Dark Power Unleashed (The Children Of The Gods Paranormal Romance Book 51)

by I. T. Lucas

  Lisa perked up. “I can still do that if you want me to.”

  Amanda waved a dismissive hand. “It’s too late. We know that she’s a Dormant for sure because she’s Wendy’s mom.”

  No one had mentioned Bowen’s involvement yet, and Annani wondered whether it was intentional since Ronja was there. She liked David’s mother even more than she had expected to and regretted that the news might pain her. Amanda suspected that Bowen and Ronja had been more than friends. If she was right about that, then Bowen finding a mate would no doubt disappoint Ronja.

  “How did you hear about it already?” Kian asked. “I only found out about Margaret being Wendy’s mother today, and that was at two o'clock this morning.”

  Syssi lifted her hand. “From me. I couldn’t sit on news like that and not tell anyone, so I called Amanda.”

  “And I called Mother and Alena.” Amanda cast Sari an apologetic glance. “I didn’t call you because you don’t know Wendy, so the news would have been meaningless to you.”

  Sari grimaced. “Discovering a new Dormant is never meaningless. I just wish some would find their way to my people.” She lifted a pair of love-filled eyes to her mate. “I feel guilty about being the only lucky one so far.”

  Annani cast a quick glance at Ronja, but it seemed like she had not figured out yet that Margaret and Bowen had become an item.

  Perhaps now was not the best time for her to discover that, and a change of subject was in order.

  Syssi must have arrived at the same conclusion because she turned to Lisa. “I might have another sniffing mission for you at the wedding. Onegus is bringing a human date who he suspects might be a Dormant.”

  Lisa’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “I’ll be more than happy to sniff her. Just point me in her direction.”

  When a long moment of silence followed the exchange between Syssi and Lisa, and everyone kept sneaking glances at Ronja, Annani turned to Kian. “Has Jin agreed to take part in the expedition?”

  Hopefully, her question would shift the conversation back to a neutral subject.

  “She has. But to use her talent, she needs to learn Chinese, and according to Arwel, she’s linguistically challenged. For an immortal, that is.” Kian raked his fingers through his hair. “I wish we had more time for Mey and Jin to learn Mandarin and the Kra-ell languages properly. As it is, I’m afraid that they will have to make do with just rudimentary understanding.”

  “Fates willing, that will suffice.” Annani smiled. “I also heard that Eleanor is becoming a useful asset to the clan.”

  “She’s guarding Emmett,” Syssi said. “Regrettably, things didn’t work out between her and Greggory.”

  Annani had heard the news about the breakup. “If it was not meant to be, it is best that it has ended sooner rather than later. This brings me to my next question. Are there any new romances between Kalugal’s men and our clan ladies?”

  Amanda uttered a frustrated huff. “There are plenty of hookups, that’s for sure. They are all acting as if they must sample every flavor available first. I guess having so many cookies in the jar makes it difficult to settle on just one.”

  Annani arched a brow. “Are you saying that none have formed relationships?”

  “Not as far as I know.” Amanda sighed. “It also doesn’t help that Kalugal keeps his men busy in his downtown offices six days a week. By the time they get back to the village, the café is closed, and for now, that’s the only meeting place we have.”

  Annani was not happy. The infusion of eligible males was supposed to result in many new pairings and hopefully a few pregnancies. What were the Fates thinking?

  “Perhaps we should organize mixers. Are Kalugal’s men invited to the wedding?”

  Amanda shook her head. “Kalugal and Jacki are obviously coming, and so is Rufsur because he’s mated to Edna. The rest are not part of the family yet.” She glanced at Sari. “I didn’t know whether you would want them at your wedding.”

  “I don’t mind,” Sari said. “It could be a good opportunity for them to mingle.”

  Everyone’s eyes turned to Kian, who was shaking his head. “I need Kalugal’s men to provide added security at the village while nearly all of us are at the keep. If we invite them, we will have to leave several more Guardians behind, which is not desirable on two accounts. The obvious reason is that the more Guardians can attend the wedding, the better. And secondly, we need them to secure the event and this building. They can take part in the celebration and safeguard the clan at the same time.”

  It was a valid point, but Kian was not using his emotional intelligence and thinking how the exclusion would affect Kalugal’s men and their loyalty to the clan.

  “If you want Kalugal’s men to become an integral part of the clan, you need to treat them as such.” Annani lifted her cup for Oridu to refill. “Since they are all trained warriors and therefore can be regarded as an auxiliary force to the Guardians, I suggest a lottery. Decide how many men are needed to maintain security in the village and have the Guardians and Kalugal’s men draw lots in proportion to their numbers.”

  “Isn’t it too late for that?” Syssi asked. “The wedding is in two days, and the Guardians have already been assigned their posts. I don’t think it’s a good idea to cause resentment among them because we want to include Kalugal’s men in the celebration. There is enough of it going around already, especially among the males.”

  “I suggest a compromise,” Amanda said. “We leave the wedding arrangements as they are, but we implement the lottery for Kian’s birthday.”

  “It is a reasonable solution.” Annani looked at Kian. “It is your birthday, my son. Is it agreeable to you?”

