Page 8 of Dark Shaman: Love Found (The Children Of The Gods #99)
CAROL
T he downtown Los Angeles high-rise looked like any other corporate building from the outside, but Carol knew all of its secrets.
The underground labyrinth levels still housed a large training center, the clinic, the dungeon, a pool, a theater, the catacombs, classrooms, and numerous storage areas that contained only the Fates knew what.
Above, the penthouse level belonged to Kian and Amanda, but the two luxury apartments were mostly used to accommodate clan guests. The two floors below were reserved for Guardians on rotation, and some of them now housed the displaced paranormals.
"I feel sorry for them," Lokan said as they parked their car in the clan's dedicated parking level. "These paranormals have been living in limbo for months, first in Safe Haven and then in the keep."
"I hope we can offer them a path to something better." Carol used her clan card to open the door marked as maintenance and stepped inside with Lokan right behind her. "Gosh, it has been so long since I've been here. I've missed the place."
Chuckling, he wrapped his arm around her. "It's where we met and fell in love. Do you want to visit the dungeon and reminisce?"
She shook her head. "I wish we could, but from what I've heard, the dungeon is full of scum these days." She shivered. "I'd rather stay away from pedos and enhanced Doomers."
Lokan's eyes flashed red momentarily, excitement producing this strange effect that was more typical of Kra-ell than immortals. "I want to see the enhanced Doomers and talk with Julian about what he's learned about them so far. Perhaps I could sneak away while you are talking to the paranormals."
"Don't even think about it." She clasped his hand. "We are doing this together, remember?"
"Of course." He brought their conjoined hands to his lips and kissed the back of hers. "You are the boss, my love. Whatever you say goes."
Carol grinned. "Oh, I'm going to hold you to that promise tonight."
The predatory gleam in his eyes flashed again. "Looking forward to it, darling."
When they reached Kian's old office, Eleanor rose to her feet to greet them.
"Welcome back." She offered Carol her hand. "I'm glad you two have made it in one piece. I heard that you had several close calls."
The female was precisely as Carol remembered her—tall, thin, with small dark eyes that seemed to catalog everything in an instant, and a no-nonsense attitude that radiated from every line of her body.
The first time they met, Eleanor had been working for the government, and they had abducted her to get information on where and when they could get Jin, who had been coerced into joining the secret paranormal program.
Eleanor hadn't been cooperative, and since she was immune to thralling and compulsion, they'd had to extract information from her the old-fashioned way—torture. They'd deprived her of emptying her bladder until she'd given them what they'd wanted.
Thankfully, the female didn't seem to hold a grudge.
"We did," Carol confirmed. "It was a grand adventure, and now we are looking for something to fill our days with."
"I bet." Eleanor shook Lokan's hand. "Let's sit down so I can bring you up to speed."
"Thank you." Carol sat at the conference table, and Lokan took a seat next to her.
"Drink?" Eleanor walked over to the sidebar.
"No, thanks," Carol said. "But if you have a cold soda, I'll gladly have one. "
Lokan looked happy to accept a drink and pretended not to see Carol's raised brow.
He'd been indulging a little too much since they had settled in the village, mostly out of boredom and not because he had a problem with alcohol, but Carol knew where it could lead and how easy it was to slide into that lifestyle.
Drinking and smoking pot was what had gotten her kidnapped by Doomers and tortured by Sebastian.
During her captivity, she'd vowed to sober up if she ever got free.
She'd kept her promise.
"Thank you." Carol accepted a cold can of Coke from Eleanor. "Kian said that you're eager to return to Safe Haven."
"Eager is an understatement." Eleanor took a healthy sip of her Scotch. "I don't like being apart from Emmett for too long, and Safe Haven is not easy to get to and from. He's coming over tomorrow, and he's going to stay the weekend, but he needs to return on Monday."
"I hope we can take the paranormals off your hands," Lokan said. "If the men transition, we will move them into the village."
Eleanor lifted a brow. "Did Kian agree to that?"
"Tentatively," Carol said. "So, what are we dealing with?"
She and Lokan had met the paranormals when they'd freed Jin, Jacki, Wendy, and Richard. Jacki had also given them a quick reminder before they headed out here, but it had been a while since Jacki had interacted with her friends from the program, and things might have changed.
