 
The Seventh Immortal

Hearts of Amaranth #1

by J. M. Parry

Copyright 2013

SMASHWORDS EDITION

Published by J.M. Parry on Smashwords

This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author's imagination and used fictitiously.

The woman was close. She was so close that she could feel the cold embrace of oblivion. It was just within reach, as if she could push a little more and put her fingertips against the end of everything. Something pulled her back. It washed over her and pushed her away from annihilation. She fought against it. Struggled against it with all her might. No matter how she tried, her strength wasn't enough.

For most people, life is like a river. It flows in one direction, from birth to an inevitable end. Everyone fights against the current, clinging to life. The woman's river flowed backwards, away from death and towards some unknown purpose. She was swimming as hard as she could to destroy herself.

As the woman fought against the forces dragging her away from death, she realized that she didn't know why she was struggling. Even then, in the first moments she would remember for the rest of her unnatural life, she knew that victory meant death. And she couldn't recall why she wanted to die. Her memories were gone. She was a new person now. The old one, the one who wanted to disappear, had made it to the void that she couldn't quite reach.

The woman stopped fighting. And that is when she opened her eyes.

Chapter One

White ceiling tiles. A plastic, pastel blue curtain. Low, steady beeping. A dull pain in her arm. A clammy feeling across her body. The world returned to the woman as soon as quickly as she returned to it. She instantly became aware of her surroundings.

She was in a hospital room. This made sense to her, even in her confusion. She had died, or come very close to it. This was where she made her recovery. She tried to sit up in her bed, but found her body almost completely unresponsive. Her arms wouldn't move. Her legs would barely twitch. Something was wrong. Was she paralyzed? She could still feel the rough sheets against her skin. No... She was drugged.

"Who are you?" A deep voice asked. She wasn't alone. There was someone else in the room with her.

A man sat cross-legged in a chair across from her hospital bed. He was lean, and wore a pressed three piece suit that seemed perfectly cut to his frame. His hazel eyes peered at the woman from behind wireframe spectacles.

"Who are you?" he repeated as soon as she began to wake. The woman tried to speak but her mouth was too dry. Once more, she pressed her arms against the bed to push herself upwards. This time, she felt the strength beginning to return to her limbs.

The man realized that she was moving and quickly stood up. He walked over to the machine next to her—the one that was beeping—and pressed a button. Before the woman could move again, she began to feel her strength fading.

He was drugging her. He was keeping her unconscious.

"I'm sorry," the man said. His voice was smooth and steady. It comforted the woman even though she knew what he was doing to her. "We can't have you wake up just yet. We still don't know what we are going to do with you."

Her eyes began to droop. Everything went dark again, though this time there was no annihilation to strive towards. She was not dying. She was merely sleeping.

The woman did not know how long she was unconscious. Time passed strangely for her, as she still had very little concept of it. The drugs rushing through her body hardly left her with the faculties to keep track of the minutes and hours as they ticked by.

Once again, she felt herself pulled back into the world. The sensation returned to her skin. Light poured into the slit between her eyelids and she was able to peel back the darkness. Everything was bright. Everything was loud. And, just like before, the woman was not alone in her room.

"C'mon... C'mon, hurry up! Wake up! I don't know how long we have."

The woman blinked back the sleep in her eyes and looked over, expecting to see the same man as before. She was relieved to find someone new—someone who looked like he belonged in a hospital.

His hands brushed her arm, then gripped the IV attached to her vein.

She looked up at him, still in a daze, straining to study him through her blurred vision. Was he a friend or foe? She had no idea. She didn't know anything anymore. She forced a word from her throat and out of her mouth, the only one she could manage at first. "Please..."

"Don't worry. I'm here to help." His voice was low and firm but resonant with compassion. His figure came slowly into focus. He wore light blue scrubs over a broad-shouldered body with rich olive skin. The collar of the scrubs ran low enough to reveal the muscles of his chest, rippling as he reached down to grip her, but there was a tenderness to his touch, or perhaps hesitancy. Again, she wondered what this man planned to do with her, and fear shot briefly through her belly. But as soon as she stared into his bright green eyes, she knew she could trust him. He looked back at her with a mixture of awe and reverence, his gaze searching hers with equal intensity.

"It worked. You're awake," he said. Gently, he pulled the IV needle from her arm. For a moment, the world seemed to spin. Then his hand returned quickly to her body, reassuring, stabilizing. She fixed her gaze on him again, like an anchor holding her in place. His bright green eyes contrasted so beautifully with his olive skin and dark, messy hair. As she felt her control of her body returning to her, she found herself smiling at him. But he seemed hesitant to smile back. "Now, can you move? We need to get you out of here. But we probably won't make it far if I have to carry you."

That was a shame, she thought. She would have let this man carry her anywhere. But she sensed the urgency in his tone, and as she became increasingly aware of her situation, she felt her own fear return to her.

"Where am I?" she asked, pushing herself up. "Who am I?"

Silence. The young man stared at her, his face fallen. "Y-you have amnesia?" he finally asked. "Are you joking?"

"Not joking."

"I... I had so many questions..." His voice trailed off. "But that's not important right now. We don't have much time."

The woman turned and threw her legs off the bed. She looked down at herself, realizing that she was wearing nothing but a flimsy hospital gown. This wasn't the time for modesty, but she still felt a warmth run to her cheeks as the man looked at her.

He quickly realized that he was staring. "I'm sorry," he said, turning away. "I thought--"

"It doesn't matter," she replied. She wriggled her toes, confirming that her legs still worked, and slid off the bed. Standing wasn't easy with the drugs still in her system, but she could pull it off. "I guess you have to answer my questions instead. What do you know? Who am I?"

"You had your driver's license on you when you fell," the man replied. "That's all we know. Your name is Kait. Kait Selias."

"Doesn't ring a bell," Kait said. "Though I guess that's not a surprise. And who are you?"

The young man turned around to face her again. Kait reached behind her to close her gown, almost reflexively. "Paul Gordon," he told her. "I'm a resident here... You really don't remember anything?"

Kait shook her head. "You said that I fell?"

Paul nodded. "Right off the top of the courthouse. Thirteen floors. Went headfirst into the pavement. When you came in... Your whole head... I don't know how this is possible. You shouldn't be alive, let alone standing and talking."

Out of everything Paul had said, this was the one thing that made the most sense. Kait knew he was right. She should have been dead. Carefully, she reached up to her face. She ran her fingers along her cheek. Her skin was smooth. She ran her hand over her hair. It was a bit tangled, but everything felt in the right place.

"How long have I been here?" Kait asked.

"Just since this morning," Paul replied. "You made a full recovery in a matter of hours. That's why I was so curious. I've never seen anything--"

"I don't have any answers," Kait interrupted. "I'm sorry. Is that why they were drugging me?"

Paul shrugged. "I don't know, but when I found out what they were doing... I could lose my job for this. But I brought you some clothes. I hope they fit." He pointed to a pair of slacks and a blouse on the chair across from the bed.

"Thanks." Kait walked over to the clothes, still holding her gown tightly behind her. She scooped the garments up with one hand and walked towards the bathroom. "But why would you lose your job? You're a doctor. Shouldn't you be commended for helping me?"

"I don't know," Paul replied. "Maybe they wanted to send you to the government for testing or something. After you recovered from your injuries so quickly... All I know is that Mayor Levin was involved."

Kait stepped into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. She pulled on the pants—gray slacks that were a bit too baggy but would do in a pinch. "Let me guess," she shouted through the door. "Thin man, pale, well dressed, hazel eyes..."

"I don't know what color his eyes are," Paul replied, chuckling. "But it sounds like you've got the right guy. You know him and you don't even know yourself?"

"He woke me up, briefly," Kait said, pulling off the hospital gown. She slipped her arms through the sleeves of the blouse. "I think he wanted to ask who I was, but like you know... I couldn't give him a good answer."

"Mayor Levin runs everything in St. Louis," Paul said. "When he finds out I let you go..."

"St. Louis?"

"You don't remember _anything?_ "

"This is all new for me," Kait said. Once she buttoned up her blouse, she looked in the mirror and saw her own face for the first time. Her skin was pale, but smooth like polished ivory. There wasn't a single wrinkle or crease, even in the corners of her eyes. She had a soft, heart-shaped face and a wide mouth with pale, pink lips. Her dark, thin eyebrows stood out against her sallow skin and blue-gray eyes. She had chocolate-colored hair that was mostly flattened against her head, matted down from spending the morning in a hospital bed. It nearly reached her shoulders, but small chunks of errant hair still managed to stick up around her head.

An emptiness hit her gut as she thought about Paul seeing her in such a sorry state. He looked so perfect, with a healthy tan that seemed to glow against his navy scrubs. She felt like she wasn't just out of his league; she was playing a different sport. It was too late to do anything about it now. And there was an even more embarrassing matter to take care of:

"You didn't happen to bring a bra, did you?" she asked.

"I-I didn't... I don't..." Paul stuttered outside the door. Kait smiled for just a second. At the very least, she could make him as uncomfortable as she felt.

She arched her back and looked in the mirror. Her breasts were round and pert, small enough to comfortably forgo a bra but large enough that it felt indecent. Running her hands across her chest, she was at least glad that she didn't need any help to flatter her figure. As long as she didn't get too cold, maybe she could even get away with the natural look.

Kait opened the door back into the hospital room. "Don't worry about it," she said. "I've got more important things to worry about."

As soon as Kait was out of the bathroom, Paul turned to look at her. He grinned again. This made her feel better about the messy state of her hair and face. "Okay, now we'll get you out of here," he said. "If we're careful--"

"I don't know what I'm going to do," Kait replied. "I don't know where I will go. I don't know who I am."

Paul stopped. He didn't have any answers for her. Kait didn't know why she expected him to be able to solve all her problems. He'd done enough. He'd risked his job to pull her out of a chemically-induced coma. That should have been enough.

"I'm sorry," Kait said. "You can't... I can't expect you to tell me what to do next. You've helped me more than you had any reason to. Thank you."

"I... I had a reason," Paul replied. He fixed Kait with his bright green eyes and slowly reached up towards her cheek. She felt paralyzed by his gaze. She realized that his curiosity in her ran deeper than just her mysterious condition.

Just as his hand was about to touch her cheek, a loud banging sound filled the air. The door to the hospital room shook violently as someone pounded their fist against it.

"Who is in there?" a voice shouted. "Open up!"

Paul had wisely locked the door to Kait's room before waking her from her sleep, but that wouldn't buy them much time. The doors were thin, and undoubtedly plenty of people within the hospital had the key.

Reluctantly, Kait pulled away from Paul. "They found us!" she exclaimed.

Panic lit up Paul's face. He was contemplating the end of his career and, perhaps, his life. Quickly, he came up with a solution. He grabbed Kait's wrist and held up her hand. Her skin tingled at his touch and she wished for better circumstances. Once she escaped...

"Hit me," Paul whispered.

"What?"

"Hit me. I'll tell them that you woke up and knocked me out. They—they can't possibly know anything about what you are. They'll have to believe it."

Kait looked around the hospital room. There wasn't another way out. "How do I get out?"

Paul pointed at the window. "It's only the second story," he said. "You survived a much worse fall already."

"You... What do you think I am?"

"By the time you got here, all your bones were healed. You weren't even bruised. The only thing left was for you to regain consciousness. If you landed on your feet, you probably could have walked away from it." Paul looked her in the eye again. "It's better than what they probably want to do to you."

Paul was right. She couldn't let them capture her and put her under again. Who knows what the government planned on doing with her? "Okay. I'll hit you."

Kait reared back and put all of her strength into a single punch. Paul rolled with it well enough, throwing himself across the room in a dramatic showing that should have made Kait laugh. She didn't feel like laughing. This wasn't the way she wanted to first touch Paul. Even worse, the door was about to come down.

Her heart pounding in her chest, Kait approached the window. She grabbed the edge of the glass and wrenched it open. With a stiff elbow, she punched a hole through the screen and pulled it out. It was barely big enough for her to fit through, but it would have to do.

