Celestial Beginnings (Nephilim Series)

by Damiels, Rebekah

  Malachi watched as she let out a short giggle and rolled her eyes. It was good to see her laugh, but this wasn’t helping. “Go on.”

  She sobered back up and started again. “Some of the dreams were good…others, not so much.” She looked over toward him and bit her lip nervously. “For some reason, they were always more peaceful when I was with you. I pray I will eventually forget the ones I had when you weren’t around; torture, killings, weird creatures, and so on.”

  “Okay. Did you notice anything strange about the dreams?” He was not going to let her comments soften him. Find his man…cut her loose. That’s the plan.

  This was where she looked nervous, and she became defensive. “The mind works in weird ways. I had no control over what I dreamt!”

  At his confused look, she groaned but did continue. “At times, you all…” She gestured around the room. “…would be there.”

  “Wow. Was the dream where you were in bed with another chick one of them?” Gemariah gestured between Tori and Terah. “If so, that would be awesome.”

  “Get your head out of the gutter.” Tori tried to smack him upside the head, but he dodged the blow. Everyone started talking at once, except for Malachi and Trinity.

  Trinity looked over at him and said, “Everyone except you. You weren’t in any of them.”

  This made the room quiet. Malachi didn’t know how to feel about that, but he did know that more information was still needed.

  “Is there anything else? Even the smallest thing could be significant.”

  He watched as she concentrated and saw the moment something came to mind. “It could be nothing.”

  “It doesn’t matter. Try us.”

  “In all the dreams, there was always the same sword. It was different than what I thought a normal sword would look like. It was shorter and had a curve on one side at the tip. It was weird. I could always find it because there was a large emerald on the handle part.”

  “The hilt. The handle is called a hilt.” Malachi whispered and let his eyes fall shut. How could this be?

  What the fuck?

  Did she ever see it at your house?

  What does this mean?

  The questions were coming at him from all directions. He just needed a minute to think.

  “There’s something else.” Trinity’s voice brought him back. “I wasn’t going to tell you, but I’ve already divulged everything else. Last night you asked about my dream, but I didn’t want to tell you.” Trinity once again looked away from him. This was something he clearly remembered. “I just didn’t want you to get mad.”

  “It’s alright.” His voice had turned hoarse for the shock he just received.

  “I was back at the bridge, but this time…I wasn’t me. I watched myself save me. That was when I figured out that I was you.” She then started talking at a rapid pace. “I didn’t want you to think it was an invasion of your privacy. I’ve recently discovered that dreams are not always something your mind makes up. When I figured out what it was, I was scared to tell you. Then I started to think that maybe I was seeing the world through your eyes in all my other dreams, but then quickly discarded that theory, since that would put you over three hundred years old.” She laughed at her own thoughts, and didn’t notice the knowing look everyone gave each other.

  “It’s okay. I’m glad you said something.”

  Gemariah, we all need to talk. She needs a quiet sleep to relax, no dreams. Can you manage that?

  Yeah, no problem.

  Gemariah reached down and touched her leg through the blanket before whispering to her. “We’re all glad you’re safe Cuteness.”

  She let out a big yawn and murmured “Thank you” before closing her eyes and drifting off.

  The moment she was out, everyone started talking at once. They all wanted to know the same thing. How was this possible?

  “Is there someone we can contact?” Tori jumped in. “Maybe we can ask…”

  “No!” Malachi cut her off. “I don’t want anything to happen to her. Anyone might be inclined to lock her up to study. That would kill her.”

  “We need to figure something out. What do you think she’s all seen?” Gemariah looked at her with a look of horror. Knowing Malachi the longest, he had the best idea of everything he had been through.

  Malachi started thinking of the different scenes she had already mentioned, but his thoughts were interrupted by Terah, who had been unusually quiet.

  “I have a theory.” She spoke quietly. “I’ve actually been thinking about it since we were all at your house. This kind of confirms what I came up with.”

