The Complete Book Of Fallen Angels

by Valmore Daniels

As soon as we left Middleton, Mr. Ulrich said, “I’m going to tell you something that you’re going to have a hard time believing.”

  “Try me,” I said, my voice flat. If I could believe I had the ability to control water, I couldn’t imagine what he would say that I wouldn’t accept.

  “Do you believe in angels?”

  I hadn’t expected him to say anything like that. “You mean like Bible-type angels?” Leaning back against the door, I gave him a suspicious glance. “Aren’t they just made-up stories?”

  He flashed a quick smile. “No. Angels exist.”

  “Right.”

  “Then explain how you survived that explosion this morning?”

  “You said it was a genetic trait.”

  Nodding, he said, “Yes I did. It’s the trait that separates the Children of the Nephilim from other humans. Only those who have the bloodline are able to become hosts.”

  “Children of what?”

  “I see I’m going to have to start at the beginning.” He took a breath. “You’ve heard of Noah and the Flood?”

  “You’re telling me that really happened, too?”

  “Of course it did. But few people understand why it happened. You see, hundreds and hundreds of years before the Great Deluge, angels were sent to Earth with one mission: to watch over humans and protect them. These angels were called Watchers.”

  I’d seen enough movies to go along with what he was saying. “You mean guardian angels.”

  “They call themselves Grigori. Well,” he said after a moment, “there were a few of these Grigori—about two hundred of them—who grew to love humankind so much, they wanted more than just to watch over them; they wanted to help them.”

  “Help? How?”

  “They taught the humans about science, medicine, fire, and many other disciplines.”

  “That doesn’t sound so bad.”

  “Maybe not to you, but humans—being human—weren’t mature enough to have this kind of knowledge, and they misused it. Fearing that heaven would punish these humans, the Grigori showed humanity how to protect itself.”

  “Taught them to fight?”

  “Yes.” He looked at me. “Unfortunately, some humans used this knowledge to make war against one another. Things got out of hand on Earth.

  “A decision was made. The world was flooded in an effort to wipe the slate clean. Only a few humans were spared. After that, archangels were sent to banish the two hundred Grigori who had given humankind the forbidden knowledge.”

  I frowned. “It’s an interesting story, but if it’s true, I think you left something out.” Adults were always trying to twist things to make them sound better than they really were.

  “Oh?”

  Glancing at him out of the corner of my eye, I said, “You mentioned these Nephilim. I’ll bet that had something to do with it.”

  “Yes, you’re right. It seems a few of these Grigori loved humans a little too much. Their offspring were the Nephilim.”

  “Thought so.” That kind of thing had gone on in the trailer park, too, and people got really upset about it. Whenever someone got caught messing around, there were always fights.

  Mr. Ulrich said, “After the flood, the Nephilim were destroyed; all except one man, who had many children.” He pointed to me. “You’re one of his descendants, a Child of the Nephilim, an Anakim.”

  I snapped my fingers. “Anak Acres.”

  “That’s right.”

  “But you said we all have these gifts. Up until today, I couldn’t do anything special.”

  “I said you all have the trait. The only time you gain these special abilities is when one of the original Grigori takes you as their host.”

  I stared at him for a long time. “What?”

  He gave me a slow nod. “You have a Grigori—an angel—inside you. Most likely, your father was his host, and when he died, the Grigori transferred to you, the closest match in the bloodline.”

  “You’re right,” I said.

  “About what?”

  “I’m having a hard time believing all this.”

  Instead of replying, Mr. Ulrich picked up the bottle of water he had in the console holder and upended it over my lap.

  It was pure instinct that I made the falling water change direction before it hit me, causing it to flow past my legs and onto the floor at my feet. Now that I’d done it again, I realized it wasn’t an invisible barrier that I had created. I was controlling the water itself, as if it were a puppet on a string.

  I couldn’t deny that I had a supernatural ability, though I still wasn’t completely sold on the idea that it was brought on by an angel who’d decided to hide out somewhere inside me.

