The Magic Number

by Natalie Gibson

  She gave one last ragged sigh, and the guard’s voice came back to tell them. “I think she’s really dead. Her glow is gone.” They watched Kishargalanna’s shape settle into that of a woman. Small and petite with fine facial structures, she looked about fifteen. Her body then changed for the last time. Growing old—going from fifteen to forty-five, then to a hundred in about eight seconds—Kishargalanna became what she would’ve been now without the help of Raphael’s blood for all those years. A shriveled, desiccated mummy was all that was left of the Lilitu.

  Brian and Montana stood stunned. They hadn’t known a maker could kill his child with a thought. Not from miles away. The healer had destroyed his blood inside her. His blood. They must’ve had the same thought, because they both bolted out of the office and down the hall toward the lab.

  Because of his injuries, Montana was slower. By the time, he got to the laboratory door, the lead tech was already stammering to Brian. “I-I d-don’t know. It j-just changed.” Montana stood in the doorway as Brian stormed over to the centrifuge, where a dozen vials held the ruined blood. It boiled up from around the seals, eating away the rubber stoppers and glass alike.

  Enraged, Brian raked his arm across the workstation, sending the spinning machine and its contents flying. “Did you get even one batch of the serum made?”

  The lead tech didn’t answer because he was screaming. One container of the burning liquid had shattered against his desk and splashed him. Most of his body was protected by the white coat, safety goggles and gloves, but boils formed on his exposed cheek. Without thinking, he tried to swipe away the offending liquid. His hand came away, taking a large portion of his cheek skin and muscle with it.

  His screams were cut short when Brian put a bullet in his mutilated face. He then turned to one of the other two lab techs in the room and asked again, “Did you get any serum made?” His voice sounded calm, and Montana knew it was because of the killing. The worse the fuckup, the more Brian would kill to settle his nerves. Lab technicians were easy to come by. The two still standing probably wouldn’t be in a matter of seconds.

  “No, sir. We were taking our time, getting it right.”

  The second shot was just as loud as the first, but since Montana was ready for it, he kept from jumping. Not so with the last tech standing, who started to shake as Brian turned the gun to point at him. “I trust you will be quicker next time.”

  The smell of urine was the only answer they got. Brian took it as affirmative. “Good. Now clean this mess up.” Brian turned to go. The sound of the sink knob turning preceded the faucet springing to life. He called over his shoulder, “Use vinegar to neutralize the blood.”

  Idiots, Brian thought to himself as Montana fell in step behind him. The ruined blood had reacted to the water in the things it had come in contact with. Any first-level grad student could see that. The healer had turned his blood into a corrosive alkaline-like lye, and that flunky chemist was going to wash it with water. Brian decided right there that the man would not be any faster with the next batch of blood they brought in. As soon as he exhausted his usefulness up by cleaning the lab, Brian would kill him.

  NATHALIA AND Eiran sat on the bed in their oh-so-small quarters with the DakuAhu pieces still in the bag between them. She didn’t dare touch them or allow Eiran to either. Even now, she could see their lifelines straining to get near the kill-brother. She was certain that even the smallest of cut would end their lives.

  Eiran could sense her need for silence and honored her unspoken request. He allowed her to think on this. Eiran had married Ereshkigal in Mesopotamia over seven thousand years ago. He had not known at the time that she was the Sinnis of his brother, the then king, Sarrum Eitan. Ereshkigal had chosen Eiran. She’d seen that Eitan was evil, even if on some level she knew she belonged with him. Eitan’s beast was too strong, and he allowed it too much freedom. She couldn’t align herself with such a creature. Eitan may have recognized her as his Sinnis, but he had not loved her. She had been the chosen one of the Shinar. They had given one of their own bones, along with instructions on how to forge it into a weapon capable of killing even an immortal. She had cut herself with it, coating it with her blood, endowing it with power. She had then used it to stand against the first Akhkharu. They had been created by Eitan, and though there were too many for her to overcome, she managed to kill one.

