There was a breeze that came through the open window and slammed the bedroom door. Both of them jumped in surprise, and she started to laugh. He laughed as well, but there was a definite tension in his, like it was forced.
Getting up, he walked over to the door to open it, propping it open with a book so the wind couldn’t take it again. When he was done, he turned to her. “I have a few things I need to get done, I’ll be back later. Enjoy your work.”
“Oh I will. Thank y—”
He didn’t even wait for her to finish, before walking away. Once again, she sat there and wondered what she had done wrong. What a confusing man, she thought as she looked back down at her computer.
CHAPTER 14
“Freedom!” Nicole yelled when they got out of the doctor’s building.
He shook his head and laughed at her outburst. “Should I get you some war paint and a battle ax?” he teased.
The smile on her face didn’t waver. “Yes! Except he yelled that right before getting decapitated, so maybe that’s not the best movie to reference,” she pointed out, thinking of the movie Braveheart.
“Very true.” He opened the car door for her. “What would you like to do, now that you can leave the house?”
“Anything! Everything!”
“Within moderation. You can still go back to the bed if you overdo it.”
“Don’t be a buzz kill.” She smacked his chest with the back of her hand before getting in.
He smiled and found that he had been doing a lot of that lately. They’re relationship was confusing at best, and kept changing with her moods, but at least they got along. Once in a while, he would say something he shouldn’t, and she would get mad, but it never went as far as her hating him. He guessed that after ten weeks under the same roof as him, any person could get used to his charismatic personality. Most days, they got along, played around and teased each other. He would definitely put her in the category of being a friend.
That was a good thing since he still planned on putting her through the change. There was one thing standing in his way, though… her verbal consent. She knew nothing about him or the life that he led. He had hoped that when he explained about the fallen angels, she would have had a different reaction. He saw the disgust on her face when he explained about Ramiel. How would she feel when he explained that his blood was running through him, their children, and that he wanted to put it in her? She could very well spit in his face for even considering it.
That wasn’t true. His Nicole would never spit in his face. Leave him… yes, yell at him… oh yeah, but she would be too proper to spit. Either way, there was no doubt in his mind that she wouldn’t be happy.
Walking around the car, he got in and smiled as if he hadn’t been thinking of their volcanic future. “How about ice-cream?” he asked. “You can get extra chocolate syrup.”
She didn’t look as happy as he thought she would be.
“What?”
“Have you looked at me lately?” Oh shit, he thought. This was a can of worms that he always tried to keep closed.
“I’m swollen all over. I can’t breathe half the time. I can’t sleep, and I have to pee all the time. All because I’m as big as a house,” she whined.
“Don’t be ridiculous.” He paused as he backed out of his parking space, but continued once they were on the road. “Maybe a RV, but not a house.”
He got smacked once again, but at least he had her laughing.
He drove to Freezer Boys, an ice cream shop that had almost any flavor you could think would go good together, and ones that you didn’t. It was perfect because it was turning into a nice day outside, and once they ordered from the window, they could sit in the sun. He never had too much of a preference, but he knew that she would enjoy it after being stuck inside for so many weeks. To be truthful, he never had slowed down long enough to sit and eat ice-cream.
As they were standing in line, Nicole was looking down and gently caressing her belly. He maneuvered himself behind her, and started massaging her shoulders.
“Mmmm. That feels good.”
“Enjoy it while you can. I’m keeping track of all the times you get free massages and you’re going to return the favor tenfold when the babies come.”
He felt he shoulders jerk when she let out a tiny laugh, and he continued. “Just think how long you’ll be rubbing my back… my feet. Make sure you get the toes real good, on top, underneath, in between.”
She laughed louder and swung her arm down to pinch his thigh. “Don’t gross me out before I’m about to eat.”
“Ouch!” He jerked his leg out of her crab like grip, and rubbed the sting away. “You’re awfully violent today.”
“I can’t help it. You speak and it brings out my fierce nature.”
He couldn’t see her face, but he could tell that she was smiling. He chuckled and went back to massaging her shoulders.
Hearing someone quietly singing, he glanced over at the line next to them, and saw a gentleman, possibly in his late fifties, early sixties. It looked as if he was singing to the woman next to him, and she had a small smile on her face as she listened. Intrigued, Gemariah stretched out his senses and felt a mixture of respect, caring, humor, and romantic feelings coming from both of them. By the rings on their fingers, and the comfortableness around each other, he could tell that they were married, and for quite a while too.
Suddenly, the man pointed off into the distance, and said, “Fountain.” The woman looked to where he pointed, smiled, and repeated, “Fountain.” Turning towards each other, they kissed.
It was a simple kiss that didn’t last more than a second, but the impact it had on him was astounding. He wanted that. He wanted the simple tradition that would mean nothing to other people, but would mean the world to someone else. Looking back over at Nicole, he hoped that that would be them someday.
“What are you thinking of?” he asked after another minute of silence.
Her shoulders slumped before she spoke. “The babies. The doctors didn’t seem to have high hopes for our daughter. After seeing her today on the ultrasound, I can see why. She’s so tiny.”
