Nephilim Rising
Angelic Hosts Series, Book 4, Episode 18
Revelations in the seer’s basin…
Blanca came to slowly. Above her were murals the likes of which she’d never seen. More intricate than those she’d viewed in magazines detailing the Sistine Chapel. She blinked, looking around. On the walls were carvings in a language she didn’t recognize. They covered every square inch of the massive cavern in which she lay. It reminded her of ancient Egyptian pyramids described in schoolbooks. Voices drew her attention, and she sat up, turning to locate their source.
In the far corner, Antonio stood shoulder to shoulder with Gabriel. They were huddled around a large stone pedestal. Opposite them, Cassiel and Rafael were engaged in a heated discussion with a tall man with long, golden-brown, wavy hair. Even from where she sat so far away, she could see the striking blue of his eyes. His deep voice resonated throughout the cavern. He sounded angry.
But there was one person she didn’t see. Her brother.
“Berto? Where is he?” She threw off the cover someone had placed over her, rising off the bed of pillows provided on the floor.
Everyone stopped talking, looking her way. Antonio ran to her. “He’s not here, Blanca.” He reached out, taking her hands and pulling her close.
She pushed him away. “Where is my brother? What happened?” The last thing she remembered was falling through the night sky, terror seizing her heart. Her fear was so great it nearly choked off her words. She fought past it. “What happened to Berto?”
“Sssh, he’s okay, Blanca. He’s just not here.” Antonio reached again, cupping her face in his warm hands. “Rafael took him to the Fairchild’s. Camael is keeping him concealed there. Not even Sophie’s parents are aware he’s in the house, but it’s safe. They’ve placed the same protections on Sophie’s home as what they have here at the temple.”
“But why take him there? Why are we still here?” She glanced around.
“Because you passed out. We were just being cautious.” He didn’t want to tell her the entire truth. He was sure she had no clue about his new, feathery appendages. When they arrived at the Temple Mount, he managed a wobbly landing at best, nearly falling with her in his arms. Gabriel took Blanca from him while Cassiel talked him through the landing.
But that wasn’t the hardest part. It took him more than ten tries to learn how to fold his wings away, out of sight. All of this happened while Gabriel made sure Blanca was situated comfortably, checked over for injuries, and tucked away inside the cavern. Meanwhile, the imposing archangel Michael welcomed him inside—begrudgingly. He was clearly not happy with the orders from on high, and he grumbled about having humans inside the hallowed grounds of the temple. He acknowledged that Antonio, at least, had the necessary bloodline to enter, and the key residing inside Blanca was more than enough divinity to pass his muster, but he could not apply any such justification for Berto. Keeping to his orders to provide a safe haven, it was decided by the imposing leader of the archangels that Rafael would take the younger man to the Fairchild home and place Berto under Camael’s care. He’d even gone so far as to erase Berto’s memory of arriving at the temple. Instead, he would only remember being taken from the hotel directly to Camael.
“Humans cannot know of this place. It is too much for them, and the temple is sacrosanct,” he’d stated.
“You have orders, brother,” Cassiel began.
“And I’m complying!” he thundered. “Zaphkiel’s words are to allow them in. I have. Nothing says I must let them all stay. I cannot erase their memories,” he said, pointing at Antonio who’d taken a seat at Blanca’s side, holding the hand of the unconscious woman, “because of his mixed bloodline and the key now merged with her spirit, but I can at least deal with this one.” Michael moved purposefully to stand in front of Berto. The younger man swallowed, in awe of the angry angel.
“Step closer, boy. This won’t hurt a bit.”
Berto shut his eyes, wincing in anticipation of…well, he didn’t know exactly what. The big angel placed a hand on his head and mumbled a few words. Berto opened one eye, then the other. He didn’t feel any different.
Michael called out to Rafael. “Catch him before he falls.”
“But I’m not going to fa…” Berto felt suddenly tired. So tired he could barely hold his eyes open. His body felt light, and his knees buckled.
