Free The Seventh Immortal (Hearts of Amaranth #1) by J.M. Parry Page B

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