  Nathalia had thought the weapon was safe in its shattered state, but now a replacement was out in the world just waiting for the right blood to activate it. With the time upon them where all Nephilim could find their Sinnis, the world was filled with women who could be used to create the new DakuAhu. More than ever, she needed the Nephilim to gather around the One with their Sinnis, converted or not, in tow.

  Had they taken it knowing its potential, or thinking it was already the cursed DakuAhu? If the former, then they would be gunning for unclaimed Sinnis. If the latter, she might have time to reclaim it. Everyone could live through its cut as long as it never tasted pre-converted Sinnis blood. Until then, it was just a dagger, capable of doing only the damage a dagger could do. On a Nephilim, that was nearly nothing.

  Sorcerers of the Five Elements—SOFE for short—knew about the DakuAhu’s ability to slice through the veil between this world and the next. That was how the unfinished weapon had ended up here. Michael, her childhood tormentor and the murderer of her parents, had brought it here last year. He was also the chosen of the Shinar. They gave him the weapon, along with instructions on how to fashion it into something that could set them free. He had brought it here for her blood. The Shinar had known she was Eiran’s Sinnis in this life. Maybe the men that attacked today were SOFE, but Nathalia doubted it. They hadn’t used magic, and there wasn’t a woman among them. Even within the SOFE, women held most of the power.

  The Paion Fellowship didn’t care about releasing the gods of old, the Shinar. They would only want blood and power. The men had taken Nanae Raphael Maru’s blood. It could have been the Paion. The ‘kill-brother’ was the only weapon capable of killing a Nephilim. It was obvious why they would want it.

  Common sense said the men were Paion. Nathalia had reached for their minds, but they had some sort of barrier her thoughts could not penetrate. She’d never felt that before.

  I have. Eiran’s thoughts settled into her mind. She’d been broadcasting hers to him unknowingly. Their near constant contact made it almost impossible to hide feelings and thoughts from one another, especially if one of them was concentrating on something important. The Paion were not always our enemy. Together, we tried to find ways to use our abilities for the good of humankind. They betrayed us.

  How? Nathalia asked.

  They secretly tested our blood, trying to achieve a mixture that would give them eternal life but without the side effects that come with consuming our blood.

  No. Nathalia shook her head. I mean how do they block me from their minds?

  Eiran took a deep breath, then spoke aloud. “I taught them. They were working with us and needed to be exempt from our taboos. They strengthened their resistance over the years. They are immune to most of our abilities, especially the ones to do with the mind. Now they seem to be focused on becoming impervious to us physically also. They’ll likely be able to do it if they ever get more of the healer’s blood.”

  “NATHALIA TELLS me we owe you a debt of gratitude for this afternoon. You protected our little ones. Thank you,” Maeve said as Christy approached. Maeve and Nathalia sat on the two biggest rocks in the sacred ficus grove. They had been waiting for Christy. Nathalia said the girl would come back to where it had happened. She had seen the look of wonder and confusion on Christy’s face when the teen’s power had manifested. There was nothing in the books about this type ability. They needed to know what happened.

  “Nathalia already told me what she saw from the rooftop, but we were hoping you could fill in some details. How did you make the protective bubble?”

  Nathalia spoke to Christy without movin
g her lips. Perhaps a demonstration would help ease Christy’s apprehension. You know the Daughters have abilities. We are only curious because we want to help you develop yours. There is nothing to be scared of.

  “I don’t know how I did it.” Christy cleared her throat and tucked her hair behind her ear. It must have been a nervous tick, since the hair was already tucked. “I just got scared, and I shouted something stupid. Then the wall was up.”

  Why don’t you close your eyes and try to tell us everything you felt, heard, saw, did, and said. Don’t edit anything out. Just tell us, and let us decide what’s important.

  Christy trusted Nathalia and Maeve both. Last year, Maeve helped save her physical body, and Nathalia put her fragmented mind back together. “I was playing with the babies right over there. We had our shoes off, feeling the thick, soft, cool grass. They were fascinated by a ring of tiny mushrooms in the clearing. I was having trouble keeping them all from tasting them. Kids put everything in their mouths, but I don’t know anything about mushrooms and was worried they might be poisonous. So, I distracted them with a story about faery rings that my grandma used to tell me as a kid. Do you want to hear that?”