  He looked conflicted. “I have nothing against Kalugal’s men, but I prefer to have more of our Guardians attend the celebrations. I’ll talk it over with Kalugal and see what he thinks. He might have a different take on this. Perhaps a small selection of his men can attend both events.”

  7

  Kian

  As coffee and dessert were served after lunch, Kian texted Kalugal to ask his opinion about inviting some of his men to Sari and David’s wedding, and perhaps a larger group to Kian’s bimillennial birthday celebration.

  If he were a private man, Kian would have preferred to celebrate with his immediate family, but he was a leader, and his people needed as many reasons to celebrate as he could provide them. That’s why his personal preferences regarding the attendance of Kalugal’s men didn’t really matter. If he could promote their integration into the clan by inviting them, then he was all for it.

  Kian’s end goal was for the offspring created by unions between clan females and Kalugal’s men to belong to the clan and fortify its numbers, and for that, he needed the men to feel part of the community.

  On the other hand, Syssi’s argument was valid as well. Not everyone was happy about them joining the village, and having them attend might increase feelings of resentment rather than promote integration.

  As he waited for his cousin’s response, Kian observed his mother’s interaction with Ronja. They were acting like old friends who hadn’t seen each other in a long while, sharing gossip and talking about everything from Lisa’s school experience to world politics and Ronja’s conspiracy theories.

  It was a shame that Ronja was too old to transition. She would have made a wonderful companion for Annani, maybe even freeing Alena to finally pursue her own interests.

  His eldest sister had done a lot for the clan, birthing and raising thirteen children, and at the same time keeping Annani out of trouble. She had paid her dues and then some. It was time she started doing things for herself, living her life and finding her passion. Not that motherhood wasn’t a worthy goal in itself, but it seemed like Alena’s incredible fertility had been exhausted in her younger years and she could conceive no more. She needed something new to fulfill her.

  After Kalugal had finally responded, promising to supply two lists of the men he wanted to bring along t
o each of the events, Kian pushed to his feet. “We should be heading back soon. I still have work to do today.”

  Annani looked up at him. “Is there an available apartment in this building that Alena and I could use? Our people will start arriving tomorrow, and I decided that we should be here with them.”

  Kian shook his head. “I don’t know if there are any left, but even if Ingrid can rearrange things and free up an apartment for you, I'd prefer that you stay in the village. Otherwise, I’ll have to beef up security in this building, and the Guardian force is already stretched thin as it is.”

  The stubborn tilt of Annani’s chin didn’t bode well. “I have made up my mind. Please check with Ingrid if she can reshuffle occupancy to make an apartment available for Alena and me.”

  He pinned her with a hard stare. “Beefing up security here means canceling even more rescue missions. Do you want that on your conscience?”

  It was a low blow, but it was true. Besides, he really didn’t want her to stay in the building.

  Sari winced. “You are making me feel guilty for having the wedding here. I didn’t know that you'd canceled missions because of us.”

  “I also had to cancel missions because of my birthday, so I should share the guilt. But neither of us has to feel guilty. The plan is to compensate for the reduction by doubling up after the celebrations are over and everyone goes home.”

  “There you go.” Annani waved a hand. “This is the solution. Cancel all the missions until next week and then double up on the effort in the following weeks. I am sure the Guardians will appreciate a break for the duration of the festivities. Guarding me is not as taxing as what they usually do, and it is certainly not as depressing. It will also give them an opportunity to spend more time with their visiting relatives.”

  As the others all nodded in agreement, Kian knew that he’d lost the argument. “I’ll speak with Ingrid and Onegus and see what can be done.”

  Annani didn’t even try to hide her triumphant smile. “Thank you.”

  “Speaking of relatives,” Sari said. “What’s going on with Carol and Lokan? Are they joining us for the celebrations?”

  “It’s too dangerous for Lokan, and Carol has decided to stay with him in DC.” Kian offered a hand up to Syssi. “They are flying out to China on Monday.” He supported her back as she struggled to her feet.

  Sari leaned back. “Together?”

  Syssi nodded. “Lokan hired Carol as the marketing expert for the fashion label he’s about to launch. They are flying out together, and he's reserved a two-bedroom suite for them in the Waldorf Astoria in Beijing.”

  “Fancy,” Ronja said. “Does Lokan need a personal assistant? I would love to see Beijing and stay at the Waldorf.”

  “Me too.” Lisa lifted her hand. “Does he need a teenage model for his fashion label?”

  8

  Onegus

  Ingrid strode into Onegus’s temporary headquarters looking as if someone had pissed on her designer shoes. “Annani wants an apartment in the building, and I don’t have any furnished ones left. How am I supposed to reshuffle people as they are coming in?” She plopped down on the couch. “I need a drink.”

  Onegus walked over to the bar. “What would you like?”

  “Whatever you make is fine.” She waved a hand in dismissal. “Just not beer. I can’t stand that vile stuff you guys drink.”

  He mixed her a gin and tonic. “You can give this apartment to Annani. I can move operations to my old office in the keep.” He handed her the drink.

  Ingrid lifted a pair of grateful eyes to him. “Are you sure? You said that you needed a place in the building for the Guardians to rest between shifts.”

