Immortalis - Book 1 (The Keeper's Immortals) (15 page)

“How did you know she was dying? Who told ya?” Jaryn asked.

“Her name was Martha. She was the maid at our home before I left. She was the family I had left my little girl with and she would send letters on what was happening in her life.”

“She didn’t tell you about her havin’ a child of her own?” Blake asked, finally chiming into the conversation.

“I didn’t know that before she passed that she had a child of her own. I don’t know why Martha didn’t tell me, maybe she thought it would hurt me but…I’ll never really know the reason.” She said.

“Why did you lie about this?” Reid asked.

“I didn’t want to but I didn’t want to talk about it. Please you have to understand. I…I didn’t know about her having a child, I didn’t think about the bloodline continuing.” Ashwin said through her tears.

“Wait, wait, wait…so I’m?’ I was suddenly stalled in my words.

“You are not who you think that you are.” Cade said as he interrupted my thoughts with his words. I turned to look straight into Cade’s eyes and then into Ashwin’s and that’s when I saw that we had the same eyes. Suddenly I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t think nor could I speak. I wasn’t sure what to say, I wasn’t sure what to do so I did the only thing I could do - I left. I left the great hall of The Keepers, passing through the broken doors and stopping on the edge of the cliffs as I over looked at the water crashing below. I felt like my heart was in my throat and my stomach was turning so much I was going to lose any food that inside me at that moment. Everything that I had ever known about my world and myself were all a lie. My family; my whole world was completely shattered within a few moments and one confession from someone who shouldn’t even be alive.

I felt like I couldn’t breathe even though I was surrounded by fresh air, as if my chest was going to collapse but I couldn’t cry and I didn’t understand why I couldn’t. Without warning someone grabbed me by the shoulders causing me to jump almost out of my skin. I turned around expecting to see Reid or Jaryn I was surprised when I saw Blake standing, waiting for me to make the first move. “You were so brave. I’ve never seen anyone stand up to them with success.” His words were kind but didn’t help me at the moment. In the end I didn’t think that he really knew what to say to me after what had just been revealed. I couldn’t help but the fall into his arms while the tears finally flowed from eyes. After I cried as much as I could at that moment he pulled me away from his body and looked at me, not saying a word. He just looked at me with the kindest eyes he had ever looked at me with. When I heard the others I gently pushed Blake to the side, still holding his hands in plain view of everyone. I didn’t care because he was comforting me and that was the end of it.

“Nora?” Sebastian said, asking me for the next move the game.

“I wanna go home.” I said effortlessly as I walked to the car. Everyone looked at each other but didn’t know what to say. Sebastian ordered each of them into the car and we began the long and silent ride to the hotel so that we could gather anything that we had left there then it was off to the landing strip where we boarded the plane that began the even more awkward plane ride home. This trip was different from the last one in many ways. Jaryn was quiet rather than a goofy younger brother, Ashwin was ashamed rather than sitting in her throne as she looked down at everyone, Blake was giving me space while Reid didn’t know what to make of anything that had happened. I’m sure he was wondering about the hand hold with Blake just before we left because I knew that he had seen - they all had.

Just after we took off Sebastian asked me back into his office so that he could have a word with me in private. I dreaded going because I didn’t know what else could happen - it was going to be hard to top that my family had been deceiving me my whole life and that I’m a descendant of immortals. I knocked then walked in after he has allowed me to.

“You wanted to see me?” I asked as I stood in front of him. He smiled and motioned for me to sit.  

“I didn’t want or need anything my dear but I do know that you need to have time away from eyes and everyone else’s problems. I won’t speak unless spoken to so just rest your head. We have a long flight a head of us.” Sebastian said as he pulled the news paper towards his face, smiling behind it. He didn’t like to show much emotion it seemed like but I could see a hint of a smile across his face which helped me in a way. I settled into a chair and I remained there until it was time to land.

