by T5 and The Eurostar
That evening, all the guests of the old castle-like hotel were invited to the main hall, where tables were set up with fine linen and silver.
Servants saw to the needs of the guests when it came to clothing. Ameristar had a long, flowing, black satin dress designed by Jean-Paul Benielli. The Raptor wore a dark gray suit designed by Salvatore Cesarani. They eyed each other when they met in the hall and smiled.
"Jackie, you look... I can't find words," stammered Edulcore Cicciotto, the Raptor.
"You look pretty nice yourself there, winged wonder." Ameristar glided into the hall with the grace of one used to these surroundings.
The Raptor, on the other hand, kept pulling at his collar. Did they really need to make these so tight?
The old Neanderthal, Myrddin, simply smiled at the thought. "Young people... heh-heh."
"You can all sit down please," said a man standing on a small stage in the middle of the tables, which had been set up to form a u-shape. The small stage was equipped with a microphone and a large aquarium full of water. "The apéritifs will be served at the table. We will have a few topics to discuss before the first course is served."
As everyone was seated, the Hoods on one side and the Futurists on the other, Ameristar and the Raptor noticed that the middle table where they sat was apparently set for the leaders of the factions. And so only five seats were available.
The leader of the Futurists looked at the people sitting at the tables. About forty people were gathered here in fine clothing, including a dark-haired man known only as the Giorgio. He smiled at Ameristar, who quickly averted her gaze.
"It is with great regret that I have to inform you all that this evening will not be business as usual. As you all know, Tobias Cracken has been killed in this sacred place of trust and peace."
He cleared his throat. "I propose a toast to Tobias Cracken, leader of the Hoods, who has proven to be a respectable foe over the years I have had the honor of knowing him."
Murmurs of agreement were heard from a few of the older Futurists.
"Although we have fought a war over the millennias past, we have to recognize the knowledge and wisdom he gave us. You Hoods have a title for him I never understood... Master Warper?"
A few Hoods nodded their agreement.
"Well, I'm sure you will never give me the answer as to what that means, but hear this: Secrets are fine as long as they serve a purpose. And the secret this evening that we have to find out is... who killed Tobias Cracken?"
Edulcore Cicciotto:
Five seats. And one is empty.
The empty chair is on the Hoods' side of the room. It was the one appointed for the dead Cracken. At the other side there is the man who has just spoken -- Stephan Hannoval, the leader of the Cloaks, or Futurists as they like to be called. He was the one who questioned me in the afternoon. In the middle is me, Myrddin, and Ameristar. Crasher is standing near one of the windows, just like Demeter, three identical Giorgios, and three wizards. They seem to act like security guards. There is tension in the air -- palpable tension. And then I see. I see it in everyone's face, even Jackie or the ever-cold expression of the Neanderthal.
Fear.
They are trying to disguise it. They are trying to show themselves very cool and comfortable.
The truth is that each one is looking at the other by the corner of their eyes. Every now and then, one opens up his eyes in amazement, like some surprise hit his mind.
Ladnikia vibrates in my hand. The hilt is warm, then hot, nearly impossible to be held. It's like she's trying to communicate.
I feel a strong bond, like days ago when I was fighting the vampires under the storm.
Suddenly, a figure stands up from the row of the Hoods. It's a woman, although at first I didn't recognize that fact, being that her head is covered by the huge hood wears. She coughs, but the eyes of everyone in the room is over me. Nobody seems to be paying attention to her. She begins: "Everyone that was present in the building at the moment of the killing is in this room. We'll begin in a minute the interrogation. Before we start, is there anyone who wants to say something?"
I raise my hand, like when I was at school.
The woman looks at me from the shadow under her hood. "Mr. Cicciotto?"
"Yes, just a clarification. You said that everyone is here, but I am sure of having seen many waiters, butlers, and even cooks in the castle. Why are they above suspicion?"
"Because they aren't human, Cicciotto. They are robots and automatons, designed just for their functions. They can't kill even if someone would order them to do. I repeat, everyone that can be accused of having killed Tobias Cracken, Master Warper, is in this room."
