Apotheosis of the Immortal (41 page)

“You are wrong. Your true strength comes from somewhere much deeper, much more powerful.” Her conviction and her insights continued to confound and delight him. She had a passion to rival his own.

“It’s all I’ve known—the pain, the struggle, the passion, the defeat, and the eventual victory that will end only in death… a tragic romance, indeed,” he spoke bitterly.

The fire ahead of them seemed to grow larger and larger as they approached. Elijah could once again smell the smoke; it wasn’t so bad in small doses.

“It just seems like it would be so tiresome to carry around that much hate,” she said. She was right. It was a terrible burden, but it was Elijah’s to bear, and he couldn’t let it go, not until he was finished. It fueled him.

“How do you keep from hating? The men who murdered your family and the world that let it happen?” Elijah echoed her words back to her as he turned and looked into her eyes.

“I couldn’t for a long time. I burned with hate and thoughts of vengeance, just like you do now. It was Khalid who taught me how to find peace, to let go of what I couldn’t change. He is truly a great man.

“But don’t get me wrong,” she added, “I completely understand you. I gave up my hate partly because there was nothing I could do about it. I don’t even know what those men look like. In your case things are much different.” She spoke with a wisdom elusive among mortals and immortals alike. Beyond right and wrong, it spoke to the core elements of who he was and conferred a strange sense of peace and rightness.

Elijah stomped out the fire and they walked back into the cabin. He felt good; he felt understood.

Chapter 82

Elijah slid open
the fireplace. Before starting down the stairs, he wrapped his arm around Emira’s waist and turned, leaning his back against the wall beside the stairwell.

“There is something else I can’t get off of my mind,” he admitted. His trouble connecting hadn’t completely vanished and he was feeling somewhat awkward now, as he spoke. She seemed to sense his uneasiness and placed calming hands flat against his chest. He could feel his heartbeat thundering against them, but her touch was soothing. And his heart rate began to slow as he was once again swept away in the calming tide of her aura.

“Please tell me; I want to help you, Elijah.” She stepped closer and leaned her right ear against his chest.

“It’s what my brother said. I am confused about what I should do for the first time in my immortal life,” he confessed as he rubbed her shoulders and gently pushed her back.

She stood quietly; her eyes encouraged him to continue.

“My stubbornness tells me to ignore it and continue down this path; after all, I have spent so much time and energy to get here. But if I am honest with myself, and look at the situation through the new eyes my brother’s revelation has given me, I am no longer certain.” Releasing his grasp on her shoulders, Elijah pressed his hands against his face and then cupped them around hers.

“You see, my brother was a great man,” he mused. “He was everything my family needed after my father left. He loved us. I know he did, and we loved him, fiercely.” As he spoke, Elijah could feel emotion stirring, rising to a boil within him and leaking into his voice.

“We all looked up to him, even Mother. That is why this has been so confusing. My little brother was so young when William, our father, left, Solomon was the only father figure he ever really knew. I listened for hours sometimes as Solomon told our little brother… his name is Malaki… told him bedtime stories that went on and on as Malaki begged for more and more and more.” He paused for a moment and looked at her, noticing a faint smile steal across her face, and then realized her smile only mirrored his own; she was smiling back at him!

“I entertained Malaki a lot of the time, since Solomon was always working, always taking care of things for the family. I loved Malaki and he loved me, but it was Solomon who made his face glow, and I know Solomon loved him just as much. I don’t know how bad he has become, but I finally know why, which has changed everything.” Elijah could feel a strange rush of excitement building.

“What do you mean?” she asked. Her smile was now gone; confusion and fear seemed to have taken its place.

“I don’t know if it was because of shock, or anger, or just my damned determined focus, but I didn’t take enough time to think about it earlier. The more I consider it, the more it makes sense. Solomon was never a monster; he was a loving man, so how could he change overnight? That is what has always haunted me.” The words seemed to tumble over each other, riding on waves of enthusiasm.

“Elijah, he is a vampire; that changes a person,” she said warily. Concern and disapproval clouded her face as she spoke.

Elijah could see she understood and didn’t like where he was going with this conversation, but it didn’t matter. He knew what he had to do.

“Sara was a vampire, but it didn’t change who she was on the inside,” Elijah explained.

“I don’t know, Elijah; I’m not sure what you are getting at. You told me she killed people, even children.” She was now stroking his neck and jaw, but retreated when the muscles in his face tightened and the soft curves she had been stroking transformed into rigid edges. He didn’t look at her; he clenched his jaw and closed his eyes. The space between them grew tense; it was obvious her comment had crossed a line.

Elijah shook it off as he opened his eyes and looked at her. Her aura had shrunk; he could see she was apologetic.

