Christik glided over to us and Nalik. James still had his arms around me protectively.
“Thank you, Mel for your quick thinking; you really helped with a difficult, and possibly deadly situation, which we were not prepared for,” she said. “I have no idea how or when the Marilian arrived here, so we need to find out immediately. Would you both please come with me now?” she asked.
“Yes, of course,” I replied quickly for both of us.
I was desperate to get answers too; the lives of our kids and unborn baby could depend on the knowledge we needed.
“Nalik, could you please go back to our rooms and explain what’s happened to Holly, Abigail and the boys? I asked the angel, who was still standing next to us. “Make sure you tell them we are safe, and we’ll be back with them soon.”
“Of course, Mel,” he replied, and with that, he was gone.
One of the remaining angels began to glide towards us as two others began to raise their arms around the imprisoned Marilian. With a flash of light, the angels and Marilian were gone, I assumed back to the main craft. When the single angel reached us, he put his hand on James’ arm, and Christik did the same to me.
In a flash, we were back on the main craft, and I was shivering again with James rubbing my arms trying to warm me up. We found ourselves in a large room that we hadn’t been in before. It was a white room, and it was bare of furniture of any kind.
Towards the back wall was the Marilian, still wrapped in the metal vines and imprisoned in the energy barrier between the two silver discs.
“He’s actually scared now,” I told Christik, James and the other angel. “I can feel his fear strongly.”
James looked at me with either curiosity or worry, but I wasn’t sure which.
“Do you think you could feel if he was lying?” Christik asked, taking me at my word.
“Yes, I believe I could,” I answered with conviction.
“How the hell is my wife going to know what that monster is feeling?” James demanded.
‘Worry’ I thought to myself, “Yep definitely worry.’
Christik smiled at James with empathy, obviously understanding his concern and protectiveness.
“I think your new baby is enhancing Mel’s already existing, strong emotional senses,” she explained. Since I first met your wife, I was aware that she was attuned to people’s emotions. However, I believe Mel wasn’t truly aware of it herself.”
James’ eyes widened with understanding and maybe acknowledgment of what he already knew about me.
“We need to get as much information as we can from the Marilian. It would be more than helpful if Mel could tell us whether he is lying or not,” she added kindly.
“Of course, I totally get it,” James admitted. “Do you want to do this, baby?” he asked as he turned back to me.
“Yes, I do! I will do whatever it takes to protect you all,” I answered, determination in my words.
Christik took my hand in hers and began to glide towards the Marilian who was watching our every move with his fiery eyes. Suddenly, Christik’s voice was in my head. ‘I will have to speak in his language, but I will share what he says with you and James.’
She touched a glowing hand to her throat and then began to speak to him in Marilian. All my ears could hear were various snarls, but in my mind, I heard her loud and clear, word for word.
‘How did you get to this planet so quickly Marilian?’ she demanded forcefully.
‘You brought me here weak one,’ he replied scornfully.
‘You think us weak, and yet you were hiding all this time, and you are our now our prisoner Marilian,’ she reproached him.
‘Why did you hide on our ship to come here?’ she asked.
‘I do not need to tell you anything; you are beneath me weakling!’ he spat out venomously.
‘Is that right?’ she told him, raising glowing palms to face him.
As her hand shone brightly, James and I watched as the metal vines became tighter around his body.
‘If it were not for us saving your planet, you would not be alive Marilian. I would have thought you and your race would have more respect for us,’ she reproached.
‘You tell him Christik!’ I heard James say in my head.
Christik subtly smirked at James’s encouragement. The Marilian began to writhe in his bondage, obviously feeling extremely uncomfortable now.
‘You do not know much about the human race, do you Marilian? They have been killing each other since they existed and can be just as barbaric as your race,’ she told him. ‘This man, James, would not even hesitate to torture you to retrieve the information I want. So, I will ask you again, why did you hide on my craft to come here?’ she demanded.
I turned to look at James, and he was playing the bad guy very well. He was giving the Marilian a death stare, looking deep into the Marilians blood red eyes.
If looks could kill, the Marilian would have been already dead. ‘Damm, my husband is a good actor,’ I thought as the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I looked back at the Marilian just in time to see him visibly deflate in defeat. He must have realized he was in a no-win situation, with zero back up.
‘I hid on your craft as I was ordered to do by my ruler’’ the Marilian answered, his eyes now looking down to the floor.
‘For what purpose?’ she demanded.
The Marilian ignored her. Still holding his death stare, James walked forward threateningly just as Christik tightened the vines a little more.
‘I will do whatever it takes to protect my family, my planet and your race too, Christik!’ I heard James say to us both.
Christik turned to look at him, her eyes wide with surprise, but when she saw the determination on his face and maybe felt the protectiveness he was feeling, she nodded her head at him in understanding.
‘For what purpose?’ she demanded again, more forcefully to the Marilian.
‘I was supposed to find the angels we corrupted and help them prepare for the arrival of my race,’ he unwillingly admitted, his voice straining with the tightness of the metal vines.
