7. Kian

7

KIAN

K ian rarely took meetings on weekends, but when Eleanor requested to see him while she was in the village for Peter's wedding, he couldn't refuse. She and Emmett had made the trip from Safe Haven, where they jointly managed both the spiritual retreat program and the government's paranormal research facility, and this wasn't a social call.

The café was relatively quiet for a late Saturday morning, and as Kian approached the table where Eleanor and Emmett were already seated, sipping on coffees from the vending machine, he was glad to see that a third cup was waiting for him.

"Hello." He settled into the chair across from them. "It's good to see you."

"It's good to be here." Emmett extended his hand. "How are things in the village? "

Kian smiled as he shook the Kra-ell hybrid's hand. "Never a boring moment."

"So I've heard," Emmett said. "Is there a chance I can meet the famous royal twins?"

Kian leaned back in his chair. "They will attend the wedding tomorrow, and I'll gladly introduce you."

Emmett grinned. "Looking forward to it."

Eleanor rapped her fingers on the table, looking impatient. She was not the type to indulge in small talk or tolerate it for long. It was one of the things he liked about her, and probably why he was in the minority of those who did.

"So, what's happening at Safe Haven?" Kian asked.

"The government has decided to terminate the paranormal program," Eleanor said. "They're offering severance packages to all participants and sending them home."

"When was that decided?"

"I got the call Friday."

"Did they say why?"

"Budget cuts." She winced. "My contract is terminated as well."

Emmett put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about that, love. You have enough work helping me manage the resort. I promise that you won't be bored."

"Yeah, but it's a shame. I liked my fake title."

Kian chuckled. "The clan arranged for a fake doctorate for you so you would meet the government's requirements and could apply for the job of heading their paranormal program, and no one is going to take it away from you. As far as the world is concerned, you've earned the title."

"I know, but I liked being in charge of the program. Is there a chance the clan can take over? I want to keep my team."

The program's participants were all genuine talents, though most of their abilities were relatively weak. More importantly, though, they were all potential Dormants who had never been tested.

"What do you suggest we do with them?" he asked, though he already had a good idea of what Eleanor would propose.

"I think it's time we get everyone tested. Most of them are in committed relationships with each other, which is partly why I never pushed for Dormant testing before. But now it's decision time."

"The Guardians could handle the inductions," Emmett said. "They can induce the males, and those who get activated can induce their mates in turn."

Eleanor nodded. "There are two complications. Andy, who's only fifteen, and James, who might be too old at fifty-six. He's a weak telepath, and his partner, Mollie, has post-cognition abilities. She's forty-seven, which is borderline for transitioning, but neither she nor James are in as good health as Ronja, who, as far as I remember, transitioned at fifty-seven."

"You remember correctly," Kian said. "Ronja was in great shape even before Merlin put her on a health regimen in preparation for her induction, but she was in an even better condition by the time he was done with her. You can do the same for Mollie and James."

"There's one more issue." Eleanor removed the lid from her cup and took a sip. "If they start transitioning, they'll need proper medical care. We have a clinic at Safe Haven, but no one that's qualified to handle transitions. Unless you want to send one of the doctors and a nurse there, it might be better if I bring my paranormals to the village."

Kian was not at all enthusiastic about that. "Remind me who we're talking about." He reached for his coffee. "Besides James, Mollie, and Andy."

"Jeremy is my top suspect for dormancy. He's twenty-six, and he is a remote future viewer." Eleanor pulled out the phone, scrolled for a moment, and showed Kian the guy's picture. "Unlike James, who can view the present, Jeremy sees possible futures. His ability would be more useful if the futures he saw were definite, but there are always multiple possibilities."

"Good-looking guy," Kian said. "Who's his partner?"

"He's with Naomi, twenty-two, whose ability is psychometry—she can get information from objects." Eleanor scrolled through her photos again and lifted her phone to show Kian.

It was a good tactic for her to attach a visual to the story.

"This is Abigail." She showed him another picture. "She is thirty-three, and she's an energy healer who's particularly good at diagnosis. Her partner is Dylan, thirty-one. His talent is claircognizance."

"The ability to acquire psychic knowledge without knowing how or why it was acquired." Kian impressed himself by remembering what the term stood for.

"Exactly." She chuckled. "Although that's the least exact of the talents. And finally, we have Spencer, who is nineteen and can read auras. His girlfriend is Sofia, twenty, and she has a weak telekinetic ability—mostly just affecting the trajectory of small objects like dice or coins when they are already in motion."

Kian's interest sharpened at the mention of the young woman's talent. With Morelle's recent display of powerful telekinesis, having another telekinetic talent to study, even a weak one, could provide valuable insights.

"I'm sure Amanda will be thrilled to have more test subjects." Kian took a sip from his coffee. "You can fly them to a local airport, and Okidu will pick them up with the bus."

"Hold on." She lifted a hand. "What do I tell them, and what can we offer them? They are all out of a job as of Monday."

Kian snorted. "Isn't immortality enticing enough? I don't have anything to offer them other than that. If they turn immortal, they will stay in the village rent-free, and I can give them a small living allowance, but they will have to figure out what to do with the rest of their long lives on their own. Those who do not turn immortal will be thralled to forget their visit and sent home."

Eleanor leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest. "There is a big problem with that plan. The females need to wait for the males to transition first and for their fangs and venom glands to become functional, which takes six months at the minimum. If the females fail to transition after waiting so long for their partners to be able to induce them, they will have too many memories of the village to thrall away. We can compel them to keep the village a secret, but that will require periodic reinforcements, and that complicates things."

"So, what do you suggest?" Kian asked.

"I'm not suggesting anything. I'm brainstorming with you. Maybe we can put them up in the clan's hotel. If they start transitioning, they will be close enough to bring to the clinic in the keep, and we can get one of the clan doctors to take care of them."

"What about you?" Kian asked. "You are their leader, and I'm sure that you don't want to leave Emmett in Safe Haven and come live in the keep or the clan hotel with your paranormals."

She winced. "I don't. That's why I'm so conflicted. Perhaps the best thing would be to send one of the doctors to Safe Haven. Do you think Julian would mind?"

"He would, but I can ask him. The other option is to get someone else to manage them." Kian raked his fingers through his hair. "That's a lot of effort for people who are not likely to benefit our community. They are already in relationships, so they are going to become someone's truelove mate, and their talents are negligible. I wish there was a simpler solution."

"Perhaps there is," Emmett said. "If you gift us a helicopter, we could just airlift the transitioning Dormant when the time comes. That way, we don't need to move them anywhere, and you don't need to send us one of your doctors."

"It's too far away for a helicopter," Kian said. "You would need a small jet, and I'm not too keen on lending you one of ours, but it's an option. I need to sleep on it."

Eleanor let out a breath. "We don't have a lot of time."

"What about Andy?" Emmett asked. "He's so young..."

"Thanks for reminding me. We need to send him home," Kian said. "We'll wait until he's of age and then make him an offer."