A Chance for Charity (The Immortal Ones) (19 page)

We skied on, knees slightly bent, skis
zigzagging, making our way down the mountain. Link stayed by my
side, my ever present sentry. He was always on the lookout now. My
guilt, for bringing him into this life of mine, was growing. But I
could not imagine going on without him. Prior to Link I was merely
living, a day to day drudge through life. With Link by my side, I
felt truly alive.

In no time at all we reached the bottom and
slid back in line for Lift Ten. I was starting to feel like a yo-yo
– up and down, up and down. We had repeated the scenario several
times already, varying the route just a little for each trip down.
I was beginning to tire.

“
Last one,” I exhaled, as
we were lifted into the air.

“
Are you sure? The lifts
don’t close for another hour,” Link pointed out.

“
I’d rather be snuggled
under a blanket, sipping hot chocolate by the fire, with you,” I
breathed, resting my head on his shoulder.

“
I can’t argue with that,
but let’s make it a good one.”

“
What does that mean?” I
groaned, wary of his use of the term
good
one
.

“
After we get off Ten,
let’s take Eleven up, then ski over to Twelve and take her up too.
Galloping Goose runs the whole way down, and back home. It is a
beautiful trail, you’ll love it,” Link smiled my smile and I was
helpless.

“
If one more run will keep
that smile on your face, you’ve got it. Do you realize you just
called a ski lift ‘her’? I’m thinkin’ maybe I should be a bit
jealous here. Would you rather ski than be spending time with me?”
I teased.

“
I’m getting the best of
both worlds today,” he assured.

“
The bead tree,” I
exclaimed, immediately distracted by the sight. “I keep
forgetting.”

Up ahead, I could just make out “the bead
tree,” on our left hand side. I had noticed it during our first
trip up this lift (days ago) and marveled at the little bit of
Mardi Gras that had somehow made its way to a snowy mountainside in
Colorado. The tall evergreen was covered in colorful strings of
beads, thrown by skiers. Some were weathered and faded, others were
bright shiny and new. Each one represented a different skier, but
together they created a symbol of celebration. I reached into my
jacket pocket and extracted the strand that I had stowed away
before we’d left the house.

I put the beads up to Link’s face, “Kiss
it,” I grinned. He complied, and I gave it a kiss as well. As soon
as we were near enough, I chucked it toward the tree. It landed
perfectly, ringing around a waiting branch. “There we are,” I
turned back to Link. “We will be in that tree, forever.”

I had dared to leave a little bit of myself,
out in the open. I realized that it was safe. No one would ever be
able to track it back to me. But I was so used to covering my
tracks, making sure that no traces of Charity were left whenever we
moved on. I had abandoned my own name years ago. If I was entering
a high school I was always absent on picture day. Databases were
scrubbed clean of ID photos. Handwriting experts had taught me
well, the art of altering one’s writing so that it was
unrecognizable. Charity didn’t exist anymore, except to Catherine
and James, and now to Link as well. It was comforting to know that
a little bit of her was also in that tree, no matter how
insignificant it may seem.

I followed Link from lift to lift, until we
reached the top of Galloping Goose. It was officially the highest
I’d ever been on the mountain – almost twelve thousand feet. I
found it beautiful and eerie all at the same time. We’d stopped in
a wide flat area, after getting off the lift. The view was
undeniably beautiful. The top of the mountain, its rocky edges
jutting out of the snow, was in full view. Then I noticed all the
rope. We were at the edge. The boundary lines were staked in the
snow, rope strung, and warning signs hung, letting everyone know
that danger awaited anyone who dared to cross the line. I stayed as
far away from the edge as I could.

“
Come on scaredy cat. I
can’t believe a girl, who can self heal, is shying away from
danger,” he taunted.

“
Too many witnesses,” I
pointed to all the skiers as they passed by. “Do you want me to
have to leave tomorrow? ...flee in the middle of the night?” I
asked.

“
Point taken, stay away
from the edge. Let’s go,” he urged, digging his poles into the
snow.

“
Okay, okay...,” I pushed
off.

Again we skied, Link by my side. I watched
the snow glisten in the sun as we flew down the mountainside. It
had a twinkle and a shine to it, as it reflected the light. It
looked like fairies had come along and sprinkled glitter over the
entire surface of the snow. It was beautiful. This day was
beautiful. Link was beautiful.

There was an energy that radiated from him
when he was doing the things he loved. He seemed to sparkle around
the edges to me, as he reached out to touch my hand. His brilliant
smile was plastered on his face, almost a permanent fixture when we
were on the mountain. I hated the thought that by the end of the
night it would probably be gone, replaced by the calm but worried
mask I’d caused him to wear before.

When we reached the house my cheeks,
tingling from the icy wind, were flushed. Link’s were bright red.
Once all our gear was removed and placed in the garage, we headed
toward the kitchen. We needed warmth.

“
Hot chocolate coming right
up,” I giggled as Link playfully pushed me into the
room.

Catherine stood, waiting by the counter. I
froze. “Did you tell him?” She asked.

A wall of guilt slammed against me. I had
been stalling her for days now. “Not yet,” I replied.

“
What? What are you not
telling me?” Link asked, stunned by my visible
apprehension.

“
Charity, you promised us.”
Catherine eyed me with disappointment. “They’ll be here tomorrow.
They always show up on Christmas Eve.”

“
I know... I know... I was
going to tell him tonight. I swear.” It was the truth. I was
putting it off until the last minute. Although, there was a part of
me that just wanted to wait until late tomorrow – right before they
walked through the door.

“
Hello... I’m right
here...” Link waved his arms at the two of us. “Tell me now,” he
ordered.

“
Some friends of ours will
be here tomorrow night,” Catherine turned toward him. “Charity...”
She poked my shoulder.