Rafael caught him, lifting the now sleeping young man in his arms. “And what am I to do with him, Michael,” he asked, irritated with his leader.
“Take him to Camael and tell him to keep the boy hidden away within the Fairchild home until further notice.”
Shaking his head, Rafael walked through the archway to the outer ledge. With sarcasm dripping from his lips, he executed a mocking half-bow. “My liege.”
“Come back once you’ve delivered him, Rafael. We have plans to make.” Michael knew the dark-haired angel was annoyed, but at the moment, it couldn’t be helped. He, too, was annoyed at having his army of angels dragged into human affairs.
As soon as Rafael flew off, Cassiel pinned Michael with a look.
“Don’t say it, Cass,” he warned.
“You’re chafing again, brother. Why do you always have to set your back against the will of the Almighty? None of this is coincidence. It’s His plan—”
Gabriel threw his hands in the air. “Here we go again with the plan.”
The three angels began to quibble. Michael stomped to the far side of the cavern coming to a stop beside the seer’s basin. Gabe and Cassiel followed. In the middle of what felt like an ages-old argument, Michael looked down.
“It can’t be,” he said, stunned.
Gabriel and Cassiel ceased their bickering and looked into the crystal-clear water shimmering in the basin. Cassiel sucked in a breath and Gabriel clenched his fists. Curious, Antonio joined them. He had no idea what to expect, but it sure wasn’t the terrifying words that fell from Michael’s lips as he explained the scene playing out within the mystical waters. It was then Blanca awoke, calling out for her brother.
The news was bad, and he didn’t know how to explain or if he should. Antonio glanced over Blanca’s head at Michael for direction. The tall leader of the archangels shook his golden-brown waves in the negative.
“When can I see him?” she asked.
“Soon,” said Gabriel. “In fact, now that we know you’re okay, we can return.”
“But I thought it was too dangerous to be down there. What happened to Alejandro...er…that Del Fuego demon?” She shook her head, still unable to wrap her mind around possession. But then she remembered there was a celestial key inside her. “Are you sure it was Del Fuego?”
Cassiel nodded. “It was. Turns out, Alejandro ran drugs for Del Fuego. Somewhere in the time he knew him the demon had marked him as a sort-of get-out-Hell-free card.”
“But what happened to Alejandro,” she asked. “You know, like his soul?” She wondered if he even had one, but at the same time, she knew he did. They all did.
“Probably still in there,” Michael answered. “That’s how possession works. The demon takes over the body, but the human soul is trapped inside.”
“That’s awful!” she cried. “I mean, he wasn’t a good person at all, but no one deserves that.”
Her sympathy moved Michael. He’d seen her run-ins with the drug dealer while staring into the seer’s basin. The man called Alejandro had inflicted great harm onto both the young woman and her little brother, yet she still found pity in her heart for him. Rarely did humans surprise him, but this one just managed the impossible. He smiled; relaxing. The smile transformed the austere angel into a very handsome man.
“You have a kind heart, Blanca Ramos. I can see now why the key chose you. But,” he said, choosing his words carefully, “mankind reaps what it sows, and Alejandro sowed the seeds of evil, of greed, of violence. Where he finds himself now, locked into whatever hellish corner of his own mind the demon has imprisoned him in, is his punishment.”
“But where is God in that?” she asked. “Don’t people get a chance at redemption? Doesn’t He have mercy?” She couldn’t believe she was questioning the imposing angel, but the idea of torture didn’t sit well with her, not even for Alejandro.
“Yeah, Michael, where’s the big guy on that?” Gabe crossed his arms over his muscular chest, a smirk on his lips and a mischievous twinkle in his lavender eyes.
“Don’t gloat, Gabe,” Michael growled, his grouchy disposition once again returned. “You know very well how it all works and it works according to His will, not ours.”
