 
### The Fallen Ones  
by Katelyn Campbell

#

### Text copyright © 2014 Katherine E Thorpe

### All Rights Reserved

### I'd like to dedicate this book to my family, for loving me. My friends for fueling me and my day job for firing me. – I finally did it!

Katie

Table of Contents

PROLOGUE  
CHAPTER 1  
CHAPTER 2  
CHAPTER 3  
CHAPTER 4  
CHAPTER 5  
CHAPTER 6  
CHAPTER 7  
CHAPTER 8  
CHAPTER 9  
CHAPTER 10  
CHAPTER 11  
CHAPTER 12  
CHAPTER 13  
CHAPTER 14  
CHAPTER 15  
CHAPTER 16  
CHAPTER 17  
CHAPTER 18  
CHAPTER 19  
CHAPTER 20  
CHAPTER 21  
CHAPTER 22  
CHAPTER 23  
CHAPTER 24  
CHAPTER 25  
CHAPTER 26  
CHAPTER 27  
CHAPTER 28  
CHAPTER 29  
CHAPTER 30  
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

# Prologue

If you had asked me a week ago who I was, I would've told you I am Ilyana Marie Meyers. Today is my eighteenth Birthday. I am the only daughter of Robert Meyers, a Jewish car salesman from New Jersey and Nancy Meyers, an Italian lawyer from Manhattan. I would tell you that I have a smaller version of my Fathers hooked nose, my Mothers tan skin, courtesy of the long Florida summers and a tall frame, the hazel eyes of my Grandmother and dark brown curls that are all my own. I would tell you that I am a B average student, when I sing, it resembles feral cats fighting. My best friend is my German Shepard Sasha. My room is always a mess, I make incredible homemade pasta and my main goal in life is to go to school and get a useless anthropology degree and purposefully get stranded on a tropical island with a tall, dark and handsome stranger that likes to read, write, sleep in and occasionally sunbathe.

When I tell you that - you would undoubtedly without even trying; draw your conclusions about the type of person I am. You would call me an entitled, brat, possibly with a princess complex. The reality is I like people, they just don't like me. I am fascinated with human nature. I analyze everything and everyone I meet. I just don't know how to talk to people. I have always liked to live life at a slower pace. My favorite memories growing up were never trips to theme parks or exotic vacations, my favorite memories were fishing with my Dad on lazy Saturdays, listening to crickets on the porch on summer nights when my Mom was home early from work.

When I was a kid, my mom tried everything to get me to socialize, she put me in ballet – the teacher said I showed a natural poise and skill, unfortunately I hated the classes and practicing. Then in Junior High we tried sports, I was quickly made captain of the girls basketball team until my coach learned that my outstanding athletic skills could never compensate for my horrendous leadership ability. Then High School – I almost don't even want to mention High School, my Mom had this vision of me as the cheerleader she never was, she made me try out – of course I made the team, but after our first pep rally I learned none of the girls on the team liked me, they said I was full of myself and always accused me of trying to steal their boyfriends - a few of them even made plans to jump me in the parking lot one night after a game. I hid in the girls' locker room all night until the janitors found me and called my parents, so naturally, I dropped out of cheerleading as well.

So if you asked me who I was a week ago, I would have told you my name was Ilyana Marie Meyers, the entitled, loner daughter to a couple of displaced Yankees, with no real goals or potential.

But this is today and today my name is Oksana Ilyana Malakhova. I was adopted from an orphanage in Ukraine when I was 3 years old. I have no memories of who I really am or who I even was at that time. But I have been told that I was left in the dumpster of a gas station as a newborn, found by the owner and turned over to a tiny orphanage with too many children and not enough food or clothes. I was almost adopted numerous times by my first Birthday, but every time someone came for me they backed out. On my third Birthday a stranger came into the orphanage and told the workers to find any way they can to kill me, they told the workers that I was a bad omen, a danger to the world. They were terrified, one even tried to kill me in my sleep, but a single nurse took pity on me and immediately transferred me to an orphanage in Eastern Russia, a week later I was adopted by the people I call Mom and Dad. It wasn't until a week ago that I learned the story of who I was - or who I am.

Today, I would tell you that my parents are dead, my school demolished and the friends I never even came close to having are missing. Today, I would tell you that I may be insane, but the stranger in Ukraine may have been right about me. Today, I would tell you that I am one of, if not the last surviving Nephilim: the child of a human and an angel. Today I am being hunted, the world may be ending and it is possible that I am the one to blame.

Last week the sky opened up upon us all, fire fell down and something I can only describe as a pack of demons descended on my city, the people who weren't quick enough to leave, are now dead. There is no electricity, there are no people and I keep being chased by these evil creatures. They are at least 7 feet tall, their skin almost translucent and their eyes are the blackest dark I have ever seen, but as horrible as they sound, they are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. They fight with skill and poise like I never knew was possible and when they chase me, I always know they are going to catch me, but somehow they don't. I black out when they are chasing me and always find myself somewhere new, with no knowledge of how I got there - surrounded by the bodies of innocent people I don't remember seeing. I think I am to blame for all of it, for the people, for the death, everything.

Before my Mom, well, Nancy, died. She gave me a message, she told me to run. She told me to go to Savannah, she told me I would have to walk and move by night and rest by day. She sent me to the basement where I found a backpack full of supplies and a map. She told me not to stop until I get there and to fight, hard. In the backpack there was a note giving me more instructions. It says I need to go to Port of Savannah in Georgia and there will be a boat docked there, waiting for me with more instructions.

Before I watched them kill her, she told me I was adopted, she said I was important and special and she didn't know it would be over so soon. She said I had to stop it no matter what. - I hoped I was going crazy, but it has been 2 days and now I truly believe that this isn't just a dream, she's gone, and I am not even human anymore.

# 
# Chapter 1

Ilyana:

"Well Sasha, this is it." my voice breaks while I choke back the tears I refuse to let fall. I scratch behind Sasha's ear and coo at her like a child. For as long as I can remember she has been my only friend in the world and she is the only family I have left. I pulled up to the Port, only to discover it was raided already. At first glance, you would think a Tsunami hit. But I know better than that now, they were here already. As I walk past the docks I find dirty foot prints, the bodies of innocent life's they claimed ahead of me, dead animals and smears of blood on the ground. I am surrounded by death and darkness. The boats reek of death. A part of me feels like crying, but a sicker part of me that I wish didn't exist – that didn't exist until a week ago, is relieved. I am relieved because I know their search has moved on. They did not find me here and they are not the type to patiently wait for my arrival. In a very sick way, my luck has turned for now.

Sasha and I continue to walk down the rows of boats, I pass yachts, cargo ships and even a few speed boats – eventually I will find the right one, but I have no clue how I will know it when I do. As we approach the last row of boats I see it. The head of one of the Alien figures, I know he can't be alive but it is as startling in death as it is in life. The mouth is gnarled into a growl and the eyes are open and unmoving. That is when it comes over me, this is the moment my body chooses to betray me. I feel the cold sweat and my stomach lurches as I begin to lose the granola bars and water I have been living on for the last two days. I sit back and feel tears stinging at my eyes.

"Are you done having your moment, or should I come back later?" my heart stops as I hear the harsh voice behind me, I had grown accustomed to the silence that fell as my world ended two days ago. I slowly turn around and I see him. He must be over a full foot taller than me. His face is surrounded by a mess of loose black curls and his eyes are the darkest chocolate brown I have ever seen, when I look at him I see pain. His shirt is off and his toned body is covered with white scars. There is dirt under his fingernails and he looks like he has not slept in days. Even with his disheveled appearance, he is absolutely beautiful, he is something ethereal. I don't know how to react, I haven't showered in days and I am covered in the blood of I don't know who – or what and the dirt and sweat that seems to pop up when I exit reality and wake up surrounded by death and now I have added my own vomit to the mix.

"Did you do that?" I awkwardly ask him as I gesture to the head. He stares at me for a moment before nodding yes. "Are you the one that is supposed to save me?" he looks at me and a smile curls at the side of his mouth "I can do many things, Oksana. But saving you is not among them." I can feel my jaw go slack, his words sound like a threat but his awkward smile and extended hand says otherwise. I push it to the back of my mind for now. "How do you know my name? Call me Ilyana, I don't even know who Oksana is." the smile falls from his face "The same way you knew to come here, I was told what to do and I did it. You are not one of them, so I assumed you are Oksana, Ilyana." My name rolls off his tongue like honey, a little too sweet for him, but perfect nonetheless, I think I detect a slight accent but I can't quite place it. Now I have even more questions but I refuse to give into my curiosity and look even weaker than I already do "Well then, what is your name?" once more he reaches his hand down to pull me up "You can call me Ephraim." As I take his hand, I choose to ignore the immediate spark his touch ignites, it is almost palpable and I am sure it is directly linked to my desperate need for human touch, the pressure of the last few days has left me so on edge. I ask him the one question that seems most pertinent "Are you going to kill me, Ephraim?" He shakes his head and lets out a small laugh before he resumes dragging me towards the end of the dock to a small boat that looks like it hasn't been used in years "How have you made it this far? If I was going to kill you I would have done it by now or I would lie. If you want to save yourself, don't trust anyone, Ilyana, not even me."

His words sting, after this past week I am desperate for someone I can trust, I am desperate for an ally in the midst of all this darkness. I continue to follow him, I know I have no other choice but I just want a break. I don't understand anything that is happening and now the first person that I have found alive in days is guiding me to a small, dirty boat with him and telling me I can't trust him. "Okay, I get that I can't trust you but you killed one of them, for now that is enough. Are we safe here? Where are we going? Is that boat even safe? Are you like me?" he sighs and we board the small boat, he leads me down stairs and I quickly discover the boat is much bigger and nicer than I initially suspected, he hands me a pair of sweat pants and a tank top and points in the direction of the bathroom "Fair enough. No matter where we go, we are not safe, but here is as good as anywhere. We are going to a small island West of Spain. The boat is fine, you can't drown. And no, I am not like you, you are good and I am not. Now go shower and stop asking questions. Alya should be here any minute, she is going to steer this death trap and we should arrive to the coven soon. Now is your time to rest. All your questions will be answered once we get there." Then in the abrupt way that so perfectly suits him, he walks out of the cabin and slams the door.

I am alone downstairs, for the first time in days I am left with nothing to do but think. I begin to look around the cabin, it has a cold and sterile feeling. There are no pictures, no books, nothing. It looks almost as inviting as a hospital. I go into the bathroom and for the first time in days get a look at myself in the mirror. I am shocked at the person I see, I am not just dirty but I look like death. My eyes are dark and sunken in, my cheeks are stained with tears, my lips are dry and my skin is covered in blood and dirt from the last few days. I look like hell. I step into the shower and begin to weep as I think about the journal my mother led me to on her deathbed. I struggle to wash away the marks the last few days have left on me.

Ilyana, if you are reading this now, I know it means we were too late, we wanted you to have a shot at being a normal girl. I wanted you to make friends, love a boy, go to prom, even have your heart-broken – these are all normal things, that normal girls get to experience as teenagers. But you Ilyana, you are far too wonderful for normal. You are greater and more powerful than you know. Your father and I were chosen for you, to train you and instruct you. To design you into the instrument you were created to be. But the moment I first held you in my arms, you became so much more than that. I loved your father from the moments I first met him, but it was in a selfish way. Loving you was different, you taught me about sacrificial love. I was so honored to be chose to love you and raise you and so terrified of the day coming where I would have to give you back. Everything in me wanted to protect you, to keep you from harm. After your fifth birthday, your father and I bartered with the counsel for more time, and much to our surprise they gave it. We knew all along that we were living on borrowed time, that the day would come that we needed you more than you needed us. If you are reading this Ilyana, it means that day has come and we won't be there to share it with you. Just know that we love you with all of our hearts and trust you with whatever lies ahead of you. You are stronger than you know baby-girl.

As I emerge from the shower and catch site of myself in the mirror, my skin is perfectly clear. Where there were scratches and dried scars, there is now smooth, clear skin. I shake my head realizing it is more proof that I am not human, just one more reminder that my entire life up to this point has been a lie. I step out on the deck and realize we have begun our trip. I hear the warm sound of laughter and feel at peace for the first time in days. I head to the front of the boat and hear the chattering. Ephraim is the first to notice me he stops laughing and looks at me, he stares at me with so much intensity - I have never seen that in a man before and it makes me feel small and self-conscious. When our eyes finally meet he quickly looks away in the disengaged manner that I have begun to expect from him. He clears his throat.

"Oh Hi! You must be Oksana!" says the woman, presumably Alya. He clears his throat and she quickly corrects "Oh I am sorry, I hear you prefer to be called Ilyana. Pretty name, it suits you. My name is Alya and I am your captain." She says with a mischievous wink, it is clear her sense of humor could use some work but I like her instantly. She has such graceful ease about her, it is like she is in a different universe from Ephraim and I. She has light hair and tan skin, her eyes are a soft shade of blue. What throws me off is her mouth, I have seen it somewhere before, then it hits me. "You are Ephraim's sister?" she smiles. "See Ephraim, you can't deny me! I told you it is obvious. No matter what you see when you look at yourself, people can tell you are my baby brother!" He smiles curtly and gets up from his seat, he kisses her on the cheek "And you are my loud, irritating and also small, big sister. I am going to go clean up. You should wait to answer any questions she has, I would hate for you to confuse her more with your theories." She nods as he walks down the stairs.

After he leaves I realize I was holding my breath. It is impossible to function around him. He is beautiful, terrifying and heart breaking all at once. I can tell he is no stranger to pain and I want to know more but it is obvious he is not the kind of man to readily come undone and let down his guard for a woman, I find myself doubting that he has ever let his guard down at all. Alya catches me staring the direction he walked off in and clears her throat. "You will get used to Ephraim, he can be a little hard to take at first, but you will never meet a better man. He holds his cards close." I nod and say with a smile that is completely unnatural "I am sure. There is just something about him that seems... off. He is the first person I have met since, well, since my world ended.... He helped me and has answers to questions I haven't even though of yet, but he told me not to trust him and chastised me for asking questions. I feel lost and... I don't know what to think of anyone anymore, especially him." I have no clue what came over me, I never talk to anyone like that, but she just smiles a knowing smile and simply says "Ephraim is... difficult. Oh, and he is not a person, darling." I wait for further explanation but it just doesn't come, I realize now that this is going to be a long ride.

# Chapter 2

Ilyana:

Awhile later, after all the small talk and evasion I can handle I decide I am not going to get any answers from Alya, I can feel my anxiety building alongside my exhaustion. Fortunately for now, exhaustion wins out. I head back down to the cabin and almost immediately fall, the boat is too small for the waves and I still haven't gotten my sea legs. I get up only to realize I am at Ephraim's feet. "Of course, of course I would fall down right at your feet, because you know, walking, and keeping it together for more than 5 seconds when you are around is an impossible task for an incompetent half-breed such as myself." He smiles and offers me his hand which I refuse. I have no clue why I am being so completely unreasonable, I am out to prove that I can be calm and mature but all I seem to be convincing anyone of is my own insanity. His eyes follow me across the room, he is no longer looking at me with humor - he is looking at me as though I am a time-bomb. "You know, you could find somewhere else to go, or something else to look at. Unless of course you like seeing me vulnerable and vomiting because in case you weren't aware, that is what comes next in this little routine of mine. The good news is I generally pass out next though and you should have hours to yourself to shamelessly stare at me like I am a freak while I sleep."   
Why won't he answer me? I know I seem crazy, but he has to acknowledge me at some point or else this verbal diarrhea of mine will go on indefinitely!

I look at him and roll my eyes. This can't be my life. I walk towards the bathroom, the sea-sickness and exhaustion mixed with the anxiety is getting to be too much. He quickly gets to his feet, I notice he is holding a book, no, not a book, a diary, what is with him? "You know, Ilyana. You are getting to be a handful. Come here, I have a shot I can give you, it will help with the sickness and you can sleep."

He suddenly seems so gentle again he reaches to a small medicine cabinet in the bathroom and pulls out a small blue vial of medicine, I reach out to take it and he nods his head no. He heads back into the main cabin and removes a suitcase from the cargo-hold above his bed, he clicks it open and there are pre-packaged needles. I can feel my anxiety rise even further, "No way. Not even if Hell freezes over will I allow you to stick me with that needle." He looks at me for a moment and hands me the loaded needle. I have no idea how I get myself into these situations, I can't inject myself with a needle!   
Come on Ilyana, you can't give up just when you get your way! He nods his head in the direction of my arm, without thinking about it a moment longer I push the needle into my arm, I try not to wince or think about it – I hate needles, but somehow my fear of needles seems like nothing compared to the monsters I have faced over the last few days. After injecting myself with the medicine I look up at him and find him smirking, he nods with approval "You might be alright after all, Ilyana." I smile, quite pleased with myself and hand the needle back to him to be disposed of.

