Odeda accepted being on the outside of our joke with an indifferent grace. She assigned Uriel the task of chopping onions and pressing the garlic, while she took to stirring the noodles and I buttered the barbeque bread slices.
While cleaning off the dull knife, I thought back to Amir’s scar. “How did the creeper get his beauty mark?” I asked either of them and ran a fingernail down the right side of my face as demonstration.
Uriel understood my question, so he answered somewhat reluctantly. “Long story short: my uncle is strict but fair and adamantly loyal to his people and their land. When he first heard of the plan to abandon the motherland from Amir and the other Original Watchers, URIEL became upset. He experienced a great surge of righteous anger, found Amir, drew an arrow from his quiver- my uncle’s chosen form of combat is archery- and drew one of the enchanted feathers across the anarchist’s skin.”
“Across his face?” I asked, astonished.
“From his eye to about halfway down his upper body.”
“And Amir just stood there?”
“Yes. He was still surrounded mostly by patriots- for lack of a better term- and he didn’t dare attempt defend himself against an… archangel who is more powerful than he.”
“Archangel?” Odeda asked with raised brows and a sharp look at Uriel.
“Yeah,” I answered. “It’s easier for me to think of you guys as half-angels instead of beings from fathers without proper names or labels.”
She shrugged.
“But Amir was definitely not staying in the Old World after being humiliated so,” Uriel concluded
“Your uncle sounds…”
“Frightening,” Uriel suggested.
“Sure, but also awesome. The enemy of my enemy is pretty awesome in my opinion.”
“Ooh, Keira’s got a dark side,” Zev laughed as he sauntered in from the direction of the backyard, supposedly catching the last of the conversation.
“Any news?” Uriel asked him.
“There might be something, but they don’t know yet.”
“Who?” I wondered.
“The three eagles I’ve asked to keep an eye out for Elly.”
“You’re pretty awesome too. You know that?” I complemented him on his gift.
“Thanks,” Zev said with an easy smile. “Did Uriel tell you everything about URIEL?”
“Hm, that’s going to get confusing- using the same name.”
“How do you suggest we simplify it?”
I thought for a moment. “I could always start calling this one Lancelot,” I said as I touched my Uriel’s arm.
“You are really turned on by the whole knight thing, aren’t you?” Uriel asked with a grin.
“What can I say? There’s something sexy about a guy who can wield a sword while climactic music blares in the background.” In response, Uriel summoned a not-so-impressive-looking foil in his right hand and flicked it through the air. “I said sword, not a tiny fencing toy. Are you going to use that foil to cut up some more onions? Because I think we have enough already. But you do make one heck of a cute magician,” I taunted.
“Do not take me for some conjurer of cheap tricks,” he replied smoothly.
“Oh, are you going to try to get me to believe that you were the inspiration for Tolkien’s Gandalf now?”
In one fluid motion, Uriel, flicking the foil through the air once more, positioned his little sword behind my lower back and grabbed it at its point, rendering me trapped between him and the humorous knife. “I’m just impressed you know what a foil is,” he told me in a calm voice with the beginnings of a smile on his welcoming lips.
After a quick kiss that left my heart stuttering in my chest and a goofy grin on my blissful face, Uriel returned the foil to wherever it came from and moved to add the onions and garlic into the spaghetti sauce.
“So, Lancelot- yes or no?” Zev asked.
“No,” Uriel answered promptly.
I smiled more widely. Then my happy mood dropped a tick. “I’ve got another question for you about something the scared creeper said.”
“Ask away.”
“Why did he call me righteous and talk about my inner goodness?”
“Because Amir can sense things about people, read auras, tell how someone’s feeling and so forth,” Uriel answered matter-of-factly.
“Why would he think I’m righteous though? I don’t understand why I’d be considered righteous.”
