Destined_The Immortal Defenses Series

by E. L. Davis

  "Actually, before he even knew that you guys had snuck off together he was hitting on her hard," Leigh said as she entered the kitchen stretching her arms above her head. "He wasn't even that drunk, either. It seemed legit. I thought he was still into you, Alexia."

  "He probably just wants to make you jealous,” Demetri mentioned. “I know my brother; we have been fighting over you for way too long, and he wouldn't just start liking somebody else after all this time."

  "I don't know, maybe he realized he didn't love me. Just like I realized I didn't love him." She was about to add 'because I love Demetri', but she wasn't at that point yet; she liked him and knew that one day she would love him.

  "Maybe he finally met the right girl; maybe you two fought over Alexia for so long, it led him to Cheri. It's like fate." Ellie sounded so sure of herself, it could be possible.

  "Everything happens for a reason," Leigh suggested.

  "You know what, you’re right." Alexia pulled Demetri into the living room to talk to him privately. "I want to find out what's going on between them. I think I know how to make him tell me the truth..."

  "You mean using your special defense on him?"

  "Yeah, but when I did it to you last night it didn't last long. Do you think it would work long enough to get answers from him?"

  "Try it, but I can guarantee you he is doing this just to get to you."

  "But Leigh said..."

  "It doesn't matter, Alexia, I'm telling you he would not give up on you like this." Demetri sounded serious. "But try it."

  "I will, when they come down." She turned to go back into the kitchen, but Demetri grabbed her arm.

  "Wait a second. You can't just drag your boyfriend aside and not kiss him after."

  "You never asked me to be your girlfriend."

  "I thought it was kind of implied," he said nervously.

  "Aw, I love watching you squirm,” Alexia smirked. “You act like such a badass but really you're a softie." She smiled at him and stood on her toes to kiss his lips.

  "I'm only a softie when it comes to you. Otherwise I'm a badass." He smiled at her and kissed her before they went back to the kitchen.

  "What was that about?" Ellie asked. She was making a big pan of eggs and bacon.

  "Nothing. I just had an idea to figure out what was going through Roman's mind."

  "What is it?" Leigh asked.

  "Wait and see," Demetri answered for her.

  A half-hour later, Alexia heard the stairs creak and knew that Roman and Cheri were finally up. Her heartbeat picked up and she felt adrenaline pumping through her body. She didn't know if she should wait until she could get him alone, or do it right away. Before she thought through the pros and cons of each decision, Cheri skipped into the kitchen obviously in a very good mood.

  "Good morning people! I am so happy I don't have a hangover today." She faced everyone else and sighed. "Apparently, I'm the only one. You all look like you’re going to die. Don't worry; Roman is really hungover, too." Roman came trudging in slowly and empty of energy. Cheri continued, "So, did everyone else have fun last night?"

  "Yeah," Leigh chimed in. "And I know you guys did." She laughed, but when nobody else laughed with her, she stopped and went awkwardly silent.

  "Didn't Theo stay over with you Ellie?" Cheri asked, trying to take the attention off her and Roman.

  "Yeah, he is still sleeping, or maybe he died. I'm going to go check."

  "I'll come with you," Leigh said, obviously trying to escape the weirdness she had caused in the kitchen.

  "Who made breakfast?" It was the first thing Roman had said and he didn't look at anybody when he said it.

  "Ellie did." Alexia jumped at the opportunity to try to get him to look at her. When he didn't, she tried something different. "So, I know I was wasted last night, and I barely remember coming in, but what about you two?"

  Neither of them said anything so Demetri took a shot at them. "Yeah, Alexia didn't even remember telling you guys to go to bed together. Isn't that weird?"

  "Nah, my girl blacks out when she drinks all the time,” Cheri said. “No big deal." Cheri and Roman sat across from Demetri and Alexia with two plates full of eggs.

  "Roman," Alexia called his name trying to get him to look at her.

  "Hmm?" he said without lifting his head from his plate.

