Page 46 of Dark Voyage Matters of the Mind

"I wasn't digging. I was decorating the graves so they would not stand out. Besides, I want to be done with it sooner rather than later so we can get out of here. The trucks Kian sent our way should be arriving shortly, and unless you want to thrall the new drivers as well to forget what they find, we need the place to be free of body parts by the time they arrive. We also still have a wedding to attend tonight, and I want to at least shower first."

"Are we going to make it on time?" Jacki asked.

Kalugal glanced at his watch. "Not unless they set it back a couple of hours. I'd better call Kian."

Kian

When his phone rang with Kalugal's ringtone, the anger Kian had managed to stifle resurged. "Hello, cousin. I've been waiting for you to call me."

"You must be psychic because up until a minute ago, I was arguing with Yamanu about who was going to call you."

"I plan on having a word with my Guardians later, but the fact that neither you nor any of them bothered to call me before rushing to rescue the women from the cartel monsters is so irresponsible that I still can't wrap my mind around it. What were you thinking?"

"Would you have tried to stop us?" Kalugal sounded incredulous.

"I would have asked you what the plan was, arranged for transportation, and sent reinforcements. If you had made a better plan, perhaps no one would have been injured."

Kalugal sighed. "You are right. I should have called you. What Jacki saw in her vision stirred such a killing rage in us that we didn't stop to think. We wanted to obliterate the monsters as much as we wanted to save the women, and we were afraid that they would be moved from where Jacki had seen them, and the opportunity to do both would be lost."

Kian's eyes widened in surprise, and the rage inside of him subsided. "That's as close to an apology as I have ever gotten from you."

"I never had a reason to apologize before."

"Really? What about kidnapping my head Guardian and Jacki and holding them hostage?"

"If you expect me to apologize for that, then you need to apologize for sending Jin to tether me. I've never made a move against you, so you had no justification for that."

"It was a preemptive measure to ensure that you had no malevolent intentions toward my people. I'm not going to apologize for it."

Kalugal let out a sigh. "Fine. Let's agree that neither of us needs to apologize to the other. The important thing is that we have overcome our initial rough introduction and found common ground. Who would have thought that we would be living together in peace and harmony?"

"Indeed. We've achieved something truly rare, and I'm proud of it. I'm also glad to have your devious mind on my council. You offer a perspective that my other council members don't have."

Kalugal chuckled. "You just can't help yourself, can you? You can't give me a compliment without caveats."

"That wasn't my intention. Everything I've said was meant as a compliment. You are incredibly smart, and you think outside the box. You are one of the most interesting people I have ever had the pleasure to converse with."

"Oh, wow, cousin! You make my heart fill with fuzzies. I enjoy bantering with you and don't mind the occasional barbs. They are actually quite fun. But this unqualified praise is new, and it's welcome."

"It's also overdue. I just wanted you to know I really like you despite our banter sometimes getting out of hand."

"Thank you. The same is true for me. I greatly enjoy our talks, especially when they are over your fine whiskey and cigars."

"You are invited any time."

"Much appreciated, cousin."

Kalugal was being more amiable than usual, which meant that he wanted something, and Kian had a feeling that he knew what it was. "Did the transport Brundar arranged for arrive?"

"Not yet, which is a good thing. We are just finishing the cleanup, and the girls are still asleep. I thralled away their memories of our attack, but I didn't feel it was my right to thrall away the rest of their trauma. They need to agree to it first."

"Indeed, but if you want to thrall those who want it, you should wake them up before the transport's arrival. There won't be much time to do that when they get there."

"Yes, about that." Kalugal paused. "I didn't thrall those memories away, but I've seen them, and there is no way the other villagers are going to take the women in. They are terrified of the cartel that controls this area. We've only taken out one team of many, and we can't stay and clean up all of them. The women also require a lot of rehabilitation after what they have been through, and there will be none of that available in these poor villages. Yamanu contacted Vanessa, and she said that she had room for them in the sanctuary. Also, most of her therapists speak Spanish, so the language barrier is not going to be a problem either."

Closing his eyes, Kian let out a breath. "Let me guess. You are suggesting that we bring them on board."

"I would have sent my jet to collect them, but there isn't enough room. Your big jet could have sufficed, but both of your pilots are here. We have plenty of room on the lower decks, and I'm sure some of the ladies will volunteer to take care of the women and provide solace until they can get professional help. Vanessa can provide them with a crash video call how-to session."