Emerge: The Awakening (11 page)

CHAPTER

SEVENTEEN

“Stop stressing, Lex,” Aidan said as they made their way home later that afternoon. “I promise we’re through the worst.” 

“Then why do I still feel so anxious?” She chewed on her thumbnail, thinking about Eiselynn’s story and the ominous prophecy. “That last bit, ‘the Power is corrupted and will remain so,’ blah, blah, blah. What was that? Why didn’t Gregg even mention it?”

“That?” he scowled. “Prophecies crop up all across our history, but that one is widely considered false. It’s old and the translation is crap. We are an extremely infertile race. It isn’t remotely possible that he could be the seventh of his line. He would have to trace his lineage back to the Queens of Indriell and they died out with Alísun.”

“It’s about you!” she gasped with the realization.

“It is not about me, Alexis Ann! I’ve heard that speculation all my life! But I’m an orphan just like you and everyone else!”

“Oh dear me? Have I struck a nerve?” she asked dryly.

He fumed as he pulled her car into the garage where Sasha waited.

Aidan furiously punched a code on a hidden keypad and Allie’s jaw dropped when the floor opened to reveal a staircase leading far underground. When they finally reached the bottom, she stumbled over the uneven ground. The natural tunnel was cavernous and cool. Huge stalactites hung from the ceiling, and stalagmites lined a well-worn path into the distance.

“You have a friggin’ bat cave?”

“I suppose it is kind of our lair,” Aidan muttered, still bristling. 

“We’re all connected through these natural tunnels,” Sasha added. “You’ll have your own entrance soon.”

“Where does it lead?”

“We just follow the tunnel for a few miles to the common room.”

“And I guess we’re walking?”

“Oh no, dear one, we’re running.” Sasha grinned. 

“Right.”

“Let’s just start with a jog.” She pulled ahead, coaching Allie to follow.

“Don’t shy away from the temptation to run faster.” 

Soon Allie was flying along the tunnel, her feet barely touching the ground. Sasha left them far behind. The girl was fast!

Allie felt so alive as she ran, pushing to see just how fast she could go—her blood thrumming vigorously through her veins. But much to her disappointment, they soon slowed.

“That was fantastic!” They had arrived at a massive carved wooden door that led to a vast hall. The groin vaulted ceiling towered overhead, and the walls were intricately carved with relief sculpture.

“Welcome!” Gregg greeted her warmly.

“This place is amaz—” she choked. Her eyes darted to Aidan’s in a silent plea as her empty stomach heaved.

“Time to eat.” He ushered her into the adjoining dining room.

“Slow down, Lex.” He held her back when she lunged for the buffet. “You have to learn to cope with this.” He gave her one tiny triangle sandwich. 

“Why do I have to wait?” Graham complained as he followed them. “I’m starving, too.” He rounded the corner just in time to see Allie attack her food like a rabid beast.

She flushed in shame, stifling a sob as she gagged in her urgency to get something in her stomach.

“Out!” Aidan snapped. 

“I get it, Allie.” Graham threw his hands up in earnest. “This first few days blows.” 

“It’s okay, let’s just eat,” she said.

“Excellent! I’m starving.” His cornflower blue eyes sparkled with gratitude as he grabbed a huge platter and helped himself. For some reason Graham never showed his discomfort like the others. It was still there, but it was more like the way Sasha was with Aidan.

“The insatiable hunger eventually passes, so I’m told, but I’m pretty sure they’re just lying.” 

Allie managed to get through the meal, retaining most of her table manners, but not without great effort. Aidan was right; she had to get a grip on this. 

“Ready?” Naeemah asked. Allie noted other pairs breaking off from the group and reluctantly followed. Naeemah’s office was spacious with high ceilings, stone walls and a circular alcove with books lined to the ceiling. Two sleek desks faced each other along the far end of the room, opposite a large fireplace. Brightly colored rugs covered the stone floor where a pair of glass doors led to another room.

“Breathe, Allie, I’m not going to throw you to the wolves today.”

“Right.” She exhaled the breath she was holding.

“Please have a seat.” Naeemah gestured to the plush sofa. “How are you coping today?”

“Well, I think.” She squeezed Naeemah’s hand affectionately, pasting on a smile when she withdrew from the contact.

“I’m so sorry, it isn’t you, sweetheart.”

“It’s okay.” Allie shrugged.

“No, it is not. When my son hugs me and I recoil, I feel like the world’s worst mother. I can see the hurt in his eyes and it breaks my heart. It’s been that way since he was a baby. I always hoped I would acclimate to his power the way Greggory has, but it is still there—this uncomfortable barrier between me and my child.” She wiped furiously at her tears.

“He knows it’s involuntary. And I promise I won’t hold it against you.” Allie smiled.

“You should not have to deal with this too.”

“I’m no stranger to it. At least now I know why people react so strongly to me. You’ve watched Aidan suffer in isolation all his life, but it doesn’t have to be like that. I have him. He has me.”

“You wonderful girl! You have no idea what your friendship has meant to him.” She beamed. “He was always so reckless before—angry and always in trouble. Just do not let it go any further than friendship. He is head over heels for you, but you have so much on your plate and you are both so very young. Don’t get too serious too fast.”

“Let’s get started, shall we?” she continued in a rush.

“What do I have to do?”

“Just watch while I tell you a story, and then we might do some yoga later.” 

“One of your animated stories?” Allie asked eagerly.

“I have something even better to show you today. We’ve discussed how Immortals often share common abilities, like the way we appear to age normally. We can also share our experiences with loved ones in a very special way. Some of us are more talented than others, and I happen to be quite talented in this arena.” She smiled mischievously.

