Immortalis - Book 1 (The Keeper's Immortals)

by Marisa DeMaris

  Piece by piece we slowly undressed. He was beautiful; his toned body was more muscular than I had thought. The light being cast on him from the side lamp formed shadows that made him look like a perfect piece of art; like a Greek statue. Suddenly I was intimidated by my own appearance and worried that I wouldn’t be up to his par. I didn’t know the number but I didn’t know what I wasn’t his first. He smiled, not touching me only looking. “You’re beautiful. I’ve never seen a creature as glorious as you are.” He told me causing me to blush from the embarrassment. He wasn’t my first, Adam had been, but this was different in so many ways.

  “You’re gorgeous, you’re perfect.” I told him as I ached to touch him but scared to do so. It was Blake who made the first move, grabbing me with one hand on the nap of my neck and the other at the lower of my back. Pulling me into his body he kissed ever inch of my flesh from head to toes. It was as if we could be free to do whatever we wanted with each other without judgment of what the other would think. The next thing I knew he was pulling me on top of him. I shuttered at the thought that was lurking in the back on my mind, ‘Would I be good enough for him’

  “You don’t have anything to worry about, don’t over think it. Do what feels natural.” He said as he pulled my face up by my chin, forcing me to look at him though I didn’t want to. He could see the future but not read minds. Blake and I had a connection to where we knew what the other was thinking without saying a word. That was a connection I wanted, to be on a curtain level with someone was an amazing thing. Something I thought I might of had with Reid.

  This was possibly the last night of my life and it was perfect.

  Twenty Two

  It was like my body knew when it had to be up the next morning. I woke up at four thirty in the morning, showered brushed my hair back out of my face. Outside the sky was still dark but they were coming. I could feel them, The Gods and the Ambrosians were gearing up for the battle. I could also feel The Keepers Immortals. They too were getting ready for the fight of their life. It was like I could sense everything around me at a heightened level. It was unlike anything I had ever experienced in my life, it was amazing.

  While still in a daze Blake walked up next to me, he wrapped his arms around me allowing me to feel his warmth. Although immortal they were still warm, the food they ingested and the sunlight allowed them to still seem alive even though their heartbeat was long gone. “Are you ready?” He asked me in a quite tone. I took a deep breath in then released it.

  “I don’t think that I have a choice right now, it’s now or never.” I said while still looking out at the horizon. The sun was slowly starting to peek its head above the salty sea. He didn’t say anything more, only looked out to the same view as I was. “What is it?” I asked him since he suddenly had a sullen look on his face.

  “Just thinking.”

  “About?”

  “What’s goin’ happen today, I can’t see. It’s frustrating because I can normally see important things especially if they involve you but I can’t…I don’t know what’s wrong?”

  “There isn’t anything wrong with you maybe there just isn’t anything to see after the Twilight?” I suggested.

  “In all the other visions I’ve ever had about it, I’ve seen you and the katana but then everything goes white…does that mean you die? Does it mean I die?” I turned to him, grabbing his forearms in hopes of calming him down. I hadn’t ever seen Blake be so spooked about anything before. He wasn’t even this terrified looking when he witnessed a crazed man holding the katana to the necks of The Keepers.

  “Hey, stop this! You need to be strong because I need you to be. I don’t know if I can do this without you so please be the man I know you can be.’ My words made a smile form. ‘Be the man I fell in love with, who has my heart.”

  “I do huh?”

  “You always have. We’ve gone through a lot but I know where I stand and I trust my heart and my conscience. I can’t feel bad anymore for something that feels right. I love you Blake Hollings!” I stated proudly. I didn’t feel like hiding anything anymore, at least not my feelings. There was one thing I had still kept hidden from the world.

  “I love you too.” Blake said with a grin that stretched from one ear to the other.

