Celestial Beginnings (Nephilim Series)

by Damiels, Rebekah

  All he did was stand there with his mouth slightly open. He looked like he wanted to say something, but couldn’t.

  Trinity just rolled her eyes. “Oh come on. I did not go to school for four years and major in Art to not see the signs.”

  He still didn’t say anything, but instead glanced around the back yard at people.

  “Is it a secret?” Trinity was now whispering.

  Gideon visibly swallowed but answered back in a whisper as well. “I just haven’t said anything.” Looking up, he scanned the backyard again. “What does it say about people that you’ve known for years, when a person that’s known me for a minute can see something that they can’t?” He squared his shoulders before looking back down at her. That was when she noticed the shutters closing back over his emotions. “How did you know?”

  Trinity grabbed his hand, ignoring the flinch, and pointed out the color. “There is a slight discoloration on your fingers. I had the same one in college. It’s under your jaw as well. Most people when they work and stop to think, they touch around their face somewhere. Not too many people remember to clean off under their jaw.”

  Gideon pulled his hand away. “Why would you study art? I thought you were a photographer. What’s one have to do with the other?”

  Trinity was confused and answered warily. “Because photography is art.”

  “No it’s not.” He answered in all seriousness.

  “What do you mean it’s not art? Of course it is.” Trinity was more shocked than anything.

  “No. All a photographer does is snap a picture of something that’s already there. Where’s the creativity?”

  It was now Trinity’s turn to stand there with her mouth open. Looking around, she noticed that everyone had gone about their business, but were still occasionally glancing her way. Damn. That means someone would notice if she tried to strangle him.

  Taking a deep breath instead, she defended her profession. “You’re wrong. A photographer has to judge angles, work with lighting and depth; and that’s all before you reach the dark room. There is so much more to it than point and click.”

  “If you say so…” He obviously still didn’t understand.

  Trinity was getting flustered. Placing her hands on her hips, she took on a defiant stance. “You have no idea what can be done in a darkroom. Have you even ever been in one?”

  Gideon rolled his eyes. “Why would I have any need to?”

  Trinity held up her hands, palms out, and spoke sarcastically. “You know what…you’re right. I forgot that we were living in a primitive world where there’s only one way, your way, of thinking. How on earth did we ever survive all this time without your opinion?”

  “Frankly, I really don’t know.” Gideon was as calm as ever.

  Trinity had looked away, only for her head to snap back around when he spoke. It was then she noticed that he was fighting not to smile. Placing her hands on her hips; she then smiled and sighed heavily. “You are an infuriating man, Mr. Gideon.”

  A smile started to form but he quickly tapped it down. “So I’ve been told.”

  He must have thought the look on her face was funny, because he couldn’t hold it in any longer and let out a very quick, but loud, laugh.

  Trinity thought the look suited him and was about to say so, until the moment was broken by the sound of glass shattering. The sound caught her off guard and she let out a small scream before jumping in the opposite direction.

  Gideon watched as she caught her breath. “Do you always startle so easily?”

  Trinity tried to laugh it off, but failed miserably. She had been so on edge lately, she was surprised that was all she did when she was startled. “Sometimes. It all depends on the situation.” She then looked around, back at the table. “What happened?”

  Gideon frowned and shook his head. “Apparently Tori got surprised enough to drop her drink. The glass hit the patio and broke.”

  “Huh” She looked over and saw that Malachi and all his friends kept looking over at them with an odd expression. “Well, I better go and see if anyone needs a hand. See ya around.”

  Before she was done talking, Gideon had already dismissed her and was lighting another cigarette. “You know those things will kill you?”

  Something she said must have been funny because he gave a sarcastic chuckle. “I’ve been told this too.”

  “They also give you wrinkles, make you smell bad, and can cause erectile dysfunction.”

