“We have to save them, Allie. Both of them.”
The fire blazed hot, blistering Allie’s skin, and the smoke suffocated her. But the rage filled her, overwhelming her fear. With an otherworldly shriek, Allie threw her head back and her screams echoed in the darkness as she lost her battle with the rage boiling inside of her.
She blacked out when the chaos won and her dreams pulled her in another direction. Soon she bobbed among the lazy waves of the lake marshes, drifting in the small boat as the snakes teemed in the waters around her. This time she didn’t panic. She had no idea what she was supposed to discern from the things she saw, but she refused to be pulled under again. She would not be undone.
She concentrated and a paddle appeared in the boat. Allie made her way toward the shore. The snakes continued to writhe, twisting around each other and biting themselves. She ignored them, setting her sights on the horizon in the distance as she paddled into the deeper waters.
“The snakes are just a symbol. They can’t hurt me now.”
~~~
Allie choked on the smoke filling her lungs. Arms and legs flailing, she landed with a thud on her bedroom floor, a tangled mass of hair and sheets and … blood.
“You do that a lot,” Liam said.
“What, fall out of bed?” Allie grimaced as she wiped her bloody hands on the sheets. They had only been working together for a short time, but she’d made little to no progress, still struggling with the bizarre nightmares that didn’t make any sense.
“You clench your fists till your nails puncture your skin. I’ve tried to make you stop, but you’re damned strong. I’m going to start making you sleep with stress balls taped to your hands if you don’t stop it.”
“Har, har, mister funny man.” Her legs shook beneath her as she stood and she dropped to the bed with a groan. Nothing was worse than waking up feeling like you hadn’t slept in a month.
“You overslept. I tried to wake you. Better get moving if you don’t want to be late for school.”
“Maybe I’ll skip.”
“Maybe I’ll give you detention.”
“Maybe I’ll be late?” She gave him her most pitiful look.
“Maybe I’ll look the other way.” Liam winked. “See you in class, little one.” He turned to go and halted at the door. “It may not seem like it now, but you are making progress.”
~~~
CHAPTER
SIXTEEN
“Hey, sweetheart, what can I help you with?”
Allie smiled at the gruff old police officer as she entered the precinct. She was looking for Darius. After a few days of dealing with a new gift that was driving her crazy, she realized Darius could probably help her. And if he couldn’t, it was going to officially drive her over the edge.
“I’m looking for, er … Detective McBrien?” She’d just finished training for the day and since Emma hadn’t been much help, she came looking for Darius. Emma’s advice was to suck it up and deal with it as part of her clairvoyance, but there had to be something more she could do.
“Sure thing. You his kid sister or something?”
“Er … something like that.”
“Straight back to the left. You should find him at his desk—if he hasn’t eaten it,” he added dryly.
Allie made her way to the back of the office, watching Darius as she approached. He was yelling at someone on the phone. He’d sensed her, but was preoccupied with his work.
“Allie.” He sighed, running his hands through his hair in frustration. “You okay, sweetheart?”
“Just hoping to talk. I suppose I should have called first.” He was different here. This was not Dare. This was Detective McBrien, the youngest on homicide in the whole CPD.
“Give me five minutes? I was just going out to find some decent coffee and dinner.”
“Sure.”
She watched him make a few more phone calls and bark out orders to the sergeant at the front desk.
“Let’s go, killer.” He was gruff and distant as he hung up the phone. She couldn’t tell if he was annoyed with her for just showing up.
“Are you sure? It can wait.”
“Get me out of here, Red. I’m seriously cranky, in need of some food and caffeine. And despite my bad manners, I’m very happy to see you.” He gave her a smile.
“Sergeant, be back in an hour; taking my little cousin out for dinner.” Darius shrugged into his jacket and motioned for her to follow.
She’d never felt like such a kid before in her life.
“You coming?” He winked and she got a glimpse of the Darius she knew.
“Right behind you, Dare.” She followed him out of the precinct.
As they walked along the busy sidewalk she saw him relax. The transformation was extremely odd. One minute he was like a stranger. Detective McBrien, someone his colleagues respected and probably feared more than just a little. Then he was her good buddy, Dare, completely at ease with her as he always was. Giving her the smile that made her heart do those annoying somersaults in her chest.
“Sorry about the 'little cousin' thing. I had to come up with something to make me not look like a total perv. I’m two very different people and it’s not often my two lives collide.”
“I should have called.”
“You can come visit me anytime you like. I just worry that seeing me like that might confuse you … and my coworkers.”
“There's not much about you that isn't confusing, Dare.”
“I could say the same for you,” he muttered. “But I love my job. It’s the only place I get to be an adult, where people actually take me seriously. But I also love going back to school with you guys. It gives me a chance to really be myself in a way I haven’t been able to do in a really long time.”
“Let’s get you some food. And then I’m going to need your help.”
“Bad pizza okay?”
“I love bad pizza—just don't tell Naeemah I'm about to eat my weight in cheese.”
“What diet? I don't know anything about a diet.” He led her around the street corner to a dive pizzeria he claimed had the best bad pizza in the city.
