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

by I. T. Lucas

  A wide grin spread over Jonah’s face, and he soundlessly clapped his ghostly hands. “Bravo, brother. Finally, you realize that it was Gudbrand’s failing and not Olek’s. It has only taken nearly fifty cycles for you to arrive at that conclusion.”

  “I don’t understand. Did I think differently before? Did my other incarnations dream about Gudbrand’s life as well?”

  “Sometimes. Most often, you dreamt about Olek’s life, though.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you were Olek, not Gudbrand, and you blamed yourself for your wife’s and my death.”

  Stunned, David didn’t respond for a long moment. How was it possible that he’d been Olek if he had dreamt of being Gudbrand?

  “In this last reincarnation, we were twins, and we had a special connection,” Jonah said. “We swapped dreams as well. It was intentional. Over the many cycles, you managed to work out the anger but not the guilt. You needed to get a better understanding of Gudbrand to let go of it as well. As Olek, you idolized him.”

  “But what about my dreams of Annani? Were they your dreams?”

  Jonah chuckled. “She haunted me throughout all my cycles. As Gudbrand, I was obsessed with her, and the impact she left on me followed to subsequent incarnations. I hope that this was the last time, and that I can finally let go and be free of her. Seeing Ania as a mother, heading a clan dedicated to helping humanity, cast her in a different light for me. I just hope to take this knowledge with me into the next round.”

  “What about Ayesha? You were never big on reading fiction, so it’s unlikely that you read the same book I did. Have you seen the movie?”

  “I didn’t. The Ayesha spin was all yours.” Jonah leaned forward. “Do you remember how we used to complete each other’s sentences as kids?”

  “We did it as adults as well.”

  “Apparently, we also did that with dreams. One started and the other completed it.”

  “I should feel relieved, but I’m not.” David sighed. “As Gudbrand, I was arrogant and selfish, but I wasn’t a murderer.”

  “You weren’t as Olek either. The goddess took control of your mind and commanded you to defend her from me.” Jonah smirked. “You were always so easily influenced.”

  “And you were always so damn hardheaded. Were you really going to kill her?”

  Jonah nodded. “Gudbrand couldn’t understand his obsession with her. Ania made him feel out of control, and he wasn’t the type who took the blame for anything. He thought that she’d enchanted him with magic, or that she was a demoness who had enthralled him so she could suck up his vitality.” He smiled sheepishly. “Sex with a goddess can exhaust the strongest, most vital man. Part of it was true, though. She thralled him not to see her glowing eyes and skin, but when Olek burst into her tent and Gudbrand was startled out of the thrall, he saw her in all her magnificently glowing nudity, and his suspicions got confirmed.”

  “She is my future mother-in-law. I would appreciate it if you didn’t mention intimate details.”

  “Understandable.”

  “So, he wanted to kill her because she glowed?”

  “No, not only because of that. Gudbrand felt guilty for failing Olek, but instead of taking the blame upon himself, he blamed Ania, aka Annani. I owe her an apology for that, but since I can’t communicate with her, you will have to convey it for me. Annani has carried the guilt for Gudbrand’s death for long enough, and she needs to know that if you hadn’t stopped me, I would have ended her life. Losing me only affected my family and my clan, but her death would have affected all of humanity. The world would have been a miserable place without her positive influence.”

  “Annani is not going to believe me. She thinks that I was Gudbrand.”

  “You’ll have to convince her.”

  40

  Sari

  Sari leaned over the bed and stroked David’s blond hair. “I have to go, but I won’t be gone long.” She kissed his stubbled cheek. “My mother is going to give you a blessing, and I’m going to lead a prayer for your successful transition at the same time. Whether you believe in the power of prayer or not, all that positive energy has to help.”

  As usual, there was no response, not even a twitch, and the only sounds in the room were made by the medical equipment keeping David alive.

  “One more kiss.” She leaned and pecked his cheek before forcing her legs to carry her out of the room.

  She left the door open and smiled at her mother. “I’m leaving David in your capable hands. Are you going to stay with him until I return?”

  “If that is your wish, I will.” Annani looked up at Kian. “Will you stay and keep me company?”

  “Of course, Mother.”

  Hadn’t Annani said that she needed to be alone with David?

  Perhaps she anticipated the prayers to last longer than her blessing and wanted Kian to be with her once she was done.

  Alena threaded her arm through Sari’s. “Let’s go. Syssi and Amanda are already in the dining room.”

  As she cast one last glance at David through the open door, Sari’s palm closed around her phone and she let Alena lead her away.

  Her sister looked at her hand and shook her head. “The camera will be turned off for the blessing. Mother is very secretive about that. She doesn’t let anyone in the room with her, and that includes anyone watching through the camera.”

  “Why is that? Annani said that she needs to focus on David, but the camera shouldn’t distract her. It’s just there, doing nothing.”

  Alena shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe the ritual is ridiculous, or maybe she needs to get naked while she gives the blessing to add potency to it.”

  Sari chuckled. “That’s absurd. Why would she need to be nude?”

