Dark Overlord New Horizon

by I. T. Lucas

  “Very well. Julian was the right choice to head it.” She smiled. “Yamanu’s karaoke nights are a hit. The girls love him.”

  “I’m glad it’s working out, and we have a new donor who is funneling twenty-five thousand dollars a day into the charity. I’ll leave it up to you to decide how to use the money.”

  She sighed. “There are so many things I want to do that it’s hard to prioritize. I’ll work on it next week. First, I want to solve the issue of the new possible Dormants and their integration into the clan. We can’t leave them hanging in limbo.”

  “I agree. What’s your progress with Vlad?”

  “He agreed to go to the cabin, but when I called this morning and asked him if he wanted to come with me to the keep to visit Wendy, he declined the offer. His excuse was that he has classes he can’t miss, but I think that he is just not ready to face her yet.”

  “Poor kid. He doesn’t deserve the heartache.”

  “That’s true. But on the other hand, Wendy might be his fated one, and that’s worth jumping through some hoops for.”

  48

  Jin

  Jin pushed the sunglasses up her nose. “It’s so annoying that I have to put on a disguise to leave the village.”

  Not that the sunglasses were such a chore, and other than that, she’d just gathered her hair in a ponytail. But it was still pissing her off that she had to hide like a criminal when she’d done nothing wrong.

  Mey glanced at the rearview mirror and frowned. “It might be nothing, but that Ford truck has been following us for a while now.”

  Instinctively, Jin slid lower in her seat. “What are you going to do?”

  “Evasive maneuvers. Instead of heading straight to the keep, I’m going to the mall first, and we are going to spend a long time looking for a parking spot. If he follows us there, we are in trouble.”

  For the next several minutes, Mey drove in silence without increasing the speed or trying to get away, but she kept glancing at the rearview mirror.

  When at the next intersection she turned left and the truck continued straight, Jin let out a breath. “He wasn’t following us.”

  Mey didn’t look relieved. “I’m going to drive around for a little bit to see if he comes back. He might have done it on purpose.”

  “You are like a real spy. I’m glad that you are driving and not me. I would’ve freaked out and started speeding away.”

  “I didn’t want him to know that we’d noticed him. By the way, when are you getting your own car?”

  “I’m not in a hurry.” Jin shifted up in her seat. “The autonomous driving part still scares me. Besides, I’m treating this time as a honeymoon. Arwel and I are working on my transition, and once I enter it, I’ll be out of commission for several days at least. I see no point in starting anything before that.”

  “Did you make any progress on our business plan?”

  “Sorry.” Jin smiled sheepishly. “I’m busy doing other stuff. There is no rush, right? You are an immortal, and soon I will be too. We have all the time in the world to pursue our dream.”

  Reaching over, Mey patted her arm. “You are right. Enjoy your time with Arwel. I’m a little bored, but I can take Yamanu up on his offer to help out in the halfway house.” She smirked. “I could teach the girls to do the runway walk.”

  Jin perked up. “That’s a great idea. We could make a collection of clothes and bring them over for dress-up fun. It'll work great in conjunction with Eva’s makeovers.”

  “I thought that you were busy doing other stuff.”

  “I am. This is for after my transition. The only thing I’m trying to achieve before that is fixing Wendy and Richard’s situation.”

  “What about Jacki?”

  Jin sighed. “I don’t know what to think about that girl. Maybe one of Kalugal’s men will have better luck with her. She didn’t respond to any of the Guardians.”

  “I hope so.”

  After passing through the mall, Mey seemed satisfied that they were no longer being followed and checked her GPS. “We are almost there.”

  Less than ten minutes later, she turned into the parking entrance of one of the high rises. Pulling out a visitor’s pass from the center console, she showed it to the guard, and they were let right in.

  “Is this the keep?”

  “No. It’s one of the buildings on the other side of the street. We are going to use a tunnel to get there.”

  “Sounds complicated. I’ve been through the tunnel on the way out of the keep, but I wouldn’t know how to find the entrance.”

  “I have the instructions written down.”

  Jin smirked. “Is the note going to combust once you choose to accept the mission?”

  “Sort of. It’s in my notes on my phone, and if I lose it and someone tries to tamper with it, the thing will erase all data and self-destruct.”

  “Isn’t that dangerous?”

  “Nothing will happen to it on the outside. Just the inside components melt or short circuit. I didn’t ask how exactly it would happen.”

  As they arrived at the lowest parking level, Mey pulled out a card and lifted it up so the electronic eye could see it. A moment later, the gate rolled sideways, and they drove in.

  There were only three other cars there, and the walls were lined with crates.

  “I remember this place.” Jin opened the door. “This is where the limo waited for us when we left the keep.”

  “Yamanu told me that there are two of them, so you might have used the other one.” Mey locked the car. “They look the same, though.”

  Stopping in front of a door marked as storage, Mey pulled out her phone, and after checking her notes, she punched in the code. They walked in, closed the door behind them, and only then opened the second one that led into the tunnel.

  “I don’t know what I’m going to say to Wendy.” Jin fell into step with her sister. “I spent all morning trying to come up with the right approach. I don’t want to go in there and berate her. I’m sure she’s gotten enough of that.”

