The day after Ruth and Samiel’s wedding found our ever growing group sitting at my dining room table. Not too long ago I wondered who would or could have so many people at one time. Our group had grown and now almost all the chairs were taken. Who knew?
The reunion under better circumstances would have been a time for celebration, but that ended the moment we’d left the reception. No breakfast was offered, no polite conversation broke the tense silence of the room. We all sat and waited for the set of identical twins to start.
“Azriel knows that you have found us. He increased his efforts to find the last.”
I appreciated their candor but the news was a bit like a band-aid being ripped off a sore not quite healed.
“How?” Sariel asked.
“What is important is that he will find Oneta and Alma first,” they said.
“Can’t you tell us where they are?” Lucius asked.
“No.”
Everyone looked at me as if I could force the twins to tell us the location of the last set of lost twins. I put my head down in concentration. Enid and Amala had explained their “sight” to us. The future changed all the time. A vision seen today may not happen tomorrow. They could and did try to see it, but they did not always get an answer. Their sight seemed like both a blessing and a curse to me.
“Who sides with Azriel,” I asked.
“The Winter Queen will promise him aid.”
“And the Summer Queen,” I asked.
“That is yet to be seen.”
“How long do we have,” Samiel asked.
“Spring.”
We sat; processing the information we’d just been given. Spring. I would be large with child by then. My hand went to my stomach. Lucius rubbed the back of my neck. I felt like time was moving too fast, slipping through my fingers like sand. I looked around the table at all the people, at my family; from those who had been chosen, to the ones that had just joined us. Each person’s expression was different, but the same thought was on everyone’s mind. It weighed on all our hearts. So little time. Little time for me to enjoy the wonders of creating new life, little time for Ruth to experience the joys of being someone’s wife, little time for us to find the others.
“Do you know where Fredrick is?” I asked.
“He comes now.”
Emily jumped from her chair as the rest of us turned to look at the entrance of the dining room. We heard the front door open and footsteps coming down the hall. A man of about thirty rounded the corner. His eyes went straight to Emily. Tall and well muscled under his tunic top and drawstring pants, his hair dark blond hair was long and loose, the curls hung around his ice blue eyes. Emily walked slowly to her mate as he held his hand out. She took it and he drew her into his arms, giving her a passionate kiss. Amala and Sveva giggled like two school girls while the rest of us looked away. Fredrick released Emily, who stayed in his arms. She pushed his hair back from his forehead and touched his face. He took her hand kissed it once before taking it and walking over to Amara and Sveva. He let go to take them both into his arms.
“It’s so good to see you two again,” he said.
“But how is it that you’re here?” Emily asked once we were settled again.
“I brought Sveva here when we separated and we’ve been here ever since.”
Fredrick looked at Sveva and Amara, smiling. “I put glamour on us to age us and a spell wiped our memory.”
“Brilliant,” someone said.
“Why didn’t you come to me yesterday?” Emily asked.
“Because I had not seen the twins, only Sveva had.” Fredrick explained his ingenious plan about having to see both of the twins together before any memory was triggered. He added parts that even Sveva didn’t know.
“It took a set of twins to break the first part of spell, the part that released limited memory. That is why Sveva knew who the twins were.” Fredrick said. He looked around to make sure we were all following him. “Then she would have to see her mate in order for her true form to appear and lastly we’d both have to free of the spell for either of us to regain full memories.” Fredrick finished, looking quite proud at the complexity of the spell. “I’ve been here the whole time.”
“Where…In the village?” Amara asked amazed.
“I own the gas station you stopped and asked direction from on your first day here.”
“No,” Ruth said. He was the attendant, the first person to welcome us.
“Enid and Amala came to me this morning and told me that Sveva and Amara were together. But they did not tell me that you were here.”
“Our surprise to you,” they said together.
Excited conversation erupted in the room. I watched my family as they all talked over each other. How quickly the mood in the room had changed. The room was filled with something that even the word love didn’t seem quite big enough to describe. I looked at my oldest sisters and was the only one to see them smile. It was full of joy and hope. It was gone too soon. Their words to each other both gave me hope and filled me with terror.
