Syssi set down her cappuccino. "A god and four immortals in stasis would need specific conditions to keep them alive after so long."
Tamira felt a chill run down her spine despite the warmth of the room. For five thousand years, Navuh had had Khiann and his companions and had been hiding them first in Baalbek and then on the island. Or maybe he'd known where they had been buried, had dug them out only recently, and brought them to the island.
While Annani grieved, Navuh kept his terrible secret.
Syssi reached for Kian's hand. "This could be it. This could be where Khiann is actually buried. Navuh had him the entire time."
Kian's expression was cautious. "We can't be certain of that. Not without more evidence."
"But it makes sense." Syssi lifted her hands. "The Fates are trying to tell us something. The number five keeps appearing. The chests, Cyra's drawing, Allegra's stars."
"Even if we're guessing the location correctly," Kian said, "there's still the problem of accessing Navuh's mansion and extracting the chests. Losham controls the island now, and I'm sure he's investigating every corner of that place, including that enclosed space in the basement. That's what I would do if I were in his place. In fact, I'd be surprised if he hasn't gotten to what was in there already, and if the treasure was, in fact, Khiann and his immortal companions, I fear what he might have done with them, especially since he would have no clue who they are."
"He would know that they were important to Navuh." Tamira put her cappuccino cup on the coffee table. "Losham is smart, and he would not dispose of a strategic asset even if he doesn't know what it represents."
Syssi let out a breath. "I hope I'm not convincing myself that Khiann is in that glass enclosure because I love the idea ofruining Navuh's plans so much. He's lying in that hospital bed, paralyzed but still scheming, thinking that he's manipulating everyone. I can't wait to see his face when he realizes that his insurance policy is not working because he wasn't careful enough in hiding his bargaining chip."
"That's why I doubt Khiann is there," Kian said. "Navuh is too careful to be that careless. He must realize that all of you saw the chests getting taken out of the harem and then the new enclosure being built in his basement. It almost looks like he was showing you all of that on purpose to mislead you, and through you, to mislead us."
That was a little far-fetched since Navuh couldn't have foreseen being taken captive by the clan, but Tamira didn't feel comfortable pointing it out to Kian and by doing so contradicting him. She needed him to be positively predisposed to her and to Eluheed so he would help them in their searches.
"He couldn't have known that he would get captured," Syssi said. "Or that anyone would suspect what he had in those chests. It was just a series of unfortunate events for him. First, the flood that forced him to remove the chests from the harem, and then having to build that enclosure while his harem ladies were staying with him in the mansion."
"He could have compelled them not to talk about what they saw," Kian pointed out. "And yet he chose to let them remember that. To me, it smells like one big misdirection." He shifted his gaze to Eluheed. "The visions you provided for Navuh, did any of them hint at his capture?"
Eluheed shook his head. "I didn't see that coming. The future is not predetermined. At any point in time, there are many possible futures, and small changes can have big impacts."
"I sometimes think about that." Syssi lifted her nearly empty cappuccino cup and took a sip. "What if by glimpsing one possible future, people like Eluheed and me actually help bring that future into being? Like in quantum theory, until something is observed, it exists as a range of possibilities. But once it's observed, everything collapses into a single outcome."
Eluheed smiled. "That would make us very dangerous people. I think that we are shown what the universe has already decided is going to happen."
Tamira liked this interpretation much better. It was unsettling to think that seers could affect the future just by glimpsing the possibility. Still, the information they'd deduced hadn't been obtained by a vision, and the question was whether they should act upon it. In fact, she didn't see a way around it other than giving Navuh his freedom in exchange for Khiann's location.
She turned to Kian. "If I may speak plainly, I don't think you have a choice but to assume that Khiann is in that enclosure because the alternative is to agree to Navuh's terms."
He nodded. "I'm afraid you are correct, but that still leaves the problem of actually doing that. How can we get to Navuh's mansion, extract the chests or the bodies in stasis, and leave the island with them without getting caught?"
"You can bargain with Navuh for that information," Eluheed suggested. "Tell him that you know where to find Khiann, so freedom is no longer on the table, but that you are willing to negotiate with him for information that will help you retrieve him."
"I should do that as soon as possible," Kian agreed. "First, to watch Navuh's reaction, which would tell me if we are guessingcorrectly that Khiann is indeed in Navuh's basement. If he is, we need the extraction to happen before Losham discovers the treasure he's sitting on and moves the bodies somewhere else."
15
SYSSI
"That was a lot to process," Syssi said as Kian lifted Allegra into her stroller.
"Which part?" He secured the straps. "The alien shaman from another planet, or the possibility that my mother's truelove mate is buried under Navuh's mansion?"
"Both." She hung the baby bag over the stroller handles. "Although I have to admit, the alien immortal part is harder to wrap my head around, despite being surrounded by immortals and Kra-ell."
"Playground!" Allegra kicked her feet impatiently. "Now, Daddy!"
"We're going, sweetheart." Kian pushed the stroller toward the door.
It was a bit on the chilly side outside, but the sun was out, which made it pleasant, especially after a solid week of rain. Still, Syssi pulled out a blanket from under the stroller and wrapped it around Allegra.
"No, blanket!" Allegra kicked her feet, trying to dislodge the offending piece of fabric.
