Inception

by Teal Haviland

  “Anyway,” Phalen began, “there is something I’d like to do. I’ve observed humans doing it, and it looks like everyone is having a spectacular time.”

  “I’m almost afraid to know, but spill it. What do you want to do?”

  Phalen dropped her propped feet to the ground and leaned toward Gabrielle with uncontained enthusiasm.

  “Whitewater rafting!”

  Gabrielle’s eyes widened. This wasn’t exactly what she had in mind.

  “Please, Gabrielle! Let’s do it! It would be so fun to know what it would feel like to do something … adventurous in these bodies.” Phalen’s hands were drawn together in one large entwined fist pulled close to her chest as though she was pleading for her life instead of for an excursion.

  Gabrielle laughed through her answer. “Sure, Phalen. That sounds like fun.”

  Phalen leapt from her seat and wrapped her arms around Gabrielle, stunning her. She slowly hugged Phalen back, careful of this new bond, but felt her muscles relaxing as she listened to Phalen’s excited chatter about the fun they were about to have together. A smile stretched across Gabrielle’s face as Phalen’s verbal enthusiasm was randomly interrupted by the sound of popping gum.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  GABRIELLE ~ AN ADVENTURE

  Gabrielle and Phalen descended on the Ocoee River that was nestled within the steep, lush peaks and valleys of Tennessee’s Cherokee National Forest. It was narrow, rocks and boulders covering the banks on both sides. Everything else around them was dense with grass and trees. It looked as though Yahuwah had simply dropped a green carpet over the landscape. Gabrielle thought the scenery alone was worth coming for.

  They stood next to a bright yellow raft belonging to one of many whitewater guides, not listening to the safety warnings he was sharing with their fellow rafters. Gabrielle and Phalen were more interested in the numerous energy signatures of demons that they’d seen since arriving because, for some reason, she could see them far easier than she had been able to for two months.

  “How is it that I can see them clearer, now?” Gabrielle asked Phalen without looking at her. “Why the sudden change?”

  “I don’t know, sister. It’s certainly intriguing though.”

  Gabrielle added it to her list of things to figure out. The list of mysteries seemed to grow every week she spent on Earth.

  I’m supposed to be solving a mystery. Not discovering new ones.

  Gabrielle wondered if the demons were able to sense her and Phalen or if the Aegis Veil would hide both of their energies. She hoped so.

  Furrows between Phalen’s brows created their own peaks and valleys on her face. “Who would have thought this would be some sort of demon pastime?” Phalen asked as she slowly scanned their surroundings. There were about three hundred people, either rafters or kayakers, waiting for their turn to become part of the roiling current of the river. Helmets and paddles, kayaks and rafts, humans and demons were scattered around the drop-off area and the bank of the river. “It’s like a Fallen convention.”

  Gabrielle felt hot. Not from the early Sunday morning sun that was rapidly warming the day, but from the two dozen or so of the Fallen mingling with each other and with people—as though they belonged—causing adrenaline to rush through her body.

  “Phalen, try not to look at any of them. They are far better practiced than us in how to act in a human body. And certainly don’t stare if you do. I’m afraid it will give us away if we don’t appear as natural as everyone else.”

  “That’s easier said than done when we’re this out-numbered.”

  “I’m not worried about their numbers. We can handle it. My concern is that there are so many of the Fallen rubbing elbows with humans … like they are one of them.”

  “You can handle it, but I’m not so sure about me, Gabrielle. I’m not as powerful or as skilled as you.”

  Gabrielle attempted to hide a grin trying to escape onto her expression, not wanting to appear boastful. “But you’re with me. You don’t need to worry about what will happen if there’s a confrontation.”

  Phalen raised her brows. “If you say so.”

  The smile fully formed across Gabrielle’s face. “I say so.”

  Finally, it was their turn to put their raft into the water and begin their trip down the rapids. After everyone was situated, the guide pushed them into the current.

