Requiem

by Jamie McGuire

  Jared fingered through each of the papers. "You start with the bottom drawer. We'll meet in the middle."

  I sat on my knees, pulling open my designated drawer. Old pictures, bank accounts overseas, but nothing about family. The familiar frustration from the last time I had spent rummaging through his office for clues clouded my brain.

  Jared powered through three drawers before I finished one, but when he reached the fourth, he stopped. He held a paper in front of his face, and then looked beyond it to the adjacent wall.

  "What is it?" I asked. Before he could answer, I noted that it was drawing of a coat of arms, similar to the one hanging from the wall.

  "Does the Franks mean anything to you, Nina?" he asked.

  I shook my head, pushing myself to my feet. "No. Should it?"

  "You're Irish, aren't you?"

  "Yeah? So?" Some days I had patience for his step-by-step approach of getting to the truth. This was not one of those days.

  "It's a common misconception. Surely Jack wouldn't display something that didn't specifically belong to him."

  "You lost me," I said, hoping he would get to the point.

  "Coats Of Arms were designed to designate a knight whose face would've been covered during battle. They are inherited from father to son, so it wouldn't make sense to have a 'Grey' coat of arms for an entire family or last name. Jack wasn't the type to buy into that nonsense, so this must be the original, passed down."

  "Okay."

  Jared scanned the drawing. "This is similar, but it's not the same. And it's unlike any crest or coat of arms I've ever seen."

  Jared handed the paper to me, and I recoiled at the misshapen beast. It had the body of a large cat, perhaps a panther or leopard, and large paws, I guessed to be the paws of a bear. Seven heads ascended from its body, with horns, and crowns sitting atop those horns. It was grotesque.

  "This is our family's coat of arms? Sick," I said, handing the drawing back to Jared. "No wonder Jack changed it. He couldn't hang something that monstrous on the wall."

  "This is very similar to the creature in Revelations," Jared said, staring at the twisted black lines on the paper. The heads, the horns, the crowns...."

  "What creature?" I said, wary.

  Jared made a face, and then pored over the other files in the drawer. He stopped for a moment, and then leaned in closer to the document he had paused on. His shoulders slumped. "Agh...no," he whispered, his head falling forward.

  "What is it?" I said, afraid of what he might say.

  He nervously rubbed the back of his neck, pulling the paper from the drawer. He looked once more, and then shut his eyes tight.

  I fidgeted. "It's bad, isn't it?"

  His eyes slowly opened, and the twin storms of his irises sent panic throughout my body. He glanced at the coat of arms on the wall. "I promise you, Nina. You don't want to know."

  "I think I have to know at this point," I said, pulling the paper from his hand.

  Jared shook his head. "I can still figure out how to save you without you knowing everything. We've talked about that before. Trust me when I say that you don't want to know this."

  I lowered my eyes to the paper. It was a list of names, similar to a family tree, but it only followed one line. My name was at the bottom. Higher on the list, names like Dagobert the third, and Clovis the first. The name at the top, Merovius, had two fathers: King Clodian; the other name caused my legs to disappear, and I dropped the paper to the floor.

  Jared supported my weight. "Sweetheart?" he said, pulling my chin up so that he could see into my eyes. He lifted me into his arms and carried me to Jack's desk chair, kneeling before me.

  "What...what does that mean? What the hell is a Beast of the Sea?" I wailed.

  Jared shook his head. "It's just a story, Nina, nothing more."

  "Tell me," I whispered.

  Jared's jaws fluttered. "I don't want to."

  "What am I?"

  A small smile touched Jared's mouth. "You're human. You just have some pretty potent blood running through your veins."

  "I need to know," I said, touching his cheek with my fingertips.

  Jared seemed just as horrified as I was. In the beginning, he had tortured himself over bringing me into his world, stealing away my mundane life forever. Now it was I that regretted involving him in my life--we were both spiraling into a nightmare that didn't seem to end.

  Jared sighed. "Merovingians. You're a Merovingian, Nina. A very long time ago, your family ruled with divine power, under the belief that they are direct descendants of Jesus Christ."

  "Jesus didn't have children," I scoffed.

