Page 84 of Dark Shaman: Love Found
Tamira's mouth went dry. As long as Navuh was in charge and his compulsion ability ensured the absolute obedience of his soldiers, she and the ladies were safe. But if he could no longer control them, the repercussions could be horrific.
Lord Navuh had warned them time and again about the immortal soldiers and the hatred they harbored for the daughters of their enemies. That was why they had to be isolated in the harem and heavily guarded.
Out of sight and out of mind.
But now they were out of the harem and in Navuh's mansion, and everyone knew who they were. The onlything keeping them safe was the lord's incredible compulsion power.
"How is that possible? What kind of chemicals can afford them immunity from his compulsion? That's the only thing keeping this island together."
"I don't think even Zhao knows. It was a side effect of the other enhancements."
"How resistant are they?" she whispered, her panic rising.
"Not completely, not yet, or they would be rebelling already. But maybe I'm wrong and they will remain loyal to the lord despite being free from his mind control." Elias rubbed his face with his free hand. "Zhao kept rambling about brain chemistry and neural pathways, most of which I didn't understand. But the core message was clear. He's created monsters he can't control."
"Does Lord Navuh know?"
Elias hesitated. "I'm not allowed to disclose what transpires between me and the lord at our meetings. But according to Dr. Zhao, he's been informing the lord about the discipline problems and the fights among the enhanced soldiers. He said that they were tearing each other apart. Navuh's response was to tell him to fix the problem with counter medication."
"Can he?"
Between the lines, Elias had revealed that he had been talking with Navuh about the problem.
"Zhao doesn't think so. He said, and these were his exact words, 'You can't make someone powerful and expect them to remain powerless.' The enhancement changes them fundamentally."
"This is a disaster in the making." Tamira slid out of the bed and started pacing the edge of their sanctuary to relieve the knot that had formed in her stomach. Not that it was helping, but she didn't know what else to do. "A rebellion is imminent."
She and the ladies were in terrible danger. If those soldiers got to them, their fate would be worse than death.
"That's what Zhao seemed to think," Elias said. "He mentioned working on some kind of poison specifically designed to kill enhanced immortals."
Tamira's heart leaped at the possibility of obtaining a last resort way out. "Can you get it?" She got back to bed and grabbed his hands.
"Get what?"
"The poison. Is there any way you can get it from him?"
Elias pulled his hands out of hers. "Tamira, I only spoke to the man once, and he was extremely drunk. I haven't seen him since. Besides, how are you going to use it in self-defense? I don't think that throwing the poison at them will do any harm. It has to be injected."
It was good that Elias thought she was interested in a self-defense weapon. He would never agree to get the poison for her if he realized how she intended to use it.
"Perhaps you could find him again at the bar."
"I've been there several times since, and he hasn't returned. For all I know, Navuh got angry at him for failing to deliver what he wanted and dealt with him. He might have moved him somewhere else. Maybe closer to his lab."
"He has to be alive," she said, desperation coloring her voice. "I really need that poison."
"As I said, it's not like you can throw it at the soldiers and it will kill them."
"It's not for them." She lay back, her head on the pillow.
If Elias couldn't get the poison for her, perhaps he could make some, but then she would have to tell him the truth and convince him that it was necessary.
"If these enhanced soldiers rebel, when they rebel, they will come for Navuh, and they will want everything he has. Navuh's warriors consider females spoils of war, even the normal ones, and I don't need to spell it out for you what they will do to me and the other ladies. We need a last resort way out, and poison might be the only thing that will spare us a fate much worse than death." She turned to look at him. "Can you make something strong enough to kill immortals?"
Elias's eyes widened with horror. "They won't get to you. Navuh has thousands of regular soldiers. The enhanced ones are vastly outnumbered."
"But you are still worried, so the danger from the enhanced ones is not negligible. When soldiers overthrow theirmasters, the women always suffer. The poison will be our last resort."
