Seraphina: Initiation

by Sheena Hutchinson

  “Yea, I’ve worked up a little bit of an appetite,” I state as I help him. I can’t help but notice they must have hit the targets pretty hard, as I pull them out I notice the handles of the knives and daggers are the only thing sticking out from the targets and they leave behind deep holes in the wood. I don’t mention it, but I know he notices it too. We collect them all and return them to their original spots on the wall before climbing the stairs together. Once we reach the foyer I notice the sun is already setting, it’s crazy how the days are flying by now.

  “Go get dressed for dinner, I’m going to go work on something,” Nate says as he turns right and heads for the room off of the dining room that I saw him exiting yesterday, his office. I watch him leave curiously before turning to my left towards the stairs. As I’m walking up the stairs I find my mind wondering if this is what my life is going to consist of now, training until the inevitable conclusion. Then what? Can we have a happily ever after? What was it psychic Anna had said to me, that I would have to make a great sacrifice? Will the price for this life ultimately take my own? I’m wondering about this question the entire time I’m showering and changing for dinner.

  It’s not until I hear the sound of my ringtone coming from my room that I’m snapped back to reality. Surprised, I run into my room and find my phone on the mantle of the fireplace. I pick it up immediately when I see ‘Jack’ pop up on the caller id.

  “Hey Jack!” I answer happily missing the coffee house barista, I have a little history with, from my old life.

  “Sera! Oh thank God you’re okay!” I hear the relief flood through his voice, “You haven’t been returning my texts or calls and I haven’t seen you for days, I thought…. I thought…” I feel suddenly horrible forgetting to tell Jack I was moving.

  “I’m sorry Jack, I just had to get outta town for a little bit, you understand right?”

  “Yea, I just wish you woulda told me!” he tries to joke, but I know deep down he’s serious.

  “I meant to, it just all happened so fast…” I admit.

  “Where did you go? Is everything all right? I feel something stirring again,” he rapidly spits out extremely worried.

  “I had to move out of my parents’ house, to keep them away from all this…” I don’t want to admit to him everything that’s been going on. I don’t want to worry him and part of me doesn’t want him to get involved.

  After a moment of silence he asks, “You moved in with him, didn’t you?” I feel the jealousy with every word.

  I look over as I see Nate walk into my room with his head low, but his eyes on me as if sensing my change in mood. “Yes,” I admit before I try and explain. “Jack I had to…” But I couldn’t even get it all out before I hear the dial tone indicating Jack has hung up from our call. I slowly pull the phone away from my ear to stare at it. I can’t seem to believe he would hang up on me like that. I’m about to redial him when I hear Nate’s calm voice from the doorway.

  “Let him go… it’s better if you don’t get him involved,” he reminds me with his stern voice.

  “I know,” I admit through clenched teeth as I reluctantly put my phone back on the mantle and turn to face him. “I just didn’t think it would be so hard.” I admit to his soft blue eyes. Instead of replying, he wraps his arm around my shoulder and walks me all the way downstairs and into the kitchen. I take my seat at the kitchen table and stare out the window at the cliff. I can’t help but think that the cliff is somehow a metaphor for my life, I feel like I was on a flat plain until I was dropped into this world that is dangerous and unfamiliar. Leaving behind everything I have ever known for a guy I would never have believed existed. I turn back when Nate comes to the table, I study him as he is scooping pasta onto my plate and pouring me a glass of iced tea before taking a seat across from me. He looks up feeling my eyes on him and smiles at me. I suddenly realize, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

  Chapter 10: Nephilim

  By the time we finish eating, I can still tell his mind is somewhere else. We head to the living room together and Nate begins building a fire. I watch as his back flexes with each movement and I have to bite my lip to keep myself on the couch. He moves with such grace, it’s like each movement is a carefully calculated dance move. When he finally turns to come and sit with me on the couch I see his deep-in-thought face and it pops my daydream to the point where I can’t take it anymore.

