The Divine Whisper (37 page)

“I thought nephilim could talk to each other telepathically.”

“Don’t you think I’ve been trying? It won’t work. You have to be close to the other nephilim, and we are anything but close.”

“You’re brothers, right?
How much closer could you get?”

He gestured out with his hand.
“You would think that would be the case, but it’s not.”

She felt a deep pressure start to expand through her back and move forward to her stomach.
She gasped, “Try again. You can do it.”

It was all she got out before the pain became so intense that she could no longer hold it in.
She grabbed onto his arm, arched her back, and screamed toward the roof of the truck. She screamed out her pain, her loss, and her weakness because she knew that she wouldn’t survive the night.

CHAPTER 18

Gemariah had a weird feeling that something wasn’t right.
He couldn’t put his finger on where it was coming from, but it wouldn’t leave.

Everything had gone right for the night.
After much digging, they were led to the location of an elite trafficking holding area. Apparently, the string of convenient store robberies that Terah and he had put a stop to some months ago was a ploy to bring the brave and heroic into their mists.

Grudgingly, Gemariah admitted that without the helpful information from Conner, they probably would have never found the underground tunnels that led to the warehouse.
Apparently, having a cutthroat Nephilim-for-hire around comes in handy when needed.

Once the warehouse was located and infiltrated, dispersing of the two demons and corrupted souls was simple.
He had kept his eyes peeled for a one armed demon, but it wasn’t anywhere to be found.

Everyone knew that the fight with the trafficking operation was far from over, and its ties to the demonic world ran deep, but they all considered it a small victory when they freed a fifth generation nephilim, a seer, and shockingly enough, a champion.

Champions were known to have short lives because they always had a deep inclination to do good, and their souls were so pure that they couldn’t be corrupted.
The only problem was that divine abilities couldn’t be used on them either. That meant that if they were caught up in something and got hurt, they couldn’t be healed. Luckily, the one they rescued was escaping with only a few scrapes and bruises.

Gemariah looked on with approval at how smoothly everything had worked out for them during the mission, but the longing to go after more of the ones responsible for the new trafficking outfit was an itch that he couldn’t get rid of.

His arm was nudged with an elbow and he looked over to see Gideon standing next to him.
“You mind telling me what got into you tonight?” Gideon sneered.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You’re usually more level headed and easy going than you were, but tonight you acted like… well, like me. Should I be worried that you’re trying to take my place as the crazy one?”

Gemariah thought back to when they entered the warehouse, and he could see where Gideon was coming from.
He hadn’t waited for the order to move, and he had gone after everyone that was putting off a negative vibe without question. All he could do was look on and shrug. “I had my reasons.”

“Care to share, so I don’t end up on your short list?”

“Nicole. I did it for her.” At Gideon’s confused look, he decided to explain in further detail. “Everyone used to say that I was the one to fear because I had nothing to lose. I found that they were all wrong. It’s wrong to fear the one with nothing to lose when it’s the person that has their world threatened, you need to worry about. These people went after Nicole and my children, and now I have a score to settle.”

“Man, falling in love is a bitch.
I think I’ll stick with my whiskey instead of the water you and Malachi drank.”

“I don’t believe in love,” Gemariah said as he turned his head, but Gideon had already walked away.

Gemariah…

He turned to look around the building, but didn’t see anyone trying to get his attention.

Gemariah…

The projection felt off. The feeling he got wasn’t what he got from any member of his team and those were the only people that could project to him. Well, Trinity could as well, but it felt and sounded definitely male.

Deciding to go check it out, he approached Gideon and Malachi, but they hadn’t tried to get a hold of him.
He stood there silently, and waited for whomever to try again.

“You okay?”
Malachi asked as he carefully approached Gemariah, but he held up a hand so Malachi would keep his distance. He didn’t want anything interfering with the projection.

For fucks sake!
Gemariah!!

“Conner?”
Gemariah said out loud at the same time that he projected.

Holy Shit, it worked!
Listen… West Memorial… Nicole… Labor… Bad… Need you…

The longer the projection went on, the more broken up it became.
It was as if the signal was too weak, but Gemariah got the point.

He didn’t wait to explain, he didn’t even pause in his running when he knocked down people on his way out.
There was one thing on his mind, and he had to get to her. He would never forgive himself if he wasn’t there when she needed him the most.

Damn woman for not listening to him all those times that he begged her to change.
Not only was he going to lose her, but his kids were coming too early. At least Malachi would be…

Shit
, he thought as he pivoted to turn around. Malachi doesn’t even know what’s going on.

When he looked behind him, what he saw made him screech to a halt.
His entire team, his family, Gideon included, were racing after him.

He turned back around and ran to the truck.
When he tried to get behind the wheel, Tori pushed him over.

“Where we headed?” she asked as she started the ignition.

“West Memorial Hospital.”

Without another word, she sped off with him and her in the cab while Gideon and Terah were crouched in the bed.
All the while, Malachi was tailing them on his bike.

“What’s going on?
Why are you all here?”

“Are you kidding?
One of our own rushes off and we follow. You would be the same way. It’s what we do.” After a short pause, she asked, “Nicci?”

He swallowed the lump in his throat before he could speak, but a quick, “Yeah,” was all he could get out.

The drive was quick, and he thought that Tori probably broke the sound barrier with how fast she drove, but it still felt like an eternity. He knew something was off about the night. He had felt it in his soul, but had ignored it. He should have figured it out. Isn’t it reasonable to think that someone would know when their own soul mate was about to die? Because he knew that was exactly what she was.

