She looked down at her hands. The Malakhim are the lowest sect, messengers who do the bidding of higher casts. It is we who the humans have witnessed. Never the Lighted Ones, for if they entered physical boundaries, their radiance would burn every living creature within miles. No one has seen one in its entirety and survived.”
Angels, archangels, and God made me think of the Bible. “Does Heaven exist?” I asked, welcoming her pause.
“Earth is not the sole proprietor of the heavens or its angels. The heavens that humans speak of are unfathomable, dimensionless universes beyond the boundaries of time and space. For the Malakhim, though, the summoning is as close to heaven as we will ever achieve.”
My brows rose in question.
“When a Lighted One chooses to magnify its energy, it summons millions upon billions of Malakhim until we combine as one to create an even more radiant and powerful being. The more Malakhim, the more formidable and magnificent the Lighted One becomes. The unions are glorious if not temporary, as the Lighted One eventually releases its hold on us.” She paused, her eyes glazed over as though she revisited one such moment.
Millions of lighted winged creatures orbiting a brilliant core galaxy flitted through my mind. Too often, my dreams yielded similar accounts.
“You are Turian’s son,” she said, studying me, “and as with all in the same bloodline, you belong to one such being. Turian rebelled and while exiled on Earth, he and the Fallen shall never be summoned. Only a few of the Fallen have experienced the summoning. Most have forgotten, now only a distant memory.” She paused to see if I had grasped her explanation.
How often had I dreamt of being summoned? Lost count. “Sabree must have experienced one—”
“Yes, Sabree is an Original, sired by me and Farian, Turian’s brother—both of them banished.” Her eyes glistened without spilling any sorrow.
Lost for words, I choked, stifled my coughs long enough to voice disbelief. “Are you serious? Sabree’s your son. You didn’t even acknowledge him.”
“I am not here for a family reunion. Turian told me that Sabree hid you and Ariane from the Fallen. It disappoints me greatly that my son chose the wrong team. He sided with his father.”
My gaze shot to the kitchen and this time the lump in my throat nearly choked me. “You sent him out of the room without saying hello.” This meant Sabree and I were first cousins. Not the news I expected to hear. Obnoxious or not, how could I send him away?
“Despite his arrogance, he has two good hearts,” she said wistfully.
“Aye, he does, but I’m detecting a hint of regret—you’re upset with him.” I paused again as I studied her softly sculptured face, the same features in Sabree’s.
“He and Turian have caused insufferable grief.”
Assuredly so, that grief must’ve resulted from our forbidden birth. Confused by her indifference, I pulled the subject away from Sabree. “What’s your name?”
My question caught her by surprise. “Loree,” she responded.
Strange, how the name rhymed with Sabree. I smiled Mona Lisa style without letting her see my amusement. Except for her blonde hair and emerald eyes, the rest of her features were colorless, almost generic like the Caderen clan who lived underground. Her pale complexion contrasted that of the Fallen, who have long since applied cosmetics to blend in with humankind. Although slightly intolerable, minor exposure to the sun also added facial color, a slight burn because the Fallen had no melanin in their skin. Either I had enough melanin, or my skin healed as fast as the sun damaged it. Those observations prompted my next question. “Do the Malakhim have different races like humans do on Earth?”
“Your narrow-minded intellect is the result of implanted human knowledge. Ethnic diversity does not exist in the portal universes. As with the Lighted Ones, we consist of pure energy. Akin to our energized form, we assume a physical body when visiting different planets. Sometimes we must duplicate the characteristics of the native inhabitant on said planet. For example, spider-like creatures instead of humanoid. On Earth, our skin harbors no color. No visible marks evolved from various climates or environments.”
My mind raced, in a hurry to collect as much information as I could before she claimed time’s up. The Malakhim and Fallen possessed distinct hair and eye color when they switched to a corporeal body. Their choice? This particular topic made me think of a nastier habit. I had already gotten Turian’s take on the subject but desired a more reliable source. “Do the Malakhim drink blood like the Fallen? Do the archangels?”
