The other problem with her test was that no one had any reason to resist it. All she’d asked of them was to look for her earring, and everyone was happy to comply. Could she overpower resistant immortals?
They needed to test it, but knowing Annani, she would refuse to do that unless the motive behind it was purely altruistic.
And in any case, Kian would never risk her life on a mission that held questionable value. It would be nice to get rid of Navuh’s threat once and for all, but he doubted Lokan and Kalugal’s ability to keep the Doomers under control.
Besides, since Kalugal’s disinterest in the island seemed genuine, it was a futile mental exercise. Kian had to grudgingly concede that leaving Navuh in place was the lesser evil compared to the alternatives.
Kalugal sighed. “I told Lokan that my answer would most likely be a no. He’ll be disappointed, but the truth is that his utopian image of the island’s future is unrealistic. The change has to start from the inside, but with Navuh controlling everyone’s minds, it’s not going to happen.”
“Unless we can figure out a way to resist compulsion,” Turner said. “I think it’s a skill that can be learned. If it’s possible even to a small extent, we might be able to trickle the knowledge along with outside influence into the island. It might take hundreds of years, but eventually the weeds we seed will destroy the foundation upon which his empire is built.”
It was an idea that Kian had toyed with before, and now that he had two strong compellers, he could run tests to figure out what worked and what didn’t.
Kalugal nodded. “I can have my men give it a try and see if they can learn to resist my compulsion. I just wish I could point them in the right direction.” He glanced at Rufsur. “From my experience, unless the immortal in question is immune naturally, he can’t resist even when he struggles mightily against it.”
Kian stifled a chuckle. After experiencing Annani’s compulsion, Kalugal was no doubt desperate to learn the skill himself. “By all means. Let me know how it goes. And as we are already on the subject of your men, how did they react to the auction idea?”
“Surprisingly, most are willing to give it a try, and only a few are not.” Kalugal smiled at Rufsur. “Some are waiting to hear from their friends about how it went before deciding.”
“Don’t look at me.” Rufsur crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m not going on the auction block.”
“If they see you go for it, they might be more inclined to participate.”
“Phinas will have to do. If he enjoys the experience, the others will be encouraged to try it.”
“I hope so.” Kalugal smiled at Kian. “Speed dating immortal style.”
Kian nodded.
He was glad to hear that the auction idea had been well received. It meant that he’d been right about many of Kalugal’s men being willing to cross over to the clan. But he was still conflicted about that. On the one hand, it was good that fewer clan females would leave, but on the other hand, Kian was worried about incorporating a bunch of ex-Doomers into the clan.
Perhaps he needed to build houses on those fifty plots he was grading sooner rather than later. Could he make it a separate community with a fence around it?
As if that was going to solve anything. And what if fifty new homes were not enough?
Currently, most clan members were sharing houses, but once they had mates, they would need family homes. Aside from Kalugal’s men, they would also have new Dormants coming in thanks to the Echelon system, which meant even more matings in the near future.
So far, other than Richard, all the trainees who’d followed Jin out of the program had transitioned, which indicated that Echelon was spitting up good leads.
Then why wasn’t he happy?
Because it seemed too easy, and life didn’t work like that. He just knew that something would screw this up for them. But what if the uneasy feeling in his gut had nothing to do with future housing and former Doomers mating clan females? What if it was about Amanda and her pregnancy?
Kian was overjoyed about becoming an uncle, but he feared for Amanda. Until that child’s successful transition, he should offer the Fates daily prayers for its safety.
As he noticed that the room had fallen silent and everyone was waiting for him to say something, Kian tried to remember what was the thing Kalugal had said that had him thinking about building more houses and then about Amanda’s pregnancy.
Right, he’d said that most of his men were willing to be auctioned.
“We’ve tested the auction idea with Jacki’s friend Richard, and so far it’s been a big success. The ladies flock to the auction room, and Richard is having a blast watching them go crazy over him.” Kian chuckled. “Except, the guy is still human and has a hard time keeping up. A couple of days ago he asked for a break.”
“Tell me more about it.” Kalugal turned toward him. “How many of the clan’s single ladies attended the auctions?”
“I wasn’t there, but Amanda reported that the room was packed each night.”
17
Edna
With Rufsur just down the hall in Kian’s office, there was no hope for Edna to finish her work for today. It was as if a magnet was pulling at her, and it was a struggle to keep her butt in the chair and her eyes on the contract in front of her.
Hell, whatever she’d managed so far was probably garbage, and she would have to redo everything on Monday.
She shouldn’t have even tried.
Ever since she’d woken up that morning, her heart and her mind had been at war. First, she’d fought the urge to go greet Rufsur at the airstrip, and when that timeline had expired, a new struggle had started to stay away from the parking garage.
But if she’d acted on her impulses, it would have sent the wrong message, and Rufsur didn’t need any encouragement from her.
He was tenacious enough as it was.
And why was she smiling while thinking that?
Because she loved it about him, that and many other things. Like his cocky smile and the dimples in his cheeks, and the way he looked at her as if she was beautiful.
But what did it matter if they couldn’t be together?
How could she give Kian grief about spending money on preparing plots for homes that would remain unoccupied, and at the same time fantasize about building a life with Rufsur in one of them?
Pushing to her feet, Edna walked up to the window and glanced at the café below. It was after five in the afternoon, so the place was packed, but she had no trouble spotting Jacki and her friends in the center of the enclosure. They’d put several tables together, and although she couldn’t hear what they were talking about, they seemed to be having fun.
Two men whom she didn’t recognize were sitting with Theo and Jay. Kalugal’s men no doubt. One was a burly blond with a military buzz cut and a jaw so big and square that it looked almost cartoonish. The other one was slim and dark, with curly hair that looked black from where she was standing, and a short-trimmed beard. Both were handsome in their own way, but neither could hold a candle to Rufsur.
Perhaps she should go and join the gathering?
That would take her mind off him.
Right. As if anything could, or as if she really wanted to forget about him.