by I. T. Lucas
“What does it mean to inject to the brink?”
“Stopping just before the heartbeat winks out. It requires precision, but my men are all trained to do that.”
“How is the reviving done?”
Kian smiled. “I’m not going to tell you that. But if you want, I can take you on a tour of our catacombs and show you that many of your missing men are not dead.”
“That I would like to see. But first, if you don’t mind telling me this, why do you bother? We are your enemies, and those men would not have hesitated to kill you.”
A grimace twisted Kian’s handsome face. “If it were up to me, none of them would have been spared. But my mother doesn’t allow it. To her, every immortal is precious. She hopes that one day your father will be overthrown and that a new era of peace and cooperation will begin. She also believes that in the absence of his relentless brainwashing, these men can be revived and then reconditioned.”
Lokan found this as hard to accept as Kian’s other incredible claims.
“Your mother is a romantic.”
“That she is. So, do we have a deal? If you see proof that your men are alive and in stasis, are you going to tell me the island’s location?”
Kian was probably planning a trick. He was going to show him one or two men in stasis, who for all Lokan knew could be clan members who had transgressed and had been punished.
“How many men are we talking about?”
“Let’s put it this way. We will soon need to expand the catacombs because we are running out of space.”
“How would I know they are mine? What if they are clan members who got punished?”
“We have only one of ours in that state, and he’s in a different section. The rest are dead, killed by your people. It’s not difficult to differentiate between them. Our dead are in closed sarcophaguses, yours are in more modest caskets. The live ones are laid in open niches. They are not pretty to look at, but if you listen carefully, you’ll hear a very faint and slow heartbeat.”
“I need to think about it.”
“I understand.” Kian pushed to his feet. “When you are ready, pick up the phone and dial zero. My guy will let me know.”
At the door, he stopped and turned back. “Before I forget. Don’t think about visiting Ella at night. If I hear that you’ve bothered her, I will be much less friendly the next time we meet. Am I clear?”
Lokan gave him a two-finger salute. “I’m not going to bother her. But I would appreciate it if she came to visit me. With her mate, of course. I’m curious to see the male she chose over me.”
10
Vivian
“It smells so good.” Parker walked into the kitchen in his pajamas. “What’re you making other than the salmon?”
Vivian pulled him in for a hug and squeezed hard. He was an immortal now, and her human strength was nothing to him. “Fettuccine Alfredo with mushrooms. I made two kinds of salmon, and I’m curious about which one you are going to like more.”
He wiggled out of her arms. “What, no salad?”
“Ella is not here to make it. I didn’t think you’d miss it.”
“I don’t. Is Ella coming back at all? Her stuff is still here.”
It was sweet. Parker didn’t like it when they told him that his sister was moving in with Julian. He’d even suggested that instead of Ella going to live with her boyfriend, he should come live with them.
Vivian would have loved nothing more, but a young couple needed their privacy. With the cost of housing not a consideration, it was a no brainer for Ella and Julian to live on their own.
Hopefully, they would come to visit often, and perhaps Ella would invite her family over to her new house as well.
“Ella and Julian are coming for lunch, and I invited Bridget and Turner as well. You should get dressed.”
Parker narrowed his eyes at her. “Is this like an official engagement lunch or something?”
“Or something. Go already. They should be here in half an hour.”
He waved a dismissive hand. “That’s plenty of time. I can get dressed in five minutes. I want to eat.”
“Take a small snack. I don’t want you filling up before lunch.”
“I’ll get cereal. May I eat it in my room?”
Usually, she didn’t allow it, but this weekend Parker was going to get a pass on a lot of things.
He’d earned it.
“Yes, you may. But don’t get used to it. After the weekend, it’s back to normal.”
“Yes, ma'am.” He saluted and then scurried away with his bowl before she could change her mind.
When a few minutes later the front door opened and Scarlet trotted in with Magnus in tow, Vivian waved him over to the kitchen.
“Just in time. Can you cut up some veggies for a salad?”
“Sure thing.”
Magnus opened the sliding doors to the backyard, let the dog out, and then came over and washed his hands in the kitchen sink.
“I made a couple of phone calls while walking Scarlet,” he said.
“I hope you didn’t invite more people. I already called Bridget and Turner, and with Ella and Julian that makes seven. I don’t think what I made can feed more.”
Leaning against the counter, he reached for her hand and pulled her against him. “I called Edna about the adoption papers, and I called Amanda about organizing a wedding for us.”
Vivian swallowed. “Not that I’m against either, but don’t you think you should have talked with me first?’
“I should have, but it kind of snowballed while I was talking with Edna. It all started with your daddy comment. I thought about what we did last night and that you might enter transition any day now. I figured that knowing your children would have a father to take care of them if anything went wrong would ease your mind.”
Lifting on her toes, she kissed his cheek. “I know that you will do that with or without official papers.”
