Chapter 11 Kian
KIAN
The office was quiet at six in the morning, the kind of stillness that only existed before the world woke up and started making demands. Kian sat behind his desk, nursing a cup of coffee that had gone lukewarm, while he thought of yesterday's conversation with Navuh.
The bastard was playing them. Kian was certain of it. Every word out of Navuh's mouth was calculated, every revelation designed to push them toward a specific outcome that served his interests.
His number one objective was his freedom, but he might be after revenge as well.
A knock at the door pulled him from his thoughts.
"Come in."
Lokan entered, looking more alert than anyone had a right to be at this hour. He carried a thermos in one hand and two ceramic cups in the other.
"Carol insisted," he said, setting the thermos and cups on Kian's desk. "I told her that you had a coffeemaker in the office, but she said that having it and using it are not the same thing."
Kian glanced at his cup and thought of the coffeemaker in Shai's office, with its carafe half-full of dark liquid that had been sitting there since yesterday. "She's not wrong."
Lokan poured coffee into both cups and slid one across the desk to Kian. "She's not happy about the dream-walking situation, but if it's the only option, she says she will try to be supportive."
"I appreciate that." Kian took a sip of the fresh brew and had to admit it was significantly better than what was in the other cup. "How are you holding up?"
"I'm fine." Lokan settled into the chair across from the desk, wrapping his hands around his own cup. "I'm nervous about talking to Losham. He's a clever bastard, and I need to be careful not to reveal too much."
"That's why I asked you to come earlier than the others." Kian set his cup down and leaned forward. "You know him better than any of us, and I need to understand who we're dealing with. Tell me about him."
Lokan was quiet for a moment, his eyes distant.
"The best way to describe Losham is that he's to Navuh what Turner is to you.
He's a strategist. A planner. The one who thinks ten moves ahead while everyone else is stuck on yesterday's news.
" Lokan took a sip of his coffee. "Half the brilliant schemes attributed to Navuh were Losham's ideas.
As the oldest son, he had a long time to learn how to navigate our father's moods and stay in his good graces, for the most part. "
"Navuh doesn't strike me as the type to share credit."
"He's not. That's exactly my point. Losham fed him ideas in ways that made Navuh think they were his own.
Subtle suggestions, carefully planted seeds.
By the time Navuh announced a new initiative, he believed he'd conceived it himself.
" Lokan smiled. "It's a delicate art, manipulating a powerful and paranoid demigod with compulsion abilities. "
"Losham is smart," Kian said. "I knew that. What else?"
"Opportunistic. Calculated. Patient." Lokan ticked off the qualities on his fingers. "He doesn't act impulsively. Every move he makes is part of a larger plan, even if the plan isn't immediately apparent. And he's not senselessly violent or cruel, which sets him apart from most of our brothers."
"Not senselessly cruel." Kian shook his head. "That's a low bar."
"In the Brotherhood, it's practically sainthood, but then Losham was never a fighter. He never served in the army, so he didn't need to be cruel. In a way, it makes him more dangerous because he won't make stupid mistakes driven by ego or bloodlust."
Kian nodded. "What is Navuh's opinion of him? I know that Losham used to be your Father's right-hand man, but then they had a falling out, and he was sent away."
"Their relationship is complicated." Lokan stared into his coffee cup as if searching for answers in its depths.
"But that's true of all the senior brothers.
Losham is the oldest, and in many ways, he's the most loyal.
Not out of love or devotion, but out of pragmatism.
He understood early on that his survival depended on being useful to Navuh, so he made himself indispensable.
Whether he actually believes in Navuh's vision for the Brotherhood or just goes along with it because it serves his interests.
.." Lokan shrugged. "I could never tell. "
"Could he be turned? If we offered him something valuable enough?"
"I don't think so." Lokan met Kian's eyes.
"Losham is ambitious. I don't think the clan can offer him anything he wants.
Right now, he's the boss of the island and the de facto head of the Brotherhood.
Unless the other brothers do away with him, he will cling to that position with everything he's got. "
"Makes sense. What about the other senior commanders? How likely are they to do away with Losham?"
"As long as they believe that Navuh is alive, they won't touch Losham.
