Chapter 30
Allie screeched to a halt when she approached Naeemah’s house Saturday evening. It took her a long moment to lift her foot off the brake. There were some very old Immortals waiting to meet her.
She forced herself to cross the courtyard, but when the door opened, she sank into a reflexive crouch.
“Allie?” Sasha bolted to her side, her ever-present Highland dirk in her hand. “What’s wrong?”
“Sorry.” Allie flushed.
“Old people freaking you out?” She shoved the dirk back in its sheath under her dress.
“Just a bit.”
“Well, you’re kinda freaking them out.” She giggled as they entered the kitchen.
Allie’s eyes immediately sought Aidan’s, an impulse she couldn’t seem to control these days. She felt a pang of loneliness when he ducked into the living room to avoid her.
He should be the one introducing me to the family he loves.
“This is the little rug rat you guys brought home?” a dark, ruggedly handsome man said with a familiar grin. “She is a little firecracker, isn’t she?”
“Aye, be nice, little brither.” Gregg punched him playfully. “Our little firecracker has bite.” He swept her into a massive bear hug. She suspected they’d been drinking … a lot. The Scots in him was out in rare form tonight. “Allie, this is my baby brither, Aidan Sr. If you cannae see why I named me son after ‘im, ye will before the nicht’s over.”
“There’s three of you grinning, winking McBriens?” She could definitely see the family resemblance between uncle and nephew and found it remarkable, considering there were no actual blood ties between them.
“Sarcasm, love? You wound me.” Aidan Sr. grinned with a wink that made her giggle like an idiot.
“Everyone calls me Uncle Aide to avoid confusion. Come, you have several more McBrien boys to meet.” He carelessly draped his arm around her.
“Nephews!” he called as they entered the living room. “And of course, Imogen, my elderly niece. Meet Allie. I found her wandering around the kitchen.”
“Elderly? By barely half a century, you worthless cad.” Imogen rolled her eyes.
Allie gasped. She recognized the stunningly gorgeous woman with eyes that glowed like a ring of fire.
“I see Mom has shown you how I came to join this family. Not my finest hour, but lucky for me she is a forgiving woman.”
Allie couldn’t believe what a selfless person Naeemah was to adopt the young girl who attacked her on that mountainside so many years ago.
“This is my husband, Lucian.” She introduced the young man seated beside her.
“We’ve heard so much about you.” Lucian smiled in a way that oddly reminded Allie of her father.
“Yes, little Aidan has been telling us all about you,” Imogen said.
“Gen.” Aidan flopped down beside his big sister. “Stop. Please, I’m begging you.”
“Aw, sorry baby brother.” She ruffled his dark hair.
“You were right, little bro.” A burly young man with wavy brown hair vaulted over the sofa to sit beside Allie. “She’s hot.” He winked. “I’m Darius, and that’s Seamas and Fitzie. We’re little Aidan’s older, more attractive brothers.” He dodged Aidan’s swing.
“Darius!” Aidan glowered, and the two were off, chasing each other through the living room.
“I prefer Scott,” a gentle voice sounded behind her.
“You must be Fitzie.” Allie giggled at the look of chagrin on the slim man’s face.
“A nickname referring to my past in the limelight. Darius was forced to actually read a book in high school and made some discoveries about his big brother back in the Gilded Age. Thus, ‘Fitzie’ was born and unfortunately it stuck.”
“So, you’re—”
“Darius! Leave the kid alone!” Seamas roared as the boys flashed past him.
“Allie, I already feel like I know you.” Seamas smiled graciously, sweeping her up in a familiar hug. “This is my husband, George.” He introduced the tall, muscular black man with impressively long dreads and a huge smile.
“Lovely to meet you,” George said, dodging Darius.
“Not in the house, boys!” Naeemah snarled.
“Sorry, Ma, the little punk started it.” Darius returned to his seat after besting Aidan in the short wrestling match, leaving him behind to bear the brunt of Naeemah’s wrath.
“I’m sorry, George,” Allie said, “I have to ask—”
“Nearly five thousand years old,” he said.
“Wowsa.”
“He was born as Gilgamesh,” Seamas said proudly.
“Seriously? You have to show me your story sometime,” she begged. “I know that’s probably rude, but I don’t think I care.”
“Hey, she’s smart too,” Darius said. “I always thought Gilgamesh was that dude from the smurfs.”
