“The mission was to infiltrate the Elitist movement that had settled in a compound on the west coast. Once entrenched, he was to leak information back to the Sept Son. Blan was perfect for the job and willing to do it.”
I nodded. He would be the ideal operative for that kind of work. His quiet charisma drew people to him and enticed them to trust him. He wasn’t loud enough to catch attention or foolish enough to ask for it. He would entangle himself in the social network just by being there. I sank into the seat next to Renato and waited for him to continue.
“Everything unfolded beautifully. They accepted him and gave him a house to live in and land to farm. Then with the next successful raid, they gave him a brain-altered, talented wife. It appeared he was well set.
“Then a year and a half ago, that changed. Blan’s contact noted his unusual agitation and then sudden silence and began to worry. He sent word to Hadrian that he suspected that Blan had been discovered. Three days later, a strange woman appeared at the gate with a man in tow. She asked to speak to Hadrian by his given name and would talk to no one else.”
“Blandone’s wife?” I asked. Dread settled around my heart. Surely if Blan was dead, Renato would have told me already.
Wearily Renato nodded. “I am glad you were not there to see it, Zez. His face hanging slack and eyes vacant, he didn’t even recognize me.” He clenched his hands into fists at his sides. “It took four months before he could look at me and understand that I was his brother. After that, reconstructing his memories of before his time in the service of the Sept Son were easier. Hadrian believes he defended those memories more than any others. Memories of home, us, and growing up were the most dear and thus the most fortified within his mind. Within their depths, he hid information that he didn’t want the Elitists to access. The healers kept stumbling across random facts about the Sept Son and our organization.”
“So, he preformed well?” I asked, half fearful that all his sacrifice had been in vain. The thought of Blan so changed tore at my heart, but I continued to struggle for distance despite it. I didn’t feel comfortable enough with Renato to drop all of my defenses with him yet. Too much had changed since we had last truly conversed.
Renato nodded. “Very well. According the healers who are experts in this type of mind-razing, the Elitists couldn’t find what they were seeking. Then in frustration, they razed everything they could reach.”
“Everything?” A shiver crept up my back. In my studies with Selwyn I had learned a great deal about the functions of the mind. The technique Renato was describing wiped all memory and personality from the victim and the chances of recovery were minimal.
Grief slipped leaden fingers around my chest. My brother was never going to be the same. The images of how I had seen him that last summer I had been home flashed before my mind’s eye. Head thrown back in laughter as he watched a playful, witty insult dawn upon Janus, Blandone had turned to wink at me. His dark eyes glinting with merriment at his older brother’s expense, he was strong, solid, and alive. Never again will he be the same. I grieved for the brother I had known and loved knowing full well that I still would love what he had become.
“He has recovered much. I must remember that.” Renato looked over at me. “He knows me, he recognizes his wife, knows that he is a father, and he vaguely remembers all of us.”
“He has a child?” I asked in surprise. A glimmer of joy amongst the laden clouds of grief, I was an aunt. “Why didn’t you let me know?”
Renato’s smile was bittersweet. “Hadrian doesn’t want anyone to know. As far as the Elitists know, Blan and his wife died by an assassin’s hand two months after their escape. Father and Mother don’t even know.”
“Janus is going to disappointed that he and his wife didn’t provide the first grandchild. Is it a boy or girl?”
“A girl.” Renato watched my expression of joy with amusement. “Leave it to you to find something to rejoice about in the midst of tragedy.”
I purposefully ignored his comment. “When can I see them?”
“Soon. They are traveling with us for protection. Donata is probably directing the food preparation, and Blandone will be watching Ardyne play with the other children. I will just have to clear it with Hadrian first, though.”
I frowned. “Then it will have to wait.”
“Why?”
“Well, when we left them, the Sept Son was debating with Errol whether or not I was joining the Sept Son’s entourage.”
“You are joining us?” He raised his eyebrows. “Hadrian isn’t going to like that.”
“I understood that much,” I replied. “He sounds overwhelmed, and he wasn’t very happy about the thought of taking responsibility for me.”
“He has had a great deal to oversee and this Elitist threat is rattling him more than he is letting anyone see. Besides, you can be a handful.”
I pulled a face I hadn’t made since I last saw him. “I have grown up since the last time you had to watch over me.”
“Not that I could tell you had matured from that expression,” he commented with laughter. “I have missed you, Zez.”
“And I you,” I admitted as a wave of homesickness washed over me. Suddenly, I desperately wanted to see all of my brothers. I contented myself with pestering Renato with questions about them.
