Hopeless Magic (20 page)

"Talbott's right," Amory cut in, giving Avalon the "eye."

"Amory, what does that mean?" I asked in awe.

This was a story I had not heard before.

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"I will tell you sometime, Eden, but your elegant Thanksgiving dinner is neither the time, nor the place," he smiled at me patiently and I knew he was right.

"Who's ready for some pie?" Aunt Syll changed the subject and spoke for the first time all evening.

I was thankful for Aunt Syl's intuition and stood up to help her clear the table. But a chill ran up my spine, I realized I sorely underestimated the danger Talbott and Kiran still were to my precious family and what kind of danger my family was to Kiran. A sickening feeling of dread formed in the pit of my stomach. I was naive to believe these two worlds could coexist. I was naive to believe a relationship between Kiran and I would solve this world's problems. I placed the china gently next to the sink fearing this was all going to come to a head sooner than I wanted to believe it would.

19.

I stepped on to Kiran's posh private jet on a se-cluded airstrip north of Omaha late Thursday evening, with my new backpack and a small carry-on suit case. I was a ball of nerves already and the plane hadn't even taken off yet.

I willed myself forward, forcing myself to take step after step until I was able to sit down in a luxurious leather chair. I threw my carry-on and backpack on an identical seat across the aisle and used my foot to propel my swiveling chair around and around.

An iced bucket, holding an expensive bottle of champagne sat uncorked on the console to my right and the flat-screen TV took up the majority of the front wall, playing an old movie I would have loved to pay attention to under different circumstances.

I stopped turning when the seat belt sign flashed on and obeyed the safety command. Once in the 300/711

air I would change clothes, out of my jeans and sweater and into cooler clothing, ready for the heat of India.

I wasn't in any hurry, though, Amory had prepped me before hand on the lengthy journey ahead of me. The plane ride alone would take over a full day and then the trip into the mountains another three days. I would be in India ap-proximately ten days if everything went well and add in the four days total of traveling, I would be gone for two whole weeks.

Thankfully, the trip took place over the first part of December when the rest of my class was on the rock- climbing trip I had been thrilled to be dismissed from. I didn't have to worry about missing school, but I still wasn't happy about spending half of the trip overseas alone and traveling for the majority of it.

The worst part was the no talking. I exhaled loudly, hoping sounds were still permitted, not just the actual formation of words.

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Once the plane was in the air, an attractive flight attendant appeared, from what seemed like out of nowhere, offering me a bottle of water and showing me without words how to lean my chair back into a sleeping position. She gestured towards the lights. I assumed she was asking me if I wanted them dimmed and so I just nodded my head to see where it would take me.

I was right and once the lights were softened and the stewardess had left me alone again I leaned my chair back and hoped to find the sleep that had been eluding me since Thanksgiving.

I stared up at the ceiling of the jet and let myself think about all those I had left behind. There hadn't been any danger yet and I wasn't really expecting anything at all until after the Walk. I wanted to believe that Lucan was interested in seeing what I was capable of before he made any decisions about what to do with me.

Amory had given me a more detailed description and blueprint set of the Romanian Citadel in order for me to study the escape route we had taken 302/711

a few months earlier. I memorized every detail of the plans I kept tucked safely in Aunt Syl's closet, but hoped I would never need to call up the information.

The key was, as Amory had explained, to escape before they moved me down into the prisons themselves. Once down there it would be impossible to escape. Well, it had been impossible for everyone else, including him, but he liked to believe I was capable of anything.

I wasn't so optimistic.

Amory, I had found out, had at one time or another, been imprisoned by almost every king from Derrick to Lucan. None of them trusted him, since he was the only Immortal that had thus far claimed actual immortality. Some had just kept him down there, some had tried to kill him, and some, like Lucan, had tortured him in hopes of finding his daughter, or wife, or Shape-shifters, or whoever they thought Amory could help them find.

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I grieved for my grandfather after hearing of his painful life, and how much he had suffered, not only in physical pain, but in loved ones lost.

