Inception (The Reaping Chronicles, 1) (41 page)

Or any of the other horrible things that could be in Lucas’s future.

She still needed to talk to him about what she found out from Amaziah, but she hadn’t had a chance to and wasn’t even sure how to bring it up to him. How do you tell someone information like that?

Gabrielle answered all the questions Nate and Nonie had for her the best she could, requesting that they leave what they wanted to know about her for later when there would be time for matters of curiosity. She wanted them to concentrate on learning as much information about the Qalal as possible and how to protect themselves and each other. After answering their questions, she filled them in on the back story of the Qalal’s existence, correcting their misconceptions. When they seemed satisfied and returned to questions that would satisfy their interest in her, Gabrielle cut them off.

“There are some other things I need to cover, and we’ve already been talking for a long time.” She motioned towards the clock above the fireplace. It was just past seven, and they still weren’t done. “So like I said, let’s stick to what we really need to cover for the sake of your safety. I’ll order pizza tomorrow, and we can sit around and talk all you want about Yahuwah and me and Heaven and Hell and whatever else you want to know.” Gabrielle looked at the Daniels crew sitting around her. “Is that a deal?”

“Pizza’s good,” Nate said.

“Oh
,
Gabrielle,” Ben said. “I hope you have a lot of money. You’ve never seen how much pizza Nate and Lucas can put down in one sitting. I’m sure Lizzie would be thrilled to have the night off from cooking, though.”

Lizzie smiled and nodded. “Definitely.”

“Dad’s right. Deep pockets are good with these two. I’ll be there just to see an angel sit in amazement of two humans eating so much. If you’re as stunned as I think you’re going to be when you see them devour a whole pizza each and then go back an hour later for more, maybe I won’t feel so bad about the way we’ve gawked at you tonight,” Nonie said a little sleepily.

“Good. We’ll move on.” Gabrielle shifted her position, sitting with her back against the couch again so she could see Lucas, too. “Now, about these
dreams
.”

Chapter Sixty-five

Gabrielle ~ The Gentry

Lucas, Nonie, and Nate looked quizzically at Gabrielle, but before she could begin her questions, Lucas stood and spoke.

“You know, Gabby, we mere mortals need food to survive. As you already pointed out, it’s getting kinda late, and we still haven’t eaten. How ‘bout we move this into the kitchen?”

“I could use something to drink,” Nate said as he stood to follow Lucas. “But I don’t think I could eat much right now.”

Lucas looked at his friend with surprise.

Nate raised his brow at Lucas. “Look, man … you’ve had some time for all this to sink in. This is unsettling to hear, much less to believe, and I
do
believe you guys.” Nate paused and looked at Nonie, then back to Lucas and Gabrielle. “I feel a little sick … if you want to know the truth.”

“Not me!” Nonie practically leapt from her seat and gave Gabrielle a huge hug. “I knew there was something different about you, but I never could have imagined anything
this
cool!”

Nonie had her typical perpetual grin as though nothing could faze her good mood. Even though Gabrielle couldn’t resist the urge to return Nonie’s smile, she knew there was a good possibility of things happening that would wipe Nonie’s smile away.

Possibly forever.

The knowledge left her feeling as though her stomach had plummeted to the floor. Sometimes she hated knowing the things she did.

Everyone followed Lucas into the kitchen and began to raid Emma’s fridge and pantry, taking out cheese and crackers, chips, fruit, some cold fried chicken, and a pitcher of sweet tea. Then, they all sat at the kitchen table. After several minutes of everyone passing around food and taking a few bites to satisfy their hunger, Gabrielle began with her questions.

“You
all
said you’ve had dreams about
little people around outside and sometimes in your houses. Is that right?” She received nods of agreement.

Gabrielle looked at Lizzie and Ben. “Have either of you ever had any weird dreams about little people?”

Both shook their heads.

“Lucas, you said you’ve had these as long as you can remember?”

“Yeah.”

“What usually happens in them?”

A furrow appeared between his brows as he thought. “They mostly peer through the windows at me. Sometimes, though, they’re in the room.”

“When they’re in the room with you, what are they doing?”

“Well, usually they’re only looking at me—studying me.” Lucas paused, his expression turning slightly grimmer. “But other times, they form a circle around my bed, close their eyes, and chant. I don’t understand what they’re saying.”

Gabrielle could see Lucas becoming unsettled as he shifted in his seat.

“I feel like they’re doing a ritual or something.” Lucas looked at Gabrielle for a moment as though searching for some kind of understanding from her about what his dreams meant, concern creating deeper lines around his eyes. “Gabby, why are you worried? They
are
just dreams … aren’t they?”

Gabrielle squeezed his hand under the table.

