HeVan & Earth

by Lucy Kelly

  Addie sat and let them talk and put forth whatever arguments they could; she knew they would not sway her. They were digging a hole they could not climb out of, as their shouts merely underscored the problem. It had been a long time since a Nam-Nin was present. They were so absorbed with their own agenda; they didn’t see they were insulting her judgment. If they did see, they didn’t care; they intended to run things as they had for the last several thousand years. When she grew tired of their blustering, she interrupted.

  “As Arjun explained, we strongly believe a fresh start is what HeVan needs at this time. I have declared it will be so. All of your posturing and shouting has only solidified my stance. Do you seek to overturn my ruling?” she asked them, warning them of her anger.

  She was really fed up with them. She looked over at Arjun and shrugged her shoulders. He understood, and was actually pleased; she had reached her breaking point. She wasn’t going to listen to their bullshit any longer.

  Standing, she stepped forward and amped up her power. Everyone in the room slowly grew silent. Those council members, who were standing, sat down again.

  “Enough! None of you have the wits to recognize a gift when it’s right in front of you. Well, it’s gone now. I allowed myself to be persuaded into cutting you all a break for the many years of service you’ve all given HeVan at the beginning of your terms. The crimes committed by various members in more recent years would have been pardoned if you had all agreed to accept your retirements gracefully and made restitution to your victims. Now, that gift is off the table. I’m not going to retire you. I’m going to fire you!”

  There was another outbreak of protests at this announcement. Turning her back on them all, she went back to her chair. She was tired. Raising a hand for silence, she spoke again.

  “When I arrived here, I found my personal chambers filled with devices meant to spy on me. My sister, named Arbiter of HeVan, was attacked along with her Ankida and almost died. Justyn has claimed the right to Mok-Tar justice and I have allowed him to do so. My latest communication from him states he expects to know the identity of his enemy within a day—two at most,” she said.

  This wasn’t precisely true; Addie was throwing the threat out there for reaction. She and Grace had discussed this; it was an old police trick to provoke a reaction among suspects. She was a little disappointed when she didn’t see any of them jump. Grace had told her it would take a little time. They were setting up surveillance. When they left the palace, each of the council members would be followed. Jett had also arranged to mark each one with his special monitoring nanos. As they entered the throne room, each one was greeted, specifically by a warrior who transferred the nanos. Grace had told her how helpful they’d been in her last case against an organized crime family.

  “Each of you will be given one week to pack up any personal belongings in your homes. Your bank accounts were frozen moments after I was forced to speak. The money will be used to repay those Nephilim and, in some cases, other citizens of the Interstellar Alliance who were your victims. When you leave here, you are hereby stripped of all rank within your Houses. An announcement detailing your demotion to general citizen will be released to the public tomorrow morning. Nearly all of you live on property owned by your Houses. Since you have no wealth, you will need to rely on the charity of the new leadership or get a job—though I am unsure of who would hire you. Further punishments will depend on the individual crimes you committed,” Addie said in a harsh voice.

  At last, they understood the depths of her anger. As she spoke, her Nam-Nin power had amped up. A golden aura surrounded her. When she finished speaking, the table where the council members were sitting rose up and slammed down.

  “Graciela Melina Perez Rephaim, Arbiter of HeVan, will now speak. You had your chance; your greed and self-interest got the better of you. It’s too late now to go back.”

  There were gasps around the chamber from the onlookers when the queen made this announcement and called for her sister, Grace. The extent of her injuries was well known. Many still felt she and her Ankida, Jalen, would perish. They were stunned when a completely healed Grace, accompanied, by two of her Ankida, Jalen and Jett, entered the room from a door behind the dais. Grace was grinning when she walked forward.

  “Addie, they say a picture is worth a thousand words. I have at least a million of them for you. Jett, do your magic, sexy,” she said with a wink.