Uriel looked up from the sauce. He crossed the kitchen to stand in front of me- no weapon in hand- and Odeda replaced him at the stove, keeping an eye on the noodles and sauce at the same time. Uriel took my hands in his as he gazed down into my eyes with sudden seriousness. “Your world is very small and simple, Keira.” He spoke slowly, deliberately choosing his words. “You go to an undersized private school, you’ve had the same, clean friends whom you’ve known for most of your life in your classes for years, and you’re parents make you go to church almost every Sunday. And even if you don’t believe in what it teaches or even enjoy going, church has a way of indoctrinating an undercurrent of morality in its attendees. You’re sheltered and innocent. You haven’t seen even a fraction of the evil in this world. And for that, I am truly grateful.”
“I’m naïve and inexperienced,” I summed up, disgusted with myself as I took my hands back and wrapped them around my middle.
“You’re winsome,” Uriel smiled at me and touched my cheek. “You are light-hearted and typically easily pleased, and I love you.”
I ignored him. “Odeda, am I really as green as he says I am?”
She bobbed her blond ponytail. “You’re pretty raw.”
I humphed.
“It’s not something to be disappointed about,” Uriel told me.
“You said I was a temptation,” I pointed out, remembering from a few days earlier. “A temptation’s a sin. I’m an innocent sin; I’m a walking oxymoron?”
Dagan’s sudden laughter could be heard from the other room. I thought I distinguished the word moron choked out of his mockery.
“That was too easy,” I yelled to him.
“A temptation isn’t a sin—not before it’s acted upon,” Uriel said, bringing my attention back to the kitchen. “But if it makes you feel better, you still have many many years to be corrupted.”
“Thanks,” I said dryly.
“Zev get the bowls and forks,” Odeda commanded before she walked out of the kitchen and toward the living room.
“Time to eat,” Uriel whispered in my ear, his voice and warm breath distracting me from my dissatisfaction.
Azra and Dagan entered before Odeda, and we all fixed our plates and sat down in the dining room. It was a lovely meal, everyone having gotten over their nerves from earlier, at least momentarily. I always loved eating with this family; I felt like I was in the middle of an old feel-good movie where everyone was corny and happy and nothing bad could touch them… Maybe I am sheltered.
After we were finished eating the delicious food and decided to leave dessert for later, everyone went back to the living room to wait for URIEL. (You might be wondering why the archangel is in all caps- it’s because he earned it by being an archangel, and my Uriel is only a half. So there you have it. Plus- it makes it easier to tell which is which. Besides, when I say Uriel, it’s toned with love, and when I say URIEL, it’s toned with awe pretty much.) The dishes were left in the recently purchased dishwasher- a modern device that either Odeda or I had to operate because the guys were clueless. Apparently, they didn’t adapt very well to many electrical advances.
The television was turned on, but no one was really paying attention to the program. It seemed that without food in front of them, the guild was becoming tense again. I could tell from the look on Uriel’s face that he was pondering what would happen in the next few hours. This was important for us.
“So,” I broke the silence like before, “mortals and immortals falling for each other doesn’t happen very often, does it?”
Uriel answered me. “No. Never.”
“Never?” my voice broke embarrassingly. I hadn’t expected that answer.
“Never.” My angel wrapped his arm around my shoulders. We were sitting on the couch again. Uriel’s voice was considerate of my feelings as he said, “The closest is the Watchers using mortals to multiply. I haven’t ever heard of a Nephilim truly loving a mortal before. We may be the first.”
I blinked. “Okay.” I could accept this. It was just a minor setback. And besides, if I freaked out, the others would definitely not relax and I needed them to. So I forced a light tone and somewhat babbled, “This is good, you know, because I’m very competitive and I don’t like to come in second place. Being first is always my favorite.”
Uriel smiled and pressed a light kiss to my forehead.
“When are we expecting URIEL?”
“Twilight,” Azra answered me. “But we don’t know for certain. He isn’t really obligated to stick to a schedule.”
