"I predicted the rebellion, but what I saw was fire and destruction. He also wanted me to predict betrayals and see the future of the enhancement program." Eluheed shivered. "I hated touching those enhanced soldiers. Their collective mind was so strong that I could barely keep my barriers up. I was afraid that they would suck me in and make me part of them. Theysuspected that I was different, and I knew that I was living on borrowed time. That's why I was so desperate to escape."
"How are you different?" Syssi asked.
Not sure how to respond, he shifted his gaze to Kian.
"Eluheed will explain shortly," Kian said. "But first, we need to thoroughly examine what he knows regarding Navuh's claim."
Syssi nodded. "So, was there anything about Khiann in those visions? Any interesting events from Navuh's past?"
Eluheed shook his head. "I'm sorry. There was nothing like that in what I saw. The visions focused on Navuh's future and the people who were currently around him."
"Could you have missed something?" Syssi asked gently. "Visions can be unclear, symbolic. Perhaps something you saw could be reinterpreted?"
"Perhaps." Eluheed tried again, sifting through the memories of those glimpses. "My ability is limited. When I touch someone, I might see their near future. Mostly it's personal things like marriage, pregnancy, or conversely a betrayal. Naturally, Navuh was mostly interested in the latter." Eluheed smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry that I can't be more helpful. I wish I had seen something useful."
"It's not your fault." Kian managed a wan smile. "We were hoping for a shortcut, that's all. We'll find another way."
"Could you touch Navuh again?" Tamira asked. "Try to look for something specific?"
Eluheed considered it. "I could try, but as I said, my gift is limited, and Navuh has a very strong mind. He knows how to protect it from invasion."
"We could drug him," Kian said. "That would lower his protective barriers. And now that Khiann is on his mind, he might think about his location."
Hope swelled in Eluheed's chest. What Kian was suggesting might work, and if he helped the Clan Mother find her beloved without having to release her archenemy, she might be sufficiently grateful to allocate significant resources to Eluheed's cause.
"I'm more than willing to try," he said.
"I have a question," Tamira said. "About the witnesses who testified to seeing Mortdh kill Khiann. How could Ahn do that to Annani? Supposedly, he loved her. How could he have hidden from her that her truelove mate was not dead but in stasis?"
"Ahn was ruthless." Kian put his wine glass down. "He could have reasoned that a few weeks of his daughter's emotional suffering was a worthwhile sacrifice to be rid of Mortdh, and then he died before he could tell her the truth. The problem with this theory is that once Ahn revealed the truth and Khiann was resurrected, the gods would have demanded Mortdh's release from entombment, and he would have been resurrected as well because he hadn't committed murder."
"Unless he didn't plan to ever tell her," Tamira said quietly. "The rumor was that Ahn wasn't happy with his daughter choosing a merchant's son as her husband, but since Annani and Khiann claimed to be truelove mates, he couldn't object to their union any more than Mortdh could. It would have offended the Fates.It's possible that he regarded the situation as a double win, getting rid of an opponent and an undesirable son-in-law in one fell swoop."
Kian's jaw tightened, and his eyes hardened. "From everything I've heard about my grandfather, I wouldn't put that past him. Just don't mention this to my mother. She would be devastated."
"Of course." Tamira dipped her head. "It's also possible that I'm wrong. We are all guessing. Navuh seems to be the only one who knows what really happened, but the price he's demanding for the information is too steep."
"He might be lying." Kian reached for a new wine bottle, uncorked it, and refilled everyone's glasses. "Although I'm starting to think that he really knows where Khiann is."
"I also think he's telling the truth." Eluheed lifted the glass that Kian had just filled. "If Mortdh set out to kill Khiann but failed to do so because he was too late to the scene, the only one he could have told was Navuh. And if he saw remnants of the caravan, he could have also disclosed the location to his son."
Kian nodded. "I'll take you to him. Let's hope that you can see something that will help us find Khiann. There is nothing in this world that my mother wants more, but giving Navuh what he wants is out of the question. Even if I agree, she won't go through with it because she won't be able to live with the guilt. As it is, she blames herself for the demise of the gods."
Eluheed was well familiar with guilt. He was drowning in it even though he hadn't been responsible for his people's fall. He was only responsible for their chance of having a future, and he had failed to safeguard it.
Syssi took a sip of her wine and put the glass down with a determined expression on her face, "Since this is all we can do for now in regard to Khiann, let's shift gears to your request, Eluheed. You wanted to discuss something with me."
Eluheed took a deep breath. This was it. The moment of trust, the leap of faith. Syssi had opened her home to him and treated him with kindness and respect. His gut was telling him that he could trust her just as much as he trusted her husband.
Besides, what choice did he have?
She was a powerful seer, and he needed all the help he could get.
11
SYSSI
Syssi had been watching Eluheed throughout lunch, trying to understand the sense of familiarity she felt toward him.