Allie slid into the thread-worn booth, her stomach growling in anticipation of something delicious for a change.
“What can I get you?” the waitress asked.
“White pizza with extra cheese, a side of chicken wings, and a giant Coke,” Allie said.
“We’re out of the Caesar salad, but I can get you the antipasto; it’s really good if you’re in the mood for salad. We have bottled water and hot tea to drink.” The girl gave her a blank stare.
“No, I want pizza.” Allie nearly cried. Naeemah had hit just about every restaurant in the city. Every time she ordered a burger and fries, she got broth soup and a club sandwich on wheat with no mayo and turkey bacon. If she ordered pizza, she got salad. Allie banged her head on the table in frustration. “If she brings me salad, I refuse to eat it.”
“I’ll have a white pizza and a double-pepperoni pizza, breadsticks, a basket of wings, and two large Cokes,” Darius ordered for them.
“Thank you,” Allie muttered.
“So how do you need my help?” Darius asked.
“I’ve got something emerging, some sort of extension of my clairvoyance. And it’s driving me insane.”
“Not that I’m disappointed, but why did you come to me?”
“It reminds me of your gift. The way you said you can just see what you see about people with little control.”
“How’s it manifesting for you?”
“It’s like I can see a person’s true nature. Like I can … weigh their character.”
“So you can tell the good guys from the bad guys?”
“It’s just there. All of a sudden. Like our waitress, she’s an absolute angel—besides the fact that she wants to bring me rabbit food. She’s kindhearted, would give a total stranger her last dollar. But that guy over there—he’s selfish, greedy, and lazy. And I just see it, plain as day. Like he
has a neon sign flashing ‘douche-nugget’ over his head.”
“Want a job? I could park you in front of the precinct and you could just arrest all the bad guys. Make my job easier. I could sit at my desk, play a video game. Take a nap.”
“How do you do it, Dare? You observe people so easily. You see and you know so much about the people you interact with. How do you ignore it when it’s there all the time? Can you turn it off?”
“Nope. It’s one reason why I do what I do. I meet someone like Mr. Black Soul over there—which BTWs, I agree with your assessment. He’s a criminal just waiting for his next golden opportunity. So I’ll keep my eye on him and those like him, and when I can catch them in the act, I do.”
“Here we are,” the waitress said, placing all the real food in front of Darius and a sad little salad and a cup of water in front of Allie.
“Um, thanks,” Allie muttered, resisting the urge to throw a full-on hissy fit.
“Can I get you anything else?”
“I think we’re good,” Darius said, sliding one of his Cokes toward Allie.
As soon as the waitress turned her back, Allie went for the white pizza.
“Cheese, where have you been, my friend?” She nearly wept at the delicious tangy taste of garlic and parmesan.
“Make sure you save room for that salad,” Darius said.
“Shut it. Wait, can I try your wings?”
“Go for it.”
Allie managed to get back to the conversation after her second slice.
“So what do I do with this?” She took a giant gulp of her Coke.
“You want the honest truth?”
“That’s why I came to you.”
“Nothing. You do nothing.”
“How can that be the best use of this … horrible ‘gift’?”
“Because you are seventeen years old with about a million lifetimes ahead of you. Don’t stress about this gift, Allie. You can be the adult who polices the world someday, but right now, you do nothing. You’ve got responsibilities to yourself. We don’t get much of a childhood. Enjoy what little normal life you’ve got while you can. Take stock of what you see, learn how to use it in every possible way, don’t suppress it, and maybe someday you can put it to good use, but not now. It’s not your responsibility.”
“Not quite what I expected from you.” She smiled.
“I can be responsible from time to time. I could just see it. Our very own little redheaded vigilante roaming the streets. Something tells me I’d have to arrest you.”
“Thanks, Darius. I can always count on you to make me laugh.”
“I’m not going to lie, I’m totally going to use you. I just have to figure out how to get you a badge. You could just come along with me, tell me who’s got the guilty soul.”
“Well, something tells me you’re pretty good at figuring that out all by yourself.” Allie picked at the last piece of pepperoni, feeling only a little queasy from all the greasy food. She’d probably pay for it later, but it was worth it.
“Come on.” She slid out of the booth with a groan. “We need to find you some decent coffee. I need to send you back to adulting in a better mood. Your poor coworkers will thank me for it later.”
“Ahh, they know how to put up with me.”
“You should remember they’re mortal and can’t keep up the pace you set.”
“I do suck at remembering that.” He frowned.
“Most of you do.” It was weird how much she still identified as a mortal, but she was completely in this life now. The Immortal world was Allie’s domain, but she still felt trapped in the middle somewhere.
~~~
As she walked back to her car, Allie’s heart raced. She could feel her face flush as visions whirled through her mind. She could hear the clack of her boot heels on the asphalt as she crossed the parking lot, but in her mind, she wandered through the orchard again.
A warm, familiar hand encircled hers, grounding her in the midst of uncertainty. She was drawn to him in such a strange way.
