Order of the Omni: A Supernatural Romantic Suspense Novel (The Immortalies Book 1)

by Penny Knight

  Now I understand.

  “I am sorry.” I bow my head to her.

  She must have heard the truth and sorrow in my words because she turns to face me.

  Understanding passes between us.

  “Me, too.” Breathing in the brisk night air, she pulls her wrap tighter over her shoulders. “I guess you should go. I’ll drink my elixir and sleep now.”

  I nod.

  “After all, there is a whole new day waiting for me. Can’t wait to see what that brings.” She drops her head, and I watch as she walks to her room, disappearing down the stairs.

  I lift my head to the stars. Please let us get through this day in peace.

  My shoe slips into the flowing water, running down the narrow ravine in the mountain tops of Crete. The crops are in for a good year, the short, wet winter of Greece sometimes not producing what is needed to fend off drought. Well, not when I was a boy here.

  The normal rocky terrain has a decent size river running through.

  Frost escapes my mouth when I breathe. This high up leaves a sprinkle of snow on the black rocks.

  It hasn’t been that long since my last summons. They are becoming less and less appealing.

  Finally, I reach my destination.

  I pat both my back pockets, looking for the offering. Only a fool would come empty handed to meet the Kouretes.

  I open a small box.

  “To the protector of Zeus and the protector of the Omniscient. Take my offerings of thanks for your service and sacrifice.” I recite the words that have been committed to memory.

  Placing a small box on the rock beside me, I lift the lid, revealing new battery packs.

  One thing I know about the Kouretes, they like their music.

  My footing slips when the rumble of the tall stone walls shakes loose. Small debris bounces off the sides of the mountains splashing in the water.

  A long arm extends from the dissolving dirt that lay covered. One arm leads to a head, then a body ripping itself out of the terrain that encompasses him.

  This seven-foot man with long, sharp, chiselled rock-like hands, delicately picks up my electronic offerings.

  “I should slice you from here to there.” His voice rumbles through the wind. He waves one of his razored fingers, but he takes the offering.

  “Better late than never.” I’m sure he has been waiting a long time to play the music again.

  “Still is better than the rubbish I have been getting lately.”

  “You been busy old friend?” There is no way he will answer, but it doesn’t hurt to ask.

  “You know very well I can’t tell you the comings and goings of others.” He swore his oath long before I was around. I still like to try every now and again. Maybe one day he will crack.

  He pulls a hammer from his back. This part I don’t like.

  One arm moves the hanging green foliage that lay atop the mountain’s side. Revealing a large bronzed gong, and with fierce precision, hits smack in the middle. The deafening sound bounces off all corners of the ravine, ringing in my ears. But opening the entrance to the cave that holds the council.

  “Before you go young man.” He’s the only one that calls me that. I’m far from young.

  I look back.

  “Congratulations on the coming child.” He bows his head.

  Nodding my appreciation and respect, I still can’t help but wonder how many secrets he holds. Over all these years and staying true to his oath, he knows everyone’s business.

  If I am to be back before sunrise, there’s no time to waste. I run until I am before the door of the chambers. The meetings in this room have changed the course of history countless times. And today could be another.

  I enter.

  And they are waiting.

  The High Priestess, the appointed Chief of the Shifters, and my father Lycurgus. All awaiting my arrival.

  “You’re late.” My father speaks first.

  “I came when I could.” I bow my head.

  “You have met your match King Leonidas. How do you feel now?” The priestess asks. Her eyes linger on me, her smile that sees so many other men falter, rings tired over the many years.

  “If it pleases the council, there are matters I can’t ignore for too long back home.” I try and reign her in. Celeste was an old friend at one time. A Divinian that worked side by side with me before she became high priestess.

  “He is right,” the chief says.

  “Son. The Oracle has received word about your son. This is no time for feelings right now. Love or not. There is more at stake.”

  “What do you know?” I ignore my father’s unwelcome advice and direct my anger at Celeste, who is in direct contact with the Oracle.