“She’ll be okay. If she has my strength and your will, she’ll be fine.” He was concerned too, but kept it to himself. With all the strength that he could, he tried to project to his daughter. He said the same thing that he always did.
Stick it out. Stay strong. Soon you will come out, and everything will be better.
It was true too. As long as his little girl could make it out, she could be healed of anything that was wrong with her. That was, if Malachi’s healing would work on her.
“I hope you’re right.”
“I know I am.” He moved his hand down to her belly.
“No don’t!” She knocked his hand away and cringed.
Gemariah started to panic. Maybe they shouldn’t have gone out. It was too soon. “What’s wrong? You okay?”
Her eyes shot daggers at him. “Your son is going to be a soccer player. If your hand goes even near him, for some reason he likes to demonstrate that fact… hard.” She tried to hold her glare, but couldn’t help smiling when she talked about her babies. “I swear, one day, he’s going to break a rib.”
“Wow. That bad?”
She answered with a shrug. “At least if he’s kicking at me, I know he’s not kicking at her.”
The person in front of them got their ice-cream and left the window, putting them in front. By the time they got to the window, both of them already knew what they were going to have. Gemariah let her order first, and while she was explaining, in great detail, the extravagant bowl of ice-cream she wanted, something hard made the sound of a thud right next to his head.
Quickly looking up, he saw a throwing star sticking out the side of the building, less than a foot from where his head had been.
He spun in the direction it had come from, successfully blocking the path to Nicole. No matter how hard he looked, he couldn’t pinpoint the exact source. H
e wished that it had happened any other time, because then he might have had weapons and be able to stop the person once and for all. As it was, he only had one priority at the moment, get Nicole out of harm’s way.
“We have to go.” He quickly grabbed her arms and spun her around in the direction of the car.
“What’s going on? What was that?”
She kept asking questions even as he kept moving her away from the building. The questions aren’t what bothered him, but how she tried to turn around and look at him every time she asked one was hindering them. “I just need you to move. I will explain everything in the car,” he exclaimed. Well, as much as he could anyway, he thought. He knew that she hated being told what to do and how to do it, but thankfully she trusted him enough to keep moving.
He kept looking back and still saw nothing. When he turned back to look at his truck the last time, he saw a man he didn’t know, learning against the side. The stranger was tossing up something that glinted in the sun before it fell and he caught it in his hand. Gemariah could almost guarantee it was a throwing star.
Immediately, he reached for his ax and felt nothing but denim. Cursing himself, he pictured it lying on the floorboard in the back of his truck. By the knowing smile on the man’s face, he knew Gemariah was unarmed.
Using his body as a shield once more, he quickly pulled Nicole behind him. “What do you want?”
“Now, I’m hurt,” the man said with a smile. “Don’t you recognize me, big bro?”
His voice had a heavy accent as if he had just come to the United States. The air around him screamed nephilim, and the blessed star that he was carelessly flinging around made him nervous. With paying so much attention to the man’s hands and trying to estimate his next move, it took a minute for his words to sink in.
“What are you talking about?”
“Okay, sure. I might take after Dad more than you, but that’s just a guess since you killed him before I got a chance to meet him, and Mom... well, we both know what happened to her.”
Gemariah felt Nicole’s grip tighten on the back of his shirt. It might have been because of shock, or that she felt his urge to launch himself at the man. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I don’t have a brother.”
“Sure you do. Twelve years younger, stronger, faster.” He leaned to the side to look at Nicole and winked before adding, “better looking.”
“You’re insane.”
He raised one shoulder in indifference. “Aren’t we all? Just a little?”
Without warning, the man straightened, and Gemariah went on full alert by hunching his shoulders, prepared to attack.
“Jeez. Jumpy much?” He showed the throwing star, and moved his arm to slide it into a back pocket, proclaiming that it was, “a show of good faith.”
“Think about it, big brother. Did you check for yourself to make sure that both babies had died?”
Gemariah thought back to that day. Truth be told, he didn’t. He trusted the word of the nursemaid. “I didn’t need to. They were both blue… both dead.”
“Errr” He made the sound of a loud buzzer. “Wrong. As it turned out, the nursemaid had struck a deal. If the babies survived birth, she got to raise them as her own, just as long as she made sure no healer was summoned for our mom. She was a good enough homemaker, but once I found out what she had done, I left.”
Gemariah felt a rush of emotions. Anger at everyone involved.
“So I’m just supposed to believe that my long lost brother came to find me and instead of coming to say hello, he decided to throw weapons at my head.”
“Oh please. I was just testing your reflexes. The Great, Gemariah Slater. You’re a legend with warriors and women. I already saw for myself the woman side, but you haven’t done too many warrior things lately. I was making sure that you hadn’t gone soft. If I wanted to kill you, you wouldn’t be standing there right now.” He nodded his head to gesture at the ground.
Gemariah felt his body start to relax slightly, but he didn’t move from in front of Nicole. “If I’m to believe you,” he asked, “why wait all these years to find me?”
