Order of the Omni: A Supernatural Romantic Suspense Novel (The Immortalies Book 1) by Penny Knight (good english books to read txt) 📗

thin line holding it all away snaps. And it hits me how true those words are. There is no cold water now, the darkness has crept its way in.

“It’s because you are new to this world,” Leo says. “Not because you are incapable. You are unlike any woman I’ve known, and I have known more than you could imagine.”

That snaps me back.

“How old are you?” A question I have been too afraid to ask.

He leans back in his chair. “A bit over two thousand years old.”

I laugh.

He doesn’t.

I stop laughing. “You’re not joking.”

“No, I’m not.” He gives nothing away as usual.

Over two thousand years old. I can’t even process what that means. What happened two thousand years before now? Does he mean AD or BC? What does that even mean, what were people like back then? I’m sifting through the Rolodex of movies and books in my head, then it dawns on me.

“Wow, that would really be a lot of women.” I mean, I cannot fathom the actual number. That’s interesting, and now I don’t believe him at all. Unlike any other woman, he says. I scoff. I have never understood why people must overcompensate on their compliments. It just makes it sound so insincere when you realise it’s exaggerated. Well, he did say unlike any other woman he has ever met, that doesn’t necessarily mean that’s a good thing, either. Let’s not forget how many women in that time he would have… Ok, I am not going there, at all.

He’s looking at me and smiling. “See, I told you, I should know.”

I roll my eyes.

He laughs.

I try to hide mine behind the glass of water, but the smile does show.

“You’re very old,” I say.

“It’s ok, I’m not offended,” he waves it off, taking a sip of his amber liquid.

“Well, you obviously don’t look old, so why would you be offended? But you are. What was it like when you grew up? Or were you always this old? Not old but, you know.” I wave up and down. “You look like you. I don’t know.” I exhale.

“It’s ok, I understand the question.” His shoulders are relaxed, and I don’t know when it happened, but his tie has been loosened and his cheeks are flush. The alcohol is obviously affecting him. I see the bottle is half empty. I would probably be in the hospital if I drank that much, but he looks like me after a glass of red wine.

“It was in ancient Greece. We wore far fewer clothes, we just created a form of democracy and I was sent to be raised by an army to study the art of war from infancy. I was born a Spartan.”

My mouth drops open and this time it’s me struggling for words. Where do I even start?

“You need to get rid of that thing, Elita.” His eyes go to my neck.

“What?” I ask. Still reeling from his admission.

“Your amulet.”

My hands fly to it, still confused by the change of topic. “What, why?” I ask. “I couldn’t think of anything worse.”

“It’s not good for you.” His eyes are sincere. “It’s why you were so ill. Not at the beginning. The doctor could pull you out of the state you were in. Do you remember anything?”

I nod. “Yeah, I do, I remember until the street. I remember I made it down the side building. But it was the force of the explosion that threw me. I hit my head.” I touch where I felt the warm blood, it’s still tender, but the wound seems so much smaller. “Then there was this noise, it started off quiet. Once I got to the street, it was…” I flinch remembering what happen. I’m back on the street. My mind opened to so many voices.

“It was not just the people that were loud. Yes, I could hear what they were thinking. But the voices were from far away. I was like…” I shake my head. “I don’t know how to explain it.”

I sit back. How can you explain what you could only describe as hell?

“Please. Try?” he asks.

“Um.” I chew on my lip, searching for the right words. “It was like the thoughts had emotions. They seeped into my being. It was not just me hearing someone’s inner thoughts. I felt it, too. Physically felt it. And more than one, it was thousands.”

It’s coming back. My body is tightening, my heart rate speeding up. “So much pain and happiness,” I add. “But depravity, whatever it was, it was as if I could feel how they felt, all of it. The good and the bad. Eventually it was just bad, dark and just painful. I’m sorry, I don’t know how else to explain it.”

I lean forward.

“I can’t be the only one,” I say, my voice quivering. “You know someone like me, yeah? You weren’t surprised at all about the man tigers.” I dare to hope. His thousands of years old. If anyone would know, he would. There could be someone that can help me.

“Shifters,” he says. “The man tiger, they are shifters. And no, I’m sorry. As I said, you are unlike anyone I have ever met. And I am so sorry that you had to experience that. It’s unfathomable.”

My eyes water and I sit back, unashamed as a tear slips out.

“So why do I need to get rid of this?” I hold my amulet, my voice even and resigned.

“Elita, I…” he says.

I shake my head. I don’t need his apologies or sympathies. “Why?” I hope he catches the subtle plea in my voice.

Thankfully, he does.

“We tried the amulet, but it didn’t work. The crystal and the spell were broken. We could bring you back from the,” he pauses, “darkness,” he says cautiously, renaming my previously named hell.

“But whatever is causing you to hear people’s thoughts must be so raw. You were drawing on the magic from the amulet more than safe levels for any human or untrained ancestral witches. The way the spell seemed to be developed, it