It was sweet irony that a place where women had once been imprisoned and abused was now being used as a rehabilitation center for women who had lived through such horrors.
Carol had been vindicated, and the clan prevailed.
Losham, on the other hand, must have still harbored a vendetta against the clan for the death of his adopted son. It was not something he could forgive or move past to cross into the light. Losham's eternal legacy would be the darkness of the Brotherhood.
"So, to summarize," Kian said. "We have approximately two weeks until the chests are found. Losham is cooperating due to compulsion, and the situation with his brothers remains stable but precarious."
"What happens when they find the chests?" Orion asked. "How do we actually get them off the island?"
"That's the challenge." Kian let out a breath. "Losham claims he can't ship them to us without his brothers noticing. He might be telling the truth, or he might be positioning himself to make a better deal."
"Are you still planning to execute the EMP option?" Andrew asked.
An electromagnetic pulse that would disable the island's defenses, allowing a clan extraction team to retrieve the chests, seemed like something from a science fiction movie, but if Kian and Turner both agreed that it was the best plan they had, Annani was not going to question it.
"If we have to," Kian said. "We have the EMP, but we put the jet needed to deploy it and the submarine needed for the infiltration on ice. If Losham doesn't find a way to deliver the chests to us, we'll have no choice but to go get them ourselves. The EMP would give us a window of opportunity. Not a large one, but hopefully large enough."
"What about Navuh?" Nathalie asked. "What role does he play in all of this?"
That question had been lurking beneath the surface of the entire conversation. The thorniest issue was what to do with the former lord of the island, the monster who had terrorized the world for millennia, the mate of Annani's beloved sister.
"Navuh remains a card we can play, if necessary," Kian said. "His knowledge of the island's defenses, the location of the chests, and the political dynamics among his sons is valuable information. Releasing him is not on the table at the moment, but if everything else fails, it might be our last resort. That being said, we haven't deployed all we could to get him talking, so we still might get him to cooperate without promising to release him in exchange."
"Everything about this situation is so complicated," Amanda muttered. "We're trying to rescue a god from the ruins of our enemy's fortress, using our enemy's own son as an unwilling accomplice, while said enemy sits in our basement, wheeling and dealing." She shook her head. "If someone had pitched it tome as a script for a movie, I would have said that the plot was too unbelievable."
"And yet here we are," Dalhu said.
22
DIMITRI
Saturday morning dawned bright and warm, the tropical sun streaming through the window of Dimitri's room with an intensity that made sleep impossible. Not that he minded. Today was his day off, and he intended to make the most of it.
Mattie was already awake, sitting cross-legged on their combined beds, looking at the furniture they'd salvaged from the debris pile with the focused intensity of an artist contemplating a new canvas.
"I want to start on the dresser today," she said once she realized he was awake. "The finish is badly damaged, and most of the handles are missing. I'll need to strip it down, sand it smooth, and apply a new stain. And new hardware for the drawers would be nice if we could find any."
Dimitri propped himself up on one elbow, watching her with amusement mixed with admiration. This was a side of Mattie he was unfamiliar with. Had she ever refinished furniture before? She seemed to know what was needed, and she was excited tostart on the project. The fear that had been shadowing her eyes lately had retreated, replaced by enthusiasm.
"And where exactly are you planning to get the materials for this restoration project?" he asked.
She turned to look at him, her expression shifting from confidence to uncertainty. "I was hoping you could help with that. I need sandpaper, wood stain, brushes, and maybe some wood filler for the deeper gouges. Oh, and a scraper. And possibly some steel wool for the finer work."
"That's quite a list."
"It's basic stuff that doesn't cost much out in the free world. But who knows what we can get here. The construction crews must have most of it, but I don't know where they get it from. It's not like there is a hardware store on the island."
Dimitri sat up and ran a hand through his hair. "The supplies are probably stored in some warehouse in the harbor, but I doubt they are offered for sale."
"How do you get what you need for the lab?"
"Petrov and I make a list and submit it to the acquisitions office. We usually have to wait at least a week until it gets here, but perhaps more basic stuff is available. I can ask around."
Mattie's face lit up. "Would you? I don't want to wait weeks to start on this project. I need something to do." She smiled sheepishly. "It's not like there is much work for me in the lab."
"For you, I will scale mountains and fight dragons." Seeing her happy and engaged in something other than survival and fear was worth any amount of effort on his part.
He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood, stretching muscles that were still adjusting to their new and enhanced state. Every morning brought new gifts. He was stronger than he'd been the day before, faster, and his response time was just insane. The transformation was continuing, and he would be lying if he claimed he didn't revel in it. The feeling of vitality, of invincibility, was intoxicating. No wonder these immortals were so full of themselves. They really were a superior species.
