The Immortal Mark

by Amy Sparling

  Riley has dragged a chair over to my bed, and she sits there watching me with her head in her hands, elbows on her knees.

  “You sure she’ll be okay?” Riley asks for the hundredth time.

  Only this time Theo doesn’t say the same thing he said each time before. He says, “She needs fresh air.” He peers down at me. “Do you feel up to walking? Let’s go to the gardens and talk privately.”

  Riley stands and folds her arms over her chest. “Where Cara goes, I go.”

  Theo doesn’t hesitate. “I’m afraid I need to speak to her alone.”

  Riley holds her ground. “Absolutely not.”

  I give her a sad look and I hope she realizes how truly sorry I am about this. “I really should go alone.”

  “Are you freaking serious?” Her voice is angry, but her eyes soften and I can tell she’s really just hurt.

  “No,” I say. Theo looks at me and I turn to him. “I can’t keep this from her. She’s my best friend.”

  His eyes widen, his jaw tightening. “Not here,” he mouths.

  Realizing that what I just said could sound damning to someone listening in, I think quickly and change the wording. “I mean…well, yes Theo and I are kind of an item, I guess you could say.” I look at Riley, wishing I could tell her the exact truth right now. “And I wanted to keep it a secret from you but I can’t. So…maybe we should all go out to the gardens and talk about it.”

  “That’s pretty much all there is to know,” Riley says, lifting an eyebrow. “You two have the hots for each other. I mean, duh.”

  Theo holds up a finger, looking at me. “I don’t think you should tell her,” he whispers so quietly I barely hear it.

  “I trust her,” I whisper back.

  He nods once. “Then let’s go talk.”

  * * *

  “You’re both being really weird,” Riley says after we’ve reached the gardens. Theo holds my hand, probably just for show, but I can’t help but hate how our first real hand holding is ruined by thoughts of this immortality crap. I should be swooning hard right now, but instead all I can think about is death.

  And immortality.

  And how crazy it all is.

  It’s just after noon and the sun is beating down on us. Even while walking under a shady path near the trees, it’s still so hot I want to rip off my clothes and dive in the pool.

  We’re way past the gardens now, on the edge of the property near a wooden fence. On the other side, the land stretches on for miles. “You can still change your mind,” Theo says softly so that only I can hear it.

  I look down at our clasped hands. I wish I didn’t also see my bracelet, the beautiful piece of death that is strapped to me, immovable, and unrelenting.

  “I have to tell her,” I say, gazing up at him. I hope he realizes how important this is to me. “I’ve done the math; I’ve tried spending half an hour without telling her the secret. It sent me into a panic attack. Theo, I can’t keep this from her.”

  I’m so emotional, I forget to whisper.

  “Um…guys?” Riley says, walking up to us. “What the hell is going on?”

  Theo looks at me. “We’re telling her?”

  I nod once. “We’re telling her.”

  And so we tell her. Right here in a field, surrounded by the Texas heat and the scent of pine trees. We tell her everything.

  She takes it well, all things considered.

  Riley looks down at her bracelet. “Okay so…let’s just find a way out of it.”

  “We don’t know if there’s a way out of this,” I say with a sigh. “Theo thinks there might be a way but he’d have to find it.”

  She shrugs. “So find it.”

  My mouth falls open because she’s being so weirdly calm about this. “It might not be that easy.” Doesn’t she see how fucking bad this is?

  Riley nods a little and then looks at her bracelet again. “Think about it…there’s some fancy alchemy shit in this stone that does something amazing. Someone found a way to transfer my life into someone with just a stone.” She looks up like the answer is obvious, but even Theo looks a little confused.

  She rolls her eyes and continues, “There’s a way out of this. I am confident. We’ll find it, and we’ll be okay. Hell, I think Cara and I should become immortals too,” she says, wiggling her eyebrows. “That sounds awesome.”

  Oddly, this thought has never occurred me. Becoming immortal? Living forever? Would I really want to do that? It means I could stay with Theo forever…

  I gaze over at him and find him looking right at me. He doesn’t say anything for a long while. Riley finally speaks up and puts a hand on my shoulder. “This is crazy freaky, don’t get me wrong. But…there’s a way out of this.” She throws her hands in the air. “There has to be. Newton’s third law, or whatever. If something makes you live forever with the stone, then something else can make us not die from the stone. We’ll figure it out.”

  “So when I find out, I panic so bad I black out, but when you find out, you’re all ‘oh well dudes, this is totally fine’?” I take in a deep breath and let it out in a huff. “Why can’t I be like you?”

  “Because you’re sensitive,” she says, gazing at me with admiration. She brushes her bangs behind her ears. “I like that about you. But I’m not, and I see things like they are and that’s what makes us a badass best friend duo.”