“The Malakhim consume blood only when we adopt a physical form while visiting physical worlds. In the portal, we absorb unlimited energy from local celestial bodies.” Loree looked aside as though she sought the correct words to speak. “Each world offers nourishment, be it creatures like humans or readily available sources like the great Blood Sea.”
Aye right. That explained the vampirism. Therefore, the infected humans (nosophors) had established the dark legends, not the Fallen. My black wings came to mind. “Are there evil beings or fallen angels?”
Her eyes darkened. “There are those who exist in an alternate plane absent of light, infinity, or warmth. No one recalls the summoning with such entities because none return. Total darkness devours all. Unlike us, the Lighted or Dark Ones are genderless. They cannot assume physical form unless they possess a Malakhim.” Frown lines marred her perfect face. “Such intrusions rarely occur.”
This rare occasion she spoke of had to be the work of the archangel who Turian warned me about. Athorsis, the Lighted One gone rogue.
She stood and glanced down at me. “Turian said we shall meet again under troublesome times. Remember, do what is in your soul.”
What about the heart? “Wait,” I pleaded as I leapt to my feet and grasped her shoulders, my reasons selfish. “Do I belong to one of those dark beings because of my black wings? What if I’m summoned inside the portal?” My reflection in her eyes openly revealed terror.
Loree flinched. “Turian’s anti-ness bequeathed to you the same black wings. Take heed. The real danger lies with the Malakhim. They mean to terminate you and Ariane. Alas, they don’t know how to destroy that which cannot be destroyed—a combination of human, anti-Malakhim, and archangel. Be careful. As with the Lighted Ones and Malakhim, only one of each being exists in all the combined universes and dimensions. The same goes for you and Ariane.”
Bollocks on the Malakhim. The thought of the Dark One summoning me into an empty void terrified me. “Then I refuse to return to portal! I’ll stay here.” I released her, regretting to have shared any part of her world.
“You will return,” Loree whispered. She stepped back and blinked as though she opened the portal by mere thought. Unlike myself, she had no need of an amulet to navigate the portal dimensions. She slipped into the gap between two worlds.
If she returned a hundred years from now, it would be too soon. She meant us harm. “Wait!” Her news had taken me by surprise, my mind overloaded. She had identified us as human and anti-Malakhim. But what did she mean by archangel?
From my research, the union between human and angel gave birth to a Nephilim. According to Loree, an archangel rarely assumed physical form unless it possessed a Malakhim. How could a genderless being procreate? Combined, an archangel, anti-Malakhim, and human would conceive bizarre, if not lethal offspring.
Then I recalled the alternate dimension I had time traveled into. The one with the strange kids and hot-tamale kitchen. From my search, Ariane was nowhere to be found. Sabree neither. Enough guesstimating. Did Sabree remember Loree?
“What’d she say?” Ariane asked as she entered the room.
Sabree followed her inside. “That was quick.”
It seemed cynicism returned to Sabree. I rubbed my chin. “I may have to forgive you. Let you stick around. I now understand why they say blood is thicker than water.”
“Tastier too, and what’s this? You forgive me?”
“About time,” Ariane
said, wrapping both arms across her torso.
“Look, we can’t afford to fight amongst ourselves. Too many enemies out there. They’re standing in line, taking cuts, to destroy us. Best stick together. Abyss too.”
“But I kept Abyss’s secret from you, worried you’d never help her.”
I patted Sabree on the shoulder. For once, and hopefully not habitually, I empathized with the obnoxious pest now a relative. “When you live thousands of years, you’re likely to make a gazillion mistakes during such a lengthy lifespan. However, those thousands of years should’ve given you multiple opportunities to make amends, and as you know, everything happens for a reason.”
“Moi? Make a gazillion mistakes? I believe you have mixed me up for some other flunky.” His back stiffened when I squeezed his shoulder. Sabree seemed to surrender under the pressure. “What else did the beautiful creature say?”
“That she’s your mother. Didn’t you recognize her?” The bitter creases that formed across his forehead answered the question.
“Sabree’s mother?” Ariane looked from me to him and then back again. Her brows disappeared beneath her bangs.
