Emerge: The Judgment: (Book 2)

by Melissa A. Craven

  “We were careful Liam,” Aidan said. “I promise. People may talk about us, but no one will know who we are or where we live or—”

  “You’re both unknowns,” Gregg said softly. “Or at least you were until tonight. That place was full of the most corrupt members of our government.”

  “What do you mean we're both unknowns?” Aidan asked, looking stunned.

  “We felt it was best to give Allie some time to adjust to this world before we registered her with the Senate. We didn’t want to risk them taking her away from her family. And when we adopted you … your mother and I decided to shield you for as long as we could. As far as the Senate knows, we do not have a son named Aidan. It’s one of the reasons I named you after my brother. Partly because you reminded me of him so much and partly because anyone hearing the name Aidan McBrien would think of Aide and not wonder about it.”

  “Why did you never tell me?” Aidan whispered. “The accident last year. I should have been punished. But you said the Senate let me off with a warning.”

  Aidan had made a huge mess of things when he decided to race a train one night simply because he was bored. Technically he died in the accident, long enough for the paramedics on the scene to take him to the morgue. Gregg had to move heaven and earth to get him out of that mess. He’d always wondered how he had been so lucky not to be called before the Senate. Now he knew.

  “You’re so young, Aidan.” Gregg sighed.

  “I’m not an infant, Da. I know you can’t see me as anything but a little boy, but I had a right to know!”

  “What does this mean?” Allie dared to ask.

  “Neither of you are registered with the Senate. To them, you do not exist. It’s a daring move, especially for Aidan, since we are so well known among the Senate. Even as a baby we knew he would be the strongest of his generation. By giving you obscurity, we bought you time, son. Time to grow up and become the man you’re destined to be—and I don’t mean the prophecy.” Gregg waved off Aidan’s rebuttal. “I wanted you to have the freedom to become the man you are in here.” Gregg thumped Aidan’s chest. “Not the man they would make you. If the Senate knew of your power, they would interfere in your training. They might even take you away from us on some pretense that you deserved the best training they could offer. I wouldn’t allow that, under any circumstance. So we kept you a secret. And we let you have the most normal life we could possibly give you.”

  “Am I meant to live my whole life in secret?” Aidan asked softly, his eyes blazing with some combination of fury and love for his parents who took such a dangerous risk, just for him.

  “No, we intended to deal with it after you reached your Proving.”

  “Da, that could be a hundred years from now!”

  “Not with you. You’ll reach your potential early. Both of you will. And once Proven you’ll have the strength and power to protect yourselves. To not be manipulated or used. Once Proven, you’ll both be able to fight for the right to live the lives you want to live. But now, if the wrong people saw you last night…. If word gets out about you two, people will talk and it’s only a matter of time before you’re found out. I know a few decades seems like a long time to hide, but it’s nothing compared to the rest of your lives.”

  “If you trusted me. If you realized I’m capable of making good decisions, you would have told me long before now.” Aidan shook his head. “I never would have risked what we did last night if I’d known we were both unknowns. It never occurred to me that you wouldn’t have registered Allie by now, much less me.”

  “Aye, I should have told you. I just didn’t think you’d be stupid enough to pull something like this.”

