The Seventh Immortal (Hearts of Amaranth #1) (7 page)

Kait stared at the battle lines as they
formed up on either side of the building. She could hardly believe
what she was seeing. All of these people—Obshina and police
alike—were ready to give their lives for their Gospels. “Why do
they follow you?” she asked.

Christa looked at Kait in disbelief. “You do
not even understand that? You are more dangerous than I
believed.”

“
I guess you have to tell me.”

Picking up the tablet computer, Christa sat on the desk
across from Kait. “The Gospels are not just immortal, we have
another...power. We speak with the
vox dei
, the Voice of God.”

“
...and?”

“
When we speak, mortals listen. They are compelled to follow
us. We can manipulate them. Guide them. And if we must, we can use
them to whatever end we desire.”

Kait leaned over. She felt like she was
going to be sick. Her stomach lurched and threatened to betray her
as she realized what she'd done.

This was why everyone was so eager to help
her. The Gospels were capable of mind control. They could bend the
will of regular men and women, forcing them to obey their
wishes.

It was why Paul Gordon pulled her out of
anesthesia and risked his job to free her from Mayor Levin. It was
why Spencer Smith took her money, but dutifully returned it. It was
why he betrayed his wife to succumb to her desire. Ultimately, it
was the reason he was dead.

“
But I never spoke,” Kait said. “I don't think I asked
anyone for help...” She couldn't remember what she said to Spencer
before her fall, but she'd never explicitly ordered him to assist
her today.

“
You don't have to,” Christa explained.
“They want to follow us. God is dead and they want something to
believe in. We give them meaning and
they believe in
us.
”

“
No... No, it can't be...”

Christa tried to comfort her. She placed her
hand on Kait's shoulder. “This is why you have to choose, Miss
Selias. You must have an ideology. You must have a gospel to
spread. Otherwise... You are dangerous. You will lead the world
astray.”

Kait shook her head. “No!” she shouted. “I
don't want to lead anyone. I can't lead anyone. I don't remember
anything.”

“
You're too late.”

Christa forced the tablet computer towards
Kait. There was a new figure on the camera feed. It was a young man
that Kait instantly recognized: Paul Gordon. He was there, at One
Metropolitan Square.”

“
No...”

“
He followed you. He came for you. Whether you like it or
not, he believes in you.”

For now, Paul was standing behind the lines
of cops surrounding the building. But, ever so slowly he dared to
approach. It wouldn't be long before he worked up the courage to
break through and then...

“
Join us, and we will protect him.”

“
What?”

Christa pulled the tablet away so Kait could
no longer watch Paul's approach. “Mayor Levin killed your friend
Mr. Smith because Mayor Levin kills anyone who discovers our
immortality. He is afraid of the chaos that would follow from our
discovery. I am not. While I would never reveal myself... I am very
curious what would happen.”

“
You're curious?” Kait asked, incredulous.

“
It would be chaos. We would finally have to stand up for
ourselves against them. So yes, I'm curious.” Christa sighed. “But
none of that matters right now. Your friend down there won't tell
anyone about us. There's no reason for anyone to kill him, but
Mayor Levin doesn't care for reason. If you decide to support us,
we'll make sure he makes it out of this alive.”

This didn't comfort Kait. It just made her
angrier. “Chaos? Order? I don't even know the choice I'm
making!”

“
Yes you do. Freedom or domination. Life or death, for your
poor friend.”

“
This... This is extortion,” Kait said. “You're such a
hypocrite, giving me this fucked up false choice.”

“
I do what I have to do,” Christa replied.

Kait glared at her. “So do I.” She pushed
past the intimidating woman and towards the door. The elevators
down to the lobby weren't far away. She just had to make it...

“
Where the hell are you going?” Christa asked as Kait
stormed out of the office.

“
If it makes you feel better, you can tell yourself that I
chose freedom. I just did it my own way. I'm going to save Paul on
my own.”

Chapter Six

The elevator ride down to the lobby of One
Metropolitan Square felt like the longest thirty seconds of Kait's
life. She kept waiting for someone to stop her. It would be fairly
trivial for Christa to halt the elevator car, forcing her back into
the same awful choice between swearing allegiance to the Fractal
CEO and watching Paul die.

To Christa's credit, she did no such thing.
She stayed true to the principles she claimed to espouse, and
allowed Kait to create her own solution to this dilemma.

With a lurch, the elevator car came to a
stop on the first floor. The door slid open, and Kait found herself
confronted with at least a dozen armed men. They wore makeshift
body armor around their street clothes. No uniforms, no badges,
nothing... They were Obshina gang members, the foot soldiers of the
organized crime family that dared stand up to Mayor Levin's
iron-fisted regime.

Their presence in the lobby of the office
building would have seemed odd to Kait if she didn't already know
that Obshina was in bed with Fractal Capital. The Obshina were just
another arm of the Gospels, and Kait was about to find herself face
to face with their leader.

“
What the hell are you doing down here?” A voice barked.
Kait looked to her side to see the man who addressed her. He was
tall—at least a few inches over six feet—with skin the color of
smooth dark chocolate. Unlike the Obshina footsoldiers, he didn't
wear any armor. Instead, his muscular body was wrapped in a tight
gray t-shirt and jeans. Kait could see every sharp edge of his
form, and couldn't help but feel intrigued. But she knew who he
was.

He was the only person in the foyer without
a bulletproof vest. He was the Gospel Thomas Kemp. “I'm going
outside. I don't care what your leader says, I'm going to save Paul
on my own...without your help.”

Thomas laughed. “Christa Xander is
not
my leader,” he said. “We merely have a
common enemy. He is your enemy, too, and it would be advisable for
you to make friends with us, at least for the time
being.”