“He was telling the truth back there; my little brother is alive somewhere!” Elijah nearly shouted. A rush of joy overcame him as he finally said aloud what he had been almost afraid to believe. “But what do I do about it? I can’t follow in my brother’s footsteps and become another of my father’s pawns, just waiting and hoping William will release him eventually. I also can’t just charge off and kill them all, as has been my only plan and purpose for so long.”

He looked at Emira to see her reaction. Her eyes were filled with empathy as she leaned against him once more.

“You are the only person who can decide what you should do. Khalid and I will support whatever decision you make.” She rested her head against his chest again as she spoke. Elijah knew she was right. He wrapped his arms around her waist until she was tightly fitted against him. The gentle ebb and flow of her confidence was soothing, no matter how he pushed against her, she always found her way back. It compelled in him a desire to confide in someone again.

Elijah thought about all the time he had spent being confused and angry. Perhaps he had been wrong about Solomon all along. He was still angry and still confused, but the situation seemed very different now. He had hope, hope nourished by this tiny gem of a girl, resting snug against his chest. Hope his little brother might still be alive, and hope the man he had looked up to in his youth might still deserve his trust and respect.

“I need to speak with my brother. I have to try harder to get through to him.”

“Are you sure?” she asked. She seemed shocked, and a bit clumsy, as Elijah led her down the steps and slid the huge stone back into its place.

When they entered the basement of the cabin, they found Khalid leaning back on one of the huge couches, reading a book. He didn’t even look up as they entered the room.

“Khalid, I need to talk to you.” Elijah’s tone was pleasant but austere.

“Okay.” Khalid promptly set his book down on the couch, clasped his hands between his knees and looked up at Elijah.

“I need to find my brother.” Elijah spoke emphatically, certain Khalid would object.

“So I heard,” Khalid said. “You think your little brother might still be alive and you are willing to risk Emira’s life to find out.” His tone was viciously condemning.

“No! Never! I wouldn’t risk harming her for any reason whatsoever, but if my little brother is still alive, it changes everything!”

“Not for us. They still think I have something they want and they’ll kill us all for even a chance to get their hands on it.” Khalid leaned back and put his feet up on the table as he spoke.

“What I am trying to tell you is, if my youngest brother is still alive and Solomon has only been following my father’s orders in the hopes of saving him, then Solomon may not be a monster at all. There is a chance I could convince him to work with me and find another way to save my little brother.” Elijah’s words, when he heard them spoken aloud, shook his confidence. Hope his plan would succeed seemed dim, even to him, but he wasn’t going to back down.

Chapter 83

“Do me this
kindness first.” Khalid spoke in a calm voice and gestured his open hand towards the couch beside him. “Sit for a while and let me tell you some things you might not know about your family, and then, if you still want to go, I won’t object.” Khalid sounded sincere, and his willingness to compromise was a welcome surprise.

“Sounds fair,” Elijah agreed. He knew he was asking for a lot of trust, and, between him and Khalid, there wasn’t much trust to spare. “But let me ask you something first,” he continued. “How did you know what I was when we first met?” he asked as he took a seat on the couch next to Khalid.

“Well, according to you, I still don’t,” Khalid noted. Putting his feet on the ground, he sat up and rubbed his knees. His tone was sarcastic, but friendly enough.

“I mean, how did you know I was different, immortal?” Elijah pressed as he leaned forward, mirroring Khalid’s own position. He was curious. The beastly man intrigued him; there was an air of mystery and wisdom about him.

“As you well know Elijah, the longer you live, the more you learn to pick up on subtle things. I have been around for a long, long time. Your father and brother are not the first immortals who’ve come to me looking for the ancient wisdom known simply as the ME. When you’ve seen enough of them, you learn to recognize certain things. An immortal’s entire demeanor is different from a human’s; there are subtle differences in the way they carry themselves, how they stand and move. All that power is hard to hide from someone who knows what to look for, and for me, knowing what to look for can be a matter of life and death.” Khalid pulled a glass fitting from the top of an expensive-looking whiskey bottle and poured two glasses as he explained. He took a sip from one glass and handed the other to Elijah.

Elijah was impressed with Khalid’s knowledge and once again wondered if perhaps Khalid and Ayda were cut from the same immortal twine as was he, or if the color of his eyes truly eliminated that possibility, as Ayda had suggested.

He threw back the whiskey. “What is this ME? Why does my father want it so much?” he asked. His voice rose with his curiosity.

“It’s smooth, isn’t it?” Khalid noted with pride. “It’s thirty-year-old single malt.”

