Apotheosis of the Immortal (34 page)

“Is he a vampire?” she asked. “I thought they couldn’t see me, I mean, my light. That is what you said.” Her voice was accusing.

“I’m not certain he was able to see you; maybe those coins reminded him of something,” Khalid said as he pulled out of the gas station, watching carefully through his rearview mirror to make sure Elijah followed.

“Where did Ayda get these coins, anyway?” Emira asked as she fastened the necklace again.

“I’m not sure,” Khalid admitted. “But don’t worry, everything will be fine. I promise.”

“How could everything be fine? He asked me
what
I was!” Emira screeched. Khalid just looked at her for a moment and kept driving.

Chapter 71

Arriving at the
masjid
, Elijah pulled his car into an empty space two cars over from where Khalid had parked. The noise and vibration beneath him ceased when he twisted the key. The slight jerk from the braking car sent the air freshener dancing in circles around the rearview mirror. A subtle waft of freesia drifted gently against his face and filled his nostrils. As he opened the car door, he saw Khalid standing between him and the truck.

“Why is it you are here?” Khalid demanded. The tone of his voice had hardened. Elijah remained silent as he stared up at the man from the driver’s seat of his car. His mind was still focused on the coins he had just seen and the girl who wore them. After several moments, Elijah stepped out of his car and shut the door behind him.

“What do you want with the girl?” Khalid asked; he seemed certain in his accusation. Elijah’s perpetual glances towards Khalid’s truck must have betrayed his burning compulsion.

“I need to talk to her.” Elijah tried to step past the beast of a man, but Khalid quickly maneuvered to cut him off. Elijah lowered his head for a moment and closed his eyes; he took a deep breath, attempting to calm himself. “I just want to talk to her.” Elijah forced the words between clenched teeth.

“First, you are going to talk to me.” The big man pressed his fingertips against Elijah’s chest and gently pushed him backwards. Elijah gave.

As his back pressed against the car behind him, Elijah retreated once more into his mind. Since leaving the station, he had been over and over what had just happened, trying to make some sense out of it.

“Now, tell me what you want,” Khalid growled as he stepped forward. Elijah remained silent. “What do you want with Emira, and why are you here in our small town? Are you visiting someone?”

Khalid’s questions jarred Elijah from his temporary trance. “Yes. I mean, no; I am just here to speak with the imam,” he said, taking a deep breath to gather himself once more.

“I’m sorry, Elijah, but there is no one like that here. We work together to keep this place alive.” The big man’s voice held subtle hints of frustration; he seemed almost jaded. He furrowed his brow and rubbed his chin. “A few of us take turns making speeches and teaching lessons from the
Quran
; we rotate weekly,” the big man continued.

Elijah wasn’t surprised by their system of rotation; he had seen this many times. Many Islamic communities in the West, especially in the United States, were very small, and the members were often busy professionals. Still, they managed to maintain their Friday prayer services.

“You said a few of
us
, does that mean you are a part of the rotation?” he asked as he straightened up and reached to stroke the pendant hanging from his neck; this old habit still broke through sometimes when he was nervous.

“Of course,” Khalid answered. His tone heightened with curiosity. “What exactly are you looking for, Elijah?”

Elijah appreciated the big man’s candor. He tried his best to focus; he took a deep breath, but his mind remained fuzzy. He didn’t feel like himself.

“I’m looking for someone. I heard he was here, three days ago,” Elijah explained. “If you saw him you would remember; he stands out. He is a very large man, nearly your size.” Elijah paused as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. Despite the vast amount of time Elijah had spent hunting his father and brother, this was not the conversation he wanted to be having right now; his mind was still focused on the girl.

“Are you unwell?” Khalid asked. “It looked as if you had some kind of breakdown back there.”

“People are drawn to this man I seek for a reason I can’t explain. He is extremely compelling,” Elijah continued, disregarding Khalid’s question. He had described Solomon so many times the words seemed to speak themselves.

