Lucy Kelly (23 page)

Becky merely pointed to Kai and Ari, “They’re yours, your very own Nephilim.”

Becky was getting a jittery feeling and she needed to take a minute to absorb the shock.  However, she also didn’t want to run out of the room like the scared little girl she was inside.

“Um, why don’t we go ahead and get seated?  The dinner service doesn’t start until seven.  That way, we can all sit down instead of standing around staring at each other like mannequins.”

“That sounds like a great idea.  I could use a drink,” said Sarah.

“You said it, Sister…” Becky muttered - then stopped.

When everyone realized what she had said, they all burst into laughter.  It was just what they needed to break the ice.

Becky knew a lot about Sarah Kline - how using family money, she’d started up a company in Silicon Valley and within five years, was a multi-millionaire.

The latest edition of ‘
Wired’
magazine had a story about her company.  After it had its IPO, she and her partner had gone from millionaires to billionaires and were now quoted on the stock exchange.  Becky’s accomplishments were nothing compared to Sarah’s accomplishments.

Still keeping up her front while her gut churned, she turned to Sarah, “Hey, I didn’t realize it until now, but we’re wearing the same dress.  Did you buy it on Tuesday?”  At Sarah’s nod, Becky said, “No wonder the saleslady knew right away what would look good on me.  She and the others gave me the strangest looks.”

“Did you have lunch downtown near that Eritrean place on Tuesday?” asked Sarah.

“Yeah.  It’s right next door to the Japanese place.”

“That explains my waiter’s reaction.  He was staring out the window with the strangest look on his face,” said Sarah.

They quickly rehashed over that day and realized they’d missed each other by minutes several times.  By then, they had reached the greeting desk between the two ballrooms.

“Miranda,” said Becky, “this is Sarah Kline, who
appears
to be my long-lost twin sister and her friend Tammy…?”

“Hunter,” said Tammy.  “But unlike Sarah, I don’t have a ticket.”

Miranda took one look at her and then at Markus standing nearby, he’d never strayed far from Tammy. 

She gave him an imperceptible nod and then turned to Tammy.  “That’s all right, dear.  Markus is free, he can be your escort for the evening.  The two of you have my seal of approval.

“Under the circumstances, Becky, you’ll need to do a little table re-arranging.  Why don’t you have the staff simply set up one of the extra tables at the back of the room?” suggested Miranda.

“I’ll take care of it,” said Ishme, striding off towards the ballroom. 

He could see that something was wrong with Becky.  She was not acting precisely the way she normally did.  He hesitated to speak to her about it because they were with others and also, because he wasn’t a hundred percent sure.  They’d been together for such a brief time.

In order to give Becky and Sarah time to get acquainted, instead of the men sitting on either side of them, putting two men between them, they sat them side by side.  This put Tammy on the opposite side of the large round table.  Ishme and Nyal sat on her left and Markus, Kai and Ari on her right.

Markus quickly took advantage and began a low-voiced conversation with Tammy.  He knew the other four men were completely engrossed in watching their women.  He should know, he was completely engrossed in Tammy.

Addie and Grace each sent over several bottles of champagne and came by to say their hellos and be introduced. 

Cassandra and her father arrived just before seven, so Addie and Grace left to greet them and take them up to the head table to be seated.  They would be taking Ishme and Nyal’s original places.

The toasts, congratulations and exclamations went on and on.  Through it all, Becky kept comparing herself to Sarah and making herself the loser.  This continued even through dinner and dessert.  She and Sarah barely had an opportunity to exchange more than small talk.  This wasn’t the right venue for a long heart-to-heart talk, anyway.

Suddenly, right before the presentations, Becky couldn’t stand it anymore, so she excused herself from the table.  She dissuaded anyone from coming with her, saying she wanted a brief word with Jalen before the next phase of the evening commenced.

She walked over to Jalen and asked him for a moment of his time.  The two of them stepped out into the hall and then across to some chairs along the opposite wall.

