36. Kalugal

36

KALUGAL

K alugal watched his guests arrive through the camera mounted over the front door. Kian wore his usual office attire of slacks with a button-down, but it was a bright sunny day, which made it too hot for the tie and jacket that he normally wore during work hours. Next to him, Brandon was as suave as usual, his brown hair styled to perfection, his shoes polished, and his slacks tailored to fit.

They both wore dark sunglasses, protecting their eyes against the glare of the sun. For Kian it was a necessity, but for Brandon, it was more of a fashion statement. He was further removed from the source, and his eyes were not as sensitive as Kian's.

Curiously, Kalugal, who had more god than human in him, had much less trouble with the sun than Kian. Come to think of it, Kian's eyes were more sensitive than his sisters'. Perhaps the different fathers that each of them had influenced their genetics more than they chose to admit.

Jacki peered over his shoulder at the screen. "Do you want me to open the door, or are you going to do it?"

"I'll do it." He rose to his feet, walked to the front door, and opened it for his guests. "Welcome, gentlemen."

"Hi," Jacki said. "Please, come in."

"Hello." Brandon dipped his head. "Your home is lovely."

She frowned. "You've never been here before?"

"I only saw it during construction. I live in the city, and I'm rarely in the village, but that's going to change soon."

"How come?" Jacki asked as they walked toward the dining room.

"I'm changing directions." He looked at Kalugal. "Which is what I came to talk to you about."

"I'm happy to help in any way I can." Kalugal motioned to the seat he wanted Brandon to take. "Please, sit down."

The way he had it planned, he and Jacki were sitting on one side of the table, and Kian and Brandon were across from them.

"Where is Darius?" Kian asked.

"With Shamash." Jacki smiled apologetically. "I wanted an adult-only lunch for a change, and Darius loves spending time with his Uncle Shamash."

Kalugal didn't like that Jacki elevated his assistant's status to a family member, but he knew better than to argue with her. He was going to lose no matter how good his argument was.

"I love the scale of this dining room." Brandon glanced up at the ceiling.

"Thank you." Kalugal reached for the wine bottle he'd prepared and uncorked it. "Jacki and I put a lot of thought into this house. The size was constrained by the security requirements, so most of the square footage is underground, but we have skylights all over to let in natural light." He poured the wine into everyone's glasses. "At night, unfortunately, we can't enjoy the starry sky unless we want to sit in the dark. The automatic shutters cover all the windows at the same time that the rest of the village goes into dark mode."

Kalugal lifted his hand and motioned for Atzil to start serving lunch.

"You are in for a treat, Kian. I don't know what Atzil whipped up for you, but it smells delicious."

As the cook walked in with a tray laden with dishes, his usually confident demeanor was tinged with a hint of nervousness. He served Jacki first, then Kian, Brandon, and Kalugal last, following the instructions Kalugal had given him beforehand.

Poor Atzil had been fretting over the vegan dishes he'd prepared for Kian, and Kalugal hoped his cousin would be kind in his assessment.

Once everyone had thanked the chef and he departed, Kalugal lifted his glass. "To family!" He clinked his glass with Jacki's and then Kian and Brandon's. " Bon appétit ."

He watched Kian take the first bite of whatever the thing on his plate was. "How is it?"

"Delicious," Kian said. "Decadent."

Brandon cast a glance at the dish. "I love polenta with wild mushrooms. I always order it at Maria's. "

Kalugal chuckled. "Thanks for telling me what this dish is. I could smell the mushrooms, but I didn't know what that yellow thing was."

After the first course was done, Brandon leaned back with his wine glass in hand. "I would like to hear more about InstaTock and your vision for its future."

Kalugal had been waiting for this opening. "Well, my original plan was to use it as a steppingstone to take over the world." He paused to wink at Kian. "But I've changed my mind. I decided that the world was not worth conquering. Who needs that headache?"

He'd expected Brandon to laugh, but instead, the media specialist nodded solemnly. "Couldn't agree more, and it seems that Kian shares your opinion. On the way over here, he was talking about taking the clan to Mars and abandoning Earth to the mercy, or rather the lack thereof, of the Eternal King."

Brandon said that with such a straight face that Kalugal wasn't sure whether he'd been serious or jesting. It was probably the latter because Kalugal had never heard Kian talk like that. The guy might be paranoid, but he wasn't fatalistic or nihilistic.

Affecting a horrified expression, he turned to his cousin. "Kian! I'm shocked. What happened to your unwavering dedication to humanity?"

Kian rolled his eyes, but Kalugal could see a hint of a smile tugging at his lips. "It's been a trying few weeks," he admitted.

Seizing the opportunity, Kalugal leaned back. "Finally, you're seeing things my way. As I've been saying, humans are sheep. They are too easy to manipulate and control, so it's better if someone who wants what's best for them is in charge rather than letting some crazy billionaire with a bizarre dystopian agenda do it and kill millions because he wants to depopulate the planet."

"Right." Kian smirked. "You know what I think of that. No one person should decide what's best for everyone else. It should be a democratic process."

"Pfft." Kalugal waved a dismissive hand. "As if the sheep know what is good for them. A democratic process just means that the same billionaires pay for the campaigns of politicians who know how to look distinguished, say all the right things, and make promises they have no intention of delivering on. The system is rigged. You know it, I know it, and Brandon knows it, so why pretend that it's a sacred cow?"