Minor Nephilim

by Randall Morris

  “Steam?”

  Steam looked like he was too exhausted to care what happened anymore.

  “I don’t give a shit, Leech. Fade is dead. None of this bullshit really matters right now. If you’ll excuse us, we’re going to take Fade’s body home. Do what you need to with the oldest one.”

  Reaper pleaded with his parents in desperation.

  “Mom? Dad? This wasn’t my fault! Don’t let him take my powers away!”

  Steam and Selene didn’t respond. They just kept walking. Backlash stuck around. Leech touched Reaper’s forehead and drained his life energy until he fell over. He tried to summon fire in his hand and nothing happened. The guards lifted Reaper under his arms, removed his nephilim gloves, and started walking towards the Necropolis jail.

  “Wait.”

  The guards paused and Backlash stepped in front of Reaper. He wound up his arm and hit Reaper as hard as he could in his face. Blood started gushing down from Reaper’s nose.

  “That was for Fade. Now you know what it feels like to be defenseless, you coward!”

  Backlash turned and followed his parents’ home.

  CHAPTER 31

  Bumalin was headed out the door with Coconut, Monkey, and Razorburn when he saw Leech approaching.

  “I know you’re probably on your way to blackmail some angels. I can’t let you go just yet.”

  “I’m not a nephilim and you are not my king. I appreciate your protection and your trust but I am free. I made that point very clear to Cain when I left the demons a lifetime ago.”

  Leech opened a small chest filled with gold coins.

  “I would like to hire you to interrogate a prisoner. Half the payment upfront.”

  Monkey and Coconut eyed the gold hungrily.

  “That’s just half?”

  Bumalin rolled his eyes.

  “He only needs my powers. This isn’t a group job. You’re not getting a cut.”

  Razorburn looked impatient.

  “We have a long ways to go. Can Bumalin deal with this later?”

  Leech shook his head.

  “This is somewhat of an urgent request. I need it taken care of now.”

  Bumalin thought over Leech’s offer.

  “I normally trade in secrets and memories now, but we could always use a large amount of gold. I’ll do it. Razorburn, take the chest from Leech.”

  Coconut crossed his arms and frowned.

  “And we’re just supposed to wait here?”

  “Razorburn, give Monkey and Coconut each a gold coin. You can take one for yourself as well.”

  Razorburn flipped a gold coin to each of the brothers. They both ran towards the nearest bar, ready to get as drunk as they could before they journeyed to the heavens. Razorburn didn’t move.

  “You’re welcome to do what you want while I go take care of this thing for Leech.”

  Razorburn shook his head.

  “I’m fine. I’ll stay here and watch over Lexi and my godson. Maybe I’ll buy the little guy a toy if he’s good.”

  Leech looked confused and Bumalin held up a hand, hoping to delay an explanation.

  “Sounds good. You keep them safe, Razorburn. We’ll be back soon.”

  When they were out of range of Razorburn’s hearing, Leech had to ask.

  “What was that about?”

  “Lexi was a demoness I cared a great deal about. She’s dead. Razorburn was her protector. He was useless after she died and he ultimately asked me to alter his mind. Now he sees them all the time and thinks he’s the godfather of my son. I don’t like others knowing my personal business, but this was bound to come up at some point because he talks about them from time to time. I trust you’ll keep my secret to yourself. I have more than enough to blackmail you if you would prefer that route.”

  Leech laughed.

  “Don’t worry about it, Bumalin. It’s your business. I won’t tell anyone. Did you actually have a son?”

  Bumalin sighed.

  “Almost. Lexi was pregnant with my child when she was murdered. I don’t really want to talk about this. Tell me about the job.”

  “We have Reaper, the son of Steam and Selene, in custody right now. I’ve taken his powers. He was somehow involved in the death of his youngest brother, Fade. It has also been recently discovered that he used to beat both of his brothers, sometimes severely. I need you to get in his head and give me everything you can find. I’m worried that he’s been pulling all of this off under our noses for years and no one caught on. Who knows what else he’s hiding.”

  “Cool. So get the incriminating memories and then wipe his mind?”

