Minor Nephilim

by Randall Morris

  “Fine, but you can’t get mad at me. You’ll need a lot of patience. I’m really bad at this.”

  “It’ll be fine. Being friends with you already takes a mastery of patience.”

  “Get the fuck out of my house.”

  Backlash laughed.

  “We’ll start with the rats. Picture it in your mind as you say the incantation. Close your eyes if it helps. We’re not under the pressure of battle right now and we have time for you to get this right. There are a few incantations that work. My favorite is ‘Tiny tail, rat from Hell.’ Let’s try that one.”

  “You do it first.”

  Backlash pointed his open palm at the floor.

  “Tiny tail, rat from Hell.”

  A small, black rat appeared and starter scrambling across the floor. Cerberus immediately ran into the room, slid across the floor, and knocked over a chair. The rat ran into another room and hid under a couch. Shade opened his palm and pointed it at the floor. He closed his eyes.

  “Focus, Shade. You can do this.”

  “Tiny tail, rat from Hell.”

  A rat’s head appeared briefly before disappearing. Shade’s eyes were still closed.

  “You got the head. Focus harder on the rat. Tune out everything else. It only needs to be for a second.”

  “Tiny tail, rat from Hell.”

  This time, an entire demon rat appeared, but it faded and then disappeared.

  “Better. You almost had it that time. You can do this. I can go find you some earplugs if you think that’ll help you focus.”

  “Upstairs in my room. The small table by my bed. I put them in in the morning if I have a feeling you’re going to talk a lot that day.”

  “Fuck you.”

  Shade smiled, but kept his eyes closed.

  “You’ve got this. You’re not the same nephilim that could never cast spells. You’re better than that now. One more time.”

  “Tiny tail, rat from Hell.”

  A demon rat appeared. Cerberus ran into the room, grabbed the creature in its central mouth, and then all three heads fought over who would get to eat the rat. Backlash held up a finger at Cerberus.

  “Spit it out.”

  Cerberus’s middle head spit out the rat and his left head grabbed it in its mouth. Cerberus ran into the other room so he wouldn’t hear Backlash repeat the command to spit it out.

  “Well… you did it. Cerberus ate the rat… but you did it. Well done. We’ll work on demon cats tomorrow. I wonder what Nissa will say when I tell her I’m teaching you how to summon up a pussy.”

  Shade laughed.

  CHAPTER 59

  Inside Necropolis, Bumalin ordered a small house built quickly by the remnants of his army. He recovered quickly over the next two days on a comfortable bed. There was never less than four guards outside the front door. He didn’t completely trust the nephilim and the entire council was either recovering or still fighting outside the city. On the third day, he finally felt good enough to go for a walk. Accompanied by his four guards, he left his house looking for Coconut. Unsurprisingly, he found Coconut at the brothel. He entered and helped a drunken Coconut sit up straight on the bench.

  “This is the nephilim producing brothel, Coconut. They lure in angels to breed with demon whores. I don’t think there’s anything here for you.”

  Coconut belched loudly and fell over on the bench again before speaking.

  “That’s not what the receptionist lady said. She said they have three angel whores now. I’m gonna go to town on one of them. They’re expensive… but I deserve it. I’m awesome, boss.”

  “This one’s on me, Coconut. I’ll go to the front and pay for you. It’s a bonus for helping me get my demons here. I’m glad you lived through all that shit.”

  Coconut tried to sit up, but vomited instead.

  “Thanks, boss. You’re alright. You should have one too. They’re really pretty.”

  “Don’t worry about me. You just try to sit up straight. The angels probably won’t like it if you’re drunk off your ass when they come downstairs.”

  Coconut wiped his mouth and was finally able to sit up straight. Bumalin made his way to the receptionist.

  “Hey there. My friend over there said he wants to have one of the angels. I’m going to pay for it. He’s pretty drunk and I’m fairly certain he didn’t bring his wallet. How much?”

  “500 coins.”

  “500? Wow. That’s gotta be some high quality angel pussy.”

