Apotheosis of the Immortal

by Joshua A. Chaudry

  “What do you want with the girl?” Khalid demanded again.

  Elijah watched the muscles in his neck tense and flare. Elijah considered just ripping through the big man, but decided against it; he would try once more to reason with him. He was close to finding his betrayers and needed to be sure his mind would stay clear of the angelic little creature hidden behind the dark tinted windows of Khalid’s big truck. However, he knew the big man would need an explanation before that was possible.

  Elijah was struck by a sudden trepidation when as he noticed Khalid’s truck rolling backwards into the road. He could hear a vehicle racing towards them from the same direction they had just come. Forgetting discretion, Elijah quickly slipped past Khalid; as the big man spun around, Elijah leapt into the air and pushed against his chest with his left leg. Khalid flew backwards and slammed against the small car Elijah had acquired from long-term parking at the airport while Elijah rolled over the hood of the truck. He grabbed the door handle and jerked it open, halting the vehicle. The opening door pulled a gentle breeze, carrying the young girl’s scent into his nose. The smell was a poison attempting to steal his soul.

  “What are you doing?” Emira sounded startled and confused. Elijah was surprised to see the girl peering up at him from the driver’s seat. Hidden by the tinted glass, she had crossed over the console and was now backing the truck out of the parking lot herself.

  And the glow he’d seen had all but disappeared. Elijah suddenly noticed the subtle vibration in the door handle and listened to the quiet turning of the truck’s engine. He was embarrassed his distractions had caused him to make such an obvious mistake, but even more, he was glad to see the girl was unharmed.

  Emotions were twisting inside him into a tangled web as he watched the vehicle he had heard moments ago zoom by. The situation was very awkward. He found himself trying to act normal. It was like trying to walk for the first time; he had never tried to do it deliberately before and was failing miserably. Khalid was back on his feet and moving towards him. Elijah could see he wanted an explanation. They both did.

  Elijah’s thoughts suddenly turned back to the tiny young woman who had disrupted his single-minded purpose. He was furious. After his mother was murdered, he had tried hard to snuff out his sensitivity in an attempt to end the pain that plagued him. It hadn’t worked. He was still blanketed with it. He could only purchase relief from the sensitivity by being ferocious.

  Elijah’s demeanor hardened; the hints of emotion in his face disappeared. He looked sharply at Khalid as his left hand clenched the open door; the metal bent beneath his fingers. Khalid stopped.

  “Please,” Khalid said. “Leave her alone; I will tell you whatever you want to know. Just let her go.”

  Suddenly, Elijah felt a soft warmth on the inside of his right hand as it rested against his leg. He turned back to the girl; as their eyes met, he could feel the tension lifting. The light that permeated her being had brightened once again. The expression on her face was no longer an accusation. There was now interest and empathy in her eyes as she slipped her hand deeper into his grasp.

  “Thank you.” Her tranquil voice comforted him, and the coins hanging around her neck transported Elijah back in time. A deep sentiment welled in his chest and the awkwardness of the situation completely melted away.

  Elijah could feel his muscles loosen. The rage in his stomach was snuffed out like a flame and that strange euphoria from earlier overcame him once again. His body softened as his mind flooded with precious memories from his youth; the memories he was most often not able to explore.

  *

  His mother’s life had been an arduous one, but she had always managed to make time for Elijah and his brothers. She watched over them with great care. He remembered every delicate curve of her face as she sat on that old familiar stone and told the stories he grew to know by heart.

  The skin on her hands was thick and coarse from doing far more than her share. He could see her fingers running across the twine and turning the needle as Malaki begged for just one more story.

  *

  Elijah was brought back to the present by an implacable grip tightening around his arm. Khalid spun him around and pinned his back against the truck with one arm beneath his chin and the other across his chest.

  The air about him suddenly turned cold once again as Elijah envisioned his mother’s body wrapped tightly in that tattered old cloth. He thought about the huge stone now resting beside her grave, its only marker. The warm memories of his mother’s soft voice and gentle touch were replaced by nightmarish visions of his mother’s defiled and mutilated corpse lying bare on a cold stone floor. He could hear Malaki’s shrill cries.