  He had just taken a drag and ended up choking on it. While he was coughing and trying to catch his breath, she started to walk away. “See, not healthy…”

  Trinity looked around at everyone in the backyard. After meeting everyone that came for Malachi, she contemplated their relationship. They were all different but everyone complimented one another. It was as if they were five different pieces of a puzzle that fit together just right.

  When she was almost back at the table, she looked around for Malachi and found him cooking the steaks on the grill. His back was turned toward her, and she could easily admire his impressive physique; strong shoulders and back, well rounded behind; well-built all the way to his toes.

  Hello……good lookin’!

  His head snapped around to where Gideon was standing, but quickly looked away. Turning around, he started to scan the back yard until his gaze found her, and in turn, caught her staring. He then flashed a quick smile and winked before turning back around. A shiver ran through her when she thought about how the night was not even close to being over. They first had to make it through the party, and then they would have their time together.

  ******

  It was getting late. Joseph and Renée had left a little while ago, but not before Joseph shook his hand and told him to take good care of his little girl. The statement made Trinity blush, but not as much as when Renée hugged her and told her how “dreamy” he was. Malachi had no problem hearing people when they whispered, but Renée was anything but quiet, and Trinity knew he heard every word.

  Everyone else was now sitting around his patio table, enjoying the night and each other’s company. Everyone, except for Gideon, who sat at the table and sulked. Malachi didn’t even know why he was here. He had been nothing but an ass to everyone all night.

  Then there was the moment Gideon talked to Trinity earlier. He was too close to kicking the shit out of Gideon for how he was speaking to her, but then…but then he laughed. He could never remember Gideon ever laughing before. Everyone that knew him had gone into shock at that moment and Tori had all but admitted that’s what caused her to drop her drink.

  There was banter between the two of them now that made him uncomfortable. Granted Gideon was still an ass, but she always gave it right back to him. Neither one of them got angry and it was like they enjoyed the sparring.

  Part of Malachi knew he was overreacting. He figured this out when Trinity unknowingly projected to him and he thought it was to Gideon. Projecting is something extremely personal that only happens when two people have a strong enough bond. He had never heard of someone being able to without having blood from the heavens in them, and was shocked when he realized Trinity could talk to him. That’s probably the reason why he can only hear and not say anything back. Not that he would anyway; it would bring up too many questions.

  Now the sun was starting to set, and all Malachi could think about was to get these people out of his house. He was looking forward to being alone with Trinity. Malachi eyed her up and down as she sat in the chair. She looked so beautiful tonight, in her worn pair of jeans and a fitted t-shirt, that hugged her in all the right places. She had long since kicked off her flip flops and had been walking around bare foot. He enjoyed the fact that she could make herself so comfortable at his home.

  Looking around the table, he tried to gauge how long people were planning on staying. The drinks were flowing and people were having a good time, so he didn’t see this winding down anytime soon. Nephilims have an alcohol tolerance unlike any hum
an, so it would only be Trinity and Nicole that would be feeling the effects; except for the fact that neither one of them had had very much.

  The little that they had consumed seemed as if it was affecting Nicole more. At first she was okay; it had brought her out of her shell. They had all had a few laughs at her giving Gemariah a hard time. Man, those two really didn’t like each other. However, she had started slurring her words more and fumbling with her glass.

  Malachi watched as Tori stood up. “I’m going to get another drink, anyone else need anything while I’m in there?”

  Nicole automatically spoke up. “Me pleez. Another…” She waved her glass. “Whatever you call these, again.”

  Tori nodded and turned to go inside. Malachi turned his head to see Trinity grab Nicole’s hand under the table and squeeze it lightly. When Nicole looked over at her, he was amazed to witness an entire conversation spoken with only eye contact. The bond between the two of them had to be remarkable.

  “Actually, sorry, could you get me water instead?” Nicole asked before Tori had disappeared into the house.

  “No problem dearie. It will just be a minute.”

  “So Cuteness…” Gemariah got Trinity’s attention. “You two are like polar opposites. How did you and the ice queen become friends?”

  “Gemariah! You’re out of line!” Malachi snapped.

