Losham's eyes widened. He was finally realizing where Dave was going. "Brilliant," he whispered.
"Thank you." Number One inclined his head. "They will assume he wants to see them outdoors because he doesn't want them inside the harem where his ladies reside. No immortal males are allowed in the harem. Those are Navuh's standing orders that no one has dared to defy for millennia."
"Yes."
"They will walk toward him because they have come this far, and they cannot turn back without losing face in front of each other, their father, and you. We will be there, hiding in the bushes, ready to execute them. They stand no chance against us without their guards and with no weapons."
The music playing in the background was the only sound.
Losham's face had gone through a sequence of expressions, each one more confident than the last. He was realizing that the plan was foolproof.
It was going to work.
Number One continued, "After it is done, the harem staff will be thralled to remember their lord throwing his insolent sons off the cliff and then returning to his seclusion in his suite. That will be the story everyone will hear."
Losham let out a long breath. "After that, no one will dare ask to enter the harem to verify that Lord Navuh is there."
"Correct," Number One said. "The harem will become more sacred than ever. Your father's rage will be a story that ripples through the island for years. The senior brothers will be remembered as the fools who breached his sanctuary and paid for it with their lives. Anyone who considers similar disobedience will think twice."
Losham was quiet for a long moment.
"My brothers might not fall for my suggestion that they go to the harem. They will suspect a trap."
"We can apply a slight compulsion to push them toward the conclusion that they must do that. Besides, they will not want to admit in front of each other that they are afraid of doing what they have been threatening to do for weeks."
"The junior brothers will not dare to question my authority," Losham said.
Number One nodded. "With the senior brothers gone and the fear of your father reinforced, they will accept the new order, with you in charge."
Losham let out a breath and turned to Rami. "I told you they might come up with good ideas."
The careful, restrained, professional face of Losham's assistant cracked into a smile. "You did, and as always, you were right."
Losham turned back to the Eight. "Your plan is excellent. How long have you been working on it?"
Should they admit that it had formed in seconds?
Why not?
It was the truth.
"It just occurred to us while we were discussing the aftermath of the assassinations."
Losham looked taken aback, perhaps a little humbled. "That hive mind of yours is really something else. Now we just need to figure out the timing."
"It should be done as soon as possible," Number One said. "You should summon a council, and we will nudge the brothers to demand more proof."
"You are talking about accelerating the timeline. Why the rush?"
Because they were leaving soon, and they wanted to secure Losham's position before that.
"The sooner this is done, the less opportunity for your brothers to come up with some new and surprising ideas. The longer the brothers sit with their suspicions, the more chances they have to act on them. Speed reduces exposure. You want to be in the driver's seat."
The chests would be ready to be moved soon. The plan they had proposed would secure Losham's position quickly enough that they could leave without the island collapsing behind them within days.
"How soon?" Losham asked.
"By the end of the week, or the beginning of the next one. The council meeting needs to seem organic so they won't suspect anything and shore up their mental defenses."
