by Tijan
Sireenia had been watching me and then took my hand. I felt her calm enter me and the peace soothed over everything, all my agitation, panic, and even seemed to lick other wounds inside of me.
"You're very beautiful." She held my eyes. "They've told me of your will, your spirit, but they haven't shared your looks. Do you know how beautiful you are?"
I looked away. Then she squeezed my hand and I looked back.
"You're not normally bashful. Why are you now? You know you're attractive."
I had no idea. "You're so direct. No one's told me like that." I knew I wasn't ugly, but I never thought about my looks. I wasn't known for them. I was the carefree, funny one.
"Oh. Maybe they should've." Then she winked and sat back. "But you're right. We're not here about your looks. I'm here because you wanted to learn about Jacith and Saren didn't want to be the one to tell you. She wanted me to explain it to you so here we go."
My fingers dug into the armrests of my chair and I braced for what I was about to hear.
Sireenia looked at me warmly. "Jacith used to be Jacob Withering. It's an old name with old roots and he wanted a new one. He didn't want ties to where he came from so he changed it to Jacith when he became a vampire. He lived and ruled under the normal hierarchy that each vampire does, with their Family that might be allied with other Families and so forth. This was all fine until Jacith met a witch one day. He fed from her and she turned him human. Jacith was fascinated by this. He loved the power it gave him and he had her turn himself back into a vampire.
This began his long fall into sorcery and dark magic, but he kept his darkness from his vampire Family. They thought he used his magic for good, but he didn't. Even then his Family strove to protect the humans; they felt it would restore their own humanity so they wouldn't forget their true beginnings. They knew if they did forget it would only be a matter of time before all was lost. Madness and chaos would ensue. The slayers were created for this reason and then the decree occurred and hunters now hunt their own. Jacith wanted to win favor with the ruling Queen. He wanted to use her power for himself. He could use it for more magic so he created the Immortal prophecy.
He had hoped the legend of the Immortal, which would balance all powers in the universe, would make her happy. It did. She fell in love with him and he's slowly been draining her of all her power. He only created the thread of the Immortal, which vampires could get power from. He thought this was the Immortal."
There was so much I didn't understand, but I asked the one question that burned in my mind. "Is he still alive?"
She smiled, saddened. "He is and he is protected still by the Romah Family, the most powerful of all vampire Families. The Roane family is second to them, but they protect the Romah Family. They are their guardians. It's an alliance that has never been broken. Your vampire is hoping to destroy that alliance, but it'll create a divide instead. The Romah and Roane Family will bind together against him and they'll never see reason. They believe to this day that Jacith is a good sorcerer. That he created the Immortal for balance and equality."
"Why does the thread only go from human to human?"
"The Romah Family felt humans were sacred so Jacith made the thread to remain solely in humans. If a vampire did take on the thread inside of them, it would jump to the first human they encountered. He didn't inform the Queen that once the vampire fed from an Immortal, that vampire would have enormous power. They found this out after the first human and then protected the Immortal from that day forward. Of course, Jacith said that he hadn't known it would do that. After a hundred thousand years, they entrusted the Immortal to be defended by the Roane Family, which is why Lucas, their best hunter, became Talia's protector."
But I was the Immortal. I didn't have the thread. Jacith didn't intend for a true Immortal to ever come. The first guide had told me that.
She held my hand and squeezed it. "Jacith thought that a human with the mere thread of the Immortal would be the Immortal. He never realized the thread would take a life of its own and become an actual entity. That is what you are. You have been infused with the essence of life; this is why you make the undead alive. You take away their death."
I shook my head. There was so much information. I couldn't understand all of it. Then Sireenia whispered, "You will in time. You will know all. You will understand all."
"Why are you telling me this now?"
Her hand cupped my cheek. "You are so beautiful. You need to know this because Jacith is going to be your enemy. He is going to try and take the Immortal out of you. He will try to destroy it all."
"Why?" I felt gutted.