  “Well, if we’re all done yelling now,” Allie said, “would you like to hear about how Quinn is up for sale like some trussed-up prized pig in an Immortal slave market?”

  ~~~

  CHAPTER

  TWENTY-THREE

  Once Allie and Aidan finished telling Gregg and Liam all they had discovered at Amrita, the adults ran with the intel and the kids were back in the dark, with a warning to never do anything like that again or they would all be grounded to the crypt for a decade. Allie didn’t know what the crypt was, but she was pretty sure she didn’t want to know.

  Allie absently flipped through her art history notes spread across Aidan’s bed, prepping for her next exam. Aidan sat at his desk, studying for his music theory class. Sasha was holed up in her room, supposedly studying as well. The brief return of the old Sasha faded quickly after Amrita and she was back to isolating herself again. Aidan worried about her even more now, but Allie knew she would come to them when she was ready to talk.

  “What do you want to do for your birthday, Lex?” Aidan sprang the question on her at least once a day now. She would be seventeen in a few days and she’d made it clear she did not want the traditional Immortal seventeenth birthday party. It was meant to be a unique celebration and a time to reflect on the past year and how far she had come since her Awakening a year ago, but Allie didn’t want to have a party her parents couldn’t attend. She really didn’t want a party at all. Really, she just wanted to ignore it as if it were any other day.

  “I don’t want a party.”

  “I didn’t say anything about a party. I asked you what you wanted to do.”

  There was one thing she really wanted, but she wasn’t sure he’d go for it.

  “I want a tattoo.”

  Aidan nodded. “Okay, we can go see Erin. What did you have in mind?”

  Allie pulled out her sketchbook, not sure if she should show him the full design or not.

  “I’m going to see it eventually, Lex. Show me.”

  Allie flipped through the pages and turned the book toward him.

  “Allie, no.” He shook his head. “You don’t need to cover up your scar with this.”

  “Read it.”

  “Read what.” He frowned down at the intricate drawing of vines and flowers. He changed his attitude when he saw the lines of poetry she’d worked into the black and purple vines that would follow the path of her scars. It all spoke of positive body image and accepting her perceived imperfections as part of the unique and beautiful person she was, inside and out. It was a message to herself. She didn’t want to let the ugly scar affect her anymore, she was ready to embrace it as the badge of honor it was.

  “Let’s go.” He shut his textbooks and shoved them into his bag.

  “What, now?”

  “Yes, now. If you’re going to get a tattoo, it needs to be spontaneous. Are you sure this is all you want for your birthday?”

  “Yes.” She was actually really excited. Aidan’s cousin Erin had a way with her creative gifts. Allie couldn’t go into just any tattoo studio. They would wonder why she kept healing so fast. But Erin could create the most amazing tattoos for Immortals. And she could change them or remove them at any time.

  Erin’s school was only a short drive from the ferry dock at Edgewater Park. When they arrived at the row of townhouses, Erin was waiting out front for them.

  “Will this hurt?” Allie asked. “I forgot to ask if it hurts.”

  “Of course it hurts,” Erin said as if the suggestion that it might not would make her less of a tattoo artist.

  “Great.”

  “Now let me see your sketches for this mega-birthday tattoo.”

  Allie followed her into the townhouse she shared with her brother, Dean, and decided to just let Erin do her thing. She was a pro at this and Allie trusted her to translate her designs just like she’d planned.

  After much deliberation over the sketches, Erin was ready to roll.

  “This is going to be fantastic. Boys, out.” She shooed Aidan and Dean from her small studio space on the first floor.

  “What? I want to watch,” Aidan protested. “This is for her birthday. I thought I might get something new too.”

  “You want him here when I tell you to take your clothes off?” Erin asked.

  “Nope.” Alli
e laughed at Aidan’s look of disappointment.

  “Seriously? How big is this thing? I though it was just along your scar.”

  “And you haven’t seen my whole scar.” Allie gave him a shove in the direction of the door.

  “Yeah, there’s going to be some side boobage involved in this design. Now get out of my studio,” Erin said.

  Aidan’s eyes widened as he took another look at the swirly vines.

  “I don’t think ‘boobage’ is a word, Erin.” He gave them a wink and went to play some sort of loud video game with Dean. Have fun, Lex. And happy birthday.

  Thanks. But I'm blocking you, so no peeking.

  I'm not that big of a tool, Lex. I can control the urge to peek. Most of the time.

  What do you mean most of the time?

  “This won’t take long.” Erin helped her get situated on the padded table and Allie shifted to her side. “You want me to make it visible to mortals? Like a regular tat?”

  “You can make it visible to Immortals only?”

  “That’s my usual. Aidan’s are mostly only visible to us. Those are easier for me to change. How about we make the vines along your bicep visible to everyone and everything else will be hidden with my gift? That way your snooty school won’t flip their pedigrees when they see you. “

  “I like the way you think.” Allie gave her the go-ahead. She took a deep breath and relaxed as she listened to the humming of the needle. She winced at the first prick of her skin, but eventually the sensation dulled and her mind drifted.

  She was well aware of the needle tracing the lines of the vines on her body. And she was equally aware of Erin’s lively chatter. But Allie was in the orchard … again.

  “I’m getting sick of this place,” she called loudly into the pre-dawn light. She came here almost every night she slept now and none of it made any sense. She’d walked every inch of the forest, from the orchard near the red barn, to the path through the woods, to the long driveway that led to the mansion on the hill, and then down to the beach below the cliffs to the little lake-side cottage and back up again to hike the hillside up to the orchard. Over and over and over.

  “But for what reason?” she screamed, knowing no one would hear her.

  “Why so screechy, killer?” Darius stepped from the barn, his hands in his pockets, the corner of his mouth turning up in that half-grin she knew so well.

  “Please, I can’t handle my weird-ass, un-funny gift-person wearing your face.”

  “Meh, I’m just a dream.” He shrugged. “Nothing special, just your run-of-the-mill daydream about your handsome cop friend.” He stepped beside her, tucking a loose curl behind her ear. “And you know why I’m here.”

  “No, I don’t, actually. But I’m sure you’re about to tell me something that makes no sense.”

  “You know why I’m here; you just haven’t figured it out yet. Honestly, neither have I, but we’ll both see it soon. Right here.”

  “Don’t be cryptic. Just be my good buddy, Dare, and tell it to me straight.”

  He stepped closer, looking into her eyes, his half-smile tugging at her heart in that confusing way it always did. The warmth of his hands around hers calmed her frustration with these reoccurring visions.

  “You and I have something special. We're linked—”

  “What are you saying, Darius McBrien?” She stepped away from the comfort of his embrace. She didn’t want this. Not with him.

  “No, this isn’t that. I don’t think so, anyway. You and I, we're complicated and confusing.”

  “Why do I feel such a strange vibe with you? What is it? It’s not like I’m falling for you, although sometimes in a weird way it does feel like that and it creeps me out.”

  “Yup, me too. But we’re connected. We just don’t know it yet. It’s going to happen right here in this orchard. Right when we need it most.”

  “What’s going to happen, Dare? It’s not like you to be so evasive.” She gave his arm a playful punch.

  “I don’t know exactly, Allie. I just know it will happen soon, and when it does, this thing between us will make more sense. Until then … all I can tell you is that I’ll always be the guy you need me to be. I’ll always tell it to you straight. When I can.”

  “You okay, Allie?” Erin asked, pulling her back into the moment.

  “Yeah.” But she wasn’t. Nothing about that vision was okay. Whatever that was needed to stay far in the distant, non-descript future. She couldn’t deal with boy drama right now. “How’s it going?” She peered down at her arm to see Erin’s handiwork so far.

  “We’re done.”

  “Seriously? The whole thing?”

  “Yeah, come see it.”

  Allie stood before the mirror with a sheet draped around her. The thin black and purple vines snaked across her skin in a subtle pattern that followed the ridge of her scar. Rather than mask the scar, the vines highlighted it. Before, when she looked in the mirror, she thought the scar made her look weak. With the tattoo, she looked strong.

  “That’s a big smile.” Erin nudged her playfully. “You like?”

  “I love it. Erin, you did an amazing job.” She turned, following the vines along her bicep where they curled and flowed down her side to her hip with small purple flowers dotted here and there. The part that was visible to mortals shimmered in the light. It was perfect. The whole tattoo was subtle and simple, but it meant something special to Allie.

  She dressed carefully in her jeans and tank, leaving her hoodie off so the boys could see most of the final design.

  “Thank you, Erin.” Allie tried to pay her for her hard work, but she wouldn’t hear of it.

  “A hug will do just fine.”

  Allie gave the petite girl a hug and saw a flash of dark clouds in an ominous sky. Something terrible lay in Erin’s future—something that could not be avoided, but it was just a brief impression and then it was gone.

  “So, what do you think?” Allie turned to see Aidan’s eyes tracing the path of the vines filled with poetry.

  Oh, I’m just wondering exactly where that thing ends.

  The main part is showing, Aidan. Focus on that. What do you think?

  “You look strong. Confident. You look more like you than you have in a long time.”

  She felt like it too.