  “Vanessa saw her yesterday.”

  Jin hadn’t known that, which was upsetting. She should have been kept in the loop on all things concerning her friends.

  “What did she say?”

  “I haven’t spoken to her. Yamanu just mentioned that the therapist was working with Wendy.” Mey sighed. “I still can’t believe what she did. The girl is either an amazing actress or has a split personality disorder. She and Vlad were hitting it off, and I had such high hopes for them.”

  “That’s what I keep thinking. If she didn’t want to leave the program, why did she beg us to take her along?”

  “Maybe she changed her mind later. Or perhaps she chickened out, or maybe she realized what she was leaving behind and got cold feet. Where else would a nineteen-year-old girl get a job that pays as much?”

  Jin huffed. “Yeah, but all that money is meaningless if she never gets to spend it because she is enslaved for life and made into a breeder for a new superior generation of paranormals.”

  Mey lifted her hand. “That’s precisely what you need to tell her.”

  49

  Kian

  “Syssi, what a nice surprise.” Kian pushed away from his desk and walked over to his wife. “I thought that you were going to use your day off to go shopping for maternity clothes.” Pulling her into his arms, he was careful not to squeeze too hard.

  Her belly was only starting to show, but he was always mindful of the precious life growing inside of it.

  “Amanda said that I’m being ridiculous.” Syssi rubbed her tummy. “I think this is getting rounder because I eat more and not because of the pregnancy. Twelve weeks is too early to be showing. Anyway, I decided to stop by your office and invite you for a cup of coffee at the café before I go.”

  “I’m glad.” He glanced at the pile of work waiting on his desk. “Spending time with my wife in the middle of a workday is a rare treat. Everything else can wait.”

&
nbsp; The only thing he didn’t like about it was that they wouldn’t be alone.

  It was mid-morning, so the café wasn’t full, but several of the tables were taken, and he had to smile and say hello.

  It was a beautiful day, and the sun was up, but it bothered his eyes, and Kian had forgotten to take his sunglasses with him. “Do you mind if we sit in the shade?”

  “Not at all.” Syssi walked over to a table that was under the canopy of a tree. “Is this good?”

  “Perfect.” He pulled out a chair for her. “What would you like?”

  “Just a cappuccino. I’m still full from breakfast.”

  “That was hours ago. I’ll get you a Danish.”

  She chuckled. “Overeating is not good for the baby.”

  For a moment, he looked confused, but then he shook his head. “One Danish does not count as overeating.”

  She sighed. “How can I say no to such delicious temptation.”

  Her suggestive tone had a predictable effect, and Kian had to stifle a retort that was not appropriate for a public place.

  Instead, he headed to the counter. “Good morning, Wonder.”

  “Hello, Kian.” She greeted him with a bright smile. “I don’t usually see you here during the day.”

  “Syssi has a day off.”

  “That’s awesome. What would you like?”

  After placing the order, Kian returned to the table and pulled out a chair. “Wonder is going to bring our order when it’s ready.”

  Syssi smiled. “Her cappuccino making skills have improved so much that she’s giving me serious competition.”

  “Not a chance. Yours are the best.”

  “Thank you.” Syssi took her jacket off and hung it on the back of her chair. “It’s getting warmer. Your mother is going to enjoy the weather when she comes for a visit.”

  He cringed. “I hope she doesn’t. But if Kalugal and I don’t get together soon and negotiate a co-existence agreement, she might. She's got it into her head that she can shield me from his compulsion.”

  “She probably can.”

  “Probably is not good enough. I’m not going to risk it.”

  “You can’t tell her what to do, so if you don’t want her to come, you need to hurry up and set up a meeting with Kalugal.”

  “I’m working on it. I could take Turner with me, but if Kalugal compels my bodyguards and me, Turner is not going to be able to help. I think that the only viable option is a teleconference. I won’t need Anandur and Brundar with me in the room, and if Kalugal tries something, Turner can cut the connection.”

  Syssi frowned. “I’m not an expert on these things, but I don’t think it’s going to work. You and Kalugal need to get to know each other and develop trust. And you can’t do that without a face-to-face meeting. Teleconferencing is not going to give you the same multi-sensory input that you would get when you are physically in the same place as him. And in your case, you have all those extra senses that will help you evaluate Kalugal. It makes me think about this generation of texters who have lost their ability to actually connect to people.”

  Kian chuckled. “I saw a clip of a group of friends sitting around a table in the mall’s food court and texting each other instead of talking.”

  Syssi tapped her forehead. “That gives me an idea. What if you wore earplugs while meeting with Kalugal? You could both have tablets and text each other instead of talking, but at least you would be sitting at the same table. All these subconscious clues and the scents he is going to emit will be available to you.”

  “That’s brilliant.” He took her hand and brought it to his lips. “I don’t know why Turner and I haven’t thought of that.”

  “Sometimes, it is easier for an outsider to see a solution than it is for those with their noses in the problem.”

  “Maybe I can take it a step further. I need to talk to William.”