  Fever was once again burning inside his chest. What would have been disconcerting to most people brought Elijah back home and filled him with composure; he was much more comfortable with hate than empathy. He was tired of the emotional rollercoaster ride he had been on since leaving the gas station. He opened his eyes to reveal two burning amber rings encircling his pupils.

  “It’s you.” Khalid’s eyes widened. Elijah took advantage of his surprise and pulled loose his right arm. Forcing Khalid’s right elbow down from his chest, Elijah spun from beneath the big man’s hold and backhanded him hard across the face.

  “Yes.” Elijah leaned back and slammed his right foot into Khalid’s chest. “It is me!” His voice thundered across the empty lot as Khalid slammed against the truck.

  “You’re not a vampire.” Khalid said, looking up at him.

  “No. I’m something much worse.” Elijah exclaimed. His jaw fell open as his tongue ran across his front teeth. Elijah could feel a faint smile break across his face; he seemed to thrive in the madness of war. Undone by the emotion from his encounter with the girl, Elijah became the monster he had cast off on Ayda’s mountain.

  Rushing forward, Elijah’s left hand smashed against Khalid’s throat, forcing his back to slide further down the side of the vehicle. Elijah’s fist pounded against the side of his face again and again, despite Emira’s desperate cries. Khalid’s head snapped up suddenly and he caught Elijah’s fist in his giant paw.

  “I am, too,” Khalid growled.

  Elijah watched as the big man’s eyes began to blaze beneath his dark brows like two fiery embers. He reached for the open door with his other hand, slamming it and forcing himself up in one motion. As he gained his footing, Khalid’s fist rammed against Elijah’s chest like a hammer and catapulted him backwards. Khalid continued forward with lightning speed; Elijah’s feet were off of the ground by the time his back slammed into the brick wall of the masjid. Elijah didn’t fight; the fiery red that was still blazing in the man’s eyes mesmerized him, and brought back a flood of memories.

  “Ayda.” Elijah spoke slowly, as if in a trance. He didn’t mean to say it; it just came out. Understanding eclipsed the big man’s face once more and his eyes slowly dimmed to black. He stepped back and dropped Elijah to his feet.

  “I know who you are, now,” Khalid huffed. He seemed disturbed by the revelation as he bent over and rubbed his knees. “I understand it all now, why you are here, your brother, why you can see her light.” The big man straightened up and looked back at the small girl sitting in the truck. “Ayda told me all about you, and how you left her on that mountain.” His tone suddenly turned cold as he looked at Elijah; his stare nearly pierced him like a sword.

  “So you are like her.” Elijah rolled his shoulders forward and then tugged his jacket back into place. He closed his eyes; he could feel the heat dissipate from behind them. “You are not a vampire either.”

  “I should be… like her, I mean.” Khalid forced a laugh.

  “What do you mean?” Elijah asked.

  “Nothing.” Khalid waved his hand as if to dismiss his last statement. “Yes, I am like her, and from what I hear, you are some kind of anomaly.” Khalid narrowed his eyes.

  “I am something.” Elijah sighed, then glanced toward Emira. “What do you mean
by ‘her light?’ What is it? What is she?” Elijah spoke fast. He was fascinated; he needed to know.

  Khalid quickly hushed him, and then something entered Elijah’s mind that changed everything.

  His eyes suddenly widened. “You are like Ayda,” he repeated, as if in a trance; he closed his eyes as thoughts tumbled through his mind. “That is why they are here, because of the parchment she stole from them at Baghdad.”

  Elijah’s voice trailed off as he was stricken with fear for Ayda. Had his father come here after killing her?

  Khalid narrowed his eyes; his stony geste was disturbed for just a moment and Elijah could almost feel his anger.

  “She stole nothing.” Khalid snapped, turning once more to the girl, as if he were guarding her from something, perhaps from Elijah.

  “Did they kill her?” Elijah asked as he ran his fingers through his hair and began to pace. “Did they kill her? Are they here now because they got to her and she led them to you?” he shouted.

