68. Amanda
Amanda moved from the couch to a nearby armchair and settled in so she could fix her eyes on Jasmine”s face as the other woman sat perched on the edge of the sofa, anxious and a little frightened.
She felt a smidgen of sympathy for her, but not more than that. Jasmine was about to be given a precious gift—access to the best-guarded secret on Earth, a chance of gaining immortality, and maybe even a prince. The truths Amanda was about to reveal would shake the very foundation of Jasmine”s world and challenge everything she thought she knew about herself and her place in the grand tapestry of the Fates.
Jasmine was incredibly lucky. She just didn”t know that yet.
Crossing her legs and steepling her fingers, Amanda assumed her teacher”s voice. ”What I”m about to tell you is going to sound incredible, but I need you to keep an open mind. Listen to what I have to say and try to keep your questions until after I”m done.”
Edgar cleared his throat. ”Excuse my interruption, but if what you are about to reveal is what I think it is, then isn”t that the job of the partner to tell it to the Dormant?”
Amanda shook her head. ”Not this time. I”m sorry to rob you of the privilege, but Jasmine”s case is more complicated than the usual potential Dormant”s. That”s why I have to do it.”
”What”s a Dormant?” Jasmine asked.
Amanda lifted a hand. ”I”ll get to that in a few minutes. First, you need some background. The history of the world you are familiar with is not only inaccurate, but it is intentionally misleading.”
She paused, letting her words sink in for a moment before continuing. ”Have you ever noticed how similar the mythological pantheons of gods are across different cultures? How do the same twelve main gods seem to appear time and again, just under different names?”
Jasmine frowned, her brow furrowing in thought. ”I guess so. I”ve always assumed that ancient civilizations just copied from one another, borrowed and adapted each other”s deities to fit their own needs and beliefs.”
Amanda smiled. ”That”s what most people think, and there is truth to it, but it”s not the entire truth, and as you know, half-truths are often worse than lies, but I digress.”
She leaned back. ”The truth is that the gods were real people, and the impact they left on humanity was so great that stories about them were told all over the ancient world. They were a small group of exiles from a place light years away from Earth who called themselves gods, which in their language meant creators.”
In her mind, Amanda had adapted the old, familiar story about their ancestors to include the new information that they had recently learned from Jade, Aru, and what her mother had told her about what she”d learned from the queen of Anumati.
”The gods were physically perfect, and their bodies were immune to disease and healed so fast that they were nearly impossible to kill. They also possessed incredible mind control powers over humans.”
It had been done by genetic design so humans would be easy to control, but that was beyond the scope of what Jasmine needed to know at the moment.
Jasmine”s eyes widened, but she remained silent, her gaze fixed on Amanda”s face as she hung on every word.
”I got a little ahead of the story.” Amanda lifted her coffee cup and took a sip to wet her throat. ”I need to backpedal a little. These powerful aliens called themselves gods because they were masters of genetic manipulation, and they created numerous new species on the planets throughout the galaxy that they colonized with the intent of these species to serve them. On Earth, they used their own genetic material and combined it with that of an early hominid species, creating a new hybrid that would come to be known as Adam, the first human. At first, the new class of servants they created was made one at a time, but since it was inefficient, they were given the ability to procreate. What the gods didn”t anticipate was just how fertile this new species would be and how quickly it would multiply.”
”Is that the origin of the Adam and Eve story?” Jasmine asked. ”The Bible talks about them being created by God or gods, and given the ability to procreate and fill the world with their offspring.”
Jasmine should have waited with her questions until after Amanda was done, but it was a good question, so Amanda nodded. ”Bingo. The story of Adam and Eve is a retelling of that original act of creation, a metaphor for the gods granting humans the ability to reproduce and thrive. But as their numbers grew and they evolved, the gods began to realize the potential threat that their creation posed and decided to cull the human population.”
”The flood?” Jasmine asked.
”The flood came after they exhausted other methods. They used their mind control to create incredible myths and stories to make themselves appear even more fantastic than they were. And they used theology to shape human beliefs and behaviors and bring them closer to the state of the enlightened civilization they envisioned.”
Jasmine snorted. ”That must have been a big failure. Humans are still not civilized or enlightened. Well, most are not.”
