Seraphina: Initiation (8 page)

“Maybe, too fast!” He laughs against the
knife at his throat. I pull it back and extend my hand out to help
him up, he grips it hard and I lift him up. “I think you’ve got
this down, you hungry?” He asks me as he walks over to the targets
and begins dislodging knives from the boards I’ve punctured.

“Yea, I’ve worked up a little bit of an
appetite,” I state as I help him. I can
’
t
help but notice they must have hit the targets pretty hard, as I
pull them out I notice the handles of the knives and daggers are
the only thing sticking out from the targets and they leave behind
deep hole
s in the wood. I don
’
t mention it, but I know he notices it too. We
collect them all and return them to their original spots on the
wall before climbing the stairs together. Once we reach the foyer I
notice the sun is already setting, it
’
s
crazy how the days are flying by now.

“Go get dressed for dinner, I
’
m going to go work on something,” Nate says as he
turns right and heads for the room off of the dining room that I
saw him exiting yesterday, his office. I watch him leave curiously
before turning to my left towards the stairs. As I
’
m walking up the stairs I find my mind wondering if
this is what my life is going to consist of now, training until the
inevitable conclusion. Then what? Can we have a happily ever after?
What was it psychic Anna had said to me, that I would have to make
a great sacrifice? Will the price for this life ultimately take my
own? I
’
m wondering about this question
the entire time I
’
m showering and
changing for dinner.

It
’
s not until I
hear the sound of my ringtone coming from my room that I
’
m snapped back to reality. Surprised, I run into my
room and find my phone on the mantle of the fireplace. I pick it up
immediately when I see ‘Jack
’
pop up on
the caller id.

“Hey Jack!” I answer happily missing the
coffee house barista, I have a little history with, from my old
life.

“Sera! Oh thank God you’re okay!” I hear the
relief flood through his voice, “You haven’t been returning my
texts or calls and I haven
’
t seen you for
days, I thought…. I thought…” I feel suddenly horrible forgetting
to tell Jack I was moving.

“I
’
m sorry Jack, I
just had to get outta town for a little bit, you understand
right?”

“Yea, I just wish you woulda told me!” he
tries to joke, but I know deep down he
’
s
serious.

“I meant to, it just all happened so fast…”
I admit.

“Where did you go? Is everything all right?
I feel something stirring again,” he rapidly spits out extremely
worried.

“I had to move out of my parents’ house, to
keep them away from all this…”
I don’
t
want to admit to him everything that
’
s
been going on. I don
’
t want to worry him
and part of me doesn’t want him to get involved.

After a moment of silence he asks, “You
moved in with
him
, didn’t you?” I feel the jealousy with
every word.

I look over as I see Nate walk into my room
with his head low, but his eyes on me as if sensing my change in
mood. “Yes,” I admit before I try and explain. “Jack I had to…” But
I couldn’t even get it all out before I hear the dial tone
indicating Jack has hung up from our call. I slowly pull the phone
away from my ear to stare at it. I can
’
t
seem to believe he would hang up on me like that. I
’
m about to redial him when I hear Nate
’
s calm voice from the doorway.

“Let him go… it
’
s
better if you don
’
t get him involved,” he
reminds me with his stern voice.

“I know,” I admit through clenched teeth as
I reluctantly put my phone back on the mantle and turn to face him.
“I just didn’t think it would be so hard.” I admit to his soft blue
eyes. Instead of replying, he wraps his arm around my shoulder and
walks me all the way downstairs and into the kitchen. I take my
seat at the kitchen table and stare out the window at the cliff. I
can
’
t help but think that the cliff is
somehow a metaphor for my life, I feel like I was on a flat plain
until I was dropped into this world that is dangerous and
unfamiliar. Leaving behind everything I have ever known for a guy I
would never have believed existed. I turn back when Nate comes to
the table, I study him as he is scooping pasta onto my plate and
pouring me a glass of iced tea before taking a seat across from me.
He looks up feeling my eyes on him and smiles at me. I suddenly
realize, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

By the time we finish eating, I can still
tell his mind is somewhere else. We head to the living room
together and Nate begins building a fire. I watch as his back
flexes with each movement and I have to bite my lip to keep myself
on the couch. He moves with such grace, it’s like each movement is
a carefully calculated dance move. When he finally turns to come
and sit with me on the couch I see his deep-in-thought face and it
pops my daydream to the point where I can
’
t take it anymore.

“What are you thinking?” I ask as he sits
down next to me and pulls me onto his chest. I lean my head back
against him and spread my legs across the length of the sofa.

“I just find it crazy how well you’re
catching on, I can
’
t help but think…” he
stops himself mid-sentence again. I sit up slightly before spinning
around to face him.

“Nate… Team remember?”

“I know, I just don
’
t really know how to explain it to you…” he tells
me and I can see the confliction in his eyes before
I relax a little.

I come to sit back against his strong chest
I dramatically state, “Give it your best shot!”

“I was going to say, you are catching on so
fast it
’
s like it
’
s in your blood.”

“
Well, Duh!
” I
scoff,
this revelation is so last week!

“No,
I don’
t just
mean me, I mean it
’
s as if I woke
something up within you,” he pauses before adding, “Sera, some of
the things you can do are …unexplainable!”

“What do you mean?” I ask curiously.

