Immortals of Indriell- The Collection

by Melissa A. Craven

  “Everyone is so busy with you guys, sometimes it feels like I’m slipping through the cracks. More than ever now with Graham’s Awakening coming up in a few days.” A flash of resentment crossed her face and Aidan could feel how much she struggled with her uncertain future.

  “I know it’s gotta suck to be the last one.” He patted her shoulder.

  “It’s my turn, now. This is my year and I want to make the most of it, but it’s just so lonely all of a sudden.”

  “I know what that’s like.”

  “Right. You had Sasha and Quinn after you manifested and you had me and Graham before.”

  “True, but there’s always been a wall between me and the rest of you.”

  “Aidan, I know I’ve been weird since your Awakening.”

  “I understand, Chlo. I promise I won’t hold it against you.” He winked. After he came into his power, Chloe had a hard time being herself around him.

  “You know we all respect you so much.” She was so earnest, she had no idea that her “respect” was the problem.

  “I know. I just hope you realize I never expect your deference. I know your instincts tell you I’m some sort of authority figure. Just don’t ever forget I’m your friend first.”

  “Of course, Aidan. I’m sorry I never really thought about what it must be like for you. I guess that’s why you can be so stupid-reckless?” She shoved him playfully.

  “Yeah, I guess the isolation makes me a little crazy sometimes.”

  “I know how much you hate the way everyone reacts to your power, but don’t push us away. I can’t stand the thought of you feeling so lonely when we’re all right here.”

  “Thanks, Chloe.” He didn’t have the heart to tell her that no matter how much they cared—no matter how hard they tried, he still felt alone, like he was on an island by himself and the whole world was just out of reach.

  “Well, I don’t want you feeling lonely or left out. So let’s make the most of our sessions. It’s time I actually taught you something useful.”

  “Like what?”

  “Well, since I’m not known as the most responsible sort, how about I teach you some stuff the others wouldn’t even think about till after your Awakening?”

  “Ohh! Like fun stuff?” She bounced on her heels in excitement.

  “Maybe. Go on, I’ll meet you in the Yard in a minute, I just need to grab something.”

  He rummaged through his desk until he found what he needed and raced off to join Chloe. Now that he had a plan, he was looking forward to the rest of their session.

  He found her waiting in the tall grass near the brook on the edge of the small forest. The Yard still amazed him, even though he’d practically grown up in the underground. He and Sasha played there as kids. They would lay in the grass with Gregg and watch the hazy clouds he shaped into funny faces and figures for them. And if he tried really hard, Aidan could see the stone ceiling just beyond the “sky.” Even as a small child, he was powerful, but he never realized back then that he was seeing through his father’s gift. Back then, Gregg was their all-imposing father. He still was in Aidan’s estimation, but in a different way.

  “Alright, Chloe, you ready?”

  “Let’s do it!” She was so excited about the prospect of doing something new, he didn’t want to disappoint her.

  “We’re going to practice listening.”

  “Oh.” Her smile wilted.

  “Come on, it’ll be fun. I promise.”

  “Why listening?”

  “After your Awakening, your senses will be in overdrive. It feels like total chaos and it’s the worst part about the beginning. But I’m wondering if someone as powerful as you could get something of a baseline of control formed before your birthday.”

  “You think I’ll be powerful?”

  “I’ll let you in on a little secret, Chlo. You’re going to be a tiny little badass, even if you do manifest as a scholar.”

  “How can you tell so soon?”

  “I can feel it.” With most kids her age, it was difficult to know what to expect of their Awakenings. Sometimes, like in Aidan’s case, the child was so strong, the parents knew what was in store. With Chloe, it was a bit of a mystery. They still didn’t know if she would take after her scholarly grandparents, or if she would be powerfully gifted like Ming and Jin. But Aidan could sense her power in a way most people couldn’t yet. She would be incredible, either way.

  “You’re really kind of amazing, Aidan.” She gave his hand a gentle squeeze. She was more comfortable with him now than she’d been in months.