“Who could stand against such a force?” Enid asked her mate.
“No one,” Amala answered.
I was still staring when Lucius took my hand. Comforting me as only his touch could do. I wanted to turn away from the hidden meaning in the question and answer session I’d accidently witnessed. First dangerous love and now love as a force. I’d heard the saying, love conquers all, but my sisters were giving it a whole new meaning. It was as if they were speaking for war. They couldn’t be. Could they?
We didn’t know what Azriel end game was but Sariel and the rest of the defectors all felt that it was the destruction of the Mothers that he was after. Certainly that didn’t equate to war. Did it?
“Nephilim are man’s warriors now. Remembering the Almighty’s mercy, they fight in the shadows. But they are not alone. Some of their fathers are with us still.” The twins picked up their story as the last of the chatter died down.
“And these angels, why would they hide their existence for so long,” Samiel asked.
“These guardians have protected the line from the very beginning. They have battled these last thousand years making sure Azriel was never able to find us.”
“To say that implies that they knew your location. How is that possible?”
Lucius had been the only angel to make contact with the line that we knew of. Hearing that there were always guardians was just…
“They always knew.”
The same look of confused astonishment covered all our faces. I felt like it was a requirement anytime we were in a group larger than four. Would the surprises ever stop?
“And where are they now? Why do they not protect Alma and Oneta?” Samiel asked.
“They do.”
Confusion was turning into frustration at our round table. For the second time, I found myself irritated with the boundaries of my sisters’ abilities. All of it was good information, piecing it together scrambled my brain and made my head hurt.
“Is there one that we can call on now,” I asked.
“Armaros.”
I remembered the name. Armaros was one of the seraphim that disappeared before the return. They all assumed he had been destroyed with the rest of the fallen. Every angel in the room looked at Enid and Amala, their bodies as still as statues. It was unsettling to see.
In the corner of the room, behind where the eldest twins sat, an angel appeared. It was not quick, like the transformation of Emily and Sveva. It was more like watching him materialize before our eyes. A shadowy figure appeared and took shape. It grew both darker and filled with color, until an angel of great stature stood before us.
“Hadraniel…Sariel.”
The angel’s voice filled the room. It was impressive, it reminded me of Samiel. He was taller than even Maalik and appeared to be older than Samiel. His wings were not visible but I had little doubt they’d fill the room. None of the angels said a word. Lucius was the only one to stand,
but he moved no further.
“Queen Mother.”
Armaros voice was filled with pride I didn’t understand. In my short reign I had seen awe, astonishment, disbelief, even fear, but this was a first for pride.
“How is this possible,” Lucius finally spoke but it was little more than a whisper.
Armaros walked over to him and took Lucius by the shoulders. “You did well.”
Maalik was taller but Lucius somehow always seemed bigger to me, even when they were standing side by side. If Lucius was big Armaros was huge. It had nothing to do with weight or height; it had everything to do with presence. Armaros was the first created, the oldest, his presence was so strong it was almost a physical thing. His head was dangerously close to the ceiling and there were some light fixtures he was going to have to look out for if he left the dining room. His skin was tanned and his black hair was shoulder length and wavy. He eyes were the color of denim and set deep in his face, crowded by a pair of very thick eyebrows. His clean shaven jaw sported a strong chin, complete with dimple. He was a living statue. The sleeves of the white shirt were rolled up to display thick muscular forearms; the rest of the shirt was snug but not tight. His pants, loose and linen looking, held the secret of equally impressive legs.
“Sit. I’ll explain everything.”
He took an empty seat. No introductions were made before he started.
“I don’t know how long after the completion that Azazel and Azriel started to fail in their purpose, only that I grew tired of it quickly. For a long time I pretended that it was the rebellion of the Watchers that started it all. But the longer I sat and listened to their constant rationalization of two very wrong ideas; I realized I alone remembered my purpose and the purpose of all the lower angels. First I tried logic and then reasoning in the end I sought refuge on the surface.”
We were all spellbound children.
