Page 69 of Dark Rebel's Fortune

"By blocking the view?" Fenella asked.

"Precisely," Okidu said from the front, his first words since they'd departed. "The sanctity of the village's location is paramount to its security. The vehicle takes over, driving autonomously."

"So, no one knows how to get to the village?" Arezoo asked. "Not even the people who live there?"

"The villagers know they're in the Malibu mountains," Jasmine explained. "But the entrance to the road leading to the village remains hidden and is only known to a select few. It's for everyone's protection."

"Does everyone travel in and out of the village by bus?" Donya asked.

The same question occurred to Fenella, but she didn't want to be the one asking.

"Most residents have their own vehicles," Jasminesaid. "But all the cars in the village are equipped with these special windows and autonomous driving systems that take over a few miles before entering or exiting the village. That way, the residents can't betray the village's exact location, intentionally or otherwise."

Fenella's unease deepened. "Sounds a bit paranoid, doesn't it?"

"Not really," Jasmine said. "The clan's enemies are vicious and persistent."

The implication hit Fenella like a wrecking ball. If the clan's security measures were this extreme, the threat must be proportional. She'd been free for fifty years because she'd been beneath notice, just another woman drifting through the world. But joining the village would make her a target for those vicious enemies and having been at the mercy of one of those monsters, or rather his complete lack of mercy, she knew that it wasn't an idle threat.

"Are you all right?" Jasmine asked from across the aisle. "You look pale all of a sudden."

"Just thinking," Fenella replied, careful to keep her voice low so that the girls couldn't hear her. "Given who your enemies are, maybe I'm better off on my own. At least then, I'm not a target by association."

"Being an immortal female, you are a target wherever you are," Jasmine said bluntly. "But at least in the village, you are protected. Out there, on your own, you are exposed and defenseless."

"I've managed well enough on my own for half a century."

"You did until you didn't," Jasmine pointed out. "You got caught."

Fenella had no retort for that. The memory of her captivity was still raw—the drugs, the degradation, the abuse, the helplessness. She'd been lucky to escape with her sanity intact.

The bus slowed, the temperature noticeably dropped, the windows got darker, and the engine's hum bounced back at them in tight echoes.

They'd entered a tunnel.

"Are we underground?" Azadeh asked.

"Yes," Jasmine confirmed. "We're inside the mountain."

The bus moved slowly, propelled forward by the autonomous driving apparatus. Suddenly, there was a mechanical jerk, followed immediately by the distinct sensation of upward movement.

"What the bloody hell?" Fenella muttered.

"Vehicle lift," Ell-rom explained from across the aisle. "We are ascending to the parking garage level, which is only a couple of levels below the top where the village is."

The lift continued for what seemed an extraordinarily long time. Fenella counted silently, trying to gauge how many floors they might be rising. One, two, three... by the time they stopped, she'd estimated at least six levels, possibly more.

With a soft pneumatic hiss, the lift settled intoposition. The windows gradually cleared, revealing an enormous underground garage filled with vehicles of every description—from practical sedans to exotic sports cars, all arranged in neat rows under artificial lighting.

Okidu guided the bus into an empty space and cut the engine. "Welcome to the village," he announced.

As the doors opened, Jasmine turned to address everyone. "This garage is just one of many underground levels that serve different purposes. The actual village is on top of the mountain, hidden from aerial view by sophisticated camouflage technology."

"How does no one see it?" Donya asked.

"Don't ask me." Jasmine chuckled. "It's no doubt some advanced cloaking technology. Supposedly, the village appears to be just another forested peak from above or below."

Fenella stepped off the bus, taking in the cavernous space with its perfectly maintained vehicles and gleaming floor.

---