HeVan & Earth

by Lucy Kelly

  *****

  Arjun, Rune, and Kylan rushed down the corridor in the queen’s wing, heading to the queen’s bedchamber. It had been over two hours since they had last seen Addie and they were worried. Opening the door, Arjun was confronted with a wall covered in glyphs.

  “What the hell?” Arjun asked. “Are we in the right corridor?”

  Rune stepped closer and studied the symbols. He wasn’t versed in the old language, and it didn’t make sense to him. Instead, he compared what he was seeing with the wall on either side.

  “This section of wall—it seems newer. The carvings are sharper, not as worn down as I’ve become used to. I would swear this is a new wall put into the doorway,” he said.

  They both were running their hands over the wall, when Kylan came running back.

  “The next chamber is the one Addie wanted to make into a nursery. It lets out into the queen’s garden. But the doors are no longer there. The back of the terrace is a solid wall. What could be happening?” he asked. His worry was plain to see.

  “Addie has found the way to join with the planet,” said Arjun. “That must be what is happening. It has been believed for some time the path to the joining place began in the queen’s bedchamber. This wall and the one in the garden are most likely where those rumors started. I can think of anything else it could be.”

  “But she has the babies with her!” Rune exclaimed, as he paced agitatedly back and forth in the hallway.

  “I’m worried too, my brother. All we can do is wait and pray,” said Arjun.

  The three of them settled down to wait until their mate returned to them. All of them worried as they paced back and forth in front of the blocked door. Each of them, without telling the others, made plans to break through the wall if they felt it necessary. None of them would accept losing Addie.

  *****

  In the cavern below the queen’s bedchamber, Addie woke. She was lying on the ground. Jumping up, she ran over to the stroller and checked on the babies. They seemed to be sleeping fine.

  “I put them back in their places when they slept. I’m sorry I had no bed to offer you,” said Ashnin.

  “What happened?” Addie asked.

  “I’m not really sure; it has never happened before. Perhaps it is because you are not entirely Nephilim. Or at least you weren’t before. Now you are, as are your daughters. Come, time grows short and your Ankida worry for you,” she said, turning and walking to a passageway on the left.

  Addie wondered for a moment why she was getting the tour if time was short. It wasn’t as if she couldn’t come back for another visit tomorrow. With a huff, she checked the babies herself. Pulling the stroller behind her, she followed Ashnin. When she turned a corner and entered the next chamber, she was looking at her feet so she wouldn’t trip on the floor. When she looked up, she gasped. Stretched out in all directions, as far as the eye could see, were floating golden balls. Within each of the globes, was a woman.

  “What…who…how,” she stuttered out.

  “Long years ago, three generations before the time of Ishnam, it was foreseen there would be a time when females were scarce among the Nephilim. A call went out and those who were unjoined, whose perfect matches were not to be in their lifetime, volunteered to remain here until they were needed. You now have the power to join them to their Ankida,” explained Ashnin.

  “How many are here?” Addie wanted to know.

  “One hundred and twenty-two thousand, three hundred and ninety-six are here. Less than you need, enough to start rebuilding. You already are bringing more from your home world. It is good; it will be enough,” said Ashnin.

  That’s going to be a lot of trips in the elevator! It was all she could think about.

  Ashnin laughed as if she were reading her mind. Right after, Addie realized it wouldn’t be necessary. She would be able to wake them and teleport them with her Nam-Nin powers. Ashnin nodded to her.

  “Yes, you are becoming aware of what you can do. Read the book and add to it any new things you learn. It’s time for you to return. Call them to you as you need. You will feel when the time is right for each of them. They did not come here all at the same time, and they will not leave all at once, either. My time is nearly over until the next time. You must go back now,” said Ashnin.

  “Can’t I come and talk to you when I have problems?” Addie asked.

