Sins of the Fallen

by Karina Espinosa

  She grabbed my hand and pulled me behind her as she walked between the shrubs.

  She’s sort of grabby, I thought as we came to a stop. Then she twirled around and kissed me square on the mouth.

  Pushing her back, I held onto her shoulders, keeping her at arm’s length.

  “Uh Sienna, are you drunk or something?” Her hands held my wrists as her lips formed a pout. Oh sweet Jesus, please don’t let her be another succubus.

  “No Max I’m not. I like you and I think we can have some fun together. Now kiss me.” Tightening my grip on her I shook my head.

  “How old are you? Because I just told you I’m still in high school and I’m almost positive you’re not.” She let go of me and let out a huff.

  “Fine! You know you good guys are really a bore sometimes. You might want to learn to loosen up a bit.” I raised a questioning eyebrow and she rolled her eyes. “I’m old enough Max; you don’t need to know my age. It’s actually rude to ask a lady that.” She crossed her arms over her chest and popped a hip out. Well she wasn’t acting much like a lady at the moment but I wouldn’t tell her that.

  “Okay, fair enough, you don’t have to tell me.” I chuckled and she relaxed. Taking off her sunglasses, I was met with such beautiful emerald eyes that I stopped and stared.

  Getting my bearings together, we resumed our trek through the woods as she held on to my elbow.

  “Max, have you ever been with a woman before?” Her question caught me off guard that I stumbled on some branches.

  “Uh, a woman? No.” I felt the heat creep up my neck and face as if I were on fire.

  “Ah, but you have fallen into the temptations of lust I see.” She eyed me curiously and her scrutiny made me so embarrassed that I just nodded in response.

  “Don’t be shy; it’s completely normal and a part of life.”

  “Where are we going, Sienna?” I said trying to change the subject because this conversation was making me uncomfortable.

  “It’s a surprise; now try and catch me!” She ran off and I watched her retreating bikini-clad figure. Not bothering to play her games, I trotted in her direction until what looked like a cave caught my attention. It was obscured by bushes and if you were passing by, it would appear to be just a huge rock. Enough light seeped in that I saw the entrance and curiosity had out-won my need to find Sienna.

  There were writings on the wall that looked ancient, definitely not legible as most of it was faded. I ran my hands across the cave wall until I stumbled over a discarded bottle of water. That was when I noticed things were littered on the ground.

  Someone might live here.

  Further inside I saw lit torches that hung on the cave walls. I came to a halt when I saw, sitting Indian style, was an ancient lady. Her dreadlocks were nappy and grayish white as she held a string of beads in her hands while she hummed and rocked back and forth.

  “Hello?” I felt like I was intruding on her personal space but I was captivated.

  Her head pulled back and her eyes shot open. No pupils or iris, her eyes were white all around. I jumped back at the sight.

  “Who there?” Her voice was raspy and I didn’t have the nerve to speak back. She was blind. Not wanting to say anything, I stood there quietly.

  Her eyes closed again and she started to sniff the air. A slow smile crawled on her face.

  “They’re coming for you. I know who you are child.” She started laughing hysterically and the hairs on the back of my neck stood at attention. The chill running down my spine froze me in place.

  “They’re coming!

  They’re coming!

  They’re coming for you, Nephilim!”

  She kept chanting and I got the nerve to start moving. I backed out of there until I tripped on a branch and fell out of the cave.

  “Hey, where’d you go? You were supposed to find me, not me find you, hun.” Sienna came up from behind me. I shot to my feet feeling jittery.

  “Yeah yeah, sorry but I think we should head back now. It’s getting late.” Sensing my discomfort, she nodded and ushered me back to where we had left the ATV.

  The whole ride was silent besides her directions back to the beach, and even when we returned the four wheeler to the rental place.

  “I have to admit I ran into you on purpose,” she admitted as we went to the lockers to pick up our things.

  “I kinda figured, Sienna.” Her flirting had become pretty obvious. Not to mention the kiss.