  “What are you thinking?” I ask as he sits down next to me and pulls me onto his chest. I lean my head back against him and spread my legs across the length of the sofa.

  “I just find it crazy how well you’re catching on, I can’t help but think…” he stops himself mid-sentence again. I sit up slightly before spinning around to face him.

  “Nate… Team remember?”

  “I know, I just don’t really know how to explain it to you…” he tells me and I can see the confliction in his eyes before I relax a little.

  I come to sit back against his strong chest I dramatically state, “Give it your best shot!”

  “I was going to say, you are catching on so fast it’s like it’s in your blood.”

  “Well, Duh!” I scoff, this revelation is so last week!

  “No, I don’t just mean me, I mean it’s as if I woke something up within you,” he pauses before adding, “Sera, some of the things you can do are …unexplainable!”

  “What do you mean?” I ask curiously.

  “The fact that you have powers, like conjuring things. Only pure Angels can do such things. I don’t even want to get into what you did with the possession in front of your house last week because I have never seen any Angel do anything like that!” I can feel his heart beat increase as he is becoming more and more animated.

  “But, I don’t understand...” I relay trying to get a better grip on things.

  “My blood should only have enhanced your senses and helped things like your strength, agility, and speed because you’re still Human. What you have appears to be pure Angel traits. It makes me think that something was in your blood before me.” He pauses for me to take it all in and I turn my head to look up at him to continue. “I’ve been doing some research and I think I may know what it could be. Centuries ago, there was a group of Angels that fell to Earth because they wanted to mate with human women. They created this race of hideous giants that were labeled Nephilim. It’s been said that God created the flood to get rid of that race and start anew with Noah and his family. It seemed to work, no one ever saw them again. But in all my research, it was never proved that they were in fact, extinct. Over the centuries the deformities would have gradually disappeared and they would be able to live amongst the humans. Some not even knowing their own heritage. I think that you may be a descendant of that race. It would have been so dormant in your blood after so many generations you would have never known, but when my blood entered you it sparked something. It awakened what lay dormant in you all this entire time.”

  “So, what does that make me now?” I try to clarify.

  “I’m not exactly sure, I thought it meant that you were an Angel. But, the fact that someone can still invade your dreams tells me you’re still human.”

  “So…we are back at square one!” I conclude sarcastically.

  “Well, I have to say the fact that you are so good at your senses and the fact that your powers are like nothing I’ve ever seen before, I have to say I think you are more Angel than human.” he admits running his fingers through his hair.

  “Hmm,” I mumble, I’m a little amazed and intrigued, “So if I’m an Angel, does that make me immortal now?”

  “I don’t know, I would say yes, but I don’t want to test that theory!” he adds sternly.

  “Are you ever going to stop being so over protective?”

  “Not a chance!” He quips back with a laugh that makes a smile cross my own face.

  “So how come it seems like my powers are stronger than yours at times?” it’s something I’ve been wondering
for a while now.

  “I’m not exactly sure, I’ve been looking into that. It could be because my blood is so fresh in your system or it could be that your descendant was a higher ranking Angel than me,” he pauses before adding, “The only person who would know I’m not exactly on speaking terms with,” he states indicating the end of that conversation.

  I sit for a few minutes against his chest as I take this all in. Everything he’s saying makes sense, I do feel as if something deep within me has awakened. It could even explain why I never felt like I belonged here in this world, why I felt like I was bigger than this. I sigh and another thought comes to my mind.

  “Nate, I’ve been meaning to ask…” I glance up at him again, but he’s waiting for me to continue, “How come whenever I’m attacked by something demonic or possessed it seems to happen in a different dimension?”

  “Because it is,” he answers honestly before adding, “Humans can not see what you can, when an attack happens it occurs on a divinity plane so things that you see occurring aren’t going to be apparent in the secular plane.” he finally explains to me.

