“Oh my God…” I muttered.
“It’s good, isn’t it?” Don replied with a slight grin.
I nodded and took another drink. After I had swallowed, I spoke again.
“So, why are only some of us changing?”
“Because we’re embracing it, Brynna. Do you want to know something else that’s shocking? Prepare yourself.”
“I am prepared.” I answered instantly.
He paused, forcing me to mentally prepare for another bombshell. I just wanted to know what he was going to say. I was sick of dramatic, soap-opera-style breaks in conversation.
“We will never die.”
I stopped breathing at the words. James had taken a huge gulp of coconut juice and was choking on it now.
“I told you to prepare yourself.”
“We’re… immortal?” I exclaimed in incredulous shock. I was unsure why the thought brought forth such a potent fear in me.
“Immortal, ageless…” Don filled in airily. “Do you enjoy being young and beautiful?”
I looked at him quizzically, feeling slightly put off by that random and personal question with such heavy implications behind it. Or perhaps I was imagining things. I felt quite dizzy.
“I suppose.”
“Well, then, you’ll be happy to know that you will look the same forever. You won’t age another day, either of you. Any of you, I should say because your sisters and brothers are…” He furrowed his brows when he looked at me, “Where did you say they were?”
I shook my head back and forth rapidly, trying to be discreet about my fight with that sudden onslaught of dizziness. If we wanted to stay there, he had to believe that we were all able-bodied enough to work and if I passed out, he would assume that I was afflicted with some illness that rendered me anything but.
“I did not say.”
“Brynn…” James muttered to me as he went to stand up. I looked over just as he fell to his knees, holding his head.
Oh, God or Gods...
Disregarding any wisdom or common sense, I jumped up onto my feet only to feel the ground sashay right out from beneath them. I hit the ground hard before turning over onto my back to stare up at the ceiling. The dancing stars and pools of black and silver that had become so familiar to me during my descent into drugged sleep on the ship were back. I had been drugged again, this time completely against my knowledge and will.
“Her sisters and brother are out there. They’re close.” Don’s voice was still as calm as ever, as though he was simply commenting on the weather on any old day instead of standing over two people who were struggling to remain conscious after he had drugged them for no reason that was evident.
“James!” I cried out.
My heart resumed its fearful, quickened march. I hated any kind of sedation. This time, it was so much worse because I had not been able to stop it… It had been against my will, just like the very first time back on Earth…
I only heard James spit out three words in fury after he had reached out and grasped Don’s ankle to stop him from walking further away where he would not be able to hear him.
“Let… her… go…”
The long-clawed hands that were the darkness of deep, unforgiving sleep grabbed hold of me and dragged me into the unknown depths more merciless than that of the river we had almost drowned in.
Pull for the surface, Brynna, my mind screamed in a plea too desperate to ever be spoken aloud by me.
It was useless. The hands were too strong. I collapsed onto the floor.
The already dim light faded away.
XXX
“LET GO!” Violet was screaming desperately. I kicked and fought for the surface, trying to break free from the serpent that was pulling me into the depths of the dark water I had become completely submerged in.
“BRYNNA! BRYNNA!” Penny’s terror was yet another monstrous water-beast, that was wrapping me in the iron grip of its tentacles.
“NO! PENNY!” Violet again, but this time her tears were choking off her words. I had to break free of the haze, of the waking dream I was stuck in to save her. I had to get to her and Penny. There was no knowing what Don and his people were capable of doing.
“Just listen to me, listen…” Quinn’s voice, begging shamelessly for an audience and a chance to explain. It was useless.
“Where is she?!” Elijah was furious as he demanded the details of my whereabouts and an assurance that I was, at the very least, still alive. God or Gods bless him.
“Hey, she’s coming out of it. Don!” An unfamiliar voice belonging to a young man who had just realized that I was not nearly as unconscious as I appeared to be... My mind had risen up for one brief moment to alert itself that Elijah, Penny, and Violet were near.
The coconut juice, as sweet and pure as any endless dream, rained down my throat in a flood more dangerous than its delicious taste would have me believe.
I fell back into darkness.
XXX
“Brynna? Brynna?”
At first, I believed it was James. My eyes snapped open, needing to see his face, needing to know that he was there. When my vision focused, though, disappointment and admittedly, a shot of fear broke over me; it was Don seated in front of me.
I jumped, ready to attack him for what he had done. He had mentioned something about embracing our powers and I certainly had. I was going to show him just how ready I was to utilize my new killer instincts by ripping his throat out. How dare he drug James and me? How dare he steal Penny, Elijah and Violet away? How could he strike such fear in their hearts without reason? How dare he keep me here so that I could not absolve that fear for them?
Once again, my hands were cuffed behind my back. I wondered where they had procured the cuffs but prayed that they had stolen them off one of my father’s thugs in a bloody fight that ended in said thug being no longer of this world. Dare to dream, I suppose. My mind was racing through more thoughts than what could have been possible to process at once, and yet there I was, processing every last one.
