Elysium. Part Two Read Online Free Page B

it. A little web spinner, I was. Stirring up trouble with my words and laying threads for others to follow. It became...’ He hesitated, evaluating his words. ‘It became my thing, my trait... My virtue. No one spins threads other than me, Mr. Waeshenbach. Not on Lundy, and not in Mortehoe either. It was the agreement that was made when last I set foot there, and now!’ He roared the last words, Guliven’s heart near exploded in his chest. Red thrust him backwards; his head striking a car exhaust hanging from the wall. ‘And now I discovered that so many webs have been spun that you choke on them!’ He kicked Guliven in the hip, and although one of his legs was almost useless there was enough force behind the blow to fracture bone.
    Guliven screamed, grabbing his thigh, his face buried in the dust. Both Gorran and Kenan were in the garage, each holding Sean’s arms high above his back, keeping him immobile, doubled up, and gasping in pain.
    ‘My boys and I, here, we’re great lovers of travel... Isn’t that right, Gorran?’
    ‘It is, da,’ Gorran replied, his voice thick with satisfaction.
    ‘Came here right from Iceland, we did. What’s it been, Kenan? Seven days at sea?’
    ‘Near as like, da,’
    ‘Seven days, in that little tug of ours, just to get here. We don’t like to come to Mortehoe since all the troubles, see... But I keep an eye on the place. A close eye. I’ve always a man posted there, see? He sends a broadcast of his own and keeps me abreast of all that happens should I need to revisit. He tells me of hatred toward the old-world that rarely touches the thoughts of men on Lundy, they tell of your defences, your fears... And while we were at anchor in Iceland I heard of Richard Kelly’s murder.’ His eyes grew dark as he loomed over Guliven. ‘Murder. I thought I made it clear that no more would die at the hands of Tuppers. With the blood of his grandfather I thought I made it so clear that you would need be a fucking retard with the brains of a drowned rat to misconstrue it...’ He inhaled deeply, and then stepped around Guliven until he was facing him. Guliven looked up, blood on his chin and sweat beading his brow. He sensed another beating was to follow, Red’s hands seemed to twitch with the excitement of it, and he braced himself for another onslaught.
    ‘I don’t know anything about Kelly. If it was murder then Semilion didn’t tell me. I’m not on his council.’
    Red drew a yellow hand across his mouth, pondering Guliven’s words. He might be telling the truth, and yet he sensed he knew more than he said.
    ‘And Dr. John Camberwell?’ He asked.
    ‘John? I know him well. He lives in Mortehoe for part of the year, and then returns to Dublin University for the rest of it.’
    ‘I know all that,’ Red responded. He took a length of metal from the wall and prod Guliven sharply with it. ‘We’ve been to see him, you see. Recently. My boys and I.’
    Guliven looked up. The speculation in his eyes betrayed he knew more than nothing. Red saw it, drank it up, and smiled as one who has drawn out a long held confession.
    ‘We visited him on the night of his last transmission, the shipping forecast he sends to Semilion each month. We asked him of Kelly, the same questions I’m asking of you now.’
    ‘Camberwell wouldn’t know anything.’ Guliven spat.
    ‘Oh but he did,’ Red smiled. ‘He knew more than Semilion thought he knew. He was another web-spinner, he was.’ He turned to his sons and gave a subtle nod, the gesture a substitute of drawing his finger across his throat.
    Gorran took a knife from his pocket, unsheathed it, and peeled it across Sean’s trachea.
    Sean gasped, though the brothers held his arms behind his back. He resisted, drawing his head as far back as he could, but it only aided the thin blade in slicing the taut flesh. His neck burst with bright, fresh blood.
    ‘God, no!’ Guliven lurched forward as Red thrust the rod in his chest and forced him