The Nephilim: Book One (16 page)

“Oh, but it does,” his eyes were
aflame, “I can bring you to someone with the answers.”

“Answers,” she repeated, “I’d like
that.”

He began to guide her toward the
gate.

“Oh, but wait!” she gripped his
arm, “There’s so much going on, and, well, everyone’s in danger here. I can’t
just go.”

“We have the power to make it all
go away, Sophie. We can put an end to all of this. Don’t you see?” Troian was
again staring into her eyes, “Every moment you stay with them, you put them in
danger. Leaving is for their own good.”

His words echoed Adam’s, and her
heart sunk. But then a thought came to her. Is this why she wanted to become
human in the first place?  She tried hard to remember. Is this what Eric and
his parents lost their lives for? And if this was the case, had Adam been
keeping the truth from her all along?

Heat bubbled up inside her and shot
through her veins. The backs of her eyes burned, and she clenched her fists,
“Fine. Let’s go.” Without another word, Troian replaced his hood, shadowing his
face, and led her to the gate.

“Sophie?” That voice was
unmistakable.

She turned and saw Adam hurriedly
walking across the courtyard to them. It was dark, but she could see the ragged
look he wore and his hair disheveled as if he had been running hands through it.
He began to slow, “Sophie, what’s going on?”

His voice somehow fanned the fire
inside her. She grit her teeth, “I know the truth.”

He stopped.

“I know about the mighty ones of
renown,” the words fell from her lips as if she were made to speak them, “I have
to go.”

As she turned away, he called to
her, “Go where? Who is this?”

“Stop,” she spoke as clearly as she
was able, though her insides trembled, “Don’t try to follow me.”

“Sophie, I—”

“I said stop!”

A white, hot light exploded from
her hand as she swung it at him. Adam flew backward, and he cried out. When the
light dissipated, his body lay limply on the ground. Sophie went to cover her
mouth, shocked, but stopped, looking down at her own hand. Had she really just
done that?

She moved to go to him as he began
to roll weakly to his side, but Troian caught her arm, “He will be in more
danger if you stay.” She let him lead her away, terrified of herself, and they
slipped through the gates.

***

"Adam!" Verrine dropped
down at his side, her eyes wide, "What happened?"

Adam blinked up at her, Mona
appearing behind her, equally shocked. He rolled onto his back revealing a
bloody pool on the ground, crimson stains on his white shirt, and the skin of
his right arm charred.

Verrine gasped, "Who did this
to you?"

Adam swallowed hard,
"Sophie."

Verrine searched the courtyard as
she took up his arm, “What? Where is she?”

He winced and shut his eyes,
"Gone.”

“You seem healed,” Mona examined
the arm Verrine was holding, "Those burns couldn’t have produced all that blood.
How long was it before Thanatos found you?”

“I don’t know,” he sat up with a
groan, “I remember bright light, then darkness. I must have lost
consciousness.”

“Why would Sophie do this to
you?" Mona furrowed her brow and growled, "What did you do?"

"Stupid," Verrine spat at
her, pulling him up, "That's not what he meant."

Adam winced again as he came to his
feet, "No. She did."

Verrine released him and took a
step back, beside Mona, "What did you do?"

He looked past them toward the
gate, ignoring their question, “She was with someone, but I couldn’t see the
face. Said she had to go.”

Verrine searched the ground,
confusion taking her. "No one should be able to get in here without an
escort," she huffed, “No one but the royals, but they’re certainly not here.”

"She said not to follow,"
he stared blankly at the stone walls, “She said she knew the truth. She knew
about the...the mighty ones of renown?”

Mona snapped to attention,
"The mighty ones of renown? Well, of course it’s them. The strigori have
taken her.”

“How did they get in?” Verrine’s
voice was accusatory.

“I don’t know!” Mona fired back,
“But that is something they used to mumble about. Never said it around her,
though, and I don’t know how else she’d hear it.” She furrowed her brow.

“What?” Verrine grabbed her without
thinking and shook the girl, “What’s that look?”

Mona groaned, shaking Verrine off,
“They wanted Sophie in her demon form for the resurrection. But now they’ve got
the book, maybe they don’t need her to be changed. Maybe they’re doing the
resurrection now.” She looked distraught, “I can take us to where they’ll be.”