"Because you are not what he created. He cannot control you. He cannot control us. And he will fear you once the Romah and Roane Elders realize what you really are. "
"What do I do then?"
"You will fight him. You were created to destroy him. We were created to help you. He is too powerful for the world to have. He is the unbalance, not you."
When she put it like that, I wanted to crap my pants. "I'm not ready for that! I'm not ready for him! What if he comes tomorrow? What if he already knows? What am I going to do?"
My heart started to race and everything swirled around me. I tried concentrating on Sireenia, but she looked as if she were swimming around me. She flailed her arms at me. When I asked what was happening to me, my voice sounded in the distance and a baritone tone had taken root in my throat. Then my body felt like it was falling backwards…
I heard Saren in the distance, "Snap her out of it, Sire. We need her with us, not in the Orca."
"If she goes, then Stepianhas will calm her down."
A burst of energy zapped me. I felt like my insides had exploded, but I jerked upright from the chair, gasping and pounding my chest. My heart had stopped. When I didn't hear the constant beat again, I looked up, terrified. "What—what—what just happened?" I fell off my chair and scrambled to my feet. I pounded on my chest. "My heart stopped. My heart isn't beating. I don't—"
They stood before me. Sireenia had her hands folded in front of her. Saren had her hands on her hips. Then she snapped, "You're immortal. You're not going to die. Ever. Your heart is the least of your problems right now."
"Wha—but—my heart!" I gasped with each word. They didn't understand. They weren't human anymore. "I need to be normal. I need my heart to beat!"
They glanced at each other and a look was shared between them.
"Stop that! Stop looking at each other about me. Do something. You're all magical things. Make my heart beat again. Please." I nearly sobbed the last word. It felt like my world had changed. It was irreversible. Everything shifted in that moment and I didn't want it to happen. I didn't want to fight this guy. I didn't want to have to deal with the fact that my heart didn't beat like Emily's, Brown's, or Pippa's.
Then Saren stepped forward. She spoke with authority, "You're doing this to yourself. You stopped your heart. Only you make it start again. Calm down. CALM!"
Everything stopped.
I stopped and I felt my body jerk upright. I stood at my highest height.
She took my shoulders then in her hands and looked me straight in the eyes. Her fire was mesmerizing. "You stopped it. You can make it start." Then she kept repeating that until I found myself mouthing the words with her. After a few minutes, I felt my heart start again.
Thump…thump…thump
"It's okay!" I exclaimed. "I'm okay. I'm going to be okay." But I wasn't. I had so much more to do and I wanted to cry. I wanted to bury my head in a pillow and make everything go away.
"I think that's enough for sharing time." Saren released my shoulders and sat in my vacant chair. She threw a blue-leathered leg over the side and pursed her lips.
"Hey, you changed your outfit back."
She shrugged. "It's my favorite. I don't care what you think."
"Oh."
Sireenia watched me during our exchange and glided forward now. "Are you okay, Davy?"
I je
rked my shoulders in a casual shrug. I could be casual about this. They were. I could be one of them. Then I broke. "No! No, I'm not!"
She sighed.
Saren waved her away. "She'll be fine. She's a fighter. Besides, I have to work with her now."
"Are you sure that's a good idea? She seems fragile right now." Sireenia bit her lip as she watched me.
"She's fine. Go. Brood up something so we can disguise her power to that wolf. The sooner we can get her back, the better."
"Okay." But Sireenia glanced at me over her shoulder as she left.
"Catch!" Saren called out to me as I looked back at her. Something slammed into me and I flew against the wall.
I glared at her. "What was that about?"
She smirked and gestured at me. "Look at yourself."
I did. I was flat against the wall in mid-air. My mouth fell open. "Are you doing that?"
"You caught yourself. I bet you didn't dent the wall."
I let my body glide downwards. I asked as my feet touched the floor, "Was I supposed to?"
"Someone normal would've gone through three buildings. You barely touched the first wall. You're good, better than you think." Then she reared back to throw her power again. This time I saw it coming.
