Dark Secrets Resurgence (The Children Of The Gods Paranormal Romance Series Book 44) Read online

  Dark Secrets Resurgence

  The Children Of The Gods Book 44

  I. T. Lucas

  Also by I. T. Lucas

  THE CHILDREN OF THE GODS ORIGINS

  1: Goddess’s Choice

  2: Goddess’s Hope

  THE CHILDREN OF THE GODS

  Dark Stranger

  1: Dark Stranger The Dream

  2: Dark Stranger Revealed

  3: Dark Stranger Immortal

  Dark Enemy

  4: Dark Enemy Taken

  5: Dark Enemy Captive

  6: Dark Enemy Redeemed

  Kri & Michael’s Story

  6.5: My Dark Amazon

  Dark Warrior

  7: Dark Warrior Mine

  8: Dark Warrior’s Promise

  9: Dark Warrior’s Destiny

  10: Dark Warrior’s Legacy

  Dark Guardian

  11: Dark Guardian Found

  12: Dark Guardian Craved

  13: Dark Guardian’s Mate

  Dark Angel

  14: Dark Angel's Obsession

  15: Dark Angel's Seduction

  16: Dark Angel's Surrender

  Dark Operative

  17: Dark Operative: A Shadow of Death

  18: Dark Operative: A Glimmer of Hope

  19: Dark Operative: The Dawn of Love

  Dark Survivor

  20: Dark Survivor Awakened

  21: Dark Survivor Echoes of Love

  22: Dark Survivor Reunited

  Dark Widow

  23: Dark Widow’s Secret

  24: Dark Widow’s Curse

  25: Dark Widow’s Blessing

  Dark Dream

  26: Dark Dream’s Temptation

  27: Dark Dream’s Unraveling

  28: Dark Dream’s Trap

  Dark Prince

  29: Dark Prince’s Enigma

  30: Dark Prince’s Dilemma

  31: Dark Prince’s Agenda

  Dark Queen

  32: Dark Queen’s Quest

  33: Dark Queen’s Knight

  34: Dark Queen’s Army

  Dark Spy

  35: Dark Spy Conscripted

  36: Dark Spy’s Mission

  37: Dark Spy’s Resolution

  Dark Overlord

  38: Dark Overlord New Horizon

  39: Dark Overlord’s Wife

  40: Dark Overlord’s Clan

  Dark Choices

  41: Dark Choices The Quandary

  42: Dark Choices Paradigm Shift

  43: Dark Choices The Accord

  Dark Secrets

  44: Dark Secrets Resurgence

  45: Dark Secrets Unveiled

  PERFECT MATCH

  Perfect Match 1: Vampire’s Consort

  Perfect Match 2: King’s Chosen

  Perfect Match 3: Captain’s Conquest

  SETS

  The Children of the Gods books 1-3: Dark Stranger trilogy—Includes a bonus short story: The Fates take a Vacation

  The Children of the Gods books 4-6: Dark Enemy Trilogy —Includes a bonus short story—The Fates' Post-Wedding Celebration

  The Children of the Gods: Books 1-6—includes character lists

  The Children of the Gods: Books 6.5-10—includes character lists

  TRY THE CHILDREN OF THE GODS SERIES ON

  AUDIBLE

  2 FREE audiobooks with your new Audible subscription!

  Copyright © 2020 by I. T. Lucas

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:

  Dark Secrets Resurgence is a work of fiction!

  Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any similarity to actual persons, organizations and/or events is purely coincidental.

  Contents

  1. David

  2. Kian

  3. Sari

  4. Kalugal

  5. David

  6. Kalugal

  7. David

  8. Richard

  9. Vlad

  10. Stella

  11. Eleanor

  12. Syssi

  13. David

  14. Kalugal

  15. Kian

  16. David

  17. Kian

  18. David

  19. Sari

  20. David

  21. Sari

  22. Kalugal

  23. David

  24. Sari

  25. David

  26. Kian

  27. David

  28. Sari

  29. David

  30. Sari

  31. David

  32. Sari

  33. David

  34. Sari

  35. David

  36. Sari

  37. David

  38. Richard

  39. Stella

  40. Sari

  41. David

  42. Eleanor

  43. Kian

  44. Eleanor

  45. David

  46. Sari

  47. David

  48. Sari

  49. David

  50. Sari

  51. David

  52. Sari

  53. David

  54. Sari

  55. David

  56. Sari

  57. David

  58. Kalugal

  59. Sari

  60. David

  61. Sari

  62. David

  63. Sari

  64. David

  65. Sari

  66. David

  67. Sari

  68. David

  69. Sari

  The Children of the Gods Series

  The Perfect Match Series

  FOR EXCLUSIVE PEEKS

  1

  David

  “This is crap.” David slumped in his chair.