  “No… just the memories should be enough. Find the memories and write down what you found. Leave his mind intact.”

  “He must have really fucked up if you’re willing to pay me this much for an information grab.”

  “I certainly hope that’s not the case… but I need to be sure. Follow me.”

  Leech led Bumalin to Reaper’s cell. Reaper was sleeping and didn’t wake as they entered.

  “This probably shouldn’t take too long, but I want someone sticking around. I don’t like being alone around hostile creatures since that whole Raphael mess.”

  “I’ll be taking the details you write so I was planning on sticking around. I don’t trust anyone else seeing what you find. At least not yet. Don’t worry, I’ve got your back while you’re in there.”

  Bumalin nodded.

  “See you in a few then.”

  Bumalin touched Reaper’s forehead and entered his mind. He searched for every time Reaper beat his brothers and took mental note. He watched everything that happened after Reaper found the note from the “Nephilim Freedom Fighters.” He watched his interactions with Nightmare. Reaper was trying to lock something away in his mind and Bumalin gained access to that. It wasn’t a memory, but a plan Reaper had thought about a lot. He wanted to marry Lucia and become king of the nephilim. Ultimately, he had plans to kill Shade and make it look like an accident. Shade both frightened and threatened him. Having found everything Leech wanted, Bumalin exited Reaper’s mind. Leech handed him a pen and some paper.

  “That guy’s pretty fucked up, Leech.”

  “Don’t tell me anything specific. The report you write is for the council. I don’t want to know before we all look at it.”

  Bumalin quickly scribbled down his report and handed it to Leech. Leech rolled it up and sealed it. He handed Bumalin another small chest of gold coins.

  “We’re headed to Heaven. I have confidence that Razorburn will keep us safe and some angels and demons are too scared to kill me, for fear of what will be released upon my death. If we’re not back in two weeks though, send some nephilim to find us.”

  “Done. Good luck, Bumalin.”

  CHAPTER 32

  Shade, Nissa, and Backlash ran down a deserted street. They were fleeing from a creature none of them could kill and they weren’t sure if they could injure it. Shade turned and tried to freeze the path behind them. The creature didn’t slow down. He tried shooting spikes of ice up from the ground. The creature dodged them.

  Nissa removed the rocket launcher from her trench coat and took aim. She fired and scored a direct hit. The three thought they had killed it for a moment until they saw it running after them, unscathed.

  Backlash alternated casting both fire and water spells at the creature. It dodged some and let some hit it directly. It didn’t seem to matter. It kept coming after them. Backlash decided to stand his ground.

  “This is stupid. We can’t keep running forever.”

  Backlash prepared to cast another spell and the creature rushed him. It summoned an icicle and stabbed it through Backlash’s heart. Shade and Nissa saw the icicle come out through his back before he fell to his knees and fell to the ground, a pool of blood seeping out from his chest wound. They knew he was dead.

  Nissa turned around and started running directly at the creature. She pulled the motorcycle out from the trench coat and h
opped on, increasing speed. Right before she collided with the creature, she pulled a sword out from her trench coat and slightly changed her direction. She sailed right past the creature and Shade saw the sword pass through its midsection.

  The creature turned into a violent, swirling rage monster and lifted Nissa in one of its massive hands. It used its other hand to pull her head back. Shade heard her neck snap before the creature threw her in its mouth.

  Full of hate, Shade started walking slowly towards the creature. The creature changed form to look like a reaper. It wore a simple black robe with a hood that hid its face. Shade summoned ice in both hands and stabbed at the creature’s heart. The creature did not cry out in pain. Instead, it grabbed both of Shade’s arms and froze them. Shade screamed as he lost all feeling in both arms and looked down. They were frozen solid.

  “What the fuck are you?”

  The creature pulled back its hood and Shade gasped. It was like looking in a mirror. He was the creature, the beast that had murdered his friends.

  Shade woke up and sat straight up in his bed. He could feel a cold sweat running down his face and he was gasping heavily for air. He finally realized what had woken him. There were three loud knocks at his door. He got up, went to the door, and saw Nissa.

