Immortals of Indriell- The Collection

by Melissa A. Craven

  “Unfortunately, I am known for a much more sinister gift. I can influence others, utilizing a hypnotic control that takes place deep within the mind, but I do not use it lightly.”

  Mind control? Allie recoiled at the thought.

  “How will I know if I have a-a gift?”

  “You, my dear, are a very talented young woman, but the manifestation of our gifts is a slow progression. You’ve undoubtedly experienced some development over the last year, but it may take weeks for you to feel the initial stirring of your power. When I was a child, I was always sensitive to the physical world. I could sense the things around me so strongly, it was as if objects were people and I instinctively knew what kind of ‘person’ those objects were, long before I truly understood my gift.”

  Allie thought about her strong intuition and the way she just knew things so certainly sometimes.

  “I can do that with people!” She leapt to her feet in a rush of clarity. “I’ve always had this perception, but it’s grown stronger over the last year. With Vince, it was like I just … got him. And it was the same with Kayla! I didn’t have to get to know her before I knew how great she was. Even with Aidan, I knew we would be best friends almost instantly.”

  “I am astounded that you’ve recognized even this much so soon. If I had to guess, I would say you might be Clairvoyant, which is a very rare and powerful gift.”

  “Like seeing the future?”

  “Clairvoyant gifts are often simply a result of a powerful intuition, but yes, seeing the future is a possibility.”

  Allie couldn’t control her pacing. She wrung her hands in frustration, trying to absorb everything at once.

  “I wish I could make this easier for you, sweetheart.”

  “What’s with the sleeping thing?” Allie asked, wanting to steer the conversation on to less frightening topics.

  “I imagine you haven’t slept very well in a long time,” Naeemah said.

  “Understatement of the year,” Allie muttered.

  “When approaching an Awakening, it is difficult to rest comfortably. It’s as if you are caught between the before and after, and your body does not know how to function. You will adjust to a much longer day and you will find it’s best to sleep only a few times a week. We have a powerful nature with strong stamina and endurance. We simply do not tire easily. As you age, your need for sleep will lessen.”

  “That’s really freaking weird,” Allie sighed. “So what about the aging thing? How are you a gazillion years old but you look like you could be Sasha’s sister?”

  “We age normally until our sixteenth year. After our Awakening, we continue to age almost normally for quite some time. As our powers manifest and we train to master our gifts, our aging begins to slow. For most, the slowing is almost imperceptible. For me, it began in my late twenties, but here I am nearly five centuries later and it’s as if little more than a year or two has passed, but it will never truly cease.”

  “Can you still die of old age?” Allie asked.

  “I suppose it’s possible, but I have never met anyone so old.”

  “Show me what you can do, Naeemah. I think it will help.”

  Allie watched her gather a pile of twigs and rocks and stared in wonder as she sent the debris swirling and dancing into the air.

  “That was amazing!”

  “I keep waiting for the moment when this becomes too much for you and you run away screaming. I shouldn’t underestimate you,” she said. “There is one more thing you should see, to help put things into perspective.” She took a small sharp knife from her hip and sliced open her hand.

  Before Allie could even react, Naeemah began to heal. Allie watched, mesmerized, as the bleeding slowed and the gash became an angry line against her golden skin. Within minutes, the wound faded and soon no evidence of the injury remained.

  “This is too much!” She reached for the knife.

  “Allie! No!”

  “Ahh!” she cried as the knife bit into her skin and blood filled her palm.

  “I’m so sorry! I should have warned you. You’re still very young. You will not regenerate as quickly.”

  “It feels different. The pain is dull.” Allie watched, transfixed as the minutes passed and the bleeding slowed. Soon the ache subsided almost completely. Her eyes swam with fresh tears when she realized this was no nightmare. Life as she had known it was over and nothing would ever be the same.

  “I’m Immortal.” She cried on Naeemah’s shoulder for the normal life she thought she finally had, but would never know.

  “How is she?” Aidan asked as he approached.

  “She’s just having a moment.”

  “What’s wrong? Eternal life is good news.” His tone held such concern, she choked on a sob as she reached for him.

  “Please don’t cry, Lex.” He settled her on his lap. “Your tears are like a knife in the gut and there’s nothing I can do to make it better.”

  “We have covered the essentials.” Naeemah rose to leave. “She’s going to need your friendship more than anything right now, son. You need to let her mourn her loss.”