“That’s what I’m trying to determine, Lucas. But I have to find out more first. Is there anything else you can remember that stands out about them?”

“No. Not that I can think of right now, anyway.”

“Okay.” Gabrielle shifted in her seat to face Lucas more. “Now, this is really important, Lucas. What did they look like? Can you remember?”

“Yeah. They always freaked me out a little even if I was dreaming. There are two kinds I saw the most. But there are others I’ve seen only a few times. I won’t be able to describe those very well.”

“That’s okay. Just tell me what the two main ones looked like.”

“Well, they’re little, but sometimes they start out, or end up, bigger. Like they can change their size. They’re slim in build with narrow noses and large eyes that slant upwards slightly. In a creepy way, I would even say they’re attractive. They have really skinny, pointed teeth—and their eyes … they’re black. The
entire
eye. There’s no white at all. They wear dark clothes—mostly things like vests and fitted pants with leather boots. And they all wear wide, silver-cuff bracelets and carry staffs.

“The other ones, they’re scarier. They’re shorter, but like the first ones, they seem to change sizes when they want. But even though I mostly see them small in height, they’re
big
in every other way. I mean with muscles. Not big as in fat. They almost seem
dead
if that makes sense. Their faces are skeletal, but there’s still flesh. They really don’t have much of a nose, more of just the space where one should be. And I don’t think they have what we would consider eyes. There just seems to be a faint red
glow,
like hot coals, that comes from the sockets. They wear a lot of long necklaces—all of them have pendants that are the same, but they also have others that are different. They seem to mostly wear long, tattered robes or dresses, and carry battle axes. They’re definitely the creepier of the two.”

Gabrielle turned her attention to Nonie and Nate. “What can you all tell me?”

Nonie was the first to answer. “Jeez … that’s so weird. Pretty much the same as Lucas. Right down to the description, but he remembers more than I do. What he described helped me to remember what I’d seen. The only difference is that I’ve never seen them doing any kind of ritual. They just seem to be nosing around.” Nonie paused and appeared to be considering something. “You know … I was thinking while Lucas was describing what he’d seen. I don’t think I have ever had these dreams unless Lucas was staying the night with us or us with him, until a few nights ago. That’s the only time I can remember dreaming about them when Lucas wasn’t in the same room or house. I actually hadn’t had a dream about them in years—since we were younger. Do you think that’s because we haven’t been staying at each other’s houses over-night now that we’re older? If so, why am I dreaming about them now, away from Lucas?”

Gabrielle shrugged. “I don’t know. How ‘bout you, Nate. Anything else you want to add?”

Nate shook his head. “No, not really. But I agree with Nonie. I don’t think I’ve ever had the dreams unless I was with Lucas. Until a few nights ago. And like Nonie, I also hadn’t dreamt about them in a really long time.”

She turned back to Lucas. “And for you, these dreams have continued without a break in frequency?”

Lucas nodded.

Gabrielle picked at the food on her plate. She was sure, now, which of the Gentry were visiting. After several minutes, Lucas interrupted her thoughts.

“Gabby, are they just dreams or something else?”

Gabrielle looked at all of them sitting around Emma’s kitchen table. They had the same expression on their faces—a jumble of curiosity and apprehension.

“You aren’t having dreams. You’re experiencing encounters with the Gentry. I don’t know why, though. It helps to know what kinds are visiting you, but I’ll have to do some digging to find out the reason, or reasons, they’re coming around so much.” She looked at Lucas. “Especially where you’re concerned. This seems to be more about you than Nonie and Nate.”

“The
Gentry
? I thought you were going to tell me that they were fairies or something. What are the Gentry?” Lucas almost sounded relieved.

“You would call them fairies because that’s what they’re commonly referred to by humans in today’s world. But don’t let them hear you call them that unless you want to make them mad. As a human, you don’t want to make them upset with you. They can be edgy and unforgiving. It’s rude, insulting, to call them fairies. They prefer the Gentry, the Old People, People of Peace, Pixies, the Seelie, the Fair Folk, and that’s only some of the names.”

Nate held a finger up to get her attention. Gabrielle could see from his frustrated demeanor that it wasn’t going to be easy to convince him about this, either. “You said it helps to know what kinds are coming around. How many different kinds are there?”

“There are four classifications of the Gentry—hosts of the air, people of the mounds, dwellers of the waters, and those that live in the depths. But there are many types of Gentry within each of those classifications.”

“What kind are we dealing with?” Nonie asked.

“Unfortunately, they’re from the depths.”

Gabrielle waited for the next question. It was Nonie who asked.

“Why’s that bad?”