They pulled outside the Emergency Room, and they all unloaded.
A hospital employee tried to stop Tori with a hand on her arm to tell her that she couldn’t park where she had, but all he heard before the sliding doors shut the outside world out was something involving a spleen being pulled from his body in a way that didn’t sound appealing if he touched her again.

He didn’t stop to wait for permission.
After he shouted out Nicole’s name so they knew where he was headed, he wrenched open the doors that blocked the waiting room from the exam rooms. He could feel that she was close, and he followed his gut.

When he started to walk toward a different part of the hospital, he stopped and shut his eyes to concentrate.
Reaching out as far as he could, he sensed as many emotions as he could. He found exhausted nurses, lustful interns, remorse, elation, grief… Finally, he hit scared. It was a bitter feeling and he could tell that it wasn’t coming from someone that was completely human. The moment he realized that it was Conner he was sensing, he heard a loud, blood curtailing scream. It was the type of scream that he hadn’t heard since he was a boy, and it almost made his heart explode.

Was he too late, he wondered?
Ignoring the protests of the hospital staff, he took off down the hall in the direction of the scream. When he finally rounded the corner and skid to a stop inside the room, he wanted to roar and weep at the same time.

He couldn’t remember the last time that he felt like crying, but he wanted to then.
Her hair was weighted down by sweat, her skin and lips looked almost white, and the black around her eyes showed exactly how much the labor had taken out of her. She was weak, but she was alive.

It was at that moment that he finally got it.
He understood what Malachi had felt and why Gideon thought that he was in love. All this time, he thought that he didn’t believe in love, but it was just that he didn’t understand the feeling. At that moment, he would do anything to take away her pain, including give his own life. Love seamed too simple of a word for what he felt.

Even though he could tell she was suffering, when she looked over and saw him, the corners of her mouth tipped slightly upward in a haphazard grin.

He rushed over toward the side if the bed and wrapped her in his arms. The closer he brought her in, the more hope he had that he could absorb her pain.

She wrapped a tiny hand in his shirt and buried her face in his neck before she began to sob.

“Thank God you’re here. I didn’t know how much fight she had left in her. Maybe having you here will help her take a little more.”

“Everyone can’t be in here!”

He heard Conner, and he heard the doctor, but he couldn’t take his attention away from Nicole. She started to shake and was mumbling something into his neck that he couldn’t make out. Caressing her hair and moving it away from her face, he kissed the top of her head before gently saying, “You need to speak up, Babe. I can’t hear you.”

She pulled away, and a tear streaked face looked up at him.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I told you that I would be strong, but I can’t be. It’s too much. I’m so sorry,” she repeated.

Placing his forehead against hers, he looked into her eyes to make sure that she was coherent.
“It’s not too late. Let me change you.”

She shut her eyes, and he could feel her emotionally pull away from him.
“I can’t. I know that you want me there for the children, but you will be a great father.”

“No!
Shut up and listen!” She opened her eyes in shock and he grabbed the back of her neck to make sure she couldn’t turn away. After he knew that he had her full attention, he did something that was completely new to him. He begged. “Yes, I want you there for our children, but I
need
you there for me. You have gotten under my skin. You keep me on my toes and call me on all my bullshit. Before I met you, I had just been coasting, but now all I can think about is coming home to you every day for the rest of my life. I’ll marry you, I’ll build you a bigger house, I’ll cook you chocolate every day, I’ll even let you name our son Sven if you want, just please let me make it so I am yours forever.”

Tears had started to flow more heavily down her face, and when she shut her eyes, he thought that she was shutting him out.
“Dammit, Tink! I love you!” he snapped.

She opened her eyes at the same time that she bit her bottom lip and smiled up at him.
When she nodded slightly, he reared back to make sure he didn’t mistake her answer.

“Was that a yes?” he asked as he closely examined her face.

“Yes.”

She had barely finished the word before his mouth came down on hers.
He kissed her with all the passion, love, and wonder that he felt. Eventually, he reluctantly let her go. Once the change was done, they would have many lifetimes to finish that kiss.

Standing, he turned and saw that his entire team had stayed and ignored the doctor’s orders.
Most were smiling in his direction with the exception of Gideon that looked as if he were bored. Zeroing in on Tori, he asked her, “Do you think that we could get a little privacy?”

She stepped forward and turned to face the remainder of the room.
“Sure thing.” When she raised her hands, she smiled over her shoulder at him. “If I do this will you promise to make you mine forever?”

“Yeah, Yeah.
Bite me.” His reputation was successfully ruined after everyone had heard him pour his heart out to Nicole.

Gemariah felt the shift in the atmosphere and knew that Tori had started the shield.

“Wait! What’s happening?” Conner’s panicked voice brought Gemariah’s attention back to him.

“It’s alright.
You did well, Kid. Thank you.”

That was as far as he got before the air shimmered between them and he could no longer see Conner clearly.

“I can only hold it for a few minutes, so be quick about it.”
Tori’s voice was strained and sounded far away. She had successfully cut Nicole and him off from the entire outside world.

It was an incredibly useful ability for Tori to have, but it took a lot out of her as well.
She could create a shield to block the impact of a weapon, or an attack from a divine being’s abilities, but it always amazed him when she made a concealment shield. It was as if she could make time stand still around the proximity of the shield. It was a powerful ability to have.

The stiffening of her body and her tiny hand gripping him tightly was what brought his full attention back to Nicole.
When he saw that her eyes were clamped shut, he knew that she was having another contraction. He wanted to hold her and comfort her and tell her that everything would turn out alright, but the more strain her body endured with the labor, the closer she became to death. He didn’t want her slipping away from him as he comforted her, so he gently pulled away.