by I. T. Lucas
The soothsayer from her youth had promised her seven children, so perhaps she would someday have two more, hopefully with Khiann’s reincarnation.
Except, that hope had dimmed lately.
Nothing had changed in Annani’s circumstances, and no new knowledge had been discovered to undermine her hope. On the contrary, the proof of it was lying in front of her. She had known David in a previous life, so reincarnation was real.
But if she was meant to meet Khiann again, surely it would have happened already.
What if he had reincarnated on the home world?
Souls were not confined by locality, maybe not even by spacetime itself. And if Khiann reincarnated as a god on the gods’ home world, she would never meet him during her current lifetime.
Gods’ life cycles could last hundreds of thousands of years, and the next time she and Khiann crossed paths could be on a different world, light years away from where she was now.
With a sigh, Annani pulled her head back to the present. “I wish you to find fulfillment and satisfaction in your new life with Sari. The transition will be difficult both physically and mentally, but you are a strong man despite your mellow character. You will find a way to adjust and to stand by Sari’s side. She needs a good man, and I have a feeling that during this lifetime, you have become the best version of yourself. You will make her happy.”
Annani kept on talking, repeating the same wishes over and over again in her sing-song voice so it would sound like chanting to anyone listening in.
She meant every word, and perhaps the Fates were listening, but in the meantime, her blood was doing the work, strengthening David from the inside and helping him survive his transition.
She had repaid her debt, giving him a life for the one she had taken.
43
Sari
Sari had forced a few bites down her throat, she had smiled and nodded to the well-wishers who stopped by, but under the table her foot was swinging up and down like a mad pendulum, and the phone was clutched tightly in her hand.
Kian had promised to text her as soon as Annani was done, and the device would vibrate to alert her.
“Stop fidgeting,” Alena whispered in her ear.
“I’m not.”
“Yes, you are. The whole table is shaking.”
Sari forced her foot to remain on the floor. “I need to go.”
“Wait for Kian’s text.”
“I can’t.” Sari pushed to her feet and smiled at her people. “Wish David good luck, everyone.”
As cheers and applause ensued, she made her way out of the dining room in a measured pace, but she started running as soon as she was out in the corridor.
In the clinic, she found Kian leaning against David’s door.
“Are you guarding their privacy?”
“That’s what I’m here for.”
Sari glanced at her watch. “How long has she been in there?”
“Not long. About fifteen minutes.” Kian made no move to step aside. “Take a seat. She should be out soon.”
“Why is Mother so secretive about her blessings?”
“Didn’t Alena explain it to you already?”
“She did, but I want to hear it from you.”
Kian was a terrible liar. If he knew what was really going on and was lying about it, Sari would know.
“I have nothing to add.”
Liar.
He knew something, but he wasn’t going to tell her anything. She knew how stubborn he was.
As the door to David’s room opened, Kian stepped aside and let their mother through.
“My part is done,” Annani chimed happily. “Now it is your turn, Sari.”
Her mother’s upbeat demeanor filled Sari with renewed hope. “Is David okay?”
Annani chuckled. “He was probably utterly bored with my chanting in the old language, and he could use more stimulating company.”
“I mean his vitals. Was there any change?”
“None.” Steven walked out of his office. “When is the blessing supposed to start working?”
The doctor no longer seemed as intimidated by her mother as he had been before.
Both Kian and Annani looked at him suspiciously, which reinforced Sari’s conviction that her mother’s blessing wasn’t only about chanting prayers in the old language.
Annani cast the doctor an indulgent smile. “Blessings and prayers help shore up the soul, but they do not do the work themselves. It is like a subconscious encouragement.”
“Interesting.” Steven rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “When David wakes up, I would love to discuss it with him.”
In all the commotion, Sari had forgotten that David was a trained doctor himself. It would be indeed interesting to hear his opinion on subconscious encouragement.
“We should head out to the dining room, Mother.” Kian opened the clinic’s front door.
“Yes, we should.” Annani stopped in front of Sari and put her arms around her. “Everything is going to be alright, my daughter. You and David are going to enjoy many happy years together.”
She hoped so. “Thank you.”
Annani’s sincere well-wishing indicated that she didn’t harbor any ill feelings toward David, aka Gudbrand, so perhaps Sari should let go of the uneasiness that had been plaguing her ever since she’d heard the full story. If her mother believed that David was a new man, and that he had not retained his prior self's murderous proclivities, then Sari should believe it as well.
When Steven was done reactivating the camera, it occurred to her that her conversation with Annani had been recorded.
Had Steven been listening in?
“I have a question.” She followed the doctor out of the room. “What happens to the camera recordings? Where are they stored?”
“There is a card inside the camera, and it can hold a full month’s worth of recordings. When it’s full, it starts recording over the previous days.”
“Is it possible to replace it with another card?
“Of course.”
“Can you do that for me? I would like to keep this card as a keepsake.”