  “My time as Nam-Nin is over; it is your time now. I don’t know if I can re-appear until the next in line is to join with the planet. If there is great need, you can try. If I am allowed to aid you, I will appear. If not, then you must believe in yourself, your Ankida, and your daughters. Goodbye, daughter, and blessings on you,” she said.

  Taking her at her word, Addie retraced her steps. The cavern began to grow darker, and she started to run. The elevator was a light in the distance, and she sped up until she was running flat out. As she stepped into the elevator, the cavern went dark. Like a child running up the stairs of a basement to the light at the top, she slammed her hand over the symbol on the far wall and pulled the stroller close to her body. She breathed a sigh of relief when the door began to close. Then the elevator started to climb. She was so ready to get back to the familiar. She wanted her guys to hold her in her arms; joining with a planet was scary business!

  *****

  Arjun, Rune, and Kylan had long since tired of standing. They were now sitting on the floor across the corridor from the wall blocking the door to the queen’s bedchamber. They’d been there for several hours, and it was growing dark. Others in the palace would soon grow worried. More than once, they considered bringing in equipment to take down the wall. Only the knowledge such things had happened many times in the past, without incident, allowed them to stay calm. They expected Grace and her Ankida to arrive at any time. Addie’s two Great Danes had shown up about an hour after they sat down and were waiting with them. Grace must have let them into the wing.

  Arjun was seriously re-considering the option to break down the wall, when it started to move down. They could see a space now at the top of the door. They continued to hear a grinding noise as they leapt to their feet. They were discussing jumping through the opening, when Addie walked up to it.

  “Oh, you’re here,” she cried, reaching through the opening to hug them. Seconds later, the noise stopped as the wall once again became part of the floor.

  Arjun and Kylan held her between them, as Rune pulled the stroller forward and checked on the babies. They were all awake. Looking into their eyes, he saw a glowing flash of knowledge before it was gone, replaced with the curious look normally worn by them.

  Arjun picked Addie up in his arms. He wasn’t ready to let go of her. They all left together. Five minutes later when they exited the royal wing, they were not surprised to find a group of people gathered at the entrance.

  Addie’s sister, Grace, ran forward.

  “Is she alright, Arjun?” she asked.

  “She’ll be fine. She’s hungry and tired, that’s all,” he answered in a low voice. Addie had fallen into a light doze in his arms. It had been a stressful day.

  They didn’t stop. They just proceeded to where they were currently staying in the newer wing of the palace to care for her. When they stopped in the nursery to leave the babies with their nursemaids, Addie remembered the book. Not wanting anyone to see it, she took the stroller with her when they left the nursery. Giving her Ankida a look to prevent them from asking any awkward questions.

  Chapter Two

  Earth…

  By Monday afternoon, Josephine was thinking of leaving the shelter she was in and trying a different one. She had not been approached nor had she observed any unusual activity. The residents were a mix of single women and women with children. She sat in the lounge, pretending to read a magazine, as she watched the other women. There were some children sitting on the floor in front of the television watching Sesame Street.

  Turning the page, she glanced down at the picture of a screen star. T
he caption said something about how she was divorcing her third husband. As she shook her head at the follies of the rich and famous, she heard the front doorbell ring. The tension in the room went up as women worried they had been discovered by their abusers. There was an almost audible sigh of relief when female voices were heard coming from the entryway. The housemother appeared in the doorway with another woman. She was about five-two, blonde hair, and brown eyes, probably weighed about one-thirty or one-forty.

  Marian, the housemother, called Angela Olivera from the room. Angela gathered up her two little girls and her baby boy and left with the two women.

  Josephine grew suspicious. Tossing the magazine aside, she picked up her empty coffee cup and headed back to the kitchen. Because of her injuries, she hadn’t been asked to participate in making meals or doing any house cleaning. Instead, she made coffee and handled a few light chores. Sitting at the kitchen table, she folded all the laundry that had been washed on Sunday. She’d been impressed with the way all the women helped each other.

