Page 33 of Dark Rover’s Luck (The Children Of The Gods #95)

33

SYSSI

"T here you are," Amanda called from across the lab as Syssi walked in. "I was beginning to think you'd decided to stay in the nursery."

"Allegra wouldn't let me go," Syssi said. "She was fussy and clingy and generally unhappy."

It had been difficult to leave her child in the hands of others when she was in such a lousy mood, but Amanda needed her help, so she'd practically peeled the crying Allegra off her and handed her to Julia.

Amanda nodded. "We need to watch the new assistant. If the girls don't like her, she has to go."

"Let's give her a few more days," Syssi said. "She seems nice, and Julia says that she's great with the kids. Allegra just doesn't like changes, and she misses the old assistant." She swept her gaze over the empty lab. "Where is everyone?"

"I sent them home for the day so we can do the tests without having to hide what we are doing. I said that we're having a facility inspection."

"Again? The university management might start asking questions if you keep doing that."

Amanda waved a dismissive hand. "The clan funds my research, the official and unofficial. The university is happy to give me free rein as long as the money keeps flowing and my papers keep getting published. Besides, founding the nursery bought me a lot of goodwill with the administration as well, especially after the glowing news article about how accommodating and family-friendly the establishment here is. My 'innovative childcare solution' is now featured in all their recruitment brochures."

Syssi smiled. "I have to admit that it is pretty amazing to be able to pop in and check on Allegra anytime I want. I wish more employers provided solutions like that. Perhaps it would encourage more women to have babies."

"Definitely." Amanda leaned against one of the desks and crossed her feet at the ankles. "Young couples just can't afford to have kids anymore, and if nothing is done to help them, we will soon be like Europe with an old and shrinking population."

"It's already happening," Syssi murmured. "People are not having enough children to preserve current numbers."

Amanda sighed. "Too many problems and too few solutions. I'm starting to feel like my mother."

Syssi lifted her head. "What do you mean?"

"You know how she is always the bastion of optimism?"

Syssi nodded. "That's why your comment is so startling. Has that changed?"

Amanda nodded. "She's talking about moving back to the sanctuary. She only talks like that when she feels unsettled and seeks solitude."

"I didn't know that. Annani always seems so strong. The strongest person I know."

"She is strong." Amanda smiled. "But everyone has their moments of weakness, even the indomitable Annani. I see through her facade. She also sees through mine."

"Mothers and daughters have a special connection." Syssi thought about Allegra and how she felt that unique link between them, even during the pregnancy, and later how she drew on her daughter's power when she summoned visions.

"There is something to your theory about Jasmine, Kyra, and Fenella enhancing each other's abilities. It's like Allegra and me and my visions."

Amanda tilted her head. "What do you think gave me the idea? The fact that the three of them share a maternal lineage is too significant to ignore. The Fates don't arrange coincidences of that magnitude without purpose."

"But Fenella insists she doesn't have any special talents."

"Not everyone is as strongly talented as you, darling. Most people with abilities don't recognize them as such and chalk it up to good instincts or luck."

"What kind of ability do you think she might have?"

"I'm not sure." Amanda tapped her lower lip with a long finger. "That's why I wanted to clear the lab and test everything I can think of. And what's more interesting is how her ability might interact with Kyra's and Jasmine's when they're together. The synergistic effect. That's why I also asked Morelle to join us today."

Syssi frowned. "How is Morelle going to help? You're not planning to have her siphon and redirect powers without proper safety protocols, are you?"

"Of course not," Amanda said, though the slight hesitation in her voice suggested she'd at least considered it. "It's more of a hunch, really. Morelle's ability to manipulate energy flows might help her identify patterns we can't detect with our equipment. Remember how she detected the flaw in the mantel stone?"

Syssi shivered at the memory. "I will never forget that. We almost lost Darius."

Kalugal's little boy had been sitting right under that piece of stone that had detached from the fireplace mantel. If Morelle hadn't been there to redirect the stone's trajectory by siphoning power from Annani, he would have been killed.

