The Nephelium Read online

  “Eve, I know that a lot of this has been really hard for you to take in; and even now you most likely think we have all lost it, but I ask you to trust me. Eve, as I’ve already told you, I am a Watcher. What we have told you is true. Is it hard to believe? Yes, but it doesn’t make it less true. Now, in order for someone to be a Watcher, Eve, that means only one thing.”

  Eve could tell that he was struggling. “After all the crazy things he has talked about tonight, and now he struggles,” she thought to herself.

  “Eve, your parents . . . they were . . .”

  She leaned forward in her seat. Finally, this was something that she was sure would make sense. Nothing else had made sense, but this had to. She wasn’t sure how he was able to gain information about her family, and she was curious as to why he hadn’t said something before now. She had searched for so long. The children’s home had nothing. But now . . . just maybe . . . there was something.

  “Your parents were killed by . . .”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Alfonso never got the words out of his mouth before there was a terrible screeching of tires, followed by the horrific sound of glass, brick, and wood being pummeled together. It happened in the blink of an eye, but it was all the time Leah and Ki needed to shove the table back, pushing the mortals around them out of the way of danger as a car came crashing into the middle of the café. No one was at the wheel. It was as if the driver had bailed, and the car had become an unguided urban missile.

  Eve’s head was slammed against something hard; and she felt her mind scream out in pain for a second, just before she saw a blinding light, and then everything went black.

  Eve could smell the dust of the smashed brick and crumbled mortar, and her ears were ringing from the sudden impact of the crash and screams from those around her. She battled between consciousness and unconsciousness, wondering what had happened. She could barely recall anything that had taken place just moments before. Alfonso had been telling her something . . . something about her parents. Her chest felt heavy, and her breathing came painfully. Eve felt her strength weakening, and she wanted to just let go and let everything go blank. If she did this, she could just let everything be--no more worries.

  “Just let darkness have its way . . .,” she heard from within her head.

  Leah had slipped into invisibility, and her crossbow was in hand with a bolt set and ready. She knelt down, creating a low profile, scanning the area and damage. She knew this was no accident, and all her danger signals were going off inside of her. From where did this attack come, or maybe a better question was, “Who and why?”

  Leah’s finger was on the trigger as she looked through the flickering lights, the falling dust, and the debris field, past the vehicle that was now part of the café décor. Over to her right she saw that Ki was still visible to the mortals and was tending to Alfonso, Troy, and the Preacher.

  There was one missing, though! She didn’t see Eve. Where was she? Leah had pushed her out of the way when the vehicle came crashing through, but during the commotion Leah had lost track of her. She stood up and pushed some of the broken tables and chairs out of her way so she could make her way over to where she had pushed Eve. There was a lot of debris, and the front of the vehicle had come to rest where Eve had been sitting. Leah still could not see any sign of her, but she did notice a shadow move just outside of her line of sight to her right.

  Without hesitation, Leah threw herself forward into a roll and let her finger squeeze against the cold metal of the crossbow’s trigger. Throwing herself into a roll through the debris field, Leah found her footing as she turned her body to face the direction from where she had seen the shadow move. She fired. It seemed the bolt moved in slow motion as it flew through the air; the flickering lights gave a strobe effect. It missed. There was nothing for it to hit but the wall. Whatever she had seen was gone, but she could still feel its presence as if it had left it behind. She knelt down again as she reached back behind her to her bolt quiver on her belt. Placing another bolt within the bow, she cocked it back and then froze. Ki was at her side now.

  “Who are you shooting at, Leah?” he asked.

  “I saw something, but then it was gone.”

  He looked around, trying to see if he could spot anything. He could feel a sense of an enemy near, but it wasn’t the usual forbiddance that came over him when a Fallen was near.

  “Whatever it is, I am not sure if it is a Fallen.”

  “I don’t care what it is,” Leah responded. “I take it personally when someone decides to try to take out my friends.”

  “What did you see?”

  “A shadow.”

  “One of Hecate’s?” Ki asked as he still peered into the dust cloud, searching.

  She shook her head. “No, the Hecate Clan wouldn’t move among the Adremalech territory unless authorized, and we haven’t seen any signs of a joining of the houses. Get the others into safety. I need to get Eve, and then I will answer questions with the authorities.”

  Sirens could already be heard, and people were coming up into the rubble asking if anyone needed any help. Ki quickly left Leah’s side and motioned for the others to follow. They headed toward the back where the Watcher’s insignia was visible to the immortal. Leah slowly became visible once again as her cross bow vanished.

  “Eve.”

  The voice was familiar, but yet unknown. Where was it coming from? She had let go, and now darkness held her.

  “Eve, listen to me.”

  “I am listening. Who are you?”

  “You don’t know me, but I know more about you than you know about yourself. When you awake, you must find me. I have the answers for which you have sought all your life.”

  “I know your voice.”

  “We have met, but you must find me.”

  “Where am I?”

  “You are between. You are neither dead nor alive, but you will live. You must, because our people need you.”

  “Our people?”

  “You will understand in time. Find me.”

