10. Losham
LOSHAM
L osham leaned back in his executive chair and gazed at the harbor through the glass of the French doors that opened to a balcony that wrapped around the top floor of the hotel.
The suite had the best views on the island, even better than the ones from Navuh's former office in the mansion.
It had been designed for kings, or near enough.
Princes traveled here under assumed identities to spend a week indulging appetites they couldn't indulge at home, and prime ministers found reasons to schedule diplomatic layovers that happened to coincide with a few private nights at the resort.
Located on the top floor of the hotel, the suite had high ceilings and marble floors, and it was furnished to please the most discriminating of guests.
Perhaps it was time to order a proper desk instead of the dining room table he'd been using since the mansion had been declared too dangerous to inhabit. After the last explosion, it was probably beyond salvage, so the suite would have to remain his office for the foreseeable future.
As it stood now, guests would not be visiting the island anytime soon, so there was no rush. The damage from the rebellion was mostly repaired, but now he had to deal with a whole new slew of problems.
Rami came in and set his tablet down on the one spot on the table that wasn't covered in paperwork.
"Tell me something good," Losham said.
"I can tell you something, but whether it counts as good is your call.
" Rami propped the tablet on its built-in stand and turned it toward Losham.
"Power's back on in most of the resort and the harem.
The harem couldn't be occupied at all without it because it's underground and relies on the machinery to circulate air, so those were the main priorities.
The barracks are still dark, relying on the airshafts and emergency lighting.
The breeders' enclosure is also dark, but that's not a priority. They can manage. The satellite uplink has not been restored yet, but it should be by tomorrow. Radar was the hardest hit, and it will take weeks to repair because we don’t have the parts.
Whoever hit us didn't hit at random. They knew exactly which systems to fry. "
Losham had no doubt of that. Only the clan could have had a reason to strike the island, and with such precision.
"What's the status with the mansion?"
Rami didn't need to consult his tablet to answer that question. "Part of the east face is still standing, but that's all. The basement's gone, inaccessible. It's a pile of rubble, and what stood above collapsed on top of it."
"So, it's completely gone," Losham said. "We need to demolish it and build a new one."
He liked the idea.
Why live in rooms that had been built by Navuh, that had been decorated according to his taste or whatever interior designer he had hired? Now Losham was the king, and he could build his own palace that wasn't haunted by the spirit of the former lord of the island.
"You don't seem upset," Rami observed.
"I'm not. I'm already imagining the new mansion I will build to replace the old one. Something that will reflect my taste rather than my father's. I'm excited by the prospect."
Rami kept his expression unreadable, which was a particular talent of his. The male could be the perfect spy, and sometimes, Losham used him as such. He was quiet, soft-spoken, and in an organization that championed ruthless killers, he went mostly unnoticed.
"They destroyed the mansion to cover their tracks," Rami said. "They took whatever was stored in that chamber and detonated an explosive so no one would know that the treasure inside had been taken."
Losham nodded. "Naturally."
He didn't care that the clan had absconded with the chests.
He'd never cared about what was inside them.
Let them have their warriors in stasis, or whoever was entombed in those boxes.
What he cared about was the other asset they had stolen from him.
An asset that hadn't belonged to them and on which they'd had no claim.
Dave was missing in action, and so were the women who'd been reported missing from the enclosure before all hell had been let loose.
Losham didn't give a damn about the women. There were plenty more Dormants at his disposal to continue his father's breeding program, but Dave and the scientists supporting them were irreplaceable.
No ships had left the harbor, which meant that the clan had taken them, and the clan had no right to take what was the Brotherhood's property.
"It must have been the clan," Rami echoed his conclusion.
"Naturally." Losham exhaled. "They deployed an EMP to cover their tracks. It's the only thing that can explain the grid failing island-wide instead of building by building, and the comms going dark all at once."
"The surveillance network didn't work, so they could have done whatever they wanted."
"They also bombed the tunnel so we wouldn't be able to mobilize forces. Although it would seem that they were long gone before we even realized what hit us."
"It was a precaution," Losham said. "In case they didn't manage to get out as cleanly as they did."
"Bastards," Rami hissed.
"Double-crossing bastards," Losham added, and it was all he could add because everything else was blocked by the compulsion the clan compeller had placed on him.
"It was a coordinated operation." Rami spread his hands. "Blind the island, sever it in half, extract what they came for, and vanish before anyone knew there was a fight."
Neither of them spoke for a moment. Somewhere below them a generator hummed on, patient, indifferent to what it was powering.
"They took the dormant breeders," Losham said.
"Along with Dave. I checked the records, and most of the women were related to the Eight.
The others might have been their friends.
I don't care about them, but I care very much about the Eight.
The clan had no right to take them. Dave was a very valuable asset to me, and the betrayal stings.
I have no idea how they found a way to cooperate with the clan, but they must have. "
Rami nodded. "I know what Dave did for you. It will be difficult to keep things from falling apart without them."
Losham stood, because sitting had become intolerable, and crossed to the French doors, looking out at the harbor below.
"Bertram's command held because of the Eight's influence.
Every officer who might have made trouble was handled by Dave, and now they're not here to do that.
" He turned from the window. "They pulled the rug out from under me, and I'm left standing on the bare floor to face the opposition by myself.
Every commander who was ever quietly nudged into compliance is now free to remember exactly how he felt before the nudging started. "
A knock sounded on the door, halting their conversation, and Hakum leaned partway through the opening without fully entering.
"My apologies for interrupting, my lord, but Mazlen is in the lobby, and he's asking for an audience."
"Of course, he is." Losham didn't turn around. "Get rid of him."
"He says it's urgent."
"Everything is urgent to Mazlen." Losham finally faced the secretary, and his expression made Hakum retreat a step. "Rami will handle it."
"I will?" Rami lifted a brow.
"Yes, you will. Tell him I'm occupied, and if his concern is so urgent, he can put it in writing. Take two guards with you."
"Why?"
Losham wasn't sure why. It was instinct that dictated his decisions lately.
"I want everyone to know that you are more than my assistant and to treat you accordingly. Showing up with two guards will elevate your status."
Rami looked surprised and somewhat pleased, but not nearly as pleased as Losham had expected.
"Thank you, my lord." He dipped his head and walked out.
There had been something in the set of Rami's shoulders, some old, tired vigilance that Losham had stopped noticing years ago because it had simply been part of his assistant.
Rami worried about things Losham had long since stopped worrying about, and he appreciated the sentiment, even if it was misplaced.
Rami was a rare find, and Losham was keenly aware of how hard it was to find someone so capable and so loyal.
Alone, he sat back down at the repurposed dining table and gazed out at the harbor again.
The clan had stolen the one tool that had been holding his authority together.
Why had they done it?
They'd claimed to want to support his rule, so why take the one asset that made it possible?
Could it be that they had no idea?
Could it be that it had been a coincidence?
The clan's stated goal was to keep the island stable, to prevent it from sinking into chaos. They claimed to prefer a manageable Brotherhood under a manageable leader to a Brotherhood tearing itself apart in a war of succession.
It made no sense for them to hollow him out from the inside and leave him to pick up the pieces.
They would call again.
He was certain of that much. Their compeller would reach into his skull eventually and demand something, the way the clan always did, but Losham would have nothing left to give them, because they had taken from him the tool he needed to implement anything they wanted.
He snorted.
Perhaps he should simply ask them to lend him their compeller to replace what they had taken.