Adam looked to Mona, "Are you
sure they will still use that place even though you know it?”

“They have to,” she swallowed hard,
“it’s where Agrippa’s body is.”

Chapter 15

"This place gives me the
creeps." Verrine shivered, staring out at the rocky landscape. The sky was
dark, and the horizon mountainous. A cool breeze blew in from the coast behind
them.

“What, Earth?” Mona sniffed
quietly, coming up to stand beside her.

Verrine nodded, “Yes.”

After gathering Reym and his five
companions in arms, they had traversed the river and Mona had used her dagger
to bring them to the Material World island on which Agrippa’s body had been
interred.

Mona sheathed her dagger and rested
her hands on her hips, "You live in Hell and this place scares you?"

"I didn't say I was
scared!" Verrine hissed, balling her fists.

Adam shook his head, "You’ve
had very little exposure to this plane, Verrine. You’re at a much greater risk
than the rest of us.”

She growled lightly in the back of
her throat, “I know, I know.”

“He’s right,” Mona turned to the
group and addressed the demons, “We are basically about to go into a strigori
den on their home turf.”

“If you think we have not built up
sufficient immunity to strigori venom, you are quite mistaken,” Buer smiled
beneath his massive red beard.

“Yes, but please, do protect our
little lamb,” Pru placed her hands on Verrine’s shoulders, “She will be
reckless, if we know her well enough.”

Mona held back laughter, biting her
cheek, “I’ll do what I can for your lamb.”

Verrine stuck her tongue out and
Mona quickly turned away from her, leading them all forward. “This island is
uninhabited. The burial place is just over this ridge.” She climbed upward with
the rest at her back. As they crested the hill, Mona put out a hand to them to
stop. The wind blew hard against her back, whipping her hair in front of her
face, but she didn’t need to see. She could smell them. She looked back to the
others, “There are at least fifty at the mouth of the tomb”

“Ha,” Aeshma snorted, slamming a
fist into her open hand, “That’s less than ten apiece.”

“Remember the plan,” Reym slipped
his bow over his head, “Let us draw them out and you get inside. We’ll keep
them occupied.”

When they nodded, the demon drew an
arrow across his bow and released it. It sailed silently through the air, and
they listened for it. Suddenly, a cry sounded out into the night. And it began.

***

Naomi clutched the old tome to her
chest as she paced in the center of the ancient room. Her heels echoed
throughout the vast chamber as she made her way from one wall to another.

"Would you please calm
down," Rose spoke in a deep tone, her chin on her chest, leaning against
the wall.

Naomi spun in her direction, her
chestnut mane splaying out around her, "Calm down?" Her eyes flashed
yellow, "Will I calm down?" She strode up to the girl and towered
above her, "This is the most important moment of my life. There is no room
for error. And you ask me to be calm?"

Rose snorted and rolled her eyes,
looking up at her, "You don’t trust him, then?"

Naomi’s words caught in her throat,
and she growled and turned away, resuming her pacing. Rose flashed Danielle a
knowing smile, and the pink-haired girl giggled.

Michael watched the scene silently
from across the chamber, seated on the dusty floor. In a way, he was glad for
the new dynamic between Naomi and Rose as it left him out of either of their
lines of sight and was at least intriguing, but he envied Simon, already
assigned to a different mission, and even Grant, useless in his human form and
left at the apartment thousands of miles away. The stale air here made his
stomach turn and he always found the darkness underground different from any
other, oppressive and threatening. He hated to be this close to death no matter
how ironic that was.

Naomi suddenly rushed to the altar
in the room’s center and slammed the book down, “What is this?”

She fixed her eyes on the
high-domed ceiling of the room as the stones there began to crack. Michael
jumped to his feet and plastered himself against the wall as dirt and stone
fell into the chamber followed by a burst of moonlight. A massive, shadowed
figure dropped down through the newly made opening, landing atop the altar,
inches from Naomi. She jumped back as the crouching man came to his full
height.

“Apollyon,” she whispered,
wide-eyed and in awe of the sight. He looked down on her bleakly, massive white
wings wrapped around his body. Even Rose stood at attention.

