Chapter 24 - Immortals

After a quick shower and change of clothes, we sat on the familiar couch and waited for the call, letting us know it was time to leave. Myrnin's head was reclined back with his eyes closed, but I knew he wasn't sleeping. As I stared at his relaxed profile, my earlier questions came to mind. "Myrnin, why did you send Liam to get Eve?"

He looked up at me. "Assuming that the outcome of your challenge with Gwion would be successful, Eve needed to be brought here in preparation for us to depart. However, if things had gone badly…" he cringed visibly at the thought, "I had given Liam instructions and resources to get Eve out of the country."

"That makes sense," I allowed, "– but why Liam?"

Myrnin sat up and studied me, suspecting there was more than casual curiosity behind my questioning. He began carefully, "I needed someone I could trust and there was no one that I trust more than him."

"Uh hmm…" I looked back at him steadily, now fully convinced he was leaving significant facts out of the story. He recognized my posturing, and braced himself for my next question. My eyebrow rose. I suddenly decided to approach the topic from a different angle. "Why did you turn Liam?" I inquired.

My abrupt change in direction surprised him. He hesitated a moment and gave me a perfect non-answer, "Why wouldn't I have changed him?"

Okay, he wanted to be difficult. I suppressed a giggle – because I had years of experience dealing with 'difficult-Myrnin' – and I was just getting started. "How many people, exactly, have you turned?" I asked pointedly, knowing the answer was small. I smiled when he shifted in his seat uncomfortably; it meant I was on the right track.

"I don't exactly recall. I've lived a good many years. Some of the details may have slipped my memory," he said evasively.

"That's an interesting answer, considering we have already had this conversation – of course you were high on red crystals at the time – but nonetheless, we have already covered this territory."

His eyes opened slightly wider at my revelation.

I pressed forward with my point, "– and, even while high – you had stunning clarity when it came to the number of people you have turned in your lifetime."

I saw a muscle flex in his jaw. He knew I had him on this point. I just wondered how far it would get me to what I really want to know – the connection between Liam and Eve.

Admittedly, I was having too much fun with the uncomfortable look on his face, when I held my hands behind my back and murmured, "I am holding up the exact number of fingers that equals the number of people you have turned." I smirked, "So…I guess we both know it's not more than 10. Wanna guess how many fingers I am holding up?" I asked sweetly.

Reluctantly, he admitted, "Nine."

"Yes – exactly nine people – over the course of how many hundred years?" I pushed.

He smirked, "It's not polite to ask a boy his age."

I narrowed my eyes at him, ignoring his response, and continued with my point, "Given the teeny tiny number of people you have turned, you must have had a reason for each and every one of them - and Liam's reason is clearly connected to Eve. Now, are you going to tell me what I want to know?"

"I'm not certain what you mean," he replied innocently.

I tapped my fingers on the couch impatiently and asked, "Are you really going to make me guilt you, into telling me?"

The sides of his mouth turned up slightly at my question. He remained purposefully silent. I sighed and muttered under my breath, "I don't know why you always have to do things the hard way."

I watched him try – a little unsuccessfully – to contain a grin, while he waited for me to continue. "Okay. I'll make this quick for you. Clearly, you do not want to tell me why you changed Liam and what his connection to Eve is. So, let me just remind you that a relationship is only successful when grounded in trust by both partners – equally.

"You know that I trust you," he reminded me.

"Yes, but I trust you more – as proven by – our little Clāmāre adventure. So, I believe I have earned the right to be trusted with this information, regardless of your reasons otherwise." I stared at him steadily, confident in my reasoning.

His eyes widened. "You are a dangerous little human," he growled.

"–which is why you love me," I replied in satisfaction.

He stared at me for one more moment, then sighed and began, "I knew Liam was different, when I found him that night…because I could smell it in his blood."

I blinked, "Smell what?"

"His bloodline," Myrnin stated.

"You can smell bloodlines?" I asked in confusion.

"This one, I can," he affirmed flatly.

"This one?" I repeated softly. "What exactly does that mean? How many bloodlines are there?"

"Only a handful of the ancient bloodlines can still be identified: Amelie, Gwion, Lucas, Quill and…Isolde. When I came across Liam, I knew he was a descendent of Isolde, so I gave him the choice of becoming a vampire."

"But how can a human be a descendent of a vampire?" I asked quizzically.

"In the same way that Eve's child will be able to have children of her own; the line will continue. Additionally, bloodlines are not limited to genetics. I fall within Gwion's bloodline because he sired me. Liam is actually much more powerful than he realizes because he is a product of two of the ancient bloodlines: Isolde by human birth, and Gwion because I turned him. In the same way that Eve's baby will be a descendent of both Isolde and Amelie."

"What?" I breathed. "I understand Amelie's part in this because she turned Michael, but how is Isolde connected?"

"For a child like hers to exist, there must be both a maternal and paternal influence. Both must come from the ancient lines," he continued.

