Ishtar Anomaly

by Natalie Gibson

  Israel nodded his head. Once. He didn't know what he could tell her that she didn't already know but maybe she had some information that would help him and Camilla to fight the beast. God knew Nanae couldn't talk with them about it. What Izzy did know he'd devised from experience. Experience he didn't want to duplicate.

  When the others, including Maeve and baby, had left the room, they closed the door behind them. Nathalia asked Izzy to join her on a couch that sat against one wall. He did. She put her hand over his. I am sorry to have to tell you this. Raphael should have done it.

  Izzy didn't like her insinuation that the Nephilim he loved had done anything wrong. “Nanae tells us everything, answers every question we ask him. That's how I know he loves us.” He clapped his free hand over his mouth. He had called him Nanae.

  Nathalia furrowed her brow. You know his true name? You can speak it in my presence because for me there is no taboo. The First knows all true names. The fact that Nanae Raphael Maru gave his to you means he must love or at least trust you. Maybe he tried to tell you and couldn't. It would be further proof of his true feelings for you. She paused and took a breath, more out of habit than necessity. She didn't need air to speak the way she did. By his own words and actions, Nanae is marked for death a mere eighteen years from Genevieve's birthday.

  “What do you mean 'marked for death'? I thought they lived forever.”

  They do. They and their Sinnis'. Nothing can kill them except a weapon called the DakuAhu and me. Nanae made me swear to end his suffering once the One has reached adulthood.

  Izzy snatched his hand away from Nathalia. “He isn't 'marked for death'” he said in a mocking tone. Izzy was angry. “You're planning to kill him. You don't have to, you know. He isn't suffering anymore. He has us. He's happy.”

  It's not that easy. He swore an oath on the body of his mother. It's unbreakable for a Nephilim. He will relinquish control to his beast and it will force my hand. There is only one way around this but it is one that will take him from you. If we can find his Sinnis Ina Ummum Zumru, she can put the beast down into that secret place you spoke of, forever.

  Israel was so engrossed in what Nathalia was telling him that he didn't notice what she was feeling, what she desired. “What is that? Nanae's never said anything about this woman. Who is she?”

  Nathalia thought of Maeve. That was who she would choose if she could have a Sinnis of her own instead of being a Sinnis. A Sinnis is a mate. The words mean 'woman of the mother's body'. A Sinnis is a daughter of a daughter of the family line down from the same mother as a Nephilim. They are destined to be together. She must be found and her blood, once converted, has the ability to satisfy the Hunger permanently.

  “Camilla's from his family tree, could she be his Sinnis?”

  Nathalia leaned her head back and closed her eyes. I thought so, but it seems unlikely. The pull to convert his Sinnis would be so strong that living with her, sleeping with her, for any length of time would make the compulsion too much to resist. Maybe one of her children will be, or maybe it is a woman halfway around the world. The beast will kill his Sinnis if it can. She's the ultimate threat to it's life. She will come here, if she's not here already, unless she was never born. That could only happen if Nanae didn't protect his family line. There are those Nephilim who didn't.

  Izzy didn't care what she said. Nanae loved him and Camilla. No great, great grandniece was going to change that. Israel wanted to be with them. The light shining through the window said they would be getting home soon. He stood, barely registering that his shoes felt over sized. “Ask me what you wanted. I can feel it beating at you. Just ask and then I need to go. It's dinnertime and my family will be waiting for me.”

  How did Camilla get a Nephilim to agree to share? Nathalia opened her eyes. The hungry look he saw on her face told him he wasn't going anywhere.

  ***

  The door opened and slammed shut. “Hey, Izzy. I can just make some pasta for my dinner if you don't already have something planned.” He ran past the kitchen where Camilla was foraging. “I'm starved and all I could think about all day was plain pasta with butter and Parmesan cheese.” She followed as quickly as she could, fully expecting a classic comment from Izzy about how he had the butter and cheese she'd been thinking of all day.

