Page 82 of Dark Shaman: The Lost Treasure
"Andrew likes you," she told Tim. "He thinks that you're an anchovy. I'm not sure if that's a compliment or an insult."
She picked up the book again but didn't start reading immediately. Instead, she studied Tim's transformed face, trying to reconcile the man she'd met a week ago with whatever he was becoming.
"You know what I think?" she said. "I think you're scared. All that snark, all those cutting remarks—it's just armor. Keeppeople at arm's length so they can't hurt you. Classic defense mechanism."
Tim, predictably, didn't respond.
"The thing is, armor that thick? It doesn't just keep pain out. It keeps everything out. Joy, connection, love. All the good stuff that makes immortality bearable."
She thought about her own long life, the centuries of experiences, both bitter and sweet. The lovers she'd had and lost, the friends who'd drifted away, the countless small heartbreaks that accumulated like sediment over time. It would have been easier to build walls, to become cynical and closed off.
But then she would have missed out on so much fun.
"When you wake up, you're going to have a choice. You can keep up the act in a taller body, or you can try to smooth out the edges. Don't lose your snark because that will just make you boring but try not to insult people as much or make unreasonable demands just to humiliate others when you have power over them. That's just mean."
She opened the book again, finding her place. "But first, you have to wake up. So, I'm going to keep reading about Marcus the Magnificent Bastard, and you're going to lie there growing like a weed, and eventually your body will decide it's done with whatever the hell it's doing."
27
ELUHEED
The sharp knock on the door came as Eluheed was preparing to join Tamira for dinner. He knew that knock, the knocker, and the summons that it carried.
Lord Navuh required his attendance.
The timing was odd, though. The lord dined with Lady Areana, and it probably coincided with dinner on the second level, even though the first level had its own staff with its own chef.
"The lord wants to see you," Arnav said.
"Isn't he dining with Lady Areana?" Eluheed asked as he closed the door behind him.
Arnav shrugged. "I don't ask questions. I just do what I'm told. If you're smart, you will do the same."
"Thanks for the advice." Eluheed cast him a smile even though all previous attempts to befriend the guy had failed.
He needed information, mainly on how Navuh was traveling between his residence in the harem and his house on the other side of the island. He couldn't traverse the distance on foot, so hehad to use a vehicle, but since no one ever saw him come and go, he must be using a tunnel, and it had to be big enough for a car. Then again, the vehicle didn't need to be a car. Navuh could be using a motorcycle or a scooter.
The image of the scary warlord, who was fond of wearing elaborate robes, riding a scooter, was comical, and Eluheed chuckled as he followed Arnav to a staircase that he hadn't even been aware existed instead of using the elevator as they usually did.
"What's funny about using the stairs?" the guy asked.
"I was just thinking about something I heard. But what happened to the elevator?"
"Nothing." Arnav grimaced. "Sabina told me that I need to get in shape and that I need to use the stairs more."
She had a point.
Funny how he hadn't known where the staircase was located until now or that the harem even had one. The builders of this place hadn't needed to abide by any building codes, so even though it was unsafe to have a seven-floor structure without a staircase, he'd assumed that Navuh just hadn't wanted one included.
It would have been so interesting to peek into the warlord's mind and find out all of his secrets, but Eluheed did not possess that particular ability. Some of the shamans back home could do that, and there had been one who could even compel like Navuh did, but Eluheed's one questionable gift was visions of personal connections. He couldn't even foresee disasters, or he would have known to move his treasure to a safer location before the mountain had erupted and buried it under tons of rock.
That was why that vision he'd had about the fire and smoke had struck him as so odd, and he'd interpreted it as an allegory for something else.
Arnav knocked once, waited for the barked command to enter, then opened the door and stepped aside. Eluheed entered to find Navuh pacing behind his massive desk, the restless energy radiating from him immediately setting off alarm bells.
Something had agitated the warlord. In Eluheed's experience, an agitated Navuh was unpredictable and dangerous.
"My lord." He bowed deeply.
