by I. T. Lucas
He didn’t understand half of what William had said, but it seemed like the guy was onto something.
William shook his head. “I didn’t say that we had a solution. I said that we might.”
“Good enough for me. I trust you’ll figure it out.”
Turner clapped William on his back. “Take your time. I don’t think an acoustic attack on the village is likely to happen anytime soon if at all.” He lifted his beer and took another swig. “By the way, I saw stacks of building materials in the parking garage. I don’t know much about construction, but I was under the impression that the fence is going to be made from chain link. We are not building an actual wall between the two parts of the village, right?”
Kian shook his head. “I couldn’t bring in the Chinese crew just to put up a fence and build a few room additions to the existing houses. I had to give them more work, so I decided to start on phase three of the village.”
Turner arched a brow. “Do we have enough land?”
“We have plenty, but we need to do extensive grading work. I want to prepare fifty more plots.”
“What for? Most of phase two is still unoccupied.”
Turner was right, and Kian had been asking himself the same question, but he had a gut feeling that those homes would be needed soon. Not that he was going to admit to the most logic-driven person he knew that he was spending the clan’s money because of a damn gut feeling.
“I expect many more mated couples in the near future, and with Merlin’s fertility treatments, we also might get more children, which means that we need more family homes. Perhaps not right now, but in a few years.”
7
Kalugal
“You look absolutely radiant!” Carol pulled Jacki into a fierce hug. “I’m so happy that your transition was uneventful.”
Jacki chuckled. “After what happened at our wedding, that was a pleasant surprise.”
“Congratulations.” Lokan clapped Kalugal on the back. “I’m glad that’s behind you. I can’t imagine how worried you were.”
“It was difficult to watch the woman I love slip into unconsciousness. You’re lucky that your mate was already immortal when you met her.”
Lokan shook his head. “I’ve had my share of worry with Carol.”
“I can imagine,” Jacki said. “You must have been terrified for her when she infiltrated the harem.”
“The terror of that wasn’t as bad as what I went through before the mission even started. The original idea to get Carol off the island was for her to fake her own death. Bridget rigged her fake insulin pump with a toxin that would have made her seem dead to the human staff. Naturally, she wanted to test it in a controlled environment before sending Carol on the mission, so she administered the toxin in the clinic.”
Imagining the horror his brother must have felt, Kalugal’s gut twisted. “I’m surprised that you agreed to that.”
Lokan cast an amused glance at his mate. “No one tells Carol what to do. I had no say in it. Even worse, I couldn’t be with her during the testing. I was stuck in the clan’s dungeon and had to rely on Kian to send updates to Arwel, who was my guard.”
“The clan has a dungeon?” Rufsur asked. “Is it in the village?”
“It’s in the keep,” Carol said. “And it’s not as bad as it sounds. Lokan didn’t get thrown into some dingy cell. He got a beautifully appointed one-bedroom apartment along with a personal chef.”
Lokan nodded. “I have to admit that during my imprisonment Kian treated me surprisingly well. Especially when he sent Carol to spy on me.”
Carol huffed. “Kian didn’t send me. It was my idea.” She wrapped her arm around Lokan’s middle. “I wanted to check out the sexy prince.”
“And I want to hear all about it over dinner.” Jacki motioned for them to take their seats at the table. “Atzil will be mad if he has to reheat stuff.”
Kalugal nodded in agreement.
What he wanted to hear was the real reason for his brother’s visit, but he wasn’t in a rush. Hearing all about Carol’s daring mission to the island could give him more clues about the clan’s offensive capabilities.
As he’d expected, the story was fascinating, with Lokan revealing more details about his scheme to capture Vivian and Ella, and especially about his dream-walking ability. Carol’s impressions from the harem and her interactions with Areana were no less riveting.
Whatever Lokan wanted to talk to him about couldn’t possibly top that.
Besides, it seemed that his brother wasn’t in a hurry to get to the real reason for his visit either, and Kalugal suspected that he wanted to talk to him privately. Except, Kalugal had no secrets that he wanted to keep from Jacki, and he was pretty sure that Carol was privy to whatever was on Lokan’s mind, which meant that his brother didn’t want to talk in front of Rufsur and Phinas.
When it seemed like storytelling time was over, Kalugal put his napkin on his plate to signal that he was done. “Would you like to adjourn to the library for a drink?”
Lokan looked relieved. “I would love to.”
Rufsur patted his belly. “I’d better go to the bunker and run a couple of hours on the treadmill to burn this meal off.”
“I’ll join you,” Phinas said.
His lieutenants knew him well enough to know when they were being dismissed without him having to say anything.
Jacki started picking up dirty plates. “I’ll stay to help Atzil.”
Apparently his mate had misinterpreted his cues, thinking that she was included in the dismissal.
“Nonsense.” Kalugal took the plates out of her hands and put them back on the table. “Shamash will help Atzil.”
“Okay.”
He smiled. “I love it when you don’t argue with me.”
Lokan chuckled. “I wish I knew your secret. The only way I can avoid arguing with Carol is to say ‘yes, dear’ to everything.”
