by I. T. Lucas
Vlad still didn’t know that his father hadn’t been a random human who Stella had hooked up with, and Wendy didn’t know that her fiancé was planning to beat up her father and find out what had really happened to her mother.
But those two secrets weren’t as dangerous as the one about Vlad’s father's real identity. Stella refused to breathe a word of it to Kian, and Richard had promised to keep his mouth shut.
There was no urgency, though.
Vlad had been conceived over twenty-one years ago, and no one had heard from those other immortals or had an inkling that they existed. Although given Mey and Jin’s unique talents, Kian should have at least suspected something.
Perhaps that was a loophole that Richard could use. He could bring up the sisters in a casual conversation and hypothesize about the existence of other immortals in the East.
The question was whether anyone would take a newly-minted immortal seriously.
9
Leon
“Lunch was decent.” Peter stretched his legs in front of him and rubbed his belly. “The selection of ladies could have been better, but there are a couple who’ve caught my interest. And the nurse is a candidate as well. Are we allowed to fraternize with the staff?”
Leon shrugged. “I don’t know. You can ask Henry when it’s your turn.”
He hadn’t been impressed with either, but Peter usually wasn’t as discriminating. Before the West Virginia mission, they had never been paired, and during those two months he’d gotten to know the guy well. He was a relatively young immortal and had an easygoing attitude that made him a good partner. The ladies loved him, and not only because he was a handsome bastard. The guy oozed charm, smiled easily, and used his arsenal of jokes to crumble even the most rigid walls of resistance.
“I hate having to wait.” Peter pushed to his feet. “I’m going to look for a vending machine. If they call my name, tell them I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
It was a good cover for doing some snooping, but now was not the time.
“Perhaps you shouldn’t. You might be next.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” Peter sat back down.
After lunch, they had been divided into groups of five and assigned counselors. Peter, Leon, and three others had been assigned to Henry and were now waiting for him to finish talking with the first one of their group, a scrawny accountant from Utah named Daniel.
Peter nodded. “I don’t get why they assign men to male counselors, and the women to female. Personally, I prefer talking about my shit with a woman. Females are better listeners.”
“You prefer doing everything with women.”
“That’s true.” Peter crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m not a man’s man.”
Across from them, a guy named Noah lifted a brow. “Could’ve fooled me. You look like a Marine.”
Peter shrugged. “I like to separate business from pleasure, and whenever possible, I’d rather engage in pleasure than in business. Besides, I’m no longer in the business of war.”
The answer made little sense to Leon, but it seemed to satisfy Noah.
The guy nodded. “I get it. You are a manly man who prefers the company of women. I’m the same way.”
As the two kept shooting the breeze, Leon pulled his wallet out of his pocket and flipped it open. Running his finger over Anastasia’s picture, he whispered so only Peter could hear him, "Whoever goes in first does the questioning.”
“Agreed.”
They were both equally skilled in thralling, so it didn’t matter which one of them would interrogate Henry and then make him forget the conversation.
The door opened and Daniel emerged, looking flustered but not traumatized. Henry walked out as well and put a reassuring hand on the guy’s shoulder. “You can hang out in the common room and get to know some of the ladies.”
Nodding, Daniel blushed like the virgin he probably was. “I’ll do my best. Thanks for the talk.”
“My pleasure.” Henry slapped his back. “My door is always open, and unless I’m helping someone else at the moment, you are welcome to come in anytime. I’m here for you.”
“Thanks.”
After the guy left, Henry called out Leon’s fake name. “Samuel, please come in.”
Casting a quick glance at Peter, Leon pushed to his feet and stepped into the counselor’s office.
“Please, call me Sam.” He took a seat in one of the armchairs. “Samuel is what my mother calls me when she’s mad at me.”
Henry sat across from him and leaned forward. “I sense a conflict. Do you want to talk about your mother?”
“Not really.” Leon leaned forward and looked into Henry’s eyes. “Let’s switch roles for a few minutes. I’ll be the counselor, and you will be the guest. I will ask you questions, and you will answer them truthfully.”
The guy’s eyes glazed over. “I will answer truthfully.”
Leon hadn’t been gentle with his thrall, and it seemed that poor Henry was very susceptible. In a way, it was fortunate that Daniel the accountant had gone ahead of him. After an easy interview with someone so meek, Henry’s shields were down.
He hadn’t expected Leon to be a hard-ass and give him trouble.
Pulling out his wallet, he flipped it open and took out Anastasia’s picture. “Do you recognize her?”
“That’s Ana.”
“Where can I find her?”
“She graduated.”
Damn. Because of the forceful thrall, Henry’s brain was functioning at a diminished capacity. He wasn’t going to volunteer any information because he couldn’t deduce what Leon wanted from him.
“I know that. Where do people go after they graduate?”
“Most of the attendees leave, some return for another retreat, and a few are invited to join our community.”
