Page 93 of Dark Shaman: Love Found
"Maybe I should ask about him," Eluheed murmured, low enough that only Tony could hear.
"Ask about who?"
"The drunken scientist I told you about, Dr. Zhao. I haven't seen him in weeks."
Tony frowned. "Why do you care about?—"
The explosion cut through Tony's question like a thunderclap. The bottles behind the bar rattled, and one toppled, shattering on the floor in a spray of amber liquid and glass. The bartender dropped the one he'd been holding, his face draining of color.
A second explosion followed, even more powerful. The windows vibrated in their frames, and somewhere in the hotel, people screamed, and children started crying.
"What the hell?" Tony was on his feet, but Eluheed grabbed his arm, holding him in place.
"Wait," he said, though every instinct screamed at him to run, to find Tamira, to make sure she was safe. But running blindly into whatever was happening would help no one.
The bar door burst open, and two guards rushed in, assault rifles at the ready. "Everyone, back to your rooms! Now!"
"What's happening?" Tony demanded. "Is it an attack? Are the ladies safe?"
"Move!" The guard's rifle swung toward them. "Your rooms, immediately!"
They had no choice. Eluheed and Tony were herded through the hotel corridors and up the emergency stairs along with other displaced servants. The fear in the air was palpable, thick enough to taste.
Once they were in their room, they didn't feel any safer.
Through the windows, Eluheed caught glimpses of heavy smoke and secondary explosions rising from several points across the island. Someone must have detonated explosives in the armory, and he had a feeling about who that might be.
Tony pressed his face against the glass, trying to see what was going on, but most of the action was happening far away, which was a good thing. "I hear gunfire. Who are they shooting at?"
Eluheed knew. The enhanced soldiers had finally rebelled, just as Dr. Zhao had predicted. The mad scientist had been right about everything.
"The ladies are safe," Eluheed said, trying to convince himself as much as Tony. "Lord Navuh's mansion is heavily guarded. There is no safer place on the island."
The harem used to be that safe space, but Eluheed wasn't sure it would have protected them better. The enhanced soldiers could have overpowered the guards. Then again, it was possible that the underground pyramid could be locked down in an emergency so that no one could come in. If that was the case, then the harem had been as safe as Tamira believed it to be.
Tony snorted. "Navuh would throw his own mother under the bus to save his own skin. I don't trust him to protect my girl."
Tula was far from a girl, but Eluheed wasn't going to correct his friend. "Even if that's true, which I don't think it is, the mansion is so heavily fortified that it would take an army to breach it."
"It's a mutiny!" Tony screeched, waving at the window. "The island is full of immortal warriors, and they are at war with each other. That's not going to end well."
Dread slithered down Eluheed's back. He hadn't considered the possibility that the enhanced soldiers would recruit the help of ordinary immortals. Zhao hadn't said anything about them being able to compel in addition to being resistant to Navuh's mind control, but what if he hadn't known or had just omitted that tidbit of information out of fear of being overheard?
On their own, the enhanced soldiers didn't stand a chance, but together with other immortals, they posed a real threat.
Another explosion, this one also distant, but powerful enough to rattle the windows. Gunfire erupted somewhere closer—the sharp crack of assault rifles answered by the more resounding boom of heavier weapons.
"We have to do something," Tony said, pacing the small room like a caged animal. "We can't just sit here while this is going on."
A sharp knock was followed by the door flying open. A guard Eluheed knew from previous summonses stoodthere, breathing hard. "Come with me. Lord Navuh's orders."
Eluheed's heart leaped. After he delivered his services to Navuh, he would get to be with Tamira. He wouldn't take no for an answer. "What about Tony?"
"I was told to bring just you. Move!"
"I'm coming too," Tony said, stepping forward.
The guard's rifle came up. "My orders are to get Elias, and only Elias."
