Dark Nephilim (Always Dark Angel Book 2)

by JN Moon

  They were stalwart and striking, their fair skin vivid against the black leather clothing. All of them wore this. At first glance their attire looked regular, if somewhat rebellious, but close up much of it was padded with long strips of reinforced leather, and built in chain mail ending in strong boots. Modern-day armour.

  Tall, like the others, their confidence was tangible and they looked at me with indifference. I saw many different weapons such as swords and axes. Some held what looked like silver wands but these wands gave off a faint white glow. Male and female, all had striking features, luminous skin, slate-grey eyes, and lithe but strong physiques. I felt like a hobbit in a room full of Elves, that was not a feeling of empowerment.

  We crammed into the living room, which was small anyway. There must have been about thirty of them. Everyone was silent and looking at Acacius, Halina, and Aaron, faces stern. They were ready for action.

  Acacius paused. They knew why they were here and now it was time to plan. He opened a small wooden box and presented the fire crystal. Upon doing this there was a gasp amongst them.

  He nodded his head towards me. “Anthony found this, or rather it found him. You know it requires the Divine light to activate it, and we need that now. We have been researching a way to draw the mortals, demons, and wraiths into a single place to destroy them. In fact, we want to destroy the evil that is draining the infected mortals completely. Just sending it back through the veil is not our intention now. Evil will still persist, as long as mortals hold hate and fear in their hearts, but here in this tiny city we can at least hope to cleanse those who emit it.”

  “That is a noble cause indeed, Acacius.” One of his kin stepped forward. He was lithe with dark hair, strapped in armour, and his face told a thousand tales. Possibly older than the others, his stance was solid and his presence potent. “But there are only a few dozen of us, and the demons continue to crawl their way through. And the fallen of our kind...” He shook his head. “They need to be held accountable for their despicable actions. With them still alive and drinking blood, this will only continue to hold open the door to evil. It sickens me that Marcus has brought this upon all, with his selfish and thoughtless action, but I see no other way. Whilst they live, I think we cannot win.” His eyes were full of sorrow as he spoke. The others whispered amongst themselves before Acacius spoke again.

  “There may be no need of that, for as we speak, Marcus has died. It seems that by tasting the dark blood they have sealed their own fate. I know others are suffering the same fate. We will sweep the city, and confirm this.”

  The other nephilim spoke again. “With them gone, we have a better chance of ridding the place of these iniquitous beings. Have you called for higher assistance?”

  “Yes. We all have. And we have found an incantation to draw the evil to a single place. That includes the mortals’ infected by their own hatred. We have to aim not to kill the mortals, but it will be, what it will be. Their fate is by their own design.”

  “What of the vampires who paired with our kin? We cannot allow them to live, surely. That would be abhorrent.”

  “We kill them first. With our infected kin dying or dead, it should be easy enough. They at least cannot survive our blood.”

  The dark-haired nephilim stepped forward, facing me and looking to Acacius. “But he has tasted Marcus’s blood and probably others. I should kill him where he stands!”

  I was taken aback and fear rose quickly. Surrounded by these immortal creatures, I would never stand a chance. To add to my horror, Acacius added, “You are right, you should, but Anthony has his own destiny to meet and Emidius chose to save him. Without her blood, he wouldn’t have survived drinking our blood.” He paused and I panicked, then he continued. “He was led to the fire crystal and he alone will need to carry it. Remember, Leland, there has to be a balance here. As you see him as evil, so the Divine sees us, you as Fallen. It has always seen the nephilim as fallen from Heaven, by the very fact that we are here, in man’s domain unable to leave.

  “And I, we encouraged Anthony to drink from Marcus. He is now no ordinary vampire, he possess the strength and knowledge of both Emidius and Marcus. We hoped that making him extraordinary he could help seal the veil between demons, wraiths, and man. We knew we could not win this fight alone. How Anthony uses this power will determine his fate. And I have other news that concerns me.”

