Page 83 of Dark Shaman: Love Found
"Reminded him that good things are possible," Carol said, wrapping her arm around Lokan's waist.
27
TAMIRA
"Help me with this." Tamira tossed a heavy silk cushion to Elias that she'd found wrapped in plastic. "It goes in the corner."
He unwrapped it and placed it exactly where she pointed, then stepped back to survey their handiwork.
It was their third night together, and each time they added a few touches to their basement hideout, transforming a corner of the dusty storage area into something that felt almost like home. They'd pushed furniture around to section off a private sanctuary around the bed and removed the tarps, replacing them with beautiful curtains that they'd found in one of the boxes.
"It's starting to look like something taken fromOne Thousand and One Nights," he said, but even though he was smiling, there was something distant in his gaze. It was as if he wasn't fully in the moment with her.
Like something was troubling him.
Throughout the evening, she'd noticed the way his mind seemed to drift even when his hands were on her, and the tightness of his jawline whenever he thought she wasn't looking. Come to think of it, he'd been like that during the day on the harem grounds as well.
Maybe he wasn't feeling well?
Elias was, after all, human, and humans got sick. But Elias was a shaman who knew about healing and could take care of himself. Besides, he hadn't been sick even once since she'd known him.
Not that she'd known him all that long. It just felt like they'd been partners forever.
"What's bothering you?" she asked. "You seem preoccupied."
"It's nothing worth mentioning." He pulled her close, burying his face in her hair. "We have so little time together. I don't want to waste it on futile worries."
His body begged to differ. She could feel the tension in his muscles and the way he held her a little too tightly.
She pulled back to look at his face. "You can tell me. There shouldn't be secrets between us."
He sighed, leading her to their bed—their beautiful four-poster paradise hidden beneath the curtains. They'd added more pillows since the first night, and soft throws that made it feel like a nest, a cocoon where the outside world couldn't reach them.
They settled against the pillows, and Tamira curled into Elias's side, waiting. Sometimes he needed time to find hiswords, especially when something was truly bothering him.
"The hotel has a bar, and on my first day there, I went to get a drink and met a strange man who was very drunk. He introduced himself as Dr. Marcus Zhao and started talking."
Tamira lifted her face to him. "Does he work in the island clinic?"
"He's not that kind of doctor. He's a scientist. A biochemist, specifically. Lord Navuh brought him to the island to work on a special project."
Her stomach twisted. "Is Navuh developing biological weapons?"
She'd read about them, and they were horrible. Navuh was evil, but that was a level she'd hoped he would never stoop to. Areana wouldn't have it.
Elias was quiet for a moment. "Yes, but not in the way you think. He's not producing bombs of deadly diseases. He's been creating enhanced soldiers. Taking rank-and-file immortal warriors and making them stronger, faster, more resilient."
Tamira frowned. "Immortals are already so much stronger than humans. Why does he want to make them even stronger?"
"That's a good question. I don't know what he plans to do with them; I only know what Zhao told me about their transformation. He called it 'evolution in a bottle.' He invented chemical compounds to change them, and at first,he was very happy with the results, even though not everything was turning out the way he planned."
"At first?"
"After he got even drunker, Zhao admitted that the enhancements were working too well. The soldiers were becoming everything he'd designed them to be, but with unexpected side effects."
She tensed. "What kind of side effects?"
"Their brains are changing along with their bodies. They're developing delusions of grandeur. They believe they're superior to everyone, and they are resistant to mind manipulation. They are unpredictable and dangerous. That's why I'm worried, Tamira. If Lord Navuh loses his tight grip over these enhanced soldiers, they might rebel and attack the others or even go after the lord himself. It would be a bloodbath."
