The Lost Soul (7 page)

With eyes wide open with shock, Lilly asked, "But who are these beasts?"

Millicent closed her eyes once more, looking out the window again to calm her.

"Nephilim. They were the Nephilim."

Moira and Ruby gasped in unison.

"Nephilim," said Monty, "I thought they were just mythical creatures?" he asked.

"I used to think witches and vampires were mythical creatures. How wrong was I?" replied Lilly without thinking.

"The Nephilim are real. They are most definitely real."

"But what are they?" said December sleepily, who had been listening to everything with her eyes tightly closed.

"The creatures I've read about are the offspring of demons who mated with women. It is believed they were cast to the depths of the earth where they've been trapped for thousands of years. However, over time they have continued to try to lure men and women into their grasp so they can have their fun with them before they cast them aside."

"But that's just myth though, right?" asked Lilly, confused.

"That's what I thought until Millicent told us otherwise. Are these the same creatures, Millicent?"

Looking across at her family and friends, the young woman sighed, "I'm afraid to say so, but yes, these are one and the same. These mythical creatures you speak of are the Nephilim."

"But how do they lure their prey?" asked an intrigued Ruby.

"Badrick told me he saw this strange light and he went into it. That is all I know."

"So, a kind of vortex, then?" asked Moira, fiddling with the ring on her finger nervously.

Millicent nodded, "quite possibly, yes."

"So now we just need to figure out who this man is and how we can rescue him," said December as she sat up, looking straight at Millicent who patted her on the hand with a smile.

"You mean,
if
we can rescue him," added Ruby quietly.

CHAPTER NINE

"Who is Vivian, Jack?" asked a startled Zalea as both he and Gwynethea opened their eyes simultaneously.

"She's the woman who ruined my life. She killed my wife and teenage daughter and put a spell on me before kidnapping me and my newborn baby. She kept me trapped for years and I couldn't do a thing. Not a damn thing about it..." Jack said before he broke down and sobbed for what seemed like hours.

Gwynethea and Zalea just sat beside him, letting him release the intense grief that had been locked within him for so long.

Eventually, he could cry no more and he looked into the flames, "I need to find my daughter. I need to find Lilly."

"We will do everything we can to help you, Jack. But for now, I suggest you get some sleep. You must be exhausted after such an intense experience."

He nodded and yawned at the same time.

"And it wasn't so long ago you nearly died, remember? You're still not as strong as you could be. Take some time to relax and let your body and mind heal," added Zalea, patting his shoulder gently.

He looked across at the beautiful faery who had brought him back from the brink of death. He owed her everything. He owed her his life, yet she wasn't interested in that. She was just happy he was finally safe and that he'd finally remembered.

Looking into her eyes, he was saddened to see the heartache that lie beneath them. She was almost mourning the loss of her sister and he was determined to find out what had happened to her. She had helped him and now he wanted to help her.

But first, they both needed to rest. He was well aware of that.

"I think it best that both of you remain here and sleep this evening. I will make us some food before we turn in," said Gwynethea, standing and stretching her arms and legs with a stifled yawn.

"You are exhausted too, Gwynethea. Let me help you," said Zalea as she stood and stretched.

Jack looked on as the woman and faery prepared a broth from strange looking vegetables. When they were finished and he was handed a bowl, the first mouthful was like a firework in his mouth, hot and spicy and absolutely delicious. He smiled and the bowlful was soon gone. His eyes became heavy and before long he was curled up in front of the fire gently snoring.

Gwynethea smiled across at her faery friend, "The poor man was exhausted."

"Yes, grief does that to you," replied Zalea with a yawn.

"I know you too are grieving, my dear Sheharazalea but you must not. I believe that Tiffanimelicomelea's life essence continues to be strong."

"But what if she has been taken by the Nephilim? What then, Gwynethea?"

"I believe Jack will help you find her, my dear. You were his saviour and now he intends to be yours," she said with a smile, watching the young faery lie down and close her eyes. Her breathing slowed until eventually sleep overtook her.

