in the cylinder. It could kill me when I open it for all you know and maybe there are others I’d rather throw in my lot with, whose ideology is more aligned to mine.’
‘Unlikely,’ said Helena, a little too dismissively. ‘Your mother put it in your head. I doubt very much she would have given you something with the power to kill you, not after the lengths she went to to make sure you were kept safe. And who else is there to work with who realistically has the resources to make a meaningful difference?’
Anita stood up abruptly. She’d had enough of Helena’s tone. It amazed her that even in a situation such as this, where Helena was asking for help, she could be more concerned with establishing control than getting them onside. ‘Well thanks for the history lesson but I think it’s time for us to go. Unfortunately we can’t help anyway, the cylinder is lost and won’t be found, so I guess you’ll have to find some other way to stabilise the energy.’ Helena looked blankly at Anita, her face now tinged a greyish shade. Anita walked out of the potting shed into the bright sunshine outside, Alexander following in her wake.
When the door had safely slammed shut behind them, Rose stepped in from the secret garden, an unreadable expression on her face. ‘Well that didn’t go as well as we’d hoped...’
‘...I know,’ Helena snarled.
‘Do you think she was telling the truth about the cylinder being lost?’
‘Honestly, I have no idea.’
Chapter 5
Marcus stormed through the empty archway and slammed the door behind him, failing to notice Austin’s brooding form slumped over the kitchen table. He stopped short when he saw him, briefly entertaining the idea of vacating the kitchen and finding somewhere else to be angry, before curiosity overtook him.
‘What’s wrong with you?’ he asked his obviously distracted father.
Austin’s dangerous eyes flicked up. They were a hostile pot of emotion, sneering at Marcus as he replied, ‘I can see that question applies equally to you.’ Marcus said nothing. It was best in situations like this to wait for his father’s true agenda to be revealed. Austin never let an uncomfortable silence stand for long; it made him feel out of control, so only a few moments passed before he continued. ‘I hear you’ve been to visit your treacherous girlfriend again, and this time she let you in to see her.’
Normally, Marcus would have been outraged at this obvious invasion of his privacy; clearly his father had had someone follow him to see what he was doing, but given what had happened when he last saw Anita, he couldn’t muster the energy to have that fight right now. ‘You’ll be pleased to hear Anita broke up with me, so you no longer have to worry about my ‘inappropriate’ girlfriend. And to add insult to injury, she and Alexander have disappeared, conveniently at the same time and from the same location, so you were probably right. She was probably lying to me the whole damn time.’ Marcus slumped down on the bench opposite his father at the enormous, aged wooden kitchen table. The furious tension had left his body and he bowed his head forward, resting it on his hands. ‘I can’t believe she would do this. Not so soon after breaking up with me...’
‘Unless of course, as you say, she was cheating on you from the start. Maybe Alexander had her spy on us.’
Marcus’ head shot up. ‘Why would Alexander need to use someone like Anita to spy on us? He can get as close to us as he wants at any time.’
‘Or maybe Anita has been using both of you. She’s been working with the Institution; that’s the only explanation for why she would try to steal that particular cylinder, although I doubt very much she would have known what she was stealing.’
‘For the last time, she didn’t steal that cylinder.’ Marcus said, agitated, emphasising each word in turn.
‘Really? You’re sure about
‘Unlikely,’ said Helena, a little too dismissively. ‘Your mother put it in your head. I doubt very much she would have given you something with the power to kill you, not after the lengths she went to to make sure you were kept safe. And who else is there to work with who realistically has the resources to make a meaningful difference?’
Anita stood up abruptly. She’d had enough of Helena’s tone. It amazed her that even in a situation such as this, where Helena was asking for help, she could be more concerned with establishing control than getting them onside. ‘Well thanks for the history lesson but I think it’s time for us to go. Unfortunately we can’t help anyway, the cylinder is lost and won’t be found, so I guess you’ll have to find some other way to stabilise the energy.’ Helena looked blankly at Anita, her face now tinged a greyish shade. Anita walked out of the potting shed into the bright sunshine outside, Alexander following in her wake.
When the door had safely slammed shut behind them, Rose stepped in from the secret garden, an unreadable expression on her face. ‘Well that didn’t go as well as we’d hoped...’
‘...I know,’ Helena snarled.
‘Do you think she was telling the truth about the cylinder being lost?’
‘Honestly, I have no idea.’
Chapter 5
Marcus stormed through the empty archway and slammed the door behind him, failing to notice Austin’s brooding form slumped over the kitchen table. He stopped short when he saw him, briefly entertaining the idea of vacating the kitchen and finding somewhere else to be angry, before curiosity overtook him.
‘What’s wrong with you?’ he asked his obviously distracted father.
Austin’s dangerous eyes flicked up. They were a hostile pot of emotion, sneering at Marcus as he replied, ‘I can see that question applies equally to you.’ Marcus said nothing. It was best in situations like this to wait for his father’s true agenda to be revealed. Austin never let an uncomfortable silence stand for long; it made him feel out of control, so only a few moments passed before he continued. ‘I hear you’ve been to visit your treacherous girlfriend again, and this time she let you in to see her.’
Normally, Marcus would have been outraged at this obvious invasion of his privacy; clearly his father had had someone follow him to see what he was doing, but given what had happened when he last saw Anita, he couldn’t muster the energy to have that fight right now. ‘You’ll be pleased to hear Anita broke up with me, so you no longer have to worry about my ‘inappropriate’ girlfriend. And to add insult to injury, she and Alexander have disappeared, conveniently at the same time and from the same location, so you were probably right. She was probably lying to me the whole damn time.’ Marcus slumped down on the bench opposite his father at the enormous, aged wooden kitchen table. The furious tension had left his body and he bowed his head forward, resting it on his hands. ‘I can’t believe she would do this. Not so soon after breaking up with me...’
‘Unless of course, as you say, she was cheating on you from the start. Maybe Alexander had her spy on us.’
Marcus’ head shot up. ‘Why would Alexander need to use someone like Anita to spy on us? He can get as close to us as he wants at any time.’
‘Or maybe Anita has been using both of you. She’s been working with the Institution; that’s the only explanation for why she would try to steal that particular cylinder, although I doubt very much she would have known what she was stealing.’
‘For the last time, she didn’t steal that cylinder.’ Marcus said, agitated, emphasising each word in turn.
‘Really? You’re sure about
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