  When she had everyone’s attention, she continued. “At the party, her hand started to hurt for no reason. She described it as a sharp pain, but it went away quickly. Later, I found out that you cut your hand chopping the steaks around the same time. On top of her not being in my visions anymore, I got curious.” Taking a deep breath, she looked towards Malachi. “What I came up with, was that she did die that day at the river. It had to be precise, but if you gave her air at the exact moment she died, you possibly could have given her some of your essence. That would explain why she is connected with you.”

  They all looked at her skeptically, and she got somewhat defensive. “Think about it. Her dreams are obviously her reliving your memories. Their peaceful when you two are close, so it might be her body reveling at being with yours. Oh for crying out loud…when you get hurt, she freakin’ feels it!”

  Malachi stared at Trinity. Was that the only reason they had such a strong connection? Disappointment rang true inside of him. Was it just another part of himself he loved all this time? Talk about being conceited.

  “She can project to me.” It was something he had kept to himself all this time, but now saw it as more proof.

  “See! Wow, that’s unheard of.” Terah seemed excited.

  “Man, why didn’t you say anything?”

  Malachi just shrugged as an answer to Gemariah’s question. Needing to think this through, he stood up and started toward the door. “I’m going to go check on Hugh.”

  “It won’t work. You said so yourself.” Tori, always first to state the obvious.

  “Maybe I just wanted to see him…”

  The look Tori gave him, before he walked out, showed how confused she was over his response. If he couldn’t help him, why bother? It was how they had lived for so long. Humans always came and went, so they never became close with any of them. Now he had with two, and they were both in the hospital because of him, he thought bitterly.

  Malachi was halfway down the hallway when Gemariah caught up with him again.

  “Malachi, I know what you’re thinking and you need to stop. That is still Trinity in that room; nothing has changed. She’s gonna wake up and still be the stubborn woman you can’t stop thinking about.”

  “You heard Terah. Everything makes sense and things are finally pieced together. The connection we had…” He just shook his head. “…it wasn’t really there.”

  “That’s bullshit and you know it! Don’t you remember what you were like the day at the river, when you found out who you were holding? I do, and I don’t remember seeing that much panic on your face in years.” Gemariah gave him a knowing look. “Why was that?”

  It was then that it hit Malachi. “The dreams. They were before.”

  “Exactly, Terah very well might be right, but you two somehow found each other before that day.”

  Malachi let out a breath; relief flooding in. “Thanks man.”

  “Hey, who do you think you’re talking to? Anything for love.”

  Gemariah walked away and Malachi’s relief quickly turned to resentfulness. This still didn’t change anything. Even after Azazel was gone, he had plenty more enemies that would love to use his weakness against him. Therefore, he still had to walk away.

  As he made his way to Hugh’s room, he remembered what had been revealed tonight. Obviously, Azazel has been using Masters to hurt Trinity, oth
erwise he would not have known so much about them. He knew someone had been pumping information to Masters, but he didn’t know who; until now.

  He entered Hugh’s room. It was empty except for the boy in the bed. Looking down at him, he looked so much smaller than he remembered. With all his bravado, it was difficult to picture him as this young of a boy.

  Just to check, Malachi placed his hand above Hugh and tried to concentrate. Almost immediately, the power was blocked out. He couldn’t even get in to see the extent of the damage. That was the thing about champions. The only way to make sure they weren’t influenced by evil, was to leave out the aspect in them that makes them susceptible to powers. To block out the evil, good also had to be shut out.

  He then did the only other thing he could think of. Placing his thumb on Hugh’s forehead, he made the sign of the cross and repeated the prayer all nephilims in the path of good are taught. “May God be with you, look over you, and protect you in all things.”

  After one last glance at the kid, Malachi exited the room and almost ran into a petite woman holding a coffee. Looking down at her, he saw her bloodshot eyes and watched the way the coffee cup shook in her hand.

