CHAPTER 22
Alya:
I find myself silently praying that Ephraim doesn’t answer his phone, moving Ilyana in might be easier done without him. He may not be a purebred, but I have met few beings in my life that are more perceptive than he is. My heart stills when I hear his voice on the other end “What?” he answers flatly and I can tell that he probably did not get much rest last night either. “Is that any way to greet your sister?” he practically growls in response “Hello, Alya. How may I help you?” my breath catches and for a moment I wonder if Marcus has called him “Can you meet me at the gate as soon as possible? I’m already here waiting, it’s time to move her home. We’ve been elected to bring her personal effects in by this evening when Marcus plans to have a reception dinner in her honor.
I hear the rustling of his backpack and know he is on the move “I’ll be there as fast as I can.” The phone line goes dead.
I find myself wondering if anyone even knows how to say goodbye anymore. I finally give in to my better senses and call Marcus back, he answers on the first ring “This is Marcus.” He is clearly much happier to hear from me than my brother was “Marcus, I was, well. I was just wondering if it is absolutely necessary to bring her back tonight so unprepared? Shouldn’t I talk to her first and let her know what is happening?” he lets out a small laugh “You’re over-thinking things, Alya. Tonight is a celebration, your friend has practically brought the dead back to life! Do you know how many years I have spent wondering what befell the others? We may not know everything, but we know they are alive and that gives us more hope than any of us have had in years.” I can hear the elation in his voice and know that he means every word, but something in me still feels like I am leading this girl to her funeral. “You truly think it wise?” I go on to explain once more that many of the others were as good as vegetables but he doesn’t let that deter him “Alya, we are Nephilim. We have friends in very high places, if there is any way to recover what is lost, our healers will find it. If not, they will at least make them comfortable. I need to go now, I am expecting Guinevere and Julius any minute. They need to prepare for tonight.” I try to interrupt, in an attempt to point out the hypocrisy of preparing them and leaving Ilyana in the dark but he cuts me off “Not a word to anyone, Alya. You have my word that you and your friends are in good hands.” He disconnects the call at this point.
Just as I prepare to throw my phone in a childish outburst, something catches my eye and I realize hurricane Ephraim has arrived. My brother wastes no time letting me know how he feels about the decision to bring Ilyana back “What the hell are they thinking, Alya?” he lifts his shoulders and arms in a gesture that reminds me of the impassioned little boy he once was. “She is in no way ready to come back and they know that! I have been giving them detailed reports - Every. Single. Day. They should know this.” I say nothing as I turn to get on my own ATV, he continues “What is their angle, Alya? If they called you, they must’ve told you something. Why do they need her back right now when her power is still so uncontrolled? It must be something huge for them to risk bringing a loose cannon like her in.”
I realize if I don’t say something, he will keep going and I am liable to tell him everything – that is something I can’t risk while we are still so close to the elders. If I am feeling uneasy about tonight, I know he will too and if his temper gets the better of him in such close proximity to the elders, we will likely both spend the rest of our lives paying for it. “Brother, try to be optimistic. The Counsel is often less than forthcoming, but I do not believe they mean anyone harm. We need to hurry if we are going to be back in time to prepare for dinner, rumor has it, it will be the black tie affair of the century.” I begin take off before he has a chance to respond and begin to feel tears stinging my eyes. I’m trying to convince myself that this is no different than the many other secrets we have kept from one another over the years, but in my gut I know that I just lied to my brother and that is an offense that won’t easily be forgiven.
By the time we arrive at the cabin, I begin to compose myself. I park outside of the shed so I can pull the boxes out without anything blocking me “I pull a stack of boxes and packing tape down “Okay, so I will pack a small duffle with a few of her personal items while you pack the rest in boxes. I will send a group tomorrow morning to pick up everything that she won’t be needing tonight.” He stoops down in front of me and I can feel him boring a hole through my eyes, trying to find the truth “Alya, what did you do?” his voice is surprisingly gentle for the stern look he is wearing.”