“I can do that. Would you like to wait until David wakes up? That way, you’ll have his entire stay in the clinic.”
If she asked him to replace it right away, Steven would become suspicious. On the other hand, he probably already was. Using the application, he could go over the recordings anytime he wanted. She needed him to take out the card immediately.
Smiling, Sari put her hand on his arm. “To tell you the truth, I want the card replaced now. I forgot about the camera, and some of the things I said to David were of an intimate nature. It makes me uncomfortable to think that someone might listen to the recordings.”
Steven’s cheeks reddened. “I understand. I’ll do it right away.”
“Thank you. I would also appreciate your discretion on the matter.”
After the doctor replaced the card and gave her the old one, Sari entered David’s room and sat on the chair next to his bed.
Taking his hand, she leaned over it and kissed it. He was so warm, and if she closed her eyes, she could pretend that he was sleeping, and that his chest was rising and falling on its own without the help of the ventilator.
Except, the illusion was disturbed by the quiet hum of the monitoring equipment and the wires extending from David’s hand.
“I don’t know if you can hear me, or if you heard the story that my mother told me about her encounter with one of your previous selves. I’m still trying to reconcile my feelings about you and Annani being lovers in any capacity and that you tried to kill her. I know that it wasn’t really you, but it’s difficult to get past it, to forget it, or to pretend that it never happened. If it were anyone other than my mother, even one of my sisters, it would be easier to accept. But even that is not a deal-breaker. I love you, and I will always love you, no matter what. We were destined to be together, and we will find a way to overcome any difficulty that the
Fates throw at us. What cannot break us will only make us stronger.”
44
David
David wanted to shout that he had never been Annani’s lover, and that it had been his brother, not him. But his body was unresponsive. He didn’t feel any physical sensations. He wasn’t cold or warm, thirsty or hungry, but he could hear, and when Jonah was there, he could also see.
Except, what he saw was not real, he knew that, so maybe what he heard wasn’t either?
The only time he had seen himself and the doctors taking care of him was when his spirit had left his body. The moment he’d returned, he’d lost sight.
Perhaps what he had seen then hadn’t been real either?
People who were vision impaired from birth couldn’t dream visuals, which meant that dreams and hallucinations originated in the brain’s visual cortex. The soul didn’t see or hear things. Only the mind could do that. It stored the information it received from the visual and auditory cortexes and then reshuffled it to create dreams or hallucinations.
Had Jonah been a hallucination? Nothing but memories that David’s brain had remixed to create his brother’s ghost?
But then how had he known that David was the reincarnation of Olek and not Gudbrand?
Maybe it was just wishful thinking. David couldn’t empathize with Gudbrand, but he could with Olek. It was much easier for him to accept that he had been the younger brother who had had a wife he’d cared deeply about, and not the arrogant elder brother who’d been obsessed with a beautiful priestess, or rather a goddess who pretended to be a mortal.
He had so many questions for Annani. What she’d told Sari had been only the bare bones version of what had happened. There had been so much more that he wanted to know. She’d spent time with him earlier, telling him things in a language he couldn’t understand. Was that proof that not all dreams and hallucinations originated in the brain? Or maybe he could actually hear what was going on around him?
How could he know if any of it had been real? The dreams, the conversations he’d thought that he had overheard, all of that could have been the product of his imagination.
Jonah, if you can hear me, I need your help.
Light entered his vision as his brother’s form first shimmered and then solidified next to him.
“You called?”
“I need you to help me wake up. Can you do that?”
“I can guide you, but you will need to do the work yourself.”
“I’ve never shied away from hard work.”
“Focus inward and search for a thread. If you find it, grab it and use it to climb out.”
David closed his imaginary eyes and looked inward, but all he could see was darkness. “I can’t see anything. There is no thread.”
“Then you are not ready yet. Give yourself more time.”
“How long have I been out?”
“Not long. Less than twenty-four hours.”
“It feels as if I have been gone for weeks.”
“That’s because of the dreams. You can spend a lifetime in a dream while only a few hours have passed in the real world.”
“Isn’t that amazing?” David smiled. “Makes me question reality.”
Jonah chuckled. “I still remember you after we watched the first Matrix movie. You were sure that we were living in a computer program.”
“Sometimes, I still am. Except, reality is stranger than fiction. I could have never imagined immortals living hidden among humans, or that I am one of them.” His smile wilted. “If you had not died, you could have been immortal.”
“But I am.” Jonah put a hand on David’s chest. “And so were you even before the transition that you are going through now. Our souls never die. The only difference between humans and the descendants of gods is that they spend much longer in one body. If you ask me, humans have a better deal. I would have been bored out of my mind if I had to live as the same person for thousands of years. It’s much more fun to start each time anew with a fresh slate. Can you imagine how much guilt can accumulate over such long lives? Who needs that?”
“You have a point. But I still want to spend eternity with the woman I love.” He looked at his brother. “What about you? Did you ever have anyone you loved during your many incarnations that you want to find again?”
