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Kri was there, though, spreading her calming influence and aiding the thrall that Kalugal had cast over the women.
With plenty of experience dealing with similar situations, Kri navigated the role she'd taken upon herself with practiced ease. She'd talked with the human staff serving on the ship and assembled a group of older females to help the women once Kalugal released them from his thrall.
There was a limit to how long it was safe to keep their minds floating on whatever fantasy he was feeding them, and Kian didn't want to be there when they woke up.
First of all, after what had been done to them, they would be terrified of any male in their vicinity, and secondly, he didn't have what it took to handle their pain.
He knew how to lead and how to kill, and if the monsters who had done that to these poor women weren't dead already, he would have killed them, but he was not good at offering comfort, and the rage bubbling inside of him had no outlet.
Hell, he doubted that even Syssi could have handled the enormity of what these women had been through. She was too soft, too empathic, and seeing them would have slain her.
If he could keep her away from them, he would.
The human ladies were doing great, though. With their kind faces and soft murmurs, they were a soothing presence. They didn't speak Spanish, but their gentle demeanor transcended language barriers.
As they took the elevators to the lower level where they were to be housed, he took the stairs and got there just as they exited.
He watched as Kri and the older ladies escorted them to the cabins, putting two in each, not because they lacked available rooms but because they needed each other's company for support.
Kalugal walked up to him with an uncharacteristically somber expression on his face. "You didn't have to come."
"I did."
"Your eyes are glowing, and your fangs are elongated. Luckily, none of them saw you because of my thrall."
"When are you going to release them?" Kian asked.
"I'm waiting until the last of them is in her cabin, and then I'm going to ease them into reality."
It was an impressive ability to keep up the thrall while conducting a conversation. "How are you doing that and talking to me at the same time?"
"I'm using a very simple thrall and running it on repeat. A placid lake surrounded by green meadows with chirping birds and beautiful butterflies. I can do this in my sleep."
"In that case, what did you do about the drivers?"
"Well, I had them under compulsion to stay in the vehicles and ignore what was going on as we took care of the cartel thugs. Once we got everyone to the dockside, I looked inside their minds to make sure that there was nothing there that shouldn't be and thralled away whatever memories they managed to retain despite the compulsion to ignore what we were doing."
"Good. Now, tell me more about the amulet."
Kalugal grimaced. "I've never believed in dark magic, but that thing proved me wrong. There is true evil in this world, and it has nothing to do with our esteemed parents, the gods."
"There must be some other explanation."
Kalugal quirked a brow. "You believe in Mey's ability to hear echoes of past events in the walls, and you believe in Jin's ability to attach a tether of her consciousness to people. Why is it such a stretch for you to believe that an object could be powered by the life force of human sacrifices?"
"Good point. Can I see it?"
"You'll have to ask Jacki because it belongs to her. At first, the plan was to toss it into the ocean once the mission was completed, but Jacki changed her mind. She wants to keep it for emergencies."
"What kind of emergencies?"
"When we need answers we can't get any other way, and we need to either induce a vision or make it clearer. It seems that the amulet magnifies prophetic visions. It's possible that its power was depleted to fuel the one vision that Jacki had, but it's also possible that it can fuel more until it runs out of juice."
"We don't need the damn amulet for that. We have Mia."
He wondered how it hadn't occurred to him before to suggest that. Syssi could ask Mia to be next to her when she courted a vision, and Mia's enhancing power could provide her with the same boost that the amulet had given Jacki, but without the evil taint.
"Right." Kalugal nodded. "Why haven't we used her in that capacity before?"
