Celestial Beginnings (Nephilim Series) (42 page)

There it was!
Azazel raised his sword for a downward arc and his chest was left wide open. Taking what probably would be the only chance he would have; he leaned into the blow and rammed his sword through the area where Azazel’s heart should have been.

Azazel gasped when the blade hit its mark and he knew he had been beat.
He stumbled back, but Malachi followed him, never taking his hand off the sword. The movement made Azazel fall to the ground, and Malachi pushed the sword into the earth to secure the weapon.

Not missing a beat, Malachi started to recite the words that have been ingrained in him since he was a boy.
“Lord, please accept my gift to you.”

“No!”
Azazel yelled and struggled to free himself.

“Your messenger has abused his power and is here to wait for his judgment.”

“This didn’t work the last time, and it won’t this time.”

“Do with him what you wish.”

Nothing happened. He went through the words again in his head to make sure he got it right; he did, but still nothing happened. 

Azazel started to laugh.
“And you thought you were special enough to have Him listen to you? That’s priceless!”

Just then, the ground started to shake, and Malachi doubled his grip on the sword so it wouldn’t pull free.
He watched in amazement as Azazel started to sink into the earth. It was then he released his hold and jumped back, not wanting to go with him.

“Wait!
Not yet!” Azazel was clawing at the grass to try and keep himself above ground, but the effort was worthless.

When he was down far enough, the ground covered back over the top of him, successfully silencing his screams.
Everything looked as if nothing had happened. The only thing out of place was the sword that was left standing and stuck in the ground.

Malachi fell to his knees and hung his head.
Sending up a silent prayer of thanks, he finally felt free. The feeling was instantly clouded when all his grief slammed back into him. He choked out a sob, thinking of living the rest of life without Trinity. He rose to head in her direction.

All the extra people, which had been at the clearing to help, started hollering and running up to him.
This was a monumental night, and they were all proud to be a part of it. It didn’t take them long to realize that he wasn’t in the mood. After a few congratulatory slaps on the back, they all started to disperse.

The rest of his team, his friends, were all huddled around Trinity by the time he got there, including Gideon.
They all knew that this was not a time for celebration. Their emotions matched his own.

Going to his knees once again, he pulled her onto his lap and just held her.
She was starting to get cold from the night’s air, and knowing that she wouldn’t be warming up anytime soon, he held on even tighter. She should never have been here. Her only crime was being his. The thought made Malachi break down, and he did something he hadn’t done since he was a boy, he cried.

The others were silent, letting him have his moment.
A warm hand was placed on his shoulder, and he immediately started to feel calmer.

“Gemariah, don’t!
I told you I don’t like you doing that.” Malachi snapped at his friend.

“That’s not me.”
The answer was almost a whisper.

Looking up, he noticed that everyone was staring at something behind him and they looked almost in awe.
Noting that everyone was in front of him, but the hand was still on his shoulder, he jerked and pulled away. He turned and at the same time, shielded Trinity’s body from whomever was there.

Standing there was the most ethereal person he had ever seen.
He was what you would get when you mixed peace, wisdom, and love together in human form; it was angelic. That thought is what helped him figure it out.

“Who are you?”

Ignoring his question, the angel tilted his head to the side and spoke. “Tell me son, why do you weep when she will eventually come back to you?”

“What do you mean?”

“You have a strong soul, and likewise have a strong soul mate. That is the only way she could have been reborn so much in such a short amount of time. I have no doubt that it will happen again.”

Malachi shook his head.
“It wouldn’t be her, though.”

“No, she would be better.
The woman would not have gone through the anguish that Azazel put this one through.” The angel motioned in the direction of Trinity. “She would not be so scarred.”

Not taking his eyes off her, he smoothed back the hair from her face.
“She was perfect to me.”

The angel had a whisper of a smile on his face.
“She is a determined woman, isn’t she?”

Malachi felt his heart constrict all over again, but it was Gideon that caught onto the spoken words.
“What do you mean ‘is’?”

Eyeing them all, the angel stood a little taller, as if proud.
“I am the angel that comes to collect the souls when they pass, and guide them to where they need to go.” He then zeroed in on Malachi. “I was the one that took Trinity’s soul.”

Malachi couldn’t prevent the wave of anger that surged through him.
This was the one responsible for taking her away. All of his muscles tensed before he felt a sudden calming effect.

“Don’t.”
Malachi spoke through clenched teeth.

“Then calm yourself and let me finish.”
He felt the power behind the words, and Malachi knew to listen.

“As you already know, she was bound to you by the essence you saved her with; which could only be done to a soul mate by the way.
Anyway, the bonding wasn’t completed. If it was, this wouldn’t have happened.” He opened his arms to indicate Trinity.

“I didn’t know anything about bonding.
We were never told.” Malachi was confused and a little defensive.

The angel nodded.
“We try not to announce it. Any nephilim can be bound to their soul mate, even the ones that choose to fight for Satan. As you all know, nephilims have a hard time staying on the path of good, some more than others.” He looked directly at Gideon when he said the last part, before addressing everyone again. “Think of having double the amount of nephilims out there fighting on the side of evil.”

“Double the amount of…are you saying we can turn our soul mates into nephilims?”
Gemariah asked.

