by I. T. Lucas
“What about sore throat, runny nose, a cough?”
“None.” Jacki chuckled. “Jin assured me that the transition is not contagious. I’m not growing venom glands.”
“No chance of that. But this sounds like the transition to me. Can you hand the phone to Kalugal?”
“Sure.”
“Or better yet, just put me on speakerphone. Not that it matters to Kalugal. He can hear me just fine as it is.”
“I know. You are both humoring the poor human with her limited hearing.” Jacki handed Kalugal the device. “I don’t know how to activate the speakerphone feature on your weird phone.”
Holding it face up on his palm, he activated it. “Go ahead, Bridget. We can both hear you.”
“Since you are going to be here in less than an hour, there is no point in me coming over. There isn’t much I can do anyway. I usually just monitor the vitals, which I can do even without equipment while we are on our way to the village.”
Kalugal rubbed a hand over his jaw. “Anything I can do? Like applying cold compresses to Jacki’s forehead?”
“Jacki sounds fine to me. If her temperature was at a dangerous level, she wouldn’t be so lucid. Just finish what you need to do and get in the car. We are waiting for you.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” The doctor disconnected the call.
Jacki shook her head. “I told you that you were freaking out for nothing.”
“I can’t help it.” He lay on the bed next to her and pulled her into his arms. “You are everything to me. I can’t let anything happen to you.”
“Oh, Kalugal.” She cupped his cheek. “I love you so much. But stop being such a worrywart. This is wonderful news, and we should be happy. I am transitioning. Can you believe it?”
He nodded. “I want to be happy, and I am, but don’t ask me not to worry. I won’t relax until you are safely on the other side. That’s why we are going to the village. I know that you’ll be in good hands there.”
“I’m so glad that we are going. I can’t wait to see the place and meet all the other immortals. I just know it’s going to be an amazing experience.” She patted his arm. “But we should finish packing and get out of here before they decide to leave without us.”
“Yes, you are right. The sooner we get there, the better. I want Bridget to be glued to you.” He got up. “Stay in bed. I’m going to pack the rest of your things.”
Jacki swung her legs over the side of the bed. “You don’t know what I want to take.”
“I’ll just put everything I’ve gotten for you in the suitcase.”
“Fine. But I’m packing the toiletries and makeup.” When he opened his mouth to argue, she put a finger over his lips. “If I faint, you can come to get me and carry me to the car. But it’s not going to happen. It’s just a fever, and it’s not the first time I've had one. It’s not lethal.”
Letting out a long-suffering sigh, he shook his head. “I don’t like it when you argue with me.”
Jacki smiled. “Officially or unofficially, we are married now, and you will have to learn to compromise. You are not going to always get everything you want.”
Pivoting on her heel, she strode into the bathroom, leaving him behind to ponder her statement.
Kalugal wasn’t used to compromising. His men obeyed his commands, mostly without questioning him, and until Jacki had walked into his life, he was the king of the castle, the ultimate ruler over his small group of former Brotherhood members.
Jacki had introduced a pattern interrupt into his orderly life, but it was the best thing that had ever happened to him. His love for her filled his heart with hope and excitement that he hadn’t felt since escaping his father’s control.
It occurred to Kalugal that things had been stale for a long time. The search for artifacts had provided some interest and excitement, and so had his future plans for humanity. But now that he had Jacki, his former preoccupations suddenly seemed less important.
With only Rufsur and Phinas to share his ideas with, Kalugal had lived in a bubble of his own making, a self-feeding loop of ideas.
Jacki was like a breath of fresh air, and her perspective on things was invaluable to him. So if she thought that he needed to learn to compromise, he would do his best to do so.
59
Kian
Amanda walked into the suite without knocking. “Are we all packed and ready to go?”
“We are,” Anandur said.
As usual, Brundar just nodded.
Kian glared at her. “We’ve talked about your habit of not knocking before barging in.”
For some reason, he'd woken up in a sour mood, which made him react to the small annoyances. With Syssi’s help, he’d learned to ignore those, but today his nerves felt raw.
He should be happy.
Everything had worked out fine. The paranormal program was no longer a problem, Kalugal and he had reached an understanding and set up a framework for future cooperation, and Jin and Jacki were both transitioning.
Except, there were a thousand and one things that could still go wrong, and he’d spent half the night awake thinking of all the ways in which their plan to use Roberts could fail.
“Pfft, Kian. You’re such a stick-in-the-mud.” She sat next to him on the couch. “This is not anyone’s home, and since you are sharing the place with three other couples, I know that there is no chance of catching someone having sex on the living room couch.” She lifted her chin and looked at him from under her lowered lashes. “Unlike you, my darling brother.”
He grimaced. “Don’t remind me. I thought that Dalhu was torturing you. I wish I could erase that episode from my mind. Speaking of your mate, where is he?”
“Packing his art supplies.” Amanda leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest. “You should remember that episode because it’s a perfect example of how assumptions can affect your judgment. If you weren’t convinced that every Doomer was evil, you would have realized that I screamed in pleasure, not pain.”
“Did you forget that he also kidnapped you? It wasn’t only my hatred for Doomers that influenced my reaction. Anyone who harms my family, or even just intends to do so, should be ready to pay the price.”