From his perspective, there was nothing more evil on earth than the monarchy, and his beloved people, whom he very much felt responsible for, would never have freedom or peace until he abol-ished the last living member of the regime.

Amory's prep for this trip was more emotional for me than I had thought possible. Hearing stories of thousands of years of oppression and mistreat-ment, most of it aimed either at my grandfather or the ones he loved was heartbreaking.

I still couldn't believe Kiran was capable of the same kind of malice though. From his every interaction with Amory I had witnessed, Kiran respected and admired Amory, or at least showed him graciousness. Kiran was not the same man that his father was, nor his grandfather. He was a new breed. A new ruler. He would not treat his kingdom with the same misplaced jealousy that all of his ancestors had. I had to believe that.

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Besides, Amory wasn't in a Romanian prison anymore, he was Regent of North America and Principal of Kingsley, which was the premier Immortal prep school in the Americas. When I asked Amory how he went from escaping Lucan's imprisonment to being judge over this side of the world, Amory explained that Lucan had learned what all of his predecessors had; when you can't kill your adversary you follow the old adage: keep your friends close and your enemies closer. And so Amory had been appointed to leadership in an attempt to keep a closer eye on him. But according to Amory, it was just a different form of imprisonment. He was at the beck and call of the monarchy and a puppet in their endless stream of tyranny.

Going to India, I was more confused than ever.

The monarchy was, of course, the bad guy. But how could Kiran be? And the Resistance was the obvious answer to the oppression of the Immortal race, but what was their plan of restructuring 305/711

government? If the Resistance eventually did take over, what would happen to Kiran?

I had even less of an idea of what side of the argument I wanted to be on. I couldn't keep putting my feelings aside, hoping that the love I felt for Kiran would be enough to bandage any situation.

The fight wasn't about me. It wasn't about a relationship or soul mates or real love. This fight was about overcoming injustice and saving innocent lives, of freeing the Shape-shifters so they could become an active part of their world again, and of releasing the ban on interracial marriage so that the magic could be free also. This war was about reinstating the meaning of immortality to the Immortal race and offering life in a world where it would soon be sorely lacking.

You need your rest. Give it up for tonight and just
relax.
Avalon's soft, reassuring voice was in my head. I found his presence comforting, despite the distance we were from each other.

You're right.
I sighed, wishing he were here with me.
I'm just lonely.
I complained, thankful for the 306/711

reprieve and ability to talk. This was probably the longest I had ever gone without voicing my opinions.

Jericho says hi.
Avalon responded and I didn't even need to be his twin to feel the double meaning behind his statement.

Well, tell Jericho hi back.
I rolled my eyes and snuggled in deeper to the chair. I didn't know what Avalon was thinking, I was not about to flirt with Jericho telepathically through my brother. It was weird.

You're right, it's weird.
Avalon, who had been listening in, agreed.

Thank you.
I sighed, glad he wouldn't be putting up too much of a fight.

Just remember, we will be on the ground before
you even land and with you every step of the way.

Eden, you will never be out of my sight.
Avalon reminded me and I was surprised to feel the emotion behind his promise.

Ok, but maybe let Jericho take point during the
ceremonial bath.
I joked, trying to lighten the 307/711

mood at the same time reminding my brother that the ceremonial bath might not be his ideal surveillance opportunity.

Will do.
Avalon said smugly, focusing more on my desire to have Jericho take point while I was in the bath than the gross factor of Avalon doing it instead.

See you on the ground, weirdo.
I ended our conversation but didn't leave Avalon's head. I wasn't usually the one to spy, but Avalon transitioned so quickly into a conversation with Jericho about me that I couldn't resist.

“
She says she wants you to be the one watching her in the bath, Dude," Avalon was saying.

"
I'm pretty sure she just didn't want it to be you,"

Jericho rolled his eyes at Avalon and I felt the light bulb go off in Avalon's head.

"Huh," Avalon grunted, "you're probably right."