I begin to carry the boxes inside but before I even exit the shed he stops me and takes them. I take a deep breath and hope my voice doesn’t break as we walk towards the house together “It’s nothing Ephraim, they just thought a girl she knows packing her girly items would be better than a team of complete strangers doing so.” I shake my head as I realize how weak my lie is and know my avoiding the question won’t escape his notice. He is silent for a moment as we enter her room and speaks up as he begins to fold the boxes “You know, the humming might be a little irritating, but it brings life to this house, I don’t know how Levi is going to get by if he stays out here alone. It is still full of her things, but somehow feels so empty.”
The tenderness in his voice crushes my resolve. My eyes fill with the tears I wouldn’t give into earlier “Ephraim, we need to talk.” I sit on the bed in front of him “Oh, so you’re finally ready to tell me what you have to do with this?” I nod my head unable to look him in the eyes “I’m sorry, Ephraim. When you spoke of the prisoners last night it reminded me of a story mother used to tell me about the original Counsel members. She would tell me how cruel and deviant they were. She said they were sneaky and two-faced. They sold out the entire colony.” He pulls my face up to meet him “What. Did. You. Do.” I recognize the anger and lack of control in his voice and decide to let it all pour out of me “It’s not bad, not really. I waited until you left to shower last night and called Marcus.” His muscles clench and his fists begin to ball up, he has never hit me, but I have also never betrayed him like this “But, it’s not like that Ephraim, I was wrong! He said they thought they were all dead and that this is good news! Tonight’s dinner is a celebration in her honor. He is elated, I am sure that no harm will come to her! Marcus gave his word and he never lies!”
He turns his back to me and lets out a loud groan before shouting, I have never heard my brother shout until today and now I understand why the demons can be so dangerous “WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO US?” he turns his face to look at me and his face is contorted into something far worse than anger – he looks devastated at my betrayal “Before today, I would’ve swore that you never lied as well. You have always had your secrets – your little indiscretions. But not once did I hold it against you, because at the end of the day. I knew when it was warranted, you would never lie and you would never break your word.” My tears fall harder “I’m so sorry Ephraim, please, please forgive me! I never meant to hurt you.” He begins throwing items haphazardly in boxes. “Make yourself useful or leave, I do not need or want your company, but your help in cleaning up this mess is welcome since you are the one who created it.” I scramble to my feet and begin packing her night gowns and a couple of outfits she may want if she decides to train early I look at him out of the corner of my eye and see he is leaning into her favorite sweatshirt, it looks tiny in his hands. He lifts his face up and looks my way. The words that fall out of his mouth are icy and I know he is no longer speaking in a fit of rage “You better pray that Marcus keeps his word and does not harm her. Or I give you my word that I will destroy him, you, and anyone else who works against her. She is a queen in her own right. I have seen the extent of her powers, good, evil or something completely different – I will never align myself against her. If you have any will to survive – which is questionable after your stupid, foolish, actions. You would be wise to do the same.” He goes back to work and I absorb his words. Anything that wo
uld evoke that kind of fear or reverie out of Ephraim would have to be more powerful than even I thought she is capable of. I say a prayer under my breath and hope that it holds any weight. If anything happens to this girl; I know deep in my soul that Ephraim is much better at keeping his word than I ever was.
Marcus:
I find myself pacing in the entryway of the great room after disconnecting with Alya. I don’t know what exactly she is anticipating or why she doesn’t understand the cause for celebration. She will understand when she arrives tonight though. I have had a hand in hiring all of the best help. Everyone who is anyone will be here tonight when we unveil the news of her discovery. I have to admit, I found all the stories of the “Chosen One” to be a bit trite. It always wreaked of the stories loose lipped servants would make up to scare children into behaving. But I can see now that they must have been based in at least some truth. I think back to the prophecies about further generations and the earth opening up and I can’t help but believe that this is the beginning of the cataclysmal events that have been whispered in our ears since before I was even a young boy. A part of me is nervous, but mostly I am excited, I have done all in my power to be a good Nephilim, balanced and judicious in even the most dire of circumstances. But I do know that for a future generation of Nephilim to rise from the ashes – there must first be ashes. That is the part that scares me. But if this Ilyana is as powerful as I have been told, I can only have faith that she is exactly the being to lead us through to the other side and I wouldn’t be caught dead standing in her way. I can’t seem to break think of anything else until I hear an all too familiar voice break my thoughts “Marcus, what is the meaning of all this?”
