Emerge: The Awakening (8 page)

CHAPTER

TWELVE

“Don’t be frightened,” Naeemah said.

Allie focused on putting one foot in front of the other as she crossed the courtyard to join her. As expected, she didn’t resemble the older woman Allie had grown to love. She was stunning and not a day over thirty. Her exotic lapis-lazuli eyes gleamed with that same strange golden light as her children's.

A family trait?

“I see Aidan found the right words.” She offered Allie a seat. “I wasn’t certain he could strike such a terrible blow, but he felt it was his responsibility.”

Allie nodded dumbly.

“I know how unsettling this must be for you,” she said, “but we have much to cover, beginning with the most obvious—our appearance. Mortals are incapable of seeing our more unusual features, but that does not mean they don’t notice how slowly we age. However, there are ways we can deceive them: a few mental tricks that allow us to project the illusion of normal aging. Several thousand years ago, only a select few were capable of such a feat. Over time, most of us have adapted so that we blend with the changing world, like chameleons. Now that you have experienced your own Awakening, the scales have fallen from your eyes and you see clearly, but your family and friends will not acknowledge this monumental change.”

“So I have to pretend? Like nothing’s changed?” Allie frowned. Her whole world had flipped upside down overnight and she had to play along like everything was fine?

“I am so sorry, sweetheart. This will not be easy. You have a lot to learn rather quickly. I’m afraid we don’t have all the time in the world. Despite my son’s jokes.”

“You heard that?”

“We have extraordinary abilities; a strong sense of hearing is just one of many. Come.” She opened her arms. “Let me mother you since your own mother can’t.”

Allie didn’t need to be asked twice; she hurled herself into Naeemah’s arms and let her tears flow.

“It is possible that Lily and Carson know something of who you really are, but for now, we feel it is best to keep them out of it.” 

“I love my parents, but what about my birth parents?”

“Perhaps you’ve noticed the prevalence of adoption among our families? We are often orphans of strange circumstances, just like you. Our family bonds are powerful, but in most cases, we are not related by blood. Something stronger binds us together. Natural born Immortals are extremely rare. I am one of those lucky few.”

“If we are abandoned at birth, then who abandoned us?”

“I’m afraid I do not have a definitive answer to that question. There are many theories about our origins, but it is mostly conjecture.”

“I forget sometimes that Aidan and Sasha are adopted,” Allie said. “They seem so much like you and Gregg.”

“Yet they look nothing like us. But, just watch Aidan and Greggory together and you will see how strong their father-son bond is. And when you meet all the McBrien boys, you’ll wonder how I ever survived,” she laughed. “They have the same charisma, even the same infuriating grin and wink; rushing headlong into trouble without giving a thought to how they’ll get out of it. But there are no genetic ties among them, because our family bonds supersede biology.”

“Why don’t we go for a walk while we talk?” she suggested when Allie grew quiet.

“There is so much you need to understand,” she said as they headed up to the grassy hills along the cliffs. “For weeks we have considered how we might tell you everything you need to know without overwhelming you. I think it’s important to take this slowly over the next few days, but I’m afraid that is all the time we can allow. After that you must sink or swim.”

Allie shuddered as they approached the edge of the precipice. The metaphorical one in her mind loomed large as she stared at the water far below.

“I love this place.” Naeemah gazed across the lake. “I’ve lived all over the world but Kelleys Island reminds me of home.”

“How old are you, Naeemah?”

“I was born in Alexandria, in fifteen-twenty-seven. Just ten years before my birth, the Ottoman Turks took the Throne of Egypt that once belonged to my mother, Queen Hatshepsut, the notorious woman who dared name herself Pharaoh during the eighteenth dynasty of the Middle Kingdom.”

“Shut up!” Allie gasped.

Naeemah chuckled at her enthusiasm. “My father is Senmut, the man who tutored the young princess before she became the strong ruler we know from history.” 

“Your mother was the most powerful woman of the ancient world?”

“Yes, she is remarkable, and continues to amaze me with her ability to adapt to the modern world. She goes by Nadira now, and my father by Sayid.”

“She must be over three thousand years old!” 

“She was three thousand when I was born.” 

“Wow,” Allie said. “I must seem embryonic in comparison.”

