"There are rules in Elizabeth's world, the millennia is not like actually becoming a God, or someone else. It's more like a process, like when you turned 18, you could either decide to go to university or do nothing, right?"
I nod.
"If she becomes a God, she is following the law, which you can imagine is not as breakable as your laws. If she fails to do so, she becomes what we, they, call a Tartar. She will be dispossessed of all honor, and rights. She will be haunted, and eventually, she will go as dark as all the Tartars around the world."
"Dark?"
"Can you imagine a lifetime of imprisonment, consisting in no one ever being able to talk to you again, just to humiliate you...? That's not even close to what she would have to face."
I still have the same feelings about the whole thing, but Jay has shown me that even a non-mortal soul can be more human than humans. I can't avoid picturing Elizabeth, and imagining people doing all those things to her. Haunting someone as Elizabeth down for eternity... she and I were not off to a good start, but I feel like I know her more than I should. Maybe this is it, maybe that's my reason of existence, maybe this is how I will do some good. I am not ready to die, not yet, I can't accept it, and I won't. But If I have to, I'll take it as if it was my time.
"I'll think about it" Even though I already have "when?", The word can't even come out of my moth directly and I have to make a terrible effort to pronounce it, I am too afraid of the question.
"February the second" he says looking at me with gratefulness.
Then, suddenly, I have another question which he might not want me to ask. But I have the right to ask whatever I want now, the least he can do is answer.
"What's going to happen to you?" I try to say it as clearly as possible. I don't want to repeat it, I just want to know it.
"My only mission is to make her a God, Alex."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning, I will die too." his expression doesn't change and there is no doubt in his words.
After his answer I take a moment for myself and start wondering if anyone would ever do that for me, I don't think so. My only friend until now, Richard, has not spoken to me since I sent him the text message after arriving in Barcelona. And after my years in high school and college, I am quite sure I will never have a friend like Jay again. Maybe I'm being depressive, although I think my attitude is perfectly normal for the situation I'm in. This is not the best moment to put up a scene, but the best thing I can think of it's actually the one that I think that will make us friends forever. I rise my glass and wait for him to do the same.
"To Elizabeth" and even though I know what those two words mean, I feel like I am more free than ever.
"To Elizabeth" He says, and then he stands up and takes some more drinks to the table. The night has just started, and I will enjoy it as If it was my last night on earth.
CHAPTER 13
When I open my eyes the dream is gone, but I know I remember the same parts I did yesterday. My back is still wet with the mud of the rainy field. I can't understand why the dream seems to be so real. I think about the past two days and how my life has drastically changed. Deep inside I know I have accepted it, I will die sooner than expected, and there's nothing to be done about it. But some parts of me are fighting all those feelings, some part of me tries to scream, and I can't stop it, I have my doubts, and I will have them until the very end. I know it, and I can't fight it.
I stand up, and get ready for class. The last time I went to Ms. Adkins lesson I knew nothing about what was going on and I actually thought that she was the Immortal. It will be the most frustrating class that I have ever attended, watching and listening for an hour and a half to the woman that has planned my death scene. I don't wake Jay, I am convinced that when I walk out of the door he will be already there, I only hope he is wearing some clothes.
He does. Before we start walking I look at him seriously.
"About yesterday..."
"You are not pulling back, are you?" he isn't angry, he is rather worried that I might.
"I didn't even say that I was in for it. Anyway, I have more questions."
"Go on, then" he says, being more relaxed.
"Not now, I was just letting you know."
The class is as empty as ever, it's like nothing had changed, but that obviously isn't true. Everything is different now, and even the white painting of the walls looks darker than last time, and the wooden benches seem to be paying the price of time, too. I sit and wait for the class to begin, I am fully aware that Ms. Adkins will know by now that I have accepted my fate. I hate to call it that way, but given the circumstances, I don't think there is a better way to deal with it.
Ms. Adkins walks into the room, she is more radiant than ever and her smile covers half of her face while the other half is covered by some pink sunglasses. I remember the passage of the book that talked about how showy and boastful Immortals tend to be, that's obviously why I thought that Constance was one of them. It is now that I realize that Elizabeth is showy and boastful to, not in that way, but I don't think there's anything showier than her eyes, and that's what attracted me to her, even before we officially met. That book got too many things right.
"Good morning, Mr. Stills" she says upon her arrival to her desk. I am not the only person in the room now, and I can feel the hostile looks I'm getting from everyone from the second row to the last, everyone but Ingrid, who keeps laughing silently at the situation.
I smile, pretending I didn't hear her. Jay is sitting right next to me and is obviously hiding a guffaw. The class proceeds as usual, and I feel like my life is normal again, which I appreciate, for a change. By the end of it I begin to feel very bored, is it because this subject has suddenly become so personal that I don't care about it anymore? I can't be sure.
Before I'm out of the room, Constance grabs my arm and holds me in for a couple of seconds. When everyone, including Jay, is gone, she lets me go.