“I’d watched the surface created from the heavens. It was a lot different being on it. I wandered the world in its entirety and then revisited my favorite places. It was at one of these spots that I first saw the woman I would fall in love with. This came years after me just watching. She married and had a child. It was in their death that I finally went to her.”
Armaros looked around the room as he spoke, making eye contact with his enamored audience. The relaxed pleasant look on his face told me that he had known happiness for a very long time.
“Every emotion was foreign and I struggled to make sense of each new one. There was no name for the way I felt. I did not associate my own actions with those of the Watchers. I stayed by her side in secret. I watched her son grow into a find boy. Her son and husband died. Heartbroken and alone, she chose to end her time and it was then that I showed myself. We left her small village when she became pregnant, our first of five.”
There was a collective intake of breath from the four other angels in the room. Lucius and Sariel looked at each other. To confirm with each other that they heard correctly before turning their attention back to Armaros.
“Afi, my mate, had given birth to our fifth child the night before the Almighty returned. I begged for her life and for the lives of my children. I could not bear the thought of them hurt. I tore my wings off as an offering, in hopes of sparing them.”
We all looked sick. The very thought of what he’d said was unbelievable even though just yesterday Samiel had almost done the same thing.
“As I lay at the feet of the Almighty, Afi came to me, our children followed. She said that there was no life for her without me. She did not ask for my life to be spared or for our children. She asked that we all be taken from this world together.”
Lucius touched my arm but there was no comfort for what I’d just heard. The story was so amazing, so terrible, and so beautiful. It made me afraid to hear the rest.
“‘Your tears and those of your wife and children will wash this world clean. Only true love could do such a thing.’ I greet each new day with these words.”
We all stared at the angel whose love allowed our world to go on. The enormity of what I’d heard kept me silent. Was I worthy of the power that this angel’s love afforded me?
“Wila, I have been with you since your birth, watched you grow, watched as you took your rightful place and as you married.”
“What happened to Afi?” I asked.
“I’ve not left her since I first went to her. I cannot bear to have her anywhere but by my side.”
Before we could ask the question, Afi made her presence known. She appeared by his side as if his words had summoned her.
“My love,” she said.
Afi didn’t take a chair. She sat on her angel’s knee. Her hand rested on top of the one Armaros had on the table, his other hand was on her back. It was hard for me to take my eyes from her. The rest of the room seemed just as memorized. The tiny woman looked around completely comfortable in all the attention she was getting from our group.
Every woman in our group was five ten or taller. Afi was maybe five feet, if that. The white dress she wore was made out of a material that looked both rough and soft. The sleeves hung long, covering her hands and there was a hood in back that spread from shoulder to shoulder. Her skin was the darkest I’d ever seen. No other color could be used to describe it but black. It was smooth and flawless. Her hair was cut short, close to her head, almost bald. She wore no jewelry.
“How are you even alive?” Amara had no filter on her mouth; she asked the question we all wondered.
“We were given the gift of immortality,” Afi answered.
“Your children too?” Sveva asked.
“Oh yes, Makeba watches over Oneta and Alma with the help of Aliyah and Sati. Nandi is standing guard with the angel at the front entrance.”
“And Ife?” I asked, knowing their last would be named Ife. Not the one that Lucius had found but one that was much older, the very first.
“I am here young one.”
She was an older version of me or I was a younger version of her; same skin tone, hair color, texture even length was the same, same facial features. We were even the same height.
“Ruth you have brought great honor to my daughter Alleya’s line. As immortal guardians, my sisters and I have endured the loss of our children and mates. I mothered two daughters Alleya and Ife. I watched the night Maia gave you Wila, daughters of my daughters, standing together again. Maia was stronger only because she was of the line that would carry the Mothers, but you my dear one, was brave on your own accord. I watched as all around touched you, giving you the strength you needed to take on the great task. It was the only time I allowed myself to touch any of my daughters line.”
Spellbound we watched as Ife walked toward Ruth and Samiel. Even Samiel seemed affected by Ife. The menacing angel face was full of reverence. For the first time I saw just how beautiful he was. His scar, which added to his fierceness, ran the length of his face. He’d never shared with us how he’d received the scar and no one knew why it didn’t heal. Now his face was soft. The first I’d ever seen it so. He stood and knelt at Ife’s feet as she approached and she laid her hand on his shoulder.