  “But how come Jack can’t see it?” I blurt out.

  “Sera, did Jack tell you what he is?” he asks me curiously.

  “Yes, that’s what he was telling me the night I was attacked at the coffee house.” I admit to him shivering when I think about the arrogant Blonde Demon that haunted me for days.

  “What exactly did he tell you?”

  “He told me that he can speak to spirits and that the spiritual world is up in arms about me. Oh, and he told me that Lucifer tried to convince him to bring me to the ‘dark side,’” I state dramatically in a deep voice.

  “I figured as much, I got a bad vibe from him but I couldn’t put my finger on it until they tried to possess you.” he informs me.

  “So, why can’t he see what I see?” I ask desperately trying to believe that it’s not because Jack is evil.

  “Because he would also be on a different plane than us. He works on a spiritual plane. We can sense some of what is going on but we can’t exactly see it as he can.” He enlightens my now content face. I’m happy that there’s hope for Jack after all. “Sera, I still don’t trust him…”

  My smile fades, “Why not?” I sit up offended and cross my legs Indian style on the couch facing him.

  “Because he’s not on our side. His gifts, they are not pure.” He tells my conflicted eyes. I somehow knew the moment Jack had told me, but something in me believed in Jack.

  “He said that he didn’t know they were evil? He said he’s not!” I combat unable to come to terms with things.

  “I just don’t trust him.” He tells me and I don’t know if it’s because he had to watch me flirt with him for months and it’s more like jealously or if he’s just being Protective-Nate. I somehow can’t believe it or I don’t want to believe that Jack would hurt me. Somewhere in my processing this new information I let out a yawn. I don’t even notice, but Nate does.

  “You’re tired, let’s not talk about this anymore…” He’s on his feet helping me up before I have time to respond. We walk up the stairs together and once we reach my door I pause.

  “Would you like me to stay?” He asks me as I turn to face him. I want him to, but I don’t want to make a habit of us sleeping together. I open my mouth to respond, but my common sense is insistent on taking it slow, so instead I shake my head and wish him goodnight. Closing the door behind me I lean my head against the back of it, Ugh, Get a grip Sera!

  Chapter 11: Craving Coffee

  I climb into bed, pull the sheets up to my face and roll over. Staring at the cell phone sitting on my nightstand I feel a lump beginning to form in my throat. I roll over onto my other side to try and put it out of my mind. You moved in with him didn’t you? The question continues to haunt me. I don’t trust him, Nate’s words from earlier are in my other ear. I tumble onto my back and face the ceiling, trying to get my mind ready to sleep. The linens above me form ripples that remind me of the foam in my lattes. Suddenly, I’m sitting up and throwing the covers off of me. I have to speak to him.

  *

  I’m whipping past trees and streets as fast as my little legs can go before Nate inevitably catches me. I dressed and snuck out as quietly as possible, but you never know he probably has a secret tracking device on me or something. My heart is pounding for reasons I’m pushing out of my mind right now. All that is keeping me going is the thought of getting to explain myself to Jack. That and my thoughts of trying to retain my friendships in spite of all that is happening. My old town is a blur now as I pass through the streets I once called home. I’m afraid to stop anywhere on my journey because I don’t want to bring harm to any more people, so I quickly tread on towards my destination. I’ve only been gone for a few days and already it seems different to me. It’s as if there is a cloud around my little town of Angelica. I slow to a walk as I finally approach the coffeehouse I miss so desperately.

  I stand staring at the brick façade of Jack’s Coffee Bean. I’ve been so focused on running that I haven’t even processed what I would say to Jack. My mind is blank as I continue to gawk at the shop like it’s a painting in a museum, a figment of my imagination just out of reach. Tears begin to well up behind my eyes as a memory of me spending my Sundays curled up in the comfy green chair beside the window flashes before me. Has my life really changed this much in a week that I’m actually scared to go inside?