“Yes, you are very young, and you need to understand you will be considered an adolescent for many decades.”

“Decades?” Allie frowned. The thought of herself as a thirty year old teenager seemed ridiculous.

“You’ll need guidance. There is much a young Immortal must learn before they can truly be on their own.”

“Like what?”

“Come, let us sit.” Naeemah gestured toward the lone laurel tree along the grassy slopes.

“We are powerful beings, capable of astonishing things, but it takes long years of training and hard work to realize our potential. Unfortunately, you have a very difficult road ahead of you, but you will soon discover what you are capable of through our guidance. Nearly all Immortals possess superior senses, strength, speed, and stamina, as well as certain abilities many of us have in common. You’ll spend the next several years learning to adjust to your more powerful nature. But the power manifests differently in all of us. Your gifts will be unique to you as an individual, and they are probably already emerging.” 

“You mean like…superpowers?” Allie’s heart hammered in her chest.

“For lack of a better comparison, yes, but that is a bad analogy.” Naeemah was obviously struggling to find the right words.

“My powers are of a kinetic origin, which means I can manipulate the movement of objects. I have a strong connection with the physical world, which allows me to tangibly see the geometry and physics that control an object’s movement.”

“Unfortunately, I am well known for a much more sinister gift. I can influence others, utilizing a hypnotic control that takes place deep within the mind, but I do not use it lightly.” 

Mind control?
Allie recoiled at the thought.

“How will I know if I have a-a gift?”

“You, my dear, are a very talented young woman, but the manifestation of our gifts is a slow progression. You’ve undoubtedly experienced some development over the last year, but it may take weeks for you to feel the initial stirring of your power. When I was a child, I was always sensitive to the physical world. I could sense the things around me so strongly, it was as if objects were people and I instinctively knew what kind of ‘person’ those objects were, long before I truly understood my gift.”

Allie thought about her strong intuition and the way she just knew certain things.

“I can do that with people!” She leapt to her feet in a rush of clarity. “I’ve always had this perception, but it’s grown stronger over the last year.”

“With Vince, it was like I just…got him. And it was the same with Kayla! I didn’t have to get to know her before I knew how great she was. Even with Aidan, I knew we would be best friends almost instantly.”

“I am astounded that you’ve recognized even this much so soon. If I had to guess, I would say you might be Clairvoyant, which is a very rare and powerful gift.”

“Like seeing the future?”

“Clairvoyant gifts are often simply a result of a powerful intuition, but yes, seeing the future is a possibility.” 

Allie couldn’t control her pacing. She wrung her hands in frustration, trying to absorb everything at once.

“I wish I could make this easier for you, sweetheart.”

“What’s with the sleeping thing?” Allie asked, wanting to steer the conversation on to less frightening topics.

“I imagine you haven’t slept very well in a long time.”

“Understatement of the year,” Allie muttered.

“When approaching an Awakening, it is difficult to rest comfortably. It’s as if you are caught between the before and after, and your body does not know how to function. You will adjust to a much longer day and you will find it’s best to sleep only a few times a week. We have a powerful nature with strong stamina and endurance. We simply do not tire easily. As you age, your need for sleep will lessen.”

“That’s really freaking weird,” Allie sighed. “So what about the aging thing? How are you a gazillion years old but you look like you could be Sasha’s sister?”

“We age normally until our sixteenth year. After our Awakening, we continue to age almost normally for quite some time. As our powers manifest and we train to master our gifts, our aging begins to slow. For most, the slowing is almost imperceptible. For me, it began in my late twenties, but here I am nearly five centuries later and it’s as if little more than a year or two has passed, but it will never truly cease.”

“Can you still die of old age?” 

“I suppose it is possible, but I have never met anyone so old.” She smiled.  

“Show me what you can do, Naeemah. I think it will help.”

Allie watched her gather a pile of twigs and rocks and stared in wonder as she sent the debris swirling and dancing into the air.

“That was amazing!”

“I keep waiting for the moment when this becomes too much for you and you run away screaming. I shouldn’t underestimate you,” she said. “There is one more thing you should see, to help put things into perspective.” She took a small sharp knife from her hip and sliced open her hand.

