by KA Young
I walked toward the fireplace.
“We keep a fire burning year round down here. With concrete walls and floors, it can get downright frigid in here.” Eli was leaning against the wall between two shelves in the corner of the room. He eyed me with curiosity as I beheld my surroundings. “Can I get you a drink of water, tea? Or would you prefer a glass of wine?” He glided across the room to a built-in bar. His movement was strange; I hadn’t ever seen anyone move so smoothly before.
“A glass of water would be wonderful. Thanks. ” I sat down on one of the chairs and watched him pull a bottle from the wine cooler that, from what I could see, appeared to be rather old. It also bore the same symbol that I saw on the door.
He poured its contents into a crystal, highball glass and brought it to me. I took it from him. I held the glass up to the light and inspected the liquid, not that I thought it was poison or anything; it just sparkled more than any glass of sparkling water I had ever had.
“May I?” He inclined his head before sitting in the chair opposite me.
I shrugged, finding it odd that he asked my permission. “It’s your place. You can sit wherever you want.” I took a sip of the water, relishing its unusual crispness.
It was simply delicious and incredibly refreshing. It was the best water I had ever tasted.
Get a grip on yourself, Anna. It’s water for heaven’s sake. You’re probably just a little dehydrated.
Yes, I was engaged in a personal conversation with myself. It was an exceedingly lousy month for me.
Eli sat back in the chair with visible amusement on his face.
Had he read my mind? No, no one can actually read another person's mind.
He leaned forward, placing his hands on his thighs, and fixed his eyes on mine.
Yes, my dear Annabelle, it is possible. I can hear your thoughts, and now you can hear mine.
I leapt from the chair and dashed for the door, straining to push it open. It was now official, I was losing it. I had to get out of here, but the door wouldn’t budge. I could feel his breath on the back of my neck before I realized he was behind me.
“Annabelle, it’s all right.” I felt his hand on my shoulder. “You will adjust to all of this in time.”
I snapped and whirled on him. “All right? It’s not all right. Nothing will ever be all right again. Joe’s dead! Killed by some kind of monster. I’m seeing things that couldn’t possibly be real and now I’m hearing things! I am teetering on the edge here, buddy. I don’t know what kind of shit you’re trying to pull here, but it needs to stop!” He was standing so close to me.
I shoved at his chest, but he barely shifted. I felt something hot welling up inside me. I allowed the warmth to fill me. I had experienced it before, but nothing like what I felt now. I shoved him, again, yet harder this time. He fell backwards; the shock of what had just happened evident on his face. He was back on his feet in less than a second. This time, however, I saw his fast movement.
A smile spread across his face. This crazy nut was actually smiling! I wanted to knock the smile off his smug face. I’m not sure why, I just did. I’ve never been a violent person. I was always in control of my emotions, but right now, all I wanted was to beat something. I lunged at him, forgetting that I was wearing a dress. He caught me and we both went down, smashing a table in the process.
He rolled on top of me, pinning my arms above my head and my dress flew up around my waist, exposing my white lace panties. I was panting, my chest rising and falling at a rapid rate causing his eyes to stray to my chest where he gazed longingly at my breasts. I felt heat pooling between my legs, my body betraying my mind, and his nostrils flared.
My mind said that he couldn’t possibly smell me, but the heat coming from his eyes informed me that he undoubtedly could. I was almost embarrassed, almost. His gaze left my breasts and landed on my eyes where he could see how much I wanted him. My body was responding to him in ways that it had never reacted to a man before.
I lifted my head and my lips barely grazed his. My nipples, hardened by the contact, were straining against the confines of my bra as my face flushed with desire.
His mouth crashed down onto mine hungrily, his tongue snaking its way into my mouth and touching mine. A strong force took control of my body erasing all of my doubts about this man. All I knew was I needed this man more than I needed air. I tugged my hands from his grip and thrust them into his silky, dark hair. I couldn’t get close enough to him. I loved the taste of him.
I reached down his back and pulled at his shirt. Skin! I needed skin. Following my lead, he ripped his shirt over his head. His mouth was back on mine as soon as the shirt was tossed aside. I wrapped my legs tightly around him, urging him on while he rained kisses down my throat, leaving a trail of fire on my skin. As he pulled the spaghetti straps of my dress all the way down to my rib cage and pushed my bra up, I felt him hardening against my leg. I wanted him badly. He palmed my breast, taking my nipple between his thumb and index finger, making me arch my back in ecstasy.
I never knew it could be this way with a man and I didn’t want it to end.
I vaguely heard my phone buzzing and I tried to ignore it, but it went on and on, pulling my attention away. I remembered sliding my phone in my purse on my way out this morning. That realization snapped me back to reality. My mind flashed with images of Joe and me laughing over dinner, my sister and her family at Christmas, then lastly, Joe’s death.
I was suddenly horrified at what I was doing and I froze. Eli, sensing the change in me, reluctantly pulled himself off me. He stood, offering me his hand. I didn’t take it; I just sat up, righted my clothing, and pulled my knees to my chest, wrapping my arms around them before I started to cry. Eli knelt down next to me and put his arm around my shoulders, but I immediately shrugged him off.
