It had always been about power and greed, and in that, Losham was no different than his father. The only difference was in their approach.
But how could they have possibly gotten to him?
The island was supposed to be impenetrable. The security systems were state-of-the-art, constantly updated, and monitored around the clock.
And yet Navuh was gone.
The concubines were gone as well, along with their two male companions. They vanished without a trace, without any alarm being raised, without anyone seeing or hearing anything.
Losham had laughed when Rami had told him about Hakum's alien invasion theory, dismissing it as the product of watching too many science fiction films.
But perhaps it wasn't so absurd after all.
Who knew what technological marvels were contained in that tablet that Annani had taken from her uncle, and what the clan had managed to build based on the schematics contained in it?
Perhaps they had built an aircraft that was undetectable by radar and to the eye, equipped with a cloaking device like something out of a science fiction novel. They could have slipped past every defense and extracted their targets without anyone being the wiser.
It sounded insane. It also sounded like exactly the kind of thing Annani's people would develop and deploy if they could.
Losham drained the rest of his sherry and set the empty glass on the table beside him. Regrettably, Rami had brought him only one cigar, and he needed another one to corral the thoughts that were still running in circles.
He was no closer to answers than he had been when he sat down.
He pushed to his feet, walked inside, and pulled another Cohiba from the humidor. Instead of smoking another cigar, he should go upstairs, shower, and try to sleep. Tomorrow would be another challenging day with new problems to solve and lies to maintain, and he needed rest, even if his mind refused to quiet.
But he didn't.
He walked back to his lounge chair, lit the new cigar, and stared at the stars.
When his phone rang, he wasn't surprised.
He knew without looking at the display that it was them. The timing was perfect, convenient. They had waited for this hour so they could catch him alone.
He was compelled to answer the call, the command from this morning still echoing in his mind and impossible to ignore. But even if he wasn't, even if he could have resisted, Losham would have picked up.
He answered on the second ring.
"Hello, Lokan and friends," he said, keeping his voice casual, almost amused. "How are you doing this morning?"
"The better question is, how are you doing tonight?" Lokan didn't sound surprised by Losham's accurate appraisal of the time zone he was calling from. "Are the brothers nipping at your heels or going straight for your throat?"
Losham took a puff of his cigar and let the smoke curl around his words. "I'm handling them."
"How?"
He chuckled. "That's for me to know and for you to guess."
"Answer him." The compeller's voice cut through the line, sharp and commanding, and Losham felt the pressure slam into his mind.
He cursed under his breath and tried to resist. Pushed back against the compulsion with everything he had, every trick he'd learned over centuries of navigating Navuh's demands, but itwas no use. The command settled into his thoughts like a hook into a fish, impossible to dislodge.
"I made them believe that Father had one of his rage episodes and is hiding in the harem." The words came out smooth, controlled, as if he were choosing to share them. "I assured them that it was temporary and that he would be back soon. They will behave and pretend to cooperate as long as they believe that."
There was a long moment of silence on the other end of the line, and Losham imagined Lokan and his new friends processing the information, weighing its implications, and deciding what to do with it.
"Where do you think Father really is?" Lokan finally asked.
Losham smiled. "Not in the harem, that's for sure. He and the ladies are gone, and no one has a clue how or why." He paused, taking another puff of his cigar. "At first, I assumed that he had snapped. Killed all of them by throwing them off the cliff, and then, realizing what he had done, jumped to his death. It would have been fitting, in a way. The great Lord Navuh, brought down by his own madness. But after our chat this morning, I realized that theory no longer fits the facts. Your new friends have him. Otherwise, they wouldn't have known about the booby traps. You couldn't have told them because the enclosure was built after you ran off. The only way they could have that information is if they got it from Father."
