by Lucy Kelly
“That’s a long story. Remind me to tell you later. Okay, I’m really looking forward to a thick steak. What does everyone want to eat?” Becky asked the kids, getting them involved in choosing their meal.
Josephine believed her about the deep pockets, the van was a good indicator. She didn’t have a chance to get the license plate when they got in the van at the shelter. She’d have to make sure and look when they left the restaurant.
Both of the men, Ishme and Nyal, were quiet until the little girls started asking them questions. Then they did everything they could to make the two girls laugh and giggle. Angela hadn’t owned a baby carrier, but Becky had brought one with her so Jose slept through most of the meal. When he woke cranky, Becky and Angela went into the restroom to change his diaper.
As Ishme got out of the booth, Josephine noticed a symbol stitched onto the sleeve of the shirt he wore. It was a small emblem, less than an inch in height. What really bothered her was, it was a shape she recognized. She had a birthmark, which looked almost exactly the same underneath her left breast.
“Ishme?” she asked, jumping right in, “What’s the symbol stitched on your sleeve?”
He smiled at her. “It represents my people, and the colors denote my lineage.”
She tilted her head to the side. “Your lineage? You mean like a family crest or something?”
“Or something…it’s a long story. When we reach the retreat, if you want to know more, then we’d be happy to explain. For now, we still have a long drive ahead of us.”
Josephine decided not to push it. That wasn’t why she was here, anyway. They finished eating and soon it was time to resume their journey. Before they left the restaurant, Josephine used a trip to the restroom to send a text message to her boss, letting him know she was in. It was too bad she couldn’t include the license plate in the text, but she did give him the names she had so far. He would run background checks and start building their case.
Chapter Three
HeVan…
Rune was worried. Once they had reached the room where they were currently staying, Addie had taken a very old book from one of the storage compartments in the stroller and put it away under the bed. Then she had laid down and fallen into a deep sleep. Even the cries from their daughters hadn’t woken her. He and his brothers had changed their diapers and held her while they put the babies to her breasts. She remained asleep; now it was the next morning and she was still sleeping. He and Arjun were trying to decide if they should call Catherine to come look at her. The only reason they didn’t was because neither Cara nor Dilys had acted as if there were anything wrong. Both of them were strong healers and Rune knew if Addie needed healing, they would try to take care of her.
In fact, they had to keep the children sequestered. They noticed whenever one of the women who had given birth or anyone else who had an illness or injury of any type was nearby, the babies would heal them. Their mother and fathers worried they’d deplete their energies healing a seriously ill or injured person and end up harming themselves. They were so tiny. At two months of age, each one weighed only about eight to nine pounds. He looked away from Addie for a moment to check on his precious daughters; he wasn’t surprised to find them awake.
*****
Grace’s transport had arrived in the mountains of the Celestial region late the night before. She was investigating the assault Malpha had recounted to Glynnis. Grace’s full title was Supreme Arbiter and she felt a little like Judge Dredd. Each town and city had a planetary security force, which mostly monitored Nephilim space. If a crime did occur, they had warriors with the title of investigator who asked questions and gathered evidence. The reason she felt more like a judge was because hers would be the final decision in any dispute; she was the supreme court of one. She didn’t think her job would take up too much of her time. The youngest citizen was at least five hundred years old. Any serious law breakers were denied the gene therapy necessary to prolong their life. They were all long dead by now.
The sparse population and the need for the remaining people to pull together and save their race and culture had also resulted in less crime. There was plenty of land and resources to go around, so those kinds of disputes didn’t crop up, either.
Violence against women was practically unheard of on HeVan and carried the stiffest penalties. Grace intended to conduct a thorough investigation. After reviewing the memory savers of the situation, she was confused and had more questions than answers. She was going to have to start this investigation at the beginning. Right now, she was on her way to interview the victim and other witnesses. After that, she would travel to the neighboring Seraphian region and interview the accused and his family.
She had quickly drafted her Ankida as assistant investigators and arbiters. Jalen had proven himself as the ultimate eavesdropper when he’d horned in on her last case on Earth. They were able to break open the largest crime family acting in Chicago, in a matter of days, due to his advanced listening devices. She didn’t think it would work here because, while his technology was so advanced on Earth, surely it was commonplace on HeVan. He reminded her they had been traveling for nearly two hundred years and his inventions were new on HeVan too. She was planning to take full advantage. The fact she’d be invading people’s privacy gave her a twinge of remorse, but she rationalized it for expediency’s sake.
“I’m going to use the nano-interfaces because there isn’t a law against them on HeVan, as yet. However, I’m still going to see if I can solve this case on my own before we review them. I would prefer not to keep using this as a regular method of gathering evidence. It’s a violation of privacy,” she said.
“It is not the same as on Earth. You will not be sharing information with other officers, lawyers, or judges. Even the media works differently here. The things you find out will not become public property to be gossiped about over lunch. You need to know. How many times in the past have you been frustrated because people didn’t talk to you? Or they lie? Here, you are the arbiter; your word is law,” Justyn said, intending to make her feel better.
While she did feel better about intruding on people’s privacy, it also increased the weight on her shoulders.
