Page 106 of Dark Gambit Reliance

Jade smiled. "Not yet. There is still more to the story, and you'll find the next part most relevant to you. It explains why you are here."

He arched a brow. "That's indeed interesting."

"After the treaty was signed, the purging started. The gods were angry and divided, the older gods blaming the young ones who had sided with the Kra-ell for stirring up the rebellion and causing all the bloodshed. But the gods did not believe in capital punishment, and the king needed to keep up his benevolent façade, so to get rid of the troublemakers, he exiled every god who had taken part in the rebellion, including three of his children. He called it a research expedition, but everyone knew he was punishing them."

"Why Earth?" Tom asked.

"Why not Earth? By then, the gods had found many planets that supported life, and they created intelligent life by enhancing local creatures on several of them, including Earth."

"Why were you sent to the same place?" Yamanu asked.

"That's a story for another time." Jade looked out the window. "It's morning, I'm tired, and I want to check on Kagra." She turned to Tom. "Did I uphold my end of the bargain to your satisfaction?"

He chuckled. "You've just given us a taste. There is so much more that I want to know, but it can wait. We are all tired, and we need to get some rest."

"I'm hungry," Yamanu said. "Where can I get some food?"

Sofia rose to her feet. "I can make you something in the kitchen."

Jarmo entered the living room. "Can I come in?"

Jade glanced at Tom. "Can he hear me?"

The god nodded. "Yamanu dropped the bubble."

"You can come in. I'm done."

"Thank you for sharing your history with us," Tom said.

"You're welcome. But if you can, don't share it with my people. I want my daughter to hear the story from me first."

He nodded. "You have my word."

"I appreciate that." She cast him a tight smile and rose to her feet. "If anyone needs me, I'll be in the infirmary."

77

KIAN

As Kian disconnected the call, he looked at Turner and Onegus, who had joined them during Jade's story. "That was quite a tale. The gods were not painted in complimentary colors."

"Don't forget who told the story," Turner said. "That's how the Kra-ell recorded the events."

Onegus shook his head. "It was so similar to what the gods did with humans that it rang true. But since those sent to Earth were the progressives, they treated humanity much better than their elders treated the Kra-ell."

"I have many questions for Jade," Kian said. "But right now, we need to decide what to do with the compound's money."

Toven had compelled Valstar to reveal all the bank account numbers and where their stock portfolio was located, but Valstar only had access to the operating account, representing a small fraction of the holdings.

Turner leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. "Roni can probably break into those accounts and transfer the money, but that would alert Igor. If we leave the funds and assets where they are, and Igor gets a whiff of what happened to his stronghold, transferring everything to different accounts would be the first thing he'll do, and the compound will have no source of income. Given the size of that portfolio, they can support themselves just from the dividends and the interest earned."

"It's a difficult decision," Kian said. "The community needs the money to survive, so taking the money out might be more important than catching Igor. But that will guarantee that Igor will bolt. However, if we don’t empty the accounts, we will still know where the funds are, and Roni can track them, so if Igor bolts anyway, we will be able to follow the money.”

"If he bolts, " Turner said, "we will have to relocate everyone in the compound. The problem will be moving them all out to a secure location without him being able to track them. We will have to put them all through an MRI and take out their trackers, and what's worse, we will have to keep those loyal to him imprisoned until we catch him. On their own, there isn’t much they can do, and Toven’s compulsion will keep them in line. But if Igor returns and gets a hold of them, he will break through Toven’s compulsion as easily as Toven broke through his."

Thankfully, Toven had had the foresight to compel that information out of each person he freed from Igor's compulsion, so they knew who they needed to watch.

"Let's see." Onegus pulled up the list on his laptop. "Out of Igor's original group, Jade and Kagra killed six, and they are adamant about executing his second and third once they are no longer needed. Three are traveling with Igor. That leaves five who we know are still loyal to him. The four females in his original group want to see him dead. Of the forty-one purebloods born on Earth, twenty-three are loyal to him, and the rest hate him and his band of cronies. Eight of the twelve female purebloods born on Earth are loyal, including Igor and Jade's daughter. The hybrids are unhappy about being treated as second-class, and none of them is a fan of Igor, but they don't expect another pureblood to treat them any better."