  Even though the Youth Center had a chapel and a priest who was there twice a week, I’d never had much interest in religion.

  I didn’t really know what to think; I’d have to wait and see what happened at Anak Acres.

  “How is the Grigori giving me this power?” I asked.

  “Ananiel,” Mr. Ulrich said, putting the bottle back in the holder.

  “What’s an ‘ananiel’?”

  “It’s not a ‘what’; it’s a ‘who’. That’s the name of the Grigori who is possessing you, I’m sure of it. As long as you are his host, you are able to tap into his power, though in a limited way.”

  “Ananiel, huh?”

  “Yes. He’s one of the angels of rain.” Mr. Ulrich spoke as if he were reading from a book. “According to many sources, there are hundreds of thousands of angels, each assigned a duty. There are many angels of rain, as well as angels of snow, hail, fog … basically, for every aspect of nature. Some angels are assigned only one task, others serve in multiple capacities.”

  “So Ananiel was also one of the Grigori?”

  “Yes.”

  “…Who was banished?” I asked.

  “For loving humans, yes.”

  “And he found his way back?”

  “About seventy years ago, one of the other banished Grigori discovered a way to send his consciousness out of the Abyss to Earth. Because consciousness doesn’t have any form, the angel’s spirit had to reside in a human host.”

  “So they are still locked up in the Abyss?” I asked.

  “Their material forms are.”

  “I’ve heard of demonic possession before. Is it like that?”

  Mr. Ulrich shook his head, then nodded a moment later. “Sort of. It’s the same concept, but the Grigori can only be hosted by their descendants—and they don’t take over your soul, although their presence can sometimes influence the host’s behavior.”

  I asked, “You said there were two hundred Grigori who were banished. Are they all here, now?”

  “So far, nearly sixty have come through. There is a very specific—and very rare—set of circumstances that create a bridge between an Anakim and a Grigori; only then can one send his consciousness out of the Abyss and into a host.”

  “And you’re saying this happened to my father?”

  “Or his father. I’m sure one of the others will be able to figure that out, now that we know your line is host to Ananiel.”

  “And that’s why he was killed?”

  Mr. Ulrich shrugged. “It’s possible he did something with his power to make the sheriff suspicious. People react violently when they’re faced with the unknown. Fear is a very strong emotion.”

  “Why didn’t my father protect himself with the power?” I asked.

  “I don’t know. Maybe he didn’t have enough time to react.”

  “The explosion,” I said, “was that because of the Grigori transferring?”

  He shook his head. “I’ve never heard of it happening like that before. I’ll have to report to the others and see what they have to say about it.”

  I shook my head. “How do you know about all this?”

  “I spent twenty years in the priesthood,” he said. “I was a theological scholar.”

  “Why’d you stop?”

  He frowned
. “When I informed my superiors about what was happening in the world, they chose to turn a blind eye. I brought them proof, but they decided to silence me rather than face the truth. There was no place for me there anymore.”

  It was a lot to absorb. At first, I was horrified at the thought that I was being possessed. Once I got over that first reaction, I realized a few things. First, it didn’t feel like there was anything taking me over. I was still in control of myself. Second, this Grigori had acted to save my life. Maybe Mr. Ulrich was right; they did love humans.

  Thinking about it, I decided the Grigori was very much like me. He had been given a very harsh punishment compared to his crime. All he wanted was to escape his prison.

  That’s all I’d wanted to do, to escape the Portland Youth Development Center for Girls.

  As long as he didn’t do anything weird to me, I decided it was all right that he hitched a ride inside me.

  I looked at Mr. Ulrich. “So what’s your part in all this?”

  In all the counseling sessions I’d had with him, and during the trip, Mr. Ulrich had always seemed calm and in control. He’d always spoken carefully and gently. For the first time, I saw anger on his face.

  It was more than anger. It was rage.

  A shiver of fear went through me, but very quickly, I realized he wasn’t directing his emotions at me, but at a memory.