Kait took a deep breath and pulled herself through the window. Her legs dangled over the edge of the wall. It wasn't too far to the ground, but she was pretty sure she could break a leg if she wasn't careful...

But what did that even mean for her? If what Paul told her was right, she'd managed to survive a head-first swan dive off the thirteenth floor of the courthouse. Was she indestructible? Or something else? If she jumped, would she just cripple herself and let the mayor capture her again?

There wasn't time to think much about it. There was only time to find out. Kait took a deep breath and pushed herself off of the windowsill. Her stomach lurched up into her chest as she fell. The air flew past her and the ground flew towards her. She felt her legs hit the ground. The shock nearly knocked her from her feet, but it didn't hurt.

Kait stared at her legs. They were fine. They didn't shatter from the impact. There was no sickening _snap_ as she planted her feet into the pavement outside the hospital.

She didn't know much, but she knew this wasn't normal. Even two stories should have been enough to injure her, but she barely felt a thing.

Before she could think too much about it, Kait heard a loud siren split the air. It was coming from inside the hospital. They knew she'd gone missing and they were sounding the alarm. It was time to go.
Chapter Two

As soon as Kait was off hospital property, she began to doubt her cunning escape plan. She was in a strange city without anywhere to go. She had no money, and only the clothes on her back to her name. If she had to eat—and she'd yet to determine if her strange condition required her to eat or drink—she had no way of obtaining food.

She didn't know where to go. She didn't know where she'd come from. When she looked at the skyline of downtown, there was only one building that she recognized—the courthouse. Earlier that morning, she'd leapt from the very top, presumably to her death. But she wasn't dead, and the building called to her. It was the only connection she had to her past, and she was drawn to it.

Without money, the only thing Kait could do was walk. It was a long way from the hospital to downtown, but Kait had all the time in the world.

As she traversed the city of St. Louis, Kait began to familiarize herself with the city. The streets were dirty, but they seemed to be constantly under repair. New construction projects were everywhere, and renovations were even more common.

The crumbling walls were plastered with posters showing a familiar face—Mayor Levin invited the city's inhabitants to join him with artfully crafted propaganda: "The City Government works for YOU. Will you work for them? Employment opportunities for citizens of every class, inquire within or at www.TheCityGovernment.com."

Kait didn't know what to think. Even though he seemed to be behind these ambitious projects, Mayor Levin's visage terrified her. It reminded her of the awful moment in the hospital, when she realized that she didn't have any control over her own fate.

Cop cars sat on nearly every corner, watching over the streets. Kait hid her face as she passed them, afraid that her description might be on the radio by now. No one stopped her. There were plenty of police, but none of them seemed to be paying attention.

It took Kait almost an hour to walk from St. Louis University Hospital to the courthouse. She spent the time thinking about her strange condition, and what the mayor wanted with her. It didn't make sense that a city executive would be the most interested in the sudden appearance of an immortal woman, even if it happened in her city. Where was the Federal government? Where were the scientists and the doctors? Maybe, despite everything, she was lucky that the the mayor was such a control freak. He'd kept Kait a secret for his own purposes. But what were his purposes?

Approaching the courthouse, Kait saw a crowd gathered around the plaza in front of the building. A small section of the pavement was cordoned off with police tape. Kait felt a sick sensation brew in her stomach as she approached the spot. Even through the crowd, she could see that the concrete was stained with blood. Her blood.

Why did she come here? What did she expect to find, other than this gruesome scene? And why hadn't anyone cleaned it up yet?

Kait could hear the crowd murmuring. They were still talking about her. It had happened hours ago, and yet people were still coming by to gossip about her apparent suicide. She overheard someone mention that the woman who fell from the courthouse roof was still moving when she was taken away.

Her story was starting to get around, though fortunately no one would be able to tell it was her. From what Paul said, it sounded like her face was so badly damaged in the fall that she would have been unrecognizable to anyone who saw her hit the ground.

After pushing her way through the crowd, Kait stood at the edge of the police tape. Two uniformed officers were on the scene. One appeared to be collecting evidence—scraping up a torn piece of fabric from the ground—and the other monitored the onlookers. Kait didn't want them to see her, but as soon as she had a full view of the crimson-stained pavement, she was paralyzed.

Even now, she didn't remember any of this. She couldn't recall hurtling towards the ground. She especially couldn't recall why she tried to end her life.

The police officer collecting evidence placed the scrap of fabric in a sealed plastic bag and ducked underneath the tape holding back the crowd. As he passed Kait, he turned to look at her. Their eyes met and he seemed transfixed. Even as he was walking away, he continued to glance back at her.

Kait felt her heart jump. Did he recognize her? Undoubtedly, some people had seen her before she jumped. She was putting herself at risk coming back here... But maybe she wanted someone to recognize her. If anyone knew her face, they might be able to provide some answers about her life before the fall.

Despite her worries, the police officer never came back to talk to her. He didn't grab her or pull her away from the crowd. Once he'd returned to his car to store the evidence he collected, he never even seemed to pay her any mind.

Finally, Kait was able to pull herself away from the scene of her failed suicide attempt. She could feel her whole body shaking as she walked away, as if she had just picked herself up off the pavement a moment ago.

"Hey!" a voice whispered. "It's... It's you!"

Kait stopped in her tracks. She glanced over to her side to see a young man in a smart blue suit. He had black hair, nearly styled and graying early at the temples. There were dark circles under his brown eyes, and despite his neat dress, he looked more than a bit disheveled.

"You know me?" Kait asked. She tried to keep her expectations low.

The man shook his head. "No, but I saw you," he replied. "I saw you in the courthouse. You... You got in the service elevator, and I got in there with you. You were going to the top floor." He took a deep breath before asking what he really wanted to ask. "It was you, wasn't it? You were the jumper."

Kait hesitated. What was she supposed to say? She didn't want to have to explain how she was still alive—she still didn't know the answer to that question—but this man was the closest connection she had with her prior life. If he knew anything about her, she needed that information.

"Yes, but we can't talk about it here," Kait finally replied. She motioned around her, to the crowd milling around the courthouse. "And I don't know who you are. I don't know if I can trust you."

The man stuck out his hand. "My name is Spencer Smith, and I'm an attorney," he said. "As for whether you can trust me... You already have."

"What?"

"You gave me something."

Kait's heart pounded in her chest. This was it. This was the lead she needed. "Let's go somewhere safe."

Spencer nodded. He took the lead, pulling them away from the crowd and turning a corner, heading towards the riverfront.

They walked a few blocks deeper into the city. Kait peered down every street they passed, afraid that Spencer might be leading her into a trap. No matter what he said, she couldn't fully trust that he had her best interest in mind.

He led her to a cafe that was nearly empty. It was a small—barely more than a hole in the wall under a towering office building—with just a few tables far from the counter. This was the ideal place for a clandestine meeting, and Kait wondered if Spencer often used it to confer with his clients.

Spencer picked out a booth near the window, ordered a latte, and placed his briefcase on the table. "When you jumped, I didn't think I would see you again," Spencer said. "I almost hoped that I wouldn't."

Unlocking the briefcase, he turned it to face Kait. Then he opened it. Her eyes went wide when she saw what was inside. There was a bank card, passport, and several thousand dollars in cash. She reached inside and picked up the passport. Glancing inside, she saw her own picture and name. Katrina Anne Selias. Born September 2, 1987 in St. Louis, Missouri.

Kait flicked through the other pages of the passport, hoping they might give her some clue as to where she'd been before. There were no stamps...but there was something written on one of the pages. It was scrawled in handwriting that felt almost familiar. Two sentences, but they barely meant anything to Kait:

Find the Gospels. Then you will understand.

Flipping the passport around, Kait showed the writing to Spencer. "What do you think this means?"

Spencer shrugged. "You're supposed to read the Bible?" he asked.

Kait considered this. She didn't think that was the answer, and even brought more questions to mind about her condition. Not all of her memories were gone. She knew what the Bible was. More than that, she could speak and read, and probably even write without complications. Her amnesia was entirely specific, and barely seemed to affect her general knowledge of the world.

It was almost like she'd chosen what to forget.

Placing the passport back into the briefcase, Kait shut it tight. "I gave all of this to you?"

"You said you might need it later. When I found out that you jumped, I figured..."

Kait looked up at him. "You thought the cash was yours."

"Hey!" Spencer said, raising his hands. "I'm here with you now, aren't I? I didn't run off. I brought it back. Which means you owe me some answers."

"I don't have any answers," Kait said. "I only have questions."

Spencer sighed. His disappointment seemed rather familiar at this point. She remembered it from Paul's face when she revealed her amnesia. Her condition was fascinating to everyone around her. It compelled them to help her, even against their own interests. And yet she could not satisfy their curiosity.

"My memory is gone," Kait continued. "I don't even remember meeting you, though it's obvious it happened. I'm sorry, Spencer, but even I don't know what I am."

"You're something special," he answered. "We're just going to have to figure out what that is."

Kait felt a shiver run up her spine. Despite the fact that Spencer seemed like a rather reserved man, his dark gaze met hers with a surprising intensity. He seemed so focused on her, as if he couldn't look away. She felt herself blush at his attention. While she couldn't remember much, she could remember how she looked from the mirror in the hospital. Her clothes didn't flatter her. Her hair was barely under control. Still, Spencer seemed transfixed.

"Mayor Levin is after me," Kait said. "He was keeping me in the hospital I escaped from. Do you still want to help me?"

For just a second, Spencer seemed to go pale. Mayor Levin was a frightening and powerful figure in St. Louis. No one wanted to stand up to him. Nevertheless... "That's just a bonus," Spencer said. It sounded like a lie. "I hate the mayor. Sure, he's kept crime under control... But at what cost? Fuck him."

"What's his deal anyway? I see his face on those posters everywhere. Creeps me out."

Spencer shrugged. "He was elected almost eight years ago. A lot of people think he saved the city. Brought in a lot of jobs, cut down on crime, raised property values for the right folks. Then two years ago in 2014, he did the unthinkable and consolidated the City and the County. Even made himself the mayor of Unified St. Louis. I liked the way it was before. Sometimes it feels like a police state around here. And don't get me started on the taxes."

Kait recalled all the cops cars she saw on her walk from the hospital. "It doesn't always make you feel safe, does it?"

"Not at all," Spencer said. "Though it convinced me to do a little criminal law on the side. You need clients where you can get them."

"Is that why you helped me?" Kait asked. She pointed down at the briefcase full of cash. "You think I might be a lucrative client?"

A smile flashed across Spencer's face. "Maybe I thought about it," he replied. "But that wasn't the real reason."

"So what was?"

Spencer was silent. He picked up his latte and took a long sip, as if that would absolve him of answering the question.

"Okay, if you don't want to tell me... What do I do next?" Kait asked.

"If you want, I can start poking around," Spencer said. "I have a private investigator I like to use. He's good. He keeps things quiet. I can have him take a look around into your background."

Kait didn't know what to say. She just nodded. That was exactly what she wanted. If there was anything that could be found in her past, she wanted to know it. "How much is that going to cost?" she finally asked.

"My usual fee," Spencer replied. "But that's a mere fraction of what you've got there." He motioned to the briefcase. "If you want to know who you are..."

"You could have just walked away with my money," Kait replied. "But you didn't. I guess I owe you that."

Spencer reached across the table. Kait took his hand and they shook on the deal. "I"ll find out everything I can about you, Katrina Selias," he said.

"Please, call me Kait."

Taking another long drink, Spencer finished his latte. He stood up from the table and headed for the door. It was starting to get dark outside. It was almost night time. "C'mon," he said. "I'll get you to a hotel. I bet you need some rest."

Leaving the cafe, they headed for a nearby parking structure. Spencer took Kait to his car, a well-kept black sedan, and they headed east towards the riverfront. There were several hotels nearby, but Spencer had an account at the Marriott Renaissance that he used for clients and witnesses who came into town for depositions.

As they drove towards the hotel, Kait found herself becoming more and more aware of her surroundings. It had been almost two hours since she was taken off the drugs in the hospital. Ever since that moment, her senses became sharper and more acute. Her hearing was razor sharp. Her eyes were painfully sensitive to light. And that wasn't all...

