Stormy gray eyes blinked up at Sophie, then suddenly the whole girl shot forward and threw her arms around her neck, "Soph!"
She sat, frozen, embraced by the stranger. Looking from Adam’s restrained grin to a shrugging Mona, she sat enveloped in the warmth of the hug for a long moment on the floor of the dimly lit little house.
Finally, Verrine pulled away and surveyed Sophie more thoroughly as words flew out of her mouth, "Are you hurt? Do you remember me? Where are we?"
"Ah, well, you’ll have to ask him," Sophie gestured to Adam.
"Adam?" the name came out quickly and shock plastered itself across her face. Then she smiled brightly, "I can't believe this, after..." her voice trailed off, the smile falling.
In the quiet of the moment, Sophie tried to read them, but Verrine was clearly confused, and Adam was only offering her a half smile. "You know each other?" she ventured carefully.
Verrine bobbed her head up and down steadily, "Wait, am I dead?" She asked the question with such sincerity that it made Sophie wonder the same about herself. "Sophie, did you die? Are we all?"
"No," Adam chimed in, standing up and laughing slightly, "Nothing like that. We’re on the Transcendental Plane right now and everyone’s soul is very much intact. Try as they might, the strigori couldn’t get that from you in the end."
"The strigori?" Verrine blinked, looking down at her chest and arms then began to frantically search about her on the floor, "Oh no, oh no." Her voice was rough and full of dread, "Oh, Soph, where...oh, God, they...they took it."
"What?"
"The strigori. They took the book, Sophie. They've got it."
Sophie tried to calm her, "It's all right, whoever hurt you, they’re gone now."
Verrine stared up at her like a child, nervous and afraid, "No, it’s not all right. It was the book," her eyes went misty, "Sophie, I'm so sorry. Please don't be mad at me. I never meant for them to get The Agrippa."
"They’ve got The Agrippa?" Mona stood from her spot on the couch, her hands clenched at her sides.
Verrine was on her feet in an instant, her eyes falling on the small girl for the first time, "One of them!" She stepped around Sophie, and a flame ignited in her hand, "Stay back!"
"No, no," Sophie grabbed at Verrine’s arm as she watched Mona ready herself as well, "She’s a friend."
"Friend?" Verrine did not relent, "She’s a strigori! I recognize her. And even if I didn’t, I can smell it all over her."
"Wait, wait," Adam stepped between them, holding up his hands, "She may be a strigori, but she’s the one who brought Sophie here, and she was instrumental in saving your life, so maybe put away the flames for a minute."
Verrine glanced down at her hand, seeing the fire there for the first time and closed her fist, snuffing it out. She sneered up at the girl, then looked back at Sophie, "Is it true?"
"Yes," Sophie stood slowly, unable to look away from Verrine’s hand, "She’s my cousin. It’s okay."
"Cousin?" Verrine, confused, snapped her head back to Mona, "Lies!"
The girl stood there and took in a long, low breath. She apprehensively began to pick at her nails, "Sophie, I need to tell you something."
"You’re not really my cousin," Sophie moved to the couch and fell back onto it, "right?"
"Right."
Sophie put her head back and looked up at the ceiling. It was dark and the candles’ flames danced off it in only one small spot. She closed her eyes. The feeling had been sneaking around her stomach for a while, since she’d woken in agonizing pain and had been whisked off to this place, but admitting it aloud, hearing it, of course made it real.
"I’m sorry, Sophie," Mona’s voice was small, lacking its usual bite, "I was just doing my job. It was just another task they put me to. I didn’t realize that, well," she shuffled from one foot to the other, "I didn’t think I would be so conflicted about the whole thing."
"She’s been in cahoots with them all along," Verrine huffed, "It’s not safe to have her here."
"And who’s the one who let the book fall into their hands, huh?" Mona crossed her arms, low, sardonic tones jumping back into her voice.
"I only brought it here to get Sophie away from you!" Verrine pointed at the girl as she shrieked, "If your kind didn’t exist none of this would have even happened!"
