Page 98 of Dark Shaman: Love Found
"There is," Navuh said slowly, an idea forming. "They're not invulnerable. They can be killed, it just takes more smarts and more effort. We need to find their compeller and take him out."
"How?" Hakum asked. "How will we know who he is?"
"Watch the recordings. Eventually, you'll see a pattern and zero in on the one giving the orders."
"Yes, my lord."
"My lord," Vakon said. "There's movement on the eastern perimeter."
Navuh's attention snapped back to the screens. Figures were emerging from the smoke and chaos, moving with the purposeful stride of soldiers who knew exactly where they were going and what they intended to do.
"They're testing our defenses," Hakum said.
"No," Navuh corrected, watching the patterns of movement. "They're identifying our positions. Counting our numbers. Looking for weak points."
The figures retreated after several moments, melting back into the smoke. But Navuh knew they'd be back.
When darkness fell, they'd come in force.
"Double the watch," he ordered. "And have the reserves ready to reinforce any point of the perimeter in case they try to breach at multiple points simultaneously."
His generals scrambled to relay orders, the war room filling with rapid commands and status updates. But Navuh remained still, staring at the screens.
The enhanced soldiers were beyond control and beyond reason. They should be destroyed to the last one, but that wasn't an option if he wanted to continue the program. The new scientist would need test subjects. The compeller had to die, though. It would be a shame because Navuh would have loved to discover what had made him different than the others.
The irony wasn't lost on him.
He'd sought to create the ultimate soldiers, and he'd succeeded beyond his wildest expectations, but now his creations were coming for him.
32
TAMIRA
The basement shook, the explosions rumbling through the mansion's foundation, dust drifting down from the ceiling. Tamira pressed closer to Elias, her fingers digging into his shirt as another one took place.
They were sitting on the edge of their four-poster bed, the same one where they'd made love just two nights ago, but now it served as a gathering place for the terrified rather than a sanctuary for lovers.
Around them, the space they'd transformed with Persian rugs and silk cushions had become a makeshift shelter. The ladies were scattered across the various furnishings they'd arranged during happier evenings, while the household servants huddled in groups throughout the larger basement area. They'd brought down food and water, and several empty boxes had been turned on their sides to serve as buffet tables, laden with the hastily grabbed provisions.
"That one felt close," Liliat murmured from where she sat on a pile of cushions, her usually perfect composure cracking at the edges.
Elias had returned from his latest summons to Lord Navuh looking drained. His face was pale, and he looked worried even though he was trying to hide it from her and the other ladies.
The service he provided to their lord was taking a toll on him.
She wanted to pull him into her arms and comfort him, but the basement was full of watching eyes. The servants might be panicky, but they were still present, still potential sources of gossip if they survived this.
All she dared to do was hold his hand, their fingers interlaced beneath the fold of her dress where the servants might not notice.
Across the space, Tula was helping to settle the servants with Sarah and Raviki's assistance. They were distributing rugs and cushions they'd pulled from the storage boxes and reassuring the servants that it was okay to use them.
She admired Tula for maintaining calm and finding the energy to help others. Unbidden, her gaze drifted to Tula's belly, which should have started showing if she was indeed pregnant. But it was still flat, so maybe the reason for her shifting moods during the last couple of months was rooted in something else.
Could it be that she was getting tired of Tony and didn't know how to tell him that it was over between them?
Tamira doubted that Tula had ever loved Tony, but he definitely loved her, and sometimes, that was enough. On the other hand, he was human, and getting attached to him would have been a mistake.
The same was true for Elias, but it was too late for Tamira to shield her heart. Heck, it had been too late since that first time they had talked in the harem's underground courtyard. It was rare for her to find anyone she could converse with on her level and who she didn't need to dumb herself down for.