  From the ceiling, slowly dropped what appeared to be strings, but they were darker and weighted, so they didn’t sway. At the same time, a podium rose up in front of the throne. It stopped at an optimum level for Addie to see the screen embedded in the surface. Jett pressed another button on the remote in his hand and tiny lights all along the strings created a screen of immense size above and behind the throne. Addie and her Ankida remained facing forward, watching the screen on the podium, while everyone else watched the larger screen.

  The former council members remained in their seats. A few of them considered leaving, but a quick look at the warriors surrounding them changed their minds. All of them were heavily armed. Instead, they sat quietly, most of them silently making plans. They hadn’t reached their current level without intelligence and contacts. Several of them discreetly palmed data units and used them in their laps.

  The screen came to life. Everyone recognized the view of the exterior of the palace. The camera panned passed the palace, the view expanding over the extensive gardens before moving up into the sky overhead. Gasps were heard from around the room when they understood what they were seeing—a Nephilim flying his mating flight. The camera watched for a few moments more, until the flyer began approaching the ground. The screen went dark and the room erupted with cheers.

  “Harq Morrack, you don’t look pleased. Actually, you look stunned, shocked even. Why is that?” Grace asked.

  Before he could answer, Tulia Braza stood. “I demand to know who that rapist is joining with. He assaulted my daughter and his reward is another female!” she shouted.

  Grace looked sharply at Tulia Braza. She’d spent days in the main stronghold of the House of Celestia where this woman ruled with an iron fist. Grace knew more about her crimes, both small and large, than any other of the former council members. The attempt on her life took place when she was investigating the alleged rape of her daughter. Grace had a feeling she was very close to all the answers. Many times, as a detective working a case, she’d get a similar feeling just before a case broke wide open.

  She grinned, “You are correct. The Nephilim male completing his joining flight is indeed Paq Morrack of the House of Seraph. The female is Branca Braza. There was no rape, they were meant to join and were denied their chance.”

  “That’s not possible! It doesn’t take two years for wings to emerge. You and your alien sister have done this! We, the council members of HeVan, have worked tirelessly for thousands of years to keep our people and culture alive. All the alien women who have come here have strange powers unknown to us. You are tricksters, leading my people to a doom of your making! You’ve manufactured lies about all of us,” she said, sweeping her arms out to encompass all the other council members. “Now, your queen,” she sneered, “is tossing us into the streets to beg for scraps. Are we, who have led for so long, to be treated this way?” she ranted.

  Tulia had the floor now, and she intended to use it to her advantage. All the people of HeVan knew her. They had relied on her judgment for over a thousand years. She used every trick in her politician’s arsenal to turn the tide back in her favor. She wanted everyone to be against the upstart queen installed by three HeVanians, obviously unaccepting the loss of prestige for the House of HeVan. "It was those three who had brought these usurpers here, and just look at the havoc they were causing!"

  She went on and on, ranting, repeating the same message over and over in various ways. The council was the last hope of HeVan, and the new alien women would be the last nail in the coffin of Nephilim culture. She pointed out all t
he changes already decreed as examples of the queen’s plot to ruination. Females going to the House of their Ankida, instead of remaining in their own House, was but one of many sins.

  Addie and Grace exchanged a look. Grace smirked and gave her sister a wink. While Tulia Braza continued her speech, she got updates from Justyn and others through a com-link. She had explained Blue Tooth to Jett and he had adapted a unit to work with Nephilim technology. Grace’s long dark hair hid the unit from onlookers. She had been planning on relating lesser, proven crimes to stall for time. This was much better; she let Tulia dig her own grave.

  Now the woman was winding down. A few of the warriors in the room looked confused, as if her words made sense. Giving her sister a look, Addie could see Grace was listening hard to something else. Fine, she was pissed when Tulia had attacked the integrity of her Ankida. Now she understood why she felt compelled to have this confrontation here in the large throne room, and why she’d been thinking about Ashnin all day.