"I am exhausted, where can I sleep?" he gestures to the bed next to his own. I nod my head and begin making myself comfortable. I run my fingers through my hair, it is still a tangled mess and I have never felt so vulnerable in my life. I remember in Highschool at the prom there were more guys than girls, everyone was asked to dance, the girl who picked her nose, the girl who did steroids and joined the boys wrestling team, even the girls who liked girls. But the whole night I stood on the sideline, feeling like a freak. No one even spoke to me the entire night. I thought I could never feel lower than that, now I know that was nothing...

I catch Ephraim looking my way. "You know, it is rude to stare." He nods in agreement, "I know. So what questions do you have? I understand I am a jerk and only give cryptic answers to your questions, but it is going to be a long ride if you decide to punish and nag me the entire way there.", I give him an indignant look and notice the smile on his face – obviously the terrible sense of humor is genetic. I sigh with resignation and begin to ponder my questions "It is difficult to know what to ask... I know nothing, literally nothing. So why don't you just start by telling me what you know about me." He gives me a quick glance and then looks away "You are Nephilim." I groan "You know. I actually have that part figured out. But what does that mean for me, how does that make me different. I mean, I know it is weird, but chances are, I am not the only one." He looks lost for a minute as he runs his hands through his freshly washed hair "You really don't know anything, do you? Your host family should have told you all you needed to know." I shake my head "If by host family you mean parents, my parents are obviously very dead right now, they never told me anything, if they did, I wouldn't be on a piece of dirt boat in the middle of the ocean asking two evasive strangers questions about my identity." I feel my lips beginning to shake as I realize the gravity of the situation, I can't allow myself to lose it now. He catches it and I can tell he is sizing me up, deciding what he can tell me.

"Very well, I will start at the beginning. You are not the only Nephilim, but you are the only Nephilim to come of age in thousands of years. During biblical times, it was widely believed that all Nephilim had been destroyed. When all that actually happened is they all went into hiding. The island is our headquarters, there are less than a thousand Nephilim today, they used to be a massive race, but over the centuries they have broken off and died or killed themselves. You are very... powerful, Ilyana. You may not think so now, but you are. You are a danger to yourself right now since you know so little. I am sure your family believed they were protecting you, but that is not the case. So please just work with me. I am taking you to the coven where I will train you and answer every question, even the ones you don't know to ask yet, but in the meantime, I need for you to stay calm and realize that I am doing everything I can for you." His eyes are begging me to understand.

I never expected to find compassion in his eyes, but I realize now, that is exactly what I am looking at. I am still not sure how to feel about him, but for now - Ephraim and Alya are all that I have so I choose to trust he is not lying to me right now. "Ok. I will concede for now. But I still have more questions." He laughs at me "You know, you aren't really that great at bartering? I am sure you have more questions, I will answer them as I can, but I need you to understand that even I don't know everything. I am young compared to our people." People, there's that word again "Our people? So you are like me? Alya said you are not human, are you human? How old are you?" he smiles "I already told you I am not like you. You called yourself a half breed earlier which is ironic, because that is actually what I am. I am not completely Nephilim or at all a human. Let that be enough for now. It is too much to explain and I really don't like to. How old? Well, we all begin maturing at 18 and stop at 25 years old, so I am 25 years old, and I have been for a while, again, we will just leave it at that for now."

I am finding myself slightly shocked, but I don't know what to do or say so I just nod my head. "Okay, so what are those Alien things that are chasing me?" he laughs at the question "There are no such thing as Aliens Ilyana, I would think that you would know that by now. They are a species of demons they came to earth and decided to pursue their own thirst for life and death and knowledge... They are vile creatures, incapable of feeling, they were designed only to act, never to think or feel, but their pursuits stirred something in them, they are strong and impulsive and completely dangerous, but not to you Ilyana, they can never hurt you, you are far more powerful than they are, even though you don't have a clue now." I have a hard time digesting all this new information, life used to be so clear and simple and now while I am feeling my weakest, I find out I am an even bigger bad than the demons. I look into his eyes and abruptly look away "I need to sleep now. Goodnight." I call Sasha over and roll onto my bed she is the closest thing I have to home right now and I am just not ready to lose the person I thought I was. I refuse to cry, so I bite my lip until it bleeds and fall to sleep petting Sasha. That night I sleep like the dead. I have no dreams and no nightmares and for the first time in days, on a boat headed to god only knows where, I find rest.

# CHAPTER 3

Ilyana:

I wake up to the feel of Sasha licking my forehead. I look around for a clock and realize there isn't one. I feel disoriented and hungry. How long did I sleep? I emerge from the cabin to find we have reached land. He is nowhere in sight. I zero in on Alya.

"Good Morning, sleepyhead! - Or should I say evening? You must have been exhausted, I have never known anyone to sleep for 14 hours straight and on a boat no less!" she says with a smile that is too chipper for my liking, I have never been a big fan of waking up, I groan "Where are we?" she laughs "We are here, welcome to your new home!" my jaw drops, "How could we possible already be here?" she sighs "It is one of my gifts." I am not quite sure how to respond to that "Okay, I am new to this, can you please do me a favor and explain what is happening in specifics, these vague terms are only leaving me with more questions."

"I knew I would like you! You are just like I was when I was new. You have to learn to be patient though Ilyana, you will be around for a very long time and it would be a shame to live your life in a rush. Gifts: We all have our own gifts, just like humans each have their own special talents, we have ours. Some of us have affinities for beauty, some of us art, some of us fighting... The list goes on really. I have never encountered two Nephilim that were exactly the same." As she says the words I catch something, "You are Nephilim? I thought I am the first Nephilim to come of age in thousands of years?"

She waves off the question as though I asked her if the sky is blue "Oh, Ephraim. He is so dramatic, I don't know that I would say 'thousands' of years, approximately 2,300 years, give or take." My head begins to spin "How old are you exactly, Alya?" she tilts her head to the side as though she has to consider the question for a moment before she responds "You know, I don't exactly know. After a while we stop measuring time in years. We measure it by events that we live in our life. Someone can live a lot of years and not experience a lot of life, it used to happen to us all the time. We would get trapped in our routines, without attachments to humans we never experienced much loss or felt the need to rush though life. I would guess it has been around 4,000 years since I came of age – give or take a hundred."

I was finally beginning to accept that I was different, but I had no idea how different. I start laughing uncontrollably – mostly to keep from crying. One answer equals a thousand new questions at the tip of my tongue. She walks over to me and starts running her hands through my hair in a comforting way I have only ever experienced with my Mother. "Come now, Ilyana. It is not so bad. It is all new right now, but when you fully come of age, I promise: you won't be able to imagine life differently. There are so many things I never would have experienced in life if I was limited to mortality, so many people I never could have helped. Being a Nephilim is a gift, not just to you, but to the world around you. You are powerful, more powerful than you know. But Ephraim will teach you to control and direct your powers, and new powers will even emerge. You will make the world around you a better place as you come to accept who you are beneath the surface. I for one cannot wait to see who you become." She smiles lightly as she stops brushing my hair "One ability that all of us have is the ability to sense the power in others. When I am around most Angels or Nephilim, I usually sense it as a quiet, static hum, with you it is a full buzz, when you move I feel vibrations of power unlike anything I have ever felt, it is fascinating!"

I look at her as I allow her words to settle in "Can I do that? Can I sense power?"

"You can, you just may not be sure how yet. We all sense it differently. Some of us feel it physically, some of us see it - some of us even smell it. Your senses have been on edge the past few days so you might not have even noticed it yet. But when we arrive at the Enclave, you will probably be overwhelmed by it and begin to recognize it almost immediately."

"Ahem..." Ephraim. Even the way he clears his throat is beautiful somehow. "Speaking of the Enclave, we need to start moving soon. Are you ready?" He looks expectantly from Alya to me. I attempt to run my fingers through my hair and they get stuck in my tangles and then I look down to find my sweatpants and tanktop, too big for me. Alya catches me looking. "Ephraim, you can't be serious. We need to take care of Ilyana. She has had a rough time lately, we can't take her to the Enclave feeling so tattered. We need to go get her clothes that fit and a fresh shower. Let's take her to Levi's cabin. She can have a proper shower and I am sure we can dig up some clothes that fit her more comfortably." Ephraim immediately resigns himself to Alya's request, he doesn't even seem to mind, he just nods his head as if he knows this is a fight that he will not win and responds "Well then, if you are ready, I have the ATV's waiting, we can get a move on it so we can make progress before it goes dark outside, we really need to get her somewhere safe." Alya nods her head in agreement.

I look from Alya to Ephraim. They are talking about me like I am not there and I don't like it. "Excuse me, but I thought you said the demons can't harm me last night, what is it that you have to keep me safe from?" I think of the monsters and shudder, if I am more powerful than them, what vile creature should I fear for my safety? He won't look me in the eyes "The time for questions was last night, Ilyana. You should fear nothing, you just have a lot of... power. It needs to be controlled and I don't have the proper space or tools to teach you outside of the Enclave." I feel like there is something he is not telling me. But for now I am satisfied with his answer.

We hop on the ATV's and with Sasha at my side, I do something I haven't done in a while, I smile.

# CHAPTER 4

Ilyana:

After what feels like barely any time at all we arrive at Levi's cabin, it is old and cozy looking in its own right. There is a small garden off to the side and there are vines growing up the side facing the sun. I immediately feel safe and start to relax. I look around me and see that it is only Ephraim with me. The realization makes me tense up and as soon as he notices, he looks to the ground and offers me his hand to get off the ATV, I take it and thank him. For a moment I don't know what to say, as distant as he can be, there is something so comfortable about him I nod to his ATV "Where is Alya?" he scratches the back of his head and looks at me "She felt it would be best if she went ahead of us to the Enclave, to begin preparing for your arrival, we knew you would be coming our way eventually, but this has progressed at a speed I don't think any of us were prepared for."

I nod my head and realize we are already at the door and I am still holding his hand. I immediately and awkwardly let go as Ephraim reaches to knock on the door. Ephraim catches my actions and for a moment I think he looks upset. After a few moments of no one answering, he turns the handle and goes in "Stay close behind me, I don't see him, but I want to make sure everything is ok." I step over the threshold behind him as we slowly walk around the house "I don't sense anyone here, he must be out catching dinner." For some reason I feel relieved, my nerves are raw and meeting someone new isn't exactly something I want to do right now. "Well, if he isn't here, should we really be here? I don't want to intrude on anyone." He laughs under his breath and raises his eyebrow at me, I look at him quizzically and wait for him to explain but he just stops abruptly and starts walking to a small room across from the main bedroom. "Here is the room you can use, there should be a full bathroom through that door and the closet should have some clothes that you can fit. Make yourself at home, I am going to go find Levi. It is still early so he shouldn't be back for some time, take as long as you need." He turns to walk out the door and shuts it behind him, the room immediately feels empty without him. Whenever he is in the room his energy takes up all the space, I struggle to focus and breathe when he is around me, but his absence leaves an emptiness I can't explain, how can he put me so on edge and at the same time bring such a sense of peace? Maybe it is one of his gifts.

I walk over to the closet and find the strangest combination of clothes, many of them look older than me, but there are new packs of tank tops, t-shirts & underwear. I finally settle on a dark pair of jeans, usually pants are short on me, but I believe they should be the right length. I search the bathroom and am relieved to find a full garden tub, and lots of girly smelling concoctions that look like soap or bubble bath. I settle for lavender – it's calming, and I need calm right now. I take off my too big pants, and awkwardly fitting tank top and begin to sink into the bath tub, I almost instantly feel better, I lay back for what feels like only a few minutes and before I know it I open my eyes to find that it is starting to get dark outside and my water has gone cold. I must've fallen asleep.

I begin to let the water out and step out, I reach for the towel rack and pull out what I had believed to be a towel only to discover that it is nothing more than a small hand towel, I remember the small closet outside the bathroom door and almost groan. I decide to practice my new senses and see if I can detect anyone at the house, I don't think anyone is there and after I listen for a moment, I decide to make a run for it. I race for the closet without looking and immediately run into a man I have never seen before. I scream in horror and he smirks at me in amusement "Well, I thought this was going to go quite a lot differently but this is a pleasant surprise!" he says with a Irish sounding lilt I can feel my face redden and I begin to reach past him to the closet while muttering apologies only to hear the bedroom door slam open and see Ephraim racing towards me.

It all happens before I know it, the man I presume to be Levi is grabbing me and pushing me behind him for cover and Ephraim is charging towards him in anger, he quickly pushes him out of the way and plasters himself against me, I would be relieved but now I am even further from the closet and towels I am so desperately wanting, my body is not visible anymore but I am acutely aware of the fact that the only thing between myself and the most beautiful man I have ever seen is a thin layer of his clothing and there is an Irishman that won't stop laughing.

Ephraim is the first to speak, I can see his body relaxing and he laughs a full, laugh that shakes his entire body "Ah, Levi, I can't believe it's you! I was looking everywhere for you as soon as I got here but I just couldn't find you, I was worried the wild had finally gotten to you." I feel slightly shocked, I have seen angry Ephraim, scary Ephraim and maybe even smug, sarcastic Ephraim, but I have never seen "bromance" Ephraim. The lightening of his mood is palpable. "Ay, Brother. No need to worry about me here in my little corner, safe as can be! I have been worried about you, out there chasing down the big bad wolf, it's been too long. But I can see you've had your hands full with other things." He nods to Ephraims arm that is protectively covering me and I feel all the heat rise to my face both of them begin to laugh hardily and I seize the opportunity to race and grab a towel and run to the bathroom.

I decide the best course of action is to dress myself and pretend like nothing happened, I also make a mental note to never trust my awesome Nephilim sensing "gifts" ever again. I dress myself completely and take as long as possible before going out, my hair is almost fully dry and I smell something delicious cooking. I start towards the living room and feel my cheeks beginning to redden again. I have never felt so small or uncomfortable in my entire life. I try to get Sasha's attention, I realize the men are distracted messing with the fire and she is lapping up all the attention she can get from Levi. She ignores me and as stupid as it is I begin to feel jealous, for the first time ever I can see Levi's face. He is Ephraim's opposite in every way, he has lines in his face from smiling, a strong, pointy nose, dark blonde hair and light blue eyes, I even see a few freckles, I never thought of freckles as attractive but on him it fits perfectly. He is tan from the sun and has some stubble on his face. He is warm and inviting and exciting. As I am taking everything in - I feel someone watching me and notice Ephraim staring at me from the distance, he looks dangerous, primal and perhaps something else, jealous? My heart stops beating for a moment and my skin begins to flush, I instantly feel more relaxed and begin to let go of my previous discomfort, usually when a man like that can't take his eyes off of you it makes you feel small or insignificant, but I can't help but feel more secure knowing I have his attention, and for the first time I am clean and put together, my hair is not in tangles and my clothes fit me perfectly.

I hold my head high and walk towards him in the living room. I click my tongue at Sasha and once more she ignores more, I roll my eyes and stick my tongue out, Levi catches the expression and begins to laugh "I don't believe we have been properly introduced, I'm Levi." He reaches out his hand with a smile, I am impressed at his ability to maintain eye contact, I take his hand "I believe you have me at a disadvantage, my name is Ilyana, but I think you already know that." I say as I look down, unsure of myself, he laughs at my insecurity "Ay, and so much more!" he walks to where the living room and the kitchen meet and pulls out a bottle of I don't know what, and begins to pour some into a small glass and offers it to me, I take it and smell "It's brandy" he says and smiles I mutter under my breath something about how I usually expect a drink before the main even and not after and the room suddenly erupts in laughter, this time I can't help but join in. As rough as this journey has been so far, my lavender bath has left me feeling more revived than I have in some time and I can finally relax and let myself be comfortable for a moment, no matter how brief it may be.

I take a seat close to Sasha and let the brandy warm my body along with the fire. Ephraim walks over and hands me a bowl full of something that looks like stew and smells delicious, I waste no time digging in. I am starving and feel like I have been at battle forever, for a moment I let myself hope that it is only temporary and things are about to get better. My breath catches as I look at the fire and realize this is my new life and nothing will ever be quite the same and I may not have many moments of comfort in my future. I look around the room and realize that Levi has left me and Ephraim to ourselves. I look up at him knowing that I will find his eyes looking back. Without any hesitation he begins talking in an understanding, calming tone.

