The Immortals by Mary Hallberg (chrysanthemum read aloud txt) 📗

I reached over to get my glass from the end table and he pointed at the silver bracelet dangling from my wrist.

“That’s beautiful,” he said. “Emeralds?”

I nodded. “It was a gift.”

“From this Gage fellow? He’s really spoiling you.”

I blushed. “It’s not that great. His dad gave his mom a new car.”

“They’ve been together much longer, McKenzie. You know it’s different.” He turned to face the fireplace, then looked back to me. “What kind of car?”

“2032 Porsche. It’s gorgeous. Even better than my new car.”

Grandpa sighed and coughed. He bent slightly forward, took a deep breath, and started coughing again, finally sitting back up and slumping in his chair. I frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“McKenzie, six months ago you would have been shocked at that car. Can you even imagine how much he spent on it? Nobody should spend that much on a car.”

I was actually talking about his coughing fit — I was much more worried about that. “Grandpa, you know it’s their decision.”

He leaned back in his chair. “Of course, of course. But you’ve changed, McKenzie. You don’t see the world in the same way that you used to...” His eyes began to flutter. “That place has changed you like it changed me.”

I didn’t say anything else, didn’t really know what to say, and in a few minutes he was snoring softly. The fire popped and crackled, mixing with his snoring in a bizarrely soothing sound.

I hadn’t stayed in The Necropolis until Christmas Eve to see Gage — he had already left to visit relatives in Atlantic City. I had stayed because I didn’t want to come back to a house with a twelve-inch TV screen and three channels. I didn’t want to go back to a house that may or may not have a cell phone signal and internet that only worked sporadically. If my mom hadn’t pestered me to come home, I would have been complacent, maybe even delighted, to spend my Christmas with TV characters.

I looked over at grandpa asleep in the arm chair, his legs sprawled over the rug and his glasses slightly raised above his nose. I leaned my head against the back of the chair and lay there listening to his snoring until I finally dozed off myself.

Nearly everyone was gone when I woke up, and less than an hour later the house was empty except for mom, me, grandpa and Luke. I begrudgingly helped mom with a few dishes, then headed for my room. There was no TV in there, of course, and even the internet on my phone only worked when it wanted to. I gave up on it after five minutes and stared at the ceiling.

I needed a change of scenery but didn’t want to be in the kitchen with mom, so I slipped into her room. There was an old, tattered book on her bed; the title had something to do with Congress, so I assumed it was one of dad’s old books. Why else would it even be here? Nobody else in our family had much interest in politics. Maybe she got it out to educate herself for the next election. Or maybe she just missed having dad’s stuff around.

I flipped through the book to see if there was anything remotely interesting in it. A page in the center was bookmarked with a laminated scrap of paper. There was a barely legible paragraph written on it, which I managed to decipher in the low light:

‘For nearly ten years, you have been my trusted friend and colleague. Even with your support my goal will be difficult to achieve, but having your support would mean the world to me. You are a politician and make governing laws. I have always been limited to nature’s laws, but have finally managed to bend even those. As a scientist, I can not stand in the way of progress, and as a politician, I am hoping you will do the same.’

I heard footsteps in the hallway and slammed the book shut but slipped the bookmark into my pocket. Mom entered the room. “What are you doing in here, honey?” she said softly.

“Nothing,” I replied. “Is this one of dad’s books?”

She nodded. “I need to go to bed now, and you should probably do the same. I’ll see you in the morning.”

chapter twelve

I was planning to head back to The Necropolis the next day. I was far too lazy to drag myself out of bed and get packed that morning, but figured I’d eat something and head out later that afternoon. When I got up I found Luke sitting at the kitchen island staring into an empty bowl of what I presumed had once been cereal.

“Mom wants us to stick around today,” he said without looking up. “Says she has some big project for us. I don’t know what it is but I wouldn’t push it. She’s still in that mood.”

I wasn’t sure how I felt about letting mom rope me into doing anything. And I already knew it would be some kind of charity work because that’s what she did during the majority of her spare time.

But I knew she would bitch if I didn’t go, maybe even going so far as to call me when I got home and bitch even more over the phone. And none of my friends would be back from their various relatives’ houses for a couple of days. So it was either charity work or facing her wrath. Maybe I would even get that feeling that Matt had talked about a few weeks earlier, the one people get when they do something nice for someone else.

Mom came into the kitchen, still in her bathrobe. “Morning sunshine,” she sang. “Ready to face another day?”

I grunted and poured myself a bowl of cereal. “Not really.”

“Well, that’s too bad,” she said, “Because I’ve got something really special in store for you two.” She poured herself a cup of coffee.

“How much liquor is in that pot?” Luke said. We snickered. She smirked.

“Hey mom,” I