The Nephelium

by Nathan Parks

  From just inside his peripheral vision to his right he caught a dark shape moving fast toward him. He rolled just as he felt a fist slam into his side. He was still new to this flying thing, and he discovered he was spinning out of control. His assailant was not an amateur and, in fact, was very good.

  Isaiah felt as if he had hit a brick wall as his assailant came up from underneath him and slammed hard into him, wrapping Isaiah in a vice bear hug and soaring skyward with him. Isaiah began to slam his head backwards over and over into his captor’s face. He could smell sulfur oozing from his captor and felt the talons tear into his skin; his opponent was a Fallen!

  “You are in the wrong clan territory, Outcast! Your kind is not welcome here.”

  Isaiah realized his mistake. He was so used to moving under the cover of the Alliance. He had flown right past The Vortex and . . . well, Nephelium weren’t welcome.

  The creature took him higher, and then, with a shove outward, let him go. Isaiah turned around in flight and got a look at the being. He was a large brute, but the thing that shocked Isaiah more than anything was the large tattoo emblazoned on his shoulder muscle. It wasn’t the normal snake in the shape of an “L,” but instead, the letter “H” held by two fists.

  “The Clan of Hecate is here?” he said almost out loud.

  Isaiah didn’t know what to think. He dove down toward an alley and stood in the darkness, trying to clear his head and nurse his quickly bruising side.

  “What is a Hecate Clan member doing running protection for Adremalech? Why was Hecate even in this area? They stayed more in Europe.

  He jumped as the ringing of his cell phone startled him. He didn’t want to look down at it, but he couldn’t help it. He knew it would be her. Why was she calling him? He read the caller ID once again, and just as he had thought, it was Leah. He didn’t answer. He laid the phone down and walked away. He needed to disappear once again. He could start all over again, right?

  Chapter Thirty-One

  “What am I supposed to think? I am just a tattoo artist who is good at what I do, but not well at relationships. I’m an individual who would rather be an outcast instead of conforming to what the world demands of me, only to discover I am more of an outcast than I realized. I wanted to find my heritage; yet, you are telling me my heritage has found me. I don’t know what I am supposed to do, think, or even feel.”

  “Eve, I can only tell you what I have told you,” Kadar responded. “The Alliance was there the night your family was attacked. I believe there is someone named Ki?”

  Eve nodded.

  “He was there! The Alliance didn’t want us any more than the Fallen wanted us. That is why it is important that we all come back together and stand together. Think about it, Eve. Haven’t you wanted to be a part of something, but not what you see every day . . . something different? Haven’t you always wanted to belong? Well, here is your chance! You, yourself, as the last member of the Jerusalem Breed, can do so much for our people. I would stand beside you, and we could unite our people. We could even take this to mankind. We, together, could act as the liaison between mortals and immortals.”

  She looked across the table at Kadar. He wasn’t the arrogant stranger she had first met, but seemed so genuine, strong, and even vulnerable at this point. She felt this was right, but it scared her. None of this made any sense; but life really hadn’t made sense for as long as she could remember. She felt protected with him, but at the same time felt she was allowed to be herself.

  “If I do this, Kadar, what does it mean . . . I mean, in the big picture of everything? If I make this choice, what is the result? How will it affect everything?”

  “I don’t know, Eve. I do know that we are all separated simply by one choice.”

  She stopped and thought about that statement. “What do you mean by that?”

  “If you had chosen not to come and listen to me, it would have separated us. If you had never chosen to trust Alfonso, it would have separated you from him. Every moment is separated only by one choice, and that choice can only be made by us; however, everyone is affected by it.”

  “Thanks for the pressure. I just don’t know. I want to believe what you are telling me, and I can feel it down deep inside, Kadar. I really can, but what do I do?”

  “Well, let me share with you a couple more things that might help you. It deals with Alfonso and Megan.”

  Eve covered her mouth with her hand. In all of this, she had forgotten that she didn’t even know what was going on with her friends. She had been so taken in by everything Kadar had told her about their clan and what he saw they could do together that recent memory of Megan and Alfonso had slipped away.

  “Are they all right?”

  “No, in fact, not even close, and that is another reason I want you to join with me. We can help them out and might even save their lives.”

  “Save their lives?” Eve was even more worried now.

  Kadar leaned forward. He picked up a cup coaster and began to fidget with it as he looked up into Eve’s eyes.

  “Eve, there are some really strong battle lines that are being drawn; and, unfortunately, you are the center of it all. Arioch is drawing plans together to break away from Adremalech’s Clan. In order to do that, he has to have some cards up his sleeve to pull some clout. He thought he hired me to bring you in to him, and he would use you as the last of your kind as a trump card for the Family to let him break off. The Alliance also knows that if any of the clans can hold you, then they have the chance of bringing out what most humans know as the Anti-Christ. Honestly, he would be the strongest Fallen, second only to the Morning Star.”

  “So what does this have to do with Megan and Alfonso?”

  “Megan was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I don’t know how to tell you this, Eve, but Megan is being used as a Carrier.”

  “A what?”

  “A Carrier. That is a human who has been impregnated by a Fallen in order to bear children.”