  Leland was clearly not convinced and eyed me with anger, I knew at some point he would disregard Acacius’s words and kill me in an instant if I was caught off guard.

  “What of the other news that concerns you? What do you speak of?” Leland replied angrily.

  Acacius, divine as he was, lied. “It is only a suspicion, a thought, and until I am sure I will say no more.”

  But I knew he meant the children.

  And so, that night a small group, myself included, went out to investigate the fate of the nephilim. The fire crystal would be used as a beacon to attract the evil and those trapped in its wake.

  Gathering of the Damned

  Anthony

  They crouched on top of the Georgian buildings, their massive wings beating slowly. Looking down below as the mortals passed unawares these magnificent and terrifying creatures watching and waiting. Waiting for their fix, their once milky skin, now shining obsidian, crimson tinged from the blood that they stole, blood that they were not designed to take. Scarlet that glistened under the moon, like something from a Gothic tale, hands gripped on the stone and their movements’ slight and animal like, though they’d never been human.

  Jumping down one by one, they blended into the city effortlessly. Their wings were invisible to mortal eyes, some magic they held. I stayed hidden otherwise they’d kill me for sure. They’d smell me and bleed me dry.

  Powerful giants with the confidence of a hundred kings, each of them were forbidden and not answerable to anyone, not now. They searched my kind, my kin who they’d spent thousands of years killing remorselessly. Others of their kin who had not fallen still had humanity, but these ones who had fallen into savagery had changed in a frenzy of the blood lust. That feeling, that swoon, hungry and brutal. And so my vampire kin, the hunter, become the hunted.

  I thought my pounding heart would explode and I wished I had my friends with me. Death would fill the streets tonight. Blood would be spilled and all the damned were crawling through stealing the souls of men and destroying their hearts.

  And I had thought I could awaken from my secret crypt three months after the war of the immortals to find peace. Evidently I could not. In the realm of the supernatural, nothing rests for long...

  And then the demons came. Dozens of them, most beautiful to look at, and that, like the vampire was their weapon. But I saw the oblivion in their dead eyes and smelled the death that they carried always with them. I wanted to kill them all. After taking my lover, I would only rest once I had wiped out the demons and the wraiths. But my ego held more confidence than I. In short there were so many and cowardly as it was, my fear grew as I waited there.

  They had a power untold. Something so malicious about them, so cruel it was monstrous. A chill ran over me as I spied them, as they lingered and followed people but the people didn’t see them.

  Fear rushed through, gripping tightly to my body, my limbs and stilting my breathing as I waited there on my own, the fire crystal tucked tightly in my coat pocket. Waiting for Aaron, Halina, and Acacius. Then, Nathaniel arrived and had mustered his vampire friends and they were using the app Darren created to find more to fight these demonic beings. They had managed to muster dozens of vampires to destroy the wraiths of men, though we were all still unsure how this would work. Acacius was bringing his purebred nephilim warriors and soon the centre of the city would be a battle ground against good and evil, or evil and worse evil to be correct. So I jumped into the battle, yelling loudly now that my friends had arrived.

  Ghouls had been superseded by banshees and every supernatural creature I had ever read about in
fairy tales as a child it seemed had gathered there as if invited to Armageddon. Maybe they sensed us and so gathered on mass. Maybe we’d die, but it didn’t matter.

  Humans were drained of their energy to such extent that we were their only hope. Their government ruled by the Elite, unbeknownst to them, had been fed lies about this. Though now the Elite were smaller and scattered, or so Nathaniel had told me.

  It was ironic really. If humans knew we existed they’d wage a war on us overnight and hunt us like the medieval witch trials. But either way, we had to help them. For me it was compassion, but for others perhaps, without them, our kind would die. And I couldn’t allow that.

  And so I waited...

  I couldn’t believe it. In the distance walking towards this centre of death the shape of one so timid, so meek that courage and fear for him warmed my heart simultaneously. Nicolas! How the hell would he fight here? But his bravery was almost enough to make me weep. He was such a timid character!