  An angel was making her way down the stairs as Bumalin made his comment.

  “It is.”

  Bumalin tossed a sack of coins on the receptionist’s desk and looked at the angel. He was impressed. He had thought only reject angels would want to work in Lilith’s whore house. The blonde angel in front of him was in great shape with an easy smile and a glow emanating from her body.

  “Didn’t mean to offend you or anything. Just take good care of my employee over there. He’s had a rough few weeks.”

  “Employee? You’re a demon. That must make you Bumalin. You’re really cute for a demon.”

  “Wrong target. Go flirt with Coconut. I’m not shelling out another 500 coins.”

  “He’s 500 coins. I can get one of the other girls to take care of him. Why don’t you come upstairs with me? No charge this time.”

  “Did Lilith tell you to make that offer? Is she trying to get one of you to get in my pants so I pass down my mind powers?”

  “I just think you’re cute and I’ve heard you’re powerful. Lilith didn’t tell me anything. Why don’t you just head up with me and talk for a while? I doubt you get a chance to talk to angels very often.”

  “No thanks. I just wanted to make sure Coconut…”

  The angel turned to the receptionist.

  “Get one of the other girls to take Coconut. I’m taking Bumalin upstairs for a while.”

  The angel grabbed Bumalin’s hand and firmly pulled until he followed her upstairs. She sat on the bed and patted the area next to where she was sitting.

  “We don’t have to have sex or anything if you don’t want to. I just wanted to meet you. I actually got a letter earlier today from my dad. His name’s Hanniel. I guess you had a run in with him in Heaven.”

  Bumalin grinned.

  “I see now. You lured me in here to try to kill me for what I did in Heaven. Good luck with that. Better angels than you have tried.”

  “Nope. Fuck that. I hate Heaven and I hate the angels. I actually just want you to tell me about some of your adventures. We can trade secrets. I’ll tell you why I left Heaven and became a fallen angel. I’ll tell you why I decided to come down here and work for Lilith and why I fuck demons. Deal?”

  Bumalin had a hard time resisting a trade for a juicy secret and he did find this angel very attractive.

  “Fine. I snuck into Heaven with Coconut, Monkey, and Razorburn. We tricked Peter into thinking we belonged there. Then I took control of the minds of a small group of angels. They guarded Monkey and Razorburn while Coconut and I…”

  “Why did they need to be guarded?”

  “One fell asleep and one got knocked out. Coconut and I made our way to Gabriel. I blackmailed a few angels along the way so they wouldn’t attack us. I got something I wanted from Gabriel. We went back to Razorburn and Monkey. More angels came. There was a battle. Monkey ultimately died and Razorburn left shortly after all of that mess. That’s why I paid for Coconut to get laid. He’s had a rough few weeks.”

  “Fascinating. I’m Ariel, by the way.”

  “Nice to meet you, Ariel. Tell me your secret.”

  “I like sex. A lot.”

  “I imagine that’s a prerequisite for a…”

  Bumalin came close to calling her a whore, but wasn’t sure how that would play out. Ariel said it for him.

  “For a whore? You’re right. The thing is… I snuck down to Earth one time and hooked up with a demon. I learned something really important.”

  “Oh yeah? What�
�s that?”

  “Demons are better in bed than angels are.”

  Bumalin grinned.

  “That’s amusing. How’d you end up here?”

  “Some of the angels found out what I had done. I was cast out of Heaven. My dad was able to stop the information from spreading. I wanted to have more sex with demons. Once I was back on Earth, I heard about this place. I came here and signed a contract with Lilith.”

  “Interesting story. I should be heading back. I’m still recovering from a few battle wounds. Getting my army here was a lot more difficult than we imagined.”

  “Anything I can kiss and make better?”

  “No thanks. Maybe next time.”

  “So I can see you again?”

  “I’m not a big spender at whore houses. Sorry… but I don’t want to lead you on.”

  “Like I said. I’ll give you a freebie. We work on commission. So I’m out money when I’m not having sex. That’s fine sometimes. I think you’re cute and interesting. You’re powerful and commanding. I just like you. I want you to come back soon.”

