Dark Stranger Immortal (The Children of the Gods #3)(17)
Onegus put his hand on Bhathian’s shoulder. “We’ve all done stupid things as kids or gotten punished beyond what we thought was fair. But there is no point in dwelling on past mistakes or the pain suffered, if we learned our lessons and moved on, becoming better people as a result. We are not human, but we are not infallible gods either, regardless of what our ancestors wanted everyone to believe.” Onegus squeezed Bhathian’s shoulder. “And neither are our mothers. Call your mom, Bhathian. Tell her you love her. It will make you feel better.”
“Oh, yeah?” Bhathian arched a brow. “When was the last time you talked with yours?”
Onegus looked down his nose at his friend. “I talk to her every day.”
“Seriously, man? You call your mom every day? Isn’t that a bit excessive?” Kian blurted.
“You’re damn right it’s excessive. She calls me… several times a day, wants a report on every damn thing I do, keeps me on the phone forever, and gives me a guilt trip when I say I’m busy… You’d think I’m five, instead of five hundred years old…”
Bhathian laughed so hard, his eyes teared. “I didn’t know our illustrious commander was a mamma’s boy…”
Kian laughed as well, thankful his mother wasn’t the intrusive, controlling type. On the contrary, at times when he might have lingered under her protective wing, she had pushed him to become independent, to take more and more responsibility and become the leader she needed him to be.
“Do you think I should talk with Edna about changing the definition of rape in light of your experience? A whipping for getting a feel of a girl’s breast seems extreme.” Kian had mixed feelings on the subject. Teenage immortals were very hard to control, their new powers lending themselves to feelings of superiority and entitlement. Combined with the impulsiveness and hormonal havoc of their changing bodies, they needed a strong deterrent to keep them from becoming dangerous monsters. Yet, he wished there was an alternative that wouldn’t involve such brutal measures.
“And what would you suggest? Not considering nonconsensual oral sex as rape? Sternly scolding offenders for abusing their powers as punishment?
Where do we draw the line?” Bhathian surprised them by defending the existing law.
Kian conceded, “You’re right. Although I would have loved to have a more civilized alternative.”
“These laws have served us well for thousands of years. Yes, the whipping is brutal, but the pain starts to recede almost as soon as the punishment ends. The memory of it, however, stays forever, ensuring the perpetrator never dares to repeat the crime. I don’t think anything else will work on our kind. The power we have over mortals is too corrupting and too tempting for us not to take advantage of.” Bhathian crossed his massive arms over his wide chest.
“He is right. What’s the alternative? Keeping teenage offenders locked in the basement for years? I personally would prefer to get whipped and be done with it.” Onegus shrugged.
“Let’s just hope the accusations are groundless. But if this is the case, we’ll need to deal harshly with whoever made them… Anything else on the agenda, Onegus?”
“No, that’s all.” Onegus got to his feet.
Once the Guardians had left, Kian got up and walked over to the bar, pouring himself a drink before sitting down with Shai to go over the files on his desk. “What’s the progress with the resettling?” he asked.
“It’s going pretty well, considering the haste. We have all of the Bay Area folks already settled. I hired several services to pack their homes and ship everything to various self-storage facilities around town. The locals are coming in at a slower pace. I estimate at least a month before we are able to drag them all here.” Shai smiled apologetically—his initial estimate had been to have everyone settled in less than two weeks.
“The locals are less urgent; it’s more of a long term plan. I’m more concerned with the adverse impact of us pulling our programmers out from their respective software firms. We need to figure out a way to enable them to continue their work from here. I need to have a meeting with the programmers and William to work out the logistics.”
“I’ll schedule it for tomorrow.” Shai began fidgeting and rearranging the files, clearly stalling as he gathered his nerve before bringing up the next subject. “As all the council members are already in residence, I thought it might be a good idea to invite them to a nice big dinner. It will be good for morale, a show of unity. I’ll take care of all the details. You wouldn’t have to do anything other than show up…” Shai was well aware of how much Kian hated entertaining.
“Good idea. When do you have in mind?”
Surprised, Shai looked up. “Tonight… if it’s okay with you. It would be best if it looks like something spontaneous that you’ve just thought of—give the impression that you’re actually glad to have them here. I’ll have Okidu and Onidu on it. We can use this room, or we can use your dining room; it’s up to you.” Shai’s hopeful expression clearly indicated his preference.
“Having it at my place will be better received. Inform the council members. I also want Syssi and Michael to attend. Let’s schedule it for eight.
We need to give Okidu enough time to prepare.”
Kian heaved a sigh. He was going to hate it. And yet, as regent, this was something that was expected of him, regardless of his lack of skill or enthusiasm for this particular part of the job. And what’s more, at a time like this, his family needed to come together.