by I. T. Lucas
The butler smiled a fake smile and bowed. “You will have to present your question to Mistress Sari.” He retreated walking backward. “Good day, master.” He bowed again before closing the door.
Odd little man.
The coffee table was set up for two, which meant that Sari was joining him for breakfast. Or at least he hoped so.
Should he wait?
Perhaps he could have some coffee and eat with Sari when she arrived. Sitting down, he poured himself a cup from the thermal carafe and took a grateful first sip.
When a gentle knock sounded at his door, David put the cup down and rushed to open up. “Good morning, gorgeous.”
Smiling, Sari walked in with a small box in her hands. “Good morning.”
She’d changed into a pair of gray wide-legged slacks, a white button-down blouse that was tucked in, and low-heeled gray pumps.
It was just as conservative and elegant as her other outfit, and she looked ravishing in both.
“I’m so glad that you decided to have breakfast with me in private.”
“I brought you a clan-issue phone.” She handed him the box and sat on one of the armchairs.
“Thank you.” He opened the box. “Any special instructions?”
“It works similarly to the iPhone.” Her lips twisted in a slight grimace. “For now, it is limited to inter-clan communications. It’s already programmed with my number, Miranda’s, and the numbers of everyone who arrived with you from the United States. But if you need to make a call to the outside world, you’ll have to do it from my office.”
He could understand the security concern, but even though he couldn’t blame her for wanting to protect her people, it still hurt that Sari didn’t trust him.
“When will I be trusted to make unsupervised outside calls?”
“After your transition. As an immortal, you will have as much incentive to keep our secret as we do.”
In his case, it was true regardless of his transition. He would never betray Sari’s trust, but if the same protocol was used with other newly-minted immortals, it wasn’t fail-proof. Some people would sell their own children for profit.
He took the device out of the box and turned it on. “You should be more cautious with the people you turn. Even as immortals, they might decide to sell out your secret for profit.”
“So far, none of the transitioned Dormants has done anything like that, but you are right. It’s a risk, and we assess each person individually.” She smiled. “I don’t know you well yet, but I have a feeling that our secret is safe with you.”
“You are a good judge of character.”
“I would like to think so.”
He lifted the carafe. “Can I pour you some coffee?”
“Yes, thank you.” Sari leaned back and crossed her legs. “Usually, I have breakfast in the dining room, but I wanted more alone time with you.”
He handed her a cup. “Won’t your people miss you?”
“Breakfast is over already, and they probably thought that I was too busy to attend. It happens quite often.”
David removed the lids from both plates and waited until Sari took the first bite before digging in.
Thankfully, the breakfast was standard continental and not the traditional Scottish fare. He wasn’t a fan of baked beans in sweet tomato sauce and black pudding.
When they were done, he poured them both more coffee and leaned back with his cup in hand. “When is your mother arriving?”
“She should be landing right about now. It’s about an hour-and-a-half drive.”
David wasn’t sure whether Sari wanted him to be there when the goddess arrived, or if he was going to meet her later.
“Is there a special protocol I should be aware of?”
“Annani is not big on formalities, but she is big on family. She wants to be greeted by her children.”
“Then perhaps I shouldn’t be there. I don’t want to intrude on a family reunion.”
“She would be mad if I didn’t introduce you right away. Besides, all of your travel companions will be there. When I introduce you, you should address her as Clan Mother.”
“Should I bow?”
“A head dip will suffice. Think of her as a queen on an informal visit and follow my lead.”
“Got it. Are all of her visits informal? Or are there special occasions with more pomp and protocol?”
“Naturally. My mother loves to preside over weddings, and she makes sure her entry is quite dramatic. On rare occasions, she also addresses the large assembly, and that’s quite a spectacle. Annani likes attention, and she’s quite the drama queen, but she’s friendly and approachable.”
“She sounds awesome.”
Sari chuckled. “You have no idea. Wait until you meet her.”
42
Eleanor
As the class ended, Eleanor continued her cool-down stretches and waited for the other trainees to leave. Today was going to be her first one-on-one session with Kri, and she was looking forward to getting her butt kicked by the Guardian.
If she did well during these sessions, Kri was going to put in a word with Brundar on her behalf, asking him to allow her in his class without going through the intermediate first.
“Ready?” Kri asked when the last trainee left the room.
“Whenever you are.” Eleanor stretched her back.
Being immortal rocked.
She could train for hours without getting tired, muscle aches went away quickly without the benefit of pain medication, no joint pains, no mental fog, nothing. She was a machine, and with the amount of training she was doing, there was hardly any time left to obsess about Greggory and how much she missed him.
“What’s that face for?” Kri assumed a fighting stance. “No need to be scared. I’ll go easy on you.”
Eleanor huffed. “Don’t you dare. I’m not scared of getting banged around. The face was about something else.”
Kri strengthened. “Like what? Is someone bothering you?”
“Surprisingly, everyone is nice to me even though I don’t deserve it. I was thinking about Greggory and that I miss him.”
