Page 85 of Dark Shaman: The Lost Treasure
"Don't forget that. The moment you cease to be useful, the moment you become more trouble than you're worth..." Navuh smiled, and it was like watching a shark bare its teeth. "Let's just say the ocean is very deep and very unforgiving."
"I understand perfectly, my lord."
"Good." Navuh settled back in his chair. "You're dismissed."
Eluheed rose and bowed deeply. "I remain at your service, my lord."
"Yes," Navuh said. "You do."
28
ELUHEED
Navuh had been perfectly clear, and his jab deflated the happy bubble Eluheed had been floating in for the past week.
Perhaps that was the impetus behind Navuh's sudden summons. It wasn't that the lord had had a premonition about someone plotting his death and needed Eluheed to tell him that. The guy probably had many people plotting his demise, starting with his sons and going through his generals, all the way to his servants. He was arrogant, cruel, and his one redeeming quality manifested only in the harem.
Eluheed needed to get his head out of his ass and go back to thinking about ways of escaping this prison. He'd been so focused on Tamira and the unexpected joy of their connection that he'd neglected his primary purpose. The earthquake that had buried his charges hadn't buried his duty. He needed to find a way out, needed to return to Mount Ararat and find a way to recover what he'd lost.
No one talked about it, but somewhere in this maze of luxury there was a secret tunnel that Navuh used to move between theharem, specifically the first level, and his house on the surface. That had to be the explanation for him just appearing in his residence in the harem without going through the gates outside.
No one ever saw him arriving or leaving.
But even if Eluheed found it, how could he leave? Tamira had become everything to him. Essential? The word felt both too much and not enough.
Besides, even if he managed to escape the harem, how was he going to escape the island?
The second level was quiet when he reached it, its residents probably finishing dinner right now. He should join them, but he needed a moment to compose himself, to lock away the turmoil Navuh's threats had stirred up.
In his quarters, Eluheed walked out to the balcony and looked down at the artificial garden below. Beauty masking confinement, an illusion of freedom when every exit was guarded, every movement watched.
Two fences surrounded the harem, guards patrolling between them and beyond them, multiple layers of security between the harem's residents and the outside world.
Only Navuh came and went freely.
If Eluheed could find the tunnel the lord used, then what? Swim off the island? Steal a boat and hope not to get caught before reaching international waters?
It was impossible, but then Eluheed had survived the impossible before.
He'd escaped the annihilation of his people, protected the sacred treasures, and lived for centuries among humans without detection. He could find a way off one island. He had to.
He needed to start collecting intel, but not tonight.
Tonight, Navuh would be watching more closely than ever, suspicious of everyone and everything.
A knock at his door interrupted his brooding. "Come in," he called, expecting Arnav to come get him again.
But it was Tamira who entered, resplendent in green silk that made her skin glow. "You missed dinner," she said. "Is everything all right?"
"Lord Navuh required my presence," he said, moving back into the room.
Her expression tightened. "Another consultation?"
He wasn't allowed to tell her about his visions or the real service he was providing to Navuh. The lord had attempted to compel his silence, but even though the compulsion slid off him, he needed to pretend that it had worked.
"Yes."
She studied his face, those impossible eyes seeing too much. "You look unsettled."