“Annabelle, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have allowed that to happen. You need time to grieve your loss.” I sniffed and began looking around for something to wipe my nose on and he handed me his shirt. I took it and cleaned my face up before letting him help me to my feet. I picked my purse up off the floor and checked my phone. I had five missed calls from Dan. I slid the phone back into my bag. I needed answers before I could speak to him.
I picked up my glass of water and took a few more sips, sitting down on the sofa next to the table we had destroyed. I was embarrassed to look him in the eye after what I had just done. I had thrown myself at him, grinding on him like a horny teenager. I shook it off. I didn’t have time to be embarrassed; I had more serious matters to focus on.
“Okay.” I took a deep breath. I could keep denying what was happening to me, or I could just deal with it and face it. I was ready to face it. “Now tell me what’s going on. Start with that freaky thing with red eyes that I keep seeing everywhere.”
He walked over to the wall, pulled a book from one of the shelves, and then he took a seat next to me. The book looked terribly old and worn, piquing my interest. He rubbed his hand respectfully across the cover’s unusual writing.
“It’s Hebrew. It means Nephilim. Do you know anything about the Biblical account of the Nephilim?” I remembered something about it from a Sunday school class when I was a teenager, though not much.
“They were giants or something. All of them were destroyed in the flood, I think.” I wasn’t sure where this was going, but I was determined to keep an open mind. Anything was better than finding out I was hallucinating.
“The Nephilim were the offspring of the sons of God and the daughters of man. They appear human, but not entirely. Nephilim are stronger, faster, heal quicker, and live infinitely longer. They were the warriors of their time. The flood did not destroy them; they also inhabited the land of Canaan, which came after the flood. . Over the centuries, the race changed. We are not as tall as before, but we are a stronger breed now. The longer we live, the stronger and faster we become.” He exhaled and opened the book. “All of us born into the Nephilim race have the same mark upon their skin. It loo
ks like this.”
He pointed to the symbol that was on the door, the bottle of water, and more importantly, on my hip. My heart rate increased. I placed my hand over it in an attempt to conceal it, even though it was already well hidden under my dress.
“Many centuries ago, the queen of our race gave birth to twin sons. Although the king was overjoyed by this, it presented a problem later when both the king and queen were killed in the first attack of the yetzer hara.”
“I’m sorry, the yetzer what?”
“Those of our race that decided to embrace evil became the embodiment of demons. They left our race and began their own race. Yetzer hara means ‘to do evil’.” He cleared his throat. “Because both of the twins were royalty and entitled to be king, there was a separation in the Nephilim race.
“Some years later, there was another attack on the Nephilim. The yetzer hara infiltrated their homes and killed many men, women, and children. Some of the women escaped with their children, finding refuge in the caves and mountains.
“When they received word that their hiding place had been uncovered, they made provisions for the infants in the group. They sought out human hospitals far away from our lands and replaced their sick and dying babies with our healthy infants. Our women cared for their dying children and the humans unknowingly raised our healthy infants.” He took a breath.
“After the attack, each king blamed the other for the devastation. This caused a war amongst our people where many died, but truthfully, neither side was prepared for the attack.”
I mulled over what he told me. My parents weren’t actually my parents. It would explain why Julie and I were so different from each other, but I needed to know more.
“So, what you’re saying is, my biological mother was a Nephilim and she couldn’t save me from the attack, so she gave me to my human mom.” This wasn’t painful news because I barely even remembered my mother.
He nodded slowly. “Yes, that is correct. Like many others, they were able to find a suitable placement until you could be found again.”
“I have never quite felt normal, but being a part of a super human race just doesn’t quite describe me.” He seemed to relax a little. I guess he was glad I didn’t freak out again.
“You have some ability. We must nourish our bodies and minds with sustenance from our lands to keep ourselves at our maximum potential. You were only able to hear my thoughts after you drank the water from our lands. You wouldn’t have been able to knock me down, even if I had been caught off guard, without the strength you received from the sacred water. It usually takes weeks to regain your natural born abilities. You surprised me.”
“It was the best water I have ever tasted, but all of this is extremely hard to believe, Eli. What does this have to do with Joe’s death? That thing that was standing over Joe in his office, in my backyard and that chased me today was one of the yetzy…”
He leaned his head back and closed his eyes.
“I love the sound of my name on your lips. Yetzer hara,” he interjected. “Yes, that was one of them, though not the same one. I killed the one in your backyard.”
“You said they looked human. That thing didn’t look human.”
“You were able to see its true form. Humans can only see the human form that it masks itself to be. They have become pure evil, so they lost any humanity that was once part of them. For the past thirty-five years, they have been searching for our children, seeking only to kill them.”
“Okay, but why would it want to kill Joe? Was he part of the Nephilim as well?” I couldn’t imagine Joe being a Nephilim, he was nothing like Eli.
“No, but he was married to you. Your scent was on him…” Eli’s voice trailed off.
