Prelude to a Dream

by Rebekah Daniels

  Prelude

  To A

  Dream

  by

  Rebekah Daniels

  Nephilim Series

  Prequel to Celestial Beginnings

  Copyright 2013 Rebekah Daniels

  Edited by Jason Sinner

  Published by Rebekah Daniels

  Smashwords Edition

  All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without the permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and review.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locals is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

  Table of Contents

  1699 AD; Deep inside the Scandinavian Mountains

  Present Day

  Celestial Beginnings Chapter 1

  About the Author

  Back to Top

  1699 AD; Deep inside the Scandinavian Mountains

  “Whoa!”

  His long time instructor clucked his tongue in disapproval. “If ye want any chance of survival, ye gonna have te be quicker than that, Malachi.”

  Rolling his eyes at the overly dramatic statement, Malachi fingered the new slice through the arm of his tunic and shrugged. “Nothing a needle and thread can’t fix.” A sly smile spread across his face. “Maybe I can get Amber or Mayville to fix it for me.” He chuckled and winked at the older man. Bringing up the two girls from their camp that were sweet on him would definitely add to his instructor’s annoyance.

  Shaking his head in obvious frustration, Gerard held up his sword once again. “En garde!”

  Smiling at his instructor’s seriousness, Malachi stuck his arm out to the side and spun his falchion in circles. “Come on, can’t we be done for the day?”

  “No! I said, En garde.”

  “The sun is descending, Gerard,” he pointed out, as if the older man couldn’t tell.

  Lowering his sword a little, Gerard eyed him suspiciously. “Ye got somewhere te be?”

  “No.” The answer came out too quickly, his voice a little too high. Clearing his throat, he shrugged, and tried again. “No, why do you ask?”

  Gerard was a smart and very observant man. A tall and broad shouldered man, he was in his late forties and had been Malachi’s trainer for almost a decade. Being assigned as his trainer, he taught him hand to hand and various weapon combat, especially on how to properly wield his falchion. After having become so close through the years, he had also turned into the man that Malachi went to for help with his studies, or issues regarding his personal life.

  In a way, he was the closest thing to a father that Malachi felt he would ever have. Plus, Gerard also knew him better than anyone else alive. Malachi knew this, and in knowing this, he also knew that he was about to be called out on his lie.

  “Sword up, now!” Gerard raised his sword, and waited. The moment Malachi had his raised, Gerard swung.

  The sound of the metal clashing against each other brought Malachi back into the now ingrained rhythm. Malachi would swing, only for it to be blocked, then Gerard would counter, leaving Malachi to defend himself against the incoming strike.

  After a few continuing sets of going back and forth, Gerard finally spoke up. “I heard something about the village down the mountain… something about having a te-do commencing the New Year.”

  Without breaking rhythm, Malachi leveled out his voice. “Really? I hadn’t heard.”

  Without warning, Gerard’s sword swiftly moved in the opposite direction of where it had been swinging. Barely having enough time, Malachi pivoted and blocked the potentially critical blow. His hand throbbed from the impact, a testament to how hard the hit actually was.

  “What the hell was that?” Malachi lowered his sword, and gaped at the older man.

  Pointing his sword at Malachi, Gerard leveled an eye on him and sneered. “Don’t ye lie to me, boy! I was wipin’ snot from your nose as ye cried about your mama, and I still told it te ye straight.” Before he could respond, Gerard continued. “When ye would wake up screaming from your nightmares, it was me that was there. Don’t be lettin’ your ego get in the way te make ye lose the respect I taught ye te show people. Most of all, don’t think te disrespect me by lyin’ again.” Malachi opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, Gerard raised his sword into his readying stance once more, and snapped, “Sword up!”

  Before complying, Malachi swallowed the lump in his throat. Once again, when his falchion was raised, Gerard swung.

  They quickly got into another rhythm, and Gerard was the one to speak first again. “Ye know we don’t associate with the mortals down there. Those people would never understand what ye are.”

  Malachi pinched his lips together and forcefully thrust his sword toward Gerard’s chest. The older man easily slid his sword along the side of his, before circling his wrist and moving Malachi’s falchion off to the side.

  The way his instructor could easily defend himself against Malachi’s attacks raised his ire even more. With clenched teeth, he ground out, “In case you have forgotten… you are one of ‘those people’.”

  It was true. Gerard was as mortal as they come. Someday he would grow too slow to train, too old to take care of himself, and then eventually die. With the thought, Malachi’s throat caught fire. That was not a day he was looking forward to.

  Malachi had confronted him about asking someone from their camp for more time. Gerard just told him that he had lived his life, and was ready to go when his time came. Of course, Malachi had taken that personally, thinking that he didn’t want to stay longer with him.

  “I may be human, but it’s not the same, and ye know it,” Gerard spat out.

  Malachi once again pinched his lips together and nodded. He knew there was a difference. Gerard knew what he was, who his great-grandfather was, and what the majority of people in the camp were as well. No mortals were allowed here, but there were exceptions to that rule.