  “Can you go get everyone together and I’ll meet you downstairs?” I asked. He agreed before he kissed me good-bye and left to gather all the other immortals that weren’t already going to be at the chambers. For a moment I wanted to be alone, to be at peace without any of the Hollings with me. There weren’t any bitter glares, sexual tension or hateful words being said to me or towards each other.

  After we had all meet outside the large hotel, we rode to the rocky terrain that met the sea. Being out of the city you could literally taste the salt in the air. While the others were getting themselves situated I walked to the mouth of the cave alone only to stop when I heard voices. Out of the doors of the chambers walked Kennedy Kaine, his clan and the others who were already there. “Nora, it’s so good to see you.’ He said as he grabbed me for a warm hug. ‘Where are the others?”

  “They’re right behind me.” I said. A moment later the Hollings walked in, standing behind me waiting for me to make a move as the others were. Just like the other immortals, they were wearing more comfortable clothes rather than their normal high dollar fashions. Seeing Ashwin out of heels was something that made me wonder if hell had frozen over.

  Most of the immortals were still in the chambers with The Keepers while the Hollings and the Kaines remained with me then we walked into the chambers together. In the front, facing everyone was the three Keepers. Lieka on the left, Cade on the right and dead center was Ozlem. They were talking but stopped when they saw me walk in. Ozlem stood and greeted me with a slight bow with his head. I smiled and walked in, the other immortals parting for me as if I was Noah at the Red Sea. Stopping just at the edge of the stairs that led to their chairs I myself lowered, paying them with the respect that they should have been given by their warrior and hopefully by their champion. They each smiled at me with a sense of pride. “Lieka, please get it.” Ozlem said without looking away from me.

  Without looking I knew the others were standing around me, getting closer out of wonder. After being gone for a short period Lieka returned with something, wrapped in purple velvet fabric. He gently propped it up in his arms like an infant then exposed the top of what was inside; the katana. I felt a fear run through the immortals around me as I slid it out of Lieka’s arms and took it firmly into my own hands. I had to be honest, holding it felt right. I had left it when the Keepers when I had returned to Medina with Blake at my side. Hiding it there was right, I trusted The Keepers and they trusted me with their lives.

  “Oh dear lord…its real!” Kennedy said as I heard others around him whisper the same thing. I held it up in front of me, looking at myself in the blade. I could feel the power running through it, I hadn’t before. I didn’t know why I couldn’t until now but I knew that a lot had changed, I had changed. I turned to face all of the immortals, arms firm at my sides with the katana in my dominant hand. I looked at each of them and stopped last as Blake, stopping to mouth ‘I love you’ at him. I then closed my eyes and when I opened them again every last one was gone including The Keepers. Closing my eyes again I opened them up to find that I had been transported from The Keepers chambers to a northern region. It was cold - snow was lightly falling from the sky above to cover the green below. I looked around to get a feel of my surrounding. I was alone for the moment but as I slowly walked to the edge of where I was standing I heard screaming from many voices. There were three tall cliffs that over looked an arena like area below. One the two shorter cliffs of the three were the leaders of the immortals. To my right were The Keepers and their immortals while to my left were The Gods and the Ambrosias. The third and tallest cliff was left for me to climb. It was where I would be seen by everyone.

  The Gods looked like nothing I had ever seen before although I thoug
ht the same thing about The Keepers when I had first met them. The Gods were covered in gold from head to toe. Every strand of hair, every inch of skin and every piece of clothing that they wore was gold; the only color they had were their eyes. They were the total opposite of The Keepers who donned their simple black robes, making their pale skin almost glow. While Ozlem and his brothers were calm The Gods looked keyed up about the battle that was going to play out in front of them. Below them their immortals were facing the others with the same kind of look, intense and ready to fight head on. In the first row of the Ambrosians I saw Emmalee standing next to Conner and Lucas. Every Ambrosian was restless acting, pushing each other around. Seeing Lucas made me remember our conversation while I was being held by them. ‘I don’t want to die Nora.’

