You look troubled Alex, tell me what is on your mind,’ Hani asked softly as Alex nursed his tall glass of tea.
‘It is nothing Hani, beyond the usual affairs we find ourselves amidst. And we must wait for Gabriel to discuss that.’
‘But I sense this is something personal.’
‘Something that has been on my mind for a while. Since Zara returned. I understand my purpose Hani. My job is to take lives, ones that don’t want to be taken. I am something of a burglar of souls in that regard. It brings me no joy. I see in your eyes, and Vincent’s, and others, the joy that the creation of life has brought and I find myself guilty of envy. I would like for once to create a life, and not simply take it.’
Hani nodded with understanding. ‘I often feel of all the brothers, the heaviest burden has most unfairly fallen to you. That you are denied that which is given so freely to others, I cannot imagine the suffering it must cause, but that is also why you were gifted the most beautiful of the swans as some recompense for your troubles. Is it not enough to possess such a treasure in your life that you can sacrifice that which you now desire?’
‘It should be. I know. I ask too much. I’m guilty of the very greed I despise in others. I am blessed.’
‘If it is was only that simply, we can be blessed and cursed in equal measures.’
Devreaux finally arrived. ‘Sorry to have kept you, it was short notice.’
‘I apologise for that, but needs must Gabriel.’
Devreaux sat down. ‘What is it Alex?’
‘I believe our long-standing enemy has finally revealed himself. I believe our enemy to be Smythe.’
‘Are you certain?’
‘He came to Paris. He spoke with me. His vanity and ego betrayed him and he spoke too freely. He boasted that all the trials which have beset us recently have been by his hand. He turned the will of all my men, bar the devoted, to his own ends, and he set his will against us to manipulate Zara. I have never seen him exercise such capability before, more importantly, that he was able to get past me with his schemes. I did not see the outcome until it was upon us.’
‘Then I fear it is as we suspected. Did you strike him down?’
‘No. Hani, we, we all worked too hard to learn of Smythe’s operations. It would serve no purpose to allow him to simply manifest in another.’
‘Then you acted wisely my brother. His scheme against you does indeed sound very familiar. He will not take kindly to its failure. He may raise the stakes, or find another vector to attack us with.’
‘Gabriel, I sought your counsel because I cannot be sure if his scheme has failed or we merely continue to propagate it further. I’m wary of his trickery that his decision to parley was merely another subterfuge in a much greater continued deception.’
‘And you found yourself unable to see past this deception?’ Devreaux asked.
‘I cannot be certain. I find myself not entirely focused, I see too much or I see too little.’
‘No Alex, I believe you grant him too much credit. His malevolence is certainly without limits, but his capacity to plot such things is limited by his own impatience. I believe he has tested you, and been found wanting. He will now seek redress by other means. You must be on your guard. He knows of us all that you are the gravest of threats, he’ll seek to destroy you by indirect means.’
‘You think he’ll go after Zara again?’
‘No, he’s already tried that and found her to be remarkably resilient, as we would expect her to be, to his machinations. Now she is becoming self-aware her strength grows by the day. It is no longer his game to play, but Zara’s game. And she has proven to be most adept at it.’
‘I fear my wishes are selfish in that regard. The path she will take will steal the very innocence I find so endearing. I’m concerned as she grows as a person...’
‘She’ll become too much like you?’
‘We are both black swans, are we not Gabriel?’
‘But you swim together.’
‘Not always...’
‘You must work hard to strengthen than bond, so when the time comes she remembers it. So back to the matter in hand.’
‘What do you propose we do?’ Hani asked.
‘We must continue on the path we have taken. While some are convinced of our theories – Vane, Souza, Vincent, there are others who still remain sceptical and refuse to act. Until we have the will of the entire Guild Council to act then we cannot defeat our common enemy or fulfil our plan. We are not ready. Let us hope this current bout of mischief is merely temporal in nature and we have more time to prepare. Alex, you must go to Moscow. You need to impress the need for urgency to clean up these domestic problems and begin the greater implementation. If our enemy is active then he has awoken and he will renew his search for the weapon.’
‘I will go to Moscow.’
‘We must operate with caution now. If he has turned men within our sphere then we must choose our company carefully. Continue with your plans Alex. I will give consideration to how we deal with this,’ Devreaux said.
Alex got up to leave. ‘If it is him?’
‘Then it has already begun...’ Hani said with a solemn nod.