  "Look at me."

  He sighed and set his fork down on his plate hard. He looked up at her. "What?" There was annoyance in his voice; he had never spoken to her like that before.

  Alexia focused in on his eyes like she had done to Demetri the night before. It was harder with him across the table but when she felt like she had locked onto his eyes she asked him, "Tell me the truth, how do you feel about Cheri?"

  "Alexia!" Cheri was looking at her with her mouth hanging open, but Alexia didn't even hear her call her name.

  "She's awesome," Roman said, almost in a trance.

  "Did you hook up with her to get back at me for choosing Demetri?"

  "I don't think so."

  She knew she couldn't do this for much longer. Her eyes were burning and as soon as she blinked, she knew she would lose him. She had to ask him one more thing so that Cheri knew her intentions were good.

  "Promise me you don't plan to hurt her to get back at me?"

  "I swear, I never intended on doing that."

  Before the words had left his mouth completely Alexia had to blink. Her eyes were burning so badly it felt like bleach had been poured on them. She couldn't help but scream. She had never tried so hard to make it work before, and it made the sting ten times worse.

  "What did you do to him?" Cheri yelled at her.

  "I had to know, Cheri. I don't want you to get hurt!" Alexia couldn't even open her eyes to look at her friend’s face. She knew Cheri's expression would tell her if she was mad or not, but she couldn't look.

  "Alexia, look at me!"

  "What the hell, Alexia!" Roman yelled at her now. "How did you do that?” He turned to his brother. “Demetri, that's it! She can use the second defense on Immortals! When did you find out? Why did you not tell me?"

  Demetri wasn't paying any attention to his brother. All he was concerned about was Alexia. She was still holding her eyes shut tight. The burning was slowly going away, but not nearly fast enough.

  "Alexia?" Cheri's voice was concerned. She ran to her side and tried to make her look at her. "What's wrong with you?"

  "It's her eyes, Cheri. They’re strained from what she just did." Roman was at her side now too. "You didn't have to do that. I would have told you honestly anyways."

  "I'm fine, it's going away now." It was almost gone; there was just a slight stinging left in the back of her eyes. She flashed her eyes open and it didn't hurt her too much. Cheri was the first person she looked at. "I'm sorry, okay? I just don't want you to get hurt."

  "I wouldn't hurt her, Alexia. She's a sweet girl, and things were made pretty clear last night. I acted on something I had been feeling since the day we picked you guys up from Java's."

  "Good to know," Alexia said in relief.

  Ellie, Leigh, and Theo had joined them in the kitchen now. "What did we miss?" Leigh asked. She seemed to know exactly when to say the wrong things.

  "Nothing at all." Demetri gave everyone a warning look to not mention what had happened. "Roman likes Cheri, that's about it."

  "Alright, can we get over that topic, please?" Cheri was blushing and so was Roman. They both stared at their plates playing with their food.

  "Well, people,” Leigh announced, “I think we are going to head out. You know me, I don't like to impose too long. Alexia, you should for sure stick around for a while. I would love to catch up with you."

  "Thanks, Leigh, I’ll for sure look you up when I come back in August. See you guys later. Nice re-meeting you both."

  "You too," Theo said in his deep voice that made Ellie clutch the counter. He turned to her and said, "I had a good night." He bent down and kissed her on
the cheek before walking awkwardly away.

  Demetri watched them go from the window in the kitchen, making sure they were out of hearing range before he started talking. "Okay, so I'm pretty sure that you are the first person in history to ever be able to use the second defense on an Immortal. We can't tell anybody. We don't know who we can trust."

  "Wait," Ellie said. "I missed something. When did you use the second defense on an Immortal?"

  "Last night, and right now on Roman," Alexia said in a hurried voice. "I don't know if that's what Amarantos knows, though. I mean, it's really hard to do, and the longer I do it, the more my eyes burn. I don't see it being very helpful when Amar comes for me. I won’t be able to use it against him for too long, and even if I could, it wears off really fast. I think there is something else about me.”