“I remember him; yes, his presence demanded attention. He came to last Friday’s prayer; his name is Solomon.” Khalid hadn’t been impressed. His voice was filled with disgust, his stone-like countenance permeated with contempt.

“What do you know of him? Do you know where I can find him?” Elijah asked. The revelation had drawn him back to his purpose; excitement burned through his palms. Elijah would finally come face to face with his betrayers, and this time he would bring an ending, for them all. In the wake of his vengeance, their world would come crashing down around them. His chest tightened with anticipation.

“I know nothing except he is not here today; he drives an older model black sedan.” Khalid closed his eyes, as if he were searching his mind for more information.

“It’s a Mercedes.” A small but familiar voice piped up from inside the truck.

“Yes, a Mercedes,” Khalid agreed. “What is your association with him?”

“I have none,” Elijah said. His demeanor had noticeably changed. Thoughts of revenge had cleared his mind and focused it on the task at hand. “I am going to kill him,” he said flatly, “and I am only seconds away from killing you if you don’t get out of my way.” Elijah clenched his teeth as he stepped forward and focused all of his attention on the big immortal standing between him and the answers he sought.

“Is that so?” Khalid cocked his head to the side to stretch the muscles in his neck. Since his days at war, Elijah had seen hundreds of vampires fall beneath him due to their ignorance of who and what he was.

“Yes, and if it wasn’t for the girl I would have killed you already. I have killed your kind by the hundreds,” Elijah admitted, tired of the back and forth. He closed his eyes and stretched his fingers as he straightened his jacket.

“What do you want with the girl?” Khalid demanded again.

Elijah watched the muscles in his neck tense and flare. Elijah considered just ripping through the big man, but decided against it; he would try once more to reason with him. He was close to finding his betrayers and needed to be sure his mind would stay clear of the angelic little creature hidden behind the dark tinted windows of Khalid’s big truck. However, he knew the big man would need an explanation before that was possible.

Elijah was struck by a sudden trepidation when as he noticed Khalid’s truck rolling backwards into the road. He could hear a vehicle racing towards them from the same direction they had just come. Forgetting discretion, Elijah quickly slipped past Khalid; as the big man spun around, Elijah leapt into the air and pushed against his chest with his left leg. Khalid flew backwards and slammed against the small car Elijah had acquired from long-term parking at the airport while Elijah rolled over the hood of the truck. He grabbed the door handle and jerked it open, halting the vehicle. The opening door pulled a gentle breeze, carrying the young girl’s scent into his nose. The smell was a poison attempting to steal his soul.

“What are you doing?” Emira sounded startled and confused. Elijah was surprised to see the girl peering up at him from the driver’s seat. Hidden by the tinted glass, she had crossed over the console and was now backing the truck out of the parking lot herself.

And the glow he’d seen had all but disappeared. Elijah suddenly noticed the subtle vibration in the door handle and listened to the quiet turning of the truck’s engine. He was embarrassed his distractions had caused him to make such an obvious mistake, but even more, he was glad to see the girl was unharmed.

Emotions were twisting inside him into a tangled web as he watched the vehicle he had heard moments ago zoom by. The situation was very awkward. He found himself trying to act normal. It was like trying to walk for the first time; he had never tried to do it deliberately before and was failing miserably. Khalid was back on his feet and moving towards him. Elijah could see he wanted an explanation. They both did.

Elijah’s thoughts suddenly turned back to the tiny young woman who had disrupted his single-minded purpose. He was furious. After his mother was murdered, he had tried hard to snuff out his sensitivity in an attempt to end the pain that plagued him. It hadn’t worked. He was still blanketed with it. He could only purchase relief from the sensitivity by being ferocious.

Elijah’s demeanor hardened; the hints of emotion in his face disappeared. He looked sharply at Khalid as his left hand clenched the open door; the metal bent beneath his fingers. Khalid stopped.

“Please,” Khalid said. “Leave her alone; I will tell you whatever you want to know. Just let her go.”

