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"Yes." Mia let out a breath as if relieved that Margo's brain was back online. "Except, compulsion is to hypnosis what vodka is to wine. It's much more potent."
"Why did he call himself Kevin?"
Mia tilted her head. "For the same reason that Toven calls himself Tom. Generic names don't stand out. It's not like gods and immortals advertise their presence. They go to great lengths to hide it." She put her chair in reverse, turned it around, and drove to the kitchenette. "I'm making you some coffee."
Margo doubted caffeine would help clear the jumbled mess in her head.
She shifted her gaze to Frankie.
"So, your boyfriend Doug, otherwise known as Dagor, is a god."
Frankie grinned. "Yes, he is. And I'm on my way to becoming immortal."
"What's the difference between gods and immortals? And how did the gods die if they can’t be killed?"
Her friend smiled indulgently. "You didn't hear a word of what we were saying, did you?"
"I heard the word god, and it was so loud that I couldn't hear anything after that."
"I get it." Frankie patted her knee. "It's weird to see you freaking out like that when you are usually the voice of reason, the pillar of strength that Mia and I depend on. But that's okay. It's our turn to repay the support you have provided us throughout the years."
Margo rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Now, can you please be kind enough to explain again the difference between gods and immortals and how the hell you became immortal?"
Frankie lifted her hand.
"One thing at a time." She took in a deep breath. "I'm new to all this, so I might not be the best person to explain it, but here goes. Gods and immortals are stronger and faster than humans. They have better eyesight, hearing, sense of smell, and other talents. But the most important thing is their ability to heal incredibly fast, and since gods heal even faster than immortals, it's really hard to kill them. It must be a massive injury that their bodies can't repair fast enough. Immortals can also manipulate human minds like you've seen Kalugal do, but most of them cannot manipulate the minds of other immortals. Kalugal can, but he's unique in that. Gods can manipulate the minds of both humans and immortals." She looked at Mia. "Am I explaining it right?"
"More or less." Mia left the coffee machine to brew and drove her chair back. "The easiest way to think about the differences is that gods are to immortals like immortals are to humans. Most can't compel, though. It's a rare ability for gods and immortals alike. They can all thrall, though."
It was all so confusing.
"What's the difference?" Margo asked.
"That's a good question. Compulsion forces the person to do as the compeller says, even if they are trying to resist. Thralling is changing what they remember and how they think about things. Those under compulsion will, in most cases, know what's happening to them. Those who are thralled will not. A good example is what Kalugal did to Modana and his men. He compelled them to put down their weapons, but he thralled them to believe that the Madonna appeared before them and demanded that they change their ways and become good people."
That made sense to Margo, and it also made her realize how dangerous Kalugal was.
How dangerous all these aliens were.
"What about Negal? Did he use any compulsion or thralling on Jasmine and me?"
"Negal can't compel," Mia said. "He can only thrall, but I doubt he used it on you or on Jasmine unless it was to erase from your memory anything that could reveal that he and his companions were not human. The good guys follow a strict code of conduct, which restricts the use of thralling to only when it is necessary to protect their identity or to save lives. The bad guys, on the other hand, use it as they please to control humans."
"The bad guys? How do I tell the good from the bad? And is Negal good?"
"Negal is good," Mia said. "And everyone on this ship follows that code of conduct. The bad guys are called Doomers, and you don't need to worry about them."
Margo snorted. "You know me better than that. Of course, I'm worried about the bad guys. I need to know who they are and how to avoid them."
16
MARINA
Lost in thought, Marina walked out of the kitchen and headed back to her cabin.
She was excited about going to the wedding as Peter's date, but after the looks she'd gotten from the staff and guests during her lunch shift, she also dreaded it.
Perhaps if she had a beautiful evening gown, she could pretend that she belonged among all those immortals, but she didn't have even a simple nice dress. All she'd brought with her were clothes that were appropriate for work and a couple of nicer tops for after-hours.
