Page 99 of Dark Destiny: The Turning Of The Loom

"Yes, Clan Mother."

When the Odu walked back into the house and closed the door behind him, Annani looked at Khiann for a moment longer, then leaned down and kissed his forehead.

"Have a nice time with your men." She turned around and went back inside.

Letting out a breath, Khiann lifted his face to the morning sun and let it warm him for a moment.

Now he could call Esag without worrying that Ogidu would report everything to Annani. If the Odu had followed him, he would have seen Esag arrive at the guards' house and would have told Annani about it. That was what the Odu did. They observed and reported. And then Annani would have asked why he had arranged to meet with Esag there and had not told her about it. He would have to answer, and he did not want to answer that or lie. There were some things a male did not share even with his truelove mate, and the fact that he had forgotten how to please her was one of them.

He found Esag's face in the directory and pressed it.

"Khiann." Esag's voice was warm. "How is it going? I have not heard from you in days."

"I am sorry. I was busy with physical therapy and with the lessons Vrog prepared for me, so I forgot, but that is not an excuse."

"Don't worry about it. I'm not keeping score. Would you like to meet somewhere? Maybe at the café?"

"In fact, I am going to visit my men. Would you like to meet me there?"

"I would love to. When?"

"Now. I am leaving Annani's house and heading out to the old part of the village. It should not take me more than ten minutes."

"I will see you there."

35

KHIANN

Khiann drove the chair around the side of the house, hoping the gate was open. The downside of not having Ogidu with him was that he would have to stand up to open doors, and he did not have the crutch with him.

He had a phone, though. He could call Hildegard and ask her to open the gate for him.

Thankfully, it was open, and he drove right in.

The sight that greeted him was something he wished he could record, but he had not yet mastered the skill of doing it on his phone, so he just watched.

All four former guards were in the backyard, sitting on chairs that looked like they came from the dining room, lifting heavy weights.

Adaluh was holding up a bar with a disk on each end, his beard tucked into his collar and his face red. Michael and Zalag held smaller individual weights in their hands, curling them up and then lowering them. Ubhar had a bar with disks like Adaluh's, but his were bigger and looked heavier.

They all heard the chair driving in but were too absorbed in what they were doing to stop.

After a few minutes, Hildegard lifted her hand. "Break. Your boss is here."

Michael and Zalag set their weights on the ground beside their chairs, and Hildegard helped Adaluh and Ubhar with their bars.

"Master Khiann." Adaluh beamed. "So good to see you. Did you come to train with us?"

"I came to see how you were progressing, and please, call me Khiann. I am not your master or your boss. I never was. You worked for Ahn and were assigned to me for the duration of the caravan route. We have been through this already."

Adaluh nodded. "Yes, Master, I mean Khiann. Whatever you say."

Khiann looked at the kitchen chairs and the weights. "Do you not have a pull-up bar like the one Gertrude put in my doorway?"

"We have one." Adaluh jerked his chin toward the back door, where a bar was mounted at head height. "None of us can use it yet. Hildegard says we need to build our arms first."

"You are ahead of them by about a week," Hildegard said. "That is an advantage of your godly physiology. The gap will just keep getting wider."