“Yes, I’m sorry about those.”
“Do not fret.” I muttered in a voice quiet not from fear but from physical weakness. I stifled a yawn. Whatever drug they had slipped into our drinks had drained all the energy that I had left. My deep, sedative-induced sleep had done nothing to remedy that exhaustion.
“I still have my feet.” I told him as the yawn burst forth despite all efforts to suppress it. “If you come any closer, I will kick you square in the face.”
“I don’t doubt it. I won’t be coming any closer. Would you like to talk?”
“About what, dare I ask?”
I ordered my racing heart to slow. I would not show fear in front of him or anyone else. Doing so would accomplish nothing. Instead, I would start negotiating. Blubbering like a three year old frightened by a shadow in the closet was going to render all my points moot. A man would not negotiate with a woman who cried. He would simply look down on her for dissolving into a display of weakness he would never know, for his breed was different.
Strange thoughts…
“Where are Penny, Elijah, Violet and James?” I demanded first. Despite asking such an emotionally heavy question, I kept my voice as emotionless as possible. Remaining calm when asking whether or not the members of one’s family are even still alive is quite challenging, as I am sure you can surmise.
“They’re alright. They’re just down the hall from you. Given the current climate between ourselves, the cave-dwellers, as you call them, and the Bachums, we’re lucky to have these cells below the house. Adam told me that they were used for these same purposes hundreds of years ago, during yet another war between himself and the Old Spirits. That’s what they’re called, officially.”
“I want to see them. I want to see that they are all alive and unharmed.”
I was in no mood to learn any new information for the first time in my life. Nothing he was saying mattered to me. The only thing that mattered was knowing that they were
safe.
“They are. Well, your boyfriend isn’t. He came out of his sleep early, just as they were cuffing him. We had to take him down.”
My heart erupted in a fiery, volcanic explosion that replaced my blood with burning, agonizing lava. They had killed James. Oh my God, oh my God…
My eyes must have been bugging because Don leaned forward, shaking his head vigorously and wearing a look of great concern.
“Oh, sweetheart, no; he's not dead. Of course not! We don’t hurt those we don’t have to hurt.”
I could not suppress it; I sighed in relief.
“I apologize for the misunderstanding. I can hear your heart racing. That really frightened you. May I ask you a question, just to satisfy my curiosity?”
I did not respond. I was still reeling from those brief yet incredibly painful moments where I had believed that James was dead. I had not known where to begin grieving, even. I hated the man in front of me for even mistakenly leading me to believe that I had lost James.
“Do you love him?” He asked before I had been given a chance to refuse his question.
I stared at him, stunned by the brashness of what he was asking. I did not understand how he could believe that intimate details of mine and James’s relationship were any business of his.
“I only ask because I find the pairing strange. No judgment.” He held his hands up and smiling disarmingly. “But he is much older than you. He probably graduated college before you were even born.”
“Not that it's any of your business, but our age difference does not matter now. It never did but it especially does not now, given that we are immortal. At least, you proclaim that we are immortal. Or was that some intricate, lucid dream I had after you very rudely drugged me and my much older boyfriend?”
“I did say that. It’s the truth. But you still haven’t answered my question.”
“Why do you even care?” I demanded, and my aggravation leaked through my facade of calmness. “It truly is none of your business, wouldn’t you agree? What do my feelings for James, at any degree of intensity, have to do with you?”
“I told you that I’m just curious.”
“Well, I am going to stick with my original answer, thank you so much. It is none of your business.”
He smiled slightly.
“That’s never a good answer, Brynna. It implies shame, in this case at your relationship with a man so much older than you. It sometimes denotes that one person’s feelings aren’t as strong as the others, if they are there at all. So, is it you that doesn’t love James when he loves you or the other way around?”
“It is neither.” I replied icily, “It is none of your damn business.” I wanted him to be angry at my resolve not to answer him but he merely smiled and studied me closely again.
“We could use someone like you around here. You’re worthy of knowing our secrets.”
“I have no interest in your secrets nor would I ever work for a man who resorts to brutality and murder in order to gain a place in the world.”
“James said something about you being so mature but that was perhaps the most idealistic, youthful thing I’ve ever heard, especially given what you’ve witnessed.”
That insignificant excuse of a man was attempting to belittle me. As he laughed somewhat hysterically at what I had said, I forced my rage to remain level. I focused only on obtaining the answers that I so desperately needed.
“You have spoken to James?”
His laughter subsided but he ignored my question.
“You’ll see things my way, Brynna. You’ll see that my actions are the result of not having a choice. It’s either us or them.”
“Did Adam ever explain exactly why it is that we all cannot live here together peacefully? Do not roll your eyes at me like I am some wide-eyed, empty-headed flower child, Don!” I snapped at him loudly. I had stunned both him and myself with my outburst as it was the direct result of the fact that I was truly, dangerously angry.