The angel unfurled his feathered
appendages, and Michael shifted along the wall to see. They spread out
gloriously on either side of the man, catching the light, and each feather
seemed to have its own life. In their wake, the body of a young female human
was draped neatly over his arms, her ashy-blonde curls falling messily around
her, her eyes shut. Michael recognized Sophie immediately and, though he
expected it, the hunger he hadn’t been able to control in her presence did not
come. Instead, some other ill feeling swam around in the pit of his stomach.

Apollyon gently placed the girl on
the altar as he dismounted it, then reached inside his shirt. He removed an
object, his hand clasped tightly around it, “Rose, my dear, would you be so
kind?” he lazily rolled his head against his shoulders, and she took Danielle’s
hand and pulled her from the room in response. “Don’t forget about our guest,”
he reminded her as she went, and the two disappeared.

When they had left, Apollyon opened
his hand and balanced a red stone on his palm. Naomi locked her eyes on it, “Is
that—”

“I thought you would like to see
what it has been doing.” Apollyon set the stone on the altar beside the girl,
and it flashed, bright and blinding. As the light dissipated, a figure stood in
its place, cloaked and dark.

Naomi fell instantly to her knees,
“My lord.”

Thought he had never seen him,
Michael knew this was Agrippa, or at least a shade of him. He too took a knee.

After a long moment, Naomi raised
her head, “How is this possible?”

“I am not truly here, not yet,"
he ran a hand along the altar and circled it, “I have been using the stone and
a vessel to do my bidding,” he jerked his head toward Naomi and, though his
hooded cloak covered his face, he still stared daggers at the woman, “Work I
had entrusted to others.”

“Forgive me,” Naomi’s voice
cracked.

The figure stepped before her and
reached out for her chin, lifting her to her feet, “Now, now. You are one of my
oldest disciples, your blood runs pure. You are still useful to me yet.” When
he released her, she shriveled in on herself. He did not notice, but instead
turned to Michael, “And this is the boy?”

Apollyon answered in the
affirmative.

The cloaked figure looked over the
still kneeling Michael, and the man refused to raise his head, “He is strong,
unique,” he turned back to Apollyon, “A final test, then?”

Apollyon nodded, “Go to Rose, she
will give you orders for tonight.”

Michael stiffly raised to his feet,
casting a sidelong glance at Naomi. She was no longer fearsome, her existence
dwarfed by the other two. He turned and began to leave the chamber, heading for
the entrance of the labyrinth. As he left he could still hear Agrippa’s rough
voice, “Now, wake her.”

***

The tomb’s entrance sloped sharply
and Mona lost her balance, sliding down into a round pit, Verrine and Adam
toppling down just behind her. The sounds of the others outside, weapons
clanging and shrill cries, were all but completely shut out now that they were
beneath the earth. Light fell in behind them through the opening above,
spilling out onto the floor in a single spot that they found themselves in, and
the three quickly scrambled to their feet and stood back to back, peering into
the dark depths of the room. There was an opening at the chamber’s far side, a
single candle hanging in a metal cage beside it for illumination, but the way
between was wide and long, and Mona could sense the presence of others.
Familiar others.

"Oh, this is surprising."

Mona turned immediately, her
stomach twisting. Rose sauntered from the shadows, her ebony hair covering her
like a cloak, "But I thought we'd have some real competition."

Verrine crouched beside Mona,
readying herself to spring, but Mona held her back. “Wait,” she hissed at the
demon, watching Rose as she came forward. The woman didn’t appear prepared to
attack.

Danielle’s shrill voice sounded
from behind, gasping, and Mona quickly turned to see her. Her pink pigtails
were bound loosely atop her head and bounced with each step. She pointed at
Verrine, her eyes wild, "Hey! You're supposed to be dead! We killed
you!"

"Well," Verrine glanced
at Mona, and she nodded, "I'm back." The demon released a flame she’d
ignited in her hands and sent it toward Danielle. The strigori swore and
dodged, shooting herself across the chamber. Verrine’s flame hit the wall with
enough impact to shatter the stones there, earth crumbling to the ground behind
them. Verrine, however, did not watch to see if damage had been done, and
instead twisted and sent another flame hurtling toward Rose who sprung from its
path, unable to hide the surprise on her face.

