Chapter 22 Eluheed
ELUHEED
Eluheed had exceeded his capacity for food a plateful or two ago, but Tamira was pensive and had barely touched hers.
He put his hand on her thigh under the table. "You should try to eat a little more, love."
"I can't." She pushed her plate away. "I'm too anxious."
He wanted to say something encouraging, but Jade had chosen that moment to stand and make an announcement. "If you'll follow me to my office, we can discuss what happens next." She gestured toward a doorway.
As he and Tamira pushed to their feet, he took her hand and tugged her close against his body.
She was trying to project calm, but even if she hadn't admitted to him just moments ago that she was anxious, he could feel the nervous energy thrumming through her like a plucked string.
Five thousand years of captivity didn't evaporate with a single meal, no matter how symbolic that meal might be.
"It's all right," he murmured. "We are among friends. They are good people."
He'd touched Yamanu during the extraction, pretending to lay his hand on his shoulder to steady himself as they'd climbed from the water.
It hadn't been long enough for a full vision, but it was enough to get his essence.
The Guardian was like a beam of light; his energy was clean, purposeful, untainted by deception or malice.
He was a male on a mission to save as many people as he could, and this rescue was just one among many.
When Eluheed touched Anandur, he got the same vibe—a savior with a clear conscience and a sense of purpose.
It was rare to touch such brightness, and it made him feel optimistic about the future. If the rest of Annani's clan was like these two representatives, he might risk revealing who he was and asking for their help.
When they got to Jade's office, he wasn't really surprised that it was stark.
She didn't look like a female who appreciated luxuries or bothered with personal touches.
She was the no-nonsense type who valued efficiency and decisive action, and this room reflected her personality.
It was an efficiently organized, decently sized office with a large desk dominating one side and a conference table in the center of the room.
Even the chairs were utilitarian, simple and stackable.
They filed in and arranged themselves around the table. Jade took the seat at the head, with Anandur and Yamanu flanking her. Drova leaned against the wall near the door, those unsettling black eyes of hers tracking each person with predatory focus.
"First," Jade said, "I want to assure you that as far as you are concerned, Safe Harbor is exactly what its name suggests—a refuge. We're equipped to defend against any threat, but since, at the moment, Navuh is in no condition to threaten anyone, we can pretend to be a resort."
Jade smiled as if that had been supposed to be a joke, but when no one reacted the way she'd expected, the smile slid off her face.
She probably knew that the island they had just escaped from masqueraded as a resort for rich men who wished to get their kinks in complete privacy, so referring to the clan's sanctuary that way didn't reassure anyone. Evidently, Jade's people lacked empathy.
"What's his condition?" Beulah asked. "Is he going to live?"
She sounded more frightened of the possibility that he would live than of the alternative outcome.
"He's holding on, but just barely," Yamanu said. "The medical team is working to stabilize him for transport."
"You mentioned transport," Sarah said. "Where are we going?"
"California," Anandur said. "To the clan's hidden village." He glanced at Jade and smiled apologetically. "I've misspoken. The village is no longer the home of just Annani's clan. We welcomed the Kra-ell and even some former Doomers to join us."
"What or who are Doomers?" Liliat asked.
Anandur winced, and Eluheed tensed. The Guardian was going to say something the ladies didn't want to hear.
"Doomers is what we call members of the Devout Order of Mortdh for short," Anandur said.
"And you claim this place is safe?" Liliat squeaked.
Yamanu lifted both hands to stop that line of discussion. "They escaped the Brotherhood and joined forces with us. They pose no threat to any of you. Let's keep the history lesson to a minimum, people. We are just covering the basics."
Rolenna lifted her hand. "Can someone please explain what is this clan everyone is mentioning?"
"The clan refers to Annani's descendants. I assume you all remember Princess Annani."
Rolenna swallowed and tears appeared in the corners of her eyes. "We weren't sure she was alive. There were rumors of her plotting against Lord Navuh by helping humans, but we didn't know if they were true."
"They are," Yamanu said. "Annani is very much alive, and she and her descendants have been fighting Navuh's global domination plans for thousands of years. Princess Annani is the mother of our clan. In fact, we call her Clan Mother."
Some excited murmurs followed, and then Tamira lifted her hand. "Who are the Kra-ell?"
"I can answer that." Jade smiled, revealing small fangs similar to her daughter's.
"Drova and I are Kra-ell. We come from the same planet as the gods, your ancestors.
Our people and the gods have a complicated history, antagonistic at times, but here on Earth, the Mother of All Life brought our people together.
The gods' descendants and the Kra-ell live together in the village, and we cooperate to protect each other against the Brotherhood and other threats. "
"What other threats?" Eluheed asked.
Something shifted in Jade's energy, a subtle closing off, like a door being shut.
"General threats," she said. "Humans discovering us. Government agencies getting too curious. Various dangers that come with trying to live secretly in a world increasingly filled with surveillance technology."
Eluheed didn't believe that was the whole truth. There was something else, something she wasn't saying. But he wasn't in a position to challenge her, not when they were entirely dependent on the goodwill of these people.
"You're so thin," Sarah blurted out, then flushed. "I'm sorry, that was rude. I just mean—your waists are so tiny. Why is that?"
