His stomach flutters when I enter a room. And when he meets Rylan he is riddled with jealously. The only reason that he hooks up with Litzy is to get me out of his system. He feels zero desire when he’s with her, none at all. I feel the pain that he feels when he got hit in the head. I cringe, it was very painful. Also when he gets shot by Raven, he has never experienced pain on that level. He is terrified when he awakes in my father’s underground lab, not for himself but for me. I see his whole life live and in color.
When I blink back from my Keyan McGrath’s life tour, he is already propped up on his elbow, smiling. “You wanted me. Even when I was gross and undesirable.” He grins. “I feel you McKenna, all of you and it is the most intense feeling.” I cover my face. “I could feel us both as we…you know. That is the most insane thing. No wonder my parents were so happy. I get to feel your pleasure as well as my own.”
“I know. It is amazing.” I say twisting my hair into a ball.
“I think that it is supposed to be lengthier. So next time…”
“I couldn’t know that difference. It was wonderful Keyan. The strange part was getting a full length version of your life in high def.”
“I as well. You were a beautiful baby.”
“Thank you. And you were too.” I smile.
He takes the top of the sheet that is covering me and yanks it down. “I think I deserve another go at it. The people that I saw on the television lasted longer than I did.”
I laugh at his antics. He is insane for comparing himself to a porn star.
“What do you say? Want to have mind blowing sex this time?”
“The first time was mind blowing Keyan. I can’t even describe the way that I feel.”
“Well you should not have any gripes about doing it again. I absolutely loved it.”
“Oh boy. You’re going to be trouble.” He dives in for round two.
We go on for most of the night. I couldn’t fathom that sex for everyone would be this way. If I finish first he feels mine and if he finishes first…let’s just say that I’m never far behind him. It is the greatest thing that I have ever experienced. I wish that it could be this way for everyone, there probably wouldn’t be so many divorces and women wouldn’t complain about not getting theirs. I mean you have to get yours when you feel your mate climbing the climax ladder. It is absolutely amazing. Of course I can only say this from seeing and hearing others. I have no past experience to compare it too. So sex could be this enjoyable for others.
“I doubt that love.” He says as I yawn and stretch. I sigh. I have to get use to the fact that he can see my every thought and feel my every emotion. Amaranth were created to feel each other physically and spiritually. They can see their mates inside and out. That could both be good and bad. There are no secrets among them. The morning light reminds me that I am no longer a young innocent girl. I am now a woman, an Amaranthine woman.
“Will you try to give me some privacy? Or at least allow me to think that I do.”
“I can’t help it. It’s not like I can turn it off or on. Besides what could be better than this? The dreams of your whole life is the most intense. I really like knowing you inside and out. In more ways than one.” He raises his brow.
I go into the restroom to brush my morning breath away. I grab the hotel issued brush and small container of toothpaste. I squeeze it out and it glides along the brush. I lift my eyes toward the mirror and catch a glance of my eye. It gleams, which causes me to do a double take. I move closer to see what I think is my life-ring. I get so close that I can see the lines of the natural iris. Beginning at the pupil and spiraling back through the iris. I see the sparkling white light circling through it. I can almost see the fine details of my eye design. It is intricate and quite amazing. I gasp and Keyan comes barreling inside of the bathroom.
“Are you alright? I felt your anxiousness.”
“I’m admiring my spiral life-ring. It’s beautiful, different than yours but just as beautiful. I can see it so plainly.”
“You will be able to see every Amaranth’s life-ring plainly now. You will look into a crowd and see every Amaranthine that is present.”
“So did you see it when I opened my eyes this morning?”
“I spotted it forming last night as the gene activated inside if you. It formed like a spinning top. It really was incredible to watch.”
“I wish you would have told me. I would have loved to witness that once in a lifetime event.”
I tear my eyes away from the mirror and brush my teeth. I wash my body and we prepare for check out. As I dress I think about our wonderful night together. I place my hand over my heart and feel the rhythmic flutters that it now produces. I look up and he is feeling the same. He smiles as he buttons his shirt.
“I love you too McKenna.” We grab our luggage and head down to check out. As we load the car I spot Orion. He quickly places on a pair of shades and my feet go numb. I feel prickly needles piercing my skin. Keyan rubs his arm feeling the same. He has to be a falconer. The shades went on too quickly. He knows.
“Who is he?”
“I met him at the pool yesterday. He was asking some questions but he didn’t have the sun glasses.”
“Get inside of the car McKenna, now.” I hurry to unlock the doors and I spot a young woman dressed in a black shorts and green tank. She has on a pair of black all-stars to match. They meet at the door of the hotel and slowly begin to approach.
“Keyan leave the rest let’s go!” I yell at him as he loads our bags.
“Laine! Laine!” Orion yells. He and the girl quickly moves toward the car. I hop out to help Keyan. There is no way that he could fight off two falconers on his own.
Chapter 24
I grab a tire iron that is sitting on the back seat and take a defensive stance. Before Keyan can protest they have reached us. Orion removes his shades and extends his hand.
