Nightbringer (4 page)

Chapter Ficve

There had been no aperitifs, but a rich red wine was offered after dinner and Gina was enjoying a glass. After enduring grim Melanchthon’s ominous dissertation on demons, monsters, the crucifixion, an immortal centurion, and the wrath of God, she decided that she could use a little alcohol.

She gazed at Rachel and Josh, who stood before a huge tapestry hung from a wall on the far side of the chamber. The obviously hand-sewn carpet was the image of some
gigantic beast battling against a dozen Roman soldiers.

Its head was sloped like a gorilla
’s. Its eyes were bloodied and reflected a malignant, alien intelligence. Fangs like a lion’s hung distended and bloody and it possessed an overwhelmingly massive musculature and aura of power that eclipsed man.

Broken spears from the soldiers projected from its hulking arms and shoulders. Bearing the marks of uncountable sword wounds, it was covered in blood
and more than blood. For there seemed a bestial and yet far more than bestial exultation in its eyes.

Yes
– Gina was certain – there was an almost human exultation, as if it was enjoying the battle.

As if
it knew that it would not be destroyed.

As she continued to study the tapestry, she saw the monk, Brother Melanchthon, walk up to stand beside Josh and Rachel. He, too, stared up at the tapestry.
Compelled by some reflexive parental instinct, Gina walked toward her children. She assured herself it was not fear and ignored the fact that she walked faster than usual.

Rachel raised her face to the monk.

“What’s that?”

“
One of the Nephilim,” Melanchthon answered quickly with a single, defiant jut of his chin.

“
The Nefleem?”

Melanchthon smiled.
“Close. It is pronounced Neh…faa… LIM.”

“
Neh-faa-LIM,” Rachel repeated slowly. “Got it. So what was it? A gorilla?”

“
Oh, no. It was a beast conceived by strange unions between the daughters of men and the sons of God.”

“
Like a demon?”

“
Its father was a demon but its mother was human. They are mentioned in the sixth chapter of Genesis and other passages of the Old Testament. They were, in fact, the primary reason God destroyed the earth by flood.”

The big monk
’s gray beard lifted with his face as he spoke in a strong cadence – as if quoting; “’For when God saw the whole heart of man was only a continual chasing after evil, He regretted He had made him. Yes, and the Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and afterward.’”

Rachel
’s eyes were wide. “These things were real? What … I mean, what were they like?”

“
In the ancient Hebrew, Nephilim literally means ‘giants.’ It comes from a root word that connotes ‘fallen ones.’ The Old Testament says they were the most merciless, strongest warriors. They were virtually unkillable.”

“
Were there a lot of them?” Josh asked.

“
Aye, boy. There were once entire nations of them, ruled by the Rephaim.”

“
Rephaim?”

“
Like the one who was killed in battle by David, warrior-king of the Hebrews.”

“
Goliath! Wow!” Josh glanced from the tapestry to the old monk. “How big was Goliath?”

With a smile, Melanchthon lifted a large steel plate from a table.
“This is the axle of a chariot wheel. It weighs twenty-five pounds.” He held it toward Josh, his huge fingers white with the effort of maintaining his grip. “Take it.”

As if this could be a trick, Josh gripped it cautiously, and Melanchthon released his grip.

“Rachel!” Josh yelled as he staggered at the weight, and Rachel leaped to him. Struggling and simultaneously shouting contradictory commands, they lowered and then dropped the axle to the floor where it landed with a dull ring.

Josh was laughing.
“Now
that
was heavy!”

“
Yes,” Melanchthon smiled. “And yet the point of Goliath’s spear weighed even more than that—perhaps thirty pounds. His coat of chain mail weighed nearly two hundred pounds. He was thirteen feet tall and probably weighed nine hundred pounds,” Melanchthon nodded. “Yes, the Nephilim were unnatural creatures of unnatural strength. And their thirst for blood was even greater than their physical power. It is also written that the Nephilim had no soul and that they would not rise at the resurrection.”

“
What were they doing here?” Rachel asked. “I mean, why were they fighting everybody?”

Gina arrived and Melanchthon nodded without missing a beat.
“Satan knew that the child of a woman would deliver his destruction. So Satan attempted to corrupt the seed of woman—the hope of the earth. It was his plan to make his seed the ruling force on this planet—a plan God ended with the Flood.”

“
So they were all destroyed?”

“
Yes.” Melanchthon’s reply to Rachel was faintly bitter. “God destroyed them all. But, once again, men opened the gateway to their world and more Nephilim were born. And since God had vowed that He would never again destroy the earth, He would not destroy them a second time. For the one thing, the Almighty will not do is break His word.

“
In any case,” he continued, “it was said that a single Nephilim could destroy an entire legion—something between three and six thousand men. And when the Nephilim gathered in number they could annihilate any nation but Israel, for David and his mighty men ever stood against them and knew their weaknesses. Still, David’s years were only the years of a man, and when he died, there was no one who could defend mankind from their wrath until …”

Despite herself, Gina was captured.
“Until?”

Melanchthon made a low growl in his throat, something unconscious.
“Until a warrior—a great warrior—was born. A warrior who would hunt them across the length and breadth of the world, preying upon them as they preyed upon man. And thus began a mighty and terrible war that has spanned centuries.

“
Indeed; long were the battles, and uncertain. But although the beasts are powerful, they can die—just as anything can die. And one by one, continent across continent, this single warrior began to reduce them. Nor did modern man know the secrets of how they were created, so their number could not be replenished. Then they began to conceal themselves in the shapes of men.”