  She purses her lips and stands taller, nose up as she recites. “They both will die, if upon birth, he is not brought to where the fruits of Gaia herself are rife.” Her words confirming my worst fears and nailing the final nail in the coffin, for me and Elita.

  I can’t stop eating. Moaning, I take another bite of French toast. “Estel. I love you.” I mumble my appreciation with a mouth full of food. It’s early evening, and I have lived this entire day like a cat. I sleep. Wake. Eat. Then sleep again.

  Every time I wake, I’m bigger.

  Switching plates, I dive into my sausage pasta. Topher looks distraught.

  “What?” I hold the fork to my lips.

  Food is laid out on the table. Estel’s a super chef, she hasn’t stopped cooking and baking. She said to come in for a feast, and she wasn’t wrong. “This isn’t all just for me.”

  “Uh, yeah. Maybe leave some for the guys, too, then.” He looks at me and then looks down.

  “Are you calling me fat?”

  “No!” he gasps. “But you’re getting kind of big. Seriously, if this is you now, what are you going to be like in four days?”

  I drop my fork.

  Topher is nodding at me with encouragement.

  I’m starting to feel sick, anyway. Nauseous again. It’s the worst. Well, second worst. Nothing compares to the pain of my insides shifting. Something no one should ever have to go through. Thank you, Doc, and your miracle green drink.

  “I think I need to lie down again.”

  He laughs and shakes his head. “I am going to remember this forever.”

  “Yeah, well, this is pretty fucking memorable.”

  We both laugh and it feels nice.

  Broderick strides in. “Hey. Do you know a bald guy in a red Falcon?” He nods holding his radio.

  “Yeah, sounds like my boss. Why?” I say.

  “Just parked outside. Looks to be coming here.”

  I jump up. “Oh my god! I need to change. He will freak out if he sees me like this.”

  “I will get rid of him,” Broderick says.

  “No! It’s ok. I want to see him. Just give me a minute.”

  “It’s probably best he doesn’t get involved. We should send him away.”

  “Listen, you can try. But if he’s here, then it’s for a reason. He’s not gonna let up about it. Let me just throw something over this, so he doesn’t notice.” We all look to my huge belly.

  “Good luck.” Topher pops a cherry in his mouth.

  “Don’t choke.” I poke my tongue at him.

  I leave them both laughing and run upstairs to find something to hide my belly.

  While I run, I flip through my closet in my head. There’s no way my largest jumper will do. Especially since it’s summer and above 30 degrees. I’m already wearing the only clothes that fit. This singlet shirt used to be a summer dress and the yoga pants are a lifesaver. There is no other option. How big am I going to get? I look full term already. Nope. Push that panic button another day, Elita. One day at a time. My new life motto.

  I burst through my bedroom door and go straight to my fluffy robe. From the water on the side table, I sprinkle a dash on my face and opt to go for the flu card.

  When I get back downstairs, Tony’s tired eyes se
e me.

  “There you are,” he says. “I have been calling your phone for days. Both of you.”

  Yep, some things never change. That is much needed right now. We’re in trouble.

  “I lost my phone.” I throw in a few coughs. “I’ve been sick.”

  “Sick? This guy says you’ve been working on a case for him.” He nods towards Broderick.

  Topher looks down and shakes his head.

  Oops.

  “Whatever. We need to talk.” He stares at me intently.

  “Ok?”

  “Privately.” He eyes Broderick.

  I sigh. “Sure, we can go out back.”

  “Here is good, too.” Broderick says.

  I roll my eyes. “Really?”.

  He stands alert with eyes trained on Tony.

  “Relax mate. Who are you anyway? I think you’re overstepping your boundaries as a client.”

  Oh, here we go again. I can’t deal with another pissing contest.

  “Come on Tony. We can go outside.” I pull his arm.

  “Not outside.” Broderick looks at me. “Inside, please?”

