Dark Choices: The Quandary (The Children Of The Gods Paranormal Romance Series Book 41)

by I. T. Lucas

  “Sure.” Vlad unlocked the device. “Which one do you want to call?”

  “Let’s try Bowen first. After all, he’s supposed to be my initiator.”

  Vlad selected the contact and handed him the phone.

  Bowen answered right away. “What’s up, Vlad?”

  “It’s Richard. When is the ceremony, and what do I need to do to prepare?”

  “I’m on my way to your place. I’ll answer all of your questions when I get there. I also have clan-issue phones for you and Wendy.”

  “Hallelujah.”

  “See you in five.”

  Richard handed the device back to Vlad. “Wendy and I are getting new phones.”

  “I heard.” Vlad tapped his ear.

  “Oh, right. I forgot about that.” He stifled a smirk.

  Enhanced senses were not the only advantages immortals had. Last night, Ingrid had really shown him what she was made of. The problem was that he couldn’t keep up, but she hadn’t complained. Unlike Vlad’s mom, Ingrid was easygoing and not judgmental.

  It was a shame that they hadn’t bonded.

  She’d said that if it was meant to be, it would have happened already, and that he should give other clan females a chance.

  Well, he'd tried, and it hadn’t worked. Stella had been flirty for the first half an hour, and suddenly she had just lost interest. Richard was still trying to figure out what he’d done wrong. He’d been on his best behavior, hadn’t told any crude jokes or made inappropriate remarks, so what was her problem?

  If Stella was that difficult to please, he didn’t want anything to do with her. Life was too short to walk on eggshells around a stuck-up, judgmental woman. Even an immortal’s life.

  “Do you want me to make you a sandwich?” Wendy asked.

  “Sure. I’m always ready to eat.”

  She smiled. “I noticed. How come you don't gain weight?”

  “I will now that Bowen and Leon are no longer busting my butt with training.”

  “Still, even with exercise, if I ate as much as you do, I would look like a beach ball.” She glanced at Vlad. “I hope the transition will help me lose weight.”

  “I don’t want you to lose anything. You are perfect the way you are.”

  The kid was a natural. That was the only right answer to such a comment, but it had taken Richard years and many failed responses to learn that.

  As a knock sounded at the door, he walked over and opened it.

  Bowen grinned. “Miss me?”

  “I did.” Richard clapped him on the back. “Is the offer to crash on your couch still good? I need you guys to keep training me, or I’ll get fat.”

  “Hi, Bowen.” Wendy waved from the kitchen. “I’m making sandwiches. Do you want one?”

  “Did Vlad bake the bread?”

  “I wish, but no. It’s store-bought.”

  “Then I’ll pass.”

  “I’ll make it just in case you change your mind.”

  Bowen took two phones out of his pocket, handed one to Richard, and then walked into the kitchen and handed the other to Wendy. “For now, they are limited to communication only within the village.”

  “That’s fine.” Wendy looked at the display. “It’s not like I have anyone I want to call on the outside. What about the internet? Can I surf and order stuff?” She grimaced. “Oh, right. I don’t have any money.”

  “I’ll pay for whatever you need,” Vlad said.

  “I need a job.” She brought the plate of sandwiches to the dining table. “Come and get it. They are all the same.”

  Richard tore a paper towel from the roll and put one sandwich on top of it. “So, when is the ceremony?”

  “Eleven at night.” Bowen sat next to him. “Wear exercise clothes. That’s all you need.”

  “But it’s going to be a big party, true? Don’t I need a change of clothes for after? The goddess is attending. I can’t look like a hobo.”

  Bowen chuckled. “After I bite you, you’ll be out, buddy.” He clapped him on the back. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to overdose you, but for you to transition, you need to get enough of it in your system, which means a trip to la-la land.”

  “What do you mean? Is it like a drug-induced trip?”

  “Similar. First, you’ll black out, then you are going to wake up very relaxed and a little loopy. It will take a few hours until you’re back to normal.”

  “How long am I going to be unconscious?”

  “Not long. It can last anywhere from ten minutes to an hour.”

  “How soon would the transition start? If it starts?”

  “It depends. For most, it takes a day or two before symptoms manifest. But it can take longer.” Bowen’s expression turned serious. “You are older than the typical Dormant, so it might be dangerous for you. But you are lucky that the goddess is in the village. She can give you a blessing, which has proven a great help during some of the more difficult transitions.”

  Richard arched a brow. “A blessing? Like a prayer?”

  “I’m not sure what it is exactly, but I guess it’s a prayer. The Clan Mother doesn’t allow anyone in the room when she gives it.”

  “Maybe it’s witchcraft,” Wendy teased. “And she doesn’t want anyone to hear her incantations.”

  Richard shrugged. “I don’t care what she does as long as it keeps me alive.”

  65

  Kian

  Several ideas had come up since the last time Kian had spoken to Kalugal about the problem of his men mating clan women, and since the guy was leaving soon, he should have another talk with him and negotiate something more concrete.

  After debating whether to invite Kalugal to his office or meet him at the house, he decided on the second option so they could have privacy.

  Besides, he could smoke in the backyard.

