"Now that we've established the terms, tell me what this is all about."
Elias took a breath, and something shifted in his expression—a steeling, as if he was preparing to leap off a cliff.
"I came to Earth over a thousand years ago," he said. "I was escaping a war zone and carrying sacred charges to safety."
A thousand years?
Elias was human. How could he have arrived a thousand years ago, and where had he arrived from?
Kian held up a hand. "Stop right there. Are you saying that you're immortal?"
Elias nodded. "Yes. But not like you. I don't have fangs or venom, and my eyes don't glow. That's how I was able to hide what I was from Navuh and all the other immortals on the island. I don't have any exterior tells to give me away."
"But you're immortal."
"I'm stronger and faster than regular humans, probably on a par with your kind of immortals, but I've never competed with one of you, so I can't be sure of that. The same goes for my hearing and eyesight. I don't get sick, and I heal quickly from injuries."
Kian leaned back in his chair, his mind working furiously. Another species of immortals. Another branch on a tree he'd thought he understood. First the gods, then the Kra-ell, and now a man who claimed to have arrived on Earth a thousand years ago from somewhere else in the universe.
"Where did you come from?" he asked.
"Another planet."
"That's not an answer." Kian's voice sharpened with impatience. "Where is your planet? What's it called? Where in the galaxy is it located?"
Elias shook his head. "I can't tell you that."
"Can't or won't?"
"Both." There was regret in his voice but also resolve. "Some secrets I'm not permitted to share, regardless of the circumstances. The location of my home world falls into that category."
Kian wanted to press harder, to demand answers, but he could see from Elias's expression that pushing would accomplish nothing. The man had drawn a line, and he wasn't going to cross it, no matter how much Kian insisted.
He could try to enter his mind and see the answers for himself, but that would be deceitful. Besides, if Navuh hadn't found out what Elias was hiding, then his mind was impenetrable. The male was immune to thralling and compulsion, either thanks to his unique genetics or just a random luck of the draw.
Perhaps he could get the guy to reveal more by coaxing him to talk about himself and his people. After keeping his identity a secret for so long, he was probably hungry to share that with someone.
"Are there any others like you on Earth?"
"As far as I know, I'm the only one."
"Are all of your people like you?" Kian asked.
Elias tilted his head. "In what way?"
"Immune to compulsion. If Navuh couldn't enter your mind to uncover your secrets, then you must be immune."
"I must be," Elias admitted. "But I don't know if all Elucians are immune."
Kian smiled. "So that's what your planet is called? Elucia?"
"Elucia is the name of my country. Our enemies are rumored to have compellers, but it has never been confirmed."
"What about your visions? Are all of your people psychic?"
"I'm a shaman, and that comes with individual gifts. I was given a modest gift of visions."
"By whom?"