‘I see, and what abilities does your race have that I do not know about?’ Christik asked as James took a few more threatening steps towards the Marilian.
The Marilians eyes began to dart from Christik to James and back again.
‘We can transfer our essence into objects,’ he replied.
‘Yes, we assumed as much when we discovered our fallen ones. Tell us the things we don’t know!’ she told him.
‘Our race can control the fire on our planet,’ he told her hesitantly, “I do not know if that is the same on this planet.”
‘Anything else Marilian?’ Christik demanded.
The Marilian shook his head, but Christik obviously didn’t trust him to tell the truth. She turned to look at me.
‘Is he being truthful, Mel?’
‘No, he’s not completely being truthful; he already knows he can control fire here,’ I said confidently.
‘I did not think he would be completely honest with us, but it does not matter. We will be even more prepared now,’ Christik told us. ‘Come, we must tell the others.’
Chapter 20
We left the holding room in silence; the true weight of the situation was really hitting home. There was no longer any doubt that the Marilians were on their way to invade. In a way, it was a blessing that our Marilian prisoner had stowed away on the angels’ craft. At least now we knew a little more about them, and I was pretty sure that his presence was going to get us well and truly motivated in our defense.
James held my hand as we traveled down the main corridor; it was a comfort, but I had a heavy feeling in my gut.
“The Marilian was still hiding something, I don’t know what, but he was hiding something for sure,” I said to James, Christik and the other angel.
“Do not worry Mel; we will prepare for as many instances as we can,” Christik replied. “We are going to the main meeting room;
the others are meeting us there, so we can inform them of what we have learned so far.
“Let’s hope your dreams give us some more info since your dream about the Marilian coming was so spot on,” James said as he gently squeezed my hand.
The meeting room was full of people when we arrived there, including our kids who were mingling with everyone. As well as our usual group, there were also some people from the holding structure such as Shawn and Luiza. I didn’t know if James, Christik and I were giving off any serious vibes, but when we entered the room, everyone fell deathly silent.
As we took our places around the table, Hulaz raised her arm and created the sphere to enable us to communicate with the Viziers once again. Within minutes, the Viziers had filled the slowing turning sphere and were ready to hear the news.
Christik stood and looked around at the faces of angels and humans.
“As you all know by now, we have captured a Marilian, who apparently hid on one of our crafts by the order of Drakron. We have questioned the Marilian, and although he hasn’t told us everything, we do know they are definitely coming here to invade. We also now know that they are able to control fire on their home world and here. The Marilian was sent here to help the fallen ones. Obviously, when we captured and healed the fallen angels, he was then alone,” Christik explained.
“How was the fucker found?” Tracey asked, in her usual blunt way.
“He was discovered as he was scouting the holding structure by two of our angels,” Christik answered. “He is now very well secured in a holding room. So, he will not be able to pass on any information to his race when they arrive.”
“We are lucky that Earth has such an abundance of water if they can control fire,” one of the Viziers stated.
“Yes,” agreed Christik, “and that we can use our power to control all that water.”
Luiza, who had been quiet up to then, stepped forward confidently.
“Please be honest with us all Christik. What are our chances against these bastards?” she also asked bluntly.
Christik looked into Luiza’s eyes, sensing her anxiety just like I was. We both knew that our races needed the whole truth, no matter how scary the truth was.
“I believe we are going to have a brutal battle ahead of us,” she said honestly. “Which is why I will not take any chances, nor will I take anything for granted. I have decided to contact the elders of our race. I believe we will need them to make sure we can defeat the Marilians,” she added.
Luiza and everyone in the room nodded their heads to Christik in acceptance and respect. I could feel the worry in the room emanating from everyone.
“Viziers are you in agreement with my decision?” Christik asked the angels in the sphere.
“We agree with your decision Christik,” one of the angels replied. “We will carry out our current plans and wait to hear from you when the elders arrive,” he told her.
Hulaz closed her hand, making the sphere instantly disappear. I noticed that her hand was shaking slightly as she lowered it, her eyes connecting with Harrik’s.
The worry I felt coming from her matched my own, and as I watched her go to Harrik, I realized that nearly everyone was holding or touching another for comfort and support.
Abigail was being hugged by Harrison, Holly was in Nalik’s arms not surprisingly, and a very pretty young lady was in Anthony’s. I assumed the young lady was his new lady friend, Christine as both her and Anthony’s hair were damp from their swim.
“I think we all need to take some time to rest for the remainder of the day. I have already arranged angels to guard and patrol all holding structures. So, you will all be safe,” Christik said. “Please continue your defense plans tomorrow morning. I will organize the contacting of our elders.”
In a bustle of movement, everyone started to leave quickly. It appeared that all of us couldn’t wait to get back to our rooms. Just as my family and I were about to leave, Anthony came up to us with Christine holding his hand.
“Mom, Dad, I’d like you to meet Christine,” He nervously told us.
She was a very pretty young lady with freckles complementing her tanned skin and long, dark blonde hair flowing past her shoulders. When I smiled at her, she smiled back with a smile that lit up the room.
