The Naphil's Kiss (6 page)

Chapter 11

“Medic! Medic!” Mr. Smith raced into the compound, clutching a bundle of limp, dangling limbs close to his chest. One foot hung at a strange angle and little drops of blood sprinkled the hallway floor behind him.

Lucien, who had just been meandering past the front door, nearly got bowled over by the rushing cleric. He jumped out of the way.

“Smith, what happened,” he shouted. Then his mind pieced together what he was seeing. Frizzy brown hair. Long denim skirt. “What happened to Annie?”

Mr. Smith didn't even slow down. Lucien trailed him to the clinic. Smith set the girl gently on the bed.

Lucien was no medic, but he could see the girl had been through something. Her right ankle was clearly broken. There was a deep gash across her belly, another at her hairline. Blood flowed freely from the two wounds.

“What happened?” he asked again.

“Medic! Nurse! Someone, come on!”

At the sound of Smith's shouting, two women and a man rushed into the room. They took in the sight of the battered girl, whose blood stained the white sheets redder with every passing moment.

“What happened?” the medic asked, hurrying to the sink embedded in the exterior wall of the white cinderblock room. Beside him, the nurses pulled on gloves and scooped up cloths. One raced to Annie and pressed down hard on the abdominal laceration. “It's not that deep,” she murmured.

“Smith, why is Annie here? Isn't she supposed to be out of town with her parents?”

“She was. I don't know what happened. One minute I was in my study, and the next, that boy appeared, holding her. I have no idea what went on.”

Lucien's head shot up and his eyes widened. Josiah. He'd been on vacation with Annie and her parents in Virginia. How on earth had they suddenly appeared here? Josiah didn't know how to relocate, did he? Was he even capable of it? And if he'd appeared out of nowhere clutching a wounded and bleeding Annie, something terrible must have happened!

Lucien didn't waste time running through the compound. He simply relocated to Mr. Smith's study.

At first, the room appeared empty. No one was sitting in the leather recliner by the window, or the blue rolling chair at the scarred mahogany desk. He was about to leave when a small sound captured his attention.

He followed the quiet sob to the corner, where his fourteen-year-old son was huddled, arms around his knees, tears streaming down his face. He wasn't just crying, he could barely breathe with the force of his sobs as he slowly rocked back and forth.

“Josiah?”

The boy looked up. Blood was smeared on his face.

“Father!” He leaped from his curled up position and threw himself against Lucien's chest. Lucien embraced him.

“What happened, son? Are you hurt? What happened to Annie?”

“They came. In the night. Don't know why. Killed… oh God… killed them all.”

Lucien's alarm grew. He grasped Josiah's arms in his hands and gently set him back a bit, looking into his eyes. “Who was killed?”

“Everyone! Annie's mom and dad, her brother Jake. The succubae… they came.”

A sensation of dread flared in the pit of Lucien's stomach. “Did they hurt you?”

Josiah shook his head. “We…” he gasped. Sobbed again. “We were outside. Annie and I. We were looking at con… con… at the stars. Heard a sound… ran inside… there were four of them. They were… oh God. Their claws… they were laughing… `One less cleric and his spawn,' they said…. I was frozen…” He broke into more shattered sobs. This time it took several minutes for him to calm down enough to speak. “Annie rushed them, and they cut her up. Knocked her down. They… I… I don't know what happened then. I just… I just ran after her. Pushed one away. Grabbed her. I heard one say, `demon eyes!' Then I was here.”

“Oh no!” Lucien hugged his son tight again.

“Is Annie okay?”

“Yes, son. She's okay. The belly wound isn't that bad, and the others are fixable. You saved her, Josiah.”

Josiah, it was clear, had no interest in being congratulated. He let go of his attempts to speak and just dissolved into hysterics. And rightly so. He'd just seen a whole family murdered. And now they had a worse problem. Those succubae knew there was a boy with demon eyes somewhere out there in the world. Josiah would not be a secret for much longer.