“You are Keyan McGrath.” He says and it shocks us both. I spot his spiral life-ring as soon as the glasses clear his eyes.
“You’re an Amaranth.” I say in shock, immediately recognizing the girl’s life-ring as well.
“Yes and this is my wife Nadia.”
“Hello Nadia.”
“We know who you are McKenna. We were contacted by a friend that said you were spotted in this area. I found Keyan’s car and checked into the hotel. We need your help.”
Keyan is skeptical. He watches as Orion begins to explain. We have a couple of hunters on our trail. We’ve been running for two years. There has been buzz about an aboriginal actually being alive for years. But they’ve been unable to locate him. My friend said that a few weeks ago he had been discovered and she was going to get to be with him.”
“Who is your friend? And if you knew who I was why did you ask my name?” I ask. This person knows a hell of a lot about us.
“I was testing you. And my friend works with the Cognoscente faction. Her name is…”
“Amari. We can’t talk to you. She is the enemy. Let’s go Keyan.” I grab his arm.
“Wait. She does work for The Order. But they are unaware that she helps her friends stay ahead of them.”
“She only knows about one element of The Order, not the ones who are trying to kill you. Besides she wants to mate with Keyan. She wants him to impregnate her which may lead to her DNA switching to aboriginal.”
“I know. We won’t tell her that we found you. Just help us. We are afraid and don’t want to die. Keyan is stronger and faster than we are. Plus he can’t be killed as easily.”
“We can’t. If Amari knows where we are my dad knows, Keyan.”
“You’re right let’s go.” He slams the trunk of the car and hurries around to the driver’s door.
“Please. I know somewhere that we could go. We just need your help getting there.” Nadia says. “There is a safe compound ran by a man named Tarek Houston. It’s up in West Virginia. It’s in a city called Morgantown. Once we get there we will be untouchable. No one gets int
o the compound unless he wants them to.”
“I don’t think so.” Keyan says as he slides into the car.
“Why can’t you just go there yourselves? It’s only a state away.”
“We’ve been running and hiding. No matter where we go they find us. It’s like they have someone of our own kind tracking us.”
“They probably do. I could feel you guys but I thought that I was feeling Kenna.”
“Yes…I see that you’ve mated with Dr. Duvall’s daughter.” Orion yells through the window. I gasp.
“And what does that matter to you?”
“There are people that would kill for the opportunity to be transformed into an aboriginal. You are in danger. You can’t hide. You have humans and Amaranthines after you. Tarek would never let anyone hurt you.” we look at one another. If he’s right we are in grave danger.
“Alright we will take you to this place. But if you’re lying about this and try to hurt McKenna or me you will pay for it with your life.”
“I swear to you that you are in no danger. As far as we’re concerned.”
“What about this Tarek?”
“He is completely trust worthy. My brother lives on the compound with them. He keeps them safe, he and his family. He will be honored to meet you I’m sure. You see Amaranthines don’t get to see your age. Most of us are killed before we can reach the age of fifty. Yes we never age but we can be killed. So staying young is useless when you won’t make it past fifty years old.”
“Come on. The longer we stand here talking the closer they get. And by they, I mean both factions of The Order and whomever else is trying to kill us.” They hop in without any bags or other items. Hesitantly, we start toward West Virginia. The drive is four and some odd hours. We don’t even stop to eat. I worry about Keyan and myself. I retrieve the burner phone that we got from Brent. I dial my father first.
“Dad?” I feel all of the eyes in the car burn through me simultaneously.
“McKenna? Thank goodness you called. Are you alright?”
“Yes Dad…” I pause for a moment. His voice is a little squeaky. “You sound funny.”
“I’m worried about you. Please come home everyone is worried sick about you.”
“I’m fine. And if you ever really loved me stop trying to find us. It’s bad enough that The Order of the Falcons wants us dead.”
“Not you dear. Only Keyan. But The Cognoscente only wants to help mankind. So if the two of you come back home, I could protect him.”
“You’ll have to protect us both. I’m one of them now. I’m infected and I’m happy. We will be married and…”
“McKenna! You have signed your death warrant. You can never go back my darling. You are one of them now. Which means you have aboriginal DNA.” He sounds like a greedy vulture.
“Tell mom that I love her. Goodbye.” I end the call and look over to my love, Keyan.
“Why did you call him? They will surely find us now.” Orion says holding on to the back of my seat.
“That was really stupid Kenna. Do you want us to die?” Keyan says with hurt in his eyes.
“No I want my father to know that after I get settled I’m going to destroy what he has built.” He sighs and mashes his foot down onto the pedal harder causing us all to hold on to our seats.
After the car has been silence for a while I dial Brent.
“Hello Brent I’m only calling to tell you that I’m getting rid of the phone. I’ll call when we have settled somewhere. Tell Rhoda not to worry so much.”
“Hi Kenna. I’m so glad that you called.” He says relieved. “We were worried sick. You must be careful. That young woman left right behind you guys so get as far away as possible. Lay low for a while and then get out of the country.”
