the gardens.
Several others depicted unfamiliar scenes.
“No doubt
you have noticed how difficult it is to navigate the subterranean
levels of the estate,” he said. “With these at hand, you
will no longer have that difficulty. I would have given them to you
earlier, but they take time and energy to make.”
I shrugged. I
turned to the last card in the deck, the only image that included any
human figures. It depicted what amounted to a gallery full of them,
both men and women, in various states of undress.
“In any
case, as I said, I will be occupied tonight, but the amphora is full,
or, well, you may feel free to avail yourself of the other options
open to you in that regard.” Another tense smile.
“I, uh...
right,” I stammered, realizing the significance of the card. I
placed the deck in my pocket.
///
The labyrinth
looked different that night, just as it always did, but this time I
sensed a distinct pull in a single direction. I’d decided to
visit the amphora, not the... gallery, or whatever it was, although I
couldn’t get the idea of it out of my head.
With the deck in
my pocket, it felt as if someone had thrown a lasso around my neck
and was leading me towards my destination. I walked through the
series of snaking turns between my rooms and Julian’s office
decisively, finding myself before the double doors in minutes.
As I drank from
the amphora, I found myself contemplating the blood’s primary
source. Both Julian and Aya were like little mother birds, collecting
and regurgitating sustenance for me, their helpless offspring. Would
it really be any different, morally, for me to attack someone on my
own? I didn’t have the stomach for it, that was true. Did that
mean I was weak? Afraid to confront reality?
Perhaps I needed
to reconsider the gallery.
Back in my suite,
I wandered listlessly into the bathroom and opened the medicine
cabinet next to the sink. I hadn’t looked inside it before; I’d
always assumed it was empty. In fact, it was stocked with all kinds
of over-the-counter medications, including sleeping pills, just as
Julian had promised.
I punched three
pills from their sleeve into the palm of my hand and popped them into
my mouth, swallowing them dry. I went back into the bedroom and
removed my shoes, turned off the lights, lay down on top of the duvet
cover and closed my eyes.
A few minutes
later, the pills started working.