  They had to maneuver a rapid almost immediately, and once they made it through and drifted further from the demons still waiting their turn to put in, Gabrielle found herself beginning to get caught up in her fellow paddlers hoots and laughter. Before she realized it, she had all but forgotten what she left on the riverbank. She was just as giddy as Phalen seemed to be, a smile splitting her face.

  The guide instructed them about when and how to paddle to make the raft hit the rapids they approached so that there would be as much bucking, swaying, and air under them as possible. The river churned, crashing into large boulders that got in its way. At times, it forced the raft down river so fast Gabrielle thought they were almost flying. Other times, the river calmed somewhat, allowing everyone to laugh at each other for looking like drowned rats and to chat about the best rapid so far. After clearing one of the rapids, the guide instructed them to paddle to the bank. Once they stopped, he told them to watch the kayakers who had also stopped nearby and were in an eddy where the raging water of the river turned back on itself.

  Gabrielle was glad they were going to take some time to watch the kayakers at play. She’d seen many on their way down and glimpsed things they were doing, but she was interested in really seeing what they were capable of.

  “This is called Hell Hole,” the guide told them as he sat on the edge of the raft with his feet planted on rocks just under the water to keep it in place.

  “That’s fitting after what we saw back up river,” Phalen said quietly to Gabrielle.

  Phalen was watching the kayakers, mesmerized, with the grin she’d been sporting since the first rapid still comfortably in place. Each kayaker took their turn in the churning water. They made their boats twist and turn, doing cartwheels and somersaults. Some would fly straight up into the air like a rocket launched from the depths, then surf as though they were on a wave in the ocean. It looked like they were having the time of their lives.

  “You want to do that next?” Phalen asked as she glanced away from the humans playing in their kayaks, then back just as fast as she blew and popped another purple bubble.

  “Maybe some time.”

  After watching for a few minutes more, the guide pushed the raft back into the current, and they were off once again. Hell Hole was apparently the last rapid on the river run, though, and all too soon, they were pulling the raft onto the riverbank—their adventure over.

  Saying their good-byes to the others who’d paddled with them, Gabrielle and Phalen made their way to the far side of a building, then toward the trees where they would be out of sight enough to disappear without the attention of the humans around them.

  They stepped into the cover of the forest and were about to depart when they heard something in the distance. It was the muffled sounds of a female crying. Phalen and Gabrielle stood rigid, then locked eyes.

  “Come on.” Gabrielle moved swiftly in the direction of the sound.

  They burst past the foliage of the trees and undergrowth tangled on the forest floor into a small clearing full of yellow wildflowers bordering the river. Gabrielle heard Phalen gasp, then the sound of the snap and whoosh as she released her wings.

  Two male demons held a young woman on the ground. She couldn’t have been more than nineteen or twenty. One of the demons straddled her and had one hand covering her mouth as his other grappled with her clothing. The second demon sat on the ground above her head and pinned the girl’s wrists to the earth in what Gabrielle knew would be an unbreakable grip.

  Gabrielle put a hand on Phalen to keep her from attacking. Phalen looked sternly at Gabrielle as though she would figh
t her in order to help the girl. Gabrielle didn’t explain. She raised her hand, and everything around them went still. Every bird and insect was frozen in flight. The breeze unmoving as if holding its breath. The water that was flowing near them now seemed more like a mural. The girl’s terror and panic etched into her now unflinching expression—her struggling body quiet. Gabrielle’s stomach did what felt like a complete revolution inside her as the energy of the demons focused on her.

  The human bodies these demons had stolen would have been more than enough to draw the girl to them even without their ability to force attraction to them. It took a human with a strong mind to resist a demon who wanted their attention. Considering they could make the girl come to them willingly, what they were doing was simply out of their need for power and control—for domination. They wanted to completely destroy this girl’s spirit until she was ruined. Gabrielle’s stomach did another flip with the thought of how many women, girls, these two had violated.

  How many have they destroyed?

