Chapter 27 Losham #2
Losham had memorized the code and the sequence, thankful that his father hadn't installed a thumbprint reader on this door.
Dave stood behind him as he entered the code. As Losham opened the door to Navuh's harem apartment, he was gripped by an irrational fear that his father would emerge from the other room and confront him about invading his private space.
Never mind that the harem staff had gone through the entire pyramid structure from top to bottom looking for their lord and ladies, and found nothing, not even a clue as to where they could have gone.
There was no chance he would find Navuh here.
"Nice," Losham murmured, taking in the elegant private apartment that looked like it belonged to a lady. There was none of the modern minimalism that Navuh had adopted as his style lately. Everything was soft and comfortable, in light earth tones and pinks.
He and Dave searched the apartment methodically, but it was empty.
No bodies, no signs of struggle. Just understated luxury and elegance.
A balcony opened to an interior courtyard a floor below, with a fountain, a manicured garden, and lighting that tried to emulate the morning sun, just without the heat and glare of the tropical island.
The air smelled of flowers and earth.
The harem was a slice of paradise that Navuh had built for his ladies, and it was even nicer than what Losham and his brothers had imagined.
He and the eight left the apartment and took the stairs down to the second level, which was larger than the first, with room suites surrounding the courtyard he had seen from above. Each room had a balcony overlooking the green space.
There were nine suites, some more luxurious than others. Gowns still hung in the closets, and personal items filled drawers. In two of the more modest rooms, he found men's clothing in the closet and wondered who had been residing there.
Navuh had never expressed interest in other men, but he was a very old immortal, and variety was the spice of life. He might have kept two males in his harem for more varied activities.
There were no ladies. No blood. No signs of struggle. No answers.
In the room of one of the males, Losham found a journal on the desk. He picked it up, flipping through pages filled with neat handwriting and botanical sketches.
"Interesting," he murmured. "Someone was studying plants."
He continued reading, finding entries about growing medicinal herbs, how to use them, and for what.
Then, near the end of the journal, he found something that made him stop cold.
Tula is pregnant. She told me this morning, and I don't know whether to be thrilled or terrified.
Thrilled because I love her, because we created a life together despite all the precautions she has taken.
Terrified because of what this means. Tula says that Navuh will take the child if it's a boy, and if it's a girl, she will be doomed to live out her life as a human in the harem because he will never allow her to get induced.
Other than Navuh, no one with fangs and venom is allowed inside this place.
Losham read the entry three times, pieces clicking into place.
"That's why Navuh succumbed to madness," he said aloud.
"He discovered one of his concubines was having an affair and got pregnant.
He was consumed with rage, killed everyone, and then threw himself off the cliff in his fury.
They were probably trying to run away from him, and he chased them there. "
It was the only explanation that made sense. Navuh's pride wouldn't have tolerated such betrayal. No wonder he flew into a fit of rage. The lord got violent with much less provocation than that.
"We need to thrall the servants," Dave said. "So they corroborate our story."
They also might know something that was only accessible through thralling.
If Navuh had compelled them to forget the carnage before he ended his own life, there would be no way to force the information out of them. Dave wasn't strong enough to break through Navuh's compulsion.
"The servants live on the bottom levels," Losham said. "There should be an elevator somewhere out here."
They found it, and when the elevator door opened on the lowest level, revealing who was inside, the effect of their presence on the human staff was immediate.
They scattered. Some screamed. Others froze in place, terror written across their faces.
"Stay calm," Losham said, projecting authority. "No one will be harmed. We just need information."
Several humans clustered together. Six maids and a cook, by the looks of them.
"Who works on the upper floors?" Losham asked. "Who cleaned the lord and ladies' rooms?"
Two maids stepped forward on shaky legs.
Losham scanned them, selecting the younger one, who couldn't be more than twenty.
A large birthmark marred her otherwise pretty face, which was probably what had disqualified her from working in the brothel.
Usually, the serving staff were older females who were no longer attractive enough to work there.
"Come with me," he motioned for her to follow him. "The rest of you can go back to work." He looked at the eight. "You know what to do."