The power radiated from her toes and rose through her body. It built in power until she released it at me.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
"Do my eyes deceive me or is that your missing girlfriend's roommate down there? And is she sitting with a wolf?" Gavin glanced over his shoulder where Roane was sitting at his desk. Then he looked back down at the booth below.
Roane glanced up from his paperwork and stood beside his best friend. The view was massive, writhing bodies below, flashing lights everywhere, but he saw where Gavin had his eyes trained and there she was, Emily. She looked different, serious and gaunt, but there was a glow about her too. The guy next to her had a lean build with a round baby face, but his eyes weren't babyish at all. They had seen too much. He was scanning the nightclub, on the prowl with an intelligence that told Roane he wasn't there by accident.
Gavin grunted. "He's got balls being in your establishment."
Roane narrowed his eyes and watched how the wolf leaned over and placed a kiss on Emily's jaw. He lingered there, sending a possessive claim to the rest of the club. "He knows that he's being watched right now."
"Of course he's being watched. He's a wolf in enemy territory."
Roane walked back to his desk and grabbed a small dagger that he tucked into his pocket. "Come on. Let's get this over with." As they walked to the door, Roane held it open and then murmured in Gavin's ear as he passed by, "You know he's the Alpha, right?"
Gavin halted and wheeled around. "What? Why didn't you say something before?"
Roane shook his head with a small grin. He kept going and made his best friend follow at a slower pace. "He's here trying to get her scent. And I'm guessing that he knows who I am too."
"The roommate knows about you and Davy. I spilled the beans the last time I was there."
"You told me." And he had, followed by an apology every day since Davy had gone missing. It'd been three months and no one had a lead where she'd gone to. Gavin had included a detailed account of what had happened, but promised that she'd been fine when she shoved him out of her window. The roommate and a witch had been there with her, but no one could figure out what happened. Roane had listened to all the testimonies they gave to the police. Emily and the witch, along with another wolf, had been knocked unconscious. None of them could explain how Davy had gone. No vampire caught her scent. No wolf could either, but Roane had a very strong hunch that the Alpha had been persuaded to try again. If the Alpha wolf was in his club, he was at the end of the rope.
"You think he's here for a brawl?" Gavin asked in his ear, treading close behind him as they both weaved around vampires and drunken humans. Some were laughing. Some were drinking. Others were doing more.
"He might be the Alpha, but he's not stupid. He's outnumbered five hundred to one. Emily's desperate to find Davy." Then they turned one last time and the Alpha sensed them immediately.
He could smell Talia's blood, or the blood of her mother on him. It clung to the wolf like a third skin and it made his own stomach churn.
As they drew near the booth, Roane waited till Emily looked up. As soon as she did, she gasped and shrunk back in her seat. Gavin smiled brightly and slid in next to her. Roane sat beside him. They pushed the couple to the far end of the circular booth till the Alpha was directly across from Roane. Both of their gazes were locked on each other.
Emily glanced between them. She was nervous. Roane could smell it. He also felt her desperation. Her hand fell to the Alpha's lap and was gripped by his. He held them in a comforting hold and Roane grinned. "Should I give congratulations to the happy couple?"
Emily flushed and skirted further underneath the table.
He broke eye contact with the wolf and locked onto Emily who wanted to look anywhere, but at him. It was then, seeing a blush on her cheeks, that he knew she still had feelings for him.
The wolf's nostrils flared, smelling her desire, but he didn't comment. Both Gavin and Roane smelled it.
"Emily," Roane said softly, but with a twinge of authority in his voice. She shouldn't avoid this and he wanted to remind her of that. When she looked up and held his gaze, he knew she registered his meaning. She even sat up straight and squared her shoulders back. Her hand still held onto the wolf's hand with a death grip. "You know about Davy and me."
She cleared her throat and took a deep breath. "Yes. Yes, I do."
Gavin looked between them and then at the wolf. He rolled his eyes. "This is boring and awkward. Someone start talking or I'm leaving."