  She wasn’t able to suppress the bile entirely as she felt the acid from her stomach burn her throat. She swallowed hard, sweeping the disturbing thoughts to the back of her mind at the same time.

  The demons, now standing, turned their eerie, hungry eyes onto Gabrielle and Phalen.

  “Well, what do we have here?” the taller, more muscular one asked.

  He was extremely large, and Gabrielle was sure he was very powerful as her head began to feel as if it was tossing in the volatile currents of the river they had just rafted. The world around her fought to darken, pushing in on her as it tried to steal her consciousness. Gabrielle put her hand on Phalen’s shoulder to steady herself. As she glanced at her friend, she was able to make out Phalen’s face, riddled with concern.

  Gabrielle began to sway.

  “Gabrielle!” Phalen called out worriedly as she wrapped her arms around her.

  Gabrielle shut her eyes tightly. This was certainly not the time to lose it. This demon, whoever he was, seemed to possess enough power to be more than a problem for Phalen. She had to pull herself together.

  “Gabrielle … the Gabrielle?” The large demon asked in a guttural, snide voice.

  Gabrielle opened her eyes. The sneer on his face held the cold telling of malice without the words being spoken, but she could hear thoughts of revenge against Yahuwah forming in his mind. Veins in his neck and forearms bulged from muscles stiffening with his anticipation of that vengeance.

  She knew their only chance was to be in her true form. It was too difficult for her to fight the powerful reaction of her human body this time. Just as she was about to change, she heard a loud clap, like thunder from a lightning strike hitting so near that its light would have been more blue than white. The sound seemed to reverberate off the rocky hills around them, and the earth beneath her feet trembled.

  The next thing she heard was a familiar, welcome voice—Amaziah. He was saying something her jumbled human mind couldn’t make out, but it was definitely her ally. A feeling of relief from the knowledge that Phalen wouldn’t be fighting these particular Fallen by herself washed through her.

  Gabrielle opened her eyes in time to see Amaziah face the two demons. Before they could open their mouths to take another breath, Amaziah’s hands, held in a praying position, opened. The clapping sound had been his hands joining together.

  The ground beneath the Fallen lurched. With a sound like hundreds of people ripping paper at once, the earth suddenly split open, swallowing the demons. Amaziah brought his hands together again, and the earth closed into a smooth, seamless surface once more—like nothing had happened. All that told of something occurring were the particles of dirt and small rocks still falling, settling back into place.

  Gabrielle felt Phalen’s arms loosen and another set pick her up.

  “Close your eyes, my dear. You’ll be home soon.”

  Gabrielle did as he requested and closed her eyes. A smile moved her lips, brought on by Lucas’s face. Something stirred in her mind but also somewhere deep within—somewhere she had never felt such things. He was a distraction, and she didn’t fully trust him. But she still had the nagging feeling that she needed to protect him … she had to keep him safe.

  The smile on her face faded as quickly as it appeared as the vision expanded to a scene that caused her brows to push firmly together. Lucas was lying on the ground below her. It was a different scene than what little she remembered from her dreams. There was no one else around, just Lucas and Gabrielle and the energy of several others far off in the distance. She sensed where he was lying was close to sacred ground. More than that, the ground had been protected. She wasn’t concerned with the other energies or why the ground was protected, though. Her concern was Lucas; he didn’t seem to have life in him anymore. When she reached down to see if he was dead, Lucas disappeared, and all she touched was the hopelessness and pain of Darkness.

  What happened?

  She knew she wouldn’t get the answer to that question, but she did understand the heaviness and stench of the Fallen, and of those who live in Shadows, was filling her senses—even though it was only a vision.

  Why would they come after him?

  She felt something grip her inside, wringing her heart. She pulled her hands to her chest and pressed hard against her bones in a useless attempt to make it stop as Amaziah moved her swiftly through the air.

  “No,” she whispered softly.

  ‘It’s okay, Gabrielle. You are safe, now,’ Amaziah’s voice echoed in her troubled mind.

