by L. L Hunter
“Hey, Cuz. How are you?”
“Good.” They had last seen each other during the battle in Trafalgar square a few days ago, but a lot had happened since then. Max and Gabe’s energy had run dangerously low while they held the wave of souls in place, causing their hold on them to slip and, eventually, losing them. The souls had escaped and were still roaming the city, wreaking havoc. During the time between the battle and now, everyone had had their own duties and went their separate ways. “My strength has just about returned, but there’s something I need to tell you.”
“What is it?” Asher asked, concerned. Eden could see that something was eating away at her cousin. It was clear on his face.
“Why don’t we go into one of the restaurants where it’s quieter? We can talk and eat then,” said Eden.
“Fine.” Everyone wanted to eat, but Max was still too nervous.
They headed into an English style pub restaurant that wasn’t too expensive and sat in the corner. When the waiter arrived, they all placed orders for diet cokes, burgers, and fries. Then they leaned their heads in close when the waiter was gone so they could hear what Max had to tell them.
“So, what’s going on, Cuz?”
“Ever since the battle at Trafalgar, I’ve had these nightmares. I think Samson or Abraham is trying to taunt me.”
Eden gripped her knife so tight her knuckles turned white. She slammed her fist down on the sticky wooden table. “I’m going to end that devil spawn. How the heck does he keep getting away?”
“Me too. He and Abraham and Jazmine too,” added Asher.
“I want them gone as much as you do, but first, we need to find the rest of the souls I lost and purify them. We can’t do that without the vaccine and Gabe.”
“You lost? Max, you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself. It wasn’t your fault.” Eden reached for his hand across the table. Their traits recognised each other and happily twisted together around their joined hands. They were both similar. They had both been kissed by death.
“It is my fault, Eden. It was my choice to take this job, be the caretaker of the Realm of Death, and purify the tainted souls. But I think I’ve taken on more than I can handle.”
“It is perfectly fine to doubt ourselves and our abilities, but we need to learn to trust in ourselves, not the perceptions others have of us. They don’t know us,” said Eden.
Asher’s jaw dropped open, and he reached out and suddenly pulled Eden’s face toward him, kissing her hard. Eden pulled back, gasping, then kissed him again. Max watched them and instantly wanted something like that. He wondered when he would meet his soulmate. He wanted what his parents had, what Eden and Asher had. What almost everyone around him had except him. Though, he was still young. He looked to be around fifteen years, even though, technically, he was no more than a few months old. He and Gabe were similar in that way. They had both grown exceptionally fast. They were special, and they were dangerous to demon-kind. That’s why Samson wanted the boys so badly. He wanted to use them as weapons against their families, twist their traits into something evil and dark. He thought about Eden’s words and nodded.
“You’re right.”
“How did my girl get so smart?” teased Asher, nudging Eden’s shoulder. Eden smirked and nudged him back.
“Hey, I’ve been studying. I’m not a total rebel.”
“I love you,” Asher whispered.
“I love you too, but stop with the PDA’s already. You’re making my baby cousin uncomfortable. Right, Max?”
“No, it’s okay. You guys are cute together. I’d love to have something like that one day.”
Their burgers and fries arrived then, and they each got stuck into their meals hungrily. Max hadn’t realised how hungry he was, despite his stomach’s protests.
“Aww. I’m sure you will. You’ll find your soulmate in no time.” Eden shoved a chip into her mouth. “Now, what do we do while we’re waiting for this demon-purifying vaccine?”
“We could track Samson, Abraham, and Jasmine down, but your father would probably kill me if he found out I’d suggested that,” said Asher.
“Yeah, he so would.” Eden laughed and took a big bite of her cheeseburger. It was good but not as good as the gourmet burgers in Melbourne. She missed Melbourne. But London was now her home for the foreseeable future.
“Speaking of your father, has Uncle Lakyn said anything about when the vaccine will be ready?” asked Max.