“
Maybe I will, maybe I won't,” Kait replied. “But I don't
like how anyone is treating me right now.”

“
If you go outside, the cops will fire on you. Paul will be
caught in the crossfire. The only thing keeping him alive right now
is that Police Chief L'Enfant thinks that he may lure you
out.”

“
And you think the best way to keep him alive is to
prostrate myself before you, accept your protection, and let you go
get him.”

Thomas shook his head. “I don't want you to
prostrate yourself before anyone,” he said. “We have not been
properly introduced... My name is Thomas Kemp. I am the boss of the
St. Louis Obshina.”

“
And you're a Gospel,” Kait replied. “What do you
preach?”

“
Liberty,” Thomas said.

Kait laughed. “Just like Christa, you're a hypocrite. You
claim to be the Gospel of Liberty, but you use the
vox dei
to command all
these people to do your bidding. I know you want to help, but I
have to admit... At least the mayor's side is internally
consistent.”

Thomas bristled at her words. “You have no idea what you
are talking about,” he grunted. “I don't use the
vox
dei
.”

“
You... You don't?” Kait had some trouble believing this.
She had managed to use the mysterious power of the Gospels without
even trying. Paul was compelled to help her even when she was
unconscious. Spencer followed her orders to keep her money safe
even though he thought she was dead.

“
It would go against everything I believe in,” Thomas
said.

“
You can just...turn it off? How?”

Thomas gritted his teeth. He seemed annoyed
by Kait's questions. “It takes practice,” he replied. “It is easy
to project your desires onto others. It is difficult to stop. But
it is possible.”

For just a moment, Kait felt a certain
respect for one of the Gospels. Thomas seemed like a decent person.
That was a lot more than she could say for Christa or Mayor
Levin.

“
Then you must think all of this is horrible,” Kait said.
“Christa is forcing me to join her. Isn't that... Don't you want to
help me?”

Thomas shook his head. “I can't help you,”
he replied. “You can only help yourself. If I were to go and rescue
your friend on my own, you'll never learn the responsibility that
comes with your power.”

“
Yes I will!” Kait objected. “I will totally learn. I've
already learned.”

“
No you haven't,” Thomas replied. “You are
trying to use the
vox dei
on me right now.” He narrowed his eyes and glared
at Kait. “It doesn't work on other Gospels.”

Kait stopped short. She felt a slight,
tingling sensation near the center of her forehead—something she
didn't fully understand yet—and she knew that he was right.
Unconsciously, she was attempting to manipulate him. She was using
her power to push him towards helping her.

“
I'm sorry...”

Thomas looked her up and down. She felt like
his eyes were tracing every inch of her body. It sent a shiver up
her spine. Even now, she couldn't deny that he was an attractive
man.

“
What do you believe in, Miss Selias?”

“
I don't know,” Kait replied. “That's the
problem. I haven't had time... I've been awake less than
twenty-four hours. Everything is so
much
right now.”

“
Our senses are stronger than theirs,” Thomas replied. “I
remember when it happened. The lights became brighter. The scents
became stronger. The sensations...”

Kait understood what he meant. She could
still vividly recall the intensity of the colors when the drugs
wore off, and still felt the vibrations of Silvi's motorcycle
between her legs. Her senses threatened to overwhelm her in every
moment. “It's not so bad, is it?” Kait asked.

“
I never said it was,” Thomas replied. “But do not be caught
up in such things. We are here for a reason, and our condition is
as much of a punishment as it is a reward. I didn't even understand
the extent of it until almost three years later, when I was pushed
into the ocean and woke up three weeks later on the shore of a land
I'd never even visited.”

“
You didn't know you were immortal until three years after
it happened?” Kait asked. “How did you figure out when it occurred?
Christa gave me an exact date and time. How--”

Thomas began to walk towards the doors
leading out onto the street. Squinting, Kait, could see Paul
standing on the steps. He was staring up at the building, as if he
was considering coming inside. Kait knew that would be bad. Like
Thomas said, he was only being kept alive as bait.

“
The man out there—not your friend, but the police chief—was
shot in the head on the night it happened. He suffered a terrible
injury that, if he was already a Gospel, would have healed within
minutes. If he did not become a Gospel within a short time after
sustaining the injury, he would have surely died. We were all in
the city of Kurgan on that night. Once we all met each other, it
was easy to piece together.”

“
You think I was there, too?”

“
It only makes sense. But... Who knows? Maybe whatever
happened that night happened elsewhere as well.”

This was almost too much for Kait. She
thought back to the message scrawled on the inside of her passport.
Weren't the Gospels supposed to answer her questions? It seemed
like they were just as confused as her. They been alive for
hundreds of years, and they still didn't know what they were.

“
So, what kind of injury was it?” Kait asked. “What happened
to Grant L'Enfante?”

“
He was shot in the face,” Thomas said bluntly. “When we
became... When we were transformed into Gospels, our bodies were
preserved. If injured, they will be reformed just how they were on
that night. For him, that means he will always have that bullet in
his head. Right behind his left eye.”

Kait remembered the video feed from outside
the building. She'd seen his ghostly eye, and now shuddered knowing
the reason for the deformity. “So, that's what I'm dealing
with?”

Thomas chuckled. “If you go out there, they
will shoot. They will kill him and incapacitate you. We can't die,
but we sure as shit can be knocked out for a few minutes.”

“
So what's my other option? Give in to
Christa? Pledge my
allegiance
to Fractal and--”

“
Stop using the
vox dei
. Stop calling to him and hope that
he walks away and never thinks of you again.”

Kait glanced through the glass. It was dark
enough on the outside that he wouldn't be able to see her from the
steps, but she could watch him. “How? How do I do it?”