  Pulling out his phone, he sent Kalugal a message. I have several ideas that I need to run by you. Are you free?

  Not surprisingly, the return message came in ten whole minutes later. The guy was probably keeping the phones in the refrigerator because he suspected that they were bugged, which they were, and was checking them only periodically for incoming messages.

  Where do you want to meet?

  I can be at your place in fifteen minutes.

  See you here.

  When he got to the house, Kian opened the sliding door and motioned for Kalugal to join him. “Let’s go out to the backyard. That way, your bodyguards and mine can watch us through the glass, but we can talk in private.” He cast Jacki an apologetic glance. “I hope that’s okay with you.”

  She waved a hand. “After all the excitement of this morning, I need a little rest. I think I’ll take a nap while you two decide the future of the world.” She winked at her mate.

  Kian had no idea what excitement she’d referred to, and he wasn’t going to ask. If she and Kalugal had wild monkey sex this morning, it was none of his business.

  Given Anandur’s smirk, he was thinking along the same lines.

  Kalugal, on the other hand, kept his usual poker face. “I’ll get one of the bottles of fine whiskey that you sent us.”

  Kian arched a brow. “Are there any left?”

  Kalugal shrugged. “I’m not a big drinker, and neither are my men. Vlad, on the other hand, consumed half a bottle by himself this morning.”

  “Vlad?”

  “I shouldn’t have said anything.” Kalugal brought out a bottle of Macallan 18 and two glasses.

  After closing the sliding door behind them, Kian walked over to the small fountain and activated it.

  “That’s a cool feature.” Kalugal sat down on a chaise. “I thought it was just for decoration.”

  “The noise the water makes helps keep conversations private.”

  “You are starting to worry me. What is this all about?”

  “Nothing major. But there are a few things I need to renegotiate, and I’d rather we reached an agreement and presented a unified front before revealing the
details to both our people.”

  “Very well.” Kalugal opened the whiskey bottle and poured it into the two glasses.

  “So what’s the story with Vlad? What was he doing here this morning, and why did he drink half a bottle of whiskey?”

  Kalugal hesitated. “I can’t go into details because it’s not my story to tell. The gist of it was that Wendy suddenly suspected Marisol of compelling her to forget some things, and she wanted me to remove the compulsion. The idea that someone had tricked Wendy into doing something against her will enraged Vlad, so I offered him whiskey to calm him down.”

  Kian’s hackles rose. “Was it true?”

  “No. It was just a panic attack.”

  “So why did Vlad get so upset?”

  “He said that just thinking about the what-ifs was enough to anger him.”

  “But you don’t think so.”

  “No. I think it occurred to him that there might have been another explanation for what had upset Wendy, and that was what got him so enraged. Long story short, he took me up on my offer of fine whiskey.” Kalugal shook his head. “Regrettably, he didn’t seem to appreciate the quality, and it was wasted on him.”

  Kian took out his box of cigarillos and offered it to Kalugal.

  “No, thank you. But go ahead. I find that I enjoy the smell, but I don’t like the taste.”

  Pulling one out for himself, Kian lit it up and leaned back. “We need to revisit our conversation about your men mating clan women. I’ve discussed it with Amanda, and she had some interesting ideas.”

  Kalugal nodded. “The immortal dating application she and Carol are working on seems like an excellent idea.”

  “Perhaps. First, though, we need to decide how we are going to ensure a fair split. If my clan women mate with your men, where are they going to live? Which community are they going to belong to? I can’t afford to lose members, especially females, who are the key to the clan’s continuity, and I’m sure that you don’t want to lose your men to me either. Half of the couples will have to stay here and half will join you.”

  “That’s more or less what we agreed on before. I don’t like the idea of losing even one of my men, but I understand your position. Then again, I thought that you were opposed to my men joining your clan. Are you going to pick and choose who will join and who will remain with me?”

  This was where things were going to get tricky.

  “I don’t want to be the bad guy who chooses, and Amanda came up with a possible solution. Your men will have to go through several challenges to be considered for membership. And since there is a lot of internal opposition from the clan males to any females leaving the clan, we will have to make it very difficult for your men.”

  “Difficult how?”

  “First of all, I can’t have them sitting in the café and checking out all the females the way Rufsur and Hivak did. I didn’t anticipate so much resentment, but people really don’t like strangers, especially men, and especially former Doomers invading what they regard as their sanctuary.”

  Kalugal crossed his legs and took a small sip of his whiskey. “Amanda and Carol’s dating application could be a solution to that.”

  “Not really. Where would they meet?”

  “A hotel?”

  “That’s a possibility. But Amanda came up with another idea. Those of your men who are interested in exploring the possibility of an immortal mate will offer themselves for bidding at an auction. The females will bid on them, and the proceeds will go to charity. The winners will get to spend one night with your men. If there is a spark, they would go to the next step, which will include some kind of a challenge. If there is no spark, the man can offer himself for another auction and spend the night with a different winner, and so on until the right match is found.”

  Kalugal shook his head. “I doubt my men would go for that. It’s demeaning.”

