by TJ Hines
Gemini saw Olivia break free and head towards her.
"I told you to stay put," she said to Gem.
"I know but I had to search for my family. Carry him and I'll go find Micah," she said pushing Mr. Johnson into Olivia's arms before running back for the vehicles. She didn't wait for Olivia's response. She had one goal. To get her family out of there safely. And she was bound and determined to do it.
She made it to the vehicle the agent pulled Dani out of. She opened the back door and found Micah, but not the Micah she remembered. This Micah had a swollen eye and a bloodied nose. He had bruising all around his jawline and was bleeding from what appeared to be a gunshot on his side.
"Oh no. Micah."
Micah opened his one good eye and looked at Gemini. "Dani?"
"She's okay. We got her," she told him.
"Good," Micah said before sagging forward. Gemini wasn't sure if he was dead or not. She sure hoped not but she wasn't an expert on those things.
"Help! Help! Please. Olivia! I need you," she called again. And again.
She started dragging Micah across the ground. Tears streaming from her eyes. He couldn't be dead. She wouldn't allow it. He and Dani were supposed to have this great life together and eventually one day she would get to be an aunt and it was not supposed to be like this. Her thoughts were rambling together because she could not process what was happening.
She kept pulling with every bit of strength she had in her body. Eventually, someone stopped her and picked Micah up. She had to wipe the tears out of her eyes to see that it was Jesse who had Micah in his arms. Jesse had him. Everything was going to be okay now. Jesse could save Micah just like he did his granddad.
"Save him, Jesse. Please." Gem collapsed on the ground next to where Jesse had laid Micah.
"I will, sweetheart. I will." Jesse laid his hands over the bullet wound and that glowing white light started. She heard the click of the gun before she saw him.
She heard the guy say the words "Not today freak" before the bullet left the gun. Everything went in slow motion. She reacted before she could think about it. All she knew was that this guy was going to take two people away from her that she loved. And she couldn't allow that to happen.
Gemini stood up in the line of fire. The bullet hit her in the center of her chest. She could fill the warm gush spread across her stomach. She looked down and saw a red stain swallowing her shirt. It didn't hurt as much as she thought it would. She looked back up right into the eyes of the person she loved most in the world and smiled.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Gemini didn't see a white light like everyone always talked about. She just kind of felt light, like all the weight that had been on her shoulders suddenly lifted and she was finally free. She could see everything that was happening all around her, including her prone body, collapsed onto the ground.
Olivia and Liam were still battling the agents, while Jesse was trying to heal Micah while freaking out because he couldn't get to her. Gem wasn't upset that Jesse didn't stop healing Micah. After all, he did promise to save him for her.
She watched as the dogs all circled her body, protecting it from any further harm. The agent that shot her was about to fire his gun again at Jesse when Liam, using his sword, stopped him dead in his tracks. The guy, unlike the other agents they had killed, erupted into flames. She was still staring at the flaming man when she heard her name.
"Gemini. It is good to finally meet you."
Gem turned around and came face to face with the tallest man she had ever seen. He had to be at least 7 feet tall and he was unearthly beautiful. Like an Angel, she thought. Which he must have been if she was dead.
"Is this Heaven?" she asked him, hoping the answer was no because this was not how she had imagined Heaven to look.
"No. This is more of an in-between stage. I wanted to ask you some questions and get to know you a little better before you go on," the angel said.
"Who are you?"
"I am Michael, leader of the Archangels and third in command of Heaven."
"Wow. I can't believe you're real and that I'm meeting you. I've read so much about you."
Michael smiled at her and then they watched as Jesse finished healing Micah and started crawling his way to Gem, tears streaming down his face. He cradled Gem's body in his arms quietly pleading with God to bring her back. Gem's heart broke for him. She wanted to go to him and tell him it was all going to be okay.
"Even though I have watched you grow up, I am still surprised by your actions tonight."
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"I have watched you sacrifice for our children your entire life, not knowing who they were, and then tonight you made the ultimate sacrifice for one of ours. There was no hesitation in your decision. You are perplexing, Gemini Adler."
Gemini didn't know what to say so she remained quiet. Olivia finally saw what had happened and left Liam to finish up the rest of the agents and ran for Gem's body and Jesse. She said something to Jesse who finally put Gem's body down on the ground and then Olivia tried healing her.
Gem and Michael watched as Olivia worked on her body. Finally, Michael spoke again.
"So why did you do it?"
"Do what?" Gem asked.
"Why did you sacrifice your life for one of our children?"
"That's easy. Love. I love Jesse and I didn't want to see him die."
"Most would not have done what you did," he said.
"Then I feel sorry for those people because they do not know love," she said.