“I assume that Ana was one of those who joined right after the retreat ended.”
“Yes. She went home only to store her things, and she came back right away.”
“Do members of your community live nearby?”
“Yes.”
“Where can I find Anastasia’s room?”
“You can’t. She lives in the compound now.”
“Where is the compound?”
“Behind the retreat. But guests are not allowed in there.”
“Why?”
“Because the staff live there. It’s our private space.”
That was reasonable. “Can you invite someone over?”
“Only other community members.”
“Who decides who gets invited to join? Is it you?”
Henry shook his head. “I only write the reports. Emmett decides who gets invited.”
Emmett Haderech was the retreat’s spiritual leader, but not much was known about him. He shied away from the public eye.
“What’s Ana’s job in the community?”
“Like all the other newbies, she works in housekeeping. That’s The Way.”
Leon wasn’t going to ask Henry what The Way was. It was probably part of Safe Haven’s ideology, or rather the bullshit they fed their members to convince them that providing free manual labor was a rite of passage.
“So Ana is basically a maid?”
“She is a counselor in training who performs housekeeping chores until she’s ready to ascend.”
Henry had been thralled to tell the truth, which meant that he really believed the crap he was spewing.
“Does she work in the retreat or in the compound?”
“The retreat, of course.”
“So I might bump into her while she’s working?”
“That’s not likely. The housekeeping staff is instructed to be unobtrusive. They do the cleaning while the guests attend lectures or engage in other activities. But if she is assigned to the dining hall, then you might catch her working the buffet or clearing tables.”
Leon wasn’t going to wait for that. He and Peter would have to find a way to sneak out of the lectures or activities and
search the resort room by room.
“Thank you for the helpful information, Henry. Now, you will forget that we had this conversation and that I showed you Anastasia’s picture.” When the counselor nodded, Leon leaned back and crossed his legs at the ankles. “Are you with me, Henry?”
The guy shook his head in an attempt to clear it. “Forgive me for spacing out on you. What were we talking about?”
Sam smiled. It was time to spin some tales. “We were discussing my troubled relationship with my mother. When I was a young boy, my mother used to…”
10
Eleanor
Eleanor sat across from Tammy the counselor with a fake smile plastered on her face and what she hoped was an eager expression.
She saw right through the crap the woman was selling, but it seemed that the counselor didn’t. She was a true believer.
Pretending to listen, Eleanor made a quick calculation in her head. She’d counted about eighty attendees, and with each of them paying over eleven thousand for the two-week retreat, and sessions running back to back, the cult was bringing in about one and three quarter million dollars in revenue a month.
Even after accounting for the expenses they incurred running the place, that was really good money. Given that the members provided free labor, she doubted that they were spending more than a quarter of their revenue to cover the retreat and the community expenses combined. And that wasn’t their sole source of income, either. Those who got invited to join the community were required to contribute their assets to the collective.
Eleanor was willing to bet that only the rich got invited.
Mr. Emmett Haderech was one hell of a rich dude, and in addition to charisma and charm, he apparently had an excellent head for business.
The counselor paused her sales pitch to glance at Eleanor’s file. “I see here that your partner is going to attend the next session.”
“We wanted to do this together, but evidently you have a policy against couples, and what’s worse, we were not aware of that when we applied. It was very disappointing for both of us.”
“Yes, well.” Tammy steepled her fingers. “As I’ve said before, we believe that the old tribal ways are better suited for the human psyche. We need a community of people to rely on, not just one person who might turn out to be bad for us.” She grimaced. “The possessiveness, the lack of freedom to experiment sexually, the isolation. Naturally, you are free to go back home and reunite with your partner, but after you taste what real freedom feels like, and what it’s like to be part of a community that cares and is committed to your well-being, you might change your mind about the way you want to live the rest of your life.”
The nurse had spewed the same kind of nonsense.
The village was a community of people who cared for each other, but within it, couples formed normal relationships. That was healthy. The lifestyle Safe Heaven promoted wasn’t.
“Do you truly believe in that?” Eleanor pushed a little compulsion into her tone.
Given that she suspected the community leader of having compulsion abilities, she didn’t want to push her luck with Tammy. Nothing of this conversation and the answers she was given should raise a red flag. That was why the guys were going to ask their counselor about Anastasia. They could thrall the guy to forget the conversation had ever happened, while she could only compel Tammy not to tell anyone about it. Regrettably, and despite Kri’s best efforts to teach her to thrall, Eleanor still couldn’t do that to save her life.
“With all my heart.” Tammy’s eyes shone with conviction. “Before I found refuge in Safe Haven, I was in an abusive, controlling relationship. If not for Emmett’s generosity, I would probably be dead now.”
“Generosity? This place costs a fortune to attend.”
“I came here with just the clothes on my back, and Emmett still let me join. I worked for my keep and still do, but so does everyone else here, even those who bring in a lot of money.” Her eyes blazing with religious fervor, Tammy leaned forward. “And I’m not the only one he has saved. Emmett doesn’t turn people away just because they can’t pay.”