“Not true.” She slapped his arm. “I’m not unreasonable. It’s just that I’m always right.”
“Yes, dear.”
“Men.” Carol rolled her eyes. “Come on.” She threaded her arm through Jacki’s. “I want to hear all about your experience in the village.”
“Are you in trouble?” Kalugal asked as he and Lokan followed the ladies to the library.
His brother waved a dismissive hand. “We tease each other like this all of the time, and all is forgotten by morning.”
Kalugal walked over to the bar. “What’s your pleasure?”
“It’s hard to decide.” Lokan glanced over the display. “You choose.”
“I’ve discovered an excellent bourbon.” He took the bottle down, then turned to the ladies. “What would you like?”
“An old fashioned for me,” Jacki said.
Carol nodded. “Same here.”
“Coming up.”
Once he was done pouring and handing out the drinks, Kalugal motioned for Lokan to join him at the games table. “Do you play chess?”
“I do.”
“Excellent. We can play while you tell me the real reason for your visit.”
Lokan chuckled. “Missing my only brother and his lovely, newly-transitioned mate is not reason enough?”
Kalugal made his first move. “Not to fly over from Washington on one day’s notice. Whatever it is must be urgent.”
“Not really.” Lokan moved his pawn. “It’s just when the idea occurred to me, I couldn’t wait to share it with you.”
“You could have called.” Kalugal moved another piece. “Using the clan-issued phones makes our connection secure.” He arched a brow. “Unless what you want to talk to me involves the clan, and you didn’t want them to know about it.”
“It might involve them, but that’s not the reason. I just wanted to have this conversation with you face to face.”
“I’m listening.”
“The way we were all incapacitated during the long-range acoustic device attack gave me an idea. We could utilize the technolog
y to take over the island without much bloodshed.”
Kalugal sighed. “I’m not interested in the island. Frankly, I think that you should abandon that idea, sever your ties with the place, and join either the clan or me. By straddling the fence, you are putting your mate in danger.” He lifted his glass and took a sip. “In fact, it’s risky for me to invite you to my home, even with all the evasive maneuvers you’ve made to make sure that you are not being followed.”
“Carol and I learned how to be ultra-careful from the very best. Turner is a master at that, and we follow his protocol to a tee. And as for the danger to us, Carol is well aware of the risks, but she supports my decision to keep the charade going. If our father decides to refocus on his goal to annihilate the clan, my advance warning will be indispensable.” He took a sip from the bourbon. “The only solution for me is to ensure that the Brotherhood is no longer a threat. Besides, I feel responsible for the people living under Navuh’s oppressive rule. If I don’t help them, who will?”
Those were noble sentiments, and Kalugal wasn’t indifferent to the suffering of the island’s population, both human and immortal, but mostly the human. All the women and men who’d been captured and enslaved deserved to be freed.
Except, he doubted that his brother was motivated solely by compassion. Lokan wanted to rule the island, but he knew that he couldn’t do it on his own. He needed Kalugal and his compulsion ability to keep the Brotherhood from splintering into many small militias.
Without Navuh’s compulsion keeping them in check, there was no telling what havoc they would unleash on the world.
But Kalugal’s compulsion ability was not nearly as powerful as Navuh’s, and even if it was, he didn’t want to get involved. The plight of the island’s people was insignificant compared to the many maladies of the human world that he’d set out to fix.
“As I said before, I’m not interested in the island, and I promised our mother that I will not kill Navuh, which is the only way to achieve your goal. I can’t wrest control from him, so the only option to stop his compulsion is to eliminate him.”
“Or imprison him,” Lokan said. “If he doesn’t renew his compulsion periodically, it will eventually dissipate.” Lokan chuckled. “We could lock him in the harem. That would be an appropriate payback.”
“Even if I was interested, which I’m not, I don’t know if it’s possible to cover the entire place with noise cannons. And even if it is possible to cover the surface, what about the underground? That’s where most of the warriors live. The long-range acoustic device works only in open spaces.”
“Infrasound can get through obstacles with little dissipation and it can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and disorientation. I’m not a tech guy, and this is way above my pay grade. But I think William can come up with a workable solution.”
Kalugal arched a brow. “You want to involve the clan in your plans?”
“I can’t do it without them. Their main objection to attacking the island is the potential loss of life, but if I demonstrate that it can be achieved with minimal casualties, I believe that Kian will consider it. But I need you to come on board as well. Without you, the Brotherhood will disburse, and I can only imagine the destruction the freed warriors would cause all over the world. We need time for the reforms to take root, and for them to realize that having families and living normal lives is a much better goal than terrorizing humans.”
“Did you already approach Kian with your plan?”
Lokan shook his head. “As I said before, unless you join us, there is no point in starting anything.”
“I need time to think about it, but I don’t see how I can control thousands of warriors. I’m not powerful enough to take over from our father.”
“Of course. I didn’t expect you to give me an answer right away.”
“Jacki and I are spending the weekend in the village. I’ll have an answer for you when we return.”
“Excellent.” Lokan smiled.
“Most likely, it’s going to be a no.”