  Camilla froze in the doorway. Maeve was standing in their bedroom staring in the mirror. While the Daughters weren't really modest, barging into someone's personal quarters wasn't common. Maeve was acting weird. She had her pants down and her shirt half way up when Nanae stepped in from the sun room where he'd been doing his Ud salutations.

  Camilla gave him a desperate look. The Abbess was clearly ill. “Nanae, Maeve's come for a visit.”

  “My beauty, that is not Maeve.”

  “If it was, you wouldn't be able to say 'Nanae'.”

  Camilla barely registered that it was Israel's voice coming from Maeve's mouth before a door crashed open. She spun around to find Nathalia standing in their living room. The former Abbess was enraged. Something was happening that Camilla didn't fully understand. She only moved forward when she felt Nanae at her back. Before she could issue a greeting, Kafziel appeared in the doorway beyond Nathalia.

  Israel, come out here. What have you done to Israel, Nanae Raphael Maru?

  Camilla came to her Nephilim's defense. “It wasn't him. It was his beast.”

  Nanae stepped in front of the pregnant woman. “You are welcome to come into our home but you must watch what you say or you'll bring it to the surface. We guard our speech here.” Kafziel stepped in before Nanae continued. “Israel is made Lilitu.”

  Abomination! It is against the law to feed a human Nephilim blood. He will have to be killed. You have killed him.

  “I did not wish this but what's done is done. He is what he is and he is mine. No one will harm him while I am alive.” Ereshkigal's Laws were posthumous. Nathalia knew what they were but she had not been alive for all the years between. Many Nephilim had progeny. They helped Nephilim to feed without killing. Her laws were not as closely followed as she had been led to believe.

  “Impossible. Lilitu are women.” Kafziel spoke softly.

  “Were women.” Izzy's voice came from the bedroom. “Now there's me too and we're neither men nor women but all Lilitu.” He came out to join everyone in the now crowded living room. He still looked like Maeve. It was uncanny.

  Camilla took his/her hand and pulled him /her over to the couch. Camilla on one side, Nanae on the other, Israel/Maeve visibly relaxed. Nanae gestured to the remaining chair across from the couch and Nathalia took it. Eiran Kafziel stood behind her and slightly to one side, putting his body between the door and his Sinnis.

  You can't be Lilitu. You look normal, not sickly glowing like Lamashti.

  “The first progeny were made after Ereshkigal's death. If I am not mistaken, you have only seen old Lilitu. Lamashti is very old. Newly made retain their human appearance for decades, centuries if they can keep from shifting, which they are rarely able to do with desires running rampant as they do among the humans.”

  Nanae must have angered Kafziel because the standing Nephilim growled. His eyes on the angry Guardian, Nanae continued speaking to Nathalia. “I take it you were the cause of Izzy's first shift.” No one moved or spoke' the silence telling him he was right. “Well then he has more reason to be upset with you than the other way around. You forced him to use his magic, edging him closer to that sickly glowing image you have of Lilitu. He just reflects the desires of those around him.”

  “My Sinnis does not desire the Holy Mother.” Nathalia went still as stone. It was clear Kafziel did not know. Perhaps she needed someone else to break it to him.

  Nanae could do that. “That is not what Lamashti told me. She said she took on this same form when she met Nathalia for the first time.”

  “I told Nathalia she could be with Lamashti if she wanted but she refused the Lilitu. She was hungry and she resisted...she does not...that was before...we...
.”

  “Before what? Obviously nothing has changed for Nathalia. All of her needs are not being met, my friend. She is your Sinnis but she has desires you know nothing about. See to her or let someone else, but don't let your pride get in the way.”

  Nathalia's inability to look at him broke Eiran Kafziel's conviction. His shoulders slumped slightly. The visiting Nephilim and his Sinnis were embarrassed. Neither said anything but Nathalia stared at the faux-Maeve in a way that left little doubt what she wanted. Growing worried Izzy put his hand on his maker's knee, “Nanae...”

  He clearly wanted no part in that inevitable but tenuous threesome. Nathalia and Kafziel were unpredictable in their current state of mind.

