Page 57 of Dark Shaman: Love Found
The SUV's air-conditioning was a blessed relief after the oppressive afternoon heat, even with the tent providing occasional respites throughout the day. Eluheed and Tony had worked long hours outside, restoring the herb garden, while the ladies stayed in the tent and took care of the damaged books from the library.
Sitting in the third row, Eluheed watched Tamira's profile as she chatted with Areana about the progress they'd made. Her hair was pulled back in a loose bun, exposing the elegant line of her neck, and he had to force himself to look away before his covetous staring was noticed by the driver.
"The dehumidifiers are working wonderfully," Sarah said. "I think we can salvage most of the books. Some will have stains, but that's not the end of the world. As long as they are still legible, a few water stains are not going to make much of a difference."
"I'm glad we are able to save them," Areana said. "Lord Navuh will be pleased to hear that." Something in her tonesuggested she was thinking about more than book restoration, but Eluheed couldn't begin to guess what it was.
The two had a complicated relationship and played by a different set of rules than most normal couples, but who was he to judge?
He hadn't even told Tamira who he really was.
Not that they'd had any private moments to make any revelations during the past few days.
The air-conditioned pavilion that Navuh had ordered erected for the ladies on the harem grounds had evolved into a command center for the restoration efforts.
Navuh had arranged for industrial dehumidifiers, specialized drying racks, and even ultrasonic cleaning equipment to be delivered to the tent so the ladies could tend to the damaged books.
It was uncharacteristically considerate and generous for Navuh.
Eluheed was convinced that Navuh wanted Areana and the ladies occupied away from the mansion. The elaborate setup at the harem site, the supplies, the continued encouragement to spend entire days there—it all pointed to that.
The question was why.
It could be about the secretive construction project in the basement or it could be about visitors to the mansion that Navuh didn't want Areana and the others to see, and vice versa.
As they pulled up to the mansion, the head butler opened the door for Areana.
Once they were all out of the vehicle, he turned to Eluheed. "Lord Navuh wants to see you in his office right away."
"Of course," Eluheed said.
His attire carried the evidence of his day's work, and showing up like that in the lord's office wasn't optimal, but it wasn't as if he had a change of clothing handy.
He followed the butler through the corridors, preparing for what he knew Navuh was expecting from him. The lord was a sharp guy, so consistency was crucial. Each session was a delicate balance between truth and misdirection, between what he actually saw and what he needed Navuh to believe.
The office door stood open. Navuh was at his desk, studying something on his computer screen with an expression that made Eluheed's instincts prickle with warning. The lord's jaw was clenched, his fingers drumming an agitated rhythm on the desktop.
"My lord," Eluheed said, bowing slightly.
"Sit." Navuh didn't look up from the screen. "Close the door and leave us alone," he told the butler.
Eluheed did as instructed, sitting in the familiar chair across from the desk. The shades were pulled down on the windows, blocking the afternoon sun, but Navuh hadn't bothered turning on the lights, so the room was dark, fitting the mood of its master.
"Tell me, shaman," Navuh said finally, closing his laptop with deliberate slowness, "what do you know about maintaining order among elite forces who believe themselves superior to their commanders?"
The question was loaded, dangerous. Eluheed chose his words carefully. "I know that power without wisdom often leads to destruction, my lord."
"Philosophical nonsense." Navuh leaned back in his massive chair. "I need something more practical. What's more important? Keeping the elite soldiers and trying to work with them because of the investment of time and money that went into making them elite or getting rid of them because they are defective goods?"
Eluheed had to think quickly. The right answer was to get rid of the dangerous element, but he didn't want to be the one to tell the lord that. Navuh had to arrive at that conclusion himself.
"I would need to know more about the sort of damage you are talking about, my lord."
"Where do I start? Violence among themselves? Arguing about the validity of the orders they are given?" His dark eyes were burning with barely controlled fury. "They forget who created them. Who gave them their power. Normally, I would have had them executed on the spot, but after all the resources that went into creating them, I'm not in a rush to destroy them."
"Perhaps stricter training would help or punishments,"Eluheed suggested. "They need to be reminded of who's in charge."
"Zhao claims it's a side effect of the enhancements, that their brain chemistry has been altered in ways that make them resistant to my compulsion."