  I should have taken the time to set her at ease a long time ago.

  “So what am I listening to?”

  “Here, put this over your eyes to help you focus.” He handed her the scarf he’d found in the desk he still hadn’t cleaned out. “It’s important that you’re constantly aware of your surroundings,” he continued as she adjusted the blindfold. “Sometimes the smallest detail can be vitally important, so you’ll need to recognize the tiniest whisper of sound. But you also need to be able to identify it. Your hearing isn’t enhanced yet, but you’d be surprised how much you can actually hear if you just focus.”

  “‘K, what do I do?”

  “Relax. Clear your mind of all the mundane distractions floating around and just listen.” Aidan watched as Chloe concentrated for several long moments and he was happy to see her taking this seriously.

  “Okay.” She took a deep breath. “I hear the babbling brook, the birds chirping and something humming.”

  “We’ll come back to that humming sound in a second, but focus on the obvious first.”

  “Well I hear your breathing and…” Chloe floundered for a moment as she tried to concentrate. “I hear the grass crunching beneath us. I hear something moving. It’s faint but close. I think it’s your hair blowing in the breeze. You need a haircut,” she giggled.

  “Hey! I like it. It’s low maintenance.”

  “Mortals don’t hear things like that, do they?” she asked in awe.

  “You’re not mortal, Chlo. You aren’t manifested either, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do extraordinary things. Let’s keep going. What else do you hear?”

  “That humming sound again. It’s like a fan, maybe?”

  “Remember where we are.”

  “Is it the air conditioning?”

  “It’s the ventilation pump that makes it feel like we’re outside.”

  “That’s it! It’s a hum with a sort of sucking sound too.”

  “If Quinn ever figures out his latest gift, he might be able to replace that for us,” Aidan said.

  “There’s a fluttering, thrumming sound too. It’s very close, but I can’t place it. It’s rhythmic and steady, like a heartbeat?”

  “Like maybe my heartbeat?”

  “Oh! Wow! How can I hear that?”

  “You’re more powerful than you realize, Chlo. At fifteen, progress happens so gradually it’s hard to notice, but it’s there and it will get stronger every day. Reach further. Look for sounds you don’t recognize.”

  “There’s a sort of churning noise and I’m not sure where it’s coming from. It’s everywhere, all at once.”

  “Alright, work it out. If we were actually outside, sitting on a grassy hill what would you expect to be everywhere at once? Something you know is there but you don’t always see?”

  “Uh … I don’t know. Bugs, maybe?”

  “Exactly! It’s the insect life teeming all around us. After your Awakening, you will hear dozens of different sounds in that one noise. It’s freakishly loud.”

  “Do you think if I practice enough my senses will be stronger than most Immortals my age?” Chloe asked.

  “It’s possible. We’ll try sight and scent too. It will be interesting to see if this makes a difference for you in the first few weeks.”

  “Let’s keep going!”

  “Try to identify the sounds beyond the Yard. I’m curious to see if we can find your
threshold so we have something to measure your progress by.”

  Chloe took another deep breath and focused. “There’s something coming from your office but I can’t make it out. It’s not voices. Is it music?”

  “Good one! But can you tell what’s playing?”

  “Um … no,” she laughed.

  “Kreisler’s Liebeslied. What’s next?”

  “There’s a creaking noise. Like an old house settling.”

  “It’s the weight of all that stone and water pressing in on us. It’s a good thing your parents keep all that where it’s supposed to be.”

  “Do you think I’ll get any of their elemental gifts?”

  “Concentrate, Chlo.”

  “Oh, right. Um, I hear something across the Yard. Voices, but there’s a metallic clang in the background.”

  “Sword fight?”

  “Yeah, that’s it!”

  Aidan lifted the blindfold from her eyes.

  “Nice job.”

  “That actually felt like progress! And it was fun too!” She beamed up at him.