  Khalid remained silent; he had regained his composure and now stared at Elijah through two black eyes that gave away nothing.

  Elijah turned back toward Khalid; maddened by his silence, Elijah could feel heat creeping in behind his eyes and knew they were beginning to glow faintly. He stepped toward Khalid and looked up into the big man’s dark eyes. He could see the certainty in them had faded. Elijah waited for him to answer. His impatience grew with every silent moment until heat surged through his body and the light of day filled his eyes. “Is she dead?” Elijah roared as he lifted the big man off the ground and pounded him against the brick wall.

  “I don’t know. I haven’t been able to get in touch with her since they showed up,” Khalid finally admitted as composure poured back into him. He had been left speechless by those uniquely yellowish eyes.

  Elijah dropped him to his feet and swore with frustration. He knew if his father had killed Ayda, he would be irretrievably lost to the darkness continually nipping at his heels, the darkness that had once been his home.

  “Here is my phone number. I will be at the motel we passed on the way in. Call if you see Solomon or any of his companions.” After speaking, Elijah handed him a small scrap of paper with a phone number scribbled on one side.

  “I will, if you leave now and forget about the girl.” Although he was calmer, Khalid’s walls had temporarily been shaken and he was much easier to read. His voice was full of hope, desperation even, that Elijah would comply.

  “Ayda trusted me; now you need to trust me.” Elijah paused for a moment and cleared his throat. “If she is alive, she is the only friend I have in this world; I need to know. Call me if you hear from her. Please.” Elijah’s concern for Ayda now exceeded his need to talk to the girl in the truck, but he didn’t know what to do. He didn’t even know if Ayda was alive, and if she was, he had no idea how to find her.

  Confusion and uncertainty swamped him. Driven to learn now how to help Ayda, or whether she was even alive, he was finding it hard to force himself to leave. Also, the coins seemed like a clear link between Emira and Sara; he was reluctant to leave her alone before he could find out what she was and how she and Sara were connected. Also, Khalid and the girl were his only link to Ayda and to his brother.

  Still, Elijah knew he would have to fight to stay, and Khalid seemed quite capable of protecting the girl for now. He believed Khalid would call him, if only to keep him away, and he needed to blow off some steam anyway, so he decided to leave.

  “What do you intend to do once you find them, your family?” Khalid asked. “Ayda told me what happened last time,” he prodded, finally breaking Elijah’s stare and looking down at the concrete.

  “I’m going to kill them,” Elijah growled. “I’m not the same person I was all those years ago.” Gathering himself, he looked once more at the faint light shining through the window of Khalid’s truck and then strode to his car.

  Chapter 72

  Elijah had been sitting in his hotel room for a few hours, lowering the level of a bottle of Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey; his thoughts were on Ayda as he paced. He had to make sure she was alive and well. She had saved his life; he owed her. He loved her.

  Throughout the centuries, ever since he had descended back into the world from that mountain in Japan, whenever he drowned his thoughts and feelings with spirits, which was nearly every day, he had brooded about his life. He thought of Sara, and mourned her daily… but she was gone, and there was nothing he could do about it, so most of his thoughts and regrets were about Ayda.

  He wished he could start over, he could take back everything and rewind time to the last night he had seen her, when he had left her magical form lying in that bed. In his fantasy, he would make very different choices. He would give up his foolish quest and stay with the woman he had grown to love so deeply. He hated himself for leaving her.

  Still, in the back of his mind he knew his dream of making different choices was just a fantasy. In the end, this is who he was: his miserable purpose, and nothing more. His life was a woeful symphony, composed by only a few, but the ending would be his to write. There was no room for happiness here, and no time for a new composition.

  The darkness was his and he would own it, but allowing fantasies of Ayda during his quiet moments kept him sane; they were the raft that kept him afloat when he no longer had the strength to swim in the dark waters of his soul. The thoughts and memories of what could have been were his only warmth when the dark nights got too cold for even a soul as black as his.