Once we were safely back on the soil I was used to, I couldn’t help but to let out a sigh of relief at just the thought of being at home even though I knew that my “home” wasn’t what I once thought it was. I didn’t know what was real anymore, was I even real?

“Hey.” Jaryn said, pulling me back into reality.

“Yeah?”

“Call if you need anything alright. I’m gonna miss ya.” His words put a smile on my face but it wasn’t a true smile and he could tell. He looked sad as he pulled me in for a warm hug, one I was glad to give. If I was going to miss anyone, it would be Jaryn.

Once he let go Sebastian said his own good-byes in his own way; a dry smile and a warm hug. Ashwin practically had to force herself to look up at me with tears in her eyes but not being able to say anything nor could I. I didn’t know what to say to the woman who helped give me life and I couldn’t help but to be overwhelmed with sadness at that thought.

“I…” I started to say but I couldn’t finish my thought and Ashwin didn’t seem to expect me to. She forced a smile through her rolling tears but I never saw so much sadness in one person’s face. A short hug then she was gone, back into the plane waiting to return to her home.

“Well then I guess we’ll be seein’ ya or not.” Blake said to me in a weak attempt to rude to me in front of everyone.

“Or not.” I said with a slight. I didn’t hug him although I wanted to do nothing but wrap my arms around him, pulling me closer to his body but I didn’t because I knew that I wouldn’t have wanted to stop with a simple hug. If this was good-bye then I would want a good-bye kiss. I wanted to touch his lips just once more because I wasn’t sure if I was going to ever see any of them again, or if I wanted to see any of them again. The look on Blake’s face told me that he wanted to do the same but wouldn’t hurt his brother like that and I didn’t want to hurt Reid also. He already saw Blake holding me after I ran out of The Keepers chambers and when he saw his brother holding me he had a puzzled look on his face; he wasn’t sure what to make of what he was seeing but rather than saying something while with the others so close he kept his mouth shut.

“I’ll be takin’ ya home then.” Reid said after his also his farewells. He didn’t touch me - he didn’t even look at me until we both got into the back of the car. He told the driver where to go then he was silent again. My mind was racing with thoughts but I couldn’t focus on one thing or another. In fact it was Reid that spoke first and I didn’t think that he would. “So are you…okay?” he asked me. I didn’t know how to respond at the moment, I wanted to scream and cry more but I didn’t want to make the already tense situation worse but then I thought that I had a right to blow off some steam after everything that I had just endured over the past three days.

“No I’m not! I’m not anywhere close to being okay! I get taken away from my world for days and then just when I think everything is done and over with something blows my whole world out of the water, the rug gets pulled out from underneath me and everything that I’ve ever known is different. I don’t know who I am because who ever I was doesn’t exist anymore. My entire family has lied to me my whole life - I’m not theirs. I’m adopted and I don’t even know where to begin on processing that! I mean my mom has always told me stories about when I was in her stomach; putting the headphones on her belly and letting me listen to classical music…she lied to me just like they all have. I’m lost and I don’t know what to do now…” My words trailed into tears.

Reid placed his hand on my shoulder but I couldn’t help but to pull away from him. I didn’t mean to hurt him by pushing him away but I didn’t want sympathy. All I wanted was the life that I knew back but that wasn’t going to happen. He didn’t say anything else until we stopped in front of my house. He started walking me up to the door but I stopped halfway, not wanting to go into a house to a family that wasn’t really mine.

“They’re still your family Nora. Just because they don’t share the same DNA with you doesn’t mean that they’re not family. They’re the ones who have always been there for you, taken care of you. They’re family Nora.”

His words made sense to me and I proceeded to the door knowing that he was right; they were my family no matter what but I also knew that there was a whole other family that I had - one that I didn’t know if I would ever see again just because it hurt so much. Finding out in that I was related to the Hollings was shocking enough being told by Cade but then to realize that I had been lied to my whole life about being a Langdon was something on a different level.

“Thank you Reid.’ I looked up seeing the house that didn’t have any lights on anywhere. Everyone was dead asleep.

