by I. T. Lucas
“I know. Even going to the bathroom or taking a shower requires planning.”
“Welcome to motherhood.” Bridget chuckled. “But it’s all worth it.”
True. The intense surge of love Nathalie felt every time she held Phoenix was incomparable.
“Thanks for coming.”
“Any time.”
As soon as Nathalie closed the door behind Bridget, she went back to her bedroom and took the robe off.
Damn, the exhaustion combined with the hormonal mess was making her stupid. How could she have forgotten about the main reason for the enforced abstinence?
Nathalie was more than ready for sex, in any form or shape, but she was definitely not ready for the transition. Not with a newborn depending on her. Who would take care of Phoenix when she was in a coma?
Oh, my God. What if I die? My daughter will become an orphan.
But if she didn’t go for it, Nathalie was going to lose her husband. Andrew loved her, but there was a limit to what he could endure. Besides, she loved him too much to see him suffer like that. Letting him go would be the right thing to do.
He will probably go straight back to Bridget…
No! No way! Andrew was hers.
She had to take the risk and trust God or fate to see her through it.
No guts, no glory.
The thing was, Nathalie felt as if she was choosing her man over her daughter and it felt wrong.
I’m not going to win any mother of the year awards, that’s for sure.
Chapter 14: Kian
Kian’s phone rang with the special ringtone he’d programmed for Syssi. “Hey, sweet girl. Miss me?”
“I do. When are you coming up? It’s late.”
Kian leaned back in his chair. “I’m waiting for Jackson. He wants to talk to me about something.”
“Should I wait with dinner?”
“No. I don’t know how long it will take.” Kian chuckled. “I suspect he has some business proposition for me. The kid is all about making money.”
“It’s nice of you to humor him.”
“I know. Normally I wouldn’t have, but Nathalie and Bhathian speak so highly of him that I’m curious.”
“I’m going to grab a bite of something and wait for you with dinner. So try and wrap it up quickly.”
“I’ll do my best.”
Lately, Kian had been making an effort to leave the office at a decent hour so he and Syssi could share a meal after work. It wasn’t that he had less to do, only that he was taking work to continue later in his home office.
Kian had finally caved and hired a young intern. The guy was a business major who was graduating in two months. Kian had high hopes for the kid. He had a sharp mind and was highly motivated. The question was whether he was a self-starter. Kian had no time to waste teaching a greenhorn what had taken him centuries to learn.
A soft knock on the glass announced his late evening visitor.
“Come in, Jackson.”
“Hi, thanks for agreeing to see me,” the kid said as he walked in and sat in a chair on the other side of Kian’s desk.
“No problem. How can I help you?”
“I’ve met a girl.” The normally cocky Jackson looked uncomfortable.
Kian snorted. “If you need help with courtship, I’m the last guy you should turn to for advice. Just ask my wife.”
“What? No! I don’t need any help with that.”
Kian stifled a chuckle. No eighteen-year-old wanted to admit he had difficulties in that department. It took years of experience, centuries, to realize that when it came to understanding women, all men, regardless of age, were just as lost and confused.
“Of course not. My mistake.”
“When she was younger, only fifteen, she ran away from her foster home and was picked up by slave traffickers. They hurt her badly, sexually and otherwise, then sold her to some guy that kept raping her until she managed to escape.” The kid had admirable self-control. Jackson had delivered his speech in an even tone, but the glow in his eyes and the way his words started slurring toward the end had betrayed his rage.
“I’m glad she escaped. Does she need financial support? Is that why you came to me?”
Jackson shook his head. “No. The woman who helped her escape took care of her and gave her a job. The girl is not hurting financially, but she is damaged. There is nothing I can do to fix that, but I thought you could help me avenge her. I don’t even know where to start.”
A noble sentiment, but naive.
“I wish I could help. I really do. But there is a lot that is broken in this world, and we are not all-powerful. We are doing all we can with what we have.”
“You rescued the women from the Doomers.”
“That was different. The Doomers had Carol, one of our own, and even then it was difficult to mobilize the old Guardians to help.”
Jackson slumped in his chair. “I can’t live with myself knowing that such evil exists, that kids are being snatched off the street and ruined, while I’m living my life and not doing anything about it.”
Yeah, Kian knew that feeling well. A deep frustration, an impotence that left a sour taste in his mouth. But what could he do? Aside from the constant drip of information and ideas to help humanity help itself, he had no business trying to play savior and committing his clansman to impossible tasks.
Taking care of his own was difficult enough.
“What if the girl I’m talking about is a potential Dormant? Does that change anything?
Kian shook his head. “Not really. As I said, I can mobilize warriors for a rescue mission, but not for revenge or even to help others. I would not risk my people. I’m sorry.” The girl Jackson was talking about had to be one of Eva’s two female employees. The only potential Dormants he was aware of. So unless more had been found and no one had bothered to tell him, it had to be one of them.
Jackson pushed to his feet. “Thank you for your time.”
He couldn’t let the kid go like that. Jackson was too young to carry such a burden on his shoulders.