  The voice faded, and once again nothingness took over.

  Leah let out a large sigh as emergency vehicles began pulling up on the street outside; and gawkers were pointing medics, firefighters, and law enforcement toward her.

  “I hate this part of the job--questions, questions, questions, and no correct answers.”

  She avoided immediate direct contact with any of the emergency workers as she suddenly noticed an arm beneath some of the rubble. Her emotions leaped! It was Eve. She ran over and pushed rubble off her and checked for vitals. She was alive!

  “Ma’am, we can help her out. You don’t want to move her anymore than what is necessary.”

  Leah just nodded and stepped back as the EMTs began to work on getting Eve stabilized. The night was going to be a long one.

  *****

  She felt it before it really had even hit her. She could taste it and feel its cold fingers crushing her willpower, leaving her a puppet upon its cruel strings. Life had taken a lot of crazy insane loops, and she had lost control; now it would creep in--no, rush in--to control once again. It had been her friend for too long, blocking out so much and allowing a blur of an emotional utopia to mix with reality.

  Megan had stowed herself away in one of the stalls of the dancers’ bathroom of The Vortex. Green metal stalls became the coffin of the dreams of so many would-be starlets. They would close the dreamers off from the world around them and allow them to be taken down into a world of their own addictions.

  Her fingers fumbled at the band that she pulled tight around her arm. There it was, the ever beckoning vein, pumping almost in rhythm to the bass from the music that built the walls of escape. It needed the liquid, and she needed her rabbit hole into wonderland. There was little resistance to the sharp, hollow, pointed steel as it pierced her skin and caused a small pop sensation as it broke through the walls of the vein. She closed her eyes as her thumb applied pressure to the syringe, sending the
liquid utopia into her bloodstream. She allowed her body to melt into the escape.

  Standing right outside reality were two Soul Slayers. Members of the Adremalech Clan, they relished in pain and suffering and soul terror. When babies screamed in the night or teens had night terrors, usually Soul Slayers were in action.

  “She is marked,” one of them stated, nodding toward Megan.

  Tall and slender if seen by mortal eyes, this Soul Slayer would be truly a head turner, but her insides seethed evil. She loved darkness, embraced it. Where most clan members were only required to have a tattoo of the clan insignia upon the inside of the wrist, Denora had it intertwined into a tribal across her shoulder blades. She had been offered a promotion within the clan, but had turned it down because of her love for suffering.

  “Yes, but, once again, I notice that she is marked with Arioch’s symbol and not the clan’s,” the other stated. “I don’t like this.”

  Denora could see that Megan was clearly in a drug-induced stupor and so allowed her physical form to materialize, as did her partner.

  “I have been feeling dissention within the family for awhile now, and I know that Adremalech is not aware of the altar and sepulcher that Arioch has created below.”

  Denora stepped forward and pushed Megan’s head back against the green metal of the stall and moved back her hair. There, within the flickering lights, she could see a new, semi-permanent ink insignia that revealed this human belonged to Arioch. The stench of an overflowing toilet a few stalls down was becoming almost unbearable. It was the type of smell that could be tasted, and Denora could feel herself getting nauseous.

  “What are we supposed to do with her?” Denora asked. “If she is marked, does Arioch want us to torment? I don’t understand why he told us to go after her.”

  The other just shrugged. “You’ve got me. All I know is that he told us to keep tabs on her after the whole Guardian incident upstairs. I guess the one whom the Guardians where protecting earlier knows this chick. I say we have some fun . . .”

  The sound of footsteps entering the bathroom stopped him short of what he was about to say as the two looked up to see Drake walking up to them.

  “Arioch wants her taken downstairs--unharmed.”

  “Since when do we take orders from a Familiar or a Halfling?” Denora sneered with distaste. “I haven’t lived through all these centuries for a mortal to come tell me what to do.”

  Drake adjusted the sports jacket that he was wearing and shrugged.

  “Not a problem, Denora. Your argument won’t be with me, but with Arioch.”

  “Oh, and what happens if I take this past Arioch to Adremalech?”

  The Possessors within Drake had fully integrated themselves into his mortal body; therefore, he was able to tap into the supernatural. With demonic speed, he pulled out a curved blade and swept across the space between him and the Soul Slayer. He held the blade at her neck.

  “I am sure you know what happens to you if I cut you down right here with a cursed blade. So, unless you wish to kiss your existence goodbye and spend the rest of your immortal existence within the abyss, I suggest you do what you are told.”

  Denora knew that Drake may have adapted to his turning; but he was still only a Halfling, and he wasn’t fully aware of the powers that each branch of the family possessed. Using his lack of knowledge, she melted away within the shadows, leaving a mental image of herself still standing with the blade against her neck. Suddenly, Drake felt a crushing blow against the back of his leg and another to his back as he fell. His head crashed against the door of the stall where Megan was still sprawled out. She twitched for a second as he fell down at her feet. In her drugged state of mind, Megan began laughing at the figure lying at her feet. Denora grabbed Drake by his leg and placed her foot strategically on it to cause great pain if he even considered moving. His blade had flown just out of reach.