  "Like what?" Roman questioned.

  "I don't know for sure, but I have an idea. I can get mad and turn on the first defense in an instant. I can use the second defense on Immortals and I easily used it on Phil with my first try. There must be something about the third defense that I can do, too, right?"

  Everyone considered this for a moment. It seemed very probable, and it made perfect sense. The hard part would be finding out what she could do with the third defense.

  "I think you could be right,” Demetri affirmed, “but we should still track down your dad. Roman, did you get any leads?"

  "Not really. Everyone I asked knows he is still around, but they just don't know where." Roman shrugged. "We can go to the markets and ask around."

  "I know where he is," Ellie chimed in.

  "You?” Roman asked incredulously. “How do you know?"

  "I was talking to Theo, and it's one of the few things I remember about last night. By the way," she said, turning to Alexia and Cheri, "let me just say, Theo is a great kisser from what I remember, but not so good at having a conversation."

  "Ellie, this isn't really the time to talk about that," Roman said slightly annoyed.

  "Fine, I will tell you two later. He said he lives in the original village; he is one of the only remaining people who live there. The old structure isn't safe blah, blah, blah, but he says he is still there."

  "Alright then, I guess that's where we’re going. Demetri and I can go talk to him, and we will explain that you're here and want to meet him."

  "I'm going with you," Alexia said.

  "I don't think it's the best idea," Roman said, looking to Demetri for support. "He might go into shock from you just turning up on his doorstep."

  "I don't care. I'm his…" she paused, "was his daughter. I am going with you."

  "Demetri, you know this is a bad idea, tell her."

  "I think she should decide for herself."

  "Don't give me that bullshit, Demetri. She already chose you, now you don't have to let her do everything she bloody well wants!"

  "It has nothing to do with that! It's her father and it should be her choice. Obviously, I'm not saying she should be the one to go to the door, but there is no reason she can't come and wait out on the street while we talk to him."

  "I think we should all go," Cheri piped up. "This is something that we need your help with and Alexia will need our support, so we all go."

  Twenty minutes later, everyone was dressed and ready to go to the village. Roman said it was only about ten minutes from the market so it wouldn't take too long to get there. It was a beautiful day outside and the girls were all wearing jean shorts and loose tank tops, and the guys were sporting long swim shorts and black muscle shirts. It was nice to escape the winter back home and be in some sunshine. After they passed the market, they took one long street to the old village. Alexia enjoyed watching the people on the street; the part of town they were in wasn't as modern as most of the towns, and the people here worked hard for a living.

  Demetri and Alexia weren't sure how to handle themselves around everyone else. It seemed like it was going to be one of those relationships that are easy when you’re alone together, but when you’re around people, you don't know if you should hold hands or put your arm around each other’s waist. Alexia had never seen how Demetri acted with other girls. His attention had only been on her. She didn't know if he liked showing off that he had a girlfriend. He seemed like the type of guy who liked to appear single, even if he wasn't. She wasn't just another girl he had a crush on. She was the girl he had chased after for over three centuries. She was the girl who could finally make him happy.

  "It’s right around this corner,” Demetri mentioned as he turned to Alexia. “I just want to brace you for what you might see. This is a really old village and the way we used to live was completely different and..." She kissed him to shut him up.

  "I'll be fine," she assured him.

  "I just don't want it to overwhelm you. I don't know if you're going to remember any of it. Okay, I'll stop. I'm acting like Roman."

  "Just a little bit," she said laughing. He held out his hand for her to hold. She took it and butterflies rushed into her stomach. "Thank you," she whispered.

  With Roman, Cheri, and Ellie leading the way, they turned the corner and faced the small village. It wasn't that bad at all. Sure, the houses were old and probably not safe to live in, but the place had a special feel about it. Alexia was bathed in déjà vu as she walked forward down the small street that separated the two rows of houses. As she rounded a small bend, the breath was knocked out of her. She didn't even have to ask, as she already knew.

