Nephilim Rising: The Complete Series, page 86
part #0 of Nephilim Rising Series
"Eva grows this stuff herself."
"Trust Eva. I didn't know she had green fingers."
"Eva has many hidden talents." He smiled, and then they both burst out laughing. "Not what I meant."
"Yeah, I'm sure."
"Hell has corrupted your mind."
"Quite the opposite actually."
Frank raised his eyebrows as he accepted the joint from her. "Really?"
"Yeah," Leia said, shrugging slightly. "I mean, don't get me wrong, it was a horrible experience, worse than you could imagine, but at the same time...I don't know." She shook her head. "I still got closure on some stuff that's been bothering me my whole life."
"Your parents, you mean?"
"Yeah. I helped them move on, and they helped me do the same. My mother anyhow. And my father as well, I guess, in his own twisted way."
Frank shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "And how was Rachel?"
"Don't worry, Frank. She doesn't hate you. In fact, she still loves you. Never stopped loving you."
A rush of emotion hit Frank, and he had to get a grip on himself for fear that he would start crying. All these years, the guilt he had had to live with, it tore him up inside. Rachel had sacrificed herself for him after all. "She doesn't hate me then?"
"No, Frank, she doesn't," Leia said, her eyes still reminding him so much of her mother, despite the difference in color. "She's happy you're with Eva now. She found that amusing when I told her."
Frank smiled, shook his head. "I'll bet she did."
"There's no need to beat yourself up anymore, Frank. Everyone is where they're supposed to be now."
"You believe that?"
She shrugged. "Mostly. I still wish my mom was here, though. And I wish Josh was somewhere different."
"What happened between you two? You seemed pretty upset when you came in here."
Leia stared into the empty fire grate. "He wants me to stay away."
"Probably a good idea, given what he's up to these days…and who he's with."
"Deacon. You know they're...in a relationship?"
"Like sleeping together?" Frank raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Well, that's..."
"Unexpected? To say the least."
"Not to state the obvious or anything, but as I understand it, you're sleeping with Lucas."
"Not the same thing. Lucas isn't trying to groom me to be the next King of Hell."
Frank frowned. "What?"
Leia took another toke on the joint before handing it to Frank again. "Just one of the many revelations revealed to me while I was in Hell. Deacon works for Eblis, or at least he did, while Eblis was still King. My father wanted an heir to his throne, he wanted Josh to succeed him, but he knew Josh would resist if he just pulled him into Hell straight away. So he sent Deacon to lead Josh onto a dark path, hoping that by the time Josh got to Hell, his soul would be darkened enough that he would want to join Eblis and succeed him."
"That's fucked up."
"Not as fucked up as the fact that the plan appears to be working. It seems Deacon is carrying on with his mission, despite Eblis not being around anymore."
"I still can't believe Peter ended up the King of Hell." He couldn't help laughing. "How did that even happen?"
"Long story short, he broke out of Heaven so he could go to Hell to look for my mom. In the process, he lost his way and became a demon. By the time he found my mom, he was too far gone. They stayed together, even though my mom was more his captive than anything else. She became his head of security after a while. Eblis even changed her name to Countess Seraphim. That's the name she went by in Hell. She was feared."
Shaking his head, Frank could hardly comprehend the notion of his brother ruling Hell with Rachel beside him. "Countess Seraphim?"
"I had to call her that the whole time I was there. Eblis didn't want us getting too close. We still did, though." She smiled sadly. "I wish she was here with me. She deserved a second chance at life."
Leia was right. If anyone deserved another chance, it was Rachel, giving the sacrifice she made. "At least you got to see her, got to know her again. Most people don't get that chance."
"I know." She smiled again, this time, more cheerfully. "I didn't know she was such a badass."
Frank laughed, fondly remembering the warrior woman that Rachel used to be. "She was the biggest badass I knew, hands down."
"She did love us, Josh and me."
"Did you think she didn't?"
"Couldn't help thinking it. I resented her for years. Now I feel guilty for doing so."
"Drop the guilt. Guilt is a useless emotion. You can't change the past."
She nodded. "I know."
Frank eyed the bottle of whiskey on the bookshelves again. "Screw it," he said, getting up and retrieving the bottle, going to the kitchen to get two glasses. "I'm opening this. It's a special occasion."