  “I don’t care if you have been chosen as Arioch’s second, but what I can tell you is that you are disposable, just as the rest of us are. One thing you must learn within the clan is that family is family, and anyone brought in can be brought out.”

  “Is that a threat?” he asked through gritted teeth.

  “No, just consider it your Family orientation.”

  Denora flung Drake’s leg away from her wildly, bringing another assault of pain, and then knelt down close to him. He could see her pupils were dilated and her fangs bared. A Soul Slayer was stronger than a Halfling or the Possessors that had become Drake. He could feel horror creeping through him, but surely she wouldn’t do anything to him. Arioch had chosen him.

  “Remember, Halfling, you are just a pawn; and you only have the power that is granted to your class. Don’t confuse an Overlord’s power for your own. You would do well to stay out of business that is not yours. We will bring her to Arioch, but only because we choose to do so. I have questions for him anyway.”

  Drake stood up, rearranged his clothing, and exited with as much dignity and power as he could with a limp. He was sure he would have his time.

  Denora turned her attention back to Megan. “There is something big taking place, and I am not about to become another pawn in yet another game. We have Guardians entering our haven, Adremalech paying our Family a visit, and even rumors of an Assassin moving about. I have more questions than answers, and I think it is time to change that.”

  She motioned to her partner to help her as they picked up Megan and moved her toward the back of the bathroom. Denora’s fingers traced down the grout of the tile on the wall and found the hollowed out area for which she was looking. She pressed her insignia ring into it, causing a door to slide open on mechanical springs. The three disappeared into the passageway.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Ma’am, are you sure that you don’t want us to take you up to the ER? You could have internal injuries.”

  Eve shook her head. “No, I am telling you I am fine. I am sure I will be sore tomorrow, but I am fine,” she responded as she looked over to where Leah was just finishing up telling what she knew to a cop.

  Eve looked around her at the devastation and just leaned back against the bar where it would be awhile before coffee would be able to be served from it again. What a night this had turned out to be! All she could think about was getting back to her apartment, and she still had a slight hope that all of this was a dream.

  Leah, walking slowly, picked her way past broken tables and debris to where Eve stood. She saw that the young lady had some bruising already and several bandaged gashes, but nothing life-threatening. Leah offered no comfort or solace, because she knew that was not what Eve needed or even wanted right now. She could see by the look on Eve’s face that all she wanted, for at least a few moments, was sanity in a night that had already proved to be beyond that.

  “What now?”

  Eve looked to Leah in disbelief.

  “What now?” Eve repeated. “I don’t know. You tell me, oh powerful angel! If you are everything you say you are, then why didn’t you stop all of this?”

  Leah took the barbed words with a grain of salt and responded.

  “An angel is not omnipotent, Eve. We aren’t Jah. I didn’t know this was going to happen any more than you knew it was going to happen, although I do believe I know why it happened.”

  “I don’t care why. I don’t even care how. I don’t want to know how a car with no driver can come driving through with enough force to take out a shop. I don’t want to know who the voice was that was talking in my head. I don’t want to know anything I didn’t know a few hours before! All I want . . .”

  “A voice? What do you mean, ‘a voice’?”

  Eve turned to face Leah straight on. Her frame matched Leah’s almost pound for pound, but she was sure that, no matter what Leah may be, Leah was probably better trained to defend herself. Eve didn’t care. She decided to attack verbally. Staring almost eyeball to eyeball, Eve took a step in toward Leah, placing her nose a mere fraction of an inch fr
om Leah’s.

  “Listen, stay out of my life! I have been through hell and back again in my lifetime; and if you truly are what you say you are, well, where were you when foster dads took advantage of me? Where were you when foster mothers fed their own kids great meals, but I got hardly anything? Where was this Jah, if He really is so concerned with my well being, when photographers exposed me to the dark side of ‘liberal art’? And after all that, where were all of you the first time I sought hope within the walls of a church, only to recognize the pastor as one of the guys who was with the photographers?”

  Leah stood silent as she listened to the wounded spirit before her--so much pain, anger, and disbelief, and all of it with no easy answers.

  Eve slammed her fist down upon the dust-covered wood of a broken table.

  “You were so quick with answers before! Where are they now? I don’t care about this so-called ‘battle’ that is raging for good and evil! Give me something that I can feel! Give me something that will take this anger that is raging in me and unleash its power upon those who destroyed the life of a little girl for their own selfish needs. What I want is revenge! I want those who hurt the innocent to be hurt themselves. I want those who destroy young lives to be taken out. Can you show me that? Don’t give me any other answers, because I don’t care!”

  Eve had never let any of this out, and she now couldn’t stop it. It flowed out like a raging storm surge rushing over broken walls. She started to turn away, but whirled back into Leah’s face once again.

  “Speechless? All of you just leave me out of this little role playing game of yours. Grow up! There is real danger out there, and if there are such things as demons and angels, vampires and hunters, then let them kill each other. I don’t care. Just leave me alone!” she screamed.