“They rode through our streets like packs of rabid dogs, cutting down everyone in their path. They slaughtered people like cattle. Then they began going house to house. We hid well, many of my family and others in a secret cellar, but they found us. Somehow. We were trapped. A Nephilim with a shimmering sword began slaying us, one by one. But rather than become sheep several of us rushed him. His strength was unimaginable, and his speed with his blade inhuman. Some of us were able to merely wound him.
“I must,” Jake felt her shake her head softly, reliving the memory in brutal detail, “have been one of them who wounded him with my blade. It all happened so quickly. He grabbed my hand and turned my own dagger on me, pushing it into my chest and forcing me backward.
“I remember staggering back against the stone wall. Somehow I managed to pull the blade from my chest. I’d never been so wounded before. There was a lot less pain than I would have expected. In fact, the wound felt warm, like something sweet and euphoric spreading quickly through my chest and neck and limbs. The room brightened and I thought, ‘now I will see Aheyeh.’ Then I slipped into sleep.
Jake listened to Francesca’s story, utterly spellbound by her words.
“But when I awoke, I was in hell. Our secret cellar had not been found by anyone else. My family lay slain and putrid all around me. I screamed; and I ran. It was early morning and I found mostly empty streets with bodies still lifeless and stacked in the alleys. Some soldiers chased me but I easily outran them. I knew then something miraculous had happened to me. I had no idea what gift I had been given or how. But somehow death had been cheated. And for that I was grateful. Aheyeh had given me a blessing beyond blessings. I swore on that day I would not squander what He had given me.”
“God,” was all that fell out of Jake’s mouth. He just stared into nothing listening to her words. “Don’t stop. What happened?”
“I swore death to Nebuchadnezzar and all of Babylon. If it was the last thing I would do, Babylon would fall for what they did to us.”
Jake pulled back from her embrace slightly to see the mist that had formed in her eyes.
“I was eventually taken prisoner. It did not take them long to discover I had been gifted. But I soon learned that I was not alone; I was not the only gifted person the king of Babylon had captured.”
“Daniel.” Jake’s lips spoke the prophet’s name.
She nodded. “And his friends, all of us were exiled to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar knew of the Nephilim. He treated us like royalty, like we were children of the gods.”
“You were children of the gods,” Jake agreed.
“We were, although, we did not know this until Sevrin appeared. It was he who was the servant of Ra. Were it not for his help and the knowledge of the Ra to protect us, the Seven would have destroyed the Earth under Babylon’s might.”
“So you never exacted your revenge on Nebuchadnezzar?”
“I swore an empty vow. I did not need to exact my revenge. His own Karma laid him to waste. He died an empty, insane old man, ravaged by disease.”
“But Babylon eventually fell.” Jake held her warmly.
“They all fell, eventually, Jacob. Egypt, Babylon, Persia, Rome, all of them.”
“But, you were there, the Nephilim, the halfbloods.”
She nodded. “The Seven would raise up evil leaders, conquerors, and it was we who worked to mitigate the damage.”
Jake breathed a smile. “And now you’re the ultimate politician. I see where this story is going. Did you bring about the fall of Rome as well?” he chuckled.
“Rome never fell, Jake.”
“Huh? Sure it did.”
She pulled back in their embrace, giving him a wry smile.
“Didn’t it?” he asked.
5
I n the months since Ethan had seen Ty, he’d grown much more serious about his running, weight training and winding down his college schedule. Aside from his lunches with Paige, dating seemed to no longer be in his thoughts, but the memory of Ty always was.
With his law classes out of the way by the end of the year, he planned to hunker down with either Mom or Dad as his coach and start studying for the Bar.
The hot, muggy Florida air had finally lost its summer humidity, rising only into the seventies during the day and dropping down into the forties at night. It was the reason Ethan loved this part of Florida in the fall and winter.
After finishing a heavy workout in the basement gym of his building, Ethan walked into his apartment, still wiping some sweat from his face with the towel around his neck. He suddenly recognized a black nylon duffle resting quietly on his bench just inside the foyer. Ty? Ethan moved quickly through the apartment but found no one else within it.
Ty had definitely been here, but where was he now?
Ethan decided to snoop. He carefully unzipped the sports bag and began cautiously moving through its contents. He found a few changes of different kinds of clothes, neatly folded but still a little wrinkled. Some socks, underwear, Ty’s black running shorts, something that looked like a full-body running suit, a couple pairs of shoes and a small toiletries kit. Nestled between some of the pants he found a rolled-up velvet pouch with what looked like knitting needles of different matte finished colors, only without the typical knitting needle cap on one end. He removed one of the longer styluses and rolled it between his fingers. It felt heavy and solid. He rolled the needles back up and replaced them where he’d found them.
In a zippered bank bag Ethan found a fifty-dollar bill and a couple of Visa gift cards. He re-zipped the bag and while putting it back bumped his hand against something solid. In a smooth small black belt holster, like the kind worn to conceal, he found a compact but thick heavy gun.