"I know this has been a rough journey for you, Ilyana. But I want you to know I am here to do all I can to protect and prepare you for all that is to come. You can relax here, Levi is a good man and he has numerous enchantments on his property, no one can find this place that is not meant to, we are safe for now." I let go of my breath and begin to drink some more brandy after a moment I remember to ask him about Alya, he informs me that she is good and busy at work preparing the Enclave for my arrival. "How long do I have before you have to take me there and train me?" he scratches the back of his head and eases into his seat "There has been a change of plans." I start to feel slightly anxious again, but know that the brandy is effectively numbing the feeling. I nod for him to continue "It turns out, we really need Levi's help to train you, we weren't quite expecting that, but we are going to stay here for as long as we can until the leaders force us to bring you back. We are safer here, apart from everyone, than we are there in the middle of them all." I wonder for a moment and think back to all he has said "Do you mean WE are safer here or that the other Nephilim are safer with me here?" he looks surprised for a moment "A little of both, actually. But here we can work on your training and you won't be under as much pressure to perform. You are young and usually there is more time before we bring new Nephilim to the counsel, we prepare and train, and generally they have a good sense of who they are and what they are capable of." He takes a sip of his brandy and leans towards me and begins speaking in a lower voice "You are different though, Ilyana. We hope that we never find out all that you are capable of, but in case the time arises that we need to, I want you to know how to control your abilities as much as you can. This is the safest place to learn that and as much as it pains me to say it; Levi is the best person to teach you." I wait for him to pull away but he doesn't, he slowly starts to lean forward and I know that this is the moment, he is about to kiss me, and I am about to let him when Sasha jumps up past me and runs to the door that Levi just opened and is coming in through, I look at the floor and back to Ephraim, only to see him staring at his brandy as though it has betrayed him and he sets it on the end table closest to him and pushes it away. If I were smart I would do the same, instead I decide to finish mine in a quick swallow and I immediately get up and walk to the bedroom to sleep for the night, I refuse to make eye contact with anyone, the boldness I was feeling earlier has been replaced with disappointment and frustration, I walk past Levi abruptly and lift my hand to wave as I say goodnight without turning back, I click my tongue at Sasha, but she betrays me again, it looks like I will be sleeping alone tonight. The thought irritates me.

# CHAPTER 5

Alya:

As soon as I arrive to the enclave, I am ready to spring into action, to clear a room, to approach the elders and maybe, just maybe, to get a little rest. What I didn't anticipate was that the elders would approach me, I have never seen them anywhere other than the receiving hall and yet here they are, standing outside of my apartment facing me, while I am still a mess. I invite them in and feel embarrassed immediately, as much as I enjoy luxury, my recent travels have not left me much time for maintenance, my air conditioning vents smell stale from lack of use and my lounging room is covered with paperwork and files that have long been closed. I work up my nerve and finally speak when I realize they will not be sitting "To what do I owe the honor of your visitation?" they radiate power and take their time in answering, the first to speak – unsurprisingly, is Marcus, he has long been my favorite, he is the most approachable and I agree with him on almost all of our political issues. "Alya, please relax, you are not in trouble. We've come only to learn of the one you traveled with, we received word from your brother that he found her by following her trail of destruction and he met her at the closest port. We have heard she has received no formal training." I begin to breathe lighter, they already know, I wish Ephraim would have informed me, but this does remove a great deal of pressure Julius seizes the opportunity to chime in and I am shocked to see a slight look of excitement on his face, usually when a being has lived as long as he has, they are unexcitable and have a constant look of stoicism plastered on their face "Yes, we have learned of her, but I do not see her here, is she not still with you?" he asks questioningly. I begin to lose my nerve again as I realize they don't know everything "I had Ephraim take her to Levi's home in the wood. She was in no condition to come here and I felt a strong need to prepare the court before bringing her here." Julius look of excitement is now completely gone, he gestures with his hand for me to continue, I grab at the back of my mind to make sure I don't leave out any details, I begin I find myself looking at the ground as I answer, unsure how exactly I can say it "I have never felt another being more powerful. When she is around, I lose focus, I read her powers and what is normally a hum is a loud buzz, she is projecting so much power and has no control over it. Not only was it difficult to focus mentally, but physically, my powers dampened, it took a full 14 hours to arrive here and by the second hour I had a full migraine and was barely able to stand. When we arrived, I was able to leave my boat for a short time and as soon as I got away from her I began to recharge and finally feel good enough to function. She is a kind girl, a powerful girl, but her lack of control at a place like this could cause absolute chaos." Marcus got a troubled look on his face and nodded as if he was anticipating this "And what of your brother, Ephraim, how is he able to handle this?" I laugh and shake my head as I realize how absurd my brother will sound "Ephraim, is Ephraim. He feels her power as well, it baffles him and frustrates him. He views it as another challenge to surpass. He is existing on aspirin and frequent short breaks. But he believes as he trains her it will also be an opportunity for him to become even more centered."

After a long pause, Guinevere speaks up, she is the oldest and some say the most powerful among all our elders, no decision is ever made without her approval and attaining her seal of approval is no easy feat she looks at the elders surrounding her and whispers under her breath "This is exactly what I was afraid of, the time has not come yet. She MUST obtain control over her projections before we bring her here or we will all be obliterated. Alya, you have done well. Keep her away for now, we can send guards and teachers to train with her and she can work with your brother in her spare time. As for Levi, he no longer stands beside us but he still may have some valuable skills he can impart to her, if he is willing to work with her alongside your brother and our trainers, he can come here for breaks, but until she has more control, she is not to be brought within a hundred yards of the facility." I nod in understanding and find myself smiling, it is not often I am praised for doing right, I have a bit of a reputation for being the black sheep in our family. I realize quickly that they are already walking at their slow, deliberate pace out of my front door. As the door shuts behind them, I begin to lean into my wall, with no clue what to do, until I hear my phone ring and realize it is a good moment for me to call and inform Ephraim of what we must do, then I have to order some real clothes be sent to the poor girl and pack my bag in anticipation of rotating with Ephraim at some point, my head starts to pound at the thought of it.

# CHAPTER 6

Ilyana:

It feels like the moment I shut my eyes to finally fall asleep last night the sun decided to make its appearance, I am laying down in the same position I fell asleep but can feel my hair is now a tangled mess and unless I am mistaken, there is a disproportionate amount of drool on the side of my face, I can't remember the last time I slept so hard. I try to force myself to sleep some more, but in no time at all I realize it is a lost cause, the sun is pounding down through the window and onto my face. I quickly make my way to the bathroom and find that a new toothbrush and some personal items were left there for me. I waste no time opening the toothbrush and toothpaste and pulling my hair up into a pony tail. After brushing my teeth and washing my face, I feel like a new person. I take a look at myself in the mirror and realize that though it has been less than a week since my life has completely changed, I look like an entirely different person, my skin is paler and my eyes are swollen and carrying the weight of all I have seen over the last few days. I realize that probably won't be changing any time soon. So I decide to make the best of my situation, I lather some lotion onto my face and walk outside my door to face the day and I am absolutely shocked at all that I find.

My bedroom door faces the living-area, it is loaded with boxes and there is a full crew bringing more in even as I sit back and watch. I look around and don't see any sign of Ephraim.

I walk out the door only to find Levi arguing with Alya "Damned you woman! I don't even have room for this mess in my house, why should I help the counsel out? I have spent years - nearly decades, practically in exile and not once have they done anything for me!" He is absolutely outraged, his face that was so warm and friendly last night is contorted into an array of darker emotions, sadness, stress and anger. Alya grabs her forehead and looks to her feet "Listen, Levi. I know it isn't ideal for you, but the elders are willing to put the bad blood behind you all and welcome you back as much as you would like or need, if you just help them with this. In the meantime, I will ensure the boxes are unpacked and put away in places you won't have to look at them by the time you get back from training tonight, and when it is time to move her, I will ensure that every trace of her presence here is removed. Will you please help?" she looks into his eyes pleadingly, I don't know whether to cry or scream, I certainly didn't ask to be brought here. I decide waiting for his response is the best course of action "Fine, Alya. She can stay and the stuff can stay as long as she does. It isn't about removing every trace of her, I want to help and I have spent years wishing I could train more. But when everyone turned their back on me, this became my safe place and now. Well, now they are using me, again."

I clear my throat and step forward, I have no clue what to say so I fall back to the basics "Good Morning, what exactly is going on here?" Levi's smile has returned and he takes me in a bear hug "Looks like Alya is moving you in here roomie!" I look around and recognize the boxes all have different familiar labels, I see boxes with Apples, boxes with horseshoes and even little blue boxes, I suddenly realize EXACTLY what is happening. "Alya, you didn't need to... I mean, I don't need all this, just a few pairs of clean pants and some t-shirts is more than enough to keep me going." She laughs and grabs me by the elbow to pull me into the bedroom. I am amazed as we walk through the house how many boxes have already been emptied, she walks over to the dresser and pulls out a sports bra, some socks and some jogging shorts and throws it into my arms "Ilyana, you are going to need a lot more than that to feel at home here, we want you to feel better than at home. When you live for thousands of years you learn quality is more important than cost. You will hopefully choose to remain with us for a very long time and I want to make sure you have the best quality." She pushes me into the bathroom and informs me I need to dress myself immediately for training with Levi. She mutters something about her missing brother and I hear the bedroom door shut behind her as she exits and just like that, hurricane Alya has left the building.

After dressing myself in my new, designer workout clothes I step out and put on my new shoes – how she knew my exact sizes, I have no idea. But everything fits as though it was custom made for me. I never thought a neon sports bra and some black shorts could make me look good, but they really did. I head out into the living room and find Levi waiting for me, he is dressed in very well worn workout clothes and I can't help but notice his tennis shoes that were probably once white are grey and worn, he is still beautiful in his own way though and it suits his comfortable attitude. He smiles and hands me a phone "All the numbers you need have already been programmed in, Alya informed me. Should you need anyone, they are just a call away." I take the phone and leave it on the table without looking at it, I am too overwhelmed to actually even look at anything more right now. He notices my lack of enthusiasm and lets out a small laugh "You may be good for this place yet. Are you ready for the best run of your life?" he catches my eyes and before he knows it I dart out the door, a nice long run is exactly what I need.

We run for far longer than I believe I ever have, I like to run regularly but usually I don't go for very long distances like this, I am surprised at how good it feels and how little it fatigues me, this island is beautiful and the air is so clean. Plus the last few days of running for my life have given me a new appreciation for running for sport. We reach what appears to be some old ruins and abandoned buildings and as much as I want to keep running, I can't help but slow to a walk and head towards them. It takes me a moment to realize that Levi is no longer with me, I walk through a large mound of old stone and see the remnants of what appears to be an old dining hall, it is grand and beautiful and sad all at the same time.

A moment later Levi is behind me and I notice for the first time that he is drawing long breaths and winded. "Are you okay, Levi? I didn't mean to leave you alone back there, I just was enjoying the run so much, and couldn't help but to come here." He looks at me as though I just insulted him and forces himself to stop wheezing "I'm okay, I run all the time, just not quite so quickly, but we were coming here anyways. Well, not here exactly, but there is an old field through there where we will have more space to concentrate and practice." I look at him and feel a huge sense of concern that he is my trainer if running for a while at a quick pace is all it takes to make him react like that. We walk over to the training area though and I begin to stretch some more in preparation for training and when I turn around I find that he is laying on the ground, staring up into the clouds, it looks like his idea of training and my idea of training are going to be quite different.

# CHAPTER 7

Ilyana:

After what feels like an eternity of silence and staring at the clouds, I sit up. I was trying to allow Levi plenty of time to recover from our run, but I can't just sit here anymore, not when there is so much I don't know. I catch Levi's eyes as I begin to stir and he quickly sits up "Where're you going?" I don't bother to turn and look at him as I had for a stair case to run on "I am on my way to train, we didn't come out here just to sit all day and we are wasting daylight." He grabs my elbow and laughs softly, I want to be frustrated with him but I just can't so I await his reaction. "What did you think we were training on today, Ilyana? I know my strapping appearance and bulging muscles may be deceptive, but my powers are not physical, we are working to get you centered enough to access your spiritual gifts, we can run and fight all day, but until you can access and control your powers at will, you are a ticking time bomb." He waits for me to laugh or smile but this time all I have are questions I start to ask him one and he holds his finger up and gestures for me to wait as though he was talking to a small child. I roll my eyes and wait for him to continue "I know you have questions, but you won't always have time to wait for the answers, I don't want to be tough on you, but time and your lack of training is working against us. Come sit with me and we will begin practice, when I am satisfied with today's training we will stop and you can ask whatever you want, but only while we are here. I have a feeling the counsel will be watching us more closely than ever and I don't want my words used against me. However, I don't think it is fair that you remain left in the dark. If you make time to train my way, I will make time to answer your questions. Deal?" I think about it for a moment and realize I am in no position to call the shots as is so I respond "Deal."

I follow him through the training arena to what appears to be a small garden, it is overgrown and beautiful and reminds me of the kind of garden I always imagined I would have one day when I was a little girl. He sits down and awkwardly folds his body into a meditating position and gestures for me to do the same. I notice that the ground is mostly clear and around us and I wonder if he comes here to meditate often. I do as he does and wait for further instruction. Just as I am about to ask what's next he begins to speak in a soothing and uncharacteristically serious voice. He reaches over and grabs my arms as if to make me relax my shoulders "Until you learn to shut your mind down completely, you will never be able to focus all of your energy into manifesting your gifts, I know everything around you is new and exciting, but you have to learn to shut down and deny your minds urge to wander." I already know this will be a losing battle, for years in school and church I could never just sit and focus, my teachers wanted to put me on medication and when my doctor tried it we quickly discovered it was of no use "Levi, I can't do that. I have tried before. But, I just can't. With all that is going on, how am I supposed to just shut down?" he gives me a look of complete understanding "Just because you haven't before, doesn't mean you can't now. It is different for everyone, some people have to shut their eyes, others have to breathe through their nose, I've even seen some that have to bite their own lip until it bleeds to slow down their own thoughts. It won't always be this hard for you, a time will come with practice that it is perfectly natural. Instead of trying to access your gifts today, we will see if you can perhaps access mine, all nephilim should be able to sense powers – I can sense yours and even though I can't quite get a pulse, I can tell it is something incredible and stronger than any I have ever sensed before." I look at him and decide to really try – I don't want to hurt my mouth to hone in and focus, so I decide to start with the basics, I shut my eyes and try to think of nothing, then remember I need to ask about a store to find Sasha her favorite foods, then I wonder if Levi has a washing machine I can use or if I will have to learn to hand wash my new clothes, my eyebrow creases as my eyes are closed and he laughs "That's not what a blank mind looks like at all." I exhale and open my eyes, already feeling defeated.

"Try again, Ilyana. But this time when you shut your eyes I want you to picture a strip of light switches being turned off. Picture all of the heavy thoughts weighing on your mind as a light switch, think hard about each switch and then turn it off and move to the next until you don't have any more to focus on."

I do what he says and am shocked to find it is working, all the insignificant thoughts about washing machines, and what Sasha is doing right now go into one switch and I find that if I focus hard enough, I really can move on to the next thought. The next thought is not so easy. It is all of my insecurities and feelings of inferiority. It is the way I was never good with boys and I never made very close friends, the way I got dropped from every team I ever tried out for and the way I never quite knew how to apply my make up just right, then I realize how juvenile those concerns are and I quickly decide I am done thinking about that switch and I flip it.

The next switch is even harder than the first, I think about Ephraim, how he embodies every quality I wish I did and how he makes me feel when I am around him, I think about the kiss that never was and all the conversations that seem to be cut short, I think about how scared and ragged I felt when I first met him and realize I never knew if it was a fear of them, or a fear of him. I think of when he shielded me from Levi last night when we first awkwardly met and how protective he was, I grow frustrated as I strive to decipher my own emotions towards him, as beautiful and dark and fierce as he is, I still manage to be drawn to others – to Levi, not in the same way, but there is something similar about the connection, he excites me and makes me laugh, he pulls me out of my own emotions and thoughts and makes me enjoy the little things more, I find him attractive as well, but not in the intense, drowning way I find Ephraim attractive. I realize I have been thinking about this for far too long and I haven't come up with any answers so I shut the switch off – for now.