Inside the car, Kait became painfully aware of Spencer's presence. She could smell the soft scent of his cologne. It burnt her nose, sending shivers through her brain. Every time Spencer pressed on the gas, she could hear the subtle sound of his slacks rubbing against his thighs. When he exhaled, she could feel his presence. It excited Kait, being so close to him. She could hardly understand why. Every few seconds, she would glance at his face. His dark brown eyes would meet her gaze, and she would shift in her seat.

Once they reached the hotel, she could barely keep still. Every nerve in her body felt alive. She'd spent the entire drive thinking about him. And there was only one thing she could do.

"You should come up to my room with me," Kait said, after she checked in at the front desk. "Just to make sure everything is okay."

Spencer didn't argue with her. He followed her into the elevator. Once more, his scent overwhelmed her. She wanted to grab him. She wanted to feel his body against hers, but she knew that she couldn't. She had to wait.

What was she doing? Kait didn't understand any of the thoughts running through her head, but she didn't care. It didn't matter what she did. She was immortal. What was the worst that could happen?

"You're coming in, right?" Kait asked when the reached the door. Spencer didn't object. He followed her inside. And that was it. She couldn't wait any longer.

Chapter Three

As soon as the door closed behind them, Kait grabbed the collar of Spencer's suit. She pushed him against the wall and kissed him. The world was confusing to her, but she could understand the way he made her feel.

"What are you doing?" Spencer asked. Kait didn't answer with words. She placed her hand on his thigh and began to run it up towards his belt. By the time she reached his groin, he was already hard. She curled her fingers lightly around him and he gasped, arching his back. "I don't know about this..."

Kait pulled her hand away from him. "I don't know about anything," she said. "But this feels good, doesn't it?"

Spencer didn't argue, and kissed her again. This time, his hands reached towards her. One of them caressed her cheek, while the other reached under her shirt. The lowest button on her blouse snapped, letting him run his palm over her midsection. As she felt his fingers tickle her side, she leaned into him. It felt good. Too good.

His fingers tickled underneath her ribs, as if they were afraid to go further. Kait grabbed his wrist and forced his hand further up her blouse. He formed his hand around her breast, cradling it in his grasp. Kait felt a bolt of electricity run from her chest up through her spine. She just wanted him closer. She wanted him so badly.

Kait grabbed his fingers under her shirt and made them pinch her nipple. She gasped and lifted her leg, forcing his body closer to hers.

"Slow down," Spencer said, but Kait knew he was just objecting for the sake of objecting. He didn't want to stop any more than she did.

Spencer tried to remove his hand from Kait's breast. She let him, only to guide it down past her abdomen. Hastily, she unbuttoned her slacks and slipped his fingers between her legs.

"I'm not sure."

"I am."

Kait pressed Spencer's hand against her and gasped. As soon as he touched her, she shivered. And when he slipped his fingers into her, she arched her back and moaned. It was everything she hoped it would be. Her entire body felt warm. She didn't care who she was anymore. She didn't care what she was. For just a moment none of that mattered.

"Don't stop," Kait whispered, pushing her hips into Spencer's hand.

"Why would I?"

That was enough to assure Kait that he finally understood what she wanted. She let go of his wrist, letting him push his fingers in and out of her as he wished. One hand wrapped around his waist, pulling him towards her as he stimulated her. The other returned to the stiffness between his legs, stroking it under the thin fabric of his slacks.

Kait leaned into chest as waves of pleasure rocked through her body. The stubble on his chin rubbed against her forehead. It felt like sandpaper against her skin, but somehow it only made her more sensitive. The sharp scent of his aftershave filled her nose, and as she rubbed him through the fabric of his pants, he gasped. His hot breath tickled her ear.

She wanted to pull off her blouse, push his mouth down her neck and to the sensitive skin on her breasts. But to do that, she'd have to pull away from him. She'd have to stop pressing his hand between her legs. That wasn't an option.

No matter what Spencer did, it wasn't enough. Kait had to buck her hips against him, forcing his fingertips deeper insider her. With every stroke, she came closer and closer... Her body began to tremble. Her heart began to flutter. Her head began to swim.

And then, for just a second, everything went black. Her body exploded with passion. The muscles in her legs gave way and her mind disappeared. Oblivion... She felt it again. She felt so close, but it wasn't enough.

The sensation overwhelmed her. It went from pleasure to discomfort. She grabbed Spencer's hand once more and pulled it from between her legs. His fingers were slick with her passion.

This wasn't enough. This wasn't the end. She wanted to satisfy him the way he satisfied her. Reaching towards his belt, she began to kiss his neck.

"Wait... No..."

Before she even heard his objections, she'd pulled his slacks down to his ankles. She ran her hands up from his calves towards his thighs.

"You really want me to stop?" Kait asked.

Spencer nodded, though she could tell it was a very painful decision. "I'm sorry," he said.

"Don't be," Kait said, though she was disappointed. "I got what I wanted... Or at least the start." She pressed herself up against him again, to let him know that she was willing to keep going. He barely responded.

"I... I don't know what to say," Spencer said. "I never intended..."

Kait smiled at him as she buttoned her slacks. She was still wet. She still wanted to be touched. No... She wanted more than that. "How about you?" she asked, again reached towards him.

"I can't go home. Not after... I need to think."

"What are you talking about?" Kait asked.

Spencer held up his left hand. For the first time, Kait noticed the wedding ring on his finger. "I shouldn't be doing this. I'm married."

Kait felt like she'd been punched in the stomach. All of the wonderful feelings that had been running through her body just a moment ago disappeared. They were replaced with guilt and shame that she barely even understood. Why did she act the way she did? Why was she so careless? Was this a side effect of her immortality, or something that ran deeper in her personality that she was just beginning to explore.

"I... I didn't know."

"It's not your fault," Spencer replied. He stared at the floor of the hotel room. His body was starting to tremble. Kait could tell that he was still turned on, but that he was unable to go any further, no matter how much his body wanted it. "I shouldn't have..."

Spencer turned away from her. For a moment, she thought he was going to leave. Maybe it was better if he did, but he instead he stepped further into the room. He sat down in one of the chairs near the bed and held his head in his hands. "What have I done?" he muttered.

"Listen, it was a mistake," Kait said. She approached him, but he seemed to flinch as she grew closer. "I didn't know."

"But I did," Spencer replied. "I've never done anything like this before." He looked up at Kait. "I've never met anyone like you before... The worst part is that I still don't want to stop."

"If you didn't want to stop, you wouldn't have," Kait told him. She wasn't sure if that was comforting at all, but she had to say something. He looked like he was near a breakdown. She could barely handle her own emotional instability, let alone his.

Spencer reached into his pocket. He held something in his hand when he withdrew it. It looked like a small, golden cross. He gripped it tightly, holding back tears. "I need to go," he said. "I need to go to church. I need to talk to her. She'll forgive me. She'll understand."

"Your... Your wife?" Kait asked.

"No," Spencer said, standing up. "My pastor. My wife, she would never... She can't know."

Kait didn't think that Spencer was seeking forgiveness from the right person, but she was glad that he had a plan to deal with his guilt. She still didn't know what she would do about her own. Like he was reading her mind, Spencer had a solution for her:

"You should come with me!" he explained. "Confess to God, and all will be settled. Bear your heart and you will be at peace."

"I don't know about that," Kait replied. She understood very little about herself, but she could already tell she wasn't much of a religious woman. Still, she remembered what was written on the inside of her passport: _find the Gospels_.

Maybe this all was happening for a reason. Maybe everything came together the way it did for this very moment. "Okay," she said. "What kind of church is it?"

Spencer's eyes lit up. As soon as he started talking about the Ecumenical Church of the Riverfront, it was like he'd already forgotten about the crushing guilt and pain that had overwhelmed him on a few minutes before.

The Ecumenical Church was established almost a decade ago in the heart of downtown St. Louis, but in the intervening years it had spread through the adjacent counties. It was the fastest growing religion in the area, attracting men and women of all faiths, and its modern, liberal philosophy combined with high level of community involvement had been especially popular among those whose faith had lapsed. Spencer himself had been a nonbeliever before his first sermon at the church.

"I guess they're open all hours?" Kait asked, motioning towards the windows. It was dark outside. She hadn't checked the clock, but it couldn't have been earlier than 7:00 PM.

Spencer nodded. "The downtown Cathedral will still be open," he said. "Let's hurry."

All of this felt rather ridiculous to Kait, but she felt bad about what happened between them so she tried not to let it show. They returned to Spencer's car and drove to the Cathedral, which was only a couple miles west. It was actually near the hospital where Kait had been sedated earlier in the day. She recognized the building as they approached.

The Ecumenical Church Cathedral was a large, modernist building that seemed to eschew the cloistered, ornate designs of Catholicism for practical open spaces. If not for a the elegant facade—a sloping series of steepled towers topped with a golden cross—Kait might have never guessed that the large, ivory-colored building was a church. It looked more like a small amphitheater.

Kait and Spencer entered through the foyer and passed into the nave, which they found empty except for a young woman sitting at the pews near the front. She had pale blonde hair and wore a simple white dress. Scattered on the bench around her were several stacks of paperwork. She seemed absorbed in the documents until Spencer approached her.

"Pastor Eve?" he said softly. "I am so glad you are here. I need to talk."

The woman looked up at Spencer. She had light blue eyes that seemed to soothe him as soon as they met his own. "Mr. Smith!" she said. "I am as surprised to see you as you are to see me. What brings you here at this time of night?" She didn't sound angry, or even the slightest bit annoyed that he'd interrupted her work. Merely curious. "Shouldn't you be at home with Gina?"

Gina... That was his wife's name. Kait didn't need to know that.

"It's just like I said," Spencer replied. "I need to talk to someone. I knew that you are often here. I know that this is not the standard time, and that you are busy, but if you could spare a few moments for a confession that would be even better."

Eve stood up with a gentle smile. She looked past Spencer and fixed her eyes on Kait. In that instant, something about her mood changed. Her gaze narrowed ever so slightly, and she pursed her lips. Did she know what Spencer wanted to confess already?

"Who is this?" Eve asked.

"Kait Selias," Kait quickly answered. She didn't want Spencer to introduce her. It felt weird. "I'm just here because..." Her voice trailed off. She still didn't quite know how to finish that statement. The best she could do would be to admit that she was following up on the mysterious scrawled writing in her passport. That would be almost as embarrassing as what Spencer was about to tell her.

"I'm Evangeline Weisz, but most people call me Pastor Eve." The blonde woman extended her hand. Kait took it and they shook. Eve's hands were smooth, but her grip was surprisingly firm. As she pulled away, Kait noticed that her fingers were trembling. She was trying to hide it, but Eve was nervous about something.

Spencer didn't notice any of this. "Pastor Eve is the founder of the Ecumenical Church," he said hastily. "But even though she has many other pastors to tend to the congregation, she still makes herself available every weeknight."

"I do what I can for my flock," Eve replied.

Kait stared at her. The woman barely looked a day over thirty. If she founded the Church ten years ago... "That is very impressive for someone so young," Kait said.

Eve chuckled. "Thank you," she replied. "But I'm older than I look." She turned her attention to Spencer. "Come back to my office and we can discuss whatever you wish to discuss in private. Kait can have a look around the church if she likes. I assume it's her first time here?"

"I was curious," Kait said bluntly. She didn't like the way Eve was treating her. Something seemed wrong, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

Spencer and Eve headed for the back of the church, into a door that, presumably, led to Eve's office. As soon as they were gone, Kait started to examine the nave of the church. She was all alone, and there was no one around to tell her what she couldn't do. The first thing she did was take a look at the paperwork lying on the pews. She hoped they were the church's finances, or something else juicy that would hold her interest until they got back. Unfortunately, it was just homework submitted by kids from the church's Sunday school.

Kait didn't have much interest in a bunch of essays on the Book of Mark, so she approached the pulpit. There was a heavy, leather-bound book sitting open on a tall podium. She knew it was a Bible, but she was still curious. After all, that's where she would find the Gospels.