Amanda was surprised that Jasmine was not trying to refute what she was being told. There was none of the usual disbelief that most Dormants exhibited when first told the truth about their origins.
”I agree.” Amanda sighed. ”Too many are still barbarians, and regrettably, they have greater ability than ever to cause pain and destruction in their need to intimidate and dominate. But that”s a discussion for another time. We are still in the distant past. Once contact with their home world was severed, the exiled gods realized that their limited numbers were not sufficient for genetic diversity and thus not viable for the continuation of their species, not to mention their urgent need to boost their numbers so they were less threatened by the exploding human populace.” She leaned forward, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. ”And that”s another story that the Bible copied. The gods took human lovers and procreated with the very beings they had created to give rise to a new breed—the immortals.”
Jasmine frowned. ”The Bible said that those unions resulted in giants, not immortals.”
Amanda was impressed. ”You must have been raised religious to know those stories so well.”
Jasmine shrugged. ”Not more religious than most. I just liked the stories.”
”You”ve probably read the English version, and as it happens all too often, things get lost in translation. In the original Hebrew version, the plural word used to describe the progeny of gods and humans was Anakim, and the singular was Anak. Do you know what other very famous ancient word sounds almost identical to Anak?”
Jasmine”s brow furrowed. ”No clue.”
”Ankh,” Amanda said. ”The Ankh is one of the most important ancient Egyptian symbols, representing life, vitality, and immortality, and it is often depicted in the hands of gods and goddesses, symbolizing their ability to grant eternal life. Coincidence? I think not.”
”Oh, wow.” Jasmine”s eyes widened. ”That”s so cool. So Anakim meant immortals?”
”Indeed. The children born of unions between gods and humans were immortal and gifted with incredible abilities like enhanced strength, accelerated healing, and also the ability to manipulate human minds. But when the immortal descendants of the gods took human mates, their children were born mortal. As it turned out, the children born to female immortals with human males carried the dormant godly genes that could be activated, but the children born to immortal males and human females did not. From then on, those genes were passed on from a mother to her children, and from her daughters to their children, and so on.”
Amanda paused to take another sip of her coffee and give Jasmine a few moments to process what she had learned so far.
Since she was not freaking out or trying to refute what she was being told, Amanda didn”t mind her asking questions during the telling.
Jasmine frowned. ”So technically, there could be many humans who carry those godly genes.”
Amanda nodded.
”What happened to the gods?” Jasmine asked.
”Their fate wasn”t good.” Amanda put her coffee cup down. ”There was a dispute, and one god found a way to kill the others with a weapon that originated in their home world. Almost all died, including the assassin.”
”Almost all?” Jasmine asked. ”Meaning that there are still gods living among us?”
Syssi chuckled. ”You are taking this incredibly well. When I first heard this story, I couldn”t believe it.”
Jasmine”s gaze swept over Edgar, Kian, Amanda, and then landed on Syssi. ”I”m a practicing Wiccan. I have no problem with believing in gods and immortals” magic and mind manipulation. And I”m also starting to understand what is going on here. Kevin didn”t use hypnosis on Modana and his men. He used mind control.”
”Bravo.” Kian clapped. ”I”m impressed.”
”Thank you.” Jasmine dipped her head. ”So Kevin is an immortal, and so are the four of you?” She leveled her gaze at Edgar.
He nodded. ”Guilty as charged.”
Letting out a breath, Jasmine closed her eyes. ”So, that”s why everyone looks young and gorgeous. This ship is full of immortals, and you have a staff of humans serving you who are mind-controlled to keep your identities a secret.” She opened her eyes. ”Talk about mind blown. This would make one hell of a blockbuster movie.”
”That will never happen,” Kian said sternly. ”It is essential that humans don”t know about us.”
”Then why are you telling me?”
Amanda smiled. ”Because, my darling, we think that you are a carrier of godly genes that can be activated. There is a chance that you can become an immortal. And there is also the issue of your obsession with meeting a prince.”
Jasmine shook her head. ”Now you”ve lost me. Why do you think I have these genes, and what does my obsession have to do with anything?”
”Do you remember the testing I did?”
Jasmine winced. ”I didn”t do so well.”
