Page 44 of Dark Shaman: The Lost Treasure
"Where did you get all these books from?" he asked.
"The harem has an extensive library," Tony said, retrieving a notebook and several pencils from his desk. "Since you were prohibited from interacting with the ladies, you weren't allowed there. But now that the restriction has been lifted, you can use the library, the pool, and all the other wonderful amenities our underground paradise offers."
The sarcasm in Tony's voice when he said 'paradise' was subtle but unmistakable. He definitely saw their gilded cage for what it was.
They took the elevator to the surface level, and the moment they stepped outside the climate-controlled environment, the heat and humidity of the tropical island hit them. Eluheed had grown somewhat accustomed to it during his months of tending the garden, but Tony seemed bothered by it, and he wiped sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.
"How do you stand it?" Tony asked, looking wilted after less than a minute of enduring the outdoors.
"You get accustomed to it." Eluheed led the way to his herb garden. "The breeze helps."
When they reached the garden, Tony surprised him by getting down and sitting cross-legged on the ground. He opened his notebook and pulled one of the pencils out of his pocket. "I'm going to sketch the plants and make notes next to the sketches so I remember what instructions go with which plant."
As Eluheed crouched beside him, ostensibly to point out different herbs, Tony kept his head bent over his notebook, pencil moving in quick, sure strokes.
"You're really good at this," Eluheed said. "The sketching."
"Thank you," Tony said with a bright smile before bending over the notebook again. "There are cameras out here as well," he murmured, his voice barely audible. "Keep your head down when you talk so they can't read your lips."
Eluheed tensed. This whole thing stank of a setup. The sudden lifting of restrictions, the move to better quarters, and Tony's exuberant offer of friendship all could have been staged by the paranoid lord of this island to get Eluheed to disclose his secrets.
He bent over a patch of feverfew, pretending to examine the leaves. "What do you hope I can tell you?"
Tony's pencil kept dancing over the page. "Do you know that the lord, his ladies, and most of the soldiers on this island are all immortal?"
Eluheed forced his hands to remain steady as he pointed to another plant. The direct question required a careful response. He chose to feign ignorance, letting surprise color his voice. "What are you talking about? Is this your idea of a joke?"
"I'm serious." Tony kept his head down. "Think about it. Have any of the ladies come to you for remedies in the eighteen months you've been here?"
"No, but that's because I wasn't supposed to interact with them."
"Fair point." Tony flipped to a new page, starting a sketch of the chamomile. "But who took care of them after the old doctor died? Who treated their ailments, their aches and pains?"
Eluheed pretended to consider this. "Perhaps they didn't need care. They're all young and healthy."
Tony's chuckle was low and knowing. "Young? My friend, they're as old as human civilization itself. But that's not exactly a secret in the harem. Everyone knows." He paused. "Everyone except you, apparently. I'm surprised a clever fellow like yourself hasn't figured it out yet."
"I don't understand." Eluheed maintained his façade of confusion. "How should I have been supposed to guess that? And if everyone knows, why did no one tell me?"
"Good question." Tony's pencil scratched across the paper. "Most people figure it out eventually. The staff are afraid to talk openly, but the ladies can basically do as they please because they have Lady Areana's protection. They speak freely among themselves and with their companions." He glanced up briefly, his eyes meeting Eluheed's. "Naturally, they're careful not to say anything offensive about Navuh himself when in range of the many listening devices. Even Lady Areana's protection has limits."
Eluheed pointed to another section of the garden, and they shifted positions, maintaining the pretense of a botany lesson. The sun beat down mercilessly, and he could see sweat dripping onto Tony's notebook, smudging some of his sketches.
"How did you find yourself on this island?" Eluheed asked. "And how did you end up in Navuh's harem? You said he was interested in quality breeding stock, but that implies looking for the right males, and I know no one was looking for me. I was brought over by one of his associates." And sold like livestock, but he chose not to mention that.
Tony's expression darkened. "I was lured here under false pretenses. A job offer too good to refuse, working on cutting-edge genetic research." His laugh was bitter. "I wasn't meant to serve in the harem, though. Navuh lured many highly educated men to the island for his larger breeding project, but because I look enough like him—dark hair, olive skin, the right build—I was sent here instead. The other guys get to go home after they are done providing their services, but no one leaves the harem, so I'm stuck here until the day I die."
Chills ran down Eluheed's back despite the oppressive heat. "What larger breeding project?"
"Trust me, you don't want to know." Tony turned to a fresh page. "My job here is simple—to get Tula pregnant and provide Navuh with an intelligent son he can claim as his own. The problem is that Tula doesn't want to have a child, and I can't blame her." Tony's voice dropped even lower. "Do you know what happens to the children born here?"
Eluheed shook his head.
"The boys are taken away as babies. Removed from their mothers as soon as they're weaned, sometimes sooner. They're raised in the Dormant enclosure and told that Navuh is their father. When they are old enough, they are moved to the war camp, turned immortal, and trained to be warriors." Tony's pencil pressed harder against the paper. "They never know who their real mothers are. Navuh's excuse is so none feels superior to the others and all are judged on merit alone."
"What happens to the girls?" Eluheed asked.
"The girls born to the ladies fare a little better, I suppose. They're allowed to stay in the harem, raised by their mothers. But they'renot allowed to become immortal. They live and die as humans." Tony looked up, his eyes holding a mixture of anger and sadness. "It's a particular kind of cruelty to let a mother watch her daughter age and die while she remains young forever, but it's a better fate than what awaits girls who are born to dormant mothers in the breeding enclosure or are sent there. They are not allowed to transition either and grow up to become breeders like their mothers." Tony sighed. “Even the harem ladies are breeders, just of higher caliber.”
