Dark Secrets Unveiled (The Children Of The Gods Paranormal Romance Book 45)

by I. T. Lucas

  Maybe he’d chewed the tungboqe weed with Ania?

  Gudbrand slapped a hand over his forehead. Even though he couldn’t remember if they had, that was the best explanation for his weird lapse in memory after visiting her. They must have chewed weed together after sex, and he must have hallucinated that her eyes had glowed. On its own and in small quantities, the weed was only a mood enhancer, and it didn’t cause hallucinations, but if it was cooked together with hazel bark and chewed for long enough, visions ensued.

  Some thought that they were messages from the gods, but Gudbrand knew that wasn’t true. All he’d ever seen had been swirling colors and distorted vision. There had been no profound revelations or glimpses of the future.

  Relieved to have found a logical explanation, he pushed to his feet and continued his trek home.

  Tonight, when he came to visit Ania again, he would refuse the weed no matter how much she tried to convince him to share the experience with her. Hopefully, abstaining from it would put an end to the gaps in memory and the weird sense of impending doom.

  23

  Annani

  While waiting for the tea to be served, Annani decided to share her story with Alena. It was not because she needed to unburden her guilty conscience, or because she was ashamed of what she had done, but because keeping things from her daughter was hurting Alena’s feelings.

  Annani never took her eldest daughter’s company for granted, and she was grateful for it. The least Alena deserved for dedicating her life to accompanying her mother was the knowledge that she trusted her completely and kept no secrets from her.

  After taking a couple of sips of the hot tea, Annani put the cup down on the coffee table and leaned back. “You wanted to know what happened between me and David’s prior incarnation.”

  Alena cradled the teacup in her hands. “I don’t want to pressure you, and if it involves intimate details, I’d rather not hear about it.”

  Annani chuckled. “After all these years, I did not expect you to shy away from carnal tales.”

  Even though they usually went hunting for male company together, she and Alena had an unspoken agreement that neither told the other about their interludes. Their Odus were enough to keep them both safe, and if every other option failed, Annani would not hesitate to use their combat skills for her and Alena’s defense. Her Guardians were not happy about them leaving on excursions with only the Odus to safeguard them, but Annani did not want anyone to be privy to the private side of her and Alena’s lives.

  It was not a secret that she engaged with humans, but she was the Clan Mother, and no one needed to know who she chose or when.

  “It is up to you.” Alena folded one leg under her long skirt. “Nothing you can tell me will shock me, but you are still my mother.”

  “I agree. But what I am about to tell you does not require getting into details that would make you uncomfortable.” Annani lifted her cup and took another sip before continuing. “This was long before you were born. Several centuries had passed since I escaped to the north, and as you can imagine, I could not stay in one place for too long. Thankfully, the world was very different back then, and even nomadic tribes did not usually venture out of a defined territory. It was easy for me to pick up and go to a new place where no one had heard about me or the tales I spun to survive among humans.”

  “I thought that you lived in seclusion.”

  Annani shook her head. “I always affiliated myself with a tribe. Even gods need people to socialize with, a group that they can belong to. We are not meant to live in solitude, and as you know, the Odus could not fulfill that need because they are not fully sentient. Besides, I wanted to have children, and to do that, I needed male company.”

  Alena smiled into her cup. “Obviously.”

  “Borrowing from existing legends, I invented a new mythology that suited my needs. I was a chosen of the goddess Frella, her priestess, and the Odus were mute servants gifted to me by the goddess.”

  “I’ve never heard of a Norse goddess named Frella.”

  Annani smirked. “Neither have I, but as I said before, people lived in contained areas, and outsiders bearing new information were rare. Each group of tribes or clans had a slightly different spin on the basic Norse mythology, and it was easy to add one more deity to an existing pantheon.”

  Folding her other leg under her, Alena covered both feet with her skirt. “Let me guess. Frella was the goddess of love.”

  “Naturally. But since the Norse pantheon already had several goddesses of love and fertility, I had to give her a different spin. Frella was the goddess of carnal love, not fertility. That was why her priestesses were barren and forbidden to marry but were free to bestow their extensive carnal knowledge on deserving males.”

  “Convenient. How did one become deserving?”

  Annani laughed. “They had to bathe. After scrubbing themselves, their hair, and their garments clean, they were allowed to petition me, and I only chose those who appealed to me.” She winked. “You know my type.”

  “Tall and fierce.”

  “Not only that. Since I was hoping to conceive, I also looked for intelligence and leadership ability.”

  “With those conditions, I can’t imagine that there were too many to choose from.”

  “No. And that was a problem. For obvious reasons, I could not keep lovers for long, and the selection of worthy males was small.”

  “Was it because you didn’t want to get attached?”

  “That too. But do not forget that after each encounter, I had to thrall some of their memories away. In the throes of passion, my control over the glow of my eyes and skin was tenuous, and sometimes it slipped completely. I could not repeatedly thrall my lovers without causing them damage. Back then, I did not know how many consecutive thralls were safe, so I experimented, pushing the boundaries. The upper limit was one month spent with one male.”