"I understand you are now in possession of every bit of information" the strange language feels weird, but I guess she is not playing a character anymore, that's her.
"I do, yes" I say convincingly enough, trying to keep my fear out of my words.
"Then you must be warned. If you fail to fulfill your obligation, I myself will take care of you."
She vanishes with a hint of silver mist and leaves me in here, with her words coming back to me again in a repetition loop, like when a song is stuck in your head, although I would rather have a song in my head than her words. Her vanishing does not surprise me, I have seen Jay doing that over the last days. I must ask him about that, it seems the only cool thing in their existence.
When I finally get out of the room Jay is waiting for me, he is also talking to a couple of young girls that are standing nearby.
"You don't longer have to go to Constance office" of course not, there's nothing else to do there now.
My next class is Latin, and my heart stops the moment I see Elizabeth walking in the room. This time, not only does she come straight to me, but she sits right next to me as well, smiling as if we had been friends forever. I blush, I can't help it. Her presence makes me very nervous and I feel something is moving inside me. I am covered with goose bumps once more. She clearly notices everything that's going on with me.
"It's alright Alex, you are safe here" she jokes. She smiles, just for me, and as stupid as it seems I can't get my eyes out of her smile. She clearly likes showing off, it's in her nature. I go along with it and try to look as tough as possible.
"Of course I am, the only thing that can kill me in this room is Latin declinations." She smiles back at me and I can't help but wonder, is it real? Or is she just being friendly because she is forced to?
I have never paid less attention to a class in my whole life.
When I get home Jay is waiting for me, sitting on my chair, he seems to know that my meeting with Elizabeth went better than the last one.
"Tell me about your powers" I say
even before putting my bag down. I am eager to know as much as I can about all this stuff. Jay looks at me quite surprised, he later realizes that I am not asking out of enthusiasm, it's only curiosity.
"Well, Gods and Immortals have what we call "the mark", which basically means that they have quite cool powers. It's hard to know which, because most of them have different abilities."
"What about you?" I am sitting on my bed, listening carefully to everything he is saying. It's strange, I don't feel like I should be doing this, not even talk to him, but then I remember everything I have gone through, and I erase the thought.
"Keepers and Leaders basically have the ability of teleportation, and it's not even as cool as it may seem. You see, we can't move wherever we want, our power is limited to the area our Immortal is at the moment we cast our powers. That means, that right now I can only move around Barcelona, but If Elizabeth was to leave without telling us, I couldn't possible track her. We can also interpret what people think, but I've never been able to do that, Constance does" I remember how she guessed Theseus the morning we picked our essay topic.
I can think of more things to ask, but I decide to do some overdue university work instead, that way I won't seem so eager. I can't really focus on it though, it's hard to focus on anything when you know you will die in a couple of months, but it keeps me from thinking too much.
After some hours of doing the exact same thing, there's a knock on the door. Jay does not move a finger so I put on my flip-flops and go get it. My heart stops once again as Elizabeth walks in.
"I see you are not ready yet, am I too early?"
I am completely lost.
"What did I miss?" I am asking both of them.
"You invited me over to the Star Wars thing, remember? Last week" Oh yes, Jay gave me the tickets because he couldn't make it, but since he has been lying on his bed all afternoon, I'll take it as it was another of his tricks.
"No I hadn't forgotten, come on!" I can feel my sweat coming down my neck "I'll be ready in a minute" I don't know why I said that, it's not something I am looking forward do, but it came so spontaneously that I can't take it back now. I sneak into the bathroom, wash my hair in a matter of seconds, put on a clean t-shirt, a couple of drops of cologne, which make me feel stupid, and then I open the door.
Of course, they were talking about me, and against all odds, they do not stop their talking, which is quite embarrassing since she is telling Jay all about my reactions in class this morning. "Ok, enough talking, some of us have plans" I say, blushing again.
I am nervous, it is not my first date but it seems like if it was. Elizabeth is walking so close to me that I know it probably means she wants me to hold her arm or something, but I am too focused on not falling down as I am walking.
"How do you want to do it?"
"Do what?" My blush is not going to leave me for a while now.
"Get there, Alex" she looks at me like if she could guess the misunderstanding. "Jay tells me that you have been asking about the teleportation thing.”
"I have, yes, but it's not because I am scared or anything, I was just curious and, well, you know" she is too intimidating for me.
She gets into the room to our left. I stand still since I don't know what to do. Some seconds later, she opens it up and with a single look I know that I am supposed to follow her. I enter the room.
"Hold my arm" she says, waving it. I take it.
The experience is much less brilliant than I expected. Everything that surrounds me goes blurry and suddenly my feet are not on safe ground. I am flying over nothing. Then my feet are back on ground again, the room starts to move, and Elizabeth has the same look on her face she had before. I am dizzy enough to hold my air for a second and close my eyes for a while. When I open them again I can see I am somewhere else, she just took me there.
"How did you like it?" she asks smiling.
"Next time, we walk."