Startled awake by what seemed like a jolt out of the blue, Jack sat bolt upright. For night time, the light was unusually bright. He looked around to see both women fast asleep to his side. He climbed up from the ground and tiptoed to the entrance of Gwynethea's home. Pushing the hanging branches of the willow tree aside, he looked out at the night and marvelled at the orange sky above. It was like nothing he'd ever seen. Bright and fiery. Even the silver forests looked tinged with an orange hue. It was quite spectacular. Jack wondered where exactly he was. It was another world.

Am I on another planet? he wondered. Or another dimension? I hope I can find my way home, he thought as a sudden pain in his head caused him to wince and curl to his knees.

He was suddenly reminded of his time with the Nephilim. Whilst trapped, he had found himself connected to someone back home. A young girl. A friend of Lilly's. She had somehow managed to communicate telepathically with him and then....yes, the memory was returning, he had spoken to his own daughter when she was in danger.

But how? he wondered. Jack realised he had to find that connection again. It was the only way he knew of finding his way home back to his family.

CHAPTER TEN

It felt like an electric shock. A shock which jolted December awake in an instant, forcing her to sit bolt upright in bed. The moment she opened her eyes, she had to shield them from the intense bright light from the full moon that shone in through the bedroom window. She had never seen such a beautiful moon before. But it wasn't just the beauty of it that made her breathless, it was something else. It almost felt like the moon had jolted her awake.

As she sat looking out of the window, with Lilly fast asleep in the bed next to hers, there was a gentle sound of footsteps approaching and her bedroom door was pushed open.

"You felt it too, didn't you December?" Millicent asked, tiptoeing to the window as they both looked out at the bright light above.

Nodding, December watched Millicent's face almost gleam in the moonlight. A smile burst forth from her lips. "It's a sign, you know?"

"What do you mean," she whispered.

"I'm not sure, but it has happened to me before."

"Do you think it has something to do with the Nephilim?"

Millicent nodded, "I do, absolutely."

"Hmm, what's going on?" said a muffled voice from beneath the blankets.

"Wake up and see," giggled December to her best friend who finally poked her head out of the covers.

"Oh wow... it's almost blinding me."

"Here, put these on," laughed December quietly, passing her a pair of dark sunglasses.

Lilly took them and put them on, sitting up in bed to look out at the enormous moon.

"It woke us both up."

"What do you mean, it woke you both up?" she asked.

"It somehow gave us a shock, a jolt. It felt like electricity," whispered December as Millicent nodded, even though she was unsure what electricity felt like.

After a few moments, Millicent said, "I'm thirsty."

"Me too," said December and Lilly in unison.

The girls all tiptoed out of the bedroom and downstairs, careful to avoid the creaky step as to not wake up Moira or Monty.

As they entered the kitchen, December opened the refrigerator and took out the milk.

"Milk or hot chocolate?"

It was a no brainer. She began to heat the milk so the three could enjoy a cup of hot chocolate in the moonlit kitchen.

All was silent while December quietly poured the hot drink into three cups before they all sat at the counter and did nothing but sip and look out of the window.

"Room for one more?" said a voice out of nowhere, making the girls all jump, almost spilling hot chocolate all over the counter.

"I couldn't sleep," said Ruby, floating into the room and hovering in front of them, the moonlight shining right through her.

"That's probably because you cannot sleep, Ruby. You're dead, remember?" giggled Millicent.

"Why Millicent, you sound exactly like my daughter," she replied, raising her eyebrows. "So what's going on? Come on... do tell," she said, pretending to lean her elbows on the counter top and batted her eyelashes.

"The moon woke us up," said all three seriously, before Millicent explained exactly what had happened.

"My, that's fascinating and yet, bizarre. But you're quite right, there must be something going on here. We need to find out a bit more about these, these Nephilim characters, and not forgetting your Lost Soul, of course. I think we should return to Powell River and head on up to the Elders, don't you?" she asked.