  "They myth is that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married, and their children are the ancestors of the Merovingian blood line. It's known in less human circles that the story was perpetuated to keep the Merovingians in power. There are people even today that believe it."

  "So you're saying it's not true? That's a relief. I'm at least somewhat less of a freak."

  Jared looked away, cautiously choosing his next words. "Have you heard of the Nephilim, Nina?"

  I shook my head, dreading where his story would go.

  "Okay," he said, "Have you heard of the story of David and Goliath?"

  "Yeah," I sniffed, "The skinny kid that threw a rock at a giant's head and killed him."

  "Goliath was not one of a kind. He had family, people...Antediluvian Giants. Some called them Anakim, other refer to them as Nephilim. They had many tribes, and their remains have been found, measuring anywhere from nine and a half feet to fourteen feet. Some have two full rows of teeth. They were different; not completely human. The Holy Bible acknowledges their origin in Genesis: 'That the sons of God saw the daughters of men were fair, and they took them wives of all which they chose. The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also after, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bore children unto them.'"

  "Sons of God? Like the ones Cynthia was talking about?" I asked.

  "Yes. Angels."

  "Do you know the whole Bible by heart?" I asked, attempting to detour the frightening thought swirling in my mind.

  "Most of it," he said, a corner of his mouth slightly turning up. It vanished as quickly as it appeared. "God wiped out the Nephilim with the great flood because their blood was contaminated. He needed a direct line from Adam to Abraham, because that is the blood line that was prophesied to bring the Messiah. Noah was his way to decontaminate the blood line, and assure the prophecy would come about."

  "My brain hurts," I complained, rubbing my head.

  Jared kissed my hair, wrapping his arms around me. "Do you understand what I'm telling you?" he whispered softly. "Jack didn't want children because he knew he carried Nephilim blood, and the Merovingians are part of the prophecy in the Naissance de Demoniac. He knew when I fell in love with you, that you and I would meet all of the requirements."

  "What requirements?" My voice was muffled from pushing my face into his chest.

  "A prophecy requires certain elements to come together in order to come to fruition, Nina. A descendant of the Nephilim procreating with a Hybrid...it's the perfect storm. Remember when Eli told us that only seven other human/hybrid cases had happened since the dawn of time? How many of those humans do you think were Merovingian? Jack knew you were the woman in the book because he knew what he was...and what I was. Once he knew I was in love with you, he made the decision to steal Shax's book to try to find a way to protect you."

  "From what?" I cringed. I kept asking questions I didn't want the answers to.

  He lifted my chin to face him. "That's why we need the book. I need to find out what interest they might have in a child we might have. I don't know if they want it to happen, or they will fight to prevent it. It depends on what that scenario means for Hell."

  "Wait...," I said, my mind finally focusing enough to form coherent thoughts, "you said the Nephilim were wiped out in the big flood. So how can I be related to them?"

&n
bsp; Jared raised his eyebrows once, sighing. "That was a tactic used to keep Jesus' blood line pure. That doesn't mean fallen angels taking human women didn't happen after that."

  "Oh," I said, deflated. "I'm five-feet-four, Jared. How is it even possible I could have even an ounce of giant blood in me?"

  Jared chuckled. "You're Irish, too. Makes me wonder how you're Merovingian. They were leaders of the Franks...early German and French."

  "Well, now I know Jack was wrong. I couldn't be French. The language is lost on me."

  Jared's face turned grave. "We should take this seriously, Nina. We're in the middle of a war. If I could leave you, that would be one thing, but I can't."

  My mouth flew open. "Why would you even say that?"

  "Because it's the right thing to do...disappear from your life to keep you safe. As long as we're together, you're in danger."

  "I won't let you," I said, grabbing his shirt,. The thought of being without him terrified me. "If I can't be with you, I don't care what happens to me."

  Jared grabbed my hands. "I know. That's why I won't leave you. And now that we know what you are, we need to find out who it's a threat to. And as frightening as it is...threatening Hell is the better option."

  Chapter Eight

  Valediction

  An unexpected knock on the door revealed Bex standing on the landing, holding a half-eaten apple. A backpack hung from his shoulder, signaling that he would be staying the night.

  "You called him, didn't you?" I accused Jared, crossing my arms.