***

Clash! Clang! Scrape!
The sound of sword-on-sword rang through the courtyard. Josiah met Peter's thrust with his sword, and then turned rapidly, sliding his blade out from underneath before the brute strength of his eighteen-year-old opponent could crush him down. It had taken years, but Josiah had finally accepted he had to use stealth and dexterity against Peter. Though at sixteen, he had finally grown and was experiencing puberty, he was still small for his age, much slighter than the other boys. But once he made peace with his size, he'd found ways to use it to his advantage. At least he'd finally caught up with Annie, who was apparently done growing. As he whirled to avoid another slash with the blunted practice sword, he caught sight of her standing by the wall, watching.

She'd grown tall and beautiful in the last three years. So beautiful it hurt to look at her. Her light brown hair bounced in a halo of curls around her shoulders. Her brown eyes sparkled in the light, as did her straight white teeth. Seeing her, Josiah wanted to show off. He wanted to meet Peter's attack head-on and drive the bully away. But he knew from experience that the moment this kind of thinking took over, he would be finished.

Resisting the urge to rush his opponent, Josiah feinted, and when Peter reacted, he made a lightning-swift movement, changing his direction and hitting the bigger boy on the ribs with bruising force.

Peter cursed and swung wildly, which opened him to a hit on the shoulder. Josiah dropped his practice sword between his opponent's legs. A deft twist and Peter lay sprawled on the ground before him. The bigger boy laughed.

“You've learned some new tricks, shrimp. Not bad. But you'll never be a real man. By the time you reach adult-size, it will be too late.”

Knowing better than to rise to the bait, Josiah stretched out his hand. The rules of etiquette had been drilled into all the children.

In a move which seemed faster than possible for such a bulky boy, Peter reversed their positions, throwing Josiah to the ground and placing a size fifteen sneaker on his throat. He pressed down just a little, enough to restrict Josiah's airway slightly.

“Too trusting,” Peter sneered. “Too bad for you, shrimp. By the time you grow up, I'll have your pretty Annie all to myself. Just imagine it, you little worm. You'll be celebrating your twentieth birthday and I'll be screwing your girl.” Peter laughed. He let just a hint more weight press down on Josiah's throat.

And then, without warning, Peter was flying across the courtyard, landing in a heap.

“I have something to say about that, you disgusting toad,” Annie snarled. “Josiah, are you all right?” She knelt beside him.

Josiah blinked, wondering what had happened. It slowly dawned on him that Annie must have knocked Peter away from him. He ground his teeth. Even a girl was tougher and stronger than him.

“I'm fine,” he snarled, twitching her hand off his shoulder. “I don't need any help.”

He hauled himself to his feet and stalked away, back towards the compound. He'd had enough practice for one day.

***

“Father?”

Lucien looked up from the report he was writing.

“Do you have a minute?” Josiah stepped into the council chamber, massaging his throat. His voice sounded hoarse.

“Of course, son,” Lucien replied, indicating the chair next to him. “What's on your mind?”

Josiah sat, nervously rubbing his hands over his dirty jeans. He then brushed his fingers through his hair anxiously, composing his thoughts. “I… I think I'm in love.”

Lucien nodded. “Annie is a very special girl. I'm not surprised.”

Josiah blushed, but didn't deny it. “Do you think we'll ever be… together?”

Lucien considered for a moment. “I don't see why not.”

“Mr. Smith hates me.” Josiah said darkly.

Lucien smiled. Teens were so dramatic. “I don't think he does. Most likely he's concerned for his granddaughter is all. She's his last living relative. After he lost his wife to cancer all those years ago, and then Pearl and her husband, and Annie's younger brother in that succubus attack, well it's not surprising he's protective of Annie.”

“It's more than that, Father. He really does hate me. I can feel it.”

“Son, I've known him for so long. Long before he was called mister by anyone. Back when he was Moses Smith, minor cleric. He was my sidekick, you know.”

Josiah raised one dark eyebrow. “But he's so old.”

