A bystander in a black suit knelt next to me. “Hang on,” he said. “I called an ambulance.”
Another man approached in jeans and a white shirt. “It’s okay,” he said in a calm voice. I looked up at his stunning blue eyes and wavy brown hair. His eyes were the lightest blue I’d ever seen, almost reminding me of the clear blue sky. I noticed he wore a ring in the same style as Victor, but instead of a ruby, his gemstone was a brilliant blue sapphire.
“
You’re very brave,” he said. He then touched my arm, as if to comfort me, and a shock ensued. It felt like static electricity, only stronger. His eyebrows shot up in surprise, and he went to touch me again, but he held on for longer this time. I inhaled deeply. The spark felt like electricity racing up my body, and he immediately withdrew his hand.
“
Wh-who are you?” I whispered.
“
Who are you?” he asked, his voice filled with confusion. He pulled a strand of my shirt over to the left, as if to inspect my wound. “What’s your name?” he asked, continuing to look at the bullet hole.
“
What’s yours?” I retorted.
“
Is it bad?” a lady asked.
His eyes widened, and he gasped.
“
That bad, huh?” I said.
“
You wear the mark of Tantara!” he whispered so softly that I knew no human could hear.
“
There’s nothing there. How can you even see it?” I asked, knowing he was speaking of the mark Ethano had seared into my skin so he could disconnect me from Victor.
“
You should’ve been able to take the gunman down with no problem, just like you told the woman,” he said, “but I sense an imbalance in your abilities.” He glanced down at the wound. “You’re healing fast,” he whispered.
“
You know what I am?” I whispered back. “Who are you?”
He disappeared in a blur, and I wondered if I’d been hallucinating.
“
Can’t leave this behind,” he said.
When I looked up, I saw him holding the tiny bullet in plain sight, but the others didn’t seem to notice him holding it up. My thoughts drifted to the temple. Ethano had been able to make people see what he wanted them to see. He’d made me, Liz, and Mia see Frank, even though it was really him. I wondered if this strange man was pulling the same stunt, especially since no one around me seemed to be as amazed as I was that he was holding the bullet.
A voice rolled across my mind: “I’m taking the bullet away from the crime scene. Can’t have the police doing DNA tests on the blood, now can we?”
“
Who are you?” I asked once again, my voice low and raspy.
He squeezed my shoulder reassuringly but pulled away quickly when the shock ensued. “A wonderful guy who can tell you that you and the baby are fine.”
I gritted my teeth through the pain. “Are you positive?”
“
Trust me. His heartbeat is strong and healthy.”
Reassured and comforted by the mystery man’s presence and his words, I let out a sigh of relief.
The blue-eyed man’s eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled, and then he disappeared into the surrounding crowd around me.
“
Wait! Come back,” I said, searching for him. None of it made any sense, and there was only one possible answer:
The guy was Immortal.
I slowly stood, dizziness washing over me. “This has been nice and all, folks, but I’ve gotta go. There’s a pot roast calling my name.”
“
How is she able to stand after losing all that blood?” a man asked.
“
It must be all that adrenaline pumping through her veins,” another said.
“
Let’s get you to the hospital so you can get checked out,” the woman cried. “If not for you, think about the baby.”
“
Thank you for your concern, everyone, but I’m fine,” I said, inching back. “It was just a flesh wound—a paper cut really.”
“
A paper cut?” a guy chimed in. “There’s a liter of blood on the ground!”
“
You need a blood transfusion,” somebody yelled.
As I glanced down at all the blood on the floor, something weird happened. It started to smoke, then faded before our very eyes, until every crimson drop was gone. I gasped.
“
Lady, don’t move,” somebody said from my left. “The police are on their way.”
But that was my cue to leave. I looked for the man with the light blue eyes, but he was gone. Suddenly, I felt my powers surging through me. Without another minute to waste, I pointed to the camera mounted on the ceiling. The glass had been cracked, and I wondered if the blue-eyed man had disabled the camera. “Look!” I said. “What happened to the camera?”
While their attention was diverted, I traced as fast as I could to my car.
* * *
I pulled into the driveway and saw Victor, who stood from the porch swing and waved. I put the car in park and tried to gather my nerves. I rolled down the window and tried to pretend like everything was okay. “Hey, how did driving lessons go?”
“
I drove around the block a few times. Sarah, driving a car is quite exhilarating. You’re father took us on the freeway and…” He walked over to greet me, and his words were cut short when he saw the blood all over my shirt. “What happened?”
I rushed out of the car and put my keys in my purse. “I was shot in the chest during a robbery.”
His eyes widened in terror. “You were shot by a gun, one of the deadly weapons in your world?”
“
Yeah, the one I told you about.”
He cupped my face, his eyes wide. “Sarah, are you okay?”
“
Don’t worry. I’m fine.”
He pulled me close and touched my stomach. “What about the baby?”
