More light from around the tear swirls through and into its void. The whole house seems to warp, bend, and twist around it.
Suddenly, flashes of light explode from the other side of the rift. From a planet within the distant realm, two beings of light clash: one red, attempting to cross the rift, and the other gold, attempting to prevent the crossing.
The rift shortens and collapses the distance of millions of light years, between Crystal and the two other beings, down to merely steps away.
Seeing the struggle, Crystal extends her other hand, saying, “I can help it.” From the hand, she is now able to produce powerful bolts of lightning. She directs them at the golden being, and they hit their mark.
The red being lunges into the rift, with the sound and excitement of raging roaring fire coming from its inner most being.
But, suddenly, something even more potent and more powerful than Crystal, closes the rift, before the red being can pass. Unexpectedly, the sparking electric light around the rift implodes, with a harsh clap of thunder.
Soon, the rushing wind around Crystal dies, and the house regains its natural facade.
But Crystal is urged even further by her success and her increased strength, from the additional Nephilim blood.
As she lowers her hand, she voices her last remaining need, the last one that will allow her to open the rift, and keep it open, against those who are, for the moment, more powerful than her. Through that rift she would welcome the red being - the being of agitated, red, fiery light - the one she calls the Essence.
She utters that need, as she steps over Aaron’s grotesque form, “…just one more Nephilim.”
Her shapely figure walks away.
But abruptly, she stops.
Turning, she gazes down.
Crystal reaches for Aaron’s phone.
* * * * * * *
Within a kitchen drawer of L’girra’s apartment, three items begin to shift and rattle.
Glowing with white light, they are the three small, translucent, spherical objects L’girra has been keeping, from the building explosions in Los Angeles. They are the three creations of Gemini, still within the transparent cubes that L’girra made to separate and contain them.
Activated by the death of their creator, they start to shine brightly. Their light streams out from the small counter drawer, and then completely illuminate the room.
As the rattling gets louder, the drawer whips open, and the three objects scatter out over the floor.
Each of them generates heat, as their light intensifies. Soon, beginning from the edges and corners, the cubes that contain them start to melt.
A moment later, they are free.
Immediately, they zip and spin around each other, traveling throughout the kitchen then throughout all the rooms in L’girra’s apartment. Then, they break through the glass window, in search of L’girra.
Quickly they rise high into the stormy sky, in unbelievable speed. In frenzied excitement, they dash over the mountains and fly across the deserts and plateaus. In almost no time, they reach the Atlantic Ocean, still zipping and spinning, jostling positions with one another.
Appearing as three energetic, tiny, white lights, they fly hurriedly to span across the ocean.
A few short seconds later, they reach France.
They find L’girra, kneeling with his head bowed low, as he remembers and laments the deaths he has caused.
Simultaneously, the three objects strike and pierce L’girra’s body, like precisely aimed bullets finding their mark.
L’girra falls backward, in sudden pain. His mouth opens wide in a silent scream.
As L’girra writhes on his back, the three spheres light up his body, while they travel throughout his face, neck, torso, arms, and legs, raising his skin and squeezing in between his bones and muscles.
Finally, L’girra cries out. His flexed arms try to reach and grab for something to hold on to. In unimaginable pain, he screams.
Then, suddenly, the lighted shimmering spheres expel themselves from L’girra’s body.
L’girra gasps in both agony and relief.
An instant later, the three enter Gemini, zipping throughout the dead body and lighting it up, as they did with L’girra. After a brief moment, they leave him.
Once again, they dash into the black sky, fly back over the ocean, and then race across the United States.
Twirling and jostling, they find the body of the fourth victim, Tamara Mitsuko Kaneko, a descendent of L’girra, whose Japanese names mean child of light, child of gold.
Through the wet, recently moved earth above her, they plunge. Then, immediately, the three dive through her coffin and instantly sink into her cold, resting body.
Suddenly, their frenzied movement stops. Their lights go out.
Within the shell of the lifeless body, they stay dormant, until the proper time.
Gemini’s designs continue in his death.
