She wanted to see Malachi before everyone met up at her place, therefore wasted no time making her way over to his place. During the drive, she had to continually shake loose the tension in her limbs when they started to tighten up. She was nervous and hated the feeling.
When Trinity got there, she pulled into his driveway and didn’t bother knocking as she walked right in. She had stayed so much as his place these last few weeks, it was starting to feel like hers as well.
The house was silent as she made her way through it, and she wondered if he was even home. Finally, she heard a faint clanking noise coming from one of his spare rooms.
When she made it there, she stood in the doorway and watched as Malachi loaded a duffel bag full of weapons. Trinity momentarily got distracted by the amount of weapons he had. There were so many of them, and they all looked completely different from any weapons she had ever seen. Walking over to his cabinet, she reached up to touch a button on one of them.
“Careful! That one does some damage.” Malachi was right behind her and lowered her hand away from his collection.
“What is it?” Trinity asked in a whisper.
Malachi reached around her and into the cabinet to pull it out. “This one was designed by Gideon. We call it the MI.”
“MI?”
“It’s short for myocardial infarction.” When she still looked confused, he clarified even further. “…heart attack.”
“What does it do?”
Malachi walked away from her, and she watched as he took the weapon from the cabinet. Holding it away, he demonstrated the use for it. “The only way to kill a nephilim is to destroy the heart. This makes it easier when in battle.” Malachi talked as if his mind was somewhere else, and Trinity could only imagine what was going through his head. “To the normal person, it looks like a spear, but when this is shoved into the heart, you press this button…” He pushed the button she was about to touch earlier and the tip splintered out into five different pieces in two different places. “The heart is now mincemeat, effectively killing the nephilim.’
Trinity was still staring at the splintered point, until what he said registered in her mind. “Nephilim? I thought that’s what you were, why would you have a weapon to kill someone like you.”
“There are only around half of us that choose good over evil. Evil is already in our blood, and is just waiting for something to bring it forth. That’s what happened to my mother, and that’s also why we always kept a close eye on Gideon, since he has a demon as a father.”
Malachi walked over and carefully placed the weapon back in the cabinet. Trinity silently walked over to him and put her arms around him. She didn’t know if she was comforting him or her, but right now she didn’t care. She tightened her hold when he wrapped his arms around her as well, and she tried to burrow in.
“You don’t have to go tonight, you know? Stay here, with me.”
He just sighed and ran his fingers through her hair. “Yes I do.”
“Stay here; train a little more if you want.” Trinity sniffed, trying to fight off the tears.
“I’ve been training for hundreds of years. I don’t think a night or two extra will help. Don’t worry, it will be okay.”
The tears were flowing down her cheeks now, and nothing she did seemed to stop them. She looked up into those eyes she loved so much and remembered the first time she saw them. It felt like ages ago, but she knew now that she would never look into a pair of eyes with as much love as she did now.
“You have to come back to me, Malachi! I just found you and was planning on spending the rest of my life with you. I don’t want to do it without you.”
He pulled her into another fierce hug. “I will, Angel. No matter what happens tonight…know that you are my life.”
“Right back at you.” Her words were mumbled, from her mouth being pressed against his chest.
Pulling her head back once more, he started to kiss away her tears. “Don’t cry for me baby. Everything will be fine.”
Trinity could tell that he was trying to put more emphasis on his words than he felt, which made her even more worried. The last thing he needed right now was to worry about her, so she decided to put on a brave front. As they stood there, she prayed that if the God that Malachi believed in really did exist, then that he would protect everyone tonight.
Chapter 20
Malachi was cold. The night was damp and the tree cover did nothing to block the chilling wind. They had already been to one property and found it to be the residence of an elderly couple. After a thorough search, they determined that that was all it was.
They were nearing the second location in complete silence. The ground was soft and did a decent job of muffling their footsteps.
All right, there it is.
Malachi spied a lavish looking house, not too far from where they were. They were a few feet back from the tree line and crouched down to become less noticeable.
There’s movement in the back of the house.
Malachi looked to where Gemariah gestured, and saw a shadow pass in front of the window. There wasn’t a clear visual so he couldn’t make out who it was, but there was definitely someone inside.
They were both distracted by the front door opening and a young male exiting the house. He was tall and a decent size; would possibly be a good match if Malachi had to go up against someone. Malachi heard the flick of the lighter before he saw what the flame revealed.
Fuck! It’s him.
Right there, in front of him was Masters. Just a second ago, he was thinking this man would be somewhat of a challenge for him, and now he knew it was the same fucker that was throwing around his Trinity. It was too much! He started to get up, but was stopped by Gemariah’s grip on his arm.
Not yet. We have to…
That was as far as he got before a gun shot rang through the air. The grip on his arm went slack, and when Malachi looked over, he saw Gemariah lying on the ground with blood coming out of a wound on his forehead. These fuckers just shot him!
