The incidents you speak of—the murders in New Hampshire, the taking of the child, and the destruction of the McArthur household—are linked. It could not be coincidence.”
“ But I don’t see—”
“ It does not matter that you do not see, Isaac. I see. That is what is important.”
“ What do you see, Brother Paul?”
The priest heaved a long, tired sigh. “Things have been quiet for too long, Isaac. In this modern society there are many factions battling for dominance. Lately I have been hearing things about the government, how they are becoming involved—”
“ The government?” Isaac gasped, his voice hoarse with astonishment. “The United States Government?”
“ That is correct.”
“ But why? How would they even know—?”
The monk gave a humorless laugh. “Power, Isaac, and they know everything. Make no mistake. Since 911 and the inclusion of the Patriot Act the government hears and sees everything. They know about the Collector. And they know about the object. Trust me on this. When there is this much power at stake, all bets are off. We must not let the chosen ones fall into the wrong hands. It could be the end of . . . everything. The time of darkness has never been closer.”
“ Action has already been taken, Brother Paul. It is the reason I am making this call, to inform you of the situation and to set your mind at ease.”
“ My mind is not at ease, Isaac. You have nearly failed the Brotherhood on this tragic morning! Your responsibility was to see that this did not happen.”
“ I told you, we were taken by surprise—”
“ There are no excuses!” the priest exploded. “Hear me well, Isaac. The woman and unborn child must not be harmed.”
“ I understand completely,” Isaac replied. “Our agents are monitoring the situation very carefully. I will report back when they are in a safe location.”
“ Where are they now?”
“ They are in motion.”
“ And their destination?”
“ I think you can guess.”
“ I was afraid of that.”
“ No harm will come to them there. She is his daughter. His future depends on the child’s survival.”
“ I know that, Isaac. It is not the mother and child I’m afraid for.”
“ You still think the father is—?”
“ Yes, now more than ever. He is special. There is a reason he sees the Collector. There is a reason he was chosen to be the child’s father. Hear me well, Isaac. He must survive. I have seen two visions of the future, and the one without the father is the one we do not wish to live in. I can assure you of that.”
“ Yes, Brother Paul.”
“ Go then and tend to these affairs. Just as soon as I can reach the other members I will call an emergency meeting . It is time we made some harsh decisions.”
“ But where? There is no time to plan such a meeting.”
“ Here, Isaac. We will meet here.”
“ But what of the dangers?”
“ There is no time to plan anything more elaborate. I will give the members a choice. Either they agree to come here or I will make the decision on my own. They will come.”
“ Yes, they will come,” Isaac echoed.
“ And remember, Isaac, we must never, under any circumstances reveal our true identity or our purpose to them. They have enough advantages already.”
“ I will remember your words,” Isaac said before the line went dead.
The priest let the handset drop to the level of his shoulder, as if it had grown very heavy. After a long moment he put it back in the cradle. He picked the object out of his robe’s pocket and stared at it for a long moment before clutching it tightly and painfully in his fists. As he did so blood began dripping from his closed hands and splashing onto the ceramic-tiled floor at his feet. The pain was nearly unbearable. Even so, he did not loose his grip on it. He understood what had to be done, and soon.
The object was showing him the way just as it had shown another old priest the way so many years ago. He would follow the path,
“ But I don’t see—”
“ It does not matter that you do not see, Isaac. I see. That is what is important.”
“ What do you see, Brother Paul?”
The priest heaved a long, tired sigh. “Things have been quiet for too long, Isaac. In this modern society there are many factions battling for dominance. Lately I have been hearing things about the government, how they are becoming involved—”
“ The government?” Isaac gasped, his voice hoarse with astonishment. “The United States Government?”
“ That is correct.”
“ But why? How would they even know—?”
The monk gave a humorless laugh. “Power, Isaac, and they know everything. Make no mistake. Since 911 and the inclusion of the Patriot Act the government hears and sees everything. They know about the Collector. And they know about the object. Trust me on this. When there is this much power at stake, all bets are off. We must not let the chosen ones fall into the wrong hands. It could be the end of . . . everything. The time of darkness has never been closer.”
“ Action has already been taken, Brother Paul. It is the reason I am making this call, to inform you of the situation and to set your mind at ease.”
“ My mind is not at ease, Isaac. You have nearly failed the Brotherhood on this tragic morning! Your responsibility was to see that this did not happen.”
“ I told you, we were taken by surprise—”
“ There are no excuses!” the priest exploded. “Hear me well, Isaac. The woman and unborn child must not be harmed.”
“ I understand completely,” Isaac replied. “Our agents are monitoring the situation very carefully. I will report back when they are in a safe location.”
“ Where are they now?”
“ They are in motion.”
“ And their destination?”
“ I think you can guess.”
“ I was afraid of that.”
“ No harm will come to them there. She is his daughter. His future depends on the child’s survival.”
“ I know that, Isaac. It is not the mother and child I’m afraid for.”
“ You still think the father is—?”
“ Yes, now more than ever. He is special. There is a reason he sees the Collector. There is a reason he was chosen to be the child’s father. Hear me well, Isaac. He must survive. I have seen two visions of the future, and the one without the father is the one we do not wish to live in. I can assure you of that.”
“ Yes, Brother Paul.”
“ Go then and tend to these affairs. Just as soon as I can reach the other members I will call an emergency meeting . It is time we made some harsh decisions.”
“ But where? There is no time to plan such a meeting.”
“ Here, Isaac. We will meet here.”
“ But what of the dangers?”
“ There is no time to plan anything more elaborate. I will give the members a choice. Either they agree to come here or I will make the decision on my own. They will come.”
“ Yes, they will come,” Isaac echoed.
“ And remember, Isaac, we must never, under any circumstances reveal our true identity or our purpose to them. They have enough advantages already.”
“ I will remember your words,” Isaac said before the line went dead.
The priest let the handset drop to the level of his shoulder, as if it had grown very heavy. After a long moment he put it back in the cradle. He picked the object out of his robe’s pocket and stared at it for a long moment before clutching it tightly and painfully in his fists. As he did so blood began dripping from his closed hands and splashing onto the ceramic-tiled floor at his feet. The pain was nearly unbearable. Even so, he did not loose his grip on it. He understood what had to be done, and soon.
The object was showing him the way just as it had shown another old priest the way so many years ago. He would follow the path,
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