  This I understand. It’s been drilled in. Stay where Broderick can protect me. I keep waiting for the time I have my life back. My own right to protect myself. But I feel like a pawn in this game that I can’t compete in.

  “We’ll go in my room.” There is no other room that will give us privacy other than Topher’s.

  As we step up the stairs, he doesn’t wait. “Where the fuck have you been? I came to see you in the hospital and you were gone. And that cop of yours, he’s been up my ass for days,” he says, or lectures rather, like always. “You could have told me you were alive.”

  Now I feel worse. I didn’t even think of contacting Tony. Too wrapped up in myself.

  “I’m sorry.” I open the door and go inside. I’ll make this right. But keep him out of this. His been a mentor for me.

  He follows me inside and closes the door. I take a long deep breath, ready for another one of Tony’s grillings. This one I actually deserve.

  But there are no words.

  Just a gun.

  And that gun is pointed at me.

  The familiar feeling of terror and shock, frozen joints and cold sweats. Followed by waves of sorrow and disappointment, they swim together inside. But I have no reaction. I’m becoming immune and it’s not a good thing.

  “What are you doing, Tony?” I want to wrap my arms around my stomach, my baby to shield it. But I don’t want to draw attention. A jolt of despair and uselessness hits, as I’ve been betrayed once again.

  “No bloodshed will follow, if you concede. Come as requested,” he says. But, it doesn’t sound like Tony. Maybe his voice, but the tone and the words are not his. His eyes are glazed, like he’s being possessed.

  Come as requested. That can’t happen. I know the rules. Don’t get in the goddamn car. If I scream, will he shoot? Would Broderick get here quicker than the bullet?

  All these questions can be answered by jumping in his head. Which I could. The amulets on, but it was on the day of the bomb. I felt the crack, the shift in energy. I can get in, I know it.

  What am I more fearful of? The blackness from my last time I was open to the voices. Or the death of me and my child at the hands of a friend?

  I siphon my fear and use it as fuel. I feel a force shift and nudge forward an inch. Concentrating on that pull, opening up that link and letting his real voice ring through in my head.

  I can’t stop. I can’t stop. Why am I doing this. Please, I’m so sorry. He thinks.

  The disconnect from his face to his thoughts is stark. It’s like he isn’t in control of his own body. Like he has been... enslaved.

  Then something that I have never experienced happens. There is a voice, one in his head. And it isn’t his.

  If she resists, point the gun to your head and shoot. This voice is smooth, deep and vicious. It was cold and unfeeling.

  The fear hits Tony with force, the gun still on me, “No bloodshed will follow, if you concede. Come as requested.”

  Was that a threat in his mind for me? Who is doing this to him?

  I realise there’s no hope in reasoning, instead letting out a blood-curdling scream. But it’s drowned out by an explosion in the ceiling. Rubble falls from the blast and I drop to my knees, covering my head. The ringing in my ear stings, I sway, getting my bearings. There is rapid gunfire in the distant. Or close. It’s hard to tell through my damaged eardrums.

  My hands are pried from my head and used to drag me up.

  This blast, my amulet, must have stayed intact, because I’m not flooded with darkness. But when I feel the gun on my temple and smell the smoke and caffeine that follows him everywhere. I know Tony’s got me. I’m a step closer to never coming back home again.

  “Let her go,” Broderick yells from the door. His gun trained on Tony. But he can’t enter. We stand under a gaping hole, sun beams through, creating a barrier between us. This was no accident.

  The only thing on our side is the sun setting at any moment.

  A thunderous roar takes Broderick’s attention below. A real life, monstrous tiger. It descends into the chaos.

  Broderick radios out for more reinforcements, declaring a breach of the house by the shifters.

  And yet Broderick still doesn’t take his eyes off me. He can’t get to me. And the men on the roof, I don’t even know if they survived the blast.

  The whopping sounds of a chopper fly over, hovering on top. But not causing enough of a shadow that Broderick can break the wide gap.

