The Fallen Ones

by Katelyn Campbell

CHAPTER 28

   

  Ilyana:

  After I wash the last two days off of my skin and throw on my uniform of jeans and a tank top, I am surprised to find Lizzy already waiting for me outside of my dressing room. “Ilyana, I am so glad you are back! I was worried after all they put you through, you would never return!” she reaches in for a hug and I awkwardly pat her back and respond “They aren’t getting rid of me that easily!” she laughs at the notion and then buzzes past me for a comb and motions for me to sit in the chair.

  I so don’t have time for this right now.

  I slowly walk over and sit in the chair “I don’t really have a lot of time right now, I needed your help with something else actually.” She waves me off and goes in to comb my wet tangled curls anyways “nonsense, you can’t meet with Marcus looking like this. I’ll get you cleaned up and then I can attend to whatever it is you need me to do.” I smile up at her gratefully and begin telling her exactly what it is I need. “After the caves, there was a lot of destruction, Lizzy. Those captives weren’t in their right minds and they still aren’t anywhere near what they must’ve been ages ago before they were locked up.” From her reflection in the window I can see concern forming on her face “I can’t imagine what I would do, locked away like that for so many lifetimes with no release, it’s horrible.” I look down to my hands folded in my lap and feel my shoulders go slack as she continues to work on getting the tangles out of my hair “I was hoping you would see it that way, I really was. I need your help with them. There are at least 40 Nephilim that were released whenever everything happened in the cave. They’re all at the old enclave still and are in no way ready to come here. Only one of them is really even aware of all that is going on, she is trying to clean and care for the others, but with so many it is basically a lost cause. They need food and clothes and someone to care for them. Rose is doing all she can, but it is too much responsibility for one person.”

  She pulls my chair around to face her, and places her small hands that are dampened from my hair onto my lap and solemnly begins to speak “I’m so honored that you would trust me with this, I will make it my mission to do everything I can to help restore them to what they once were. As soon as I finish here, I will go to the pantries and get everything I can to help them get settled for the night.” I reach out and hug her, at first she seems surprised by the motion but she quickly settles into it “I knew I could count on you Lizzy! I don’t know what resources we even have or how we can help, but with Marcus and Sam on our side I am sure we can come up with something. For tonight, a few bars of soap and some food is I’m sure more than enough to help get them started.”

  I get up and walk over to my vanity, I reach in the cabinet and pull out the keys to my ATV and hand them to her “Here, take this and anything you need from my apartment, take that too. When you arrive, you will find Rose there. She is a little quirky, but I am sure she will love you and she can give you an idea of what all they need.” She reaches out to take the keys from me “As you wish, Ilyana. But for now you need to sit back down, I’m not finished with you yet.” She sets me down in the chair and finishes her work, she runs moisturizer through my curls to help keep them from tangling, she lines my eyes with coal and glosses my lips. She hands me some jewelry to put on and tells me stories of how the Nephilim women used to dress in times of battle. She finds a silky black, button up top that fits me rather snug and shows just a bit of skin below my belly button, she gives me some dark, designer skinny jeans and a pair of black combat boots. I’m not exactly sure what’s next for me, but I am positive that no matter what, at least I will look like a badass. We say our goodbyes and she rushes out ahead of me to get to work on finding dinner for Rose and the other captives. I brush my teeth and put lotion on my hands just in time to head out into my dining room and hear Levi’s plan.

  When I walk through the dining room I am immediately greeted by Sasha, I bend over and talk to her, failing to acknowledge anyone in the room. I have missed my old, faithful friend and from the looks of things she has missed me too. She covers my hands with kisses as I pet her and coo to her. When she finally starts to stay in one place and settle down, I stand up to take my seat at the dining table. I see 4 faces staring blankly at me, Samuel, Levi, the man I presume to be Marcus and a barely recognizable Kailand. I can see that Levi helped him with his style, his hair is cut into a short, shaggy mess that somehow still manages to look perfectly planned and in place on him, his skin is completely clean and he’s wearing modern clothes. I see dark jeans, leather boots peeking out beneath them and a black short sleeved shirt with a deep V-neck that showcases a leather cross necklace around his neck. I smile at the site “Well, don’t you clean up nicely. How does it feel, Kailand?” he lets out a small breath as though he is relieved at the compliment “I feel crazy, men never dressed like this back in my time.” We all laugh at the thought and then Levi speaks up “and what about you Miss Ilyana, you are looking like quite the badass yourself?” I realize my hands are reflexively reaching down to cover my exposed stomach, I make myself stop and find myself looking down to my feet and scratching the back of my neck “Yeah, I guess I have Lizzy to thank for that, she’s quite a miracle worker.” At that, Marcus chimes in “That she is, and she has taken an instant liking to you, when I saw her today, she couldn’t stop speaking about you, you sound like an incredible young woman and I am so pleased to finally meet you.” He reaches his hand across the table to shake mine and I instantly like him. He is completely different from the previous Counsel members I have met and I feel totally at ease in his presence.