  Reliving that conversation brought tears to my eyes. I didn’t want to kill anyone, not even Emmalee although I could have cared less about her well being. I was thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of the God and Goddess of war, Ares and his sister Enyo standing above all the other Gods and demanding their immortals charge into battle.

  “Myself and my sister Enyo demand that you take what is rightfully ours! This is war and as the God of war I will not accept defeat, now take them all and get the katana so that I can stick it in the chest of that fool Ozlem! Go!” Ares barked. Some immortals started with using their powers while others just aimed for their enemies’ throats. They were unorganized unlike the other side. While the Ambrosians were just running the immortals of The Keepers were in formation. Placed in waves by strengths.

  I watched to see what The Keepers were going to do. No one on their side moved an inch, they didn’t even blink. Just as the Ambrosians were at the half way point Ozlem threw out his hand straight in front of him signally his soldiers to get ready. One by one each of their immortals got ready. Some had fire appear in their hands, while others had lighting begin to strike. Sebastian was in the front with others who were like him, the strongest of the strong. Every immortal’s abilities were enhanced a bit (they were all stronger than normal mortals) but ones who were like Sebastian were enhanced even more than the normal immortal. Next to him was Kennedy, bonding over a common enemy rather than bickering with each other like they were known to do over the years. Behind them were Jaryn and others who were faster than lighting. The next wave had the immortals with the powers such as the elements or electricity like Reid while everyone else was behind them. Blake and Ashwin were in the rear ready to charge, their heels deep into the soil.

  The Ambrosians were almost close enough to see their warm breath hit the cold air when Ozlem threw his hand down, signaling for his immortals to begin their attack. I watched as Sebastian, Kennedy and others charged the Ambrosians with full force, knocking many of them to the ground on impact. After them ran Jaryn and his wave, speeding up to the others and hitting them with a great amount of force causing their bodies to fall. With the next group came lighting, fire and freezing Ambrosians in their tracks. The fourth and final group of immortals came in like a clash of thunder. Punches were being thrown, bodies were being drug to the ground and people were being physically harmed over the Twilight and that’s when I knew it was time for me to do what I needed to do. With the katana in a holder, latched to my back I started my climb up the over the top cliff; one hand over the other. As if it wasn’t hard enough to grab a hold of the jagged rock enough bare handed the snow falling my face wasn’t helping.

  Hearing the screams below me was horrible sounding but knowing that the only thing that could actually kill an immortal was with me helped. I had transported myself after everyone else so that I would be hidden from everyone. I knew that if The Keepers or any of their immortals knew where I was at them The Gods and the Ambrosians could find me easier. I needed time to do what I had to do and I didn’t want to risk being stopped by anyone and I knew that there would be a lot of people trying to stop me to get the katana from me and for what I was planning on doing with it. The closer I got to the top the worse the weather became outside and the changes weren’t because of the immortals, that fact alone frightened me since I didn’t know what to expect with the Twilight. I looked below at motionless bodies from both sides. Necks being broken, flesh burnt and blood being spilt. It was a terrible thing to witness but like a loop they kept healing, getting back up and charging for the other side again. Once I had seen the carnage I added another reason to end the Twilight to my list. If I didn’t stop it then, the fighting would never end. There were always bad blood between the two but this was much more then mild cat fights from time to time. They would all fight to the death but death would never come. Forcing myself to continued I saw the top of the cliff but I didn’t release my sigh of relief just yet, I still had a ways to go.

  With my hands cut, scraped and being generally out of breath I reached the top luckily without anyone spotting me. The problem was that when I had made it to the top then everyone could see me and they did. From my left I heard the shrill voice of a woman was sitting dead center. She had jumped from her throne and hurried to the edge of the cliff. “EMMALEE, IT’S THE CHOOSEN ONE. GET HER NOW!” The woman yelled. With so much faith in Emmalee I assumed that the woman was Hera, queen of the Gods. From below me Emmalee looked up at me, growling as if she was a wild beast starving for her first meal in days. Her eyes were wild and red. Suddenly her right hand rose into the air and out of her palm I saw a flame shot straight at my head, if I hadn’t ducked then I would have been burnt beyond repair. I was more than angry that she would had the guts to try such a thing while knowing what I had but it didn’t surprise me since it was Emmalee and she wasn’t known for being mentally stable. I heard her scream with hatred in her voice, disappointed that she had missed her target.

