More on this book
Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
I.T. Lucas
Read between
January 27 - January 28, 2021
No one knew who Eleanor and her nephew Parker had inherited their abilities from. If there had been others in Navuh’s organization who possessed the rare talent, who could they have gotten it from? And where had Eleanor and Parker gotten theirs? Mortdh had been a powerful compeller. What if Navuh hadn’t been his only child?
Leon wasn’t a big believer, but so far it appeared that all of the clan’s efforts to find Dormants had been wasted. Sheer luck or the Fates had more to do with those who had been found than anything that Amanda or William had done.
He was being summoned for an audience with his father next Tuesday at ten in the morning, two weeks ahead of their regular monthly meeting.
Even though Margaret was much older and had come from a very different background than Ana, they had clicked from the very start and formed a friendship, masking it as private counseling. Just like romantic relationships, close ties between just two people were frowned upon by the community. Everything was supposed to be done in groups and be inclusive rather than exclusive.
I hear the distinct voices, male and female, and the emotions behind them. That’s why they seem so real to me. Also, the stuff they say is sometimes as mundane as making a shopping list, and sometimes as dramatic as professing love or admitting infidelity. It’s encouraging that they don’t talk to me, which is what most schizophrenics report.
Thankfully, the voices didn’t bother her during the day. Mostly, she heard them right before falling asleep, when her mind was relaxed, and she was starting to drift off.
Emmett was charming, charismatic, and despite being old enough to be her father, he was also quite handsome. Not that he looked his age, but he’d been running the retreat for the past twenty-seven years, so she assumed that he was in his mid- to late fifties.
Eventually she would have to partake, or she might get voted out of the community. Her father’s money wasn’t the only thing Ana was obligated to contribute to the collective. Members were expected to give everything they had, and in return to receive all that they needed. Those who were deemed selfish were not welcome to stay.
There were about forty men of various ages in the classroom, but none of them were minors, which took care of one of Leon’s concerns, and none seemed to be over forty, which he found curious. Older humans were usually wealthier than young ones, so apparently, the retreat’s main objective wasn’t to collect members who could contribute the most money to the collective. It seemed they wished to create a cohesive group.
We want everyone to get a fair chance, and we also discourage people from forming attachments because those lead to feelings of possessiveness.
Safe Haven strives to create a society where everyone contributes to the best of their ability, and in return, has all of their needs covered.
After the orientation, which was more bizarre and twisted than any of the lies Eleanor had told the new recruits in the government’s paranormal program,
“That’s not his real name, of course. The guy popped up out of nowhere twenty-seven years ago, bought this property, and started running these retreats. Roni couldn’t find anything about him from before, which is strange, given that he has access to government data.”
Eleanor couldn’t tell whether the cult leader was a compeller just from hearing him deliver his speech, but Leon had a feeling that the guy didn’t need to use compulsion to attract followers.
Once he got her out of Safe Haven though, she was fair game, and Leon wouldn’t hesitate for even one moment to claim her. She belonged to him.
If Emmett was using compulsion to seduce the women, that would explain why Anastasia was the only one unaffected.
With her inner tigress coming out to play, his inner lion responded with a roar.
“Oh, God, yes.” She sounded like a porn star. “Bite me.” She had no idea what had prompted her to utter that insane request, but she knew what they were doing wouldn’t be complete without it. “No,” he hissed next to her ear. “Yes.” She bucked back against him. And then he did, and the burning pain was not at all what she’d expected. But it was over almost as soon as it began, and she climaxed for the fourth time, and the fifth, and the sixth…
“Nem tudom elviselni, amikor az emberek hazudnak nekem.”
“A saját érdekében. Minél kevesebbet tudsz, annál jobb.” Sam’s hand closed over hers. “It’s Hungarian. The first sentence was—I can’t stand being lied to. The second one was—for your own sake, the less you know, the better.” “Hazug vagy.” “You are a liar,” Sam translated.