  “You gonna put on some pants? Maybe a shirt?”

  “I just woke up. Cut me some slack.”

  “You look terrible. Did you have a bad dream?”

  “You were in my dream. Of course it was a bad dream.”

  Nissa punched Shade in the arm playfully and smiled. He didn’t want to let her know how much his dream actually bothered him.

  “Come on! Get ready! You agreed we would go see Backlash this morning.”

  “I never agreed on a time. I need a few more hours of sleep. Care to join me?”

  “Nope. Go get ready. We need to show Backlash that we have his back.”

  Cerberus walked into the room carrying Shade’s armor, different pieces in each mouth.

  “Why is Cerberus carrying my armor?”

  Nissa looked at the dog and rubbed his back.

  “Cuz he’s a good boy. He does what Nissa says, doesn’t he?”

  “Your dream boyfriend. Finally you found a man who will do what you say.”

  “Get your armor on and let’s go. You’re stalling.”

  Shade threw on his armor quickly and attached his swords to his belt.

  “When are you going to take Damnation from Leech?”

  “When he decides I’m ready for it. Shadow gave it to him to keep safe. He’s one of the few that can hold it because he drained life force from Shadow when he came back to life. Other than that, it’s bound to blood. So Shadow can hold it, Leech can hold it, and I can hold it. He’s told me I’m not ready every time I’ve asked. I’m not sure I need it. I have two sharp swords and ice powers. Do you want to see the new move I came up with? I can make these ice swords that…”

  “You’re stalling again. Say goodbye to Cerberus.”

  “What if he wants to come with us? What if he wants to go in my place so I can get some sleep?”

  “Say goodbye to Cerberus.”

  Shade grinned.

  “Goodbye, Cerberus. We’ll be back later.”

  Nissa stroked Shade briefly on his chin.

  “Good boy. Now let’s go.”

  On their way out the door, Shade noticed a figure approaching in the distance. It waved at them. Within a couple of minutes, they realized it was Backlash jogging towards them.

  “Hey, Backlash. We were just on our way to see you. Nissa thinks it’s normal to go see people at the crack of dawn. Apparently you do too.”

  Backlash grinned.

  “I knew we had something in common other than the fact that we’re both so damn attractive.”

  Nissa crossed her arms and looked away.

  “Not interested.”

  Shade nodded.

  “Right. She’s dating Cerberus now because he’s a good boy who does what she says.”

  “Well it sounds like I saved you guys a trip. Can we head back inside and talk?”

  “Sure. Come on in.”

  When they were all seated Backlash got down to business.

  “I need your help for something. I know it’s asking a lot, but I need both of you. This is just me asking for a favor as a friend, because I think backing me against Reaper made us even.”

  Nissa nodded.

  “Go on.”

  “I need the two of you to help me break into prison and kill my brother.”

  CHAPTER 33

  “Did you send out the letter?”

  Coconut nodded.

  “Fishfangs knows we’re looking for him. He can lead us to the gates of Heaven.”

  Bumalin looked up at Razorburn.

  “Are you ready? This will probably be a long journey.”

  Razorburn smiled.

  “Journeys are always long for little demons like you. You have tiny legs. Hop on.”

  Bumalin climbed Razorburn’s back and sat on his left shoulder. The brothers climbed and made their way to his right shoulder. All of them dropped their supplies into Razorburn’s backpack.

  The journey to find Fishfangs was largely uneventful. They battled angels a few times, but it was nothing they couldn’t handle. When they were in the general area where Fishfangs had last checked in with coordinates, Razorburn was startled by a fireball shooting directly into the air. He looked down.

  “Yah nerly stepped on meh, yuh big oaf!”

  Bumalin hopped to the ground.

  “Good to see you, Fishfangs. Everything going ok out here?”

  “He’s pretty boring, boss. I can’t follow ‘im up into the clouds, so I’m jus’ watchin’ for the nex’ time he comes down.”

  “What has he been up to when he does come down here? I’ve read over your reports, but can you tell me anything else?”

