*****
Anita didn’t wait for the others; she hadn’t been for a run and that would inevitably lead to difficult questions. Instead, she decided to run to the river to climb one of the cliffs. She hoped that would help clear her head; she’d been feeling a bit fuzzy since the meditation.
She arrived at the river lost in her thoughts, so was startled when a voice called her name.
She turned around to see Helena jogging into view. ‘Helena. Hi,’ she said, bemused. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘I thought it was a good day for a spot of climbing,’ she said, descending the steep grassy slope down to the river bank where Anita stood.
‘Great minds and all that,’ Anita replied warmly. ‘In fact, it’s probably a good thing you bumped into me,’ she smirked, ‘at your age, it’s a wonder you can still make it out here.’
‘Alright, enough of that thank you,’ Helena scolded. ‘I’ll still beat your sorry little ass up the cliff.’ They smiled at each other; it was just like it used to be.
They were free climbing obviously. Body types had a healthy scorn for ropes and were half way up the cliff, just reaching a tricky overhang, when Helena casually dropped in, ‘so I see you and Marcus are getting along well.’
‘For the love of the Gods, not you too?’
‘What do you mean, not me too?’
‘I didn’t have you down for a gossip.’
Helena laughed. ‘No, I’m not generally, and I’m not very good at it either. I was wondering more about how Austin feels about your relations with his son? You should be careful of him you know,’ she said, offhandedly, launching herself upwards to grab a hold that had been just out of reach.
‘So you fall into the ‘save Anita from Austin’ camp,’ Anita replied evenly, placing her foot and all her weight on an impossibly small crease by her waist to reach her next hold.
‘There’s a whole camp of us?’ she said sarcastically.
‘It’s growing.’
‘Well, I just think you should know that Austin’s dangerous, and that woman Amber comes in a close second. She’s very adept at getting into peoples’ minds. You should stay away from her.’
‘What do you mean ‘getting into peoples’ minds’?’
Helena looked over at Anita, glad she’d finally caught her full attention. ‘I mean that, in the same way as we have Body skills not taught at a school level, there are also Mind and Spirit skills that most people don’t know much about. Amber is extremely adept at a couple of particularly manipulative ones, and crucially, is exceptionally good at getting into peoples’ heads. Sometimes she simply uses the power of suggestion, planting things into conversations, repeating words or phrases a number of times so people remember them unwittingly. But when she feels the situation calls for it, she’s been known to launch a full-scale attack, which involves finding a way into a person’s mind, such as when they’re meditating, or praying to the Gods, or concentrating extremely hard on something, and planting something in there. Most people who’ve had this done to them will never even know about it. The only way to tell is to meditate to one’s Centre and recognise something that’s slightly out of place.’ Helena paused while they lifted themselves over the top and sat dangling their legs over the edge, admiring the view down the river. Helena noticed Anita had gone both very quiet and a dangerous shade of grey.
‘Are you alright,’ she asked, concerned.
Anita paused, considering her answer. Given her meditation earlier, she wasn’t entirely sure. ‘And what’s the purpose of planting something?’ she asked.
‘Well, it depends. It can be a very effective way to kill a person and make it look like they just dropped down dead, but generally, people like Austin don’t care about how deaths look, given there’s nobody he has to answer to. Or it can be a way of gathering information, but the tricky thing there is working out a way to extract the information, as you’d need someone with expert Mind skills to plant the idea and a skilful Spirit to extract it through meditation. Or it can be a way to store or pass information secretly between people without there being any physical evidence or conversation. For example, people used to widely use brass cylinders as a way of passing messages or storing information and then when people found them whilst meditating, they would know what they’d found. The only problem with that, of course, is that people then started to plant hostile brass cylinders as a form of attack, which were extremely effective because people thought they were safe, so would open them and immediately drop down dead. Only a handful of people practice planting and extracting any longer; the world is a much safer place now than it used to be, but most academics will know about and often practice them to keep the arts alive.’