As she paged through the Bible, it fell open to a highlighted portion. Proverbs 18:20-21: _A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled. Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof._

There was something written next to the passage, but it was not in English. Kait squinted to look at it. The writing was different from what she was used to seeing, but she immediately knew what it was: it was the Cyrillic alphabet. This was written in Russian, and the more Kait thought about it, the more she realized that she could read it.

Why could she read Russian as well as English?

Suddenly, Kait was thrown from her thoughts by the sound of a car. It was coming from just outside the church. It wouldn't have worried her if it wasn't so close. Someone was out in the parking lot.

Almost as soon as she noticed it, the car engine went quiet. Kait stepped down from the pulpit and began to walk down through the nave. She heard footsteps from the foyer. And then the doors flew open.

Kait stood between the central rows of pews and stared at the man who entered the church. It was the first face she'd seen in this world, and the one she feared the most: Mayor Daniel Levin.

"I knew you'd pop back up eventually," he said, casually walking towards Kait. "I didn't expect it would be this soon, but I am thankful for happy accidents."

Surveying the room, Kait backed away from the mayor. He was alone, but he clearly had a plan for how to subdue her. She thought about those brief moments she could recall in the hospital, just as she began to awake and he put her back under. It was so terrifying to know that she was under his control, and now that she was free... She never wanted to feel that way again.

"I'm not going to let you take me," Kait shouted, hopefully loud enough that Spencer and Eve could hear. She needed witnesses. "I won't be some science experiment."

"Science experiment?" Mayor Levin repeated. "You really have no idea what you are talking about. I am truly sorry for what I did to you, but you have to understand that your sudden appearance put us all ill-at-ease. Perhaps we can come to some other sort of understanding and--"

Suddenly, Levin's speech was cut off by a loud shout from behind Kait. "You betrayed me!" Spencer shouted. He and Eve had just emerged from her office. Shaking with rage, he turned on Eve. "You told him that we were here. You told him about Kait! It had to be you!"

Eve took a deep breath. "I did what I had to do, Spencer. It is for the best. Kait is a threat to everything that Daniel and I have built in this city. You know we've made it better, don't you?"

Spencer shook his head. "You and the mayor? You were working together?"

"Of course we were, Spencer," Eve said. She tried to keep her voice calm, but it wavered as her fear was too much for her. She desperately wanted to defuse the situation. "Nothing we have built would be possible without the assistance of the city government."

"No," Spencer said. "It all makes sense now."

Mayor Levin sighed. He didn't even glance at Spencer and Eve. His gaze remained on Kait, his hazel eyes steady and uncompromising. "You have made things very difficult, Miss Selias," he said. "You have put us all at risk, and you have left me with no choice about what I must now do."

The wiry man reached into his gray jacket and pulled out a black pistol. As soon as Kait saw the weapon, she reflexively grabbed for her hip. There was nothing there. Somehow, deep inside her, there was an instinct that her memory loss hadn't repressed. She expected to be armed. Kait didn't have time to consider this, though, as the mayor lifted his gun.

At first, Kait thought he was going to shoot her. She didn't know whether to be afraid or not. It would hurt, just like the fall from the hospital window rattled her frame, but it wasn't anything she couldn't overcome.

Mayor Levin didn't aim the weapon at her. He pointed it at Spencer.

"No!" Eve shouted, but she was too late. Mayor Levin pulled the trigger.

Bang!

Spencer fell to his knees, than collapsed onto his face. Kait didn't look at him long enough to see the blood. She didn't need to look. She knew he was dead. Just like that, he was gone.

It was like being woken from a dream. In the brief hours of Kait's existence, she had failed to understand the depth of existence itself. She'd done nothing but let her curiosity, her fear, and her lust lead her along wherever it might take her. What did it matter? She was indestructible. Nothing could kill her, even when she wanted it to.

Other people were not so strong. It was not a hardy thing, life. It was fragile. It was breakable, smashed to pieces with something as simple as a single bullet. Spencer was gone. One second, he was a breathing, moving, individual. The next, he was gone. Death was real.

"Why did you do that?" Eve sobbed, dropping to her knees to cradle Spencer's body in her arms. "We could have found another way. We could have figured something out."

"No, we couldn't," Mayor Levin replied. "You know we can't take any risks." He looked at Kait. "This is what happens, Miss Selias. This is what happens when you don't understand what is going to around you. Come with me and--"

Anger overwhelmed Kait. She didn't want to hear another word. Maybe Mayor Levin had answers for her. Maybe he could explain what she was, but she didn't want to hear it from him. She didn't want her existence to be defined by someone so horrible, so uncaring, so indulgent in the fragility of life.

Kait rushed at Mayor Levin. He aimed his gun at her this time, firing two more times. The bullets struck Kait in her chest, but they didn't even knock her off her feet. They burned through her flesh, like sharp pin pricks against her skin, but they couldn't stop her. She was too strong.

Once she was close enough, Kait dived at the mayor. She tackled him, forcing him to the ground. Punching him in the throat, she stopped him from speaking. Then she grabbed the gun from his hands. Without even thinking, she turned it on him. She placed it against his forehead.

"You really do not understand," he choked out before Kait could pull the trigger.

BANG!

Mayor Levin's glasses shattered with the force of the bullet striking his skull. His eyes rolled back into his head. He went limp.

Kait panicked. She dropped the gun, only now realizing what she had done. She'd killed him. She'd killed the mayor of St. Louis.

Chapter Four

Kait ran as fast and as hard as her legs would let her. She didn't know where she was going. She didn't care. She just had to get away from the church.

The last few minutes were a blur to her. In one moment, she was watching Spencer's lifeless body fall to the ground. In the next, she was avenging him by taking a life of her own. She couldn't even fathom the anger that had come over her and forced her to kill the mayor. The fury had taken control before she could even comprehend it, and she had given in without a second thought.

After running for a minute, Kait felt a discomfort in her side. She pressed her hand to her skin and felt two, small pieces of metal emerge from her ribs. Her body had pushed out the bullets that the mayor shot into her. Kait threw them away and pressed her fingers against the flesh from which they had emerged. It wasn't even broken.

Now she knew the full extent of her immortality. Mere minutes after being shot, her body could repair itself as if the injury had never even happened.

Unfortunately, her clothes were not so indestructible. Her blouse was soaked in blood and torn to shreds beneath her left breast. Even if she could get far away from the church, she would stand out amidst any crowd. It would only be a matter of time before the police picked her up again.

This was all a disaster. She never wanted to hurt anyone, and now two people were dead. She'd lost the one person she could trust, and now she was back where she started. Except now, the entire city was looking for her.

As Kait got further and further from the church, she saw the police presence in a new light. It seemed like cop cars were on every corner. They were everywhere. Undoubtedly, word of the mayor's murder had reached the police. They were looking for her, and they weren't going to stop until they found her.

Kait didn't know where to go, and she ended up walking back towards St. Louis University Hospital. It was one of the few landmarks she knew it the city, and she hoped that with her bloody shirt she would blend in better among the patients.

A soft drizzle began to fall as she approached the hospital. It soaked her clothes through, and suddenly she became very self conscious about the fact she wasn't wearing a bra. She crossed her arms over her chest, hiding both the curves of her body and the largest of the blood stains.

Once she was in front of the building, Kait thought about how to handle this. Maybe she could sit in the emergency room waiting room for a while, until she had a chance to steal a new shirt or a jacket. By then, maybe the police search would have died down enough for her to walk back to her hotel room. She still had a whole bunch of cash in the briefcase she gave Spencer. Once the sun rose in the morning, she could buy all new clothes and start planning a move to another city.

All of Kait's plans were derailed when someone spotted her. "Kait! You... You came back?"

Kait looked up, towards the entrance of the hospital. Paul Gordon, the resident who helped her escape, was standing near the sliding glass doors.

A deep warmth spread through Kait's face as she realized how awful she looked. She pressed her arms even closer together over her chest. She could feel her hard nipples poking through the wet material of her shirt and she didn't want him to see her so exposed.

"Yeah, some bad things happened," Kait said as Paul approached her. She didn't know a better way to describe her situation.

Paul looked her over. He noticed the blood before he noticed anything else. "What happened to you?" he asked. "Are you okay?"

"I can survive a lot, it turns out," Kait replied. "But there are people after me. Cops."

"Well, I was just going home."

"Go," Kait insisted. The last person who tried to help her ended up dead. She didn't want the same thing to happen to Paul. "I can handle myself."

"Not until I know everything is okay," Paul said. "C'mon, I know a place. Somewhere the cops don't like to go. I don't really understand why, but I never see 'em there. It's really close, but we're going to have to walk in the rain."

Kait smiled. "That's not a problem. I'm already wet." She immediately regretted her choice of words as Paul's eyes went wide. "I mean, I've been out here for a while already."

"Let's go."

Paul motioned for her to follow him. He stepped out under the awning of the emergency room entrance and felt the rain drizzling onto his head. A wince passed across his face, but he shrugged it off. He headed down the street—Grand Avenue—a few blocks. She followed close behind, eying every corner. The police were looking for her, after all.

They reached their destination, a small Korean restaurant called The Seoul Bowl, without incident. Stepping inside, they dried their feet on the mat and found a table near the back of the building.

A pretty young Korean woman with straight, jet-black hair approached to take their drink order. She didn't look to be much older than 18, but she was the only other person in the entire restaurant. Apparently it had an early crowd.

Paul asked for a Coke. The young woman smiled, then gave Kait a knowing wink. Kait looked down at her blouse and realized that it was clinging tightly to her chest. Everything that she'd wanted to hide before was now on full display under the wet cloth.

Her face went red. The waitress just giggled at her and took her order. Once she was gone, Kait crossed her arms over her body once again. To his credit, Paul never seemed to be staring.

"I need a ride downtown," Kait said. "I have a hotel room at the Renaissance. There, I've got money, a credit card, a passport... Everything I need to leave town. Maybe even leave the country."

"Leave the country?" Paul replied. "What happened between when I last saw you and now?"

Kait glanced around the room. They were alone. The waitress was the only other person in the restaurant and she'd gone back to give the cook their orders. "I killed the mayor," Kait said.

"You're kidding."

"No, I'm not."

Paul stared at her. She half-expected him to stand up and walk out. After all, she'd laid a whole lot of drama at his feet for someone she knew for less than a day. Finally, he spoke:

"They're never going to let you get on a plane," he said. "Your picture will be everywhere by morning. The whole city is going to be looking for you. I'd say that you were a dead woman but..."

"...but we both know I can't die."

"You really killed Mayor Levin?"

"I shot him in the head."

"Fuck."

Kait began to explain everything that had happened since they parted ways at the hospital. She left out the more lurid details, and used the mysterious message written in her passport to explain her presence at the church. Paul was enraptured by her story, barely touching his food even as it arrived. Kait, of course, couldn't dig in because she was too busy talking. By the time she got to the part where she actually shot Mayor Levin, the sweet smell of her stir-fried pork was almost overwhelming.

"So he killed this Spencer, and you killed him. Was it revenge?"

"Something like that," Kait replied. She raised an eyebrow at him. "You're taking this awfully well."

Paul forced a smile. "I never liked the mayor," he said. "And it seemed like he was going to be elected again and again until the end of time. You probably did us all a favor."

"You're not freaked out at all?"

"I'm totally freaked out," Paul replied. "But I'm trying to find the silver lining in what might be the weirdest day of my life."

Kait couldn't resist her food any more. She picked up her fork to take a bite and she noticed that there was something written on the underside of her napkin. Carefully flipping it over, she read the secret message:

Come to the bathroom. I can help you escape.

Before Paul could see the words, she spread the napkin out on her lap. She turned her attention to her food, trying to push the strange invitation out of her head. While she was immortal, she sill felt hunger. She needed to eat, and the stir-fried pork was delicious.

The secret message nagged at her as she ate. Someone was trying to communicate with her. Did this person know who or what she was? Could they explain even a little bit about what had happened to her?

Once she approached the end of her meal, Kait excused herself from the table. She peeked around the corner near the restaurant's front counter and found the restrooms. Stepping into the ladies' room, she tried to prepare herself for anything.