"We can always drive."
"No, no driving. I prefer walking."
We are at the cinema restroom, some people are walking through the aisles leading to the projection room. They are all dressed up in Star Wars costumes.
"If you are thinking on making me wear one of those" I say pointing at them "it's not going to happen."
She looks at me in a rather strange way. She starts laughing.
"I am not a witch, Alex. It's not like I can dress you up like that, and trust me, I wouldn't. Come on, let's go."
She opens the door and leads the way. We go to the ticket window to validate our tickets, and then go back in. It's incredible how many people enjoy these movies, I have only watched them once, and it was quite enough. However, here I am.
There's someone dressed as Darth Vader on stage presenting the picture, like if that was necessary, but I have to admit it's quite funny. Finally, after a ten minutes speech, the lights go out and the very familiar theme floods the cinema. Cheers and repetitive applause go with the text preceding the movie; I have never been part of such a fandom. It's exciting. The guy right next to me is crying.
"First time?" says Elizabeth when she notices him
"That's right" he sobs.
Elizabeth smiles and sits back again, she makes everything look so easy. Has she ever been here before? Or is she just another fan of the films? When the film starts and her green eyes are fixed on the screen, I realize that both answers are —yes—.
I am actually enjoying the event, and everything that goes with it. Elizabeth, the beauty I thought would never notice me, is sitting right here and has even touched my hand a couple of times, I really need to keep remembering myself that to her, this is just business, but hell, I like it. Every single time I look at her I find her more attractive and I know her beautiful face is now printed in my memory forever.
When the movie ends, we walk out following the screams of those who are clearly eager to repeat the experience. She looks so happy and free that only for a second I forget everything and think that we are out on a date. She then takes my arm and puts me back in the room of our arrival.
"I want to show you something."
"What?" my voice clearly shows that I am terrified. The teleportation thing didn't go well the first time.
"Trust me" she says, and then she takes both my hands and I feel like flying again. There's no ground, there's nothing around me but Elizabeth's green eyes.
Suddenly, I feel cold. The wind pushes me away from her and I almost fall down the moment we reach our destination. I keep my eyes closed for a short moment, and then she gently whispers to me.
"Open your eyes, Alex."
Barcelona, that's what I see. I am on top of some building and the image of the whole city at night warms my heart. I am speechless, and the only thing that I know for sure is that I am still holding her hand. The view is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. Obviously, this is no New York, but there is something in this city that no other place in the world has.
"This is…amazing" that's the only thing I can say, I still don't believe that I am up here with her.
Then I start to go back to reality as the cold wind caresses my face.
"It is, right? I come here sometimes, when I want to think."
"Really?" for some reason, I am surprised.
"Yes", she smiles "we like high places to gather, or think, or you know, be ourselves."
Then I remember some mythology.
"Like your own Olympus?"
"Sort of, but Olympus isn't precisely what mortals are taught."
I would ask more about that, but her face tells me that she is not willing to tell me all about her history, so I remain silent until she talks again.
"Thanks, for everything. I know this must be hell for you. "
She got that part right. But being here now, with her, it isn't that bad. Still, I have to come to terms with all of it.
"Well, it was not my life plan, if that's what you mean" I really have to thank Jay for showing me how freeing it ca
n be to speak your mind.
"How old are you?" her voice is full of sorrow.
"I would be nineteen in about six months" I know that my face shows many things but happiness right now. "What about you?" shit, I can't believe I just said that. She starts laughing and I can't do anything but start laughing myself.
"Oh, well I will be one-thousand February the second" She answers, still laughing, "a grown up."
Suddenly my face goes white, I have no expression. I feel terribly unhappy and almost furious.
"I can't believe you joked about that" I feel terrible, not because I have said it, but because she made me feel completely expendable. "Can you take me home now, please?"
"Alex, I…"
"Please."
She puts her hand on my shoulder this time, not on my hand. The city does not look like it did when we got here.
"I'm so sorry I said that" and that's the last thing I hear before I get to my room and go to sleep.
CHAPTER 14
I'm lying on mud again. The floor is extremely wet, more than any other time, I can't breathe. Then the same green eyes come near me, and suddenly, I wake up.
I know that I have been screaming, and probably moving dangerously because Jay is standing right next to me, looking terrifyingly worried.
"What happened?"
"Nothing, just a bad dream" I don't feel like talking, the memories of last night are still too recent. I turn and try to fall asleep again.
"Oh shit, Alex!" Jay is right over me, he takes all my bedclothes away from me and I can see from the look in his eyes that he is terrified. I look down, my bed is covered in mud. "What is this?"
The almost black, wet mud blinds me for a second and freezes my heart, turning me into a lifeless body. It looks like he is standing in front of the dirt that will, one day, cover my body for good.
I try to explain to him that the dreams are getting more and more real ever since I learned about him and Elizabeth. I know he is furious because I didn't tell him, and for some reason, I feel bad about it.
The Mortal Fringe Page 6