"What occasion?" Leia asked, an amused smile on her face.
Frank sat down and handed her an empty glass. "You're back home. That's occasion enough." He filled both glasses and they each drank.
"It's good to be home."
"Good to have you home."
"So where's Eva?" Leia asked. "More to the point, where's Alice?"
"Eva took her to her house in the city," Frank said, enjoying the sour taste of the whiskey in his mouth. "She wants to show Alice the delights of Mercy City."
"I'm surprised, considering what happened between them."
"Eva's mothering instincts are stronger than any fear she has of the girl."
"There's no need to fear Alice."
"You believe that?" Frank refilled the glasses. "She's changed. I'm still trying to wrap my head around that one."
"She might have changed, but she isn't dangerous, Frank. She's still the same girl I saved from Hell. And, I wouldn't be sitting here now without her. If she has some stuff to work out, I'm going to help her."
"I think Eva has beaten you to that. She wants to train Alice as a Watcher, put whatever powers Alice has to good use."
"I take it by your tone that you don't like the idea?"
Frank shook his head. "You know me. Trust issues."
"You thought the same of me when I turned up at your door." Leia smiled. "And look how I turned out."
Frank laughed. "I'm saying nothing."
"You better not."
They lapsed into a stoned silence for a while, the whiskey adding to the numbness in Frank's body. "So what do you intend to do about Josh?" he asked eventually.
Leia sighed heavily, closing her eyes for a moment. "I don't know," she said. "He told me to stay away."
"And will you?"
She shook her head. "I can't let that demon corrupt him."
Frank felt sorry for her. Leia wanted so desperately to save her brother from the impinging darkness that she couldn't even see that it had taken hold of Josh already. Or she did she, but her deeply rooted loyalty wasn't allowing her to turn away. "There might not be any saving him this time," he said. "But I think you know that already."
Leia drained the whiskey from her glass. "I do know, but that isn't going to stop me from trying, Frank."
Frank nodded. "I know."
23
Alice was standing in Eva's living room, looking out the front window at the massive bright orb that hung over the trees and grass across the street. The orb was different to the one called the sun that hung in the sky during the daylight hours. Alice was shocked at the change in lighting when the darkness descended. In Hell, the light is the same all the time; the same muted red light that cloaks everything, somehow making the horror stand out even more. The darkness outside was different. Alice felt strangely calm and comfortable in this new darkness, almost energized by the silver orb in the sky that Eva said was called the moon. There were no moons in Hell. Just endless tumultuous red skies.
"Here we go." Eva entered the room carrying a tray with things on it. Drinking implements it seemed. "Tea is served."
"Tea?" Alice said, watching as Eva placed the tray on the table near the large sofa.
"It's just a drink. Come, sit down." Alice sat beside Eva while Eva poured the steaming liquid into the strange little cups, then handed one of the cups to Alice. "Careful. It's hot."
Alice went to taste the tea, but it burned her mouth, and she almost dropped the cup. The soft flesh of her mouth stung as she sat awkwardly with the cup in her hand, not knowing what to do next. Then she watched Eva blow a few times on her own cup before taking a small sip. Eva nodded for Alice to do the same. Alice blew on the hot liquid a few times, then hesitantly drank, smacking her lips afterward as she tried to decide if she liked it or not. "Taste funny."
Eva smiled. "You'll get used to it. Sometimes a good cup of tea is just what you'll need. You'll see."
Alice put her cup on the table, having no wish to taste the tea again. The food and drink here would take some getting used to. This whole world would take some getting used to. Half the time, Alice thought she must be dreaming somewhere in Hell. It was the only explanation for this whole new life she was experiencing, seemingly through someone else's body as well. "Everything strange," she said, almost to herself. "Like..." She struggled to find the words to describe how she was feeling, but she couldn't, which made her frustrated.
"We will need to work on your communication skills," Eva said, relaxing into the sofa. "It's as important as learning to fight. We need to educate you. Knowledge is power here, as I'm sure it is in Hell also."
Alice merely stared at Eva with a blank look on her face. She could hear Eva's words clearly enough. She just couldn't understand most of what she was saying.
