"They are progressing slowly," Kian said. "Nothing has changed since we last talked on Friday. Losham still estimates about two more weeks before they clear enough debris to reach the chests or the chamber that Navuh described."
"He said two more weeks on Friday," Annani said. "Should it not be twelve more days now?"
"It's just an estimate, Mother. They might be done earlier or later. Don't forget that they are doing everything by handwithout using any heavy equipment because that's what we told Losham to do. We don't want them to rush things and cause additional collapse that might cause further damage to the chests."
It was also possible that not all the booby traps had been set off, and the crews working there might trigger those that hadn't, but Kian didn't want to add to his mother's anxiety.
"I wonder why he's using only human crews for the removal of debris. His explanation that they are more careful is nonsensical. Immortals can be just as careful when so instructed and much faster."
"Losham is in a difficult situation. His brothers are watching his every move, and deploying a large number of immortal warriors to dig in Navuh's basement would raise questions. The brothers don't care about the human crews and what they are assigned to do. It's much easier for him to keep pretending that there was nothing out of the ordinary in the basement when he's taking his time to dig it out."
"That makes sense," Annani conceded. "We should talk to Navuh and question him again. But this time, I want to bring reinforcements. I just cannot decide if I want Morelle and Mia to come with me, or if Mia alone will suffice."
Kian straightened in his chair. "When did you change your mind about getting into his head?"
"He is playing games with us, and I need to know the truth. By myself, I might not be strong enough to breach his protective walls, but I might do that with Mia enhancing my power and Morelle siphoning his out. They can pretend to be new nurses in training."
"That's a good idea," Syssi said. "But I think you should make the first attempt with only Mia by your side. Two new nurses in training will raise his suspicions, especially when one of them is Morelle. She doesn't exactly blend in."
"No, she does not, and Areana has probably told him about our newly-discovered twin siblings, including their descriptions." Annani frowned. "I am surprised that he has not mentioned them yet."
"Maybe because he is jealous," Syssi suggested. "You found out that you have another sister and brother, while he has none. Mortdh only fathered one son, and that was Navuh. Did he father any girls?"
Annani shook her head. "Mortdh was the one who originally came up with the idea of faking having children with his concubines by letting them sleep with other males and claiming the children as his own. I assume that Navuh got rid of any male siblings as soon as he came to power, but I have no idea what Mortdh did with the daughters born to those concubines. I assume that he got rid of them early on because it was more difficult to induce them in secret than the boys. After all, if they were his, they would have been born immortal and not need to transition."
"I’m not going to ask how he might have gotten rid of them.” Syssi shook her head. “I wonder if that's what Losham is planning. Even though he is not Navuh's real son, he thinks that he is, and his brothers are a thorn in his side."
"And ours." Kian lifted his cup to his lips and took a sip. "If not for them, Losham could have put the chests on a ship and delivered them to us. But the Fates never make anything simple. Right now, our best course of action is to let Losham'sexcavation continue while Onegus prepares the extraction team. If Losham can't deliver the chests to us, we go ourselves with the EMP."
"I'm glad we have a contingency plan." Syssi took a sip from her coffee. "It certainly beats worrying and fingernail biting."
Annani smiled. "You sound like Kian."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"It was meant as one." Annani squeezed her hand. "Most of the time."
Kian ignored the qualifier. "The plan is ambitious but solid. The only thing I'm worried about is deploying an EMP over the island. I hope Turner is right about it being contained to the specific area, but even if that's correct, I'm still concerned about aircraft flying in the vicinity at the time of the explosion. They will just fall out of the sky, and I don't want those deaths on my conscience. Turner is trying to figure out how to designate the area as a no-fly zone on short notice. We've never deployed an EMP, and frankly, it scares me."
"Me too," Annani said. "I would much rather that Losham send us the chests. Perhaps we can come up with another contingency plan? Something that does not require an EMP?"
Kian shook his head. "We've looked at it from all angles and brainstormed ideas, and this is the only one that has any chance of success."
"Do you think Navuh is being truthful about the chamber?" Annani asked.
"Honestly? I think he's playing games, but I'm not sure what he hopes to achieve by that. He keeps trying to buy himselftime, which doesn't make sense because no one is coming to his rescue."
"Unless he knows something we do not," Annani said, echoing the concern she'd raised at Friday's dinner. "Navuh is always several steps ahead, and we have already reasoned that he might be counting on Losham to figure out that we have him and mount a rescue, but we know it is not going to happen. Even if Losham wanted to save Navuh, he could not find him."
"Thank the fates for that." Kian refilled his cup with fresh coffee. "He knows that our base is in the general area of Los Angeles, but that's it. He doesn't have the resources or the intelligence to mount a rescue operation on our turf."
3
MATTIE
"Dave said that their mothers didn't love them," Dimitri said. "When the eight minds merged, they shared all their childhood memories, and across all eight, there wasn't a single memory of being loved."
"That's…" She shook her head. "I suppose I can understand why. Those poor women were violated and forced to carry children they didn't want. Motherhood is instinctive, though, and it's not the children's fault that they were born under such circumstances. I don't think I could hate a child of mine regardless of how he was fathered."
