Defiant Destiny

by Madison Cumbee

  My angel did not flinch. He did not say a word. He simply motioned toward the dining room that was accessible on our left.

  URIEL glided, for one of his steps was not a separate movement from the next, into the dining room. My angel smiled reassuringly at me before following his uncle.

  No longer being held up by Uriel, I sank down onto the couch and Odeda joined me. The others sat as well but all eyes were focused on the immortals in the next room. They talked for an agonizingly long time, or at least it seemed that way to me. My Uriel was listening to his intimidating uncle with respect and dignity in his expression. I wanted so badly to hear them that I whispered to Odeda, “What is he saying?”

  But she shook her head. “They are intentionally speaking too quietly for us to hear them.”

  Now my Uriel was moving his lips and URIEL’s expression was the same as ever for the longest time. Then something flashed across his stone face.

  A collected intake of breath sounded from the Nephilim around me.

  Then the house lit up with a flash and the ground shook beneath us.

  Decision

  Chapter 22

  Uriel

  I followed URIEL into the dining room sedately. Though I was not very willing to leave Keira, I wasn’t sure I wanted her to hear all that my uncle would say. As I walked away, I was emboldened by the brave face Keira had kept during her first minutes with the formidable member of the Hierarchy.

  “Your soul?” my uncle repeated in a voice so low that I doubted even my brothers and sister could hear. “You never told me it had gotten that close.”

  “I was ashamed to reveal to you how strong the temptations had become over the last few decades,” I admitted, matching his volume.

  To anyone else, except perhaps Odeda, the concern on my uncle’s face wouldn’t have been seen. But the emotion quickly faded. “And the mortal helps with it how?”

  “Her name is Keira,” I reminded him through barred teeth.

  “Keira,” URIEL allowed.

  “Her presence banishes all other paths but good somehow. It has been that way since the first time I met her.”

  “The timing could be a coincidence; it is possible you have overcome the temptations since starting this mission. Besides, relationships between mortals and immortals do not occur,” he informed me- as if this was something I wasn’t entirely aware of already. “It’s not just that the relationships shouldn’t occur but that they don’t.”

  His quiet words echoed in my ears as if they had been shouted.

  “You should leave her be, Nephew.”

  “I tried… it didn’t work out so well,” I told him slowly.

  He remained still and silent for a moment and then commanded, “Explain.”

  I took a deep breath. “There was a pull, a force that drew me to her the first time we were in the same room. You have to permit that such a reaction to any being has a purpose behind it. And then, when Keira found out that we are not fully human, I tried to leave her be. She was not happy with the arrangement- that’s an understatement- and I started slowly slipping back into the very dangerous and alarming state I had been trapped in before this mission. So, it is no coincidence- she is the reason why I am still in the Light today. I love her and she feels the same… She saved me, Uncle.”

  He was silent again.

  It had been a while since we had seen each other, and I had almost forgotten how impatient he made me.

  Suddenly, my uncle’s carefully contained features shattered with emotion.

  Incomprehension.

  Frustration.

  Anger.

  Disbelief.

  A deafening crack of lightning followed immediately by a blast of thunder resounded directly outside of the house.

  “Uncle!” I cautioned.

  “One moment,” his voice rumbled even as he whispered.

  Composition slowly retook the Hierarchy member’s features as he regained control over his feelings. The storm outside subsided as well, and I knew that he once again had his power in check.

  “You must validate the claims you have made to me,” he said calmly.

  “How?” I asked hesitantly. What was he thinking?

  URIEL floated back into the living room and the others stood automatically to meet him. I followed suspiciously and replaced Odeda at Keira’s side, taking her hand in mine.

  “Let’s put it to the test shall we?” Uncle queried. “Kiss her,” he gestured to Keira and spoke to me.

  “Kiss Keira?” I asked, dumbfounded.

  URIEL said nothing- he doesn’t like to repeat himself.

