Tomato, Potato, Nephilim
“Alright, you two,” Chuck started, a warning note in her voice that she would not tolerate any further shenanigans.
“If you boys can play nice long enough, we need to figure out what’s going on, because no one is hurting Luna on my watch.
She came to us for assistance, so help—real help—is what she’s going to get.
Am I clear?” Her hands fisted on her hips loosely, indicating she would swing on either of them if they gave any sass.
“Yes, ma’am,” Malachi drawled in a husky tone as he handed Reena to Nick and stood.
He prowled toward Chuck, his shadows wrapping around her waist and yanking her against his body.
“Damn, you know I can’t resist you when you get all bossy and sexy like that,” he purred in her ear.
Sliding his fingers into her hair, he pulled her head back and plundered her lips with his own.
Her soft moan as she wound her arms around his neck had his shadows slipping under the back of her shirt, stroking her bare skin.
A heavily cleared throat full of disapproval rippled through the air, breaking them apart as they simultaneously remembered they had company.
Nick was glaring haughtily down his nose, judging them as he massaged Reena’s ears.
“Yes, little one,” he stage-whispered to the small dog.
“I see Mommy and Daddy still forget there are other people around. No wonder you sleep in the guest room. I don’t blame you.
” He cut his gaze meaningfully toward Luna, who was wringing her fingers together while staring furiously at a framed picture on the wall.
Her cheeks were stained crimson with embarrassment at the scene behind her.
Chuck’s face flushed a bright rose as she straightened her shirt and smoothed down the silky cap of her hair, her halo glowing almost neon with the intensity of the orange color flooding it.
“Right, sorry. He just has that effect on me, you know?” she replied sheepishly.
“Anyway, show’s over. So, let’s sit down and discuss this like normal…
” She glanced around and laughed. “Damn, none of us are fully human; I’m the only one with any human blood. Let’s just discuss this, okay?”
She gently guided Luna to a chair and nudged her into the seat firmly before taking her own spot across from the young woman. “Nick, tell me again. What did you say Luna was?”
“Nephilem,” he replied promptly, folding his hand primly over his lap after Reena crawled back to Malachi.
“Wait”—Chuck frowned and scratched the back of her neck—“I thought I was the Nephilim.”
Nick waggled his hand and hummed. “Eh… You are as well, but it’s a subtle difference. You’re a Nephilim, she’s a Nephilem.” He nodded sagely, as if this explained everything.
Malachi clenched his fists as he fought the urge to smack the taste out of Nick’s mouth. “So, you’re saying it’s like the difference in how people pronounce tomato, potato, or pecan?”
“Hmm, close, but not quite.” Nick shook his head.
“There is a subtle difference in pronunciation. But the ‘I-M’ Nephilim is an angel-human hybrid, and ‘E-M’ is an angel-demon hybrid. Neither are supposed to exist. But on the scale of things that are frowned upon, Luna is certainly the more egregious reason to fall as an angel. Meaning having a child with a demon is worse than with a human.” He glanced at Luna, giving her a warm, reassuring smile.
“Not that there’s anything wrong with you, sweetheart, just that is how the realms see you.
I’m curious to know who your parents are, specifically the angel side. ”
“My father,” Luna replied quietly.
“That’s what you’re worried about?” Malachi interjected, his tone incredulous as his eyebrows nearly touched his hairline. “Not who is out to kill her? No, you’d rather know who sired her so you can go gossip in your cribbage circle?”
Closing his eyes and muttering under his breath, Nick pinched the bridge of his nose. “Yes, I’m concerned about that. But perhaps, Malachi, knowing her lineage might also help point out who is after her?” His tone was slightly sarcastic and decidedly snippy.
“Yeah, I get that,” came the snarky growl that Malachi knew revealed he was really close to losing his shit, but he was beyond caring about that.
There was a threat to his family. “But can we maybe first find out who is trying to kill her so we can stop that part, then figure out her background? I won’t risk Chuck or Reena. It will not happen.”
“Malachi,” Chuck called softly, her aura flashing red and gold, “nobody is going to hurt me. I’m not defenseless.
I know you’re worried about me, but don’t forget I can take care of myself.
” She placed her palm on his cheek, gently caressing it, smiling softly as he leaned into it.
As he closed his eyes, she slapped handcuffs on him and chuckled when his eyes flew wide at the metallic clicking of the hasp securing the bracelet around his wrist.
A delighted gasp slipped from his throat, and his body went full shadow, the cuffs crashing on the floor as they fell through the wisps of his smoky form.
He solidified and shook a playful finger at her.
“You know I love that, but stop teasing me in front of company, unless you want me to spank you right now.”
“I’m not teasing you,” Chuck insisted, laughing as she picked up the cuffs and returned them to her belt. “I just felt you needed a reminder that I’m not your average damsel.”
Reena grumbled from her spot on the couch where she’d fallen to the cushion as he smoked out from under her.
“Well aware,” he whispered against her neck as he traced kisses along her jaw before turning to wink at Reena.
“I still want to know who’s threatening Moonbeam, though.