"Yeah," Jericho agreed, and tried to turn back to his book.

"So you're just over her then? That's it?" Avalon was never one to give up easily.

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"What do you mean, that's it? She is in love with Kiran; there's nothing else to it. What do you want me to do?" Jericho looked up from his reading material clearly irritated. There was something intense in his hazel eyes making them darker than usual.

"Well whatever you were doing last week seemed to be working," Avalon said bluntly.

"Ok, listen, She chose the prince; there is nothing I can do about it. She has made that pretty clear,"

Jericho shrugged his shoulder and I felt a surprising pang of sympathy from Avalon for his friend.

"That's not all she's made clear, though," Avalon was referencing my magical reaction to Jericho, I felt what he meant, but I wasn't sure Jericho understood. At least I hoped he didn't understand.

"Avalon, seriously. Let's move on. One day, when Eden is ready, I will be ready too. But until then, I'm not going to get in her way. She can make her own decisions and choose her own path. I'm not going to even try to change her mind. Have you seen her listen to anyone else?

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Ever? Or let things like rules and decrees get in her way? She is the most self-determined, amazing woman I have ever met and if I have to wait for her, I will. So let's just drop it," Jericho picked his book up and held it in front of his face, blocking Avalon and proving that the conversation was over.

"Jericho, that is seriously pathetic," Avalon laughed, satisfied with where Jericho stood even if he wasn't going to share that opinion with him.

Jericho ignored Avalon completely and I felt like I had seen more than enough. I shouldn't have been eavesdropping, it was wrong. It was very wrong, I felt awful. Suddenly I was more than a ball of nerves, I was a ticking time bomb of explosive energy and I felt terrible.

It didn't seem fair that Jericho would be such an amazing guy. He deserved someone truly incredible. I certainly wasn't a good enough girl for him and he shouldn't be spending his time standing around waiting for me. I was taken. And I was in 310/711

love. It wasn't fair that he was just waiting for me. I was never going to be there for him.

A sinking feeling washed over me and I decided I had had enough of thinking. I closed my eyes and turned off my brain. I couldn't think about un-changeable things right now, I had to focus on India. I would be landing in a matter of hours and I still needed to figure out how to disguise my magic in a place God Himself, apparently designed in order to reveal the most secret parts of our magic.

My relationship with Kiran seemed impossible.

A relationship with Jericho was actually impossible, but I had more important things to worry about. I had an actual impossible task facing me and if I let these boys cloud my mind any further I wouldn't have to think about any of them anymore, I would be in the bottom of a Romanian prison pit, spending the rest of my life, which apparently would be the rest of forever, wishing I had never met those two.

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20.

I stepped off the plane in Bangalore to a wave of humid heat, the feeling I needed to shower and five women in elaborate scarlet saris with gold stitching pressing their palms together in a sort of half bow. None of them looked me in the eye, but I could not take my eyes off of them.

They were all different ages, from mid twenties to middle age. They had long dark hair wrapped in elegant braids or hanging waist-length with golden thread tied through them. They had beautiful tanned Indian skin and between their eyes was the customary red dot, most Hindu women wore.

Elegant floral designs made out of an orange flower paste, called henna, wrapped their right arms from finger tips to shoulder blades. The pretty flowers intertwined each other in delicate brush strokes and mimicked the exotic beauty of the five women that would be my stewards.

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I stood at the bottom of the moving stairwell feeling grossly underdressed and more unprepared for the task ahead of me than I ever had. I mirrored their bow, palms pressed tightly together and nose resting on my middle fingers and if I would have been allowed to talk I would have gladly called on my yoga knowledge and said,

"Namaste."

The vow of silence held my tongue and when the women dropped their hands, I followed suit, brushing my plain, unpainted fingers against the tan cargo pants I felt appropriate for the trip. I shouldered my back pack, still trying to get used to its stiffness. A pang of regret washed over me as I remembered my beloved old bag and how it had gotten me through my last overseas trip.