  “Excuse me.”

  “No, I wasn’t watching where I was going.” She looked toward the room then back at Malachi. “Do you know Hugh?”

  “Yeah, um…Trinity Bradshaw, the teacher also involved in the attack, wanted me to check on him. I’ve met him a couple times, he’s a great kid.”

  “He is, isn’t he?” She looked forlorn when her gaze went back to the entrance of Hugh’s room. Visibly shaking herself, her attention was back on Malachi. “How is Ms. Bradshaw? I’m sorry I haven’t been over to see her, it’s just…”

  “Don’t worry about it.” He waved off her concern. “She’s going to be okay…thanks to Hugh. Are you his mother?”

  “Yeah. It’s just the two of us. He’s all I have.” The last part was choked out, and she put a hand over her eyes. Quickly taking it away, she once again tried to compose herself. “I’m sorry. I have to get back in there.”

  “Of course, don’t let me keep you.” Malachi turned and whispered a special prayer of his own for the boy to make it. The world was a better place with him in it, and wasn’t that the whole point behind champions?

  Gemariah had Trinity waking up by the time he got back. He stood back…distancing himself, and Tori came to stand next to him.

  “The doc came in while you were gone. He mentioned sending her for a MRI in case the CT missed something, not liking that she still hadn’t woken up. Hence, the reason she’s now awake.”

  He just nodded and looked on. Watching as Trinity scanned the room until she caught sight of him, he didn’t budge. Standing with his hands behind his back, he gripped them tightly together, as if holding himself back from going to her. He tried his best to appear impassive when he finally glanced away.

  Terah sat on the bed beside Trinity. “How ya feeling, Rin?”

  “A little better. I’d just like to go home.” She sighed. “I would love just to soak in a hot bath for a while.”

  “I’m sorry sweetie. You have a severe concussion. I don’t think they’ll let you go home quite yet. Plus, they still have to splint your arm until the swelling goes down.”

  She closed her eyes and laid back onto the bed, obviously not too keen on staying any longer.

  “Yea, it’s a real bummer. If only someone were here that could help with that little predicament.” Gemariah looked pointedly at him.

  Malachi pinched his lips together before addressing the room. “I can’t, too many questions on how she recovered so quickly. It’s all documented.” He answered curtly and looked at everyone besides her. “Plus, this is new to her. It might be too much for her to take in right now.”

  “Can I be the judge of that?” Trinity snapped, obviously not liking being talked about.

  Malachi looked stone faced toward her. “Isn’t it? Come on. As you can tell…we’re different. This doesn’t freak you out a little…the knowledge that someone can heal with only their hands, or alter how people feel? What if one of us can see the future? How would you feel then?”

  Gemariah jumped up. “Shit Malachi! Why don’t you announce it to the world? Lower the fucking volume a little.”

  Trinity adjusted herself and winced at the pain. “Ok, yeah. This is all a little out of the ordinary.”

  Malachi visibly scoffed at the term “little”.

  “But… I also know that Tori can fix almost anything with an engine and can drive them even better when someone needs her. I know Terah has a heart of gold and feels she has to help as many people as she can.” She was going through his team one by one, and using her fingers to tick them off. “Gideon puts up a hard exterior, but really cares underneath it all. Gemariah is an excellent chef with a good heart, but is a womanizer to the core.”

  “Hey!”

  Trinity didn’t acknowledge Gemariah’s objection but kept on speaking to him. “You…You think it is your job to take care of everything and everyone, and you never ask for help. That shows how incredibly stubborn you are, as well as being the most selfless person I know.”

  “I consider all of you my friends. So – my friends have a few extra qualities that I’m finding out about. They are irregular and I would love to know how it’s all possible, but right now I just want to go home.”

  He watched as Trinity choked out the last word, and sagged farther onto the bed before looking directly at him.

  Malachi was lost in the same violet eyes that have drawn him in for the past months. “Maybe I can take a look. I won’t change anything too significant now; just enough so you can go home. Understand?”

