Dark Secrets Unveiled (The Children Of The Gods Paranormal Romance Book 45)

by I. T. Lucas

  “It tickles.” Syssi pulled a ventriloquist act and giggled with her mouth tightly closed.

  “Oh, yeah?” He flicked his tongue over the seam. “Open up for me.”

  She shook her head. “Morning breath.”

  Kian was about to tickle her sides until she had no choice and opened her mouth, but his damn phone started vibrating again.

  He groaned. “What is it now?”

  “Check it. It might be about David this time.”

  If it wasn’t, he would be majorly pissed. Nothing short of an invasion justified interrupting his morning fun with his wife.

  Rolling off to the side, Kian reached for his phone and read the message. “It’s Turner. He’s asking if I can call him.” He put the phone back. “Turner can wait.” He wrapped his arm around Syssi and pulled her on top of him. “Where were we?”

  She shook her head. “Call him. Turner wouldn’t be bothering you this early in the morning if it wasn’t important.”

  “First of all, this isn’t early. Back home, I’m usually in the office by six. Besides, if something happened, Onegus would have called me.”

  “Nevertheless, call Turner. He always accepts your calls or calls you right back.” Syssi rolled off him, sat up, and crossed her arms over her chest, which meant that she wouldn’t relent until he did as she asked.

  Whoever thought that he was the boss in their relationship didn’t know Syssi well enough. When something was important to her, she didn’t budge until she got what she wanted. Not that Kian had a problem with that. On the contrary. Syssi’s advice was always spot on.

  “You are right. I owe the guy more than I can ever repay him.”

  Letting out a breath, Syssi dropped her arms and lay down next to him. “Thank you.”

  “No, thank you. You are the voice of reason that I often lack.” Kian pushed up on the pillows, placed the call, and activated the speaker. “What’s up, Turner?”

  “I’m sorry to bother you and Syssi on your vacation, but I have a favor to ask.”

  “Anything that you need and I can provide is yours.”

  “I need to borrow a couple of Guardians for one of my private operations.”

  That was an odd request. Turner had plenty of ex-special ops crews that he used for his hostage retrieval business, and he’d never needed clan resources for that. The opposite was true, with the clan using Turner’s people on more than one occasion.

  Still, even though Kian owed the guy big time, he wasn’t about to lend him his men without finding out first what was expected of them.

  “What do you need them to do?”

  “It’s not a complicated job, but it requires thralling, and regrettably, I haven’t mastered it yet. The young lady I was hired to retrieve was not kidnapped, and she is not a hostage. She joined what her father believes is a cult, and she won’t leave voluntarily. I did some investigating into the man she’s hooked up with, and her father might be right. She’s an adult, so there is no legal way to get her out, and I’m not about to kidnap a woman on American soil. But if she can be thralled to leave, her father can get her into rehab to undo the brainwashing.”

  “What if she’s not brainwashed? She might have joined out of her own free will, and her father just doesn’t like what she’s doing. As an adult, it’s her choice to do whatever she wants with her life, including throwing it away.”

  “In principle, I agree. But we both know how effective brainwashing can be, and how insidious are the methods used to attract and trap followers. She was a law student with only one year left to complete her degree. Then one day, she just disappeared without letting anyone know where she was going. Her father hired a private detective, who found out that she was donating her generous living allowance to an organization with a questionable reputation.”

  “How so?” Syssi asked. “What did he find out about them?”

  “Officially, they operate as a spiritual retreat. Their website talks about self-actualization through meditation, introspection, fasting, and other nonsense like freedom from the shackles of an oppressive society, etc. What they are really after is their members’ money, slave labor, and in some cases, also sexual exploitation.”

  “Is the group militant?” Kian asked.

  “They might be. I need to find out, but to do that, I need to infiltrate their compound. I can have an operative sign up for the retreat and investigate, but that would take too long. I want to get her out as soon as possible.”

  “This is not your usual kind of work. How come you took the assignment?”