  It’s totally the wrong moment for it, but I laugh. “I can’t believe I thought I could keep this from you,” I say. “Telling you is probably the best thing I could have done.”

  “Now that you both know, you absolutely can’t tell anyone else,” Theo warns. “I am serious.”

  “I understand,” Riley says. She runs her fingers across her lips, pretending to zip them closed.

  Theo rests a hand on the fence post and gazes out at the pasture. “We’ve been around for centuries. There is a lot of information I don’t know about the lapis stone or the origin of immortality. I agree with Riley, there has to be something. I just need to find it.”

  “We’ll help,” Riley says encouragingly.

  Theo shakes his head. “Absolutely not. You two must go on as if everything is normal. You play the part of someone who’s enamored to be here in this mansion with all of these free things being thrown at you.” Theo runs a finger down my arm. “If either one of you seems even remotely off, even for a minute, they’ll catch on. You’ll both be killed.”

  “You don’t need to tell me that twice,” Riley says with a laugh. “One death threat is all I need to keep my mouth shut.”

  “Me too,” I say because Theo looks really worried about it. “Riley and I will act normal. Everyone already knows you and I have a thing so I’ll just pretend to be super excited about my new crush.” I poke him in the ribs and it gets a little grin out of him.

  “Okay,” he says, exhaling. “Let’s get back to the house.”

  This time when Theo grabs my hand, it feels real and not like a charade. He keeps glancing over at me as we walk and it makes me shy and googly eyed and all kinds of crazy because he’s truly the most handsome guy I’ve ever known.

  And although he wasn’t there to stop us from getting into this situation, he’s here now. He’s going to get us out of this.

  For the first time in the last twenty four hours, I feel like everything might actually be okay.

  “So about immortality,” Riley says. “What’s a girl gotta do to become one of you?”

  Theo’s eyes darken, his expression going cold. “We’re getting too close to the house. Can’t talk about it anymore.”

  The house is still pretty far away, so it feels like an excuse to avoid the subject all together. Now that Riley’s brought it up, I’m curious as well about what it takes to become an immortal. But I’m not sure I’d like the idea of living forever. It’s all just too much to handle right now.

  As soon as we walk inside, we find Malina in the foyer, talking to a woman dressed in white scrubs.

  “Ther
e you are,” she says, looking me and Riley. “I tried your rooms but couldn’t find you.”

  “What’s up?” Riley says.

  “This is Cynthia. She’s our weekly masseuse. I was wondering if you two would like a massage today while she’s here?”

  Cynthia nods. “I have a partner with me too, so you could get massaged together if you’d like.”

  Riley looks at me, her lips turned up in a smirk.

  “I have work to do,” Theo says, even though I know the work he’s talking about involves totally going against the clan’s rules to try and save us. “But you two could probably use the stress relief.”

  “Hell yeah,” Riley says. “Sign me up!”

  “Me too,” I say as I let go of Theo’s hand. I’m a little nervous to let him leave after he’s spent the morning with me helping me calm down. But I have Riley now, and my secret is safe with her. I’m feeling better, more optimistic. “I’d definitely like a massage,” I say.

  “The Rosewater clan loves to take care of its employees,” Malina says as she walks us upstairs and to the room that’s set up with massage tables, soothing music and scented candles.

  “They certainly do,” I say, giving her a grin that probably looks like I’m crazy. “Speaking of, can I get a ninety inch television for my room? And an iPad?” I glance at Riley who is giving me the ultimate look of approval. “Also, I’d like a motorcycle. Hot pink.”

  “Of course,” Malina says, lifting an eyebrow. “I’ll get it ordered right away.

  I’ve never even been on a motorcycle, but can’t help but smirk.

  The Rosewater clan gives out expensive things in exchange for taking a life. If they want my life, the least I can do is make them pay for it.

  * * *

  Thank you for reading The Immortal Mark! If you enjoyed the book, please consider leaving a review on Amazon or Goodreads. It doesn’t even have to be long; just one sentence helps out a lot!

  Don’t miss Book 2, The Immortal Truth

  Releases February 28th, 2017

  Want to get an email when Amy’s next book is released? Sign up for her newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/bTmkPX

  Also by Amy Sparling

  (click the titles to see them on Amazon)

  About the Author

  Amy Sparling is the author of The Summer Unplugged Series, Ella's Twisted Senior Year, Deadbeat & other awesome books for younger teens. She loves coffee, the beach, and swooning over book boyfriends.

  Amy loves getting messages from her readers and responds to every single one! Connect with her on one of the links below.

  Connect with Amy online!

  Website: http://www.AmySparling.com

  Twitter: https://twitter.com/Amy_Sparling

  Instagram: http://instagram.com/writeamysparling

  Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/Amy_Sparling

  Authorgraph (free digital autographs) : https://www.authorgraph.com/authors/Amy_Sparling

  Wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/user/AmySparlingWrites