"Is something wrong?" she asked in a hushed voice.
"Huh?" Mona slowed and laughed casually, "Oh, no, why?"
Why? Sophie was puzzled; Mona was acting noticeably strange. She sighed, "Well, we really got out of there quick."
"Oh," Mona let go of her cousin's wrist as they made their way down the sidewalk, "Well, I just thought you wanted to go home. Maybe you were uncomfortable or something."
"No, not really," Sophie half-lied, "I was okay." She looked around at the people who passed, shadowed by nightfall. There were fewer than when they had begun the night.
Mona slipped her coat on, passing Sophie’s to her, and hesitantly ventured, "I know we weren't there long, but did you, uh, have fun or whatever?"
Sophie was intrigued by her cousin's attempt at niceties, "It was different."
The sounds of the city fell away from them and their footsteps echoed on the sidewalk in the barren streets closer to home. "It's okay," Mona shoved her hands into her jacket pockets, "You can tell me that you hate them. Sometimes I don't even like them very much."
"No, it's not that," Sophie stared up at the crescent moon, surprised she could see it over the city lights, "They're just not like other people."
"Yeah, sorry about Danielle. She can be a bitch sometimes."
"Oh," Sophie thought it strange she referred to her friend so harshly, "That's fine."
"But, um," Mona attempted to touch on another subject, "Michael, what'd you think of him?"
"He's all right," Sophie peered over at Mona, "A little strange."
"Strange?" Mona chuckled delicately, her mood shifting, "Strange how?"
"He's really," she looked away and somewhat laughed, "friendly."
Mona was oddly upbeat, "Yeah, Michael's like that."
"He is?" Sophie began to wonder, "With everyone?"
"Don't get the wrong idea, whatever he said, he was sincere." She looked skyward and dug a little deeper into her pockets, "He's a really good guy."
Sophie didn't reply, but now away from him she felt judgment of his character would need much more time to mull over. In the distance a car horn sounded and some shouting arose then died away. Their footsteps became prominent again as they came closer to their building.
Mona laughed a little and Sophie asked what was so funny, but Mona just asked her another question, "Do you like him?"
Sophie was taken aback; this was the first interest Mona had taken in her since they had met, "How am I supposed to know a thing like that? I just met him." She looked away, guiltily, not even sure what Mona meant.
Mona smiled with satisfaction, "Yeah, I guess you wouldn't know. You just spent a lot of time alone with him up on that roof."
She was right; they had been up there. Alone. "Oh! Mona, I'm so sorry," Sophie stopped walking and grabbed her cousin's arm, "I didn't mean to desert you for so long. You were so nice to bring me tonight. I'm an awful cousin, I know, but—"
Mona shook her head, "What?" She grinned, amused.
"There was this guy and he was like high or something and grabbing his throat," Sophie mumbled apologetically, "Michael just suggested—"
"A guy grabbing his throat?" Mona narrowed her brow.
"Yeah, but some woman helped him. I didn't see them later, must have gone home or something. Why?"
"Yeah," Mona nodded, "No reason. Listen, it's okay, really," she shook her head, "I was fine keeping Danielle out of trouble."
"Sure?"
Mona looked back at her more than a little bewildered then the face softened, "I'm sure." She steered them into an alleyway that would cut through to their building. They ventured into the shadows at a quick pace but were stopped when a figure stepped out before them. Concern instantly gripped Sophie and she looked to her cousin who. Mona, however, continued on toward the shape without hesitation. Unconvinced by her cousin’s gallantry, she glanced behind them and noted two other figures slinking out from the shadows.
She scurried up to her cousin and dropped her voice low, "Mona, we’re not alone."
"Hm?" the young girl’s focus seemed to sharpen ahead of her as if she were seeing for the first time, "Oh, so it seems."
"Well, uh, what do we do? Run?" Sophie was clinging to Mona’s jacket sleeve and bent whispering in her ear, but her cousin was unaffected.
Mona cocked her head slightly to the right, "Just keep walking and shut up."
