Immortal

Seed In The Fire

Chapter 4

An hour after the sky had completely darkened, the crackles of a fire were the only sounds that reverberated in the night. Nicholas solemnly waited for his companion to meet with him at the place they agreed. He feared more and more the upcoming release date of the Philosopher's stone, and it worried him that Aemilius had shown no concern for the negative outcomes that could possibly arise with its consumption by every individual on the planet. Not long later did Aemilius arrive, wrapped in bundled layers of clothing and an extra blanket in his hand.

"No sweater, Nick?" Aemilius pointed out as he observed Nicholas shivering.

"That's what I have you for," Nicholas responded, eyeing the blanket. Aemilius threw Nicholas the blanket, covered himself, and found alleviation from the cold. "My Knight in shining armor," Nicholas teased.

"Yeah, yeah," Aemilius said, sitting next to Nicholas. He opened his palms to the warmth of the fire, carefully stealing glances at Nicholas.

"Times change..." Nicholas said after some time, "...and yet, the fire still burns the same."

"How we keep the fire going is the challenge," Aemilius replied, clasping his ears with the newly gained warmth.

"Aemil, listen to me," Nicholas beckoned, "We need to stop Levi from releasing the stone."

"You know we can't do that. It's already too late. All the containers have been shipped out," Aemilius argued. Frankly, he was annoyed at Nicholas. "What's the matter, Nick? Ever since the night of the TED Talk, you've been acting out of character."

"It's nothing, Aemil."

"If it was nothing, you wouldn't have had me drag myself out here in the cold, away from all the technology, just to come and talk to you."

"It's... it's just that... the world is going to change. Everyone will be like us now." A twinge of sadness vocalized through Nicholas' voice.

"But that's good! Everyone will be able to have all the time in the world to do what they want! Isn't that what we wanted?" Aemilius asked, taking Nicholas' hands in his own. Tears rolled off Nicholas' cheeks as he slammed their hands onto Aemilius' lap.

"No! That's what you wanted! I wanted us to be the only ones with this gift. Now, we'll have to see the same faces everywhere we go."

"Come on, Nick. You know that's not fair to the world. We have something special that can not only prolong life, but heal them," Aemilius tried to persuade. "Cancer gone. Alzheimer's gone. HIV and AIDS gone. You know how important that is." Nicholas leaned into Aemilius' chest, crying. Aemilius wrapped his arm around Nicholas, rubbing his back comfortingly.

"I'm so sorry for being selfish," Nicholas sobbed, "I just... liked the idea of watching the world pass by... but not you." Nicholas raised his saddened face to look at Aemilius. "Never you."

"Only us," Aemilius said. Nicholas nodded his head, crying even more.

"But the worst part..." Nicholas started, "...is that he won't stop there."

"What do you mean?" Aemilius asked.

"I know that you showed Levi how to make the gold," Levi confessed. Aemilius let go of Nicholas to talk to him face-to-face. "His accounts were showing an increase in gold trading. Amounts of money that were well past their market value. But a purified version of gold... is almost priceless. Why did you do it?"

Aemilius turned to gaze at the fire. "He tried to kill me," he explained. "It was your name... and its connection to the Philosopher's stone. Eliphas had been suspicious of you after realizing that your name is legend." Nicholas now placed a hand on Aemilius' back, expressing his regret for not being aware of the danger his companion had encountered. "It was too coincidental and impossible for him to believe that life everlasting was possible. So, when I showed him the alchemy, his doubt was quelled."

"There was something else, Aemil," Nicholas said urgently, standing up. "An invoice for a private contractor. I hadn't noticed it before, but it was called in that first day of the interviews." Nicholas began pacing next to the fire, still talking. "A great deal of money was billed by the contractor. I thought it was a mistake. Then, I searched the records until a few years before. The same date as the murder-suicide of Eliphas' parents! Aemil, it can't be an accident that the contractors are the same. He isn't who he says he is."

"I think you're right, Nick," Aemilius agreed, standing up now. "But what can we do?"

"Well, there's no way we can stop the shipments; the release is two days from now. But we can shut down his future operations for good," Nicholas proposed.

"How's that?" Aemilius inquired. Nicholas then removed one of the seeds from his pants pocket and held it just as Levi did during his speech. Aemilius fixed his gaze on the seed, curious to know the plan. Without hesitation, Nicholas tossed the seed into the flame.

"What are you doing?" Aemilius looked into Nicholas' eyes, knowing exactly what needed to be done, but had a hard time coming to terms with.

"What needs to be done," Nicholas said, grasping Aemilius' hands and raising them to their chests. "Our time has come. It's time for us to live full lives for the first time. No matter what it takes." It was Aemilius' turn to shed tears. After centuries together, the two of them would have to learn to grow old. "He murdered his own parents to collect the inheritance. Imagine what he'll do to rule the world with the only source of immortality." At that, Aemilius shook his head in agreement. From his own pocket, he produced a seed of his own. He cherished it one last time, then chucked it into the fire.

"All that matters... is you," Aemilius said lovingly to Nicholas before sharing a long kiss under the blanket of stars.