Sacred Bloodlines (6 page)

“So you’re like some kind of knights fighting the bad guys?”  Gabe asked trying his best not to sound sarcastic.

“It’s impossible to go into all of our history in a short amount of time, but I will try my best.  Uri and I are, well I guess what someone could call, a little more specialized.”

“Specialized?”  Gabe asked curious.

“Around two thousand years ago, the need arose for The Order of the One Son to create The Guardians.  I know, that seems like an insanely long time ago but I assure you it’s the truth.”  Michael continued to explain.

“This is all very hard to believe; The Order of the One Son and thousands of years?  I’m sorry.  I hope you can understand my skepticism.” Gabe stated, fearful he might insult this kind man.

“Of course,” Michael replied.  “But the truth remains that two thousand years ago the world changed forever.  Mankind needed us more than they would ever know.  Any clue what may have happened around that time?”  

Michael looked at Gabe for an answer, but he had nothing.  His lack of response, however, did not change the fact that he was hanging on every word Michael said.

“Someone you may have heard of before, Jesus Christ,” as Michael said his name he searched Gabe for some sort of recognition before continuing.  “Around this time he was crucified.   What was so important about this event that it caused the need for us?  When Christ was hung on that cross, God turned his back on his son and all of mankind.”

Gabe furrowed his brow as he listened to Michael.  He wondered why he was getting a Bible lesson from this guy rather than the answers he had been promised.  Michael continued. 

“That means during that time, while God was not protecting the realm of earth, the demons of the underworld were also not being kept at bay.  They were wreaking havoc on the people of earth. When Christ drew his last breath--”

“What happened?”  Gabe did not believe Michael’s fairytale, none the less he found it extremely fascinating and entertaining.

“With a great and powerful push, the demons fractured the barrier between earth and the underworld.”  Michael explained before he paused and reached in to pull out an old, silver lighter from the pipe box.  

As Michael puffed on the pipe, Gabe thought about the creatures he had seen the night before.  The contorted face of the monster flashed through his mind and he gasped slightly.  Just a couple days ago he knew he would have written Michael off as crazy, but something in him wanted to hear more.  He felt the need to search for a truth that some inner sense told him may be possible.

“For three days these creatures were allowed to destroy and terrorize the world with no interference.  One of God’s most favored angels, Lucifer, had been cast out from heaven years before for trying to take God’s throne by force.  When Christ died, Lucifer thought he had, at last, won the long fought battle between heaven and hell.  Then, in one instant, God took back control through the resurrection.  Though hell’s forces were pushed back, the fractures were not something that could be repaired.  That’s when The Guardians were introduced.”  

Michael stood and walked to a nearby bookshelf, searching them with a finger.  At last he landed on a large, blue, leather bound book.  He set his pipe in a tray on the fireplace and carried the book over to Gabe, taking a seat next to him on the couch.

Gabe watched as Michael flipped through the old pages, finally landing somewhere in the middle.  

“Here,” he continued, placing part of the book on Gabe’s leg.  He pointed to a passage.  Gabe listened to Michael as he read about the dissension of the original Guardians.  Gabe studied the old ink drawing on the opposite page.  The illustration was a picture of strong and muscular men with grand wings spread out behind them and people bowing all around.

“You’re angels?”  Gabe asked, feeling a bit silly as the words left his lips.

“Sort of,” Michael replied.

“How can you sort of be an angel?”  Gabe asked, frustrated with Michael’s response.

“Remember when I said we were specialized?”  Michael asked.

“Yeah,” Gabe replied while nodding.

“We are a unique breed of angel.  Our primary purpose is to keep the creatures of hell where they belong.  But we will get into all of that later.”  Michael continued as he explained the parts the book left out.  “Something else that makes us different is we are no longer immortal.”

“Wait, what?  You were once immortal?” Gabe asked.

“I personally never have been immortal.  As the years passed, the original Guardians took wives or husbands, soon enough they had families.  The choice to make a family here on earth meant one would have to sacrifice their immortal life.  Eventually, every Guardian felt overwhelmed by the desire to make a home in this world.”  As the words left Michael’s lips, he bowed his head and paused thoughtfully in silence.