Deciding to catch some much needed sleep, she went into the bathroom to take a quick shower. As her mind drifted over the events of the day, she thought about the dream she’d had when she’d taken her afternoon nap. After she fed her daughters, they all rested. The night before, she’d had the strangest dream. At least, she thought it was a dream; parts of it seemed very real. She didn’t have time to think about it at the time because when she woke, she was told Addie and the babies hadn’t returned from the royal wing for hours, and people were worried. Now, as the hot water pounded down and released knots of tension from her shoulders and back, she thought about the strange dream.
She had been walking through a cave or cavern. It was huge with stalagmites and stalactites throughout the vast space. The crystal formations seemed to glow with an internal light so it wasn’t pitch-dark. Hearing her sister’s voice up ahead, she walked toward an opening emitting a glowing gold light. When she got to the opening of the smaller cave, she saw her sister floating in mid-air surrounded by the light.
The babies! The babies were also there, floating around their mother in a ring. Grace ran to them as Addie slowly dropped to the floor, unconscious, and the babies gently dropped back down into their carrier. That’s when Grace noticed the other woman in the room. She was tall, over seven feet, with long dark hair. The most surprising things were the wings of pure white stretched out. The wingspan must have been at least ten feet on either side of her torso.
“Who are you? What have you done to my sister?” Grace shouted, as she ran over to where Addie lay on the ground.
“I am Ashnin, the first Nam-Nin of HeVan. Your sister and her young have absorbed a great deal of knowledge and power. She is now linked to this world, as are her daughters.”
The woman looked closely at Grace
. Aditya, the Nam-Nin, must have teleported her here. She would learn to control her power. Right now, it was new and wild.
“You are the elder. Why was your sister chosen to be Nam-Nin?” she asked in a soft voice.
“It was her destiny. She’s good at dealing with lots of people; I am not. She’s the one who looked for our ancestors and found Tamiel. Will she be alright?” Grace asked again, needing to know.
She stood back up and saw Ashnin had retracted her wings; they were no longer visible.
“Yes, she will fully recover in a short time, as will her daughters.”
Ashnin tilted her head to the side as if she were listening to something.
“She has named you arbiter. You also have taken on a burden.”
Grace shrugged her shoulders. Her psychic gift was for truth. It helped her find evidence and to weigh the importance of information she gathered.
“This is my world now,” was all she was willing to say.
“It will be difficult not to be corrupted by the power you wield. You are from my line; that will help you, as will your Ankida and your children. I would give you a gift; will you accept it?” she asked.
Grace knew this woman, who wasn’t really flesh and blood, was offering to ease her burden, and she wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity. She was a little scared but willing to take the chance. She didn’t hesitate; she accepted and prayed she didn’t suddenly sprout wings of her own.
Ashnin raised her hands up, palms outward. As she pushed them forward, silver beams shot out and slammed into Grace’s chest. Grace threw her head back, she would have screamed, but she couldn’t catch her breath. She was cold to the bone as if her body had been filled with ice. Just as she believed she’d pass out, the pain stopped and she was able to breathe again.
When she looked back at Ashnin, she seemed less substantial, more transparent.
“The cold purity of truth and justice now reside within you, as does the warmth of compassion for both the victims and the perpetrators. You have all the tools you need to make the judgments necessary in your new role. There is little time left; you must return.”
Before Grace could answer, she blacked out.
When she woke, she was in her bed with her babies nestled in their crib beside her. They were awake and wanted to play.
She hadn’t given any more thought to the dream until now. Maybe it hadn’t been a dream. She’d gone to look for Addie, heard she’d been missing for hours and then found out she had joined to the planet. Addie had fallen asleep before they could talk, and then she had to leave for this trip. She was making plans to talk to Addie, when the door to the bathroom opened, and her Ankida walked in. Suddenly, she had other things on her mind. The next time she woke, it was morning, and she was in the arms of her Ankida.
Now they were arriving at the home of Tulia Braza; she had been the first lady of the Celestian region for more than three thousand years. Her daughter, Branca, was one of the few un-joined females on the planet. Branca was the one who had been taken and assaulted by Paq Morrack of the Seraphian region, which bordered Celestia. Malpha had hidden Branca but before Glynnis could secure her, she had been returned to her mother. Grace was determined to make sure the woman was okay, and she would have justice.
Pushing the strange dream of the night before from her mind, she and her Ankida left the transport and approached the largest of the buildings. Most Nephilim lived in small communities surrounded by the lands they cultivated. They shared in the work and had strong community ties. They used the advanced technology of their culture for convenience and lived simply.
Grace was still getting used to being on land again. The air here on HeVan also seemed much cleaner and fresher than on Earth. Jalen explained they had cleaned up their air quality thousands of years ago. The Nephilim had altered their industry standards for their planet. In many ways, it gave Grace a lot of hope for Earth. She took in one last deep breath of fresh air before they stepped up to the door and pressed a hand to the visitor panel.
Moments later, the panel slid up to reveal a screen.
“Welcome to Celestial House. What is the nature of your business?” the male on the screen asked.