  Eve thought she was going to be sick.

  “What? How?”

  It was all rushing at her. She felt the room spinning. She wanted to throw up. Kadar reached over the table to grab her arm.

  “Easy! Careful.” His voice was soothing.

  “Who? Arioch?”

  He nodded. “Yes. He figures if he can bring together an army of Fallen, Nephelium half-breeds, and Familiars, it gives him the advantage he needs. Then Alfonso becomes his trump card.”

  Eve could feel her blood starting to boil inside. She felt a rush starting through her as her anger began to rise. Kadar could see what was happening and realized she was so close to her turning, but they didn’t need it to happen here.

  “Calm down, Eve. You don’t know this, but every one of us has a time in our life when we go through what is called a ‘turning.’ That point is where you will become full Nephelium, but you don’t want it to happen in public. I believe your time is near. That is why you are feeling a rushing that spreads throughout your body and a ringing in your ears.”

  She took some deep breaths and relaxed her muscles. “Kadar, what are they doing to Alfonso?”

  “As your Watcher, he not only has knowledge of you and the Jerusalem Breed, but most likely he is also aware of the whereabouts of some key historical artifacts that hold different advantages in this realm of ours.”

  “Like . . . ?”

  “Well, when the one they called the Christ was crucified, . . .”

  “Yes?”

  “He had appointed the first Watchers. They took some of His blood, believing it to be sacred, and stored it in a vial. It became one of the artifacts they swore to protect. If a Fallen could gain access to that blood, we do not know what it could be used for. They might be able to drink it and gain the powers it holds. Worst case, though, it might be able to be injected into the DNA of an embryo, who then would hold the identity of the Christ.”

  She knew she was going to pass out now.

  “You mean . . .
”

  He nodded. “I believe that Arioch intends to use the child that your friend is carrying. If Alfonso knows of the vial’s location and Arioch can gain access to it, Arioch may be able to use its contents to bring forth in the child the Dragon, or whom the Fallen call Legion and mankind calls the Anti-Christ.”

  Eve was speechless. Just as she thought she knew where everything was headed, it all mushroomed into another cloud. She felt her insides want to fold up on top of themselves.

  “This is huge,” she whispered as her shoulders slumped under the weight of the knowledge.

  “Yes, it is, and we can rise against it all,” Kadar promised.

  “Why can’t we just join forces alongside Leah?”

  “We have to stand on our own, Eve.”

  “I understand, but wouldn’t it be better for both sides if we stood with them? We still hold our identity as a clan, but combined with the Alliance, we would really be a force to be reckoned with.”

  “It won’t work, Eve, as much as it sounds like it would. The Alliance is weak and is bound by restrictions put in place by Jah. We don’t have those restrictions. We can do what we want, how we want, and we will still help those in need.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “What about Alfonso or Megan? If Leah and the Alliance were really concerned, wouldn’t they have already gone in and rescued those two? They can’t, because they have to follow ‘His will.’ But we aren’t governed by it. We need to pull Alfonso and Megan out of there before this gets bigger. If we can get both of them out of there, then Arioch will have no leverage before the Family.”

  “What will we have?”

  “Ourselves and our identity, and we can stand as a clan once again.”

  “Who? Us and who else?”

  He smiled. “You would be surprised to find out who is part of our clan, but you must make a choice. What is it, Eve?”

  She leaned back and ran her fingers through her hair nervously. “I am done with ‘she said this and he said that.’” She looked up at him, thinking. “You say we are separated simply by a choice?”

  Kadar nodded. He had hoped he had presented a foolproof case.

  Eve continued to think silently.

  Finally, she spoke. “Let’s do it. Let’s bring our people together and show this world something they haven’t seen since the time our lineage was created! Let’s make such a noise that everyone knows who we are. But first we have to get Alfonso and Megan back. If you will help me do that, then, Kadar, you will have your united clan.”

  Kadar simply smiled. So easy.

  *****

  Arioch sat in the VIP room sulking. Various clans had started entering the area as the forces began to grow for the Gathering, and he knew that it would just get worse. Each clan would have its Overlords, Lieutenants, protection, and some lackeys in tow. He still didn’t have all the pieces together, and it was becoming ever increasingly harder for him to do what was necessary with so many prying eyes. The great thing about it was that, with this much protection in attendance, the Alliance was kept at a certain distance from The Vortex; and that was one last thing he needed to worry about.

  Adremalech and the other Overlords would not arrive for one more day. They wouldn’t leave their territories until the actual day of the Gathering. However, Hecate had already sent her entourage, and the rest of the Adremalech Clan was on their way. Tonight The Vortex would be a pot of roiling darkness, sinful desire, and blood lust--usually everything that would get Arioch going. Albeit, tonight all he could think about was an old man who was bleeding, broken, and bound right now, but who still would not tell him where the artifact was.

  Arioch had not guessed that the old priest would have been so stubborn, but he would break; Arioch was sure of that. “But he needs to break sooner than later,” Arioch said under his breath. He looked around him at the clubbers, the entourages, the dancers--nothing was cheering him tonight. He stood up, shedding the two needy damsels who were hanging onto him as he sat on the couch and motioned for his bodyguards to stay where they were. He needed to walk--alone. He went out the large doors of the VIP room and walked into the main dance area of the club. The music was roaring, bodies undulating, and sin flowing, but all he could think about was one old man.