  “You didn’t say anything when she called me an arrogant chauvinist pig!”

  “Maybe it’s because he knows I was right.” Nicole chimed in as she glared in his direction.

  “Nicci! Enough! We get it; you don’t like each other.” Trinity quickly reprimanded her friend. This felt like babysitting more than anything, he thought.

  “Anyways” Trinity spoke to Gemariah. “Nicci and I were in foster care together. We grew up together since I was ten.”

  “What happened to your parents?” Terah, who had been silent all this time, finally joined the conversation.

  Malachi watched as Trinity retreated into herself. In a voice barely above a whisper. “They’re…”

  As if not registering that she was talking, Gemariah sat straight up in his chair. “Wait a minute. Joseph told me that you were thirteen when you came to live with them.” Gemariah pointed out. “Where did you live before then?”

  Trinity’s gaze shot to Nicole who had gone whiter than normal. Something wasn’t right here and he didn’t like what these questions were doing to Trinity. Malachi watched as she unknowingly shrunk to the back of her chair and strongly gripped the edge of her chair.

  No more questions G. Something’s up…

  Gemariah looked toward him and nodded, understanding not to pry any further.

  “Trinity, it’s getting late. Are you almost ready to go?” Nicole grabbed onto Trinity’s arm.

  She snapped back from wherever her mind had wondered at the question and looked towards him. “I didn’t tell her I was staying yet. I just figured she could drive home, but…she can’t drive home like this. I’ll have to take her.”

  Malachi understood. He really did, but still didn’t like it. Their place was a good twenty minutes away and he doubted that she would drive all the way back, with it already being so late. Having an idea, he leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Can someone else take her home?”

  “I don’t know.” She looked doubtful. “I’ll have to talk to her about it. I don’t want to put her in any situation that she’s uncomfortable with.” Trinity whispered back.

  Malachi nodded then watched as Trinity took Nicole inside to gather their belongings. All he could do was hope Nicole had gotten comfortable enough with one of them to let them take her home.

  Looking back over at his team, he flashed the best smile he could muster. “Hey guys…”

  “We can’t.” Terah was the first to speak up before he had said anything to them.

  “We can’t what?” Tori said coming out of the house.

  “Take Nicole home.” Looking back to Malachi, she continued and gestured toward Tori and Gideon. “We have to make a stop on the way home. Work related…so she can’t be there.”

  “Work related? What don’t I know?” Malachi couldn’t think of anything that was planned for the night.

  “Nothing, nothing. Just a follow up from a previous case. We were going to do it another time, but we’re over here already…” She trailed off.

  “But that just leaves…” He looked toward Gemariah. This was not going to be good, he thought.

  This got Gemariah’s attention. “Oh no! I can’t be stuck in a car with that thing. I can see myself jumping out the window just to stop the nagging. Do you know how bad that would hurt?”

  “You’ll heal.” Malachi said uncaringly. “You owe me and you know it.”

  Gemariah pinched the bridge of his nose and slouched back into his chair. “Fine! I guess any man that almost cuts off his thumb thinking about a woman needs a break here and there.”

  Terah immediately jumped in. “You cut your thumb? When? Where?”

  He waved off her concern. “It’s no big deal. I was trimming the steaks earlier and the knife went into my thumb.” Malachi rolled his eyes thinking about that mishap. He wasn’t about to say he saw Trinity out the window and lost his concentration. He was already getting enough grief from Gemariah. “It hurt like a bitch, but healed quickly.”

  Terah’s was staring over his head when she whispered, “How is this possible?”

  “How’s what possible? Are you okay?” Malachi eyed her suspiciously. He was really starting to worry about her lately. She had been acting flakier than normal.

  “Yeah…No…Nothing, everything’s fine.” She vigorously shook her head and got out of her seat before speaking to Tori and Gideon. “Ready to go?”