Eva smiled patiently at her, her large, strangely intoxicating green eyes seeming to look deep into her. Many of the demons Alice came across in Hell used to look at her in the same way, their eyes almost burning holes right through her. With Eva, it felt different, though. There was no malice there, just a strange kind of energy that Alice only felt for the first time when she met Leia. It was an energy that made her feel warm and secure inside, which was always a novelty for Alice when she felt that way in Hell. It was such a welcome respite from the constant feelings of fear and insecurity. And she was getting the same feeling from Eva, though in a different way to Leia. It felt to Alice that Eva somehow understood her on some level, or recognized whatever kind of soul was inside her, even though Alice herself had no idea what kind of soul resided in herself, if any at all. When you are born in Hell, your right to a soul is denied. Souls were just things that were talked about in Hell, and handled like currency. It never occurred to Alice that she needed one herself. She seemed to get by just fine without one. Waking up in this new world, however, it did feel like there was something inside her now, some unknowable energy or presence. Whatever it was, Eva seemed to sense it. How she felt about what she sensed, Alice couldn't tell. She found Eva hard to read, maybe because Eva was so calm all the time, her composure never wavering.
Still smiling, Eva put her hand lightly on Alice's knee. Alice tried not to tense up too much at her touch. "Don't worry," Eva said. "I promise you, in a day or two your communication and literacy skills will be as high as anyone else's here. Finding a way to tap the brain’s potential has been a secret project of mine for many years now. Luckily for you, I have made some valiant strides in this area. I have learned how to implant knowledge, you see. Theoretically speaking. I'm hoping you can be my first real test subject."
"Test subject?" Alice didn't like the sound of that, whatever it was. She couldn't help thinking about torture.
"Not as bad or as painful as it sounds, believe me. There is next to no risk involved. It's just a form of alchemy."
"Alchemy?" Alice liked the sound of it less and less.
"Listen, by tomorrow you will know exactly what alchemy is, along with every other science and magical process in the world." Eva sat back on the sofa again with her teacup. "Hopefully anyway. One never knows how these things will turn out."
Alice felt lost at this point, having little idea of what Eva was saying to her. She could only work out that Eva wanted to help her speak the language here better. Alice held onto that and forgot about the rest. If speaking better helped her survive better, then she was all for it.
"In the morning I will take you into town," Eva said, putting her empty tea cup on the table. "You'll need clothes, other things as well, although given your physiology I'm not even sure if you'll need those other things. Always helps to smell nice, though. Quickest way to lift the spirits, I find. After shopping, we'll come back here and attempt the knowledge dump."
Alice nodded, past even trying to understand what Eva was saying to her. A few moments later, Eva showed Alice to another room with a bed in it, and told Alice to she could sleep there. Then she left the room, and Alice was alone. She didn't feel tired. In Hell, she felt tired all the time. It was part of being in Hell. Everyone was always tired, but still suffered on regardless. Alice knew what tiredness felt like, and she wasn't feeling it now. Nonetheless, she stripped off the clothes that belonged to Leia and climbed naked into bed. She lay for a while, her eyes open in the dark room, with it's sickly sweet smells. Thoughts and images whirled around inside her head, so fast she couldn't process half of them. The rest she wished she didn't process, because they filled her with anxiety and fear.
In an attempt to distract herself from the horrors of her mind, Alice threw back the sheets on the bed and began to explore her new body, gently running her hands and fingertips over her tight skin. It was amazing that she had no scars on her body at all. Just smooth, taut skin, that at this moment, felt warm and slightly slicked with sweat. Her hands slipped between her legs before long, an area she rarely if ever explored before when she had the body of a child. It was just a means to get rid of waste, nothing more.
It didn't feel like that now, though, as she felt strange sensations spread out from in between her legs: warm; tingly…exciting.
Almost without thinking, lost in her distinctive pleasure, Alice slipped one finger inside herself, and then gasped uncontrollably. A smile spread across her face. "Heaven..." she whispered to herself.
