Page 44 of Dark Voyage Matters of the Soul

"Good idea. Negal is in a meeting in Aru's cabin, and I don't know when it will be over. We basically have tomorrow night and perhaps one more to do it or miss our chance." She took in a breath. "If Negal doesn't work out, I'm waiting for you to be ready. The only reason to complicate things and do them in this convoluted manner is the added benefit of the god's extra-potent mojo. Frankly, if we can't get Negal, I don't see much benefit in involving another immortal who doesn't have that extra something. As for my advanced age, I don't think my body will change much in the next four to five months."

Gilbert

Thankfully, Darlene wasn't in the cabin when Gilbert explained to Eric what he needed to do and why it was urgent.

"How are we going to get Max?" Eric asked. "He's in a Guardians' meeting down in the dining hall."

"Can you text him? Maybe he can take a break?"

"We can do this without him. I was there, remember? I can tell Negal everything that happened." He grimaced. "Well, not everything, but the general gist of things."

"What if your testimony is not enough? Negal needs to hear it from the guy who did the biting and get pointers from him. It's not easy for an immortal to work himself up enough to produce erotic venom. Usually, they need to be near a female they are attracted to."

"Yeah, you're right." Eric rubbed his jaw. "Max did it without a female. He watched porn on his phone." He smiled. "I like the term you coined, erotic venom. What do you call the other type?"

"Combative venom."

"Not bad. You should put it on the clan virtual bulletin board. I'm sure it will catch on right away."

Gilbert didn't have the patience for this sort of idle chitchat. "Can you please text Max now?"

"Right." Eric pulled out his phone, typed a one-sentence message, and sent it.

"What did you tell him?"

"I asked if he had ten minutes for me."

"It will take longer than that to explain what we need."

Eric shrugged. "True, but there is a better chance of him answering in the affirmative when he thinks it will take only ten minutes and not an hour. Not that I think it will take that long. Twenty minutes at most."

As the phone pinged with an incoming message, Eric read it and smiled. "He asks when and where."

"Now, and here. We will explain what we need and then wait by Aru's door until Negal gets out. That's the part that might take longer than ten minutes."

"You should have said that before." Eric typed the message.

"I told you that Negal was in a meeting with Aru."

"Yeah, but you didn't tell me that you wanted to wait outside the door. Isn't that overdoing it?"

Gilbert released a breath. "I don't want to give him a chance to evade me. I need a yes or no answer before Frankie's friend gets here."

When Eric's phone pinged with another message, he looked at the screen. "He's on his way."

"I'd better pour us some whiskey." Gilbert walked over to the bar. "You have to give it to Kian. He’s had all the cabins equipped with the best stuff."

"It's not coming out of his pocket." Eric shrugged. "The clan is paying for it."

"I'm not sure." Gilbert took out three small glasses and uncapped the whiskey. "But even if that's true, who makes all the money for the clan? If not for Kian, they wouldn't have all this money."

"True, although I'm sure Sari and her people contribute."

Gilbert pursed his lips. "Frankly, I don't know how it works. It might be that Sari takes care of her people, and Kian takes care of his."

"Then who's financing Annani's place in Alaska? It has to be a joint effort."

"Yeah, you're right."