  Jared slipped on his jacket, preparing to leave. "You've had a long forty-eight hours. You need sleep." He hugged me then, squeezing a bit too tight.

  Bex shifted his weight nervously, holding the door open with one hand, holding his apple with the other.

  "C'mon, Nina. You're going to give me a complex," Bex said. "I brought doves to put in the oven." A sweet, hopeful smile lit his face, and I relaxed.

  "Okay," I said with a half-grin.

  Jared patted Bex's arm as he passed, but just as he stepped out onto the landing, I grabbed his jacket. "Wait. What if it's different? What if he needs to tell me something?"

  "Who?" Jared asked, his attention focused.

  "Gabe. Or Jack. We've learned a lot today, maybe the dream will change."

  Jared and Bex traded glances, and then Jared sighed. "Tomorrow."

  "I didn't think we have time to spare," I countered.

  "We don't, but...."

  "I'm right. You know I'm right. So stay," I said, pulling him into the loft.

  Jared pointed at his brother. "Don't go anywhere."

  Bex shook his head, and then shut the door behind us. "No way...I wanna see this."

  "Great, now I'm a circus freak," I said, making my way to the table. Jared pulled out my chair and I sat, taking his hand and kissing his palm in appreciation. We had spent the last two days together, yet I felt I hadn't seen him at all.

  Jared sat across from me with a smile. "You are far from a circus freak. You're amazing. Big difference."

  "Watching me float and scream is not amazing," I grumbled.

  "You only floated once," Bex pointed out, unwrapping the dove and seasoning it before shoving the baking dish into the oven.

  We discussed the possibilities for over an hour: how I could do things in my sleep that I couldn't do in a conscious state.

  "It doesn't matter how. What is important is why," Jared said.

  "It matters to me," Bex said.

  "You're going to overcook your birds," Jared said, nodding to the oven.

  Bex jumped up, tending to dinner. He placed our plates of tender, steaming dove and mixed vegetables in front of us, and then returned quickly with his own. "I've got to figure out how to do that. If she can do it, we have to be able to do it, right?" he said to Jared, shoveling meat into his mouth.

  "She's not doing it, Bex," Jared said. His eyes darted from me to Bex in warning. It was clear he didn't want to dwell on the subject during dinner.

  "Oh. Right," Bex said, chewing.

  After I finished the diner dishes, I retreated to the downstairs tub, lingering long enough to let my fingers transform to dried raisins, and then I wrapped myself in my favorite terry cloth robe, making my way to the bed. Jared was waiting for me, his hair still wet from the shower. I crawled under the sheet next to him, relaxing my cheek against his bare chest.

  I breathed him in, focusing on the moment we were in, bathing in the gift of peace and stillness. No one spoke of Others or giants. Just us, in our quiet space in time. It was in those moments that I found Heaven, and he was there with me, I could tell, as he pulled me in closer.

  "I'm right here," he breathed. "Nothing bad will happen to you, I swear it."

  "Don't swear," I grinned, my eyes growing heavy. That heaviness rested over my entire body, warm and inviting. Jared's skin felt like a silky electric blanket against mine, and I let myself sink into it. Any light that seeped through my eyelids extinguished, letting the darkness take me deeper into oblivion.

  "Nina," a voice said somewhere in the shadows.

  "I'm here," I said sleepily.

  "You've really done it this time."

  "Daddy?" I said, sitting up. I was in my old bedroom. Jack sat at the foot of my bed. He was as I remembered him, his salt and pepper hair perfectly in place, his dark, no-nonsense eyes looking softly upon me, clean-shaven and in his favorite gray suit.

  He smiled, but his eyes were sad. "I'm sorry I failed you. You'll have to save yourself, now."

  My lower lip quivered. "Why didn't you tell me?"

  Jack placed his thick hand on my ankle, his expression pained. "I tried, many times. I couldn't bear to see those sweet eyes sad. I wanted you to have everything, Nina; most of all a normal life."

  I smiled. "I hope it's nice where you are," I said, my eyes burning from the salty tears lining my lower lashes.

  "The only thing missing is you."

  I laughed once, and looked down to my hands. "I wish you were really here. I need you."