* * * * * * *
Quantico, Virginia.
Special Agents Stevens and Etelson walk into Martin B.“s and Martin T.‘s analysis lab, in the FBI Forensic Science Center.
Martin B., wearing his “I Want To Believe” shirt and holding a beaker of cranberry juice, stands behind Martin T., who sits on a stool, in front of a large computer screen.
As the two agents walk up, Stevens announces, “Very good job, gentlemen. Samuel Kessian is now in custody!”
Etelson gives the two Martins high fives.
Martin B. says, “Well, a very good and well done work to you agents also. Yah, you have done a lot of the footwork.”
“That was quite a challenge. And for us, oh my, that red pearl,” Martin T. says, “That was very interesting. And even though we found out what was in it, it is still quite a mystery as to how it was created.”
Etelson smiles, “And so the analysis and story continues. Yah?”
“Certainly,” Martin T. replies grinning, “Yah.”
“Hey, Marty,” Etelson begins to ask, “So, how did you really open up the outer shell of that pearl? You didn’t just say something and it opened for you, right?”
Martin T. shakes his head. “Agent Etelson, I am so ashamed,” he says, “No, there is nothing I did to open it. I tried everything and nothing worked.”
“Really? Well, what was it you said then?”
Martin T. looks down at his workbench, and then sheepishly looks up. He explains, “I was so, so frustrated. I tried this. I tried that. I tried anything and everything. There was a point when I honestly thought it was indestructible, and I stomped on it with my own foot.”
They chuckle.
Martin T. continues, “Then, I put it on my bench. I started yelling and screaming at it. Cursing words at it that I have not said since I was a teenager. Cursing using God’s name even, oh my.” Martin T. laughs at himself. “But afterwards, I calmed down. I took a chill pill, yah. I was so sorry for being so angry and for being so frustrated and for the cursing. With the pearl in front of me, I put my head in my hands and said in German…” Martin T. briefly pauses. Then, he says the words that opened the red pearl. They are the same words Gemini spoke, when he made them. Martin T. finishes, “I said, Oh, God, forgive me.”
Stevens asks, incredulous, “And that opened it?”
“That opened it.” Smiling, Martin T. lifts his eyes in wonder. “I looked up and saw the shell just evaporate away, into nothing.”
* * * * * * *
With joy and excitement in his voice, Jean Luc says, “Papa. Oh, it is so strange to call you that. Papa - so strange. You are so young. And here I am, so old. Oui?”
L’girra has just healed Jean Luc and repaired his apartment and building from the damage he and Gemini wrought. Pleased with his victory over Gemini but recovering from the painful revelation of his forgotten past, L’girra’s mood is subdued and pensive.
Now, father and son stand in the kitchen.
L’girra tries to grin. Speaking English, he says, “It’s ok. I feel
a little weird about it myself. But I’m slowly getting used to this stuff about me being immortal. So, it’ll all be good.”
Jean Luc places both hands on L’girra’s shoulders. Looking into his father’s eyes, he says, “It is so good to see you again! So good.” His smile is large. He embraces L’girra then says, “I wish that mother could have lived to see you again. It would have made her heart so full, just like mine.” Jean Luc embraces his father once again.
Showing L’girra a seat at his table, Jean Luc asks, “Papa, sit? Sit, please. I will make something warm for you to drink. It is so cold and wet outside. So cold and wet.” He shuffles his feet, as he makes his way to the stove, with the giddiness of a happy, energetic old man.
L’girra sits.
“Oh, wait!” exclaims Jean Luc. “I must give you something first. It seems so important to you and your brother.” Jean Luc makes his way to his bedroom. From within it, his muffled voice calls out, “I have kept it all this time. I am so amazed I still have it! So amazed. But I confess when I was so much younger, I wanted to throw it away.” Jean Luc chuckles. “And well, thank God I changed my mind. Oh, mon Dieu!”
L’girra hears some shifting and moving of furniture and objects.