  But then I saw her and my breath stopped. Rachel was walking behind him with creatures that seemed almost transparent. Shadow creatures, lost souls...there were many of them. I wanted to run to her, but that would have been stupid, running into the thick of all this evil. She looked changed, her countenance, her eyes. A power emitted from her that was tangible and dark. I took a step back and gasped. I knew in that instant she had killed the demon Lucius and she was now forever changed. Hollow even. I was happy beyond words to see her but her countenance, her stern face, instinct telling me she had changed greatly. But there was no time to contemplate.

  She and Nicolas grabbed at the demons and bled them, casting them aside like trash when done. They worked together, the demons attacking them fiercely, contorted faces of hate and yet Nicolas and Rachel mimicked them, mocking them before swiftly grabbing at them with such speed and biting, drinking, draining.

  Their shadowy friends used the opportunity to snatch at demons and consume them into their very bodies, like a low cloud passing through a forest. The demons and wraiths both vanished, screaming as they became once more, nothingness.

  Nathaniel and his friends on seeing Rachel and Nicolas bleed demons, also began to drink their blood. Acacius, Halina, and Aaron and their warriors arrived and fought like soldiers, slaying these vile demonic creatures with their swords. But still more seemed to pour in, as though the more that were killed, the more appeared.

  I bit and bled as many as I could, and saw the humans in the outskirts of the battle completely unawares. Some were being dragged in by wraiths and used as bait, and I and others kept pushing the humans back out. But it was as if some were attracted to it on a subconscious level. Attracted and drawn to death.

  As we seemed to be losing, our hope and energy started to drop, but we couldn’t let it.

  Fighting in the square beside the Abbey, it was like being in a portal, the world outside carried on as normal but here, Hell was loose and rampant. At first I didn’t see them, but as I looked to Nathaniel and his vampire friends, I started to see miniscule flashes of light hovering around them, piercing the wraiths that had been drawn here by the spell of the fire crystal. The tiny elementals, their faces spiteful, were laughing as they consumed the wraiths, the hate of man, and disappeared just as fast.

  A massive lycan, half-wolf half-man, jumped beside me and tore off the head of a demon and I breathed a huge sigh of relief and shock. I knew in my gut that it was Sabian, the pack leader, always the largest of the lycans. They had come. Snarling and drooling with blood on their fur, these beasts were frighteningly powerful.

  Acting on animal instinct, they cut through these damned creatures and now we seemed to be making progress. I couldn’t stop though my body was weary and I could hear my heart beating loud and fast. Sharp, short breaths and I was out of energy. Then I spied it.

  In amongst the crowded mass of phantoms and demons, a formidable, winged demon saw me and made straight for me. His voice was deeper, thundering as he approached. Skin dark and glistening crimson with the sweat of blood this giant with a face half-human, half monster, and a body and legs many times larger than a nephilim. He wore platinum arm bands and some scant clothing, as if it never occurred to him to cover up. His sheer mass was threatening, and as if his size wasn’t enough his wings were massive, crimson black leather looking, and my breathing turned to panting, sharp, and shallow as fear petrified me to the spot.

  He spoke directly and very slowly to me, “Come to me!”

  His pace was strong and so fast. His long legs rushed forward, not human but some half-animal/ half human thing that just to look at filled me with dread. He picked me up, and in my terror my body and my strength was as useless as a rag doll, limp and powerless. My heart stopped as shock and terror washed over me.

  “You are the bringer of Death. Do not assume you are something better. Your light is brightest. I have waited for you. I am the Angel of your death.”

  His voice was guttural and penetrating. I felt his rancid breath on my face as he held me to him, his face inches away. “If you refuse me, refuse your fate, your death, your future is eternity in isolated darkness.”

  His awful wings beating fast, creating a current of their own, he lifted me into the sky and continued, “You with her blood. You with the crystal of fire, drinker of souls, chosen. Come to destroy me!” His laugh was terrible and deafening, rolling his head back. Then looking at me with those devilish eyes of blood he announced, “Welcome home, my child of Lucifer!” He pierced my neck fiercely—such huge fangs—draining me so fast that my head spun like a whirlwind.