Anita sat and contemplated what she’d just heard. After the first mention of death, she’d been on the verge of telling Helena about her experience in the Temple, but now that she’d brought up brass cylinders, Anita didn’t know if this was such a great idea. ‘Can you find out when something was planted? That way you could agree certain times to plant so you would know it was safe?’ she eventually asked.
‘No. Not unless you actually caught the person in the act. But that’s very difficult to do, as you’d be concentrating extremely hard on something else whilst the plant is taking place. The only thing you can do is learn to protect your mind from attack, which means there are barriers that an attacker has to get through to plant something. And seeing as getting through barriers takes time and energy, it takes someone more skilled to do this, and obviously makes it more risky to try. You can give friendly planters clues as to how to get through the barriers, making it easier for them to plant. The Descendants are all trained to protect themselves in every way possible as they’re obvious targets for attacks. However, Austin has taken this one step further and takes Amber with him everywhere he goes, just in case he feels the need to be hostile himself, which he often does.’
‘So why do I need to be careful of Austin? Why would he be hostile towards me?’
‘You’re powerful, and it’s common knowledge that Austin doesn’t like having powerful people around. It makes him feel threatened, vulnerable, so he does all he can to identify and either use or rid the world of those he sees as a threat.’
‘And when you say ‘use’?’
‘He employs them for their skills. In the same way he uses Amber’s planting skills, he might want a powerful Spirit as an extractor, or a powerful Body to seduce somebody or beat someone up.’
‘Seduce somebody? I would have thought that would be a Mind trick too.’
‘There’s a lot of cross over. Yes, Minds tend to be proficient in seduction and manipulation, but a Body can be good at seduction too. Instead of using their mind and manipulation to seduce, they simply use their bodies. In reality, people tend to have a mixture of the three Gods in them, so it’s never as cut and dried as attributing certain skills only to Minds, Bodies or Spirits. You might be a strong Body but have very little Mind at all, meaning you may find seduction hard, or you may be a strong Spirit but have a lot of Mind, meaning you may be able to master both planting and extraction, or you may have a little of all three and be passable at everything but excel at not very much. There’s no set formula. There are a handful of academics who research skills inheritance, but they haven’t found much to go on yet. I think the most interesting research is being carried out by a very small group, who are looking at people who can give energy jolts and shivers, but they’ve made virtually no headway at all given how rare those abilities are, and they don’t seem to follow any obvious inheritance rules.’
Anita thought about telling Helena what she’d felt when she’d kissed Marcus and touched Alexander, and ask whether that meant they had the power or that she did, but given that would mean having to tell her about the kissing, she decided to keep it to herself. Maybe she’d do a little independent research on the matter.
‘Anyway, the point is that you would b
e wise to steer clear of Austin and Amber, which also means giving Marcus a wide berth, especially after your display the other night, spectacular as it was.’
‘Thanks,’ she half laughed, ‘I think. And what if I decide I don’t want to give Marcus a wide berth?’
‘Then you’re taking a tremendous risk. Marcus is Austin’s son,’ she turned serious, ‘remember that. He’s becoming more and more like him, and I wouldn’t want you to get caught in the middle of that transformation.’
‘It’s not a foregone conclusion that he’ll turn into his father,’ Anita said, prickling. ‘And anyway, Alexander, your fellow ‘protect Anita club’ member, seems to think the safest place for me is with Marcus. You two should have some kind of ‘protect Anita’ convention and get your advice together.’
Helena ignored her outburst, saying cautiously, ‘just how close are you and Marcus?’
‘Not that close,’ she replied uncomfortably, ‘not that it’s any of your business.’ This was new territory for Anita, and she didn’t like Helena prying. She’d never had to explain any of her previous relationships, probably something to do with a lack of nosey parents and living with a grandmother who protected her own privacy and therefore respected the privacy of others.
