“What’s happening?” Her tears fell freely as she rushed into his arms, shoving her uneasy feelings aside. Everything she felt told her she should be wary of him, but her heart told her she could never truly fear him.
“Thank God!” he nearly sobbed, hugging her tightly.
“Why are you so different?” she whispered.
“Look at me.” His hands cupped her face, forcing her to meet his gaze. “Nothing about me has changed, I promise. You’re just seeing clearly for the first time. It’s a shock even when you’re expecting it.”
“I-I have to go.” She pushed him away, hastily grabbing her bag. She felt an overwhelming urge to run and never look back.
“Stop.”
“No! I can’t do this!”
“Yes you can! You are the strongest person I know. Do you have any idea what you’ve accomplished?”
“Why am I so different?” She dropped the duffle bag.
“You have always had those beautifully weird green eyes and that same blazing red hair, you’ve just not had the strength to see it. Now you do.”
“How can everyone not see this?”
“They’ll see you as they always have because that’s all they’re capable of seeing.”
“About that open book you mentioned? I’m going to need solid, rational explanations like right freaking now,” she choked on a sob.
Without a word, he pulled her into his arms. “We’ll get there, Lex. Just take deep breaths when it feels like too much.” She rested her head against his chest and exhaled, letting the warmth of his touch soothe her as it always had.
“Come on, you’re going to be ravenously hungry in about two seconds. Sasha’s waiting. We’ll have time for questions later.”
Her stomach rumbled angrily at the mere suggestion of a meal. She followed in a daze as they made their way down the stairs, but stopped short when she caught sight of Sasha. Her appearance was just as alarming, but Allie didn’t feel the spike of fear as she had with Aidan.
Sasha isn’t a threat. But she was positively radiant—like even the sun might envy her. Her eyes were vibrant aquamarine with the same sparkle of golden light as Aidan’s. Her chestnut brown hair was strangely threaded with shimmering golden strands and her rich caramel skin glowed.
“Sasha?”
“A-Allie,” she stammered, ducking her head.
“Knock it off, Sash!” Aidan barked.
“Sorry.” She blushed. “Let’s eat. You must be famished.”
She had so many questions, but Allie’s stomach was in the driver’s seat now. She could smell the wonderful aromas wafting in from the kitchen. She headed there without an invitation and found an enormous buffet awaiting them. She grabbed a plate and helped herself to two of everything. She didn’t speak until the angry pit in her stomach was fully sated.
“That was weird, right?” She stared at her empty plate.
“That’s your first question?” Aidan snorted.
“I’m allowed to ask questions now?”
“Anything you want,” Sasha said.
“What in the freaking hell are we? I need to hear this from my two best friends.” She reached for their hands.
Allie barely touched her, but Sasha flinched as if branded. The reaction was a familiar one—magnified by a thousand.
“I’m so sorry.” She flushed, grasping Allie’s hand firmly, despite her obvious discomfort.
Aidan paled, absently stroking her palm, as comfortable with her as he ever was. “I’ve waited so impatiently for this moment for so long…but now that it’s here…I don’t know if I can do this.”
Whatever he was about to say would forever change her world, that much she knew. But whatever it was, she knew she would have his unwavering support, and that gave her strength.
“I’m ready, Aidan. Just rip the Band-Aid off already. It can’t be worse than sixteen years of not knowing.”
“I should be offering you comfort.” He smiled.
“You will.”
“We’re Immortal, Lex,” he said softly.
Immortal? She turned the word over in her mind, but it didn’t make sense. “I-I was really hoping for something more like, ‘Yer a wizard, Harry,” she sighed.
“Sarcasm? Now? Really?”
“It’s how I roll.” She shrugged. “Immortal? How is that even possible?”
“In the simplest of terms, we are the direct descendants of an ancient race of immortal humans who have remained powerful. I don’t want to throw too much at you too fast. There’s no rush, we have all the time in the world.” He grinned.
“You’re making jokes? Now? Really?”
“It’s how I roll.”
“You two deserve each other.” Sasha rolled her eyes.
“So…do I…do we…stay like this forever?”
“We will continue to age normally for quite some time, but it will eventually slow,” Sasha explained. “Allie, we’ve grown up knowing what to expect, but to suddenly be thrust into a life you never knew existed…to suffer an Awakening completely unprepared? I can’t fathom how you must feel. Just know, we will be here for you no matter what.”
“So what now?”
“Mom is waiting for you in the garden. She’ll explain the basics,” Aidan said.
“Alright.” Allie rose reluctantly. It was finally time for the answers she’d been waiting for all her life.
<><><>
CHAPTER
TWELVE
“Don’t be frightened,” Naeemah said.
Allie focused on putting one foot in front of the other as she crossed the courtyard to join her. As expected, she didn’t resemble the older woman Allie had grown to love. She was stunning and not a day over thirty. Her exotic lapis-lazuli eyes gleamed with that same strange golden light as her children's.
A family trait?
“I see Aidan found the right words.” She offered Allie a seat. “I wasn’t certain he could strike such a terrible blow, but he felt it was his responsibility.”
Allie nodded dumbly.