  “Will you come back to my hotel with me?” She pulled on the waist of my trunks and I couldn’t deny the thought hadn’t occurred to me. I didn’t think she was a succubus—I hadn’t felt sleepy. She had this whole Jessica Rabbit sexiness going on that was pretty hard to resist. Especially with what happened back in the cave, the last thing I wanted was to see Angela so she could see how freaked out I was. I couldn’t play the victim anymore.

  “Sure,” I said and she led the way.

  We were up in her hotel room which was more like a penthouse suite. The place had a kitchen, dining and living room, and TV room that made my house look like a cardboard box. But the bedroom was just as mind blowing. The California king size bed took up most of the room with its all white bedding and a view to the ocean from the balcony that left you speechless.

  Sienna was fast asleep, and not wanting to wake her up, I unwrapped her arms from around me and slipped away. Finding my clothes that I had grabbed from my locker, scattered around the room, I picked them up and got dressed. Seeing the hotels notepad on the nightstand, I wrote a quick note. I tried to sneak out without waking her. No such luck.

  “Max?” She said through her sleepy haze.

  “Yeah, I’m just leaving, I have to get back before my friend thinks I’m missing.” Grabbing her robe from the floor, she wrapped it around herself and walked towards me standing on her tip toes.

  “Your friend?” She said giving me a sly smile. “By any chance is your friend a girl?”

  “Uh…yeah but we’re just friends.”

  “Oh really?” Her face lit up and she reached around and grabbed a nice chunk of my hair, bringing me down to her lips. Holding her thin waist, I picked her up and she wrapped her legs around me.

  “I have to go Sienna,” I said, breaking our kiss and I was a little out of breath. She was a beautiful girl with quite the personality. Which shouldn’t have surprised me, hence her bright red hair. Not many girls could pull off that dramatic hair color and make it look natural.

  “You should come back home with me, Max. I think you’d really like it out there.” She ran her hands through my shaggy hair, gazing at me with those bright green eyes.

  “Where’s home?”

  “Vegas.” I laughed at her craziness.

  “You are quite the reckless girl, Sienna. What are you doing so far away from home?”

  “Just vacationing, wanted to check things out here on the east coast. Where’s your home?”

  “I’m born and raised in Florida, but you really need to have a little more self-preservation. You’re too beautiful to be sleeping with random guys.” I hoped she didn’t take offense, especially since I was one of those random guys she’d slept with. She cocked her head to the side and for the first time since we met, I saw her mask slip. Scrunching her eyebrows together, she looked down at my chest in deep thought. I walked over to the bed to sit and she straddled me, still not looking me in the eyes.

  Tipping her chin up, we were face to face and her smile went back in place. What gave her away were her glossy eyes.

  “Sienna, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.” She shook her head, and placed her hand against my chest.

  “I know, don’t worry about me. You should go and meet up with your friend before she begins to worry.” She smiled brightly and I couldn’t help but feel sorry.

  Not wanting to push any further, I nodded and set her down on the bed, pointing towards the note I had left on her nightstand.

  “I left you my email address and phone numb
er if you want to keep in touch. My phone was actually murdered a couple of weeks ago but I’m constantly checking my voicemails. Don’t be a stranger.” I leaned over and kissed her forehead. She gave me a sad smile and nodded.

  16

  The flight back home was short and I couldn’t enjoy the whole “private jet” experience. Once I met Angela back at Jeremiels home, my good mood became sour and she mirrored my feelings.

  We were home in record time and everyone was up waiting for us. If I hadn’t been so tired and maybe a little ticked off, I would have had more input in the conversation. Angela didn’t need me, though. She went over everything Jeremiel said in great detail.

  Nothing could have prepared me for this. Everything I knew or believed in was tossed out the window and the mere thought of getting an ounce of my old life back was false hope. One thing I knew for sure was what Angela had said earlier today: I needed to stop feeling bad for myself and start being strong. I couldn’t depend on everyone to protect me anymore, especially when I knew I had the strength to fight back. I had no excuse. And I couldn’t get the lady in the cave out of my mind. They’re coming for me. But who?

