Steelheart (The Reckoners #1)(100)
Finally he waved us out of the room. Cody remained, gun on Edmund, but the rest of us—Prof included—gathered in the main chamber.
“He might be able to overload it and make it explode,” Prof said softly.
“We wil need proof of who he is, though,” Tia said. “If he can power that by touching it, then he’s either Con ux or a di erent Epic with a very similar power.”
“Or someone who Con ux gifted his abilities to,” I said.
“He registers as a powerful Epic on the dowser,” Abraham said.
“We’ve tried it on Enforcement o cers before who had powers given to them by Con ux, and it didn’t register them.”
“What if he’s a di erent Epic?”
Tia asked. “With some powers gifted by Con ux to show he can give energy to things and make us think he’s Con ux? He could act harmless, then when we aren’t expecting, turn his full powers on us.”Prof slowly shook his head. “I don’t think so. That’s just too convoluted, and too dangerous.
Why would they think we would decide to kidnap Con ux? We could just as easily have killed him right there when we found him. I think this man is who he says he is.”“Why was he in the trunk, though?” Abraham asked.
“He’ll probably answer if we ask him,” I said. “I mean, he hasn’t exactly been difficult so far.”
“That’s what worries me,” Tia said. “It’s too easy.”
“Easy?” I asked. “Megan died so we could capture that guy. I want to hear what he has to say.”
Prof glanced at me, tapping the penlight against his palm. He nodded, and Abraham fetched a long wooden rod, which we tied the light to. We returned to the room, and Prof used the rod to touch the light to Edmund’s cheek.
Immediately the ashlight’s bulb started glowing. Edmund yawned, then tried to settle himself in his bonds.
Prof pulled the ashlight back; it continued to shine.
“I recharged the battery for you,”
Edmund said. “Might that be enough to persuade you to get me a drink …?”
“Two years ago,” I said, stepping forward despite Prof’s orders, “in July, you were involved in a large-scale project on Steelheart’s behalf.
What was it?”
“I don’t really have a good sense of time …,” the man said.
“It shouldn’t be hard to remember,” I said. “The people of the city don’t know about it, but something odd happened to Conflux.”
“Summer? Hmm … was that
when I was taken out of the city?”
Edmund smiled. “Yes, I remember the sunlight. He needed me to power some of his war tanks for some reason.”
It had been an o ensive against Dialas, an Epic in Detroit who had angered Steelheart by cutting o some of his food supplies. Con ux’s
part had been handled very
covertly. Few knew of it.
Prof was looking at me, lips drawn to a tight line. I ignored him. “Edmund,” I said, “you came to the city on what date?”
“Spring of 04 AC,” he said.
Four years after Calamity. That clinched it for me—most people assumed that Con ux had joined Steelheart in 05 AC, when Enforcement had
rst gained
mechanized units and the power outages of 04 AC had nally begun to stabilize. But inside sources that I’d carefully gathered claimed Steelheart hadn’t trusted Con ux at rst, and hadn’t used him for important projects for nearly a year.
As I looked at this man, a lot of things from my notes about Con ux were starting to make sense. Why was Con ux never seen? Why was he transported as he was? Why the shroud, the mystery? It wasn’t just because of Conflux’s frailty.
“You’re a prisoner,” I said.
“Of course he is,” Prof said, but Conflux nodded.
“No,” I said to Prof. “He’s always been a prisoner. Steelheart isn’t using him as a lieutenant, but as a power source. Con ux isn’t in charge of Enforcement, he’s just …”
“A battery,” Edmund said. “A slave. It’s all right, you can say it.
I’m quite accustomed to it. I’m a valuable slave, which is actually an enviable position. I suspect it won’t be too long before he nds us and kills you all for taking me.” He grimaced. “I am sorry about that. I hate it terribly when people ght over me.”
“All this time …,” I said.
“Sparks!”
Steelheart couldn’t let it be known what he was doing to Con ux. In Newcago Epics were all but sacred. The more powerful they were, the more rights they had. It was the foundation of the government. The Epics lived by the pecking order because they knew, even if they were at the bottom, they were still far more important than the ordinary people.
But here was an Epic who was a slave … nothing more than a power plant. This had huge rami cations for everyone in Newcago. Steelheart was a liar.
I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised, I thought. I mean, after everything else he’s done, this is a minor issue.
Still, it seemed important. Or maybe I was just latching on to the rst thing that drew my attention away from Megan.
“Shut it down,” Prof said.