Rebirth - The Beautiful Fallen (10 page)

             
“So what exactly are you two doing all the way out here anyways?  I wasn’t really expecting to see
you
of all people around here.” Will said, looking back at Chris.

             
“We’re heading to Baton Rouge to stay with Zane.  I figured it might be better to just take her there for now.” Chris replied.

             
“I see.  So I take it she hasn’t gotten them yet.  Probably would be the safest bet in that case.” Will agreed.  He glanced around, then spoke quietly again.  “So, you know about what happened in these last few years with those two, right?” he asked him.

             
“Zane mentioned it.  Although I can’t believe he was dumb enough to let it go on long enough to piss off the big one.  I would’ve thought that Saffron was a lot smarter than that.  At least, from everything I’ve ever known about him.” Chris said.

             
“It’s just how they are.  We both know that.  Your own father pushes whatever he can with the more powerful ones.  He sees himself as at least equal with the rest of them.  He even likes to test the limits with the Darkest One at times.” Will noted.

             
“And we’re not speaking of my father, remember?” Chris snapped.

             
By then, I was beginning to understand that there must have been some sort of rift between Chris and the one who was his father.  I was half tempted to ask him about it when it was just the two of us again, but somehow, I wasn’t too sure if I could.  I really didn’t want him snapping at me either.  And, to be perfectly honest, I wasn’t sure that I wanted to know all of his secrets yet.  I was just beginning to start making myself comfortable with Chris.  I didn’t want to destroy all that I’d already built up in this strange relationship we’d been developing.

             
Will himself didn’t seem too put off though.  Instead, he just shook his head.  “If you insist.  I suppose it's not for me to question you on all of that.  However, I will say that I do think that you’re taking quite a risk here in running with her like this.  From what I’ve heard in the last day or so, they’re mobilizing again.  And this time, it’s going to be big.” He said quietly.

             
“They’re starting again?  But it’s been at least fifty years now.  Why the hell are they after us full force again?” Chris asked him.

             
Will just shrugged.  “Don’t really know myself.  The numbers have remained the same since then for as far as we can tell.  Most of the Grigori have had their breeding abilities stripped now, and the Fallen Ones that are roaming about in the mortal world are taking more precautions with things because of the past troubles.  After all, they didn’t really like the outcomes from the previous hunts.  In fact, when it comes down to it, Ariana here is the last of the new.  I can’t image though that they’d do it only because of her or of Saffron.  They can’t stand him, but he’s definitely not worth such effort to them.” He explained.

             
“What about those clans?  Do you think they have anything to do with it?” Chris asked him.

             
“Clans?” I repeated, not quite following now.

             
Will just gave me an understanding smile as he looked back at me.  I couldn’t help but think that he had a beautiful smile.  Will himself seemed very inviting.  Even more so then Chris, although I still thought that Chris was the better looking of the two.  “Like I said, you’re still very new to all of this.  Apparently, from what we’ve heard, there are three clans of Nephilims now.  Basically, they’re like us.  But the big difference is that they were authorized by the Higher Ones, and they’re run by three Seraphim that didn’t fall from grace into the darkness.  I forget exactly what the purpose of creating them was though.  Something about them being the protectors between the seen and unseen world.  Anyways, they exist now too.  And they’re the reason that us original Nephilims got our new names.  We’re now called Shadow Wings, or more simply the Beautiful Fallen.” He told me.

             
“The Beautiful Fallen.” I repeated quietly to myself.  I guessed such a name would make sense.  Especially considering our parents.  But to think that there were clans similar to us was something.  With what Will was saying, they never had anything to worry about.  I couldn’t help but feel a slight twinge of jealousy inside of me for that.  It just didn’t sit well.

             
Chris himself looked back at Will.  “Good enough explanation, but back to what we were talking about.  Do you think that they’re back to this vendetta because of something with them?” he said.

             
“Honestly, I couldn’t say.  They do tend to be odd at times.  But I can certainly tell you that I know what I’m hearing now.  And it isn’t good.  He’s in on it this time.” Will replied, looking Chris directly in his eyes.  His voice had turned very serious as well.

             
Chris put his cheek against his hand, looking even more annoyed now.  “You have to be kidding.  He needs to just give it up.  There’s no way he’ll ever be able to eliminate us all over a grudge with our parents.” He said.

             
“Well-spoken from the one who could be considered our leader.” Will commented.

             
Chris quickly shot him an annoyed look again.  “Leave it.” He growled.

             
I felt myself tilt my head at this.  “What do you mean?” I asked Will.  It was pretty strange that he called Chris a leader.

             
“It’s nothing to worry about.  You’ll find out soon enough.  But for now, I think it might be better if I stuck around here just a little longer.  As much as I hate to say it, I think you’re going to run into trouble if I don’t.” Will said, smiling at me.  I likened it to telling me to just be patient.

             
Chris seemed to catch onto what he was saying pretty quickly.  “How many have you seen?” he asked him.

             
Will thought about it for a moment.  “In the last three hours, I’ve already fought with two.  And believe me, they were aiming to permanently clip my wings.  I’m beginning to think they see an elder like myself as a good prize for their leader.” He finally answered.

             
By then, the waitress was coming back.  She looked over at Will in surprise, then asked him if he needed to order as well.  “I’ll just take a coffee.  Thanks.” He said, giving her that same charming smile.  I actually saw the woman blush slightly as she turned her head away from him and took our orders.  Once she was done, she quickly walked away.  Looking back at the two of them, I had to ask about what they had been referring to.  “So, what exactly are these things you were fighting?”

