This choice: Tell your brother the truth • Go Back...Chapter #18Truths by: imaj   You glance at Hal. He’s too busy rooting around inside your car, which is good because you don’t want him hearing what you have to say. “Do you remember when your brother took the job with the professor from Keyserling College?” The anger vanishes, replaced by sudden confusion. “Meet me tomorrow morning at the college,” you whisper quickly before he can react to what you have just said. You struggle to think of a landmark there that would serve as a meeting point. “The statue,” you say, suddenly remembering. “In the main quadrangle.”
You slip away from your brother. He stands there for a few moments looking puzzled before heading back to the house.
“What was that about,” asks Hal as you stand beside him. He’s finally dropped the dreadful attempt at an accent.
“Hmmm, nothing,” you mutter, staring back at the house. Robert leans down to say something into Verity’s ear and the pair of them disappear inside.
“Hope you got what you came here for then,” says Hal as he finishes hooking up your rental car to the tow truck.
“I’m not really sure,” you say, staring back at the house.
*****
It doesn’t surprise you when you see Verity with Robert the following morning. The pair stand by the statue of Cornelius Keyerling wrapped up in warm clothes to ward off the early morning cold. There’s something naggingly familiar about Verity’s long, cream coloured coat that reminds you of something. You just can’t quite remember what it is.
You are still Siobhan in appearance and are just as well wrapped up as your brother and his companion. You’ve chosen to come alone, leaving Hal back at the motel you are staying in. He would probably not approve of this meeting, or perhaps even tell Charles Brennan of it.
Verity is the first to notice your approach. She turns to look at you, fixing you with those blank black glasses. She says something to Robert, who lifts his head to follow your progress as well. You come to a halt a handful of metres away from them, looking at the old bronze statue behind the couple rather than looking them in the eyes.
“You know something about my brother,” says Robert, breaking the silence.
You look over your shoulder, round the quadrangle. It’s early, and right in the middle of class time. Most of the Keyserling student will either be in class, or in bed. Only a couple hurry across the square and none of them are near enough to overhear your conversation. As you turn back round to answer Robert, an intuition strikes you.
“You can tell when I’m lying,” you say, addressing Verity.
The accusation seems to surprise the pair. Robert grasps Verity tightly by the arm and speaks to her. “You don’t need to say anything.”
She ignores his advice though. “I can tell everything about you is a lie,” she replies aggressively, her accent thick.
“I know what happened to Will Robert,” you say. It isn’t much of a gamble and when you see Verity’ reaction, you realise you’ve hit the right note.
“Truth,” says Verity, the surprise clear on her face.
“How do you do that,” you ask genuinely intrigued by the gift Verity possesses. She doesn’t reply though, and Robert gives you a hard stare. “A game of questions,” you say, recalling a long ago encounter with Frank and Joe. “For each question I answer, you’ll answer one of mine.” Your gaze flickers between Robert and Verity. Neither looks amused. “I’ll answer your first question then: He joined a secret society of… magicians would be a good word.”
“This is bullshit,” explodes Robert. “Come on Verity, we’re wasting our time here.”
“Truth,” says Verity quietly. Robert falls silent immediately and just stares at her.
“So how do you do that,” you ask her.
“I don’t know,” answers Verity, still seemingly spooked. “I’ve just been able to tell, you know, since I was a little girl.”
“Where’s Will now,” interrupts Robert.
Now there is a question. You look at Verity. If you don’t tell the truth, she’ll spot it instantly, but the truth is so crazy, so unbelievable…
You sigh.
Why not? “He standing right in front of you,” you answer. Verity stares at you disbelievingly. She knows you’re telling the truth, she just can’t square it with what she sees in front of you. Robert’s reaction is a little different. He works his mouth soundlessly, trying to find words to respond. You smirk mischievously and continue. “Robert, I am your brother,” you tell him over dramatically. “Oh, I’ve always wanted to do that.”
Robert finally finds an answer. “You are Will.” Verity looks up at your brother and nods. “Your question, I guess.”