“Jalen, Ishme told me that he couldn’t get me pregnant because we hadn’t been
Joined
.  Ever since he told me that, something’s been bothering me.  If Nephilim need their wings to complete the
Joining
and have children, then how did the Nephilim who landed on this planet have children?  Surely, the women of Earth weren’t the ones they were destined to be with?” she asked.

He gave her a searching look.  Other than Addie, he knew Becky the best.  He and his brothers had lived with her for a time while Addie was adjusting to life with her
Ankida
.  She had a fascinating and labyrinthine mind and he knew she needed this information right now or she wouldn’t have asked.

“We’re not sure.  The only explanation we have come up with is that Tamiel was here.  It’s not always possible to wait for your
Join
.  Perhaps they weren’t born yet, or perhaps they were in an accident and died. 

“Nephilim are practical.  If an amount of time goes by and they no longer wish to wait, they can choose a female in the same situation as themselves and
Join
with her. 

“The Queen’s power allows their wings to come to the surface when they’re deeply in love.  Who’s to say if the one you
Join
with is one or the other?  Either way, your wings emerge when you love. 

“The
Joining
flight triggers sperm production in the male.  More accurately, as the wings emerge, two small sacs are pierced.  They secrete a chemical in the body, which sets off a chain reaction, resulting in sperm.  This chemical also reacts as a powerful aphrodisiac to the female, preparing her for the
Joining
.”

He gave her another long look, “Is that what you needed to know?”

“Yes, thank you, Jalen.  I wasn’t prepared for a long-lost sister and need a moment.  Would you take the long way around?  I want to sit here and if you go right back in, Ishme or Nyal will be out here in seconds,” she said.

After another look, he agreed.  Leaving her there, he turned to go down the hall and around to the service entrance.  Since the presentation would be starting soon, he needed to do a last-minute security check, anyway.  They didn’t want anyone over-hearing what was going to be said.  As he left, he gave the two guards outside the ballroom a message with his eyes and a tilt of his head.  They would keep watch over Becky.

Becky knew what she had to do.  She loved them too much to let them be saddled with her.  She got up from her chair and sat down at the greeter table to write Ishme and Nyal a note.  She was too cowardly to face them.

Ishme and Nyal,

It’s been fun, really.  However, it’s time to move on.  I think you should go back to HeVan with Addie.  She will find you the perfect woman to be your wife.  We all know that I’m never going to fit into that mold and your wings won’t emerge for me.  Jalen explained it.

I’m going out for a while.  I’d appreciate it if you were all gone when I get back home.

Becky

Her handwriting was a little shaky but she didn’t want to get maudlin.  Becky knew that if she had tried to write more, she wouldn’t be able to do so.  Folding the note into four, she took a few deep breaths to regain control and stood.

She walked over to the Nephilim standing guard at the door. 

“I need to run an errand.  If I’m not back before the end of the presentation, would you give this to Ishme or Nyal for me?” she asked, barely holding on to a smile that was little more than a grimace.

“Of course,
Beleti
,” he said.

Becky turned around and walked away, tears she didn’t even notice streaming down her face.

Chapter Seventeen

Valerie stood up as people finished their desserts and hit her spoon against her glass.  The room quieted.

“Good evening.  I thank you all for coming to the first ever Nephilim Welcome event.”  She waited for the applause to die down before continuing. 

“I’m sure many of you have been eyeing that raised dais in the middle of the room and wondering what it’s for.  I’ve heard some wild speculation as I’ve wandered around the room,” she said, and many in the crowd laughed.

“Actually, we’ve got a little presentation prepared for you.  Queen Aditya the Good, also known as Addie, is going to be our program director for this first part.  Then we’ll have a question and answer session. 

“Over to you, Addie.”

