Page 26 of Dark Shaman: Love Found (The Children Of The Gods #99)
ELUHEED
T he SUV's air-conditioning was a blessed relief after the oppressive afternoon heat, even with the tent providing occasional respites throughout the day.
Eluheed and Tony had worked long hours outside, restoring the herb garden, while the ladies stayed in the tent and took care of the damaged books from the library.
Sitting in the third row, Eluheed watched Tamira's profile as she chatted with Areana about the progress they'd made. Her hair was pulled back in a loose bun, exposing the elegant line of her neck, and he had to force himself to look away before his covetous staring was noticed by the driver.
"The dehumidifiers are working wonderfully," Sarah said. "I think we can salvage most of the books. Some will have stains, but that's not the end of the world. As long as they are still legible, a few water stains are not going to make much of a difference."
"I'm glad we are able to save them," Areana said. "Lord Navuh will be pleased to hear that." Something in her tone suggested she was thinking about more than book restoration, but Eluheed couldn't begin to guess what it was.
The two had a complicated relationship and played by a different set of rules than most normal couples, but who was he to judge?
He hadn't even told Tamira who he really was.
Not that they'd had any private moments to make any revelations during the past few days.
The air-conditioned pavilion that Navuh had ordered erected for the ladies on the harem grounds had evolved into a command center for the restoration efforts.
Navuh had arranged for industrial dehumidifiers, specialized drying racks, and even ultrasonic cleaning equipment to be delivered to the tent so the ladies could tend to the damaged books.
It was uncharacteristically considerate and generous for Navuh.
Eluheed was convinced that Navuh wanted Areana and the ladies occupied away from the mansion. The elaborate setup at the harem site, the supplies, the continued encouragement to spend entire days there—it all pointed to that.
The question was why.
It could be about the secretive construction project in the basement or it could be about visitors to the mansion that Navuh didn't want Areana and the others to see, and vice versa .
As they pulled up to the mansion, the head butler opened the door for Areana.
Once they were all out of the vehicle, he turned to Eluheed. "Lord Navuh wants to see you in his office right away."
"Of course," Eluheed said.
His attire carried the evidence of his day's work, and showing up like that in the lord's office wasn't optimal, but it wasn't as if he had a change of clothing handy.
He followed the butler through the corridors, preparing for what he knew Navuh was expecting from him. The lord was a sharp guy, so consistency was crucial. Each session was a delicate balance between truth and misdirection, between what he actually saw and what he needed Navuh to believe.
The office door stood open. Navuh was at his desk, studying something on his computer screen with an expression that made Eluheed's instincts prickle with warning. The lord's jaw was clenched, his fingers drumming an agitated rhythm on the desktop.
"My lord," Eluheed said, bowing slightly.
"Sit." Navuh didn't look up from the screen. "Close the door and leave us alone," he told the butler.
Eluheed did as instructed, sitting in the familiar chair across from the desk. The shades were pulled down on the windows, blocking the afternoon sun, but Navuh hadn't bothered turning on the lights, so the room was dark, fitting the mood of its master .
"Tell me, shaman," Navuh said finally, closing his laptop with deliberate slowness, "what do you know about maintaining order among elite forces who believe themselves superior to their commanders?"
The question was loaded, dangerous. Eluheed chose his words carefully. "I know that power without wisdom often leads to destruction, my lord."
"Philosophical nonsense." Navuh leaned back in his massive chair.
"I need something more practical. What's more important?
Keeping the elite soldiers and trying to work with them because of the investment of time and money that went into making them elite or getting rid of them because they are defective goods? "
Eluheed had to think quickly. The right answer was to get rid of the dangerous element, but he didn't want to be the one to tell the lord that. Navuh had to arrive at that conclusion himself.
"I would need to know more about the sort of damage you are talking about, my lord."
"Where do I start? Violence among themselves?
Arguing about the validity of the orders they are given?
" His dark eyes were burning with barely controlled fury.
"They forget who created them. Who gave them their power.
Normally, I would have had them executed on the spot, but after all the resources that went into creating them, I'm not in a rush to destroy them. "
"Perhaps stricter training would help or punishments," Eluheed suggested. "They need to be reminded of who's in charge."
"Zhao claims it's a side effect of the enhancements, that their brain chemistry has been altered in ways that make them resistant to my compulsion."