  Alena frowned. “That’s too long.”

  “I agree. Most got up to three consecutive nights, and then they had to petition me again. I had a rotation. But since I only accepted bachelors, that selection was pitifully limited. They were either awfully young and inexperienced or old widowers. I did not enjoy myself.”

  Alena grimaced. “I can imagine.”

  “Until Gudbrand petitioned me.”

  “I assume that was David’s other self.”

  “Correct. He was the son of a chieftain, older, bigger, stronger, a fierce warrior, and a natural leader. I wanted him to father my child.”

  “So, you kept him for too long and fried his brain?”

  Annani sighed. “No. I planned to spend the allotted month with him, let him go, and then wait for him to petition me again. But things did not work out as I planned.”

  “Was he immune to thralling?”

  “Not at first. But he had an incredibly strong personality, a true berserker. And when in the berserker trance-like fury, he was uncontrollable, which meant not susceptible to thralling.”

  “Weren’t the berserkers supposed to do that only in the heat of battle?”

  Annani smiled sadly. “Yes, but post-traumatic stress disorder is not the product of the twenty-first century. It is as old as humans fighting and killing each other. Normally, Gudbrand was a charming guy and an exceptional lover, but unbeknownst to me or even to him, his berserker was easily triggered.”

  Alena’s hand flew to her chest. “Did he hurt you?”

  “He didn’t get the chance. But I was unprepared, and my reaction was born out of fear. Needless to say, the outcome was disastrous. Knowing what I know today, I could have handled it better.”

  24

  David

  Each night Gudbrand had promised himself that he would refuse to chew weed with Ania, and each morning he’d gone home remembering next to nothing, which meant that he’d succumbed to her wishes and accepted the offer.

  Or perhaps there was another explanation?

  Perhaps Ania really was a demoness or a wit
ch, and she took his memories away?

  But why would she do that?

  He could remember the sex vividly, the immense pleasure and satisfaction, his and hers, so why couldn’t he remember anything else?

  Frustrated, Gudbrand kicked at the snow.

  Maybe she was sucking the life force out of him, leaving him with just enough vitality so he wouldn’t perish?

  It certainly felt that way as he trudged home through the snow each morning.

  But that wasn’t the only reason for Gudbrand’s frustration.

  His mother was ailing, and his father was annoyed with him for sleeping late and neglecting his duties. He’d even threatened to promote Olek ahead of Gudbrand, and if Olek wasn’t dealing with his own problems at the moment, it wouldn’t have been an idle threat.

  Except, his allotted month was almost over, and his father didn’t need him to step up and take his place anytime soon. So, what was he complaining about?

  The old man was probably just as jealous of him as all the other males. He could wait patiently a few more days and let him have his fun. After that, Gudbrand would resume his responsibilities.

  Unless Ania allowed him more time.

  She was fond of him.

  He knew that despite the fogginess of his memories of his time with her. What he remembered vividly was that she welcomed him each night with a bright smile, took him into her arms, and made love to him till morning. Then she sent him on his way with a kiss and a promise of more passion to come.

  Perhaps he couldn’t remember what they’d talked about because they hadn’t done much talking?

  After all, that wasn’t the purpose of their encounters. They were lovers, but only in the carnal sense of the word. Ania’s heart belonged to the goddess Frella she served, and Gudbrand kept his heart tightly closed. This wasn’t courtship, and they were never going to marry. The most he could hope for was to father her child.

  Only five days were left, and he’d be damned if he’d squander it because of his family’s nagging. He had a lifetime of responsibility in front of him, and he deserved his one month of indulgence.

  Uttering a vile curse, Gudbrand tightened his grip on his spear.

  It was all Olek’s fault.

  At the start of the month, he’d promised to take over Gudbrand’s clan duties and let him enjoy his sacred time with the priestess, but Olek’s wife was nearing the end of her pregnancy, and his brother was going crazy with worry.

  Olek was a mighty warrior, and he could lead the clan just as well as Gudbrand, but he’d been rendered practically useless by his wife’s condition. Astrid was often short of breath and had suffered several fainting spells. Their clan’s medicine woman had advised her to rest as much as possible, which Astrid had been doing anyway because she could barely walk. Olek had even gone to Ania for help, and she’d given him some herbs to put in Astrid’s tea. They helped a little with the breathing problem, but they also made her nauseous.

  A twinge of guilt skittered down Gudbrand’s spine. What if Astrid’s labor started while he was with Ania?

  What of it?

  There wasn’t much he could do for her. Astrid needed the help of the midwife, not him.

  All he could do was to keep Olek company while his wife gave birth to their child, but there were others who could fulfill that role. Olek had many friends.

  He had only one brother, though, and the damn bastard wasn’t willing to give up a few nights of passion to be by his side in his time of need.

  With a curse, Gudbrand kicked a stone, sending it flying so high that it hit the canopy of a nearby tree.

  Before Ania, his family and his clan had meant everything to him. Now he was obsessed with getting the priestess pregnant, and nothing else mattered.