Before she could even react, Naeemah began to heal. Allie watched, mesmerized, as the bleeding slowed and the gash became an angry line against her golden skin. Within minutes, the wound faded and soon no evidence of the injury remained.

“This is too much!” She reached for the knife.

“Allie! No!”

“Ahh!” she cried as the knife bit into her skin and blood filled her palm.

“I’m so sorry! I should have warned you. You’re still very young. You will not regenerate as quickly.”

“It feels different. The pain is dull.” Allie watched, transfixed as the minutes passed and the bleeding slowed. Soon the ache subsided almost completely. Her eyes swam with fresh tears when she realized this was no nightmare. Life as she had known it was over and nothing would ever be the same.

“I’m Immortal.” She cried on Naeemah’s shoulder for the normal life she would never know.

“How is she?” Aidan asked as he approached.

“She’s just having a moment.”

“What’s wrong? Eternal life is good news.” His tone held such concern, she choked on a sob as she reached for him.

“Please don’t cry, Lex.” He settled her on his lap. “Your tears are like a knife in the gut and there’s nothing I can do to make it better.”

“We have covered the essentials.” Naeemah rose to her feet. “She is going to need your friendship more than anything right now, son. You need to let her mourn her loss.”

Allie saw the worried look on her face as she left them sitting silently under the laurel tree. She couldn’t tell if her concern was for Allie’s situation or the way Aidan held her, gently stroking her hair.

<><><>

CHAPTER

THIRTEEN

“How do you feel?” Aidan’s brow furrowed in concern.

“I’m not sure.” She leaned back and wiped her face on her sleeve. “Sorry, I snotted your shirt.”

“It’s okay. I know this is intense, but there are certain things you need to hear from me. I’m just going to talk and if it gets to be too much I’ll stop.”

“Are you about to tell me why you are the only person who’s ever been completely comfortable with me?” she gave a final sniff.

“I wasn’t sure you recognized it so clearly. How long have you understood we’re the same?”

“Always,” she said.

“Your intuition is strong, Lex.”

“I am what we call a Healer,” he continued after a long pause. “I’m very young, so I can only heal ordinary cuts and scrapes. I can sooth emotions too. It’s why Dad said I was a fixer. It’s just in my nature to help when someone is struggling—especially someone I care about. My gift…it’s who I am. It’s always felt so wrong that you haven’t known the real me. ”

“Aidan, you are the most compassionate person I know. I may not have known the details, but it suits you.”

“You should probably know that I can sense when someone is in pain. I feel a shadow of what they feel,” he added reluctantly.

“My Awakening?” Her eyes narrowed to slits. “You
felt
it?”

“Keep your hair on. I have a high tolerance for pain.”

“Aidan, why would you willingly put yourself through that!” 

“You needed me.” He shrugged as if that settled it.

Allie couldn’t fathom the sacrifice he’d made to be with her through the most terrifying day of her life.

“Why did you cut yourself?” He stroked his thumb across her injured palm.

“How did you know I did it to myself?”

“My gift.” He thumped his temple. “I can tell it was self-inflicted, but I’m afraid I can’t heal an equal.” 

“What does that mean?”

“We’re all powerful, Lex—some more than others. It seems you and I are equally powerful, so we kinda cancel each other out. It would take a lot of practice and most of my strength to heal this little cut and it still might not be enough. For you. Anyone else wouldn’t be a problem.”

“What aren’t you telling me?”

“Do you have any idea how hard it’s been to dodge your questions?” He leaned back against the gnarled tree, draping his arm around her with a reluctant sigh.

“In the past, when you’ve encountered others like us, what have you felt?”

“Curiosity, like I desperately wanted to connect.”

“Did you ever fear for your safety?” 

“Just once.”

“This morning?”

She nodded. “You’re…dangerous?”

“So are you. I’m told most Immortals feel fear when they encounter an equal or more powerful Immortal, but today was a first for me. I’ve felt intimidated by the few extremely ancient ones I’ve met, but never anything like that.”

“So you’re saying…in all your life, you’ve never met anyone more powerful than yourself?” Her mouth went dry as she tried to swallow.

“I have not, but you are within a hair of being more powerful than me.”

“So that’s what this is between us? Power?”

“You know it’s more than just that, Lex. But yes, we are equals.”