  “The lady’s father said something that intrigued me. He told me that his daughter was always a strange bird who never felt like she belonged anywhere. That was why he thought she’d been easy to exploit. When I asked him in what way she was strange, he tried to backtrack and said that she was just a little odd. When I pressed, saying that I need all the information he can give me about her, he admitted that she claimed to hear voices in her head.”

  “Like Nathalie?” Syssi asked.

  “She claimed that they belonged to living people.”

  “I don’t get it. Did she hear the thoughts of people she was with? She might be a telepath.”

  “That’s what I thought as well, but her father said that she heard the voices even when she was alone. He thinks that she’s a schizophrenic.”

  “Did he have her evaluated?” Syssi pushed up on the pillows.

  “He didn’t want to. Until she joined the cult, she was functioning well despite the voices, and he didn’t want the stigma of mental illness attached to her. It could be that he’s right, but I think it’s interesting and worth investigating.”

  “I assume that you suspect she is a Dormant.” Kian shifted the phone to his other hand. “What about her mother?”

  “She died in a freak accident when Anastasia was a little girl. Her father thinks that the trauma of losing her mother messed with her head.”

  “Any siblings?” Syssi asked.

  “The father remarried. Anastasia has a half-brother and half-sister.”

  “Not relevant as far as dormancy goes,” Kian said.

  “True. What about those Guardians I asked for? Can I borrow a couple?”

  It seemed like an easy in and out mission that didn’t involve a lot of risks. Even the less experienced Guardians could handle it.

  “Of course. Call Onegus. Tell him that I approved the request.”

  “Thank you.”

  3

  David

  “Breakfast at Annani’s.” David wrapped his arm around Sari’s waist. “Did it have to be at seven in the morning?”

  Closing the door behind them, Sari didn’t lock it because there was no lock. Evidently, she deemed all members of her clan trustworthy.

  Was that wise?

  What if someone decided that it was time to replace her at the helm?

  Had no clan member ever harmed another?

  David found it unlikely. Immortals were still people, and utopia didn’t exist.

  “Maybe she couldn’t sleep either.” Sari leaned against his side. “I’m glad that I woke you up at six, though.”

  “Yeah, definitely.”

  Despite his best efforts, the hour hadn’t been spent making love because Sari wanted him to preserve his energy, but he would have preferred to stay in bed for a little longer and cuddle. Who knew? Maybe his persistence would have eroded Sari’s resistance. He could think of several things they could have done that didn’t require a lot of energy expenditure, but it wasn’t like they could refuse an invitation from the goddess.

  “Who else is invited?” he asked.

  “Probably the usual suspects. Kian and Syssi, Amanda and Dalhu, and Alena, of course. Kalugal and Jacki as well. Annani makes a conscious effort to include him in family affairs. Growing up the way he did, the guy needs it.”

  “He seems well-adjusted to me.”

  Kalugal was full of himself, but since he was a demigod, his feelings of self-worth
were justified. Other than that, he was charming, easygoing, and very smart. David had no problem with the eternal pledge he’d made to him in exchange for the induction. Besides, the way he saw it, he was the one who would gain the most from their alliance. The pledge David had taken only required him to offer his loyalty and friendship to Kalugal, while Kalugal’s pledge required him to be David’s mentor.

  He could learn a lot from the guy.

  Sari nodded. “Surprisingly, he is. I don’t know how he managed that given that his mother was not around, and his father was a power-hungry despot whom he feared.”

  That was indeed surprising. Even child demigods needed love to thrive and flourish. They might be a highly evolved species, but they had too much in common with humans to be significantly different in that regard.

  “Kalugal must have had someone who loved and nurtured him as a child. Otherwise he wouldn’t have turned out the way he has.”

  “I guess that he had nannies who cared for him.” Sari stopped in front of Annani’s suite and knocked on the door.

  Her older sister opened the door. “Hello.” She smiled at David. “How are you feeling this morning?”