#

Several days had passed since the girls had been awakened by the moon. They were back in Powell River, where December was spending a few nights with Lilly while Monty, Moira and Millicent were busy decorating the new house.

"I can't believe Mom wouldn't let us go straight up to the Elders," huffed December as they sat eating sandwiches during their school lunch break.

"I guess she was right though. We have missed some school lately. We need to catch up for a bit first. The Elders have been told what's going on. They're looking into it for us, so they should have news for when we get there on Friday night."

"I guess you're right... I just want to get to the bottom of all this, you know?"

"Yeah I know but I'm sure it can wait a few days. Now I've stopped working for Ben, we've got our evenings free to do a bit of our own research," smiled Lilly, watching her best friend open her sandwich up and take out its contents, eating the ham before the cheese and then the sliced tomato and pickles. Finally she dunked the buttered bread into her coffee and popped it into her mouth.

"Eww, December, that is so gross."

December raised her eyebrows and smiled, "Was Ben okay with you stopping work for a while?"

"Yeah, he was fine. He understands I have some catching up to do with my very best pal," she giggled.

"Hey g..g..guys," said a voice approaching them, "we're doing a c...c...collection so we can buy a special wreath for J...J...Jemima's memorial service on Thursday. Can you give anything towards it?"

Sydney Jones was one of Jemima's classmates. He was the geek everyone loved, the perfect person to organise a collection.

"Sure Syd... here's five dollars," offered Lilly as December smiled and opened her purse.

"Have you met December? She's new here?"

December and Syd smiled at each other, as she passed him another five dollars.

"It's g..g...great to m..m..meet you, December. Thank you for th..th...the money. The service is at th..th..the local church. Hope you c...c...can make it," he smiled, placing the money in a brown envelope in his satchel.

"He seems sweet," said December.

"Yeah, he is. Everyone loves Syd."

"Are we going to go to the service? It'll be kinda weird won't it? I mean, given the circumstances."

"Of course we're going! We have to," said Lilly, "it'll look weird if we don't go. Nobody else here knows what we know," she added in a whisper as December reluctantly nodded in agreement. "What's really weird is the fact she's supposedly being buried first. But there's, like... no body."

"Shhh December," said Lilly as a group of fellow classmates walked past and said hi. They waved back.

"Apparently there's been some kind of... spell... to make them think they're burying their daughter but it's not going to be her in the casket."

"It's not?" asked December astounded.

"Well, of course it's not."

"No, I didn't mean that. Obviously it's not going to be her. But if it's not Jemima being buried, then who is it?"

Lilly shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know. All I know is the Elders are dealing with it. It's best if we don't think about it."

Lilly looked at her watch and gulped back the last of her drink. "Time's up... we need to get to class."

#

"It says here the Nephilim are the 'sons of God and the daughters of man'," said Lilly's aunt Rose later that afternoon as she sat at her computer reading while the girls sat drinking tea by her side, all Rose's cats purring while they slept in various different locations throughout the room.

Walter, Rose's husband who also happened to be a vampire, paced from one end of the room to the other.

"Yes, that's what I've heard about them too. The truth is, I never for a moment thought they actually existed. Silly really considering what I am and what I know. I should have known they are as much a part of our existence as angels and sirens," he said more to himself than to anybody else.

"And here it says the Nephilim were cast into a place of total darkness where they would be trapped for all eternity," said Rose, continuing to read to herself.

December, Lilly and Millicent looked at each other, recalling Badrick's comments at being chained in a place of darkness.

"So where do you think this place is?" asked Lilly to her aunt. "Does it say anything about that?"

"Hm... I'll keep reading and see."

"I'm thinking along the lines of caves, something like that," added Walter, finally sitting down in the old comfy armchair usually favoured by his wife.

"Well, you might be on to something because here it says they were cast deep into the earth, away from the temptations of man, where they would be trapped to live in darkness for all of eternity."