by I. T. Lucas
Perhaps they believed that Mey could lead them to a bigger fish? A more powerful paranormal? Or perhaps a group of them?
He chuckled. If only they knew.
But they were not looking for immortals. They were most likely looking for other paranormals.
As Ovidu pulled up to the curb, Yamanu opened the door and slid into the back seat. “The guy was a nobody. He didn’t know anything.”
Mey tilted her head. “Is it me and my suspicious nature, or is this whole thing odd? Why are they even bothering? What are they hoping to find out this way?”
“My thoughts exactly. I’m starting to think that they are not interested in you personally but hoping that you will lead them to a bigger fish.”
“What if I did?” She looked at him with worried eyes. “What if I exposed you and Alena?”
“They have no reason to suspect us. And our meeting in the waiting room of the modeling agency was purely coincidental.” He smiled. “Except that it wasn’t because the Fates had something to do with that.”
“What could they possibly suspect? That I belong to a cabal of paranormals?”
“That’s not as crazy as it sounds. If they collect paranormal talent, they might assume that other intelligence agencies are doing the same, and Israel has one of the best in the world.”
Mey chuckled. “That’s absurd.”
“Not really. Mysticism is a big part of Judaism, and there are many stories of famous rabbis performing feats that could only be described as paranormal. Who's to say that the Israeli intelligence is not using them?”
Mey’s shoulders started shaking a moment before she burst out laughing.
“What’s so funny? I’m serious.”
She shook her head. “It’s the image that’s funny. A group of rabbis, with their long beards and curly sideburns, sitting cross-legged in a circle, holding hands, and remote viewing Israel’s enemies. You have one hell of an imagination.”
He shrugged. “Hey, stranger things have happened.”
She choked down a giggle. “Like what?”
“Like a girl listening to the echoes embedded in walls and hearing conversations between immortals. Would anyone believe that?”
10
Mey
Mey had never flown on a private jet, not even during her Mossad days, and as she and Yamanu entered the private airport, she was surprised at the lack of security. No one checked their luggage or asked to see the contents of her purse, and she and Yamanu headed straight for the jet, where the two new bodyguards were waiting for them.
Guardians, she corrected herself. That was what they were called. Not bodyguards.
“Hi, I’m Kri.” The female Guardian offered Mey her hand while giving her a once-over.
They were about the same height, but Kri’s shoulders were about twice as wide as Mey’s, and she had biceps that were more pronounced than those of most guys, even those who exercised regularly.
She looked young, but by now, Mey knew that immortals’ looks could be deceptive. The Guardian could be hundreds of years old.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Mey.”
“Here is your phone.” The male Guardian handed her a white box. “I’m Michael.”
“Nice to meet you, and thank you.” She took the box and shook his hand as well. “I felt naked without a phone.”
Kri snorted and then cast a questioning glance at Yamanu. “Is there something you want to tell me, big guy?”
He pretended not to get her meaning. “Alena is doing her first photo shoot, and she has everyone with her, so you can head straight to the hotel. Ovidu will drive you there.” He smiled. “Ragnar has prepared a very nice suite for you two. This is the easiest assignment you’ll ever get. Think of it as the honeymoon you’ve never taken.”
So, Michael and Kri were a couple. Cute. They looked like they belonged together.
Kri shook her head. “Okay, be like that. I’ll just get Alena to fill me in on the details.”
Yamanu let out an exasperated sigh. “Fine. What do you want to know?”
She looked at Mey. “I think I already do. Is he treating you right?”
Mey threaded her arm through Yamanu’s and leaned her head on his shoulder. “He is perfect.”
A huge grin spread over Kri’s face. “Yamanu is the best. You don’t know how lucky you are. So, what’s your talent? Kian didn’t tell us anything. All we were told was that the team discovered a new Dormant.”
Mey cast a sidelong glance at Yamanu. Talking about her ability with strangers was not something she was comfortable doing. In fact, she felt a surge of anxiety at the prospect.
Yamanu patted Mey’s hand. “All in good time. We need to get moving.”
Kri deflated. “Yeah, this is not the time or place for that.” She turned to Mey and smiled. “Once this assignment is over, and I’m back in the village, how about we get together?”
“I would love to. I just hope that I’m still there when you come back.”
The Guardian got her meaning right away. “Good luck.” She offered Mey her hand. “I have a good feeling about you.”
Michael eyed the two suitcases. “Need any help with those?”
Yamanu snorted and picked them up as if they weighed nothing. “Have fun, kids.”
“Oh, we will.” Kri wrapped her arm around Michael’s shoulders. “See ya when we see ya.” She waved goodbye and picked up her duffle bag.
The girl traveled light.
Walking with Yamanu up the stairs, Mey asked, “Are they married?”
“Not yet. But they are mated, and they don’t need a ceremony for it to be official.”
Yamanu had touched on the fated mate myth, but he hadn’t elaborated. There had been so much information that he’d needed to share with her, and it hadn’t allowed for an in-depth discussion on any of the particulars. Most things she could wait until later to learn more about, but she was most curious about this subject.
