He waited, holding his breath for Lokan to confirm or deny, or for the compeller to force him to stop speculating.
The silence stretched on.
"Did you start clearing the debris?" Lokan finally asked, and there was strain in his voice.
So. He was right. They had Navuh.
The confirmation, implicit as it was, sent a thrill through Losham's chest. It was good information, valuable information, even if he didn't know yet how to use it.
"Of course," he said. "I have a crew working on it, but it's going slow. I don't want them using heavy equipment in there. Too much risk of the entire mansion collapsing or damaging whatever Father was so desperate to protect."
"Good." Lokan sounded relieved. "You don't want them to accidentally damage what's inside."
Finally. After all the speculation, all the wondering, he was going to find out what Navuh had been hiding.
Losham leaned forward, his cigar forgotten in the ashtray, his full attention focused on Lokan's voice.
"Which is?" he asked.
13
LOKAN
The silence on the line stretched for what felt like an eternity after Losham asked his question.
"Which is?"
Lokan looked at Kian, his eyebrows raised in a silent question. Should he tell Losham what they were looking for? Revealing it would give Losham leverage, knowledge he could potentially use against them. But without telling him something, how could they ensure he handled the excavation with the care it required?
Kian held up a hand. "I'll take it from here. You're looking for bodies of immortals in stasis, probably inside coffins that look like large chests. They're members of our clan, and we want them back."
"That's highly unlikely," Losham said, sounding calm, collected, and skeptical. "I would have known if the Brotherhood brought back clan members in coffins. There was no reason for my father to keep it from me or the rest of the Brotherhood's command."
"His reasons for hiding the bodies are none of your concern," Kian said flatly. "They are important to us. That's all you need to know. They are not important to the Brotherhood."
"If they were so unimportant, he wouldn't hide them in a specially constructed enclosure rigged with booby traps."
"Navuh planned to use them as leverage against the clan, and for some reason, he didn't think any of his commanders needed to know about it." Kian managed to sound almost indifferent. "The point is, we want them back. We don't leave our people behind. Not the live ones, not the dead ones, and not those in stasis. We always bring our people home."
The words hung in the air, laden with unspoken criticism. Doomers were taught to fight to the death, not allowing themselves to be captured. If they were taken, they were written off, abandoned, as good as dead to the Brotherhood.
The clan valued every life.
"How sentimental," Losham said, but there was something beneath the sarcasm. Curiosity, perhaps. "The mighty clan, whose numbers are so small that they can't afford to lose anyone."
"Our numbers might be low, but that's not why we do it, and you are well aware of that," Kian said. "But that's irrelevant. Here is what you are going to do. You are going to oversee the excavation personally. You are going to ensure the debris is removed carefully, by hand if necessary. And when you find those chests, you are not going to open them. You are going to wait for further instructions."
"Says who? I don't even know who you are."
"And you will continue not knowing." Toven leaned toward the phone. "Let me repeat so you will understand and comply. You will handle the debris removal with extreme care," he said, his voice resonating with power even through the phone line. "You will prioritize the search for coffin-like containers. When you find them, you will not open them or allow anyone else to open them. You will wait for our instructions. Say you understand."
There was a long pause. Lokan could almost feel Losham's resistance through the phone, but the command was too strong for him to resist for long.
"I understand," Losham said.
"Good." Toven leaned back, his and Mia's work done for the moment.
"I want to talk to Lokan," Losham said.