“Why don’t you call him? Phone sex is better than none.”
Eleanor was still getting used to the immortals’ lack of inhibitions about sex. Then again, the younger generation of humans was like that as well. If she wanted to fit in and act the age she looked, she’d better adopt the same attitude.
Not that she was getting to meet humans anytime soon. It would probably take years for her to gain Kian’s trust, and until then, she was a prisoner in the village.
She wasn’t complaining, though. Things could be worse.
“I wish I could call Greggory and just talk to him, but I don’t have his number.”
“How did you contact him before?”
“I had his contact information in my old phone, but it was confiscated, and I wasn’t given a replacement. I’m still considered a security risk.”
Kri frowned. “Then how do you get in touch with people?”
“I don’t. I don’t have any friends, and if I need to call someone in the village for any reason, I can use the house phone, which is monitored. People can call me there as well, or they can call Vivian and ask to talk to me.”
“First of all, I’m your friend, so you are not friendless. And secondly, you should get a phone that is restricted to the village. I can take you to William and he will fix one for you.”
That was nice of Kri to say. Eleanor considered her a friend as well. “Thank you. That would be great.”
Kri walked over to her duffle bag and pulled out her phone. “I need to okay it with Onegus first.” She typed up a message.
“Of course.”
Given the suspicion that she might develop the ability to compel immortals, the chief Guardian would probably say no, but it was worth a try.
When Kri’s phone pinged with the return text, Eleanor held her breath.
“He says it’s okay.”
/>
Eleanor let out a breath. “That’s awesome. I just wish I could use it to call Greggory too.”
“Maybe William can add his number to the list. Let me check with Onegus.”
Eleanor lifted her hand to stop Kri. “Don’t. He might reconsider letting me have a phone at all.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Let’s walk over to his office and talk to him. It’s right here in the underground facility. He will have a much harder time refusing you in person.”
“I doubt it. Should I make a sad face?” She attempted a pout.
“Just try not to scowl at him.” Kri headed for the door.
Eleanor looked down at the sweat stain on the front of her exercise tank. “Is it okay to go see him in sweaty exercise clothes?”
“He’s used to that. A Guardian’s job is to train and sweat, not to look good.”
“Magnus is always dressed to the nines.”
“He’s the exception.”
“So what’s his story? Does he have a desk job?”
Kri chuckled. “Nope. He just showers and changes into a clean outfit right after training. But don’t let the dandy appearance fool you. Magnus is one hell of a Guardian. Even though he’d been retired for many decades before returning to the force, Onegus promoted him soon after his arrival.”
“Why did he retire?”
“That’s a story for another time.” Kri stopped in front of the chief’s door and knocked.
“Come in.”
“Sorry for barging in on you.” Kri didn’t look remorseful in the slightest as she pulled out a chair for Eleanor and another one for herself. “It’s not going to take long.”
The office was nothing fancy. It was on the smaller side, about two hundred and fifty square feet, and the furniture was sturdy and simple. A desk, a filing cabinet, and a couple of chairs. But the equipment was top notch. Several monitors hung on the wall in front of Onegus, and two crowded his desk.
“What can I help you with?” He cast a curious glance at Eleanor.
Kri answered. “My friend wants to call her boyfriend who’s one of Kalugal’s men, and the question is if it’s possible to add his number to the list of allowed numbers on her phone.”
Onegus arched a brow. “The phone she didn’t get yet.”
Eleanor’s heart sank. She’d been right, and he was going to withdraw his approval.
Not a big deal. She’d survived without a phone so far. It wasn’t a necessity.
“That’s right,” Kri said. “I’m sure William can find a workable solution.”
“Let’s call him and find out.” Onegus lifted the receiver, punched in a number, and activated the speaker function. “William, my man. I’m sitting with Eleanor and Kri, and we are discussing the possibility of Eleanor getting a phone for inter-village communications.”
“No problem. I’ll program one for her.”
“She would also like to call Greggory. Is it possible to add his number and still keep the device secure?”
It seemed that the chief knew precisely who her guy was. Not a big surprise. Onegus probably knew about everything that was going on in the village.
“I can have the guy’s number rerouted through security.”
Well, that was it for phone sex. She wasn’t going to give the people in the security office a porn show, audible or visual.
“Is there a way to give the lovebirds some privacy without compromising security?” Onegus asked.
The chief was turning out to be a really nice guy.
William hesitated for a moment. “Only after the accord is signed and Kalugal compels all of his men to follow it. Until then, the calls will have to go through security.”
“Good enough. They are signing it tomorrow, and Kalugal can compel his men over the phone right away or wait until he returns home. In either case, it won’t be long. When can you have it ready for her?”
“I’m programming the device as we speak. Send her over.”
“I don’t have Greggory’s number,” Eleanor said. “I had it in the contact list of my old phone, but you confiscated it. If you still have it, I can look it up.”
“No need,” William said. “I have all of Kalugal’s mens’ numbers.”
