by I. T. Lucas
Wonder scratched her head. Good question.
When Anandur had talked about killing the rest of her attackers, she’d had no problem with the idea. His reaction and the explanation he’d given her had lifted the guilt she’d been living with since she’d killed one of them. If no one stopped them, those men would go on raping other females. The same logic should have applied to her prisoners.
The difference was that Grud, Shaveh, and Mordan hadn’t attacked her, and that she’d gotten to know them. They were people to her. Her attackers had been strangers.
“I know that they probably deserve it, but I’ve been taking care of them for months, and I just can’t.”
Anandur shook his head. “A Stockholm Syndrome in reverse. That’s a first. “
She had no idea what he was rambling about.
He continued, “But I have a solution for that as well.”
“For that Stockholm Syndrome whatever that is?”
“Yeah, and it’s quite simple. You unlock the handcuffs, give me your phone, and I call my brother. He will come here with a force of Guardians and take the prisoners off your hands.”
That sounded like the solution to all her problems. It also sounded too good to be true, which meant that it probably wasn’t. It was just another ploy. “What about me? Is he going to take me as well?”
“Of course. I’m not leaving you alone here. You’ll come with us.”
“As what?”
Anandur sighed. “As a new member of our community. But I can see that you don’t believe me.”
“Let’s pretend that I do. Are your people in the habit of collecting stray immortals?”
“To this day, you’re the second one we ever found. And yes, the first one joined our community. In fact, she is married to a good friend of mine.”
Wonder crossed her arms over her chest.
He was selling her a fairytale, and it was getting more unbelievable by the minute.
“And I guess that your friend is taking care of her and she doesn't need to do anything other than look pretty, and that they live in perfect harmony.”
Anandur erupted with laughter so loud that he had trouble catching his breath.
“What’s so funny?”
The laughter started again, and it was so contagious that a moment later Wonder was laughing too, even though she didn’t know why.
When he finally stopped wheezing, Anandur took a deep breath. “Eva, the other immortal we found, is the owner of a private detective agency, and she is the toughest lady I know. I wouldn’t want to get on her bad side, and I pity anyone who does.”
For some reason, his gushing admiration irked her. She was tough too.
But Anandur wasn’t done singing that female’s praises. “Even the pregnancy didn’t mellow her out. She is still as vicious as ever. Maybe when the baby comes, she’ll take it easy.”
That remark got Wonder’s full attention. Hadn’t he just said that fertility went way down when a Dormant turned immortal? If she’d caught him making a contradictory statement, she would know it was a lie.
“How long have they been married?”
“Not long. The wedding was a couple of months ago. But Eva was already pregnant. In the short time since the wedding, she grew a tummy the size of a watermelon.”
Wonder narrowed her eyes at Anandur. “Didn’t you just say that it’s really hard for an immortal female to get pregnant?”
“It is. Eva and Bhathian are blessed. In fact, they’ve been blessed twice. This is their second child. They made the first one thirty-something years ago.”
He was confusing her. But given the lifespans of immortals, it made sense that children could have been born decades or even centuries apart. Although it was strange that they’d decided to finally get married only when Eva had gotten pregnant again.
“Why did they wait so long to get married?”
Anandur shifted in his chair again. “That’s a long story for another time. As much fun as I’m having talking to you, the pain in my arms is making it more and more difficult to enjoy it.”
“Of course.” It was so selfish of her not to pay attention to his discomfort. She hadn’t even offered him a cup of water.
Tomorrow she would do better. Maybe even treat him to a beer and some snacks. As a little bribe to keep him talking, of course, not because she felt like doing something nice for him. But for Anandur to be able to drink it, he would have to have his hands cuffed in the front and not behind his back, and that was risky.
She’d think it over on the way to the shelter. Hasty decisions were never good.
Pushing up to her feet, she walked over and got behind Anandur’s chair to unlock the cuffs tethering him to its back. “It was a very interesting talk, and I would’ve liked to continue, but we are both tired. How about we continue tomorrow?”
“Perfect.”
38
Brundar
The presidential suite of the hotel seemed to shrink as it filled up with some thirty Guardians.
“We should’ve reserved one of the conference rooms,” Onegus said.
Magnus crossed his arms over his chest and nodded in greeting as one more Guardian entered the room. “I tried. They need at least three days’ advance notice. I figured we would be out of here by then.”
“After this meeting, go to the front desk and ask to talk with the manager. Use a thrall if you need to, but get us a room.” Onegus pointed at the Guardians, most of whom were standing because there was nowhere to sit.
Brundar shook his head. As if it mattered. It was an emergency operation, not a conference for fuck’s sake.
When the last of the Guardians arrived, Brundar moved to stand in front of the fireplace and waited for everyone to hush.
It didn’t take long. Most of the re-enlisted Guardians knew him well and had a healthy respect for him after fighting by his side in numerous battles over the centuries.
Still, he would have preferred to have the small group he’d worked with over the last several decades. They stayed behind with the rest of the re-enlisted Guardians to protect the village and the keep in case Anandur was compromised.