“It should be within the next few days,” replied Eden. “We can’t start collecting souls without it, and we can’t let Gabe and you exhaust your traits too much. It’s too dangerous knowing that Samson, Abraham, and Jazmine are still on the loose.”
“So, what should we do?” asked Asher.
Max thought about his nightmares and the voice in his head and smiled. He had an idea.
“I have an idea,” he said, “but you won’t like it.”
Chapter 5
Melody watched as the green spark in Gabe’s hand grew. The electricity sizzled as it increased in size, and soon, it was a green ball the size of Gabe’s head. He studied the glowing, sizzling bright green ball of electricity in his hand and concentrated on shaping it into a ball. Finally, the ball hovered above his fingertips. He gently moved that ball in front of him. Melody’s eyes widened as she watched him shape his trait into a physical form. She was amazed.
“Where did you learn to do that?”
Gabe grinned and turned to look at her standing beside him. “Eden taught me. We’ve been trying to teach Max too, but that was before Abraham started messing with his head. He’s a bit conflicted right now. He’s not in a good place.”
“It’s quite impressive. It looks easy to control.”
“It is once you know what you’re doing.” Gabe turned his attention back to the ball of green energy in his hand. “Watch this.” He turned his body toward one of the rectangular-shaped windows high above, pulled back his hand as if he were going to bowl a cricket ball, and then launched the green ball of electricity out the window.
Suddenly, storm clouds gathered above Westminster Abbey, and white lightning bolts crisscrossed through the dark green clouds.
“Um… Gabe? What did you do?”
“I… I’m not sure.”
They watched in confusion and horror as a lightning bolt left the clouds and struck the roof of the abbey. They screamed as the bolt hit, causing an enormous bang. The whole place shook, and smoke filled their nostrils.
“I think the lightning set the roof alight,” Melody said, whipping out her dagger. But before she could lead Gabe out of there and into safety, she watched as a portal opened up in the room in front of them, and two figures stepped through. Melody stepped in front of Gabe to protect him from the strangers, but Gabe stepped around her and started toward the two figures.
“It’s okay. I know them.”
“Gabe! Be careful.”
The portal disappeared, and there before them stood two people everyone thought were dead.
“Mum! Dad!”
“Gabriel? Oh, my Gabriel. My sweet boy.” Gabe ran into the arms of his mother and hugged her tightly. Then he turned to face his father and hugged him. They both looked older than he remembered. His father, Adam, a Nephilim, now sported a dark bushy beard with grey streaks, and his mother, Veronica, human, had shorter blonde hair, which also had grey streaks through it. Time travel had aged them.
“Mum, Dad, where have you been?”
“We’ve been stuck just outside this realm for an infinite amount of years. Where we were was in a dimension where time moved faster than this one. It’s been a few hundred years there. How old are you now, Gabe?” asked Adam.
“I’m almost eighteen.”
“Oh, my God, we’ve been gone three years, Adam!” exclaimed Veronica. She studied her son. “You look so grown up, my baby boy.”
He smiled and then remembered Melody. He turned and saw Melody looking at his parents as if they were aliens. He cleared his th
roat and reached out for his guardian.
“Mum and Dad, I’d like you to meet Melody. My guardian angel.”
Adam pulled his gaze from his son’s and looked over at the guardian angel. He then held up his hand, and a lightning bolt shot from his hand and wrapped itself around Melody’s neck. He lifted her up into the air.
“Dad!” Gabe screamed and threw his trait at him. But as soon as Gabe’s trait shot from his fingers, Adam grasped the green electricity with his mind, and it died mid-air before it had a chance to reach its target. Gabe staggered back, dumbfounded at what was happening.
“Adam! What are you doing? Let the girl go.”
“How can my son have a guardian angel? Tell me who you are, Angel?”
“Dad! What are you doing? Melody isn’t a threat. Please, let her go.”