What a fucking mess he’d made, and he couldn’t even claim ignorance. Anastasia had been a suspected Dormant from the start, and he should have stayed away from her like he’d intended. But he’d been weak, succumbing to lust and not using his brain. No Dormant should get induced without giving his or her explicit consent, but Anastasia was an immune, which made everything even more complicated because Leon couldn’t tell her anything until she started transitioning.
Ana had felt as if the experience had awakened a different woman, one that had been hidden inside her, just waiting for the right combination of triggers to emerge.
For some reason, Ana had a strange gut feeling that she shouldn’t tell anyone about the discovery, or about Sam’s involvement in it.
but she still hadn’t told her about the voices. It had been on the tip of her tongue several times, but she’d stopped herself at the last moment from saying anything about it.
“I might have given you the impression that I wasn’t interested this morning, but nothing could be further from the truth. I have feelings for you, Anastasia, and they come with all the possessiveness that Emmett preaches against. I want to have a relationship with you, an exclusive one. The thought of you with someone else makes me homicidal.”
First of all, what he was saying was considered blasphemy in Safe Haven, and secondly, it was too good to be true, which meant that it was probably a lie.
“I have a better idea.” Kalugal’s eyes started glowing. “Remember the Chinese guy in Simmons’s notes? The one who’s working both sides? We can start with him and the Chinese paranormal program.”
“Let’s just hope he’s not an immune,” Kian said. “Why would he be?” Kalugal waved a dismissive hand. “Those are rare.”
Margaret swiped her keycard to open it, closed it behind her, and then Ana had to do the same. It was a safety precaution, so no one could go missing without security knowing about it.
“I’ve heard about the wonders of the internet, but even if I did have access, I would still prefer actual books. There is no substitute for that.” Ana regarded her with a frown. “You’ve never used the internet?” “I’ve been in Safe Haven for a very long time. There was no internet when I joined.”
“The Brotherhood’s goal has always been to destabilize and divide the human world, and we have done a good job so far. But as is usually the case, once one empire falls, another takes its place, and China is the new rising star.”
“I was under the impression that their ambitions were limited to economic superiority, but it seems like their long-term plan is the same as ours, and we cannot allow them to beat us to it. The only way we can achieve our objective is if the human world is divided, and conflicts are raging all over the globe. If China takes over, the lines of division between countries will become irrelevant, conflicts would be brutally squashed before they have a chance to flare, and it would become impossible for us to cause its downfall. The new Chinese empire might last indefinitely.”
I can send Kolhud to Washington.”
Just imagine what would happen if their brilliant social credit system gets implemented globally.”
“It’s not the control itself but the means to achieve it. They will do away with cash and monitor all financial transactions. That’s a big problem for us. Also, their scoring system requires that they have the ability to watch everyone. I expect that every room in every home and office would have recording and transmitting devices, and in addition to that, they will create a network of satellite watchers to monitor outdoor activity. Artificial intelligence will be used to analyze the data and produce their social scores. Forget about privacy, or about personal rights. Not that we care, but it
...more
Out of the twenty-two discovered so far, three are immune. That’s about fourteen percent. Including Anastasia, that’s four out of twenty-three, which is seventeen percent.”
“I’m short two Dormants. I wonder who I am forgetting.” “Lisa and Ronja. They didn’t transition yet, but we know that both are Dormants.” “Right. So almost one out of five Dormants is an immune.”
Only when she was out in the hallway did Ana realize that she hadn’t told Riley that her father was hospitalized in Los Angeles. Just as she’d suspected, the woman had been listening in on the conversation.
“We need to talk to Turner. Maybe he can come up with a solution. But in any case, my offer stands. If you decide that it’s time to leave the Brotherhood and cross over, I’m not going to argue against it.” “This time, I’m seriously considering it. Leaving Carol behind is not an option, and I can’t figure out how to hide her from Losham and a platoon of warriors. I think that I don’t have a choice, and I will have to take you up on your offer.”