  “I think he’s in charge uh the hunt fur the neflim. They all seem tuh report tuh him about neflim they killed and such. I’ve marked the entrance tuh the gates on this map here.”

  Fishfangs handed Bumalin a map.

  “How’s everything else? Are the secrets and memories still safely hidden away?”

  Fishfangs nodded.

  “I’ve added a few mehself. I’m not the mind stealer yuh are, but I’ve got sum decent memories frum minor angels.”

  “Keep up the good work. Let me know if your situation ever changes.”

  Fishfangs smiled.

  “It’s pretty safe fur meh out here, boss. Much better than being a regular demon. Lots uh time tuh relax. Oh! One more thing.”

  Fishfangs handed Bumalin a small sack of coins.

  “Yur cut uh the blackmail money.”

  Bumalin tossed the coins back at Fishfangs.

  “You can keep this payment. The map to the gates of Heaven is enough this time around.”

  Fishfangs looked like it was an early Christmas.

  “Thanks, boss! I’ll keep doin’ meh best.”

  Bumalin climbed back on Razorburn’s shoulder. Razorburn waited for instructions.

  “Fishfangs gave me a map. It says there’s an entrance to the gates of Heaven on top of a mountain northeast of here.”

  Razorburn scratched his head.

  “Remind me. Which way is northeast?”

  Bumalin pointed and Razorburn started walking.

  “That guy talks funny.”

  “He does. Thanks for not eating him. I’m sure you’re hungry.”

  Razorburn shook his head.

  “I ate the angels we killed. My stomach is full of righteousness.”

  Razorburn laughed at his own attempt at a joke. The brothers laughed as well. They generally liked to stay on Razorburn’s good side. When they made it to the mountain, Razorburn immediately rushed it and started to climb. As the minutes passed, he started moving slower and slower. Bumalin got into his gear and pulled out three jars.

  “I packed some human souls. You
need to eat them.”

  Razorburn shook his head.

  “I’m fine. I can keep climbing.”

  “You need to keep up your strength. This is a huge mountain. I can’t have you pass out at the gates of Heaven either.”

  “But I love falling asleep after a long journey!”

  “Eat the souls. Do it willingly or I can have Monkey and Coconut venture inside your mouth and toss the souls down your throat.”

  Monkey and Coconut looked terrified. Razorburn stopped and placed his hand in front of Bumalin. Bumalin gave him the jars of souls. Razorburn opened his mouth and tossed them inside without bothering to remove them from the jars.

  “You just ate glass jars.”

  “My stomach likes a challenge.”

  Monkey smiled.

  “Thanks, Razorburn. We didn’t want to go in your mouth.”

  “Yeah I probably would have swallowed you guys. You should probably stay out of my mouth. It isn’t safe in there.”

  Coconut nodded.

  “Understood.”

  After another few minutes of climbing, Coconut spotted little dots circling the mountain above them. They were getting bigger.

  “It’s angels. They’re guarding the mountain. Razorburn, ignore them and keep climbing. Monkey and Coconut, get your guns ready.”

  Monkey and Coconut grabbed their guns from Razorburn’s backpack and started taking aim. The angels were skillful fliers and most of Monkey and Coconut’s shots were misses. They occasionally landed a hit and saw one of the circling specks glide to the mountainside. A large, glowing angel was the first to reach Bumalin. He was carrying a large glowing book.

  “I am Peter, the guardian of the gates of Heaven. I don’t need to check the record for your names. You’re all demons.”

  Bumalin hoped Razorburn still had enough strength.

  “Razorburn. Grab him and bring him to me.”

  As a backup, Bumalin looked over at Coconut and Monkey.

  “Grappling hooks. Now.”

  Razorburn tried to grab the flying Peter. Peter dodged skillfully and drew his sword. Monkey took aim with his grappling gun and fired. The grappling hook spun around Peter’s right wing and then dug in. Coconut had similar success firing at Peter’s left wing. The brothers grabbed the cables and started reeling him in. Bumalin climbed quickly to Razorburn’s other shoulder and was ready for Peter when the brothers brought him in. He quickly touched the guardian’s forehead.