When I come to my last thought I start to feel light until I realize the heaviness of it, I think of my Mother, how kind and gentle she was with me, all the teachers she had to meet with and all the schools she moved me to while insisting I was not the problem, that my teachers or the other students just didn't understand me – she knew all along and yet she never seemed to resent me, I think about the way she would play with my hair and let me draw on her notebooks at church, the way she would take days off of work to take me out of school to have a girls day from time to time, we would usually get manicures and pedicures and then she would suffer through the bookstore with me, so long as she had a coffee in hand she would spend hours looking with me and feigning interest in all of the books I loved and the many series' I would get drawn into. Then I think about her end, her untimely, unfair end, the thing I hate the most about it is that in spite of the sadness that sits at the pit of my stomach every time I think about it, there is also an anger, an anger that this woman that loved me and snuck bowls of ice cream to me for breakfast on Monday mornings before school, the woman that brushed my hair and spent hours picking out clothes for me, that woman, would lie to me my entire life and then leave me at a time like this to face the things she was supposed to prepare me for. I realize that some loose ends will never get tied and while I am not ready to dismiss it, I am ready to stop thinking about for now. I flip the final switch and before I know it my mind is a blank canvas.

I am completely relaxed and fear even moving might disturb it so I just sit and allow myself to be shut down, no anxiety or fear or excitement, then suddenly Levi begins to speak, barely above a whisper "You are doing well, something in you has shifted – I can sense it. Now I want you to picture all the calm that is inside you pouring out, not like a bucket until it is empty, but like a water fall, I want you to push your centeredness outward towards me and see if you can sense anything, you may want to open your eyes slowly." I attempt to picture what he is saying and reach out to the best of my abilities, I am surprised to find that it is fairly easy and almost tangible the feeling of it moving through me, I slowly begin to open my eyes and at first the world around me looks different, like looking through a heat sensing camera lense or a fuzzy ultrasound photograph, then color starts to spring through and the surprise and excitement of it makes me completely lose focus.

I groan and throw my fist on the ground "I was so close, everything looked different and then my focus snapped and I lost it all!" I feel like a child pitching a fit, he gets a huge smile on his face and grabs my hands "You did it though! You have to walk before you can run, that was fantastic! Try it again." He pushes me on, but the results are just not the same I have a headache and I can't seem to pull my mind through all of the ugly thoughts to get back to my own center. After trying a couple of times, I explain this to him and he nods in understanding "Then I guess I am satisfied with your training for today. You made more progress than I would've anticipated your first day. You can ask me your questions now."

# CHAPTER 8

Ephraim:

As soon as I arrive back at the enclave, I take the opportunity to visit the library and delve into as much research as I can. I was supposed to meet with Alya, but this is more important, somehow. I need to prepare myself for training Ilyana, but I feel like we are on the verge of something very big, she is powerful and if she is The One the counsel has spoken of over the years, I need to ensure I am not underestimating her on the field. I pour over numerous books and skim for anything I can find regarding prophecies, a second generation of Nephilim and the chosen one. Everything I find is essentially the same as the stories we have long been told at campfires or by the counsel as a reminder of why we must behave.

The stories all fall flat. There is no detail, and no life. But everything I find indicates that this Chosen One that we have heard so much and yet know nothing about is a young boy, somewhere between a toddler and a teenager depending on how ambitious the story teller is feeling at the moment of the transcription. There are few stories that embellish and suggest that the Chosen One was inherently good and others that suggest the prophet was the incantation of evil itself, but regardless of all the images the story tellers paint of the Chosen One, none of them ever mention that it will be a woman.

I decide to approach the subject from a different angle. The theory is purely illogical and borderline insane, so I head for the fairy tales and look for anything that might be about the Chosen One. I look for feminine looking books, for stories you would read to a young child. I feel foolish and out of place but I can't force myself to stop. I find a book entitled "The Young Nephilims Guide to Heroes and Heroines Across The Ages" the cover is bound leather and the paper appears to be very old. I open the book up and of course, it smells exactly like an old book should. I browse through the lists of Heroine's, most are earthly stories about humans in history, everything from Anne Frank to the Amazons and Athena. There is no rhyme or reason and many of the stories are regarded as works of fiction now. But as bizarre as this situation already is, I pick the book up anyways and bring it back to the desk I am working at, along with a few titles regarding Nephilim folklore and fables.

As I make my move to settle into the chair that is too small for me and the desk that can barely contain all of my books a hand slaps the book in front of me shut, before I even look up, I know exactly who it is "Well, this is something I never thought I would see, my very own brother sitting in the library pouring over the books. I thought you only enjoyed lifting heavy things, winning at arm wrestling and compulsively doing push-ups for fun. What could be so important that you would come here?" Alya good naturedly pulls at the books and for a moment looks confused, then a small smile creeps across her face as the recognition sets in "Ah, heroes and damsels in distress... It's the girl. If she really is the Chosen One, what good will obsessive studying do to help you?" I lean back in my chair and pull my hands through my hair while letting out a small breath. "If she is the Chosen One, and it is my responsibility to assist with her training, that is something I would like to know ahead of time. She may require special... attention. I don't want to fail at my task and become the reason everything falls apart." She nods once and rests her fingers on the bridge of her nose as though lost in thought for a moment "Okay, so let's say the Chosen One theory isn't completely and totally bogus for a moment. This story has been around longer than both of us combined - it is fairly unlikely that you will find information of any real use in the books here. You are truly looking for the figurative needle in a haystack just by attempting this. I understand your trepidation, but you have to know you won't fail. As far as we know, all she is at this point is a confused, new, powerful Nephilim, so train her as one."

I want to agree with her, but I can somehow feel it in my gut, that there is something different about this one, it is not just her magnetism or beauty or even her frailty. It's her strength, being around her overwhelms all my senses and is completely disorienting, even in a room filled to the brim with elders, I have never felt that way. Although, I have a feeling and have been trained to trust my instincts, I can't possibly convince my sister to do the same. Instead I try a different approach "Well, if we are searching for a needle in a haystack. Two eyes are better than one. So, have a seat." I reach out to pull another miniscule chair over, she rolls her eyes but sits down. She loves to talk and play, but beneath all her makeup and that over the top personality of hers, lies a bookworm and a know it all. If I find something and she doesn't, that would put her at a disadvantage which will never be ok with Alya. I am relieved to have someone to research with and find her presence comforting, it makes me feel less insane.

She grabs a stack of books and we both start looking and occasionally scribbling notes on a sheet of paper the librarian brought us telling us which books we should come back to and why. We sit in this amiable silence for a long time and suddenly Alya erupts in laughter. I look at her and before I even have to ask, she looks at me and begins reading from the book in her hands "She will bring fear to those that object her purpose, she will place obstacles in the path of those that defy her and her enemies will tremble at her feet. Armies will bear her armor and her anchor will bring a deadly precision to her power." I quickly reach for the book and she looks amused by my reaction "Ephraim, I don't think you have anything to worry about. She is too scared to bring fear to anyone. The only reason someone would tremble at her feet would be in laughter at her completely unintimidating defiance." I look at her annoyed and go back to the book so she continues on "I really think she is a nice girl, someone I hope to be great friends with. But as powerful as she is, the woman described in that story could in no way be our sweet Ilyana." As smart as my sister is, she can be thoroughly dense at times, even if the powerful Nephilim in the story in no way matches the Ilyana we now know, we have made progress, because at least the powerful Nephilim in the story is a woman and that is a first. I read on and notice a line regarding her being mated and feel a sharp pang of jealousy that serves only to confuse me. I feel attached to her and her cause, I realize now that I have grown too attached for my own good and make a mental note to go to greater lengths to distance myself from her. I think back on the other night and am ashamed to realize that I nearly put my guards down low enough to kiss her, I don't know if she even knew, but it took great efforts on my part to muster up enough self-control to not punch Levi for interrupting.

I notice Alya fidgeting with her watch and it interrupts my thoughts, I look out the windows and realize it is getting late and the rain is beginning to set in. I explain to Alya that I must pack to return to Levi's house for training and she nods. We say our goodbyes and as I take a stack of books to the shelf I separate the book with the powerful, Chosen Woman in it. I carefully mark my place to close the book and immediately I recognize the old leather cover and begin to laugh as I place it in my back pack and head to my apartment. "The Young Nephilims Guide to Heroes and Heroines Across The Ages" – why is it always the last place you would suspect?

# CHAPTER 9

Ilyana:

As disappointed as I am about losing my focus, I breathe a sigh of relief. Finally, I can get some answers. I know that Ephraim has been honest with me, but I instinctively know that I can trust Levi and he will not hold back from me in any way. Ephraim is guarded and while I know he is not lying, his explanations always seem to fall flat and lead to more question's that he is never willing to answer yet. I sit back for a moment and ponder what I should ask first "Why is it unsafe for me to go to the enclave, what will happen?" he grabs at his chest and looks up into the sky then looks down at me with an amused expression on his face "Well, we aren't wasting any time here, are we?" I look at him and impatiently find myself gesturing for him to continue "Alright, alright. I said I will answer anything you ask, but I need you to keep in mind that the counsel has kept me out of the loop for years.

But information does occasionally leak out and remaining friends with those in high places has certainly had its advantages." He clears his throat and continues "From what I gather, there have always been stories about a second generation of nephilim rising up, it would all begin suddenly, there would be outbreaks of war and natural disasters, there would be earth quakes and storms. The stories we were taught as youngsters all pointed towards apocalyptic events, the earth opening up and swallowing up those that would hinder balance or peace and forgotten generations of armies would be released into the world, to restore balance, which as you can imagine, would not be a very peaceful process as corrupt as this old rock has become." I nod my head in understanding and he continues on without any pushing on my part "It is said, that the catalyst for these events would come in the form of a young Nephilim – we were always told it would be a boy, kind of a David and Goliath type story. The young nephilim would be the embodiment of balance, he would be righteous but vengeful, gentle but strong, angry but peaceful, in him would lie all that was needed to end destroy the old and recreate the new. He would be a leader, but his leadership would come at a great cost to the empire that has been built.

People think that Nephilim are inherently good, but that is not always the case, over their many centuries on earth, many have grown power hungry, some have overturned monarchies, created terrorist regimes, or even sold their allegiance for things as insignificant as goods or money. When you live forever, you begin to hear rumors of who did what. I believe that our leaders fear what will happen when this "chosen one" surfaces because many of them are guilty by association or have turned a blind eye for their own gains."

I am starting to realize what he is getting at so I cut him off "So, this being is supposed to exist that will essentially destroy all that is bad and bring forth all that is good - It sounds like a lot for one person to carry and no different than what we humans always called a fairy tale. I can tell what you are getting at, but the counsel is delusional if they think any of this is possible, or that I could bring about that much bad, or that much good." He smiles in a slightly forced way that doesn't look natural on him at all and continues "But, you are not a human, Ilyana, you already know that. Angels and Devils are also spoken of as a fairy tale if you ask some people. I am not saying that you are the chosen one that the story speaks of, but some of them are afraid that if you are, it will mean their end."

Even though I think him and all the members of the counsel and the civilians here are insane, I can understand why they would fear something unknown like that "Okay, I will accept that explanation for now. But, say the stories are true. It doesn't really sound like the kind of thing they can change or outrun anyways, so why are they keeping me away, why are you the best person to train me?" He nods his head and points out that I just asked two questions but the reasoning is the same for both of them "When you have lived alone as long as I have, you learn a different set of skills, just like we are training to turn your abilities on, you can train to turn your abilities off, this is never taught in our communities. No matter where you will go or who you will speak to it will be assumed that you cannot turn your abilities off and on and if you could, doing so would be an insult to your heritage and all our – culture, if you will, stands for. We are to embrace our abilities no matter what and use them regularly, I have been alive a long time and I have learned over the years that using ours - while a gift, can also be a curse. I am very powerful and the elders wanted to use me as what humans would essentially call a bounty hunter, they wanted me to be the judge, the jury and the execution. I tried to appease them at first, but realized I only hurt myself when I did. It ended up costing me a great deal of pain and mentally it shook me up so much I could not sleep at all most nights. So I started looking for ways out of it, the elders deemed that as long as I was useful, I was to help them or they would turn against me. So I started looking for ways to be less useful." He looks awkwardly at his nails as though he doesn't want to continue. I desperately want to hear his story but not at the cost of his pride. I prepare to stop him from going on but he sees the look on my face and jumps in "Don't feel sorry for me, I want to share this story. Consider listening to my ramblings free therapy from you to me." I smile and nod for him to go on.

He continues by explaining the way powers work "The more you use your powers, the better you get at it, I got to the point that even when occasionally I would find some sleep, if my body knew I was on a mission, it wouldn't stop, I would lay in bed, sleep and then wake up with a hand drawn map I created while dreaming to help me find the next head. Or I would be at a party and someone would walk in the room that I knew there was a hit on and I literally would push my powers through others – no matter what the cost to them, to get to that one person. I felt like I was losing control of my powers, but then I realized in the beginning I had to turn them on, so now I had to learn to turn them off. In the daytime I would go on my assignments and at night I would meditate, and run and even fight to try and find ways to shut them off. Eventually I learned I could do it for short spurts with practice. I started messing up my missions on purpose, finally. Once I even got shot!" A proud smile spreads across his face and he looks like a young boy that just learned to ride his bike, he lifts his shirt and shows me the tiny, perfect scar.

"When the elders learned of what happened, they immediately knew what I had learned. They excommunicated me and told me I could not be a part of their community until I was useful to them, they couldn't harm me because to the rest of the civilians, I looked like a hero that was simply injured and if they told them what I really did, it would've meant the elders were all liars about shutting our abilities on or off."

I try to understand the weight of all he is saying, I almost can't comprehend it, but I see how happy he is, and know that his being banished was everything he ever wanted. If he didn't feel sorry for himself, I couldn't allow myself to feel sorry for him. He caught my eye "Has Alya told you how we all sense powers differently?" for a moment I believe we are about to go back into training mode so I cautiously respond that she has mentioned it and much to my relief he starts talking some more "She hears power, like a buzz, I on the other hand smell power, it smells different for everyone, varying strengths and scents, but for you it is overwhelming, it is a cacophony of smells – all good. But very overwhelming, if I didn't know how to turn my power off, I would probably get sick being around you for a long time. – She actually got a headache from your time together on the boat, which is almost unheard of for our kind. Until you can control your abilities, you need to only be around someone that has full control of theirs."

I begin to stand "Someone like you?" he follows and gets up as well, he reaches his hands out in a showy gesture "The one and only!" then another thought reaches me "Is that why Ephraim has disappeared? Did I make him sick?" I suddenly feel concerned that I could cause him pain so unwillingly. Levi quickly shakes his head no

"Ephraim likes a challenge, he feels abilities like a buzz or a hum on the surface of his skin, he can sense yours and it is disorienting and powerful, but it is nothing more than potentially uncomfortable for him. Don't worry, Sunshine. Lover boy will be fine and I bet he will be back around you in no time. When you learn to control your abilities, it won't be an issue for anyone at all."

I feel my face begin to redden at the nickname he has given Ephraim and although I am trying to think of a quick response, my mind just draws blank and my jaw goes slack. He throws his head back to laugh and winks at me, just then lightning flashes across the darkening sky and while I try to fix the rubber band in my hair quickly he takes off and like a child yells "Last one there is a rotten egg!" I shake my head and laugh as I begin to take off after him. As complicated as things are right now, I am so grateful that I at least have found a friend to go through it with, it doesn't make everything right, but it certainly makes everything better.

# CHAPTER 10

Ilyana:

As expected, the jog back from training was much slower than the jog there. I was starting to feel drained from the day and was surprised to find how much that small surge of power took out of me. Not to mention all the rain and mud, it felt almost therapeutic, but now that we were arriving at the cabin I had a moment to notice that I was not only sopping wet but covered in mud on the back of my legs. I tell Levi to go inside ahead of me and get cleaned up and let him know I need a moment to myself so he heads inside without hesitation.

I pull my hair out of the pony tail and begin to wring it out on the porch and I sit down and stick my legs out far enough to get most of the mud and grass off of them before I attempt to wipe the excess water off of my skin. I notice there are no ATV's out front and realize Ephraim still hasn't returned. I feel a small pang of guilt when I realize it is probably my fault, stupid, buzzing, non-powers! I leave my socks and shoes outside the door and give them a sorrowful look when I think about how clean and nice they were, only a few hours ago and compare it to how dirty they are from mud now.

When I get inside, I hear the shower running in the bathroom and I make my way to the table to pick up my cell phone, maybe, just maybe Ephraim has called or sent me a text message, I flip through the phone for a moment and read a message from hours earlier that Alya sent me "Congrats on your first day of training, there is fresh bubble bath and an mp3 player waiting for you in your bathroom!" I make a mental note and then close the message, disappointed to find that there are no messages from Ephraim. I grab my head let out a frustrated growl and mutter under my breath about Ephraim's disappearing act as I drop the phone back on the table.