  Allie saw the worried look on her face as she left them sitting silently under the laurel tree. She couldn’t tell if her concern was for Allie’s situation or the way Aidan held her, gently stroking her hair.

  ~~~

  CHAPTER

  THIRTEEN

  “How do you feel?” Aidan’s brow furrowed in concern.

  “I’m not sure.” Allie leaned back and wiped her face on her sleeve. “Sorry, I snotted your shirt.”

  “It’s okay. I know this is intense, but there are certain things you need to hear from me. I’m just going to talk and if it gets to be too much I’ll stop.”

  “Are you about to tell me why you’re the only person who’s ever been completely comfortable with me?” She gave a final sniff and dried her eyes.

  “I wasn’t sure you recognized it so clearly. How long have you understood we’re the same?”

  “Always,” she said.

  “Your intuition is strong, Lex.”

  She knew that. She’d always known her perception of the world was different than it was for others.

  I guess there’s more to that than I thought.

  “I’m what we call a Healer,” he continued. “I’m very young, so I can only heal ordinary cuts and scrapes. I can sooth emotions too. It’s why Dad said I was a fixer. It’s just in my nature to help when someone is struggling—especially someone I care about. My gift … it’s who I am. It’s always felt so wrong that you haven’t known the real me.”

  “Aidan, you are the most compassionate person I know. I may not have known the details, but it suits you.”

  “You should probably know that I can sense when someone’s in pain. I feel a shadow of what they feel,” he added reluctantly.

  “My Awakening?” Her eyes narrowed to slits. “You felt it?”

  “Keep your hair on. I have a high tolerance for pain.”

  “Aidan, why would you willingly put yourself through that!”

  “You needed me.” He shrugged as if that settled it.

  Allie couldn’t fathom the sacrifice he’d made to be with her through the most terrifying day of her life.

  “Why did you cut yourself?” He stroked his thumb across her injured palm.

  “How did you know I did it to myself?”

  “My gift.” He thumped his temple. “I can tell it was self-inflicted, but I’m afraid I can’t heal an equal.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “We’re all powerful, Lex. Some more than others. It seems you and I are equally powerful, so we kinda cancel each other out. It would take a lot of practice and most of my strength to even attempt to heal this little cut and it still might not be enough. For you. With anyone else I could probably manage it.”

  “What aren’t you telling me?”

  “Do you have any idea how hard it’s been to dodge your questions?” He leaned back against the
gnarled tree, draping his arm around her with a reluctant sigh. “In the past, when you’ve encountered others like us, what have you felt?”

  “Curiosity, like I desperately wanted to connect.”

  “Did you ever fear for your safety?”

  “Just once.”

  “This morning?”

  She nodded. “You’re dangerous?”

  “So are you. I’m told most Immortals feel fear when they encounter an equal or more powerful Immortal, but today was a first for me. I’ve felt intimidated by the few extremely ancient ones I’ve met, but never anything like that.”

  “So you’re saying … in all your life, you’ve never met anyone more powerful than yourself?” Her mouth went dry as she tried to swallow.

  “I have not, but you are within a hair of being more powerful than me.”

  “So that’s what this is between us? Power?”

  “You know it’s more than just that, Lex. But yes, we’re equals.”

  “I don’t feel powerful.”

  “You must have experienced the isolation?”

  “People are afraid? Of me?” she asked incredulously.

  “Sometimes it’s fear, sometimes fascination or deep loathing. Like how Vince hates me for no reason.”

  “I’m not so sure it’s for no reason,” she muttered.

  “It’s instinctual. They can’t help it.”

  “But, I’m not even remotely scary.”

  “You’d be surprised.” He sounded impressed. “I’ve told you how much your friendship means to me. I’ve never—ever, been with someone who feels one hundred percent comfortable with me the way you do. My own mother flinches if I get too close,” he said sadly. “You saw it that day in the grotto and you knew enough to offer me the comfort of your touch. You can’t possibly know what that little gesture meant. It still amazes me that I can hold your hand and you don’t recoil the way Sasha did with you earlier. You’ve got a lot on your plate, but I’m here for you; whatever you need, whenever you need it.”

  “So what else can you do?” she asked, eager to change the subject.

  “Not much. I have enormous potential, but I’m still very young so I have a lot of work ahead of me. I have the typical enhanced senses. I’m fast, but not as fast as Graham and Sasha. I regenerate a little quicker than others my age, which probably has something to do with my gift.”

  “Speaking of crazy, rapid healing. You did burn your hands in the fire, didn’t you?” she asked.

  “Yes, but your burns were much worse at first. You were within days of your Awakening, and it seems your body managed to speed your healing along when you weren’t looking. You were so distraught and so pissed off when we wouldn’t give you answers. We were actually afraid the whole thing might send you into an early Awakening, which would have been catastrophic. You would have suffered the consequences forever. I was an absolute wreck trying to steer you away from all the questions, and I hated myself every time you insisted you weren’t crazy. You didn’t deserve that. I shouldn’t have let any of it happen. Everything just fell apart so fast!”

  “Aidan, how could you have stopped it?”

  “Allie, I started it.”

  “How? Wait… You were the accelerant?”

  “I have a volatile connection with fire. I’m still struggling to understand it. If I let my concentration slip and I happen to be near a fire, it just goes crazy responding to my power and it’s almost impossible to rein it back in. That night, I was too busy sulking over you and Vince.” His eyes flashed with a spark of anger. “It happened so fast and then Kayla was in so much pain—”

  “Oh God! No! Aidan!” Allie cradled her head in her hands. “She risked her life for nothing?”