Focus on the important details and discard the rest.…
The world went green all around them. A warning for her to pay attention. But this was so different from anything she’d ever experienced before. This wasn’t a nightmare. It wasn’t confusing. It was a simple happy moment with a guy she cared for deeply. This felt so much like her clairvoyant dreams, but she was too happy. She rarely saw happy things in her visions. It made her suspicious.
She couldn’t see his face, but she knew he was one of the most important people in her life.
The sparkle of his midnight blue eyes sent her heart hammering in her chest as he turned to face her.
“Darius?” That couldn’t be right.
~~~
CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN
“All right, Red! Let’s get started!” Gregg sauntered into his office like it was any other day. Like it hadn’t been months since she’d last seen or spoken to him.
“Really? That’s how you want to play this?” She scowled up at him from her perch on the couch.
“Probably not.” He took a seat opposite her and gave her a rueful smile. It was good to see him again but she couldn’t decide if she wanted to throat-punch him or hug him.
“You drop a bomb like that and then you leave? For months?” She tried to keep the venom out of her voice, but his leaving had hurt.
“I’m sorry for that. My attention was needed elsewhere, but you’ve never been far from my thoughts these last months, sweetheart. I just figured you could use a little time to yourself.”
“We need to work on your definition of ‘a little time.’” She picked at a paint stain on her jeans. “A little time is a week or two. It's been five months, Gregg. Five months with that information rolling around in my head and no one to talk to about it.”
“I assumed you would have confided in Aidan by now.”
“I did … recently.”
“I know you’re angry—”
“Angry? Anger doesn’t even begin to describe what I’m feeling.”
“Aye. You’re so much like your mother. I should have known this would eat you alive.”
“Kassandre was a stranger who gave me away. Her lineage means nothing to me.” Allie furiously scraped at the paint on her jeans, refusing to look at Gregg for fear of bursting into tears. She’d missed him more than she realized.
“She gave you up to protect you, Allie.”
“Hooking up with my birth mom a thousand years ago doesn’t make you an expert on why she made the choices she did.” Allie shot to her feet to pace the office. She felt like throwing things. She was so angry. The constant churning rage, boiling just below the surface—it wasn’t her. Or it wasn’t the person she used to be. She could feel how closely linked her anger was with her power and she feared that if she didn’t conquer her anger issues, she would lose control of her power.
Gregg’s jaw clenched irritably at her accusation. “Kassandre and Ashar meant the world to me. You have no idea how deeply I mourned them when they died. A piece of me died with them, Allie. They may be gone, but I am the closest link you will ever have to them. Do not disrespect their memory or their sacrifices. Not in my presence.”
Allie heard the anger in his voice, the regret and sorrow. But she saw something else in his eyes. He had secrets. He probably knew more than he was willing to tell her right now. She wondered briefly if he knew they were alive. She was sick of all the lying and secrets. Can't anyone in my life just tell me the truth? Does it always have to be a game of who knows what?
“When did they bond as Complements?” She didn’t know anything about her parents but she didn’t want to talk about Indriell, the prophecy, or anything about the future her parents saw for her.
“I don’t know when Kassandre finally recognized Ashar as her Complement. It wasn’t a blinding epiphany for her. It came upon her slowly, as the Complement bond often does.” Gregg eased back into his leather chair as if he sensed Al
lie’s need to understand who her parents were before she could face any of the other stuff.
“I guess I still thought it was an instant recognition. Like once she laid eyes on Ashar, at a time when she was open to the possibility of the bond, it just happened?”
“You are confusing it with the family bond. You’ve experienced that with Liam. But the Complement bond is different because it requires a choice to solidify the connection, and that takes time.”
“A choice? I never realized that.”
“I don’t think you are ready to see my memories of your parents, but I’d like to show you how Naeemah and I finally found each other.”
“I’d like that.” Allie was relieved for the chance to talk about something else.
“Sit back and relax and let’s see what we see,” Gregg said.
Allie settled in for a trip through Gregg’s memories.
“I lived without Naeemah for one thousand nine hundred and thirty-seven years,” he began softly. “Much of my early life was spent as a soldier fighting in one campaign or another, but later when the world began to change, I found myself adapting with it. So many Immortals failed to keep up with the rapid progress mortals began to make in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. I embraced the Industrial Revolution when many of my kind clung to the past. For a long time I lived the life of a lonely nobleman. I educated myself, looked to the future, and made a fortune that has kept this family worry-free for generations. But I longed for Naeemah like I never had before. I obsessed about her day and night and drifted away from my family.”
Listening to the soothing sound of his voice, Allie closed her eyes and waited for the sensation of falling into his memories.
The cool mist tickled her skin first and then she saw the dense fog of London in the late eighteenth century. She stood before a gated mansion on a busy street and realized this was the wealthy Londoner’s version of a townhouse. Allie’s head was full of her idealistic view of Victorian London so she wasn’t prepared for the filth and the stench of the reality. London was a city that had seen rapid growth during the early years of the Industrial Revolution, but there was still a hint of the ancient past. She watched as Gregg ventured out the front door of his townhouse and down the walkway to the street where she waited. He was dressed to perfection and his wealth was apparent, but the poverty of the London streets lurked in every corner.
Immortals of Indriell- The Collection Page 66