by I. T. Lucas
“But they still need to fight, right? And the Dormant is a weakling compared to the immortal initiating him. It’s a bloody mess.”
“As I said, things are done differently in our clan. The Dormant needs to fight just enough to spur aggression in the immortal, but the moment his fangs and venom respond to the stimuli, the fight is over. He subdues the Dormant and bites him. The amount of damage to the Dormant depends on how stubbornly he keeps attacking. A smart guy knows when to surrender.”
Kalugal took a long sip from the beer and grimaced again. “This stuff is vile.” He put the bottle down. “I guess that I wasn’t smart. I kept fighting until he knocked me out. Luckily, I must have started transitioning right away because I healed almost immediately. Curiously, though, my fangs and venom glands took another couple of months to start growing.”
Evidently, Kalugal had no idea that he had been born immortal and that the induction was a sham. He hadn’t needed it.
“I have news for you, cousin. You didn’t require induction into immortality. Since your mother is a goddess, you were born immortal. Your children will need to be activated, but you and Lokan didn’t. Obviously, your father knew that and he staged transition ceremonies for you and your brother to conceal your mother’s identity.”
Frowning, Kalugal picked the bottle up again. “Let me get this straight. Children of goddesses are born immortal regardless of who the father is?”
“That’s correct. Human or immortal, it doesn’t matter.”
“What about children born to male gods?”
“Same thing. Your paternal grandmother was a human, not a Dormant or an immortal, and yet Navuh was born an immortal. The next generation is where things get messed up.”
Kalugal nodded. “That explains a lot. I healed rapidly because I was already an immortal, but my fangs and venom glands didn’t start growing because I hadn’t reached puberty yet. I think that my father also lied about my age. I was probably several months younger than he claimed.”
“Still, he timed it pretty well.”
As the sliding door opened and Okidu stepped out, Kian dropped the remainder of his cigarillo into the ashtray.
His butler bowed. “Lunch is ready, master.”
“Thank you, Okidu.” Kian pushed to his feet. “Let’s not keep the ladies waiting.”
44
Syssi
As Okidu walked out into the backyard to inform the men that lunch was ready, Annani floated up rather than rose to her feet. “Go ahead and take your seats in the dining room.” She waved at her companions. “I will be there in a moment.” She glanced at Jacki and winked. “Nature calls.”
Syssi smiled. That was such an Annani move.
Throughout their conversation, Jacki had barely dared to breathe, and mentioning a bathroom visit made Annani seem less alien and more human.
Not that it helped. As the goddess glided away, Jacki remained rooted in place and stared after her.
“Come on.” Amanda offered her a hand up. “Shake it off, girl. So she’s a goddess, but she’s still a woman and a mother and she has her flaws.”
“Annani is perfect.” Jacki let Amanda pull her up. “And so nice.”
“I love Annani.” Syssi led the group to the dining room. “She’s the best mother-in-law I could have ever hoped for. She always sides with me.”
“Yeah, yeah, my mother is fabulous, but enough about her. I have great news for you.” Amanda scrunched her nose. “Or at least I hope you’ll think it is. Wendy and Vlad are coming to the village and we are throwing them a surprise welcome party. Do you want to come?”
Jacki gasped. “Did Wendy transition too?”
“Not yet, but Kian allowed Vlad to tell her about us, and he gave them the standard two weeks to work on Wendy’s transition. If it doesn’t happen in that time frame, she will have her memories wiped and we will get her a job in one of the clan’s hotels or other businesses. She’ll be taken care of. So do you want to come to the surprise party or not?”
“Of course I do. If Vlad can forgive her for what she did to him, who am I to hold a grudge?”
“Wonderful. I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you and Jin.”
“Vanessa and Eva are going to be there as well,” Mey said. “It’s going to be a big party, but a short one.” Winking, she pulled out a chair for Jacki. “They need to start working on that transition, and time is of the essence.”