“That’s very noble of him.” Eleanor leaned back.
“Emmett has created a real Safe Haven here.”
So the guy wasn’t all bad, but then that was how cult leaders gained followers. They had to do some real good to justify the exploitation of their members.
Still, she had to pretend that she was buying into the crap. “There is an African proverb about children’s upbringing belonging to the community regardless of who their biological parents are. I guess it’s easier to raise a child in a place like Safe Haven.”
For a split second, the mask of satisfaction slipped from Tammy’s face, and she winced. “Generally, yes. But at Safe Heaven we are not allowed to have children. Our community is dedicated to spreading the message to the world and making it a better place for everyone. Parenthood would hinder our ability to do so. That’s a sacrifice we have to make, and personally, I’m more than willing to make it for the greater good. My work in the retreat and the help I provide people fulfills me in ways children could never do.”
Freaking unbelievable.
“I hear you. So how does one join your community?”
“After each graduation, Emmett extends invitations to those who seem to be a good fit for our community.”
“When are we going to meet Emmett?”
“This evening. After everyone gets settled in their rooms, we will all meet for dinner, and Emmett is going to officially welcome you to the retreat.”
“I can’t wait. Does he lecture or lead any of the workshops?”
Tammy shook her head.
“So how does he know who to invite to the community?”
“We fill out daily reports for him. By the end of the retreat, he’s very familiar with each attendee.”
That wasn’t good. So far, Eleanor hadn’t left the best of impressions. She’d argued with the nurse about contraceptives, and she’d given Tammy a hard time. No harm done, though. She could always compel them to give her a good report.
Leaning forward, she looked into Tammy’s eyes. “I’m sure that you are going to give me a glowing recommendation.”
“That’s up to you, Marisol. But frankly, I don’t know what criteria Emmett uses. Sometimes I’m surprised by his choices.”
That wasn’t the answer Eleanor had expected.
Was Tammy immune to compulsion? Perhaps Emmett had conditioned his followers to resist influence by others?
Still, she couldn’t help but speak her mind. “I bet his decisions are based on how wealthy an attendee is. The more money they have, the better it is for the community, true?”
“You would think so, but that’s not always the case. He accepted me, and I didn’t have a penny to my name, but he rejected the son of a Silicon Valley mogul.”
The guy was probably a troublemaker and hadn’t been as easy to control as the others. Not all people were susceptible to compulsion, if that was what Emmett was using to enthrall his followers.
“I would love to meet Emmett in person. Is it possible to get an audience with him?”
“I can forward a request.”
“Thank you. I’d appreciate that.”
“I can’t guarantee that he will see you.”
“I hope he does.”
Eleanor wouldn’t be able to tell whether Emmett was a compeller just from talking to him, but she wanted to get a feel for the type of man he was. With her immunity and her bullshit detector, she would see right through him.
11
Leon
After a quick shower, Leon pulled a clean outfit out of his suitcase, got dressed, and searched the room for bugs.
Fortunately, the place was small, sparkling clean, and simply furnished. It didn’t take him long to go over every inch of it and determine that there were no hidden listening devices or cameras.
They’d been given an hour to get settled in, of which he’d only used u
p ten minutes to get ready and another ten for the search. That left him with forty minutes to do some exploring before dinner.
When he stepped out of the room, Peter was already waiting for him in the corridor. “What do you think of the accommodations?”
“They are clean.” Leon kept walking.
“That’s all you have to say?”
“What else is there?”
“Did you try the bed? It’s surprisingly comfortable. I expected a monk’s pallet.”
“That’s not conducive to free love, which seems to be the main appeal of this place.”
“Not the ideology?” Peter feigned shock.
“Keep your voice down.”
“Where are we going?”
“Let’s see if anyone is in the common room.” Leon glanced behind them to make sure that no one was close enough to hear him. “I hope Eleanor is there, so we can compare notes. I would also like to pass by the kitchen on our way to the dining hall. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find our girl there.”
Peter smirked. “We can pretend to seduce Eleanor together and take her to your room, so we can talk freely. Did you check the place for bugs?”
“I said that it was clean.”
“I thought that you meant the other kind of clean.”
“That too. I have to admit that this place is very well run. Emmett Haderech knows what he’s doing.”
Peter nodded and dropped his voice even lower. “That’s not his real name, of course. The guy popped up out of nowhere twenty-seven years ago, bought this property, and started running these retreats. Roni couldn’t find anything about him from before, which is strange, given that he has access to government data.”
“Roni probably hasn’t dug deep enough because it has no bearing on our mission. We have only two tasks here. We need to find Anastasia and get her out. If we discover that something shady is going on, it’s a bonus, but since I don’t think the cult has anything to do with trafficking, it’s of no concern to the clan or to us.”