  “Not really. It’s honest, and it could be quite an ego boost. I expect the bidding to go wild. After all, that’s the only chance the clan females will have to spend the night with an immortal male. Besides, your men will be doing it voluntarily and for a good cause.”

  Tilting his head, Kalugal regarded him with a raised brow. “Would the clan females be willing to be auctioned for charity?”

  “I’m sure some would, especially when the ones bidding on them are immortal males. There is a lot of pent-up demand. Some are too shy and reserved to put themselves on display, but I think most would find it exciting.”

  “Would you? If you were single and in the situation my men are in?”

  “I wouldn’t, but I’m the exception. For an immortal mate, most of my clan males would jump through burning hoops and fight fire-breathing dragons.”

  With a sigh, Kalugal put his glass down. “Before I can give you an answer, I need to give it some thought and discuss it with my men.”

  “Naturally. Also, I’m afraid that I can’t give your men priority access to the dormant females that we find through the government paranormal program. Since your men will have access to our females, and some of them would inevitably leave to join your community, it will create an imbalance in ours. We will need to replenish our numbers.”

  Kalugal reached for the bottle and refilled his glass. “Since I have no use for the male Dormants that we will get through the system, your women will get them all, and that’s not fair to my men and me either, especially given that I’m doing most of the work on that front.”

  “True. How about we split the female Dormants?”

  Kalugal chuckled. “We can auction them the way you want to auction my men.”

  “It’s not the same, and you know it.”

  “I was just teasing. But that’s another thing we will need to figure out. How are we going to split them? Who decides which one gets to meet whom? That’s not an easy problem to solve.”

  66

  Edna

  “Amanda, what an unexpected surprise.” Edna opened the door wider. “Please, come in.”

  “Thank you.” Amanda’s conspiratorial smirk didn’t bode well. “I hope you don’t mind, but I thought that you could use a little sprucing up for tonight, and since makeovers are a favorite hobby of mine, I decided to surprise you.”

  “Why would I need a makeover?”

  Raising an eyebrow, Amanda waved a hand over Edna’s face and body. “You rock the spinster matron look, but I think it’s time for a change, especially since you’ll be part of Annani’s procession tonight. She requested that everyone accompanying her to Richard’s ceremony dress up elegantly.” She walked over to the coffee table and put down her large satchel.

  “First of all, this is the first time I've heard about it, and secondly, why is Annani coming to the ceremony? As far as I know, she's never attended before, and frankly, neither have I. I wasn’t planning on it.”

  “She has her reasons.” Amanda sat down on the couch and crossed her legs. “Annani wants to show Kalugal how it is done in the clan, but she also wants to conduct an experiment which requires a large crowd, and her attending the ceremony will ensure that most of the village residents will show up.”

  “What kind of experiment?”

  “I can’t tell you, or it would ruin it. But I promise to do so once we have the results.”

  “Who else is going to accompany her? You said something about a procession. Annani has never done anything like that before.”

  “She wants to impress Kalugal. The procession will include all the council members, her children and their mates, and all seven Odus. The Odus are for her protection.”

  “Aha, so she doesn’t fully trust Kalugal.”

  “It was Kian’s condition.”

  “I see. So what do you want to do with me? I’m afraid that the only fancy dress I have is the one I wore to all the weddings, and it’s too formal for the occasion.”

  Amanda patted her satchel. “I brought a few things.”

  “I don’t like wearing makeup, or revealing clothes, or high
heels, or jewelry. So your options are limited.”

  “Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing. Do you want to sit in front of a mirror? Or do you want to see the results once I’m done?”

  Edna really wasn’t looking forward to this, but since Annani commanded it, she had no choice. The question was what the goddess’s agenda was, and Edna had a feeling that it had nothing to do with the procession.

  Annani was playing matchmaker, and she’d recruited her number one yenta for the job.

  “If this is about making me more attractive to Rufsur, it’s a waste of time. My appearance is not the problem, my job is.”

  “Who said it has anything to do with him?” Amanda started taking things out of her bag. “Annani just wants everyone in her procession to be well-dressed, and your frumpy business suits just don’t cut it.”

  “My clothing is professional.”

  Ignoring her, Amanda pushed to her feet, walked over to the dining area, and pulled out one of the chairs. “Sit here. I want to start with your hair, and I’m going to put a little makeup on you. Just some eyeliner, mascara, and a nude-colored lipstick. You are still going to look professional, just a little more put together.”

  “I can live with that.”

  “Good.” Amanda released Edna’s hair from the tight bun it was gathered in. “You are lucky to be immortal. Otherwise you would have gone bald from pulling your hair back so tightly.”

  Thankfully, the entire makeup and hair session took no more than ten minutes, and even though her eyes felt a little gunky from the eyeliner and mascara, it wasn’t unbearable. She could survive one evening like that.

  Amanda pulled out a handheld mirror from her bag and handed it to her. “Take a look.”

  The effect was subtle, but Edna had to concede that it was a vast improvement over her usual look. Her eyes were well-defined, and her hair was gathered only partially and loosely pinned in the back, with the rest of it falling down her shoulders. The lipstick wasn’t glossy, and the color was nearly the same shade as her natural lips.

  “So, what do you think?”