“You want to know the reason why he won’t allow all of us to share his planet? We can’t. All of that conflict on Earth led to so much destruction, not to mention the end of the world as we knew it. He can’t risk that here. This place is pure. That’s why it’s called Purissimus. I can’t imagine destroying this world like we destroyed ours. Can you?”
I did not answer. He continued, undeterred, as though he had not asked me a question at all.
“If we destroyed this place the way we destroyed Earth, it would be terrible. It would be an abomination. It would be absolutely horrible to commit the same crime twice, don’t you agree?”
This time, his large eyes met mine. I could see his resolve staring powerfully back at me; he would not continue our conversation unless I answered him. Because I was desperate to find Penny, Violet, Elijah and James, I did not hesitate in replying.
“Yes, I do. But you cannot tell me that there are not ways for us to live here together. Send one group to the north, one to the south…” I sighed in frustration, “I do not know! I never intended to follow in my mother’s footsteps. I would never have been able to solve disputes between countries. I cannot solve this one here. But violence is certainly not the only answer.”
“You’ve almost been killed by them and yet you still sympathize with them?” He was incredulous at the strength of my heart. He was in awe of it. I was not flattered.
“I do not generalize an entire group of people based on the violent actions of a few. Also, I do not finish battles that were started by others for reasons I do not know.”
“Perhaps not. I can see that you're not keen to the idea of fighting, which is perfectly fine for now. Your conflict resolution skills might need some toning up but let me say this: your mother wasn’t able to solve any disputes, domestic or foreign. She was very good at starting them, though, wasn't she?”
I did not answer once again. I scowled just at the thought of her.
“Now, I'm drawing a blank on your mom. I can't place her appearance at all in my mind. Is she the red-headed woman that’s with your father?”
“No,” My expression darkened even more at the mere mention of Maura. “And I will not talk about her.”
“About the woman with your father or your mom?”
“Both.”
“Does that other woman bear a resemblance to your mother?”
“No.” The anger was bubbling up, threatening to boil over. I forced it down, trying to picture something, anything that would suppress it. Penny’s smiling face came into my mind; the mental sight of her beautifully youthful happiness absolved my anger but brought forward new fear and sadness in me. I wanted so desperately for her to live a safe and happy life. It had always been my intention to ensure that Penny lived a wondrous, carefree childhood, unblemished by any of the horrid things I had experienced as I grew. She would always have my love, when I had not had anyone’s. She would remain innocent and naïve for the duration of her youth because I would never allow her to see the cruelty or sickness of evil men. She would never know regret or pain. I would spare her from all of the most unspeakable things of the world even if such never-ending protection cost me my own life.
Racing thoughts again. Focus, Brynna.
“I was almost killed by Adam’s people.” I changed the subject. It was the perfect way to erase those unpleasant memories and recollections.
“But Adam is on our side now. He won’t let you forget that. He will show you how good it is to be on his side, Brynna. Plus, you were also almost killed by the Old Spirits, too. You took one of them hostage.”
“Where is he?” I asked, though I barely cared.
“We delivered him to Adam. He is very grateful.”
“I am sure he is.” My heart dropped. What I felt now was the sting of regret I had mused on briefly but had not expected to actually experience. Was that boy going to be another body hanging in the woods to warn enemies away from Don's stronghold? I could not bear the thought of sending a young man to his death. Althoug
h, if everyone truly was immortal and ageless, I had no way of knowing exactly how old he was. His aging might have stopped hundreds of years ago, for all I knew.
“He would like to speak to you, too. Would you like to see him now?”
“No. I want to see that they are all okay. The longer you stall, the more I am beginning to believe that you have done something to them. I want to make sure they are alright.”
“For the sake of the one God, Mr. Abba, let the young woman see her dear ones.”
It was Adam’s voice. He was entering the room with the same effortless charm and predatory nature of the Serpent who had targeted another man sharing his very same name. He moved behind me, sending a chill that twisted around my spine like two rough hands wringing a rag dry. After kneeling down behind me, he freed my hands. I could feel his eyes watching me.
I jumped up and turned abruptly to face him. It was all his fault. We would have lived peacefully in our campsite until the day we ran out of food. We never would have known any of that violence if he had not attacked us so senselessly.
I spun around and lunged for his throat. I was stunned that he did not stagger back a single step after I had run into him with every bit of strength left inside of me. His hands came up and lazily peeled mine from around his neck. I prepared myself for a physical blow that never came. He merely chuckled and held my wrists lightly to my sides.
“There is no need for that, Ms. Olivier. I would not hurt you even if you had chosen the other side.”
“I have not chosen any side!” I actually stomped my foot to show the frustration that had been building inside of me for the previous half-hour of conversation with Don. I could not stand not knowing if my family was alright. I wanted to beat the man's head in for even allowing me to question whether they were safe or not.
“Even if you do not realize it, you have chosen a side.” Adam's smile widened and his eyes gleamed maliciously.
“I have not done anything of...” I trailed off when my brain began to turn pirouettes once again. “God or Gods, what is wrong with you people?!”
The Shattered Genesis (Eternity) Page 49