“Other than you? No. And I can’t say anything more.” Jonah floated off the bed. “I’ll come back tomorrow. Hopefully, by then, you’ll feel well enough to find the thread.”
“Is that a promise?”
“Yes. Focus on getting stronger, David.” Jonah’s eyes softened. “I wish I could tell you that your troubles are over, but I can’t.”
Jonah’s form dissipated before David could ask him what he’d meant by that. Was it about his recovery? Was it going to be difficult? Or was it about something else?
David could bear almost anything except for losing Sari. And if that was the trouble waiting for him, he would rather not recover.
He didn’t remember being Olek, but from what he’d been told, it seemed that he had a very hard time recovering from the loss of his wife and from killing his brother. It had taken him many cycles to get over that.
In fact, he hadn’t gotten over it until meeting an immortal demigoddess who was practically indestructible. Before Sari, he hadn’t allowed himself to get close to anyone. He’d been afraid of losing another person he loved.
45
Kian
“I found a great place for us to hang out in,” Callie said as their group left the dining hall. “Did you know that the castle has an awesome library?”
Alena nodded. “But it’s not a good place for social gatherings. We will need to keep quiet.”
“But no one goes there,” Callie retorted. “It’s always empty. Besides, it has a beautiful outdoor terrace with tables and chairs. We can hang out there.”
Kalugal glanced at Kian. “Sounds like a perfect place for cigars and whiskey.”
“Isn’t it too early to celebrate?” Syssi asked. “David is not out of the woods yet.”
Amanda wrapped her arm around Syssi’s shoulders. “As much as I feel for Sari and David, we are here to celebrate the signing of the accord, and Kalugal and Jacki are on their honeymoon. We haven’t done much to celebrate either.”
“True.” Syssi leaned against Amanda. “But with David fighting for his life and Sari going nuts with worry, it’s difficult to get into a celebratory mood.”
“I know, darling. But we need to try. Life is full of sorrows, and we shouldn’t squander any opportunities for celebration.”
“I agree,” Annani said. “Let us adjourn to the library’s veranda, and I will ask my Odus to serve us drinks out there.”
With Annani supporting the notion, no one dared to argue against it.
“I’ll meet you there.” Kian reached for Syssi’s hand. “I need to get the cigars, and I also need to call Turner back. Do you need me to bring you anything from our room? Maybe a cardigan? It’s chilly outside.”
“That’s a good idea.”
“All my ideas are good.”
She smiled indulgently. “Don’t take too long.”
“Are you bringing cigars for all of us?” Anandur asked.
“Naturally.”
Anticipating the demand, he’d brought a couple of cigar boxes with him.
Back in his and Syssi’s room, he pulled out his phone and called Turner.
Turner picked up on the third ring. “Hello, Kian. Thanks for calling me back so soon.”
“What’s up?”
“I talked with Kri about infiltrating the cult, and Eleanor was with her. Kri suggested Eleanor as her partner. I would have dismissed the idea out of hand if not for Eleanor’s compulsion ability. It might come in handy. Also, she and Kri seem to be a good team. Eleanor is handling the warm-ups and cool-downs of Kri’s self-defense class, and according to Kri, she’s a natural. Kri even recommends her for Brundar’s advanced training without going through the intermediat
e. She says that Eleanor doesn’t need it.”
Kian shook his head. “I can’t believe that you, of all people, are thinking seriously about including Eleanor in a mission. She’s immoral, unreliable, and shifty. She would just use the opportunity to run, and if it requires her to sacrifice Kri, she would do that without batting an eyelid.”
“I’m not sure that you are right. Kri vouches for her, and she is no fool. Perhaps this is the perfect opportunity to test Eleanor. They are not going in without backup. I will have several commando units surrounding the compound, and if anything goes wrong, I’ll send them in. Kri and Eleanor’s job is to try to get the girl out peacefully and without resistance, but if that doesn’t work, I have no problem using force.”
“Your human commandos will be powerless against Eleanor. She could compel them to let her through. And we can’t even send her in with the cuff. She could just walk out of there and disappear. I can’t risk having an immortal with questionable morals roaming free.”
“I understand your concern, but I want you to give it some more thought. If Eleanor proves loyal to the clan, she could be an important asset on future missions. She seems to possess the right attributes for becoming a Guardian, and she is a strong compeller.”
If it were anyone other than Turner, the answer would have been a flat-out no. But Turner was a super careful guy, and if he thought that Eleanor was worth the risk, then Kian was going to give it some serious thought.
“I’ll think about it. In the meantime, you need to come up with a contingency backup plan in case she bolts.”
“Naturally. All I need is several more Guardians to join my commando teams. She can’t compel them, and they will be able to stop her."
Kian chuckled. “You must really think she’s valuable. That’s a lot of resources for what is supposedly a simple mission.”
“It is, but if it makes you feel any better, you can regard it as a rescue mission. The cult is not trafficking its members, but the sexual exploitation is rampant.”