The Fallen Ones (The Fallen Angels Series Book 1) (5 page)

Ephraim:

As
soon as I arrive back at the enclave, I take the opportunity to visit the
library and delve into as much research as I can. I was supposed to meet with
Alya, but this is more important, somehow. I need to prepare myself for
training Ilyana, but I feel like we are on the verge of something very big, she
is powerful and if she is The One the counsel has spoken of over the years, I
need to ensure I am not underestimating her on the field. I pour over numerous
books and skim for anything I can find regarding prophecies, a second
generation of Nephilim and the chosen one. Everything I find is essentially the
same as the stories we have long been told at campfires or by the counsel as a reminder
of why we must behave.

The
stories all fall flat. There is no detail, and no life. But everything I find
indicates that this Chosen One that we have heard so much and yet know nothing
about is a young boy, somewhere between a toddler and a teenager depending on
how ambitious the story teller is feeling at the moment of the transcription.
There are few stories that embellish and suggest that the Chosen One was
inherently good and others that suggest the prophet was the incantation of evil
itself, but regardless of all the images the story tellers paint of the Chosen
One, none of them ever mention that it will be a woman.

I
decide to approach the subject from a different angle. The theory is purely
illogical and borderline insane, so I head for the fairy tales and look for
anything that might be about the Chosen One. I look for feminine looking books,
for stories you would read to a young child. I feel foolish and out of place
but I can’t force myself to stop. I find a book entitled “The Young Nephilims
Guide to Heroes and Heroines Across The Ages” the cover is bound leather and
the paper appears to be very old. I open the book up and of course, it smells
exactly like an old book should. I browse through the lists of Heroine’s, most
are earthly stories about humans in history, everything from Anne Frank to the Amazons
and Athena. There is no rhyme or reason and many of the stories are regarded as
works of fiction now. But as bizarre as this situation already is, I pick the
book up anyways and bring it back to the desk I am working at, along with a few
titles regarding Nephilim folklore and fables.

As I
make my move to settle into the chair that is too small for me and the desk
that can barely contain all of my books a hand slaps the book in front of me
shut, before I even look up, I know exactly who it is “Well, this is something
I never thought I would see, my very own brother sitting in the library pouring
over the books. I thought you only enjoyed lifting heavy things, winning at arm
wrestling and compulsively doing push-ups for fun. What could be so important
that you would come here?” Alya good naturedly pulls at the books and for a
moment looks confused, then a small smile creeps across her face as the
recognition sets in “Ah, heroes and damsels in distress… It’s the girl. If she
really is the Chosen One, what good will obsessive studying do to help you?” I
lean back in my chair and pull my hands through my hair while letting out a
small breath. “If she is the Chosen One, and it is my responsibility to assist
with her training, that is something I would like to know ahead of time. She
may require special… attention. I don’t want to fail at my task and become the
reason everything falls apart.” She nods once and rests her fingers on the
bridge of her nose as though lost in thought for a moment “Okay, so let’s say
the Chosen One theory isn’t completely and totally bogus for a moment. This
story has been around longer than both of us combined - it is fairly unlikely
that you will find information of any real use in the books here. You are truly
looking for the figurative needle in a haystack just by attempting this. I
understand your trepidation, but you have to know you won’t fail. As far as we
know, all she is at this point is a confused, new, powerful Nephilim, so train
her as one.”

I want
to agree with her, but I can somehow feel it in my gut, that there is something
different about this one, it is not just her magnetism or beauty or even her
frailty. It’s her strength, being around her overwhelms all my senses and is
completely disorienting, even in a room filled to the brim with elders, I have
never felt that way. Although, I have a feeling and have been trained to trust
my instincts, I can’t possibly convince my sister to do the same. Instead I try
a different approach “Well, if we are searching for a needle in a haystack. Two
eyes are better than one. So, have a seat.” I reach out to pull another
miniscule chair over, she rolls her eyes but sits down. She loves to talk and
play, but beneath all her makeup and that over the top personality of hers,
lies a bookworm and a know it all. If I find something and she doesn’t, that
would put her at a disadvantage which will never be ok with Alya. I am relieved
to have someone to research with and find her presence comforting, it makes me
feel less insane.

