The Guru: Shadow (Dark Triad #1)

2. Deis

2

DEIS

PLAYLIST: LIFE (RADIO EDIT) - HADDAWAY

“ D eis, they’re ready for you in five,” said Lisa from stage coordination while they walked through the backstage area. As the music played, the room became alive with thunderous applause and cheers, stirring an intense sense of anticipation within him. He could feel the energy radiating from the pre-heated mass out there, and when he stepped out, all the energy would not only be his, but he’d own them all.

“Mark the flagged ones. I’m gonna call out one and two in the first session,” he answered Lisa, scrolling through the report.

Suicidal and depressed. Perfect.

His heart pounded faster, signaling to him its readiness for the hunt, as he put the mic on. Checking in with Lisa, it was still off.

“Nervous?”

“Never, it’s gonna be a fun afternoon, as always.”

Lisa smiled back at him, and then his earpiece counted him in. It was time.

Fun indeed. Let the games begin.

“Are you reeeeeaaaaadyyyyy to finally break free?” he shouted into his microphone as he stepped onto the stage, clapping his hands. As expected, the masses cheered and celebrated him like a god. It was the magic of pumping people up with music and energy, letting them believe they could do anything.

Give people hope, and they’ll do anything. So easy. So predictable.

“So, here’s what we’ll do today. You’ll let go of everything holding you back and you’ll create the future you want and deserve. How does that sound?”

More cheers.

“Who is ready to finally become themselves? Finally live their dreams? Finally be the creator of their own reality? Say yes!”

People cheered again and the entire hall shouted, “Yes!”

Good.

“I can’t hear you!”

And they cheered louder, people jumping up to the music.

“Still, can’t hear you. Do you really want it?”

Now they went feral.

Yes, go get high on the energy highway. Open yourself up, break free, and remove your rational filters.

“At the end of this weekend, you’ll go home, and you will fucking show up. You will change and take responsibility for your life. Who believes it to be possible their life can completely change in a single weekend?”

Many hands went up, but not all. There was the red dot, the first mark, number one. And he did not lift his arm.

Perfect.

So he went down from the stage and walked almost twenty rows towards the guy. A pathetic sissy, how he stood there, all shy and giving him the ‘I-wanna-be-everywhere-else-but-here-vibes’ accompanied by those empty eyes. He’d make a great toy.

As he walked up to the man, he signaled the crew with a short wave of his hand to get him a microphone. As the guy realized he was singled out, his whole body tensed and was on the verge of fleeing as he backed away. But he would not let him .

“Stop.”

He stopped. Like prey frozen from sensing its reaper.

“What’s your name?”

“Liam.”

“Liam, why are you here?”

“M-My mother told me to go.”

Stuttering. Insecure. Prey.

“And what is going on in your life that needs to change?”

“I, I–” said Liam and he rubbed one of his hands against his thigh. He could sense Liam’s discomfort and nervousness with a prickle in his nerves, which gave him a thrilling rush.

“Tell us, Liam. You need to get out of your comfort zone. I can feel you, with all my heart, it can be so hard to step into the light, but you need to take responsibility.”

It was a blatant lie, but it was exactly what Liam needed to hear.

“I have no hope for the future. Tried to kill myself last year, and nothing seems to work out.”

Admitting it so fast, so easy.

“Thank you for sharing this with us. You are so strong.”

The fuck you are. You are weak and I will have you for breakfast.

“I wanna show you something.” And he asked the room, “Who else has had thoughts of killing themselves? Lift your hands.”

The hands of about one-third of the people in the room went up.

“You see that, Liam? You are not alone. It is time for you, for you all, to step out of the shadow. It is time for you to let go of that excuse of a life and claim your spot. And when you come home from this weekend, you’ll do exactly that. Understood?”

Yes.”

“I can’t hear you!”

“YES!” Liam shouted into the mic.

“That’s what I want to hear. Now, tell me, when was the last time someone hugged you?”

“I can’t tell–”

“Do you have friends or a girlfriend? ”

“No,” Liam said with a pitiful pain in his voice.

Even more perfect.

He pulled Liam into a hug, a tight one.

“You deserve to be happy. You deserve to be seen, Liam. I see you. With all of my heart. And everyone else here sees you too.”

“Thank you,” Liam whispered, tears running down his cheeks as he cried against his chest.

Oh, I am so going to eat you.

“Now, let us all celebrate the first day of your new life.”

“It was phenomenal, Deis,” shouted Mark on Sunday afternoon.

“How many sales?”

“4.95 million.”

Definitely a record. Fear-mongering and promises of healing and change absolutely did their magic. Desperate people would grasp every last straw. It was all just a matter of exploiting what a person desired most, finding out their deepest pain points, and then striking. People don’t want to change; they want to buy a comfortable magical solution because humans, by nature, are lazy.

“How many were there in the end?”

“Over three thousand people.”

“And how many are there going to be in Canada?”

“Half, but Vegas is already at four thousand.”

Good. Very, very good.

“Mark, make the marketing for New York next year even more specific. I want more Liam’s. They make the best.”

“He booked two of the online events in January and March, also signed up for the monthly mentoring.”

Like I said, desperate people make the best customers. And Liam had turned out to be even better than he expected. Insecure, agreeable, and so easy to manipulate.

“Deis,” it was Edward’s voice, his most trusted security detail, who pulled him out of his thoughts.

“What is it?”

He just wanted to revisit Liam’s sweet little whining resounding in his ear as he stripped his soul bare .

“Delilah. France went as planned.”

It was all he needed to hear to feel a deep satisfaction warm him from the inside. Years of planning would finally pay off.

“Let’s get back to Manhattan, you can brief me on the way, have the jet ready.”

“Everything’s on there,” said Ed, handing him a tablet. “They got all the footage, Delilah acted as you expected. Daddy wasn’t with her; he’s in the Congo with the whole PR team.”

“The mines?”

“Yes, it’s crap shit. They’re trying to reframe the child labor and exploitation.”

He scrolled through the reports until he reached a set of photos.

“Ed, what am I looking at?” he asked, holding up the tablet and turning it, so Ed could see the screen in the rear mirror.

“Delilah and her extracurricular activities.”

“I am aware, but who is it?”

“Eden Baker”

“Jimmy’s son? Isn’t he like eighteen?”

“Seventeen.”

He couldn’t help but smirk. Things couldn’t have gone any better.

“Well, that’s a fortunate addition to the plan. Have you finalized the deal with Bloom?”

“Tomorrow, 3 p.m. We are already prepping everything as planned.”

Good, really good.

And his thoughts wandered back to the image forever imprinted in his mind. The girl he had seen all those years back, with her dark brown hair framing those mesmerizing dark green eyes with an ever-consuming darkness in them.

You’ll be mine. Soon.