Ethan carefully removed the weapon from its holster. It wasn’t much bigger than a Beretta, but it didn’t look like a Beretta—or anything Ethan had ever seen before. The smaller, thick but sleekly-styled weapon looked aggressive and powerful. With its clean lines, it looked like it had been sculpted by some overzealous street bike designer. Ethan found it odd that the weapon didn’t have a trigger, or even a place for a magazine in the grip. In fact, there wasn’t a hammer or even a single moving part on the piece. Ethan decided that Ty was definitely going to come clean on where this baby came from. He replaced the weapon back into its holster and then put it carefully inside the duffle where he had found it.
* * * * *
Ethan awoke to the quiet sounds of someone moving around in his kitchen. All of the lighting was off and it appeared to Ethan that someone about Ty’s size was moving around within it. The shadowy figure moved into the living room and began making himself comfortable on the sofa while Ethan watched from his bed through the open door. Ethan slipped himself from the sheets and went to the doorway of his room.
“Sorry I woke you,” Ty’s smooth masculine voice was a welcome sound in the darkness of the night.
“Are you okay?” Ethan moved into the darkened living room and took a seat next to his friend, using the coffee table as a chair.
“I’m okay. Are you?”
“I’m fine. You came back. I thought I’d never see you again.”
“Things got—a little complicated in Montreal.”
“The people you told me about; the ones who are after you. They found you?”
Ty just grimaced in the darkness.
“Ty, talk to me. Did they find you?”
“Some of them did. Yea.”
“But you got away?”
Ethan heard Ty sigh deeply. “Yea.”
“What happened?”
“Ethan, the less you know about me—” Ty didn’t finish.
“Will they come here?”
“I don’t know. I hope not.”
Ethan thought about Ty and his mysterious duffle. Was Ty putting him in danger with whoever was following him?
“Why did you come back?” Ethan asked quietly.
“I’m, really tired, Ethan. I’m tired of running. I need—”
Ty paused with an pained tone in his voice he was trying to hide, “I need some downtime. Someplace I can lay low for a while and not have to worry about looking over my shoulder every five minutes. I know that puts you in danger too. I can leave if you want me to.”
There was a note of hopelessness in Ty’s voice that hit Ethan in the gut.
“You’re not going anywhere.”
Ethan heard Ty take an emotional breath. He didn’t know what the guy had been through over the past few months. He really didn’t care at the moment. Ethan moved Ty over on the couch and spooned himself strongly behind him. Ty gripped Ethan’s arm tightly as Ethan listed to his emotion softly weep out of him. It just made Ethan want to hold onto him all the more.
The knot in Ty’s gut from what he’d been through was ever present, but holding on to Ethan, feeling his friend’s body warmly wrapped behind his, feeling how Ethan felt about him—somehow Ethan was able to make the pain slowly drain away. With Ethan holding him, the dull throbbing in his gut began to fade. Ty hoped Ethan would be understanding and not think badly of him for the tears that leaked in streams from his eyes in the darkened room. Right now, Ty just needed someone to hold on to.
6
E than awoke in his bed. Both had briefly spooned warmly on the couch, but then Ethan had pulled Ty into his room where both had fallen asleep wrapped around each other.
Breakfast was obviously cooking in the kitchen. Whatever it was smelled heavenly. He could see Ty cleaned up and dressed moving around in the kitchen. Ethan made quick work of a shower and tossed on some short socks, jeans and a fave white cotton fitted button-down.
“Hey, good morning,” Ty smiled handsomely.
“Man what are you making?” Ethan went to the coffee pot where Ty had just made some fresh brew. The whole apartment smelled like a Cinnabon.
“Apple waffles, with a little cinnamon and some icing.”
Ethan walked over to the second-hand waffle iron his mom had given him when he moved out. He took a deep breath. “Dude, you could open a whole chain of restaurants with as good as that smells. You know there’s bacon in the fridge.”
“I know. I saw it. I try to eat vegan as much as possible.”
“Really? Isn’t that hard to do; I mean, travelling as much as you do?”
Ty nodded. “The operative word is ‘try’.” He grinned.
Both sat together at the kitchen’s bar, eating.
“Sorry to just drop in unannounced last night,” Ty munched.
“You don’t need to apologize. I thought I was never going to see you again. Besides, it wasn’t exactly unannounced. I saw the duffle on the bench when I came home.”
“I needed someplace safe to leave it.”
“I sort of snooped through it.” Ethan admitted.
“I knew you would,” Ty grinned.
“Where did you get the piece?”
“That’s, kind of a family heirloom.”
“Heirloom? It doesn’t look old at all.”
“It’s older than it looks. They haven’t made them in a long while.”
“What kind of rounds does it shoot?”
Ty smiled. “Maybe I’ll show you sometime.”
“It didn’t look like you have a lot of money at the moment.”
“I don’t.”
“Do you need some?” Ethan asked.
“Ethan.” Ty set down his juice. “I really hate imposing. I like to pay my own way. I picked up a job yesterday doing mobile home maintenance. They agreed to pay me in cash as my own contractor. If I’m lucky it’ll pull in a couple hundred a day during the snowbird season here. That’s a lot more than I usually make.”
“But, I thought you were trying to keep a low profile?”
“I am.”
“By working in public?”
“It’s a risk. I didn’t say it was flawless. But I need to work.”
