Page 95 of Dark Witch: Entangled Fates

Well, that was provided that the tip they had gotten about strange energy signatures in Tibet was true, and they weren't going on a wild goose chase. The equipment they had at their disposal couldn't verify the claim from across the globe or even from several miles away. They couldn't be much farther than a mile from the pod for the energy to register on their equipment.

If the pod was still sustaining life after thousands of years, its energy readouts would likely be minimal and possibly critically so.

The truth was that he was basing the expedition to Tibet on a source as unreliable as Jasmine's tarot cards or crystal readings or whatever else she was using for her divinations. What Syssi had seen in her vision was the best clue he had gotten so far, but the mountaintop she'd seen could have been located anywhere, not just in Tibet.

Aru turned to Kian. "I still think that basing the search on tarot cards is questionable, but I know better than to doubt a seer. Besides, it could be that the vision and the tarot were not just about Jasmine but about Edgar as well. Perhaps the success of the mission depends on us having a helicopter and a pilot at our disposal."

Edgar grinned. "That's right. It could be all about me."

Amanda rolled her eyes. "Males. They always think that the world revolves around them."

Kian chuckled. "The smart ones know the truth."

"I was just joking," Edgar said. "I would love to accompany the team to Tibet. Never been there."

Aru was glad that the pilot was willing to join them, but he still needed to convince Kian to approve it and perhaps help with the cost of acquiring a helicopter. "Edgar flying us from one point to another would be extremely beneficial, especially now that we will need to accommodate Jasmine, who won't be able to keep up. We will need to get organized better, perhaps hire locals with pack animals so as not to exhaust her. Margo and Frankie are also not at full capacity yet while they are recuperating from their transitions, so they would need frequent rests as well."

"Their what?" Jasmine untangled herself from Edgar's arm. "What are you talking about?"

Had no one told her that her friends had transitioned into immortality?

Come to think of it, she probably didn't know that Aru was more than an immortal either.

Amanda leaned closer to Jasmine. "Remember what I told you about Dormants and that there is a way to activate their dormant genes?"

Jasmine nodded.

"Frankie and Margo were both activated. Margo doesn't have the flu. She is transitioning. And Frankie did the same thing a couple of days before her."

Jasmine slumped, her back resting on Edgar's chest. "That explains so much. What about Mia?"

"She did that a while ago," Syssi said. "But since she's re-growing her legs, she is still wheelchair-bound. Not for long, though. She's almost done."

"Unbelievable." Jasmine pinched her arm. "Ouch. That hurt, so I'm not dreaming."

Amanda laughed. "That's not a conclusive test. You could be dreaming about pinching yourself and experiencing pain."

"But I'm not dreaming, right?"

Amanda's eyes gleamed with amusement. "If I say that you aren't, does it mean that you are not?"

Kian lifted his hand. "Please, ladies. This can go on forever, and we have things that we need to settle." He turned to Aru. "You were saying?"

"I was saying that we can use a helicopter and a pilot, and Edgar here is perfect for the job. The problem is resources." Aru scratched his head. "Perhaps we can buy a helicopter and then sell it after the mission is done. The delta between the purchase and subsequent sale price of the craft shouldn't be too prohibitive."

"Don't worry about the money," Kian said. "The clan can help, and so can Toven. He would do anything for Mia, who wants her friends back as soon as possible, and in every meaningful way, Toven commands unlimited resources, some of which he will gladly extend to acquire means of faster travel."

Aru had hoped that would be Kian's answer. "Thank you." He glanced back at Jasmine, surprised to see the confident woman suddenly looking as if she was starting to fall apart.

Everyone had their breaking point, and evidently, Jasmine had reached hers.

Following his gaze, Amanda looked at her and frowned. "What's the matter, darling? What got you upset?"

"I'm just overwhelmed." She lifted a trembling hand to her lips. "It started like a pleasant drizzle and then turned into a deluge that's threatening to drown me."

Amanda smiled. "It's understandable. You've been incredibly open-minded about all of this, but it's a lot to take in, and we dumped all of it on you in one go. The best way to tackle something so big is to break it down into smaller, more manageable chunks."

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