“Sit down, Jackson.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’ll look into it. I’m not promising anything. But if there is something we can do, even on a small scale, like helping the human authorities with information about the whereabouts of those organizations, I’ll consider it, but only as long as I don’t have to put any of our clan members’ lives on the line.”
“That all I can ask for. And if there is anything you need from me, please, I’m willing to do whatever it takes.” Jackson got up, walked to Kian’s side of the desk, and offered his hand. “Thank you.”
Kian shook what he was offered. “You’re welcome. I’ll let you know.”
Nasty business, human trafficking, Kian thought as he made his way up to the penthouse. Lately, it seemed as if the Fates were pushing it down his throat. First with Alex’s operation, then with Carol’s kidnapping, pulling him and his small force of Guardians into one rescue operation after the other. And then Jackson came to him about his girlfriend.
Was it all connected?
I wish you’d just tell me straight up what you want of me.
But of course the Fates didn’t work that way. It was all about mystical mumbo jumbo and vague signs and premonitions. The problem was that anything could be perceived as a sign. It was very tempting to see patterns in random coincidence. The brain, human and immortal alike, was always trying to make sense of the chaos. But seeing imaginary patterns and acting upon them was dangerous.
Often catastrophic.
When he got home, Kian hugged Syssi tight. “I’m so glad I have you.” What he meant to say was that he was happy she was safe.
She stretched up on her toes and kissed him. “Me too.” She touched a finger to the crease between his brows. “What brought that about?”
He sighed. “Jackson came to me with a story about a young girl that was abducted and sold into sexual slavery. Somehow she managed to escape, but the
experience must’ve left deep scars because he described her as broken.”
“Why did he come to you with that?”
Kian sighed. “He’s under the impression that I’m some omnipotent force who can right all the wrongs in the world. I had to disillusion him.”
“What did he want you to do?”
“Help him avenge her.”
Syssi nodded. “I like Jackson. He is a good kid.” She tilted her head. “Correction, he is a good man. I feel like calling him a kid makes light of his achievements.”
“I agree, though I’m guilty of doing the same. It’s not fair to give eighteen-year-old men automatic rifles, send them into battle, and still call them kids.”
Syssi tugged on his hand. “Let’s talk while we eat. Okidu is complaining that his creations are drying out in the warming drawer. I placated him by promising we will eat in the dining room and he could serve us.”
Kian chuckled. “He is not human, Syssi. It’s all an act.”
She rolled her eyes. “A very convincing one. Come on.”
Okidu must’ve been on standby. “Master, you are home. Please…” He ran ahead of them into the dining room and pulled out a chair, first for Syssi and then for Kian. “Soup will be out in a moment.”
“How are Nathalie and the baby doing?” Kian asked as they waited for the soup to be served. Syssi’s eyes always sparkled when she talked about Phoenix. But not this time.
She leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest. “She is having a hard time with the breastfeeding, and she’s exhausted. I offered to come babysit so she could take a nap, but she refuses to accept any help. I don’t know if it’s because she feels like she has to prove that she is a superwoman, or because she doesn’t trust me with her baby.”
“Does Nathalie let anyone else take care of Phoenix?”
“Only Andrew and Eva as far as I know.”
“Well, that makes sense. Andrew is the dad, and he’s experienced. Eva is the grandmother and also knows a thing or two about taking care of babies.”
Okidu came in with a tray loaded with two steaming soup bowls, and a baguette cut into thick chunks. It smelled like it just got out of the oven.
“Everything smells wonderful, Okidu,” Syssi said.
“Thank you, madam.”
Kian grabbed a chunk of the fresh bread and dug into the soup, happy to get a break from talking about the baby which seemed to upset Syssi rather than make her happy.
Women were so difficult to figure out.
Was she mad at Nathalie for not sharing? Or were her feelings hurt because Nathalie didn’t trust her with the baby? Or maybe it was something else?
Kian knew Syssi wanted a baby of her own. During Nathalie’s last trimester, she used to joke about the pregnancy hormones making all the clan females baby crazy. But from what he had seen, she was the only one affected by it. Amanda and Bridget had seemed indifferent, as had Carol, who had been spending long hours with Nathalie and should’ve been the one affected the most. He wasn’t an expert, but in his uneducated opinion, it just made sense.
Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about it. It would happen when it happened. When the Fates decided it was time.
Fuck. I sound like my mother.
Chapter 15: Amanda
As Syssi walked into Amanda’s office, there was a big smile on her face.
Amanda peered at her from behind her desktop. “You look happy.”
“I’m always happy when I’m proven right. All three of Eva’s employees tested positive as far as affinity. Anandur’s report is on top. He gave Sharon a ten, Nick a nine and Tessa also a nine.” She sat down and dropped a stack of papers on Amanda’s desk. “Here. See for yourself.”
Amanda examined each paper, reading the remarks several times over. “Looks impressive. But what if they are just cool, likable people?”
“That’s why I wanted Brundar to come. He doesn’t like anyone. But Kian needed him at the keep.”
“Right. Who else do we have that doesn’t like people?”
“A couple of months ago I would’ve said Bhathian, but he is all smiles now.”
“Can you blame him? He has a mate and a baby granddaughter.”