“I don’t remember my father’s offering of his wings. My oldest sisters do, and it is a story I never tire of. Yesterday I saw how he must have looked on that day. I watched as you stood; ready to offer all for love. The same love that saved this world. Today, I gift Ruth my immortality, so that she will always be by your side.
Ruth was up in a flash. “I can’t!” she said in a low voice. I think she meant to yell it but the words had stolen most of her breath. I know it had mine.
Ife didn’t move her hand from Samiel shoulder and Ruth’s new husband didn’t move from his kneeled position, he didn’t even raise his bowed head. Ife smiled at Ruth.
“Just yesterday I watched you explain to Wila and Amara the love of a mother for her children.”
I don’t’ know if I’d ever seen the woman who’d raised me cry. But her
soul shaking sobs had my throat tight and salty with tears. I wasn’t the only one, Amara and Sveva were crying openly, as was Emily. Even Fredrick had silent tears running down his face.
“Thank you,” Samiel said. He stood and bent so Ife could kiss his forehead. She touched Ruth lightly on the shoulder before he took his distraught wife to offer comfort.
Ife walked to her parents and they stood. Her mother opened her arms and Ife walked into the embrace and hugged her tight. Afi didn’t cry. I was shocked to see tears falling from the mighty Armaros.
“I am so proud of you Ife,” Afi said, “No mother could be prouder of a daughter.”
The two women broke from there embrace and Afi kissed Ife on her forehead and both her cheeks before they pressed their faces together so that their noses touched.
“I love you,” Afi said before releasing her daughter. There was no sadness in her face and she smiled lovingly at her.
“Father’s have that love too Ife,” Armaros said.
Ife was taller than her mother but nowhere near tall enough to reach her father’s face so he knelt before her. She took his head in her hands and kissed the corner of his eyes, kissing his tears away. “I love you papa.”
The first Ife came into our life only to say goodbye. She walked around the table thanking all of us. We all stood waiting our turn. My heart rate increased with every step she took that brought her closer to me.
“Guide her well. She will need your strength. Love and protect her above all else,” Ife told Enid and Amala.
Amala reached out and touched Ife’s face. She stood still and allowed her to see.
“We will,” they answered together.
It was Emily and Fredrick turn now. “My sister Makeba told me of your sacrifice and it pained me when you that you had to part. Thank you for that sacrifice, for walking away from your own kind and leaving each other to keep them safe.”
“It was our honor”. Fredrick answered for both of them.
Emily was standing next to him crying silently but too hard to form words. Ife rubbed her hair, smoothed the waist long satin strains before giving her a hug and going to the next person. Maalik
“Our newest guardian,” she smiled brilliantly at him. “What a sight it was to see your wings change. Thank you.”
“I am honored,” he whispered.
My heart was a lump in my throat as she headed my way. I would have runaway if my feet hadn’t grown roots and planted me in the spot I stood in. It wasn’t about right or wrong or if I was strong or weak. I was afraid for so many reasons but first and foremost I just didn’t want to do what Ife was about to ask of me. It wasn’t right on so many levels. Yes, I had the ability and it was her gift to offer but who was I to take what the Almighty had given? Even when it’s offered freely. I watched her go to Sariel and then Amara and Sveva, who bowed before her. I watched her mouth move as she spoke to their lowered heads. They both stood at the same time and each received a hug.
It was even harder for me to breathe as she finally came to stand in front of me and Lucius. I was glad when she spoke to Lucius first. I had time.
“You were the first to find my line. I watched as you crowned your Ife and then let her go. I saw you cast from Heaven with our wings bound and stripped of all your power. From time to time our paths crossed and I watched as you searched. I owe you thanks two times over,” she said to Lucius.
“It was and is my great honor,” he said. Ife touched his cheek before turning to me.
I would have to take her from this world to give Ruth her immortality. I tried to calm down as I stepped into her embrace. I remember the story Ruth told me about the night I was given to her. That Ruth had cried when she touched my mother. I thought of Emily words that it was because Ruth had taken on the burden of the sacrifice that my mother made in giving her children away. The two women were daughters of Ife. They’d both came from a line blessed by the Creator. So was I.