Michael and Gem again fell into a comfortable silence. Liam finally finished off the last agent standing, though Mr. Oliver had escaped. The last agent burst into flame when hit with the Angel Fire Blade, just like the one who shot her did.
"Why did those two agents do that when the rest didn't?" she asked Michael.
"Those are demons who have possessed humans. When one of our blades hits a demon, they will erupt into flames. There is no coming back for those demons, which is why Archangel Nephilim children are so important. They are the only beings on Earth who can wield one of our blades."
Liam came to kneel next to Olivia and placed his hands over hers, lending her his strength. Gem thought it was pointless but then she felt a tug. Like her soul was being reeled in.
“What is happening to me?” she asked Michael.
“They are attempting to heal you, unfortunately, they do not have enough power. Not for the type of injury your body has, at least.”
“So, I’m dead then. Like really, really dead.”
“Yes and no. You are dead but not completely. At least not yet.”
“What does that even mean?” she asked, trying to calm her voice so that it didn’t sound like she was yelling at him. She had a feeling that he wouldn’t appreciate an attitude at this moment in time, if ever.
“It means that you are not dead until I decide what to do with you. You see you are an extraordinary person, Gemini. You have always put everyone else’s needs before yours, you love wholeheartedly, you believe in doing what is right even when it is not the easiest thing, and you are a natural leader, even if you don’t see it.”
“I’m gonna have to take your word on all that because I have real self-image issues,” she said with just a little bit of sassiness.
Michael smiled at her and actually rolled his eyes, which would have made Gem laugh under different circumstances.
“I want to give you a gift. It comes with strings though.”
“What kind of gift?” Gem asked hesitantly.
“The gift of a new life, one with Nephilim abilities. You see I have not sired any offspring. I had problems with the potential side effects on the human mothers. Though I suppose, the end justifies the means, I just could never allow myself to father children. I am willing to give you a piece of me so that you return to Earth as a Nephilim, of sorts,” he said as he walked over to the steps to sit.
“What’s the catch?” Gem asked as she foll
owed him.
“The catch is that you will be one of the leaders in the war. We will need someone out there with the enhanced abilities that I am going to give to you. Not only will you have all the abilities that an Elite Nephilim has, but you will also be able to tell if someone is telling the truth. This is important because as of late we have noticed some in the Nephilim community who are not who they seem to be. They are starting to turn away from Heaven and as you can imagine a Nephilim in the hands of Hell would be a very terrible thing for everyone.”
“Why don’t you just come down and smite them or something? Isn’t that what you guys do?”
“You know that we cannot be in the presence of humans for very long on the Earthly plane. We believe that there might still be a chance to save them, but you will have to watch them closely to see if they are worth saving or if they are too corrupted by Hell. We trust your judgment in this matter.”
“Will I have to kill them?” she asked hesitantly. She knew there was no way she could kill anyone. It was just not in her. The thought of killing someone made her physically sick, well it would if she weren’t currently dead.
“Yes,” he said. If Gem could have passed out at that moment, she would have.
“So, you are telling me I can go back to Earth and finish living my life out with my family or I can stay dead but to live I may have to kill? Where does that make any sense?” she said.
“That sums it up. What’s your decision, life, or death?”
There was only one choice Gem could make. She looked at Michael and said the one word that would change her life forever, “Life.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Gemini sat up gasping for air, nearly colliding with Olivia who was still trying to heal her.
"Gem!?! Gem!?! Are you okay?" Jesse screamed barreling towards them, almost knocking Olivia and Liam over.
"Yeah, I think. What happened?"
"You died, sweetheart," Jesse said before turning to Olivia and Liam, who were sitting on the ground drained of energy. "Thank you so much for bringing her back to me."
Olivia and Liam just nodded, clearly too wiped out to speak. Gem thought she should tell them thank you too but first, she had to wrap her mind around what Jesse had said.
"I died?"
"Yeah. What's the last thing you remember?" Gem thought back. She remembered Micah. She was dragging him across the ground because he had been shot and she thought he was dying. Oh no. Micah.
"Micah. Is he?"
"He's okay. He's right over there," Jesse said pointing to a spot on the ground about ten feet from her. Jesse filled her in on what happened after he took Micah from her. Apparently, from what Liam said she was a hero because the agent who shot her was using Hellfire bullets, which would have killed Jesse, like forever and ever dead.
They told her about the two agents who were demons and about the Oliver guy escaping nearly running over the dogs as he left. Jesse said he figured Oliver would be back pretty soon with reinforcements, so as soon as they could they needed to be leaving.