"Eve!" I gasped loudly, "Are you saying she is a descendent of Isolde? How is that even possible? Wait, how could you know that? Oh!" I exclaimed as understanding crossed over my features.

"Yes, Eve carries Isolde's scent," Myrnin confirmed.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me this before now?" I stood up and paced, overwhelmed by the implication of this information.

"Under what circumstances should that conversation have arisen? It does not change who Eve is, unless she were to decide to become a vampire, and I did not think there was any intent for that," he explained calmly.

I stopped walking as I put the pieces together. "So that is their connection – Isolde." I sat back down with worry painted on my face. "Myrnin, what does the connection mean? What does it do…to both of them?"

"The extent is unclear; however usually there is an attraction or recognition. There are so few from the same line. Most are scattered about the world; not in the same place."

"But if you knew they could be attracted to each other – supernaturally, nonetheless – why would you push them together by having Liam go get her?" I tried to understand.

"While I had hoped for the challenge to be a success, I had to plan for the worst. If things had gone wrong, there would be no one better than Liam to care for her."

I understood now and couldn't deny his logic, but I couldn't help but wonder what impact her connection to Liam, would have on her future. "She feels it, you know. Even though she's human, she knows there's something different about Liam. She told me that she trusted him," I murmured.

"Part of that feeling could be coming from her, but it could also be coming from her baby."

My eyes widened as I asked, "Are you saying that her baby can feel Liam, and that is the pull Eve feels?"

"Almost certainly her baby can sense him, but I suspect that Eve would have felt the connection on her own as well, given that the scent of Isolde's bloodline runs quite strongly in her veins."

I hated to ask the next question, but I had to know. "Eve's family – are they also from Isolde?"

He looked at me gently, feeling my anxiety and replied, "No, they are not."

"So it's true then? She was adopted – and by a family from a town that is ruled by vampires. That cannot be a coincidence."

"Yes, it is highly unlikely that she ended up in Morganville by chance. But even Amelie does not know Eve's origins."

"How many people know about Eve? Can all of the vampire's smell this scent?"

"The vampires who are direct descendants of Amelie likely do, however they do not know what it means or the family Eve is associated with. Details of how these children relate to the ancient bloodlines are kept closely guarded secrets. They are so rare, that most vampires will never meet an Immortal. To them, they are just a myth."

"Immortals… Eve's baby is immortal?" I was stunned and could barely breathe the question.

The look on his face told me the answer. I inhaled deeply, trying to get more oxygen to my brain. "You used the term as a name, not just a facet. So, these children are called Immortals? Gwion did not provide a name for them, and he seemed to distain the term, hybrid."

"The term, Immortal, is used because it is the one trait they all share. Aside from that, each one is unique in their abilities, unlike vampires. While, there is some variation, most vampires share the same skills. It is yet to be seen, what talents will manifest in Eve's child."

I nodded, "We found a book with symbols of birthmarks."

"The child will likely be born with a few of the birthmarks, but they can appear at any age, adding or voiding a skill set or emotion," Myrnin confirmed.

My heart beat faster. "Myrnin, some of the symbols showed a line through them. Liam interpreted the text to read, it meant that symbol was absent. Are you saying that at any point in their lifetime, an Immortal could lose a trait and a line would appear through that symbol on their body?" He nodded so I continued, "What could possibly happen to cause a talent or emotion to be stripped from one of them?"

He shook his head at me sadly. "They are too unique to be able to define a common thread, but it is assumed the trait is torn from them due to the choices they make. An Immortal can manifest with incredible power; regrettably, most tragedies begin from an imbalance or misuse of power."

"Myrnin, I understand for their safety, the heritage of these children is kept secret, but Eve needs to know the possibilities." My brow furrowed as I continued, "I also suspect she will want to know more about where she came from and who she is."

"Yes, she deserves those answers, but it is a lot of information all at once. And much of it remains rumors, myths and stories; if the information is false, it will do her more harm than good. They are unique; it may serve Eve better to just learn her daughter as they go along.

"You agree with Gwion's assessment that it's a girl. How does he know that? He never explained." I tilted my head toward him.

"Gwion has numerous skills, much of which he has taught me. But, even I am not privy to his fullest potential. Most likely, he gleaned this information from either a biological marker or his mental ability to read the child."

I sat in silence. There was a dull humming ache in my head as I tried to absorb everything he said. If I felt this overwhelmed and devastated by the possibilities, I couldn't even begin to guess at how Eve was going to react.

.

Hello pretties, so I am really liking the bloodlines thing and while that did sprout from my imagination, there is waaay too much folklore about vampires for me to presume, I am the first person to come up that; so my question is to those who are vampire savvy - are there other stories similar to what I have described here? I am planning a future unrelated/not-fanfic using these 'legends', so always prefer to know what else is out there, so that I don't accidentally come too close to another's work.

Give much love to the Review box...and, well, you know the drill. :) :)
Kisses -