Once the men joined them, and Okidu had served the first course, Syssi and Amanda exchanged glances.
It was time for Amanda’s test.
As they’d planned, Syssi had asked Okidu to include a salad with warm goat cheeseballs in the lunch menu. It was one of Amanda’s favorites, so even though she was a talented actress, she wouldn’t have to pretend to salivate over it.
“That’s so unfair.” Amanda unfurled her napkin and draped it over her knees. “You did this on purpose, Syssi.”
“What do you mean?”
Unlike her sister-in-law, Syssi was a lousy actress, and including her in the pretense was not a good idea. Kalugal would know right away that she was lying.
“These goat cheeseballs.” Amanda waved her hand at Okidu and the salad bowl he was serving from. “You know how much I love them. They are irresistible.”
Kian, who was in on the charade, made a big production of refusing the salad. “It’s a question of self-control. Once I decided to abstain from animal products whenever possible, they no longer appealed to me. You need to close a mental door on all the foods you don’t want to eat.”
Amanda eyed the salad bowl as Okidu served one guest after the other. “I can’t stand it. The smell is so delicious, and I can imagine how wonderful they taste. Perhaps I’ll start next week.” She looked at Kalugal. “I have an idea. Perhaps you could compel me not to crave goat cheese? That would be so much easier. I’m afraid that I have no self-control when someone puts my favorite food right under my nose.”
The guy’s eyes widened. “I’m sure there are less extreme methods that can achieve the same result.”
“But that’s the quickest. Can you, please? It’s not like I’m asking you to do anything difficult. You only have to tell me to stop craving cheese.”
He looked at Kian. “I’m forbidden from using my compulsion ability on any clan member. Your brother will have my head.” He lifted his wrist. “Or worse. Turner will activate the cuff and I’ll suffer unimaginable agony.”
Kian shrugged. “I don’t mind if you help Amanda with her little problem. If I forbid it, she will keep eating cheese, which I don’t care whether she does or not, but she will blame me for it, which I do mind.”
“You make me sound like such a bitch, Kian.”
“Language, Amanda,” Annani admonished.
“A bitch is a female dog. That’s not a cuss word.”
“It depends on the usage, my daughter. An ass is a donkey, but unless you are talking about the animal, it is a cuss word.”
Across the table, Hivak pretended to cough to cover up his snort.
Annani smiled at him and then looked at Kalugal. “I would like to see a demonstration of your ability. Please, humor Amanda’s request.”
After a command from Annani, there was no more room for argument.
“Very well.” Kalugal took a sip of water and then put his glass down. “Should I compel you to lose cravings for all cheeses? Or just goat cheese? To avoid unintended consequences, compulsion needs to be worded very precisely.”
“I love all cheeses, but while I can resist the rest, goat cheese is my Kryptonite. I also think that concentrating on one specific food item will prevent those unintended consequences that you are worried about.”
Kalugal nodded. “Narrowing it down as much as possible is what I consider to be the best practice.”
Watching him carefully, Syssi noticed the change in his expression and body language as he readied to compel Amanda. It was as if he’d entered a zone, or a meditative state, and the ease with which
he did that was astounding, especially given his audience.
If Kalugal could enter that state with Annani watching him, he could most likely do it in the middle of a battle or a hurricane as well.
Talk about power.
Was Kian impressed?
Syssi didn’t dare move her eyes from Kalugal to check.
“Amanda,” he said in a conversational tone, which nonetheless carried power. “From now on, goat cheese will not appeal to you.”
“Did it work?” Alena asked.
Amanda looked at the salad and then back at Kalugal. “I'm not salivating over it anymore, but logically I know that I like it, and I might be tempted to take a bite just to test it. Maybe you can compel me not to touch it? Or to be disgusted by it?”
Amanda was right. To test whether Annani could remove Kalugal’s compulsion from her, a stronger prohibition was needed.
“I’d rather not.” He took another sip of water. “What if you change your mind later?”
