Free A Question of Will by Alex Albrinck Page B

my wife and son?”
    “Look, I don’t...” Athos froze. “ What did you just say? ”
    “You killed those guards and my wife and son over a case of mistaken identity, and you think that’s nothing ? What kind of monsters are you people?” His voice was breaking as he realized he was recognizing the obvious, that Hope and Josh were dead, and that he would die as well. He accepted his fate, and felt a strange sensation moving over his body, a sensation that was oddly ticklish. He wondered if that meant his body was giving up.
    “ Oath-breaker !” Aramis screamed. “ How could you ?” The others’ faces had paled, though none had fallen to the ground in convulsions as had the odd man in the top hat, who was writhing on the ground several feet away from Will.
    Athos looked at the Leader, and pulled a long knife from a sheath on his belt. “Sir, you have heard the confession. Stark has somehow reversed the procedure and managed to father a child. Even Porthos knows the prescribed punishment for that Oath violation.”
    Porthos didn’t even respond to the verbal jab. He simply nodded, and drew his own knife.
    The Leader nodded as well. “I had always hoped to reclaim you to our cause, Will Stark.” His voice was solemn. “You were the epitome of what our kind could be. But your misguided ideals have been your downfall. And now this. Fathering a child? Violation of the Fourth Oath? You know the penalty for that.”
    He glanced at Athos and Porthos, who stood ready with their knives, and nodded, turning back to face Will. He looked Stark squarely in the eye. “I, Leader of the Aliomenti, hereby sentence Will Stark to death for violating the Fourth Oath, the Oath forbidding having children. The child we can assume destroyed by our Assassin and his fire, which is the lawful punishment for the offspring.”
    The Leader breathed a deep sigh, and glanced at the Hunters. “Kill him.”
    Athos and Porthos, on opposite sides of Will’s prone, battered body, plunged their knives straight down at Will’s chest, aiming directly for his heart.
    The knives clanged off an invisible barrier, sliding off Will’s body, leaving him winded but otherwise free of further injury.
    Both Hunters stood up instantly, looking around with suspicion.
    “The Damper is off!” Porthos shouted, looking at Aramis’ figure rocking on the ground.
    “It’s a trap!” Athos screamed. “Aramis, on your feet!”
    The man did not stand; rather, he rolled back to Stark’s still-prone figure, drew his knife and pounded it repeatedly at Will, shrieking, “Die, cretin!” His stabs were no more successful than the others, sliding off the invisible shield protecting Will.
    “Where are they?” The Leader shouted. “Porthos, where are they?”
    “I’m not detecting anything , sir! There’s no indication that there’s anybody using Energy nearby!”
    Will felt the tickling sensations on his body suddenly solidify and grip him in a tight cocoon, and then the cocoon pulled him feet-first into the ground. His last vision before the dirt filled in overhead was the look of absolute shock on the faces of the four men left above.
     

 
     
     
     
    VI
    Rescue
     
     
    The silver-colored vehicle shimmered in the faint light of the Stark family’s basement. The craft looked similar to a small car without wheels, suggesting an alternative form of transport. The top dissolved away, revealing occupants inside filling three of the four seats. All three moved from the vehicle without speaking, their faces showing determination and focus.
    A young woman with shocking red hair and violet eyes, wearing a one piece body suit of deep green, walked several steps toward the back of the house, where Will Stark was being kicked and battered by three assailants. She stared at the finished wall, and a giant hole suddenly appeared, as if an invisible drill were being operated. Dirt, roots, and bits of rock flowed into the basement, covering the carpet with debris.
    A