Chapter thirty-nine
The table is round as the moon and almost as large and rather spectacular, with a tarnished white and gray finish that glints silver in the nooks and crannies.
It seats twelve, and the group scatters about, leaving two open seats side by side for me and Micah.
I’m with Micah. They all know, and I doubt any of them are overly comfortable with the idea that the Armageddon is sharing a meal with them, let alone cozying up to their boss.
And yet, I don’t shy away from Micah, hiding in the shelter of his existence with this new group of people, these warriors, who see me as both the salvation and destruction of all they know and love.
They welcome me and fear me, and there is nothing comfortable in any of this for anyone here.
Micah holds my chair out for me and treats me like a delicate lady when only an hour before I was in the underbelly of a giant crab, shoving a knife into its flesh.
Yet another contradiction, it seems.
Silas picks up his burger and eyes me. “If you want to fit in, Ember, you need to get in here and grind out a burger. We eat like it’s our last meal around here.”
Gabriella, who sits to his right with no chair between them, snorts. “If you didn’t piss everyone off, you wouldn’t have to take that statement quite so seriously.”
“Bite me, Gabriella,” he snaps, but he wiggles his eyebrows. “I promise I’m down for it.”
“You’re gross, Silas,” she replies, but there’s a hint of something in her eyes that has me questioning the dynamic between the two of them. Do they have a past that went badly? Or maybe that’s too simple in a group such as this one.
“Slaying giant crabs takes energy,” Zeke observes. “Why don’t you eat before you run off and try to get yourself killed again?”
“Had Micah told me the beach was so unlike that of the human beaches, I would not have gone.” I offer Micah a blistering look.
“Instead, I offered you a warm fire and a library filled with knowledge.”
“And I followed that knowledge to the beach.”
“You should have followed it to me.”
“All you do is tell me to read some more,” I rebut tightly.
There’s the tiniest hint of amusement in his eyes. “Now I’m telling you to come to me. And eat.” He drags the buns my direction.
I grimace at him and grab one, my gaze lifting to the table to find the group staring at me. Micah leans in closer. “They’re shocked at how combative you are with me.”
“What happens when people are combative with you, Micah?”
“Depends on who it is and what they did. In your case, I help you kill the crab and feed you hamburgers.” He pulls the patties my direction.
“Hey, now,” Braylon interrupts, jolted out of his silence by this statement. “I’m feeding her burgers.”
The table erupts in conversation, arguments, and laughter.
It doesn’t take much encouragement for me to prepare my burger, to include pickles and a juicy slice of tomato, nor do I even consider turning down crispy, salt-licked fries. “Okay, Braylon,” I say, lifting my burger in my hands, somehow finding a lighter side to myself. “It’s time for the test.”
His lips curve. “Bring it. I know my burgers.”
Micah bites down on his and nods. “You got my vote, Braylon. Damn, man. Always the best.”
Braylon beams, and it’s easy to see how much he hungers for Micah’s approval. It’s my turn, and I dig into my burger, the flavors exploding inside my mouth. It’s incredible. “Hmmm. Wow.” I wipe my mouth and add, “Dare I say that’s magical?”
Braylon holds up a finger. “There’s no magic used in the creation of that burger.”
Silas cackles. “He’s all serious and shit.” He straightens his spine and imitates Braylon. “There is no magic used in the creation of that burger.”
“You’re such a dick, Silas,” Braylon mutters.
I choose to ignore their sibling-like exchange and focus on Braylon. “You should have a cooking show. Maybe you can go undercover with the humans as the next Bobby Flay.”
Braylon beams while Gabriella rolls her eyes. “Do not feed that idea in his head. He’s already done a stint as a Navy SEAL. He was basically gone for ten years.”
“Right in the middle of the Kraken uprising,” Zeke adds. “Bastard.”
Braylon bristles. “I was playing hero to heroes every single day. That’s a good way to spend my time, and it was twelve years, not ten.”
“That was thirty years ago, and you still look like one of them,” Silas points out. “You just can’t let go.”
“What was the Kraken uprising?” I dare.
“Krakens are demons from the underbelly of the Earth,” Silas explains, already finishing off a burger. “They were sealed in the seventh layer of the Earth hundreds of years ago, but a higher-level demon set them free to wreak havoc on humans.”
“They possess humans,” Gabriella adds, “which then makes the humans do nasty things, like murder and mayhem.”
“They’re not gone,” Micah adds, “but we’ve lessened their numbers by a majority.”