  “Israel is no prostitute. He is mine. I have not released him from my service and will not until the day he tells me I am no longer able to provide for him. My ancient friend, you must see to this yourself if you cannot allow another to touch your Sinnis. I assure you the experience will not be unpleasant.”

  At that, Kafziel's eyes shot up to meet Nanae's face. “How can you stand to have another...”

  His question was cut short by a movement of Nanae's hand. “I would not know. I have no Sinnis. That was not the experience to which I was referring.”

  Recognition painted Kafziel's face. He raised his eyebrows. “You have...”

  Nanae smiled. “Indeed.”

  Without another word, Kafziel lifted his Sinnis by her arm, wrapped his around her and they both disappeared.

  Camilla let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. “Well that was weird and scary.”

  Izzy did his best Nanae voice, “Indeed.”

  Camilla laughed as Nanae helped them both stand. Israel looked down to find Maeve's body still firmly in place. Nathalia was gone, “So why do I still look like this?”

  “Kafziel is off to do what I have done many times. He will make love as a woman.” Nanae pulled his two beauties down the hall toward the bedroom. “The shift is done. No point in wasting it. There is no better training for giving a female orgasm than experiencing one.”

  Camilla stopped. “I know I have no right to ask, but I don't want you to have sex with another woman, even if that woman is really Izzy.”

  This pleased Nanae to no end. He wanted to tell her she had every right to ask that of him but he couldn't say such things aloud. Instead he said, “I will only be watching. This is practice for Izzy. If you have one, as Israel says every woman does, I suggest you get out the box. He will need all the help he can get. Israel has his work cut out for him this day.”

  Camilla's laugh tinkled, dancing through the air. “Not if he's in Maeve's body. You may never get him to change back once he sees how easy she has it.”

  ***

  Fox led the small team that approached the side of the Daughters' compound. Brian would have preferred to send Montana but his team had the most severe injuries. Without the serum, they were limited to human levels of recovery. Brian couldn't go himself; he was the only one who knew how to make the serum. He was a scientist, chemical engineer, first and foremost. He had been in the military with Montana, but where the black man had led troops, the Caucasian had worked in research and development, chemical warfare antidotes mostly.

  During his studies, Brian had discovered the secret files that spoke of an ancient race created through the breeding between humans and aliens. He had gobbled up every information morsel he could find on the subject. He hadn't had the clearance needed for the top files but he had found the name Paion. It wasn't long before he contacted them and got permission to make his own independent cell. Montana, who'd been through basic training with him, was the first man Brian brought in. The Paion had provided him with a multitude of information, some ancient mythology, some actual science. They had given him a sample of Nephilim blood, just one drop sandwiched between a microscope slide and cover slip, and he had designed a formula for making the serum. He hoped it would be a safer more stable compound than the versions that had come before him.

  There was no sample of blood ample enough to test his theory within the Paion. Brian would have to find his own supply. He and Montana had tested the blood of the Nephilim's lesser children. Theirs could not be used to make serum, but it was useful. Brian had stumbled upon the tranquilizer during his tests. They had searched for a Nephilim and a way to capture one for years. Over that time Brian had handed over the lab work to lesser men while he worked with Montana on weapons and prisons. That was over now. Brian had taken his place on the science end of things again. He allowed Montana to take over the other aspects.

  That didn't help now though. The female Nephilim, who had badly hurt his men so easily, was a mystery. She, exceeding even her maker in strength and power, had abilities far superior to that of anything the Paion had ever encountered, yet her maker seemed strengthened, not weakened, by her presence. The Nephilim's power was not divided by making this child, as it normally would. Nephilim gave a portion of their power to every child they made, though their strength was amplified by the actions of their children. This woman was different and she had put Brian's most trusted associate out of commission. They were stuck with Fox, who had a shock of red hair with a white spot just over his forehead that gave him his nickname.