“I know how unsettling this must be for you,” she said, “but we have much to cover, beginning with the most obvious—our appearance. Mortals are incapable of seeing our more unusual features, but that does not mean they don’t notice how slowly we age. However, there are ways we can deceive them: a few mental tricks that allow us to project the illusion of normal aging. Several thousand years ago, only a select few were capable of such a feat. Over time, most of us have adapted so that we blend with the changing world, like chameleons. Now that you have experienced your own Awakening, the scales have fallen from your eyes and you see clearly, but your family and friends will not acknowledge this monumental change.”
“So I have to pretend? Like nothing’s changed?” Allie frowned. Her whole world had flipped upside down overnight and she had to play along like everything was fine?
“I am so sorry, sweetheart. This will not be easy. You have a lot to learn rather quickly. I’m afraid we don’t have all the time in the world. Despite my son’s jokes.”
“You heard that?”
“We have extraordinary abilities; a strong sense of hearing is just one of many. Come.” She opened her arms. “Let me mother you since your own mother can’t.”
Allie didn’t need to be asked twice; she hurled herself into Naeemah’s arms and let her tears flow.
“It is possible that Lily and Carson know something of who you really are, but for now, we feel it is best to keep them out of it.”
“I love my parents, but what about my birth parents?”
“Perhaps you’ve noticed the prevalence of adoption among our families? We are often orphans of strange circumstances, just like you. Our family bonds are powerful, but in most cases, we are not related by blood. Something stronger binds us together. Natural born Immortals are extremely rare. I am one of those lucky few.”
“If we are abandoned at birth, then who abandoned us?”
“I’m afraid I do not have a definitive answer to that qu
estion. There are many theories about our origins, but it is mostly conjecture.”
“I forget sometimes that Aidan and Sasha are adopted,” Allie said. “They seem so much like you and Gregg.”
“Yet they look nothing like us. But, just watch Aidan and Greggory together and you will see how strong their father-son bond is. And when you meet all the McBrien boys, you’ll wonder how I ever survived,” she laughed. “They have the same charisma, even the same infuriating grin and wink; rushing headlong into trouble without giving a thought to how they’ll get out of it. But there are no genetic ties among them, because our family bonds supersede biology.”
“Why don’t we go for a walk while we talk?” she suggested when Allie grew quiet.
“There is so much you need to understand,” she said as they headed up to the grassy hills along the cliffs. “For weeks we have considered how we might tell you everything you need to know without overwhelming you. I think it’s important to take this slowly over the next few days, but I’m afraid that is all the time we can allow. After that you must sink or swim.”
Allie shuddered as they approached the edge of the precipice. The metaphorical one in her mind loomed large as she stared at the water far below.
“I love this place.” Naeemah gazed across the lake. “I’ve lived all over the world but Kelleys Island reminds me of home.”
“How old are you, Naeemah?”
“I was born in Alexandria, in fifteen-twenty-seven. Just ten years before my birth, the Ottoman Turks took the Throne of Egypt that once belonged to my mother, Queen Hatshepsut, the notorious woman who dared name herself Pharaoh during the eighteenth dynasty of the Middle Kingdom.”
“Shut up!” Allie gasped.
Naeemah chuckled at her enthusiasm. “My father is Senmut, the man who tutored the young princess before she became the strong ruler we know from history.”
“Your mother was the most powerful woman of the ancient world?”
“Yes, she is remarkable, and continues to amaze me with her ability to adapt to the modern world. She goes by Nadira now, and my father by Sayid.”
“She must be over three thousand years old!”
“She was three thousand when I was born.”
“Wow,” Allie said. “I must seem embryonic in comparison.”
“Yes, you are very young, and you need to understand you will be considered an adolescent for many decades.”
“Decades?” Allie frowned. The thought of herself as a thirty year old teenager seemed ridiculous.
“You’ll need guidance. There is much a young Immortal must learn before they can truly be on their own.”
“Like what?”
“Come, let us sit.” Naeemah gestured toward the lone laurel tree along the grassy slopes.
“We are powerful beings, capable of astonishing things, but it takes long years of training and hard work to realize our potential. Unfortunately, you have a very difficult road ahead of you, but you will soon discover what you are capable of through our guidance. Nearly all Immortals possess superior senses, strength, speed, and stamina, as well as certain abilities many of us have in common. You’ll spend the next several years learning to adjust to your more powerful nature. But the power manifests differently in all of us. Your gifts will be unique to you as an individual, and they are probably already emerging.”
“You mean like…superpowers?” Allie’s heart hammered in her chest.
“For lack of a better comparison, yes, but that is a bad analogy.” Naeemah was obviously struggling to find the right words.
“My powers are of a kinetic origin, which means I can manipulate the movement of objects. I have a strong connection with the physical world, which allows me to tangibly see the geometry and physics that control an object’s movement.”
“Unfortunately, I am well 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 certain things.
“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.”
“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?”
“I suppose it is possible, but I have never met anyone so old.” She smiled.
“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 she 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, t
ransfixed 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 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 her feet. “She is 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.” She 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 are the only person who’s ever been completely comfortable with me?” she gave a final sniff.
“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.”
“I am what we call a Healer,” he continued after a long pause. “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. ”
Emerge: The Awakening Page 8