No one knew the exact extent of the power Navuh and his sons possessed. It was possible that one or more could use compulsion on other immortals, forcing Anandur to reveal the clan’s location.
It was a worst-case scenario. Hopefully, it wouldn’t come to that.
When the room turned silent, Brundar addressed his army. “The back alley Anandur was last seen in stretches for about half a mile. Five clubs, seven pubs, and twelve restaurants have either their sides or their backs to it. Which means that whoever took Anandur, which we must assume were Doomers, could have come from any of these places. I want you to concentrate on them. Go in and check who worked there for the past week, then sift through their memories for anything unusual. Doomers may speak perfectly accented American English, but they occasionally stumble and misuse words or exhibit slight behavioral anomalies. Those small details might have registered in the subconscious minds of the waiters, bartenders, bouncers, etc.”
It was an invasion of privacy that wasn’t normally allowed, but even Edna would agree that this was an emergency and a potential security breach.
“Any questions?” Onegus asked.
“What do we do until the pubs and clubs open?” one of the guys asked.
“Check the restaurants.”
“Any other questions?” Onegus scanned the group of men. “If not, go get breakfast.”
A stampede of hungry men rushed out the door.
“We should go too before they pick the trays clean,” Magnus said.
People needed to eat, Brundar reminded himself. As the saying went, an army marches on its stomach. But he felt no hunger. It seemed surreal to think about food while Anandur was missing.
“Go, I’ll stay and make a few phone calls.”
“You need to eat, Brundar,” Onegus said.
“I’m not hungry.”
/> “It’s not a suggestion. It’s an order.”
Damn chief. This wasn’t the time to pull rank. Still, Brundar was not in the habit of disobeying orders.
“I can make phone calls from there.”
Onegus clapped him on the back. “I’m glad you see reason.”
As if he had a choice.
Down at the hotel’s restaurant, servers were busy refilling the buffet trays, while Guardians stuffed their mouths with mountains of food.
“I bet they never saw men eat so much,” Magnus said.
“Unless they’ve hosted football teams. Those humans can eat.”
Onegus’s voice had been just above a whisper, but he shouldn’t have said it. The humans around them couldn’t hear that, but footage from surveillance cameras could be manipulated and sound enhanced.
This was the age of technology, with cameras recording everything. Except, unfortunately, where Brundar actually needed them to.
And wasn’t that a perfect example of Murphy's law.
As the three of them joined two other Guardians at a table, Brundar pulled out his phone to ring Andrew. The guy hadn’t called him about Tim yet.
Onegus shook his head. “I’m getting you a plate. Anything in particular that you want?”
“Coffee will do.”
“I meant food.”
Brundar waved him away. “Since when did you become my mother?”
Onegus leaned forward and got in his face. “Are we really having this conversation? All I want to hear from you are food choices.”
“Whatever you’re getting yourself is fine by me.” He didn’t intend to eat any of it anyway.
“Fine. Don’t complain if there is nothing on the plate that you like. And just so we’re clear, I’m going to make you eat it.”
“Yes, Mother.”
Onegus shook his head and turned on his heel, while Magnus stifled a chuckle and followed the chief to the buffet.
One warning look shut the other two Guardians’ mouths before they’d a chance to open them.
Finally. A few moments of peace and quiet.
Brundar selected Andrew’s contact and dialed.
The guy picked up on the second ring. “You know it’s eight in the morning and I don’t go to work until nine, right?” There were some scraping noises, then heavy baby breathing, then something that sounded like "pwa.".
“Did you give the phone to Phoenix?”
“Give it to her? No. She grabbed it and is chewing on it.”
Brundar rolled his eyes. “Did you talk to Tim?”
“Give the phone to Daddy, sweetheart. Phones are dirty and yucky.”
A moment later a piercing scream sounded. “Noooo!”
Apparently, the baby had learned a new word and was using it to express her displeasure.
“Not yet. It was too late last night, and calling him early in the morning before he’s had his fifth cup of coffee is a really bad idea. He’d say no. I know you’re impatient, but let me handle it the right way.”
Damnation. What choice did he have?
“I’m going to make sure that there is a jet ready to fly him here as soon as he’s ready.”
“That’s a good idea. Tim would love a ride in a private plane.”
Brundar ended the call, then looked at the time. It was still too early to ring the guy with the dogs, or The Finder of Lost Things as he called his service. It was a long shot, but it was worth a try.
After all, the clothes that had been cut off Anandur’s body had his brother’s scent on them. It was still strong even though they’d been in the dumpster for a few hours before Magnus had found them.
39
Anandur
As soon as Anandur woke up the next day, he was greeted by three hostile stares.
“Did you get lucky last night, Dur?” Grud asked.
Anandur ignored him, got up, and walked over to the lever that served as a faucet to release water from a plastic tube. He took a few gulps, gargled it in his mouth, then spat it out.