  Elijah’s spiraling misery was interrupted when he became aware a light tapping at the door had escalated to the most awful noise as someone now pounded incessantly from the other side. The noise grew with Elijah’s impatience until he was forced to deal with it. Perhaps it was news of Solomon.

  “What the hell do you wan—” he pulled up short as he was flooded with an awesome light. It was Emira, the girl from the gas station, standing awkwardly in the doorway. Definitely not Solomon, but he was pleased all the same.

  “Come in,” he said, as graciously as he could to make up for his rude greeting.

  “Here.” She shoved a Styrofoam container into his chest and marched past him.

  “You came here to bring me a sandwich?” Elijah asked when he opened the container. “Is there news of Solomon?” His hopes were high; why else would she be here?

  “Yes.” The girl spoke quickly as she paced the floor. “No. I mean, yes to the sandwich, and no to Solomon. I thought you might be hungry.” She said.

  “Th…” Elijah opened his mouth to speak but was quickly cut off.

  “Are you going to shut the door, or are you encouraging me to leave?”

  Elijah had been so startled by this entire encounter and hadn’t realized he was still leaning against the open door holding the Styrofoam container.

  “Of course not,” he said as he carefully closed the door.

  “My name is Emira, by the way. We weren’t introduced earlier.” She walked to the bed and sat down.

  “Yes, your big friend made sure of that.” Elijah’s words came out with a croak; he was still entranced by the girl’s aura. “But you told me at the gas station.”

  “I suppose I did.” The girl paused for a moment. “Why are you so interested in my coins?” she asked, as she clutched her necklace.

  Elijah had no idea what to say. He considered unloading the truth in its entirety, but thought it might scare her away. So many idiotically romantic notions had crossed his mind. He even considered perhaps this girl was Sara’s reincarnation, but had quickly dismissed the idea. Although he found it silly and amusing—he wasn’t the type to believe in signs and fanciful notions—he couldn’t completely suppress the idea the universe, in its infinite wisdom, had given Sara a glimpse of his future, and now the universe was trying to speak to him. But he didn’t know exactly what it was trying to say.

  “I have seen coins like those before,” he said finally. “I actually used to have some.” Eli
jah set the open Styrofoam container on the table. The sweet smell of mayonnaise filled his senses as he unwrapped the chicken salad sandwich and took a bite.

  “That’s the only reason you can come up with?” Emira asked, as she narrowed her eyes and lowered her chin.

  “Yes, well, they also remind me of someone I knew a long time ago.” He didn’t want to lie, but thought it best not to be too forthcoming.

  “Khalid’s sister?” she suggested. “She is the one who gave them to me.”

  “That man has a sister, a real one? I would hate to meet her,” Elijah chuckled. “No, her name was Sara.” Elijah smiled as he thought of her, of her contagious joy and delight in life. Elijah closed his eyes for just a moment. He realized his eyelashes must have been a bit wet because he could feel them clinging together briefly as he opened his eyes again. “It was a long time ago.” He ducked his head slightly and wiped his eyes before pouring another glass of bourbon, tossing it down, and then pouring another.

  Suddenly, Elijah felt something soft brush against his hand; he looked down to see Emira attempting to take the glass away from him. He held on to it for a moment, but gave in after seeing the empathy pooling into her eyes. After placing his glass on the desk, the girl took his hand and gently pulled him over to the bed. His nostalgia, along with the whiskey, was making his compulsive attraction to her much harder to resist.

  She placed her other hand on top of his as he sat beside her. Her touch seemed to cleanse his soul and free him from the pit of despair into which he had fallen so long ago.

  “What are you?” he asked. His eyes began to close; he couldn’t stop it, he didn’t want to stop it. “What is that light?” Elijah’s eyes were completely closed and his head was gently resting against Emira’s shoulder. “What do you want from me?” he asked after a moment of silent relaxation. His voice trailed off as feelings of beauty and wonder permeated his entire being.

  “Hey! Wake up.” Elijah heard Emira’s voice and then a loud clapping sound that snapped him back into reality. He quickly stood up and looked down at her in confusion.