“The fact that you have powers, like
conjuring things. Only
pure
Angels can do such things. I
don
’
t even want to get into what you did
with the possession in front of your house last week because I
have
never seen any Angel
do
anything
like that!” I can feel his heart
beat increase as he is becoming more and more animated.

“
But, I
don’
t understand...
” I relay
trying to get a better grip on things.

“My blood should only have enhanced your
senses and helped things like your strength, agility, and speed
because you’re still Human. What you have appears to be
pure
Angel
traits
. It makes me think that
something was in your blood before
me
.” He pauses for me to
take it all in and I turn my head to look up at him to continue.
“I’ve been doing some research and I think I may know what it could
be. Centuries ago, there was a group of Angels that fell to Earth
because they wanted to mate with human women. They created this
race of hideous giants that were labeled Nephilim. It
’
s been said that God created the flood to get rid
of that race and start anew with Noah and his family. It seemed to
work, no one ever saw them again. But in all my research, it was
never proved that they were in fact, extinct. Over the centuries
the deformities would have gradually disappeared and they would be
able to live amongst the humans. Some not even knowing their own
heritage. I think that you may be a descendant of that race. It
would have been so dormant in your blood after so many generations
you would have never known, but when my blood entered you it
sparked something. It awakened what lay dormant in you all this
entire time.”

“So, what does that make me now?” I try to
clarify.

“I
’
m not exactly
sure, I thought it meant that you were an Angel. But, the fact that
someone can still invade your dreams tells me you
’
re still human.
”

“So…we are back at square one!” I conclude
sarcastically.

“Well, I have to say the fact that you are
so good at your senses and the fact that your powers are like
nothing I’ve ever seen before, I have to say I think you are more
Angel than human.” he admits running his fingers through his
hair.

“Hmm,” I mumble, I
’
m a little amazed and intrigued, “So if
I
’
m an Angel, does that make me immortal
now?”

“
I don’
t know, I
would say yes, but I don
’
t want to test
that theory!” he adds sternly.

“Are you ever going to stop being so over
protective?”

“Not a chance!” He quips back with a laugh
that makes a smile cross my own face.

“So how come it seems like my powers are
stronger than yours at times?” it’s something I’ve been wondering
for a while now.

“I’m not exactly sure, I’ve been looking
into that. It could be because my blood is so fresh in your system
or it could be that your descendant was a higher ranking Angel than
me,” he pauses before adding, “The only person who would know I’m
not exactly on speaking terms with,” he states indicating the end
of that conversation.

I sit for a few minutes against his chest as
I take this all in. Everything he
’
s
saying makes sense, I do feel as if something deep within me has
awakened. It could even explain why I never felt like I belonged
here in this world, why I felt like I was bigger than this. I sigh
and another thought comes to my mind.

“Nate, I’ve been meaning to ask…” I glance
up at him again, but he
’
s waiting for me
to continue, “How come whenever I
’
m
attacked by something demonic or possessed it seems to happen in a
different dimension?”

“Because it is,” he answers honestly before
adding, “
Humans can not
see what you can,
when an attack happens it occurs on a divinity plane so things that
you see occurring aren’t going to be apparent in the secular
plane.” he finally explains to me.

“But how come Jack can
’
t see it?” I blurt out.

“Sera, did Jack tell you what he is?” he
asks me curiously.

“Yes, that
’
s what
he was telling me the night I was attacked at the coffee house.” I
admit to him shivering when I think about the arrogant Blonde Demon
that haunted me for days.

“What exactly did he tell you?”

“He told me that he can speak to spirits and
that the spiritual world is up in arms about me. Oh, and he told me
that Lucifer tried to convince him to bring me to the ‘
dark side
,
’”
I state
dramatically in a deep voice.

“I figured as much, I got a bad vibe from
him but I couldn’t put my finger on it until they tried to possess
you.” he informs me.

“So, why can
’
t he
see what I see?” I ask desperately trying to believe that
it
’
s not because Jack is evil.

“Because he would also be on a different
plane than us. He works on a spiritual plane. We can sense some of
what is going on but we can
’
t exactly see
it as
he
can.” He enlightens my now content face.
I
’
m happy that there
’
s hope for Jack after all. “
Sera, I still don
’
t trust
him…”

My smile fades, “Why not?” I sit up offended
and cross my legs Indian style on the couch facing him.

“Because he
’
s not
on
our
side
. His gifts, they are
not pure.” He tells my conflicted eyes. I somehow knew the moment
Jack had told me, but something in me believed in Jack.

“He said that he didn’t know they were evil?
He said he
’
s not!” I combat unable to
come to terms with things.

“
I just don’
t
trust him.” He tells me and I don
’
t know
if it
’
s because he had to watch me flirt
with him for months and it
’
s more like
jealously or if he
’
s just being
Protective-Nate. I somehow can
’
t believe
it or I don
’
t want to believe that Jack
would hurt me. Somewhere in my processing this new information I
let out a yawn.
I don’
t even notice, but
Nate does.

“You
’
re tired,
let
’
s not talk about this anymore…”
He
’
s on his feet helping me up before I
have time to respond. We walk up the stairs together and once we
reach my door I pause.

“Would you like me to stay?” He asks me as I
turn to face him. I want him to, but I don
’
t want to make a habit of us sleeping together. I
open my mouth to respond, but my common sense is insistent on
taking it slow, so instead I shake my head and wish him goodnight.
Closing the door behind me I lean my head against the back of it,
Ugh, Get a grip Sera!