Read Online Council of Peacocks by M Joseph Murphy - Free Book Online

island. They called it Port Echo, which
amused her to no end.
    She sat on the edge of her bed and slipped
out of her jacket. The heat was palpable, almost sentient. A cool
breeze blew in through open windows, gently tousling the curtains.
It sank into her bones, dissolving the tension from her shoulders.
She closed her eyes and let her head fall back.
    “Annisa? Roma?” She called out to the two
servants who cared for the house in her absence. No response. She
glanced at the alarm clock beside her bed. It was mid-afternoon.
Perhaps they were in town getting supplies.
    “Whatever. I need a shower anyway.” She
pulled her hair free of the elastic and slipped out of the rest of
her clothes. In the bathroom adjacent to the bedroom was an
extravagant shower: concrete and stone came together to create an
artificial cliff. When she turned on the taps it became a
waterfall. To each side of the shower, tropical plants in
terracotta pots rose to the ceiling. They reinforced the illusion
of bathing in the jungle. She kept the water cool as she washed the
dirt and oil from her skin.
    She toweled dry and walked back to her
bedroom. As she dressed, she admired the room. In every direction,
windows offered stunning views of the ocean. The water seemed to
take over the rest of the world. From here, there was no sign of
any other piece of land. It made it easy to believe she was on a
completely different planet. Planes rarely flew overhead and, being
so far from a major port, few ships dotted the horizon. Of all the
homes she maintained, she chose this one now because of its
isolation. For the moment, she wanted nothing more than to be
alone.
    “I’m sorry, miss. I must not have heard you
come in.”
    “It’s been too long,” Echo turned to find
Annisa in the doorway. She embraced her warmly. “It’s good to see
you. Unfortunately, I’m only here for the night. Can you get my
blue suit ready? I’m heading to Toronto tomorrow to see
Wisdom.”
    “Begging your pardon, ma’am, but Mr. Wisdom
is not in Toronto. He’s here.”
    “What?”
    “Yes, ma’am. He arrived last night with a
young man.”
    “That bastard. Where was he when the Edimmu
torched my home? Tell him I’ll be down in a minute.”
    “Yes, ma'am. Would you like me to prepare
something for you?”
    “No. Wait…yes. I’d love a mimosa. Several
mimosas actually. And a quiche. What is he wearing?”
    Annisa giggled, hiding her smile behind her
fingers.
    “Never mind. I’ll be down in a minute.”
    Annisa curtseyed and left without another
word.
    ***
    Josh stared at his cell phone and chewed on
an ice cube. He knew he should call his parents, but what could he
say? Everything about yesterday seemed impossible. Still, every
drop of sweat forced him to admit where he was.
    ‘Barely slept last night,’ he thought. ‘That
and this heat is making it very hard to stay awake. Every time I
close my eyes all I see is blood and darkness. And wings.’
    ***
    Back in the Laurentians, Josh wanted to
chase down the remaining kidnappers. Wisdom stopped him.
    “ Bad idea,” Wisdom said.
    “ We can’t leave them,” Josh countered.
“You never leave guys like this alive. They always come
back.”
    Wisdom narrowed his eyes, studying Josh. It
was like he was truly seeing Josh for the first time. “Normally I’d
agree with you. However, we have no idea what they are doing. They
could be setting explosives or getting reinforcements.”
    “ All the more reason to act quickly.” Jan
grabbed Josh by the chin and pulled him closer, making sure he only
focused on her. “There are other people down there, people who need
help. We cannot leave them.”
    “ We can,” Wisdom said. He looked Jan
squarely in the eyes. “And we are. Call the police when you get
home if you want. There are more important things at
stake.”
    Jan grunted in frustration. “What kind of
monster are you?”
    Wisdom glared at her impassively. Finally,
Josh looked away.
    Wisdom created a disk of