“That gives us an hour or so…” No one felt the need to comment on my observation so I continued attempting to get the talking going again. “Will he be driving?”
Five small smiles scattered the room. “No,” Uriel laughed once. “He is my uncle so we have similar abilities, even though mine are much less potent than his. The limitations that I told you about my power- my uncle doesn’t have those.”
“He can summon people and buildings?” I asked unfathomably.
“URIEL is able to invoke living things but the person or animal tends to be ill afterward- like motion sickness. Physical bodies aren’t accustomed to being summoned.”
Dagan spoke up, “And as for buildings, he can’t bring them to him but he can take him to them- if that makes sense.”
“He can teleport,” Uriel clarified.
“Of course he can,” I murmured.
Uriel gave me a questioning look.
“I’m starting to feel very inconsequential compared to this family and your relatives,” I admitted. “Is there anything one of your kind can’t do that mortals can?”
Uriel thought for a moment and when no one else came up with anything, he said, “Age gracefully.”
I laughed bitterly. “So we are waiting for your uncle to teleport himself here?”
“Yes.”
“Is there anything else special about him?”
Zev answered me. “Do you remember that slam dunk Uriel did, showing off for you on Friday?” I nodded even though it hadn’t been showing off. Zev knew that, but he was picking on his brother. “His uncle would have been able to dunk full court instead of half.”
“He could also smell the chlorine of your pool from your garage,” Uriel said pointedly. “And that pen question you asked about- the one where if you picked a house in the neighborhood to drop a pen in, could we tell which house and room you were standing in- my uncle would know.”
“An easy way to look at it, Keira,” Azra offered, “is that a weak Nephilim is a human with an adrenaline rush and Original Watchers and Old Ones are equivalent to Superman.”
“Gotcha. Thanks Azra.” Finally- layman terms that I can comprehend.
“Have any of you seen this Old World?”
Everyone in the room seemed to exchange looks with each other. Odeda’s voice was regretful when she spoke. “Only those who are born there are allowed to see it. We were all born on this earth, so no.”
“That doesn’t seem fair,” I said in a small voice as I thought of how wonderful the land had sounded when Uriel described it.
I was lost in my thoughts when Uriel addressed me a moment later. “Keira, there is something I should warn you-”
But the rest of my angel’s words were drowned out by an almost deafening snapping noise that reverberated throughout the living room as a blinding light accompanied the sound into every inch of our surroundings. I clapped my hands instinctively over my ears as Uriel positioned his left arm in front of my eyes- an effort to protect my retinas from frying, I imagine- while I barely heard him say, “Guess it’s too late to warn you about the brightness his arrival brings. It appears Uncle is earlier than expected.”
I would have been freaking out from the sudden explosion- which is what it seemed like was happening in the middle of the guild’s den- but the intense noise and light only lasted a second. The snapping sound was replaced by an all-consuming silence that almost made me wish for the noise again, and the light dimmed but did not completely vanish. When Uriel lowered his arm, I could see what the source of the illumination was. Looking completely out of place in the very center of the comfortingly familiar living room, there stood a patently perfect-looking and blatantly otherworldly super man. Looming at least seven and a half feet tall, the being in our midst was undoubtedly not human.
He was luminous- and not in the subtle way that Uriel’s family glowed, but a who-needs-electricity-because-this-guy-could-power-a-building-if-he-tried kind of glow. I said super man before, but that should not be mistaken for Azra’s analogy of Superman. This being was clearly male with a muscular body that appeared as solid and hard as rock, but that’s where the similarities with the comic book hero end. The creature in front of my struggling eyes had fiery red hair that flowed inches past his shoulders in straight, heavy locks, sharp and perfect angular features, slightly pointed ears (or at least one was- his red hair was pulled back behind only one), and wore dark, loose-fitting pants with a pale indeterminate long-sleeved shirt. I would have never guessed him to have any relation with my angel if I hadn’t seen his eyes. They were the unusual gray that I had only ever seen in Uriel’s but held no blue or trace of sea green. And they possessed none of the warmth that Uriel’s emit.