Moments later, Jean Luc reappears. He carries an old, light-brown, softened leather attache case. Presenting it while standing next to L’girra, Jean Luc says with a smile, “Voila!”
Slowly, L’girra takes the briefcase. He sets it down atop the table. Peering inside, he sees old papers and old pictures. Taking out a handful of the items from the case, he spreads them out on the table.
L’girra picks out a black and white picture. In it, he, his wife, and Jean Luc stand posing in front of their chateau, at their vineyard.
Jean Luc informs him, “That was our home at Saint-Emilion.”
L’girra’s wife and his young son appear as they did in his dream. Recognizing her face and long waving brunette hair, L’girra touches the picture and says softly, “That’s her.” Then, he adds, “That’s you.” L’girra looks into the photo for a long time. Before a tear forms in his eye, he wipes it off.
Jean Luc notices and holds his father’s hand tightly, within both of his.
A moment later, L’girra’s eyes scan through the other items. He picks out one particular sheet of paper. At the top are notes written, by his own hand, of several sentences describing an object.
At the center is a sketch of the object: a small, dark vial hanging from a thin, leather strap. Below the sketch are the beginnings of notes on where to find it.
Suddenly, L’girra senses someone. “Paige!” he gasps, as he turns his head. Quickly standing, he puts his hand on his Jean Luc’s shoulder. “Son, I have to go. I’ll be back soon.”
Acknowledging the urgency, Jean Luc quickly nods and says, “D’accord. Ok, it must be important.” As he watches his father vanish, Jean Luc smiles, and then waves at the empty space in front of him. He knows his father will return; he will keep his word. Breathing in deep, Jean Luc’s spirit swells all the more because his heart tells him that his father has already kept his word - he has returned.
Soon, Jean Luc sits, positions his glasses, and then begins to look down through each photograph, with nostalgic smiling eyes.
Outside the door of Paige’s apartment, L’girra appears.
Slowly, his hand rises to gently touch the door. Lowering his head, he senses what is inside.
He finds her.
“Oh, God,” he says in quiet relief, “Thank you.”
Paige is on the floor of her living room, unconscious.
While still at the door, L’girra uses his mind to move Paige to her bed.
Then, he heals the gash on her forehead and cleanses her veins from the chemicals that have caused her sleep.
Soon, L’girra’s thoughts go to Gemini, and what his brother told him, just before his death. He whispers Gemini’s words, “Paige…she rests.”
L’girra thought that Paige was gone, dead. But as he thinks of what his brother has done for Paige, he remembers the questions of redemption and forgiveness Gemini arose.
Now understanding, L’girra quietly sighs, “…Gemini.”
He stands motionless.
Seconds pass.
When the Egyptian smashed Gemini through the windowpane, and they tumbled in the air between the two buildings, Gemini asked himself a question. He asked himself who he truly was deep within, and he answered in the same manner that L’girra answered at the churning waterspout. At that final moment in which Gemini had almost no strength left, and the Egyptian, for an instant, released him, Gemini gave his answer: Instead of saving himself, he saved Paige.
L’girra slowly raises his eyes, and this thoughts go back to Paige.
As Paige gently awakens, he silently leaves.
* * * * * * *
The silence within the fifth floor of the six-story condemned building is broken by the sound of someone retching. As Crystal hunches over on her hands and knees, the pale entity kneels in front of her, as it waits for its meal.
The Nephilim blood upon which the pale entity has been feeding, now gives it the strength to take on a more human form. Although having the appearance of a human, the shape of its joints, toes, and fingers are rounded and smooth. Bowing down with hands cupped under Crystal’s agape mouth, the entity’s human organs can be seen through its translucent pale skin. Throughout the intricately branching arteries of its torso and limbs, a beating heart pumps the red blood upon which it feeds.
Crystal’s long, flowing curtain of black hair drapes down over her face, hiding the vomit of blood that oozes and drips from her mouth. Once more, she painfully retches, and the sound echoes throughout the empty building floor. Then, gasping and heaving, she fights through the pain in her gut and chest, thinking, “This is the fourth. And I will let nothing keep me from finding the last.”
