Dark Prince's Enigma

by I. T. Lucas

  “Is Areana someone you knew?”

  “She took my place as your grandfather’s intended and traveled north to his stronghold. I was hoping that she made it there before Mortdh dropped the bomb and destroyed all the other gods. I thought that maybe you would know if your father was keeping her. Areana was a tall blonde with blue eyes.”

  Annani chuckled. “Well, compared to me, everyone is tall. So, she might have been average-sized.”

  The goddess sighed. “I hope she survived, but then thinking of her imprisoned for thousands of years and at your father’s mercy breaks my heart. I do not know which is worse. Then again, when I knew Navuh, he was not the monster he later became, and he was quite enamored with Areana, so I dare to hope that other than keeping her isolated he has been kind to her.”

  The wheels in Lokan’s mind went into hyper drive.

  If Areana took Annani’s place as Mortdh’s intended, she must have been a full-blooded goddess. His grandfather would have never accepted a mere immortal as a substitute.

  Could Navuh have appropriated her for his own after his father’s death?

  Was she the big secret he was hiding in his harem?

  If Navuh was keeping a pure-blooded goddess imprisoned in there, it was no wonder that he had the place under such tight lockdown.

  A goddess could undermine his position.

  Then a sudden thought struck him. Could Areana be his mother?

  Could he be the son of a goddess?

  He had to find out.

  Affecting nonchalance, Lokan phrased his question as a statement. “It sounds like you cared for Areana.”

  “Of course, I did. Areana was, and hopefully still is my half-sister.”

  Stunned, Lokan didn’t even bother to hide his response.

  “I need a drink.”

  53

  Kian

  “I need one too.” Kian got up and walked over to the bar fridge. “I see Carol has kept you fully stocked,” he said as he opened it and pulled out a bottle of Snake’s Venom and handed it to Lokan. “Anyone else want a drink?”

  Not surprisingly, the brothers and Andrew shook their heads. Anandur and Brundar were on duty, and Andrew stayed away from alcohol except for special occasions.

  “I would like a bottle of water,” Annani said.

  He pulled out two and handed one to his mother and the other to his wife, then took another beer for himself.

  This afternoon was turning more bizarre than he’d ever imagined. It seemed likely that bloody Lokan was his cousin for real.

  Around a thousand years ago when Lokan was born, a blonde, blue-eyed woman was a rarity in Navuh’s region. According to Annani, the vast majority of immortal offspring born to the gods had been olive-skinned and dark-haired, taking after the local population. The northerners Mortdh had brought as a present for her hadn’t had a chance to intermingle with the local population to affect the coloring. They had been killed by the nuclear blast together with the rest of the people living in the nearby cluster of Sumerian cities.

  So, unless Lokan had been dreaming up ghosts, or Mortdh had managed to snag the rare fair-skinned immortal female for his harem before annihilating the south, Areana was probably the only one who could have been Lokan’s mother.

  “Andrew.” Annani turned her head to look at him. “You have a friend who can draw a portrait from a verbal description. I remember the portrait he drew of Eva from just listening to Bhathian. It was very accurate.”

  “Tim is very talented,” Andrew said.

  Annani nodded. “We can bring him here and have him draw Areana from Lokan’s memory.”

  “I’m not sure I remember enough of her. I was a kid when I had those dreams. That was a long time ago.”

  Syssi cleared her throat. “What about reaching into Lokan’s mind? Would you recognize her in his memories?”

  Annani shook her head. “Those memories are old, and they are buried deep. Tim can probably summon them up with his questions. He must be very good at that to produce such accurate portraits.”

  Andrew groaned. “Every time I ask him to do me a favor, he demands a more outrageous compensation. I wish we had someone else.”

  “Do you know anyone?” Syssi asked.

  “Unfortunately, not at his skill level, and this job requires the best.”

  “I will pay whatever he asks for,” Annani said.

  “Then it is agreed.” Kian lifted his beer bottle. “We need to prove or disprove this insane hypothesis one way or another.” He took a long swig.

  “You could do a DNA test,” Syssi suggested. “Today it is as easy as sending a little bit of saliva to a lab.”

  Kian shook his head. “No offense, but that is a terrible idea. We can’t risk our genetic material getting exposed. Bridget claims that standard genetic testing will not reveal any differences, but that is true for today. The technology is advancing, and better ways of testing will no doubt be developed in the future.”

  “Yeah, you are right. I still don’t get how it is possible for our genes to look so similar to that of humans.”

  “Just one percent difference is responsible for all of the human variety, which means that seven and a half billion people are ninety-nine percent genetically the same,” Lokan said. “Maybe we are also different by just one percent, except in our case that’s what makes all the difference.”

  Kian sneered. “I didn’t know they taught evolution and biology in the Brotherhood training camp.”

  “They don't. I read a lot.”

  “That is commendable,” Annani said. “Knowledge is power.”

  “Kian and your other children were born immortal, right?” Syssi asked.

  “Of course. It is only the second generation that needs their genes induced into immortality.”

  “Then if Lokan is Areana’s son, he didn’t need to transition.”

  Everyone’s eyes turned to the Doomer.