“Would you like something to drink?” Yamanu asked as Mey secured the safety belt. “We have water, beer, and whiskey.”
“Water is fine.” Mey waited until he was strapped in as well.
“Explain the fated mates thing to me. Is every mating fated?”
Yamanu took a long moment to answer. “It’s complicated. Up until about three years ago, none of us had mates, and all we knew was from stories our Clan Mother had told us. Most gods and immortals of her time did not have fated mates, and it was considered a rare blessing to find your one and only. That didn’t mean, though, that love was absent from relationships that hadn’t been fated.”
“What about the new couples?”
“They all believe that they are each other's fated.”
She tilted her head. “Do you believe that? Perhaps they are still in the honeymoon stage, and that’s why it feels special to them?”
What she really wanted to ask was whether he believed that she was his fated mate, but it was too early for that. After all, they’d known each other for a little less than one week.
Letting his head rest against the seat’s back, Yamanu let out a breath. “I don’t know. I wish there was a test to determine that. Then again, maybe believing in it makes it so. Why poke holes in the fantasy?”
“Why indeed?”
In a way, it was a relief that he didn’t believe in the myth wholeheartedly. The ordinary kind of love was hard enough to find. Shooting for the stars could only lead to disappointment.
“But that’s my logical brain talking,” Yamanu continued. “On a gut level, I believe that our situation is different than that of the gods and immortals of old. I think that the Fates are responsible for the recent discoveries of Dormants. It can’t be a coincidence that after so many centuries of finding none, we are suddenly finding one after the other. And if the Fates are involved, they wouldn’t do a half-assed job.”
He took her hand and brought it to his lips. “I can’t be a hundred percent sure about the others, but I do believe that you are
mine. I know it’s too early, and I don’t expect you to believe it, but I just felt like I had to say it.”
As Mey’s stomach did a flip, she smiled noncommittally and brought the bottle of water to her lips.
Yamanu might be deluding himself just as the others were doing. He wanted her to be his mate and therefore believed that she was—not because she was so fabulous, but because Dormants were so rare.
The entire concept was strange. But then there were cultures that didn’t believe in love at all, so there was that.
Mey was a realist, but she believed in love.
She could see herself spending the rest of her life with Yamanu, but she was well aware that it might be just an infatuation. He was gorgeous, chivalrous, and selfless. Any woman would have fallen for him. But real love had to withstand the test of time and adversity.
Regrettably, the two weeks that Kian had allowed for her transition was not long enough for that. She would have to take a leap of faith and commit to Yamanu based on her untested feelings.
Even after all that he had told her about himself and the clan and immortals in general, she didn’t know much about him, from simple things like what did he like to do in his free time to the big question of why he had taken a vow of celibacy.
For some reason, Yamanu believed that his vow protected his people, but it could be wishful thinking just like the fated mates thing.
A silly superstition.
Not that she was going to call him out on that. Questioning a person’s beliefs was the fastest way to alienate them.
11
Kian
As Turner’s contact number appeared on Kian’s phone screen, he lifted a hand, stopping Onegus mid-sentence. “Excuse me. I’ve been waiting for this call.”
When Kian had called the guy the day before, Turner and Bridget were out on the town. Since what Kian wanted to discuss with him wasn’t urgent, he’d asked Turner to call him at his earliest convenience.
“You wanted to talk to me?” Turner said.
“Should I leave?” the chief asked.
“It’s not private.” Kian turned to Turner. “Onegus is here, but it has nothing to do with what I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Go ahead.”
“What do you know about the National Radio Quiet Zone?”
There was a long moment of silence. “Why do you ask?”
Turner’s uncharacteristically tense tone raised Kian’s hackles. “The New York team encountered a very interesting lady.” In several concise sentences, Kian told Turner about Mey and Jin, their unique talents, and Jin’s new job.
“So, the only clue Mey has is a travel guide with an earmarked page. It could be nothing.”
“Or it could be something. What do you know about the place?”
“I know plenty. The most severe restrictions on electronic communications are within a twenty-mile radius of the Green Bank Observatory. It was created to protect the radio telescopes in Green Bank and Sugar Grove from interference. But there is more. The U.S. Navy Information Operations Command is located in Sugar Grove. The base has intelligence-gathering systems, and it is rumored to be a key station in the Echelon system.”
Straightening in his chair, Kian shifted the phone to his other ear. “What the hell is the Echelon system?”
“It is operated by the National Security Agency, and it’s a global network of spy stations that can eavesdrop on basically anything, track transactions, monitor bank accounts, etc. These are unconfirmed rumors, but I heard it from reliable sources.”
An uncomfortable feeling started churning in Kian’s gut. This spying system was something he should have been aware of. Especially with all the technological knowhow that the clan had been dripping to humanity.
He wondered whether the Brotherhood knew about it. If they did, then they could thrall whoever worked there and get their hands on top secret information.