"Let's start with the challenges," Eleanor said. "James is in his late fifties, a telepath with limited range. His partner Mollie is in her late forties with post-cognition abilities. Both are probably too old to transition, and neither is in optimal health."
"Ronja was fifty-seven when she transitioned," Carol pointed out.
"Merlin put her through a health-improving regimen, and it helped.
We can do the same for James and Mollie.
We have a gym and a swimming pool, and Julian is already here because of the prisoners.
He can design a program for them with Merlin's help. "
Eleanor looked skeptical, but she shrugged.
"I wish them the best of luck. They are both good people.
Then there's Andy, who is underage, only fifteen years old, telepathic and essentially orphaned.
His parents divorced, mother remarried, she is willing to take him, but he doesn't want to go, and his father's a deadbeat.
Kian wanted me to send the kid home after the government dissolved the contracts with them, but he refused to go. "
"I should start with him," Lokan said. "At his age, transition is easy. He'll need a mentor, though"
Carol patted his arm. "Do you also want to adopt him?"
She'd said it as a joke, but the contemplative look on Lokan's face indicated that he was seriously considering this.
"I was just teasing, Lokan. "
"He will need a home." Her mate looked her in the eyes. "He can stay with us temporarily until he finds a permanent place."
Eleanor cleared her throat. "That discussion is for much later.
" She tapped her tablet. "The others are more straightforward.
Jeremy, late twenties, remote viewer who sees possible futures.
Partnered with Naomi, mid-twenties, who has psychometry.
She can pull information from objects—a useful but limited talent. "
"How much detail can she extract?" Carol asked.
After all, she was here to recruit potentials for Kian's spy/influencer program.
"That depends on the object and how long it's been handled. Strong emotions leave deeper impressions." Eleanor swiped to the next file. "Abigail, energy healer focused on diagnosis. Her partner is Dylan. He has claircognizance. Both are in their early thirties."
"Knowing without knowing how he knows," Lokan murmured. "That could be useful or maddening."
"Both, from what I've observed." Eleanor moved on. "Spencer reads auras. His girlfriend Sofia has weak telekinesis. She can influence small objects that are already in motion, like dice or coins. Both are young, in their early twenties."
Carol processed the information, categorizing each individual according to potential usefulness to Kian's developing intelligence network. Remote viewing, psychometry, and claircognizance could be invaluable for gathering information.
"How much were they told?" Lokan asked.
Eleanor let out a breath. "Next to nothing.
Emmett and I told them they might carry special genes that could grant them extended life.
We let them assume that the government selected them because of those special genes, which wasn't a lie since the former directors of the program intended to breed super-humans.
" Eleanor finished her Scotch. "They think they're part of some genetic lottery, waiting to see if they've won.
Emmett and I compelled them to keep quiet about the program and their time here, but that's the extent of their knowledge about the supernatural. "
"Is that how Kian wants to keep it?" Lokan said. "The men at least need to be told before they are induced."
Eleanor shrugged. "I'll let you and Carol figure this out with Kian.
He wants to start inducing the men to see if any of them can join our ranks.
That's why they are here. If any of them start transitioning, we have a clinic and a doctor to take care of them.
We can also ask Guardians to volunteer to induce the men.
It's not complicated, but I can't stay here to manage this project.
I need someone to take over, and I hope the two of you are willing to do it. "
Carol nodded. "Lokan and I want to meet them first and get a sense of who we'd be working with." She smiled. "It's not the type of work either of us has ever done before. My goal is to find suitable subjects for Kian's new program and train them in the subtle arts of feminine manipulation. "
Eleanor crossed her arms over her chest. "It's not necessary when you can compel people, but that's a rare talent."
Show-off .
"Compulsion is an inborn talent." Carol smiled. "Feminine manipulation is a learned skill and therefore more useful."
Surprisingly, Eleanor conceded to Carol with a slight nod and then checked her watch. "I ordered dinner for all of us from the Golden Dragon, and it should arrive shortly. You can get reacquainted with the gang over Chinese takeout in Kian's penthouse."
"Excellent." Lokan rose to his feet. "People are more relaxed around food."