Liam and Olivia started carrying the dead agents to the barn. The plan was to leave them there for the night and to get the Elders to send a 'clean up' crew as Olivia put it at dawn to take care of the mess. Micah had started to feel a little better and after checking on Dani and Mr. Johnson who were still out of it due to the drugs in their systems, he started helping too.
They all went about the tasks in silence but something kept nagging Gem. There was something she was supposed to remember, like a conversation, but she couldn't figure it out. She helped load what suitcases they had packed into Micah's truck and went to check on Liam and Olivia, who were still in the barn trying to hide the bodies from sight. She heard them before she got to the door.
“She was dead, dead, Liam. There is no way we could bring her back. It would take the Sisters to do something that powerful. And did you notice her eyes? They changed colors, Liam. I swear I am not making this up. I saw them change color, right before my eyes,” Olivia said.
“I don’t doubt your Liv, but I don’t think it’s anything to worry about. Maybe we are getting more powerful. The Elders said that there was always a possibility of us growing stronger the closer the war got. And as for her eyes, maybe it is a side effect of our powers. She is after all just human. They are such fragile things.”
Gem realized quickly that they were referring to her. She didn’t know what to make of the conversation, but she had to see if what they said was true, so she ran for the house. Which was surprising because Gem didn’t like to run, and she wasn’t even out of breath when she hit the steps to the porch. She heard Jesse call her name, but she couldn’t slow down. She had to check her eyes. She nearly took the door off the hinges when she made it to the bathroom.
She consciously slowed herself. It wouldn’t do anyone any good if she got hurt. She took a deep breath, inhaling through her nose, and exhaling through her mouth. She counted to ten and then stood in front of the mirror. She didn’t notice anything different at first but then again, she was trying to not look at her eyes because she didn’t want to know the truth.
When she finally did, she gasped. Her eyes were definitely different. They were, before tonight, a beautiful rich brown. Now they were a bright blue, just like Jesse and Taura’s. Just like the Elite Nephilim. Just like Michael’s.
Her memories came pushing forward until she was sitting on the side of the tub with her head in her hands. There was just too much coming at her. She took some much-needed deep breaths trying to get herself under control before the panic attack set in. But to her astonishment, she didn’t lose control like she normally did. Granted she was a little overwhelmed at the moment, but a few deep breaths and she was back in control. She wasn’t sure if she should thank what had happened to her for her turn around or all the coping techniques she had been practicing. Either way, she was grateful.
She remembered her conversation with Michael and his direction about the possible corruption within the Nephilim community. She also remembered him telling her she would have to kill any Nephilim found working with the enemy. She wasn’t sure how she was going to complete that mission, but she had to under the bargain they made. Michael gave her Nephilim powers and she was to help stop the rogue ones from joining forces with Hell.
The last thing she remembered Michael telling her before she woke back up in her body was that she was his right arm now, his lineage, and to not let him down. She felt a tingling on her right arm and looked down at it. She had a mark on her that she had never seen before; it was a flaming sword with Angel wings.
Gemini walked out of the bathroom still in shock at what she had remembered. She knew it wasn’t her imagination. She had the evidence on her arm, but she couldn’t stop what she was about to do. She had to see it for herself otherwise she wasn’t going to believe it. Gem remembered the word that Jesse had used to bring the Angel Fire Blade to his hand.
“Ignis,” she said aloud in the deserted living room.
Immediately, a sword wrapped in blue flames appeared in her hand. It was huge but it felt so light, like it was an extension of her arm. She couldn’t believe it. She was so mesmerized by the flames and the colors that she didn’t hear the door open nor did she hear the giant gasp that left Jesse’s mouth when he saw the woman he loved standing there with a sword in her hand.
“Gemini?” Jesse questioned. Gem didn’t know what to do. She didn’t remember the word to extinguish the flame, so she just stood there.
“Hey,” she said.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
"I guess we need to talk," she said smiling at him, hoping that he remembered the time he said that to her.
"Yeah, I guess we do. Why don't you put the blade up first?" he said coming towards her.
"I can't."
"Why not?" Jesse asked looking around for any possible threats that would make her not want to relinquish the Angel Fire Blade.
"I don't know the word to make it go away," she
said dropping her gaze in shame. You don't mess with guns unless you know gun safety and how to shoot and clean them. The same should be done with blades wielded by Nephilim.
"Extinguo, it means extinguish in Latin," Jesse said.
Gem said the word and opened her hand. The blade disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Gem sunk to the floor with the realization of what she now was: Nephilim. And not just any Nephilim. She wasn't born of Angel and human, like all the rest. No, she was literally given a part of her sire to make her stronger and faster than the rest of the Nephilim so that she could hunt down the rogues and bring them to justice.