“How did you kill them?” I ask.
“They have no physical form,” Gabriella says. “We had to send them back, which requires magic.”
“What if they’re inside a human?” I ask.
“There’s no way to kill a Kraken once they are inside the human without killing the human,” Zeke explains. “And there’s no saving the human that’s been infested. They’re already dead.”
The idea of killing a demon that looks like a human is horrifying. “Can their families tell what’s happened?”
“They’re good at pretending to be human, and those close to them just think they seem off, and not in a good way,” Micah chimes in, “which is why I hate them so much. It’s not uncommon for them to kill the human’s family.”
“How many were there?” I ask.
“Thousands,” Micah says, “but most were captured before they possessed anyone.”
“Back then, there was no internet,” Zeke adds, “and police departments didn’t cooperate with each other.
That made it easy to deal with the possession.
Surprisingly, in present day, it’s not that much harder.
Humans are so self-absorbed, the top story on the news channels is who Taylor Swift is dating, not who just died.
Nothing against Taylor Swift. It’s not her fault the news puts her story above others, and it works in our favor. ”
They’re right, but it’s rather terrifying to hear it from those who some might call angels.
Much later, our bellies are full and cheeks tired from random laughter that has done much to soothe my frazzled nerves and battered spirit.
We end up gathering in the living room, me on the couch sandwiched between Micah and Gabriella.
Braylon sits in an oversized leather chair and produces a tall gold glass bottle with a crystal blue top.
“Wine, anyone?” He begins filling glasses and handing them out.
I’m about to give it a try when Micah catches my hand. “Careful with that. It’s from Nephilim grapes. This you’ll feel. You might tell me all your secrets.”
“I already invited you into my mind, Micah,” I remind him, lowering my glass, “but just to be clear, there’s something called quid pro quo in the legal field. Turnabout is fair play. Give and take.”
“I’d rather hear your secrets from you.”
“I’m lucky I get to keep my name. I don’t know a secret to keep.” I sip from the glass, and there’s a fizz on my tongue that is almost lemony and yet sweet like honeysuckle. It’s the best thing I’ve ever tasted, and I have to fight the urge to slug it all down. “That’s incredible.”
“Is it the first time you’ve had anything from the motherland?” Silas asks, sitting on an ottoman on the opposite side of the coffee table.
I laugh. “The motherland?”
“That’s what Silas calls our homeland,” Gabriella says. “You’d love the food there, Ember. We have fruits and vegetables that Earth does not. I personally love evos, which is a sweet fruit. They taste like a mix of human cherries and peaches.”
“Better spices, too,” Braylon adds from a chair to the right of me and Gabriella, “but we’re not allowed to bring any of it outside the Kingdom of Nephilim.”
I glance at Micah for explanation.
“We must never risk being discovered,” he says. “It’s decreed by our king and a crime punishable by death.”
“Humans like to cage and kill what they do not understand,” Braylon interjects. “I’ve seen it happen.”
Understanding comes far too easily, and it’s not that I think poorly of mankind, but like me on that beach tonight, they are a people with a survival instinct. And while there are many kind humans, there are also those filled with greed and corruption.
Some would cage us and find ways to turn us into profit.
I sip from my glass again, and I feel a buzz forming in my head already, an unfamiliar sensation that loosens my tongue and broadens my curiosity. “How old is everyone? And how did you end up with Micah?”
Braylon goes first. “I’m exactly one hundred years old, born with the expectation of my family that I’d be Gilded, as my father’s a highly decorated officer. He was furious when I applied to be a Conscript.”
My brows furrow. “What is a Conscript?”
“The Gilded Army protects the Kingdom of Nephilim,” Zeke explains. “The Conscripts protect humanity under a Crystal Seer. Once you survive the Fray, you have the right to apply to be a Conscript.”
“The Fray is a brutal test of character and skills,” Gabriella adds gravely. “Many do not survive.”
“Brutal is an understatement,” Braylon argues but moves on. “You fight. You probably die. If you live, the king reviews your application to be Conscript, and he himself chooses which Seer you serve with.”
“And here you are,” I say, daring another sip of the Nephilim grapes.
“Which is why Braylon’s father hates me and barely tolerates the king,” Micah says, sipping his wine. “He’s never gotten over Braylon pledging Conscript.”
“What is your father’s name, Braylon?” I ask, deciding I need to catalogue potential enemies.
Braylon’s mouth flattens as if he cannot stand the man’s name on his lips, and I decide there is more to the story of him and his father.