  When I came around I was on the floor, in my haze I thought I saw another huge black shadow circling around then diving down like a bullet towards this devil who had dropped me. Like a serpent, massive wings pulled pack, a yell like the cry of all the vanquished souls in Hell, as it opened its mouth and poured forth fire.

  I must have hit my head, rubbing my eyes, in the next instant, the devil who attacked me was shielding his eyes.

  Firebolts of white light bursting out of the black sky like nuclear explosions, illuminating the Abbey square in flashes so that all here, angel or demon covered their eyes from the blast.

  I struggled to open my eyes against this blazing white-gold light. The illumination was so gigantic that it covered the sky completely, like a divine roof for the Abbey and beyond. And the sound! Booming bass reverberating so that even the walls of the Abbey seemed to shake. I thought my ears were bleeding.

  Another star-burst flared so intense that all again shielded their eyes. As it dimmed slightly, the centre was white, with gold tails scorching off, looking almost like feathers made of fire. A tiny dark centre appeared and the whole thing swooped low.

  Acacius grabbed my arm, shouting for me to bring out the fire crystal over the noise of the pandemonium. I scrabbled in my pocket, worried that maybe it had broken in the chaos. My hands struggled to grip it. I was still shaking intensely after that thing had drained me, that thing which terrified me still. The crystal was intact and with Acacius holding my arm, I held it up.

  This star was immediately drawn to it, to me and attached a beam of blistering light to it. Penetrating the crystal, the blue flame inside grew instantly and blazed out with the white-gold beam, bursting out heat, with the intensity of luminosity.

  All had stopped in the presence of this blazing glow. Acacius looked reverently at it.

  “Seraphim,” he whispered to me.

  Then the lights mixed with a flash and fell onto everything and the demons, wraiths, and ghouls vanished, consumed in the light. The Angel of Death who had grabbed me was on his knees but the Seraphim consumed him, too, slowly. He looked like he was melting, his skin liquefying and his huge wings on fire.

  As I reluctantly took my eyes off this Divine light, all the nephilim were on their knees in respect. Nathaniel had joined them and looked on in awe.

  As the huge creature dissolved roaring as the pain seared through its repugnant body, blackness fell. The
air was pitch black and icy wind blew. Fear sent a shiver though me.

  Within seconds, the light returned to normal, the street lights with their white cool glow and everything sounded and looked normal.

  As I got up unsteadily, Acacius came over and offered me his arm. Shock and relief filled our expressions, and like soldiers after battle we hugged each other.

  Nicolas wearily came over to me, followed by Rachel who looked strong, terrifying even, but serene.

  Nathaniel and his friends looked around, staring in fascination at both the lycans and the shadow people.

  The slain had vanished. Nothing remained except us. We all huddled together, vampire, nephilim, shadow people and lycan alike. No one spoke. No one wanted to break the silence.

  And in the distance, from around the back of the Abbey we saw a small number of children approach us. But not human children, they only looked barely human.

  My mind instantly recognized them. These were the offspring of the nephilim and their vampire mothers. And with them was Rachel’s strange friend, Damien. And alongside them, Lauren, Emidius, Jamie, and Marcus.

  The End.

  Book 3: Children of the Fallen Taster

  Always Dark Angel Series.

  Anthony.

  The veil between the living and the dead had been sealed and I was left standing in the aftermath of demons and the wraiths of man’s hatred, now gone, and taken into the oblivion of Light by the Seraphim. Many had come together—vampires, nephilim, elementals and lycans—to fight the darkness that was destroying man, and with the divine help summoned by the nephilim we had succeeded.

  Sighing heavily, I looked on at my once human lover, Rachel. She had fought in the battle and had changed beyond belief. Our eyes met, my heart trembled, and she gave me a small, friendly smile before darting her eyes away.