Adam readied himself, but Mona
stopped him, "This is a distraction. You go ahead. We can handle this,
can't we?" She turned to Verrine for confirmation, but the demon was
already igniting flames in her palms and traipsing toward Rose. Adam hesitated
only a moment before nodding to her and sprinting for the next chamber. Neither
Rose nor Danielle attempted to stop him.

"So, here to save your
princess, are you?" Rose splayed her arms out at her sides, the tendons
running up her fingers pulsing as her talons came, “It’s quite noble.”

Verrine pursed her lips as she went
for the woman with a vengeance, blind to anything else around her, including a
speedy Danielle who, in a flash, was on the demon’s back, digging claws into
her shoulder.

“Does it hurt?” Danielle had her
face up to the demon’s ear, “If you surrender now it doesn’t have to be nearly
as painful as last time.”

Mona moved to go to her, but saw
Rose had the same idea. As Verrine reached back and took hold of Danielle’s arms,
Mona switched her attention to Rose. She took a deep breath, crouched, and leapt
at the woman. Electricity instantly ran through her veins as she felt her own
talons come, and the taste of metal filled her mouth as her fangs sprang forth.

Rose was not oblivious to her,
turning and throwing out an extended hand in Mona’s line of flight, her eyes
flashing green. Mona evaded her, slashing at Rose's chest. The woman
sidestepped her hand and swiped at the traitor again, catching her neck and
reopening the bite Michael had made days before. Mona’s hand flew to the
reexposed wound, and she stumbled forward.

"How could you ever think you
could leave us?" Rose plunged her claws into Mona’s shoulder, "You
really are just a stupid little girl, aren’t you?"

Mona peered up into Rose’s eyes
flickering red with anger and hunger. She felt Rose’s hand slide deeper into
her flesh and snorted, clasping onto the strigori's wrist and lifting her body
from the ground. Fast and hard, Mona slammed her feet into Rose's stomach,
sending the woman backward and into the chamber’s wall. The strigori collapsed
there, her claws receding.

"Shit!" Danielle's shriek
echoed throughout the chamber as she scurried toward where Rose had fallen. She
was vigorously beating at her own head, attempting to stifle flames there. Mona
looked to Verrine, a satisfied smirk across the demon’s face despite the blood
that dripped from her neck; her fireball had caught one of the strigori's
pigtails and set it alight.

As the strigori flailed around on
the ground, shrieking, Verrine began to sway. She held out an arm to steady
herself, and Mona went to her, grabbing it. The demon was barely keeping
herself on her feet. “Verrine, were you bitten?” Mona pushed her white locks
away from her neck and noted the fang marks there. “Dammit,” she murmured and
tried to steady the woman, “Are you going to be—” but she choked on the blood
the suddenly pooled in her mouth. Pain ripped through her body and she could
read the terror in Verrine’s eyes.

***

Adam stepped cautiously from the
sloping, narrow hall. The chamber was darker and colder than the one before and
eerily silent. Still, he stopped. Something was here. It slid against the far
wall in the shadows, it breathed in the stale, musty air.

“Show yourself,” he spoke in a
loud, clear tone.

A small blue light ignited deep in
the shadows, then quickly mutated into a mass of orange fire, sailing toward
Adam in answer. He leapt from its path and skidded into the wall, hearing the
bricks to his left crumble and scatter across the ground. This wasn't strigori
power, he was sure, but what was a demon doing here?

Another blue spark appeared in the
shadows, quickly changing to orange, but did not leave its keeper this time.
The fire's glow illuminated a large hand and arm cloaked in black leading up to
a sturdy jaw and bronze skin, dirty blond hair and finally reflecting back in
amber eyes. The resemblance to Sophie was uncanny.

But before he could question the
demon, the bright, orange mass flew at Adam, barely missing his head as he
ducked. Completely bewildered, he frantically searched the room for the demon
with his eyes, but couldn't find him amongst the shadows. "Troian!"
he called out blindly, “What are you doing? I’m Adam, I’m here to help!”

Another fireball sailed through the
air towards Adam, crashing into the wall behind him.

"I know who you are."
Troian's voice was suddenly in Adam's ear.

The demon’s fist found its way to
Adam's face, knocking him across the floor. Adam blinked wildly, the room
spinning, and he gripped his nose to feel for breaks. His eyes focused on the
demon standing above him. "Troian, please," blood begin to trickle
down face, "We don't have time for this. Sophie's in trouble."