24
It amused him when humans tried to be tough. Their ignorance knew no bounds. Humans saw themselves as high and mighty beings, but in reality, they were just clueless playthings, for the most part; pawns in a much bigger game they didn't even know was being played. Take Freddy Carconi. Freddy thought he was king of the hill, untouchable before Deacon showed him otherwise. When Deacon dumped the heads of the men who had gatecrashed the penthouse onto Freddy's desk, one of them rolling onto Freddy's lap, Freddy still had the arrogance to maintain his air of superiority. The big goon, Hank, was a bit more wary of Deacon, for obvious reasons, though he still pulled a gun on Deacon, which Deacon made Hank turn on himself, pointing the barrel of the gun at his own chest, a spooked, confused look on his face.
"What the hell are you?" Freddy asked as he sat in his chair, pushed back from his desk slightly to avoid the head lying near his feet.
"Isn't it obvious?" Deacon said with his customary grin. "I'm the fucking Devil, Freddy."
The Devil. While Deacon had always enjoyed the concept of the Devil, there was no such thing. Such a description was moot when every demon in Hell was the 'Devil'. Even the Adversary—the source of all evil in the universe—transcended such imaginary human concepts as 'the Devil'. But humans believed in the Devil, and that was all that mattered to Deacon right now. As long as Freddy Carconi understood Deacon to be the Devil. And Freddy did. The conditioned Catholic in him was screaming that he was indeed looking at the Devil when he looked at Deacon. The Devil with a Limey accent.
Which is why Freddy eventually relented to Deacon's obviously evil influence. Deacon didn't even have to mention Freddy's two daughters again. Freddy understood the risk, and it was a risk he clearly wasn't willing to take. Even psychopaths knew when to back off. "Diablo will be in every club in the city by tomorrow night," Freddy said, trying not to look too afraid when he looked into Deacon's eyes, which currently resembled the eyes of a serpent—elliptical pupils in glowing, purplish orbs. "You have my word."
"I'm very glad to hear that," Deacon said, finally allowing Hank to lower the gun he was pointing at his own chest. "If you piss me about again, Freddy, I'll make sure both your daughters suffer in Hell for the rest of eternity, and you along with them. You understand, Freddy?"
Freddy finally understood at that point that he wasn't talking to any kid, as he had previously thought. Deacon was no kid. Freddy didn't know what Deacon was. He just knew he was afraid of Deacon, which was saying something because Freddy had never feared anyone in his life, except his father. Freddy's father was a scary guy, though still not a patch on Deacon. "I understand," he told Deacon.
Deacon was glad everyone was on the same page. "Excellent. I'll drop the main ingredient off soon. Then you can get to work."
"This drug," Freddy said. "What's it do?"
Deacon smiled. "Wait and see."
Deacon was in the apartment by the time Josh arrived back from seeing his troublesome sister. The Nephilim Josh had brought back from the fight with him earlier was in Deacon's room sleeping. Deacon had no call for sleep, so he said it was okay for Boyd to use the room. They would be out of the apartment and into a different one by tomorrow anyway. "How'd it go with your sister?" Deacon asked Josh.
Josh headed straight for his bedroom, giving Deacon a dark look as he passed him by on the sofa. "I don't want to talk about it," Josh said. "I'm tired."
Deacon allowed Josh to go into the bedroom without saying anything further. He had expected Josh to arrive back in such a dark mood. The sister, Leia, had a way of getting to him. She was Josh's weakness, and if he didn't do something about her soon, she would end up getting in the way of things, like she had the annoying habit of doing. Deacon was still reeling from the fact that she had even made it out of Hell. Eblis had promised him that she would never leave there. And yet she did, taking Eblis with her, and her mother. Deacon hadn't expected that. The plan was to keep her in Hell so Deacon could get on with grooming Josh to be Eblis' heir to the throne. It didn't bother Deacon that Eblis never chose him, his most trusted Lieutenant, to be his heir apparent. Deacon had no interest in being the King of Hell anyway. He preferred to do what he always had done, which was to influence behind the scenes, quietly, masterfully pulling strings, only using brutality when he had to. Things turned out less messy that way. It didn't matter who sat on the throne in Hell, as long as Deacon was there with them, exercising his power and influence from the shadows. The silent ruler. Eblis' son Josh would do as well as any other. Plus, Deacon had the advantage of grooming Josh before he even got to Hell. By the time he reached his destiny in Hell, he would be well and truly under Deacon's thumb without even knowing it.