  It was the cliff, the same cliff that once upon a time she had plummeted from to her death. It jutted out from the ocean like a sore thumb. Before she even had time to process it, she was running to it. She knew from her dream that there was a set of rickety stairs that you could use to get to the top. Nobody tried to stop her, not even Demetri, because there was no stopping her when she wanted something now. She could make you let her do whatever she wanted, at a price, of course.

  Faster than she imagined, she was at the foot of the old stairs, carefully climbing up, testing the stairs that looked most unsafe. And then she was at the top of the cliff, inching forward slowly toward the edge, and then she looked down. There were several jagged rocks at the bottom. She backed away and shut her eyes. She backed into something solid that turned out to be Demetri.

  "I should have warned you," he said softly.

  She said nothing; there were no words to prepare her for this. She was standing on the very cliff that she had stood on three hundred and fifty years ago. This was the last place that she had been alive.

  "Alexia, let’s not stay up here. We are here for a reason, and this isn't that reason, okay?"

  She remained there, hugging him, as it was all she could do to keep herself from falling apart. He was patient with her, not bugging her to get it together, but letting her do what she needed to do, which was hug him.

  "I think I'm okay now," she said as she pulled away from him slowly, trying not to look back out at the water. "Never let me come back up here again."

  "I can't promise that, but I will try. Let's go."

  Ellie and Cheri were waiting at the bottom of the stairs for her, but Roman was nowhere to be seen.

  "Alexia, are you..." Ellie began but didn't bother finishing because she knew by the look on her face that Alexia was not okay. Ellie and Cheri pulled her into a tight hug and didn't let go for a long time.

  When they finally let go, Alexia was feeling much better, and wanted to get away from the damn cliff.

  "Where did Roman go?" she asked.

  "He went to knock on your dad's door,” Ellie replied. “He said he would come get us if he was there."

  "I don't know if I can handle this."

  "You can do this. I know you can," Ellie said. "Just think about what we’re going to find out from him."

  "Alexia," Roman said as he came from around the corner with a man in his late forties. He had salt and pepper hair, with skin that looked like it had seen a few too many sunny days. His eyes were brown, not blue
like Alexia's. If she didn't know any better, she would have never assumed this man was her real father. "This is your father, Hector."

  ∞ CHAPTER FIFTEEN ∞

  The inside of Hector’s house was old and clearly not safe to live in. Cracks ran down the walls and the whole house stunk of mold and dust. It was dark and damp in the small kitchen where the group was cramped into, sitting on old wooden chairs. Alexia hoped that being in the house would bring back a rush of memories, but there was nothing. When she had shaken Hector’s hand, she had also expected images to flash in her mind of their times together, but again there was nothing. She had never expected she would be introducing herself to the person who had given her life.

  She didn’t know how to act around him. Did he expect her to hug him and cry? Did he expect her not to care who he was? There was no right way to go about this awkward reunion. Turning to Demetri, she gave him a pleading look to get the conversation going. He nodded and was the first to speak. “Hector, I don’t know if you know this but Amarantos is coming after Alexia. He wants to kill her to punish Roman and me. He never wanted the games to end and thinks we should be punished forever. We think there is a way to beat him, but we need your help.”

  “How can I help?” his voice was harsh and rough. “There is nothing I know about Amar or his plans for Alexia.”

  “You see,” Alexia responded, “there are things that I can do that most Immortals can’t do. Basically, I am really good at the first and second defenses. I can get mad on command and, without ever having used the second defense before, I was able to make a human believe what I wanted him to believe.”

  “People say that, when your defenses are frozen for a long period of time, power builds up inside of you.” Hector sounded like he was trying to convince them all that there was nothing special about Alexia.

  “That’s not all, sir,” Cheri said. “She can use the second defense on Immortals, too.”

  Hector laughed. “That is impossible. Nobody can use the second defense on an Immortal.”

  “I can,” Alexia insisted.