The impact forced me to wake from my
momentary coma. I was trying to figure out a way to lessen the
blow. I prayed he could handle it.

“
S-Sorry,” I stammered. “As
Catherine said, we have guests arriving tomorrow. There will be two
for sure. Sometimes they bring friends. I hope they don’t this
year. That might be too much. Marcus and Eve...” I trailed off. I
was babbling.

“
And these friends, Marcus
and Eve, are special?” Link asked, trying to help me
along.

“
Yes,” I
breathed.

“
Immortals, like you,” he
continued.

“
Not quite Immortals,” I
paused. “Not exactly like us,” I glanced at Catherine pleading for
help.

“
How are they not like
you?” Link asked, hesitant now.

“
Remember how you asked me
what I was, that day you showed me your grandfather’s photo album?
You asked if I was a Vampire or a Witch.” I cringed, just a little,
as the words left my mouth.

“
Yes,” he said.

“
Well...” I
shrugged.

“
They are one of those
things,” he looked at Catherine, she just nodded her head. “Which
one are they?”

“
Witches,” I
whispered.

“
Witches...” Link
froze.

“
Please don’t freak,” I
begged. “I know this is a lot. I should have told you earlier, but
I just wanted to give you time to adjust to me and my situation
before I burdened your mind with this reality too. Just weeks ago,
you were oblivious to the existence of Immortals. Now you know I’m
one and tomorrow you’ll be meeting Witches. Oh, I wish this wasn’t
all happening so fast.”

“
Just tell me I’m not in
danger,” he said quietly.

“
Marcus and Eve, and their
– let’s say – associates, have made a conscious effort to leave the
‘nontoxic,’ as they say, alone. But they do tend to pester those
they consider detrimental,” I explained.

“
You’re talking in
riddles,” Link accused.

“
They are our friends,
Link, they will do you no harm,” I promised him, hoping I was
right.

“
Alright, I trust you. You
said not quite Immortals, not quite like you? What makes them
different?” He asked, putting his calm mask on.

I hated that I knew what was underneath
it.

“
They age, but at a
drastically slower rate. They also have powers, real powers. Some
are external, something that they can display outside their bodies,
and some are internal, a mental power,” I explained.

“
There would be no reason
for them to use these powers to harm you. It is your decision, you
can choose to not be here,” Catherine offered.

“
I’ll be fine. Wherever
Charity is, that is where I’ll be,” Link stated.

“
I love you,” I said, my
lips pressed to his shoulder.

“
I love you too,” he said
and kissed the top of my head.

We had never put a mortal alone in a room
with Marcus, Eve, or their friends before. We had all been out
together, in many cities. They were as concerned as we were about
discovery. I just couldn’t see them harming someone unless
provoked. But still I worried.

The stream of questions came as soon as we
were alone, behind closed doors.

“
What are they like?” Link
asked.

“
Marcus has a great sense
of humor, and Eve is just sweet,” I answered.

“
A sweet Witch,” he shook
his head. “No I mean, what are Witches like? The real ones,” he
clarified.

“
Well, James thinks that
they were originally a genetic offshoot from us. There are
similarities.”

“
But their powers are the
difference,” he pointed out.

“
Yes. We can heal, that is
our only ‘power’. They have at least two, and gain others as they
age,” I said.

Link sat down on the chair at my desk. “So
how do they age?” He asked.

“
James has been tracking
their progress for about fifty years. They give him blood samples
whenever they visit. He thinks that about
ten
human years it equal to one Witch
year. The ageing process doesn’t actually slow down until after
their body reaches full maturity. That is also when their powers
start to emerge,” I explained.

“
Explain their powers to
me. I’d rather know now than be shocked with them later and act
like a fool in front of your friends.”

“
I’ll start with Marcus,” I
said, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “Marcus finds lost
items. It sounds silly, but whenever something is dropped or
misplaced within about a fifty mile radius of him. He gets these
mental flashes of what the item is, exactly where it was misplaced,
and then how it was lost. Because they are just images, he calls it
a useless power... unless everyone had a name and a phone number
tattooed on their forehead. But if he knows you, it’s very
helpful.

“
Last Christmas he found my
pearl earring. I went to the movies with Eve and one fell out in
the theatre. He texted me immediately, to tell me it was under my
seat. So I personally love that power,” I paused to look at Link.
He was still wearing his calm mask. But otherwise he appeared okay,
so I continued. “Marcus also commands fire. He creates it in the
palm of his hand and then can direct it to do his bidding. That one
you’ll just have to see. It really is amazing.”

“
Creates fire in the palm
of hand,” Link repeated. “And what can Eve do?” he pressed on,
ready for more.

“
Eve can create a blast of
energy, a shock wave that would knock you off your feet,” I
answered.

“
So what’s her other power?
You said they have a mental one,” he reminded me.

“
She knows things. When you
get in front of her and she concentrates on your energy, your aura,
she will know everything about you... past and present,” I
replied.

“
So no secrets from Eve,”
Link smiled. “Can they be hurt? Can they die? Can they be killed?”
He bombarded me with more questions.

“
They can sustain injuries,
like I can, but their bodies will also heal. Legends conclude that
they will die eventually. We’ve never met one old enough to judge
when. They
can
be
killed. Beheaded and burned, just like me,” I ended on a somber
note.

“
No broomsticks for
flying?” He joked.

“
They can’t fly. Although
they are extremely swift and agile, which would give the appearance
of flight to the mortal eye,” I explained. “There is a grain of
truth to most legends. Are you with me?” I asked.

“
I’m just taking it all in.
The frail and delicate threads that were holding my world together,
are slowly deteriorating,” he attempted to smile. “Is there
anything else you want to shake it up with?”