I reach for a towel that Levi clearly left out for me and turn my head to begin drying the ends of my hair off when something catches my eye. He's here. Oh crap! He's here, and he saw my little outburst. The smile on his face resolves into a laugh and I immediately feel so embarrassed, I have no clue what to do, so I pick up my phone and throw it at him. He catches it easily and apologizes "I'm sorry, Ilyana. I didn't mean to leave you stranded all day. I can call you now if you like?" I am ashamed of myself but far too proud to admit it and he is in too good of a mood for me to destroy it. I just shake my head "No, that's alright. It's just been a long day. I thought training would be more, physical."

He pulls out a chair for me to sit at the table "Do you want to talk about it?" my first instinct is to say no, but then I realize if I don't have anyone else left to talk to about it. I take a seat and lean back in the chair refusing to make eye contact "I had a power surge, but I lost it and couldn't bring it back." He sits down across from me and nods "You know that's exceptional that you had one at all though, right? Usually our kind are trained from the time we are small children and by the time we are in our early 20's we are only beginning to gather enough control of our powers to sense those around us or recognize our own gifts – and that's only for short spurts with a massive amount of practice. To experience anything on your first real day of training says a lot about you and shows that you are really putting in a lot of effort." While I appreciate his words, they do nothing to appease my looming sense of failure. "That's what Levi said too. That doesn't make it better, I had to work so hard just to start to feel my own ability at all and then I experienced it and the momentary excitement caused me to snap back. I don't want to spend hours every day just wading through my thoughts so I can slow down enough to start to maybe feel a glimmer of my abilities." He looks at me and I realize that he gets it, he is a perfectionist just like me and being second best or inferior is not an option.

I realize he might have an idea about what I am going through and it's I may be able to learn more from him. "Can I ask you a question?" his face turns serious and he crosses his arms for me to continue, before I thought his expression was harsh or mean, but now I recognize this as his business face, when he is offering me his undivided attention. "Levi mentioned that I can make the people around me feel sick, but he can turn his powers off so it doesn't make him sick. He mentioned he learned to do it much in the same way he learned to first access his powers. If I learned to do that, would I be able to stop making people sick?" his serious expression breaks and he lets out a small, annoyed sound "Levi is so sure he can turn his powers off. He is my best friend Ilyana, I won't say anything bad about him, but I will say that he is a Nephilim that got injured and has the scar to prove it, that doesn't happen to us. I think somewhere along the way, his wires got crossed and he lost some of his ability. I don't believe anyone can just turn it off, our abilities aren't just what we do, our abilities are who we are. It defines our rank, our ability to be an asset to our team and even how much protection we can actually provide to those around us. That kind of thing doesn't just turn off." I understand now why Levi has been fine with his exile, if this is how his best friend responds to the system they are under, I can't imagine how the elders treated him. "I think you should support Levi more, obviously he's been through a lot, how much would it hurt you to believe him?" he stands from the table and runs his hands through his hair as he usually does when he is thinking "Believing him, means rejecting the counsel and I am not ready to reject the counsel. Levi is powerful. But he has not always been so good. For a long time he got involved with the wrong people and regularly would go to the wrong places. When he wanted to stop helping the counsel he turned to drugs – human drugs. That is almost unheard of, there is no way of knowing what that kind of thing can do to one of us, because it is something we simply do not do and our bodies were not made to handle that kind of abuse."

I understand what he is saying and though I don't support him or necessarily agree with him, I can see his point. I decide to tread lightly and move onto what will hopefully be a lighter topic. I ask him about his day and how his sister is. His eyes light up, he disappears to the other room and comes back in holding a book in a really odd way, almost like he is embarrassed to have it. I wait for him to move closer but he hesitates "Now, I know it may sound crazy, but there's this idea about who you might be. I'm not saying it's right, but as your trainer, I feel like it is my responsibility to explore the possibility regardless." I lift up my hands to stop him "Is this more about that whole Chosen One thing? Because I think you are all insane if so." He looks surprised at first then a look of recognition spreads across his face "Levi told you?" I am hoping I didn't just get Levi in trouble "No, I asked Levi why everyone is handling me with kid gloves and literally leaving me in the woods instead of taking me to the enclave where I can actually receive constant training and maybe even have my own place to stay." I realize my hands are balled up into fists as I am speaking. He puts his hands out to calm me down "Relax, it's not a bad thing. I was just surprised for a second. I was about to tell you anyways. I am sorry you feel like we have abandoned you in the woods though – it won't always be that way. The book actually mentioned something that might help you."

Just then Levi walks out and looks at the book that Ephraim has now placed on the table. His eyebrow quirks up and he addresses Ephraim "How is a book about Fairy Tales supposed to help her?" then he turns to look at me "You do have your own place to stay, for now it is right here. But, you need to make yourself at home before Alya does it for you and paints the bedroom walls hot pink." I chuckle at the thought and then realize he has been listening a lot longer than I thought, he pulls up a seat next to me though which is oddly comforting, because at least it lets me know he is not mad at me for talking about him.

Ephraim opens the book to a page that he has carefully folded and instead of mourning the poor page in the book that is now looking crumpled, I decide to skim what he placed in front of me, it looks like a typical old fairy tale, a woman overcoming the odds that are stacked against her, she finds the man of her dreams and manages to save the day, all before I even have to turn the page! After I finish reading, I sit back and look at him, I know he isn't stupid, but how he could buy into this is beyond me. "So, again, how is this supposed to help me?" he folds the book shut abruptly and responds "We need to find your anchor, it will bring your abilities into focus and maybe it will make your training easier." For a moment I allow myself to hope and ask him about the anchor "So, I take it we are not talking about a literal anchor. What would my anchor be and how do we find it?" he explains that it would probably be something tangible or something I am attached to, maybe an old piece of jewelry or something similar. I think as hard as I can and realize I don't really have any attachments and most of my jewelry was purchased from the dollar bins at the mall that I promptly wore and lost – I really hope I didn't lose my anchor but then I realize I am being crazy.  
"Ephraim, I appreciate what you are doing – really. But there is nothing I am attached to like that. I think we are all just tired and want some answers that probably aren't even out there yet. I would like a training shortcut, but unless something presents itself, we are just going to have to keep doing this the hard way." He gets a grave expression on his face "I am not willing to agree with you for good, but I will let it go for now if that is what you need." Levi asks to hold the book, Ephraim hands it to him and he walks off to his room with it. I begin to stand to go get cleaned up for the evening but Ephraim grabs my arm and stops me "How do you feel about training with me tomorrow for a change of pace?" I feel excited at first, but then I think about my lack of control over my powers, even if it is only an annoying vibration to him for now, we have no way of knowing that it will stay that way, I can't risk hurting him and Levi doesn't even have to sense it at all. I offer him a small smile and catch his eyes when I look up "As much as I want to train with you, I think I maybe gained some real momentum today with Levi, I would like to see if we can take it further tomorrow."

He takes his hand off my arm and for a moment looks as if I rejected him, I quickly grab him by the arm, not willing to let him shut down again after all he shared with me today. I stand on my toes and lean forward in an effort to get closer to eye level with him – though he still towers over me "Ephraim, it's not you. Levi just helped me shut my mind down, I have never been able to do that and I am not sure if I am even capable of shutting down like that around you." I recognize what I just said only after the words have already spilled out of me, I break eye contact and prepare to walk away, but he pulls me closer and it finally happens. He kisses me. I expect the earth to shake and the sun to break out, but instead I realize it just feels nice. I feel safe and secure with him. I can feel his passion pouring over and for the first time in my life I realize that someone out there wants me as bad as I want them. I grab the collar of his shirt and struggle to pull us closer when suddenly Sasha walks in and starts whining and I pull away.

Shock sets in at what I just did and I have no idea what to say. I can barely look him in the eyes now and just moments ago I was drawing on him like a wild teenager. My cheeks are flushing and I look up to say something and he interrupts me "I'm sorry Ilyana, I shouldn't have done that." Then he walks back outside into the rain without sparing me a glance. I begin to question how it could feel like I have lost something when I knew all along that it was never mine to begin with.

# CHAPTER 11

Ilyana:

It's been two weeks and again I find myself in the same place today that I have been visiting for the last two weeks now. My bursts of power are getting stronger and lasting longer, but not by enough for me to significantly use them. I have noticed that when I really work hard at focusing my efforts upon opening my eyes, the fuzzy colors settle into more of an aura and they settle in around every living thing. Even the grass has its own aura, of course it is just a faint green – but it exists, and I know it! Levi has his own Aura too. When I told him it was a bright neon pink he thought I was joking, at first even I questioned it, but the more I get to know him, the more it fits. He is always happy and excited. Everything he does is vibrant, he doesn't halfway commit to anything and in spite of his age, he remains so youthful – not like Ephraim. While Ephraim appears young, there is something about his eyes that I find haunting, it is like he has lived a thousand life's and has known nothing but pain – I am dying to see his aura, but so far I haven't been able to focus my abilities around him enough to. Not to mention ever since the incident at Levi's cabin a couple weeks ago, he has really been keeping his distance. At first that bothered me, but I decided to let it go since I have no control over it anyways. I am just grateful I have Levi and his calming consistency. He is my closest friend here and he is kind of an outsider in the same way that I seem to be. If he wasn't so playful and young acting, I would have to say he feels like the big brother I never had.

For now though, Levi is obviously feeling frustrated. We have been out here for almost two hours and I have not been able to control my abilities at all, he says it is disorienting and keeps complaining about a sickeningly sweet scent – I haven't asked him, but I believe it is getting more difficult for him to shut off his abilities around me. I pity him, but selfishly I want to keep him around, because as much as I hate to admit it, he is all I have right now.

He is pacing back and forth and looks up at me with a confused look "Are you sure you did it right? You thought of everything and pictured the light switches turning off?" I groan "Yes, Levi. I am sure. Maybe my senses are just fried, or maybe this is all that I am. That could be it. Maybe if we show the counsel how much control I lack they will let you stop training me! They'll have to realize I am not the Chosen One then!" something in me grows excited at the thought. But Levi doesn't seem quite ready to buy in "I understand you don't want to be the Chosen One. I would be the first person to admit that the counsel is shady at best and I think they enjoy feeding us all a lot of lies, but the more I am around you, the more I get the feeling they might be right about this one. I can't put my finger on it, but there is something different about you, and in spite of you thinking this is the extent of your abilities, you need to realize you haven't even accessed your abilities yet, you are still just learning to brush the surface. I can sense your power though and I would be lying if I said you were normal or weak."

I feel slightly disappointed but I trust Levi enough by now to know that he would never lie to me or try to make the counsel look good. He's not the kind of man to waste time on silly missions and if I am being honest with myself, the more I touch and taste my powers, the more I want to. The process itself is draining, but in the few seconds that I reach the surface of my power – I feel more alive than I ever have in my whole life. It is like a drug, but each time I come back it is stronger instead of weaker.

As I am contemplating my train of thoughts I hear the crunching of dry leafs and look up to see Ephraim heading our way. At first I feel excited, but then all I feel is angry. I haven't seen him in over 4 days and the last time I did see him, he wouldn't even look me in the eyes or speak directly to me. It is like I wasn't there. Per his usual weirdness, he walks passed me over to Levi I hear my name as they are speaking but like a defiant child I try not to listen because I don't want him to think that I care after how he has treated me.

Before I know it Levi is patting him on the back and heading my way. He reaches down for my hand to help me up and I take it without hesitating. He informs me that he is going to take some time to look into different training methods and Ephraim is going to take over for the rest of the day and work with me on hand to hand combat. As much as I don't want to work with Ephraim, I am excited to experience a change of pace and as powerful as I know Ephraim is compared to me. I think he will be surprised to find that I am not completely helpless when it comes to combat. I always excelled in sports and fighting. In fact, if I wasn't already a social outcast in highschool I would've gone out for the girls wrestling team, it is the one sport I always longed to do, but never had the courage to.

I walk over towards Ephraim as Levi is fading into the distance and he skips the pleasantries and immediately goes in to punch me in the stomach. I am shocked, but I move in time and he misses me. He looks surprised and suddenly my anger has built into full on fury "What, are you disappointed you couldn't hit me?" I taunt him. "I wasn't going to hit you. But I am surprised you reacted at all. That's good. Let me see how many laps you can run up and down the stairs and then we will work on your fighting." He gets a look on his face as though he is eager to break me, but little does he know that I spend most of my down time with Levi here running up and down the stairs to get all of my excess energy out. I smile his direction and race for the stairs, taking them one by one as I usually do. After a few laps of not growing tired I look his way to prove a point and he nods his head and commands me to start taking the stairs two by two. Well, that's new. But I have to show him that I am not as weak as he thinks. I am shocked at the difference in my endurance though, at first I am able to do it without problem, but after about 20 minutes, my thighs are sore and my butt is all but begging me to stop.

He notices the sweat on my face and my struggle to breathe comfortably and takes pity on me. He throws a towel my way and tells me to take a break and go get my water bottle.

I do as he says and almost immediately I feel lighter and more refreshed. He invites me to the middle of the field where he instructs me on how to stand and how to throw a punch, I already know but I allow him to show me because there is something dead sexy about the way he runs his hands across my arms and hips when he shows me what to do. He starts by having me throw punches his way and when he realizes I already know what I am doing, he advances to kicks. I am practically beaming when he is shocked to learn that I am not helpless with my offensive kicks either. Then at the last minute he tells me it is time to start fighting for my life, he grabs my legs and before I know it twists me backwards. I surprise him by going limp like I learned in self-defense class and I quickly spin around and throw a few punches his way, I land one or two and am shocked to see that it really hurts me, I secretly wonder if it even hurts him at all, but I can't show any weakness.

I know it is a low blow, but I was starting to feel desperate and at the last second I change my methods and go in to kick him where it counts. He knows what I am doing as soon as I realize it and he spins and kicks the back of my other kneecap so I fall backwards – it actually hurt and I can't believe he did it! I am completely outraged. He extends his hand to pull me up and I refuse to work with him, instead like a child I yell at him "How dare you! This is only our first time training and the first time you even are acting like I exist in two weeks and now you are kicking me and throwing me to the ground? Who does that, Ephraim?" I ask as I get up off the ground and begin to storm off "You can't go around kissing girls one week and then disappearing and kicking them another. That's not fair and you know it!" he looks confused and scratches his head while chasing behind me "How is fighting ever fair? I am training you, I wouldn't have injured you, but you will find when you are fighting the demons that the damsel in distress act doesn't really do much for them. You knew what you were doing far better than I thought and I wanted to challenge you!"

I stop walking and turn around slowly to face him and in the calmest voice I can find I address him "Fine, Ephraim. You are right. Fighting is not fair, Life is not fair and men are not fair. But this game playing of yours has to stop. I need some time to be by myself, I'm going to walk away now and you are going to let me." When I look up, I expect him to be calm, but he is clearly insulted that I talked to him like he is an angry dog "Hell no you aren't going anywhere! We are just getting started! This isn't about your childish moods, PMS or your little crushes, when someone is really fighting you it is going to be life or death!" Without so much as hesitating I charge him, I don't know what I intend to do, but as I am running with the singular goal in mind of hurting him I can feel my powers beginning to overflow, everything is illuminated around me and I see his grayish blue aura, I can't stop myself, before I ever even reach his chest the force of my anger and my abilities send him flying backwards.

For a moment I am left shocked and feeling guilty, my powers fade and I clumsily run over to him "are you okay? I am so sorry, Ephraim! I don't know what I was doing – I didn't mean to do anything like that!" he looks up at me in awe as he slowly begins to get up "I think I am okay." He stares at his feet confused and looks up at me "I think you can take some time to yourself now though, do you know your way back?" I nod at him and begin to slowly walk backwards, horrified at what I just did. My walk turns to a run and before I know it I am at the edge of the island on a beach that I have never even seen. All I can do is run. I am running to escape Ephraim, running to escape this prophecy and running to try and convince myself that I can still escape, that this is not who I am becoming. I stop myself when I realize that I can't outrun this, I am becoming a monster and I don't even have any control over it.

I feel the tears stinging at my eyes and begin to look around for shelter, it is getting late in the afternoon and I can tell the rain is about to set in, the last thing I need is to be crying alone in the rain. I spot a cave facing away from the water, close to the shore and head that way.