  “I’m so sorry, Lex. I wish I could go back and keep you both safe. I panicked when I saw her trapped. I was so desperate. All I could do was beg the flames to stop burning her, and somehow they did. I had control again. But I should never have lost it! I was weak for one moment and I almost killed her!”

  “Gregg was right.” She reached for his hand. “Kayla was lucky you were there to give her such good care.”

  “Trust me, she would have been ‘lucky’ if she’d never met me.” His tone of self-loathing tore at her heart. “When I finally got her free, I managed to extinguish a small portion of the flames to give us a way out, but after that, I was tapped out. She was waking up and in danger of going into shock. I did what I could to keep her lungs and heart functioning, but I hadn’t slept in days, and I was losing her. Then you wrapped your arms around me, and I stopped shaking, my head cleared and I had the strength to go on. I didn’t even know it was possible to revitalize someone like that, but you did it before your Awakening, which is just freaking nuts. Once I understood what you were doing, I took advantage of it and I’m afraid that’s why you passed out. You helped me save her, Allie. I can never thank you enough for that.”

  “But how? How could I do that and not know it?”

  “Instinct. You’re much more aware of your power than you know. I’m still trying to help Kayla through her recovery,” he continued, not giving Allie time to dwell on that particular subject. “That’s why the doctors say she’s bouncing back so swiftly. I just have to be careful not to do too much too fast, but it will never be enough. She’s scarred for life because I was a jealous fool.”

  Allie felt tears burn her eyes. She felt like she was staring at a complete stranger. She didn’t know him at all. He cared more deeply than she ever realized.

  “Hey, no more of that.” He pulled her close.

  “You’re my best friend and it’s like I don’t even know you.” She wiped furiously at her tears.

  “It’s okay,” he said. “Remember? Open book. What else do you want to know?”

  “What really happened the first morning we met?”

  “A crazy redhead tackled me and turned my life upside down.” He grinned.

  “Be serious!”

  “I am serious! I sensed you on the trail just ahead of me, but I was so not in the mood for a typical first encounter. Most Immortal girls our age are terrified of me and I just couldn’t deal. But it’s considered very bad manners for a strange Immortal to show up unannounced, and I was prepared to tell you off, but I didn’t want to scare you. I called out for you to stop, but you couldn’t hear me. I thought you might be a little freaked, so I crashed through the woods to get ahead of you. I wanted you to see I wasn’t a threat.”

  “I knew you were behind me,” Allie said. “And I also wasn’t in the mood. Most boys our age don’t deal so well with me. But something happened when you approached. I got really dizzy and nauseated.”

  “You were sensing me. So close to your Awakening, that was probably a first for you.”

  “So that whole time you thought I knew what I was?”

  “I didn’t have any reason to think you didn’t.”

  “What was your first clue?”

  “You were completely unimpressed when I mentioned my parents—they’re Governors, so everyone in our world knows them. And then you commented on my mother not changing her last name. Immortal women never change their names when they marry. I was confused that you seemed so ignorant of our ways, so I changed the subject just to be safe.”

  “I knew you were distracted by something,” Allie said.

  “All I could think about was the way it felt when my hand closed around yours and you didn’t react. When you helped me up and I met those crazy beautiful green eyes, I couldn’t stop staring. I fell hard, right there in the woods, Lex.” He smiled sadly. “I foolishly thought you did too.”

  “Not foolishly, Aidan.”

  “But later that morning in the coffee shop you were different, like something turned you off. What changed?”

  “You were just so … not you.”

  “Fake Aidan?”

  “Yup.” She nodded.

  “Allie, they’re more comfortable with me when I play the arrogant, stupid jock! It’s just an act!
”

  “I didn’t know. I just felt something telling me it was a bad idea for us to be anything more than friends. And then I met Vince—”

  “And I missed my chance,” he sighed sadly.

  She bit her lip. She just didn’t have an answer that would make him feel better.

  “I couldn’t get a read on you, so I made the mistake of touching you with my gift,” he rushed on. “I wanted to see what you were feeling. You should have been scared, which I could have sensed, but you wouldn’t let me. That was definitely a first for me.

  “So that’s why I snarled at you?”

  “You must have felt uneasy with me after that.”

  “Not really. I was very drawn to you. Aidan, my whole life most people have kept a respectful distance, like there’s some huge gulf between me and the rest of the world. But with you, from that first moment, there was nothing between us and I was just ... fascinated.”

  “Me too. I suspected you didn’t know what you were, so I didn’t want to leave you. I was afraid you might disappear. Once I realized your parents were mortal and you really were clueless, I stopped to consider what your life must have been like. It put a lot of things into perspective for me,” he said softly. “I’ve always dealt with that same respectful distance, like I’m in a bubble all by myself. But at least I had my family; at least I knew why the whole world reacts to me so strongly. Allie, do you have any idea how amazing you are?”

  “It’s nothing.” She shrugged. “It’s just coping.” I’ve had my family too, Aidan, she wanted to say, but she felt a strong urge to keep her family out of it.

  “So, I guess in a way, you really are holding a sign that says ‘WARNING: dark and dangerous. Keep out.’” She attempted to lighten the mood.

  “I suppose I am.” He winked but didn’t smile. “They’ve been deferring to you too. Surely you’ve noticed?”

  “Yeah, and it totally creeps me out.”

  “We are substantially more powerful than our friends. They will always show us their respect. It’s a visceral response, but you can tell them to knock it off, and they usually do.”