By the look on his face and the manner of his dress, Allie assumed Gregg was on his way to a funeral. She was quite surprised to arrive with him at an elaborate mansion with a party in full swing.
“You are late, sir.” Allie turned at the accusation to find a beautiful woman waiting for Gregg to join the festivities in the ballroom.
“My apologies, Georgina,” Gregg said graciously. “I was unexpectedly delayed.”
Allie sensed the lie. Gregg wanted to be anywhere but at the mansion of Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire. She was the most fashionable woman of London and if Naeemah were a member of the ton, it was likely she would be drawn to Georgina’s balls. That was the only reason Gregg was in attendance tonight. He had no intention of staying long—only long enough to pay a visit to the Immortal ladies to see if any of them were the one he sought. More than a century had passed since he'd last seen Naeemah in Nepal, just before she disappeared. He was getting desperate in his attempts to find her, but he knew she was a regal woman of great fortune. He needed only to search the cream of the crop and he would find her … eventually.
“You owe me a card game, Greggory McBrien,” Georgina said in her flirtatious manner.
“You’ve lost enough of your husband’s money to me, Your Grace; give the poor man a respite from your expensive pastimes.”
“Nonsense. I always win.”
Gregg left the duchess to her admirers and made his way around the room, nodding at those he recognized. After taking a champagne flute from a passing waiter, he sat sulking in a corner, giving surly looks to any mortal woman who might have it in her head to dance with him.
Allie saw her first as she entered the ballroom behind him. Naeemah was breathtaking in her simple gown among all the overdressed women trying to outdo each other. The peach silk made her copper skin glow. Her hair was styled fashionably, but not ostentatiously. She was regal without even trying. She greeted Georgina warmly and followed her into the salon to greet the rest of the ton.
Allie watched Gregg, waiting for him to sense her. The look on his face went from blank and bored to complete awe in the span of a heartbeat. He stood, scanning the room for her, prepared to cause a scene if she should evade him again as she had in Nepal. He caught a glimpse of her as she slipped away, heading for the ladies’ parlor upstairs.
Gregg crossed the room, keeping his distance as he followed her down a long corridor. Allie saw the way he was shaking, completely terrified and uncertain how to proceed—completely un-Gregg-like.
Naeemah finally sensed him and halted on the stairs. She felt the intensity of his lifeline and her shoulders tensed as she reached for the weapon concealed at her hip. As she turned and laid eyes on her Complement for the first time, she swayed on her feet as the realization came to her.
The light in Naeemah’s blue eyes glowed golden and the hall blazed with heat and light.
“My God, is it really you?” she whispered uncertainly.
Gregg opened his mouth to speak, but the ancient Scott couldn’t form any words. He took a step forward and the two were in each other’s arms.
Allie glanced away; she didn’t want to spy on their special moment. She’d seen enough to know that they’d recognized each other and they were thrilled to finally meet, but they had not yet bonded.
The hall whirled around her like a kaleidoscope of colors and Allie watched the days and months following as the couple took the time to get to know each other. It was good to see them so happy and content.
“I’m so sorry, Naeemah,” Gregg said.
Allie found herself in a walled garden, watching the two sitting on a bench, enjoying a private moment together.
“It is not your fault, Greggory McBrien,” Naeemah said as she squished his cheeks together playfully. “You’re just a stubborn old man, that’s all.”
“Aye, I’m old, love.” He smiled as he took her hands in his. “I want to do this. I want to solidify our bond right now, but there is something in me that can’t seem to let go.”
“Don’t you dare do it now! I want our dear friends to stand as witnesses and protect us when we are vulnerable. Ming Lao and Jin Jing will be here soon enough.”
“To think of all the years we’ve each known them, and neither one of them ever thought to introduce us?” Gregg’s face was serious and grim but Allie could see he enjoyed teasing the woman who would be his wife. “It’s not that I’m afraid to die with you, Nae—”
“Death is a foreign enough concept to me and I’m one thousand six hundred and seventy-seven years younger than you.”
“You didn’t have to do the math. I know I’m old. I’ll get there; I guess I just need more time than I want to take.”
“We have the rest of our lives together, Greggory. I know your hesitation has nothing to do with how you feel for me. The possibility of death is nothing to take lightly—and you aren’t the only one struggling with it. We’ve each lived our lives as an ‘I.’ To become a ‘we’ is not easily done on a whim. Our power is the only protection we’ve ever had. It is no small thing to relinquish control, after all we have been through.”
Allie’s vision grew dark until tiny pinpricks of light shone overhead. It was night and the moon was bright. She was still in the garden, but others were present. Ming Lao stood behind Naeemah and Jin Jing behind Gregg. They were fully armed and ready to protect the vulnerable couple.
“We will be here as long as it takes, my friend.” Jin nodded to Gregg.
“Join hands and breathe deeply to relax your hold on your power,” Ming said. “It takes as long as it takes, so just let it happen and do not worry about us. We have been where you now stand. We understand the task before you is not an easy one.”
Allie watched for hours as Naeemah and Gregg joined hands and waited—for what she wasn’t certain. The moon gave way to the sun and the sun took its slow journey across the sky until the moon rose high again. Still they stood, together, staring into each other’s eyes.