# CHAPTER 12

Ilyana:

As I reach the cave I am surprised to find that trapped in the small, dark space I feel more free than I have in weeks. I am completely alone with nowhere else to be and nothing important to do. For a moment I allow my mind the chance to wander and I imagine staying, then I think of Sasha and snap back to reality. It would be irresponsible of me to choose homelessness for myself and a dog too - especially when we have the option of staying with someone as kind as Levi. But now that I hurt Ephraim, even that is up in the air. I can't imagine how I would live with myself if I hurt Levi too. But there is a possibility that this is just what I am now I find myself walking in circles in the cave, the rain has started to really let down so I begin clearing a spot on the earth to sit down and rest. I begin to carefully kneel down into a sitting position but with the extra soreness in my legs from my workout I quickly begin to fall forward and that's when it happens.

I make contact with the wall of the cave and I feel a warmth rushing through me rapidly. It takes over me and everything around me is illuminated. They cave is no longer grey, I see a hint of green from patches of grass and the rain pouring in outside, I look down at my body and see patches of red that focus in close to my skin – I never imagined my aura could be red. I always pictured it would be black or brown or even grey, but somehow the red suits me. I turn around to face the back of the cave and I what I see renders me speechless, I start to scream, but no sound comes out. I begin to gather my senses and realize I must be seeing things. People talk about having visions of angels all the time, so that must be what I am experiencing now.

Ahead of me, where there used to be a solid rock foundation, there is now a group of Nephilim. Some of them are blankly facing me, some are staring ahead and some are murmuring to themselves. One is hunched over brushing the hair of a woman that is speaking to herself. The words are unintelligible and I realize she must be speaking some old language. I begin to step forward to see if I can decipher anything she is saying, when I step forward I anticipate for the cave to go dark, logic tells me that walls don't move and there was just a cave in front of me. But it doesn't grow dimmer and no one in front of me disappears. When I get about 10 feet away from where the hunched over man is standing I hit an invisible barrier that makes my hands feel as though they are straining to reach through a net. When I look back up where the man stood, brushing the womans hair, I am startled to find he is slowly walking towards me. I don't know what to say so I begin to draw my hand back and apologize "I – I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disturb anyone, it's just that it was raining and I needed a place to say. I didn't see you back here until just now..." He looks at me and for a moment I wonder if he can even understand a word I am saying, his eyebrow furrows and he looks away for a moment "It's not possible, this can't be real. It's finally happening, I'm finally losing my mind." His furrowed eyebrow remains but he begins laughing hysterically. I want to turn and run away but I can't leave without knowing what's happening "What do you mean you are losing your mind? Can I, uhmm, help?"

I reach again but the barrier stops me from touching his shoulder. He stops laughing and turns to give me a confused look "Can you help? This has to be a joke! Why would I accept help from someone who is obviously allied with the filthy traitors that abandoned us here!" my head begins to spin at his insult. I start to wonder if this is what it feels like to go insane I turn my head and contemplate running but I am too mad at his accusations to even allow myself to walk away – I have always had to have the last word, and this time is no exception. "Excuse me?! But who said anything about filthy traitors? I just offered to help you, but I don't even know who you are so how could I have abandoned you here? Maybe whoever it is that left you had the right idea!" then I allow myself to fall to the ground and I find myself muttering under my breath "What if this really is it? What if my abilities are broken? That would explain it all, the hum, hurting Ephraim, not being able to reach my powers..." I begin to cry and punch myself as my thoughts trail off.

When I look back up, the man is staring at me with concern. I really look at him this time, I notice his dirty skin and hair that is folded neatly into a long, dark braid. His eyes are the darkest shade of brown I have ever seen and his thick black eyelashes frame them perfectly. In spite of his too-long nails and hair and his dirty skin and clothing – which looks like something out of a history book, he is beautiful. There is something regal and strong about his appearance. Whether he is real, or a figment of my imagination I am unsure. But I do know that he is important – or at least he was important at some point. He reaches towards the invisible barrier as if to comfort me. "I am sorry, girl. I should have been more kind. It's just, I haven't seen a Nephilim that did not wish me harm in at least several thousand years. I did not mean to make you cry."

I take in all that he just said and recognize the irony of this dirty, sad apparition comforting me, but then I think back on the woman whose hair he was just a moment ago lovingly stroking. I look over to her and see the same blank expression as before, she has quit murmuring for the time being though. Still, it doesn't take much to see that something is very wrong with her. Her face doesn't look old, but her skin is covered in dust. I look across the vast space into the faces of all the other Nephilim and realize that all of them are covered in dust. All of them except for the man standing before me. I look to him and allow myself to continue the conversation "Who are you and why are you all here?" he straightens his shoulders and bows his head slightly "I am Kailand, I am the son of Antony, everyone else here is either extended family of mine or extended family of other original Counsel members. We were left here by the rebels when we would not hand over the fortress and Nephilim for them to train as weapons and sacrifice at their every whim."

I try to process what he is saying "The rebels? Do you mean the demon creatures?" he looks annoyed now and begins to talk to himself "thousands of years waiting and holding out hope and this is what I get! A petulant fool that doesn't know who I am or who the rebels..." I cut him off and am shocked to find myself yelling at him "This petulant fools name is Ilyana, and while I hate to disappoint you, I haven't even met with the counsel yet, or trained, or done anything! I don't even know how to access my own powers. Now all this pressure is on me to learn how to keep from making everyone around me sick with my buzzing abilities and I am stuck living in the woods until I figure it out. So, I haven't exactly gotten around to Nephilim 101 yet!" he looks confused for a moment and then leans for and speaks barely above a whisper "You're a new Nephilim?" His voice is hesitant and the anger that was on his face before is replaced with curiosity – and his voice holds a reverent tone.

"Yes, I am a new Nephilim, or something like that. But you wouldn't guess that I was Nephilim at all if you could see how completely hopeless I am." He lets out a frustrated sigh and turns away from me for a moment and bows his head as if to gather his thoughts. "I don't know how you will help me, but you are my first shot at freedom in thousands of years and I would be a fool not to try."  
I want to say something smart, but instead I shut up and listen. He describes to me in detail who the rebels are, he describes old Nephilim at the enclave and talks about their hierarchy and missions. He says they were protectors of the human race and balance in the world. He tells me his family lead the counsel and they were overthrown when they denied the remaining counsel at the time the ability to take and train the most skilled Nephilim for unjust wars over money and power.

I find it all hard to digest, but try to listen anyways. I turn to look at the outside of the cave and notice the rain is gone and it is beginning to get dark. "Kailand, I don't know what to say. I want to believe you but I just don't know about anything that you are saying. But I will try to see what I can find out. I need to get back home for tonight though." I reflect on all he has shared with me and try to think of a way to help him, but I can't bring him food or drinks because they won't even move through the invisible barrier "Kailand, I don't know how I can help you." He looks at me disappointed for a moment, but too proud to remain that way "I don't know how you can help either. But please come back. Everyone here has already lost their mind, many of them are beginning to turn to stone. They don't die, they don't talk, they don't move. I don't want to be like that..." my heart breaks for him and I realize that I truly want to believe all that he is saying and help him. "I promise I will come back, I don't know when, but I will. When I do, you can tell me all the ways I might be able to get you out of this thing..." He smiles politely as though he is afraid to believe my words as well. I turn to leave the cave "Goodbye, Kailand." He smiles my way for the last time "Until we meet again, Ilyana."

Hearing my name on his lips softens a part of me and my pity begins to melt into rage. How any Nephilim could do this to an entire family is beyond my comprehension. I begin to run back towards where I believe the house is and pray I am correct so I can make it back before dark.

# CHAPTER 13

Ephraim:

I can't believe this is what my life has amounted to, I was just bested in a fight by a young female Nephilim, I am living in the woods with my best friend who is consequently also one of the biggest outcasts of my generation and I am reading a book about fairy tales to try to find some answers. If this isn't emasculating I really don't know what is. Wait, I know what is more emasculating than this, how dare she push me like that! I didn't even see it coming, according to her and Levi, she hasn't even accessed her power during training some days. How could she possibly use so much force on me? It's not that I didn't deserve it, but I have never felt a burst of Nephilim power being used against me in that way before. She was like a goddess. I knew she was powerful when I followed the path of the demons she destroyed before, but that was instinct, she couldn't have controlled it if she tried and her body and mind was so overcome by the experience that she still didn't even recall anything. But this was something completely different, she was being fueled by anger, towards me. I rest my head in my hands and lean forward on the table, I know she is fragile, I should've been more understanding, she is so simple and happy and I was doing everything in my power to complicate her. I deserve her anger and her hate.

I hear the front door open and my heart stands still for a moment, I listen for her but am disappointed to see Levi rounding the corner. He asks me how training was today and at first I don't know how to answer "That's a loaded question if ever I heard one." He pulls up a chair across from me "Lay it on me, how bad was it?" My eyebrows pull tight as I think about how to say it "She kicked my ass." His eyes lighten and he laughs and hits me on the back "Well there's a first time for everything! She's a really fast runner, but I never would've expected that!" he obviously doesn't know what I mean and I am a little insulted that he so easily believes that she could beat me in hand to hand combat. "Not like that, Levi. I made her mad and she charged me and then sent me flying flat on my back with her powers. _She doesn't run that fast."_ I am surprised by how insulted I am at the thought of someone being stronger than me.

He immediately begins to quiz me on how we trained, I tell him about the running and stairs, then I tell him about our fight, he is hanging on by the edge of his seat by the time I am finished "Dammit, Ephraim! If I had known all she needed was to be pissed off, I would've suggested you train with her a lot sooner. That's phenomenal! I have spent days attempting what you managed to pull off in a few short hours, hell hath no fury and all, I guess...." I catch his dual meaning and while it would lead to a fight with anyone else, Levi is the brother I never had, he knows of my lineage and never once has he used it against me, so I know better than to be upset with him at this point.

I ask him about his training techniques, what worked for them and how she accessed her powers when he was around. I feel like we are on the precipice of something here, but I just don't know what. At first he describes a boring technique to me about shutting of her thoughts and light switches. I begin to lose interest but then he points out that his training exercises are all centered around her learning to gain control. "I just don't get it. She didn't show any control whatsoever when she threw me across an arena, it's like she just lost it and acted without even meaning to. She ran off completely ashamed and shocked. I actually thought that maybe it was her coming home when I heard you come in, I might need to call Alya and begin searching for her, it's been awhile..." He looks annoyed with me for a moment and I know that he is about to lecture me about letting her run off on her own, but then his expression changes into a look of excitement as he looks down to the table in front of me "Ephraim! I think I've got it!" his words are running together and his time in Scotland is beginning to show "We've spent the last two weeks searching for the object that is her anchor, the girl never owned any real jewelry or family relics of any kind. What if the anchor isn't an object? What if instead of looking for a 'what' we should be looking for a 'who'?" I realize my crazy outcast friend may have a point and his words are spilling out faster now "She accessed her power with me using control and her power with you in a fit of rage or passion, if you will. I know when I access my power after some time away from it, there has to be an element of passion and control, or else I am prone to misfire or complacency!"

I realize he must be right "So, are you saying you think we are her anchors?" he sits back with a satisfied look on his face "Aye, Brother. That we are! Now we just need to prove it." I am following him but have a hard time believing she would agree to train further with me after our incident today "Levi, I can't ask her to train with both of us, I have rarely seen someone as angry with me as she was today and after what she did, she was clearly scared." His expression grows serious as we hear the front door opening once again "Just leave it to me, Brother."

She walks through the door and looks completely broken. I have no clue what to say to her or how to approach her. I know that I am the reason for the despondent look on her face and I feel an overwhelming urge to walk up to her, wrap her in my arms and tell her everything will be ok. Instead, like to coward I am, I allow Levi to do it for me. "Little Princess, I hear you've had a big day." I feel annoyed at him freely using a pet name with her, he has always been so good with others, I guess that is because he genuinely likes everyone. He continues on "Don't be so hard on yourself, Ephraim and I are really proud of the progress you made today and we have a theory I want to run past you." We both wait for her to respond but she just stares at the ground in front of her for a moment, she creases her eyebrows and pulls her lips together in a tight pout and suddenly there is a mask of regret and sadness on her face, I hate knowing that I am to blame for putting it there she looks to Levi and in a very small voice responds "Well, you've certainly earned the right, you can tell me whatever it is." She looks like she is waiting for us to drop a bomb or send her away, I wish she could see how important she is to me – to us.

I stand up and she makes eye contact with me for a brief second, I see how broken she is and want so desperately to fix it. Levi continues speaking as he rubs her arm in a way that I believe is meant to be soothing for her, but ironically for me, it is almost enough to make my blood boil "We think we've found your anchor, it's not a relic or an old piece of jewelry, we think it is us, we both want a chance to train with you tomorrow, you and I with our control methods and Ephraim with his, uhh, power methods." He awkwardly tries to grasp for a word besides passion or rage. She looks at me again and without breaking eye contact responds "I don't know that it will do much good. But, I just can't tell you no." For a moment I forget what she's talking about but then Levi shakes her arm in an excited way and he laughs "Attagirl! I knew you would be game for it! We should discuss it with you tonight, see how you feel when it happens – that will probably help us figure out what we need to work past to get to your gifts." She smiles politely and looks up to him "I just don't know if I can do that tonight, Levi. It has been a long day and I am spent, plus I don't really know if I can even describe what is occurring in my head when I reach my gifts, it's a little different every time, there is not one base emotion or thought that makes it happen." She looks at me again and turns back to him and waits for his response.

She used to look at me like that and wait for me to respond. I know that I messed up now, even more than before. Just the fact that she feels like she has to ask for rest says a lot about what we – what I, have put her through the last few days. He looks disappointed, but only for a moment, I know that she catches it because her expression falls, but he quickly covers and makes up an excuse about winging it, he tells her it might be best that way and it will help us really access her truest abilities and emotions. I have no clue what he is saying and I honestly don't think he does either, but she seems satisfied with the response as she smiles at us both and begins to walk towards her room.

I don't know how or why, but I lose control when I see her walk through the door and immediately hurry behind her, I have to bury this hatchet. I can live with kings and queens, the elders and the high counsel all angry at me, but I can't live knowing that I have upset her.

# CHAPTER 14

Ilyana:

As I walk away from Levi, I feel guilty. I know that he is really disappointed and I need to help him if we are ever going to move forward and learn to access and control my gifts, but my head is still swimming with thoughts of Kailand. I wonder how I will even be able to sleep tonight, knowing that he is back in that cave, fighting to hold onto any shred of sanity that is left, not just for him, but for his family and the family of all the counsel members there. I make a mental note to find out more about the Counsel and have Alya bring me back books on the historical political structure among Nephilim.

Almost as soon as my bedroom door shuts behind me I hear a light knock and before I can even respond, Ephraim is bounding through. There is a look of concern on his face still, much like there was when Levi was speaking to me a moment ago, the same look that he had when I had my little outburst on the field earlier. I just don't have time to deal with this, he looks at me and waits for me to tell him it is ok to come in. I know I owe it to him so I respond as I begin to pull out a pair of boxers and a camisole that I can change into after a bath. He is standing at the foot of my bed as I throw the pajamas up by my pillow, he regards them intently for a moment in a way that makes me feel slightly uncomfortable but also a little proud, there have not been many men in my life that are interested in seeing the tomboyish outfits I sleep in and even less men that would be ok with the fact that they are non-designer and came in a multi-pack at the local super market. He catches me smirking for a moment so I begin to pick up the room around me slightly – I am bad about leaving laundry around the house "Can I help you with something, Ephraim?" he exhales and I can see the relief pouring out of him. I watch him for a moment and then fold the clean laundry that is on the chair in the corner of my room. "Ilyana, I am so ashamed of myself..." I realize this is not exactly the tone of the conversation I was expecting so I walk to the bathroom, leaving the door open so I can hear him and begin running water, in hopes of him getting the hint and not dragging this out. When I walk back up, he looks so upset that it breaks my heart. I walk over to him and place my arm on his shoulder to steady myself and ensure eye contact, for a moment the gesture feels foreign to me, but I realize that I am not the same person now that I was two weeks ago, I speak softly at first "Ephraim, you owe me nothing. Especially not an apology. I have always had a compulsive need to be right and get the last word in, I push others – a lot. I did that with you today. So, I am to blame. Not you." He cuts me off "No, you are fragile and everything around you keeps changing and I just keep putting more and more pressure on you, I should've been training with you from the start, I've left you in the dust and tried my hardest to push you away because I thought it was best for you. But now I realize....." He gets a look on his face that I have seen only once before and before it happens, I know what is next.