"Took you long enough," a soft voice said. The restroom stall furthest from the door swung open. Kait was surprised to see the pretty young waitress standing there, hands clasped behind her back. "I don't like it when people make me wait."

The waitress stepped out of the stall, a thin smile on her face. She walked to the sink and washed her hands. At least she was clean.

"Who are you?" Kait asked. "You wrote that message... What do you want?"

"I want to help you escape," the girl said. "Isn't that enough?"

"Escape from here? I seem pretty safe at the moment. And I don't want to leave Paul without saying anything."

"Yes you do," the girl replied. "It's better for him. It's safer for him if he never sees you again. But you already know that, don't you?"

Kait thought back to Spencer. The only thing he got for helping her was a bullet in the chest. "Who are you?" Kait repeated.

"Silvi Park," the girl told her. "And I can help you. The restaurant is safe for now, but do you really think you're getting back downtown without anyone noticing?"

"You were listening to my conversation?"

"Of course I was," Silvi replied.

"That's comforting."

Silvi motioned towards the door. The sound of sirens howled in the distance. "Do you really want to get him involved? I'll take you somewhere safe."

"Why do you want to help me?" Kait asked.

"My boss wants to talk to you," she answered. "That's it. Just talk. Nothing scary. Nothing bad."

"Who is your boss?"

Silvi rolled her eyes, like she didn't feel like explaining herself. Nevertheless, she tried. "Her name is Christa Xander. She's the CEO of Fractal Capital Management."

"That doesn't mean anything to me."

"You're new in town?"

"I'm new in life."

Silvi grinned mischievously. "That sounds fun."

The sirens were getting louder. Kait heard the screeching of tires outside of the Seoul Bowl. The police had found her, or at least they were closing it.

"What happens to Paul?" Kait asked.

"He's safe as long as he's not connected to you," Silvi replied.

That was enough to convince Kait. She let Silvi lead her out of the bathroom, back behind the counter of the restaurant, and into the kitchen. A single chef stood near the range, and nodded at Silvi as they past. Despite her young age, Silvi seemed to be in charge of the restaurant.

Silvi grabbed Kait's hand as they approached the back of the building. She guided her through the rear exit and through a dark alley. There was a sleek, hot pink motorcycle parked next to the dumpster outside the restaurant. Silvi pulled it away from the wall, unlocked it, and mounted the bike.

"C'mon," she said, motioning to Kait. "Hop on."

Wary, Kait approached the motorcycle. It didn't seem safe, though she was hardly worried about herself. She could survive anything. But what about Silvi?

"Shouldn't you be wearing a helmet?" Kait asked.

Silvi laughed. "You're funny."

Kait cautiously lifted her leg and straddled the back of the bike. The seat was small and she had to press herself against Silvi's back to fit comfortably.

"You can get closer," Silvi said. "I won't bite, unless you ask for it."

Wrapping her arms around Silvi's abdomen, she pulled herself even tighter against the young woman. As if on cue, Silvi started the motorcycle. It shook as it revved up. The seat vibrated, sending a twinge of pleasure between Kait's legs.

Kait felt her knees buckle and she tried to pull away from Silvi. The girl grabbed her hands, keeping them firmly on her stomach.

"Feels good, doesn't it?" Silvi asked.

"I... I don't know," Kait lied. She could feel herself getting wet. Unconsciously, she pressed her hips down into the motorcycle seat.

Silvi felt the motion and giggled. "Yes you do."

Kait leaned in against Silvi's body. She pressed her nose against the girl's hair. She couldn't stop herself. Her experience with Spencer earlier that evening had left her unsatisfied. As soon as she thought of him, she tried to pull away.

"I'm sorry," Kait said.

"No you're not," Silvi replied. She took Kait's hand and guided it further up her chest. "All of your senses are so strong, aren't they? Everything you feel wants to overwhelm you. Don't be afraid of it. Give into it."

Kait wanted to. She nuzzled her mouth against Silvi's neck, kissing the skin between her jaw and her collar bone. Silvi arched back, gasping slightly at the sensation.

"Don't stop," Silvi said. She began to press Kait's hand against her chest, rubbing her right breast through her shirt. Kait rocked her hips on the thrumming motorcycle, letting the vibrations echo through her body.

Silvi shifted her body, turning just enough that her lips could meet Kait's. Kait kissed her hard, lapping at her lips with her tongue. She tasted like nothing Kait had ever experienced before. There was something unnatural about her—something Kait couldn't place, especially in her delirious condition.

Revving the motorcycle, Silvi slipped her tongue into Kait's mouth. Kait gasped, inhaling the intoxicating taste of the young woman. She couldn't help but imagine Silvi kissing her somewhere else. She wanted her skillful mouth between her legs, exploring the dripping wetness that threatened to overwhelm her. The vibration of the motorcycle wasn't enough. No matter how much she grinded into it, it wouldn't take her where she needed to go. She needed Silvi's tongue, though she didn't want to let it slip from between her lips.

Suddenly, they were interrupted by flashing lights. A police car had parked at the edge of the alley and had spotted them.

"I'm sorry," Silvi said, stroking Kait's cheek. "We'll have to continue this later."

With a quick motion, Silvi knocked the kickstand out from underneath the motorcycle. Before Kait could even recover and brace herself, Silvi accelerated out of the alley onto Grand Avenue.

Kait held tight to Silvi as she made a sharp turn towards Downtown St. Louis. She could still feel the tempting vibrations of the bike against her, but they were overwhelmed by the fear of the police cars chasing them. Her heart pounded, but not in the way she wanted.

The streetlights flew past them at blinding speeds. Kait closed her eyes as Silvi weaved between cars to lose the cop cars. She thought she was going to be sick. Going from such pleasure to such terror was very unsettling.

After a few minutes, the sirens grew soft. They were losing their pursuers. Kait opened her eyes. They were downtown. She didn't even want to think about how fast they had to drive to get there.

Silvi pulled the motorcycle over near a large skyscraper. Kait would later learn that it was One Metropolitan Square, the tallest building in St. Louis and the home to the Fractal Capital Management corporation.

"We're here," Silvi said.

Kait perked up her ears. The cops were gone, and she felt like they still had unfinished business. Pushing herself against Silvi's back, she tried to turn the girl around to face her. She wanted to kiss her again. She wanted to taste her again.

"Oh, you are going to be fun," Silvi said, slipping her hand between their lips. "But Christa would kill me if I took any more of your time."

"Just a few minutes..."

"Don't be so spoiled," Silvi teased her. "I can do more for you later... But now, just be happy I got you somewhere the mayor can't reach you."

Kait laughed. "I thought you were listening to my conversation. Apparently you weren't listening well enough. The police are a problem, but the mayor's not. I killed him."

"I wouldn't be so sure."

"Why?"

Silvi dismounted the bike. Kait hated that she was so far away. "Because it's impossible to kill him."

"What?" Kait asked. She knew what was coming, and it already felt like a punch to the stomach. All of her sensual desires disappeared in an instant.

"Mayor Levin is one of us."

Chapter Five

Christa Xander was a dreadfully imposing woman, with dark brown hair that hung around her pale face in long, perfectly-straight chunks. Her black eyes seemed like long tunnels into another, frightful world. She dressed in a sharp burgundy pantsuit that clung to her sinewy, muscular body. Her age was impossible to discern, both because of the heavy makeup caking her face and the singular fact that united her with Kait on this dreary night: Christa Xander was immortal.

She wasn't the only one. Daniel Levin was also an immortal, as was Silvi Park. Pastor Eve Weisz was among their number, and there were two more than Kait had yet to meet. Grant L'Enfant was the chief of police for the city. Thomas Kemp was the leader of the Obshina organized crime family, who ruled over north St. Louis like a separate fiefdom.

Kait didn't feel special any more, though that disappointment was vastly outweighed by relief. She wasn't alone in her strange condition. She was also no longer guilty of murder. That was a nice bonus.

Christa Xander was the CEO of Fractal Capital Management, a private equity firm that incorporated in St. Louis around the same time as the rest of the immortals arrived in the city—ten years ago.

"It has been over a hundred and fifty years since another one of us has turned up," Christa said, staring at Kait with cold eyes. "You can see why you have caused such a stir. I'm sure we all have many questions for you."

Kait fidgeted nervously with her hands. Even though it was better than being outside, running from the police, she didn't feel comfortable in Christa's office. She wished that it was Silvi giving her this talk. The young woman was much more...approachable than the intimidating CEO of Fractal Capital. "I don't know how much help I can be," she replied. "But I'd much rather answer a few questions than be drugged in a hospital room."

Christa smiled. Her teeth seemed sharp. "Rest assured, Miss Selias," she said. "That is not how we operate on this side of the divide. We hold freedom and choice in very high regard."

"Good to hear."

"So, Miss Selias, tell me... What are we? How did this happen to us?"

Kait reeled from the question. Her mind raced as she tried to understand Christa's question. It felt backwards. Christa shouldn't have been asking Kait what she was. It should have been the other way around.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Kait realized the horrible truth: Christa didn't even know what they were. Silvi had promised—or at least suggested—that the Fractal CEO could explain everything. In truth, she was just as clueless as Kait.

"I'm... I'm sorry," Kait said. "But I don't even know who I am, let alone what I am." Christa recoiled, as if stung, and slumped down in her chair. "To be honest, I thought you would be able to tell me what I am."

Christa considered this. She folded her hands in front of her and leaned forward. "We are the last relics from the age of fate," she replied.

Kait raised an eyebrow. Christa's response was poetic, but it didn't really tell her anything. "Is that all you have?"

"Read the books of old and they will talk of God as if he were a tangible force—something that could be felt and heard." Christa stood up. She began to pace around her desk. "Think, Kait, do you feel God in this room? Did you feel him out on the street today? NO! You did not, and that is because he is gone. He has passed from this world, but he has given a select few of us a gift. It is the gift of his memory, and his voice. I remember what it was like to know that God was there—to know that he was real."

Kait was unsettled by Christa's sudden fanatical turn. If she wasn't immortal, she might have been frightened of the powerful woman. As it was, her strange condition gave her surprising courage. "There's a problem with your theory," Kait said. "If we were given immortality to remember God, why have I forgotten everything?"

Christa smiled a sick, twisted smile. "And there is the problem. When I heard about you, Kait Selias, I thought you might be the one we've been waiting for. The one of us who has been hidden since the beginning who could explain what happened two hundred years ago, and what we are meant to do with it."

"Sorry I'm a disappointment," Kait replied.

"You're worse than that. Not only do you lack answers, but you have no message. You cast doubt on the one thing that the six of us were absolutely certain of: that we we are the last messengers of God. We are his final Gospels to the world, destined to spread his word until the end of time. But what word can you teach, Kait?"

Kait's heart began to race. She finally understood what the message in her passport meant. These six immortals—Christa, Silvi, Eve, Grant, Thomas, and Levin—were the Gospels she was supposed to seek out. They believed that they were the messengers of God. That was why they installed themselves in positions of power—CEO, pastor, police chief, mayor—where they could spread their personal ideologies.

While this was all enlightening, it was also frightening. Christa wasn't much different from Mayor Levin. She just had a different ideology. Just like Levin, she saw herself as one of the last of God's messengers left on Earth.

"So I don't know anything. What do you want with me now?" Kait asked. "You wanted to talk, but once you found out I didn't have any answers, you just started yelling at me. Where do we go from here?"

Christa stopped pacing. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. "I am sorry," she said. "It is just that you revived a long-dead hope in my heart. Much like you, I want to know the truth. I want to know what I am, and why I was chosen for this role. I let myself forget that while I may have this one question, you have two hundred years worth of questions for me."

"So, that's how long we've been alive?"

"That is how long we have been immortal," Christa corrected her. "It happened in the year 1803, in the Russian city of Kurgan. I assume the same is true for you, though it is remarkable that it has taken us so long to find you."

Kait met Christa's stare. "Maybe I didn't want to be found," she replied.

"Why are you so hostile?"