Unnerved but compliant, Sophie released the girl and took a breath as she followed. There was no phasing Mona, apparently, and perhaps this was typical. Perhaps she was looking too deeply into the situation. Perhaps the men behind them weren’t really getting closer.
"Hey, you looking for a good time?" someone from behind them called.
Mona stopped. She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Sophie, I want you to run."
"What? No! What are you going to do?" Panic filled her as the men’s footsteps fell closer.
"You don’t need to worry about me," Mona cracked her knuckles, "I’m going to count to three and you are going to bolt out of here and down the street. A left at Maple and a right at Broad will get you home."
She spoke with such calm Sophie almost complied, but she shook her head instead, "No way." They were getting closer. "I’m not leaving you."
"Trust me," Mona put a hand against her back, "Run past him. I’ll handle this."
"No!"
"Damnit, Sophie."
With what appeared to be an effortless, little push, Mona shoved Sophie away from her, toward the building to their side. Sophie slammed into the wall with a force she was in no way expecting, saving her head from hitting with a well-placed, if only accidental, hand. She slid down the wall as she tried to regain her balance and turn toward the scuffle. In the shadows she could see the tiny form of her cousin dwarfed by the hulking mass of the strange man. He reached out and grabbed her arm and Mona hardly moved. Had she been paralyzed by fear?
Sophie did not wait to find out and instead rushed toward the two and grasped onto the man’s arm to pull him off, but the moment her hands made contact with him she was blinded. Light filled the alleyway, white and powerful, and though Sophie could feel the stranger’s arm below her hands, she could see nothing around her. Instead, she felt warmth growing at her palms then spreading, like fire running through her veins, up her arms and into her chest where it settled. In that moment she couldn’t release the man’s arm, but, in truth, she did not want to. She knew, somehow, that she was hurting him, stopping him, and she was glad. A peculiar smell, a mix of campfire and rotten eggs, permeated the air about her and somewhere, far away, there was a throaty, guttural screaming. She listened to the sounds for a moment as they came closer, rushing at her until suddenly they were merely inches from her. It was the man, his agonizing screams, and remorse shot through her with such force that she fell backward, releasing him.
The alley plunged into darkness and the sound of feet scrambling against the pavement and clumsy, terrified bodies knocking over debris in the alley as they fled filled the darkness. Sophie sat in the shadows and waited. She knew she was safe, but something else was frightening her and it was growing along with the silence. Then she remembered Mona.
She rushed over and knelt beside her, looking her over but not sure for what, and questioned her with urgency, "Mona, are you all right?"
When Sophie finally looked up to her face, Mona’s eyes lacked their typical analytic glare, now wide and alarmed, and her mouth, usually drawn into a tight frown, hung open. But she nodded.
"Oh, I'm so glad!" Sophie threw her arms around her cousin and squeezed tightly.
Sitting there, limp and astonished, Mona spoke quietly, "You...you saved me." She placed her hands gently on Sophie’s shoulders and shifted her away, "Why are you crying?"
Sophie reached for her own face, feeling the wetness on her cheek. She brushed it away, "I don't know," she sniffled, "I was scared. And I didn’t want you to get hurt."
Mona stared back at her as if she were seeing her for t
he first time then closed her eyes and silently led her home.
Chapter 3
"Mona, I don't approve of it!"
"You don't approve? Damn it, Naomi, stop treating me like a child!"
Their voices hissed through the penthouse as Sophie eased herself from her bed.
"Have you looked in the mirror lately? You are child! And there's no changing that!" Naomi's tone was angry and sarcastic.
Mona's irritated voice retaliated, "Child or not, I can take care of myself and you know that! I was just doing some research anyway."
Sophie inched her way to her door and peeked through the crack into the darkened hall. She knew eavesdropping was wrong, but the urgency of their voices was too much to resist.
"Research? On what, The Agrippa? Getting it will be difficult enough, you don't need to interfere. You’ve got your job: stick to it."