  An arrow shoots through Broderick’s torso from behind. Pulling him deeper into the battle, the advancing assailant leaping up the stairs.

  Topher.

  My heart sinks. I can only pray his ok.

  There’s no other option.

  I buck and fold, I kick. I resist.

  All the while the tears are falling. The combo I was taught in self-defence working. My head hits Tony’s face, causing him to forcefully throw me down.

  My stomach lands on a pile of gyprock and bricks. I scream. The pain shoots through me. On all fours, I crawl trying to escape the restriction of the sun. To where Broderick can save me.

  A gun shot rings out.

  This one close.

  This one I know what it was.

  I push myself up from the ground and run to the floor, slipping on blood. I can’t look at whose blood it is. I can’t look at what I did. Or what Tony did to himself.

  I am propelled backwards by my hair. A hand wraps inside it, dragging me to a waiting ladder.

  The struggle is fruitless, his hold strong and relentless. The ladder lifts, and I’m pinned in with a hard body. Tormented and furious curses come from Broderick. But when my feet lift off the ground, I see it.

  Tony laying dead on the floor.

  The battle scene below, Immortalies, humans and animals wage on.

  Topher somewhere in the mix.

  I fly higher and higher in the air. On my way to whoever was talking in Tony’s head.

  My first helicopter ride was only a week ago. I’m not prepared or trained to be clinging to this flimsy ladder. Wind is hammering me. Its only intention is to force me off. And it’s close, even with the clip I’m hooked into. This is unnatural and I never want to do it again.

  If I survive.

  Again.

  The orange and red hue is shining off the coastline. The sun is setting as the chopper starts its descent. I’ve lost track where we are, but we haven’t been flying long.

  Another sharp pain hits my stomach and I cry out. My grip loosens.

  The masked man’s arms dig deeper under my arm, catching me.

  He curses at my weight.

  The pain continues, and I grip the ladder for strength, closing my eyes.

  The next time I open them, the ground approaches. The terrain sparse in the middle of nowhere, empty except for a lone car.

  Dust flicks up from the earth
, hitting my face. The masked man unclips me.

  What is he doing? We are still too high.

  There is a good five metre fall between me and the ground. And it seems the pilot can’t be bothered getting closer.

  “LET GO! MOVE!” He roughly tries to remove my grip from the ladder.

  “Please, no!” I cry.

  The struggle is short as he pries my fingers. Whatever happens, I cannot land on my stomach.

  I detach from the ladder and jump, feeling his hands on my back to push me off.

  It isn’t pretty, but I break my fall with my feet and roll to my back. I lose my robe in the process. It hurts like hell and my scream accompanies it.

  Red dirt is whipping my face as the chopper ascends. Higher and higher leaving me here as darkness falls.

  The door opens to the waiting car, with blacked-out windows. Bloodied, bruised and shaking, I watch horrified as to who is on the other side.

  The front door opens right in front of me.

  Out steps the Immortalie that had me in his grasps, and the one that almost killed Topher.

  Milan.

  “We meet again.” He towers over me. I stay hunched. Not from fear, but pain. The pain is unbearable, something is really wrong with the baby. “Get up. Come on.”

  When I move, it hurts more.

  “If you die, I’m fucking dead.” He grabs my arm and pulls me to my feet. My scream turns feral.

  He backs off and bends his head to access. Trying to see what has me hunched, cradling my stomach.

  “What the fuck!” Horror is written all over his face. “What the fuck?” His change is dramatic and instant. He lifts me into his arms placing me in the back of the car.

  I sob with relief.

  “What the hell is this?” He’s looking straight at me, demanding an answer. “You weren’t pregnant when I saw... oh. Oh shit.”

  He looks behind him. Two men stand on either side of the door.

  “I’ll put her in the boot,” the bearded man suggests.

  “In the boot. You realise she is pregnant with that crazy mother fucker’s baby. You think he’s not going to tear this world apart looking for her?”