  “Did you have a transition ceremony?” Annani asked.

  “I did.”

  “How old were you?”

  “About twelve. My father claimed that I was more developed than other boys my age and that I was ready for my transition earlier than most.”

  Annani nodded. “He might have wanted to hide the fact that you were already an immortal. The fangs and venom glands do not start to grow before puberty, so there would have been no outward signs except for the rapid healing. Do you remember ever getting a scrape or a cut and healing fast?”

  Frowning, Lokan shook his head. “I don’t. My childhood was spent mostly with my tutors. I didn’t get to run around with other boys or get into fights. My father was very strict and demanding of me, more so than of my other brothers. He always said that I was the smart one and that he had high hopes for me, and that I needed to learn as much as I could about as many things as possible. I wanted to please him, so I applied myself to my studies even though I hated my chief tutor.”

  Kian snorted. “Yeah, I remember your story about telling him to kiss your ass and him actually doing it. That was how you discovered your compulsion ability.”

  Annani clapped her hands and laughed. “What an amusing anecdote. What did he do?”

  “He ran to complain to the head of the Dormants' enclosure, who in turn complained to one of my older brothers, who reported it to my father. I was rewarded by having my transition ceremony moved up and leaving the Dormants’ enclosure for the main camp. The best thing about it was no more tutors.”

  Kian and Annani exchanged glances. The more Lokan revealed about his childhood, the more it seemed like Navuh had been cleverly hiding the fact that Lokan had been born an immortal. His other sons, those who hadn’t spent all their time with tutors, were probably born to his immortal concubines.

  54

  Lokan

  When the door closed after the last Guardian had left, Lokan let out a breath and dropped his head back.

  Annani seemed to believe that he was her sister’s son, and even Kian, who was th
e biggest skeptic of the bunch, seemed to agree with her.

  Perhaps he was only pretending out of respect for his mother?

  Watching the interaction between Kian and Annani hadn’t provided him with clues as to the kind of relationship they shared, but her brief conversation with Andrew, the lie detector guy, had been most illuminating. It had been friendly and familial, as if the goddess considered him a close relative.

  When Annani had inquired about his family and expressed her wish to visit them, Andrew seemed honored but not intimidated, and when she asked him to check with his wife for a good time, Lokan almost choked on his own saliva.

  Her attitude toward her people was so different than his father’s, so easygoing, and yet it was evident that they revered her, and that included her son.

  When the door started opening again, he glanced around to check if anyone had left something behind and was coming back for it, but the only remaining items were empty water and beer bottles.

  “You can get off the couch now,” Arwel said as he walked in.

  “I know. I’m still too stunned to move.” He was surprised to hear himself admitting that to the Guardian.

  Arwel wasn’t his friend. He was his jailer.

  Hell, Lokan had no friends. He had acquaintances, and half-brothers, none of whom he could drop his act with even for a moment. Appearing confident and in complete control was a survival necessity.

  Or rather had been.

  No one here cared if he lost it and started singing obscenities or crying. Not that he was inclined to do any of that, but theoretically he could, and it wouldn't make any difference in his circumstances.

  Arwel opened the fridge and pulled out two more beer bottles. “I felt it. That’s why I came over. Do you want to talk about it?”

  Lokan reached for the bottle. “What are you, my shrink?”

  The Guardian popped the lid on his and sat in the same armchair Annani had sat in. “I figured you needed someone to talk to after that revelation. It’s not every day that a guy discovers his mother might be a goddess. This is some heavy shit.”

  “Tell me about it.” Lokan took a long swig of the delicious beer. “Can I ask you a favor?”

  “That depends.”

  “I need to restock the fridge with more of these.” He lifted the beer bottle. “There was money in the wallet you guys took from me, and much more in my bank accounts, which you can use the debit card to access. Carol said that these are hard to get.”

  “They are. We need to order them from Scotland, but we found a way to get them here in less than twenty-four hours. We pay a flight attendant on the line between here and Edinburgh to bring us cases of them.”

  “So, can you get me some?”

  The Guardian nodded. “How can I refuse Annani’s nephew?”

  “Oh, yeah? Get me out of here.”

  “Except for that.”

  “I thought so.”

  “Besides, where would you go? Your mate is here. From what I’ve seen of the other mated couples, they can’t stay away from each other for more than a day or two even after being together for years. It’s starting to be a damn problem because they won’t go out on missions unless they are local.”

  It seemed he wasn’t the only one who was lowering his guard. Arwel had just let slip something he hadn’t known about.

  “Missions? I thought the Guardians were protectors of the clan, and as far as I know, there haven’t been any altercations between mine and yours lately. What else can you guys be doing?”

  Raking his fingers through his hair, Arwel grimaced. “I guess I can tell you. It’s not like you can do anything with the information. We rescue girls from traffickers. You know, the guys you Doomers buy women from to fill up your brothel.”

  “Most of the ones we get are runaways and druggies.”

  “Same difference. You prey on the weak and the helpless. It’s abhorrent.”

  “I agree.”

  Arwel pinned him with a hard stare. “And yet I’m sure you took advantage of their services.”