“I’m Grace Rephaim, here to speak with Branca Braza,” she said.
“I’m sorry, Lady Grace. Lady Branca is unavailable to visitors,” he said.
A strange thing happened: Grace’s eyes turned from brown to silver. A halo of light surrounded her, giving off silver sparks.
“I am here as Supreme Arbiter. You will allow us entrance to the house and bring Branca to me,” she said. Her Ankida all gave her shocked looks as the warrior on greeting duty rushed to comply with Grace’s order.
“This is a new look for you, Grace. You want to fill us in?” Jalen asked.
“Fill you in on what?” she asked.
“Oh, I don’t know—the silver halo, the change in eye color, the power behind your voice. Pick one,” said Jett.
Grace gave them a disbelieving look, and then remembered her dream that didn’t seem like a dream.
“I’ll explain later,” she said quickly, as the door opened.
They were shown to what Grace would call a “great room.” It had several seating areas and a large fireplace at one end. As they walked across the room, she took the opportunity to look at the woman seated in a large leather armchair. Grace had done her homework and this was not Branca, but her mother, Tulia. Her Ankida were unable to give her information on Tulia; Lady Narva had been the councilwoman from the House of Celestia when they were last on HeVan.
The woman must have read the determination in Grace’s face because she began to speak before Grace could say anything.
“My daughter is still in seclusion. She has been through an ordeal and I won’t have you disturbing her. I expect you to leave here and go immediately to make sure that male is never allowed around females ever again. I don’t understand why you are even here; you were provided with all the memory crystals,” Tulia said in a cold voice. The expression on her face matched her voice. The fact she had not risen at their approach also told Grace this woman had no respect for either her or her position.
“I understand your distress. However, I must investigate in my own way, using my own methods. This is not the first time I’ve investigated a crime of this nature; you can be assured this has my full attention.”
“No! I will not have it. This is my region and I will not allow you to upset my daughter further. You and those other women are interlopers. I understand we need the females, but I refuse to take an alien female as my Nam-Nin. I will continue to rule this region as I see fit, as I have always done,” she said, giving Grace a look of disdain.
Grace could tell Tulia’s comments pissed off her Ankida. Luckily, they knew better than to step in. She could handle this. Especially after the little show she put on earlier. Once again, she began to emit a silver glow.
“I am the Nam-Ram, the Supreme Arbiter, the truth finder, the justice maker. You will cease obstructing my investigations,” she intoned. The power flowed from her and everyone around them felt it. Grace saw a flash of fear on Tulia’s face before she shuttered her expression.
“You…bring my daughter to me,” she said, waving at the warrior who had showed them into the room.
Grace could see Tulia wasn’t pleased to be giving in to her demands. In her head, she began to change her strategy. While she waited, she wandered over to a painting on the wall. It was a panoramic view of the holding. Grace looked at it closely; it was as good as a map. She began to get ideas. She also tried to get a handle on the new power she could feel welling up inside her. She needed to figure out exactly what she could do. It looked as if her dream wasn’t a dream, after all.
She pulled out her personal communicator; it was easy to use, being a cross between a cell phone and something one would see in a sci-fi movie. She walked to the opposite end of the room and called her sister. They weren’t exactly in the same time zone; hopefully,
she’d be available. She didn’t hear a ring; instead, the screen pulsed in a rainbow of colors. Grace was about to hang up the call when Addie’s face filled the screen.
“Hey, Grace, how’s it going? Boy, do I have a lot to tell you!” she said.
“Yeah, about that—were you in some kind of cave recently?” Grace asked.
Before she could say anything else or Addie could answer her, she found herself standing in front of Addie in the palace nursery.
“Whoa, Addie! What the he...heck!” she said, noticing all the babies, including her own. Her eldest daughter, Jordan, made a sound of surprise and she walked over to pick her up.
“Sorry, I’m still getting used to my new powers. I can teleport people now. When you mentioned the cave, I wished we could have a private conversation, a one-on-one about it, and here you are,” Addie said.
“So you were in a cave?” Grace asked.
“Yeah, but how did you know? I wanted to talk to you about it when you got back. You were already gone when I figured out how to open the passage in the queen’s bedchamber.”
“Well, you used this nifty power last night too. I was there. You were floating in this golden light and then you passed out. That chick, Ashnin, gave me some powers to use as arbiter and they are freaking me out a little. Your abilities have always been stronger than mine, so I wanted to ask you how to control them,” Grace said.
“As you can see, I’m still working on my own control.”
Grace’s communicator vibrated strongly in her hand. She pressed her thumb over the verifier key to answer it. She had been jealous of Malpha’s DRD she wore as a bracelet. Jett was working on one for her with the advanced capabilities he’d worked into her communicator and she couldn’t wait. Until then, she was still using this handheld.
“Grace! Where are you? Are you okay?” Jalen sounded frantic.
“I’m fine. Addie has joined with the planet and has some new abilities. She teleported me here so we could talk. I’ll have her send me back in a few minutes. Please make sure the area where I was standing remains clear. I don’t want to wind up sharing space with a table or something. Love you, bye,” she said, before ending the call.