  As she passed the office, she could hear voices, but couldn’t make out what was being said. Glancing up and down the hallway and seeing it was clear, she leaned closer to the door.

  “…you and the children are going to really enjoy the retreat, Angela,” said a voice Josephine didn’t recognize; it must belong to the other woman. Someone else left the living room, so Josephine stepped away from the door quickly and back into the kitchen. She heard the door to the office open as she poured herself a new cup of coffee, adding cream and sugar.

  Josephine decided to sit at the kitchen table for a minute and think of her next move. If what she overheard was what she thought, then Angela and her kids were going to be leaving with this woman. She fit the profile of the confirmed women missing so far. She would have to find a way to follow them. The problem was— she didn’t have a car handy because of her cover story. She’d have to call her boss and see if he could arrange a tail. The door to the office opened and Angela and her kids left. Instead of going back to the living room, she heard them go up the stairs.

  Hmm, if they’re packing, that’ll give me time to get a tail in place.

  Getting up from the table, she took her coffee and started to head to her own room. Just as she started up the stairs, the door to the office opened. Spotting Josephine, Marian asked her to step inside for a moment. Backtracking, she went into the office, and Marian closed the door.

  “Josephine, this is Becky Andersen. Becky, this is the woman I was telling you about. I’ll leave you two to talk and get acquainted,” Marian said before going out and shutting the door behind her.

  “Josephine, Marian says you’ve had problems with an ex-boyfriend,” Becky stated, cutting to the chase.

  “Yeah, this is my third shelter. He keeps finding me. I’m not sure how, though,” she answered, touching the bruise on her face.

  “If you want to disappear, I can make it happen,” Becky told her.

  “I’m not sure you can do that. If you really can, you’d probably be saving my life.”

  “Do you have any family, parents or siblings, people who would worry about you if you dropped off the map?” Becky asked.

  Hot damn! I’m in, Josephine thought.

  Josephine conveniently forgot her parents and four younger sisters.

  “I don’t have any family. I’ve moved around too much to make any close friends,” Josephine told Becky, hoping this would be her way in, and she’d find out what had been happening to all the missing women.

  “Okay, Angela is in the same boat. Her ex-husband has found her four times. She just got out of the hospital, and I’m getting her and her kids out of town today. If you want to come along, you can, but you have to be packed and ready in thirty minutes. Are you in or out?”

  “I’m in. Becky, I am so in. I just hope this works,” Josephine said emphatically.

  “No worries there, I’m the best there is at making people disappear. Get moving, the clock is ticking.”

  With that, Becky opened the door and urged Josephine through.

  “Do you need help with your bags? Marian told me you have a couple of busted ribs.”

  “I wasn’t able to take much. I just have a couple of pairs of jeans and some sweaters.”

  “Do you have a warm coat?”

  “Yeah, I did grab my parka. I’m not really fond of the cold weather.”

  Becky just laughed when she heard that. Josephine gave her a “what?” look and Becky just waved her off.

  “Come on, times a wastin’. We need to get a move on.”

  Still holding her coffee cup, Josephine headed up the stairs to grab her stuff. It didn’t take her long to gather her two pairs of jeans, three sweaters, socks, and underwear. Checking around the room, she remembered her toiletry case with her hairbrush, toothbrush, and a few other things. Before stuffing it all into her duffle, she checked the false bottom; her gun was still there, along with an extra clip. She put all her things inside and zipped it up. After putting on her parka, earmuffs, scarf, and mittens, she checked her pocket for her cell phone. Zipping up the pockets and parka, she picked up her duffle and left her room.

  Becky and Angela were waiting at the bottom of the stairs. They were putting coats on the two little girls and bundling the baby into a snuggie. Becky turned to Josephine as she walked up.

  “I forgot to mention. My guys are here, they’re going to be doing the driving. Are you scared of men in general or only your particular bad guy?”