Malachi jerked his head around and saw that more people had come out of the house and were all looking in their direction, including Masters. That shithead was grinning at him, and at that moment all Malachi wanted to do was snap his head clean off. Just then, he heard another gun shot, and that’s when everything went black.
******
This was one hell of a headache, was the first thing Malachi thought of as he woke; that, and why the hell couldn’t he move his arms. The more he came to, the more his memories slowly started to return. Their trek through the woods, seeing Masters, Gemariah getting shot; everything was back.
Obviously he was shot as well, and that would explain the splitting headache. He guessed his body was still trying to repair the damage from the bullet, and that would explain why his head still throbbed. Knowing what he knew about his body and its abilities, as well as the severity of the wound, he guessed he had been out for around an hour, maybe more.
“Glad you finally decided to join us.”
He knew that voice. It was one he hadn’t heard in years, but would never forget. When he eventually opened his eyes, he wasn’t surprised to find Azazel standing in front of him. Taking his eyes away from his ancestor, he observed his surroundings. They were in a clearing that was located at the back of the house they had been observing. He was under one of the only trees in the clearing, and was on his knees with his arms tied to a thick tree branch over his head. He moved to stand up, and it was then he realized that his legs were strapped to the ground using a thick wire.
“Didn’t you learn at the tender age of…what was it, 18 or so? …that you can’t sneak up on me.”
Malachi gritted his teeth at the memory, and tried not to think of the scars that he had as reminders. The scars that he used to despise until Trinity came along. She didn’t care about any of them, and showed it numerous times when she was in his arms.
Holy shit! Trinity! He immediately stopped his struggling. Ever
y time he pulled on his legs, the wire cut into him a little more. He stopped, knowing that Trinity was feeling every ounce of pain that he did. With a sickening feeling in his stomach, he wondered what she had to go through when he got shot.
Thinking about when he got shot, he realized that he hadn’t noticed Gemariah yet since he woke. Looking to the left, Malachi noticed his unconscious friend slumped against the truck of the tree he was tied to. At closer inspection, it looked as if he was tied to the tree as well.
“Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Thanks for reminding me.” He watched as Azazel strode over to Gemariah and knelt down in front of him.
“Don’t you fucking touch him.” Malachi spoke through his clenched teeth. “It’s me you got; leave him out of this.”
Malachi watched as Azazel reached down and ran his hand over the wound that was in between Gemariah’s eyes. It closed immediately and he felt a sense of relief when he heard a moan come from his friend.
“What do you think I am, a monster?” Azazel went back to his lazy stance in front of Malachi and laughed. “Well, maybe I am, who knows?”
He bent over to be at eye level with Malachi. “You know so much about me. You probably already know how I love to be watched when I torture people. It’s even better if the person cares about the other one. It makes it so much more electric, don’t you think?”
Malachi didn’t answer, but instead gave him a deadly stare.
“Plus…” Azazel rolled his eyes and stood back up. “”I promised Ramiel that I wouldn’t kill him if I got the opportunity.” Getting a mischievous smile, he continued. “I never said anything about maiming though.”
As he took a step toward Gemariah, Malachi tensed and was prepared to do anything necessary. The sudden sound of “A Little Piece of Heaven” cut through the air and momentarily distracted Azazel. He held up a finger indicating that he needed a minute, and then sighed in annoyance when he reached into his pocket to pull out his cell phone. Holding the phone up to his ear, he barked something out before Malachi turned his attention over to Gemariah.
Hey, you alright?
Yeah, you?
Gemariah pulled at his bonds and tried to adjust himself.
Can you get loose?
Malachi had to ask, since he already knew that there was no way he could free himself. Before Gemariah could answer him back, Malachi was backhanded across the face…hard.
“There’s no talking!” Azazel yelled at them before returning his attention back to his phone call. “Okay, make sure it’s secure and get here in no more than ten minutes, if you value your lives.
He slipped the phone back into his pocket and turned back to Malachi.
“You know, you’re little bitch has caused so much trouble these last months.”
Malachi saw red. “You leave her out of this. She has nothing to do with me and you.”
“Oh, on the contrary, she has much to do with us.” Azazel then started to pace. “You know, we angels have seers as well don’t you? Of course, ours are much more accurate than your little slip of a girl.”
Malachi immediately thought of Terah, and all the times she had saved his life with her visions. Maybe she was better than they all thought. He left that thought to himself, thinking that it might help her in the long run to be underestimated.
“I was told a thousand and some years ago that my undoing would come from the soul mate of a blood relation. I tracked down all my kin throughout the years, and made sure that they would never side against me. However, I did not know of your mother till she was already dead and gone. By that time, you had already been snatched by the Godsend Warriors and were a lost cause. Therefore I knew it had to be yours.”
“Soul mate?” That was the one part that stuck out the most to Malachi. Is that why he had such a strong connection to Trinity? It made sense.
“You don’t know, do you?” He then looked at Gemariah, which drew Malachi’s attention there as well. Gemariah looked just as confused as he felt. “Neither of you do. Hell, this is priceless.” Azazel smiled a devious smile.