Cassiel cleared his throat, and then whistled as he locked his hands in a loose grip behind his back.
Michael snorted, and then walked away. “Stow it, Cassiel. I heard myself!”
“You just made my point, brother,” the platinum-haired angel replied.
“Leave!” Michael thundered. “I’ll call for you when I need you.”
Blanca watched the big angel retreat to the back of the cavern. She looked at Antonio. “But isn’t it still dangerous?”
He hesitated, and then, “Not so much now. While you were unconscious, Michael and Cassiel worked some kind of ritual on both of us.”
Cassiel approached them. “He’s right. We worked the magic of the Tau, the same type of protection the key uses, but we reworked it to conceal you both from demon radar, so to speak. If they can’t find you, you’re safe. Right now, you could walk right past a demon, and it wouldn’t even realize who you are.”
That surprised her. “Not even Del Fuego? What happened to him anyhow. What happened after I fell?”
Antonio threw a pleading look at Gabriel who took the guardian’s cue and answered, “We were under attack, but we fought them off and caught you, just in the nick of time. Then we brought you here.” It was, in essence, the truth. He just left out a few details. “The fire demon got away though. But don’t worry, we’ll seek him out and send him off to Hell again. At least now we have the time. Hard to plan when we’re under attack. With you and your guardian protected now, well, Cass and I should be able to handle one measly demon.”
“Can you exorcise him?” she asked.
The angels were taken aback by her question.
“I don’t think that would be a good idea, Blanca,” Antonio began.
“Actually, we could,” Cassiel said. “But Alejandro might not survive the ritual.”
She chewed her nail, leaning her head on Antonio’s chest. “But it would give him a chance at least, wouldn’t it? At redemption?”
Cassiel nodded. “It would. He would have to ask for it.”
“Do that. Give him that, at least,” she said.
“You really do have a big heart, beautiful,” Antonio whispered into her hair.
She smiled. “So, we can leave now?”
“We can. Gabriel, you take Antonio and I’ll take Blanca.” Cassiel approached her, his arms wide.
Reluctantly, she released Antonio and allowed the platinum-haired angel to embrace her. Instantly, his equally platinum wings appeared. They flapped hard lifting them off their feet.
“Let’s go get my brother, Cassiel,” she said.
“We’re right behind you,” said Antonio. He looked at Gabe. “I don’t know how to tell her.”
Gabe gripped the guardian’s waist, his black gossamer wings taking them airborne. “No need to worry about it all right now. Just remember if you two get a little passionate, your wings might pop out. I guess I need to teach you a little control,” he chuckled.
“I meant about the other thing.” Antonio cringed, having a sudden horrifying image of bluish-green wings springing forth at a compromising moment scaring the bejesus out of his lady. My lady, he thought. Well, there it is.
“Ah,” Gabe muttered. “Until we know more, best not to say anything. All will be revealed at the right time, grandson.”
“Grandson?” Antonio repeated the word.
Gabe shrugged but smiled. “Well, technically…”
“We’re not there yet, Gabriel.” Antonio’s heart filled with pain at the reminder of the loss of his Pops. He just couldn’t conceive of anyone else taking on a fatherly role. It would feel like betrayal.
Gabriel gave him a squeeze. “I understand, but just know I’m here for you. That’s all.”
Antonio swallowed hard past the lump in his throat. “Okay. And…thanks.”
“So, what will you do when we get you back on the ground?”
The soldier smiled. “I owe Blanca a date. She mentioned the Eiffel Tower.”
“You’ve got to see it at night. It’s spectacular,” Gabe said.
“That’s what she wants. And I’m going to make it happen. Maybe you guys could babysit Berto for a few hours?”
“Oh, now I’m a babysitter? He’s a grown man, Antonio.”
“Yeah, but I don’t want to leave him alone. If anything happened to him, Blanca would never forgive me.”
Laughing, Gabe gave in. “I’ll see what I can do.”
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