“What you need is an office gig somewhere. Someplace you can stay out of sight. What do you know about law?”
Ty smiled. “Probably about as much as you know about quantum mechanics.”
“So you’re a physics major?”
Ty gave Ethan a wry grin. “You could say that. Yea.”
“I’ll talk with my dad and see if there’s any place we could plug you in as a consultant. Dad’s always looking for new ways to bill for expert resources.”
Ty laughed. “I’m sure he is.”
7
W here is he now?” Paige asked, watching Ethan pop a piece of curried tofu into his mouth at their favorite Thai restaurant. Ethan usually ordered chicken with his curry.
“At the office.” Ethan munched.
“Your Dad hired an undocumented worker?”
“Not exactly. Dad’s paying me for the work Ty does. He really likes him.”
“So when do I get to meet your Ty-guy?”
“Honestly, Paige, I’m not sure. He’s really trying to keep a low profile. He doesn’t want to get arrested by ICE.”
“I’d say that’s smart. Most undocumenteds run around like it’s no big deal to be in a country they’re not supposed to be in.”
“Ty’s really smart. Scary smart.”
“So,” Paige began after munching a bite from a spring roll, “did you tell your dad about your relationship with your new roommate?”
“Not exactly.”
“Not exactly? Meaning—?”
“My folks are paying for a one bedroom apartment and I have another guy for a roommate. They’re not stupid, Paige. None of them have said anything, but I think it’s pretty obvious we sleep together.”
“Your dad’s not writing you out of the will yet?” she snickered.
“No, but if Ty keeps doing what he’s doing, Dad might end up writing him into it.”
“Oh?”
“Ty reviewed a really bad accident case and suggested a new strategy with the jury last week. They came back with a little over seven figures. Dad was hoping for five or maybe six at the most.”
“It sounds like ‘Dad’ is not all that concerned about your relationship then at this point.”
Ethan grinned taking another bite. “Hardly.”
8
E than arched his back still gripping the sheets as the last tremors of deep ecstasy rippled sweetly through his body from between his thighs, curling his toes, his chest rising and falling deeply and quickly.
Ty’s lips slipped wetly from Ethan’s thick hard and still tingling cock; he moved up beside Ethan watching him recover. “You okay?” Ty asked, a warm dimpled smile moving across his face while he watched his lover quake softly from a final sensuous tremor.
“Ohhh, God,” Ethan groaned elated, stretching his body as he recovered. “More than okay. You’ve been doing that to me every morning now.”
“I really like the way you taste.” Ty smoothed his hand over Ethan’s still writhing body. The fact was, Ethan’s sexual scent had become incredibly alluring, even a little addicting to Ty. More than once things had gotten out of hand between them.
“How come you never let me do that to you?” Ethan asked. “I really like your scent, especially down here.” He smoothed his hand over Ty’s barely-there pubic trim.
“It’s—not my thing.”
Ethan shot him a coarse look. “Yea, right. Don’t lie.” He watched Ty look away from him. “So level with me. Why don’t you want me going down on you like you do me? I really want to. Be honest.”
“I can’t be honest with you, Ethan. About some things.”
“Why not?”
Ty breathed a deep sigh. “It’s just—complicated, Ethan. I’m still being hunted. I don’t want to put you in any danger.”
“Danger? Why would the people who are after you have anything to do with you and I having sex?” Ethan lifted himself up onto a pillow. “Ty, why don’t you just come clean with me on these people. And why that means you won’t let my lips anywhere near you here,” Ethan’s fingers smoothed nicely over Ty’s still very tall hard male.
/> “Ethan,” Ty hesitated, flexing his hips while Ethan lightly gripped him.
“C’mon, Ty. Level with me.” Ethan gently squeezed his thick cock.
Ty sighed, lifting Ethan’s hand from distracting him. He didn’t want to go through this again. But maybe if Ethan knew? Ty sighed again. “God, Ethan—”
“Tell me.”
Ty groaned. It was happening all over again.
“Listen, I’m going to find out about these people who are chasing you sooner or later,” Ethan reasoned while watching Ty obviously warring within himself about telling him.
“Just tell me,” Ethan pressed.
“It’s not that easy, Ethan. I’m—a lot different than you are.”
“How?”
“My blood. My seed. They’ll change you.” Ty’s eyes met Ethan’s.
“Do you have a disease?”
“No. It’s nothing like that.” Ty hesitated. “The truth is, I’m a god, Ethan.”
“Hello?” Ethan chuckled. “I already knew that. Have you seen you?”
Ty grinned. “No. Listen, I’m not joking. I’m being serious here.”
“God? Is that like an acronym for something?”
“No. Just an informal noun. It’s what your people have called us since the beginning of time.”
“You’re serious.” Ethan watched him carefully.
Ty nodded. “It’s why you’re attracted to me. Why I’m so attracted to you.”
Ethan could somehow feel Ty all over inside him. He pulled himself closer to Ty’s skin, wrapping his leg around one of Ty’s.
“See?” Ty smiled. “All I have to do is touch your feelings and suddenly we’re inseparable.”
Paradisus (Awakened Book 6) Page 4
