Dark Awakening: Echoes of Destiny (The Children Of The Gods #88)

25. Jasmine

25

JASMINE

A s the elevator descended, Jasmine's imagination ran wild with what they might find. Julian had said that there were no chains and bloodied walls, but these immortals could have some other instruments of torture.

She could envision a Perfect Match machine with nightmarish scenarios and the victims strapped into the chair, unable to escape.

But who were the prisoners that they kept there?

Clan members or their enemies, the Doomers?

When they got out of the elevator on the dungeon level, it wasn't at all what she'd expected. The wide corridor was the same as the one on the clinic level, with a concrete floor and walls made of white blocks, but here, pictures hung on the walls, and artificial potted trees added a splash of green.

"This is nicer than the clinic level," Ell-rom said.

"Oh, yes." Julian took out his phone and used an app to open the first door. "The dungeon has served many purposes over the years. It's rarely been used as an actual prison. Mostly, it was used as temporary lodging for different people and different reasons, so our interior designer aimed to make it feel homey."

As the heavy door to the cell was swinging open, Jasmine and Ell-rom peeked in.

It was pretty utilitarian, with a single bed, a small desk, and a bathroom that was separated from the main cell with glass blocks. The walls were cream-colored, and there were cameras installed near the ceiling.

"That's a regular cell, right?" Jasmine asked.

"Yes." Julian waited until they cleared the door before closing it.

The mechanism engaged, and the foot-thick door swung closed.

"Those are some impressive doors you have there," she said.

Julian smiled. "They are designed to hold immortals, not humans." He walked toward the third door in the row and aimed his phone at it. "This one is much nicer. This is where we house VIPs who need to be detained for a little while."

Jasmine walked in and motioned for Ell-rom to follow. The place had a living room and a bedroom with an adjacent bathroom, and it was beautifully decorated.

"Amanda and Dalhu stayed down here when he was first apprehended by the clan," Julian said. "She refused to be separated from him." He launched into the story of how Dalhu had kidnapped Amanda and how they had fallen in love. "As you can imagine, Kian was livid. He refused to talk to Amanda."

"It was her choice," Ell-rom said quietly. "He should have respected his sister's decision and not interfered."

"Is that what you would have done?" Jasmine slipped her hand in his. "If Morelle partnered up with someone you found despicable, would you just accept her choice?"

Ell-rom frowned. "I would try to talk her out of it, but I wouldn't abandon her or put her in a dungeon."

Julian smiled knowingly. "Don't judge the guy until you are in his shoes. I just hope that you will never have to deal with a situation like that."

He walked them out of the apartment and closed the door behind them. "The last cell I'm going to show you is the most secure one." He pointed his phone at it. "This is where we held Igor, the pureblooded Kra-ell who enslaved Jade and the other Kra-ell who had woken up from stasis." He looked at Ell-rom. "Did anyone tell you about him?"

Ell-rom nodded. "Annani said that he was an assassin sent to murder our father. When he discovered that Ahn was long gone, he decided to use his special talents to put himself on the throne."

"Correct," Julian confirmed. "He didn't use an actual throne, but he was a despot and a dictator. Frankly, he wasn't the worst I've ever heard of, but he was a very dangerous male. He was an incredibly powerful compeller, but even he wasn't strong enough to resist Annani, which was very fortunate."

A smile bloomed on Ell-rom's face. "Annani was born to be a queen."

"What happened to Igor?" Jasmine asked.

"He was put in stasis," Julian said.

Ell-rom frowned. "Did you have a stasis chamber to put him in?"

Julian shook his head.

"So, how was that possible? I thought Kra-ell needed a stasis chamber to survive."

Julian rubbed a hand over his jaw. "Igor wasn't a normal Kra-ell. He was genetically enhanced, and he could enter unaided stasis like the gods. He was given other talents as well, and knowledge that was stored in his brain like on a hard drive. That's why Kian didn't let Jade execute Igor despite his crimes. He convinced her that we might need what's stored in his brain someday, and it would be a mistake to kill him."