  If the manuscript had been written on paper, he would at least have the pleasure of crumpling the page and tossing it into the trash basket. But since it was digital, the only thing he could do was press delete.

  Not nearly as satisfying.

  The dialogue sounded stilted, and the long paragraphs of narrative read more like an academic paper than a fiction story.

  Eight years had passed since he’d written and published his first and only science fiction novel, and he was obviously out of practice. The numerous papers he’d published since had all been well written, in part thanks to the skill he’d developed while working on that novel, but regrettably the effect was more harmful than helpful in the other direction.

  The crisp and clear writing style he’d adopted had helped his papers get accepted into prestigious publications like The American Journal of Psychiatry and many others, but it didn’t lend itself to storytelling.

  With a sigh, David deleted the chapter, closed his eyes, and imagined the conversation taking place in a movie. The characters were discussing the two-caste system their highly-regimented society was based on, and the challenge was making them sound like real people but still alien.

  Perhaps he could model them on some of his British colleagues? Or maybe the Swedes?

  Heinz Fransson was a hoot. His friend’s offbeat humor could liven up the stiff dialogue. Or maybe he could use Karen Shaffer as a model? Except the conversation was between two men. Besides, Karen’s humor was not the kind that l
ent itself to a book he hoped to market to young adults.

  The publisher’s editor would cut it out.

  He was just starting to get into the role play in his head when his cell phone rang. Irritated, David opened his eyes and glanced at the display.

  The number on the screen was unknown, but he was used to getting calls from strangers, professors and post-docs asking for permission to use his research data or wishing to collaborate with him on a paper.

  He answered in his professional tone. “This is Professor Levinson.”

  “Hello, David. This is Kajeck Zolotovsky. We’ve met a couple of times to discuss your research on post-traumatic stress disorder.”

  “Oh, yes. I remember. How can I help you?”

  It had been more than two years ago, but he remembered the Russian well. The guy had an incredibly sharp mind for someone with no formal education, and Zolotovsky had paid generously for David’s time.

  “I apologize for calling you on your private line, but I called your office first and was told that you are on a sabbatical. The department’s secretary was kind enough to provide me with your cell number.”

  “That’s okay. I’m always glad to hear from you, Mr. Zolotovsky.”

  Tori shouldn’t have given his number out without consulting with him first, but in this case, David didn’t mind. If Zolotovsky wanted to have another two-hour talk with him in exchange for six thousand dollars in cash, he would gladly oblige him.

  David’s pay during the sabbatical was reduced, and the extra money would come in handy.

  Sadly, the novel he was working on wouldn’t bring in much as far as royalties were concerned, if at all. The prestige of being a Stanford professor and having written a novel before might help him get published again, and he might even get a nice advance from the publisher, but that was as much as he could expect. His first novel had been a moderate success, and he’d made close to fifteen thousand with it, which was not bad given that most writers didn’t make even a fraction of that. But it wasn’t nearly enough to justify the two years of sleep deprivation.

  Except, David wrote science fiction not for financial gain but because he needed an outlet for his interests and ideas. Specifically, those he couldn’t address officially without becoming the laughingstock of the department, or worse, getting fired.

  In academia, only a handful of brave souls dared to tackle controversial topics like memories of past lives and near-death experiences, and he wasn’t one of them.

  Not officially.

  His close friends knew about his fascination with the subjects, and he was okay with that, but he was never going to publish a paper about either topic or include them in his lectures when he returned to teaching.

  “Are you spending your sabbatical here in the States or abroad?” Zolotovsky asked.

  “This time, I opted not to accept a guest position abroad. I’m staying right here and using the sabbatical to write a novel. The idea for this story has been brewing in my head for the past seven years, and now I finally have time to sit down and write it.”

  “A most worthy undertaking. I wish you the best of luck with it.”

  “Thank you.”

  “A sabbatical is also a good time to spend with the family. Do you have children, Professor Levinson?”

  That was an oddly personal question.

  During their prior conversations, Zolotovsky had only been interested in discussing David’s research. He hadn’t volunteered any personal details about himself and hadn’t asked for any in return.

  Perhaps the reason for the inquiry was that Kajeck wanted to meet again. The other times they had talked it had been at David’s office in the university, but now that he was on a sabbatical, he would need to invite the Russian to his home, which could have been a problem if there was a bunch of children running around.