"I don't know what you want with me! I don't have the answers you're looking for! But..." As Kait considered her own questions, she began to understand the heart of the matter. She knew why Mayor Levin was so desperate to keep her unconscious. "I think I'm starting to figure it out."

Christa was quick to own up to the truth. "There are three of us who fight for freedom: Silvi, Thomas, and myself. There are three of them: Pastor Eve, Mayor Levin, and Grant L'Enfant. They fight for the oppression of everyone--"

"They probably see it differently."

"Of course they do. They believe they are creating order."

"And you resist that order. How long has this been going on?"

"How long do you think? Since we all met. Since battle lines were drawn. Over a hundred years."

"In St. Louis?"

Christa laughed. "No, of course not," she said. "Eventually, the people would notice that we don't age. We have fought the same battle over the heart of half a dozen cities. Soon, it will be time to move on. One of us will make the first move and begin a new life in a new city. He or she will gather followers, begin forming a center of power. And the rest of us will follow. The balance will be maintained. It always has been."

"Until now."

"You can tip the balance of power, Kait Selias."

Kait was silent. She didn't want to tip the balance of power. She didn't know enough about the situation hold that responsibility. These six people, the self-styled Gospels, had been fighting this battle for over a hundred years. She couldn't be expected to decide between the two sides after only half a day, no matter how much she currently hated Mayor Levin.

"I have to think about this," Kait said. "I can't just...choose. That wouldn't be right."

Christa tightened her jaw. Kait could tell that she was trying to hide her frustration. She wasn't doing a very good job of it. "I see," Christa replied. "Even after everything that happened today, you're not willing to fight against the city government."

"I... I don't know," Kait replied. Her mind was filled with all sorts of confusion. She didn't know how she fit in this strange world. And as much as she hated Mayor Levin, she couldn't shake the feeling that Christa Xander wasn't much better.

Taking a deep breath Krista walked over to her desk. She opened the top drawer and reached inside. "I wish I could just let you go," she said. "But you have to understand what I am thinking. If you make the wrong choice, everything I have worked the last two hundred years to accomplish will disappear."

Kait stood up. She wanted to leave. She wanted to go back to her hotel room but she suspected it wouldn't be that simple. "So, what are you going to do?"

Christa looked up at Kait and narrowed her dark eyes. "God has made me his Gospel of Pandemonium, and I will do whatever it takes to spread his word." She pulled a tablet computer out of her desk. "Join me or face the consequences."

Tapping the power button, Christa slid the tablet across the desk. Kait picked it up. It flickered to life. The screen displayed a camera feed from outside One Metropolitan Square. Police cars surrounded the building. Cops were stationed around the vehicles. They crouched behind their vehicles and hid behind open doors, guns drawn.

One man stood away from cover, near the back of the blockade. He was tall and he wore a long, tan coat. He had a shock of brown hair. Even from the distant camera feed, Kait could see that there was something odd about his face. The upper left side of his face was swollen. His left eye was pale and ghostly.

"That's Grant L'Enfant, isn't it?" Kait asked, pointing at the eerie figure.

Christa nodded. "The chief of police himself. The government knows you're here, and they're willing to start a war."

"They're just going to attack the building?"

"It's happened before."

"And people die?"

"It is unavoidable."

As if on cue, Kait noticed movement on the corner of the screen, inside the building. There were people mobilizing to fight the police if they decided to storm One Metropolitan Square. Some of them were well dressed, in flashy suits and well groomed. But others wore jeans and t-shirts, sweat pants and St. Louis Cardinals jerseys. They were disorganized, but they all had something in common: these men and women were members of the Obshina. They were organized crime—gangsters led by their boss and Gospel Thomas Kemp.

Kait stared at the battle lines as they formed up on either side of the building. She could hardly believe what she was seeing. All of these people—Obshina and police alike—were ready to give their lives for their Gospels. "Why do they follow you?" she asked.

Christa looked at Kait in disbelief. "You do not even understand that? You are more dangerous than I believed."

"I guess you have to tell me."

Picking up the tablet computer, Christa sat on the desk across from Kait. "The Gospels are not just immortal, we have another...power. We speak with the vox dei, the Voice of God."

"...and?"

"When we speak, mortals listen. They are compelled to follow us. We can manipulate them. Guide them. And if we must, we can use them to whatever end we desire."

Kait leaned over. She felt like she was going to be sick. Her stomach lurched and threatened to betray her as she realized what she'd done.

This was why everyone was so eager to help her. The Gospels were capable of mind control. They could bend the will of regular men and women, forcing them to obey their wishes.

It was why Paul Gordon pulled her out of anesthesia and risked his job to free her from Mayor Levin. It was why Spencer Smith took her money, but dutifully returned it. It was why he betrayed his wife to succumb to her desire. Ultimately, it was the reason he was dead.

"But I never spoke," Kait said. "I don't think I asked anyone for help..." She couldn't remember what she said to Spencer before her fall, but she'd never explicitly ordered him to assist her today.

"You don't have to," Christa explained. "They want to follow us. God is dead and they want something to believe in. We give them meaning and they believe in us."

"No... No, it can't be..."

Christa tried to comfort her. She placed her hand on Kait's shoulder. "This is why you have to choose, Miss Selias. You must have an ideology. You must have a gospel to spread. Otherwise... You are dangerous. You will lead the world astray."

Kait shook her head. "No!" she shouted. "I don't want to lead anyone. I can't lead anyone. I don't remember anything."

"You're too late."

Christa forced the tablet computer towards Kait. There was a new figure on the camera feed. It was a young man that Kait instantly recognized: Paul Gordon. He was there, at One Metropolitan Square."

"No..."

"He followed you. He came for you. Whether you like it or not, he believes in you."

For now, Paul was standing behind the lines of cops surrounding the building. But, ever so slowly he dared to approach. It wouldn't be long before he worked up the courage to break through and then...

"Join us, and we will protect him."

"What?"

Christa pulled the tablet away so Kait could no longer watch Paul's approach. "Mayor Levin killed your friend Mr. Smith because Mayor Levin kills anyone who discovers our immortality. He is afraid of the chaos that would follow from our discovery. I am not. While I would never reveal myself... I am very curious what would happen."

"You're curious?" Kait asked, incredulous.

"It would be chaos. We would finally have to stand up for ourselves against them. So yes, I'm curious." Christa sighed. "But none of that matters right now. Your friend down there won't tell anyone about us. There's no reason for anyone to kill him, but Mayor Levin doesn't care for reason. If you decide to support us, we'll make sure he makes it out of this alive."

This didn't comfort Kait. It just made her angrier. "Chaos? Order? I don't even know the choice I'm making!"

"Yes you do. Freedom or domination. Life or death, for your poor friend."

"This... This is extortion," Kait said. "You're such a hypocrite, giving me this fucked up false choice."

"I do what I have to do," Christa replied.

Kait glared at her. "So do I." She pushed past the intimidating woman and towards the door. The elevators down to the lobby weren't far away. She just had to make it...

"Where the hell are you going?" Christa asked as Kait stormed out of the office.

"If it makes you feel better, you can tell yourself that I chose freedom. I just did it my own way. I'm going to save Paul on my own."

Chapter Six

The elevator ride down to the lobby of One Metropolitan Square felt like the longest thirty seconds of Kait's life. She kept waiting for someone to stop her. It would be fairly trivial for Christa to halt the elevator car, forcing her back into the same awful choice between swearing allegiance to the Fractal CEO and watching Paul die.

To Christa's credit, she did no such thing. She stayed true to the principles she claimed to espouse, and allowed Kait to create her own solution to this dilemma.

With a lurch, the elevator car came to a stop on the first floor. The door slid open, and Kait found herself confronted with at least a dozen armed men. They wore makeshift body armor around their street clothes. No uniforms, no badges, nothing... They were Obshina gang members, the foot soldiers of the organized crime family that dared stand up to Mayor Levin's iron-fisted regime.

Their presence in the lobby of the office building would have seemed odd to Kait if she didn't already know that Obshina was in bed with Fractal Capital. The Obshina were just another arm of the Gospels, and Kait was about to find herself face to face with their leader.

"What the hell are you doing down here?" A voice barked. Kait looked to her side to see the man who addressed her. He was tall—at least a few inches over six feet—with skin the color of smooth dark chocolate. Unlike the Obshina footsoldiers, he didn't wear any armor. Instead, his muscular body was wrapped in a tight gray t-shirt and jeans. Kait could see every sharp edge of his form, and couldn't help but feel intrigued. But she knew who he was.

He was the only person in the foyer without a bulletproof vest. He was the Gospel Thomas Kemp. "I'm going outside. I don't care what your leader says, I'm going to save Paul on my own...without your help."

Thomas laughed. "Christa Xander is not my leader," he said. "We merely have a common enemy. He is your enemy, too, and it would be advisable for you to make friends with us, at least for the time being."

"Maybe I will, maybe I won't," Kait replied. "But I don't like how anyone is treating me right now."

"If you go outside, the cops will fire on you. Paul will be caught in the crossfire. The only thing keeping him alive right now is that Police Chief L'Enfant thinks that he may lure you out."

"And you think the best way to keep him alive is to prostrate myself before you, accept your protection, and let you go get him."

Thomas shook his head. "I don't want you to prostrate yourself before anyone," he said. "We have not been properly introduced... My name is Thomas Kemp. I am the boss of the St. Louis Obshina."

"And you're a Gospel," Kait replied. "What do you preach?"

"Liberty," Thomas said.

Kait laughed. "Just like Christa, you're a hypocrite. You claim to be the Gospel of Liberty, but you use the vox dei to command all these people to do your bidding. I know you want to help, but I have to admit... At least the mayor's side is internally consistent."

Thomas bristled at her words. "You have no idea what you are talking about," he grunted. "I don't use the vox dei."

"You... You don't?" Kait had some trouble believing this. She had managed to use the mysterious power of the Gospels without even trying. Paul was compelled to help her even when she was unconscious. Spencer followed her orders to keep her money safe even though he thought she was dead.

"It would go against everything I believe in," Thomas said.

"You can just...turn it off? How?"

Thomas gritted his teeth. He seemed annoyed by Kait's questions. "It takes practice," he replied. "It is easy to project your desires onto others. It is difficult to stop. But it is possible."

For just a moment, Kait felt a certain respect for one of the Gospels. Thomas seemed like a decent person. That was a lot more than she could say for Christa or Mayor Levin.

"Then you must think all of this is horrible," Kait said. "Christa is forcing me to join her. Isn't that... Don't you want to help me?"

Thomas shook his head. "I can't help you," he replied. "You can only help yourself. If I were to go and rescue your friend on my own, you'll never learn the responsibility that comes with your power."

"Yes I will!" Kait objected. "I will totally learn. I've already learned."

"No you haven't," Thomas replied. "You are trying to use the vox dei on me right now." He narrowed his eyes and glared at Kait. "It doesn't work on other Gospels."

Kait stopped short. She felt a slight, tingling sensation near the center of her forehead—something she didn't fully understand yet—and she knew that he was right. Unconsciously, she was attempting to manipulate him. She was using her power to push him towards helping her.

"I'm sorry..."

Thomas looked her up and down. She felt like his eyes were tracing every inch of her body. It sent a shiver up her spine. Even now, she couldn't deny that he was an attractive man.

"What do you believe in, Miss Selias?"

"I don't know," Kait replied. "That's the problem. I haven't had time... I've been awake less than twenty-four hours. Everything is so much right now."

"Our senses are stronger than theirs," Thomas replied. "I remember when it happened. The lights became brighter. The scents became stronger. The sensations..."

Kait understood what he meant. She could still vividly recall the intensity of the colors when the drugs wore off, and still felt the vibrations of Silvi's motorcycle between her legs. Her senses threatened to overwhelm her in every moment. "It's not so bad, is it?" Kait asked.

"I never said it was," Thomas replied. "But do not be caught up in such things. We are here for a reason, and our condition is as much of a punishment as it is a reward. I didn't even understand the extent of it until almost three years later, when I was pushed into the ocean and woke up three weeks later on the shore of a land I'd never even visited."