“What now,” you ask, as the realisation that you haven’t thought things through sinks in.
“I think girl,” says a voice from behind you. “That this is where I step in and clean up the mess you’ve made.” Your eyes go wide as you turn and see Charles Brennan sauntering up behind you.
“Sir,” you stammer.
“Relax Siobhan, or Will it must be right now,” says Charles with a disarming smile. “I’m not angry at you. Maybe a little sad, but far as I can see you played on a hunch and it took you somewhere.” He looks at Verity and Robert. “And you must be Verity and Robert. Charles Brennan,” he says, sticking his hand out. Robert takes the hand gingerly and shakes it. “I’m your brother’s boss I guess.”
“Pleased to meet you,” murmurs Robert.
“How did you know…” you stutter.
“Hal put a bug on you,” replies Charles. He reaches inside your scarf and pulls out a tiny little metallic creature. Its legs swivel uselessly as he holds it up close for you to see.
“What the…” you say furiously. “What if someone found it? What if it blew my cover? Does he ever think about what he doing?”
“You know he can hear you girl,” chuckles Charles. Verity titters a little too. You blush as Charles reaches inside his coat pocket and pulls out a little gold disc. The tool is instantly recognisable as an essentia detector. The magical equivalent of a Geiger counter would be a crude way of putting it. Verity backs away a little as Charles holds it out. “Easy girl, I’m not going to hurt you.”
“Sorry,” she mumbles
As Charles waves the disc over her, you spot the little silver bead track across its surface. You know what Charles is about to say, even before he opens his mouth. “I guess I should congratulate you on your hunch Will,” he says. “Because you’ve found your first Stellae.”
“I… uh…” you stutter. You find it hard to say anything because you’re distracted: A sigil has shimmered into view, forming out of nothing. It wavers in the air in front of Cornelius Keyserling’s bronze face, before taking on a reeking black aspect as Eldibria surges within you. “Is that supposed to happen,” you ask, pointing at it.
Charles looks at where you point. He squints for a few moment then his eyebrows go up. “Hmmm, interesting.”
*****
You thank the haggard looking barista as she refills your coffee with a smile and a nod. She barely acknowledges you, and you barely recognise her. You worked with her briefly five years ago, when you returned to Saratoga Falls from England. The intervening years haven’t been kind to her, and she carries a more than a little fat around her thighs and tummy. This coffee shop was called The Crystal Cave back then, now it’s called Benny’s, but it still has the same deep booths that are good for privacy.
You turn your attention back to inside the booth. Charles is sat opposite you and beside Verity. He finishes sketching at a diagram on a large sheet of paper. The notation would be illegible to almost anyone but a Stellae, but you recognise it as a horoscope, even if you can’t read it upside down.
“What was with all those questions,” asks Robert from beside you.
“To find out her ousiarchs,” you reply quietly. “What kind of powers she has.”
“Like being able to tell if someone is lying or not,” asks Robert. You nod.
“Exactly Robert son,” says Charles without looking up. “And I’m finished now as well: Arbol and Sulva.”
Arbol, that makes a lot of sense given Verity’s ability to divine the truth, but Sulva? Another Sulva? “I though Sulvae were supposed to be rare,” you ask.
“They are girl, they are,” answers Charles. “Finding three in the same town has to be more than a coincidence.”
“What are we going to do,” you ask.
Charles lets out a long sigh. “I’m going to have to meditate on it extensively.”
“Excuse me,” interrupts Robert. “I have a question, if that’s alright.” Charles smiles at your brother and nods. “Is Verity going to leave with you,” he asks, his expression troubled.
Charles frowns momentarily. “I suppose it’s up to Verity,” he answers with an encouraging smile.
“I need a few days to think about it,” she says uncertainly.
“That’s ok,” Charles tells her. “We’ll be here for a few days, especially since we have to look into that sigil at the statue now.” He looks at you. “We could make a start on that now Siobhan. Frank won’t be here for another day anyway.” | Members who added to this interactive story also contributed to these: |
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