  “So where are the rest of the Nephilim?” Jones’ question pulled me out of my thoughts.

  “He didn’t say; does it matter?” I answered in hopes that they would include me in the game plan.

  “Yeah it does. They might be after them as well; it’s the only thing I can think of as to why they’re interested in you.”

  Made plenty of sense, but from the look of my father, I knew he disagreed. If there’s one thing I’d come to learn about Xavier Taylor, it was that he didn’t look for danger. Hiding was his overall strategy. “No, we don’t go looking for them and we don’t go looking for anymore answers. Now that we know Max’s origin we teach him to hide his abilities and keep a low profile. We are to not bring any attention to us, got it?”

  I saw that Angela was torn. She and I both knew this wasn’t the way to go and from the looks of it, so did Jones. But no one said anything.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea, dad. I don’t want to be hiding for the rest of my life. What’s the point of living? You’re not always going to be here to protect me. Then what?”

  “He’s right,” Jones agreed. “We can’t hide forever. Even if we do, we don’t know jack about this Nephilim crap.”

  “I do and it’s dangerous.” We all stared at my father waiting for him to elaborate. He let out a sigh finally succumbing to our silent pleas. “They’re very dangerous and powerful Angels. Like Jeremiel said, they have no rules set to keep them straight. They roam the Earth freely to do as they please without consequence, and have abilities that could render us all if used together. Which is why we can’t find them. Not all of them are good and some are as old as me. If all seven are together, it could be disastrous.” He looked at me with pity but also with fear. I didn’t like it.

  “We still need to find out who’s after him, Xavier,” Jones said.

  The fumes were seeping out of my dad’s ears, but he kept cool. He didn’t like to be questioned. Before he could respond, Angela interjected, “I know somewhere we could go to get answers. I think it’s time we introduced Max to our world.”

  With that suggestion, my father had enough. I think he was hoping to scare us enough to change our minds about looking for the Nephilim. He stomped out of the room before any of us could say a word.

  I thought school would take my mind off of everything but I was wrong. I missed most of my morning classes, sleeping in. I was too tired from this trip to the Bahamas and my day went sour when Melanie walked in to Chemistry. I was supposed to have picked her up this morning. If she liked me before, she was going to hate me by the end of class. How could I forget to pick her up for school? Especially on her first day.

  Luckily we were partnered together and I could plead my case. Her petite frame sauntered over to our lab table and she quietly said, “Good Morning,” with a smile on her face. Taken aback, I responded and silently prayed to whatever deity upstairs.

  “Hey Melanie, I’m so sorry about this morning. I completely forgot. Some things came up this weekend and I’ve been distracted.”

  “It’s okay, Max. I ended up walking and it’s not that far away, but I appreciate you offering.” She smiled weakly and I knew I’d hurt her feelings.

  “Please let me make it up to you. I have tickets to the Battle of the Bands for this Friday and I would like you to come with me.” I was supposed to have gone with Jones, but I doubted that was happening.

  “Max, that’s really sweet but you don’t have to. It’s not a big deal, no worries.” She shifted in her seat and looked up to the front of the classroom.

  “I’m not taking no for an answer.” I leaned in close enough that I knew I was making her nervous. She looked down at her opened chemistry book hiding her blush and nodded.

  “Great, I’ll pick you up around seven Friday night. Wait for me today after school in the parking lot and I’ll give you a ride home.” Trying my best to charm her, she looked at me with the brightest smile while biting her lower lip. I couldn’t help but grin back as Mr. Simmons walked in the room and class begun.

  With Jones and Angela still being distant with me, I found comfort in having Melanie around to talk to. We shared the same lunch period so she joined me at the football table and the guys made her feel welcome.

  “How do you like Lincoln high so far?” Logan, the football team’s kicker, asked. He was an average looking kid that didn’t look like much but he was a hell of a kicker. I figured they’d get along—he was just as shy as she was.

