Taker by Patrick Wong

Author:Patrick Wong [Wong, Patrick]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Goodreads: 24330217
Published: 2015-02-07T07:00:00+00:00

Money and Power

Out of the gap in the curtains, Ben could see that night was drawing out. He’d taken a nap a little earlier, but was finding it almost impossible to sleep now. The situation was being made worse by Amy’s snoring, to which everyone else seemed immune. To him, her snores were like sandpaper being rubbed in his ears.

Nicole had fallen asleep on one couch, and Amy and Drake were curled up next to each other on the other one. Scraped-clean plates and half-finished drink cans were scattered throughout the room — evidence of an evening spent recuperating from what the group had termed “the longest day.”

Ben had moved to occupy one of the easy chairs next to the window. Barnard had been dozing on the floor next to the couch, his portfolio spread open on the small coffee table. Ben was taking the opportunity to look through the eminent professor’s research. It was humbling to see it in front of him — objects and original documents to touch and savor rather than mere scans and printouts. His stare had stopped on picture panels he hadn’t seen before. It was a triptych, a wooden object painted with gold, silver and purple. It depicted three figures, each sharing similar facial features and a particular cryptic expression. They reminded Ben of the Birth of Venus — angelic, androgynous, but concealing something. A secret power or a sinister heart, perhaps? Ben estimated this triptych was a couple hundred years old, as it had the golden embossing that he had once seen in pictures of artwork in the Vatican. Barnard had scribbled illegible notes on a separate sketch of the object, but the person who was the Balancer was set in the middle, arms outstretched to gesture toward those on either side.

Barnard had translated the Latin script underneath the figures. The character on the left had its fists clenched and held to its chest. The person’s expression was inscrutable and looked a little like it was in pain, but there was also an arrogance to it. The inscription read “They who Take.” The middle character, with palms lifted, had its eyes closed shut, as if in deep thought, with the weight of decision reflected on its face. It reminded Ben of the saying about justice being blind. Underneath ran “They who Balance.” The figure on the right had its eyes open with compassion and its hands outstretched, fingers splayed wide. This was “They who Give.”

Ben paused in thought for a moment. He had assumed that in the otherworldliness of what Nicole could do, nature would have one element — something that could balance it all — and that the giving or taking would be to or from the humans surrounding the Balancer. This triptych set things in a different light, and Ben drew an awed breath as he began to consider the implications of it all. It would mean nothing less than that Nicole wasn’t alone in her powers. A Triple Deity was a common pattern in ancient religious art and mythology.

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