"She must have felt the vibrations," Amanda said. "Maybe Fenella vibrates too and Morelle can feel that. I won't have Morelle redirecting her power to another person without testing how it works first."

Amanda hadn't said how she was going to test that, but Syssi didn't need her to spell it out for her.

Leaning against one of the lab tables, she let her thoughts drift to Morelle's twin and his clandestine training. Kian had justified using Ell-rom's death-ray power on the worst of humanity's monsters as a necessary evil, saying that these people who had hurt children and would continue to do so given the chance deserved the death sentence. But the moral implications of using them as target practice for the twins still weighed on her.

"You're thinking about Ell-rom, aren't you?" Amanda asked, reading Syssi's expression with uncanny accuracy.

Syssi sighed. "Ell-rom is killing people for target practice."

"Monsters, not people," Amanda corrected. "The worst of the worst who don't even deserve to be called people."

"I know that." Syssi rubbed her temples. "I just worry about the effect it has on Ell-rom. He's a gentle soul who the Fates have dealt a nasty hand with that death-ray of his. I know that I wouldn't be able to do what he's doing without it destroying me from the inside out."

"Which is precisely why you're not the one who has been gifted with his talent." Amanda walked over to her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Ell-rom's Kra-ell heritage gives him a different perspective on justice and necessity. The same is true for Morelle."

"She seems more comfortable with the harsher aspects of her nature," Syssi agreed. "Her Kra-ell half is more prominent than her brother's."

"It's their dual nature that makes them so valuable to the clan," Amanda said.

"I suppose you're right," Syssi conceded. "But it still troubles me." She glanced at her watch. "We should probably check on the girls before everyone arrives."

"They're fine," Amanda assured her. "You need to give Allegra the chance to get used to the new girl."

Before Syssi could respond that it had been a while, the lab door opened, and Kyra and Jasmine entered, followed by Fenella with Din beside her.

Syssi was happy to see Din's hand resting protectively at the small of Fenella's back. It seemed like the couple who had been star-crossed for five decades finally had their stars in alignment.

Brandon and Morelle brought up the rear.

Even though it wasn't Morelle's first time in the lab, she still scanned the equipment with the same interest. The woman had warrior instincts.

"Welcome, everyone," Amanda said. "Thank you for coming. I know it was short notice, but my mother is impatient to start the search for Khiann, and since you three ladies seem to be at the heart of that effort, we need to figure out how you will achieve that as soon as possible."

Fenella gave Amanda the thumbs up, but she looked far from enthusiastic or confident about the testing. Nevertheless, she looked around the lab with undisguised curiosity. "Nice setup you've got here. I'm getting a mad scientist vibe."

Amanda laughed. "I prefer innovative , but I'll take mad scientist as a compliment."

"What exactly are we doing here?" Kyra asked, with her hand resting on the pendant at her throat.

"I want to test all of your abilities and find out what Fenella's potential talent might be." Amanda motioned for them to follow her to the sitting area at the far wall of the lab. "I also want to explore how your talents might interact and whether Morelle can detect any interesting patterns that our machines cannot."

"I don't have any special powers," Fenella said.

She sounded part defensive and part apologetic, and Syssi felt for her. It wasn't fun to be placed in a position where she had no idea how to perform what was expected of her.

It wasn't fair of Annani to put such pressure on the woman, especially so soon after her rescue from a nightmare, but the Clan Mother was growing desperate for some reason.

Perhaps she could feel that Khiann's time was running out, in the same way Jasmine had felt that she needed to find her prince. She'd saved the twins days before they would have died.

"Most abilities aren't as dramatic as they appear in fiction," Amanda said. "Some manifest as heightened instincts, gut feelings, or inexplicable knowing. Once identified, they can be practiced and focused until they become a useful tool and not just a curiosity."