"My kind?" Mona rolled her eyes, "You can’t blame me for the history of the strigori. At least I thought about how best to help Sophie instead of putting her in more danger."
Verrine glared at her, "I did not bring that book here to hurt Sophie at—"
"Stop!" Sophie shouted, listening to her voice ring throughout the room. Verrine looked to her quickly, her face red as though she would cry. Mona snorted and uncrossed her arms, shaking them and looking away. "No more fighting, no yelling. I want to know what is going on. Why is all this happening to me?"
There was a long silence while the three traded nervous glances. When one opened their mouth, another would glare at them. Finally Verrine dropped down beside Sophie on the couch, "You’re not...you’re not human, Sophie."
Sophie narrowed her eyes, "Yes, I am. It’s how we were able to get that antivenom. Because I’m human."
"Well, okay, maybe you’re human right now, but your soul is a little older and from a different place than the Material World. It actually originates from Hell."
"Hell?" Sophie sat upright.
"It’s not so bad," Verrine smiled half-heartedly, "It’s not like they say it is on Earth, not in our realm. It’s just another plane of existence, like here on the Transcendental Plane, and being a demon has really got a bad reputation on Earth too."
"So...I’m a human, but not really?”
Verrine shrugged slowly, “I think your true self is hidden somewhere inside you. I don’t know how, but you buried it, and you created this,” she gestured to Sophie’s body, “as a mask.”
Sophie glanced down at herself, her skin, her hands, her fingers. It all felt real enough, if only slightly uncomfortable when it was pointed out. “So what did they, the strigori you called them, want with me?”
Verrine cast a cold glance at Mona who only returned it. “Time is different for humans than for us outside of the Material World, but I believe it was almost two human decades ago that you, the demon you, was attacked by strigori. They tried to abduct you, but failed, and instead began a war.”
“Why? Who are they?”
“Well—”
Before Verrine could continue, Mona stepped forward, “The strigori are a race of beings—”
“Aberrants.”
Mona snorted, but did not look away from Sophie, “A race of beings unique to the Material World. Unlike demons or angels, each begins as a human and is changed, forcibly, I might add,” she grit her teeth as she explained, “into a sort of super human. Strigori are stronger and faster than humans, with heightened senses and they do not age. In fact, they can live forever under the right circumstances.”
Verrine spoke quietly with a little growl, “You’re leaving out those circumstances.”
Mona rolled her eyes, “We need to drink blood to survive. Fresh human blood, if we want to be our strongest, which most do. It’s not considered polite to feed off of humans, though, so no one really likes us much.”
“You’re,” Sophie pointed at her then brought her finger to her lips, “You’re like a…”
“Go on, you can say it.”
“A vampire.”
The corner of Mona’s mouth twitched, “When you don’t know what to call a thing, I suppose you give it a name. But, to be clear, we can eat garlic, we just choose not to.”
“So Naomi, Grant?” She searched her mind for memories of them, clues that would have told her, “You?”
“Not Grant, he’s just fodder, but Naomi, Rose, Simon, Danielle, all of them. Yes. And me.”
Mona’s voice sounded far away, whispering in the back of her mind. Her heart beat hard in her chest as she realized, “And Michael,” her hand
flew up to her neck, “Am I?”
“No,” Mona put up her hands, “Michael’s venom is a bit different, carries a different strain of strigorism. It’s why he was brought on. They theorized his bite, maybe after a couple tries, might kill off the human part of you, but if it were going to change you it would have done it already.”
“I don’t understand,” Sophie let out a long, low breath, turning to Verrine, “You said when I was a demon and the strigori attacked, they didn’t get me, but started a war. But clearly I’m a human now, and I’ve been living with a bunch of vampires.”
“After the failed attack and the fighting started, you,” she glanced at Adam then back to Sophie, “you just weren’t yourself anymore. You spoke at length with your mother, but it only made you more restless. You kept saying you had to do something. Then one day you just...disappeared.” Verrine stared off into the dark, empty hearth then closed her eyes, “She never told me what she said to you, she never even told Troi. You were just gone. That was almost twenty human years ago. They looked and looked for you, but nothing. I knew you were still alive, though,” she turned back to Sophie and smiled, “I knew it. You’ll have to ask fangs here how you ended up with them.”