A moment later Michael continued.

“A lonely life, Gabe, is a very hard life indeed.  One I hope you will not have to experience.”  

The words made Gabe think about how his life had already been full of loneliness.  Somehow though, Gabe thought that Michael knew of a greater loneliness.  

At last Michael looked at Gabe.  As if trying to push some awful memory from his mind, Michael began again.  

“When the time did come that a Guardian died, a member of his or her sacred bloodline would receive the calling.  These hybrids of mankind and angels were blessed with divine abilities to help them in their quest to battle creatures from the underworld.  With each generation the bloodline has weakened and their life cycle shortens.”

“Shortens?  How long do Guardians live?”  Gabe asked, immersed in the tale Michael was spinning.

“The original Guardians lived nearly a thousand years.”  Michael replied.  “Once the bloodlines were mixed with humans, the life cycles began to be anywhere from two hundred to three hundred years, depending on how diluted the bloodlines are.  Of course there are always exceptions.”

“So how old are you?”  Gabe asked with a slight chuckle at the end.

“I will be three hundred and fourty-six years old next week.”  Michael replied.  Gabe was shocked the man could say it with a straight face.

“Wow, you really do look amazing for your age.”  Gabe added, annoyed that he was being toyed with.

“A Guardian doesn’t age the same way humans do.”  Michael explained, ignoring Gabe’s taunts.  “Most of us remain young in appearance until we die.  It’s one of our abilities.  Gabe, I know this is all very hard to accept but if you give us time, we can show you we are telling you the truth.”

Gabe was still trying to wrap his mind around the possibility of living for hundreds of years when Michael continued his story.  

“The mission of the Guardians is to protect mankind from the forces of hell.  A Guardian is to preserve free will and avoid allowing humans to see anything super natural while helping them on their quest for divine knowledge.”

“A quest for divine knowledge?  Sorry, but I never knew there was such a quest.” Gabe found that as Michael spoke he had more questions rather than less.

“There is a battle over mankind’s eternal souls.  We protect them so they can learn enough to make a decision on what they believe.”  Michael explained.

Michael sat watching Gabe’s reaction.  Gabe just stared off into the distance as he tried to process all of the information. 

“Do you have any other questions so far, Gabe?” Michael finally asked.

Gabe had a mountain of questions.  It was hard to narrow it down to just one.  When he agreed to come here last night, the last thing he had expected to be told was that there were angels and demons running around the earth battling it out for mankind’s souls.  

“So are you saying Uri and Sophie are several hundred years old?”

Michael laughed lightly, sliding the book completely into Gabe’s hands and standing to retrieve his pipe.  

“No, no... They are still aging normally and will continue to until their late teens.  That’s usually when we see the aging process slow.” Michael replied.  “Guardians became mortal when they were placed among mankind.  We do have long lives, but in the end we all die.  There are no original Guardians left.  The old folks like me have an important job and that’s to prepare the next generation.”  

Gabe looked up at Michael, completely overwhelmed and confused by what he was being told.  Seeing Gabe’s state, Michael suggested a break.  

“We have one of the most amazing cooks.  I am sure you have never tasted such delicacies.”  

Gabe thought about all the unanswered questions he had but the growls of his stomach were immediately outweighing any of them.  He nodded and stood, placing the oversized book onto the couch.  He followed Michael from the room, visions of sticky gooey pastries playing out in his mind.

Chapter Five

Gabe followed Michael outside and across the courtyard.  He squinted as the sun glared down on them.  With each step, he could feel everyone around them stop what they were doing and watch.  

“Don’t mind them,” Michael said, glancing at Gabe with a smile.  “You have to understand, they’ve been waiting for some time to meet you.”

Gabe considered everything he had seen and heard since he met Uri the night before.  He could not understand the connection to him or how everyone appeared to know about him.  

“Excuse me,” Gabe began.  “I’m sure you can understand when I say everything I have been told up until now seems, in itself, pretty spectacular.  To be honest, as I said before, it’s hard to believe.  I don’t understand where I fit into this equation.”  Gabe looked down at the ground as they continued to walk, not wanting to look Michael in the eyes.