Down into the pale entity’s hands the Nephilim blood collects.
As Crystal coughs one final time, she remembers the excitement of her chase of Aaron. She thrived on the tension and fear she felt when she was fatally wounded, but delighted more in her survival, despite his fierce attacks. She saw herself as a wounded, yet triumphant hunter, fighting against a furiously defending, cornered prey.
Lifting her head, Crystal lets the last thick drop of red blood drip down her chin. Then, she says to the pale entity, in anticipation of the success of her next hunt, “Now, prepare yourself for the arrival of the Essence. Because soon I will have the power to fulfill our desires.”
Listening to Crystal’s words, the pale entity pulls its full hands closer. Then, it slowly, patiently, and gently laps up the thick dark liquid.
* * * * * * *
Samuel Ian Kessian awaits arraignment in his cell.
Lying down on his narrow bed, with his hands behind his head, he stares up with a stoic face into the low ceiling.
Leaning against a wall parallel to the bed, L’girra sits on the ground. His knees are bent up to his chest, and his arms rest on top of his knees.
Aside from Sik, no one can either see L’girra or hear him as he speaks.
“I know I killed your father,” L’girra confesses in a low voice.
Not acknowledging, Sik remains silent.
L’girra continues, “And I’m sorry.”
There is no movement from the young man, and his eyes are fixed on nothing.
L’girra knows that his presence isn’t welcome, but there are some things he needs to say, and his apology is his first. But looking at Sik and his lack of recognition of what he just said, L’girra wonders whether he should even continue, thinking, Does it really matter what I say next?
Breathing in deep, he decides to go on with what he has to explain.
“It was something blocked out of my mind…I didn’t remember it, but now I know. I was so out of control when the car accident killed my wife and son. I couldn’t bear losing them. Your father was just trying to help.” Pausing, L’girra loo
ks up. Feeling the deep pain in his heart, he says, “Your great grandfather and I were close friends…and I’m so ashamed.”
There is dead silence.
After a long while, L’girra then adds, “That happened during a time I just started being able to do things - powerful things. I didn’t yet understand why. And when I got angry, I let the power overcome me. It was my fault.”
L’girra takes a deep breath, and then says once more, “I was so out of control. I’m so sorry.” He slowly closes his eyes and then shuts them tightly.
For a long time neither of them move nor make a sound.
Finally, L’girra slowly stands. He tells Sik one last thing. “If it’s not forgiveness that I receive, then I pray that God gives you justice. And if that means the end to my life and my complete existence…then so be it.”
Knowing that his words are said in pure sincerity and that his soul bares witness to its truth, L’girra then vanishes.
* * * * * * *
Seeing Gul for the first time, after returning from France, L’girra meets him at his apartment. Down the stairs they walk, on their way to lunch at Trace Restaurant.
Looking up, L’girra sees that the sun is out, bright, and warm. Then, he notices Allen striding down the apartment parking lot, approaching them. “Hey, Allen,” calls L’girra. “How’s it goin’, man?”
Allen comes closer. “Pretty good. How are you?”
“Allen, this is my buddy, Smiley,” L’girra introduces them. “Smiley, Allen.”
They pleasantly shake hands.
“Hey,” Allen informs L’girra, “my parents have been asking if I could get you to come over for dinner or something, so they can meet the guy who saved me.”
“Really? Sure, that sounds cool.” Then, L’girra remembers something. Reaching into his front pant pocket, he takes out three tickets. “Hey, dude, I wanted to give these to you and your parents. It’s for the Charger game next week. Against the Colts. Should be good.”
“Oh, sweet, thanks!” Allen exclaims. But then, Allen turns disappointed and says, “Yeah, but I’m grounded. I really can’t go anywhere. Can’t even meet my friends after school.” Allen starts to hand the tickets back to L’girra. But suddenly, Allen blurts, “Hey, but if you come over - and if you can convince ‘em - then my parents might take me to the game. Like I said, they really wanna meet ya.’
RB 01 Through Flesh & Bone Page 72