The angel kneeled next to Malachi, but still spoke with everyone.
“Yes, if there is a precise verbal agreement after knowing all the facts, but there’s a catch.” He paused to make sure he had everyone’s attention. “The two of you would be connected in every way. There would be a constant beacon to thoughts, memories, and feelings. You would also share death. They can’t be killed unless their mate dies too; they die when you die.”

Malachi pulled Trinity higher up onto his lap after she had slipped down a little.
He found himself still trying to keep her warm. “This would have been nice to know before…” He couldn’t finish, but everyone understood.

The angel put his hand on Malachi’s arm in a comforting manner, and Malachi took note that all the emotions he was feeling were his own.
“When you gave Trinity your essence, you breathed your life into her, but you were missing the other element that would have bound the two of you together permanently.” Malachi glanced at him and he continued. “Blood. If you two had exchanged blood, the bonding would have been complete.”

Malachi was becoming angrier with each revelation.
“You’re not helping.” He just wanted to be left alone to grieve in peace.

“Don’t you get it?
Even though it wasn’t complete, you two are still connected. If you can somehow get your blood to course through her veins, and vice versa, it just might complete itself.”

Hope spread through Malachi, but he quickly stomped it down, still being skeptical.
“She can’t give her verbal agreement. How can I know that she would even want that life?”

The angel actually laughed and looked skyward.
“She’s already given her agreement. When I went to lead her to heaven, she pulled away and claimed that she wasn’t going to leave you.” Malachi, at that moment, felt every ounce of love that he had for her and almost didn’t hear what was said next. “She’s standing here, after hearing everything, and is now waiting on your decision.”

The angel was eyeing Malachi expectantly, but Malachi could only focus on one thing.
“She’s here?”

“Yes.”

Malachi didn’t know where she was, so he chose to look down at her body. “Are you sure?” His voice was so small, dreading the answer he might get. “I have failed to protect you numerous times. Are you sure that I am the one you want?”

The angel looked to a spot at Malachi’s side and chuckled.
“She said to get the show on the road.”

Malachi laughed as well and laid Trinity on the grass.
The mood around the circle had changed drastically. He could feel the hope and excitement, mixed with a little disbelief, pouring off everyone.

“Here.”
Tori handed over the small blade she always carried strapped to her leg. “You might need this.”

Malachi took the blade and made a cut across the palm of Trinity’s hand.
He then did the same thing to his and pressed their wounds together by holding her hand.

Almost instantly, he had a vision of himself being pushed in a tree swing.
He was laughing and yelling at the person pushing him to go higher. When the swing stopped, a very pretty woman circled in front of him and smiled. She opened her arms, and Malachi didn’t hesitate to run into them. Pulling back, he looked into a set of beautiful violet eyes that he had only seen on one other person. Trinity! This must be her mother. That’s when he understood what was happening. He was seeing one of her memories as if it were him. It was working!

Malachi sucked in a gulp of air when he returned to reality.
“Wow. It’s really working.” He was amazed, but when he looked down at Trinity he noticed there was no change. Something was wrong. Her blood easily entered his system, but she couldn’t circulate his. “She’s not taking it, what can I do?” Panic had now replaced his excitement.

Through everything, the angel had stayed calm.
“I might be mistaken, but somebody here might have the ability to move objects with a single thought.”

No one spoke up, he was wrong.
There was nothing he could do. It wasn’t going to work! Gideon groaned and broke through Malachi’s negative thoughts.

“Give me that.”
Gideon knelt down across from him and grabbed the small dagger that Malachi still held. Picking up her other arm, he slashed the knife down her wrist, successfully opening a vein. He then grabbed Malachi’s injured hand and placed it over Trinity’s new wound. “Right to the source.”

Malachi watched as Gideon closed his eyes to concentrate.
How come he didn’t know Gideon could do this? He could only think of one answer. Gideon always steered clear of anything that had to do with his father, and telekinesis was primarily a demon power. Maybe he had been trying to push it back like every other trait.

Underneath his hand, he felt a movement and knew that Gideon was doing it.
The blood started to flow through her body.

After a few minutes of waiting, there was still no change.
He figured that they were too late. That was until he noticed the tiny movement of her fingers. Immediately, he placed his hand on her chest and focused. She was there! It was faint, but there was a spirit there to lock onto.

“She’s there!
It worked!” Malachi practically collapsed on top of her in relief and buried his head in the crook of her neck. “Thank you God. Thank you God.” He repeated over and over.

When he noticed that Gideon had pulled away and was starting to stand, Malachi snatched his wrist to stop him.
“Thank you!” Looking directly at Gideon, he didn’t want there to be any misunderstanding of how grateful he was.

Gideon’s mouth lifted into a hint of a smile before he nodded and stood to walk away.

“I think you are forgetting something, my son.”

Malachi sat up and looked over.
“What? We did everything you said. She’s back, it worked.”

“Yes, it did.
When she is more capable, she’ll learn to heal herself and others, like you, but not until she’s stronger. There is still damage to her physical form that will prevent her from a fast recovery.”

“Oh.”
Something that had been nagging at Malachi resurfaced once more. “Why are you telling us all of this now? Not that I’m not grateful, but what makes her different from the others in the past?”

“You are a sharp one, aren’t you?”
He gazed at Trinity as if in awe, and sighed. “This one is different. She is a very rare precious gem, a gem that will be a huge asset in the fight of good versus evil.”

“She’s not an asset!”
Malachi snapped. He made it sound as if she was nothing more than a tool.