“We will as soon as it’s safe. I love you guys for all that you have done for us. Goodbye.” He ends the call and I can tell that he is terrified for us. I toss the phone out of the window somewhere in Huntington.
We are well into the night when we enter West Virginia. We stop for gas and grab a few snacks. Nadia and Orion are clonked out in the back seat. I wonder how old they are and how long they’ve been together. When Keyan gets into the car he huffs.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“I don’t trust these two McKenna. Something is off about them. They don’t seem to be connected like they’re supposed to be.” He turns to look at me then frowns.
“Maybe that’s another thing that the new Amaranthines lack. The emotional link that you carry may have been extracted from the line just like the healing and everything else.” I shrug and rip into a bag of potato chips. He starts the engine and pulls out of the gas station. He heads down the highway toward our destination.
“You’re right you know.” Nadia stretches and sits up. “We don’t have the legendary emotional link that the aboriginals possess. I wonder sometimes what Orion is feeling. But it’s like we were robbed. My dad was made Amaranth by my mom. She found him in Florida while she was running from a falconer. He hid her in his basement for about two months. They developed a physical relationship and ran away together. When I was about thirteen they were murdered. I lived on the streets until I met Amari, I was around seventeen. She wanted me to sign on for experiments at the Cognoscente but I hadn’t been activated yet. She promised that I wouldn’t be hurt and I would be paid well. I refused because I was afraid. Orion on the other hand was a test subject before.”
“Really?”
“Yes. They paid him well. But after he was there for so many years they let him go. Amari introduced us, he activated me and we’ve been running all over the country for a little over five years.”
“So how old are you two?”
“I’m thirty one and he is forty seven. He is afraid that he is going to be killed soon because he is getting older. We don’t last very long these days.”
“I’m confused. Why would Amari do this to her own kind?”
“She wants them to find a way to make us all aboriginals. It is too easy to eliminate us. At least if she is in the enemy’s camp we have a slight chance.”
“So how do we know that you’re not trying to trap us so that you can give that to her.”
“Because if we turn you in to your father, we won’t have your help for ourselves.” Orion joins the conversation.
“How old is Amari? And have you slept with her as well?”
“Yes. I was asked to activate her. We never really wanted each other in that manner. So…”
“This is devastating.” Keyan interrupts. “They have manage to ruin the most beautiful element of becoming Amaranth. The activation was always revered as the most intense dynamic of being an Amaranth. It is special and beautiful.” He says.
“For you McGrath. We don’t have any idea how it feels for you.”
“Do you get envisages?” I ask.
“No.”
“Do you feel the sensations as you transform?”
“Yes, but it is doused by the watered down ancestry. We heard rumors about the mind blowing unison of the climax and the fiery sensations that course throughout your body as you change. We were ousted.” He snaps.
We decide to nix the conversation and cautiously continue to the ‘safe compound’ destination. As we enter Morgantown I can’t help but notice the antique feel of the town. The buildings are old in nature but modernly decorated. We drive straight through the streets toward the woody mountains. Before we clear the city buildings, Orion asks if he could stop and make a call.
“I need to call my brother so that he can guide us in.” Keyan reluctantly stops and steps out with him. He wants to hear every word so that he doesn’t try anything funny. I and Nadia watch as Orion smiles while talking into the payphone. Keyan is skeptically watching his every movement, hanging on to his every word.
He slams the phone down in excitement and pats Keyan on the shoulder before running back to the car. He gives Keyan directions and we drive up into the mountains. We have been
driving for about thirty minutes, he instructs him to turn off. He turns and about a mile in he turns again. We end up at a large steel door blocking an underground entrance to some sort of camp. We stare at the huge door and finally it starts to lift. My heart begins to pound because once we’re in, there seems to be no escaping.
“Calm down my love. I would die before I allow someone to hurt you. I’ve got you.” he smiles.” I hold his hand as he enters the compound.
Chapter 25
The sun starts to rise and strut its dawning beauty. Keyan drives down and into the entrance carefully admiring the complex design of the wall inside of the winding cave. I can see the tracks from maybe a truck or whatever machine carved out the long curved underground tunnel. As I spot the light at the end the car passes through. The sight is unreal. It resembles the beautiful unforgettable spring in Palasca. The only difference is that it is huge and has a community built around it. There are amazingly crafted huts and wooden canopies. It appears to be a whole little colony inside of a town. And as we park the car a group of half-naked people approach. Keyan hurries out and around the car to help me. I step out of the car as he opens my door. Nadia and Orion get out and they’re smiling from ear to ear. A watch a young woman hug Nadia and shake Orion’s hand. A man that is close behind her kisses her cheek and hugs him as well. I quickly figure that this must be his brother and possibly his bride. Keyan grabs my hand and holds it tightly. We slowly walk following the group as they celebrate Orion and Nadia’s entrance. We follow them down a path with gorgeous flowers and trees aligning the walk. I spot a grassy area in the distance and notice a band of children playing.
The Solitarian: Part 1 of The Amaranth Series Page 14
