Emerge: The Captive: (Book 3)(29)
“Like a starvation diet?” Quinn dropped his sandwich, thinking of Santi and that god-awful chain around her ankle.
“Yeah, that would do it. You should know you shouldn’t try to sneak Santi food. You’ll just make it worse.”
Quinn nodded, hating the idea of contributing to her suffering.
“So what were you saying about Amrita before?” Quinn asked, looking for a chance to talk about anything else. He’d heard of the underground Immortal club that traveled all over the world. He and Sasha used to talk about going if it ever came close enough to Cleveland for them to slip away for a night of fun.
“Surely you’ve heard of it?” James said. “Every kid our age is dying for a chance to go to Amrita.”
“Yeah, but you just associated Soma with Amrita.”
“They are one and the same, Quinn. Think about the meaning of the two words. Both are used in the Rigveda. ‘Amrita’ means ‘immorality’ in Sanskrit. But in the Rigveda, Amrita is a drink that was said to bestow immortality. The drink has also been referred to as Soma in other Hindu texts. Indra, the god of heaven, and Agni, the god of fire, drank Amrita to attain their immortality, after which they said:
“We have drunk Soma and become immortal; we have attained the light, the Gods discovered. Now what may foeman’s malice do to harm us? What, O Immortal, mortal man’s deception?” 1
“Clever. It’s an obvious connection in a way most of us would overlook,” Quinn said.
“My gut tells me Amrita is going to Cleveland in a few months. You better hope your friends are smart enough to stay away.”
“There’s no way they’d risk it.” Quinn shook his head. “Not after all this. They aren’t that stupid.” I swear, Aidan, I will rip your head off so they’ll have to feed you through a straw if you’re stupid enough to take them to Amrita.
“The redhead will be there,” James said, trying and failing to act casual.
“What? How do you know?”
“I see things.” James shrugged, fiddling with his food. “Most of the time it’s nonsense. My clairvoyance is mild and not remotely dependable. The Soma powers don’t put much stock in what I do. And … I may make it a point to appear as useless as I can possibly be. But I see important events and people. Your redheaded friend is everywhere I turn. I see her, I dream about her. She smells like apples and soot … and rage. That girl’s anger scares the hell out of me. Whatever’s coming for her isn’t good. She’ll be at Amrita. But that’s all I know.”
If Allie was going to be there, the others would be too. They had to know it was dangerous. Why would they risk it for a party? Quinn’s mind whirled with the possibilities of what they could possibly be thinking. Graham was just here snooping around—talking with other young Immortals. Does he know Amrita is connected with Soma? Are they going because they think in some twisted way they can help me?
“You say you only see important events and people?” Quinn asked. There was something James wasn’t telling him. Or maybe he really didn’t know. If he grew up here… if Soma didn’t see his gift as valuable … maybe they neglected something they should have paid much more attention to.
“I see the big things. Events I rarely understand until after they’ve happened, so I’m not much use.” James shrugged uncomfortably.
“What you see … do you happen to feel a compulsion to write it down or draw it after?”
“That’s a very specific question.” James gave him a wary look. “Why would you ask that?”
“I think your gift is much more valuable than you let on, James. And I think you know it. This place. They focus on flashy new gifts that we’ve never seen before. But an ancient gift ... a gift we haven’t seen in centuries, they wouldn’t know what to do with it.”
“What is it you think I can do?” James frowned. “I’ve never been very powerful. Not measured against the likes of you or Santi. What I do….” He shrugged. “It’s just doodles and nonsensical poetry.”
“It’s prophecy.” Quinn leaned toward him, keeping his voice low. “The last known prophet died centuries ago in Europe when she and her Complement were murdered by the Coalition. Burned at the stake for sorcery and witchcraft.”
“How could you possibly have figured that out in the two minutes we’ve talked when I’ve spent half my life hiding it?” James paled in the bright fluorescent lights of the training room.
“I’ve always been an avid student of Immortal history. I’ve been lucky enough to have access to the kind of history lessons I imagine wouldn’t be important here. And I have a particular interest in ancient powers that don’t exist anymore. Call it a hobby.”
Quinn liked to read about people with useful gifts, but he also like to read about Immortals who struggled with an addiction like his. He was always searching for a precedent. Someone like him who had figured out how to use their gifts for good without succumbing to the addiction. He’d read everything he could get his hands on and never found a single person like him who hadn’t turned into an evil son of a bitch.
“Prophets often spoke of seeing only the most important events and people in their visions or dreams,” Quinn explained. “And it is the nature of prophecy to only be understood after the events have occurred. Interpreting prophecy is an exercise in futility … unless you have access to the prophet delivering the prophecy.” Quinn leaned back in his seat, convinced he was right about James. “If they ever realize what they have in you, say goodbye to your cushy job.”