Finally, she saw a glimmer of their power, stirring within their eyes. Gregg pressed Naeemah’s hand against his chest and whispered, “My power is yours for as long as we walk this earth together.”
Naeemah pressed his hand over her heart and murmured the same oath.
A light as bright as the moon radiated around them, caging them in, with Ming and Jin standing guard outside.
Allie saw why it took them so long to perform this ritual. They were each surrendering the control of their power to the other. The level of trust that would take was astounding. Allie couldn’t imagine the effort it would take to accomplish such a thing after a lifetime of maintaining iron control.
The force of Gregg’s power filled Naeemah and she clutched his hand tightly in her free hand. The circle was complete when Naeemah’s power filled Gregg and they released control to the other, allowing their Complement to safeguard their power during the ritual. They stood inside the cage of light created by their mutual power, completely separate from the world around them. They were more vulnerable at this moment than they had ever been or ever would be. Ming and Jin’s protection wasn’t just a traditional part of the ceremony. It was necessary.
As their power mingled, it burst from the circle around them and arced high up into the sky. As the light dissipated, Naeemah and Gregg clung to each other, completely spent. But they were bonded now. Together they were a single entity. Neither was the same person who had entered the garden before the ritual.
Allie blinked at the lights overhead, and a sadness washed over her to leave such a beautiful sight behind.
“That was nothing like I thought,” Allie finally said. “That was an intensely personal thing you just shared with me.”
“Aye. I’ve never shown that memory to anyone.”
“Why did you share it with me?”
“You’ve struggled so hard to understand the bond and you’re not fond of talking about it. You haven’t grown up in our world. Unless you happened to stand witness to a ritua
l in the near future, you would continue struggling to understand it. You needed to see it and I’m happy to be the one to show you.”
“Thank you, Gregg. You know I love you both so much, right?”
“Aye, we know, sweetheart. And we love you too—as much as any daughter we could have.”
“I’m sorry for snarling at you earlier.”
“You have your mother’s she-devil tongue. It’s like music to my ears.”
~~~
Allie sat in her armchair by the balcony later that night reading a book on the history of the Immortal Senate. As she read, her mind wandered. She felt the spiraling plunge of despair she was learning to associate with her worst nightmares and an overwhelming sadness filled her heart. The vision caught her by surprise as her foot fell against the soft, grass-covered path she traveled almost every night she slept now. She was back in the forest, near the orchard. She heard the rustle of light footsteps and turned to see Sasha along the path ahead of her. Sasha turned and beckoned her to follow.
“This is new,” she murmured into the early morning fog. Her waking visions were never this clear. This was more like her dreams. Yet she was still aware of the armchair beneath her and the heavy book in her lap. Lately she dreamed of this place a lot, but she was always alone. Or she followed the random shadows and ran from the fires, haunted by screams of terror as she choked on the billowing black smoke. It was her constant companion now. But every time, the dream got a little less scary and a little more boring as the fires grew farther away.
“We have to find him, Allie,” Sasha whispered, waving her forward.
“That’s definitely new.” Allie followed her friend, once again, not at all sure what her gift was trying to tell her.
“Hurry,” Sasha demanded. “Before we’re too late.”
Allie picked up her pace to catch up. She matched her two strides against Sasha’s one.
“Er … what are we doing, Sash?”
“We have to find him,” Sasha replied. Allie didn’t think her friend was even aware of her presence at all.
“Okay, where should we look?” Allie asked, not sure if she wanted this creepy ghost-Sasha to answer her.
“Along the hillside just before dawn. We have to hurry.”
“What hillside?”
“Near the gates. Come, we don’t have much time.”
“Gates? I don’t remember any gates and I’ve been all over this place.”
Sasha whirled on her, marching toward her with fire in her eyes. “Explore everything. Do you hear me? Everything!”
“Yes ma’am.” Allie took a step back in alarm.
“There is much more to this place. You have to study it, Allie. Now hurry.”
Allie crept along the winding path behind Sasha. They traveled farther than she ever had before until they stepped onto a paved driveway, sweeping across the rolling grassy hills. She could feel Sasha’s urgency. The two walked quickly through the damp grass to the base of a nearby hill where tall iron gates stood at the crest of the driveway.
Sasha stopped, crouching low among the dense laurel trees.
“See? Just there.” She pointed across the hill. “No, not there by the gate; ignore the gates. Just there on the opposite side of the lawn near the low-hanging tree limbs. You see him?”
“Quinn?” Allie shot up from her crouched position. “He’s here? What does it mean?” Allie watched the shadowed figure in the darkness. She couldn’t make out if it really was Quinn.
“It’s him. You see him?”
“Yeah, Sash, I see him. What does it mean?”
“He has to see me. He has to know he can come back.”
Allie felt the heartbreak then. The torment Sasha felt every single day that Quinn was gone. Every single day that she blamed herself for all that had happened to him. The enormity of her friend’s pain hit her like it was her own.