  The small talk stops as I take my seat at the table. The men all go to take a seat beside me and Levi stands up “Okay, so we are all agreed that Guinevere and Julius have to be stopped, they’ve gone utterly mad. They are power hungry and scared so now they have taken to bullying and manipulating us.” Everyone nods their heads in acknowledgement as he continues “They have taken Ephraim hostage and if we do not strike back soon, I know that one of us will undoubtedly be next. As long as Guinevere is aligning herself with these monsters, our safety is at risk and we cannot take that for granted.” I have seen Levi in so many different ways since we have arrived here, he has become my best friend and my greatest ally throughout all that has happened but the Levi standing in front of me is a completely different person than the goofy boy who became my family in the woods. He is authoritative and calculating. He reminds me of a commander preparing to lead his troops into battle.

  He keeps talking “I think we all can agree that the greatest asset we have on our side right now is Ilyana, she defeated the demons in the cave and is the only Nephilim I have ever seen that was capable of bringing Guinevere to her knees.

  Well this is taking an unexpected turn.

  I listen as the men nod in agreement with all that he is saying. “I think that there are others like us that are tired of Guinevere’s tyranny and constant use of fear tactics, but without someone else to follow, they are rushing to Cairo to join her because they know they have no other options. I think we need to give them an alternative and Ilyana is it.” I can feel my heartbeat speeding up and my palms beginning to sweat at what he is suggesting. He can’t possibly think I am capable of leading anyone. They all agree as though we are going to go through with this. Marcus speaks up “So what is our first move Levi, how do we show everyone that they have an option before Guinevere gets to them.” Levi sits down in his chair and leans towards us as he starts to give us the details of his plans, before the words fall out of his mouth, I find myself standing up and my palm slams on the table in front of me “You are crazy if you think I am a good alternative, you didn’t see what happened in the cave back there Levi, it’s a miracle, I didn’t kill everyone on this island then!”

  I feel Kailand reach out and grab my hand as he carefully rubs his thumb across my knuckles in the comforting way that is so clearly him and for the first time he begins to contribute to the conversation as he lo
oks me square in the face “Levi is not asking you to lead us into a battle, we talked a little while he was helping me get cleaned up. He is proposing that we put you on a platform to give others hope. I know I’ve missed a lot being locked up, but everything he described sounded like this island, these Nephilim have fallen under a complete dictatorship. They are afraid of their own shadows, the consequences of their every choice, consequences that are imposed and executed by Guinevere.” Marcus clears his throat and adds his perspective in “What the boy’s saying is true, I may’ve spent the last few thousand years filling an empty seat as a member of the counsel, but I never did anything more than that. She had the final word in every matter and now she is proposing we align ourselves with our mortal enemies for a little bit of comfort and security. Our people were meant to be warriors against injustice that was always created at the hand of these demons, if we align ourselves with them and give them our power and resources for war, what is it that they will be fighting? Who will they be fighting? Any enemy of theirs is a friend of mine and that’s how it should be.”

  I realize he is right and take a deep breath as I sit back down, I feel Kailands hand still comfortingly holding mine and for a moment I think about Rose and imagine pulling away, but much to my own shame I continue to do what I have since I first met Kailand – I take from him. I take the comfort and the calm that he is offering and I allow myself to settle into the ideas being put on the table before me. I want to be appalled with my actions, but I just can’t be, it feels right and I don’t even know who she is to him yet anyways. “I’m sorry Levi, I know I said I trust you and would do whatever you said, I just never thought you would propose something like this. But the truth remains that I still trust you and I would follow you into hell itself if you said it was a good idea.” I smile his way and he looks relieved as he smiles back at me “Alright then, so since we are all agreed, it’s time to work out the details and get our friend back.” He stands again and begins spreading out maps of the enclave that Samuel carried here with him. He discusses plan after plan of how we will draw support. Press conferences, hearings, meetings, flyers… His ideas are endless and though I have no clue how I will play the role that he is asking of me, I know that we have no other option so I am resolved to do my absolute best at whatever it is that he asks of me.