Immortals of Indriell- The Collection

by Melissa A. Craven

“Allie! Sorry I’m late!”

  “Oh! Hey Gavin!” Allie stood to greet him.

  “Wowsa. You can’t smile at me like that, freckles. Not when I have to go to school.”

  Allie laughed as she casually took his hand and introduced him to Navid. She bumbled through it, not sure if she should call Gavin her boyfriend or how she should refer to Navid.

  “Nice to meet you,” Gavin said politely as he shook Navid’s hand and quickly dropped it.

  “We still on for tonight, I hope?” He turned back to Allie.

  “Looking forward to it.”

  “Liar. But, I promise my friends will be on their best behavior.

  “Come on Gav!” Eric called. “We’re going to be late!”

  “Sorry, gotta run. I just wanted to come say hi.”

  “Hi.” She flushed beet red.

  “Hi yourself.” His grin broadened. “Meet you at the skate park around four?”

  “Sure.” She beamed as she watched him walk away.

  “That poor boy doesn’t stand a chance,” Navid said. “He is quite smitten.”

  “He’s nice. Most boys aren’t as patient with my awkwardness as he is. Now, let’s go get food. I’m dying!”

  “Awkward? I would never describe you as awkward.” They headed out of the coffee shop together, lost in their reunion. Allie was so happy to see him again. She could talk to Navid in a way she just couldn’t with her parents.

  “You’re family. I’m comfortable with you, but when I’m with kids my age, especially a crowd of them, it’s painfully obvious that I’m just not like them. Sometimes I can feel the rejection rolling off them in waves. I just have a hard time fitting in.”

  “You do not need to fit in with the masses, Alexis Carmichael. You need only to hold your head high and be yourself. If the others don’t like it, they can go somewhere else.”

  “Oh, but how quickly I would be alone,” she said dryly as they walked along the busy city sidewalk.

  “Just remember, if the boys aren’t patient and attentive, then they aren’t worth your time or your smiles and especially not your tears. So, what’s this date about this evening? There will be friends of his there, yes?”

  “We’re just hanging out at the skate park tonight.”

  “And this makes you nervous?”

  “I’m better when it’s just the two of us. I’m pretty sure his friends wouldn’t spit on me if I was on fire.” She tried to make light of it so he wouldn’t see how much it affected her.

  “Just be yourself, sweetheart. You’re pretty amazing, you know. If they can’t see that, then they’re blind.”

  “Then most of my generation is visually impaired.”

  “This Gavin boy seems to see you clearly.”

  “He’s been good for me.”

  “Then I approve.”

  “Thanks, Navid. I’ve missed you so much.”

  “It makes me very happy to see you again. I was hoping we could go to the Symphony or the Opera sometime while I’m here?”

  “I’d love that!” It felt like a missing piece of her family had come home and she was looking forward to finally reconnecting with Navid after so much time apart.

  ~~~

  “You finally finished my drawing, but are you ever going to let me actually see it?” Gavin asked as he scanned the horizon for whales and dolphins. They were spending the afternoon onboard his dad’s excursion boat, taking in the sites with the tourists.

  “It’s ready.” Allie clutched her sketchbook nervously.

  “I’m sure I’ll love it.”

  “I know. I just don’t show my art to people very often.”

  “Am I just ‘people’?”

  “No, of course not.”

  “Then let me see it.”

  She watched as Gavin took his first look at the drawing she’d been working on for weeks. After several preliminary sketches, Allie decided to do a negative drawing where she started with a blank page covered in charcoal, and drew with her eraser.

  “Wow, this is amazing!” He turned to sit beside her on the bench. She’d drawn him as she’d seen him the first day they met. He’d just sailed up the steep ramp and turned, mid-air, to clutch his board on the way back down. Her drawing caught him in flight, just before gravity took over.

  “This is it, Allie. My absolute favorite part of skateboarding.”

  “The moment right before the fall? Right before reality brings you crashing back to the ground?”

  “Exactly. That’s when it feels like I can fly!”

  “You like it?”

  “I love it. It’s perfect, freckles.” He leaned in for a quick kiss.

  “Hey, look!” Allie pointed to the pod of whales swimming in the distance.

  “Finally! I was beginning to think we weren’t going to see any!” They stepped up to the railing to get a better look. “Can you see? Or do you need to climb?”

  “Don’t let me fall in.” She perched precariously on the bottom rung of the railing. Gavin held onto her, his chest against her back as they watched the humpback whales swimming along the horizon.

  “Now I feel like the one who can fly!” She raised her arms over her head and relished the peaceful moment. For once, it didn’t matter that his friends didn’t like her. The only thing that mattered was how she felt when she was with him. Navid was right. She needed to stop worrying about other people.