“I will. But I thought that you would like something more official, so I called Edna about drafting the paperwork. Then I mentioned that you wanted us to be married before the adoption, and Edna offered to marry us in a civil ceremony, but I said that you might be disappointed with that, so she suggested that I call Amanda about arranging a party.”
Vivian shook her head. “So, you just called her and asked her to drop everything and start working on our wedding?”
“No, I asked for her advice.”
Sweet Magnus. He was an awesome guy, but that was as subtle as a sledgehammer. “I see. And what advice did she give you?”
“That we should go shopping for a wedding dress and a tux because the party is this Sunday.”
“That’s crazy, and not only because there is no way she can pull it off, especially with the barbecue tomorrow, but because it just is.” Vivian put a hand over her heart. “I need time to mentally prepare.”
Leaning, he whispered in her ear. “Do you want to go back to condoms? Because if we keep going without, you’ll enter transition. It’s your choice, of course. We can also get married after you are an immortal. Edna can take care of the adoption regardless of our marital status. And besides, according to our law, a mating is official when we pledge ourselves to each other in front of two adult witnesses. We don’t need a ceremony to make it official.”
Having options was good.
Vivian relaxed. She didn't have to rush. She could wait with the wedding until after her transition. Or she could wait with the transition for after the wedding.
“What do you think we should do?”
Magnus smiled. “I say we go for it, but then I’m a guy, and I never had wedding dreams. It’s up to you, love, and what will make you happy. That’s all I want.”
She glanced at the microwave display to check the time. “Can I decide after lunch? We have guests arriving in ten minutes, and the table is not set yet. And we don’t have a salad.”
“Amanda needs an answer as soon as possible, but it can wait for after lunc
h.”
11
Carol
As Carol crossed her living room for the fiftieth time, Ben waved a hand. “Stop that annoying pacing. If you have to do it, please don’t do it in front of the screen.”
As if his yelling and jumping up and down when his team scored wasn’t annoying as hell.
Her roommate was an easygoing guy, and most of the time she liked having him around, just not when he was watching sports games and cheering his teams from the couch.
Weren’t guys supposed to do it together? Meet up in someone’s house, drink shitloads of beer, and eat nachos?
“Don’t you have friends that you want to share this joyous activity with?”
He cast her a sidelong glance. “Do you want me to watch the game in my room?”
“No. That’s fine. I’ll go out for a walk.”
It was Ben’s home too, and if he wanted to watch TV in the living room while munching on pizza, it was his right. Usually, the yelling and jumping wouldn’t have bothered Carol, but she was humming with nervous excitement, impatient to hear all about Ella’s adventures in Washington and get all the juicy details about what had happened with Lokan.
Except, the girl was celebrating with her guy, and it would have been rude to call her up and interrupt all that loving.
It was about time those two moved in together, but Carol hadn’t expected it to happen so soon. It had been quite a surprise to hear it from Ray when he stopped at the café yesterday, complaining about Julian kicking him out because Ella was moving in with him. Julian had called him from the plane, giving him only a few hours’ notice, and the guy had been looking for a place to crash for the night.
Carol could only imagine the steam coming out of that bedroom. It seemed that whatever had been blocking Ella’s attraction to Julian had been taken care of. Those two were probably not going to leave their bed for days.
Damn, she really wanted all that juicy gossip.
During the day, she had been busy in the café, so it had been easier to keep herself from picking up the phone, but now she had nothing to do except think about it.
Not in the mood for a walk, she decided to sit on the rocking chair on her front porch and watch the sunset.
How lame.
It was pitiful to live vicariously through an eighteen-year-old’s adventures, but that was what Carol, at one time Paris’s most coveted courtesan, had been reduced to.
Between running the café and teaching the beginners’ self-defense class, she had little time or energy for anything else. And if she cared to be honest with herself, after having been with Robert, human males didn’t excite her nearly as much as they used to. Never mind that Robert had been far from her ideal lover. Even a mediocre immortal lover was better than the best of humans.
Besides, the type of men she liked didn’t hang out in clubs and bars. Successful, powerful men didn’t waste their time in places like that.
With a sigh, she pulled out her phone and glanced at the time. It was after seven in the evening, and probably safe to call Ella. After all, the girl was still human, and her stamina should have run out a long time ago.
Just to be safe, though, she decided to text instead of calling.
Are you still celebrating? Or do you have time for your friend who is dying to hear all the juicy details you can’t tell anyone else?
She watched the little icon as Ella typed her answer.
I’m taking a short break from celebrating. Come over.
Right. She could imagine the stink eye Julian would give her if she showed up in his house the day after his girl had moved in.
I don’t want to intrude.
Julian went grocery shopping because we have nothing in the house. I’m all alone. Come.
That gave her an idea. Perhaps if she showed up with dinner, Julian wouldn’t mind the intrusion.
I’ll cook you something yummy to replenish your energy stores.
We had lunch at my parents, and I’m stuffed. Don’t bring anything. On second thoughts, bring cream. I’m making coffee, and we are out.