Mona grunted, “I’m sorry to say I don’t know. The strigori had been working to resurrect our sire, Agrippa, long before the attempt to capture Sophie that day. It was really just dumb luck that they found her wandering around the Material World at all. Honestly, what a demon was doing there, so unprotected, is beyond me.”
Adam, who had so far lingered at the edge of the candlelight in silence, spoke up, “That doesn’t explain how you ended up with her twenty years after she disappeared.”
“Right,” Mona shrugged, “I don’t know the details, just that Agrippa wanted Sophie when he was alive, and that apparently didn’t change after he died. The plan was to return you to your demon form so that you could bring him back.”
“How?” Sophie narrowed her eyes: it certainly didn’t sound like a thing she’d do.
Mona shook her head, “They told me little more than the location of where it was supposed to take place. I was given my instructions to babysit you, keep you away from all astral beings, and play house until clues of your former existence surfaced. You were brought to us, unconscious and human, shortly after I was given to Naomi. When you woke up, you already believed this story about your family dying in a fire and this entirely human life. You were very convincing.”
“So my family...they’re not real?”
Mona stuck out her bottom lip, “The day you told me you saw your brother I was worried you had seen a demon. I told the others, put them on alert, but it wasn’t a demon who began to show himself. I would like to tell you that you made up the whole thing, but I can’t be sure. I can tell you this, though,” Mona spoke purposefully, “If they have that book it’s not good. They never expected to get it before they had you, so I can’t say what they’ll be able to do with it if they can figure out how to read the thing. I can tell you this: Agrippa died at the hands of Meririm, your father. If he comes back, he’ll want revenge.”
Sophie focused on her hands. She’d balled them into tight fists at their words and could feel her nails biting into her own skin. "I have to get it back.”
"No way, it's too dangerous.” Verrine crossed her arms and fell back into the couch.
"Not for me," Mona reached into her shirt and revealed the small vile she’d taken from the shop they’d visited on Earth. Inside, a light green liquid swirled. "This potion, with one of Sophie’s hairs, will make me look physically identical to you. It's only for a short amount of time, but it's enough to get up to the apartment to steal the book."
Verrine snatched the vile away, "Human magic? Why do you have such a thing?"
"I thought I’d need it to disguise Sophie if things went wrong," Mona grabbed the small tube back, "Now that we’re here, this may be a better use. They'd kill me on the spot if they saw me now."
Verrine made a face at her, mumbling, "One less of you."
Mona ignored her, "I can sneak into the apartment, try to find the book. If they see me, they won’t hurt me, and I’ll have a better chance at finding it and getting out. It's the best thing we've got."
"I don't like this," Sophie half whispered, "I don't want you to get hurt. Shouldn't the real me go?"
"No!" A resounding cry echoed from the trio.
Sophie half smiled at their worry and shrank back in the sofa, "Okay, fine."
Adam finally spoke again, "You know, Mona, it’s not a bad idea." Verrine scowled at him, but he continued, "The book needs to be away from Agrippa and his followers. It would make safest passage back with us."
Sophie groaned slightly, "But you’re risking so much."
"Sophie," Mona looked back at her solemnly, "After all that I've put you through, this is the least I can do."
***
Verrine watched Adam as he leaned against the doorway of one of the little bedrooms of the house. Inside, Sophie had fallen asleep, hard and fast, after Mona left. Verrine spoke in a hushed voice from where she stood in the hall, "Sophie may have decided to trust you without question, Adam, but I'm just confused."
He didn't take his eyes away from the bedroom, "What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean!" she spat out in a loud whisper taking a step toward him, "How in Seven Hells are you here?"
He peered over at her, "Same as you."
"You know very well how I got here, but you...you were executed, Adam. I know you're good, but no one is above Heaven's harshest punishment."
"Shh!" Adam hushed her with narrowed eyes, "What if she hears?"