  What if Astrid and the baby didn’t make it?

  It would trigger Olek’s berserker, and Gudbrand was the only one strong enough to stop him from going on a rampage and doing gods only knew what.

  If he were in his right mind, he would turn around and go back to be with his brother. But to stop was impossible. His legs refused to obey, carrying him toward the only thing that truly mattered to him at this moment.

  Ania must have bewitched him.

  She had taken a rational man, a man devoted to his clan, and turned him into her willing sex servant.

  Except, he had to admit that wasn’t the entire truth. His damn ambition and inflated ego were at play as well.

  Gudbrand wanted to be the one to impregnate Ania, to achieve the impossible, and father a child blessed by Frella. The honor and admiration that would bring him would last through this lifetime and beyond. He would become a legend.

  If any mortal male deserved that honor, it was him.

  He was the strongest man of all five neighboring clans, the most fearsome warrior, and the future chieftain of his clan. Who else was more suitable to father Ania’s child? Or to own the most desirable female ever created by the gods for an entire year or even for a lifetime?

  The answer was no one.

  The problem was that Gudbrand had only five days left to do that, and he’d be damned if he let anything stand in his way.

  25

  Sari

  “You have visitors.” Steven walked into David’s room. “Syssi and Kian are outside.”

  How long had it been since they’d left? An hour? Two? Sitting next to David, Sari had lost track of time.

  “Thank you.” She pushed to her feet but then sat back down. “They can come in if they want.”

  He cast her a pitying look. “You don’t have to be here all day. If anything changes, I will let you know.”

  Something had already changed. David had developed a fever, and his blood pressure had gone up. Steven had assured her that both symptoms were a normal part of the process and that she had nothing to worry about. He’d even double-checked with Bridget.

  It hadn’t helped ease her anxiety.

  “I can’t bring myself to leave. Tell them to come in.”

  The notion that as long as she guarded David he couldn’t slip away from her was absurd, but this wasn’t about logic, it was about what was in her heart. She needed to be there to fight for him.

  If it came to that, Sari would wrestle the angel of death and pull him back.

  “As you wish.” Steven headed out.

  She took David’s hand. “I hope that you don’t mind that I’m letting them in.”

  They hadn’t been together long enough for her to learn his quirks and preferences. Perhaps he didn’t want people to see him when he was incapacitated. If that was the case, she would apologize to him when he came out on the other side. But in the meantime, she wasn’t going to budge from his side.

  The door opened, and Syssi entered first. “Hi.” She bent over Sari and hugged her from the back. “How are you holding up?”

  “I’m doing my best to keep calm.”

  “Good.” Kian came in, holding a chair in each hand. “You still have a community to run, and you can’t allow yourself to fall apart.” He put the chairs down and motioned for Syssi to take a seat. “Our responsibilities don’t go anywhere while we are battling our demons. We don’t have the luxury of checking out to deal with our emotions.”

  Leave it to her brother to lecture her instead of offering words of support. But that was Kian, and no matter how hard Syssi worked on softening him up, he still had the emotional intelligence of a gnat.

  Her sister-in-law cast her an apologetic smile. “I know how stressful it is for you, but you need to remember that we haven’t lost a transitioning Dormant yet, even those who were in much less stellar physical condition than David. He is probably going to wake up tomorrow, at least for a little while. From what I observed with the others, they slip in and out of consciousness.”

  “It’s actually a good sign,” Kian said. “It means that their bodies are working hard on the transition. They are redirecting most of the resources to the change while shutting down non-essential functions o
r slowing them down.”

  They weren’t telling her anything she didn’t know, but it wasn’t helping.

  “What are you going to do tomorrow?” Syssi asked.

  “About what?”

  “Work, of course. Tomorrow is Monday, and as Kian pointed out, you have a keep to run.”

  Damn, she hadn’t thought about that. Looking around the small room, Sari tried to figure out where she could put a desk, but that was a stupid thought. This was a patient room, and if anything went wrong, Steven and Bridget had to have unobstructed access to David.

  “I can do almost everything with a laptop and a phone. Miranda can take care of the rest.”

  “I have a better idea.” Steven walked in. “Do you see the camera over there?” He pointed at the ceiling.

  “What about it?”

  “As long as I have my phone with me, I can see what’s going on in here wherever I am. There is an application that you can download and watch David all day long without physically being here. It’s also connected to the monitoring equipment, so you can see how his vitals are doing as well.”

  Kian pushed to his feet. “Can you show me? I wasn’t aware that we had something like that.”

  Steven pulled out his phone. “Humans use it to monitor their houses, their businesses, their babysitters, and whatever else they need to keep an eye on. I asked Morgan to make a version that included a display of the monitoring equipment’s data stream.” The doctor looked smug. “We don’t have much use for it, but I figured that it’s a good idea to have something like that in case one of the human workers that we occasionally hire gets injured.”

  “Good thinking.” Kian took the phone from Steven.

  “You can even move the camera around with your fingers.” The doctor demonstrated. “And you can activate or deactivate the sound.”