On my way.
Carol wasn’t going to show up just with the cream no matter how stuffed Ella claimed to be.
It was a good thing that she always cooked too much, and her freezer was full with the extra portions she’d saved for later.
“What are you doing?” Ben asked as she started taking out containers from the freezer.
“Don’t worry. I’ll make more. I’m bringing Ella and Julian a frozen house warming gift.” She chuckled.
“Good idea.” He went back to watching his game.
A large insulated bag slung over her shoulder, Carol headed toward Julian’s house, but found herself taking a detour.
The office building wasn’t on the way, but it would add no more than five minutes to her walk. She just had an urge to take one more peek at the infamous Doomer’s picture.
She’d seen all the portraits Dalhu had drawn of the Brotherhood’s elite, but she hadn’t paid that much attention. Now that Lokan had been captured, though, she wanted to have a face to go with the stories Ella was going to tell her.
Last time she’d collected packages from the building’s lobby, the portraits had been hanging on the wall of the first floor corridor. Hopefully, Dalhu hadn’t removed them yet.
Good thing that no one had wanted to buy those. Dalhu’s landscapes had all been snapped up, even though the artist himself claimed that they weren’t good enough yet.
Carol wasn’t an art expert, but she thought they were all beautiful, and even bought one to hang in her living room where she could see it from the kitchen when she cooked. There was something soothing and relaxing about that landscape, and gazing at it while cooking made the activity even more pleasurable than it already was.
Some people knitted, others colored, Carol cooked.
When she got to the office building, though, none of the portraits were there.
Damn, that was a shame.
She was about to head out when she saw Bridget coming down the stairs.
“Working late?”
“Yeah. I took a long lunch break and had to come back to finish up. What are you doing here so late?”
“I was looking for Lokan’s portrait, but I see that Dalhu took all of them down.”
Bridget snorted. “I asked him to. They were getting on Kian’s nerves. He didn’t say anything, but I could see his reaction every time he glanced at one of them. Fates know that Kian doesn’t need additional reasons to get angry. But if you want to see Lokan’s picture, I have it on my phone. I snapped photos of all the portraits.”
Bridget took her phone out of her purse and scrolled until she found it. “It’s not the best. But it will give you an idea.”
“Can you share it with me? I have a bunch of frozen meals I need to put in Ella and Julian’s freezer.”
“That's so thoughtful of you. I should have done it. Ella said that they have nothing in the house.” She chuckled. “I would have ordered it from a restaurant, though. I don’t have time to cook.”
“I’m sure it would have been just as appreciated. Thanks for the photo.”
“No problem.”
Carol waited until she was alone on the trail to take a look. Lokan was handsome, but that wasn’t his most striking feature. She could see so much in those dark eyes of his. Intelligence, mischief, secrets.
He should be fascinating to talk to.
The question was whether Kian would allow her to see him.
Perhaps she could help with the interrogation?
Men usually underestimated her, letting their mouths flap secrets they were sure she was too dumb to do anything with—a misconception Carol encouraged enthusiastically.
12
Syssi
In her bathroom, Syssi stood in front of the mirror and rubbed her tummy, wondering how immortal females knew when they had conceived.
With no periods, there was nothing to miss. She could be pregnant already a
nd not know it. In fact, she had a feeling that she was.
Or maybe it was just wishful thinking. A placebo effect of drinking Merlin’s potion twice a day and praying that it would work.
Kian was doing his best to calm down, and since everyone in the office building knew about Merlin’s theory, they were trying to minimize Kian’s annoyances.
Was it helping?
Not really. Even when he was happy, Kian was stressed. Capturing Lokan was a cause for clan-wide celebration, but there had been some scary moments on the way. Lokan had almost succeeded in kidnapping Ella and Vivian despite the army of Guardians Turner had with him.
The guy must be really smart, which wasn’t surprising. His father might be insane, and his grandfather had certainly been unstable, but no one doubted their superior intelligence.
She wondered about his mother. Navuh wasn’t a god, so the only way for him to produce his many sons was if he had Dormants or immortals in his harem. Probably immortals because the Dormants would have turned after several biting sessions.
Poor women. They didn’t even get to raise their children, which could have been the only solace for being kept secluded in a closed-off harem no one was allowed into. Not even their children.
Rubbing her tummy again, Syssi smiled as she imagined it swelling with her and Kian’s child.
Assuming the win, so to speak.
Perhaps she should ask Bridget for a pregnancy test?
Except, Syssi was too scared to do it. If the result was negative, she would be disappointed, and a bad mood was not conducive to conception.
She could wait a little longer. Maybe ask Eva if there was a way to know before the pregnancy progressed enough for her scent to change and for other immortals to sniff it.
But what if Merlin’s potion was not good for the baby, and she should stop taking it?
Suddenly panicked, she rushed into the bedroom and snatched her phone off the charger.