Hopefully, they were just as ignorant about it as he was.
“How good are they? Can they hack into our private communication system?”
“Your network communication is highly encrypted with technology that doesn’t exist on the market yet, so you have nothing to worry about. For now, anyway. But those using regular communication networks are another story. I’m sure that they can deal with encryption as well, just not at the level you are using. Their spying operation is rumored to be global, which means that they are listening in on communications from foreign countries and gathering intelligence. Some of it must be encrypted.”
Kian let out a whistle. “It gives a whole new meaning to Big Brother watching.”
“It does. On the other hand, it’s not humanly impossible to sift through all that massive information, so they use bots that react to certain trigger words. Those who have something to hide and are aware that their conversations might be monitored can work around it. Don’t mention bombs, terror attacks, explosions, and such, and you’re probably fine.”
“It’s scary. People are installing devices in their homes that can spy on them even when they are not using phones or computers.”
Turner chuckled. “I wouldn’t be too worried about it. With all that massive spying network, they still couldn’t prevent some of the worst terrorist attacks. The way they analyze the information they gather must be faulty.”
Letting out a breath, Kian swiveled his chair around and looked out the window. “How does it tie in with our missing Dormant, though? Do you think they are creating a paranormal spying network to supplement their equipment?”
“Sounds far-fetched, but it wouldn’t be the first time the government has dabbled with the paranormal. They had remote viewing labs in the seventies, with psychics trying to prove that they had ESP.”
“Did they work?”
Turner chuckled. “They no longer have them, so I assume that the experiments failed. But back to the missing girl, even if they decided to revive the program, there is no reason to house it in the same place as the electronic one.”
“What if they found a way to enhance the paranormal signal?”
Turner didn’t respond right away. “That sounds like science fiction. You, of all people, should know what technologies are out there.”
Kian swiveled his chair back and pulled out a box of cigarillos from the drawer. “That’s not necessarily true. We leak out information, but we don’t know what humans are doing with it. Someone might have developed something we haven’t even dreamt of. Besides, today’s science fiction is tomorrow’s reality.”
Onegus lifted his hand. “Can I ask a question?”
“Go ahead.” Kian waved a hand. “I’m going to put the call on speaker.”
He should have done it from the start, but then the entire office building would have been privy to his conversation with Turner. Not that he wanted to keep it a secret, but Turner wouldn’t have appreciated that.
“What if they programmed their bots to pick up on trigger words that hinted at paranormal talents?” Onegus asked.
A light bulb went on in Kian’s head. “That makes sense. I was wondering how they found out about Jin. Mey said that they never mentioned their abilities to anyone. I assumed that Jin had blurted something to someone she wasn't supposed to. But if what you suggest is true, the sisters could have triggered the system when they talked about their paranormal talents between themselves.”
“They must have only mentioned Jin’s talent and not Mey’s,” Turner picked up the thread. “That’s why they went after Jin and only monitored Mey.”
Rapping his fingers on the desk, Kian groaned. “I feel like we are onto something big here, but I’m not sure what.”
“Dormants, of course,” Onegus said. “If the government is collecting paranormal talent, they can have a hidden facility full of Dormants.”
Kian shook his head. “Even if that is true, we can’t do much about it. I’m not going to attack a government facility and snatch a bunch of people. First of all, most of them are probably there volunta
rily, and secondly, I’m not going to do anything to attract the big gorilla’s attention. That would be suicidal of me.”
“You are absolutely right,” Turner said. “Even Dormants are not worth the risk.”
Onegus rubbed his jaw. “I wish there was a way to get to them before the government does. We could offer them a better deal to lure them in, and once they find their mates, they are ours.”
The pieces clicked into place in Kian’s head. “That’s it. That’s what we need to do. The question is, how? We don’t have anything like their Echelon system, and my bet is that it’s impossible to hack into.”
Onegus shrugged. “Wouldn’t hurt to let Roni give it a try.”
“Actually, it might,” Turner said. “I know that he is one of the best, but there are others who are just as good and better, and they can detect his hack and trace it back here.”
12
Syssi
“Where do you think I should hang it?” Amanda held up one of Dalhu’s landscapes. “It’s too small to go over the couch.”
Syssi took a step back and looked at the empty expanse of wall. “Maybe you should hang both of them together. One next to the other.”
“That’s a good idea. But then I’ll have nothing for the bedroom.”
Syssi snorted. “I don’t think Yamanu and Mey will pay any attention to what’s hanging on the walls. They will be too busy looking at each other.”
“I hope they will be doing more than that.” Amanda held up both landscapes. “What do you think?”
“Looks good.”
“Onidu!” Amanda called. “I need you to come here and hang up the paintings.”
Wiping his wet hands on his apron, the butler rushed out of the kitchen. “Yes, mistress. Right away.”
“How is the cleanup going?” Amanda asked.
“The refrigerator is ready for new supplies. I’m cleaning the oven now.”
She stepped down from the couch and handed him the paintings. “Did I tell you what a treasure you are?”