"Uh…" Emily seemed at a loss for words. "I…" Then she shook her head and shrunk back in the seat.
Roane was taken aback. He remembered an assertive nerd from his classes on campus. He knew she'd taken a liking to him, but he also remembered how she was never at a loss for words. Davy had respect for her roommate, how she never feared tough situations or what to say, even if the truth was the hardest to deal with. This was not that girl. Then the Alpha held out his free hand and sat forward.
"My name is Pete Young."
Roane shook his hand, feeling strength and confidence. The Alpha was strong, the strongest he'd ever met in a wolf, but he was young. And he didn't know all the pieces, though he knew too much for Roane's liking.
"Lucas Roane. I own this nightclub."
"I know. We know. It's why we came here." Pete glanced around, a sense of unease teased at the edge of his surface. "I know that you and Emily know each other from college and that you were somewhat dating her roommate, Davy?" He looked to her for reassurance and she sighed and sat forwards again.
"Do you know where Davy is?" Emily asked in a husky voice.
"I'm your last resort, aren't I?"
She jerked her head in a nod. "No one knows where she is. I can't get a hold of Kates. I don't know Davy's family and that blue lady can't find her either. She was freaking out the last time I talked to her. She said that no one could 'feel her on this world's aura' whatever that means."
"So you came to me." Roane nodded and caught Gavin's eye in the same movement.
'What are you thinking?' Gavin thought in his head.
Roane spoke to Emily, "And you've called the police?" He looked at Gavin. 'We need to get the Alpha out of here. He has the Immortal essence in him, Talia's mother. He can't know what we know about Davy.'
Gavin's eyelid twitched, but no other muscle moved on his face. 'Didn't the police report say that he showed up at their room the day Davy disappeared? Do you think he has something to do with it?'
Emily frowned, playing with a napkin on the table. "The police have no idea what happened. Davy was in the room with us and then it's like she just disappeared. Our dorm has video surveillance on all the exits and she's not in any of them."
Roane knew all
of this. He read over every document, every witness testimony that the detectives had gotten from the event. None of it made sense to him except one item. It was tied to the Immortal. It was the only thing that made sense. If a vampire had been able to take her, he would've known by now. If another supernatural species had found out about her, he would've known too. He was linked to her and he agreed with the 'blue lady'. Davy wasn't nearby, maybe not even in the country or in their time line. The Immortal had infinite powers. She could be in another universe and he had no idea how to find her.
He smiled politely. "Unfortunately, I haven't heard from Davy for awhile before she went missing. We'd called things off because of, well for various reasons."
Emily ducked her head down and sucked in her breath. Pete glanced at her, but then understanding dawned. He jerked his eyes back up and stared at Roane. Lucas knew it was coming, felt the wolf sniffing through every layer of thought and emotion he had in him, but he steeled himself against the investigation. Yes, Pete knew there was history between Emily and Roane, but he was just now starting to guess the true nature of that history.
Then with a distant smile, Roane thrust Gavin from his head and met the Alpha full force. 'She didn't tell you the truth, did she?'
Pete sat back, shocked and enraged. His lip started to quirk upwards in a growl. 'She told me you two were friends, nothing of what I'm getting from her now. Were you lovers? Did you throw her away once you were done as vampires always do? You discard people who care for you, treat them like garbage.'
Roane's eyes narrowed. 'Emily had a crush on me. That was it. Your mate has never had any sort of relationship with me other than that of a classmate. That is all. We were not even friends. Search her mind. You'll find the truth.'
'I don't go in her head unless she wants me to. I respect her privacy.'
A cruel smirk came over Roane and his eyes mocked. 'That's the biggest piece of bullshit I've ever heard a wolf tell me. You bulldoze your way through her head and heart, sniffing under every emotion she has, any memory from her past. You didn't find me because I'm telling you the truth. She had a school girl crush on me, still does apparently. And it means nothing to me.'