Amanda laughed. ”On purpose. I know. I found a way to test you without your knowledge, and you definitely have paranormal abilities. Telepathy for sure, and maybe also precognition. Paranormal abilities are one of the strongest indicators of godly genes. The second one is affinity.” Amanda leaned toward her. ”That”s a little more difficult to quantify, but let me ask you this, did you always feel like you were different and didn”t belong?”
Jasmine nodded.
”And when you met Margo, did you immediately feel like the two of you could be best friends?”
Jasmine nodded again.
”Then you met Frankie and Mia, Syssi and me. Did you feel more comfortable with us than you did with anyone before?”
”That”s affinity?”
Amanda nodded. ”Like recognizes like. Dormants and immortals are drawn to each other, and so are Dormants and other Dormants.”
”I”ll be damned.” Jasmine slumped against the couch cushions. ”I can turn immortal? How, though? Is there a blood transfusion involved, gene therapy?”
”Venom and seed,” Amanda said. ”And Edgar can supply both, but he needs your permission to do so first. We try not to induce anyone without getting their informed consent. Sometimes it happens by chance, but we try to do it the right way when we can.”
Jasmine shifted her gaze to Edgar. ”You have my consent. Whatever it takes, I”m game. I want to be immortal, and I want to be part of this world.” She shook her head again. ”This is so much bigger than getting a job at Perfect Match.”
Kian chuckled. ”I would say. But we are not there yet. We need to talk to you about the prince.”
Jasmine once again glanced at Edgar before shifting her gaze back to Kian. ”What about it?”
”We are looking for a lost prince,” Amanda said. ”We think that you can help us find him.” She turned to Syssi. ”Do you want to take over from here?”
Syssi nodded, and as Jasmine turned to look at her, she smiled. ”I get visions sometimes. They are mostly vague and often unpleasant, but in one way or another, they always come true. I had a vision about you helping us find the prince or, rather, the royal twins. A brother and sister landed on Earth in an escape pod when their ship exploded. The pod is lost somewhere, but the people inside might still be alive. They have a type of life support that we call stasis, and they can stay in that state for a very long time.”
”How long ago did the escape pod land?” Jasmine asked.
”More than a hundred years ago,” Kian said. ”But the life support can go on indefinitely, or as long as the pod is not too damaged.”
”Poor people.” Jasmine swallowed. ”Naturally, I”m willing to assist in any way I can to locate them, but I”m not sure how.”
”I”m not sure either,” Syssi said. ”But you have a connection to the prince, and in my vision, I saw you standing over a crater and looking down at a pod, and you were not alone. You were with Negal, Dagor, and Aru. Did Margo tell you about her plans after the cruise?”
Jasmine shook her head. ”How is she connected to this? And what have I to do with her and Frankie”s boyfriends?”
Amanda was once again impressed with Jasmine”s levelheaded response. ”Margo is mated to Negal, who along with Dagor and Aru are on a quest to find the royal twins and other escape pods from the destroyed ship.”
Edgar emitted a low growl. ”The hell Jasmine is going after some Kra-ell prince,” he snarled, his eyes glowing. ”Those twins are rumored to be extremely powerful, and no one knows anything about them. They might be evil, twisted beings.”
Kian shot him a warning glare. ”Let Jasmine absorb what she”s learned so far and come to terms with the truth of who she is and what she”s capable of. We will discuss safety precautions later.”
Syssi leaned over and put a hand on Jasmine”s knee. ”Your prince is not necessarily your romantic partner. Sometimes, the most important relationships in our lives are the ones we least expect. The prince could be your mentor or your spiritual leader. It could also be that you need to find him not for your personal benefit but for altruistic reasons. The universe works in mysterious ways and uses different methods of delivering its messages. The same way I”m used as a conduit for some things, you might be used as a conduit for others.”
Across from them, Edgar relaxed, his aggressive energy subsiding.
Jasmine let out a breath. ”I”m ashamed to admit that I”ve never considered the possibility that I was shown the prince for altruistic reasons. At first, I was focused on finding my dream guy, and when the cards kept showing me the prince, I was convinced that I was destined to meet one.” She looked at Edgar. ”But then I met you, and I tried to give it a different spin. I reasoned that the prince was a metaphor for a good man and that you might be the one I was supposed to find. My prince.”
Ed chuckled. ”I”m afraid that I will always remain a frog, but I don”t mind if you keep kissing me in the hopes of turning me into a prince.”