"You didn't know you were immortal until three years after it happened?" Kait asked. "How did you figure out when it occurred? Christa gave me an exact date and time. How--"

Thomas began to walk towards the doors leading out onto the street. Squinting, Kait, could see Paul standing on the steps. He was staring up at the building, as if he was considering coming inside. Kait knew that would be bad. Like Thomas said, he was only being kept alive as bait.

"The man out there—not your friend, but the police chief—was shot in the head on the night it happened. He suffered a terrible injury that, if he was already a Gospel, would have healed within minutes. If he did not become a Gospel within a short time after sustaining the injury, he would have surely died. We were all in the city of Kurgan on that night. Once we all met each other, it was easy to piece together."

"You think I was there, too?"

"It only makes sense. But... Who knows? Maybe whatever happened that night happened elsewhere as well."

This was almost too much for Kait. She thought back to the message scrawled on the inside of her passport. Weren't the Gospels supposed to answer her questions? It seemed like they were just as confused as her. They been alive for hundreds of years, and they still didn't know what they were.

"So, what kind of injury was it?" Kait asked. "What happened to Grant L'Enfante?"

"He was shot in the face," Thomas said bluntly. "When we became... When we were transformed into Gospels, our bodies were preserved. If injured, they will be reformed just how they were on that night. For him, that means he will always have that bullet in his head. Right behind his left eye."

Kait remembered the video feed from outside the building. She'd seen his ghostly eye, and now shuddered knowing the reason for the deformity. "So, that's what I'm dealing with?"

Thomas chuckled. "If you go out there, they will shoot. They will kill him and incapacitate you. We can't die, but we sure as shit can be knocked out for a few minutes."

"So what's my other option? Give in to Christa? Pledge my allegiance to Fractal and--"

"Stop using the vox dei. Stop calling to him and hope that he walks away and never thinks of you again."

Kait glanced through the glass. It was dark enough on the outside that he wouldn't be able to see her from the steps, but she could watch him. "How? How do I do it?"

"You want him to go away, don't you?"

"I..." Paul was now circling around the side of the building, trying to find another way in. The front doors were locked, on order from Christa. He looked so lost. "I'll never see him again. If I let go of him now--"

"Then you've already killed him," Thomas snorted. "If you cannot control your selfishness, you will never control the vox dei."

As if on cue, Paul found a door that wasn't locked. Kait's heart started to race. The police outside began to move to that side of the building. At least for the moment, they didn't have a reason to shoot him.

Grant would find a reason. He would use the vox dei to convince the police under his command that Paul had a weapon, or that he was a threat, or just that the world needed him dead. It didn't matter what suggestion Grant would use. The police would follow it, just as surely as Paul had followed Kait downtown.

There was only one thing that Grant wasn't counting on. He wasn't the only one with the vox dei.

Kait rushed to the door to meet Paul before he could come inside. Thomas reached out to stop her, but he was too slow. She ran across the foyer of the building and pulled the door open. Then she grabbed Paul and spun him around. She tried to position him behind her, so that she was the once facing the who were moving into position.

"We're unarmed!" Kait shouted as loud as she could. She could feel the strange tingling sensation between her eyes and she knew she was using the vox dei. The police would hear her words and they would believe her. Throwing her hands above her head, she tried to surrender. "We don't want to hurt anyone! We just want to go home."

A few of the police officers near the edge of the street lowered their weapons. It was working. Surely, Thomas would not approve of this strategy. He had no left her much choice. She didn't want to push Paul away. Paul was the closest thing she had in this world to a friend, even if she barely knew him.

"What are you doing?" Paul muttered. "Is this about the Mayor? I thought you said you killed him, but he was on a news broadcast just a few minutes ago."

Kait turned and narrowed her eyes. "What am I doing?" she said. "What are you doing here? Did you follow me?"

"You just left me at the restaurant. I had to see where you were going."

I had to see. Kait wanted to be sick. She'd compelled Paul to come after her. Just because she wanted to see him, just because she liked him...

Kait grabbed his arm. "You're in danger," she said. "I don't have time to explain, but it should be really fucking obvious if you just open your eyes."

"The police?"

"They aren't here to protect you. They're after me."

Paul's eyes went wide. It was like he never thought to consider that the cops were a danger to him. He'd walked through their blockade without a fear in the world. "They... They're after you?"

"I told you: I shot the mayor."

"You said that you killed the mayor."

"I also said that I didn't have time to explain."

Behind Kait, the police officers readied their weapons again. They were confused. They only had a vague idea of why they surrounded One Metropolitan Square, and Kait's use of the vox dei left them ill-at-ease.

"Stop right there!" a voice shouted. "Don't move or we'll shoot."

Kait spun around and faced them. "You don't want to shoot," she hissed. Her voice cut through the night and buried itself deep in the minds of the police officers surrounding the building. It was the first time she'd ever intentionally used the vox dei to command someone, and she was shocked by the result.

Almost in unison, all of the cops lowered their weapons. It was like they were hypnotized. Kait had them completely under her control. All she had to do was speak.

Turning her attention back to Paul, she tried to reign in her seductive power. She didn't want to control him in the same way. He was her friend. He deserved better than that. Still, she needed him to leave so that she could handle this without risking his life.

"Go!" Kait hissed. "Get out of here, while you still have a chance."

Paul gulped. Sweat was beading up around his forehead. Kait couldn't tell whether she'd used the vox dei on him, or if he was merely frightened by the situation. Either way, he wanted to leave One Metropolitan Square. Unfortunately, it was not so simple.

A trembling voice came from the darkness beyond the police cars. Several of the streetlights across the street were burnt out, allowing the police chief to hide under the cover of night He stepped forward, onto the road, and smiled at Kait.

Grant L'Enfant might have been a handsome man, if not for his monstrous eye. The left side of his face was permanently swollen, like a healing injury. His eye was pure white, save for a few crimson blood vessels running along the surface.

As he spoke, Kait could feel his presence in her head. He was attempting to control her. Just like she'd accidentally done to Thomas, he tried to manipulate her with the vox dei. And just like with Thomas, it didn't work. It just made Kait angrier.

"Let us go!" Kait shouted. "I'm not going to decide anything tonight."

Grant continued to approach the building, staring at Kait with his hollow eye. "You are so confused," he replied. "Stand down. Come with me. And I will teach you how the world works."

Paul snapped out of his daze. He stepped towards Grant, glaring at him. "She doesn't have to go with you if she doesn't want to!"

A smile spread across Grant's face. He turned to look at Paul, but never addressed him. His attention was not divided. He still focused entirely on Kait, barely observing the man with a hint of disdain. "You really have this one trained, don't you?"

Kait felt sick to her stomach. The only reason Paul was trying to stand up for her was the vox dei. He was going to get himself killed, just like Spencer, because she couldn't control her power. Unlike the other Gospels, she didn't know how to focus it and use it to lead people towards a cause. She just strong-armed them into helping her, even when she didn't know what she wanted.

"No!" Kait said. She glanced at Paul. "You have to leave."

"That's right," Grant hissed. He continued to grin at them both. "Give in. Use your power. Use it to save his life. You realize that's what you have to do, right? Drive him away."

"What's he talking about?'

Kait bit her lip. How could she begin to explain this? Grant wanted her to actively use the vox dei to send Paul away. She could do it. She could overwhelm his free will entirely, in the same way she'd forced some of the police officers to momentarily stand down.

Why? Why did he want that? If Paul ran away, Grant would lose all of his leverage. Shooting Kait wouldn't accomplish much of anything, as they were both well aware. Maybe he could knock her unconscious with enough bullets to the head, but he seemed to be playing at something else.

"Teach him," Grant said. "School him in the truth. Show him what you are. Then he will know the truth."

"I don't want to hurt him," Kait replied.

"You already have. He is confused. Confusion is distress. You've made him afraid. Fear is agony. He wants you. Desire is pain."

Paul tried to interject. "Would both of you stop talking like I'm not here?"

"You are lucky, my fragile friend. Life is suffering," Grant replied. He brought his left hand up to his face. His fingers traced the edge of his ghostly eye. "Every day. Every hour. Every minute. The rest of the world has it so easy. For them, it will eventually end. For us... We will always suffer."

Paul's eyes went wide. "Us?" he gasped. "You... You're immortal, too?"

Grant nodded. "It took you long enough to figure it out. Unfortunately, that means that we have to kill you now. You will not be the one learning my lesson today. It will be Miss Selias. She will learn that the affection she feels for you is just a prelude to agony."

Dread fell over Kait as she realized that Grant was telling the truth. This was why Mayor Levin really killed Spencer. It wasn't to punish Kait. It wasn't to send a message. It was because he knew. No one in St. Louis knew that many of the city's major institutions—the government, the police, the church, the gangs, the business sector—were controlled by the Gospels.

If the truth came out, not even the vox dei would be able to save the immortal rulers of the city. Everyone would want a piece of them. They would be captured. They would be separated. They would be experimented on, until the even greater powers of the world figured out the secret to their immortality. And that was a secret that had already lasted two hundred years.

Maybe Christa was curious about open warfare against the Gospels, but the rest of them were not. They would do anything to prevent being found out. Now that Paul knew, he was a dead man. And he was beginning to realize that, paralyzed just a few feet behind her.

Kait wanted to tell him to be calm, but she was afraid that he would listen to her. She desperately didn't want to use the vox dei on him anymore and, until she could control it, she thought it would be better to avoid giving him any instructions.

Her eyes scanned the street. The police still had their weapons trained on her and Paul. There had to be another way out of this. She needed them to focus on her. She could handle herself. As long as he had a chance to run, everything would be fine.

She had to do something to draw their attention. She had to scare them enough to make them forget about Paul. Then she had to hope that he would know to run.

"That's it, isn't it?" Kait asked stepping closer to Grant. "That's your Gospel? That's what you teach? Pain. Suffering. Misery."

The skin under Grant's eye twitched, but he never stopped smiling. "It is what I know."

"Sounds like a shitty gospel to me," Kait snarled. Before Grant could react, she lowered her shoulder and slammed her body into his chest. She felt him double over as the breath was knocked from his lungs. Grabbing the fabric of his shirt, she pulled the police chief to the ground.

Rolling over on her back, Kait noticed that he plan had worked. Suddenly, every police officer on the street was focused on her. They all had their guns trained on her and Grant as they fought. None of them would dare pull the trigger. They didn't know that Grant was immortal.

"Go!" Kait shouted at Paul. "Get out of the city. Don't come back!" She didn't care about using the vox dei anymore. She just wanted to save his life.

Grant wrapped his long fingers around Kait's neck and began to choke her. He was bigger than her, but his frame was thin and wiry. If she tried, she could overpower him. It wasn't like he could really stop her from breathing.

Kicking her legs against the ground, Kait pushed Grant off of her. She twisted her torso around, freeing her arm, and elbowed him in the ribs. He tried to stand up and get away from her, but Kait was too fast. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him back. Yanking his hand behind his back, she wrapped her wright arm around his neck. Even though he was several inches taller than her, she managed to wrestle him down to a crouching position so that she could use him as a human shield.

As Kait tightened her arm, she realized that his neck was more fragile than she expected, and that she was stronger than she thought. It wouldn't take much to snap his spine. That wouldn't kill him, but perhaps it would put him out of commission for long enough to get Paul to safety.

Then she had a better idea.

"No one move!" Kait shouted to the police officers. "Or I kill him. Let Paul go. Then you can take me wherever you want."

The cops immediately started to lower their weapon. The situation, combined with the power of the vox dei, was enough to fully overpower them. They were compelled to give in to her demands and, for just a moment, it looked like Kait had won. Paul would have the time he needed to leave. Then she could deal with whatever came next.

"You think you are so smart," Grant rasped. "But you still have so much to learn. This will be a mess to clean up, but I will make sure that you know the pain of loss."

"Shut up!" Kait tried to close his throat with her arm to keep him from speaking, but it was not enough.

"Just shoot the boy!" Grant yelled at the police. "Forget about me. Kill him!"

Grant had been using the vox dei on the St. Louis PD for over seven years. They expected it. They knew how to follow him, and his orders took precedence over everything else—even the power Kait tried to exert over them moments before, and even the threat to Grant's own life.

