Chapter 32 Eluheed
ELUHEED
As Eluheed walked through the office building's front door, he was surprised that he hadn't encountered guards yet.
There was no receptionist either, and he had no idea where to go. Standing in the lobby, he scanned for some indication of where Kian's office was, but there was nothing, except for a few visible security cameras.
Maybe that was how the occupants of this building were alerted about visitors?
But since no one had come out to greet him yet, perhaps that wasn't how it was done. Should he just go searching for someone who could point him in the right direction?
He started toward the first-floor corridor when the front door opened behind him, and a well-dressed blond man walked in, carrying a paper bag that bore the café's logo. He looked pleasant, with an open and friendly face.
"Can I help you?" the man asked.
"Yes," Eluheed said. "I have a meeting with Kian at eleven-thirty, but I don't know where his office is."
"I'll take you to him." The man smiled and shifted the bag to his other hand so he could offer a handshake. "I'm Shai, Kian's assistant. Follow me. His office is on the second floor."
As they climbed the wide stairs, Shai asked how Eluheed was settling into the village, and how Tamira was adjusting to life in the modern world. It was such a normal conversation that Eluheed found himself momentarily disoriented.
On Navuh's island, a meeting with the leader would have involved armed escorts, multiple security checkpoints, and an atmosphere thick with tension.
Here, he was being led to Kian's office by a friendly assistant carrying pastries, as if this were a casual visit between colleagues or business associates rather than a monumental meeting that might reveal incredible secrets.
The difference between this and Navuh's island couldn't be starker. This wasn't a military organization run by a dictator. There was no fear and no oppression. This was a community, a family, and the realization settled something in Eluheed's chest that had been wound tight.
Perhaps he could trust Kian with his secrets. First, though, he had to get a feel for the guy. He didn't know him well enough to make up his mind yet.
Shai led him down the second-floor hallway and stopped at a set of double doors. "Here we are." He knocked once, then pushed the door open. "Kian, Elias is here." He gestured for Eluheed to go in.
The office was large, designed to accommodate group meetings. A conference table with eight chairs dominated the center of the room, while Kian's desk sat near the back, positioned in front of a wall of windows overlooking the village below.
The furniture was modern and sleek but warm, crafted from exotic woods and lacquered.
It wasn't ostentatious, but there was a subtle display of wealth in the quality of the materials and the attention to detail.
Eluheed suspected this had more to do with the clan's interior designer than the leader of the clan.
Kian rose from behind his desk as they entered, gesturing toward the conference table. "Please, have a seat."
As Kian joined Eluheed at the oblong table, Shai set the paper bag in front of his boss. "Bon appétit."
"Thank you, Shai." Kian reached inside and pulled out a couple of pastries. He offered one to Eluheed. "The café offers excellent almond croissants."
"Thank you." Eluheed accepted the pastry, though he'd just eaten a similar one, and his stomach was tied in knots.
"I'll be back with coffee in a moment," Shai said. "How do you take yours?" he asked Eluheed.
"Black, please."
Shai nodded and disappeared, leaving them alone.
Eluheed took the opportunity to study Kian more closely.
The clan's leader was exceptionally good-looking and well-dressed.
His light brown hair fell in soft waves to his shoulders, but that was the only soft thing about him.
His blue eyes were intelligent and intense.
Kian was not someone to trifle with, but he wasn't an aggressor or a tyrant either.
It showed in the casual way he'd offered the pastry, in the assistant who treated him more like a friend than a superior.
Kian served his community. The community didn't serve Kian.
"At the party, you mentioned needing a rescue and significant resources. I was sufficiently intrigued to grant you an audience. Now is your chance to present your case."
Kian was implying that Eluheed shouldn't waste his time and should start talking.
Before he could respond, Shai returned with two cups of coffee, setting one in front of each of them. "Anything else?"
"That's all for now," Kian said. "Thank you, Shai."
The assistant nodded and withdrew, closing the door behind him.
Eluheed lifted his coffee cup, bringing it to his lips and using the moment to gather his thoughts. How much should he reveal? Kian seemed trustworthy, but seeming and being were not the same thing. He'd survived this long by being cautious and keeping his secrets locked up.
But caution had also kept him from retrieving his charges, which was a dereliction of his sacred duty.
He was at an impasse.
Breaking his silence and sharing his secret was also a form of betraying his vows, but when the choice was between doing something other than praying for a miracle, he'd rather be doing something. He had no choice but to take a leap of faith.
An educated leap of faith, which meant that he needed to find out more about Kian and his character, and the fastest way to do that was a reading.
"Before I share what I came to discuss," Eluheed said, "I would like to offer a gesture of goodwill."
Kian arched an eyebrow. "What kind of gesture?"
"My gift allows me to see things. Sometimes the past, sometimes the future, and sometimes dangerous plots before they have a chance to materialize." Eluheed met Kian's eyes steadily. "I could find out if anyone is plotting against you, if there are threats you're not aware of."