He crushes his mouth against mine in a rough, pleading gesture. I allow myself to sink into it, to be carried away by this experience, by him. He picks me up and gently holds me against the wall behind me while his lips trace over my mouth and cheeks and neck. It feels amazing, I look down at him and find my hand gently pulling the back of his hair to look up at me and I meet his lips again. He kisses me gently this time, like he is accepting all of the forgiveness that I couldn't give him with words and I realize I am doing the same. I felt so guilty for hurting him earlier, I needed this moment to know we were alright, he begins to trail his kisses dangerously low down my neck again and his hand begins to wander up underneath my shirt. For a moment it is comforting and then I realize that is exactly what I need from him. I carefully sway my hips forward against him and then realize how wrong this feels. I care so greatly for him, but I always imagined being with someone, like I am right now, would be centered around love. I would be thinking of what I have to offer him and not just what he is doing for me. I care for him, but not enough to justify this. Before his hand reaches my bra, or his mouth trails any lower than my shirt, I go slack and make myself stop "Ephraim. This – it isn't right." He looks like I poured ice water on him, he gently rights my shirt and sets me down, he steps back and turns his back to me as he runs his hands through his hair – his signature move.

Before he has a chance to walk out on me, I step forward and hug him carefully from behind "Ephraim, I loved every minute. But something is not right. I need you, we need each other to get through this. But, just, not like this. I want to touch and be touched, kiss and be kissed and believe me – it sucks pulling away after a kiss like that. But I care too much for you to do this. Right now I am empty, and being with you, like that. Can't possibly be what's best for either of us, because right now I have nothing to give you." I feel some tension leave his body and I pull him around to face me, he looks disappointed but if I have learned anything about him, he is too proud to ever say it. I continue on "I think that I am still figuring out who I am – you are still figuring out who I am for that matter. I need you to be my friend, I don't need a fragile relationship that is liable to break at the seams if one of us does or says the wrong thing. You know why I am able to talk so freely with Levi?" he tenses again at his name and clenches his jaw, through gritted teeth he responds "Why is that, Ilyana?" I try not to smile at his reaction "Because in the two short weeks I have known him, he has become family to me. I don't have the chemistry with him that I do with you, so it is not complicated, but beyond that, I know that even when I fuss or we fight, or I get mad at him – at the end of the day, he will still be there calling me names, pulling my pony tail and listening. I need to know that you will do the same, and right now, I need to know that without the added complication of a relationship. I want comfort from you, not just from your touches or kisses. I don't even want to think in terms of a relationship with anyone right now. Does that make sense?" I look into his eyes, hoping that he understands. He lets out a light breath and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, he says in the most ruggedly beautiful whisper "Ilyana, you are going to be the death of me if I don't watch out. You aren't a little princess or a fragile girl. You are a goddess, don't forget that now or ever." He pulls my head forward to kiss my forehead and then turns around to walk out, before he closes my door he looks at me one more time "I am here, Ilyana. Ill temper, raging hormones and all. You don't have to worry about me going anywhere." He shuts the door and leaves me alone with my thoughts. I am surprised that instead of fixating on what just happened with Ephraim, all I can think about is Kailand. All alone in a cave full of people. I wish I could sneak back to him tonight, but it is too late and after all that has happened, I know that my absence would be noticed. I decide to hurry up and bathe and then if the guys are asleep when I am finished, maybe I can take Sasha out for a walk and sneak out to the cave.

# CHAPTER 15

Ilyana:

I spend all the time I can possibly stand in the bath tub, my fingers are wrinkled and my skin is all red and flushed from the heat, I have applied deliciously scented lotion to my whole body, paying special attention to my elbows, knees and ankles and I even managed to use the tooth whitening strips that I found after Alya's big shopping spree for me. I emerge from my bathroom, hopeful that I will find the guys asleep. I am not at all prepared for what is waiting there for me when I open the door though.

I nearly fall to the ground as Alya rushes ahead to hug me "Ahhhh, Ilyana, you are doing SO well! I have been waiting around a half hour and I almost couldn't even hear any of your waves! Whatever you are doing is working!" though the timing is terribly inconvenient, I am happy to see her so I hug her back "Thanks Alya, I don't know what I am doing, but hopefully I figure it out soon so I can keep doing it and you can come around more again." For a moment she looks upset and I realize she has the same tendency as her brother to take on extra responsibility for everything that goes wrong so I continue on "But I am so grateful you are here tonight! What brought you here this evening?" She reaches for her bag which is resting on my bed and pulls out a bunch of girly salon stuff and a few chick flicks "A little birdy told me that you could use some help relaxing!" I laugh at the thought – Alya could be described in so many ways, but relaxing is not one of them. I know that I have Levi or Ephraim to thank for this.

She asks me to pick a movie so I opt for "Chocolat" it might be romantic which is exactly what I don't want right now, but anything with Johnny Depp is preferable to a movie about a couple growing old and dying in one another's arms – I still haven't figured out how that is really romantic as is. She smiles approvingly and pulls my computer chair over and instructs me to sit in it after starting the movie. Then I see the scissors come out "Ummm, what exactly are you planning to do with those, Alya?" she waves off my concern and I know I have no choice in the matter "I am going to give you a haircut! I am really great at it and it looks like you haven't had one in some time – I promise you are going to love it." She is already combing out my freshly washed hair so I decide to just keep my mouth shut and let her get to work.

I intently watch the movie while she intently cuts my hair, paints my nails and gives me a facial – I find myself wondering what the point of the facial is, since Nephilim have flawless, self-healing skin as is, but the minty smelling paste begins to tingle against my skin and it feels so good, I don't even bother. As we are watching the movie, I keep finding myself scoffing at all of the sappy romantic parts, real life romance is never quite so simple – at least not in my very limited experience. After she finishes cleaning up the hair all around me she pauses the movie and swivels the chair to face her "Is there something you would like to discuss?" immediately my mind flashes back to Kailand, but I realize there is no way she could know about any of that. So, I carefully respond "I don't think so, is there something you would like to discuss?" she rolls her eyes "Don't be like that with me! One girl in the woods with two attractive men for two weeks, scoffing at all of the best parts in this movie... Something has happened, so spill." I am surprised at how much she has picked up on but then I realize living for 4000 years (give or take) probably lends itself to quite a high dose of women's intuition.

I try to think of what I can tell her that won't be completely weird, since her brother is one of the main characters in this little sideshow. "Alya, I really don't know what to say that won't be really awkward for the both of us." She sits back for a minute and turns the TV completely off "I knew it, so it's Ephraim then. So what happened? You were going to hit it and quit it and then your feelings got the best of you and now you are stuck?" I am taken aback by her human expressions and vulgarity I clear my throat "I am not exactly the hit it and quit it type. No." she catches my frustration and quickly back tracks "I'm sorry, Doll. I didn't mean to imply that you are. I keep forgetting how young you are, when you have lived as long as I have, you begin to notice a pattern – usually it's that our attention doesn't hold for very long. It wasn't personal." I settle back into my chair and think about my words carefully before I say them "We kissed, a lot. But something didn't quite feel right."

She looks like she completely understands and even would've expected that. I wait for her to speak, but she doesn't say anything so I continue on "He's so brave and strong, and just about perfect. But, something in me, doesn't feel nearly as attached to him as I do to the idea of being kissed and touched and cared for. It's like I want those things, and I like those things with him, but beneath the surface I'm not sure if I really want to keep having those things with him and I just don't understand why. It's awful too because when he's not being all gentle and sexy and sweet, he is brooding and fighting and arrogant. I never know who I will get, but I am not exactly satisfied with either." My cheeks start to blush when I remember she is his sister and I am being a tad too open but she doesn't act at all taken aback she looks to the side "Well, is their someone else that you think would be better suited for kissing and fooling around with than Ephraim, perhaps?" I am surprised by the bluntness of her question as the only other person I know is Levi, and the thought of being with him like that is complete lunacy, but then I think of Kailand, I can admit he is gorgeous but he is an arrogant prick who also happens to be in prison, which really doesn't say much about my taste in men.

Then I remember something I needed to ask her so I decide to tread past this conversation quickly so I can get to it "No, I don't really I think I want anyone in his place – including him, for now." She looks slightly relieved for a moment but before I ask her about it she continues on "Well, if I was in your shoes I know what I would do." I looks at her quizzically and she continues on "I would just take it for what it is, kiss a little, fight a little fu..." I place my hand up before she can finish "I get the picture, Alya. But that's not me and I can't do that to Ephraim – he's more important than that." She looks confused for a minute "Oh, Doll. He hasn't explained to you about being a half breed, has he?" I think back on our conversations and remember him using the term, but we never revisited what it meant so I tell her as much and she continues on.

"A half breed is a very powerful form of Nephilim, physically, he is far stronger than you or I – even though he is my brother, we share only a mother. His father raped my mother and that resulted in his conception. His father was one of the demons. A number of years ago, we were at war and some of the demons had crossed into our territory, many of the stories you hear of Vikings are actually about our people. When there is a war in the Nephilm world, it is the same as it is in the human world, there is pillaging, fighting, murder and even rape." I feel my heart sink when I imagine all that their mother went through, I don't even believe I have the right to know anything more, but she continues on "Many of the half-breeds are retrieved by the demons after birth, but my mother and father had countless connections and were able to convince the Counsel to help hide Ephraim. My father was a good man, he loved my mother very much and he didn't want others to think less of her when they heard how Ephraim was conceived. So he convinced the counsel to hide Ephraim in plain sight. They agreed to give him 18 years to lie and say Ephraim was his own, he went through our typical training and though he was good at combat, he always fell behind in skill and ability training. When he turned 18 years old, it was time for him to pay a debt to the counsel, since then, he has worked tirelessly as their hound, he is physically the strongest being we have on the Island, so he gets sent on dangerous missions and when the elders are occasionally called upon to travel, he is expected to escort them. It was his mission to find the one, because they believe he was all that could withstand your power." I think back on when I met him and realize he was completely alone and tattered looking, Alya didn't show up for at least an hour behind him, if not more. I am shell-shocked, but she isn't done telling the story "I thought they were sending him on a suicide mission and fought the counsel every step of the way, when he called us after finding you, I was so relieved. You were the best surprise we could've received and now his debt to the counsel has been paid so he is now free to come and go as he pleases."

She gives me a look of gratitude and I am shocked at her ability to accept me after thinking I would mean his end. She loves him so much and I feel so honored to have her friendship after multiple lifetimes of her fearing the stories she heard of me and what they would mean for her brother. I realize that none of this is really tying together though "So, what does this have to do with him kissing me?" she sits up straighter "Oh! Yes, so half breeds. Well, each of our species was created for a purpose, humans to serve and care for the world around them, Angels to protect the humans and demons to essentially be errand boys for the Angels. They were supposed to act without thinking or feeling, they don't form any attachments, that is actually a characteristic limited to humans, even Angels – as great as they are, do not form attachments to humans, they may be amused by some people or proud of a job well done with others. But they are transient by nature, they don't die and humans do, so it is necessary for them to remain unattached." I realize what she is saying and interject "So you are saying that Ephraim is not the marrying type then?"

She laughs at my question and then answers "Well, I should say not, but it is deeper than that. He does care and have a strong sense of duty. He may even be able to love – I'm not really sure honestly. But in the Angel world and the Nephilim world, there is one thing that remains consistent, the ability to bond ourselves to a mate. Some say it is of our choosing, others say that your mate chooses you, it hasn't happened in generations – and I have never experienced it, so I don't know what I think. But, your mate is supposed to invigorate you. Not only do you love them, bond with them and produce children with them, but a sense of faithfulness and obligation is sparked in you, you fiercely protect one another and anchor each other. It is not just something Nephilim and Angels want, it is something that we all need at some point or another, and once that bond is created, it is not easily broken. In fact, I am not even sure if breaking that bond is possible at all."

I realize what she is saying and as much as it saddens me, I realize that it somehow makes sense. The reason I can't connect to him. It's because somewhere my psyche knows that it will need something more, something that he can't offer me. I don't want that for him though, I want him to love and bond and mate.

She sees my troubled expression "I don't see how this is bad news, Ilyana! This means you can have the best of both worlds, his touches and kisses and companionship, minus all of the messy attachments!" I am outraged at her suggestion and immediately rise to my feet and my voice rises without even trying, I point to the door "That man out there is worth something! Nephilim, Half-Breed, demon or human – it doesn't matter, he is important and I would never use him, or anyone for that matter, like you are suggesting. I may not have lived for 4000 years, I may not have traveled the world, but I know enough about it to say that what you are suggesting is fundamentally wrong and could only result in pain, not only for me, but for your brother!" I begin pacing the room and she follows. She catches my eye and at first she is regarding my like a rabid lion, but then she changes her tone and says something that I don't think either of us expect "You're right, Doll. I am sorry. I didn't mean to sound callous and the last thing I want is for anyone to get hurt, I guess I just thought that maybe Ephraim could get some fun out of it too, especially since he will never be mated to anyone and eventually you will. Time has this way of making you numb, you don't see everything in black and white, it all turns into a bunch of gray areas, but I can see why my thoughts might be a little troublesome for you to swallow."

I massage my temples and shut my eyes "I forgive you, Alya. I am the one that should've kept my mouth shut, of course you wouldn't want your brother hurt, this is just a lot of information." She agrees with me and then grabs me by the shoulders to spin me around and show me my hair for the first time "It's a pity your new style can't be put to use right away, promise you'll let me do it again?" I am taken aback, she did an amazing job, my normally unruly, long curly hair has been cut to just below my shoulders and layered with longer hair at the front and slightly shorter in the back, for the first time in my life, I look like an adult. I eagerly agree to her conditions and decide to make one of my own "Alya, can you bring me back some books about the original counsel, particularly Antony?" she whips me around and looks me in the face. I immediately realize I said too much "What do you know of Antony? I don't even know if those stories are true." She looks upset and confused "I don't know, I think I just saw the name on one of the books the guys brought here, I never really read about it though, it just stuck out and I wanted to know more." I sound like an idiot, I have always been a terrible liar, but fortunately 4000 years on earth hasn't turned her into a human lie detector, she regards me carefully and releases my shoulders "I'll see if I can find anything for you when I come back soon. My head is starting to hurt a little now though, so I need to head back a recoup for the night."

We say our goodbyes and I thank her for the information she gave me and the haircut I got as she hugs my neck and leaves. I wanted to go see Kailand tonight but I look at the clock on the wall and see that it is nearly 2am and the house is silent. I will have to train with two eager instructors in a few short hours and as pathetic as it sounds, I can't sacrifice sleep right now. I make my way back to bed and fall asleep almost as soon as my head hits the pillow.

# CHAPTER 16

Ilyana:

Morning came too early for me today. I had hoped Levi would at least let me sleep until 6, but since Ephraim is training with us as well, we got started before the sun even began to crest the horizon. After all that Alya told me last night about Ephraim, I can't even manage to look him in the eyes. So I skipped breakfast and got ready in my room luckily for me we are jogging the long way to the training grounds today so I don't have to face Ephraim for quite some time. I have my headphones in my ears and my iPad is singing to me an angsty song that I am pretty sure is about video games.

By the time we reach the training grounds, I am too hyper to sit down. I am running on adrenaline and know that if I focus my energy on turning off light switches in my head it is likely I will fall asleep. I plead with Levi to understand this when he instructs me sit down and he steps back and offers for Ephraim to take over. Ephraim quickly steps in front of Levi and with a smirk on his face, instructs me to run up the stairs in the arena seating again. I know the correct response would be to pitch a fit – my thighs are still burning from yesterday, but right now I am grateful for the time I get to myself. I try to take the steps one at a time, but before I make it up the first flight, he catches what I am doing and instructs me to start taking every third step. I let out a groan, and then do as he says. He has me run for as long as I can stand to and then I come to the middle of the field to meet him, he instructs me to begin fighting him. I rush at the opportunity and surprise him by landing a punch in his jaw, but before I even have a moment to enjoy the small victory he grabs my wrists in one hand and twists me around, the contact feels too familiar. I know he is trying to get a rise out of me, but I just don't have it in me right now.

He lets go of me and allows me to give me a chance to right myself. Then as soon as I get across from him he follows and knocks me to the ground, I am irritated but know that he would never truly hurt me, so I stifle the feelings of annoyance for the time being as I reach up and take the hand he offers me to right myself. The moment I take his hand, he twists me around, holding my hands over my head, with my body to the ground and his knee gently hovering over my back. It is an awkward position, but I feel the strain in my arms and in no time I go slack and just hang there. He lets go and takes a step back and starts pacing back and forth in front of me, I am shocked by the angry expression he is wearing on his face, I mentally prepare myself for an attack but it doesn't come, instead he runs his hands through his hair "Why aren't you fighting back? I know it is not because of the stairs I made you run, you ran twice as long yesterday and managed to fight twice as hard, we will never be able to access your gifts if you refuse to work with me!" he is practically yelling at me, my eyes begin to water and I feel tears beginning to sting, I realize immediately that this is the wrong reaction, my nerves are on edge and I am exhausted so I begin to brush them away.

