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

33. Kian

33

KIAN

K ian stared out the window of his second-floor office, his gaze fixed on the lush greenery of the village below. It seemed so tranquil, but underneath the pastoral fa?ade hid an undercurrent of discontent.

He'd just gotten updates about the ongoing investigation from Toven and his mother. The perpetrator hadn't been identified yet, but they were both reporting that many residents were unhappy about living in an integrated community. Evidently, for some, the differences were just too much to bridge.

He hadn't heard from Kalugal and Arwel yet, but he expected less disgruntlement from Kalugal’s men and the humans living in the village than from Clan members and the Kra-ell.

The ringing of his phone pulled him from his thoughts, and as he saw Julian's name flashing, the uneasy feeling in his gut intensified.

A phone call instead of a text message indicated urgency.

"Julian," he said. "What's going on?"

"Are you alone?"

The uneasiness got worse.

"Yes. Why? Is everyone in the keep okay?"

"Yes. They are all fine. But I need to tell you something that I'm sure you will want to keep confidential."

Frowning, Kian glanced toward his office door, which was closed but not locked. Most people knocked before entering, but there were some who didn't wait for him to invite them inside before just opening the door and striding in.

"Give me a moment," he said, rising from his chair.

He walked across the room and locked the door. "Alright. What's this about?"

As Julian recounted the events involving Jasmine and Ell-rom, Kian felt a knot forming in his stomach.

"She was attacked in broad daylight?"

"He was probably a druggie. She said that his hand was shaking so badly that her greatest fear was that he would press the trigger accidentally."

"Unbelievable. I should transfer Ell-rom and Jasmine to the village right away. It's not safe for them to walk out of the building."

"Wait," Julian said. "I didn't get to the best part yet."

That was true. Nothing Julian had said so far required confidentiality. "So, get to the point. I'm already itching for a cigarillo to calm my nerves."

"The attacker collapsed, and Ell-rom thinks that he killed him just by wishing him dead. I would have thought that was just a childish fantasy, but I ran all possible tests on the body, and there was no indication that he'd suffered a cardiac event. It's like his brain shut down for no reason."

For a long moment, Kian was too stunned to respond. Normally, he would have dismissed Ell-rom's claim for the same reasons Julian would have.

In many ways, Ell-rom was still like a child, and children often believed in magical abilities, like wishing something would make it manifest. But Julian was a smart guy, and he wasn't gullible, so if he thought that there was something to it, there probably was.

After all, they had all feared that the twins had some terrible powers. The Eternal King definitely believed that and wanted them eliminated. It seemed that he wasn't simply paranoid but had something on which to base his fear.

Kian pinched the bridge of his nose. "That's one hell of a headache. We can't be certain of Ell-rom's ability until we test it, and I can't deal with it right now."

"I know," Julian said. "The timing sucks."

Kian snorted. "Doesn't it always?"

"It would seem so," Julian agreed.

"I need to tell the Clan Mother." Kian opened a drawer and pulled out his cigarillo box. "She's entertaining clan members at the moment, so it will have to wait for later."

"Has anything come up in the investigation so far?" Julian asked.

"Nothing concrete." Kian put the box in his pocket. "Toven might need another day with the Kra-ell because the obstinate purebloods are so difficult to compel. We have a main suspect, but we are keeping her for last."

"Who?"

"Drova. But keep it to yourself."

"Of course. But why her?"

Kian patted his pockets to check if he'd got the lighter, but it wasn't there. "Given her parentage, there's a possibility she might be immune to compulsion. It's just a theory at this point, but that, along with some circumstantial evidence, makes her the prime suspect."

"Why not question her first, then?" Julian asked.

"We don't want to tip her off. If she is involved, we want to find out if she has anyone working with her. We need to be strategic about this."

"Smart." There was a moment of silence on the line. "What should we do about Ell-rom in the meantime?"

"For now, nothing." Kian opened the drawer again and pushed his hand in to search for the lighter. "We need to verify his ability before we decide what to do. We'll need to test it."

He found the lighter all the way at the end of the drawer, grabbed it, and pulled it out.

"That's what I thought, but who would he...well, kill?"

Kian's mind flashed to a conversation he'd had with the chief not too long ago. "Onegus said something about wanting to go after the pedophiles who buy children for sex. Perhaps we should dedicate a team of Guardians to finding these monsters. I have no problem using them to test Ell-rom's ability. Eliminating them would be a service to humanity." He felt his fangs elongating. "I can't tolerate the thought of children being made to suffer like that. The pain is unimaginable."

"I can't argue with that," Julian said. "It's not something I'm looking forward to dirtying my hands with, but we can't save the world with white gloves on. I wish we could, but that's not possible when there are so many demons to get rid of. That being said, it's morally gray."

Kian put the lighter in his pocket and headed for the door. "We are not bound by the same moral dilemmas as humans because we can see into the monsters' heads and make sure that we are not executing innocents by mistake." He opened the door and headed for the stairs leading to his rooftop retreat.

"True," Julian agreed. "Ell-rom is distraught, but I guess talking with Vanessa is not an option, right?"

"It's not, even though I trust her completely. I want my mother to be the first one to know."

He might tell Syssi first, but that was different. He and Syssi were as one.

"Very well," Julian said. "I'll give him something to relax and then head home. Should I stop by the Clan Mother's to give my not-guilty testimony?"

"She's giving away cookies, so why not."

Julian chuckled. "I forgot about that. That's definitely an incentive to drop in."