"Thank you. That was the thing I needed to know." I raise Ladnikia. "Now I know this is a trap."
Everyone stands up from his seat, marvel on their faces, speechless, amazed.
"This morning it was made clear that none of you, from either side, can read my mind. And that this bothers you most. This means I am special. Special in the sense that I am different from you. And this also means that reading thoughts is common among you. Hence, you know that none of you, Hoods, Futurists, and..." I turn to the Neanderthal. "How do you call yourself? Well, it's not important right now..." I turn back toward the woman. "None of you is the killer, and everyone in this room knows that."
Chilling silence in the room.
I pause a moment, then: "None, except one: me. You can't read my thoughts, so each one of you -- even you, Ameristar, I know -- think I am the killer."
One of the Cloaks, the oldest one, raises his hands and points at me, but he is stopped by Hannoval, who says, "Aurochs, wait!"
"Wait for what, Stephan? He's admitting his crime. It's like I told you. He will become the tyrant of the world. I have seen it in the Castle of Crossed Destinies! This is the moment to kill him."
I raise Ladnikia in front of me like a shield. "I don't know what this man is babbling about. I hope you'll continue to listen before you make any mistake."
The Neanderthal nods.
I continue. "I am not the killer. I can't prove it right now, but I have a witness. But there is more. There were at least two beings at the moment of the killing. One is the witness I was talking about, and who might be somewhere in the castle, hiding and waiting for your sealing spell to be revoked in order to safely leave. But there was another -- a man in a gray suit, who walked up to the sky. For him, your spell surely was like toilet paper. Ah, and he had a walking stick... with a green light on it!"
At Edulcore Cicciotto's words, on the face of the Hoods appeared an expression of complete and utter disbelief. "That's preposterous. We killed him in Chicago, years ago!"
The Neanderthal replied, "So... you were the ones responsible."
Aurochs saw his moment to shine and said, "Yes, old man. It was they who killed your son. They knew he had the immortality gene and were afraid he might pose a larger threat someday. What was his name again?"
"My name... is Jack," said a calm voice behind them all.
Everyone in the room turned, and the dark-suited man that Cicciotto had seen outside his window was standing behind the leader of the Futurists. Someone with quick reflexes tried to tackle him, but he passed right through him as if he wasn't even there.
But there he certainly was. And he took Stephan Hannoval and slit his throat in front of all the members of the house.
Aurochs roared in anger and tried a quick energy spell. But the charge hit the wall instead.
And the man, who looked to be in his mid-thirties, faced the Neanderthal and said with a crooked grin, "Hello, father. Long time no see."
"You won't get away this time, Jack."
"Oh, I'm afraid I will, father. As I have always done. And by the way... O says hi." And as mysteriously as he had arrived, he disappeared through the wall that faced the outside garden.
The chaos that ensued gave Ameristar and Cicciotto the time to talk with Crasher. But as they walked up to her, the female speaker from earlier on came up to them and said, "Now that we know who the killer is, we will let you go. This is an internal matter. And you three have no part in this." A Giorgio stepped closer. "Giorgio, here, will escort you to the car. He will see to it that you get home safely. But heed my words... If we ever meet in the field, it will be as opponents at best... enemies at worst." With those harsh words, she spun on her heel and quickly marched off into the adjacent room.
The Neanderthal looked at them with sad eyes. "I am terribly sorry about all this. I was sure he was dead."
Ameristar looked at him with a frown. "So... when were you going to tell me, huh? The fact is that I had a demented brother, and it never occurred to you that I might want to know stuff like that? And just how dangerous is he, anyway?"
"He has the ability to transcend the time/space continuum, to pass through walls like a ghost. And he works for a very dangerous organization. Don't ask me to name them. The less you know, the less you can be harmed as it is now. Leave it be. Go back to your island and forget about all this for now. Both the Hoods and the Futurists will be in a state of flux for now. So things will be calm. Go back to your friends... and I may have some work for them later."