Immortal Part 10

            I sat in the easy chair staring at him and had just come to the conclusion that my kidnapper was possibly one of the most beautiful people I had ever seen when his mother entered the room.  And then I knew I was wrong about Tavian. Compared to the goddess that his mother was, Tavian was very plain.

            She had very dark hair too, just like her son and in contrast her skin seemed almost white. Her features were very striking and I was mesmerized by her appearance. She had very large, dark eyes but there was something odd about them. For a minute I couldn’t quite place it but then it occurred to me that there was no light reflected in them. Have you ever noticed that about people? Everyone’s eyes reflect light, it’s how we are able to see. After a second I had to look away because it was very bizarre and strange.

            “Tavian,” she said, “Did you offer our guest something to drink?”

            Again something about her voice sent shivers down my spine and I wanted to hide behind the easy chair, rather than merely sit in it.

            “Are you thirsty?” Tavian asked obediently. But I merely shook my head. She was treating me like I had been invited rather than taken against my will and it burned at me. Up to now I had held my composure fairly well. Shock and anger went a long way to pacify tears but now that I was just sitting here staring uncomfortably at my attacker I could feel the hotness rise in my cheeks, the burning was beginning in my eyes and I found myself swallowing very frequently but it didn’t help. I scolded myself and told myself not to cry. Never let the enemy see weakness, but despite my best efforts a tear escaped from my eyes and then I was crying.

            I tried to curl up into a ball and hide my face so that they could not see my shameful display but even that was futile. Tavian’s mother stood up and walked over to where I was sitting. Her fingers on my shoulder were like ice. I knew that her gesture was meant to offer comfort and peace, but her touch had the opposite effect on me. Horror consumed me and I let out a shriek of fear.

            She withdrew her hand as if she had touched something hot, but she did not leave my side.

            “This must be very confusing for you,” she said softly.

            She wasn’t kidding, I thought dismally but I couldn’t find it within me to answer her. Even if I could, I wasn’t sure what to say. Confused, scared, angry, were just a few of the emotions that were surging through my being.

            “I know that you saw Dr. Payton’s work and I know that you probably didn’t believe most of it. It’s a lot and it goes against everything you’ve ever been taught and that you believe. But truth is truth whether it’s believed or not.”

            My head shot up and for just a moment I peered at Tavian’s mother in amazement. Emryl had said those exact words to me earlier this morning. But something about her frightened me and I averted my gaze.

            “You must understand,” she continued, “I sent Tavian so we could help you.”

            “I don’t need help,” I managed to whisper, though my words were a little broken.

            “Yes,” the woman stated simply, “you do.  Come now, calm yourself. No harm will come to you here. Tavian, darling, why don’t you go make her some nice tea to calm her nerves and let us girls talk for a few minutes.”

            Tavian didn’t hesitate, he jumped up and exited the room. I could hear pans clanking and cupboards slamming, running water, and then silence.

            “How rude of me,” the woman mused after a few minutes of quiet, “I never introduced myself. I’m Zhivvah.”

            “What do you want of me?” I croaked.

            “I told you, only to help you.” She glided gracefully across the room, grabbed something from out of a draw and then she was next to me again, offering me a handkerchief.  It wasn’t just a Kleenex, it was an honest to goodness handkerchief and a fancy one at that. It was smooth and shiny, could it be silk? There was also some kind of symbol embroidered onto it. It was truly beautiful and at first I refused but she insisted that I take it, so I did.

            “What makes you think I need help?” I finally asked after dabbing at my eyes with the beautiful handkerchief.

            “We’ve been watching your friend Emryl for quite some time. He’s a bright boy, that one. We know that he confided in you earlier today before…” her voice trailed off and she offered me a dismal kind of smile.

            “Before what?” I prodded. “Do you know where Emryl is?”

            “I have a good idea.”

            “Is he okay?”

            “I will make a deal with you Miss Gerken,” Zhivvah said, “I will always be honest with you, if you promise to always be honest with me. Is that acceptable?”

            “Where is he?” I repeated.

            “As thorough and intriguing as Dr. Payton’s blog seems there is much information he did not have and there’s a lot he missed. There are many, many monsters in this universe, Miss Gerken. And I’m afraid that your friend Emryl has been detained.”

            “But why?” I cried. “Emryl is nobody!”

            “Oh, my dear child,” Zhivvah crooned in a tone that made my skin crawl. She brushed her freezing pale fingers over my cheek very softly, “don’t be so naïve. Emryl Pemstein is a genius and he is closer to the truth than any human has ever gotten before. That makes him dangerous.”

            “Are you telling me they… they’ve killed him?” I croaked. I couldn’t help it. I found myself choking up again and though just this morning I was reminding myself how much Emryl annoyed me and I wished he would just leave me alone, the idea that he might be dead hit me hard.

            “Not yet,” she assured me. “I’m sure one of the things that Emryl told you… one of the things that Dr. Payton stated continually is that the immortals are after…”

            “The human soul,” I interrupted. “They want a soul.”

            Zhivvah nodded and then waved her hand dismissively, “or rather their belief of a soul.”

            “Who… who are they?” I asked cautiously terrified of the answer, but I kind of figured I knew the answers. Emryl had told me. Vampires, werewolves, zombies; the immortals as Zhivvah had called them. Emryl said they fought wars for the eternal life that humans were guaranteed through the blood of our Savior Jesus Christ. That while those creatures were immortal their existence was a damned, torturous one. And Zhivvah didn’t disappoint when she said with a deep sigh, “the immortals, of course.”

            “What do you mean by… their belief of a soul?”

            “If you believe the soul is something tangible, touchable, attainable, that it is something that you can obtain and take for your own, it makes sense. And for thousands of years, since Lucifer fell after the Great War in Heaven before man was placed on Earth, evil has been fixated and obsessed with the singular purpose of gaining back what was lost. Evil cannot understand that the soul is an individual’s consciousness. It is in his choices and his thoughts. It is in the desire for righteousness. They have not yet, nor will they ever figure out that they cannot steal a person’s soul. But they try. They try very, very hard.