  “We’ll keep working on it. Why don’t you spend some time down at the marina this week to practice?”

  “Okay. And I’ll keep a journal and we’ll go over it next time. Thanks for not putting me through the same old crap.”

  “I’ll come up with some interesting ways we can test what you can’t hear and next time I’ll be a little more prepared.”

  “Am I dismissed?” she asked.

  “Yeah. Same time next week.”

  “Wanna go get coffee? You know, now that you’re not my teacher.”

  “I still have another hour with Jin.”

  “Well, come meet us later then. And hey, Aidan,” she said as she turned to leave, “you’re pretty good at this.”

  ~~~

  As the last strains of Dvořák’s Humoresque slowly faded, Aidan dropped his bow to his side.

  He and Wendy practiced during their free period on Fridays and he always looked forward to it. She was a great musician, one of few who could keep up with him.

  “How do you do it?” She shook her head as she settled back in her chair; her cello resting comfortably between her knees.

  “Do what?”

  “Make it look so easy and effortless. It’s annoying!”

  “Back atcha, babe.” She really was that good, he loved watching her play and he knew she worked like a beast at her craft.

  “We have enough time to run through the Chaconne one more time,” she suggested.

  “I’m always up for Bach.” Aidan tucked his violin under his chin and began to play.

  Wendy was a welcome distraction these days. He could always count on her to get lost in the music with him, and there was something reassuring in the knowledge that she had zero interest in him outside of friendship. She maintained her distance and liked to keep it about the music, which was fine with him. Aidan loved having someone to talk shop with.

  About halfway through the sixteen-minute piece, a couple of giggly girls burst into the practice room to watch Aidan. He rolled his eyes as they continued their mindless chatter.

  “Out!” Wendy finally barked at the girls. “This isn’t boy band rehearsal! Out!” she snarled without missing a beat of her bow.

  “Friends of yours?” She glared at him after they finished.

  “No, but can you follow me around and do that?”

  “You’re a strange guy, McBrien. I see you flirting with those girls in the courtyard like it’s your job and you love it. You goof around with your football friends like a total brainless goon. And then you come in here and you’re all serious and broody and you play that fiddle like you were born with a bow in your hand and you can’t be bothered with that crap.”

  “Your point?”

  “It’s like you’re two different guys, it just doesn’t make sense!”

  “I’m this guy, Wen.”

  “So what’s with the BS flirty crap?”

  “I flirt because it puts an end to it faster. If I didn’t play along with the stupid banter, I’m afraid of how I might really react. I don’t want to be rude.”

  “Dude, you need a girlfriend. Like, a real one. Not one of those vacant-eyed little twits you date for a week before you dump them.”

  “They usually dump me.”

  “Really? Let me guess, you act like a total jackass until they’ve had enough?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “You need someone real, Aidan. Someone like McKayla Pierce. She’s sweet, she’s pretty and she has an actual functioning brain. You’re already friends, it’s no secret she kinda likes you, but at the same time she’s not obsessed.”

  “No way.” Aidan shook his head. “We’ve been friends since elementary school. I don’t want to screw that up.” Kayla was different. He could be himself with her in a way he couldn’t with most girls—even Wendy.

  “Eh, you probably will.”

  “You find yourself amusing don’t you?” he asked dryly.

  “Aidan, you’re miserable here. You can’t tell me that Juilliard or The Royal College in London wouldn’t just die to have you.”

  “I was accepted to the Vienna Conservatory. I would be starting next month, but my parents refused to let me go and the offer was taken off the table.” He couldn’t tell Wendy all the many reasons why he couldn’t possibly go to Vienna.

  “They won’t let you? Are they nuts?”

  “They want me to wait until I finish high school.”

  “Mine too, but Vienna? It’s a dream school!”

  “I know, but I was also accepted to the Musical Conservatory in Cologne, Germany. And they’re willing to accept me after I graduate. Mom and Dad glommed onto that right away. I tried to talk them into letting me go this year for their preparatory program for gifted high school musicians, but they’re insisting I finish school here.”

  “Aidan, that’s incredible! Schools like Cologne don’t extend open offers like that! Especially for violinists! They want you as young as they can get you. This is a good thing, you dingdong!”

  “I know, but now would be so much better.”

  “Well, at least you were accepted. I’ve been waitlisted at The Royal College and Cologne for the last two years in a row,” Wendy sighed. “I even started learning German on the off chance I might get a call.”

  “Hey, you have what it takes. You just have to keep trying. No matter what they say.”

  “Thanks, Aidan. Besides, they’ll have to pry this bow out of my cold, dead hands before I’ll ever give it up.”

