Page 24 of Dark Rebel's Mystery

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KIAN

Ell-rom looked a little less frazzled, but perhaps he needed a wider view to understand how crucial his talent might be if it could work from a distance. Kian desperately needed a way to take Navuh out, and Ell-rom's unique ability might be the only tool at his disposal that could achieve that while preventing catastrophic loss of life on the Doomers' island.

On the other hand, Ell-rom was barely hanging in there, and telling him about more crap could potentially break the tentative hold he had on himself. It could also go the other way and force to the surface the steel Kian was sure his uncle possessed.

The problem was that Ell-rom's death-by-thought talent, or death-ray as Jasmine called it, might not work on immortals, in the same way that other immortal paranormal talents didn't. Still, Ell-rom was half god, half Kra-ell, which made his and his twin sister's talents as unique as their heritage. Perhaps he was capable of killing immortals from afar just by wishing them dead, but Kian couldn't test it on the two they had because he still needed them.

Perhaps once their utility was exhausted, he would let Ell-rom experiment on them.

Then another thought hit Kian. What if he revived some of the Doomers they were keeping in stasis and let Ell-rom practice on them?

Annani would disapprove of that, he was sure, but what if he didn't tell her about it until after it was done?

His mother would be mad, but Kian preferred apologizing to asking for permission and being denied, especially given the stakes involved.

"The humans we captured are disposable," he said. "They are the end users, the perpetrators of the crimes, but they don't know much about the organization and how it is run. The masterminds behind the operation are our enemies, and we captured two in the operation. I would have loved to test your ability on them as well, but I need them for a little longer. Toven and I interrogated them the day after they were brought to the keep, and what we learned was troubling."

Ell-rom released a very un-princely snort. "More troubling than torturing children?"

"Good point, but I guess there is no bottom to greed, to thirst for power, and to depravity, and in this case, it's all three. During the interrogation, the Doomers revealed that their pedophilia rings aren't just about sick pleasure or money, which I have already suspected. I just didn't realize the extent of the operation. The Brotherhood have always used extortion to influence global politics, but until a few years ago, they did that the old-fashioned way by trapping influential men with evidence of them having sex with paid partners and then threateningthem with exposure if they didn't cooperate. But people these days don't care about men who cheat on their wives or even those who crawl naked on all fours with a dog leash around their necks. They do care, however, about those who hurt children." Kian grimaced. "For now, at least. I wonder how long it would take for humans to accept even that as normal. Some countries have recently lowered the age of consent for girls to nine, and I didn't hear widespread condemnation in the media, on campuses, or among the intelligentsia."

Ell-rom's eyes blazed with anger. "That's monstrous. Pure evil."

At the front of the vehicle, Brundar uttered a vicious curse. "I would personally castrate any pervert who thinks that a nine-year-old girl is bride material."

Ell-rom's eyes widened, probably not because of the vehement declaration but because it was more than he'd heard Brundar say since he'd met the guy. "Tell me when and where, and I'll join you."

Kian laughed, clapping Ell-rom on his arm. "There's the steel I knew you were hiding. I just wonder which side of you is responsible, the Kra-ell or the god."

"The one with moral clarity," Ell-rom hissed between his elongated fangs. "Is that the Doomers' doing?"

Kian shrugged. "I don't think even the Doomers would do such a thing. They don't benefit from it, and as much as I despise them and everything they stand for, the third-world countries that perpetrate ever-worsening abuse of their female populations are already in ruin, so the Doomers no longer need to get involved to make things worse. Right now, the Brotherhood is working on destabilizing the first-world countries so they can ruin themfrom the inside as well. That's Navuh's main strategy. They're using pedophile rings to gather blackmail material on influential people—politicians, business leaders, and anyone else with any power and influence."

Ell-rom's expression darkened. "How many of those perverted people are out there?"

"More than I ever imagined, and I'm mad at myself for thinking that it was a fringe problem or a conspiracy theory. The numbers are staggering. Hundreds of thousands of children are being exploited, and the Doomers are riding the worst of the wave. The more depraved the act, the more control they gain over these people. It's all part of Navuh's plan to destabilize societies from within and bring about the fall of humanity."

Ell-rom looked confused. "What you describe is horrible, but I don't understand how it can bring about the fall of civilization. My impression is that most people are decent."

Kian drew a deep breath. "Most people are indeed decent, but they are easy to manipulate, which is the gods' fault for designing them that way. The Brotherhood is using the blackmail material they collect to influence legislation, redirect resources, and corrupt institutions. The goal is to create chaos and decay in any way they can. More wars, more civil unrest, fewer children born, etc. A weakened humanity is easier to control, and that's what Navuh's goal has always been. To have every human on Earth enslaved to him and to worship him as a god."

Ell-rom frowned. "What can we do about this? How can we stop it?"

"Killing Navuh is the best option and will probably lead to the Brotherhood falling apart. His adopted sons would fight among themselves for power or split apart, with each taking a portion of the warriors and resources. They will still pose a threat, but divided, they will not be as strong, and we might be able to take them out one by one until they are down to small bands of bandits roaming the world."

"Then what's stopping you?" Ell-rom asked as Anandur drove into the keep's underground parking.

"We can't get to Navuh." Kian sighed. "We don't have enough warriors. We can't nuke the island either, because many of the people living there don't deserve to die, and I don't even want to think what it would do to the surrounding islands. The nukes of today are more precise than they were during WWII, so the fallout might be minimal, but still. Not something I'm comfortable with."

Ell-rom nodded. "I understand now. You are hoping that my talent can kill him from afar."

"It would solve my biggest problem." Kian let out a breath. "Two of my biggest problems. If you can kill from afar, you might be able to get rid of the Eternal King as well, and that would be fantastic not just for Earth but the entire galaxy."

Ell-rom snorted. "No pressure. No pressure at all."

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