  “I’ll think about it. Thanks for the secret. Secrets are always worth more than coins.”

  CHAPTER 60

  Leech didn’t want to inadvertently let it slip that he knew of a weak point in Raphael’s armor. He took several swings with his scythe at Raphael’s head, all of which Raphael blocked with his sword.

  “You’ll have to do better than that, Leech.”

  Leech dropped to one knee and struck hard with his scythe at Raphael’s knees. Raphael’s legs launched out from under him and he fell hard on his back. Leech jumped in the air and tried to come down on Raphael’s left shoulder, but the Archangel rolled out of the way and scrambled back to his feet. Leech grinned.

  “You look worried, Archangel. Are you starting to believe this fight might not go your way?”

  “I will sever your head from your body and place it at the feet of Michael! The Heavens will sing praises to my name for millennia!”

  Raphael lunged and tried to stab Leech. Leech knocked his sword out of the way with his scythe and side-stepped the blow. Raphael went running past him and nearly stumbled. Leech turned to face him again.

  “Anger makes you sloppy, Archangel. Calm down. Focus before you try to attack me.”

  Raphael stabbed his sword into the ground and pointed his hands at Leech. Clouds started to form above the two and lightning struck with perfect aim. Leech looked up right before the lightning hit. Seconds later, there was nothing but a black mark where Leech had been standing.

  Raphael laughed, until he heard the buzzing. He looked up. A swarm of mosquitoes was hovering over his head. It turned into Leech and Leech came crashing down with an armor-splitting strike to Raphael’s left shoulder. Leech’s scythe went straight through Raphael’s armor. Leech pulled the scythe towards him and removed the armor on Raphael’s left arm. He spun and brought his scythe blade up through the Archangel’s armpit. It sliced up through his shoulder and severed his arm. Raphael cried out. Once he got over the initial shock and pain, he retrieved his sword from the ground and struck Leech in the leg. Leech fell to one knee. His hands burned as he removed the Archangel’s blade and then stumbled back several paces.

  Raphael attempted to cauterize the wound with fire from his sword. Leech fought through the pain and lunged at him. Now that he had opened the armor, Leech struck on the side of Raphael’s breastplate, just below where he had removed the plating that covered his arm. The breastplate cracked. Raphael swung with his sword. Leech ducked under the strike, but it grazed him on the cheek. He spun and hit Raphael in the exact same location. The Archangel’s breastplate shattered. Leech tripped the Archangel, stepped on his right arm, and then kicked his sword away when his grip loosened.

  “Fuck you, Raphael, and fuck all the angels!”

  Leech brought his scythe down through the Archangel’s heart. Raphael grabbed Leech’s ankle and cast a spell that sent a shock up through his body. Leech stepped off of the dying Archangel’s arm and stumble backwards. With his final strength, Raphael shot a bolt of lightning at Leech. It hit Leech in the chest. He flew backwards, hit a tree, and then fell to the ground.

  When Lilith arrived near where Steam had left Leech, the panther began sniffing at the ground. She saw a mangled corpse and pointed at it. The panther ran to it. When Lilith dismounted, she saw the remains of Raphael, the Archangel. She retrieved his sword, wrapped it, and attached it to her belt. She knew Leech would want to store it as a relic. As this thought entered her mind, she worried. If Raphael was dead, what had happened to Leech?

  “Leech!”

  Lilith started to panic. She started frantically searching for Leech. After a few minutes of finding nothing, the panther let out a growl. Lilith turned and saw Leech lying unconscious under a tree. He had dried blood from a deep wound on his leg and char marks all over his chest. When she ran to him, she also saw deep bruising along his back. She struggled to lift him, but ultimately got him on the panther. She grabbed the scythe. Once she mounted, she patted the panther on the back.

  “Run fast. Get us back to Necropolis.”

  The demon panther took off running and made it back to the nephilim city in record time. When the guards saw them approaching, Lilith called out to them.