“Then I’ll ask you to remove the compulsion. You can do it over the phone, true?”
With a sigh, he nodded. “As you wish. Amanda, don’t ever touch goat cheese unless I tell you that you can.”
“Thank you.” She waved Okidu over. “Let’s test it.”
After he put a serving on her plate, Amanda lifted her fork and tried to stab it into a cheeseball, but her hand refused to obey, shifting to the side to scoop up salad greens instead.
“I’ll be damned. It actually worked. I can’t touch the cheeseball even when I’m thinking about tossing it instead of eating it. Amazing.”
“You are welcome.” Kalugal lifted his knife and fork. “Can we eat now? I happen to love goat cheese.”
45
Kian
After all the guests had left, and only the family remained, Kian poured himself another cup of coffee and refilled Syssi’s. “We should hurry up with the compulsion removal. Vlad and Wendy will be here in an hour, and Syssi wants to be there to welcome them."
“I really hope you can remove his compulsion, Mother.” Amanda lifted a cookie from the tray. “I have no intention of giving up one of my favorite foods, and it would be very embarrassing to ask Kalugal to remove it after I begged him for it.”
“I shall do my best.” Annani rubbed her hands together. “But first, let us double-check that you still cannot touch the cheese.” She waved at Okidu. “Please bring some of those fabulous cheeseballs.”
He bowed. “Yes, Clan Mother.”
Since Onidu and Annani’s three Odus were busy helping Callie prepare the welcome party for Vlad and Wendy, Okidu had shouldered the preparation, serving, and cleanup of the entire luncheon himself. Luckily, his butler was mostly a machine and never complained about having to do too much. If only everyone could have the cyborg’s work ethic, Kian’s job would be so much easier.
He wondered whether more autonomous thinking would change the Odus’ behavior. Would they demand more time off? Would they start complaining about tasks they didn’t feel like doing?
Okidu returned with two cheeseballs served on a small plate and put it in front of Amanda. “I saved them for you, mistress. I know how much you like them.”
“That’s so sweet of you, Okidu. Thank you.”
His butler smiled and squared his shoulders in a perfect imitation of human behavior. “You are welcome, mistress.”
Lifting a fork, Amanda sighed. “Kalugal’s compulsion is very effective. I don’t feel any desire for this.” She shook her head. “It’s a strange feeling knowing that it’s not my own will at work but someone else’s.” She brought the fork down, but just like before, her hand refused to obey.
“Spooky,” Alena said. “It gives me goosebumps, and not the good kind.”
“It’s no use.” Amanda put the fork down. “Do your thing, Mother.”
“Come closer, dear. My thing, as you put it, works a little differently. I need to touch you.”
“What do you mean?” Kian asked. “You said that you managed to compel a large group of your people. You said nothing about touching them.”
Annani waved a dismissive hand. “I can do that as well. But by touching Amanda I might gain insight into how it works.” She glanced at Alena. “My other daughter refused to let me test it on her.”
Alena shrugged. “Compulsion, or even the idea of it, gives me the creeps. Everyone has their thing, right? Some people are afraid of snakes, others can’t stand elevators, and I hate losing control over my own will. It’s like going a little crazy and doing something compulsively or seeing things that aren’t there. That scares me too. That’s why alcohol doesn’t appeal to me either.”
Kian tapped his fingers on the table. “May I remind you all that we are pressed for time?”
“Yes, of course.” Annani took Amanda’s hands and closed her eyes. “You love goat cheese, and you can touch it and eat it whenever you please. No one can tell you not to enjoy goat cheese.” She opened her eyes. “Try it now.”
Amanda returned to her seat and picked up her fork. “Here goes nothing.” She stabbed a ball, lifted it up, and took a bite out of it.
Kian let out a relieved breath. “It seems that the removal worked. What did you feel when you touched Amanda?”