‘Anita, if Alexander thinks you’re safest with Marcus, then it’s probably gone too far already. Marcus has always been possessive, just like Austin, which will work both in your favour and against you. It does mean that Austin’s unlikely to harm you and less likely to try and recruit you, but it also means if you ever want to walk away, you could have serious problems. Marcus might not want to let you go.’
‘This gets more and more crazy,’ said Anita, exasperated. ‘If Marcus and I have any kind of relationship, it’s not like I’ll suddenly belong to him.’
‘That’s what Amelia thought too and look at her now.’
‘Marcus is not Austin.’
‘And you are not Amelia.’
Anita didn’t know what she meant by that, but it clearly wasn’t anything good, so she didn’t ask. Unfortunately, Helena seemed to think it was something Anita needed to know, so she carried on anyway.
‘Amelia was, and indeed still is, an extremely adept Mind academic. When she fell in love with and married Austin, she brought a lot of influential supporters with her. When they separated, which had a lot to do with Austin turning into a carbon copy of his father, Tobias, by the way, Austin lost a lot of those supporters, but he couldn’t harm Amelia, or he would risk a faction forming within the Temple of the Mind. Obviously, given how fragile the balance is at the moment, Austin should leave you alone whilst Marcus wants you, but if Marcus changes his mind, or you want to leave him, you’ll be in a great deal of danger, and you don’t have powerful supporters to protect you.’
‘The fragility of the system seems to be the topic of the moment,’ said Anita dismissively.
‘Anita, the possibility of a revolution is not something to be flippant about. It could happen. The Institution is growing, and given the current bloodline situation and energy crisis, now seems like a likely time, don’t you think?’
Anita looked blankly at Helena. ‘The Institution?’ she questioned.
Helena rolled her eyes. ‘It always amazes me how little your generation knows. You lack any kind of political zeal; so unlike your parents.’
Anita wasn’t sure whether Helena meant her parents specifically, or just her generation’s parents in general, but she made a mental note to drop them into conversation later to find out.
Helena continued. ‘The Institution is a group of powerful individuals, mostly academics, Councillors and a few traders, whose purpose is to ensure the energy stays steady.’
‘I thought that was the job of the Descendants?’
Helena searched for how to answer. ‘Theoretically yes, but the Descendants have never really been interested in ruling for the good of all. Historically, they’ve been more preoccupied with personal gain and adoration, and in reality, they have no interest in sending the relic back to the Gods, given that to do so runs counter to their personal interests, regardless of what they swear at their Crownings.’
‘Hmm.’
‘So the Institution was formed centuries ago to ensure the energy remained stable and has dedicated itself to freeing the world ever since.’
‘But only the Descendants can free the world.’
‘Only if the only freedom you consider is from the Gods. What if freedom was from the rule of the Descendants?’
‘So why wait until now? Why hasn’t the Institution acted already?’
‘The Descendants hold some information they’d use to discredit the Institution if we tried to act, which means we’ve been at a stalemate since they stole it. If we overthrow them, they’ll discredit us, the world would descend into chaos, and the energy would plummet. It would mean destruction of the world as we know it and the Institution would have failed in its purpose.’
‘So when you say ‘we’, I take it that means you’re part of the Institution?’ Anita asked. ‘Why are you telling me all this?’
‘Because we need powerful people like you to join us,’ she replied simply.
‘But what’s the point of growing if you can’t act?’
‘Because, as you know better than most, the energy is failing. If we don’t act now, then it may be too late.’
‘And how are you going to deal with the ‘information’ issue?’
‘We’re going to get it back.’
‘What is ‘it’ and how do you plan to get it back? Information’s not something you can just steal!’
‘I can’t tell you that Anita, unless of course you agree to join us.’ Anita almost laughed, but saw the look on Helena’s face, so thought better of it.
‘Join you? Given the earlier warning about Marcus and Austin, do you think that’s such a great idea?’