"What’s the point? You don’t listen to me anyway."
"That is because we do not need to wait any longer," she spat out, "We’ve wasted enough time as it is. I’m doing you a favor by ignoring your little escapades. Remember, I outrank you, I am your superior, and you will do as I say. Unless, that is, you’d like him to know what I suspect you’ve been up to."
Sophie wondered if she heard their harsh whispers correctly through her sleepy haze. She couldn’t have been asleep for more than a few hours as it was still dark. Yet, Naomi’s angry voice hissed down the hall, "That's the last time you're to leave this house without my order."
The click of the front door’s latch sounded and Grant’s voice could be heard, "Keep your voices down, I can hear you outside,"
"So? Who's going to be outside?" Naomi snapped, dropping out of a whisper.
"What if you wake her?" his voice barely made it to Sophie's ears before she rushed to her bed and slipped beneath the covers.
Although she didn't hear Naomi come up the hallway she felt her linger in the doorway for a moment. The woman's presence loomed by her bed and Sophie squeezed her eyes shut, holding her breath. Naomi shifted then the door clicked shut. Sophie lay, motionless, for some time, straining to hear anymore conversation, but there was only silence in the darkness, and she drifted back off to sleep, wondering if she had ever really been awake.
***
Verrine rubbed at her eyes with a madwoman’s vigor. It couldn’t possibly be, yet, when they again focused, the tower stood before her. She glanced about, but saw no one casting an illusion, no one with a mind to trick her. In fact, no one even knew she had sneaked out of the castle and was wandering alone in the open fields.
She placed a hand on the wooden door to the tower and pushed. When it gave way, she jumped back, the creaking entryway louder than she’d ever remembered. It swung open into a round room, warmly lit by shelves full of glowing jars in oranges and yellows and reds, with a staircase at its rear. Verrine felt her heartbeat quicken as she entered and began to ascend the stairs. They spiraled up tightly and she ran her hand against the cool stone of the outer wall as she went, the grainy surface hinting at the place’s validity. This could still be an illusion, she reminded herself as she climbed higher. It had been so long since she’d seen this place she had begun to wonder if she’d ever see it again, but her steps hastened with hope.
The stairs leveled off into another round room lit with the same multicolored glowing jars. At seven points along the far wall pillars stood, an orb, differing in size and color, atop each. She stepped cautiously into the room’s center, debating whether she should announce herself and risk shattering everything.
“So, you found me.”
Verrine swung around at the sound of the woman’s voice, her excitement peaking, “You let me,” she contained herself by grasping her hands behind her back though her stomach fluttered, “How did you know I was looking?”
The woman stood at the head of the stairs just where Verrine had been seconds before. She laughed, short and deep, “When have you not been?”
Verrine sighed, a twinge of embarrassment striking her, “You knew this whole time? Well, clearly you did.”
“Everything has its most opportune moment.” The woman was tall, taller than most men Verrine knew, but it was one of her most comforting characteristics, especially in comparison to her own towering height. Her mahogany skin glistened under the glowing lights, enhanced by golden raiment, and thick, black curls haloed her face. She came forward and placed a hand against Verrine’s cheek.
She wanted to be angry, it hadn’t been fair for the woman to stay away so long, but instead she felt her eyes well up with tears, “I needed you.”
“Well,” the woman swept passed her, “I certainly hope you can break yourself of that.”
Verrine sucked in a quick breath, steeling herself, and suppressed her tears. When she felt the heat leave her face, she turned, “Then why now, Aris?”
The woman stood by the pillar farthest to the right, a bright ochre sphere with a fiery marbled surface. She held a hand close to the orb and her dark skin glowed in its wake. “You are like the dawn, Verrine. You are warm and loving, consistent, and though your determination is often mistaken for stubbornness, your loyalty could never be denied. I’ve watched you grow and learn, and saw you help her so many times.”
Verrine’s breath caught in her throat. Aris spoke of her missing friend. So this is what she’d shown herself for.