  The small man with the small voice scared the shit out of Montana and Brian, though neither would admit it. Fox was bloodthirsty. Not in a way that most men could understand. Montana certainly had kills on his record, but his were from when he was under direct orders. Brian killed. It even soothed him to do so, but he killed out of anger. Fox didn't just kill, he butchered and not out of anger or under orders. He liked it. He handled all of the 'enhanced interrogations' the Texan Paion needed. He had been assigned by the Paion hierarchy, and that fact, as much as his pension for violence, made him untrustworthy.

  They had chosen a new moon night, not because it afforded them any extra darkness in the center of Austin, but because the full moon gave strength to Nephilim. The moon called out the location of enemies to the Nephilim, the more of it's surface reflecting the light of the sun, the more information it could share. No one knew why it worked. That it worked was a good enough for them to plan their attack accordingly.

  Getting through the exterior wall was easy. Their insider had told them which area was under the least surveillance and it was only a few passes with the grinder and they were through the metal rod fencing. The group moved forward at a steady quick pace in loose formation. Fox led. He was the only one to see the girl with the shielding ability. He had to be the one to identify her.

  Fox, who now thought of himself by the only name he ever presented others, salivated at the plans he had for the blond teenager. Brian only wanted her brought in for questioning, but the Paion had given Fox special instructions and permissions to dig deeper. He was going to do a full dissection. She was different than other women with power and they wanted to know why. She would answer his questions and then when he had exhausted what she could tell them verbally, he'd get at the secrets her body and brain held.

  Fox held up his hand, fisted, with his arm bent, signaling full stop. Half his men took a knee, guns at the ready, eyes searching the darkness. It was darker here inside the outer wall – the Daughters were conservationists at heart. There were no street lights here. He issued the hand signaled orders. The two back men hid in the bushes, covering them all. Two split off to the right and two more to the left. Fox took Morgan with him to investigate.

  The stone wall was new. A more accurate statement would be that the wall hadn't been here when they last visited. The wall looked ancient and if they hadn't just spent a month scouting the place for their attack, Fox would have sworn it was at least 500 years old. The stones that made it were massive. Ten feet long and stuck out four feet up from the ground. They could have been buried as much as they showed so who truly knew how big they were. The stones were worn, time and the elements having made them smooth, and were so well fitted together that the cracks between any
two looked painted on. The places that would be shaded in daylight were covered in green moss.

  Fox and Morgan could see the wall was continuous, making a, at least seemingly, circular shape. Fox looked at Morgan, who shrugged. It was impressive that the women could have erected such a thing in such a short time, but it was hardly a formidable obstacle. They wondered at it's purpose. Morgan covered him while Fox hoisted himself up to sit on the wall's edge. When he tried to swing his legs over to the other side, they met an invisible resistance. They bounced right off and fell back where they'd started. He put his hand up and ran it along the invisible barrier. He snatched it away quickly; the thing had stung. Fox shot it with his handgun. The silencer reduced the noise to a 'pfft' and the barrier absorbed the force. The bullet didn't go through nor bounce back; it just stuck. He tested it with his knife and when that just slid along making no change, he used his scalpel. It cut through but before he could put the opening to any use, the gap wove itself together again. He tried again but this time after making the incision, he slipped the barrel of his gun inside.

  The gap sealed around his gun. He fired off two quick shots, learning that they could harm those on the inside with their weapons but not without breaking the surface first. Then without warning the wall sucked the gun out of his hand and spit it out on the other side of the wall in the grass. It lay there totally out of reach. He jumped down.

  He and Morgan split up, Fox taking the east, Morgan the west. Everywhere they tried, they encountered the same resistance. They met back up and returned to the rendezvous point. This was hopeless. The Daughters had harnessed whatever defensive magic they had. The Paion could not attack here again.

  The clearing was empty.

  ***

  Christy sat up in bed. The sheet clung to her sweaty skin. The crisp night air made her shiver but even without it she doubted she could stop the vibrating feeling she had awoken to. She pushed the alarm button she wore around her neck. It was an adapted medic-alert type thing, like the one's old ladies used to get help when they fell and couldn't get up. She instantly regretted pushing it.