"So?" Verrine hissed, "I’d rather she remember on her own, but If she can't we'll just have to tell her anyway."
Adam gazed back in at Sophie cuddled down into the blankets with her honeyed hair spilling over the pillow.
Verrine smiled in spite of herself, "I see your feelings haven't changed."
Adam stared a moment longer then replied, "I was meant to be executed, but my brother helped me escape. I stayed here and on Earth. Obviously I couldn’t return: only a few know I escaped and everyone else thinks I’m dead. I spent my time searching for her. I didn’t know what form she’d be in, but I knew I’d find her," he reached up and fiddled with a string around his neck, "I wanted to keep her safe, from a distance. I thought if she was human maybe she’d just get to live a normal life, but I knew it was impossible when I realized she was living with strigori."
Verrine screwed up her face, "Shouldn't she know all this?"
"No," Adam looked back at Verrine, "Because of my selfishness her life is forever ruined. She’s safer not really knowing our past. She has a chance at something better without me. No ties after this is over."
"Fine," she spoke coolly, "When’s over?"
"When she’s back home and Agrippa is finally destroyed." He clenched his fist by his side.
Verrine sighed and began to walk down the hall, stopping to glance at him to be sure he followed, "Well that’s all very valiant of you, and I can’t say I’m surprised. I’ll keep my mouth shut for her sake, but only for as long as it benefits her."
"You were always exceedingly helpful," he mumbled, following her back out to the main room.
She could hear the sarcasm in his voice, and it made her smile, “It’s good to you again too.”
Chapter 9
"So, do you think that whatever it is we’re about to do is going to work?"
"It doesn't matter what I think. Naomi sent us here and we'll do just what she says."
Silver haze encircled the women as they walked along a poorly marked path. Patches of deadened earth could be seen in their footfalls, scattered with a few strategically placed cobblestones. Finding them was difficult, and the two scoured the ground as they traveled in the misty abyss.
"You sound mad," Danielle spoke offhandedly, skipping ahead of her and stopping, her fuchsia pigtails bouncing, "Do you want to talk abo
ut it?"
Rose sneered back at the girl’s eager look then continued to search. After a moment she growled, "It’s just Naomi. She has a very high opinion of herself and treats me as if I’m just another of her minions. It gets under my skin."
"Yeah, she sucks," Danielle hopped along beside her, barely looking at the ground anymore, "Maybe we should kill her."
Rose froze, looking over at Danielle as the girl continued to skip along. She shook her head and huffed, searching again for the path.
"Wouldn’t it be fun?!" Danielle chirped, jumping up and down in place.
"Quiet," Rose chastised in a harsh whisper, "We don’t need any attention drawn to us."
Danielle glanced around at the smoke. She couldn't see further than a few yards, but that was sufficient for her, "Nobody's around. Plus, what do we have to be afraid of?" she flapped the edges of the cloak she wore with a cackle.
Rose rolled her eyes, "This is the Transcendental Plane, accessible to everyone and everything. It seems you forget that we're hunted. We don't have many friends outside the borough."
The pink haired girl's eyes flashed red as they scoured the area, then returned to their normal dark brown, "Well, since you haven’t told me where we’re going, how am I supposed to be worried anyway?"
Rose searched the ground for the next cobblestone, "We’re going to The Order."
Danielle gasped, coming to a stop. Her hands flew to her mouth, covering it as she squeaked then shot into the air, "How cool!" With a little dance, she ducked down her head, threw her hood up, and ran around Rose in circles, laughing.
"Hardly." Rose huffed, "She’s sending us in lieu of herself which leads me to believe," she stopped suddenly, "we're going to be in a bit of trouble."
As she ran with her head down, Danielle miscalculated and went headlong into Rose. She immediately popped up, but instead of an irate scowl, she saw a wide-eyed, foreign expression on Rose’s face. She quickly jumped behind her companion and grabbed onto her cloak, "What is it?"
Rose peered back over her shoulder at the crouching girl with a smirk, "I think we're here."
The Nephilim: Book One Page 9