  Years ago, Gerard was invited to stay by one of the nephilims in charge of the camp. Rumor had it that Gerard’s village was attached by demons that had slipped in under the radar. The village was half destroyed by the time the nephilim warriors got there. Gerard was one of the few people left alive, and that was only because he had not stopped fighting.

  By the end of the battle, the majority of the villagers were dead, including Gerard’s entire family. Most of the village was destroyed, but instead of staying to rebuild, he had wanted to avenge his family any way he could. After much determination on his part, and an intense discussion between the leaders of the camp, Gerard was let in. Now, for almost a decade, he had been trying to prepare Malachi to defend against, as he put it, “all the ugliness in the world”.

  Malachi brought his arm up, and did a backward swing, arching down toward Gerard. “It’s not fair!” That was as far as he got before Gerard’s sword came up, and the sound of metal colliding rang through the air.

  Before Gerard could go on the offensive again, Malachi stepped back and lowered his falchion. “I’m 14 years old! I don’t see why I can’t act like other boys my age.” This was an old argument between the two, and one Malachi didn’t ever think they would see eye to eye on.

  “Because ye’re not like the other boys in that village.” Gerard lowered his sword, and swung his other arm out in the direction to go to get down the mountain. “Ye’re so much more important. One day, ye will be a fierce warrior… a leader. Ye will be such a powerful force that any demon will dread going up against ye.”

  “I don’t think you get it. What if I don’t want to be the leader you keep saying I w
ill be?”

  Gerard didn’t look too concerned. “Nonsense! I didn’t bring ye up te back down from a challenge. There is so much evil out there, Malachi… the fallen ones, demons, possessions, even some humans… the world and the lord will need as many warriors as it can get.”

  Rolling his eyes at the same argument that Gerard used every time, Malachi shook his head. “Don’t you think that’s a little extreme? You talk as if there’s evil lurking around every corner.” He let out a humorless chuckle and shook his head at the mere thought.

  Gerard wasn’t laughing though. “That’s exactly what I’m saying,” he snapped. Standing there, Gerard examined Malachi’s reaction, and must not have liked what he saw, because he let out a loud sigh and sheathed his sword at his hip. “One day, ye will learn, and that day will be bitter-sweet. Ye will finally learn why ye and this fight against evil are so important. Unfortunately, I hate te think what the consequences of that lesson will be.”

  Malachi thought on that for a moment. He didn’t see what the big deal was. Of course he knew there was evil out there, but Malachi saw it as the way of the world. Yes, bad things happened, but if they didn’t, how would you realize how much good there could be? It was a screwed up reality, but a reality none-the-less.

  So, he trained, and listened to what was expected of him. This was his lot in life. Why couldn’t he have both, he thought… become the warrior he was trained to be, but still be able to live a semi-normal life?

  With that in mind, he had already decided that he was going to the village festivals that night, but that was the last thing he would admit to Gerard. Instead, he looked to his long time instructor and friend before he conceded. “Fine. I’ll try harder. You would know more about this than I would.”

  A shadow passed in front of Gerard’s face as memories, best forgotten, resurfaced. “Yeah, I would.”

  Malachi mentally kicked himself for unintentionally doing that to Gerard. He looked around the camp for inspiration to quickly change the subject. At that moment, a large figure stepped out of one of their leader’s huts. The setting sun reflected off his pail hair as well as the gleaming axe hanging from his hip.

  Using the falchion still gripped in his hand, he gestured at the man. “Who’s that? I’ve never seen him before.”

  Gerard looked over to see who he was talking about. “Ack,” he spit out before grimacing. “That must be the infamous, Gemariah.” Obviously, he was not too keen on seeing him, and the assumption was confirmed when he said, “It’s best if ye steer clear of him.”

  Still observing, with curiosity, the man he was supposed to avoid, Malachi didn’t look away when he asked, “Why’s that?”

  “He’s flighty. He’s a rugged Viking that’s more concerned with fighting for having a good time rather than fighting for defending what is good. If ye’re serious about trying harder and taking your position here more seriously, then stay away from him until he leaves camp.”

  Out of everything Gerard said, one thing stood out the most. “A Viking? Isn’t it strange that he would be here? Vikings don’t believe in our God… even detest the idea of him.”

  “What better way to spit in the face of Viking beliefs, than for a nephilim te enter one of their dwellings and create a Viking nephilim?”

  Gerard’s meaning was not lost on Malachi, and he was shocked at his instructor’s nonchalant attitude about the idea. “That’s not our way though. You’ve always taught me to be respectful of other people’s beliefs.”

  “I know I have, but with the blood of a fallen angel in them, a nephilim can easily turn dark. I don’t condone what happened, but it’s the way of the world.”

  Malachi didn’t respond, but instead watched the tall blonde walk away. He didn’t know what it was, but there was something about the man that intrigued him. That was something to think about another day though, he thought. Right now, he had more important things to figure out.