  “I feel great, thank you.” He followed Sari inside.

  “That’s my venom at work.” Kalugal grinned. “I hope that you enjoyed the trip.” He beckoned David and Sari over. “Come sit with me and tell me all about it.”

  The goddess was sitting at the head of the table, but her other children and their mates weren’t there yet.

  David dipped his head. “Good morning, Clan Mother.”

  “Good morning.” She cast him a warm smile. “I am glad that you are feeling well, David.”

  “Thank you.” He pulled out a chair for Sari and then one for himself next to Kalugal. “So, what are your duties as my mentor? What are you going to teach me, wise master?”

  Kalugal smirked. “The wonders of immortality, my friend. But not just yet. After your transition.”

  David couldn’t imagine what else Kalugal could tell him about immortality that Sari hadn’t already. He was more interested in the guy’s investments in promising new technologies.

  Next to him, Sari groaned. “The waiting is so stressful.” She looked at Jacki. “How long did it take for your transition to start after Kalugal’s first bite?”

  Jacki’s cheeks pinked. “The first bite was on Monday, and I started transitioning on Thursday. But maybe it didn’t happen because of the first one, and the second bite triggered it.”

  Kalugal wrapped his arm around her. “I assure you that it started after the first one. It just took three days for the transition process to start manifesting symptoms.”

  When a knock sounded at the door, one of the goddess’s butlers rushed to open the way.

  “Good morning, Master Kian and Mistress Syssi.” He bowed. “Good morning, Mistress Amanda and Master Dalhu.”

  “I apologize for arriving a little late, Mother.” Kian walked over to the goddess and kissed her cheek. “I had an interesting call from Turner.”

  “I have no excuse.” Amanda walked over and kissed her mother as well. “Not a good one anyway.” She winked at her mate before taking a seat next to the goddess.

  The lack of response from Annani indicated that she had no problem with her children sharing that kind of information with her. For someone so ancient, she was surprisingly progressive. David would have never dared talk like that in front of his father or his mother.

  “What was the call from Turner about?” Kalugal asked.

  “A new case that he’s working on. As you know, he runs a hostage retrieval operation. People come to him when all other options have been exhausted. This time, however, it’s not about a hostage but about a woman who joined a cult voluntarily and doesn’t want to be rescued. He asked me to lend him a couple of Guardians.”

  “What does he need the Guardians for?” Amanda asked.

  “He can’t get her out against her will, and his own thralling ability is so-so. He needs a Guardian to thrall her so she leaves voluntarily. Or at least it seems so.”

  “He could use Kri,” Amanda suggested. “As a woman, she would attract less suspicion.”

  “That’s a good idea.” Kian pulled out his phone. “I’ll have Onegus suggest her to Turner. It’s a low-risk mission, and Kri would love to see some action.”

  “Maybe she’s happy in the cult?” Jacki asked. “What if the Guardian forces her to leave, and then she throws a tantrum about having been abducted?”

  “She might.” David leaned forward so Jacki could see him. “She probably thinks that the cult leader is her savior and that he loves her. It will take a lot of work to undo the unhealthy attachment.”

  Kian lifted a brow. “Can you explain?”

  “I’m not an expert on the subject, but I can give you an overview that will shed a little light on how totalitarian systems work. Cults, dictatorships, terrorist groups, even abusive partners and some political movements are all totalitarian systems that use similar methods. They distance their members from family and friends, often alienating them by painting them in horrid colors. They create an isolated and self-contained environment and supply a total world view and a total ideology that has all the answers. People need to belong, to be loved, and to feel safe, and since those are basic survival instincts, they are hardwired into us. Those needs are exploited by cults. When we are isolated, overwhelmed, and insecure, we seek all that from the authority figure in charge.”

  “Do they also use intimidation methods?” Jacki asked. “I don’t think that isolating people from family and friends and supplying them with a complete world view is enough to brainwash them.”