  Regrettably, that wasn’t the case.

  “I’m not married, and I don’t have children. My house is free of distractions.”

  Kajeck chuckled. “Except for pesky admirers, I’m sure.”

  Damn. David was well aware of his reputation as a womanizer, which was not entirely fabricated, but it was no doubt exaggerated. Still, it was surprising that someone outside of the university had heard the rumors.

  It was flattering to be called the hottest professor on campus, but it was also a little embarrassing. He’d rather be called the best teacher, or the most brilliant researcher, but regrettably he was neither.

  Still, he wasn’t breaking any laws.

  David never hooked up with his own students. That would have been incredibly stupid and would have gotten him fired. But students who didn’t attend his lectures were not off-limits.

  Besides, he’d never been the pursuer, he’d been pursued, and quite relentlessly. None of the ladies could claim that he’d seduced them or enticed them into his bed with anything other than his good looks.

  David was a relatively young professor, single, and he was a handsome man if he said so himself. Fake modesty had never been his thing, and his good looks were not just the result of good genetics. His athletic physique took a lot of work. He was still rowing in Redwood Creek almost every morning, bicycling around the Stanford sprawling campus, and lifting weights regularly, either in the university’s gym or at home.

  His admirers were not limited to faculty and students either. His Instagram profile picture drew a large, mostly female following, and David was sure that not all of them were fascinated by the factoids he was posting about psychology and psychiatry.

  Shifting in his chair, he switched the phone to his other ear. “The rumors you must have heard are vastly exaggerated.”

  Kajeck snorted. “I was referring to myself. As you know, I am a great admirer of your work. Would it be possible for us to have another lovely talk? Naturally, it will be at the same rate we have agreed upon previously.”

  “Gladly. I look forward to it.”

  2

  Kian

  “What do you think?” Kian waved his arm around.

  He was trying to figure out how to maximize seats in the new dining room once it was finished. Pushing the side wall out added square footage but not in the right direction. Instead of growing lengthwise, it grew widthwise, and a wider dining table wasn’t going to add a significant number of chairs. They would be able to accommodate two more on each side, but that was not nearly enough for the large dinner parties Syssi had in mind.

  “Looks good,” Anandur said. “But watch your step. There are nails everywhere. These guys are not very tidy.”

  One of the Chinese construction workers cast him a baleful glare as if he understood the comment. Other than the supervisor, none of the men were supposed to know English, but Kian had noticed them listening in on several occasions, so he assumed that it wasn’t entirely true. They must have understood it at least to some degree.

  Feeling uncomfortable about the crew working inside the village, he’d had a chain-link fence installed around the house, and it was also covered in tarps. Officially, it had been done to prevent construction dust from getting into the greenery and the adjoining houses, but the real reason was to keep the crew contained and the village protected from their prying eyes.

  To that effect, he’d also convinced Syssi to temporarily move into the house Annani had stayed in during her last visit. The other reason was that the noise and dust were not good for the baby.

  “How big is the new dining room going to be?” Anandur asked.

  Kian grimaced. “Not big enough. I’m starting to agree with Kalugal that we need a larger house. Syssi wants to host family get-togethers, and even the new and enlarged dining room is not going to accommodate more than sixteen people comfortably. We might be able to squeeze in twenty, but that would be a stretch.”

  “What’s the alternative?” Anandur followed him out to the walkway. “There is no more room in this part of the village to build a new house.”

  Brundar glanced at the next house over. “You c
ould demolish this one and yours and build one big house on both plots.” He closed the chain-link gate behind them.

  The idea had occurred to Kian, but he’d dismissed it. “That would be tremendously wasteful. These houses are brand new.”

  “What other option is there?” Anandur snorted. “Do you want to build a castle for you and Syssi next to Kalugal and Jacki’s?”

  Given the need for camouflage, the fanciful castle idea had been impractical, and Kalugal had wisely discarded it. Instead, he was building a large and luxurious home, but most of its square footage was going to be underground.

  “I was thinking about the eastern slope.” Kian turned and pointed. “Since Kalugal is paying us top dollar for building his section of the village, and the contractor is already bringing more crews, we can use the money to develop more plots over there.”

  Anandur shook his head. “It’s too far from the village center. Besides it being a security issue, you also need to think about the distance to the village square and the entry pavilion. For you, the extra ten-minute walk will not be a problem, but as Syssi’s pregnancy progresses, it’s going to be difficult for her.”