  ~~~

  CHAPTER

  NINE

  Aidan:

  “You stupid, freaking idiot!” Darius furiously signed for Aidan’s bail.

  “Go easy on the kid, Detective. He’s learned his lesson. We’ve all done stupid stuff,” the arresting officer said with a chuckle.

  “This one’s at his limit of stupid.” Darius smacked Aidan with more force than was absolutely necessary.

  “OW!” Aidan rubbed his head. “Can we just go home now, Dare?” He wasn’t in the mood for drama.

  “You really want to trade me for Dad? Or worse, Mom?”

  “Good point.” With one call, Darius had the arresting officer bring Aidan to the precinct rather than calling their parents. He was grateful for that, but Darius was giving him hell for his stupid stunt at the lake. Aidan knew how badly he’d screwed up … again.

  “Gregg’s going to flip his biscuits this time,” Darius fumed. “And I’m not going to bail you out with him. You owe me five hundred bucks too, by the way.”

  “Five hundred? Don’t I get a friends and family discount?”

  “Let’s not find out. I swear if you become a frequent flyer here, I’ll arrest you next time!”

  “Don’t listen to him, kid,” the officer said. “Detective McBrien likes to think he’s a hard ass, but his bark’s worse than his bite. It was nice of you to take the fall for all your friends.”

  “What friends?” Aidan asked innocently.

  “Right.” He nodded. “I imagined all those kids fleeing the park like rats on a ship.”

  “Not. Helping!” Darius shot a glare at his co-worker.

  “How’s Jason?” Aidan stepped onto the curb in front of the old building on East 21st Street.

  “He’ll be fine. I think he’s more scared than hurt. And I’m sure that’s thanks to whatever you did for him. He should have hypothermia for as long as he was out there. And Vince is just pissed off.”

  “He’s always pissed off. I guess it could have been worse, but I think Jason saw too much.”

  “Probably not enough to worry about,” Darius said.

  “You think Daniel will talk to him? Make him forget?”

  “Nope. You know the situation has to be dire before he’ll step in and mess with someone’s memories.”

  “Even if it means losing a friend?” Aidan was pretty sure Jason would never speak to him again without Daniel’s help.

  “‘Fraid so. Listen, Aidan. I’m the first one to come to your defense in these situations, but what were you thinking?”

  “I wasn’t.”

 
“Why do you do this crap? Are you trying to get attention? I would think you’d have learned your lesson by now! Ugh! Now I sound like Dad!” He shivered as if acting like an adult gave him the creeps.

  “I don’t know. It seemed harmless at the time! Haven’t you ever done anything stupid and regretted it later?”

  “All the time, but I don’t put my mortal friends in danger! They could have died all because you wanted to go for a midnight dip in the lake!”

  “I know! Believe me, no one will be harder on me about this than myself.”

  “It’s easy to get complacent about mortality at our age. Once you have a few mortal friends die, death gets a lot more real,” Darius said.

  “Mortality is real enough to me, Dare. I feel it all around me. Everywhere I go someone’s in pain or dying! Their pain is with me every second of every freaking day. Like your officer friend back there.”

  “What?”

  “Stage three liver cancer. Unless he gets a transplant, there’s not much anyone can do for him.”

  “Damn. He’s a good cop.”

  “Too bad I can’t do shit to help him.”

  “It’ll get easier, Aidan.”