"The Kra-ell live on blood," Jade explained. "Animal blood," she added quickly when Sarah gasped. "Our digestive system is far more efficient than yours. We extract every possible nutrient, waste almost nothing. We simply don't need as much internal space for food processing as you do."
That actually made sense to Eluheed. In his travels, he'd encountered various people with different dietary adaptations. Some desert tribes could survive on minimal water. Some mountain people had enhanced lung capacity. Why not a species that had evolved to process blood with maximum efficiency?
"Fascinating as this anatomy lesson is," Anandur said, "we should discuss logistics.
Once Lord Navuh is stable enough for transport, which we are told should be in the next twelve to eighteen hours, we're leaving.
Another plane is en route to pick us up.
The one we arrived on isn't large enough to carry everyone, and it doesn't have the medical equipment necessary to keep Navuh alive during the flight. "
Eluheed noted the careful phrasing. They expected Navuh to survive, at least in the short term.
"California," Rolenna said, and there was wonder in her voice. "I've read about it. The Pacific Ocean. Hollywood. San Francisco."
"The village isn't far from those places," Yamanu said. "It's hidden in the mountains, deliberately isolated, but you'll be able to tour whatever you please."
The ladies were excited. They'd seen movies and read books depicting a world they could only dream of joining. Now that world was opening up to them.
"What about Navuh and Areana?" Tamira asked. "Are they also going to the village?"
Eluheed couldn't see the clan bringing someone as dangerous as Navuh to their safe space. Even badly injured and at death's door, that male shouldn't be allowed anywhere near their civilians.
"They are not," Anandur said. "We are taking them to a secure medical facility in a different location. Areana is naturally free to join the rest of you in the village, but she wants to stay with her mate."
"What about us?" Eluheed asked. "Tony and me. We're not related to you. We are not the immortal descendants of gods."
Anandur's grin was sudden and unexpectedly warm. "You're joining the ladies, of course."
Relief flooded through Eluheed. He'd been prepared to beg if necessary, to offer his services as a shaman, to promise anything in exchange for the clan's help to find his sacred charges. He didn't know yet if they would help him, but at least they were not turning him away.
"Tony." Anandur turned toward the guy, his grin widening. "You're going to find a surprise waiting for you in the village. An old friend of yours who went to great lengths to search for you after you had disappeared."
Tony blinked, confusion evident on his face. "What? Who?"
"Your old colleague, Kaia."
The name hung in the air like a struck bell.
Eluheed heard Tula's sharp intake of breath.
He remembered Kaia from the vision he'd had of Tony’s life before he’d gotten lured to the island. The guy had been in love with her.
"Kaia," Tony repeated, his voice an octave higher than usual. "What is she doing in the village?"
"She is an immortal now," Yamanu said. "She met one of ours, they fell in love, and she discovered that she was a Dormant. William induced her transition."
Tony's face fell for a moment but then brightened. "I'm happy for her. I can't wait to see her and the guy who captured her heart."
Eluheed glanced at Tula, expecting her to be relieved that Kaia was no longer a competitor, but she looked disappointed instead.
He turned to Yamanu. "When do we leave?"
"As soon as the second plane arrives and Lord Navuh is stable enough for transport," Anandur said.
"Twelve to eighteen hours, like I said. In the meantime, we'll get you all settled in the quarters here.
You can rest, clean up properly, get your things laundered, and get used to the idea of freedom. "
If there were two planes, why not send everyone other than Navuh and Areana and a small team of Guardians to the village?
Eluheed wanted to ask but decided to keep quiet.
They must have their reasons. Perhaps they weren't ready to absorb so many new people in their village and needed time to arrange accommodation for them.
"Any chance of getting shoes?" Liliat asked. "I would hate to arrive at my new home barefoot." She looked down at the donated, ill-fitting clothes she was wearing. "Clothes too. A comb. A toothbrush."
Anandur exchanged looks with Yamanu.
"Give me your sizes and I'll call my mate to arrange for clothing and footwear to be sent with the second plane, but I'm not sure she can make it in time.
The aircraft should be leaving our airstrip in California soon.
" He glanced at his watch. "Let me check with the boss if we have time to deliver anything there. "
As Yamanu pulled out his phone and started texting, Eluheed looked around the table at the familiar faces of the ladies and Tony, who'd become his friends over the months since his arrival at the harem. They were Tamira's surrogate family, and they had welcomed him as one of their own.
He'd been so fortunate in that respect.
Of course, he had not considered himself lucky when he’d been abducted by Gorchenco and sold to Navuh.
In fact, Eluheed had thought that his god had forsaken him, that Elu had punished him for failing to secure his charges.
But as it had turned out, he’d been in the right place and at the right time to encounter Gorchenco.
That meeting had started the unbelievable chain of events that had landed him here, at this table, sitting with the love of his life and her adopted family.
Was finding the clan Elu's goal from the start?
Was Annani's clan the answer to Eluheed's prayers?
"Thank you," he said to Anandur. "For the rescue. For taking all of us. For inviting us to join your community. I can't speak for the others, but I will do everything I can to repay your kindness."