“How would you like to learn my story by experiencing it through my eyes? You will feel the hot desert sand between your toes and you will smell the brine of the Arabian Sea.”

“Live history?” Allie grinned. “Let’s do it!”

“Alright,” she laughed. “But let’s dial it back a notch. This is similar to hypnotism so I need you relaxed with an open mind.”

“Got it.” Allie settled back on the couch, taking a few deep breaths in an attempt to curb her excitement.

“I’m going to share some of my life as a young girl, which I hope will help you understand that we have all struggled through these early years.”

“Close your eyes,” she hummed, and Allie immediately complied, not entirely of her own volition.

“That’s it. Now just watch the colors.”

Allie found herself in a whirlwind of yellow, orange, russet red and deep violet—the colors of the desert.

“Naeemah, come here child,” her mother called urgently as the wind stirred the desert sands. “Stay close to me.”

“Mother, please, I am no longer a child. We have traveled this cursed desert for weeks and still you refuse to give reasonable explanation. Please, why have we fled our home like thieves in the night?” Allie moved with Naeemah, experiencing everything just as she had in the distant past. The desert sand was gritty on her face and she could feel the hot dry air move through her lungs. She was Naeemah, and she was in awe of her mother, Hatshepsut.

“Quiet, daughter,” the woman now known as Nadira reprimanded sharply. “Your grandfather has caused great turmoil in the palace treasury. The Sultan has ordered the execution of all the men of our family. We’ve no choice but to leave my beloved Egypt.” 

“Where will we go?”

“Across land and sea, to India, to make a new life where history will not repeat itself.”

Mother and daughter faded into a dark void where Allie floated alone and frightened, reliving the scariest moments of her Awakening until she caught the unmistakable scent of the ocean.

“We’ve come so far,” Naeemah sighed wistfully at the sight of land in the distance. Allie could feel the steady rocking of the ship as they sailed closer to shore.

“Yet we still have much further to go,” Sayid added.

“Father, can’t we stay here along the coast? It reminds me of our home in Alexandria when I was just a child.”

“I’m afraid we have other plans. We must continue on to Agra to win favor with the young Emperor Jahangir. Perhaps we can return to the coast some day to live a simple life of your choosing.”

“Why is wealth and nobility so important to Grandfather Nasser?”

“You have never lived without either, but my father lived many long years as a slave to mortal men masquerading as gods. He cannot bear the thought of returning to such a life. We must respect his desires as much as our own. We will be happy in Agra, where I hope to watch you grow into the powerful independent woman you will soon become.”

Father and daughter sank slowly beneath the waves that carried them toward their future, but Allie knew what to expect this time as the darkness washed over her.

“Aunt Zahra, I haven’t stepped outside the walls of our villa in almost a year! You have been allowed to visit the marketplace with Mother upon occasion. I have not!” Allie could feel her desperation. The months of sedentary isolation were getting to the young, adventurous Naeemah.

“Our time will come,” Zahra answered calmly.

“To what end?”

“My father has a plan for us, child. You must be patient and learn to do as he has requested.” 

“Perhaps if I understood why I must appear so young, I could accomplish the feat.”

“It is not for you to ask questions. Do as you are told, and when the time is right, you will understand.” 

They faded like ghosts, but Allie found herself in the same room several years later.

“As a gift to my wife, Zahra, the Empress Nur Jahan, I give my third son, Prince Kurram, to her lovely young niece, Naeemah. They will be wed this day,” the Emperor commanded.

This has been grandfather’s plan all along!
Naeemah realized in a panic.
This is why he wanted me to appear as a young girl. First, he places Zahra on the throne, and now, surely he will remove Kurram’s older brothers from the line of succession and I’ll be next!

She nearly fainted as she approached her husband to be.
He is just a boy!
 

Allie felt her paralyzing fear but she fell once again into a kaleidoscope of colors.

“I am Prince Kurram no more,” her husband sighed sadly as they laid his father to rest beside his brothers. “Today I am Emperor Shah Jahan and I name my Chief Wife, Naeemah, Empress Mumtaz Mahal, Chosen One of the Palace, for the day my father forced us to wed was the day I truly began to live.”

Allie grew dizzy from the web swirling in her mind, until she felt Naeemah’s boiling, white-hot rage.

“Granddaughter, you must produce an heir!” Nassar ordered. “The throne will never be secure until you have a son!”

“I will not deceive my husband!”

“We have the skills to persuade the world to believe you are with child, there is no deception,” he argued. “The child will be his!”

“But it will not be mine!”

“Sayid, speak with this stubborn daughter of yours!”

“Naeemah, please consider this logically?” her father asked patiently. “The child will be of Kurram’s blood, a legitimate heir. His mother will be a concubine who would never have been allowed to raise him. You will be doing the boy no harm.”

“If I agree to this deception, I will raise him as I see fit and there will be no further meddling in my affairs, is that clear, Grandfather?”

“You will show some respect—”

“No! It is you who will show some respect! You may have placed me on this cursed throne, but I am the one who bears the burden of responsibility for it! You will do as I say or I will see you exiled from this court!”

“Very well,” Nassar agreed stiffly. “It seems your mother has taught you some of her old tricks.” 

“Indeed she has,” Sayid murmured appreciatively. “Nicely handled, Daughter.”

“Is this what you really want, Father?”

“Prestige in this life shall give us comfort and peace of mind for many generations to come. But it is not worth the misery I see on my daughter’s face now. I would give it all away to see a genuine smile.”

“This is not the life I would have chosen for myself, but I love my husband and our people. If there is to be a child, perhaps I can find happiness there.” 

Allie was overwhelmed by Naeemah’s sorrow when the void returned sending her into a spiral of gray.

“Mother!” her children chorused as she entered the palace nursery.