  Gideon propped his feet up on the table and relaxed into his chair. “Nah, I don’t feel like going anywhere.” When he looked towards Malachi, he gave him a cunning smile. “You don’t mind, do you? It’s not like you have anything going on tonight.”

  The growl was automatic. Gideon had been pushing it all night. Team member or not, Malachi needed him to leave sooner rather than later.

  Luckily, Tori understood everything that was going on, because she quickly pulled Gideon’s chair out from under him. Even quicker, she grabbed his arm and stood him up before he hit the ground. “We’re out of here. Don’t be a jackass!”

  “Fine! Hands off!” Gideon yelled, and tried to shrug her off when Tori was directing him to the back gate.

  “See ya tomorrow!” Malachi yelled before walking towards the back door.

  “Yo, I’ll be in in a minute. I want to enjoy the peacefulness a little while longer before I’m stuck with the Ice Queen.”

  “Okay. Just try to be nice.” Malachi made it inside before Gemariah could say anything more. He wondered if Trinity needed any help with damage control and from what he was hearing, it didn’t sound like it was going too well.

  “What do you even know about him?” He heard Nicole say.

  “A lot actually! Not everything of course, but more than other men I’ve been with.”

  Malachi cringed. They had never discussed other people from their past. Deep down he knew that she wasn’t a virgin, but damn, he hated hearing about it.

  Following the sounds of their voices, he found them in the living room. When he got there, they were standing in the middle of the room, arguing.

  “I don’t know Trinity. How do you know you can trust…” Nicole trailed off when she caught sight of him.

  “Everything alright in here?”

  Their gazes were locked on each other until Nicole decided to lay it all out on the line. “I don’t think she knows you well enough to trust you.”

  That stung, but Malachi kept his cool. There was no use pissing her off and causing problems between him and Trinity. Instead, he slowly made his way over to the two. “Fair enough. I can tell you that I deeply respect her and wouldn’t do anything to hurt her.”

  “Yeah, we’ve
both heard that before.”

  “Nicci, this is ridiculous. We’re not kids anymore. There are people out there that can be trusted.” Trinity was desperately trying to get her friend to understand.

  Even though it pained Malachi, he couldn’t come between these two. “Listen. Trinity, I know how important you guys are to each other. I also know that you won’t be able to relax enough tonight to enjoy yourself if you two leave on a bad note. We can always wait.” Dammit! Dammit!! Dammit!!

  “No!” Trinity said determined. She then turned back to Nicole but threw her hand out to gesture at him. “He makes me happy. Don’t you want me to be happy?”

  “Happy?” Nicole asked in disbelief. She then looked back to him. “Tell me Malachi, if a person was happy, would they be crying in their sleep every night until their screams finally woke them up?”

  “Nicci!!”

  Trinity’s voice was lost to him. He felt like he had just been punched in the gut. She never said anything… No, no person would have nightmares every night if they were happy. What had he done wrong? He knew she had been looking tired, but…every night?

  “How long?” He kept his gaze lowered, not wanting to look in her direction just yet.

  “Dammit Nicci! It wasn’t your place to say anything.” Trinity sounded more irate than he had ever heard her.

  “He has a right to know. Any friend would be concerned. I hear that you met a guy then I hardly see you anymore except for when I race into your room at night to make sure you’re alright. Now do you see why I worry?” Nicole had raised her voice to match Trinity’s, but Malachi was still waiting for his answer.

  “I said, how long?” This time his voice was more of a growl.

  Trinity grabbed his arms and turned him so they were facing each other. “It’s been happening since the bridge. You have to believe me when I say it has nothing to do with us. I think it’s just residual effects from everything that happened that day.”

  “Are they about the bridge?”

  She sighed and looked away. “No. I don’t know what they are. It’s things I’ve never seen before...at least I don’t remember seeing them.” She then locked eyes with him. “Malachi, you make me happier than I remember being in a long time. I have even tried thinking of only you before I fell asleep to possibly ward them off. Maybe these dreams have to run their course, but I always wake up wishing you were there.”