“I’m so sorry, Sasha. I don’t know what any of this means.…”
“She will never forgive us if we don’t get this right.” Sasha turned to watch Quinn in the eerie pre-dawn light.
“She? She who?” Allie frowned.
“Sasha,” Sasha said.
“Wait—what?” Allie took a step back and watched the ghost-Sasha. But it wasn’t really Sasha.
“Holy balls, I’m talking to my gift.”
The ghost-Sasha wasn’t Sasha at all; she was just wearing Sasha’s face. It was Allie. The part of Allie that understood her gift.
“You understand now, yes?” Ghost-Sasha turned to her with dead eyes.
“That even my subconscious thinks I’m rather dim when it comes to how my gift works? Yeah. Thanks, I got it.” Allie gave her a thumbs-up.
“He has to see her.”
Focus on the important details and discard the rest.…
“At some point are you going to tell me what all this is about?”
“As soon as I know, you’ll know,” Ghost-Sasha said. “We’re still trying to figure it out.”
“We? Who’s we?”
“Me. You. We.” She looked at Allie blankly.
Allie watched Quinn move in the shadows across the lawn. Darkness swarmed all around him like a barrier she wouldn’t be able to breach in this vision.
The book slipped off her lap and crashed to the floor, jarring her from the waking vision. All this time, she'd seen the forest and the orchard in her dreams and she'd just dismissed it as nothing of importance. But this was different. Allie's clairvoyance was trying to warn her. Her dreams weren't just junk anymore.
~~~
CHAPTER
EIGHTEEN
On Friday, Allie rushed home to change after her training session with Emma. Graham had texted everyone an update that Amrita was happening tonight. The club seemed to take great pains to keep everyone on pins and needles about when and where this thing would happen. Allie felt sick after leaving her mentor for the day. Emma knew something was up, but Allie hoped she wouldn’t catch on to what they were up to.
“You’re not wearing that.” Sasha rolled her eyes. The trip to Amrita seemed to be doing wonders for her. The possibility of doing some small thing to help Quinn had brought her back to life.
“What’s wrong with my outfit?” Allie glanced down at her jeans and hoodie. “We’re going to fight.”
“We’re going to fight, but we’re going to look good doing it.” Sasha marched into Allie’s closet and started pulling clothes from hangers.
“Sasha, I can’t fight in heels!”
“Wear the boots with the chunky heel, then, but you are not wearing sneakers. Put these on.” She shoved a pair of slim-cut dark jeans in her hands. “And this—it’ll look good with your hair.”
Allie pulled on the jeans and the silvery boat-neck sweater that brought out the silver strands of her hair. She always thought the silver made her look like she was going prematurely gray, but in the Immortal world it seemed to be some kind of mark of status that linked her to the Indriell royal line—most would freak if they knew how short that line was. Sasha’s hair was threaded with gold, which some said linked her with one of the noble houses as well.
“And this.” Sasha threw a black leather jacket at her. “At least you’ll be presentable for the party. If we’re doing this, we’re doing it right. Amrita’s a big deal and people will be dressed to kill.”
“For a fight? That’s crazy.” Allie shrugged into the fitted jacket.
“I guess you’ll do,” Sasha finally relented. “Don’t forget to arm up. This isn’t exactly smart, what we’re doing. Amrita is known for erupting into chaos—I’ve heard that’s when it’s the best, actually.” She ducked into the bathroom to change.
Allie shoved her newest set of sai into her boots—her mother’s ancient weapons would be too conspicuous tonight, especially if the blades started to sing. She grabbed her new bracelet, which concealed a set of throwing blades, and slipped it over her wrist. With a heavy ring on each finger, her fist would pack quite a punch. And if it turned
into a really bad night, she’d bring out the short, sharp blades with a twist of each ring. She looped a long necklace over her head; a sharp dagger rested inside the huge blue pendant. At the last moment she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and the world went green. The strange color was becoming a beacon she recognized now. Something needed her attention. She stared at her reflection, examining each detail. Something was off. Her gaze landed on the teardrop pendant she wore. It belonged to Kassandre. “Right, best leave this at home.” She tucked the necklace into her jewelry box. The last thing she needed tonight was for someone to recognize it.
“Who are you talking to?” Sasha called from the bathroom.
“Myself,” Allie said. She supposed since she was talking to her gift, that was the same thing.
Allie shoved her weapons belt into her bag with her collapsible quarterstaff and her growing collection of daggers and throwing blades—her aim had improved considerably since the games last year thanks to Emma’s target practice over the summer.
“Ready?” Sasha frowned in her direction as she stepped out wearing dark leggings, red boots with a ridiculous heel, and a loose black sweater that fell off her shoulder. Her interest seemed to have evaporated in the short time it took her to dress. Sasha looked absent, as she did almost constantly these days.
“He would want you to live your life, Sasha,” Allie said quietly.
“How?” Her voice was hollow and distant. “How can I possibly move on when I have no idea where he is or if he’s even okay? How is it remotely acceptable for me to even think about fun? I know we’re doing this for him, but I shouldn’t be worried about clothes and looking forward to the fights and the party.”
Immortals of Indriell- The Collection Page 67