Syssi snorted. “I doubt Nathalie lets him visit. She is cooped up in her apartment with her baby, and the only one she allows in is Eva.”
Amanda waved a hand. “Don’t be so hard on her. It takes time getting used to being a mom. It’s not as easy of a transition as everyone would like you to believe.” Surprisingly, talking about motherhood hadn’t brought on the choking sensation it used to. Being constantly exposed to Nathalie and her belly, and then to everyone obsessing about the baby was in a way therapeutic. After all, if one was afraid of snakes the best way to get over it was to get exposed to a lot of them.
“Anyway. What do we do with that?” Syssi pointed at the papers.
“We keep testing. I want to try it on more subjects.”
“What about your flower girl? Do you want to lure her in here?”
“Nah. I’ll send people to her shop. Anandur promised he’d stop by this afternoon. And William said he’d go tomorrow.”
“Any progress with his facial recognition software?”
Until recently, the technology wasn’t all that good, but in the past couple of years, huge advancements had been made. William was working on adapting it to their needs. If there were other undocumented immortals living in the West, he believed there was a good chance he would find them.
“I’m sure he’ll tell us the moment it’s ready. But the software is just one part of the equation. He needs access to the databases, and Andrew is in no shape to help.”
“Poor Andrew. He looks like a train wreck.”
Amanda waved a dismissive hand. “He’ll be fine. As soon as that baby starts sleeping at night, and Mommy and Daddy start getting it on, everyone will be in a better mood.”
Syssi rubbed the tip of her nose. “I’ve been thinking. What about Hannah?”
“What about her?”
“I like her. You like her. William likes her. Maybe she is a Dormant? If we factor in Fate, it’s a possibility.”
Amanda tapped a finger on her chin. “If she were, she would’ve transitioned already. They’ve been together for a while.”
“Not if they are not sleeping together.”
“I’m not buying it.”
“I am. William doesn’t strike me as someone who would lie to your face. Besides, he is well aware of the damage repeated thralling could do to Hannah. That’s why he keeps their relationship from turning into a romance. Imagine how relieved he’d be if we tell him he can go for it.”
Amanda seemed unconvinced. “I don’t know. Hannah has zero paranormal talent. Even less than your run-of-the-mill human who has the occasional premonition about who’s calling her before picking up the phone. Though I have to admit that William and Hannah’s case lends itself perfectly to our experiment. With Eva’s crew, we will have to play matchmaker in order to take it to the next step. William and Hannah are already a couple of sorts.”
“Exactly.”
Amanda smirked. “Who is going to tell him?”
“No offense, but I think a little diplomacy is needed here, and you have the same no-nonsense blunt attitude as Kian.”
Amanda crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m always diplomatic.”
“Sure you are. For a cavewoman. Just bang it over the head and pound it into submission.” Syssi demonstrated with an imaginary club.
“Fine. Be my guest. I can already imagine it. Your cheeks will get red like two ripe tomatoes.” It had been a mean thing to say, given how much Syssi agonized over her inability to control her blushing, but so was comparing Amanda’s style to Kian’s.
Amanda was nothing like her brother.
Naturally, the taunt pinked Syssi’s pale cheeks. “True. But I’m done letting that damn involuntary response dictate my actions or la
ck of them. If it wasn’t cured by Kian’s teasing and the transition, nothing is going to do it. I have no choice but to learn to live with it.”
Amanda clapped her hands. “Bravo. I’m proud of you. And if you ever need it, I’ll let you borrow my club.” She winked.
“Thank you.” Syssi sighed. “I wish I had half your chutzpah.”
“As I said; my club is at your disposal.”
Syssi snorted. “I need a driving course on it.”
“No problem. It’s simple. Don’t give a shit about other people and what they think of you. Very few deserve your consideration. The only person you need to impress is you.” Amanda pointed at Syssi’s chest.
“Yeah, you’re right. I’m too sensitive.” Syssi pushed up to her feet and started pacing.
Amanda smiled. Husband and wife were rubbing off on each other, with Kian being the one benefiting most. He was calmer and happier and less explosive. Syssi had just picked up his habit of pacing while the wheels in her brain were turning.
“I was thinking,” Syssi started. Sometimes it got annoying the way she always waited for an invitation to bring up a new topic.
“Yes?”
“About my visions.”
Amanda rolled her eyes. “What about them?”
“I want to find a way to harness them.”
“And how do you propose to do that?”
“I want to try hallucinogenics.”
“Are you insane? Who knows what they can do to someone like you?”
“That’s why I want you to help me. I want to start with something very mild, and I want you to be there with me.”
“Did you share this crazy idea with Kian?”
Syssi snorted. “Of course not.”
As a neuroscientist, Amanda knew a thing or two about hallucinogenic drugs, and some were indeed harmless. But there was always a chance of a bad trip. Taken by someone with Syssi’s abilities, they could be very dangerous. She could end up with a severe psychotic episode.
“I’ve been reading up on mushrooms,” Syssi said. “I can try a tiny amount and see how I react to it. Or, I can start with something as trivial as pot.” She chuckled. “I think I’m the only one on campus who never tried it. Everyone is doing it. Students and professors.”