  Addie stood. She was glowing gold again, throwing off sparks and flickers all around her.

  “There is a legend here on HeVan of a time more than ten thousand years before Ishnam. The Nam-Nin of that time was called Aruru. She had in her court the Seer, named Hursag, which means Lady of the Mountain. Hursag foretold of a time when the women of HeVan would be few and the people would be struggling. Aruru prayed long to the goddess, Aruru’s ancestor—Ashnin, the first Nam-Nin.

  "Her prayers were answered; Ashnin agreed to aid her children. In those times, the daughters of HeVan were many. Females outnumbered males in nearly all the Houses of HeVan. During her lifetime, Aruru collected females willing to be sacrificed for the greater good," said Addie.

  Tulia interrupted. “That’s right. Aruru, who you claim for an ancestor, was a murderess. She sacrificed over a hundred and twenty thousand young girls and women to Ashnin. They all disappeared, never to be heard from again. I am named for Tulia of the House of Celestia, who was claimed along with two of her sisters, Nintu and Fonia. Their mother had twelve daughters and she was forced to give up three of them. It seems fitting one such as you would bring up her memory. It was her actions, and her refusal to explain them, that brought about HeVan’s only war and the birth of the ruling council,” Tulia said, once again standing in front of the company.

  The room had gone quiet. Everyone waited to see what would happen next. The queen was still glowing.

  Addie continued, as if she had not been interrupted.

  “Aruru was able to save exactly one hundred and twenty-two thousand, three hundred and ninety-six Nephilim women for the future of her people. She regretted her secrecy. She knew the vision of the Seer would not be accepted or perhaps believed, because it wouldn’t be possible to return any of the women to their families, not even one, after they had been taken to the place of waiting. Ashnin watched over them for the long years from then until now. As they are needed, I will call them forth,” Addie said.

  “Call them forth! You now claim to bring back the dead? What trickery is this?” shouted Tulia.

  Still ignoring the heckler in the audience, Addie glowed even brighter. Speaking in the ancient language of the Nephilim, in a voice deeper and stronger than her usual tone, she spoke.

  “Come forth, Tulia of Celestia; you are called. Come forth, Nintu of Celestia; you are called. Come forth, Fonia of Celestia; you are called.”

  The recitation of names went on and on. Hardly any attention was being paid to Addie any longer.

  Golden balls of light appeared floating above them in the middle of the room. Arjun realized each time Addie called forth a name, another golden ball appeared. Three of the balls floated down to the floor about ten feet behind the table where the council members were seated. The others floated to the tiers of gallery seating all around the room. The golden lights coalesced into human shapes. By the time the tenth name was called, the three first shapes had evolved into figures. The light faded, and standing before them, were three women.

  Each of the three was about seven feet in height, with willowy figures and long, flowing dark hair to their knees. The gowns they wore were of stiff brocade material and heavily embroidered. They each wore heavy gold and platinum jewelry, which proclaimed their status.

  Jalen was one of the first to realize what was happening and reacted. He knew Addie’s Ankida would not move from Addie’s side while she was so vulnerable to attack. They had formed a triangle around her glowing figure, as she continued to call forth more and more women. He stepped down from the dais and walked over to the three women.

  Bowing low, Jalen spoke to them, also in the ancient tongue.

  “Greetings, Ladies Tulia, Nintu, and Fonia of Celestia; the time has come for you and your Nephilim sisters to aid the Nam-Nin in saving our people.”

  Each of the three women gave a small bow, and raising their arms, palms up, gave the expected response. “These hands are here to serve our queen.”

  “Come,” he said, and led them back up to the dais where, in a low voice, he introduced them to Grace. Luckily, all the women of Earth had learned to speak Nepha, the language of the Nephilim. It hadn’t changed much from ancient times, and Arjun could translate any miscommunications.

