Chapter 27

“Concentrate.”

“I. Don’t. Know. What. I’m. Doing!”

“You have no patience!” Emma’s glare mirrored Allie’s. Their feisty tempers made them a good match.

Since the night of the Van Gogh opening, every time Allie walked into a room, the lights flickered, and after two days of skipping school to work with her mentor, it wasn’t any better.

“Let’s take a break and try again later,” Emma said.

“Fine.”

“You’re expecting too much too fast, Allie. When the time is right, you’ll come to know your gift, but you can’t force it.”

“I need a distraction.” Allie threw her hands in the air when the kitchen lights glimmered like a strobe light.

“I’ll make us lunch, and then I’ll show you a story of my life as a young lady. And I use the term ‘lady’ loosely.”

“Cheers to that, I’m starving,” Allie said.

“As a child of twelfth century France, I was the apple of my father’s eye, my mother’s pride and joy, and my brother’s precious baby sister. So, naturally, I was spoiled rotten.” Emma smiled ruefully as she bustled about the kitchen. “I grew up in a castle in Orlèans, where my Lord father was the master of the land. We were a happy, proud family, but I was taught we were superior beings, and it was our responsibility to govern the simpleminded creatures of the mortal race that existed only to serve us.”

“No, Mother, I will not marry that old man!” A young Emma bristled as she paced her bedroom behind the thick stone walls of her father’s castle.

Allie blinked, watching as a spectator.

“You must, child,” her mother said. “He is not long for this world. In a few years, he will be gone, and you will be a titled woman in your own right. By then, you will be ready for the Proving with all the comforts you could desire.”

“I don’t care about titles.”

“Daughter, you must learn to stand on your own two feet.”

“By marrying a sick old man and taking his money?”

“Marriage is the only way a woman can advance herself in this world. You will accept his proposal tomorrow night.”

“I’d rather die than prostitute myself to a mortal!”

“Do as you’re told or leave this family. And then, we shall see how you manage a proper life without a husband!” Her mother stormed from her rooms.

“That’s the problem. I do not want a proper life.” She watched her brothers wrestling in the yard below. “To be born a man … No one would ever question my desire for an exciting life.”

Allie sympathized with the young Emma. To be born a powerful, independent Immortal at such a frustrating time for women must have driven her mad.

Fine, Mother. The hard way it is. She grabbed her pack and took only what she needed. Centuries passed as Emma struggled to make her way. Allie watched her adventurous mentor grow into a jaded woman. She eventually found the exciting life she sought along the Barbary Coast of Northern Africa. She was taken captive aboard a pirate ship and earned the respect of the crew, fighting to become one of them. Not long after, she became their leader. In time, she filled her ranks with strong Immortals.

“Captain, why waste our time with such a little ship and its worthless cargo?” her quartermaster asked. “We earn gold with slaves.”

“I have my reasons.” She issued her orders to take the small merchant vessel. “Be wary of the Asian woman, she is powerful.”

Emma boarded the ship last and sought her captive, who faced the twenty sword points of a fearsome Immortal crew.

“It is to be a fight between us then?” Ming Lao spat.

“That depends. What is your position here among these men?”

“The captain is my husband.”

“The child is yours? You raise him on the seas among mortals?” The women spoke in tones mortals could not hear.

Two of Emma’s men brought forth Ming’s young son. Allie was shocked to see it was Daniel.

“You deny him a proper father?”

“You harm my husband or my child and I will drag you to the bottom of the sea and leave you chained there for an eternity!”

“You are in no position to make threats.” She took a step toward Ming’s husband, held captive by her men. Without a backward glance, she slit his throat and threw him into the sea.

“Xavier!” Ming cried in anguish, fighting the men who held her back.

“Choose your husbands more wisely.” Emma turned to leave. “A mortal father isn’t worth your tears, boy.” She brushed past Daniel without a backward glance.

“What was that all about, Captain?” her quartermaster asked.

“We were not meant to consort with mortals. The woman needed to learn that lesson.”

Even more centuries passed as time and again Emma returned to the seas, pillaging along the Mediterranean coasts, gathering Christian slaves to deliver to the markets of the Muslim world still torn asunder by the Crusades.

Allie followed her mentor across deserts, marching slaves to the Arabian Sea and onward to India. Emma no longer had a conscience as she lined her pockets with more gold than she would ever need. After delivering her cargo to the slave markets of Bombay, she took advantage of an opportunity to raid a fleet of the Mughal Emperor’s ships.

She hid her treasure like the pirate she was and went back for more, only this time she attacked the wrong ship.

“Let us see how you do at the markets, shall we?” The Coalition captain snapped a magnetic collar around Emma’s pale throat. She feared she faced an eternity in one of their prisons, but he simply sold her at auction, leaving her shackled by the collar that rendered her weak and useless.

She arrived at the palace in Agra, where Emperor Jahangir ruled. Years passed behind the harem walls where she served as chambermaid and dancing girl, the collar forever at her throat.

Just as Allie caught sight of Naeemah, the colors swirled in her mind, and she was back in the kitchen with her mentor.

“My time as a slave taught me much needed humility.” Her face flushed in shame.

“Clearly you have redeemed yourself.” Allie reached to squeeze her hand. “I did not realize Ming Lao was Daniel’s mother.”

“He knew me for the murderer I was the moment he laid eyes on me. Somehow, he forgave me. Ming Lao, on the other hand, tried to follow through with her threat when we met again. But in time she too forgave me.”

“Perhaps it’s long past time you forgave yourself?” Allie said softly.

“Let’s just get back to work, sparky.” She winked.

“Har, har.” Allie wanted to cry when the lamps flickered the moment they returned to Emma’s office.

“Allie, that lamp hasn’t worked in weeks. It’s not even plugged in.”

“What?”

“It seems we’re finally getting somewhere.”

“So, what do we do? How do I... what should I—”

“Let’s try relaxing, shall we? Take this and concentrate.” She pressed her burner phone into Allie’s hand.

She took the phone and closed her eyes, concentrating on that elusive thing that was always beyond her reach.

“Just let it happen,” Emma said.

Allie exhaled, feeling the heat of her power stirring. She focused on the object in her hand and the warmth of her power rising in her core.

“Quite impressive,” Emma hummed in satisfaction.

Allie wasn’t sure what she expected when she opened her eyes, but she expected something.

“What am I missing? And why are you positively beaming with pride?”

“The phone doesn’t have a battery.”

“Huh?”

“The phone, the lamp—they’re working without a power source. You are the power source! It’s like you’re a solar panel.”

“Of course!” Allie gasped as everything slid into place in her mind.

“You’re absorbing solar energy, and as your gift emerges, your body is trying to use that excess energy.”

“That’s actually kind of awesome. But now what?”

“It’s just a matter of experimenting and letting your instincts guide you. I’m so proud of you.” Emma pulled her into a warm embrace.

“Emma, you’re pretty good at this mentor thing.”