  David nodded. “A cycle of punishments and rewards keep members off-balance and vulnerable, allowing an unhealthy attachment to replace the healthy ones that existed prior to the indoctrination.”

  “You mean that they feel attached to the cult leader,” Jacki said. “Or the commander of the terrorist group. Now I understand why Director Simmons isolated us from the outside world, and why they drowned us in work. They were using the same tactics in the program.” She chuckled. “But something must have been missing from the mix because I never liked the bastard, let alone felt attached to him.”

  David frowned. “What program are you talking about?”

  “The government collects people with paranormal abilities and trains them in a secret facility. I was part of that program, but the clan got me out.” She smiled. “I wanted to leave, though. No one needed to thrall me to do that. Not that they could. Even as a human, I was immune to mind manipulation.”

  David had read about the military and the intelligence community’s investigation of paranormal phenomena. The program had existed from the fifties all the way to the nineties, but he’d thought that it had been shut down after the Cold War had ended.

  The arms race with the Soviets was over, including the psychic one.

  Apparently, though, there was a renewed interest in the subject, and he wondered about the reason for it. The original program had been created after both the Soviets and the Americans had discovered research done by the Nazis on what they’d called the occult sciences, aka paranormal abilities.

  As far as he knew, the success of that program had been very limited, which was an additional reason for its termination.

  What could have been the impetus for its revival?

  Perhaps Jacki could shed some light on that. “What did they train you for?”

  Jacki shrugged. “To be spies, I guess. What else are paranormal talents good for?”

  “Creating super-humans,” Kalugal said. “Did you forget about the breeding program?”

  “Right.” Jacki turned to David. “They had a compeller whose job was to make us hook up with complementary talents so we would produce super babies.” She chuckled. “They wanted to jump-start the next step in human evolution.”

  Images from the X-men movies came to mind.

  “Unbelievable
.” David rubbed a hand over his jaw. “If Sari’s story about gods and immortals was the stuff of myths and legends, what you are telling me now sounds like the stuff of comic books.”

  “Or science fiction.” Sari put a hand on his shoulder. “Aren’t you glad that you accepted Kalugal’s invitation? Just think of all the ideas for stories you are collecting here.”

  He took her hand and kissed it. “Kalugal has my eternal gratitude because he brought me to you. The story ideas are just a nice bonus.”

  4

  Sari

  Kalugal dipped his head. “Your gratitude is appreciated, David. I’ll send you the bill later.”

  The teasing was just what had been needed to break the uncomfortable silence that had followed David’s public declaration. He hadn’t mentioned the word love, but his meaning hadn’t been lost on anyone around the breakfast table.

  Sari assumed that the discomfort was about the uncertainty of his future, and not about David as a person or as her partner. He was an exceptional individual, and she couldn’t conceive of anyone finding fault with him.

  “Fascinating subject.” Amanda put her hand on Dalhu’s shoulder. “What you said about the unhealthy attachment replacing healthy ones is also true in reverse. To free a person from a cult, a new healthy attachment is needed. When Dalhu decided to tie his life to mine, it enabled him to break free from Navuh’s compulsion. We thought it was the mated bond that did that, but perhaps another healthy attachment could have done it as well. The bond doesn’t even have to be romantic in nature. A bond between a parent and child or even a close friendship might work just as well.”

  “The distance also had something to do with it,” Kian said. “There is a good reason Navuh requires all his men to return to the island at least once a month. He needs to reinforce the compulsion periodically.”

  Amanda waved a dismissive hand. “I’m not talking about the compulsion. In my opinion, it is used to reinforce the underlying organizational structure of the Brotherhood, which operates like a cult. Its members remain loyal to Navuh even when they are away from the island for extended periods of time and the compulsion loses its hold on them. The main reason that Dalhu was able to break free of the cult’s brainwashing was his new bond with me, not the weakening of Navuh’s influence. But what I’m trying to say is that any healthy bond could have done it. Right, Dalhu?”