Kian chuckled. "The only one plotting against me is currently lying paralyzed in our clinic. I'm not particularly worried about anyone else. I know about the service you provided to Navuh, but I'm not him. My people are not planning to turn on me."
Eluheed assumed that Areana had told Kian about the service he had provided to Navuh. No one had debriefed him since he'd arrived at the village, which he found odd. He should have been questioned.
"Sometimes I see more than plots." Eluheed smiled. "Sometimes I see love interests, weddings, and future children."
Kian looked intrigued. "I've already found my one and only, and I've already had a beautiful wedding, but Syssi and I would love to have another child. Perhaps a boy this time just to even things out. I would be overjoyed to have another daughter, but Syssi really wants a boy."
"Then perhaps I can offer some insight. If you're willing. I will need to touch you to get a reading."
"Do you go around randomly touching people? Taking their measure without their knowledge?"
"Never." Eluheed was offended that Kian could think so little of him. "My shamanic vows forbid it. I would never do that without their explicit consent."
"Vows to whom?"
"To Elu. I mean to my God."
Kian's eyes sharpened with interest. "Which god is that?"
"The god of my people." Eluheed held up a hand before Kian could press further. "I cannot say more, so please don't ask."
Kian frowned. "A secret cult?"
If only the guy knew how offensive it was for an Elucian to have his religion accused of being a cult.
Their enemies' religion was a vicious cult of death.
The Sitorians worshiped Elusitor, the dark side of Elu, but they had turned him into something he had never been.
Elu's dark side represented judgment and the death part of the inevitable cycle of death and rebirth.
The Sitorians had turned Elusitor into the deceiver and destroyer, a cruel death god that demanded constant blood sacrifices.
"My religion is not a cult. No one is forced to practice it, and people are free to choose which aspects of it are important to them. It's a religion that reveres truth above all."
Kian regarded him for a long moment before dipping his head. "I've offended you, and I apologize. I can see that your religion is very important to you. I've just never heard of it, so I assumed it was a cult."
"I understand," Eluheed said, without elaborating on his explanation. He couldn't say more about his religion without revealing he was not from Earth, and he still wasn't sure he trusted Kian with the information. "Would you like me to read you now?"
Once again, Kian regarded him with those intense eyes of his.
"I appreciate the offer," he finally said. "But I also have secrets that I need to protect. I can't let you into my mind."
Eluheed nodded. "I understand. I could say that I only see what you allow me to see, but that would not be the complete truth, and that goes against my religion.
Sometimes I see more than I intend to, and more than the person wants me to see.
" He deduced that Areana had told Kian or Annani about the submarine escape plan and how they had known about it.
"Lord Navuh summoned me frequently, for various readings, but mostly he was interested in discovering who was plotting against him.
I've seen more than that. I predicted the rebellion that destroyed half the island, and I even received a hint about the harem flood, but as is the nature of visions, none were specific enough to act upon.
The only one that was concrete, and that Navuh certainly hadn't meant for me to see, was his secret submarine.
It was his last-resort escape plan, and no one other than him and Areana knew about it. "
The silence that followed was longer this time, heavier. Eluheed could practically see the calculations running behind Kian's eyes. Risk versus reward, trust versus caution, the desire to know the future balanced against the fear of having his own secrets exposed.
"I appreciate your honesty," Kian said at last. "As well as your high moral standards. It's uncommon."
"Thank you." Eluheed let out a breath. "I believe that you are a male of your word as well, but I still need assurances. What I'm about to share with you is a secret that I vowed to keep, but that I'm forced to reveal in exchange for help because the alternative is to fail in my sacred duty."
"What assurances do you seek?" Kian asked.
Eluheed leveled his eyes on Kian's. "I need you to vow to the Fates, or whatever other higher power you believe in, that what I tell you will remain between us."
Kian leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. "That depends on what the revelation means for the clan. If it poses a risk, I will have to act on it. And acting on it means sharing the information with others."
"I understand." Eluheed had expected this response. "The information I have does not pose a risk to the clan, and it does not expose it to a threat that you will need to defend against."
Kian considered this for a long moment. Then he nodded.
"I vow to keep everything you tell me in confidence, unless you grant me explicit permission to reveal specific items, to specific individuals, on a need-to-know basis, and once I hear you out, I will tell you who I think should be told, but it will be up to you to decide who can be told what, if at all. "
The specificity of the vow suggested that Kian had taken vows of secrecy before and that he took them very seriously.
It was reassuring. A quick promise of absolute confidence would have been worrisome.
But Kian wasn't paying lip service to confidentiality.
He was binding himself with precise terms, leaving no room for loopholes or convenient reinterpretations.
This was a trustworthy man who took his word seriously.
Eluheed allowed himself to relax a little and made his decision.
"Thank you." He inclined his head in respect. "I accept your vow."