             
I really was expecting to hear about something like what Chris had fought, or maybe that woman I’d seen.  I had a feeling that our kind probably fought with a lot of things like that.  And Chris had said before that they tended to be attracted to our power.  That was probably why Chris tended to watch around us like he did.  He didn’t want anything like that surprising us.

             
“Well my dear, you may not like the answer.” Will admitted.

             
“Trust me, I’ve heard enough right now that it would just be another thing to add to the list.” I assured him.

             
“Very well.” Will replied.  “Angels.”

             
“Are you kidding me?” I said in disbelief, although I somehow managed to keep my voice down.  “Why in the world would angels be hunting us?”

             
“You expected any less?  You know where we come from.  We’re not exactly considered holy.” Chris said.

             
“I know that.  But we didn’t exactly ask to be born this way either.” I argued.

             
“Try explaining that to them.  They don't give you much of a chance to.” Chris replied.

             
Will just shook his head, looking like he was in disbelief.  “Honestly Chris, you have no way with women at all, do you?  I know you were taught more manners then what you’re showing her.” He scolded him.

             
“And what do manners have to do with any of this?” Chris asked him.  “None of it means anything anyway when you’re being hunted.  And especially when the girl sitting by you is the daughter of one of those on the top of one of their most hated lists.  You and I both know that all too well.  We’ve lived with the same shit for years from them.”

             
Will wasn’t put off though.  “Well, there’s no reason to act like an ass to me or her right now.  And it’s not her fault that it’s all starting again, and there’s nothing more we can do about it.  For now, what you should be thinking about is offering at least a little bit of comfort to a world in turmoil.  I’ll assume I’m correct in saying such a thing.” He said, looking back over at me.

             
“No kidding.  I always knew I was different, but I wasn’t exactly expecting all of this.” I admitted.

             
“Well, Saffron did go to great lengths to keep you safe and sound all of these years.  I was rather surprised myself when none of us could figure out where he had hid you.  It’s not something typical for us.  But then again, it was also a good thing, because they couldn’t locate you either, or even confirm that you even existed.” Will explained.

             
“Well, he apparently did plan me.  So maybe he was planning ahead on this stuff too.” I reasoned.  I thought about the pictures still in my coat pocket.  Honestly, him planning ahead on everything was the only thing that made sense to me with all the things he’d done up until he’d disappeared.  Saffron had to have known all along that the ones like us were often hunted.  Maybe that was why he’d stirred me towards Chris with that dream.  He wanted me here with him, and others like us.

             
But as I looked back over at Chris again, I saw that something outside had caught his attention.  He glanced back over at us, slowly standing back up.  “Hey, stay here with Will for a minute.  I need to check something out.” He told me quietly.

             
“Hey, are you sure about doing that alone?” Will asked him, although he was keeping his voice low as well.

             
“I can handle it.  Just stay put and make sure she’s safe.  I'll be back.” Chris replied, walking back outside.

             
“Is he going to be okay by himself?” I had to ask.  I hadn’t forgotten about what I’d seen earlier.  Even though they were healing, those had been some pretty nasty wounds on his shoulder and chest.

             
“I wouldn’t worry too much about him.  Chris knows how to handle himself very well.  He’s been doing it on his own for quite a while now, and I assure you, he’s very strong when it comes to fighting.” Will said.

             
“I guess you’ve known him for a long time now, huh?” I noted.

             
Will smiled.  “You could say that.  We’ve been what I like to call friends for quite a while.  Although I’m not too sure it would be something I could say in front of a lot of others.  They might think it’s a form of blasphemy or something like that.” He admitted.

             
There it was again.  It almost sounded like the others bowed to Chris somewhat.  “Why would they think that?  You said something about Chris being a leader before.  What did it mean?” I asked.

             
“Just what I said.” Will replied.  “I suppose I can say it while he’s not around, considering he apparently doesn’t want it said out loud or around you for whatever reason.  Christoff is probably the most powerful of our kind, as well as one of the oldest now.  He’s considered to be our prince because of it.”

             
Oh my God, you have to be kidding me, I thought.  Now I was majorly out of my league if I decided that I might have actually liked him.  He was considered royalty in their world.  Well, our world when I considered myself.  But at the same time, I couldn’t help but think about what had happened to him the night before.  “Well, you guys really have some way of protecting what you call your royalty.  He’s all bandaged up from fighting some monster last night.” I told him.

             
“Again?” Will said, his beautiful face faltering a little now.  “How many times to we have to tell him not to go after those things alone?  One of these days he’s not going to come back.”

             
As I watched, he got himself back up.  “Come on.  I think it might be better if we stepped out there and checked.” He said, offering a hand to help me up.  I nodded and quietly took it, then followed him outside.  The parking lot looked the same as we stepped out there though.  I looked around, but didn’t see a sign of Chris anywhere.  Where in the world could he have gone?

             
Will looked around, his gaze finally stopping as he looked towards the woods near us.  Suddenly, I heard a strange sound, almost like a screeching bird.  It was very brief though.  After another moment, Chris came walking back out from that spot.  He didn’t look too happy to see us out there though.  “Didn’t I tell you to wait in there?” he said, glaring slightly at Will.