  “I’m aware most men aren’t like Bruce,” Josephine told her, using the name they’d given to her biker boyfriend.

  “Good, my guys are big, but they’re also sweeties, so no worries there. Okay, let’s get this show on the road.”

  Marian hugged each of the women and the children, and they held the door open for them as they left the house. Parked in the driveway was a large passenger van, like the airport shuttles. The door opened and one of the largest men Josephine had ever seen stepped down. He was about six-six, blonde and—what color eyes were they? Yellowish-green…like the citrine gemstone in a ring? He must be wearing contacts.

  He looked as if he weighed in at two-eighty and all of it hard muscle.

  “Here, I will take the luggage and put it away for you,” he said in a deep voice.

  He reached over and took the suitcases Becky and Angela handed him. As he moved away, Josephine saw another man step down from the van. He looked enough like the first man to be his brother. He lifted each of the kids into the van and then helped Angela, who was still holding the baby. By the time Josephine reached the door, the first guy was back to take her duffle. She didn’t want to let it go but knew she’d have to. Becky seemed to catch on to her feelings, though not the real reason why.

  “Don’t worry, you’ll get it back. I know how it is when it’s the only stuff you have to hold on to,” she said, and Josephine handed him the duffle. Within five minutes, they were on the road.

  “Becky, where are we going?” she asked.

  “Wisconsin,” Becky said with a smile. “That’s why I laughed. If you think the snow is deep here, wait until you see it up north.”

  “Well, that should be the last place Bruce will look for me,” Josephine said.

  “Let me introduce you to my Ankida. This is Ishme, and Nyal is driving. Ishme, this is Angela and her girls, Linda and Carmen. The baby is Jose. And this is Josephine,” she said.

  “Ankida? What does that mean?” Josephine wanted to know.

  “It’s a word which has the same meaning as husband. Only in my case, it’s plural, though it can be singular or plural, depending on the case,” Becky said.

  As Josephine was trying to digest that information, the man she called Ishme spoke up.

  “Welcome. From this time on, you will have no more worries about being hurt. The place where we are taking you is a women’s retreat. There are some males there but they are only to do the work that is too hard for the women. All of them would
give their lives to keep you safe,” he vowed.

  Josephine and Angela exchanged a look, unsure whether or not they could believe his claim. After the introductions, all was quiet for a while. The bench seats the van must have had at one time had all been replaced with captain’s chairs. Each of the seats had an activity center, which included its own video screen and ear buds. Becky was sitting at a small table with a laptop. Josephine wished she could see the screen; instead, she tilted her chair back and pretended to fall asleep.

  Four hours later, she woke when the van rolled to a stop. She couldn’t believe she’d fallen asleep and blamed it on the pain pill she took before they left. Her ribs had been bothering her, and the roads weren’t in the best shape in the middle of February.

  “What...where are we?”

  “We’re about a third of the way there. It’s time to stop for a meal and a bathroom break. How are you feeling?” Becky asked.

  “I’m fine. I took a painkiller before we left, they always make me drowsy.”

  “Come on, let’s get some food in you. You’ll feel better after,” said Becky, patting her hand.

  They all left the warmth of the van and hustled into the restaurant. Josephine was a little concerned when they were shown to a table. She only had about thirty-five dollars in her wallet, and she didn’t think Angela had even that much. As they took off their coats and settled in their booth, once again Becky seemed to know what they were thinking.

  “I’ll let you in on a little secret. I’m a millionaire. My sister and I set up this women’s retreat with our own money and money donated by a friend of ours. All of your expenses are covered. When we set you up with your new identities, you’ll be given seed money to get you started. So don’t worry about dinner, we’ve got it covered,” she explained.

  “Why? Why would you do this for us?” Josephine asked. It sounded too good to be true, so it probably was.

  This Becky was a smooth operator. Lulling the women with this preposterous story and then taking them across state lines. Josephine was looking forward to arresting her ass.