Eight heads bobbed in perfect synchrony.
He found an empty utilitarian office and gestured for the girl to sit. She perched on the edge of the chair, hands clasped tightly in her lap.
"What's your name?" Losham asked gently.
"Pari, sir."
"Pari. I'm going to ask you some questions, and I need you to answer honestly. Do you understand?"
She nodded, eyes wide.
"Good." Losham leaned forward, reaching into her mind.
She had no barriers up and reading her was as easy as reading a book, or rather watching a movie, because the information he was accessing was presented in images, not words.
"Were the lord and ladies nice to you? Did they treat you well?
" The questions were meant to get her thinking of her interactions with them so he could see those scenes in her mind.
"Lady Areana took care of us all. She made sure we had everything we needed."
She had done more than that. What Losham saw shocked him to his core.
Areana had been the undisputed queen of the harem, and she and Navuh had been a couple.
An exclusive couple. Pari had never seen Navuh with any of the other ladies.
She was the one who brought them breakfast every morning, and he had always been in Lady Areana's bed.
He realized that the other ladies were just for show. Further peeks into Pari's mind showed him that the ladies openly took human lovers. Two had been living with them in their suites, and it hadn't been done in hiding. It had been out in the open.
That meant that the scenario he had created in his head was all wrong.
"Why did the lord allow the ladies to cavort with humans?" he asked.
Her eyes widened at the question, and she hesitated, but he increased the pressure on her mind, making her want to tell him all she knew.
"Lord Navuh wanted sons," she said. "As many as possible. Humans are more fertile than immortals, even the males, so he got a good yield over the years. Lord Navuh adopted the resulting sons as his own."
A chill ran up Losham's spine. Could he be the son of some human servant instead of Navuh's?
All the sons born in the harem were taken as babies to the Dormant enclosure to be raised by the Dormants because Navuh didn't want them to know who their mothers were, and the mothers who their sons were.
He had claimed that harem politics had toppled more than one ruler, and he wasn't going to allow that to happen to him.
It had sounded perfectly logical because history substantiated Navuh's claim about harem politics, but what Losham had learned right now shed a whole new light on Navuh's choices.
If he had any sons of his own, they had been born to Lady Areana, and he had been protecting their identity by claiming every male child born in the harem as his.
His mind reeling, Losham sat back. "Did Lady Areana have any sons?"
Pari's brow furrowed. "I don't know. If she did, it was before my time. I've only worked here for four years. None of the ladies had babies during that time."
"What about before that? I'm sure the older maids gossip about things like that."
"I wouldn't know, sir. I don't think any child has been born to the ladies in the last five decades, and there is no one here that's old enough to have been here before that."
That was another reason to have only humans working in the harem. Their short lifespan meant short memories.
Losham released her mind, watching as awareness returned to her eyes. "You won't remember this conversation. You won't remember seeing me or the others who came with me. Everything continues as usual."
He hadn't needed to voice his command. It was enough that he'd planted the suggestion in her mind. But sometimes it was good to verbalize the thrall so he would hear himself talking and catch if he had forgotten anything.
"You can go now, Pari."
She stood, dipped her head, and walked out of the room as fast as she could.
The rest of the thrall would be done by Dave, so it would be synchronized, and all the humans would get the same instructions. They would continue to serve the lord and the ladies and ignore the fact that there was no one there. They would act as if they were.
Losham kept replaying what he had learned while he and Dave made their way back to the top floor.
"The immediate problem is solved," Losham said. "Everyone believes Navuh is working from the harem. The island continues operating as usual. But we have a bigger challenge ahead."
"Your brothers," Dave said.
"Exactly. When they learn that Navuh is gone, and they will eventually discover the truth, each of them will try to take control. We need to be ready for that, or there will be a bloodbath, with our heads rolling first."
"Should we start eliminating them now?" One of the eight asked for the others.
"That's actually a good idea, but we can't make it look like assassinations."
"Accidents?" Dave asked.
"Yes, but not here on the island, where they could be investigated. We should start with those who are currently abroad and then send others to replace them once they are dealt with."