Every facet of my life had been preordained and everything that had happened in it had prepared me to take my place as a celestial guardian, a protector of earth, its realms and its universe. None of it made what I was about to do any easier.
“My daughter,” she said in a low voice.
When she released me she was an old woman. Agelessness has taken the place of the young woman that had just stood before me. I wished for wise or comforting words but none came. Everything we needed to say to each other was passed through our touch. I was filled with a love so great that my heart stopped. It didn’t skip a beat, or flutter, but stopped in my chest. Lucius came to me as Armaros took his daughter.
I couldn’t move but I wasn’t afraid. I knew I was safe in Lucius arms. He took my hand placing it over his heart. I could feel it beating, so strong. My breathing slowed and then stopped. I saw Lucius mouth open slightly as he struggle to take his next breath but he didn’t’ panic. He stroked my cheek and then my hair before leaning down to kiss me. As he pressed his lips against mine I could feel his heart strengthen. He placed his hand above my heart and exhaled our next breath. My cheeks puffed out slightly as I took in the breath my husband gave me. I took a gasping breath as my heart started to beat again.
The sky outside was dark but it wasn’t raining; no thunder or lightening, just a grey somber day. This was my tribute to a light that was no longer in this world. Lucius helped me to my feet and walked with me as I made my way to Ruth. With a finger that had the light of the sun, I touch her forehead to give her the gift of immortality.
We buried Ife’s body under the great tree, just the ones that were in the room that day. We honored her with seven days of silence.
I smiled before even opening my eyes knowing the first thing I’d see was my angel. I felt the pressure of his lips on mine as he gave me the first kiss of the day. He kissed my belly next before resting his head on it. Putting a hand behind my head I rubbed his hair. Early morning sunshine came through the window and we stayed that way for a moment, laying in silence, enjoying the moment. For now there were no thoughts of missing Mothers, impending wars or life threatening decisions. Right now there was only the three of us.
Fall became winter fast, it was almost skipped entirely. The days were shorter and if you blinked you’d miss the daylight altogether. It had snowed sometime in the night and the white powdery dust covered everything.
We walked hand in hand to the kitchen. I heard my sisters before I saw them. They were loud and happy. I shook my head at the vision them moving around the kitchen while making breakfast. They were two peas in a pod, and though not identical, matched perfectly. No one would have been able to tell that they had been raised apart. Of course being able to read each other’s thoughts helped.
Sveva spied us first and ran to me, hugging me tightly. “Good morning Wila, I thought I was going to have to come get you myself,” Sveva said. “But I’m sure Mr. Overprotective would have fought me tooth and nail.”
I laughed because Sveva was right. Sveva had changed from when we’d known her as Sarah. Sarah had been all prim and proper, refusing anything other than formal titles. One thing hadn’t changed; she stilled hugged me with the same crushing embrace.
Lucius hand tightened lightly and I knew that he is losing his patience with Sveva. “That would not have been very much of a fight little sister,” Lucius said, but there was no threat in his words. I wrinkled my nose at him for the feelings he was having but didn’t say anything.
“So what’s for breakfast,” I asked moving away from my sister.
“Its pancake Tuesday,” Amara yelled from the stove where she was adding pancakes to a plate already piled high.
The kitchen table was set. I noticed that there were a lot of place settings. The door bell rang and Sveva made a move, but Maalik beat her to it. He opened the door and greeted Ruth and Sam.
“Wila, how are you,” Ruth asked as she released Sam’s hand to kiss my cheeks. Sam’s hand immediately went to Ruth’s back. He touched her a
lways.
“I’m feeling good.”
Ruth’s hand made a beeline for my belly. I had only just begun to show. My small round belly was the constant center of attention. I didn’t mind, I could hardly keep my hands away from it either.
“Good morning to you too baby girl,” Ruth coo’d at my belly.
To my happy surprise, no word was mentioned on the impending war. We sat and ate as a normal family.
“So have you thought of any names yet,” Sveva asked
“Maia,” Lucius said.