  Just before Emmalee tried striking again she was knocked down by Blake who had speared her from the side. “You will never hurt her again Emmalee!” he yelled over the noise of a battle.

  “Why not? It will save you the trouble of hurting her yourself.” She yelled as she turned back to face me, aiming but before she could shoot again Blake plowed into her again. I feared for him since his power was nothing like hers, the only thing that eased my fear was the fast that if he was to be hurt then he would at least heal.

  I forced myself to my feet, seeing the Ambrosians run for me and the only thing attempting to hold them back were the immortals of The Keepers and they wouldn’t be able to hold them back for long. Once steady I grabbed the katana and pulled it out, holding it in front of me with both hands on the handle that was woven in fabric. Above me the rolling clouds turned from white to a crimson red, the color of blood. Wind blew, whipping my hair around making me thankful that I had pulled it back before we had left for the chambers early that morning. It was so hard that I was surprised it didn’t knock me off my feet but I was standing on firm. Everyone was staring, screaming or fighting. The Keepers were silent, Ozlem looking at me with both confidence and sorrow as if he knew what I had been planning all along. At that moment I would have question whether or not he planted the thought in my head by giving me the book about the Twilight but he didn’t. He confirmed that with me the very night he gave me the book, as I was leaving the chambers I was pulled back by his soft yet firm voice.

  “Nora?” Ozlem said making me turnaround from where I had just came from.

  “Ozlem?” I turned to face him. I was already shaken up by the news I was just told, that I would one day be immortal I was hoping that he wouldn’t have something else to tell me that would make my strength weaken more. He walked close to me, closer than he had ever gotten.

  “I must tell you something.’ He knew by the look on my face that I was dreading what he was going to say now. ‘There is some context within the story of the Twilight that will lead you down a path of self destruction.”

  “Self destruction?” I asked, confused on what he was trying to tell me but to be honest my head wasn’t where it should have been.

  “I don’t want you to believe th
at we want you to take this path, nor should you unless you seem it deemed necessary. We want you to do whatever you know you must do. Only you will know what you must do and what you are capable of.”

  It wasn’t until I had read the story myself that I fully understood what Ozlem was talking about doing what I was capable of and the path he didn’t want me going down unless I thought there was no other way. I didn’t want anyone to lose their lives, even Emmalee if I could help it. No one deserved to have their lives taken. Then there was the fact that the fighting would never stop if the Twilight didn’t end so it was my fate to see that it did. The context that Ozlem was referring to was that there was a loophole. There was a way that no one had to die, not an immortal that is. If the blood of the Choose One, the mortal, be spilt when said person was fully prepared to give up their life for the sake of others then at that moment forth there would be a thousand years worth of peace between the Gods and The Keepers. I gave Ozlem and his brothers a weak smile, knowing what was going to happen. They nodded back at me with their hearts breaking. Below me I watched Blake continue to fight Emmalee, watched Jaryn take down full grown men with his bare hands. Although no one was dying it was still a horrifying sight to bestow. Bones were being broken, necks snapped and flesh cut. It was at that moment I truly knew that I was ready to die. I was ready to leave behind such a cruel world.

  With my heart racing, with every ounce of energy I had left in my body I turned the katana so that it faced my body. It was long enough where I couldn’t even use the handle - my hands were on the blade. I could feel the katana slicing into my hands slightly. I was crying but it wasn’t from the pain that I was causing myself or what I was about to do. I was crying for the pain that was being caused to everyone by everyone else.