“I guess I just want someone to explain why I’m even here.”  Gabe added as Michael came to a stop.  Realizing Michael was no longer at his side Gabe halted and looked back.  Michael stood there looking at him, at a loss for words.

Michael then rushed up to Gabe and placed his hands on his shoulders.  He looked into his eyes and with a soft but direct tone said, “Gabe, you can’t see it?  You are one of The Guardians.  A very important one we have been waiting for, for a long time.”

Gabe was suddenly locked in Michael’s stare.  

“What?  No, I can’t be.  I’m sixteen years old.  My parents...”  Gabe thought of his parents and their tragic death, hesitating for a moment.  “My parents were humans.”

Michael smiled which gave Gabe a little comfort.  

“Gabe, except for the original guardians we all were born of human parents.  What make us special are our bloodlines.  Your great, great, great grandfather died a year before you were born.  With his death, the ancestral line was activated.  You were the next born in his line, which meant you were destined to take his place.”  Michael dropped his hands from Gabe’s shoulders and looked off into the distance, whispering just below his breath, “and for so much more.”

Gabe had heard Michael’s mutterings but was trying to absorb being told he was a Guardian.  

“I don’t see how...”  Gabe felt his legs begin to wobble.  “I’m just a...”  His thoughts were jumbled and he had trouble finding the right words.  Seeing that Gabe was trembling with shock, Michael grabbed his arm and led him to a nearby stone bench.

“Gabe, everyone is overwhelmed when they first learn about who they are.”  Michael reassured him.

“Wait,” Gabe said looking at Michael.  “You mean all of these kids here are Guardians?”

“A few,” Michael said looking up at all the young people who had returned to what they were doing moments ago.  “There are those who have different paths than guardians.  Ultimately we have all come together to join in the fight against the evil of the world.”

“So they all came to you the same as me?  An orphan?  None of them knew who they were or what they were until they met you?”  Gabe asked, intrigued by the idea of other people traveling the same path as him.  He had gone through life with an immense feeling of being alone up until now.  Even if it was a messed up connection, it was something.

Michael thought about the question for a moment.  “I guess it depends on the individual.  Many of these kids have come from a lot of different places and situations.  But yes, several are similar to yours.  A number of Guardian’s families stay on here and help with our needs for generations after their bloodlines have been activated.  But it is a very reclusive life and hard for most to make the choice to stay hidden.”

“Can they leave whenever they want?”  Gabe asked.

“Well,” Michael began.  “In order to keep our secret it is necessary for us to wipe all knowledge of the manor from their memory.  Then they are allowed to leave and start their own lives.”

“You erase their memory?” Gabe said in a disgusted tone.

“It’s not as bad as you might think Gabe,” Michael said defending their methods.  “They go into the world with memories of their friends and family, just any recollection of the Guardians or the location of the manor must be wiped out.  They are given the choice.”

Michael leaned down to meet eyes with Gabe.  

“Rampart Manor is cloaked by very powerful incantations.  All the forces of the underworld believe the destruction of the Guardians is the key to their being able to overrun earth.  The worst part is that they’re right.”

“What?”  Gabe asked trying not to sound panicked.  

“We are the last line of defense.  If we are gone, the demons will triumph and the earth will be in ruins.  What the demons don’t realize, or they are so blinded by their desire to conquer that they don’t care, is if that were to happen it would usher in the end of days.”

“We are it?”  Gabe asked incredulously, “The end of us means the end of the world?”

Michael smiled.  He enjoyed that Gabe had referred to the Guardians as we.  

“The responsibility does not lie solely with Rampart.  We are not the only training ground for Guardians.  There were a total of four facilities spread throughout the world until 1942.”

“What happened in 1942?”

“A sister facility, Raven Torch, was destroyed.  All of the Guardians within were killed by a powerful evil force.  The remaining three locations have dedicated effort to concealing their secrets not only for the sake of the Guardians but for mankind.”  Michael explained, his voice cracking as he told the story.