“I don’t feel powerful.” 

“You must have experienced the isolation?”

“People are afraid? Of me?”

“Sometimes it’s fear, sometimes fascination or deep loathing. Like how Vince hates me for no reason.”

“I’m not so sure it’s for
no
reason,” she muttered.

“It's instinctual. They can't help it.” 

“But, I'm not even remotely scary.”

“You’d be surprised.” He smiled. “I’ve told you how much your friendship means to me. I’ve never—ever, been with someone who feels one hundred percent comfortable with me the way you do. My own mother flinches if I get too close,” he said sadly. “You saw it that day in the grotto and you knew enough to offer me the comfort of your touch. You can’t possibly know what that little gesture meant. It still amazes me that I can hold your hand and you don’t recoil the way Sasha did with you earlier. You’ve got a lot on your plate, but I’m here for you; whatever you need, whenever you need it.”

“So what else can you do?” she asked, eager to change the subject.

“Not much. I have enormous potential, but I’m still very young so I have a lot of work ahead of me. I have the typical enhanced senses. I’m fast, but not as fast as Graham and Sasha. I regenerate a little quicker than others my age, which probably has something to do with my gift.”

“Speaking of crazy, rapid healing. You did burn your hands in the fire, didn’t you?”

“Yes, but your burns were much worse at first. You were within days of your Awakening, and it seems your body managed to speed your healing along when you weren’t looking. You were so distraught and so pissed off when we wouldn’t give you answers. We were actually afraid the whole thing might send you into an early Awakening, which would have been catastrophic. You would have suffered the consequences forever. I was an absolute wreck trying to steer you away from all the questions, and I hated myself every time you insisted you weren't crazy. You didn’t deserve that. I shouldn’t have let any of it happen. Everything just fell apart so fast!”

“Aidan, how could you have stopped it?”

“I started it, Allie.”

“How? Wait…you were the accelerant?”

“I have a volatile connection with fire. I’m still struggling to understand it. If I let my concentration slip and I happen to be near a fire, it just goes crazy responding to my power and it’s almost impossible to rein it back in. That night, I was too busy sulking over you and Vince.” His eyes flashed with a spark of anger.

“It happened so fast and then Kayla was in so much pain—”

“Oh God! No! Aidan!” she cradled her head in her hands. “She risked her life for nothing?”

“I’m so sorry, Lex. I wish I could go back and keep you both safe. I panicked when I saw her trapped. I was so desperate. All I could do was beg the flames to stop burning her, and somehow they did. I had control again. But I should never have lost it! I was weak for one moment and I almost killed her!”

“Gregg was right.” She reached for his hand. His tone of self-loathing tore at her heart. “Kayla is lucky you were there to give her such good care.”

“Trust me, she would have been ‘lucky’ if she’d never met me.” He scowled. “When I finally got her free, I managed to extinguish a small portion of the flames to give us a way out, but after that, I was tapped out. She was waking up and in danger of going into shock. I did what I could to keep her lungs and heart functioning, but I hadn’t slept in days, and I was losing her. Then you wrapped your arms around me, and I stopped shaking, my head cleared and I had the strength to go on. I didn’t even know it was possible to revitalize someone like that, but you did it before your Awakening, which is just freaking nuts. Once I understood what you were doing, I took advantage of it and I’m afraid that’s why you passed out. You helped me save her, Allie. I can never thank you enough for that.”

“But how? How could I do that and not know it?”

“Instinct. You are much more aware of your power than you know. I’m still trying to help Kayla through her recovery,” he continued, not giving Allie time to dwell on that particular subject. “That’s why the doctors say she’s bouncing back so swiftly. I just have to be careful not to do too much too fast, but it will never be enough. She is scarred for life because I was a jealous idiot.” 

Allie felt tears burn her eyes. She felt like she was staring at a complete stranger. She didn’t know him at all. He cared more deeply than she ever realized.

“Hey, no more of that.” He pulled her close.

“You’re my best friend and it’s like I don’t even know you.” She wiped furiously at her tears.

“It’s okay,” he said. “Remember? Open book. What else do you want to know?”

“What really happened the first morning we met?”

“A crazy redhead tackled me and turned my life upside down.” He grinned.