  “Will it? Is it easier for you? You’re what, nine whole years older than me? That’s like a spit in the wind, Dare. Is it easier for you, sensing all the crimes happening around you every day when there’s nothing you can do about it? Does a few years practice really make that much difference?” Aidan kicked at a loose chunk of cement in the curb as he walked by, letting it crumble to pieces.

  “Now, now. No need to destroy city property,” Darius said dryly. “And yes it is easier with nearly a decade under my belt. I still struggle with the knowledge I have and the terrible things I see everyday, but it gets better.”

  “How pissed is Dad?”

  “Oh, I’m not telling Greggory McBrien his son’s a moron. That’s your job.”

  “Perfect.”

  “Little brother.” Darius stopped him at the corner. “I know things aren’t great for you right now and I know you’re lonely and pissed off most of the time. Believe it or not, I do understand. But you’ve got to stop acting out. It won’t always be like this. The next time you’re feeling reckless, call me. We’ll go do something completely asinine somewhere safe.”

  “That’s a bit of an oxymoron.”

  “No, you’re the moron here.”

  “Thanks, man,” Aidan snorted. “Will you help me tell Dad?”

  “Hell no, you’re on your own with that. There’s only so much responsibility I can take before I start feeling nauseous. Come on, I need a drink before I take you home. You won’t be seeing the light of day anytime soon once Gregg gets ahold of you—and God help you with Mom.”

  Aidan winced at the thought of telling Naeemah about Jason. She would be so disappointed in him for not thinking about his friend’s safety.

  Darius took him to a dive bar down in the Flats, far away from any of the cop bars he would normally frequent after work. The lights were dim and the seats were sticky, but everyone seemed to mind their own business.

  The bartenders eyed them warily and Aidan listened to their quiet debate over which one would have to serve them.

  “Unbelievable. Let’s just go.”

  “Pitcher of Guinness and we’ll leave you ladies alone.” Darius gave his flirtiest wink to win them over.

  “I hate to be the one to break it to you.” Darius filled Aidan’s frosted mug. “But it’s my job to tell you when you’ve been an intolerable ass and it’s a job I take seriously. You are a major buzz-kill lately.”

  “Dare, you have no idea what it’s—”

  “So you’re more powerful than anyone in the room, big freakin’ deal. You have to own that shit.”

  “It’s not that easy.”

  “We need to find you some powerful hot young girl who can kick your ass around that gym. That’s what you need—hell, that’s what I need.”

  “I wouldn’t say no to that.” Aidan clinked mugs with his brother. “Just one problem with your evil plan,” he said. “I’ve never met a girl who could even keep up with me in a fight. Except maybe Sasha, but that so doesn’t count.”

  “Well, there’s one you’re forgetting about.” Darius grinned.

  “Naomi Hauser,” they chorused together.

  “But she’s teaching in Paris. And she’s older.”

  “She’s my age.” Darius waived it off. “You know that doesn’t qualify as an adult in our world. Do I remotely act like the twenty-four year old narcotics detective I’m supposed to be? Of course not.”

  “That’s ‘cause you’re twenty-five, Dare.”

  “Whatever. The point is Mom still seats me at the kids’ table with the rest of you. I’m not ready to be a for-real adult, which incidentally, is one of the many reasons Kate kicked me to the curb again. She thinks it’s time I grew up, but I don’t plan on doing that for at least a century,” he rambled on as he poured another round.

  “Kate will get over it. She always does.”

  “Not this time, little bro. She’s moving on and I can’t blame her. It’s time. The age difference is just too extreme with us. I don’t know how Imogen and Lucian make it look so easy.”

  “They’re Complements. It’s different.”

  “I don’t know. I’m worried if I can’t handle a relationship with Kate when there’s just five hundred years between us, how will it ever work with my Complement? She’s could be as old as Emma.”

  “Back on the ‘she’s older kick,’ are we?” Darius couldn’t seem to make up his mind if his Complement was a lot older or younger.