“I prefer bourbon, but it is good,” Elijah nodded. He could see Khalid swell with contempt and was immediately sorry. He had no idea the lion of a man would be so sensitive about his scotch.

“Like I said,” Khalid continued. “Over the years, many immortals have come looking for this knowledge, but no one has ever found it, because it doesn’t exist.” Khalid rubbed his eyes and took a deep breath as if he was about to give a long, rehearsed speech.

“The legend of the ME comes from Assyrian mythology. There is no real description of exactly what it is, no consensus, only various beliefs and opinions. Some so-called experts believe it is a collection of actual stone tablets, similar to the Ten Commandments in Judeo-Christian and Islamic mythology. Others believe it is a collection of glyphs, scrolls, or books; some even believe it is a single piece of parchment. There are also various beliefs surrounding the number and makeup of the rite or rites. Some people believe there are many different tablets scattered across the earth, each conferring a different supernatural gift, while others believe there is just one sacred writing, providing one sacred gift.” Khalid paused to take a deep breath as he poured another helping of whiskey.

“The mythology is quite simple. It states that in the beginning there were three gods, existing beyond time, in a state of perfect unity. The gods acted as one; having a unified will and purpose caused a perfect synchronicity and harmony to exist throughout the universe. The three
brothers,
if you will, ruled in this manner until the creation of mankind. Mankind was the jewel in their crown, the pinnacle of all of their achievements; never before had a life form been created with such a capacity and thirst for knowledge. Although greatly lacking in power, humans had an intelligence and will to rival even the gods. They were the first creations to question the world around them; they even questioned their creators.” Khalid took another drink from his glass and then topped it off. Elijah could see he was conflicted regarding the audacity of man. The story seemed to mean a great deal to him, as if the telling of it exacted a toll.

“Man’s questions and opinions brought light to the fact the brothers were uniquely specialized in their powers, and this provoked pride and envy between two of them, who both desired to prove the superiority of their power,” Khalid continued, before finishing the last drop of whiskey in his glass and then leaning forward to stare intently at Elijah.

Elijah straightened and returned Khalid’s stare. “I don’t believe in fairytales,” he said, “or gods, but Ayda did take something from the House of Wisdom. She said it was imperative my father not get his hands on it. So, tell me the truth; what did she take? And why is it so important? Why would so many immortals believe the ME does exist?” Elijah was tired of secrets; he was determined to get what he could from Khalid, and although the big man was beginning to open up, it wasn’t hard to tell he was being purposely vague and trying to throw Elijah off track with his sarcastic tone.

“Is that true?” Emira asked. Her tone and expression were sharp and condemning. Khalid became noticeably uncomfortable; the incorrigibly proud man was suddenly softened by Emira’s accusing stare.

“Just listen. Let me finish telling you the myth, and then I’ll tell you what I know.” Khalid’s voice was nearly a whisper; Elijah was vividly aware of his deep reluctance.

“The god Mikal, known as the god of light and creation,” Khalid continued, “was proud of his power to bring life into the world. It is said he has spent ages making all different kinds of creatures and beasts, including man. His brother, Adol, is known as the god of darkness and death. He despises his brother’s power; he is envious of him, and spends his time taking away all his brother creates, turning light into darkness and life into death.” Khalid paused for a moment and once again poured more whiskey. Emira shot him a disapproving look, but he tossed it down anyway and then continued.

“This is where your father comes in,” he said. “Adol is the god who creates those like him, these immortal blood-letters, vampires as they have come to be known. He empowers them with death; the more life they consume, the stronger they become.” Khalid’s voice was now a monotone. His guise of imperturbability surrounded him once again.

“Wait, I thought you said it was all just a myth,” Elijah interrupted, sure Khalid was still hiding something.

“I said the ME was a myth, not the entire story.” Elijah caught him backtracking and wasn’t going to let him off the hook. “Anyway, will you let me finish?” Khalid’s imperturbability hadn’t lasted long, and he was becoming noticeably frustrated by Elijah’s questions. “The third brother god is named Odam; he is also known as the breath of man and the spirit of the earth. It is said he took notice of man’s plight and was compelled towards compassion.

“He didn’t like the way his brothers played with life and death, and he wanted to help man in his struggle. It is said, in his anger and compassion, an immense power was birthed in the form of knowledge. He wrote this knowledge down, and it is believed by many that these tablets, glyphs, or tombs contain knowledge that can give humans or immortals god-like power. They are said to be able to empower even the gods.” Khalid’s voice began to rise. His passion for the subject was now bursting forth, flooding his voice with hints of excitement.