I studied Sabree’s reaction as his eyes darkened to a deeper turquoise.
“Yes, I remember her. Always duty before family with her.”
“Aye, that makes us cousins.”
Twirling his ring, Sabree slumped into the nearest chair.
“You can stay. Abyss too.”
“Good thing,” Ariane said.
Thoughts of my extended family sent a flood of warmth over me. Everything was fine with the world if no other uninvited guests popped in. Everyone accepted me for the time being. A win-win.
“Meet me in the lab tomorrow, Sabree,” Ariane ordered before she entered her townhouse.
Sabree and I exchanged glances and shrugged. “Any idea what she’s up to, Sabree?”
“No.”
“You didn’t tell her about the seven, did you? Or about me?”
“Of course not,” Sabree replied too quickly. “That confession should come from you when you figure it out. I will tell her how Abyss and I became involved after she hears it from you. Give her the worst of the news first.”
“Aye, right. She sounds adamant though. Hope she takes it easy on you.” Better him than me. I laughed. By the furious revolutions Sabree’s ring twirled around his finger, he had an idea why and dreaded the confrontation.
Maybe she’d have her way with him. For now, I needed some shuteye after the afternoon’s excitement. Little did I know that the nap would reveal my darkest side.
14
MEET BRIAN ROSS COLTON—YOUR END
J umbled thoughts kept me from falling asleep. Loree’s request to be wary of the Malakhim troubled me. In truth, she never gave me reason to trust her advice. Plagued with uncertainty, my mind continued to race. I rolled to one side, hugged my pillow, and wrestled with how to tell Ariane, without knowing why or when, I would someday murder Turian. Alternate universes and time travel boggled the mind.
As my eyes drifted shut, three thousand years rocketed by like pages flipping backward as I traveled back in time without using the amulet. The scenery around me shimmered. The backdrop changed from cozy bedroom to vast desert. Without knowing how many times I had been here before, I touched down abruptly, this time my shin jammed into a large boulder. It never failed. Jammed, slammed, scraped, it didn’t matter which, myself accustomed to the habitual fumble by now. I curled my toes in the smooth sand, wearing only pajamas. A robe lay at my bare feet. I leaned over to pick it up and almost fell over.
Steadying myself, I draped the robe over my shoulders. As always, I wasn’t alone. Seven others dressed in suede dusters, their eyes hidden behind mica-lensed goggles stood before me. A short-lived memory teased my mind. More like a mega déjà vu. I had seen them before in this desert. The Fallen. Sabree.
Pulling my attention back, I tied the belt around my waist and tugged on the pair of brass goggles. Somehow, the devoted eyepiece always showed up. Easily recognizable, the goggles would eventually cause me trouble. The cobalt lenses stood out as if to plead, “Look at me! I’m bright blue.” Who wore such oddly colored goggles? I scoffed. Minus a hood to drape over my head, I finger-brushed the hair into my eyes.
Of the seven, Sabree stood next to me while Abyss lingered at the far end of the formation flirting with Euriel, who puffed out his chest like a tom turkey hoping to get lucky. If it weren’t for the six witnesses, I imagined myself beating him into a senseless pulp. Instead, my mind snapped to the leader when he cocked his head in question.
“What do you want?” Farian asked, slapping my shoulder. “A piece of Turian?”
Normally, the Fallen ignored me. Why not this time? I nodded.
“We have seven, but if you insist, adding one more guarantees our success.” Farian pointed at Sabree. “Stand behind him.”
Nodding again, I marched over to Sabree, relieved the leader let me stay.
On cue, a crackle rumbled the ground beneath our feet. The group missed seeing the first ripple when Farian questioned my attendance. Ozone filled the air, a sign that usually preceded the portal opening between alternate universes.
Seconds before showtime, I skirted behind Sabree to avoid his line of sight. Static hissed across the desert. The ground around us sizzled. I grabbed Sabree’s sleeve when the others, in anticipation, moved into position to form a horseshoe. Seemed he understood my gesture as a warning to stay back. Farian snaked into the command position in front of the curve. The group of seven convened to link their combined minds, create a telepathic bullet designed to disintegrate Turian’s body to ash.