  “Not bad, except when Mr. Delaney put me on the spot,” she said as she squirmed in her seat, “he spent most of class talking about my parents.”

  Brett piped in from down the table, “don’t worry, Delaney’s a weirdo and he’ll forget all about you by next week.” He sat with the offensive lineman and they all looked the same. Big and buff. They’re the last guys I’d ever want to pick a fight with.

  Not meeting their gaze, she nodded and her wide eyes focused on her tray.

  After lunch we went our separate way and just like we agreed, she waited for me in the student parking lot at the end of the day to take her home.

  “I didn’t think you’d show. I thought I would have to pick you up down on Main,” I teased as we walked to my mother’s Corolla.

  I opened the door for her, always the gentleman, and jogged over to the driver side. She blushed a deep red and adjusted her hair to cover it.

  “How was your first day? Everything you hoped for and more?” She laughed and the innocent giggles she let out made me laugh with her.

  “It was fine. A little uncomfortable with the introductions but I think by next week I’ll get over it. Thanks again for giving me a ride.”

  “No worries. I’m hoping to give you a ride every day from now on.” I turned to her and saw that nervous bite of her lower lip.

  “Max, you don’t have to, I don’t want to be a burden. Like you said, you have a lot going on.” Maybe that wasn’t the right thing to have told her but I couldn’t take it back.

  “It’s okay, really. I enjoy your company and like I said before, I’m not taking no for an answer.”

  “Okay,” she whispered. It took a bit for her to get out of that shell she hides in, but we ended up sitting in the car, parked in her driveway for about two hours talking about anything and everything.

  After she told me the story of when her parents left her at a train station in London by accident, we couldn’t stop laughing.

  “I swear sometimes my parents get so caught up in their work that they don’t think of anything else. But I know they love me, they show it all the time.”

  Her eyes twinkled with tears from laughing so much.

  “Are they home?” She shook her head.

  “No, they’re somewhere in Africa right now.”

  “That’s cool. I wish my parents would give me a break,”
I said, letting out a deep sigh.

  “Don’t laugh but it’s not much of a break, I have a nanny. She takes care of me and my little brother.” She looked out the car window and I noticed her change of emotions. Her bright smile disappeared to a somber expression.

  “Do you miss them?”

  “Yeah, a lot actually. When I was younger they home schooled me so I could travel with them. Once my brother was born they couldn’t handle both of us so now we stay home while they travel, solving the world’s mysteries.”

  She let out a nervous laugh and I felt a little sorry for her. Knowing the conversation had just gone south, she went for the door handle.

  “Thanks for the ride.” I nodded and waited for her to walk inside.

  I found my father sitting at the bottom of the staircase, waiting for me to get home. “Where were you?” I couldn’t tell if he was upset but I wasn’t taking any chances.

  “I was out with a friend.” Short, sweet and to the point. There was no need to beat around the bush.

  “What friend? Jones and Angela couldn’t find you, and you never showed up to your training session.” Okay, so he was upset, but not angry.

  “I’m sorry, I just lost track of time.” At that, Angela and Jones walked in from the kitchen with my mom in tow behind them.

  “You didn’t answer my question Maximillion, what friend?”

  He wasn’t going to let this go. And everyone was in the room to support him.

  “You don’t know her. She’s new in town.” They groaned and I couldn’t help but stifle a laugh. What was crawling up everyone’s butt?

  “This isn’t funny Max, you don’t know who she is, and she could be a succubus for God’s sake!” Angela was the first to speak. Go figure.

  From left to right, everyone was speaking their mind at the same time and I couldn’t understand what they were saying.

  “Okay, enough!” My mom yelled from the kitchen door. We all looked her way as she rubbed her forehead. Always the peacemaker, bless her soul. “Honey, why don’t you go put your school things in your room and accompany me to the supermarket. I need to get some things for tonight’s dinner. In the meantime, why don’t the three of you verify that Max’s new friend is okay.” She walked back into the kitchen and I looked back at the two—and somewhat of a half—angels who had just been shut down by my human mother. God, I loved that lady.