“Don't forget, son, he's human. He has a human lifespan. He may seem old now, but I can clearly remember when he was born. He fought by my side in his twenties and thirties.”

“How old are you, Father?” Josiah asked hesitantly.

“I don't exactly know,” he replied. “It's hard to measure in human years. I was a young Naphil when the Flood occurred.”

Josiah's eyes widened. “Do you remember it? What was it like? Did you lose many friends?”

“Slow down, Josiah,” Lucien said, laughing. “No, I didn't lose any friends. The people who lived back then were… horrible. Every bit as bad as the Scriptures say. They make some of the succubae look like little lambs. Believe me, son, the Creator was right to wipe them out.”

“But what was the flood like? Can't Nephilim drown?”

“Of course we can. But to be honest… I don't know how we survived it.” He saw his son was about to interrupt with a barrage of questions and held up his hand. “The Flood was not meant for us; we were told that in advance. We protected Noah and his family, we brought the animals. And then, when the first drops of rain began to fall, we all went to sleep. When we woke up, the world was completely different. So I have no idea what happened to us in between, but it was obviously divine protection.”

Josiah's mouth hung open. Clearly this information was more than he could comprehend. Truthfully, neither could Lucien.

“But, Father, how did the succubae survive? They were alive then, right?”

“Yes, son, they were. There weren't as many. Lilith has been breeding for thousands of years since then. As for how they survived, I'm not sure of that either. Except… I've always had the theory that the hive is not exactly on earth. And before you ask, I don't know where it is either. If we knew, we would have assaulted it centuries ago, before the numbers of succubae and drones grew so great. But we've never been able to find them.”

Josiah nodded. “Doesn't it bother you, all the things you don't know?”

“Sometimes,” Lucien replied, “but I trust in the divine plan. The Creator has never led us astray. Even our mistakes can be used for good. Never doubt that, Josiah. No matter what happens, the Creator's plan has not faltered. It twists and turns along the paths we take, and still comes out just the way He intended. Have faith, son.”

“If I could be with Annie, I would never doubt again. Can you even imagine, Father, what it's like to be so very in love?”

A wave of sorrow washed over Lucien. “I don't have to imagine, Josiah. I know.”

“You do?” The teen regarded him with wide green eyes which seemed to burn into the depths of his soul.

“Of course. Where do you think you came from? I would never have broken my vows for lust or curiosity. I loved your mother. I love her still.”

“Then where is she?” Josiah asked bitterly. “Why has she never come to me? Did she not love you back? Or was it me she didn't want?”

“Stop that, Josiah,” Lucien growled, his grief making his tone gruff. “She loved me. And she loved you too. She would never have chosen to leave you.”

“But she did leave. Did she die?”

“I hope not. Listen, what would you do for Annie, if she asked it of you? What would you deny her?”

“Nothing,” Josiah said firmly.

“Really? And what if she asked you to leave her? What if she asked you to take your baby and walk away? What if it was the only way to ensure the little one would grow up safe? Would you do it, Josiah? I know you didn't understand as a child, but you're nearly an adult. Can you imagine a love that great? A sacrifice that deep? She didn't give you up because of a lack of love, but because of an excess. She loved you too much to let you live in danger. And she's always in danger, son. And the only way I can protect her is to stay far away…” Lucien's voice stopped. It didn't break, it just refused to come out, as though his throat had closed. He looked into his son's eyes again and saw Sarahi in those glowing depths.

His throat opened and a flood of words spilled out. “If only I could express to you, son. Your mother was so… beautiful. So perfect. She was so very happy when she was pregnant with you, stroking her belly and singing. Her soul shone like a gemstone; pure, pink light. I loved just looking at her. Knowing it was my child growing inside her… sometimes I thought I would burst. Believe me, Josiah. You are loved and wanted.”

His son swallowed hard but said nothing. At last he nodded slowly, his expression far away. He reached out his hand and Lucien stood, hauling him into a tight hug. Then the boy trailed out, leaving his father alone with his memories and grief.