“Hi Christine, it's lovely to meet you,” I told her shaking her hand.
“Great to meet you, young lady,” James added, shaking her hand also.
“It’s nice to meet you all too,” she replied warmly.
I had a great feeling about her, and Anthony looked like the cat who got the cream.
“Would you like to join us for dinner, Christine?” I asked, getting the impression that Anthony would like to spend more time with her.
“Yes, I’d love to,” she said, giving Anthony her winning smile.
We were soon back at our rooms enjoying a meal with our kids, Christine and Nalik. After the day we’d had, it was soothing to my soul to watch our kids enjoying themselves.
The girls suggested that we should all play charades, which was hilarious, especially watching Nalik’s utter confusion. Both James and I were very impressed when he decided to have a try himself. It took us about half an hour of laughing and guessing before James guessed the answer, which was Braveheart.
“How on Earth do you know about the Braveheart movie?” James asked, seriously impressed because it was his all-time favorite film.
“I like to talk with your people, and Derek was telling me about films. It happened to be one of his favorites apparently,” he answered.
“Maybe when our battle with the Marilians is over, we can use your green energy to set up a TV, DVD player and watch the film together,” Holly told him sweetly.
Poor Nalik looked completely confused.
“What is a TV and a DVD player?” he asked.
“You’ll see,” she told him, shaking her head and smiling.
After lots of talking and playing games such as ‘What am I’, Nalik kindly took Christine back to her cabin. Abigail, Harrison and Anthony all went to bed leaving James, Holly and I left in the sitting area.
“So, how is it going with Nalik?” I asked.
The resounding smile she gave us seemed to say it all.
“It’s going really well,” she replied excitedly. “We actually have a lot in common.”
She paused a moment as if she wasn’t sure what to say next.
I think I’m in love with him,” she admitted with sudden seriousness.
James reached over and held her hand, smiling reassuringly.
“You don’t need to be embarrassed or worried darling,” I told her sincerely. “As you know, I met your dad when we were young, and we’ve been together twenty-eight years now. People can find their soulmates at a young age. We are pleased that he’s making you happy.”
“He is making me happy, and I think he is my other half,” she said.
She came across so sure of her feelings. I felt pleased and relieved that she was so happy with the angel. We all went to bed feeling a little more light-hearted after the pleasant evening we’d all shared.
I know I’m dreaming, but I can’t wake myself up from the nightmare I’m in; there are Marilians everywhere.
I’m hiding down the side of an abandoned building, and I can’t find James or the kids anywhere. Panic is rising in my chest; my heart is pounding so loudly that I think I can hear it hammering.
There are fights happening everywhere I look, between angels, humans and the Marilians. As my eyes scan the area for my family, I witness a man and Marilian fighting. The man has lost his gun; I can see it on the floor a short distance away, and he has no chance of retrieving it.
In each hand, he has a knife, the blades glistening in the bursts of light from the nearby angels’ power beams and the fire the other Marilians are throwing.
The Marilian is so much faster than the man; his sharp blade-like talons slash at the man's body. It feels like slow motion as the Marilian flashes forwar
d just as the man raises an arm to strike.
The Marilian grabs the man, pulling him towards his body, so they are face to face. Watching the man in the Marilians grip is terrifying, but I am helpless. I can’t use my com because I don’t know who is still alive, and I don’t know the names of any of the angels I can see.
The man is struggling violently against his foe, but the Marilian is so much stronger. Suddenly, the Marilian puts his head against the man’s, their noses literally touching. ‘What the hell!’ He almost looks as if he’s about to kiss the man. Instead, the Marilians blood red eyes become fiery, and the man's eyes start to glow red too.
I can’t grasp what is happening between them, but when the Marilian releases the man, the fight between them is over. The man isn’t changing into one of them, but he appears to be just as evil as the Marilian now. When the man turns, facing my direction, his eyes are the same as the Marilians, exactly the same.
I woke abruptly safe in our bed covered in a cold sweat. My body began to shiver as I thought about the man with the fiery red eyes. James was still fast asleep, his clothes folded neatly on the floor next to his side of the bed.
I slipped out of bed trying not to wake him and slipped on my dress. Still not feeling warm, I grabbed his smock and pulled it on over my dress. Not only did it feel warmer, but the scent of my husband made me feel safer.
‘I need to tell Christik,’ I thought to myself ‘Right now.’ I knew I wouldn’t be able to rest, let alone sleep until I told her about my dream. Touching my pregnant stomach, I whispered to my baby, “thank you, my baby girl.”
After quickly brushing my hair and teeth and getting a drink of water, I touched the com on my chest. ‘Christik, I need to talk to you; are you awake?’
I had no idea what time it was, and glancing at the window, I could see it was still dark. There was no sign of the sunrise yet. I didn’t even know what month it was to be completely honest.
‘I am awake Mel. Are you alright?’ she answered, concern in her tone.
Earth's Angels: The Earth's Angels Trilogy Page 23