  Biting the inside of his lip, Malachi contemplated what to do next. He was serious about training harder and sharpening his focus, but he had also been looking forward to tonight. First, he had to get away from Gerard, and then he would be on his way. Tomorrow… tomorrow, he would buckle down, but tonight he was taking for himself.

  ******

  He looked down and watched the dainty finger slide down his upper arm.

  “How come you haven’t been by to see me lately?” Rosetta, a girl from the village, pouted, and looked up at him through her long lashes.

  Grinning down at her, Malachi thought once again how glad he was that he had come tonight. His chest felt lighter, and he could breathe easier. It was as if an invisible weight had been lifted from him, a weight that would no doubt return tomorrow, but he planned on enjoying the freedom tonight.

  When he arrived, he had kept to the outskirts of the village, avoiding the mad rush of people, but still close enough to let all the contagious joy soak in. Despite his efforts to stay unnoticed, Rosetta had spotted him, and quickly stopped his trek around the courtyard.

  Malachi knew he looked older than he actually was, so it always worked in his favor when it came to the girls of the village. They always seemed to take a liking to him, but it was always awkward when he came to see one, and was found by another he used to bestow his attention onto… like now.

  “Ahh, Rosy. I told you that I was going to be busy for a while.” It wasn’t a lie. He had been busy, but in his spare time, it hadn’t been her that he was coming to see.

  Her bottom lip stuck out farther and he suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. Girls never liked it when he did that. “I know, but I thought―”

  The rest of what she was saying faded to the background when Malachi heard a burst of female laughter. Swinging his head around, he scanned the courtyard until he found where it came from.

  Standing off to the side, and surrounded by a group of young children, a girl stood, smiling wide, and laughing with the children. It looked as if she was holding a small chunk of bread out of the children’s reach, and they were tickling her to get her to drop the tasty morsel.

  “Mal! Are you listening to me?”

  Through the haze, the irritated voice pushed through, but he wasn’t ready to stop watching the scene in front of him. Holding up his index finger in front of Rosetta, he didn’t take his eyes of the girl. “Hold on.”

  As he watched, he saw the small children gain the advantage, and the girl was brought down to her knees. For a moment, he felt a small amount of concern, but if her laughter was any indication, she was having fun. He found himself smiling as the children finally got her down far enough, and snatched the bread before they took off running.

  He chuckled when she angled herself up, and yelled a mock threat to feed them to the dragon that hid in the mountains. Her laughter seemed to brighten up her face. Malachi started to push away from the wall to see if she needed any help, when he noticed one of the children, a boy, had not ran off with the rest of them. Instead, he was holding his hand out to help her up.

  The boy couldn’t have been more than six, but he knew that look anywhere. The boy utterly adored the girl.

  Taking the offered hand, she used the support and the ground to push herself back up. When she let go of his hand, she leaned down and kissed the boy on his forehead before nudging him in the direction the other kids had run.

  It was then that Malachi took his eyes from the girl, and moved them to the boy. The young boy did as he was told and ran away, albeit it was with a big smile and slightly redder cheeks. Yep, the boy had it bad, he thought.

  With all the children gone, Malachi took another moment to observe the girl. She was younger than the normal girl he usually went for, no more than ten and two. Her tousled blonde hair shone in the sunlight, and it was as if her smile was permanently in place. He wouldn’t precisely call her pretty, but she sure was cute.

  “Mal!”

  The screech was right next to his ear, and he cringed at the sound. “Liza! I said, ‘hold on!�
�” It was with a sinking sensation that he realized what he had just said.

  “Liza?” It was a question whispered by a very offended Rosetta.

  Giving her his full attention, he reached up with both hands and tried to grasp her arms. “Rosy….”

  “Don’t ‘Rosy’ me!” She stepped back to avoid his touch. “Liza? As in, the baker’s daughter, ‘no, she’s not prettier than you,’ Liza?”

  “It’s not what you think?” He could have kicked himself when the statement came out sounding more like a question.

  “Busy, my left foot!”

  Her so called “left foot” came crashing down on his, and he clenched his teeth at the discomfort her slipper-clad stomp could cause. The action caused a moment’s distraction, and the next thing he knew, his cheek was on fire.

  She had struck him―hard, but before he could say anything, she was already stomping across the yard.

  Sighing loudly, he took a moment to lean against the building he had been standing next to. Using the opportunity, he quietly started to observe the people around him, which was one of his favorite things to do. Sometimes, it was nice to watch what he knew he could never have…normalcy.

  There were children running and laughing, a man was pushing a cart full of bags of flour into the bakery, the blacksmith was pounding on metal while his small son played next to him, and there was a man climbing through the window of the building across the ally from him…. Wait! There was a man climbing out a window?

  In shock, Malachi watched as a large figure threw his legs over the side and hopped down to the ground. As he turned, Malachi caught his breath on a gasp when he saw who it was. What was Gemariah doing here in the village, where anybody could see him?

  Still staring, Malachi watched as Gemariah approached him, but walked around him at the last moment with nothing more than a nod and a, “Hey, kid.”