Adam sighed and reluctantly set Melody down on the ground. Melody coughed and spluttered as Gabe ran to her side.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yes. Gabe. There’s something you need to know about your parents.”
They walked out the front door of Westminster Abbey, and Melody pulled Gabe aside as they stepped out into the street.
“What is it? They’re my parents. They’re not dangerous.”
“But they are, Gabe. That’s Adam Daylesford and Veronica Brennon. They were the first Nephilim and Michaelite couple. Their affair was secret. You were born out of taboo. But that’s not the problem.”
“Then what is it?”
“Your father is the Nephilim world’s most wanted fugitive, apart from Samson, Abraham, and Jazmine. His trait is empathy. Meaning he can take on the trait of just about anyone. He is one of the most dangerous people alive. There’s no telling just how many traits he has now. That is the reason why your Aunt Rachael sent him into time and space. So he couldn’t hurt anyone else.”
“How do you know this? Why hasn’t anyone told me this before?”
“They didn’t want you to think your parents were evil. You were raised so naïve, Gabe. I’m sorry. I know this because I have been watching you your entire life, Gabe.”
Gabe walked to the kerb and sat down. He fisted his hair and then looked behind him. He jumped to his feet and ran back to the doors of the church. “Mum? Dad?”
“Oh, no!” said Melody, tugging at her hair in a panic. She couldn’t breathe.
Gabe glanced around frantically. “Where are they?”
“They’re gone.”
Chapter 6
Melody picked up Gabe and flew straight toward Rome. They had to talk to the president immediately.
“This is not good. This is definitely not good,” Melody repeated as they landed in the courtyard of the Nephilim Capital.
“I don’t understand why my father is so dangerous, why you’re scared.”
She was dreading the day this conversation would happen. Melody had hoped it would never occur, but it had, and she had to tread carefully. Maybe she could let Beth take the reins and tell Gabe. How do you tell a teenaged Nephilim that his father tried to kill his own niece?
They met Beth’s guards outside her office and, thankfully, were let straight through.
“So, what’s this urgent, life-threatening news?” Beth asked as the door to her office was shut behind them, and they were locked inside safely. She walked around her desk and sat. She gestured toward the two seats opposite. Gabe and Melody took the seats, even though both felt equally nervous about the whole situation—Melody because she didn’t know what to tell Gabe, and Gabe because he was anxious to find out just how dangerous his parents were. Especially his father.
Melody let out a shaky breath. “There’s no easy way to say this, Madam President, but Adam Daylesford and Veronica Brennon have escaped.”
Beth had picked up a pen on the desktop, but her hand dropped the pen, and it clattered to the wooden desktop upon hearing the devastating news.
“What? How is that possible? Lakyn and Rachael sent them through a portal into time and space. Tell me what happened.”
“I…” Gabe began. “I don’t know how it happened, but we were just training at Westminster Abbey, and all of a sudden, a portal opened in front of us, and my parents stepped through.”
“Your Aunt Rachael, Gabriel, can control time and open wormholes. We do know that Adam had been able to do that in the past. He once sent my son and your aunt back in time. It has been years, though, and since then, your father has taken on a lot of new traits.”
“Could it be possible for him to open a portal, though?” Melody asked.
“It is not impossible. We just thought they were dead.” Beth’s eyes turned sincere as she looked at Gabe. “I’m sorry you have to hear this about your own parents, Gabriel. It must be hard.”
“No, it’s okay. There’s something I still don’t understand, though.”
“Yes?”
“What did my parents do exactly? Why is it such a big deal that they’re free?”
Melody looked down at her folded hands. She wrung her fingers tight and bit her lip nervously.
Beth leaned forward and folded her hands over her laptop in front of her. “Your father’s trait is a unique one, in that he can take on the ability of those around him. He can have multiple traits at once, and that makes him dangerous. We have no idea just how many traits he can possess.”
“Okay, sure. But I still don’t understand why he is so dangerous.”