  “Maybe later. Keep going.”

  “I was scared as soon as I saw those men. They moved like they were in an army movie. You know—kinda crouched down, but fast. They had guns, but they were all pointed down, toward the ground. I was scared, but not really worried, because no soldier would hurt a girl with a bunch of babies, right? I guess I was wrong, because as they passed, that one pointed a gun at me and the babies. I got mad. Like really mad. Madder than I’ve ever been. I mean, how dare he threaten those precious, innocent babies? They didn’t even know enough to be scared, for goddess sakes.”

  Maeve and Nathalia shared a grin at the girl’s use of the most common of the Daughters’ phrases. Christy had spent a lot of time with them all and couldn’t help but pick up some of their habits.

  “I heard—no, I felt… It was like I had a sudden flash of a memory I didn’t know I had. I guess I was thinking of her, since I’d just been telling her story. I remembered Gramma saying this, so I said it. Shouted it, really.” Her cheeks reddened a little.

  Go on.

  Christy opened her eyes. “It’s embarrassing. It sounds so stupid. I said, ‘Key-ya-way will not allow you to hurt her children.’ As soon as I said it, I could feel them. I just grabbed some, and the bubble popped up.”

  “What did you feel, Christy? What did you grab?”

  “The power lines. They run underground all over this place. I don’t know what they are, but it feels good—you know, in my body—when I use them.” She turned a deeper shade of red.

  Christy, this is amazing. You did something we’ve never heard of.

  “You don’t feel them?” she asked.

  Maeve and Nathalia shook their heads. Can you make another bubble?

  Christy nodded. “I was worried I was doing something wrong. You know, like against your religion. Something sacrilegious, like using holy water to make pasta or something. It’s okay for me to pull from the lines?”

  “Like Nathalia said, we’ve never heard of what you’re doing. We don’t know anything about this, but if your ability to pull from these lines is used for good, then who are we to tell you to stop? You’ll have to be your own mentor, but maybe we can find someone to help.”

  Christy let out a breath. “Whew. I’m glad to hear you say that, because I’ve been using the power all day. It just feels really good, and I’m trying to figure out what the heck it is.” Her shoulders relaxed. “Do you want to see?”

  Christy didn’t wait for their answer before getting started. She walked over to the mushroom circle she’d used earlier and stepped inside. “I need a circle, and I have to be inside the circle. I can’t bring one up from the outside. I have to say the silly words, but I think with practice, I might be able to do it by just saying the words in my head.” Without any further ado, Christy whispered, “Key-ya-way will not allow you to hurt her children,” and the bubble popped up around her.

  Nathalia and Maeve stood up in a start. They recovered quickly and approached Christy to examine her work. The sphere didn’t have the shimmering iridescence of an actual bubble. It was more like it was tightly woven out of a million individual strands of the finest golden hair.

  “I can’t do it without the flick of my wrist, but I think it’s because it helps me visualize the power being pulled from the lines and thrown up around me.” The hand movement had been the same as the one Nathalia saw her do the first time, but it was a little more relaxed.

  “I’ve got a superpower,” Christy said in a sort of proud disbelief.

  Yes, you do, Nathalia agreed. Can you control the sphere? Move it? Expand it?

  “No. I can make a bigger one if you give me a bigger circle, but I can’t change it once it’s set.” Her voice didn’t sound any different coming from inside the sphere.

  “So it’s limited to the circle you use to make it. Once it’s up, can you walk away and leave it? If you forget about it, will it stay up?”

  “If I touch it, the power is sucked back into the line. I don’t know what would happen if I fell asleep, but it doesn’t take any effort or concentration to keep it up, so maybe it would stay up. You can come in now, if you want.”