“If I had to choose, they’re the ones I would want to come around the least. Even though you can’t ever be sure of the intent any of the Gentry have until whatever they’re doing is over, the ones from the depths are, more often than not, up to no good.”

“Why’s that?” Lucas asked.

“The Gentry are the offspring of fallen angels and humans. So they have powers people don’t. But, because they’re part human and part fallen angel, it’s hard to predict where they’ll fall in the spectrum between good and evil. They tend to make it easier for us to tell because they’ll choose to live closer to, or further away from, Yahuwah depending on their natural dispositions.”

Lucas looked at Gabrielle, confusion written deep in his expression. “Sorry, love. You’ve lost me.”

She wasn’t making this clear, but it was confusing to explain. “First of all, Lucas, this doesn’t apply to you. Emma didn’t fall. She chose to become human, and Yahuwah granted it to her.” Gabrielle waited for Lucas to show he understood, which he did with a relieved smile and nod. “Basically, the Fallen have varying degrees of betrayal that caused them to be cast out of Heaven; some are more treacherous than others. Similarly, humans have varying levels of good or evil that lives within them. Depending on the combination of the fallen angel and the human, you can have anything from fairly
good
Gentry to evil Gentry that result from the coupling. Do you follow me so far?”

Gabrielle looked to each of them, and they all nodded. She then turned to Ben and Lizzie, who also nodded, but remained in a state of quiet attention.

“The best of the Gentry are the hosts of the air, which is why they’re found closest to Heaven, then the people of the mounds, next the water dwellers, and lastly, the ones that live in the depths—the closest to Ramai and Hell. It’s especially unwise to trust them. Do you see how the best of them live closer to Yahuwah, and then it goes downhill from there?”

Everyone nodded again.

“From what you described to me, Lucas, I believe the first ones are the huli jing,
the second are most likely dwarves. The huli jing are definitely not to be underestimated, but dwarves are quite foreboding and dangerous. If dwarves are visiting, there’s definitely a wicked intent, even if they haven’t done anything physical …
yet
.”

Lucas put his elbows on the table and rested his forehead in his hands. “Great … vampires
and
little people are after me.”

“They aren’t always little, Lucas. Your observation was correct; they can change their size anytime they choose. That’s why the Gentry have been described so differently throughout the centuries. Sometimes small and other times the size of humans and every size in between. All are correct, but none are accurate a hundred percent of the time.”

Nate pushed his chair back and stood to lean against the kitchen counter. “So, Gabrielle, do these
Gentry
all have supernatural powers? What can they do?”

“The powers they possess vary from classification to classification. And the different types of Gentry within each classification have different abilities. Even within those specific types, the abilities will vary to some degree with some being more powerful than another of their own species.” Gabrielle knew this topic would cause them a great deal of confusion. “It would be too time consuming and way too much information to retain right now if I told you all the specifics. But because the Gentry are part angel and, therefore, have Divine blood, their abilities and powers are great. Add to that the knowledge of magic and the use of nature’s Elementals that they’ve learned over thousands of years, and they’ve become a formidable order.”

“What are we supposed to do, Gabrielle? How do we protect ourselves?” Nonie asked worriedly.

“As frustrating as it is for me to keep saying this, you do nothing. At least not right now. You can’t do much as humans unless you have Divine protection. The Gentry won’t normally attack a human unless provoked. They value their anonymity, like the Qalal. It’s better for fantastical creatures to exist only in the imaginings of humans. If their reality is discovered, especially in the days we’re in now, they risk substantial losses of their own kind as well as their homes. Even though they are powerful and have abilities far beyond a human’s, they can be killed. They aren’t
completely
immortal, but they do heal quickly. Unless you destroy them, they’ll continue to regenerate. It’s better if you just keep acting as you always have—like they’re only a dream. Just pay more attention now. The more information you can give me about what they’re doing, what they look like, and what they’re saying—
if
you can understand them—will help me to get to the bottom of this.”

“Gabrielle,” Nate said in a slightly agitated tone, “since you’re an angel, why can’t you just
find out
what they are doing and what they want by twitching your nose, or snapping your finger, or whatever it is you do to find stuff out?”

“I assure you, it won’t be by twitching my nose or snapping my fingers. The only thing that’ll possibly hinder me in finding out what’s going on is if Yahuwah doesn’t want me to know or if it’s Ramai’s doing.”

“But isn’t God more powerful than Satan?” Nate pulled himself up to sit on the counter.

“Without a doubt, Nate, He is. But He has an agreement with Ramai, allowing a fair fight—so to speak.”

“An agreement?” Nate’s eyebrows raised, matching his rising voice. He was definitely irritated. “You mean
God
—made a deal—with the
devil
?”