  She nodded and watched as he made his way over to her.

  “Lay back.” He was brusque and quickly turned his attention away. “Someone got the door?”

  When he turned back toward her, he held his hands over, only for her to grab one. The contact took him off guard and he quickly pulled his hand away in self-preservation. Even though there was only a second worth of contact, he could still feel the warmth spreading from her touch. Any longer, and he knew it would of been his undoing.

  She put her hands back at her sides, and he tried to ignore the way her eyes started to water.

  “Will it hurt?”

  Her question was choked, and her hurt caused Malachi not to trust his voice in return, so he gave a quick shake of his head.

  Shutting his eyes, he focused on her injuries. Looking in depth, he was surprised to see freshly healed areas, as if it had been in the last few hours. She was healing herself? Granted, not nearly as fast as him, but quicker than any normal human. Good God, what had he done to her?

  He left her body without fixing anything. There had been no need, because her major injuries were already in the healing process.

  “You should be fine.” Malachi didn’t want to discuss what he had seen just yet. “I can’t do anything for the arm right now since the x-rays have already been taken, but nothing should keep you here much longer.”

  “That was quick.” Trinity sounded astounded.

  When she looked at him expectantly, he just shrugged. “I’ll go get the doctor.” He turned to leave the room, but was stopped when Trinity spoke up to get his attention.

  “Wait!” She reached out to grab his arm, but quickly brought it back in to herself. “What about Hugh?”

  “That’s in God’s hands now.” With that last remark, he turned and walked out of the room.

  Chapter 17

  Something was wrong with Malachi. Ever since she had woken up in the hospital he had been aloof and downright cold towards her.

  He was driving her home in Gemariah’s truck, and it felt like an entire universe separated them instead of the actual two feet. He wouldn’t look at her. All he did was stare out the windshield and the only movement she saw was the occasional tick from his jaw.

  He was pissed!

  There was only one thi
ng she could think of why he would be mad at her, and it was one of her biggest regrets of the night.

  “I’m so sorry that I sent Gideon away! It was stupid, obviously I see that now.” He didn’t even acknowledge that she had spoken. “Come on Malachi! You have to talk to me eventually.”

  When she reached over to touch his arm, she tried not to feel too hurt when he jerked away. Who was she kidding, the reaction hurt like hell! He remained silent till they pulled in front of her house. He shut off the car before he finally spoke. “Get out.”

  Dread filled her when she thought he was just going to do a dump and drive. That was until, she watched as he unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the truck himself. She watched as he stood and waited for her but this is where she drew the line. He won’t say anything to her, when all she wants is for him to wrap his arms around her and warm up the bone deep cold that has seeped into her body. Now, he thinks he can order her around like a dog? He’s got another thing coming.

  Looking put out, he eventually walked over and opened her door. “I said get out. I need to get you settled, let’s go.” He wouldn’t even look at her for heaven’s sake!

  “I’m sorry, when did I become your lap dog?” She watched as his nostrils flared, and praised the lord that she got some sort of reaction from him.

  “Please. Can we go inside now?” He spoke through clenched teeth as he gestured toward the house, but it was an improvement at least.

  Trinity slowly lowered herself from the truck, trying to be careful not to bump her bad arm. Her pain was slowly starting to return from whatever Gemariah did earlier, and the thought terrified her since Malachi had refused to stop and fill her prescription for pain medicine. A little help down would have been nice, but she knew it wasn’t going to happen from the man that couldn’t stand her touch at the moment.

  When they got to the front door, Malachi unlocked the door and let them in. Walking inside a familiar environment caused all the exhaustion to finally hit her. She felt like she could lie down and sleep for days, but first, she needed a shower…badly. It was hard to believe that the attack only happened hours ago. She could still feel the grime from Seth’s touch and could still see the dried blood around her nails, hers or Hugh’s, she didn’t know.