“Everyone has a soul mate, including abominations such as yourselves. It’s just another slap in the face to us angels.” Azazel sneered. “Anyone that was born from his precious ‘man’ gets one to show His love. Because you have human blood running through you, so do you.”
Malachi was shocked and moved at the same time. Sometimes he felt unnoticed by the Lord that he always fought for. It was nice to know that there was something as special as her out there, and she was all for him. Pulling on his restraints one more time, he tried to get loose.
He was jarred out of his current thoughts when he realized Azazel had started to speak again. “…I have dispensed of your soul mate five different times. Always leaving her where you would find her was fun, and I would stand back and watch your face when you did.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Malachi snapped.
“My dear ignorant boy...” He sighed as if being put out. “A body is just a vessel that a soul lives in. I have killed five different women that had the soul of your mate.” Azazel looked into the air as if he were thinking, before snapping his fingers and returning his attention to him. “Do you remember the young girl you found impaled onto a tree where you normally trained?”
How could Malachi forget? He was fourteen, and it was the first body he had seen that was brutally murdered since his mother. The girl looked no more than twelve years old, and Malachi couldn’t help but mourn her loss; the loss of the happiness she should have had, instead of the end she had come to. After finding her, Malachi was more determined than ever to fight the good fight against evil.
“Ahh, I see that you do. Every time I would try to do something new for you; frozen in a lake, dismembered, yadda, yadda, yadda.” He waved his hand at the end, as if these lives were of no consequence to him. Then he got an excited look on his face. “The last one was my favorite. I had half of her body burned to a crisp while she screamed for mercy, then hung her in a tree right before you showed up, so you would have to try and save her…but you couldn’t. Could you?” Azazel got a spring in his step and laughed. “It was so much fun watching you scramble to help her. Little did you know that she was meant for you.”
Malachi squeezed his eyes shut to try and block out the memory of that day, but it wasn’t helping. The smell of burnt flesh stayed with him for years, but the helpless feeling when knew he couldn’t save her, has never been totally forgotten.
“You wouldn’t have wanted them anyway. They were all broken by that point.”
Malachi hung his head in defeat. Hearing that he had failed to protect five different women that were his to care for did not sit well with him.
“Every last one of them, I tormented until the day I came to kill them. Some were beaten, others raped, plagued with constant sickness, the list goes on and on. They couldn’t take it any longer, and were ready to die the day they did.”
All of the sudden, his features turned to stone. “Then came the little bitch you call Angel.”
Malachi’s entire body stiffened when Azazel referred to Trinity. He didn’t want her mixed up in any of the ugliness that had just been described to him, but knew it was probably too late. Malachi didn’t want to hear the next part. He didn’t want to know what she had gone through when he wasn’t around.
“I had her parents killed, and then I had her placed in homes with over amorous men that loved to use their fists to show dominance. Needless to say, they were my kind of men.”
“Bastard!” The shout didn’t come from him. Trinity had become close to them all, and obviously Gemariah didn’t like hearing about how she had suffered, just as much as he didn’t.
The comment didn’t faze Azazel; instead he just looked annoyed at the interruption as he turned his gaze onto Gemariah. “Don’t worry; what Ramiel’s done to yours is different.” Azazel laughed at his look of shock. “Oh yeah, I started a trend. All of your friends have ancestors that are giving their soul
mates the same “welcome to the family” as I have been.”
“Anyways, back to what I was saying.” He brought his focus back to Malachi. “Did all of that break her? No! It made the little bitch stronger. Therefore I waited, and bided my time until I saw an opening. The answer came in the form of my new friend, Seth over there.”
Malachi’s gaze immediately snapped in the direction that was gestured, to see the face he had been staring at in a photograph for months. He couldn’t hold back the snarl directed at the man he planned to kill once he got free. Giving his arms one last tug, he stopped when he felt the wire cutting into his skin.
“Now don’t be mad at him. He was so easy to corrupt. Everything I had him do wasn’t anything he hadn’t thought up himself. It almost worked too. She was broken, I was sure of it. Then the bitch one day grew a pair and left for good.” Azazel sneered in the direction of Masters, which made the man advert his eyes. “I don’t do failure well.” He said in the way of explaining the other man’s reaction.
“That’s when everything got so fucked up! She turned into a liability that had to go. I waited for the perfect moment, and that even got fucked up. She was supposed to die in that river, dammit! After that, I tried to remind her of all the negatives in her life and that didn’t work. Hell, I tried scaring the shit out of her, lashing her…nothing worked!” Azazel closed his eyes and took a calming breath. “It’s all going to end soon though.”
This got Malachi’s senses on full alert. “What did you do?” He growled.
Azazel looked put out. “All I wanted was to have her die in front of you. Is that too much to ask? I didn’t think so.” He gestured back over to Masters. “Seth here is good for so many things, but kidnapping is not one of them. Twice he tried and twice he failed. I thought about killing him but thought better of it. He might still come in handy.”
Celestial Beginnings (Nephilim Series) Page 33