  ~~~

  CHAPTER

  SIX

  Allie:

  Allie stepped onto the elevator, loaded down with art supplies and sketchbooks. She pressed the button for the lobby with a deep sigh. It would be a long, frustrating ride down from the seventeenth floor.

  Why does this bucket of bolts insist on stopping at every freaking floor?

  Allie was sufficiently dressed for the chilly July afternoon, but the sunshine was calling her name. She could have been in Bali by now with her sister, Joscelin. Bali, where it was warm all year round.

  “Stupid Southern Hemisphere!” She flung her scarf around her neck and tucked it close to her ears. Several loose copper curls escaped immediately, but she ignored them; anxious to get to the park to check out the skateboarding ramps and do a little drawing.

  “Ah, crap.” The ancient elevator screeched slowly to a stop on the twelfth floor with a loud hiss. The doors finally creaked opened and an overly tanned guy with fake blond hair stepped inside. He pressed the button for the lobby and rolled his eyes as the doors creaked shut and they started moving again.

  “This thing’s a total death trap!”

  “I got on a few floors up about an hour ago.” Allie chanced a joke.

  “You’re new on seventeen, right? I’m Eric, from twelve.”

  “Allie.” She reached for his offered hand. It was definitely going to be a long ride this morning. She watc
hed as Eric visibly shrank from her touch with a shudder.

  “Will you be going to Cook Park High?” he asked, looking anywhere but at Allie.

  “Not sure yet. I’ll probably wait to start back next semester,” she replied as they squeaked past the ninth floor. They came to another juddering stop on the eighth for no apparent reason.

  “My floor.” He dashed out in a rush to put some distance between them. “See you around sometime,” he called over his shoulder just as the doors slid shut.

  “Yeah sure,” Allie muttered.

  He lasted a whole four floors.

  ~~~

  Allie took her time wandering through the park, looking for just the right view. She finally chose a spot near the skate park and spread out her blanket in a bright patch of sunshine near the ponds. She quickly had her sketchbook in hand with an array of pencils around her as she got to work. Allie watched the group of noisy guys doing tricks on their skateboards and started to sketch out the vague shapes of their movement. The tallest boy captured her attention, the way he moved gracefully, crouching low to gain speed before leaping into the air, grasping his board on the way back down. She’d tried snowboarding on her recent skiing trip and loved it. Allie felt the urge to join them, but she knew that would only end in disaster.

  Inserting her earbuds, she searched for just the right music to fit her mood and settled on Edvard Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite. Allie’s pencil flew across the page and just as the strings joined the winds at a pivotal moment of Morning Mood, she was interrupted.

  “Mind if I join you?” the tall, lanky boy asked with a grin. He was cute, with sandy blond hair and friendly blue eyes.

  “Sure, go for it,” Allie said without removing her earbuds. She started the track over, wanting to hear her favorite part without interruption. She didn’t expect him to linger long.

  “Man, that wind is cold, yeah?” He sat down practically in the middle of her bubble. “Sorry, I don’t mean to crowd you but you’ve found the warmest spot in the park.”

  “You’re not a bother.” Allie forced a polite tone but she kept her eyes glued to the drawing in front of her. She started the track over, trying not to lose her very short temper. She was in the zone and when Allie was in the zone, she didn’t like to be disturbed.