8
Rufsur
Ever since Kalugal and Lokan had retired to the library the day before, Rufsur had been wondering what had been said in there.
Obviously, Lokan wanted something from Kalugal. The question was, what?
Now that he and Carol had left for the airport, he might finally find out. The problem was that Kalugal had asked Phinas to come into his office as well, and Rufsur wasn’t sure that his boss would want to talk in front of the guy. Jacki was also in the office, but then she’d already heard whatever had been discussed in the library.
Besides, Kalugal shared everything with her, which Rufsur had to admit made him a little jealous.
Up until Jacki had become Kalugal’s everything, Rufsur had been his best friend and confidant, with Phinas being a distant second and privy to only a fraction of Kalugal’s secrets. Now Jacki had taken Rufsur’s place, and he found himself sharing a spot with Phinas.
“I’m sure that you are curious about Lokan’s agenda for the visit.” Kalugal got up and poured himself and Jacki drinks, then motioned for Rufsur and Phinas to help themselves. “He thinks that he can take the island using long-range acoustic technology. I think that it’s an absurd idea, but I promised him to give it some thought.”
Phinas shook his head, “If you are asking my opinion, my advice is to stay as far away from there as possible. Navuh has thousands of warriors, and that weapon will not disable them all. And even if it could do that, how would Lokan control all of those people after deploying it?”
“That’s why he needs me,” Kalugal sighed. “But even if I wanted to get involved, which I definitely don’t, I can’t compel all of them at once. And doing it in batches of twenty would be a full-time job. I have better things to do with my time.”
“You should just tell him no,” Jacki said. “I feel for the island’s people, especially the women, but unless it can be done without enslaving you in turn, that’s a no go.”
“I agree,” Rufsur said. “Poking that hornets’ nest and letting those warriors go free would be the equivalent of unleashing the Black Death on humanity. The lesser evil is to leave it be.”
“So it’s settled.” Jacki flipped her yellow pad open. “Let’s move on to a happier subject. Do you guys want to hear the results of my survey?”
Thankfully, Jacki had spared Rufsur the embarrassing task of asking each man whether he was willing to be auctioned and had taken it upon herself to do the survey.
“By all means.” Kalugal waved his hand.
“Thirty-six are not only willing to be offered in an auction but are thrilled at the prospect of clan females bidding on them. Only four said that they are not willing to do that at all, and the rest are undecided. Before saying yay or nay, they want to hear from their friends how it went.”
Rufsur looked at Phinas. “Which one are you?”
He was willing to bet that Phinas was one of those who were against the idea. The guy wasn’t a big risk-taker, and he was more reserved than most.
“I’m willing to give it a try. If the experience is not enjoyable, I will not volunteer for a second round.”
“Good for you.” Rufsur clapped him on the back. “I’m glad to see that you are willing to step outside your comfort zone.”
Phinas glanced at Jacki and smiled. “It took some persuading. Jacki’s winning argument was that everything worth having was also worth taking a risk for and putting myself out there. An immortal mate is certainly worth a little discomfort and embarrassment.” He rubbed a hand over the back of his head. “But I have no wish to join the clan. I will need to find a female who is willing to leave it and join our community.”
What Phinas was implying was that he wanted someone unlike Edna.
Rufsur put his hand on Phinas’s shoulder. “I have news for you, my friend. You are not the one who will be doing the choosing. Your mate will be chosen for you, and there is little you can do about it. You’ll have to accept the Fates’
gift and thank them for it.”
Kalugal chuckled. “I see that you’ve become a convert to the clan’s belief system.”
Rufsur shrugged. “I’m not there yet. It depends on how things work out for Edna and me, provided that they ever do. She is not exactly cooperating.”
“No return emails?” Jacki cast him a sad look.
He really hated it when she asked, but telling her to stop would offend her. Jacki did it because she cared, not because she was a busybody.
“As I said, she’s fighting the connection, but her reasons are the same as Phinas’s. She holds an important position in the clan, and she doesn’t want to leave. I hope to make some headway with her during the upcoming weekend.”
“Good luck.” Jacki patted his arm. “The only advice I can give you is to be flexible. It’s a difficult situation, and unless both of you are willing to compromise in some way, it’s not going to work.”
Glancing at Kalugal, Rufsur waited for him to say something against his efforts to win Edna over, but his boss’s expression remained impassive.
He either didn’t object, which Rufsur found surprising, or he was just waiting to see if his intervention was at all needed.
If Edna refused to take it any further, she would spare Kalugal the need to be the bad guy.
Except, Rufsur needed to know what his boss’s stand on the issue was. He could ask him directly, but then Kalugal might give him an evasive answer.
Perhaps he could test the waters in another way. “We should take two men with us this time. Since I’ll be busy courting my lady judge, you and Jacki will need one more guard. Besides, it’s a good opportunity to introduce more of our men to the clan, so Kian should be all for it.”
“The house we stay in has only two bedrooms,” Jacki pointed out.
“If my efforts are successful, I won’t need a bed. And if they fail, I can sleep on the couch.”
Kalugal nodded. “I like your idea of introducing more men to the clan. Who do you suggest we take?”