  “I didn’t say that she did, only that she might. She’s probably chanting in the old language and making some sacred signs that no one is allowed to see.” Alena pulled her arm out of Sari’s and started waving both her arms and fingers in a strange sequence.

  Her sister was obviously trying to lift her mood, and it was working.

  Sari laughed despite the heaviness in her stomach. “I didn’t know that you were such a comedienne.”

  “I’m discovering hidden talents.” Alena threaded her arm through Sari’s once more. “I’m over two thousand years old. It’s about time I did something different.”

  “I would think that Mother provided you with all the excitement you could handle.”

  “She does. But lately, she’s not as adventurous as she used to be.”

  “Should we worry about her?”

  “Frankly, I don’t know what to think. I’m afraid that she’s more subdued because she’s given up hope of ever finding Khiann’s reincarnation.”

  “Why? She should feel encouraged now that she has proof that reincarnation is real.”

  “I assume she told you the story of what happened between her and David.”

  Sari nodded. “Not David, Gudbrand. It’s important for us to make a distinction.”

  “Does it creep you out?”

  “A little. But not enough to give David up. I’ll get over it.”

  “Good. You were always a smart woman.”

  “Not really. I fell for a guy who was willing to kill the woman he’d just made love to. This bothers me even more than David being my mother’s lover in his past life. I sincerely hope that he has done a complete one-eighty.”

  As they entered the dining hall, everyone rose to their feet and remained standing.

  Sari walked over to her place at the head table and faced her people. “Thank you for your show of support.” She lifted her phone to glance at the time. “Right at this moment, our Clan Mother is giving her blessing to David. Let us aid her effort by offering a prayer to the merciful Fates for David’s successful transition and full recovery.”

  She looked at Syssi, who nodded her encouragement.

  “I was told that the best way to go about it was to close your eyes, imagine Dav
id healthy and full of vitality, and direct your healing energy toward his image as you say your prayer.”

  Sari demonstrated by closing her eyes. “Dear merciful Fates, please help David pull through his transition into immortality.”

  As Amanda repeated the same sentiment in different words, and then Syssi, Sari continued praying silently. He has only been with us for a short while, but during that time, he became everything to me, and I can’t imagine life without him. Please, I beg you, help him recover as soon as possible. Whatever sacrifice you require of me, I will gladly give it.

  When the prayer was done, and people started toward the buffet tables, Sari tried to sneak out unnoticed, but she was caught by Alena.

  “Oh no, you don’t. You stay here and eat dinner.”

  “I want to go back to David.”

  “Mother is with him, and he is stable. You need to eat, and you also need to demonstrate to your people that you care about them as well. Stay for ten minutes and show them that you are still the strong leader they can count on and not an emotional mess.”

  “Fine. But not a minute longer than that.”

  41

  Kian

  After Sari left with Alena, Kian let out a relieved breath. “I was afraid that she would change her mind at the last minute and demand to stay.”

  Annani lifted her chin and looked at him down her nose. “I am the Clan Mother, and my wishes are obeyed, even by my children.”

  It always amazed him how his tiny mother could look down on him when the top of her head barely reached his chest.

  It was a gift.

  This time, though, she’d done it for show, and her words had been meant for Steven.

  Bridget had left to have dinner and pray for David’s successful transition, but Steven stayed behind, and the door to his office was open.

  “Of course, Mother.” Kian bowed. “I will make sure that you have the privacy you require.”

  She nodded. “Thank you.”

  He turned around and motioned for Steven to come out.

  The young doctor was clearly intimidated by Annani, and unless his presence was needed, he preferred not to hang around, which was fortunate. He would do as he was told without argument.

  “I need you to turn off the camera in David’s room. The Clan Mother requires complete privacy for her blessing.”

  Steven dipped his head. “I’ll do that right away.”

  Kian watched him flick the switch, but it wasn’t enough to convince him that the device was really turned off. People’s curiosity sometimes overcame their better judgment and even fear of retribution by their superiors.

  “Show me the application. I want to make sure that the camera is offline.”

  Looking offended, Steven pulled out his phone, found the application and handed it to Kian. “It says that the camera is offline.”

  The top of the screen was black, and it showed a camera icon that was crossed out, but the bottom still showed the various squiggly lines from the monitoring equipment.

  Hopefully, there would be no alarming change in any of them that would have Steven running into David’s room.

  But that was what Kian was there for. He was going to guard the door, and even if all hell broke loose, he would not let anyone pass until Annani was done.

  “Thank you.” He handed the doctor his phone back.

  Steven dipped his head. “Anything else I can do for you, Clan Mother?”

  “No, that will be all, Steven. I only need ten minutes or so for the ritual. I will let you know when it is okay to turn the camera back on.”

  He nodded. “I will be in my office.”

  “Good luck.” Kian opened the door to David’s room for his mother.

  Pulling her burgundy cloak around her, Annani glided inside. As he closed the door and leaned against it, Kian thought about her choice of attire.