  "Find the book, Nina," Jack said. The change of his voice made me look up. His chin was lowered, and he looked at me from under his brow--the way he always had when he wanted me to listen.

  "Daddy?" I said, seeing movement behind him, slowly approaching us from the darkness.

  Shax strolled into the light. His black eyes hadn't changed.

  "It's time to wake up, Nina," Jack said with an apologetic expression.

  I glowered at Shax. "No," I said, anger bursting from every pore in my skin.

  Shax's head cocked to the side like an animal. "What is she to us, Jack? Why do you protect her so?"

  "Because she's my daughter," Jack said firmly, standing. He walked to the bedroom door, and then turned to face Shax, his hand on the knob. "You've underestimated my family many times, Beast. This time may be your last."

  Shax waved him away, and a loud noise forced me to cover my ears. Misshapen arms exploded through the door, throwing splintered wood onto the floor and my covers. Before I could recover from the noise, Jack was pulled through the door. Only traces of his blood on the door jamb and carpet had been left behind.

  "No!" I screamed, reaching out from my bed.

  Shax took a step closer, and I recoiled.

  "Stay away from me," I said, looking around the room for something to use to defend myself.

  Shax lurched forward, his wild, black eyes and sharp features inches from my face. I scampered back, first against the head of my bead. Panicked, I continued to crawl backward away from him, and found myself half-way up the wall.

  Shax stood, looking up at me. He smiled with his crooked mouth and perfectly white teeth. "Running will get you nowhere, Precious. We know what you are."

  He jumped, landing on all fours on the wall. My arms and legs couldn't move fast enough as I climbed backward up the remainder of the wall. Shax's arms and legs made quick, jerking movements as he moved slowly toward me. His body looked twisted and unnatural.<
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  When I realized I was on the ceiling, looking down at my bed, I closed my eyes.

  "Wake me up, Jared! Wake me up!"

  I opened my eyes, and I was back at the loft. Jared, Bex, and the bed were all twelve feet below me.

  "Agh!" I screamed as I fell face-down onto the bed.

  "I've gotta learn how to do that!" Bex said, jumping once with excitement.

  Jared immediately turned me onto my back. "Nina?" he said, brushing my hair from my face.

  "I'm fine," I said, angry.

  "That...was creepy," Jared said, scanning me with his dark-blue eyes.

  "She was like Spiderman! That was freakin' incredible!" Bex said. "I bet I can do that. I'm going to try."

  "We can't float or climb walls," Jared said through his teeth. The skin around his eyes was tight with worry.

  "But she's human! Even if she's influenced, if she can do it, we must be able to!"

  Jared's brows pulled in. "What happened?"

  I took a breath. "Jack was there."

  "And Gabe?"

  "No, but Shax came. He said he knew what I was. Jack said that Shax had underestimated our family before. He said to get the book."

  Jared nodded. "That's the plan."

  "I think he meant now," I said, feeling a sense of urgency.

  Jared looked to Bex, who was looking around the loft, listening.

  "Bex?" Jared said.

  Bex nodded.

  "We all need to pack a few things," Jared said. "We're going to be gone for a couple of days. I want to be in the car and ready to go in five minutes."

  Jared's and Bex's forms turned obscure as they raced around the room at impossible speed, and I immediately pulled on a hooded sweatshirt and jeans, and then shoved my bare feet into sneakers. Jared held the door open for me as I pulled my hair back into a ponytail. The iron steps knocked and echoed with my footsteps alone, although Bex was in front of me, with Jared following behind.

  Bex threw our bags into the back of the Escalade, and then froze. He looked into the air, waiting for something.

  "Are they coming?" I whispered.

  Jared paused, and then took a step toward the loft. "No," he whispered.

  Bex shook his head. "They're here."

  Jared left me, then. My eyes barely kept up with his blurry form sprinting into the loft.

  "What...?" I said. Bex moved in front of me in a protective stance, and then gasped.

  The building exploded. Multiple balls of fire rolled into the sky. Debris shot toward Bex and me, and he turned his back to the explosion, shielding my body from the blast. I crawled out from under him, seeing the bright orange glow of heat and smoke that used to be our home.