‘I’m not saying it wouldn’t be dangerous, but having you with us may be the key to getting the information back.’
Anita looked shocked. ‘How did you work that out?’
‘Think about it. If your relationship with Marcus develops, you’ll be in a position to probe for information about the whereabouts of the information, find out how heavily it’s guarded, and you may even be able to recover it for us.’
‘What? You want me to play the spy right under Austin and Amber’s noses? What if they were to find out?’
‘As I said, I’m not saying it wouldn’t be dangerous, but you’d be helping to protect us all.’
Anita looked away; it all seemed so absurd. ‘Helena, I’m going to have to think about it. Until about five minutes ago I had no idea the Institution even existed, and now you’re asking me to make sure my relationship with Marcus develops so I can spy for you and steal back some kind of ‘information’? It’s a bit full-on don’t you think?’
‘I know it is, but that’s the world we now live in. The energy’s plummeting and the Descendants are doing nothing. You have some of the strongest energy I’ve ever known, and I wouldn’t have told you about the Institution or what we are trying to do if I didn’t trust you, or think you could do it. You don’t know it, but you’ve been wrapped up in this for a very long time.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘I can’t tell you that until you join us and prove you’re committed. If you get the information, I’ll tell you everything.’ She paused for a moment before adding, ‘including all about your parents, who I knew very well.’
‘You were friends with my parents and you never told me? Through all the time we spent together, you never thought once to mention it?’ Anita was partly furious, partly hurt and partly captivated. Helena could answer all the questions she’d never been able to ask Cordelia, or anyone else for that matter. She desperately wanted to know about her parents, and if they had been wrapped up in the Institution, could it really be that bad? But what if her parents had been bad people? She
’d never known them; maybe she should stay as far away from the Institution as possible, after all, this could be the reason they’d ended up dead. She was totally confused. Half of her wanted to agree to anything Helena asked of her, but the other half knew she should be cautious. Helena admitting something was dangerous meant it was really dangerous and that wasn’t something to be taken lightly.
‘Anita, I couldn’t mention it. The Descendants don’t know I’m a member of the Institution. They may suspect, but they don’t know for sure. If I’d told you about your parents when you were younger, it would’ve put both of us, and many others, in serious danger.’ Anita was really intrigued now. ‘By all means, take some time to think about it, but please don’t tell anyone about this conversation. No one at all. It would be dangerous for you and could get me killed.’
Anita felt suddenly cold and a little bit sick. She’d never had to consider that someone might want to harm or even kill her for something as simple as a conversation. Sure, she had used an energy gun before, and a bow and arrow, and had trained to fight with knives, and just her hands, but that had all been a game, or for practice. She’d never considered she may actually have to use the training someday, or that someone else may try to use their training on her.
‘I won’t tell anyone,’ she promised. There was no one she could tell something like this anyway.
‘Thank you. I’ll come and find you in a few days to hear your decision, but you’re the most skilled Body I have ever known, and you learn quickly; if anyone can help us, it’s you.’
Helena squeezed Anita’s arm warmly as she got up and jogged away, calling, ‘I’ll see you in a couple of days,’ back over her shoulder.
Anita couldn’t quite believe what had just happened. She’d had lessons with Helena every day for years and she’d never mentioned anything about any of this. Helena hadn’t even tried that hard to recruit her to be an academic, and now this? Anita was astute enough to know that Helena hadn’t really been warning her off Marcus, nor had she accidently bumped into Anita at the river. Helena had obviously known about the direction Anita’s relationship with Marcus was going, so saw the opportunity and went for it. But that didn’t help Anita decide what she should do next.
She was also a little worried by the brass cylinder in her head and the notion that it could be something hostile that was waiting to kill her. She didn’t think that Amber had had an opportunity to plant something, but then Anita didn’t know what to look for and she had no idea how long it had been there, so it could’ve been anybody, for any reason, over the course of her life. It could have been Helena for all she knew.