  A stir in the store causes my eyes to gravitate to Jack’s curly blonde ringlets bouncing as he stocks the refrigerator with bottles. At the sight of him, something inside me relaxes and I can’t help but follow my feet as I’m being mindlessly walked inside.

  I slowly open the door of the coffee shop I’ve missed so much. The bell chimes with my arrival and like clockwork the scent of coffee beans wafts into my nose. Jack stands and turns to greet his customer. Our eyes meet and suddenly it’s a week ago. He pauses momentarily looking into my eyes before running to close the gap between us and pulls me into a hug. I feel his strong arms wrap tightly around me like he never wants to let me go. My feelings overwhelm me as the tears I’ve been holding in finally fall.

  “I’m so sorry Jack,” I whisper into his shirt.

  “Shh,” he tells my hair and his hand comes behind my head to hold me closer to him.

  I close my eyes as I lean my head against his shoulder. I haven’t realized how much I’ve missed him. I used to see him every single day, he’s kind of become my second closest friend. I hadn’t realized how not being able to say goodbye had affected us.

  When we finally pull away, Jack takes my hand like he doesn’t want to be apart from me. He walks me over to the front door where he locks it and flips the sign to ‘Closed.’ Before guiding me over to my favorite chair in the corner. When he releases my hand to pull his chair closer, I use the time to slyly wipe away any trace that I’d been crying. I can’t help but notice he must be working out as his arms flex while his chair slides across the floor to me. His muscles have gotten more defined in the short time I’ve been away. He takes a deep breath before beginning, “Spill.”

  His one word was all it takes for me to smile again. It makes me believe that no matter what we’ve been through, I know that I can always count on Jack. “I’m sorry for leaving so quickly, but I had to.”

  “Why, what happened?” he asks grabbing my hand in his again.

  “I was contacted, by him…” I let the sentence drift off because I know he’ll know exactly whom I mean.

  “What does he want from you?”

  “I don’t exactly know, he just wants me to join him on the ‘Dark Side’” I mock the last two words with a deep Darth Vader voice.

  If looks could kill the floor would burst into flames, as he’s unable to meet my eyes. “Sera, I’ve sensed a weird shift in things. It’s multiplying and it’s way angrier than before, the spirits are even more excited and they aren’t keeping quiet. Have you watched the news lately?�
�� he asks me finally showing me the blue green eyes I’ve missed. I shake my head in the negative, I’ve kind of been on hiatus in my little love cabin. “Well, humans have been noticing more and more paranormal activity. It started with strange things around people’s houses, shadows moving, weird noises, break-ins around town, but now they are reporting people missing out of their beds, husbands that never came home from work, a ton of people from all over the tri state area –gone. Poof –straight up missing out of nowhere.”

  I’m staring at him shocked. I thought my staying away would protect these people, but now all I can think about is checking on Amanda and my parents, “I had no idea…” I begin but lose all momentum as the gravity of his words sink in.

  “When you went missing, I thought…” he breaks off like he can’t say the words.

  “Oh, Jack!” I blurt out before pulling him into another hug. “I had to leave, Lucifer told me he would kill everyone I loved if I didn’t obey him! He said he would make me suffer until I come crawling back to him.” I spill my guts into his ear trying to make him understand, trying to take back the pain I’ve caused him.

  “I know,” he starts before pulling away, “You could have called, you could have told me you chose him,” he states his face growing angry.

  “I’m sorry Jack there was like no time, it’s not like I have a frieken half-Angel manual here! I’m kinda flying by the seat of my pants!”

  “Sera, a phone call takes two seconds,” throwing up a peace sign for emphasis.

  “Jack,” I whisper before looking up at him again, “How could I have possibly found the words to explain that to you?”

  He returns my stare before his face finally begins to loosen up. “Why did you come here today?”

  “I had to see you, I had to explain that I didn’t mean anything by it.”

  “Is that all? Or is it because you might have missed me?” he smirks.