“Yeah, but there are mitigating circumstances. Like Dalhu falling in love with me and being willing to go through hell to atone for his sins. Or like Lokan, who definitely had been plotting against your extended family, and yet you forgave him because he told you where Navuh’s island was.”
“I didn’t forgive Lokan. I’m cautiously cooperating with him because he is bonded to Carol and because he is very useful to us. I sleep better at night, knowing that he will warn me if his father is planning a move against our clan.”
“But you forgave Dalhu, right? Even though his crime was worse than Lokan’s?”
“I did. But Dalhu was just a simple soldier who was obeying orders. Unless he’d been ready to defect, Dalhu had to do what he was told. Besides, he atoned for his sin, and I consider him a friend now. Lokan, on the other hand, was acting on his own behalf and pursuing his own agenda with no regard for Ella’s or Vivian’s life. And what made it even worse was that he knew Ella, he befriended her in order to lure her into a trap.”
“Yes, but that’s not the entire story.” Amanda uncrossed her arms. “Lokan’s actions were guided by the Fates. If not for his schemes, none of this would be happening.” She waved her hand in a circle. “We wouldn’t have known that Areana was alive, Arwel wouldn’t have found Jin, Yamanu wouldn’t have found Mey, and we wouldn’t have found Kalugal or Jacki.” Tilting her head toward him, Amanda smiled. “And I expect many more pairings to come out of this. Imagine forty-something new couples, and with Merlin’s help, many new babies.”
The thought had occurred to Kian, but his conclusion was different than Amanda’s. If Kalugal’s men mated with clan females, it would mean a gain for Kalugal and a loss for the clan because the couples couldn’t live in the village.
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First of all, because it was a security risk that Kian wasn’t willing to take. And secondly, because Kalugal wanted his independence and wouldn’t move into the village even if Kian invited him to stay.
Should he even encourage the matings?
Probably not.
He would much rather hunt for Dormant males for the clan females, and have them join his community. The idea was to grow the clan, not shrink it.
Except, now that Amanda and Carol had started working on their immortal dating application, it would be one hell of an uphill battle to make them drop it.
“Hi, Amanda.” Syssi stepped out from their bedroom. “Where is Dalhu?”
“He’s finishing up packing his art supplies, and then he’s going to take our luggage down to the lobby.”
“Kian and I are packed and ready to go as well. We are just waiting for Kalugal and Jacki to get here.”
When a knock sounded on the door, Anandur pushed to his feet. “I’ll get it.”
As Lokan walked in with Carol, the waterworks started before anyone even said hello or goodbye.
“I’m going to miss you all so much.” Carol rushed into Syssi’s open arms. “It was so wonderful to be together again.”
Behind her, Lokan shifted from foot to foot. “You’re not saying goodbye forever. You can visit your family and friends whenever you want.”
“I know.” Carol wiped the tears away with her thumbs. “But it’s not the same as living in the village and seeing everyone every day.”
Wonder pulled her into a hug, practically lifting the petite Carol a foot off the floor. “You can come back and take over the café whenever you want.”
“I wish I could.” Carol cast a sidelong glance at her mate. “But as long as Lokan remains in the Brotherhood, he needs to be in Washington.”
Lokan shook his head. “Would you seriously go back to working in the café?”
Carol snapped her fingers. “In a heartbeat.”
“Even if we moved into the village, I wouldn’t allow you to do that. You are my mate.”
Kian stifled a chuckle. Lokan had just earned himself a one-way trip to the doghouse for an unlimited stay.
“Excuse me?” Carol put her hands on her hips and glared at her mate. “Did I hear the word allowed? Do you really think that I need your permission to do anything I want?”
“No, of course not. What I meant to say was that I would have been displeased with your decision, and I would have tried to dissuade you from working in the café.”
Nice try, but it wasn’t going to get him out of the doghouse and back into Carol’s good graces.
60
Jacki
As soon as Jacki and Kalugal entered the suite, Bridget took charge. “Let’s check your temperature.” She pointed to the couch and whipped the thermometer out of her doctor’s bag.
While Anandur waved Rufsur and Hivak to join him and Brundar at the dining table, Lokan walked up to Kalugal and pulled him into his arms. “It was good seeing you.” He slapped his brother’s back. “We should get together sometimes.”
“I would like that.” Kalugal sounded a little choked up. “After Jacki transitions and we get back here, you and Carol can come to visit. Or we can visit you in Washington if that’s more convenient.”
Bridget pulled the thermometer out of Jacki’s ear. “A hundred and two. That’s high, but not dangerous. Let’s check your other vitals. Would you be more comfortable in one of the bedrooms?”
She would, but then she would miss out on the conversation between Lokan and Kalugal.
“It’s okay. I’m not shy.”
Kalugal turned around and lifted a brow. “What kind of examination are we talking about?”
Bridget waved him off. “I’m just going to listen to Jacki’s heart and her lungs and then measure her blood pressure. I only need her to roll her sleeve up. I can do the rest over the blouse.”
Kalugal nodded his approval as if anyone had asked his permission.