  My mortal looked at me. “What’s going on?”

  “I am to prove that I care for you… by kissing you,” I said to her slowly.

  She glanced at URIEL and then returned her green eyes to mine. She shrugged. “Okay.”

  I looked again at my uncle questioningly. He nodded strictly once. “Kiss the girl, Uriel.”

  What the hell? I thought. I’m not going to disobey my uncle over something that I’d gladly do every chance I get.

  Keira was still gazing up at me. I pivoted to face her and she positioned her body to be the mirror of mine. I could feel my expression softening instinctively as I took in her well-known appearance. This was my girl; this was my strong-willed, continuously singing every song on the radio, competitive, teasing, kind-hearted, yet to be jaded, ardent girl for whom I would readily give up my life and my soul to keep safe. Keira was the one person in all of Earth and any other place that may exist whom I wanted to spend the remainder of my continuance with.

  I placed my hands on the downy material of the purple sweater that covered her lower back and unhurriedly moved her closer. Keira’s green eyes became scintillating as she lifted her face to meet my lips with hers, soft as feathered wings. It was the gentlest kiss we had ever exchanged, but it was also the most significant. I felt Keira’s hands come to rest on my upper arms as our lips parted against each other’s.

  The room and everyone in it disappeared. There was only Keira and me in an undying place with never-ending moments which we would spend with each other forever. All of my life, I had waited for this instant without even realizing it until I was veritably experiencing the purest love flow through my veins. Keira separated us first, but as she did so, I felt one of her hands leave my arm. She lightly stroked my face with that hand and once the sensation of her fingertips vanished from my skin, I drew her even closer so my chin was resting on her vanilla-scented hair. I breathed her in as a contented grin settled on my lips.

  “No amount of words could convince me of your feelings for each other, but that one action said it all,” URIEL’s voice broke through the illusion of singularly shared privacy that had fallen around me. “You truly do love one another.”

  “Yes, Uncle. We do.”

  Keira silently wrapped her arms around me and held on.

  “I will never be one to separate two beings who frankly love each other, no matter what their differences.”

  I locked eyes with the most powerful creature I had ever come across and exhaled a sigh of intense relief.

  Keira removed her head from beneath my chin and looked up at me hopefully. “There’s no great opposition then?”

  “Not presently,” I smiled down on her.

  “You have my blessing,” Uncle added to my alleviation of doubt.

  “Thank you so much,” Keira beamed at URIEL.

  “My nephew strives to exist honorably and he claims that your companionship serves to make such an existence easier, so thank you, beloved of mortals.”

  “Beloved. Did you hear that?” Keira murmured to me. “I like the sound of that.”

  And then my uncle chuckled. My uncle chuckled. Granted, it was heard as a rumbling in his chest, but it was a sincere sign of amusement.

  A quick glance at my family told me they were as surprised as I was by the unguarded show of enjoyment toward a mortal. I even heard Dagan breathe, “Wow.”


  “Now that one issue of business is settled, shall we discuss the next?” URIEL asked Azra specifically. “Your current mission?”

  “Yes, of course,” Azra regained his bearings. “The eagles should be back shortly, right Zev?”

  “Any time now,” my brother answered.

  “We could wait outside for the news,” my Uncle suggested. “It is a nice night and I have a feeling dessert has not been served. You can all eat under the moonlight.”

  He always does that- somehow knows things no one has told him.

  “S’mores,” Keira coughed into my chest.

  “Subtle,” I complimented her.

  “Ooh, s’mores would be perfect,” Odeda declared and started for the kitchen. “Azra, can you go get the long handled fork things we have in the garage?”

  “Gladly.” He set off at the bidding of his wife.

  “Nice choice, Keira,” Dagan praised, practically drooling already from sheer anticipation.

  Our now-not-so-daunting visitor was smiling the slightest bit as I asked him, “Would you like to lead the way, Uncle?”