  Oh, that was good. As if the clan males hadn’t been frequenting whorehouses and paying for sex same as the Brothers. Everyone knew that brothels were the best places to hunt for them.

  “Don’t get all saintly on me. You want to tell me that you’ve never paid for sex?”

  “I did. But the women did it voluntarily.”

  “Oh, yeah? Did you ask? A woman doesn’t sell her body unless she is forced to by either circumstances or coercion. There are a few exceptions, I will give you that, but I bet the ones you’ve been with did not belong to that exclusive group. Like it or not, you and your clansmen are just as guilty of supporting the flesh trade as the Brotherhood is.”

  Cringing, Arwel took a long swig of his beer. “In my case, I’m sure they were willing because I could read their emotions, but you are right about my clansmen. They had no way of knowing unless the women were new to the trade and still distraught over it, emitting strong scents of fear.”

  “Did it stop them?”

  “I hope so. But I’m ashamed to admit that we didn’t do much to help them. The rescue missions are a recent thing.”

  For several moments, they each drank in silence.

  “Did you know that Ella was a Dormant when you rescued her?” Lokan asked.

  “In the beginning, we didn’t know. Vivian didn’t tell us about their special ability. We did it just to help her. But then Ella told Vivian telepathically that she had to run, and there was no way for Vivian to explain why except to fess up.”

  “How did Vivian know to turn to you? Do you advertise in the newspapers?”

  Arwel laughed. “No, we don’t advertise. It all started with a psychic convention and a picture of a beautiful girl.”

  55

  Kian

  “You’ve been quiet.” Kian looked at Andrew as the door to Lokan’s cell locked behind them.

  “He didn’t lie. It would have been disrupting to yell ‘truth’ after every sentence.”

  In the elevators, he noticed how quiet his mother and wife were. Usually, when the two got together, they chatted happily, but now they both looked like someone had died.

  “Why the long faces?” he asked.

  A tear slid down Annani’s face. “Areana’s life is one long tragedy. She lost her true-love mate and lived like a celibate hermit for seven decades. Then she selflessly agreed to take my place as Mortdh’s bride, only to get sneered at. Then she got taken by Navuh, who must have lost his mind after his father died. Having a child of her own was probably the highlight of her miserable life, but then Navuh took even that away from her. I cannot fathom the misery of such existence.”

  Syssi sniffled. “It’s just horrible. I wish we could whisk her out of there and help her find new love. She is your father’s daughter, right?”

  “My father met my mother many years after he already had Areana with another goddess. Regrettably, he did not treat my sister well. Areana was such a weak goddess that he was embarrassed to acknowledge her, and he did so only grudgingly. Our community was too small to hide the fact that she was his. Ahn never invited Areana to the palace or even mentioned her in conversation until he needed her to take my place. I loved my father, but he had his faults. He was a good leader, though.”

  “None of us is perfect,” Kian said.

  Annani sighed. “There are degrees, my son. I do not wish to besmirch my father’s memory, but long before I was born, when humanity was still in its infancy, he had done some very bad things. I would have never discovered them if not for Khiann. Navohn, his father, had told him some of the less than flattering history of our people.”

  Kian wondered what Ahn had done that was so terrible, and why he was only hearing about it now. He’d thought that his mother had told him everything she remembered about the gods, but now it seemed like she had not. She’d hidden the ugly from her children, leading them to believe that other than Mortdh, who had been insane, the gods had been entir
ely benevolent.

  At the parking level, Kian and Andrew slapped backs. “Talk with Tim. I don’t care how much he charges, I want him here as soon as possible.”

  Hopefully, the portrait would look nothing like Areana, and they could put this entire unsettling episode behind them.

  Except, Annani might claim that Lokan just didn’t remember enough. His mother wanted her sister to be alive, and she wanted Lokan to be her nephew. To sustain that belief, Annani was willing to clutch at the weakest of straws for as long as she could.

  “I’ll let you know what the bastard is demanding for his services.”

  “Just say yes to whatever and get him here.”

  “He might ask for your firstborn.” Andrew winked. “I’ll see you all at the wedding.” He clicked his car door open.

  When the rest of them were seated in the limo, Syssi turned to Annani. “I truly hope that Areana is indeed Lokan’s mother and that she is still alive. Since you were born to two different mothers, Areana and her descendants can mate yours. I wonder whether she had more children. Perhaps Lokan is not her only son.”

  “What if Lokan’s dreams were meaningless?” Kian asked. “We all want to believe that Navuh has Areana, but he might not. We are basing everything on a young boy’s dreams of a loving blue-eyed woman. Even the memory of the dreams could be faulty. Lokan was a lonely, motherless boy, and time might have colored his recollection.”

  “There is also a lot of anecdotal evidence,” Annani said. “You cannot deny that Navuh’s treatment of Lokan is suspicious. It strongly suggests that Lokan was born immortal. I am more convinced than ever that Navuh has my sister, and he is keeping her locked up in his harem. This is the big secret he has been hiding.”

  Syssi sniffled. “Poor Lokan. And poor Areana. It’s such a cruel thing to separate a child from his mother. Why would he do that? Just to be nasty?”