“This is my uncle- URIEL,” my angel introduced as he stood and pulled me to my feet. “Uncle, this is Keira.”
The archangel’s steely, cold gray eyes fell on me and the forceful skepticism I saw in them made me almost start doubting my own worth.
Azra, Odeda, Zev, and Dagan stood and moved closer to Uriel and me in a silent show of support that I was extremely grateful for.
“We meet at last,” URIEL’s voice rumbled like thunder.
“Hi,” I brilliantly responded.
The archangel waited a few seconds before moving on. “Nephew, have things been well with you?” URIEL’s scrutinizing eyes never left me.
“Never better,” my angel said purposefully, changing our position so his arm wound around my waist and I was pressed into his side securely.
“And Azra, how goes the mission?”
Why doesn’t he look away? I wondered, but I refused to fidget even though I wanted to very badly. I tried instead to exude confidence and friendliness, a kind of disposition that would make him want to help me and think I was worthy of his acceptance.
“The only update is that Zev has three eagles that might bring some useful information shortly.” Azra was calm and collected, as always.
“Odeda,” URIEL’s cavernous, bass voice shifted and took on a warmer tone as at long last he broke our connection to turn his stone eyes on my friend. “How are you, my dear girl?”
So that’s why Odeda said she’d put in a good word for me- the archangel clearly has a soft spot for the female of the family.
“I’m fantastic URIEL. High Point surprisingly suits me at this time. And this house,” she gestured all around her, “is the first I’ve liked in decades. Don’t you like it?”
“Your taste is forever impeccable, my dear girl,” URIEL complimented. He rotated his head to Uriel’s and my left side to address the two others. “Zev and Dagan?”
“All is well,” Zev replied formally.
Even Dagan was serious for once. “The mission’s almost complete. It won’t be long now.”
“Good,” URIEL boomed.
I couldn’t stop staring at his perfect, cold face. Throughout the pleasantries, my sight had never drifted from his expressionless slate eyes. Even when his voice had softened for Odeda, his eyes had not reve
aled anything other than indifference. I didn’t understand how my passionate and zealous Uriel could be agnate to the being that stood in front of me.
Silence ensued, an awkward and uncomfortable silence.
Someone please say something! My thoughts begged as URIEL’s gaze locked back onto me.
“You have no reason to fear me,” the fiery haired angel spoke to me. “I did not come here to harm you in any way.”
I struggled to find my voice. “With all due respect,” and I did mean that- no human could not respect the creature I was speaking to, “I believe that anything other than your acceptance will cause me great harm.”
URIEL lifted a thick, dark brow at my bold words. The movement only accentuated the harsh arch of its peak and his face took on even more of its naturally intimidating shadow.
“You’re here to pass judgment on the relationship between Uriel and me,” I stated, but even to my ears, it sounded like an insecure question. The archangel nodded once, mechanically. Uriel’s arm tightened reassuringly and I continued. “Your opinion is very important to your nephew and I believe that a negative one would- would-”
“It would cause me immense distress,” Uriel finished for me.
I turned to look up at my angel. “And that would harm me.” I unwillingly turned back to the formidable giant and wished desperately that I could read the thoughts behind his eyes.
Odeda stepped forward and spoke with a braveness that I was utterly grateful for and more than just a little bit envious of. “I’d like to say something.” The archangel’s eyes flickered to her. She went on confidently, “I maintain that your nephew’s happiness and even his soul depend upon Keira. I know you do nothing hastily and without vigilant contemplation, but I ask that you take particular care in your decision here. If it holds any bearing, the rest of us have already accepted Keira.”
I wanted to launch myself at the tiny and wonderful blond girl out of gratitude but remained securely locked in Uriel’s strong hold.
“Your soul?” URIEL thundered at my angel.
My goodness, he is frightening. I suppressed a gasp.
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