They really needed to have a talk about boundaries, and what he was allowed to butt into and what wasn’t his damn business.
“Calm down,” Bridget murmured. “What got you so upset?”
“Bossy husband.”
Naturally, Kalugal heard her and turned around. “I’m not bossy. Is it wrong for me to want to protect my wife’s modesty?”
“I’m an adult, Kalugal. It’s up to me to decide what I consider modest.”
Carol sat next to her and took her hand. “No fighting, kids. We are saying goodbye, and I’m sad, and I don’t want to remember sour-puss faces when I recall these moments.”
She was right. Besides, Jacki knew that she was overreacting. Her snappiness had more to do with her feeling sick, weak and anxious rather than anything that Kalugal had said.
“Don’t be sad. As soon as I’m okay to travel, we will come to visit you, or you will come to us.”
Nodding, Carol carefully wiped away a tear.
“Roll up your sleeve, Jacki,” Bridget commanded and then slapped the blood pressure cuff on her arm.
No one was addressing the big elephant in the room, but the next time she and Kalugal met up with Lokan and Carol, it should be at their wedding in the village.
The goddess had said that as soon as Jacki transitioned and felt okay, she would come to the village and marry them in a proper ceremony.
Would Kian allow Lokan to come?
If he was letting Kalugal and two of his men into his secret village, then why not Lokan?
But it wasn’t her place to say anything. She was the reason Kian was letting them into the village, and she should be grateful for that.
Syssi came and sat on Jacki’s other side. “How are you holding up?”
“I’m anxious.”
Bridget removed the cuff. “Your blood pressure is normal, and so are all of your other vitals. For now.”
“Can I take something for the fever?”
“You can have some of my stash.” Jin walked into the room and tossed her a container of pills.
Bridget caught it before Jacki had a chance to even lift her hand. “Don’t overdo it with those. You are not in pain, and your fever is not dangerous.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
As Bridget pushed up from the ottoman she’d used as her doctor’s stool, Jin took her place. “I can’t wait for us to get to the village, so Bridget can knock me out with some serious stuff.” She pulled another bottle out of her pocket. “These are pretty useless for the pain.”
“Oh, Jin.” Jacki leaned toward her and took her hand. “And here I am feeling sorry for myself when all I have is a fever. You are going through so much more.”
“Yeah.” Jin sighed. “I’m the toothless wonder.”
At the dining table, Wonder giggled. “Hey, I’m a freak too. You, Mey, and I will form the freak club.”
“I want in,” Amanda said.
“What’s weird about you?”
She struck a pose. “I’m unnaturally beautiful.” She’d meant it as a joke, but it was true.
Syssi grinned. “And I’m the pregnant lady who has conversations with her baby even though she is the size of a nut and doesn’t have ears yet. I’m joining too.”
Carol fluffed her curls and batted her eyelashes. “I’m unnaturally sexy. Save me a spot.”
“What about you, Bridget?” Syssi asked. “Do you want to join the freak club?”
“Sorry, ladies. But I don’t have time for clubs.”
Syssi waved a dismissive hand. “She’s no fun to play with. What about you, Callie?”
“I’m still thinking. I’m not special in any way, and I don’t even have a paranormal talent.”
“Not true.” Syssi lifted a finger. “You can make Brundar smile. That’s definitely a paranormal talent because no one else can do that. Not even Anandur.”
Callie laughed. “Okay, then I’m in.”
Syssi leaned toward Jacki and motioned for the other ladies to huddle closer. �
��Anandur has been trying to get Brundar to laugh for years. I think that Brundar doesn’t react to his brother’s jokes, not because he doesn’t find them funny but because he wants to annoy Anandur. That’s Brundar’s version of humor. Dry and sarcastic.”
Jacki appreciated what Syssi was doing.
Sometimes humor was the best medicine. Jin was smiling, and Jacki felt a lot less anxious.
Whatever happened, she was surrounded by friends who cared about her and would fight for her.
It felt good, but regrettably, she was going to enjoy this feeling of community only for a short time. After she transitioned and the wedding was over, they were going home.
But that was okay.
Once the dating application was up and working, and Kalugal’s men started pairing up with clan females, they would build their own community. It would probably take a long time, but it would happen.
61
Kalugal
Kalugal felt naked without his phone, or his laptop, or his tablet.
Kian had instructed him to leave all electronic devices behind and promised to give him, his men, and Jacki new ones in the village.
If anyone needed him, they could reach him by calling Kian.
He understood his cousin’s caution, but after all they had been through together, having his luggage checked, and getting a pat-down had left a bad taste in his mouth.
Even Jacki had to go through that, but at least the one doing the patting down was Bridget, so it wasn’t that bad.
“Do you remember when I had to search Jacki?” Rufsur asked.
“Don’t remind me.”
“I was very respectful.”
“I know. But you saw my mate in her undergarments.”
Rufsur shrugged. “So what? It was as if she was wearing a bikini.”
“I don’t want any men to see her in a bikini, either.”
Jacki turned around. “We really need to talk about that Neanderthal attitude of yours. It’s unbecoming.” She pushed her chin up and walked up the stairs without waiting for him.