Beth sighed and looked down at her hands again. “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, Gabriel.” She met his gaze. “Your father once tried to kill Eden.”
Gabriel’s head spun with this news. He still couldn’t fathom that his own father could do such a thing.
“No way. He wouldn’t kill Eden. His own niece.”
“But he did, Gabe,” Melody added. He turned to look at her. “Possessing that much power was too much for him. It made him think he was omnipotent. The power went to his head. He had to be stopped.”
Gabe pushed the chair back and stood. He strode to the door and stopped before it, turning back. “I don’t believe you. I’m going to find my parents and make them tell me the truth. You should’ve seen the way they hugged me. They love me.”
“They may love you, Gabriel,” said Beth, “but that doesn’t mean they are harmless.”
Gabe shook his head. “No. I’m going to prove you wrong. My parents are not dangerous.” He stormed out of the office. As he was leaving, Gabe heard Beth telling Melody to follow him. She was his guardian angel and would follow him to the Realm of Ice if that’s what it took. He had to prove his parents weren’t who everyone said they were, even if Melody and everyone else tried to convince him otherwise.
Chapter 7
Are you sure Samson is here?” asked Max. He stood beside Eden and Asher outside of the Poison Garden. This was a place Eden had always wanted to visit. All things death fascinated Eden. And a garden filled with just about every plant on the planet that could kill you was paradise for her.
“He’s not.”
“Then why are we here?”
“I’ve always wanted to see this place,” she said, skipping through the front gates.
“Eden, I know you love everything relating to death, but we’re not here on a tourist visit,” said Asher, reluctantly following his soulmate into the garden. “We need to find Samson, Abraham, and Jazmine.”
Max followed them closely, and when he stepped inside the gates of the Poison Garden, he began to feel extremely itchy. He scratched at his face, his arms through his jacket, his scalp. Had he accidentally brushed against poison ivy or something? He glanced around and saw that each plant species had a sign saying its English name and scientific name, what the plant was used for, and the symptoms it could give a person if ingested or touched. He made a mental note to stay on the marked path. Eden reached out and brushed her fingers over each of the plants she passed.
“Eden, don’t,” warned Max. Eden paused and turned around to look at him. She scrunched up her
nose.
“What?”
“Don’t touch anything. I feel… itchy. I must have accidentally touched something.”
“Are you okay, buddy?” asked Asher, concerned.
“Yes. Fine. But we shouldn’t stay long.”
“Okay. I just have to find something,” said Eden, skipping off down the winding path out of sight. Asher and Max ran after her.
They found Eden standing at the end of the path studying the herb section.
“Eden, what are you…” began Max. He walked toward her, but suddenly, he was unable to move. Instead, his body began to flicker like a flame.
“Eden! Asher!”
When they saw what was happening to Max, Asher and Eden ran to his side.
“Max? What’s going on? What’s happening?”
“I… it must be the sage.”
“Sage?” Eden blinked, looking around for the sage plant. She spotted a big bush of it in the centre of the herb section. “Sage isn’t poisonous.”
“It is to ghosts and those touched by death. I remember reading a book in the Realm of Death, in Abraham’s library,” Max explained. “It was a demon botany book. It listed all the herbs and plants that are deadly to demons and reapers.”
“I didn’t see a book like that when I was there,” Eden said, scrunching up her nose again. “It’s something I would have remembered.”
“It was in Abraham’s secret library, the section where he kept his journal. I’m certain he didn’t want anyone to know how to hurt him.”
Max’s body began flickering more fiercely now as if a strong wind was blowing nearby. He wavered between his corporeal form and his reaper one—of smoke and light. Eden watched on helplessly.
“We have to get you out of here,” she said, worried.
“No. I’ll be fine. Just get some of the sage. Then, we can use it to trap Abraham.”
Max’s body flickered once more and then extinguished, and he faded into the air in a puff of smoke.