  “What do you have in mind?”

  “An earpiece that absorbs outside sounds but doesn’t transmit them as is, but alters the wavelengths, stripping the compulsion component away.”

  Syssi looked doubtful. “First of all, we don’t know what compulsion is and on which wavelength it’s transmitted. You can’t strip down something that you can’t isolate. And secondly, a device like that will take a long time to develop, and you can’t wait because Annani is breathing down your neck.”

  Unfortunately, Syssi was right.

  “Then I’ll have to use your suggestion and communicate with Kalugal via texting, which is going to be really weird when sitting across from him."

  She waved a hand. “I might be wrong. Talk it over with William; maybe he can come up with something.”

  “Here are your cappuccinos.” Wonder put down the tray with their order. “I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation, and I have an idea.”

  “What is it?” Syssi opened a sugar packet and poured it into her cup.

  “Give Turner a taser. If Kalugal tries something, Turner can zap him.”

  Kian chuckled. “I could also get Kalugal one of those dog collars that are remotely controlled, but I don’t think it’s going to be conducive to encouraging trust and cooperation between us.”

  50

  Jin

  As Jin and Mey entered Wendy’s room, they found her lying on her stomach on the bed and watching the tube.

  She turned her head to look at them, but her eyes seemed vacant. “What are you doing here?”

  Jin sat on the couch. “We came to visit you.”

  Mey sat down next to her and crossed her arms over her chest.

  “Why? So you can yell at me?” Wendy turned her head back to the screen.

  Jin wasn’t a psychologist, but even she knew how Wendy had interpreted Mey’s pose. With a slight shake of her head, she touched her sister’s knee.

  Mey got the hint, let out a breath, and put her arms down.

  “Can you pause that for a few minutes?” Jin asked. “I want to talk to you.”

  Reluctantly, Wendy pointed the remote at the screen and paused her program, but she stayed in the same pose and turned her head only slightly to cast Jin a sidelong glance.

  “I’m not going to yell at you or berate you. I just want to understand why.”

  “I already told the therapist everything. You can ask her.”

  “I want to hear it from you. Why did you ask to join the escape when you didn’t want to leave the program?”

  “I thought that I did, and then I changed my mind. Giving up the best job I would ever get was the stupidest thing I’ve ever done.”

  “I disagree. You made the right decision and then got cold feet. That’s all.”

  Wendy lifted on her forearms and slung her legs over the side of the bed. “How can you say that? There is nothing for me on the outside. What other job is going to pay me that much money and give me a safe place to live as part of the compensation package?”

  “And what are you going to do with all that money? How are you going to spend it if they never let you out? Not only that, you will become a breeder for the enhanced paranormals the director and his bosses want to produce. That’s slavery, not a job.”

  Wendy grimaced. “Put like that it doesn’t sound so great, but at least no one will abuse me. I might not be free, but I’ll be safe.”

  “Who do you think is going to abuse you outside of the program?”

  “Anyone who wants to. I have no family, no backup. I’m all alone.”

  “How about your father?”

  Wendy shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about him or ever see him again. As far as I’m concerned, he is dead.”

  Well, that explained a lot.

  The abuser was obviously her father, and he was the reason Wendy had sought shelter in the program.

  “Look, Wendy, the government program is not the only safe place in the world for you. This organization that Mey and I are now part of can give you shelter as well. They can’t pay you as much as you’ve been making in the
program, but they can provide you with a safe haven. No one is going to hurt you, and no one is going to use you as a breeder either.”

  Next to her, Mey cleared her throat and shook her head.

  It was true that if Wendy wasn’t a Dormant she couldn’t join the clan, but Jin was positive that Kian would arrange something for her. He could give her fake documents and a job at one of the clan’s many enterprises.

  “Can I get that in writing?”

  “You don’t trust me?”

  “I don’t trust anyone. Why would the organization help me after what I did? They are better off dumping me somewhere.”

  “Everyone deserves a second chance. And Kian is willing to give you one. Just don’t blow it.”

  Closing her eyes, Wendy let out a breath. “He shouldn’t give it to me. Unless I know for sure that I won’t end up on the street, I’d rather return to the program. I don’t trust promises.”

  As aggravating as Wendy’s stubbornness was, she was at least honest. As long as she didn’t get assurances, she was going to cling to the program’s supposed merits and ignore any other opportunities she might get.

  Jin pushed to her feet. “I’ll see what I can do. I’ll talk to Kian and get him to commit to a concrete plan of action for you.”

  “In writing.”

  Mey chuckled. “You are putting too much faith in written documents. A signature is only worth as much as the signatory’s willingness to deliver the goods.”

  “Or the fees you can afford to pay an attorney,” Jin added. “In the end, it all boils down to trust. Do you trust Director Simmons, Wendy? The man who had Eleanor compel you, and the same guy who planned to breed you like a mare? Or do you trust the people who befriended you and were looking out for you?”

  “I don’t trust anyone,” Wendy whispered.

  “That’s a good start.” Jin leaned and kissed the girl’s cheek. “I gave you a lot to think about. I hope you’ll make the right decision.”