  In the middle of the dais, Addie was still reciting names. The glow of gold coming from her was so bright, that Arjun, Kylan, and Rune had been forced to face away from her as they protected her body. All around the room, the council, warriors, and women were in awe. Many warriors, who had been watching, fell to their knees, unashamed of the tears on their faces.

  Ten minutes became twenty and onward, until it was an hour. One hour became two and still, Addie continued to recite names. For each one she called, a glowing ball of gold appeared and floated around the room to the seating area of their respective house.

  Grace, with the help of Jalen and Jett, explained to Tulia, Nintu, and Fonia the current situation in a low voice.

  “We are shocked and saddened by the actions of our descendants. The Nam-Nin was right to save us. There was dissention at the time, though no war in our time,” explained Tulia.

  “The war came a few years after Aruru and Ashnin started. A few of the women saved may have memories of it,” said Arjun. “That is why the number saved is so few.”

  “The other women are likely just anxious to know what goes forward,” put in Nintu, gesturing to the over two hundred women currently sitting in the twelve galleries. Each gallery represented a House of HeVan. Jett had timed it; about nine additional women appeared each minute.

  “I have an idea,” said Jett.

  “What’s that, my love?” Grace asked with a smile. She turned to the three sisters. “He always has the best ideas,” she whispered with a grin.

  Tulia and her sisters looked on with smiles to see Grace and her Ankida. She reminded them a little of their mother, although she was much shorter. Looking around at the other women standing on the floor of the room, she noticed they all seemed shorter than she and her sisters. Tulia would try to find out later why the female Nephilim, and even the males, had shrunk in stature. For now, she listened to what the male warrior, Jett, had to say.

  “I can put together a brief history of events as pertains to this situation, and send it out to the various mini-terminals in the galleries. Each of the seats has its own screen. If we go up and show a few in each gallery how to access the information, they can help the others,” Jett explained.

  He planned to include information on the attacks on the House of HeVanth, the loss of Tamiel and her eventual discovery. The ancients needed to understand they weren’t the only women willing to sacrifice to save the future of the Nephilim race.

  “Good idea, you get the information together. Jalen can show Tulia, Nintu, and Fonia how to use the screens. Then they can go around to the various galleries and show the others,” said Grace.

  “Jalen cannot go until I return. I will not leave you unguarded while those snakes sit so near,” Jett said in a hard voice
, waving toward the table in front of the dais. He had nearly lost her not too long ago. The chief suspects were all sitting right there.

  “This is important, grab a few warriors you trust from those gathered here. They can protect me,” Grace said.

  Jett agreed with this plan, though instead of the three Grace suggested, he went to those warriors already joined with Earth Nephilim, and brought nine of them back to the dais with him. Their mates remained on the floor and were surrounded by the remaining warriors. Jett was less trusting of some of the Venger warriors. A few had looked as if they had been persuaded by the councilwoman’s words. Jett was taking no chances with Grace’s life or with the queen’s. Arjun, Kylan, and Rune could use the support too.

  Word spread throughout the palace, as gossip often does, and more than one warrior poked his head into the throne room to see if the rumors were true. It was a miracle—everyone agreed it was a miracle. However, after the first hour of watching floating glowing bits of gold sparkle become women, it got a little monotonous. The only variance was in the different clothing worn by the women being called.

  Many of the warriors, who had fallen to their knees with arms held out, couldn’t hold the pose and many returned to their feet. The meeting was supposed to have taken at most an hour. People who were standing grew tired, their legs and feet hurt. Many were shuffling back and forth to try to find a comfortable position. No one had been officially excused, so they all felt bound to stay. All the women of Earth had infants. They would need feeding and changing, and yet, Addie kept going.

  Glynnis came through the door at the back of the chamber and approached Grace. “I’ve been hearing all sorts of stories, Graciela. What in heaven’s name is going on?” she asked.

  Grace quickly filled her in.

  “Well, since we don’t know how long this is going to go on, we need to make some arrangements,” Glynnis said.