“
We’re both fine. I healed quickly.” I showed him where the wound was before it healed, then explained the entire story.
He held me tightly. “If anything had happened to you—”
“
I’m fine, but I need to take a shower and change. I don’t want to worry my parents.”
The door opened, and Liz looked at me, horrified. “What the hell happened? Are you okay?”
“
Not so loud,” I said, pulling her outside and away from the house. I explained the entire story once again.
She about lost it and lectured me about safety. “What does it feel like to get shot?” she finally asked.
“
Imagine a baseball hitting you at one hundred miles an hour.”
She winced. “Ouch.”
“
Exactly,” I said.
She threw an arm around me. “Sorry, sis. I’m just glad you and the baby are okay.”
“
Me too. I wonder why I lost my powers like that,” I asked, gripping Victor’s hands.
“
It’s a glitch,” Liz said. “The new power that is trying to come in is deactivating your other ones.”
Victor shook his head. “That doesn’t explain the man who shocked her. And how was he able to see a mark that none of us can even see?”
“
We need to find him,” I said.
“
And how on Earth are we going to do that?” Liz asked.
“
I have no idea. I didn’t have my powers, but I still felt like I had my strength and my Immortal senses. I could hear the robber demanding the money, and I was on the other side of the store. But when I went to tackle him, I didn’t have my strength. I was just like a human woman taking on a dangerous gunman. I did heal from the gunshot quickly though.”
“
Your energies are unstable,” Liz said. “You shouldn’t be out there prancing around until we get you back to normal.”
“
The second that guy left, I had my powers back—like with Ethano.”
“
Maybe’s there’s a short.”
“
No, I’m sure the Immortal blocked my powers,” I said.
“
He was probably shocked to see an Immortal in this world who is not part of his secret clan,” Victor said.
“
Tell me about it. It was a huge shock for me,” I said. “Literally.”
Liz laughed. “I get it. Because he shocked you. Ha-ha. Real funny, sis. It could be that the Immortal had a strong energy force that didn’t mix well with yours.”
“
The man said he could feel that my energies were off kilter, and that was why I couldn’t tackle the robber.” I looked at Victor. “What do you think?”
“
I think we should keep peace with them and not anger them since we are in their territory.”
I pondered that for a moment. “If there is an Immortal hierarchy in your world, I’m sure there’s one here too—only more…modern.”
Liz smiled. “What’s your point?”
“
They probably have cures or maybe even Immortal doctors with high-tech, modern equipment.”
The wind swayed in Victor’s hair as he thought about it. “I’ll find you an Immortal healer, Sarah.”
“
What if they aren’t friendly?” Liz said. “We can’t risk it. Sarah can’t take losing you again. The grief will be too much. Not to mention, the baby needs his father.”
Victor’s lips pressed into grim lines. “Sarah and the baby won’t be able to handle the strain much longer.”
“
Don’t say that,” Liz roared.
“
We need to do something drastic. I think it’s worth the chance,” I said. “The blue-eyed guy seemed friendly, not hostile in the slightest.”
“
That was
him
,” Liz said. “You don’t know how his clan is going to react to strangers in their territory.”
“
We’ll feel them out,” I said, “and don’t forget that the man in the store helped cover up my identity. He made sure there was no trace of my blood and shorted out the cameras.”
“
Yeah,” Liz said, “so he could protect his own kind. If you had been discovered, the nosy feds would be putting together some kind of committee or research team to hunt us down and learn more, exposing all Immortals.”
“
So you’re saying he only did it to protect Immortals?” I asked.
“
That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
I blinked. “If that was the case, why didn’t he just whisk me out of there?”
“
Your energies collided. I think he knew that if he touched you again, he might have killed you inadvertently,” Victor said. “I think he left so you could have your powers back.”
Liz let out a long breath. “You know what I think? I think Little Miss Vigilante here should be sequestered in this house till she’s all fixed.”
“
Fixed?” I rolled my eyes. “You make me sound like a broken appliance.”
“
If you weren’t broken, you would’ve been able to fend off that gunman with no problem, just like you did at the club.”
Victor raised a brow. “There was trouble at the tavern?”
Liz threw an arm around me. “Yeah, she took down that mugger like a champ.”
Victor looked at me angrily. “Why did you not tell me?”
“
Because of the way you’re acting now.”
Victor pulled me close. “Sarah, it is not only your life at stake. You are carrying our child. You must be mindful of our baby’s welfare as well as your own.”
“
That’s right,” Liz agreed. “You’re carrying my nephew, and I demand you stay on bed rest until we figure out what’s going on.” She nudged Victor. “Am I right?”
“
I don’t believe it is necessary for her to stay in bed all day,” Victor said, “but it does seem your world is just as dangerous as mine.”
“
Why don’t you two just wrap me up in bubble wrap and put me in a giant bubble?” I said.