  “It would be my pleasure, Nephew.” URIEL made his way to the backyard with Zev and Dagan trailing behind.

  “We did well, right?” Keira asked me once we were alone.

  “We have the blessing of the Hierarchy, Keira. We did amazingly well.” She hugged me tighter and I returned her pressure. “You even made him laugh,” I said, still bewildered.

  “Was that what that noise was?”

  “Yes. URIEL does not laugh because of mortals very often, but you seem to have earned his good graces.”

  “Because he cares for you,” she pointed out.

  “And now he’ll care for you. Keira, if my uncle does not show much emotion, don’t take it personally.”

  “Yeah, what was that crash of lightning and thunder all about?” she asked, leaning back to look up at me with curious eyes that held the faintest hint of residual alarm in them.

  “It is dangerous for Old Ones to lose their tempers. The more power a being has, the more he must strive to keep his emotions in check. That is why my uncle does not appear to portray much feeling.”

  “I noticed,” Keira said softly.

  “He’s good though. And even if he can’t show it, he is very kind.”

  “I believe you.”

  “Are you hungry for s’mores?” I asked her.

  “Are you kidding? I’ve only been waiting since August to eat some s’mores-goodness with your family over that fire pit I was told about but have never actually seen before.”

  “Do you doubt its existence?” I asked, amused, as we started walking toward the backyard.

  “Yes. I’ll believe in angels and demons but not a fire pit; that’s asking for too much faith.”

  I was laughing as we stepped onto the back porch. Zev and Dagan had moved the chairs from the glass table to the area surrounding the fire pit that Odeda had bought the second day we moved to High Point- she couldn’t wait any longer after she knew we had a large backyard. URIEL had been right- the night was a beautiful one. The stars were bright and the moon was full; the night couldn’t get any better.

  I sat down in the chair beside my uncle and pulled Keira down with me. We had to share a seat because there wasn’t enough for everyone. Bummer. Azra walked around the corner of the house, returning from the garage, with the one extra chair we kept stored and several large fork utensils that had two teeth instead of the usual four. Odeda came out shortly, carrying a platter with chocolate strips and graham cracker pieces on it in one hand and a bag of large marshmallows in the other. URIEL did the honors of lighting the fire even though he wasn’t to partake in enjoying the snacks with us.

  Keira got a few more answers to some of the never-ending questions that she asked him whenever she wasn’t shoving toasted marshmallows in my face and then laughing at the mess she made. Her laughter and everyone else’s only increased when I kissed her lips with my own sticky, white ones.

  She didn’t seem to get cold in the late fall weather; whether that’s because of the fire pit or because I didn’t let her out of my arms, I don’t know. My uncle seemed to take a strong liking to her and after an hour of casual conversation, Odeda might have had a run for her money as to whom URIEL favored more, but thankfully, my sister didn’t appear to mind.

  The sound of eagles approaching brought us all back to the original purpose of our being outdoors. Zev stood and waited for them to come to him. The first two were male and they landed on Zev’s wide shoulders while the third and largest came to rest on my brother’s outstretched right arm- the female of the trio. The birds were almost identical eagles; they all had large, yellow beaks, round, marble-looking eyes, white heads, two different shades of brown feathers that overlapped each other covered the rest of the birds’ bodies, and great, sharp claws ended the majestic predators’ figures. Keira shrank closer into me, clearly not as at ease with Zev’s friends as the rest of us were.

  My brother silently communicated with the eagle on his arm for several minutes and the guild waited for them to finish. Eventually, Zev said a quiet, “Thank you,” to the eagles as they separately took flight once more and then disappeared into the darkness. Zev sat back down and commenced, “She said they saw four immortals together at a large grassy area in the middle of some place called Glade Valley. It’s about an hour and a half from here by car. They think that the four meet there every day, but she’s going to watch tomorrow and report back again.”

  “What time did she see them?” Azra asked.