  “They can rest in the keep. It’s just across the street. Or we can section off part of the lobby for them. There is already a sitting area, and if you put screens around it and add a snack and drink bar, that should do it.”

  “I like it. I can make it look as if it’s sectioned off for construction. That way, when people walk by, they are not going to wonder what’s going on or try to get in to take a look.”

  As his phone rang, Onegus had a good idea who was calling. “Good afternoon, boss. Are you calling about the Clan Mother’s request for lodging in the building?”

  “I see that Ingrid beat me to it. Is she still freaking out?”

  “We found a solution. Annani can have this apartment, and I’ll move to my old office in the keep. We will also section off part of the lobby for the Guardians.”

  “Double the space you had in mind for that. With Annani in the building, we need to beef up security.”

  “We are already maxed out. I don’t have enough Guardians.”

  “I know. We need to cancel the rest of the rescue missions until after everyone goes home and things return to normal.”

  “Did you speak with Bridget?” Onegus walked over to his desk and sat down on the swivel chair he’d brought from the keep just that morning.

  “Yeah. She’s on it. To compensate, we will double up starting next Monday.”

  “I don’t like it, but I guess we have no choice.” Onegus started collecting his notes and piling them up. “What the Clan Mother wants, the Clan Mother gets.”

  “That was my initial reaction as well, but Annani raised a valid argument. The clan is celebrating, and the Guardians have the same right as the others to take a pause from what they are doing and concentrate on happier things. I hate the thought of the victims suffering through one more week of torment while we are having fun, but we can’t save everyone, and there will always be people suffering somewhere no matter what we do and how hard we try.”

  “Ain’t that the sad truth. I assume that Annani wants the place by tomorrow?”

  “She wants to be there when her people start arriving.”

  Onegus heaved out a sigh. “I’ll pack my things and move to the keep today. Ingrid will have the place cleaned and ready sometime tomorrow.” He glanced at the interior designer. “Do you have anyone other than the Odus to do that?”

  The cleaning crews had left long before the guests had started to arrive, and they wouldn’t be back until the guests were gone. The Odus were available only for emergency cleanups. Other than that, everyone was responsible for keeping their own place clean.

  “As soon as you vacate the place, I’ll get the cleaning crew in. They are very discreet, and they know not to ask questions. I can get it ready for Annani and Alena by tomorrow mid-morning.” She reached for her purse and pulled out her phone. “I need to call the construction crew chief and get him back here to section off part of the lobby.”

  “Double the number of Guardians starting tomorrow morning,” Kian said.

  “Consider it done.”

  When Kian ended the call, Onegus rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “I hoped to steal a few moments to see Cassandra, but evidently, it’s not going to happen today.”

  Ingrid lifted a hand to indicate that she was still busy on the phone. When she was done, she dropped it back in her purse and pushed to her feet. “You can go for half an hour. I’ll hold the fort for you.”

  He shook his head. “I need to reorganize the Guardian schedule, and then I have to greet my mother when she arrives tonight.”

  “You need to eat, right? You can eat with Cassandra. Have her meet you somewhere nearby. I’ll cover for you.”

  “You are the best.” He kissed her cheek. “I’ll take care of the schedule and then call Cassandra.”

  “Give me fifteen minutes notice before you leave.”

  “I’ll do that.”

  9

  Bowen

  “It’s like taking a ride into the future.” Margaret glanced at the car’s opaque windows. “I can’t get over the car driving itself.”

  “Autonomous driving is going to be commonplace shortly.” Bowen leaned over the center console and took her hand. “The technology is already incorporated into several car models, but the legislators haven’t approved it yet.�
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  “What about the windows?” She put her hand on the glass. “Is that a common thing too?”

  “No. The technology is not new, but no one is implementing it the way we do. For us, it’s a necessary precaution to keep our location safe. If a clan member is caught by our enemies, he or she won’t be able to provide the village’s exact location because they don’t know it. Their cars drive in and out of the village autonomously, and the windows turn opaque so they won’t see the entrance to the tunnel.”

  “We are in a tunnel?” She tilted her head to listen to the echoes.

  “We are, and in a moment we will enter an elevator that will take us up to a parking garage.”

  “Do you know where the entrance is?”

  He shook his head. “Only a few members have that information, head Guardians included, but I’m not one of them.”

  “Does it bother you?”

  “Not at all. The clan’s security comes first, and the fewer people who know how to get to our village, the better.”

  “But it’s aboveground, right?”

  He nodded.

  “Then it can be seen from aircraft.”

  “You are correct, but we have ways to hide it from view by sophisticated camouflage technology.”

  When the car entered the elevator, the windows began to clear, and Margaret pressed her nose against the glass, looking like a kid on an amusement park ride.

  Bowen smiled. “Usually, when a new Dormant or immortal arrives at the village, there is a welcoming committee. But everyone is busy with the upcoming wedding and the arriving guests, so you are not going to get the usual treatment.” As the elevator opened at the garage level, Bowen took over the driving. “But I think you’ll like yours better.” He drove into his parking spot, where Wendy and Vlad were waiting for them.