“Oh Big Brother, you flatter yourself too much. I was on an assignment when you got in the way and blew it all to shit. I decided to follow you after that.” The man leaned back against the truck again and crossed his arms over his chest. He looked almost… annoyed. “I had heard all the legends about you, so imagine my disappointment when I found out how boring of a life you truly led.”
Gemariah ignored his last comment, and instead focused on something else he had said. “Assignment? What region do you work for?” he wondered.
He let out a loud and booming laugh. “You think I would work for those jokes? The Godsend Warriors? They’re nothing but glorified heroes that are fighting a losing battle.”
Gemariah sucked in air. “You fight for… for him?” How could he say Satan with Nicole not thinking he had gone crazy? Lucifer? Beelzebub? The lawless one? Ruler of darkness? The list was endless.
“I fight for myself, but I see the outcome of everyone else’s struggles. Your numbers are slowly dwindling, and you don’t even know it.”
“What do you mean you fight for yourself? Who would you possibly have to defend yourself against?”
“I fight for whoever has the biggest pocketbook,” he proclaimed. “One-eight hundred-Nephilim-For-Hire.”
The man laughed at his own joke but Gemariah’s heart had dropped to his stomach. Nephilim was not a word that many people knew, he thought. Maybe she was one of them, and just choked it up to the guy being out of his mind. At that moment, he prayed that Nicole didn’t remember the story he had told her some weeks ago.
There was still one thing that wasn’t sitting right with him. ““How’d you get those then?” Gemariah nodded his head to indicate the other man’s back-pocket.”
“You mean these?” He laughed and pulled out a star. Gemariah could tell that he had had them for a while because of the comfort in which he held them. He then started to roll one over and around his fingers as he continued. “Who would have thought that He would trust me with a set? I guess the jokes on Him now, isn’t it?”
Gemariah didn’t answer. He had had enough and was ready to get Nicole out of there. “Did you need something specific or are we free to leave now?”
A look of disappointment flashed across the other man’s face, so quick that Gemariah second guessed himself on what he really saw. “I take it that you weren’t in the mood for a family reunion today?”
“You didn’t answer my question. Did you need something?”
The easy smile left the other man’s face, and an angry scowl replaced it. “Not that you deserve to know this, I myself don’t even know all the details, but there’s talk of an underground operation. It’s similar to human trafficking, but it’s for the most elite species, nephilim included.”
“This is the first I’ve ever heard of something like that.” Gemariah looked doubtful.
“Believe what you want, but on that assignment you botched of mine, you became a target. Well, not you specifically.” The man leaned to the side again to look at Nicole. “Your family.”
“This is ridiculous! We’re leaving,” Gemariah declared. He reached back and grabbed Nicole’s hand. He started to walk around the truck to keep Nicole as far away from the stranger as possible. That was the plan, but he didn’t count on her stopping when she got near him and pulling her hand from his.
“Were you telling the truth?” she asked hesitantly.
“About what part, Sweetheart?”
Gemariah didn’t like someone else using that endearment for her, and he really didn’t like the grin the other man shot her either.
“The part about being family.”
“All I can say is that I never lie. I’ve found that there’s no point and it waists my time to think of ones clever enough. It’s easier to keep a story straight if you keep it truthful.” The man looked at complete ease.
&
nbsp; Before she could continue the conversation, Gemariah grabbed her hand again and pulled her to the other side of the truck. Once he had her securely in the passenger seat, he shut the door and walked back around to the driver’s side. He was irritated to see that the man hadn’t left. “You still here,” he hissed.
The man put his hands up in surrender. “Fine,” he spat out, “I can take a hint. Never mind that I put my own welfare in jeopardy by approaching you. I get when I’m not wanted.” He started to turn away.
Gemariah sighed heavily. “I’m not saying that I believe you, but don’t think for one minute that I’m not going to try and verify everything you’ve told me.”
“I’m counting on it.” The man had no fear in his voice, like someone would if they were about to be made into a liar.
Gemariah opened the door and turned to get in the truck. Stopping before he stepped up, he turned his head. “What do they call you, anyway,” he shouted out.
“Conner.”
“Conner…” Gemariah wanted his full name.
The man shrugged. “That’s it. Just, Conner.”
Gemariah didn’t say anything else, but climbed in his truck and took off.
Nicole sat next to him in silence. What he wouldn’t do to know what she was thinking… feeling. In his head, he was preparing himself for the many questions that she was going to shoot his way. That was why when she finally spoke, it surprised him what she said.
******
“You shouldn’t have been so rude.”
“Excuse me?” By the shocked tone in his voice, she knew that he wasn’t expecting her to defend the man.
“Family is a hard thing to come by. If he’s telling the truth, you could have just ruined your chances to ever be on good terms with him.”
“I can’t believe you’re on his side. You don’t even know him. Didn’t you hear everything else he said?” he asked.
“Of course I did.” She didn’t understand most of it, even though she felt as though she should. Something was clawing at the back of her mind, something she had possibly forgotten. “I don’t know about the other stuff, but you could tell that he definitely thought that he could have been putting himself in danger by coming to you. That’s what families do.”
The Divine Whisper Page 25