Rachel
’s eyes flared. “They can change shape? You mean they can morph to look like a real person?”

“
Only to a degree,” Melanchthon muttered with a hint of contempt. “But they can resemble men for a certain number of days—only Solomon the Wise knew how many day and he did not reveal it—before they must revert to their original form to rest. And, of course, they must alter shape when they call upon their monstrous strength.”

“
Was Goliath the strongest?” Josh asked.

“
No. Goliath, though enormous and gigantically strong, was the offspring of a Nephilim far greater. Its name is not even recorded in the texts of Solomon because, as Solomon said, it was far too dangerous to be spelled.

“
But Solomon did record that the father of Goliath was the strongest, the most savage—the most cunning of all the Nephilim. For he was the purest—born of the first generation— and there was little of man in him to diminish his strength.”

Rachel glanced at Josh. He didn
’t appear close to speaking. “I really hope you say he’s dead,” she said.

Melanchthon
’s mouth turned down at the edges, and he shrugged. “Who knows, child? They are unnatural creatures and do not have a natural lifespan. If he has not been killed, then he might yet walk the earth.”

All of them stared upon the tapestry, and then Melanchthon turned and walked away. But Gina called after him and the old monk turned, waiting patiently.

“You never said the name of the immortal warrior who’s hunted these things down and killed them over the centuries.”

“
Is it not obvious?” Melanchthon glanced at the marble statue of the centurion.  “It was Gaius Cassius  Longinus, madam—the centurion who crucified the Son of God. And then vowed to protect the children of God until the end of time.”

Father Stephen entered the Great Hall with the uncomfortable smile of a mechanic about to inform you that not only is your car dead but
good and dead
.

“
I’m afraid I have bad news,” he began. “The snowstorm has closed all roads over the pass, so until they manage to clear them, you must remain at the abbey.” He smiled more easily to the children. “But there’s no need to worry. We are quite self-sufficient. We have our own generator, water, and ample food stores.”

“
You mean we’re stuck here?” Josh asked.

Father Stephen seemed to genuinely warm to the subject.
“In any case, young man, it will take you at least three days to see all aspects of the abbey and the labyrinth of catacombs! In fact, this storm may turn out to be a blessing! To be honest, I was hoping that you could extend your journey a few days so I could show you all our secret passages!”

“
Oh!” Josh reached his feet and grabbed Gina’s hands. “Mom! Did you hear him? Secret passages!”

“
Sounds pretty cool,” Gina smiled.

Rachel muttered,
“Dead guys lying around in secret passages is not cool.”

“
Can I see them now?” Josh asked.

Father Stephen laughed.
“Oh, Joshua—may I call you Joshua? Thank you. It’s a little late to see them today.” He leaned closer. “But I promise it will be the first thing on your agenda tomorrow! Is that good enough?”

Josh was disappointed in a pragmatic way.

“Yeah,” he muttered. “Thank you.”

Extending his arms, Father Stephen added in a melodious chant. “Now, dear friends, we invite you to join us in Compline Prayers, scheduled to begin in one hour. And if you wish to participate, please consider yourselves invited.”

It hated the snow.

It reminded him of that light he would never see and did not wish to see. No, what he cared to see was darkness—darkness that spread across the world like a thundercloud lowering itself to the ground, enveloping all the world.

His step, though he attempted to move without sound, was thunderous despite the howling wind and the lightning-torn sky. Yet the most fantastic execution of the spell was its ability to command even lightning from the frozen heart of this storm.

But it had no more time to hate.

It slouched to the tour bus, already piled with drifts. And there, careful to make no sound but the inexorable crunch of powdery snow, it lifted the hood. It stared at the engine, considering whether it should make its presence known.

It was far easier to disable this engine with brute force and not the subtlety that it had been advised to use. But it did not care anymore for subtlety … or for hiding.

Yes, the time for hiding had passed.

Now it was time to kill.

It reached its long arm past the engine, and his fingers curled against the gritty, oily base. He curled his fingers even more—until his claws cut deep into the steel.

It had always been so easy to tear through steel …

Fangs clenched in silence, he powerfully twisted his body toward the sky, wrenching the entire engine from steel bolts that twisted and tore like paper. Almost, he raised it completely into the air, compelled to lift it aloft in a single arm and hurl it toward the abbey—to announce his presence, to declare his might, to hurl them into fear so that they would flee into the bowels of the abbey. But then he paused, snarling, and released the gigantic block
so that it settled awkwardly.

No, he would not announce his presence—not yet.

He would wait and catch the centurion unaware, and he would kill his most hated enemy. Yes, all that remained was to kill the warrior …

God
’s warrior
…

And as he turned from the destruction of the bus
’s engine, he violently turned his mind from the fear that he could be afraid.

Standing alone in the Great Hall, chalice in hand, Michael carefully regarded a painting of the crucifixion. Even at a distance Gina could read his face, and he seemed to neither approve nor condemn the artist
’s work.

In fact, he appeared bored.

It was the wonder of how he could appear bored in a cathedral jam-packed with literally the entire history of the world that prompted Gina to approach him. When she stopped, Michael smiled pleasantly and she, too, gazed upon the painting.

“
You don’t like it?” she asked.

“
Oh no,” he answered casually. “I think it’s magnificent. I was just wondering …”

Gina waited.
“Yes?”