Page 43 of Dark Destiny: The Fates' Bargain

Turner was right, and Kian had no definite answer. "I will know or at least get a sense. We bring their mothers and sisters in for visits, let them interact, and see how they behave. People can put on an act only for so long. I will ask Andrew to watch them as well."

He wasn't sure that Andrew could tell anything from watching them remotely. Usually, he needed to be in the vicinity of people to determine whether they were telling the truth or lying, and the Eight presented an additional complication because of their shared hive mind.

He turned to Lokan. "Perhaps you should watch them. You will know to look for tells that I'm not aware of."

Lokan nodded. "I can visit them. I don't know where the entrance to the tunnel is, and whatever they can pick up from my mind will not help them in any way. I can probably get a better feel while interacting with them and talking to them in their native tongue."

"Good idea," Kian said. "When we arrange for the first visit of their mothers and sisters, you can go with them."

Lokan shook his head. "I'd rather wait, let them get settled and drop their defenses. Perhaps in a week or two."

"Can I at least watch when Lokan goes?" Kalugal asked. "I mean through the surveillance cameras. You can wear an earpiece, and I can feed you questions."

Lokan frowned at his brother. "Do you really think I'm so incompetent that you need to guide me through the interrogation?"

Kalugal didn't look the least bit apologetic. "Not at all, brother. It has nothing to do with your competence. You are just not as diplomatic as I am. I can get people to talk. Lay the charm on thick, if you know what I mean."

Kian knew exactly what Kalugal meant, but Lokan didn't. He didn't know his younger brother as well as Kian did. Nevertheless, he wasn't going to come between them.

"They're not regular Doomers," Kalugal continued. "Members of the Brotherhood follow orders because they were brainwashed and compelled to be loyal to the organization. These Eight chose to escape and help the clan extract the chests. They don't fit the profile, and they need to be handled with care until we figure out what motivates them. What they want."

Kian agreed with Kalugal, and after the additional explanation, Lokan nodded his acceptance.

Kian turned to Onegus. "Lokan can use my old office in the underground for his meeting with the Eight. When the time comes, I'll send Okidu to prepare it."

Onegus wrote it in his tablet. "We also need a proper place for the meeting with the mothers. What do you think about the small council chamber?"

"That could work. I'll ask Okidu to prepare it."

Onegus noted this in his tablet as well.

Kian waited until the chief's fingers stilled on the glass surface. "Let's get Losham on the line."

Onegus pulled the dedicated phone from his pocket, dialed, activated the speaker, and set it on the conference table.

It rang twice before the call was picked up.

"I can't believe your audacity." Losham didn't bother with greetings. "How dare you call me and make demands of me after what you have done? Did you fabricate the story about the chests and the immortals in stasis? Or was it all a smoke screen to steal Dave?"

It took Kian a second to connect the name to the Eight. He'd learned from the returning Guardians that the Eight called themselves collectively Dave. A single name for their hive mind.

"The chests were real, and we took them," Kian said. "They were too important to let anyone other than us handle them. As for the eight soldiers who call themselves Dave, it was their choice to leave. We didn't reach out to them or ask for their help. They offered it in exchange for accommodations once they were free, and we agreed because it served our purposes."

"Your purposes." Losham snorted. "You claimed that your purpose was to keep me in charge because I was the most reasonable option and you could control me. But by taking Dave, you severely undermined me. You wanted a stable island,a manageable Brotherhood, and it all rested on me staying exactly where I am. How am I supposed to do that now? Dave manipulated minds for me, kept the army loyal to me. Without him, I can't control the army, and my days are numbered!"

"The military side of the island is isolated," Kian said. "You should be fine, at least for now."

"The opposite is true, and if you actually understood what's happening here, you'd know that." Losham sounded on the verge of hysteria. "The military isn't isolated. It's coalescing around the junior brothers. Without Dave, I have no way to compel their loyalty. If you want me to remain in power, you need to send them back."

Kian looked at Turner's blank expression and at Lokan's raised eyebrow. Losham might be exaggerating, but he wasn't wrong, and they needed to figure out what to do about the island.

"We'll discuss what can be done on our end," he said. "We'll be in touch."

"Yes, please get in touch. But I can't guarantee that you will reach me. I might be dead." Losham ended the call.

Kian looked at Turner. "Well?"

"He's probably right." Turner picked his pen back up, turning it over once between his fingers. "Compulsion, however diminished in comparison to Navuh's, was the glue holding that whole house of cards together. Losham can't hold it up on his own."