I don’t need to look over to know who that sour voice belongs to. I bow my head in a sign of respect towards her and gently kiss her wrinkled, dry hands – it is impolite to ask a woman her age, no matter what species she is, but for her to show such signs of age, I know that she must be truly ancient. “Guinevere, thank you for meeting me here.” I lift my face to see that Julius is standing behind her as well, with a dry, annoyed expression “Julius, I can see I must’ve pulled you away from something important, but I assure you. It will be worth it.” He cuts his eyes my direction “I will be the judge of that.” Out of the three of us, I am the youngest. There used to be more of us, but we believed our families were casualties of our wars with the demons. I always felt guilty because if I had not been away from the enclave in pursuit of my own curiosity, I would’ve been lost with them. But as fate would have it, I was visiting our compound in Rome at the time of attack and my life was spared. Once news reached Rome, I knew I had to step up and fill the seat of elder on behalf of my family. Ever since then, I have been trying to compensate for the loss of my dear brother and our family, but it never seemed to be enough for Guinevere or Julius. Today I will finally get the chance to prove my worth to them.
“Won’t you both have a seat? I will have the servants bring us all some refreshments.”
I catch an almost imperceptible glare from Guinevere and realize they will not be sitting, so I continue on “For centuries, I have been mourning the loss of our original families. We have had 6 empty seats in our meeting hall and I believe many of our people have suffered. But now, now we have hope.” Julius looks as disinterested as before and Guinevere’s annoyed expression changes into one of curiosity “And what, pray-tell, do we have hope in?” her formality is showing and I suddenly am feeling very unsure of myself. “Tonight, we feast in honor of Ilyana. She has discovered a hidden portal on the island that has been holding our family members captive for the last six-thousand years. She has been unsuccessful in her attempts at freeing them, but we do know they are alive and beginning tomorrow we can contact our other communes and work towards their freedom.” Guinevere’s face is once again unreadable and Julius looks enraged as he begins to speak “So you are taking the word of a girl you don’t know, who has no control over her powers and you are throwing a gala in her honor without even verifying the accuracy? All over a bunch of relatives that long ago died in battle? You are a bigger fool than I ever thought.”
His words sting, I knew he was unhappy when I took my seat alongside him and Guinevere, but he has never so poignantly expressed his opinion of me. Guinevere raises her hand and gestures to quiet him “Julius, let our friend have his moment. Of course he would believe the stories of this girl who knows nothing of our history – she would not fabricate stories of the original elders whom she never knew existed.” I am humbled by her reasoning “Thank you, Guinevere, you have always been a source of great knowledge.” she nods approvingly and does something I have never seen her do. She lifts her dry hands to her mouth and loudly demands that all servants vacate the room immediately until further notice, she then asks the security guards which are stationed around the room to stay as she has something she would like to discuss with them. They all step closer and form a small circle around us. She waits for the room to fully clear. “I will personally assume oversight of tonight’s preparations, Marcus. I am sure you can agree a woman’s touch is always welcome when planning such an extraordinary event.” I start to thank her “In the meantime, I hope you can understand the judgment I must pass on you now is in your best interest.” I can feel my eyebrows start to furrow in confusion as she continues “To pursue further action towards freeing the imprisoned workers a trial must be held and since you have taken action without any elders knowledge, you will be detained until after the full trial is conducted.” She gestures for the guards to detain me and they do as she asks without hesitation “I don’t understand, Guinevere. I want only to help.” Julius is wearing a smug expression and Guinevere is trying her best to look understanding “I know, young one. But this is the way of our order and it always has been, you do not understand the extent of the damage your little party could’ve caused tonight.” I am now unable to move due to the tight grip of the guards on my limbs. She reaches forward and plucks my cellular phone from my pocket. “You will get this back once a determination is reached.” She hands it back to Julius without even a glance his direction. “Guards, take him to his room now and see that I am alerted if he even thinks to exit. I would rather not have to imprison one of our elders.” As they push me along I hear her call the servants back in and order them to take down all décor and call only the junior counsel and appointed jury members to come for a trial.
The Fallen Ones Page 23