I stumbled at the sight, and the guard caught my arm and led me through the building and into the library. This room, too, had only candlelight for illumination. With so many books lining the walls, I would've thought they'd avoid the whole fire thing.
My eyes adjusted in increments to the low lighting, until I could see the Seeker sitting in an overstuffed chair with his feet propped up on an ottoman. I took the seat across from him, my spine rigid with fear.
His voice had an ethereal quality to it. "You have been crying. Are you hurt?"
He closed his eyes. A presence, like a ghost or a cold wind, swept through my mind and was gone before I could block it.
"No, not hurt. Not physically, at any rate. You have had a falling out with my brother. Let it not worry you, my dear. Time heals all wounds, even those of the heart."
I held his pale gaze. His face betrayed his illness; I would've seen it even if I hadn't felt it in him. Sunken cheeks and dark circles around his eyes—death stalked him.
"I want to know everything. Tell me about our... father." The word stuck in my throat, but I forced past it. "And about this organization. Why are you doing this? Why are you hurting so many kids?"
"Hurting? My dear Sam, we are saving these kids from a life of testing and scorn, from a society that does not appreciate the genetic advances of our kind. As I told your friend Lucy—"
"You talked to Lucy? What did you do to her? Is she okay?"
"I did nothing but speak with her. She is a remarkable girl with amazing gifts of her own. I can see why she is your best friend. I explained this all to her, or the parts she needed to know, at least. She is not family, so I could not tell her everything. But you, my dear, you are primed to help our father run the next generation of this Organization. We are the next evolution of humans. That baby you carry is key."
As if on cue, she kicked inside me. My hand hovered over my belly protectively. "What do you mean, she is the key?"
"Have you not figured it out yet? Genetic mutations such as ours are natural, but flawed. We are at the forefront of a shifting genetic pool from which Darwin's fittest will emerge. But we are no longer at the mercy of unseen gods to propel us forward. We now have the god of science to speed along the process. We have discovered a way to breed out the weaknesses of our kind, and breed into them the best of all powers.
"You were our first successful venture, but we knew we could do better. Combining the genetic material of our father, you, me, Drake, his mother, and some extra ingredients for fun, we created your child, the being you call Ana. What a quaint name, by the way. A lovely way of honoring the woman who helped you escape. Quite a nuisance that was, but it is in the past. We shall think nothing more of it."
The Seeker's madness had escalated to grandiose ambitions of taking over humanity, and yet our father stood at the head of this insane scheme. Was he even madder than the Seeker? What kind of genetic material had shaped me and my child?
I tried to keep my voice calm, to choke back the tears that threatened to consume me. "But you hurt kids. You impregnate girls against their will, and then watch as they die when your experiments go wrong. Now, kids at school are being whipped and shot in the back of the head. You're harming the paranormal population more than society would have. You are the beast you claim to want to protect us from."
He lowered his head. "It is a shame you feel that way. We are so close to the final piece that would save us all. Your friends retrieved a valuable weapon in our fight for freedom. Combined with you and your child, we will be invincible. We cannot allow any rebellion, not when our rightful place in the world is at our fingertips. We must maintain control. Do you not see? Our methods, though severe, are all for the greater good."
I softened my voice. "Is this the legacy you want to leave when you die?"
He looked up and his eyes widened in shock. "How do you know that? I have not allowed you access to those thoughts."
"It wasn't hard to figure out. The nosebleed, your frailness... and I can feel the presence of death on you. What are you dying from?"
His laugh held only bitterness. "I was not so fortunate as you in the genes. My powers are great, but they have come at a great price. My brain is eating itself. Even if I stopped using all of my powers, I would not live long. So I have done what I can to further the cause until I could pass the reigns to you, my sister."
His unnatural calm returned. "Are you beginning to see? This is why we risk lives in genetic experimentation. Too many para-powers kill their hosts. Many of your friends will not survive past their twentieth birthday. But we have made advances, and with you and your baby's help, we can save the others and breed new children."