I was surprised that he had been thinking about names and just as surprised that he’d chosen my mother’s name.
“It’s perfect and she’d be honored,” Amara said.
“Yes she would be.” I didn’t know if she meant our mother or my daughter, but I felt she meant both. I agreed.
Once breakfast was finished I dressed for the day and before lunchtime the house was filled with family. It was not often that we did not see each other every day but it was seldom that we didn’t speak of the Azriel or Oneta and Alma.
Emily and Fredrick were as cute as a couple still in young love, even though they had been together for four hundred years. Emily’s small petite build, with her long hair and dark bronzed skin was a sharp contrast to her mates but they fit together perfectly. Their wings were small and delicate but also looked strong and matched in color and size. I wondered if it was because they were paired.
Sariel was there in what I had come to think of as the angel’s uniform; tunic shirts and drawstring pants. Sariel mingled with the whole room but he stayed closest to Amara. I wondered if Amara had shared her feeling with him yet. Lucius had told me what the oldest twins said, but neither acted as if their relationship was anything other than friendship. Anyone looking at them could tell they obviously like each other.
Ruth and Samiel stood with Amara and Sariel deep in conversation, Sam’s hand on Ruth’s back and hers gently rubbing his arm or sometimes around his waist. Ruth no longer had the stern and disciplined demeanor that I had been raised with. She laughed and smiled more. While her movements were still regal, she was more animated. She was in love.
Enid and Amala were right; nothing could destroy such a thing. I looked over at her oldest sisters. They sat on the small chaise lounge, shoulder to shoulder, speaking together in that spooky way of theirs. They shared the same expression as the angels in the room. Most of the angels were drawn to the oldest twins. They were the guardians of heaven and the angels revered them. Even the ones that I considered mine: Maalik, Sariel and sometimes even Lucius. They wore identical dresses of emerald green today and had a small band of gold around their foreheads that matched Amara and Sveva’s.
A knock at the door drew my attention away from the eldest twins. Armaros and Afi entered, behind them was their daughter Nandi. Sveva was the first to call Armaros’s wife Nana, which meant mother of the earth. It stuck and now this was her official name in the village. Afi had on her usual white flowing gown with hood, Armaros is in the angel’s uniform and their daughter Nandi had on her usual jeans, white tee, hoodie and a pair of combat boots.
It was hard to believe that tiny Afi had given birth to a race of Amazonian women. Nandi stood an impressive six five. Her skin was maybe a shade lighter than her mothers. Her hair was long and hung behind her in a tight plait. She had a pretty impressive physique. She looked as strong as all the angels.
The couple came to me first. Afi rubbed my belly acknowledging the baby first.
“Hello sweet darling,” she said to the round belly. She was slightly bent over as she talked to Maia. “You’re not giving your mother any trouble yet are you.”
I smiled. “No Nana, Maia is already the perfect child.”
“Oh the time will come, but you will love her anyway,” Armaros said laughing but the sadness that in his eyes since Ife passing was there. “How are you Wila?” Armaros was such an attentive and loving man. It was easy to see why Afi loved him.
“I feel fine.”
“Good, good,” he said.
“Good morning, Nandi how are you?” Lucius asked the young woman standing at her parents’ side.
She was a fierce woman who always looked battle ready. She was the only one of Afi and Armaros’s children that had never married or had children.
“Fine, thank you Lucius.”
“Maalik has been waiting for you. He wanted to go over some security details with you. I think he’s in the kitchen.”
“I think I’ll go find him, please excuse me.” She kissed her mother and father before leaving.
“Thank you for that Lucius. She’s never liked being seen, always preferred to be in the shadows for some reason,” her mother said.
I think Maalik might have a little bit of a crush on her,” he said.
I looked up at him shocked. No one had told me this.
“Well, I wish him luck, Nandi’s a hard nut to crack, we haven’t been able to after all this time,” Armaros said, shaking his head and his wife agreed as he pulled her into his arms.
And this is how their lazy Tuesday went, in a house full of laughter and joy, full of love.
Chapter 14: Oneta and Alma
Found Page 26