  She didn’t respond.

  Amaziah wouldn’t understand. How could she make anyone understand when she couldn’t grasp what this human was doing to her? Lucas was becoming a part of her in ways that were alarming. She would have to figure out how to keep an eye on him while still keeping her distance. He was in danger; of what, she still didn’t know. It was a danger she could physically feel, though—and that was never good. Nothing could stop it. It wasn’t just a possibility when she had this type of premonition—one that she experienced physically—it was a certainty.

  A sense of well-being and love suddenly filled her completely. She was …

  Home!

  Although, it wasn’t her dwelling on Earth. The joy and serenity of Heaven was all around her. Amaziah had brought her home. She looked at Amaziah, and he met her gaze with his brilliance.

  ‘Why did you bring me here?’

  ‘It’s too dangerous for you, Gabrielle. You’re staying here.’

  ‘No.’ Gabrielle struggled free of Amaziah’s cradling arms. ‘No, I’m not.’

  ‘Yes, you are. If I hadn’t intervened, you and Phalen would have been in terrible trouble.’

  ‘I was about to shed my human form just as you appeared, Amaziah. I would have been fine as soon as I was free of its frailty.’

  ‘At least you admit to being more frail when you are incarnated.’

  There was silence between them as Amaziah seemed to be picking his next words. He hated to argue, especially with her.

  ‘Really, Gabrielle … they could have killed you. Don’t you understand the risk? Do you actually have to have a Sundering Whip take off your head for reason to take hold of your thoughts?’

  ‘I think you are being over dramatic and unduly protective.’

  ‘Of course you do.’

  ‘Amaziah, I have to go back. I am learning so much. I couldn’t just let that girl be raped by them. I had to help her!’ Panic over the girl’s well-being gripped Gabrielle. ‘What happened to her after we left?’

  ‘I know you couldn’t leave her there to go through what they had planned, Gabrielle. I do not fault you for stepping in and interfering. It is expected. Nevertheless, you were at a huge disadvantage in your human body. It obviously can’t handle the physicality of an encounter with the Fallen if they are powerful enough.’

  Amaziah released a sigh. ‘The girl is fine. I returned her to the moment before she crossed paths with the demons. She
will never know.’

  ‘Good.’

  Quiet settled between them. Gabrielle had to convince Amaziah to allow her return to Earth. How she was going to accomplish that was unclear.

  ‘I will be better prepared for my body’s reaction if it happens again.’

  She didn’t want to let him know how many opportunities to grow more accustomed to handling the effects she felt on her human form were possible. With all of the Fallen she’d seen in and around Nashville, there would be no hope for her continuing her task if he became aware.

  ‘Amaziah—’

  ‘Gabrielle … you are too important to lose!’

  ‘Yahuwah will make it without me, Amaziah! He’s YAHUWAH! But he won’t make it if Ramai and all the Darkness that lives in Hell and the Shadow World wins!’

  Amaziah just looked at her for several moments before responding. When he finally did, there was a sadness in his tone that Gabrielle didn’t expect.

  ‘But … maybe I won’t.’

  At that moment, she truly understood just how much he cared about her, and it touched her deeply. She had always looked at him as a father, but she wasn’t sure if his own attachment to her was as deep.

  ‘You are like a daughter to me, Gabrielle. I don’t want to lose you.’

  Gabrielle reached her hand out for his. He took it, then wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly. They stood like that for a long time, and she let the soothing warmth of his energy seep into every part of her own. When he spoke again, it was soft, caring but almost defeated.

  ‘You can go back. On one condition. If your human body even hiccups while near a demon, you will shed that form and take on your Divine one.’

  ‘I will.’

  Gabrielle wasn’t about to argue. She’d expected a much longer debate. The quick resolution had her wondering again about Amaziah’s lack of desire to assert his decision making power over her. However, it was a quick resolution she was going to be thankful for … for now.

  ‘Go, Gabrielle. Before I come to my senses and change my mind.’