  Maeve and Nathalia looked at each other, and Christy continued to babble on about how she discovered that people could pass through if she wanted them to but not if she didn’t. Maeve reached out to touch the glowing orb, and her hand went right through. Both women stepped forward and into the circle. They recognized the touch of that power. This was the golden power collected by the Capacitors from the couples made by Vinculum like Maeve.

  “Do these lines go in any particular direction?” Maeve asked.

  “You really can’t see them? They flow from all over toward the main building. They run underground and pool in what looks like an underground cave beneath the sanctuary.”

  She confirmed what they suspected. Christy was accessing the communal power before it was collected. It shouldn’t be possible, but she was doing it. Only sisters of the Primo level could access that power. They were shown how after taking their final vows to the sisterhood. Hell, non-Primos didn’t even know the Capacitors existed, much less that they collected power for communal use.

  From inside the sphere looking out, the world appeared normal. They weren’t looking through a golden shade. Nathalia stepped back out. Then the sphere was gone.

  Christy answered their unspoken question with a grin. “It’s still there. I can make it invisible too.”

  “I’M SORRY I was acting so weird after the attack.” Israel stuffed his last bite of tiramisu into his mouth. He was nervous and trying hard not to show it. He had spent the whole meal working up the nerve to start this conversation. He’d made the salad and lasagna, but he bought the three tiramisu servings at his favorite Italian restaurant. The drive there and back had been just what he needed to clear his head.

  “I understand. You saw my true nature. It is frightening to most humans. Interacting with us can be nerve-racking.” Nanae blew Izzy’s behavior off as perfectly normal in the circumstances. He was only halfway through his dessert. Since he’d fed on Israel so recently and both Camilla and Izzy had promised him either blood or sex after dinner, Nanae had indulged in eating. He savored the coffee-flavored sweet.

  Camilla did a one-shoulder shrug and gave Israel a smirk that managed to look like a genuine smile. “I thought you were weirded out by the blow job.” Her square of cocoa-dusted pastry layered with whipped raw egg mixture remained untouched in front of her. It wasn’t that she didn’t like tiramisu. It was her favorite dessert. The fact that Izzy served it to them showed how much he knew about Camilla and how little he knew about things a pregnant woman shouldn’t eat.

  “No, it wasn’t the blow job. Not exactly. It was great, but it scared me. I saw today that you are so clearly not entirely human. I’ve had t
his planned since our first week together. I was so sure from that early on, but our afternoon in the storage rooms changed something. It made me uncertain. I don’t know the protocol concerning relationships with Nephilim. I had to get some space to figure out if I was really feeling what I thought I was, or if Nanae had overwritten my feelings with an illusion meant to make feeding from me easier.”

  “Izzy!” Camilla exclaimed.

  “I would not make a person feel something they did not, even if I could. I sometimes block the memory of my feedings if a person has difficulty dealing with it, but I would never make someone feel something unnatural.”

  Camilla patted Nanae’s hand in an “of course you wouldn’t” sort of way. Israel got up from the third chair, which he’d bought weeks ago so that they could sit together in his kitchen. He cleared the dishes as an excuse to escape their gaze but still said what he had to.

  “It doesn’t feel unnatural, but it isn’t normal. That’s good for me. I’m not completely normal. I’m a bisexual switch—dominant with my female partners, submissive with my male partners.”

  Camilla, with only a little help from Nanae, stood and joined Izzy at the sink. She winked at him and gestured that he should join Nanae back at the table while she did the dishes. He didn’t want her to take over, but he thought the denial of her offer might break his tenuous stride. Izzy sat down in Camilla’s vacated seat next to Nanae. That way, if she wanted to, Camilla could turn and see their faces at the same time.

  “You’re so dominant you’re practically predatory, Nanae. Camilla, you’re so submissive I can make you climax just by telling you to. It’s so obvious that we’re perfectly suited. I’ve been in love with both women and men, or at least I thought I have. What I felt before pales in comparison to what I feel for you two.” He took a deep breath. “What I feel now is new and unique, and it’s all mixed together. I don’t just love each of you. I love you both—together. I need you both. I want you to move in with me. I want to live together as a family.”