With a few long strides, the woman went to a tall chest and pulled open a drawer, “And so I cannot think of a better being to take ownership of this than you.” Aris turned. She held a book, thick and worn, bound in leather, its cover revealing nothing about its contents.
Verrine’s hands flew up to her mouth and she froze. It couldn’t possibly be. Even as Aris came toward her, the book extended, she didn’t believe it.
“I just need to know that you understand what accepting this means.”
Verrine took a deep breath and shot her hands out, gripping the end of the book. She held the tome with a firm grasp, afraid it might be ripped away from her, “Of course. It means I can find her!”
The woman raised her chin, “Yes, but...”
“Oh,” Verrine read Aris’s solemn look. She almost released the ancient leather, “You were entrusted with this. You can’t just go giving it away. And especially not to me. It’d be...it’s treason.”
“So I must go,” Aris thrust the book toward Verrine’s chest and turned away, “Do not come looking for me, it will be fruitless to do so.”
“But I’ve got questions, I need help,” Verrine followed her as the woman began to descend the stairs. She nearly had to take two at a time to keep up with her, clutching the book to her chest in one hand and balancing herself on the wall with the other.
Aris spoke quickly, waving her words away as if they were nothing, “Everything you need is in your hands. That book is an extension of her, it’s been bound to her. If she is in the Material World, you need only go there and it will lead you directly to her.”
“If?” Verrine found herself at the bottom of the tower’s stairs and stumbled to a halt.
Aris had gone to the door and opened it, looking back at Verrine expectantly. When the girl did not budge, she strode up to her and dropped both hands onto her shoulders, “You have always relied on me for answers, even ones I have not had,” she sighed, blinking slowly and smiled, “Trust yourself, Verrine.”
The woman embraced her. It was warm and nostalgic, and as Verrine clung to the book she, for the first time in as long as she could remember, felt complete.
“All right then,” Aris held her at arm’s length again and nudged her out the door, “Goodbye, my Verrine.”
The girl stumbled, just slightly, as she stepped over the threshold. She balanced herself and stood straight before she turned to wish Aris well, but when she looked back the woman and her tower had disappeared completely.
***
With a glance at the clock, Sophie knew she should have a few hours at the library before it closed and quickly
changed into different clothes. She discarded Mona's ensemble on her bed, neatly, too exhausted at the end of the previous night to change, and pulled on comfortable jeans and a white t-shirt. She left the apartment silently, hoping she would get back before anyone woke.
On the street below, she followed the same path Mona had taken her the night before, but avoided the alley, shivering as she passed it with long, quick strides. She and Mona had not spoken since the incident there and her cousin had seemed more distant than ever when they arrived home, going straight to her room and shutting her door without a word. The strange conversation she overheard had not helped to ease her nerves either about what had happened. She had questions but knew no one in her family could, or likely would, help.
She remembered seeing the library the previous night and assumed correctly that it would be easy to find. The building stood, long and squat, between two much taller buildings with columns lining its face.
"Agrippa," she whispered to herself glancing at the people milling about in the quiet of the high-ceilinged lobby. She veered away from the busy desk and was drawn to a vacant computer where she typed the word in as best to her ability and waited for the results to come. The word hadn't left her mind until she drifted off the night before and was the first thing she thought of when her eyes popped open to the late afternoon sun. She had no idea why it haunted her so, but it seemed to be familiar.
A few results materialized before Sophie and she wrote them on a scrap piece of paper then went off in search of the books. She raced throughout the massive building as quickly as possible, collecting the volumes and searching for the word, but found the same thing repeatedly: Henry Cornelius Agrippa. The man was some sort of occult-obsessed mathematician, but nothing about him struck her. The information just didn't seem right. And Naomi's words the night before hadn't been of a man, but a thing, a tangible item.
Sophie continued to search the shelves for an answer wondering if she’d imagined the whole conversation. It wasn’t that unbelievable, she told herself, her memory was more than a little faulty, and she’d been seeing things.
The Nephilim: Book One Page 3