My scent was on him? It had never been after Joe. It was after me. He died because of me.
No, Anna. You mustn’t blame yourself. We should have found you before you created such an attachment to a human. The fault lies with those who were responsible to find you. We...
“Would you quit doing that?” I stood up and paced the room. “When you speak to me, please do so audibly. It makes me feel crazy hearing your voice inside my head.”
“I’m sorry it unnerves you, I will be mindful of it going forward. Like I was saying, the fault lies with me. I failed you, but I assure you I will not do so again!”
I stopped pacing and stood in front of him. He was still seated in the chair, but no longer relaxed. My anger was rekindled once more. I wasn’t interested in who failed whom; all I wanted was to make the ones that killed Joe pay. I had never felt anger like this before; it was all-consuming.
“You said I would be stronger if I ate and drank food from the lands, correct?”
He nodded. “Yes, that and training. You need to exercise your talents in the same way you exercise your physical muscles in order to make them stronger. We all have our own unique abilities. In time, you will find yours. There are many others I need to introduce you to that can help you on this journey.”
“Uh-huh, well, that's perfect because you need to get right on that. I need more of that water and some food.” I barely recognized my own voice or the rage I was experiencing. It was spurring me to action. I would not wait around for others that I loved to be hurt.
He stood. “It will take some time; you will have everything you need.”
“Time isn’t a luxury that I have. I need to know everything about the yetzer hara; most importantly, how they die. I am going to kill every single one of those sons of bitches.”
Chapter 5
Eli spent two days introducing me to others that were living in the compound behind the warehouse. They all had different jobs and responsibilities. The women were quite pleasant, they seemed to all have jobs as well; some were running the kitchen while others handled the day to day running of the facility. I had passed several rooms that seemed to be used for classrooms. They were always filled with women pouring over texted books, but I had yet to figure out what exactly they were studying. The men I had encountered here were warriors like Eli, and similar in height and build.
It wasn’t as I expected. Everything was remarkably normal here, or at least, it appeared to be. The only even slightly abnormal moment was when Eli took my phone and crushed it after we left the library the other day. He said he didn’t want us traced. I was a little put off until he immediately handed me a new one with his number and some of the other Nephilim programmed into it. I tried not to think of Julie or Dan. I would explain everything to them in time. First, I had to explain it to myself and I wasn’t sure how long that would take.
He gave me a room that was sufficiently furnished, and I was slowly getting used to putting my palm on the glowing door to come and go.
I was alone, on my way to the common dining room, where everybody took their meals, when I ran into the young woman who waved to me the day I arrived here. She was rounding the corner pretty quickly.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t see you there.”
She shook her head. “I wasn’t watching where I was going; sorry.”
“Not a problem. My name is Anna.” I stuck my hand out to her. She shook it vigorously.
“I’m Elise. It’s nice to meet you. You on your way to grab a bite to eat?”
“Yeah, I am.”
“Terrific! Do you mind if I eat with you?”
“That would be great.” I loved the idea of having another woman to talk to. We found our way to the dining hall, filled our trays, and sat at a little table in the corner. The food was phenomenal here. The best fruits and vegetables I had ever tasted. All of it came from Nephilim sacred lands.
“The food makes you feel wonderful, doesn’t it?” Elise was enjoying her last slice of melon.
“Mm.” I nodded with a full mouth.
“Can I ask you something, Anna?”
“Sure. What do you want to know?” I swallowed the last of my water.
“What is your special gift?” She leaned closer to me as she spoke. I wasn’t
quite sure what she was asking me. I assumed it had to do with the talents Eli mentioned.
“I don’t know. I didn’t even know about all this until two days ago. I had a life before coming here. I have a sister. I had a husband…” My voice trailed off.
“He was a human, right? What happened to him, if you don’t mind my asking?”
“No, I don’t mind. He died a little over a month ago.” I put my fork down and wiped my mouth with a napkin.
“That’s tough. I’m dreadfully sorry for your suffering. Did you know that—”
We were interrupted by Hannah, who took care of the newcomers. She had such a sweet countenance, I had liked her instantly. She wanted to make sure we had what we needed. Hannah looked to be in her late forties; but she was much older. Eli said everyone stopped counting their ages after a few centuries.
“I have been able to procure clothes for you. I had them put in your room in case you would like to retire early.”
We took the hint and got up. I was finished anyway, and grateful for the clothing. I had been able to shower, but had to wear the same dress for the last three days. I borrowed a pair of flip-flops, since I lost mine.
“Thank you, Hannah.” Hannah nodded toward Elise and bowed slightly before me as she went on her way. It was a little odd.
I was glad to see that Elise had a room next to mine. “You want to come in and talk for a while?” I put my hand on the door and it started to open.
“Yes!” Elise exclaimed at once, following me into my room. She walked over and sat on my bed. She toyed with the braided cord that tied the old-fashioned, canopy bed curtains back. I pulled the chair from under the marble desk in the corner and sat opposite Elise.
“What were you going to say before Hannah arrived?”
