Page 86 of Dark Awakening: New World

Toven shrugged. "I'm not much of a smoker, but the last cigar I had was on the cruise, so why not."

After climbing the one flight of stairs, Kian opened the door to his rooftop oasis. A large umbrella provided shade, and two comfortable lounge chairs flanked a small table.

"Please, take a seat." Kian motioned to one of the lounges and sat on the other one.

"Nice setup you have here," Toven commented, looking around. "Do you often entertain up here?"

Kian opened the cigar box and offered the selection to Toven, and then picked one as well. Once Toven had lit his, Kian shook his head as he lit his favorite Opus X. "Usually, it's just me, and occasionally I bring a guest over, but I'm trying to cut down on the smoking. Allegra makes a face when she smells it on my clothes, so I have to shower and change before I can play with her. That kind of puts a damper on the fun."

Toven chuckled. "Ah, the sacrifices we make for our children." A shadow passed over his eyes. "I didn't know I had children, so obviously I wasn't involved in raising them. I hope Mia and I will have a child someday, and I will experience being a father."

"It's the best thing in the world," Kian said. "Challenging, terrifying at times, but absolutely worth it. Watching Allegra grow, getting to know her as a person is a joy and a privilege. I hope Syssi and I will be blessed with more children, but I don't want to be greedy and anger the Fates, so I leave the decision up to them."

Toven tilted his head. "So, no more fertility potions for you?"

"Not unless my wife demands it." He frowned. "Are you and Mia taking them?"

"Not yet. Mia is eager to have children now that she is all healed, but I want to show her the world first. We have eternity ahead of us. We can afford to take a couple of years just to enjoy each other."

"I agree." Kian paused as he savored another flavorsome mouthful of the blue smoke. "Syssi and I were married for a while before we were blessed with Allegra, and I think that it was good for our marriage."

After they'd spent some time in quiet companionship, enjoying their smokes, Toven put his cigar down. "So, what's the story? What's got your panties in a wad?"

Kian laughed. "That's such an old phrase that humans would say it dates you. The joke would be on them, though, as it really doesn't."

The god smiled. "All the more reason to use it."

"Yeah, you are right. Anyway, I don't know if you've heard, but we've had a wave of petty thefts and sabotage in the village." He continued to tell Toven about the suspects that they had investigated so far and the lack of results they had gotten.

Toven's eyes narrowed. "What exactly are you expecting me to do?"

"I want to question everyone in the village, and I need you to compel them to tell the truth. We'll start with the Kra-ell, and if the culprit is not one of them, we will move on to clan members."

Toven was quiet for a long moment, his cigar forgotten. "I'm not going to win any popularity contests after something like that. I would rather not do it."

"I know, and believe me, I wouldn't ask if I saw any other way. But this needs to end."

Toven sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "I owe you, so I won't say no, but I want it on record that I'm not happy about it."

"If you have a better idea of how to deal with this, I'm all ears."

Toven shook his head. "I wish I did. The only thing that comes to mind is assembling everyone in the big assembly hall, giving them a speech about unity, solidarity, integration, etc., and offering them a way to voice their grievances without fear of retaliation. Maybe an anonymous letter or something like that."

"I can try it, or you can stand before the assembly and compel the saboteur to come forward. That will save us time asking each person separately."

"I can't," Toven said. "The purebloods are incredibly difficult to crack, and I need to do it one-on-one with them and involve Mia to enhance my power."

"Right. I forgot that. It's such a nasty business when it has to do with my own people, and I include every resident in the village under that umbrella. But I can't allow this to fester. Right now, it's a small cancerous growth that can be cut out easily without much damage to the body. But if we neglect to address it, the cancer will spread until there will be nothing left to save."

Toven took a puff of his cigar. "Many of the decisions a leader must make are unpleasant. But someone needs to make them." He smiled. "I'm just glad that this someone is you and not me. When do you want to start?"

"I'll have Onegus prepare a schedule, starting with the Kra-ell."

58

ELL-ROM

The dream enveloped Ell-rom, vivid and visceral. He and Morelle were in what looked like an office or a small reception room. The head priestess sat on a large pillow on the floor, with a low desk in front of her. He and Morelle stood in front of her, and all three were unveiled, so he could see his sister's face.

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