Like programmed automatons, the officers stationed on the street raised their weapons. In unison, they aimed at Paul.

Kait didn't know what to do. Killing Grant now wouldn't accomplish anything. She threw him to the ground and ran towards Paul. What did she think she was going to do? Shield him from the bullets? Even if she could reach him in time, protecting him was impossible.

The first gunshot rang out. Kait spun towards the police, throwing her arm out. "No!" she shouted, as if she thought her vox dei could win out and save Paul at the last moment.

But what could a voice, no matter how powerful, do against a bullet?
Chapter Seven

Another officer fired. Then another. The air was filled with the thunderous sound of gunshots as every police officer on the street unloaded on Paul. Grant had filled his command with so much power that even their common sense was overwhelmed. They did not stop with a few shots, or even when they finished their clips. They reloaded and they kept shooting, the vox dei still ringing in their ears.

Kait closed her eyes and waited to feel the hot sting of the bullets against her skin. She was close enough to Paul that some of the errant gunfire would inevitably hit her. Ultimately, she wanted to feel it. She needed this to hurt.

Nothing happened. While Kait braced herself for pain, not a single bullet struck her body. She opened her eyes and gasped.

The air was full of bullets, but they were frozen mere inches from her hand. Hundreds of small metal rounds, still spinning in place, dotted the space between Kait and the police officers.

Kait stared at her hand. She didn't know how it was possible, but she was sure of what she saw. She'd stopped the gunfire. She prevented a single bullet from going past her.

Her eyes darted to Grant, who was only now recovering from her attack. His mouth hung open and he stared at Kait as she continued to hold the gunfire in her hands.

"This isn't something you or the others can do, is it?" Kait asked. Grant didn't even move. He was too terrified. That was the only answer she needed.

Suddenly, Kait felt a surge of anger. Why was she still asking this man questions? He'd tried to kill Paul. He'd tried to exploit her affection for him by putting his life in danger. She didn't need to defer to him. Now she was more powerful than anything he'd imagined.

Kait closed her hand into a fist. With a flick of her wrist, she let go of her hold on the frozen bullets. She cast them back at at the police, before realizing that they were blameless in all of this. With a quick mental correction, she directed the bullets into their cars and the surrounding streetlights.

Sparks and glass rained down upon the street. Everything went dark. The cops panicked, unable to even comprehend what they'd witnessed. Kait had stopped every one of their shots in mid-air and sent them flying back. They were terrified. They had every right to be. Even Kait didn't understand what she'd done.

It was only a matter of time before Grant figured out that Kait was just as confused as him. She had no idea how she stopped the bullets and certainly wasn't sure she could do it again if she had to. She needed to escape.

Kait ran up the stairs and grabbed Paul's hand. "Come on," she said. "Let's get out of here." As soon as she had a firm grip on him, she took off away from One Metropolitan Plaza. She didn't know where she was going, but anywhere was safer than in front of that building.

Her legs moved faster than she expected, and she had to slow down to make sure Paul could keep up with her. It made a certain sort of sense that she would be somewhat faster and stronger than most people. Her muscles wouldn't tear, and her bones wouldn't break as easily as those of a normal person.

Once Kait and Paul were a few blocks away from the skyscraper, she found and alley and ducked inside. They would be after her before long, and she had to make sure they were hidden somewhere they couldn't be found. Then they could go back to her hotel room, pick up her things, and... And Kait didn't know what was next.

"What was that?" Paul asked as soon as they slowed down enough for him to talk. They headed into the alley carefully, with Kait watching every door they passed. "Did you do that?"

"I don't know," Kait replied. "I think so. Probably. It must have been me but... I'm not sure what that means." As they reached the center of the alley, Kait turned on him. "Why didn't you run? I told you to run."

Paul shook his head. "What happened back there... I wasn't going to miss that. You stopped those bullets with your mind. That was amazing."

"I didn't know that was going to happen!" Kait exclaimed. "You certainly didn't!"

He rubbed his head. "Yeah... Maybe I wasn't thinking clearly, but I knew I couldn't run away. What I just saw changes everything. Everything about the world is different now--everything that everyone thinks that they know, and I was there to witness it. I'm the only one who knows."

Kait looked at him like he was insane. "You're right, and now the mayor's office is going to want to kill you for that knowledge. Maybe Fractal Capital and the Obshina, too. They have just as much to lose."

The reality of this started to sink into Paul. His shoulders slumped. "I'm not going to be able to tell anyone about any of this, am I?"

"Probably not a good idea."

"But think of the journals!" Paul exclaimed. "I could be published anywhere I decided to submit. Immortality... Telekinesis.... Right under our noses."

"You left out mind control," Kait said.

"Mind control?"

Paul still didn't know about the vox dei. Kait shouldn't have been surprised. While she'd used it in front of him and on him, the power didn't manifest itself in such a dramatic fashion. "Never mind," Kait said.

In an instant, Paul forgot that she'd said anything about mind control, leaving her with a pang of guilt. She needed to figure out a way to control her power. She seemed to use it unconsciously, without thinking, but when she tried to command Paul to save his own life earlier, it had failed to work.

A few minutes later, a series of police cars zoomed down the street outside. Undoubtedly, they were chasing after Kait. The whole city would be looking for her. No matter what she was going to do next, she would have to be careful.

Once the cars were gone, Kait and Paul exited the alley. As it turned out, they were only a couple blocks from the hotel where Kait had her things. They hurried through the lobby, hoping no one would notice them. Kait still had blood on her torn shirt, and surely stood out in a crowd.

Reaching her room, Kait was reluctant to invite Paul inside. She could still remember what happened with Spencer just inside the door. She'd screwed everything up, and she didn't want to do the same thing to Paul. The feelings she had for him were different than the confused lust she felt for Spencer... Even if she could guarantee his safety, she wasn't sure she wanted to go down the same path.

"Listen, I don't know where we go from here," Kait said, turning to face him before she entered the room. "I dragged you into this, so I feel... Responsible. But I can't help but think that the longer you're around me, the more danger you're in."

Paul sighed. "You haven't heard a word I've been saying this whole time, have you?" he asked. "Whatever all of this is—whatever you are—I want to be a part of this." Suddenly, he blushed and looked away, as if that wasn't exactly what he meant to say. "Everything that's happened today is a hundred times more exciting than anything else that's happened in my life... Or that I'd ever expect to happen. Even if I had a choice, I couldn't just walk away from this."

Kait smiled. It felt good to think that Paul had reasons other than the vox dei to be around her. Even if it was just scientific curiosity or thrill-seeking, it was better than the Gospel's insidious mind control.

"That doesn't answer my question," Kait said. "Where do we go from here? If you really want to help, I need it. I don't know this city. I don't know this world... How do we hide out from them?"

Paul considered this. "They probably know who I am, so you can't just come back to my apartment... We need to find a place of our own, at least until things die down."

"I've got plenty of cash," Kait replied. "Should be enough to last us for several months, if we need it. Hopefully we don't."

A grin appeared on Paul's face. "Good! We're really going to do this!" He looked down at her for a moment. His hand raised to caress her cheek and he leaned towards he. He was going to kiss her.

Kait pulled away from him. "No," she said. "No, we can't..."

"Oh... So you're not--"

"It's not that!" Kait exclaimed. She knew what he was going to say, and he was wrong. Kait was very attracted to him. She wanted more than anything than to grab him and pin him against the wall. Her mind was filled with all of the ways she wanted to use him. But she couldn't... Not until she could reign in her power.

Kait couldn't limit the vox dei yet, but she could control how she benefited from it. She wasn't going to coerce anyone else into sex, no matter how much her body ached to be touched.

These desires weren't going to end. She remembered what Silvi said. The Gospels experienced sensation much stronger than mortal humans. They were live wires, attuned to every nerve in their undying bodies. She would want it. She would even need it, but she would have to abstain. Kait wasn't going to hurt anyone else.

"Let's just take it slow," Kait said. "I... I still don't know what I am. I still don't know what I can do. Aren't you frightened of me?"

"No," Paul said. He leaned in for another kiss. Again Kait had to rebuff him, backing further into the hall. This time he got the message.

"Slow," he continued. "I can take it slow."

"Good," Kait replied. She unlocked the door to her hotel room and stepped inside. Everything was just how she left it. Even the faint scent of her desire lingered in the air near the doorway, where Spencer had rested his hand after he pleasured her. She hoped that this was just because of her heightened senses, and that Paul couldn't discern it.

Kait hurried away from the door. She didn't want to think about Spencer anymore. He was gone. As long as she stopped herself from making the same mistakes, she could put him out of her mind.

Pulling the suitcase out from under the bed, Kait opened it. She showed Paul the money that she had, as well as the few documents she'd left herself before jumping off the top floor of the courthouse. As she organized everything, her fingers stopped on the her passport. She opened it up and looked inside.

Find the Gospels. Then you will understand.

"This is the one message I left myself," Kait explained.

"What does it mean?"

Kait shrugged. "I don't know. We call ourselves the Gospels. Christa, Thomas, Silvi, Eve, Grant, and Mayor Levin... And me. We're the Gospels."

"You sure you're the same as them?" Paul asked. "Grant seemed surprised that you could stop those bullets."

He was right. Kait wasn't like the other Gospels. She didn't find them in the years immediately after the Kurgan event. She had no ideology. She had a mysterious power that seemed to go beyond the vox dei they used to control the men and women around them. Maybe Kait wasn't a Gospel. While they were immortal, they didn't really provide any answers to her existence.

"I don't know," Kait said. "I still don't know what I am."

Epilogue

"She stopped the bullets in mid-air?" Daniel Levin asked. He sat in his warm, leather chair in his office at City Hall. Police Chief L'Enfante and Pastor Eve stood in front of him. In theory, they were his subordinates. He was the first of them to arrive in St. Louis. He was the one who established their base of power. "In over two hundred years, I have not even heard of anything like that."

Grant curled his lip as he considered the situation. "She's not one of us," he said. "That much I'm sure of. She's something worse. A destabilizing agent. Christa and her lackeys must be thrilled. She will send this city into chaos."

"Don't be so sure," Eve interjected. "Maybe she's the one we've been looking for all this time. Maybe she's the one who made the rest of us like we are."

"All the more reason to hate her," Grant spat.

Daniel held up a hand, staying Grant's fury. "Calm yourself, my friend," he said. "Keep your emotions in check. As soon as we give into our hate, Christa has already won. We must stay strong. We must stay disciplined, and approach these new developments with a measure of caution."

Eve glared at Mayor Levin. "You're being a hypocrite," she replied. "If you hadn't shot that man in my church, we might not even be here. We might have convinced her to join us, and we might be celebrating our victory over the forces of chaos right now."

"He knew about us," Daniel snapped.

"And now another does," Eve said. "This boy she saved... He knows what we are. Nothing has changed."

"I will remember my mistakes, but I will not repeat them. You are right. I was wrong to shoot that man. We need to tread more cautiously with this girl."

Grant shifted uncomfortably. "And where do we go from here? She has humiliated us. She needs to suffer for what she has done."

"She can stop a hundred bullets and send them screaming back at our police," Daniel said. "What do you suggest we do that doesn't put us in a worse position? I think we need to stop thinking about hurting her and start thinking about apologizing to her."

"Apologize?" Grant leaned forward and slammed his fist into Daniel's desk. "Do you know what I've been through? I had to convince a dozen men that everything they witnessed tonight was some kind of hallucination. I had to dance around the truth, to keep them from discovering the truth about her... Let alone the truth about us. She threatens everything we have worked for and you thinking we should--"

"I think we should be careful," Daniel said, interrupting Grant. "Kait Selias changes everything, and we have to adapt. She would be a powerful ally."

"And a dangerous enemy," Grant noted.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now... She is our friend. And we will treat her as such. We will hope that Christa's people will make the mistake of turning against her. Maybe we can bring her into the fold."

"What if we can't?" Eve asked.

"Then we find a way to destroy her," Mayor Levin said. "Before she can destroy us."

Cover Credits

Cover Design by Jayden Woods- http://storykween.deviantart.com/

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