“Come on, ‘Order’ is a bit stuffy, don’t you think?”
“Yes, and Super Human Squad sounds like a really bad cartoon,” he teased, as we began to slowly walk around the parameter of the room.
I nodded, giving him that. “So, what does the Order do?”
“Long ago, Holders used their abilities for the good of everyone. They were often peace keepers, or healers, always using their powers either discreetly or not at all. But,” he paused, taking a breath and growing serious, “over the last few centuries or so, with our numbers dwindling, and the world growing, it became more about keeping our secrets, and putting an end to our only enemy; a man named Failghe Darragh.”
“Who is that?”
“Darragh is an extremely powerful Holder. A Holder who believes that we are an advanced race, superior to average humans.”
“Aren’t you?”
“Maybe, maybe not. It depends on how you define ‘superior’. It’s arguable that the lion is superior to the field mouse in most respects, but doesn’t mean that all the field mice should be removed to make room for more lions.”
“Wait.” I stopped, turning to face him. “He wants to remove all the humans?”
“He wants the human race to be as he believes it should be: under Holder control. And if we let him, he could do it. Very, very easily.”
“So, this Darragh really believes that he can somehow snap his fingers and run the world? I can’t see how that would even be possible. People aren’t stupid, they’d wouldn’t just surrender and let him take over.”
“No, people wouldn’t. If, that is, they had any idea what was happening to them,” he said, as we resumed our slow pace around the room. “Darragh is a smart man. He knows how to bide his time and work discreetly. He has multiple abilities, one of which is reading and controlling the thoughts and minds of others.”
“Like Jocelyn?”
“Yes, except that Jocelyn is a good man. He would never use his ability to manipulate others, or force his way. He doesn’t even read minds unless it is absolutely necessary. To be able to manipulate the thoughts and actions of others is one of the most powerful abilities a Holder can have, and isn’t something that should be taken lightly.”
“So, he really could take over if he wanted to? If you all let him?”
Alex nodded. “All he would need is access to one or two world leaders, or even simply to a large group of average individuals, to start a chain reaction that would be almost impossible to stop.”
“Has he ever tried?”
“He’s attempted things on a smaller scale here and there over the years, but we keep a close watch and have been able to control the situations. Though it’s been a long time since he’s made any sort of move, which leads us to believe he is waiting for…” he paused, glancing at me then quickly away. “That he is planning something.”
“You told me on the flight here that Holders only have one ability each, but now you say that Darragh has multiple?”
“Yes. Darragh is the only exception. He is more than seven hundred years old, and over the centuries has learned ways of increasing his power. One of which is stealing and merging the abilities of other Holders to his own.”
“And that’s bad?” I asked, hearing the disdain in his voice as he explained.
“It’s unnatural,” a female voice said from behind us.
I turned to see a short woman standing at the door. I recognized her as the woman from yesterday in the hall, though now that I wasn’t trying to hide I was able to get a better look at her. She was sporting the same frizzy hair, but now most of it was tied up in a scarf. She had a long blue dress on, with bracelets and rings all over her wrists and hands. Something about her reminded me of those Russian Matryoshka dolls that all fit inside one another.
“Becca, this is Min Stetz,” Alex said smiling as he walked over to her, placing a hand on her back. “I asked her to come and share her wisdom.”
“Bah, wisdom,” Min said, waving her hand dismissively.
“Min is our máthair ghlac,” he said, bending down and giving her a kiss on the head. Then, looking up at me with a smile, translated, “Surrogate mother. And she’s very modest. She knows more about our histories and artifacts,” he motioned around the room,