  Arioch caught Denora’s eye as she belted out lyrics of self-destruction and depression and motioned for her to bring the set to a close and let the visiting band take over. He needed answers. He left the club floor and started down a back hallway. He was headed down to Babel. Drake should already be down there with the prisoner and maybe with an answer already.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Ki was blending in as much as he could with the crowd. He could only hope that Troy’s device worked. It caused a supernatural disruption that would keep the Fallen from being able to detect an Angelic presence and would, in theory, allow him to move about looking like a mortal. He watched as Arioch had come out of the VIP room and left the dance floor through a door that had no visible markings on it. Leah had given him orders that this was just a fact-finding mission, but he didn’t know what Arioch would do to Alfonso. Ki had seen the bodies of Watchers that had been tormented by the Fallen, and it was an image on which he did not want to even put the old man’s face.

  “I don’t like the idea that you have not said anything, but I know that you aren’t standing still, Ki. So do you mind telling me what you are doing?” The voice spoke to him from a small pinhead-sized chip on the back of his ear.

  “Sure, Troy, I am dancing.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “No, really, you should see the girls in this joint. Wow!”

  “Ki.”

  “Yes, Troy?”

  “What are you doing?”

  Ki laughed.

  “I saw Arioch come out for a moment, and he motioned for Denora to stop her set. He left through another door, and she completed the song. They now have another band setting up to rock.”

  “So I ask again: what are you doing?”

  “I am going to follow. I am fine.”

  “You get yourself in trouble, and I am going to have to answer to Leah. Right now I don’t want to do that.”

  “Stop your worrying.”

  “Sure, as soon as you get out of there.”

  Ki stepped into the hallway where he had seen Arioch go just a moment before. He made his way to the end where it led to some large doors. He placed his ear to the door to see if he could hear anything . . . nothing. Either the doors were too thick, or there was nothing on the other side. He hoped the latter. He placed his hands on the latch and opened the door slowly, just enough for him to peek in. There was nothing other than another hallway with several doors on either side. The hallway was soundproof. It was as if he stepped out of the club and into a penthouse. The carpets were expensive, and the décor was just as lush. This must be where the clan hung out when they weren’t out creating havoc. There wasn’t anyone around, so he moved stealthily into the hallway.

  “Troy, can you hear me?”

  “Yeah. What’s up?”

  “Just wanted to make sure. I am in the clan’s hall, I believe, and I just want to make sure you still have me.”

  Ki made his way further down the hall, trying to decide which way Arioch would have gone. He had no idea.

  “Troy, any suggestions? I am at a loss here.”

  “I don’t, Man. What do you see?”

  “Just a hallway with doors on both sides. Hold on, I just got to the end of the hallway and it turns right. There is another hallway like the one I am in, but there is one door that has two Fallen standing guard.”

  “That may be where they are holding Alfonso,” Troy’s voice sounded in Ki’s ear. “Go ahead and back out of there. We will take a closer look later.”

  “And if we are wrong? What if that is just a place where Arioch is right now? It could be where they are getting ready for the Gathering.”

  “Ok, so what do you plan to do, Ki? I am sure if you ask the
guards at the door real nice, they might just let you in,” Troy mocked. “I have heard that the Fallen are generally polite individuals.”

  “Yeah, ok. I am going to figure out something. I need to get in there to see what is going on. Hey!” Ki suddenly had an idea.

  “Yeah?”

  “Why don’t you get me some of the cool techie stuff that sees through walls like they have in the movies?”

  “That wouldn’t make this as fun.”

  “True.”

  Ki flattened himself against the wall and just thought for a moment. “Ok, so what now?” he asked himself.

  “Hey, Troy.”

  “What?”

  “You know this device you gave me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Let’s see how well it actually works.”

  “Listen, I am going to take a nap. You give me a call when you have decided that you may be in too deep and you’re ready to get out of there.”

  Ki took a deep breath and turned the corner, walking toward the two guards. He walked with purpose and was almost right on them before they even saw him.

  “Sir,” the one closest to him spoke, “you are not supposed to be back here. I would highly suggest you turn around.”

  “Well, I was looking for the hotel . . .” Ki slurred his words.

  “You need to head back the way you came. This area is off limits.”

  “What’s in that room?”

  “Nothing that is anything you want to see.” The man straightened his body to his full six-foot, seven-inch height. He was never one who liked to have to repeat himself.

  Ki steadied himself. “Actually, I do want to see what is in there,” he said, still slurring his words. To himself he thought, “Forget this incognito act. I need some action.”

  Ki’s hands swiftly went from the wall where he was steadying himself to the small of his back. The fingers of each hand wrapped around what he was searching for, and he shot his arms outward as if his body was a “Y.” A small hand blade was now in each hand. Each blade had a small injector that fit into a groove on the blade, so that once the blade had penetrated the skin, the injector would dispense a lethal dose of poison, first disabling the victim and then killing him.