Annani pursed her lips. “I might have imagined it, but it felt as if there was a thin film over her mind, like a layer of mist, and it created a disconnect between Amanda’s own will and what Kalugal imposed on her. My own compulsion created another layer, though, it did not remove Kalugal’s, it counterbalanced it. It is hard to explain, but it did not feel as if I was overpowering his compulsion or destroying it. It was more like two opposite forces nullifying each other.”
Amanda finished chewing and stabbed her fork into the other cheeseball. “I don’t care how it worked, only that it did. I’m just happy that I can enjoy my favorite snack.” She lifted the cheese to her mouth, but then paused before biting into it. “The question is whether we let Kalugal know that Annani can nullify his compulsion, or should I never eat goat cheese in front of him again?”
“I haven’t decided yet.” Kian pushed to his feet. “First, I want to conduct the bigger test during Richard’s initiation ceremony. If Annani can compel everyone there to look for her supposedly lost earring, then we will know that she can control a large number of people, including Kalugal’s men.”
“And then you’ll tell him?” Syssi asked.
“I’m not sure. I’ll talk it over with Turner and see what he thinks.”
46
Vlad
As the windows of Bowen’s car turned opaque, Wendy put her hand on the glass and then pressed her nose to it. “I feel like I’m in a sci-fi movie.” She turned to look at Vlad. “Is the car driving itself?”
“Does it bother you?”
“No, I think it’s cool. How long until we get there?”
“Fifteen minutes.”
“That’s not such a long distance. I don’t know the area, but someone who does can figure out where the village is.”
“I know the area well, and I still can’t find the village. It’s even more sci-fi than you imagine. The entrance to the tunnel leading to the underground parking garage is concealed, and I don’t even know what it looks like. And the village itself is rendered invisible by optical illusions.”
“What if someone hikes up the mountains until he or she stumbles upon the village?”
Vlad shook his head. “From what I understand, the village is inaccessible from the mountainside without rock climbing equipment.”
“Still, if someone is determined to find it, they can. If they know it’s there but hidden, they could deploy teams of mountain climbers until they find it.”
“Won’t do them any good,” Bowen said. “We will intercept them and thrall the hell out of them. They will not only forget what they discovered, but they will have new and confusing memories instead.”
“But what if it’s an immune like Jacki? Or another immortal? What are you
going to do then? Kill them?”
For a long moment, Bowen didn’t answer, confirming Wendy’s suspicions. Except, Vlad doubted that Kian would resort to killing if there was another option.
“If they are immune to thralling, they can still be susceptible to compulsion.”
“Jacki is also immune to that,” Wendy pointed out.
“Then we would have a problem.” Vlad wrapped his arm around her. “Let’s hope that it doesn’t happen.”
There was another layer of protection that Bowen hadn’t mentioned, probably not to give Wendy more clues about the location. The entire area was fenced off and marked as toxic and dangerous. That wouldn’t deter immortals, but humans would not go anywhere near it, especially since there were official records to support that. They were bogus and had been planted by the clan, but even a thorough investigation wouldn’t reveal that.
Once the car entered the underground garage, the windows cleared, and Vlad saw his mother and Ingrid waiting for them next to Bowen’s designated parking spot.
“Who is the woman standing next to Ingrid? Is it your mom?” Wendy asked.
Vlad nodded.
“I figured by the way she’s dressed. I like her bohemian style. Does she make her own clothes?”
Wendy sounded cheerful, but he knew that she was nervous and trying to cover it up by chatting excitedly.
“Some of it. Usually, she’s too busy with the costumes she makes, but if she has time between orders, Stella designs and sews her own outfits. Sometimes, she buys readymade stuff and embellishes it.”
“That’s awesome. I wish I had a creative side. Are Leon and Richard behind us?” Wendy turned around and looked through the back window. “Good. Ingrid is here probably for Richard.” She looked at Vlad. “Oh, damn. Are Ingrid and Stella going to fight over him?”