" Lokan set his cup down and leaned back in his chair.
"Senior commanders are rarely deployed on missions.
They're too valuable, too powerful, and too likely to build independent power bases if given too much freedom.
Navuh keeps them close, rotating their responsibilities. "
"Remind me of their names?"
"Kolhood, Hocken, and Hazok." Lokan paused.
"Kolhood is the biggest threat to Losham right now.
Currently, he's the general in charge of the army and therefore the most powerful.
He's brutal and competent. He's not as smart as Losham, but he's not stupid either.
And he has the loyalty of the junior commanders, mostly out of fear. "
"What about the other two?"
"Hocken is in charge of the resort—the brothel, the hotel, and the entertainment facilities.
He's a good manager, but don't let that fool you into thinking he's soft.
He has an extensive military background and commanded the army before Kolhood.
That's why Navuh rotates them, so no one gets too comfortable in any position.
" Lokan's expression darkened. "Hocken is cruel in ways that Losham isn't, but he's also pragmatic, so he doesn't let himself get carried away. "
"What about Hazok?"
"He oversees the Dormant enclosure and the breeding program." Lokan's tone had gone cold. "He also has extensive military experience, but his current role is more administrative."
Kian raked his fingers through his hair. "I wish we could free all those trapped Dormants."
"So do I," Lokan said. "I was raised in the Dormant enclosure, so I know what they go through. That's why my dream is to one day liberate the island and turn it into the paradise it could be."
It was an impossible dream, mostly because of Navuh's immortal army of cruel goons who had been raised to hate and kill. Only a select few managed to escape the brainwashing, think for themselves, and develop some basic decency.
Kian smiled sadly. "Talk about an end-of-days dream. Those monstrous immortal soldiers becoming doting mates to the Dormants, turning them immortal, and raising families. It's never going to happen, Lokan."
"I know. But I can still dream, right?"
"I guess."
Dreaming impossible dreams was dangerous because it led to self-deception, and it rarely ended well for the dreamer or those he or she was trying to help.
Kian picked up his coffee and took a long sip, using the time to organize his thoughts.
"You said Kolhood controls the army," he said. "What resources does Losham have to defend himself if Kolhood decides to make a move?"
"That's the question, isn't it?" Lokan looked troubled.
"Losham has a small personal guard that is fiercely loyal to him, but he has always relied on Navuh's authority to protect him.
As long as he was seen as Navuh's right hand, no one would dare move against him.
With Navuh gone, though, he's vulnerable.
His only option is some sort of fiction about Navuh's whereabouts.
Keeping the illusion that he's still around. "
"How long can he keep that up?"
"I don't know. Days? Weeks? Eventually, someone will demand proof." Lokan spread his hands. "Losham is smart, but he can't deceive everyone forever. The truth will come out eventually."
Kian drummed his fingers on the desk, considering their options. "My mother is reconsidering her position on Navuh."
Lokan went very still. "What do you mean by reconsidering?"
"She's thinking about using his cooperation in exchange for eventual freedom."
The silence that followed was charged with disbelief and hurt.
"That can't be done." Lokan's voice was tight. "Kian, please tell me you're not seriously considering this."
"I'm not. But my mother is."
"Annani is actually thinking about returning Navuh to the island?" Lokan's composure cracked, revealing raw emotion underneath. "I finally see hope for the place, hope that the people trapped there might one day be free, and she's willing to throw that away to get her mate back?"
Kian didn't want to point out again that Lokan's dream for the island was never going to materialize.
"None of us wants to set Navuh free," Kian said firmly. "And my mother doesn't want it either. But she's desperate."
Lokan shook his head. "Please talk her out of this. You are the only one who can."
Kian sighed. "Using Navuh is a last resort.
Right now, we have other options. We have access to Losham, we have your knowledge of the Brotherhood, and we have the EMP plan and the extraction team.
We're going to pursue every possible avenue before we even consider involving Navuh.
Although, to be honest, if you are really concerned with the lives of people on the island, they are safer with Navuh there than with the brothers waging a war of succession that will paint the island red.
We both know that Losham can't hold on to power forever, and if one of the other senior commanders wins the war, they will not be any better than your father. Probably worse."