Diana Racine 02 - Goddess of the Moon

we want you to be,” he said , his voice as calm and reasonable as if he were talking to a child . “Who I want you to be, because I’m the one who wanted you here. Phillip too, but for different reasons.” Slater stood, his eyes steady on her. “You’ll reproduce, willingly or not. In addition, you’ll provide eggs to be planted in surrogates. Your psychic abilities will pass to your offspring. Not to all of them, of course, but surely to some. ” He pinched her chin. “ And you will be mine.”
    Slater’s cold determination almost stopped Diana’s heart. She harnessed her voice from some place deep inside her and quivered whe n she spoke. “It doesn’t work that way. I didn’t inherit my gift from anyone. I’m a freak of nature. The percentage of passing on any ability I have is infinitesimal.”
    “Percentages change with volume. ” Slater smirked and left the room .
    Diana shook as he locked the door behind him. Hurrying to the bathroom , she emptied her stomach of t he wonderful dinner she enjoyed only an hour before.

Chapter Forty- Five
    T he Disciple

    M aia watched Seth sleep. He passed out almost immediately. She didn’t know what kind of pills Anat gave her, but if she ever needed something to sleep, she wanted those. She ’d put two in Seth ’s coffee , just like Anat said, and hoped they ’ d keep him out for hours. Still, Maia couldn’t take any chances. After she removed his key ring, she fastened both his wrists to the bed with the pair of handcuffs he kept in the room. That’d teach Seth to practice kinky sex. The titillating thought caused a brief distraction .
    S top ! She couldn’t let the memory of their lovemaking keep her from the plan. Focusing, she cut off three pieces of masking tape, also supplied by Anat, and fastened them across Seth’s mouth. She fumbl ed to find the master key that would open most of the doors in the compound. Before she tried them, she ran back and kissed Seth’s cheek.
    “Sorry, love,” she whispered.
    Half a dozen keys hung on Seth’s chain. The key on the fourth try turn ed the lock. She marked the key with a small piece of tape so she wouldn’t have to hunt for it again. She glanced back at the sleeping figure, resisting the urge to undo what she’d already done. The plan must go forward, for her children. For all the children , a nd for the two people w ho shouldn’t be here whose lives were in jeopardy. She cracked the door and listened. It was after midnight. Low light illuminated the quiet hallway.
    Anat’s suite was clear across the vast compound. One thing in Maia’s favor: no one expected any mischief from her . She scanned the corridors , checking for cameras . No ne in th is guest wing. Visitors wouldn’t approve of someone watching their every move, especially those special men, and women too, Silas or Phillip lured into their fold with promises of sex and wealth in exchange for their superior genetic material . Maia marveled at how many were willing. Did they agree before they knew they were selling their souls ? In the end, did it matter to them? She cringed at the thought while she hustled down the hall and out the back door.
    After waiting for her eyes to adjust to the dark, she went over Anat’s directions. The compound resembled a small town, cross-hatched with narrow paved streets. The road she’d take avoided them, in favor of a path at the edge of the forest. L ights went out at midnight, leaving the area black as coal. Only leaders and guards had the authority to breach curfew. Maia saw no one.
    Anat gave her specific directions to Cal’s building, situated on the border of the inner compound. Maia wasn’t sure she could follow them in the dark . T hey’d constructed new buildings since her last visit which challenged her sense of direction.
    Go to the end of your building, turn left onto the path , and go until you can’t go any farther .
    She’d never heard such silence . Was she being watched? Were there hidden cameras?
    When you get to the end, a narrow road branches to the right. Take it .
    There. She almost misse d it in the dark.
    Go for about three quarters of a mile.
    Maia made her way carefully along the dirt path . She tripped on a fallen branch, swore , and kicked it out of the way.
    You’ll be behind three buildings at the end of the road. Cal’s is the farthest .
    Things had changed. As the group multiplied and the complex grew, the younger children lived in dormitories, like they would