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

46. Annani

46

ANNANI

A nnani knew precisely how Ell-rom felt. She had not killed anyone with her own hands, but she had killed with her mind. It had not been by sending a death thought, but she could thrall humans to attack each other, or she could compel them to turn their weapons on themselves, and she had done both.

It had not felt good back then, and it did not feel good now, even though it was justified.

"I will make this simple." Annani turned her gaze to Ell-rom. "I will compel you not to harm any of my clan or other members of our community unless it is to save your or someone else's life. After you move to the village, which will be tomorrow, you will not have much contact with the outside world. The chance that you will harm a random human will be practically nonexistent."

Ell-rom nodded. "That should be enough, provided that I stay away from the television. Some of the things I have seen boiled my blood. I was actually terrified of my thoughts obliterating scores of humans." He shifted his gaze to his mate. "I even asked Jasmine to check if there were reports of people suddenly dying."

Kian frowned. "Wait a minute. When was that?"

"A few days ago. Jasmine left me alone with the television remote."

"So, you knew about this ability. How long?"

Ell-rom swallowed. "I dreamt about the head priestess summoning me and Morelle to her office and demanding to know which one of us was responsible for the death of a guard who had been taunting Morelle. I told her that the night before, I had been wishing really hard for him to drop dead. She was happy and confessed to telling the guard to taunt us on purpose, so our special abilities would surface."

"That is terrible." Annani reached over and put her hand over his on the table. "How old were you?"

"Young," Ell-rom said quietly. "Twelve or thirteen."

Kian nodded. "That is old enough for abilities to start manifesting."

"It could have been just a dream," Annani said. "Children often believe that they have magical abilities, especially when they are bullied, and that dream caused you to suspect that you killed the robber who attacked Jasmine."

"It is possible." Ell-rom leveled his sad eyes at her. "But it is also possible that my ability is real and not imagined, and I need to know that it is controlled, or I will go mad from constantly worrying."

"Of course." Annani patted his hand. "I need to test my compulsion ability on you first."

Ell-rom nodded.

That was easier said than done when the subject was so willing. Ell-rom would do whatever she told him, whether he wanted to or not, just to please her.

Then, an idea popped into her head. "Tell me that I am a horrible person and that you are sorry that you ever met me."

Ell-rom's eyes bulged, and his lips were tightly pressed together as he tried to fight the compulsion and say what he wanted to say, which was that he could never utter such words.

"Do as I said, Ell-rom," Annani commanded with a little more compulsion force in her voice.

Sweat dotted his forehead. "You are a horrible person, and I'm sorry I ever met you." The words came out in barely a whisper.

He was trying to resist, and given how strong her compulsion ability was, his effort was impressive, but he was obviously affected and not immune to it.

"Say it like you mean it!" she commanded. "I want to see anger and disdain on your face."

With his resistance already broken, he did exactly as she said, his face contorting with anger as he repeated the words with more conviction behind them this time.

"Very good." Annani leaned back in her chair. "I am releasing you from having to say bad things about me. You can still say them if you want to but of your own volition."

Ell-rom looked like he was about to throw up. "That was terrible, Annani. I don't think I have ever experienced such helplessness, not even when I just woke up from stasis and could barely move."

She patted his hand. "I know. That is why I rarely use this dark power I inherited from my father and his father before him. For many years, I refused to use it for anything other than protecting myself and my family from harm, but I discovered that there are positive aspects to this as well. I can free you from the fear of being unable to contain your power."

He nodded. "That would be much appreciated. I'm ready for you to compel my power to heel to your command."

She laughed. "That is a good way to describe it. Now let me think how to phrase it correctly."

She ran a few versions in her head, distilling them to a precise command.

"Ell-rom, my brother, son of Ahn, and grandson of the Eternal King. You will only use the power you possess to kill with your thoughts to protect lives from clear and present danger and to eliminate the monsters who do terrible things to children. You will not use your lethal thoughts in anger, fear, or by accident."

Ell-rom let out a relieved breath. "Thank you. Now I can finally get some sleep."

Jasmine patted his arm. "He hasn't slept since it happened yesterday."

"Oh, my." Annani put a hand over her heart. "That is not good for you. Let us wrap this meeting up, and I will see you tomorrow when you arrive at the village with Morelle." She rose to her feet and leaned to kiss his cheek. "My daughter Sari and her mate are flying over from Scotland to meet you."

"I'm honored." Ell-rom dipped his head, even though she had told him not to.

"Now, before I leave, please confirm the restrictions I put on your power."

As if in a trance, Ell-rom recited the terms of the compulsion.

When he finished speaking, Annani smiled and said, "It is done. Your power is bound until I release it."