As he’d expected, the story was fascinating, with Lokan revealing more details about his scheme to capture Vivian and Ella, and especially about his dream-walking ability. Carol’s impressions from the harem and her interactions with Areana were no less riveting.
Whatever Lokan wanted to talk to him about couldn’t possibly top that.
Besides, it seemed that his brother wasn’t in a hurry to get to the real reason for his visit either, and Kalugal suspected that he wanted to talk to him privately. Except, Kalugal had no secrets that he wanted to keep from Jacki, and he was pretty sure that Carol was privy to whatever was on Lokan’s mind, which meant that his brother didn’t want to talk in front of Rufsur and Phinas.
When it seemed like storytelling time was over, Kalugal put his napkin on his plate to signal that he was done. “Would you like to adjourn to the library for a drink?”
Lokan looked relieved. “I would love to.”
Rufsur patted his belly. “I’d better go to the bunker and run a couple of hours on the treadmill to burn this meal off.”
“I’ll join you,” Phinas said.
His lieutenants knew him well enough to know when they were being dismissed without him having to say anything.
Jacki started picking up dirty plates. “I’ll stay to help Atzil.”
Apparently his mate had misinterpreted his cues, thinking that she was included in the dismissal.
“Nonsense.” Kalugal took the plates out of her hands and put them back on the table. “Shamash will help Atzil.”
“Okay.”
He smiled. “I love it when you don’t argue with me.”
Lokan chuckled. “I wish I knew your secret. The only way I can avoid arguing with Carol is to say ‘yes, dear’ to everything.”
“Not true.” She slapped his arm. “I’m not unreasonable. It’s just that I’m always right.”
“Yes, dear.”
“Men.” Carol rolled her eyes. “Come on.” She threaded her arm through Jacki’s. “I want to hear all about your experience in the village.”
“Are you in trouble?” Kalugal asked as he and Lokan followed the ladies to the library.
His brother waved a dismissive hand. “We tease each other like this all of the time, and all is forgotten by morning.”
Kalugal walked over to the bar. “What’s your pleasure?”
“It’s hard to decide.” Lokan glanced over the display. “You choose.”
“I’ve discovered an excellent bourbon.” He took the bottle down, then turned to the ladies. “What would you like?”
“An old fashioned for me,” Jacki said.
Carol nodded. “Same here.”
“Coming up.”
Once he was done pouring and handing out the drinks, Kalugal motioned for Lokan to join him at the games table. “Do you play chess?”
“I do.”
“Excellent. We can play while you tell me the real reason for your visit.”
Lokan chuckled. “Missing my only brother and his lovely, newly-transitioned mate is not reason enough?”
Kalugal made his first move. “Not to fly over from Washington on one day’s notice. Whatever it is must be urgent.”
“Not really.” Lokan moved his pawn. “It’s just when the idea occurred to me, I couldn’t wait to share it with you.”
“You could have called.” Kalugal moved another piece. “Using the clan-issued phones makes our connection secure.” He arched a brow. “Unless what you want to talk to me involves the clan, and you didn’t want them to know about it.”
“It might involve them, but that’s not the reason. I just wanted to have this conversation with you face to face.”
“I’m listening.”
“The way we were all incapacitated during the long-range acoustic device attack gave me an idea. We could utilize the technology to take over the island without much bloodshed.”
Kalugal sighed. “I’m not interested in the island. Frankly, I think that you should abandon that idea, sever your ties with the place, and join either the clan or me. By straddling the fence, you are putting your mate in danger.” He lifted his glass and took a sip. “In fact, it’s risky for me to invite you to my home, even with all the evasive maneuvers you’ve made to make sure that you are not being followed.”
“Carol and I learned how to be ultra-careful from the very best. Turner is a master at that, and we follow his protocol to a tee. And as for the danger to us, Carol is well aware of the risks, but she supports my decision to keep the charade going. If our father decides to refocus on his goal to annihilate the clan, my advance warning will be indispensable.” He took a sip from the bourbon. “The only solution for me is to ensure that the Brotherhood is no longer a threat. Besides, I feel responsible for the people living under Navuh’s oppressive rule. If I don’t help them, who will?”
Those were noble sentiments, and Kalugal wasn’t indifferent to the suffering of the island’s population, both human and immortal, but mostly the human. All the women and men who’d been captured and enslaved deserved to be freed.
Except, he doubted that his brother was motivated solely by compassion. Lokan wanted to rule the island, but he knew that he couldn’t do it on his own. He needed Kalugal and his compulsion ability to keep the Brotherhood from splintering into many small militias.
Without Navuh’s compulsion keeping them in check, there was no telling what havoc they would unleash on the world.
But Kalugal’s compulsion ability was not nearly as powerful as Navuh’s, and even if it was, he didn’t want to get involved. The plight of the island’s people was insignificant compared to the many maladies of the human world that he’d set out to fix.
“As I said before, I’m not interested in the island, and I promised our mother that I will not kill Navuh, which is the only way to achieve your goal. I can’t wrest control from him, so the only option to stop his compulsion is to eliminate him.”
“Or imprison him,” Lokan said. “If he doesn’t renew his compulsion periodically, it will eventually dissipate.” Lokan chuckled. “We could lock him in the harem. That would be an appropriate payback.”
“Even if I was interested, which I’m not, I don’t know if it’s possible to cover the entire place with noise cannons. And even if it is possible to cover the surface, what about the underground? That’s where most of the warriors live. The long-range acoustic device works only in open spaces.”
“Infrasound can get through obstacles with little dissipation and it can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and disorientation. I’m not a tech guy, and this is way above my pay grade. But I think William can come up with a workable solution.”
Kalugal arched a brow. “You want to involve the clan in your plans?”
“I can’t do it without them. Their main objection to attacking the island is the potential loss of life, but if I demonstrate that it can be achieved with minimal casualties, I believe that Kian will consider it. But I need you to come on board as well. Without you, the Brotherhood will disburse, and I can only imagine the destruction the freed warriors would cause all over the world. We need time for the reforms to take root, and for them to realize that having families and living normal lives is a much better goal than terrorizing humans.”