The Elders (Mind Dimensions #4)(36)

He walks over to the desk and picks up an object. It’s a blue Zorro-style mask, one that only covers the eyes.

I realize he’s changed out of his plain hippie clothing and into a blue kimono-type outfit.

The truth begins to dawn on me. “You guys are having a masquerade? In the morning?”

That would explain the two men in masks—three, if I count Gustav.

“We find that the Celebration is a good way for everyone on the Island to start their day, and for us to catch up with friends and family before we start the century without them.”

“But masks?” I point at the frozen Jamie’s head.

“They can spruce up any festivity, don’t you find?” Gustav says, putting on his own.

“So I guess he didn’t attack me,” I say stupidly, looking at the frozen version of the guy. My heart is still pumping from the adrenaline rush I just experienced.

“No,” Gustav says and gestures for me to follow him. “Now tell me everything.”

One thing is clear: if my attacker is the Super Pusher, Gustav is unlikely to be him. There’s little chance he changed his clothing this quickly. So, as we walk out of the room, I proceed to tell him what happened after I left the fountain get-together. Gustav doesn’t bat an eye at the story of how Victoria tried to seduce me and looks unreadable as I tell him about the fight.

“That is most unfortunate,” he says thoughtfully after I’m done. “But as you now understand, it could’ve been any one of the people already pulled in for the Celebration.”

“Or more likely, one of the Elders.”

“No, it wasn’t one of us,” Gustav says and starts taking the stairs down. Over his shoulder, he adds, “What would give you such a preposterous idea?”

I debate telling him about the Super Pusher, but decide against it. “I only know a handful of people here and most of them are the Elders.”

“That is true, but the fact remains that if one of us wished to make you Inert, you would now be Inert.” He navigates the slippery stairs expertly, as only someone who’s done so a million times could.

“You sound very confident.” I place my hand on the rail; unlike him, I could easily trip over the polished marble.

“I do, but believe me, this confidence is not rooted in hubris. It’s merely a pragmatic way of looking at reality. Whoever attacked you must have been one of the Ambassadors, or someone who already lives on the Island, which includes the staff, our relatives, and many other people.” He reaches the end of the stairs and waits for me.

“But I still think—”

“Darren, why don’t you take my word for it for the moment? You will see the truth shortly, during the Celebration’s Challenge Game. In the meantime, having me around should prevent any more unfortunate attempts.”

“I guess,” I say, following him down a corridor.

I don’t say more because I’m distracted by masked figures—two men and one woman—walking toward us. My heart skips a beat when I look at the leftmost man. He looks identical to my attacker. I sure hope Gustav will have my back if push comes to shove.

Then I look closer and notice that some of the details in this dude’s mask are a bit different from that of my attacker’s. For one thing, his mask has small nose holes, whereas my attacker’s mask was missing that detail. Seeing these masked people is reassuring in a way; it’s not that I didn’t believe Gustav, but as Eugene likes to say, “Trust, but verify.” On second thought, it’s also pretty frightening. This masked event will allow my attacker to walk around like nothing happened. He might even try to go at me again if the opportunity presents itself, and there isn’t much I can do about it.

“That settles it,” Gustav says as we reach the end of the corridor. He opens the door, allowing me to go in first. “In this room, you should find a suitable mask for yourself.”

The room we enter is every hardcore Halloweener’s wet dream. There are historical costumes, military uniforms, medical scrubs, and everything in-between.

He points to a rack of robes. “Those are for the Celebration.”

Rows upon rows of kimonos of all different colors, styles, and sizes are lined up against the wall. Each robe comes with a mask. The masks, for all their simplicity, differ in subtle ways. Black, white, and gray ones dominate over other colors, like Gustav mentioned, but the whole spectrum of the rainbow is represented.

I settle on a green getup, just to be different.

“Great choice,” Gustav says, admiring my new garb. “Let’s go.”

He exits the room, and I follow him, ignoring the chafing of my over-starched kimono. We walk through the Castle, and I can’t help complimenting the intricate wall rugs that look like avant-garde paintings. Gustav seems pleased by my reaction, so I decide to ambush him while his guard is down.

“Can you tell me about Nirvana?” I ask as we round the corner.

He stops dead in his tracks, his eyes like ambers behind his mask. He recovers swiftly, however, and says, “This is something we should discuss when the others are around, though I’d love to know how you came across that term.”

Since he doesn’t give me an answer, I decide to be vindictive and, in my best imitation of his voice, say, “It sounds like something we’ll discuss with the others. I’m a big fan of quid pro quo, you see.”