Thunder roared overhead. The earth quaked. Two unique universes collided as the chaotic atmosphere formed a dust devil that whirled overhead. Similar to a low-flying jet breaking the sound barrier, thunder roared. The group clasped their hands over their ears. Accustomed to the sonic booms, I squinted at the storm instead. One I had seen before, but where? I stumbled back when Farian flapped his hand in a frantic wave to persuade the others to return to their positions. Apparently, the noise sent the group into a panicked flight, leaving me and Sabree all by ourselves. The strife we faced together developed a bond between us, but one that would never form again.
“Stand fast,” Farian hollered above the whirlwind. “Turian knows.”
Too much attention tugged my mind like a magnet. I shuffled farther back while the others returned to their positions. Sabree took a hesitant step forward but stayed near me. One of the Fallen we didn’t recognize pushed him aside and marched toward the action.
A thin fissure of space split open as if someone tore the painted scene in half. Forked lightning arced as the radiant outline of a massive angel shot out of the opening. His dark twelve-foot wingspan folded into thin slivers, each one slipping beneath his shoulder blades. His eyes flamed as the radiance of his outline dimmed. Sparks flickered around his raven hair.
The glare too bright, I adjusted the goggles to dark cobalt. “Turian?” I whispered. My father seemed different. More dangerous. I wished he had pulled a no show while I fought against the urge to chicken out. Doubt overcame my confidence to destroy him. Time to man up. My sister depended on me.
Another sonic boom rumbled across the desert as the rip in space sealed. I jumped in my own skin. Flames flickered in Turian’s dark eyes, his gaze aimed at me alone.
Did he know why I traveled back in time? The dire situation enlightened me at last.
“I’ll give you and your minions one second to leave,” Turian said, pointing at Farian. He then gestured the rest with a wave of his hand. “None of you can destroy me.”
Farian stepped forward. “We have no use for you. Communication with the Malakhim shall cease.”
The leader’s reference to the Malakhim made me chuckle. It always did. I stared at Farian, this time without a care.
The rude mystery man, the one who pushed Sabree aside earlier, laughed along with me and said, “B
ah, we don’t need the Malakhim.” Red fabric flashed from beneath his long duster.
“Red plaid? Tim?” I asked telepathically. No response.
Turian’s voice thundered. He raised a hand at the insolent male who stood in front of Sabree and shot a bolt of light from his palm. I yanked Sabree to safety as the beam grew in intensity. The ray and rude man disappeared as one.
“What the—” I mouthed. If that was Tim E. Traveler, did the ray destroy him? Or did he escape in time? Turian never attacked any of us before. Not like this. Thank the stars Turian left Sabree and Abyss untouched—even Euriel. Damn…
Before Farian could react to the missing colleague, Abyss misted away. “Impossible!” Farian cried. “How did you do that? You’re not my brother. What are you?” He twisted around to confront the group before anyone else dared escape. “Only six remain. We’re doomed.”
Behind mica lenses, Sabree’s eyes formed slits as he stared at me. “You saved my life.”
“Thanks, Tim.” I then acknowledged Sabree with a wink. A pull from the others tugged my mind, urging me to escape. Everything turned out wrong, topsy-turvy. Who was this imposter? Certainly not Turian. I drew on reserved energy for the finale—the end all.
Standing his ground, Turian glared at the group, the outline of his eyes still enflamed.
Knocked down on their knees, the remaining few squeezed their temples. Euriel cried out as he rolled across the ground. Sabree tried to help him but buckled over instead.
Turian would kill them all if I didn’t destroy him first. Before I counterattacked, the flaming eyes aimed a ray of fire my way. Excruciating pain similar to blades slicing into my skull, nearly knocked me off my feet.
The only way to stop the agony rested on the destruction of the source. I alone must destroy Turian—the imposter—for good, or my sister and I might cease to exist. This scenario had played out once too often, more than I cared to believe. But this time, something skewed the normal sequence of events—warped time. Turian had never attacked the Fallen. Tim E. Traveler had never made an appearance. The future would be lost if I didn’t act now.
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