“Be serious!”

“I am serious! I sensed you on the trail just ahead of me, but I was so not in the mood for a typical first encounter. Most Immortal girls our age are terrified of me and I just couldn’t deal.”

“It is considered very bad manners for a strange Immortal to show up unannounced, and I was prepared to tell you off, but I didn’t want to scare you. I called out for you to stop, but you couldn’t hear me. I thought you might be a little freaked, so I crashed through the woods to get ahead of you. I wanted you to see I wasn’t a threat.”

“I knew you were behind me.” Allie smiled. “And I also wasn’t in the mood. Most boys our age don’t deal so well with me. But something happened when you approached. I got really dizzy and nauseated.”

“You were sensing me. So close to your Awakening, that was probably a first for you.”

“So that whole time you thought I knew what I was?”

“I didn’t have any reason to think you didn’t.”

“What was your first clue?”

“You were completely unimpressed when I mentioned my parents. And then again, when you commented on my mother not changing her last name. Immortal women never change their names when they marry. I was confused that you seemed so ignorant of our ways, so I changed the subject just to be safe.”

“I knew you were distracted by something.”

“All I could think about was the way it felt when my hand closed around yours and you didn’t react. When you helped me up and I met those crazy beautiful green eyes, I couldn’t stop staring. I fell hard, right there in the woods, Lex.” He smiled sadly. “I foolishly thought you did too.”

“Not foolishly, Aidan.”

“But later that morning in the coffee shop you were different, like something turned you off.  What changed?”

“You were just so…not you.”

“Fake Aidan?” he growled. “Allie, they’re more comfortable with me when I play the arrogant, stupid jock!”

“I didn’t know. I just felt something telling me it was a bad idea for us to be anything more than friends. And then I met Vince—”

“And I missed my chance,” he sighed sadly.

She bit her lip. She just didn’t have an answer that would make him feel better.

“I couldn’t get a read on you, so I made the mistake of touching you with my gift,” he rushed on. “I wanted to see what you were feeling. You should have been scared, which I could have sensed, but you wouldn’t
let
me.” He grinned.

“So that’s why I snarled at you?”

“You must have felt uneasy with me after that.”

“Not really. I was very drawn to you. Aidan, my whole life most people have kept a respectful distance, like there’s some huge gulf between me and everyone else. But with you…from that first moment, there was nothing between us and I was fascinated with you.”

“Me too. I suspected you might not know what you were, so I didn’t want to leave you. I was afraid you might disappear. Once I realized your parents were mortal and you really were clueless, I stopped to consider what your life must have been like. It put a lot of things into perspective for me,” he said softly. “I’ve always dealt with that same respectful distance, like I’m in a bubble all by myself. But at least I had my family; at least I knew why the whole world reacts to me so strongly. Allie, do you have any idea how amazing you are?”

“It’s nothing.” She shrugged. “It’s just coping.”
I’ve had my family too, Aidan,
she wanted to say, but she felt a strong urge to keep her family out of it.

“So, I guess in a way, you really are holding a sign that says ‘WARNING: dark and dangerous. Keep out,’” she teased, attempting to lighten the mood.

“I suppose I am.” He winked, but didn’t smile. “They’ve been deferring to you too. Surely you’ve noticed?”

“Yeah, and it totally creeps me out.”

“We are substantially more powerful than our friends. They will always show us their respect. It’s a visceral response, but you can tell them to knock it off, and they usually do.”

“When did you realize I was your equal?”

“The second morning on the ferryboat. That’s when it hit me. When you first met Chloe, you could probably sense that she wasn’t quite the same as the rest of us.”

“Yes. It was more subtle with her.”

“Her power hasn’t emerged yet. You should have felt like that to us, but the strength of your power masked the fact that you weren’t manifested, so I had to connect the dots. When I finally put it all together it was life altering.” The look on his face was nothing short of rapturous.

He just doesn’t see how high he’s put me up on that pedestal. When I fall off, it’s going to kill us both.

“This life can really suck. It won’t be easy and it’s totally not fair, but I’m so grateful to have you in my life.”

She could understand his overwhelming relief. She felt it too, but his feelings for her were so tangled up with his loneliness, she wasn’t sure he would ever see her clearly.