  “I don’t know how some people can be so certain. Everything I feel from her is conflicting. Sometimes she feels ancient and wise—intimidating as hell, but other days, she feels distant and vague like she’s still really young. It’s frustrating.”

  “Now look who’s acting all broody?” Aidan gestured to the bartender for another pitcher.

  “It’s hard when your generation had the lowest female birthrate in history. There’re literally less than a hundred Immortal women my age in the whole freaking world! Two of them are like my little sisters and the only other one I know is Naomi who has the attention span of a gnat when it comes to relationships. It seriously narrows the dating pool.”

  “So date younger.”

  “Younger is tricky.” Darius sighed.

  “Sounds like you should give Naomi a call.”

  “She scares me. And stop head shrinking me! When did this get to be about me, anyway? We’re here to make you feel better.”

  “It’s how I roll,” Aidan said. “I don’t even know I’m doing it anymore. My gift tells me you’re upset by the breakup and I have to fix you.”

  “Focus on yourself, kid. I’ve survived breakups before.”

  “I think I just need a change of scenery.” Aidan tossed back the last of his beer and poured another. “I’ve been a total mess since the accident. After all those weeks of regenerating, I still don’t feel right. It’s like I’m disconnected from who I used to be and I’m just not me yet.”

  “Regenerating at your age does not happen in a few weeks. Yeah, you’re walking and talking and all the visible wounds are healed, but it goes deeper than that. It takes time up here.” He tapped Aidan on the forehead.

  “I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy,” Aidan said.

  “Well, I’m sure I could convince Naomi to come for a visit to cheer you up.”

  “Probably not a good idea. Mom’s not a huge fan.”

  “Omi does like the McBrien boys,” Darius chugged his nearly full glass.

  “What are we going to do about you, Dare? No one would fault you for coming back to high school with us. It would be so much easier on you. I like seeing you like this. You remind me of my brother. Detective McBrien’s a total asshat.”

  “I barely made it through high school the first time. And I had Naomi back then to keep it interesting, with Erin and Mia not t
oo far behind. It wouldn’t be the same, but it’s a tempting idea. If there were some cute Immortal girls there that weren’t like my baby sisters, I’d say sign me up in a heartbeat.”

  “Cheers to that.” Aidan drained his glass.

  ~~~

  “What’s the matter with you!” Wendy glared daggers at Aidan before he could even take his seat in the Orchestra pit on Monday. “Trying to drown yourself? Aidan, you’re a smart guy but sometimes, you’re such an idiot!”

  “You done?”

  “For now.”

  “I’m grounded for the foreseeable future. I’ve been yelled at all weekend and I’d really like to spend some time with someone who doesn’t hate me.”

  “I’ll see what I can do. I’m in the doghouse myself, you know.”

  “What did you do this time?” Wen was always in trouble with her temperamental girlfriend.

  “Anya is very upset with me. I’ve had some rather big news. I’m hoping you’ll be happy for me, considering everyone else in my life is less than thrilled.”

  “What’s up?”

  “Germany called.” She chewed on her bottom lip. “I’m in.”

  “Wendy, that’s fantastic! I’m so proud of you!” He reached to hug her and suppressed the wave of sadness he felt at the prospect of her leaving—sadness and jealousy. But he refused to let her see that. She was absolutely terrified to go, but he also knew how much she wanted this and wasn’t going to make her feel bad about it.

  “When do you leave?” He pretended to ignore the way she quickly pulled away. There was no doubt, Wendy cared about him, but she liked to keep her distance. But with her, it never felt like a rejection.

  “In a few days! I can’t believe this is happening! My parents aren’t happy, but they know how much I want this. I thought Anya would understand, but she’s not even speaking to me.”

  “Well, I’m excited for you, but I’m going to miss you. Who am I going to practice with now?”

  Unexpectedly, she burst into tears.

  “Hey, what’s this?” He tried to comfort her, but she waved her hands at him, insisting she was fine.

  “Damn it! I hate tears! I’m just so freakin’ scared!”

  “You’ll be great, Wen. It’s just nerves. Once you get settled, you’ll be in your element.”