“The most popular theory is, whether there is only one or many tablets, there is only one rite, or ritual, either inscribed on one tablet, or perhaps scattered throughout multiple tablets. The rite is known as the Apotheosis. Adol apparently charges his immortals with the task of finding it. He believes he must keep it out of his brother’s hands. He believes the rite will give him the power to create life and make him the most powerful of the gods.

“However, if one of his immortals, like your father,” Khalid frowned in Elijah’s direction, “were to find the rite, be able to decipher it, and dared to defy Adol, he could perform it himself and become extremely powerful. At least, that is what some believe.” The excitement in Khalid’s voice had quickly transformed to sarcasm. He obviously wanted Elijah to believe he wasn’t convinced.

“But that still doesn’t explain what Ayda took or why they would come here, to you.” Elijah’s curiosity caused him to continue pressing the big man.

“Well, it is said, when Odam created these tablets, he also created an order of immortals to see to their protection, to be their guardians. The rite is only to be used by a member of that order, and only in the direst of circumstances, like if Odam himself were somehow killed, and mankind had no other option. I spent much time as a professor trying to help people understand these myths and, unfortunately, I got a name for myself. Because blood-letters can tell I am not human, the ones who know of the ME and the order automatically assume I am involved, that I am one of Odam’s immortals,” Khalid explained while he tugged his ear.

“As far as Ayda is concerned, she can be naïve; she might believe in such things. For all I know, she might have thought she had found it.” Khalid chuckled, probably trying to sound condescending, but, as far as Elijah was concerned, he had already given himself away. Still, Elijah knew there was more to be revealed.

Khalid’s secretive nature was beginning to remind Elijah of his own past. Over the years of their friendship, Ayda had been persistently vague and secretive about anything to do with her past. It sounded crazy, but maybe this was why; maybe this was all true.

“Are you one of Odam’s immortals, a guardian of the ME?” Elijah didn’t know exactly what to think and was becoming more and more intrigued. He had experienced many things in his life which most people would think impossible, so he saw no reason to rule this out.

“I told you, the ME is just a myth,” Khalid declared. He seemed guarded once again.

”What are you, then?” Elijah asked him straight out, hoping to rattle him enough to get something.

“Why would I go to mosque if I truly believed in all of this? That wouldn’t make any sense,” Khalid finally said, and then stared blankly down at the coffee table.

“It would be a good cover,” Elijah prodded. “Besides, you already admitted to believing in these three gods.” Khalid didn’t reply; he just continued staring. After a long silence, Elijah realized Khalid wasn’t going to discuss the subject with him any further, so he decided to give up, at least for now.

He wanted to ask Khalid about his own eyes and if he thought they might be of a similar kind, something he thought Ayda had dismissed too easily. But after noticing Emira had wandered into another room, Elijah took the opportunity to pry into another subject in which he was deeply interested. “How long have you known Emira?” he asked.

“How did I know that’s what you would want to discuss? Death and danger all around us, and you can’t get your mind off of her, can you?” Khalid raised his voice; he seemed threatened.

“Death and danger I’m used to; death and danger are my life. Emira is a welcome change,” Elijah responded unapologetically.

“You know you are not good for her.” Khalid was like stone.

“Well, I’m sure you’re right.” Elijah was leaning calmly back on the huge couch. “Besides, I’ve got more urgent things to worry about right now. You just keep her here and keep her safe; I’ll take care of my brother and my father,” Elijah assured him.

“Are you boys talking about me?” Hearing Emira’s voice, Elijah looked up to see two beautiful bare legs stretching down from a familiar T-shirt. “I stole this shirt from your bag; I hope you don’t mind.” Her voice was melodic.

Talking to Khalid had made Elijah tense, and he was glad to feel the warm tenderness of Emira’s presence. He looked over at Khalid and could see he was also grateful for the beautiful interruption.

“I don’t mind. It looks better on you anyway,” Elijah laughed. He loved to see her smile; it seemed to make everything else disappear. Elijah stood up and took her hands in his. Looking into her eyes, he was sad to see her smile had disappeared and she looked worried, as if she already knew exactly what he was about to say.

“Emira, I have to go,” he explained. Her expression didn’t change. “I need to know for sure if my little brother is alive. Khalid will be here to protect you.” He glanced back at the big man on the couch, who was now writing in a notebook.

“Don’t worry, I will be back, and I will make sure no one can hurt you.” Elijah stood there gazing into her eyes for a moment, almost waiting for permission. He wanted her to understand.

“I know. Please, just don’t die.” She fell into him as she spoke and hugged him with all the warmth in the world. Being immersed in her light gave him a strange, overpowering feeling, as if it were suddenly fueling him, strengthening him. With her blessing, he was ready.

“Where will you go? How will you find them?” Khalid’s deep voice rose behind Elijah.