And why.” He glanced at the young demon watching them with fascination now instead of embarrassment.
“So, Lunafish, maybe you should start at the beginning. Tell us everything.”
Luna twirled a thin lock of her hair around her fingers in a nervous gesture before she took a deep breath.
As she gathered her thoughts, she nodded once, slowly, and let out a shaky sigh as the strands unraveled from her hand.
“Um, well, I guess I’ll start with some of what I told you already.
” She quickly recounted that she was an orphan who grew up at the Pentagram.
All she knew about her birth family was that her mother was a succubus and her father an angel.
The other demon children and the caretakers were ruthless, uncaring about how scared she was.
How she wasn’t accepted by anyone and grew up an outcast even among the dregs of demon society.
“About six months ago, I began noticing someone was rummaging through my cave when I wasn’t home.
I was working at the intake desk, checking in souls at the main gates.
I have a standard employee barracks cave unit, nothing fancy.
I don’t have many personal items, no friends, so no one should have been in there. ”
She stared unseeingly out the window. “One day, I arrived home before my usual time and saw someone running from my space. Right as I entered to see what they had done, a weird green flash went off, knocking me out cold. By all accounts, it should have killed me. I think because I wasn’t all the way inside, I didn’t get the full impact of the curse.
I disturbed whoever set it, so maybe it didn’t go off the right way.
After that, attempts on me began to get worse until I started sleeping under my desk, too scared to go home.
” Her breathing was steadily growing raspier, and her words began to jumble up, rushing together like she couldn’t get it all out fast enough.
The terror she conveyed became thick and palpable in the room as she continued to describe the multitude of attacks on her life.
Chuck silently rose and strode to the kitchen, returning with a glass of water.
She handed it to Luna, who accepted with a tiny squeak of thanks before chugging down half the contents.
After wiping her arm across her mouth, she fidgeted with the glass, rolling it back and forth between her palms. She stared at the water sloshing inside before raising her gaze to the others once more.
“Right before I came topside, I heard someone talking about you, Malachi, and Chuck. How they couldn’t believe you were working with angels and living with a Nephilim.
It made me curious, so I looked you up. I got so lost in my research one night, I was late getting back to my desk.
Which turned out to be a good thing. Someone blew it up about five minutes prior, when I should have been there.
Most of my co-workers thought I’d perished in the explosion. ”
Nick let out a small noise of distress as he leaned forward, hands on his knees, gripping his robe tightly. “And then what?” he whispered, horrified, his eyes wide as he listened.
“That’s when I knew I had to leave. If I stayed any longer, someone would eventually succeed in their attempts at killing me.
So, I ran. I came topside and set out to find Malachi.
I didn’t know where to find him, so I searched everywhere.
But this is a big place.” She shook her head with a self-deprecating smile, her eyes watering once more.
Scrubbing her fingers over her cheeks, she wiped away the tears and sucked in a deep, steadying breath, turning to Malachi.
“I was trying to decide how to locate you when I remembered you were a police officer. I thought maybe if I broke the law, there was a strong possibility you would find me instead. I hit the churches because I thought that was a good way to get your attention.” She glanced apologetically at Chuck.
“I have all the things I took. I was taking good care of them. I’ll give them back! ”
A small, amused smile graced her lips as Chuck nodded.
“That would be a good place to start. It will help get the attention off of you.” She glanced at Malachi.
“But we can worry about that later. There is something I am curious about. Why did you pick churches of all places? He couldn’t really go there without Nick’s help. ”
Luna perked up. “But you’re part angel. I thought it was unusual enough to get your attention.
And when that other detective wasn’t calling you in, I uh…
well.” She paused and clenched her fingers together around the glass until her knuckles turned white.
Her pale cheeks turned rosy again as blood rushed to fill them with embarrassment.
Barely above a whisper, she admitted, “I used some of my succubus power to coerce him into calling you in. I made him insist on you, Chuck.”
Malachi burst into laughter and leaned forward, patting her on the knee.
“Good job, Moonshine! Very demonly of you. I approve. I bet you had that idiot Roundtree begging for you to… Oof!” He grunted as Chuck elbowed him.
“Pointy ass elbows,” he growled. “Anyway, smart thinking. Really smart.” He beamed at her, delighted as she preened under his praise.
“You think so?” came her breathless reply, her fingers twirling her hair in girlish glee. “Wow, I wasn’t sure. I’m so glad you approve! I’ve been working on my corrupting skills.”
“Well, as long as you give back what you took, I’ll forgive you as well,” came Nick’s grudging response. His smile softened as Luna’s head dropped in shame, her momentary excitement gone again with his words.
Malachi shoved Nick’s shoulder. “Bruh, quit kicking puppies!”
Reena huffed in agreement.
Nick groaned as he tried to placate her. “It’s alright, dear girl. You were trying to survive. Now. Who is this dreadful demon or demons that are after you?”
“I… I don’t know for sure… but I’m pretty sure one of them is Ramsilel,” she offered quietly.
Nick dropped his head in his hands with a groan. “Well, fuck.”