43
Kian
“Good morning, Miranda.” Kian stopped at the assistant’s desk. “Is Sari busy?”
“She was.” Miranda smiled knowingly. “But she is not now. Let me check with her.” She pressed the intercom button. “Can Kian come in?”
“Of course,” came the answer.
“Thank you.” Kian walked over to the inner office door and opened. “Good morning, Sari.” He walked in and pulled out a chair. “I should arrange my office like yours. It’s a good idea to have a gatekeeper.”
“You should. Have Shai answer your phone calls and screen your visitors. It will make your life easier.”
“Yes, but it will make his job tougher.” Kian leaned back and smiled. “How are you this morning?”
“I’m well, thank you. What about you? How is the jet lag?”
“A non-issue.” He crossed his legs and dove right into what he’d come to talk to her about. “Did you tell Annani about David?”
“No, I thought you did.”
“Why would I? I didn’t know about him until I saw him on Kalugal’s plane.”
“He didn’t tell you that he was bringing a human? Or just didn’t say who the human was?
“Nothing. After Kalugal told me his crazy plan, I was sure that you would demand the professor’s memories be erased, and his person dropped off in the city. I was surprised when you didn’t.”
Sari shifted in her chair and looked away. “I was intrigued, and that was even before Kalugal told me that David might be a Dormant.”
“Yes, I could tell. How are things moving along?”
Sari smiled. “Kalugal has a good eye. I like David a lot, and I really hope that he is indeed a Dormant. As far as I know, he doesn’t have any paranormal abilities, but the affinity is certainly there.”
That was an evasive answer. If Sari had followed Amanda and Syssi’s advice, she’d spent the night with the professor, and if after that she considered David as a potential mate, Annani should be informed.
Except, that wasn’t the kind of question he was comfortable asking his sister. It would be best if she volunteered the information, but it seemed that talking with him about her sex life was just as uncomfortable for her as it was for him. Evidently the two of them were more reserved than most other immortals.
Leaning forward, Kian prompted, “How serious are you about him?”
Sari crossed her arms over her chest. “If you are asking whether we spent the night together, the answer is yes.”
Kian let out a relieved breath. “Did you tell him about us?”
She nodded.
“How did he take it?”
Sari chuckled. “Worse than I expected. As someone who is interested in esoteric topics, David should have been more receptive to the story, but he wasn’t. I discovered that the best approach was to appeal to his logic, and it still took several hours to convince him.”
It was difficult to ascertain from her tone how she felt about the guy.
“Is he the one?”
Sari shook her head. “I want to say yes, but it’s too early to tell. He is perfect for me, so I want him to be my one and only, but I don’t want to convince myself that he is and then discover that I was wrong.”
Kian knew how she felt. He’d gone through the same wringer with Syssi. “Trust your gut feeling, Sari. When I first met Syssi, I doubted the immediate connection. I told myself that it was just lust and that love at first sight didn’t exist. But later I realized that I knew she was the one for me from the moment I looked into her eyes. For the next several days, I tried to justify that feeling, and I even searched for flaws that would prove me wrong, but I couldn’t find any.”
“How did she feel about you? Was it love at first sight for her as well?
”
He chuckled. “I think it was lust at first sight for both of us, but the overwhelming feeling of connection and rightness was immediate. Love took a little longer. I don’t know if it’s an immortal thing, or if it’s the same for humans, but that seems to be the bonding process. Physical attraction and a mystical feeling of connection come first, then comes the sex, and then the love.”
“What about the bond?”
He shrugged. “It can happen at any point. For some, it snaps into place the first time they have sex. For others, it takes months to solidify. Each couple is different.”
“Makes sense.” She sighed. “I don’t know what to tell Mother about David, but you are right about giving her the heads up.”
“I’ll call her. I can get away with saying that I don’t know how serious things are between you. But once she gets here, be ready for an interrogation.”
Sari seemed relieved. “Thank you. Can you ask her to go easy? I don’t want her gushing all over David prematurely.”
Kian snorted. “I can try, but that doesn’t mean that she will do as I ask. No one tells Annani what to do. You’d better warn him.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” She pulled out her phone. “By the way, I gave David a clan-issue phone that is restricted to calling only within our community. I also added his number to the directory.”
“Good thinking. If he gets lost in the castle, he can call for help.”
The intercom buzzed, and a moment later Miranda announced, “Annani will be here in half an hour.”
Sari sucked in a breath and pushed to her feet. “You’d better call her right away. I’m going to check that everything is ready.”
When Sari left the office, Kian pulled out his phone and called his mother.
“Hello, Kian. Is everything all right? We are almost there.”
“Everything is fine, Mother. I just wanted to give you the heads up about the surprise Kalugal brought for Sari.”
She laughed. “Do you mean the handsome professor?”
“How did you know?”
“Amanda called me. Who would have suspected Kalugal of having such a good matchmaking eye? He was probably guided by the Fates.”