  “Leech is badly injured! Get over here and help me get him inside! Get Steam. I know he’s hurt, but I need him. I can’t lose Leech.”

  The guards carried Leech inside Necropolis and a messenger took off to get Steam. Lilith was about to follow, but the wall commander stopped her.

  “If someone did this to Leech, it had to be an incredibly powerful being. Should I prepare our defenses? Are we about to be attacked?”

  “No. Raphael did this to Leech and Leech killed him. We’ll have to deal with the angels’ retaliation, but there’s no immediate threat. Now get out of my way.”

  CHAPTER 61

  Shade went to find a member of the nephilim council to get approval to go after Muan with Backlash and Nissa. He figured when he was inevitably shot down, he would go and do it anyways. At least they would know where the three of them were. He checked Steam and Selene’s house. A nephilim at the door turned him away. They were seriously injured and not taking visitors. He sighed as he started walking towards Leech’s and Lilith’s house. He knew Leech would say no. When entered the house and found Lilith stirring a drink with her straw at the kitchen table.

  “Hey, Lilith. I need to ask you and Leech a question.”

  “That’ll be difficult. Leech is in a coma.”

  Shade sat down.

  “What happened?”

  “He killed Raphael and your father killed Raven. An Archangel and a major demon died in the same war. It should throw some extra fear into Heaven and Hell.”

  “Is he ok? We need to get Steam over here. I don’t care how injured he is. We can’t let Leech die!”

  “Steam was over here early this morning. He can’t get Leech out of this, so I told him to go home and rest. Steam and Selene were badly injured when we went out to protect Bumalin’s forces.”

  “Well then maybe what I have to say is actually a really good idea. We have the momentum and we need to strike another blow against our enemies.”

  “You want to go after Muan with your friends. Our spies report he’s on Earth again. The three of you have been waiting for him.”

  Shade was shocked.

  “How’d you know I’d ask you that?”

  Lilith smiled at him with sadness in her eyes.

  “Because it’s what Shadow would want to do under these circumstances. Are you sure you’re ready? Is Nissa? Is Backlash?”

  “We’ve been training like crazy. I can actually summon demon animals and cover them in frost and ice. Nothing bigger than a dog, but enough of them can do some serious damage. Backlash taught me. He skills might actually rival Steam’s now and I don’t say that just so you’ll say yes. Nissa forged her trench coat into high quality armor witho
ut messing up whatever spell that gives it the power it has. She’s been training in all kinds of fighting techniques. Apparently she can store almost endless knives in the trench coat and she’s gotten really skilled at throwing them.”

  “You’re going no matter what I say, aren’t you?”

  Shade rolled his eyes.

  “Why? Because that’s what Shadow would have done?”

  “No. Because you’re my son and I know how you think.”

  “Well you’re right. I’m here to inform you that we’re going. I would appreciate your permission, but I don’t need it.”

  Tears formed at the corners of Lilith’s eyes and she wiped them away with the back of her hand.

  “Shade, I lost your father. He was one of my best friends. I lost my daughter. I’ve lost Leech once and I may lose him again. I can’t lose you. It would drive me insane.”

  “Lilith, you became my mother because my mother didn’t want me.”

  Lilith opened her mouth to respond, but Shade held up his hand and shook his hand.

  “That’s honestly how I feel sometimes. So you weren’t forced into this. You didn’t have to be my mom and Leech didn’t have to be my dad. I don’t care what you promised Shadow. You had a choice. I was a pretty messed up kid and you both chose to be my parents. I will love you both forever for making that choice. So believe me when I say this… I will come back to you.”

  Lilith saw the sincerity in Shade’s eyes and she smiled. She opened her arms and Shade gave her a hug.

  “Thank you, Shade. If you promise me you’ll come back, go with the blessing of the council. I’ll write it up as an official mission. Bring back Muan’s head and the three of you will become middle nephilim. We need more after the departure of Reaper and Lucia.”

  “I want to take Damnation again. Leech won’t mind. While I’m confident we can kill Muan and his berserkers, I’ll take every advantage I can get. Can I take Damnation?”