  “About a year ago, I was in a bad way. A theologian doesn’t have a lot of marketable skills. I never had any property, and ended up on the street. One night, a group of us were just standing there, minding our own business. A truck full of drunken young men stopped.” He pressed his lips together. “Two men died from the beatings. I almost died.”

  I gasped. “I’m so sorry.”

  Through thin lips, he said, “You talked about guardian angels before. Mine was Sam Lancaster, who saw what was happening. He stopped the men before they killed me.” I could hear the wonder in his voice as he added, “And all he used were words. I don’t know what he said to them, but when he was finished, they all fell to the ground crying.”

  Turning to me, Mr. Ulrich said, “I’ve sworn myself to do whatever I can in service to his cause.”

  I asked, “What cause is that?”

  “Out of love, the Grigori gave humankind forbidden knowledge; their only intention was to help us improve ourselves, even though humankind misused the gifts. In the millennia since, we’ve strayed so far from the path of goodness that there is the fear that Heaven will once again raze the world. This time, no one will be spared.

  “The Grigori realize they bear part of the blame for this. They need to put humankind back on the right path. It’s the only way we can be saved.”

  “And how are they going to do that?”

  Mr. Ulrich took a moment to reply. “I haven’t been told the master plan yet. We still have a long way to go.”

  “How long?”

  “Less than a third of the Grigori have come through in the past half-century. Sam and the others are trying to find a way to bring the rest across as quickly as possible. Only when all of them have crossed will they have the power to change things here on Earth.”

  I’d never given much thought to politics. Although I felt some sympathy for what had happened to Mr. Ulrich, I found all the talk about changing the world a bit beyond me. I was just a kid; even if I wanted to do something about all the crime and violence in society, what could I do about it?

  Besides, the world hadn’t been very kind to me. I didn’t owe it anything. I wasn’t even sure it was worth saving. After all, the few people I’d cared about the most were dead now, my mother killed by someone who was supposed to take care of us, and my father killed by a cop, who was supposed to protect us. Why should I try to save these people from themselves?

  I was better off looking out for myself.

  I decided that the safest thing was for me to go along with Mr. Ulrich, see what this Anak Acres was all about, learn as much about my new abilities as I could, and then split the first opportunity I had.

  Chapter Ten

  According to the built-in GPS in the car, it should have taken us about ten hours to get to Salt Lake City. We got there in eight, with only one short break at a gas station to eat and to relieve ourselves. To me, it seemed much shorter. Our conversation made the time seem to fly by.

  It was near midnight when we pulled onto a long dirt road twenty miles east of Salt Lake City.

  As we drove through the darkness, I felt an electric tingle go through my body, and I gasped. The sensation was different from the stomach pain I’d experienced before.

  Mr. Ulrich must have noticed my reaction. He said, “It’s nothing to worry about. Angels can sense the presence of one another when they are nearby. They’ll know we’re almost there.”

  Though it had been too long of a day, I found myself quite alert as we drove past several barns, sheds, and bungalows. Finally, we pulled up to the main building. It looked more like a mansion to me, large enough to house dozens of people.

  Mr. Ulrich got out of the car and motioned for me to follow him up to the front door.

  We were greeted by a weathered old man who looked like he came straight out of the pages of a Western novel. With a gesture, he urged us inside.

  Mr. Ulrich entered first and nodded to the man. “Hello, Jethro.” To me, he said, “Jethro is the ranch’s caretaker.”

  “Evening, Aaron. I see you made it here all right.”

  “Yeah.” Mr. Ulrich nodded. “Long drive. But we made it.”

  Jethro gave me a squint-eyed look. “And who do we have here? Hello, little miss.”

  “It’s Serena,” I said.

  Jethro smiled. “That’s my daughter’s name, too.”

  “Oh?”

  “Maybe you’ll get to meet her one day. She’s an accountant with the company.”

  Mr. Ulrich coughed. “It’s been a long day, Jethro.”