Fates, how he wished he had a toothbrush. Toothpaste would’ve been nice too, as would have been coffee and about a mountain of Okidu’s waffles.
Wonder wasn’t feeding them enough. One meal a day just didn’t do it for him, even if he stuffed his face and ate every last grain of rice and every bean.
He took a drink from the tube and went back to his mattress.
“What’s the matter? Suddenly we are not good enough to talk to?” Grud was still staring at him with murder in his eyes.
“I’m hungry,” Anandur said.
Shaveh humphed. “We’ve been hungry for months. Didn’t she feed you last night? Or did you do the feeding?”
So that what it was about. The Doomers were jealous, thinking that he’d gotten something from Wonder they had all been coveting.
Impersonating a Doomer meant that he couldn’t act like a gentleman. He needed to throw around a few crude remarks and hand gestures for them to believe he was one of them. The problem was that the words refused to leave his mouth. He wasn’t one to talk disrespectfully about women, and especially not about his own magnificent Wonder Woman.
Damn it. Had he just said those words in his head?
Talk about Stockholm Syndrome. And not in reverse.
“I’m working on it.”
“How is it going?” Mordan asked, his eyes blazing with curiosity rather than hatred.
“I’m making progress.” Anandur waved a hand over his body. “What female can resist all this, eh?”
Grud chuckled. “That one is not going to give it up unless you take it by force.”
Anandur closed his eyes and started counting sheep. This was not the time to flash fangs and glowing eyes. If he did, he would have to pretend it was the result of arousal rather than rage and talk about raping Wonder.
Wasn’t going to happen.
One sheep, two sheep…
Anandur’s imagination had a mind of its own and took over the scene. Suddenly, Brundar popped up on the other side of the fence the sheep were jumping over, the sheep turned into Doomers, and Brundar unsheathed two swords.
There was a lot of blood.
Anandur smiled. That was much more satisfying than counting sheep.
He felt his fangs retracting. “That’s because, you, my friend, lack charm. The girl is putty in my hands.”
Shaveh made a hooting sound and threaded his arm through the bars for a bro fist bump.
Grud wasn’t amused. “What kind of a spy are you that you couldn’t overpower the woman and get free? Each of us could’ve done it, and we are just ordinary warriors, not master spies.”
“Aha.” Anandur lifted a finger. “I didn’t get free because I am trained as a spy, not despite it. I need to question the girl and find out where she is from, and if there are more free immortal females out there that we could get our hands on.”
“Yeah!” Shaveh offered his fist again.
Grud sat back on his mattress and lifted a book. “She doesn't know anything, and she is all alone. You’re not going to find any other immortal females or males. It’s just her. Instead of wasting your time, do what needs to be done, and don’t forget about us. After months of being locked down here we deserve some payback.”
Anandur was definitely not going to forget about Grud. He was going to come back for him and tear his throat out with his fangs and then remove his black heart. The others, if they kept their mouths shut, he might still grant mercy.
But not Grud.
In order to carry out this fantasy, though, he needed Wonder to release him first.
It would be so easy to overpower her, take her phone and call Brundar. Help was practically around the corner.
But he couldn’t bring himself to do that. Every time the thought entered his mind, he saw her looking at him with her big green eyes.
She was so young and so naive. Last night she started to look at him with the beginnings of trust, and a little bit of desire.
The scent had been very subtle, like that of a young immortal girl just discovering her sexuality. If Wonder were a mature immortal female, the scent would’ve been irresistible to him. Hell, if she were older and more experienced, her needs would’ve been stronger, and she wouldn’t have waited for him to make a move. She would’ve initiated it.
Immortal females weren’t shy in regards to their sexuality. They knew what they wanted and went for it.
Well, except for Ruth, but she might have been the only exception.
Anandur often wondered what had happened to her. He hoped it wasn’t anything close to what had been done to Brundar, but he had a feeling someone had hurt her.
Otherwise, her reluctance to make love with Nick didn’t make sense. She wasn’t a virgin, she had a grown daughter, and Nick was a good guy despite his quirkiness. It was evident that the two had feelings for each other, and yet Ruth still hesitated.
Wonder didn’t have that deer-caught-in-the-headlights look in her eyes like Ruth. Her gaze was focused and intense, and she’d looked him straight in the eyes when they’d talked.
What a fascinating woman.
Girl.
Woman.
Her contradictions intrigued him—strength and softness, innocence and maturity, trust and caution. Somehow all of that worked, creating a perfectly balanced person even though for all intents and purposes she was a nine-month-old baby.
Well, obviously that wasn’t the case. The person she was had been shaped before her catastrophic memory loss. But as far as education and worldliness, she was a baby learning everything from scratch, albeit at a much accelerated pace.
If he betrayed her, though, if he hurt her, physically or emotionally, that balance might get all out of whack and she might never find it again.
Like Ruth.
Anandur would rather let Brundar beat him to a pulp, which his brother would definitely do after learning that Anandur could’ve gotten free and hadn’t because he’d refused to hurt his kidnapper.
40
Wonder