“Of course.” Reid said. He then moved in for a kiss but I quickly dodge it.

“I…I really like you Reid but right now, after everything that’s happened I just kind of wanna be alone. I need to sort some things out on my own. I don’t want you out of my life but I don’t want to string you along either so for now I think we should just keep our distance and then after a while we can…”

“Be friends.” He said with a smile although it had a said undertone. I felt so bad for him yet I wasn’t going to miss him as much as I was going to miss Blake, he was the one my heart was aching for. Reid had a place in my heart but he wasn’t who consumed the most space.

“Yeah, friends.” I agreed. Maybe this was my way of letting him go before he got truly hurt if for some reason he found out what had happened between Blake and I while in Spain. Just as I opened the door Reid handed me my very dead cell phone. I clutched it tightly as if it was a connection to my real life. He said that he had forgotten to give it to me when he had first arrived. I thanked him before turning and going inside a home I wasn’t sure I felt comfortable in, leaving Reid on the steps and slowly walked to my room where I stopped dead in my tracks. It seemed like I had just caught my breath and then it was stolen from me again because of the gift that was left for me. Once again I seemed to had lost the ability to move my body. There on my bed laid the legendary katana - the immortal killer. It had disappeared when the sick man had vanished from the chamber. I remember that I noticed it was gone but I was suddenly faced with talking myself out of a very sticky situation.

I didn’t know why it was here but I was suddenly terrified.

Without thought I quickly pulled my cell phone in and called one person who I know I could trust with this information but wouldn’t complicate my feelings. “Hey, it’s Nora. I have a problem and you’re the only one I think that can help.”

Eleven

The next morning I woke up which I was more than happy to do after realizing that I had been taking my normal, boring life for granted. I could have had it a lot worse; I could be dying or I could be living forever with demons like the Hollings. I didn’t know what was worse but the only thing I knew at that moment was that I was happy to just be alive although I knew that there were some things that I was going to have to work on myself.

The one part of my night, besides breaking up with a guy before we even started dating, was the surprise that was left for me. I didn’t know who or what had left the katana on my bed, finding it when I had left Reid on my doorstep for the comfort of my own room; leaving his world far behind. Not knowing what I should do with it I called the one person that I knew I could trust and wouldn’t give my life the added drama I was trying to avoid for the time being - Sebastian.

“Yeah I don’t know where it came from, it was just here.” I said to someone who I now knew was related to me as soon as I found it laying on my bed.

“That is strange. I’m going to do my own research here to see if I can find out more about it for it still a mystery to us all and if that thing is the key to our mortality or lack thereof then we need to know everything there is to know about it.” Sebastian explained. He always had a way with his words. He could even make the harshest words sound like the best news.

“Do you think it could be The Keepers for some unknown reason?” I asked.

“Honestly I don’t know but I’ll see what I can find out…if they even tell me. You know how like just love us Hollings butting our noses in where they don’t belong.” He said and I did understand. I saw witness to that when they were in Spain. I was sudden slightly shaken up by what he had just said “us Hollings” Was he also including me in that statement? Sebastian must have heard me be taken back because he asked if I was okay randomly.

“Yeah I’m fine…I better get to bed, I’m pretty jetlagged. I’ll keep in touch.” I said before ending the call.

After thinking about the night before longer than I thought I should have I stood from her bed and headed for the shower. The warm water beating down on my bare flesh seemed as if I was born again, washing off everything from the last few days. Once I felt clean enough I got out, dried off and got myself dressed. I wore my normal; comfortable jeans, a band tee and a pair of wore in shoes. I trotted down the stairs like I hadn’t been missing for days. While in Sebastian’s office on plane ride home he had advised me that The Keepers had placed a glam over my family so they would never know that I had been gone. That was a gift all on its own. Not having to think up a lame excuse to why I had been gone for days. My parents might not pay attention like they used to but they did still care. Reid was right, DNA or not they were my family.