"Like my pendant," Kyra said, touching the amber stone. "It has taken me a while to feel the subtle clues it provides me with, and sometimes I still get them wrong."

"Exactly." Amanda turned to Morelle. "I know you are wondering why I invited you along."

Morelle nodded. "I thought that my talent needed to remain a secret."

Amanda waved a hand. "It does, but security be damned when my mother demands results, right? Not even Kian would dare say anything." She leaned forward, lacing her fingers over her knee. "Since you can siphon energy from paranormally talented people, I figured you can sense who has power you can tap into and who doesn't. Perhaps you could check Fenella and figure out if she has any reserves of power."

Morelle shifted on the simple plastic chair. "I'm not sure I can do that. I've been practicing, but it is still mostly instinctive."

Amanda nodded. "All I ask is that you pay attention when I test Fenella. You might sense surges in power."

"I can try," Morelle said.

"Let me give you a quick tour of the facility." Amanda rose to her feet. "Morelle has seen everything already, so you can skip it if you want."

"I will join you." Morelle stood up. "I was fascinated by all the sophisticated equipment the first time I was here, but I didn't retain much. I'd love another round."

"You're more than welcome," Amanda said.

As she led them through the laboratory, explaining various pieces of equipment, Syssi fell into step beside Morelle.

"Thank you for coming," she said quietly. "Amanda had something different in mind for testing your power, but she realized that it wasn't safe. We might have to try it the same way we are testing Ell-rom's abilities."

Morelle nodded. "Annani believes these ladies hold the key to finding Khiann, and I know how desperately she wants him found. I'll do anything to assist in any way I can."

Syssi didn't know whether she should be relieved that Morelle agreed to test her powers on the scumbags in the dungeon or be troubled by it.

"I keep thinking how terrible it must have been for you to wake and find that thousands of years had passed," she said instead.

Morelle shrugged. "Ell-rom and I expected to wake up in a different world, and we did. It didn't make much difference that this new world was much more advanced than the one we'd expected. And as for the passage of time, we didn't feel it. In deep stasis, there are not even dreams."

They reached the main testing area, where Amanda was showing Fenella one of their newest pieces of equipment.

"This is our pride and joy. It's a custom-built neuroimaging system that combines functional magnetic resonance imaging with electroencephalography. It allows us to observe neural activity in real time, mapping both electrical patterns and blood flow."

Fenella's eyes crossed. "In English, please?"

Amanda laughed. "It lets us see which parts of your brain light up when you're using your abilities. Even the ones you don't know you have."

"How exactly do you plan to trigger these supposed abilities?" Fenella asked.

"That's where it gets interesting," Amanda said with a smile that had those 'mad scientist' vibes Fenella had mentioned. "We've developed a series of tests—some standard cognitive assessments, others specifically designed to elicit paranormal responses."

"Like what?" Fenella asked.

"Card guessing, remote viewing, precognitive timing tests." Amanda lifted a deck of cards. "But also some less conventional methods involving emotional triggers and adrenaline responses."

Fenella raised an eyebrow. "You're not going to electrocute me, are you?"

Amanda put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Nothing so dramatic, darling. Though I can't promise it won't be occasionally startling."

"What about the three of us together?" Kyra asked. "How are you going to test that?"

"We'll begin with touch. I will test you separately and then while holding hands or concentrating on the same outcome together."

"Where do we start?" Fenella asked.

"We'll start with the basics," Amanda said, guiding Fenella toward a chair positioned in front of a computer screen. "Let's establish a baseline for each of you individually, then we can explore what happens when you work together."

As Fenella settled into the chair, she cast an uncertain glance at Din, who gave her an encouraging nod.

Syssi wondered what they might discover.

The Clan Mother's instincts were rarely wrong. If she believed that Kyra, Jasmine, and Fenella were the key to finding Khiann, then they were, or at the very least, they were an essential component of the effort to find him. And if they actually found Annani's long-lost husband after five thousand years, it would change everything, not just for the Clan Mother, but for their entire immortal community.