The Seeker - Isobelle Carmody [61]
“You can put his body out for the wild wolves,” said Madam Vega. “I do not know what the old man hoped to achieve in sending him up here.”
Alexi laughed. “I expect he fears that we are closer to the knowledge he seeks than he likes.”
“We don’t know for sure if the Druid is even alive. It could simply be his followers,” Vega said.
“That’s not what his man said,” Ariel laughed unpleasantly.
“Either way, I don’t like the competition. It’s a pity we can’t call the Council in to clear them up,” said Madam Vega.
“Impossible,” Alexi said coldly. “Soldierguards up here would make our search impossible. And imagine if they found out what we planned. It is hard enough to keep those nosy Herders from Darthnor out.”
“Well, tonight was a waste of time as far as the search goes,” Ariel said. “I told you she would be useless.”
“I did not think to achieve anything. I merely wanted to try out the new configuration of the machine, and I don’t want to ruin Cameo as we have this one,” he added. I understood then that the silent fourth must be poor Selmar.
“I’m sick of her and all of these Misfits,” Ariel said petulantly. “I am tired of guiding them through the maze and back and of listening to their idiocies.”
“They keep Stephen happy, thinking he has some humanitarian cause,” said Madam Vega. “And when the time comes, they will be good labor. Marisa thought the things we seek would be buried, and I have no intention of digging them up like a common farmer. Besides, it would have been impossible to suddenly stop purchasing Misfits without the Council wondering what was going on. And you must admit, the business of searching the orphan homes makes the perfect cover for our search for the right Misfit.” She paused thoughtfully. “You really think it was Cameo who set off the Zebkrahn that day?”
“It would have taken a high level of mental power to engage the machine and then to escape it, and I would not have thought her capable of it,” said Alexi. “But she has been dreaming about machines since it happened, according to our informant. It must be that she’s hiding the true extent of her abilities. But once we use the Zebkrahn on her directly, the pretense will end.”
“I’ll be relieved when our search is done,” Vega said.
“Damn that Marisa. If it wasn’t for her, we would have had the map long ago,” Alexi said angrily.
Madam Vega laughed. “Can you really blame her? It was she who discovered the location of the Beforetime weaponmachines, after all. A pity she was content to map their location and nothing more. Hiding the map from us was her sour idea of a joke … and I suspect she thought the knowledge would keep her alive,” she said.
“She misjudged my patience,” snarled Alexi. “I only hope she didn’t destroy the map.”
“She would never destroy knowledge,” Vega said with confidence.
They stood with their backs to my hiding place, warming their hands and silent for the moment. I thought about what I had overheard. Alexi, Madam Vega, and Ariel were seeking Beforetime weapon-machines, and so too, it seemed, was Henry Druid. But why?
I thought of the machine they had spoken about—the Zebkrahn. This must be the machine that had caught hold of my mind. I shuddered at the thought of such a thing being used on Cameo. And yet maybe it would not harm her, since she did not have the power they sought.
Suddenly, I realized that Selmar had left the fire and was drifting toward the dividing shelves. To my horror, she knelt down and peered through the gap to where I was hiding. I doubted she could see me, but somehow she knew I was there. I held my breath.
“I’m so tired I can hardly keep my eyes open,” Madam Vega said with a yawn.
“Get her away from the books,” snapped Alexi.
Ariel came over and pulled Selmar to her feet. She went, unresisting as he led her away. To my relief, they all left the doctor’s chamber, but I was so unnerved by what had happened that it was almost morning before I could summon the courage to come out of my hiding place and creep back to my room.
I hid the map behind a loose stone in the