  Fortunately, it was getting chilly at night in the castle, so no one questioned Annani’s need for a warm coat. As a pure-blooded goddess, she was less sensitive to the cold than even other immortals, and usually, she only wore sleeveless floor-length gowns that were made from silk or some other light material. Her warm cloaks were reserved for her early-morning walks, particularly cold days, or her blessings, which required a syringe that she needed to hide somewhere. Except, it was small, and she could have put it in the pocket hidden by the folds of her gown. Perhaps she felt the need to be extra cautious this time, or maybe she was simply cold.

  There was no reason to read too much into that, and there were better ways for him to spend the ten minutes he was stuck guarding the door.

  Syssi probably expected him to join in the communal prayer for David.

  Feeling awkward, he lifted his eyes toward the ceiling and offered a prayer. Dear merciful Fates, please help David transition successfully. Sari deserves a happy ending, and I will be very upset with you if that doesn’t happen.

  Threatening the Fates was not the best strategy for helping David, but it was better than offering falsehoods and pretending to be humble when he was not. This was how Kian’s mind worked, and he was just being honest.

  One minute gone and nine to go.

  Perhaps he could use the time to check his emails and text messages. Pulling out his phone, Kian glanced at the two clocks display. It was eight in the evening in Scotland, and noon time in Los Angeles. There would be a fair amount of both.

  Most of the emails weren’t urgent, and he forwarded them to Shai, only adding a sentence or two of instructions. One required his personal attention, but he could answer it later. There were two text messages, one from Onegus and one from Turner asking him to call them back. He’d already spoken with William and with Onegus about Eleanor’s phone, but the two messages had arrived after that.

  Hopefully, they had nothing to do with him allowing the tap on her phone to be removed. Logically, he knew that the limited number of people she could call from her phone were all safe, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that allowing her more freedom was a mistake.

  Since her arrival at the village, Eleanor hadn’t given him a reason to suspect her, and she seemed to be making an effort to assimilate. And yet, whenever he thought of her, he imagined a rattlesnake hiding under a rock and looking all docile while readying to strike.

  None of the messages had mentioned that it was urgent, so he could wait to call Turner and Onegus later.

  It would be disrespectful to talk on the phone while his mother gave David her ‘blessing’ and Sari and her people prayed for his survival.

  42

  Annani

  For a long moment, Annani stood by David’s bed and just looked at him. Why did he remind her of Gudbrand? If not for his dreams of her, she would have dismissed her initial reaction to him.

  Physically, there was very little the two had in common.

  David was handsome, but he was not nearly as big or as rugged as Gudbrand had been. In comparison, he seemed almost soft. They were both blond, had a straight nose and lush lips, but that was all.

  David had a kind face, and his eyes, when open, had been full of sorrow. He was a healer, not a warrior.

  Well, that was not entirely true. Under the outer layers of compassion and civility, traces of the warrior remained. David could not have thrived in the competitive world of top academia by being meek. There was a fierceness in him and a determination that with the right provocation could transform him into a fighter. If his loved ones needed his protection, she had no doubt he would fight for them to his dying breath.

  Stroking his short hair, Annani sighed. “If I have wronged you in this life or another, I am deeply sorry. My intentions are always benevolent, but life is complicated, and things can never be reduced to a simple right or wrong.”

  Reaching inside her pocket, she pulled out the syringe, removed the stopper, and plunged it into the crook of her arm. When it was one-third full, she pulled it out. Finding a vein, she carefully inserted the tiny needle into David’s arm. It was im
portant not to leave a bruise that would clue in Steven and Bridget as to the true nature of her blessing.

  The entire procedure took only a few seconds, and she remained silent throughout. David might not feel anything that was done to him, but he might be able to hear her.

  After all, Turner had heard everything that had been happening around him, and Annani was glad that she had been careful not to say anything about the transfusion while helping him as well as the other Dormants she'd given her blessing to.

  Like with the others, David had not even twitched when the tiny needle pricked his skin, and nothing had registered on the monitoring equipment.

  So far, none had remembered the transfusion, which was as it should be.

  After returning the empty syringe to her pocket, she leaned over David and kissed his cheek. “I know that you cannot feel it, but it is part of my blessing.” She chuckled.

  The words had been said in the old language, so even if David could hear her, he would not understand what she had told him.

  Annani continued her sing-song monologue in Sumerian. “You will start feeling better soon, fair David, and when you wake up, you will make my daughter a very happy woman. I hope that the two of you can get over what happened between Gudbrand and me in the past, but I know it will be difficult. If not for your dreams of me, I would not have said anything to Sari, but I could not leave her guessing. The suspicions would have been worse than the truth.”

  Annani walked over to the only chair left in the room and pulled it closer to the bed before sitting down.

  Sighing, she took David’s limp hand in hers. “I wish you and Sari a long and happy life together, and as many children as you want to have.” She chuckled softly. “If it were up to me, I would have wanted a new grandchild every year, but I know that the Fates are not as generous with my descendants. I love children, and if I could, I would have more, but it seems that I am done for now.”