She
grabs a stack of books and we both start looking and occasionally scribbling
notes on a sheet of paper the librarian brought us telling us which books we
should come back to and why. We sit in this amiable silence for a long time and
suddenly Alya erupts in laughter. I look at her and before I even have to ask,
she looks at me and begins reading from the book in her hands “She will bring
fear to those that object her purpose, she will place obstacles in the path of
those that defy her and her enemies will tremble at her feet. Armies will bear
her armor and her anchor will bring a deadly precision to her power.” I quickly
reach for the book and she looks amused by my reaction “Ephraim, I don’t think
you have anything to worry about. She is too scared to bring fear to anyone.
The only reason someone would tremble at her feet would be in laughter at her
completely unintimidating defiance.” I look at her annoyed and go back to the
book so she continues on “I really think she is a nice girl, someone I hope to
be great friends with. But as powerful as she is, the woman described in that
story could in no way be our sweet Ilyana.” As smart as my sister is, she can
be thoroughly dense at times, even if the powerful Nephilim in the story in no
way matches the Ilyana we now know, we have made progress, because at least the
powerful Nephilim in the story is a woman and that is a first. I read on and
notice a line regarding her being mated and feel a sharp pang of jealousy that
serves only to confuse me. I feel attached to her and her cause, I realize now
that I have grown too attached for my own good and make a mental note to go to
greater lengths to distance myself from her. I think back on the other night
and am ashamed to realize that I nearly put my guards down low enough to kiss
her, I don’t know if she even knew, but it took great efforts on my part to
muster up enough self-control to not punch Levi for interrupting.

I
notice Alya fidgeting with her watch and it interrupts my thoughts, I look out
the windows and realize it is getting late and the rain is beginning to set in.
I explain to Alya that I must pack to return to Levi’s house for training and
she nods. We say our goodbyes and as I take a stack of books to the shelf I
separate the book with the powerful, Chosen Woman in it. I carefully mark my
place to close the book and immediately I recognize the old leather cover and
begin to laugh as I place it in my back pack and head to my apartment. “The
Young Nephilims Guide to Heroes and Heroines Across The Ages” – why is it
always the last place you would suspect?

Ilyana:

As disappointed
as I am about losing my focus, I breathe a sigh of relief. Finally, I can get
some answers. I know that Ephraim has been honest with me, but I instinctively
know that I can trust Levi and he will not hold back from me in any way.
Ephraim is guarded and while I know he is not lying, his explanations always
seem to fall flat and lead to more question’s that he is never willing to
answer yet. I sit back for a moment and ponder what I should ask first “Why is
it unsafe for me to go to the enclave, what will happen?” he grabs at his chest
and looks up into the sky then looks down at me with an amused expression on
his face “Well, we aren’t wasting any time here, are we?” I look at him and
impatiently find myself gesturing for him to continue “Alright, alright. I said
I will answer anything you ask, but I need you to keep in mind that the counsel
has kept me out of the loop for years.

But information
does occasionally leak out and remaining friends with those in high places has
certainly had its advantages.” He clears his throat and continues “From what I
gather, there have always been stories about a second generation of nephilim
rising up, it would all begin suddenly, there would be outbreaks of war and
natural disasters, there would be earth quakes and storms. The stories we were
taught as youngsters all pointed towards apocalyptic events, the earth opening
up and swallowing up those that would hinder balance or peace and forgotten
generations of armies would be released into the world, to restore balance,
which as you can imagine, would not be a very peaceful process as corrupt as
this old rock has become.” I nod my head in understanding and he continues on
without any pushing on my part “It is said, that the catalyst for these events
would come in the form of a young Nephilim – we were always told it would be a
boy, kind of a David and Goliath type story. The young nephilim would be the
embodiment of balance, he would be righteous but vengeful, gentle but strong,
angry but peaceful, in him would lie all that was needed to end destroy the old
and recreate the new. He would be a leader, but his leadership would come at a
great cost to the empire that has been built.

People think
that Nephilim are inherently good, but that is not always the case, over their
many centuries on earth, many have grown power hungry, some have overturned
monarchies, created terrorist regimes, or even sold their allegiance for things
as insignificant as goods or money. When you live forever, you begin to hear
rumors of who did what. I believe that our leaders fear what will happen when
this “chosen one” surfaces because many of them are guilty by association or have
turned a blind eye for their own gains.”

I am starting to
realize what he is getting at so I cut him off “So, this being is supposed to
exist that will essentially destroy all that is bad and bring forth all that is
good - It sounds like a lot for one person to carry and no different than what
we humans always called a fairy tale. I can tell what you are getting at, but
the counsel is delusional if they think any of this is possible, or that I
could bring about that much bad, or that much good.” He smiles in a slightly
forced way that doesn’t look natural on him at all and continues “But, you are
not a human, Ilyana, you already know that. Angels and Devils are also spoken
of as a fairy tale if you ask some people. I am not saying that you are the
chosen one that the story speaks of, but some of them are afraid that if you
are, it will mean their end.”

