Fall of the Dragons by James A. Owen

Author:James A. Owen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Saga Press
Published: 2016-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

THE CABAL

“I HOPE YOU ’RE ready for another shock, young John,” Verne said as he put his arm around the shoulders of the man who had entered with Wells. “This is the true leader of the Mystorians, and the one without whom the Caretakers would have been lost long ago.

“John,” Verne continued in introduction, “I’d like you to meet William Blake.”

Almost involuntarily, John jumped backward, ignoring the man’s outstretched hand.

“Blake?” he exclaimed angrily. “John Dee’s right-hand man? The second great betrayer of the Caretakers?”

“My right-hand man,” said Verne, “and the one who has given us what few actual advantages we have over the Cabal.”

“I understand your misgivings, John,” Blake said, unruffled by the younger man’s reaction, “but what I’m doing is very similar to Kipling’s own covert missions among the ICS—I’m just playing a deeper game.”

“It’s the idea that it is a game at all that bothers me,” John said testily. “Our circumstances are far more serious than that.”

“It is exactly that degree of importance that makes it a game worth playing,” Wells cut in. “The Little Wars, the small games of conflict, and one-upmanship, all add up into history. The timeline of the world has ever been nothing but games.

“And,” he added, “as Heraclitus said, those who approach life like a child playing a game, moving and pushing pieces, possess the power of kings.”

“Is that what the Mystorians are?” John asked. “Kings playing games?”

“No,” Wells replied. “The Caretakers are the true kings. We’re just the ones who make sure no one removes you from the board.”

John sighed and turned to Verne. “I can see why he’s your secret weapon. He’s smarter than we are.”

Verne laughed, as did Blake. Wells merely smiled and removed his coat, nodding in greeting to the other Mystorians.

“It was always my strategy to use those whom I recruited only in their own Prime Time,” said Verne, “but then as events started to accelerate, I realized the value of having them available to consult with, and so in secret, we established the hotel, and this room, to better serve the cause.”

“Thereby having the help of men like Doctor Franklin both in life and in death,” said John. “I understand that. But why, ah, continue to work with them as ghosts, rather than create portraits, as with the Caretakers?”

“The portraits only work within the walls of Tamerlane House,” said Verne. “Outside, they would only last a week. And we needed to preserve the secrecy of our operations.”

John chuckled. “It almost seems like cheating,” he said blithely. “To continue to draw on all these great minds, after their deaths.”

“How is that any different from influencing the minds of those who read our books?” Carroll asked. “Or our overinflated autobiographies, in some cases.”

“Noted,” said Franklin.

“Your books are full of thoughts you’ve already, ah, thought,” said John, “but everything you’re doing here is . . .”

“New?” said Franklin. “So our influence should end, just because our earthly lives have?”

“I suppose if I really believed that,” John admitted, “I wouldn’t be a Caretaker.

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