  The caretaker nodded to me. “Of course. We’ve prepared a room upstairs. I’ll show you to it and have the cook send up a late supper, if you’re hungry.”

  He took a few paces toward the stairs and turned around when I didn’t follow.

  “Where’s everyone else?” I asked, directing the question at both of them. From what Mr. Ulrich had said, and from the brochure he’d shown me back in Maine, I expected the house to be filled with other kids. Even this close to midnight, it was hard to believe there wouldn’t be at least a few of them still awake, if only so they could take a look at the newcomer.

  Jethro said, “The house is reserved for hosts. Those who have not received the gift live in the dormitories down the lane; you must have seen them on the way in. The rest of us stay in the servants’ quarters next door.”

  “How many hosts are here?” I asked. With a glance at Mr. Ulrich, I added, “Is Sam Lancaster here?”

  Jethro answered, “Mr. Lancaster does not make his home with us. Anak Acres is reserved for our young hosts.”

  “No adults?” I asked.

  “Except for the staff, no.”

  I glanced toward the stairs, as if I could see through the ceiling to the rooms beyond. “I sensed other Grigori here.”

  “Yes,” Jethro said. “There are two young hosts with us. In the dormitory, we have nine Anakim. They’re between ten and seventeen-years old. I’m sure you’ll have plenty of time to make friends with them starting tomorrow. For now, we should get you settled.”

  He turned back to the stairs and headed up, not looking back this time to see if I was following. I gave Mr. Ulrich a questioning look.

  “Go ahead, Serena. You’re safe here. I’ll be in the servants’ building if you need me.”

  Obediently, I followed Jethro to the second floor. As we stepped into a long hall, I noticed he’d stopped. I looked around him and saw two other teenagers, a boy and a girl. I judged that both of them were older than I was, but not by too much.

  “We’ll take it from here,” the girl said. It was clearly an order. />
  Jethro nodded his head. “Of course, Jenny.” He didn’t meet my eyes as he passed by me to head back down stairs. I couldn’t tell if the expression on his face was one of fear or awe.

  One of the things a new girl had to learn quickly in the Youth Center was to figure out who was who. If you ticked off the wrong person, you’d end up in the infirmary sooner than later—of course, that was a lesson I’d had to learn the hard way, and repeatedly, courtesy of Trudy Hartman.

  I faced the two in front of me. It was important not to show fear.

  The boy stepped forward and held his hand out. He offered me a warm smile and spoke in a low voice, looking at his shoes. “I’m Thomas. We’ve been looking forward to meeting you.”

  Jenny curled her top lip. “Oh, please,” she said to Thomas. “You need to learn how to man-up. And you wonder why the morties don’t give you the respect you deserve.”

  “Morties?” I asked.

  “It’s what I call mortals,” she said. “The first thing you have to learn is that they are here to do as we say. Don’t let any of them trick you into thinking we’re not in charge.”

  I got the feeling she was including me when she said ‘we’, but I didn’t want to ask.

  Jenny asked, “You’re name is Serena, right?” When I nodded, she gave me a slight smile. “Jethro got the call this morning that you might be coming. A bunch of the empties wanted to meet you, but they can wait until tomorrow.”

  “Empties?” I felt stupid asking, but I had no idea what she was talking about.

  “Empty vessels. You know, those in the bloodline who haven’t become home to an angel’s spirit yet. The others call them Anakim.” She stepped up to me and wrapped an arm around me. Leading me down the hall, Thomas following behind, she said, “You’ve got a lot to learn. Don’t worry, I’ll tell you everything you need to know.”

  * * *

  There were eight rooms on the second floor, and Jenny brought me to the one at the end. “This is yours. I’m right next door, and Thomas is at the other end of the hall.”

  The room was huge, and all the furniture in it looked expensive. Two corners had overstuffed chairs. A wood desk was pushed up against one side, and a high-backed chair stood in front of it. The other wall held a bay window looking out over the countryside. There was a narrow door in one wall leading to a full bathroom.