  ~~~

  “Thanks for helping me study, Allie,” Kayla said as they pored over her college art history notes Thursday evening. Kayla was attending Kent State University and was struggling with this one class.

  “Glad to help. Your course looks a lot like my intro to art history at CIA so it's useful study time for me too. Anytime you want to catch up and do some studying, I can talk about art for days.”

  “It sounded like an easy class, but I'm totally bombing it. I don't get this assignment at all.”

  Allie poured them each a cup of hot coffee, gagging when she realized it was decaf, and went to hunt for snacks. She was happy when Kayla called her. Things had been weird with them since Allie and Vince broke up and he and Kayla started dealing with their past. She was pretty sure they were already dating.

  With her head in the fridge, she rummaged for something edible that wasn't on Naeemah's stupid diet. She wanted something with gooey chocolate, but there was nothing in the fridge but veggies and hummus.

  Naeemah is an evil dark witch. Somehow she'd managed to get Lily in on this diet thing and there was nothing truly edible in the house. Lily was a steadfast carb-and-cheese-ivore—how did Naeemah manage to get her mom to buy tofu?

  “What's the assignment?” Allie settled on celery sticks and peanut butter.

  “We have to do compare-and-contrast essays every week on a different period of art history. So we talk about something old and then we show how it's still applicable today. I just don't get it. How are caveman paintings used anywhere in today's world?”

  “I kinda want to do this assignment.” Allie pulled the textbook over to see the examples of cave art Kayla was struggling w
ith.

  “I knew I came to the right art dork.”

  “Yes, you did. Okay, so the cave art at Lascaux would be the ancient example of how man wanted to leave a record of his time there, right?”

  “Sure. Looks like useless stick figures to me, though.”

  “Think of it like a ‘Joe was here’ kind of thing.”

  “Like graffiti?”

  “Exactly. So find some seriously cool street art to compare it with and talk about how even today we have a pathological need to doodle in public places to prove to the world we were here and we were important.”

  “I knew you would be useful. What about the pyramids? Luxor in Vegas?”

  “Too obvious; everyone will use that. You could do the Louvre in Paris, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame here, or the Transamerica Pyramid building in San Francisco.”

  “Okay, I think I get it now.”

  “Whenever the art part starts to get confusing, just remember it's like any other history class. Most of what we know of history comes from the art and artifacts of the different periods so it all connects.”

  “Thanks, Allie. I wasn't sure if it was a good idea to call you. With the whole Vince thing. I know you know there were a lot of … extenuating circumstances.”

  “We're fine, Kayla. I want us all to still be friends. Especially since I think I might transfer to Kent State next year. CIA is an awesome school, but it's really expensive and the KSU art program is just as good and Sasha is probably going there too.”

  “What about Aidan? Where's he going?”

  “He says he's going to Oberlin Conservatory just outside the city, but I know he's always planned to go to the Musical Conservatory in Germany and I don’t want him to give that up.”

  “Well, if you come to KSU, maybe we could be roommates? Or we could all get a place together?”