Even though I
think him and all the members of the counsel and the civilians here are insane,
I can understand why they would fear something unknown like that “Okay, I will
accept that explanation for now. But, say the stories are true. It doesn’t
really sound like the kind of thing they can change or outrun anyways, so why
are they keeping me away, why are you the best person to train me?” He nods his
head and points out that I just asked two questions but the reasoning is the
same for both of them “When you have lived alone as long as I have, you learn a
different set of skills, just like we are training to turn your abilities on,
you can train to turn your abilities off, this is never taught in our
communities. No matter where you will go or who you will speak to it will be
assumed that you cannot turn your abilities off and on and if you could, doing
so would be an insult to your heritage and all our – culture, if you will, stands
for. We are to embrace our abilities no matter what and use them regularly, I
have been alive a long time and I have learned over the years that using ours -
while a gift, can also be a curse. I am very powerful and the elders wanted to
use me as what humans would essentially call a bounty hunter, they wanted me to
be the judge, the jury and the execution. I tried to appease them at first, but
realized I only hurt myself when I did. It ended up costing me a great deal of
pain and mentally it shook me up so much I could not sleep at all most nights.
So I started looking for ways out of it, the elders deemed that as long as I
was useful, I was to help them or they would turn against me. So I started
looking for ways to be less useful.” He looks awkwardly at his nails as though
he doesn’t want to continue. I desperately want to hear his story but not at
the cost of his pride. I prepare to stop him from going on but he sees the look
on my face and jumps in “Don’t feel sorry for me, I want to share this story.
Consider listening to my ramblings free therapy from you to me.” I smile and
nod for him to go on.

He continues by
explaining the way powers work “The more you use your powers, the better you
get at it, I got to the point that even when occasionally I would find some
sleep, if my body knew I was on a mission, it wouldn’t stop, I would lay in
bed, sleep and then wake up with a hand drawn map I created while dreaming to
help me find the next head. Or I would be at a party and someone would walk in
the room that I knew there was a hit on and I literally would push my powers
through others – no matter what the cost to them, to get to that one person. I
felt like I was losing control of my powers, but then I realized in the
beginning I had to turn them on, so now I had to learn to turn them off. In the
daytime I would go on my assignments and at night I would meditate, and run and
even fight to try and find ways to shut them off. Eventually I learned I could
do it for short spurts with practice. I started messing up my missions on
purpose, finally. Once I even got shot!” A proud smile spreads across his face
and he looks like a young boy that just learned to ride his bike, he lifts his
shirt and shows me the tiny, perfect scar.

“When the elders
learned of what happened, they immediately knew what I had learned. They
excommunicated me and told me I could not be a part of their community until I
was useful to them, they couldn’t harm me because to the rest of the civilians,
I looked like a hero that was simply injured and if they told them what I
really did, it would’ve meant the elders were all liars about shutting our
abilities on or off.”

I try to
understand the weight of all he is saying, I almost can’t comprehend it, but I
see how happy he is, and know that his being banished was everything he ever
wanted. If he didn’t feel sorry for himself, I couldn’t allow myself to feel
sorry for him. He caught my eye “Has Alya told you how we all sense powers
differently?” for a moment I believe we are about to go back into training mode
so I cautiously respond that she has mentioned it and much to my relief he
starts talking some more “She hears power, like a buzz, I on the other hand
smell power, it smells different for everyone, varying strengths and scents,
but for you it is overwhelming, it is a cacophony of smells – all good. But
very overwhelming, if I didn’t know how to turn my power off, I would probably
get sick being around you for a long time. – She actually got a headache from
your time together on the boat, which is almost unheard of for our kind. Until
you can control your abilities, you need to only be around someone that has
full control of theirs.”

I begin to stand
“Someone like you?” he follows and gets up as well, he reaches his hands out in
a showy gesture “The one and only!” then another thought reaches me “Is that
why Ephraim has disappeared? Did I make him sick?” I suddenly feel concerned
that I could cause him pain so unwillingly. Levi quickly shakes his head no

“Ephraim likes a
challenge, he feels abilities like a buzz or a hum on the surface of his skin,
he can sense yours and it is disorienting and powerful, but it is nothing more
than potentially uncomfortable for him. Don’t worry, Sunshine. Lover boy will
be fine and I bet he will be back around you in no time. When you learn to
control your abilities, it won’t be an issue for anyone at all.”

I feel my face
begin to redden at the nickname he has given Ephraim and although I am trying
to think of a quick response, my mind just draws blank and my jaw goes slack.
He throws his head back to laugh and winks at me, just then lightning flashes
across the darkening sky and while I try to fix the rubber band in my hair
quickly he takes off and like a child yells “Last one there is a rotten egg!” I
shake my head and laugh as I begin to take off after him. As complicated as
things are right now, I am so grateful that I at least have found a friend to
go through it with, it doesn’t make everything right, but it certainly makes
everything better.