  “She said the four were there for several hours in the middle of the day.”

  “Elly,” Keira whispered to herself.

  “She’s being trained,” Azra hypothesized.

  “Trained for what?” Keira asked him. She sounded as if she already had the right idea but I’m sure she wasn’t willing to accept the probable truth.

  “To be a part of his collection,” Azra answered reluctantly. “She has chosen.”

  “No,” Keira denied. “Elly’s good. She wouldn’t choose to be any part of Amir’s evil.”

  URIEL spoke to her. “Beloved mortal, your friend was influenced from the beginning. Only she has the power to opt for the Light, and now that she has known Chaos, it would take a great show of will to turn her back.”

  “How… how do you know what’s going on with her or any of this?”

  “I have been watching from a higher place. Your friends here are under my specific care; I am their guardian. It is my duty to assist in their missions in any way that does not sway free will.”

  Keira fell silent and kept her thoughts to herself- something that disturbed me.

  “We need to act quickly before the new immortal learns too much,” Azra continued planning. “It must be sometime this week. We can decide for certain tomorrow after Zev gets the eagle’s report, but within the next few days we should confront Amir and the others.”

  “That sounds best,” URIEL agreed.

  “You’re all going to battle? To battle Elly and the creeps who poisoned her mind?” Keira sought clarification. “Within the next few days?”

  “Yes,” I told her.

  She looked at me, terrified. “What if you get hurt?” she asked softly.

  “That won’t happen,” I assured her. “My family and I have been doing this long enough to know how to avoid harm’s way. We will all return to you whole and unscathed. I promise.”

  “Return to me?”

  “Yes.”

  “But- I’m going with you,” Keira stated.

  “No. The eagle said sometime in the middle of the day. We will be going during school this week, and you will remain in High Point,” I told her. “You’ll be in class with the other-”

  “Mortals?” she finished for me.

  Ohhhhh no. “I shouldn’t have said that. Or I should have at least found a better way of wording it. I meant no offense, Keira.”

  “I know you didn’t,” she said i
n a small voice.

  I’d dug myself in a whole and didn’t know how to get out. So I didn’t say anything for fear of worsening the situation.

  “But Elly’s my friend. I have to be there to- to…”

  “We will do everything in our power to keep Elly safe,” Zev spoke. “But if she’s already crossed over to the other side, which is in all probability what has happened, then there’s really nothing we can do but stop her from hurting innocent lives.”

  “I know you want to help your friend, Keira, but there’s really very little you can do now. Trust us to succeed in our mission, to accomplish what we know is best for everyone. We’ve been doing this for a long time.”

  “I trust you; you know I do,” Keira said to me.

  “There’s no need to fret, Beloved,” my uncle concluded. “All will be well. The Hierarchy exists to ensure good’s dominance over evil, and your friends here are the foremost Nephilim of the Light who I could appoint to this mission.”

  Keira nodded.

  Slowly, the mood brightened and we worked our way back to having a pleasant assemblage. My mortal remained more contemplative than she had been before the eagles’ report, but she joined in on the merriment often enough to keep my trepidation at bay. The only mention of missions was when Azra asked URIEL to watch his individual charge, Hannah, while we battled, whenever that would be. The Hierarchy member agreed at once.

  “Time for me to depart,” Uncle proclaimed abruptly after another hour had passed. He rose from his chair and smiled slightly as he gazed around at all of us.

  “Uncle, a quick word?” I asked and gesture away from the pit. “In private?”

  “Certainly.”

  Keira stood so I could get up, curiosity splashed all across her fire-lit face, but I didn’t answer her unasked questions. Instead I held her upper arms and sat her down again, telling her to keep my seat warm and I’d be right back. Then I walked with URIEL to the far end of the backyard, far enough from the others that they couldn’t hear what we said.

  “First, I want to thank you for accepting Keira the way you have.”

  “She’s lovely, Nephew. You’ve waited a long time for her.”