“That’s Gargamel, you idiot.” Seamas rolled his eyes.
Allie watched the brothers in wonder; Seamas looked like a taller, blond, paler twenty-year-old version of his much younger brother.
“How is it—?”
“That I am so marvelously young and handsome, when my younger brother is so old and decrepit?”
“Er … sure.” Darius didn’t look old, really. He was maybe twenty-five.
“Watch it, big brother.” Darius frowned. “Just remember, I’m much more interesting.”
“And I’ll always be younger and older than you,” Seamas added to Allie’s complete confusion.
“Sorry,” he laughed. “I’m nearly two centuries older than Darius, but I look like his little brother. A few months before my sixteenth birthday, my first love died, and I struggled with the loss. I suffered a terrible early Awakening that lasted nearly a week—not because I’m extraordinarily powerful, but because I wasn’t ready. My progression into adulthood was greatly affected by my experiences. In my teens, my power was nearly impossible to control, but I eventually found my footing, and I began progressing rapidly. The slowing started immediately, and my Proving came far too early. It was almost as erratic as my Awakening. Mom and Dad were afraid you might suffer similarly, and I advised them to do everything they could to avoid telling you until after. For that, I am deeply sorry.”
“It worked out for the best,” Allie said.
“Allie,” Sasha called, “come meet my cousins.”
Dean and Erin were Aide and Hélène’s children. Dean could easily have passed for his Uncle Quinn’s twin. His older sister Erin was tall and slim like Sasha, but with pale skin and short spiky blond hair. Her plethora of tattoos and piercings gave her a hard edge, but her exuberant smile won Allie over immediately. She was busy giving Aidan a new tattoo—somehow removing a portion of an older one and replacing it with something Allie had drawn for him weeks ago.
Well, that explains his morphing tattoos. Allie stared at his chest as the girl worked with her unusual gift.
“Holy crap, you are strong.” Erin looked up from her drawing.
“Um, that’s what they tell me.” Allie flushed.
“Don’t mind me. You excited for tomorrow?”
“Yeah, sure.” Once again reminded of the approaching morning, she felt her fears of inadequacy rise and excused herself.
“You must be Allie,” a deep voice sounded behind her.
She felt a chilling jolt hit her at the weight of his lifeline.
“Liam.” She looked up and up … and up. She’d seen him in Gregg’s memories, but she marveled at his sheer height and blond Norse coloring. It was like meeting a Viking straight out of Valhalla.
“I’ll be your team captain tomorrow.” He tossed back a glass of brandy marked with an odd yellow label. When he took her hand, she felt a warm vibration spread up her arm and immediately resisted the influence of his gift.
“Sorry, bad habit. Once I touch you with my gift, I will always be able to find you. Kind of like an internal GPS. May I?” He reached for her hand again. This time, she allowed the intrusion.
“I know you must feel like we’re throwing you to the wolves, but I promise it will be fun. Just stick close to me tomorrow.” He winked.
“You may live to regret that offer,” Allie said. There was a quiet, deep sadness in his eyes, and she was strangely calmed by his assurance.
“You seem oddly familiar to me. It’s like I know you.” He poured another drink. “At my age, anything new is a reason to celebrate.” He raised his glass. “Cheers to that, little one.” He grinned with a bright smile that transformed his face.
“Liam, she’s just adorable,” Naeemah said, coming around the corner with a sleepy toddler on her hip.
“Allie, this is Liam’s daughter, Kahlynn.”
“Are you ready for her?” she asked carefully. He took a deep breath and reached for his daughter.
“I found this little peanut last year when I was up visiting Hélène and Aide. She was sleeping in an old barn on their property, and I was a goner the moment I saw her.” He hugged the sleepy little girl to his chest. “Never in a billion years would I have ever attempted raising a little girl on my own, but here I am, a two-thousand-year-old Viking, scared to death of a baby.”
“And loving every second,” Naeemah said.
Allie’s heart suddenly leaped into her throat, and the color drained from her face.
“Relax, it’s just my parents,” Naeemah assured her.
“Allie,” Nadira smiled brightly, “we’ve so been looking forward to meeting you!”
“Oh my, you were right, daughter,” Sayid said reverently. “She’s extraordinary.”
“This is totally surreal.” Allie giggled, trying hard not to make a fool of herself as she eagerly greeted the real live, positively ancient, Senmut and Hatshepsut.