Navuh hadn't mentioned Zhao before, but it was possible that he had known all along about Eluheed's talk with the scientist at the hotel bar.
They hadn't been alone, and the place probably had cameras.
He also had never mentioned compulsion before, but perhaps he realized that Eluheed needed to know that to provide better advice.
The question was whether he should acknowledge knowing the doctor or pretend that he didn't know who Navuh was talking about.
The safest route was to stick to the truth, but since Navuh hadn't asked him to comment, he could just nod.
Navuh leveled his dark eyes at him. "Your vision spoke of fire and betrayal. I'm beginning to think it relates to Zhao's creations."
Eluheed kept his expression neutral. "The visions show possibilities, my lord. Perhaps another session would provide clarity?"
"That's why you're here." Navuh extended his hand.
Eluheed took the offered hand between both of his, closed his eyes, and opened his mind to the connection. The vision came almost immediately, clearer and more violent than before .
The fire was not metaphorical. It was literal.
The training grounds, which he had only seen through the visions, were ablaze.
Bodies in uniforms scattered like broken dolls, but since they were immortal, he didn't know whether they were truly dead or just temporarily incapacitated.
The vision shifted to Dr. Zhao, cowering in his laboratory and barricading the door against the monsters he had created.
The vision shifted again, this time to a unit of enhanced soldiers, their faces twisted with the euphoria of bloodlust and violence.
The vision returned to Zhao, who was clutching something in his hand that Eluheed couldn't identify, and then it dissolved, leaving him slightly dizzy and disoriented.
It was like coming off a rollercoaster ride.
He needed a moment.
"What did you see?" Navuh demanded.
Eluheed described the vision as he had seen it, but he didn't say anything about the enhanced soldiers or the elite team, as Navuh had referred to them. He only said that he'd seen fighters turning against each other. Bodies on the training fields.
"What else did you see?"
"Chaos, my lord. Fire and blood. But also a sense that foreknowledge might change the outcome. If you increase security, separate the units so they cannot coordinate as easily, perhaps station loyal forces between them. "
"Yes." Navuh nodded. "That's wise. Is there anything you saw that you are not telling me?"
"Only impressions, my lord. A feeling that the threat comes from delusional minds. Have these elite soldiers been using drugs?"
He was skirting very close to the truth, but as a seer, he had some leeway.
"Yes, and Zhao warned about side effects." Navuh's fingers drummed on the desk again. "He said they were developing delusions of grandeur. I thought he was making excuses for his failure to perfect the formula."
"Failed experiments can have dangerous repercussions, my lord."
"These aren't failures. They're successes that need tweaking.
" Navuh stood, restless energy driving him to pace.
"These men are stronger, faster, and more resilient than my other soldiers.
But also harder to control, harder to predict.
Zhao needs to find a way to maintain the first part while mitigating the second. "
A knock at the door interrupted them. Navuh's expression darkened at the intrusion. "What?"
The door opened to reveal one of Navuh's lieutenants. The man's eyes flicked nervously between his lord and Eluheed.
"My lord, I have the progress report you requested, but I can come back later."
Navuh's entire demeanor shifted, becoming even more guarded. His gaze shot to Eluheed, then back to the lieutenant. "We are done here." He turned to Eluheed. "You may go. We'll continue this discussion later."
Eluheed stood. "Of course, my lord. Should I remain here or return to the hotel?"
"Return to the hotel. I'll send a car for you when I need you."
Eluheed was disappointed. He'd hoped he would be invited to dinner so he could spend more time with Tamira.
The door closed behind him with a decisive click, but Eluheed lingered for just a moment in the hallway, straining to hear. Navuh's voice carried faintly through the heavy wood: "…temperature maintained at exactly…" Then footsteps approached the door from inside, and Eluheed quickly walked away.
When he descended the stairs, he found the ladies gathered in the sitting room. Tamira looked up and smiled, looking relieved. She always worried about him when he was summoned to Navuh.
"Elias," Areana said warmly. "Will you be joining the ladies for dinner?"
He shook his head. "Lord Navuh said that I should return to the hotel, my lady."
Disappointment flashed in Tamira's eyes before she schooled her expression back to polite neutrality. They'd had so little time together lately, just stolen moments in the tent while he helped carry the books from the crates the servants brought over from the library to the drying racks.
It wasn't enough.