Suddenly, Elijah felt a soft warmth on the inside of his right hand as it rested against his leg. He turned back to the girl; as their eyes met, he could feel the tension lifting. The light that permeated her being had brightened once again. The expression on her face was no longer an accusation. There was now interest and empathy in her eyes as she slipped her hand deeper into his grasp.

“Thank you.” Her tranquil voice comforted him, and the coins hanging around her neck transported Elijah back in time. A deep sentiment welled in his chest and the awkwardness of the situation completely melted away.

Elijah could feel his muscles loosen. The rage in his stomach was snuffed out like a flame and that strange euphoria from earlier overcame him once again. His body softened as his mind flooded with precious memories from his youth; the memories he was most often not able to explore.

*

His mother’s life had been an arduous one, but she had always managed to make time for Elijah and his brothers. She watched over them with great care. He remembered every delicate curve of her face as she sat on that old familiar stone and told the stories he grew to know by heart.

The skin on her hands was thick and coarse from doing far more than her share. He could see her fingers running across the twine and turning the needle as Malaki begged for just one more story.

*

Elijah was brought back to the present by an implacable grip tightening around his arm. Khalid spun him around and pinned his back against the truck with one arm beneath his chin and the other across his chest.

The air about him suddenly turned cold once again as Elijah envisioned his mother’s body wrapped tightly in that tattered old cloth. He thought about the huge stone now resting beside her grave, its only marker. The warm memories of his mother’s soft voice and gentle touch were replaced by nightmarish visions of his mother’s defiled and mutilated corpse lying bare on a cold stone floor. He could hear Malaki’s shrill cries.

Fever was once again burning inside his chest. What would have been disconcerting to most people brought Elijah back home and filled him with composure; he was much more comfortable with hate than empathy. He was tired of the emotional rollercoaster ride he had been on since leaving the gas station. He opened his eyes to reveal two burning amber rings encircling his pupils.

“It’s you.” Khalid’s eyes widened. Elijah took advantage of his surprise and pulled loose his right arm. Forcing Khalid’s right elbow down from his chest, Elijah spun from beneath the big man’s hold and backhanded him hard across the face.

“Yes.” Elijah leaned back and slammed his right foot into Khalid’s chest. “It is me!” His voice thundered across the empty lot as Khalid slammed against the truck.

“You’re not a vampire.” Khalid said, looking up at him.

“No. I’m something much worse.” Elijah exclaimed. His jaw fell open as his tongue ran across his front teeth. Elijah could feel a faint smile break across his face; he seemed to thrive in the madness of war. Undone by the emotion from his encounter with the girl, Elijah became the monster he had cast off on Ayda’s mountain.

Rushing forward, Elijah’s left hand smashed against Khalid’s throat, forcing his back to slide further down the side of the vehicle. Elijah’s fist pounded against the side of his face again and again, despite Emira’s desperate cries. Khalid’s head snapped up suddenly and he caught Elijah’s fist in his giant paw.

“I am, too,” Khalid growled.

Elijah watched as the big man’s eyes began to blaze beneath his dark brows like two fiery embers. He reached for the open door with his other hand, slamming it and forcing himself up in one motion. As he gained his footing, Khalid’s fist rammed against Elijah’s chest like a hammer and catapulted him backwards. Khalid continued forward with lightning speed; Elijah’s feet were off of the ground by the time his back slammed into the brick wall of the
masjid
. Elijah didn’t fight; the fiery red that was still blazing in the man’s eyes mesmerized him, and brought back a flood of memories.

“Ayda.” Elijah spoke slowly, as if in a trance. He didn’t mean to say it; it just came out. Understanding eclipsed the big man’s face once more and his eyes slowly dimmed to black. He stepped back and dropped Elijah to his feet.

“I know who you are, now,” Khalid huffed. He seemed disturbed by the revelation as he bent over and rubbed his knees. “I understand it all now, why you are here, your brother, why you can see her light.” The big man straightened up and looked back at the small girl sitting in the truck. “Ayda told me all about you, and how you left her on that mountain.” His tone suddenly turned cold as he looked at Elijah; his stare nearly pierced him like a sword.