Addie got up from her seat and walked along the side of the head table to the end, where she was helped down onto the floor by Jett.  He and his two brothers then approached the raised platform with three microphone stands.  Only, instead of microphones, they mounted what looked like three black pens or laser pointers.  Addie stopped walking just before the platform.

“First,” said Addie, “I’d like a show of hands.  How many women in this room were born with a birthmark similar to mine?  Or had one appear as you got older?”

She swept aside the fall of hair that covered the left side of her brow.  All of the women in the room raised their hands.

“Okay.  Now, here’s a harder one, how many of you have some kind of gift?  Do you find things, move things, know things?” she asked.

Once more, but much more reluctantly than they had before, all of the hands went up.

“These are the two reasons why you were invited to this event.  My name is Aditya Marie Perez Azazyel.  I was born in DeKalb County and grew up there. I’ve lived in the Chicago area for all my life. 

“I guess what I’m saying is that I’m human.  However, as our birthmarks prove, we are all something more.

“The books written by Valerie are not fiction.  They are fact and I can prove it to you.  Visitors from another planet crash landed on Earth nearly ten thousand years ago and everyone in this room is a descendent of the survivors of that crash.”

She waited until the uproar caused by that remark faded before continuing.  Addie spoke of herself as a child, seeing the same mark on a stone carving on a school field trip and how she’d dedicated her life to finding out the truth.  She went on to describe the ancient sites she’d worked on over the past few years. 

As she reached the point in the story when she found the ship, the three pens mounted on the stands came to life.  They showed a three-dimensional holographic image of her entering the cave, finding the skeleton, then the drawings, finally, the shuttle, and the Queen in stasis.  The holograms then proceeded to move from image to image through her journey to the ship, slung over Jett’s shoulder. 

This made many in the audience laugh.  They thought she was putting on a show for their benefit from the plot of a previous book.

Until Addie had seen the holograms in the rehearsal for her speech, she hadn’t realized that all of the men and even the shuttle had recorded the events in such detail. 

When they came to the scene where her
Ankida
ran into the medical room and their wings burst from their backs, the tone of the audience began to change.  Watching Tamiel pass her powers on had most of the audience reaching for handkerchiefs or napkins.

Skipping the part where she
Joined
with her men - this was a PG event after all - the next image was her Ascension Ceremony on board the Far Star Station, when she officially became the
Nam-Nin
and assumed her powers. The images proceeded right up until she made the decision to return to Earth until the gate was completed.

“The gate will be completed in two weeks,” said Addie.  “At that time, we will be sending a probe through the gate for two reasons.  First, to make sure the gates are working properly.  Second, we want to download the main memory files from the city of HeVantha.  We need to know what Malpha’s been up to for the last two hundred years. 

“At that time, I’ll be leaving Earth and won’t be returning.  Any of you who want to join me in this adventure or come later are welcome.  As you know, HeVan needs women desperately.  The shuttle trip to HeVan takes approximately four to five weeks, depending on the rotation of the Earth around the sun in comparison to the space station.

“We’re just about ready for the question and answer period of the evening and I’ll be relinquishing the floor back to Valerie for that. 

“I have only one thing left to say.  You’ve read all the books.  From this moment on, know that they are not fiction.  They are real.  They are the true history of a people struggling to keep themselves and their culture alive, while also keeping it a secret and not influence the cultures developing here.  Everything in those stories about characters you know and love so much really happened.  They were real people who really existed here and on HeVan. 

“Three months ago, my life changed forever.  Tonight, your lives, whether you choose to come with me or to remain here on Earth, have also changed forever.

“As an archeologist - ABD, I grant you - I personally uncovered proof all over this world.  I was going to use that proof as my dissertation.

“Finding that ship and Queen Tamiel set my feet down another path.  All of you are now standing at that same crossroads.  The decision is entirely yours.  You know the hearts and minds of the Nephilim.  You know their culture, their beliefs, and their laws.  You are their descendants. 

“Will you betray them or support them?”

The holograph went dark and Addie returned to her seat to thunderous applause.