He sees what I am doing and looks away "Bloody Hell! You're crying? This isn't even a real fight! It's training! I can see I am going to have to piss you off again..." I look up just in time to see him charging after Levi who is happily drawing on the ground with a stick. I can't hold the tears back anymore I begin sobbing and scream with as much power as I can "Levi, run! He's going to hurt you!" Levi, stands up quicker than I would've thought is physically possible and moves before Ephraim ever reaches him. I know he has to be using his abilities because it is physically impossible to move so fast. Levi stands confused a moment and Ephraim, like an angry bull turns around and steps heavily towards me "You see me charging your friend and you yell to warn him? What good do you think that would do with a regular person or a Nephilim less powerful than Levi is? You are more powerful than the both of us combined! I felt the force of what you could do yesterday, but today you aren't even trying! I am completely dumbfounded! If I had known that kissing you would've turned you into a babbling idiot – trust me, I never would've risked it." His words sting, but I know that he is angry and telling the truth, he is trying so hard to help me and I am not doing anything to make it easier for him. I catch my breath and stop crying "It isn't your kiss that has me broken today. You have lived hundreds of lifetimes like this, you forget that just a few days ago, I was an average girl living in the suburbs with a Mom and Dad. My biggest problem was remembering to feed Sasha dinner and now everything has changed. I am not a babbling idiot and I am not an object for you to talk down to like that. I am a person and right now, just for a moment, I am weak. Can't you just let me be?" his eyes soften slightly and in response he turns to walk away "I am going for a walk, you should work with Levi for a bit." He looks like he has more to say, but he notices Levi and shakes his head no as he turns back around and continues to walk.

Levi is staring at me like a bomb just went off, I don't know what to do or how to act so he begins to step towards me, and before I have the chance to say anything he wraps me in a big protective bear hug "It's okay, Little Princess. He didn't mean a word he said, we are all just tired, but that is not your fault." He is rubbing the back of my head and pulls away to look me in the eyes "We believed last night that maybe we were the anchor, maybe we were the key to unlocking your gifts. I could see you were tired last night, but I pushed to train today because I was so excited to see if there was any truth to it. But there wasn't. That's ok though, we will keep looking and in the mean time I will stop pushing you so much – Ephraim will too. He is a hot head, but he means well and would never want to break you." I dry my eyes and begin to nod "Thank you, Levi. But neither of you are pushing me harder than I am pushing myself, I think I just need to lighten up a bit and stop fighting my instincts to stay human. When it overtook me yesterday – I became something else. I think I was afraid of what could happen if I were to do that again." He pats my back and looks at me with understanding – I know he understands better than I do, what it feels like to lose control of something so much bigger than yourself. He looks at me for a moment and a crease begins to form in his eyebrows "Ilyana, I just want you to know that you aren't weak. You said you are, but you are wrong. Ephraim and I both know it. When he described your power yesterday, he was awestruck. Because of his brute strength and background, it is hard to overpower him like you did – you didn't scare him, you amazed him. We just need to find out what caused you to have such a strong surge yesterday. Usually our abilities are like a water faucet, you can turn it on and it takes effort to stop exerting your abilities or turn the faucet off. Maybe for you it is more like a fire truck, there is a lot more power behind it, but it needs to build. Yesterday could've just been too much – there's no shame in that."

I begin to think on what he just said. I did have a big burst of power with Ephraim, but less than an hour later, I had a burst of power in the cave that felt even bigger. That's when it hits me, maybe my anchor isn't an old relic or any new friends of mine, maybe it is in the cave. If Kailand was telling the truth and they have all been trapped there for a long time, it is possible many of their personal items could be considered relics now. I feel like I am finally onto something, but I can't blow our cover so I calmly look up to Levi. "I am not sure if I am ready to give up for today, I think I just need to go for a walk and maybe have a moment to myself. Do you think I could go for a walk alone? I promise to stay close by and I will be back in no time." He looks conflicted for a moment then smiles and tells me he will be waiting for me when I get back. I hate myself for taking advantage of his light hearted, people-pleasing nature. But I have to talk to Kailand and see what I may be able to find out from him and if I don't go now, I don't know that I will ever get the opportunity to.

I walk away from him towards the woods and as soon as I am out of range, I take off running towards the ocean and the caves.

# CHAPTER 17

Ilyana:

Before I am willing to step into the caves, I take one last thorough glance around me. I refuse to move until I am satisfied that no one is behind me. I slowly enter the cave and at first it is just the same as it was the day before. I think back to the day before – what I was doing just before the prison made itself visible to me. I remember touching the cave wall and feeling a release of power. I don't want to waste time, but I need to think for a moment about what I need to ask Kailand. It feels absurd coming to a prison to ask an inmate for help, but that is exactly what I am about to do here. I take a few deep breaths and shut my eyes for a moment, praying that Kailand can't see me hesitating like a fool. I am reminding myself that without my powers I can't do anything to help Kailand or the others, so my being here is not completely unreasonable and as he said yesterday, I am the only one who hasn't meant him harm in thousands of years. As soon as I discover myself thinking about anyone being at my mercy I almost turn around and walk away, I can't believe that this is what I am becoming. It is bad enough that I lied to Levi to come here, now I am asking a hostage for help because I know he has no other options.

I take a deep breath and remember him yesterday, brushing the old woman's hair – why that pulls at my heart so strongly, I have no idea. But the image of someone so clearly powerful, someone who probably had the world at his fingertips before, bowing to an old woman to brush her hair in hopes that she retains at least some shred of dignity is enough to completely break me. Regardless of who he really is, or what he has really done, I have to help him. I head to the back of the cave with my hand stretched out in front of me with every intention of illuminating the cave and making the prison visible once more. Before I ever reach the wall, I can feel the power surge through me. For a moment I just want to bask in it, I shut my eyes and feel my head fall back, the power yesterday was so new and it made me feel so raw and fragile, but this time it is so strong that I can almost taste it, it is something like honey and mango. Sweet and natural, not overpowering or hard.

I gasp when I feel a hand grabbing mine, I look in front of me and see that I have reached through the barrier, I try to push forward and step over the threshold, but I am unable to. I look up at Kailand and he stares at me in amazement. His dark eyes look hopefully at me "How did you do that? In as long as I have been here, I have never seen any being get through this barrier." He is still holding my hand and regarding it with great reverence as if he expects I will pull it away at any moment, I squeeze his hand gently and hope it offers him some reassurance that I am not going anywhere. I am not sure how I accessed this power so easily now, but I begin to swell with pride when I realize I am finally doing something right, even if I don't know how. When I look back down at our joined hands, I notice I can barely make out his aura for the first time – I couldn't do that yesterday, it is like the barrier numbed my abilities. Much to my surprise it is not brown or grey or any other color you would expect to see in a place as depressing as this, it is a sheer, light yellow, it radiates hope and power, I know that whoever this man is, whatever this man has done - he is good and I need to help him.

I look back to his eyes and remember that I never answered his question "I don't know how I am doing it, I have been training today and I couldn't even reach my abilities until now – in fact, that is why I came back here today." Just then I hear a growl from behind me, I turn around, not for a second letting go of Kailands hand, for fear that I will lose the moment. I expected to see a beast or maybe even Sasha, what I didn't expect to see is an angry looking half-breed and his hurt looking Nephilim sidekick. I try to explain quickly when Ephraim sees my hand linked to Kailand and begins to charge ford. I realize that he means to hit him but before I can throw myself between the two, his hand hits the barrier, it sounds like a fist hitting stone and he cries out in pain. I let go of Kailands hand to check on him "What the hell is this, Ilyana? What are you doing here letting a filthy prisoner grope you?" I want to answer him but am absolutely stunned by his outburst.

Before I can speak, Kailand raises his voice and I know that I will have a war on my hands soon if I don't figure out a way to shut them both up "Filthy prisoner? What about you, insolent half-breed? All muscle and rage, but absolutely no common sense! If you would look for half a moment at the light emitting from this cage they have us in, you would realize there is a barrier – so, unfortunately I am not really capable of groping anyone. But instead of assessing the situation on your own, you charge in like the ignorant bastard you are and go in to punch me, you really showed me, mutt!" just like that Ephraim starts spewing insults back and forth, I look to Levi and see that he is just as perplexed as I am, he shrugs as if all we can do is watch it play out. So I speak up.

I raise my voice louder than I believe I have ever allowed myself to before "CAN YOU TWO JUST SHUT UP FOR A MOMENT AND GET OUT OF YOUR OWN WAY – OR AT LEAST GET OUT OF MINE?"

I stare at Ephraim and see the face of a caged lion, he is angry and has no qualms about showing me – I will deal with him first "Ephraim, this is Kailand. I found him yesterday after you decided to act like an arrogant prick in training and knock me over. If you had slowed down for a moment to think about what you were seeing instead of acting like the jealous boyfriend you aren't, your fist wouldn't be throbbing right now." I look back and forth between Ephraim and Levi for a moment and neither of them speak up, then I hear laughter coming from behind me, I turn around just in time for Kailand to begin speaking, he regards Ephraim coolly "Looks like someone has a little crush and doesn't know how to control his hormones, isn't that touching?" his words incite me so I realize I have to handle him now too "Really, Kailand? You are trapped in this cage where you have been abandoned to turn into dust, I really don't see how you are doing any better than he is. Speaking of which, this is Ephraim and that is Levi." I gesture to the angry stone walls standing behind me "They are my friends and my trainers. Oh, and the only hope either of us seem to have of me ever gaining enough power to actually help you." Kailands smug look on his face quickly changes to one of understanding.

I look around to all of the faces in the room and see that there is a new somber appearance to all of them. Thankfully, Levi is the first to speak up "So, Little Princess. Now that we have seen your dirty little secret, do you care to explain to us what exactly he is doing here and why we should help free him?" I see the hurt on his face and I walk over to him and gently stretch up to kiss him on the cheek. "Levi, I am sorry I lied to you about what I was doing. I didn't intend to for long, I just needed some more answers before I felt alright about dragging you into this – honest." I stare at his eyes for a moment and see that he is still listening "I only found this cave yesterday when the rain started after my fight with Ephraim." His face softens further and he looks like the Levi I know, I won't hold anything back from my closest ally here "I came in to hide from the rain and started clearing the wall when this appeared. You can't see it when my power isn't working."

I think for a moment before I continue speaking, I realize I need to tread lightly now, if not for Levi's sake than at least for Ephraim. "When you were talking about anchors today and power, it made me think about the power I experienced here last night. There are a lot of really old Nephilim here and I think maybe the relic is on the other side of that barrier, because my power here is almost effortless. Today it is so strong I could actually reach through the barrier – I couldn't do that yesterday!" I give an excited smile and am happy to see that Levi is completely on my side – I already knew I could count on him to have my back. I take mental note of his openness and determine I will never leave him in the dark or deceive him again.

I move back in an attempt to shut off the power surge temporarily to display what happens. The moment I think it, the prison disappears and is replaced by a cave wall. Levi gasps and Ephraim looks worried "Whatever is caging them is powerful and dark... I'm not sure it is a good idea to even be here." I let out a frustrated sigh and let my powers seep back out and illuminate the cave, for the first time I notice my hands when I do it and I realize my veins are all glowing beneath my skin when I first release the power. It is intoxicating. Levi and Ephraim caught it as well, Ephraim reaches for my hand but catches himself and steps away before he ever makes contact. A part of me feels disappointed – but mostly I feel relieved. I acknowledge his statement "Ephraim, if whatever is caging them is powerful and dark, but I have the power to unmask it like this. I think I might be the bigger bad. You don't have to help, but please rest assured that you will either help me with this or you can sit back and watch while I figure it out on my own – because one way or another, we are getting them out."

Ephraim lets out an exasperated sigh before nodding his head in understanding, he wisely allows Levi to take over the conversation from here. He speaks softly as if he is afraid of breaking a trance "So, why should we get Kailand out of here?" I turn to Kailand and ask him to tell his story. He explains who everyone is and that they were locked up when they refused to relinquish control to a few of the elders and sacrifice that majority of Nephilim. Ephraim rolls his head as if he doesn't believe him. He points out that the counsel has never spoke of anything like that occurring and describes the three standing elders – Guinevere, Juilian and Marcus, clearly thinking that this will punch a hole in his story, but instead of surprise on Kailands face, there is a look of sadness "That is what I was afraid of. They separated us from the original elders before bringing us here. We all expected our fathers to turn up eventually, but as time wore on, we realized we had probably already seen their face for the last time. They were a casualty in an unjust war and we were the liabilities they all froze in this cage to keep us from looking for our family members." Ephraim still looks mostly unconvinced, but fortunately he is perceptive enough to refrain from kicking Kailand while he is down.

Levi looks a little more sympathetic and understanding, but is clearly trying to put together all the puzzle pieces in his head "Ay, we have all lost family in the counsels greedy spats. But, for your story to have any validity to it, you had to have been held here for thousands of years. The elders are misguided and insensitive at times – I should know that better than anyone, but they have always placed a priority on keeping the citizens safe." He is clearly trying to work out all the details in his mind and figure out if he has given the elders too much credit "When I went against them, they banished be, but I was never for even a moment their prisoner."

Kailand nods with understanding "The original Counsel housed 9 members of the original Nephilim families. Of course there were more original families than that, but initially our settlement began with only 9. It was the responsibility of the oldest living member of each bloodline to sit in the seat of elder and help make decisions and pass judgment when necessary. At the end of the day, two of the least prominent bloodlines were caught waging war for money and goods and safe passage for their own families, they wanted the ability to make all the decisions on their own without any opposition – no matter what the cost." Realization finally reaches Levi and Ephraim and I know that they understand and believe him too so I speak up "Now that you know the story, I think we all know what needs to be done. But how are going to do it? We have to get them all out of here and so far all that has crossed the barrier is my hand."

They all look bothered by the weight of the problem and then Ephraim clears his throat and begins to provide his opinion "I don't like it and I don't trust him. But I have seen the elders do some atrocious things in my time. - Enough to believe that at least some of what he is saying must be true. Unfortunately, If this is where your powers seem to open up, this is where we need to come for training each day, we don't need to waste any more time at the old ruins. Levi and I can trade days coming here with you training and going to the library studying, we need some answers and as much as the filthy prisoner would like to think he has all the answers – being locked up for thousands of years has to have some side-effects on a creatures mental state, even a distinguished purebred such as him." He gestures to the barrier and Kailand wisely chooses to ignore Ephraims obvious contempt, much to my relief.

It is beginning to grow dark out and Levi points out that we need to leave soon if we have any plans to make it home tonight. I promise Kailand I will try to bring him some things, I am hoping I can push objects through the barrier like I could my hand. He requests a razor, food and something to play music with. I mention an iPod and he looks at me confused, I realize I would be better off bringing him a harmonica and realize I may have some trouble locating a harmonica on this island. My mind turns to thoughts of what foods I should bring him and as I am looking at him I realize how gaunt he is. I can feel my heart breaking at the site. Humans would die after only a few weeks of starvation, and in front of me is this Powerful Nephilim, who has been barely existing for centuries. I pull myself together before anyone can detect the pity I am feeling and we all say our goodbyes and promise to keep quiet until we know what to do next. Ephraim is reluctant but still agrees to our request – probably just to appease me. But I don't have the willpower to argue with him right now, I just decide to take him at his word and make a mental note to speak with Levi about it privately.

# CHAPTER 18

Ilyana:

We reach the cabin at dusk. Ephraim is looking more bewildered than I have ever seen. The entire run back he kept muttering about the encounter in the cave with Kailand. I can tell that he is at war with himself, trying to bridge the gap between the Counsels actions against this group of Nephilim and what we are planning to do for them. I want to help him, but I have no clue how. I head to the kitchen to see what food I can make to bring to them all tomorrow.

I am surprised when I walk in and find Levi pulling out stew meat and vegetables to prepare. I smile at the sight, we prepared dinner for today before we ever left for our run, I know that he is preparing it for Kailand and the other captive Nephilim. I kiss him on the cheek and whisper a small thanks to him as I reach past him and get the flour to begin making a simple bread. He smiles in acknowledgement and we work together in an amiable silence. He learned so much today and I did nothing to warn him. So, I can understand why he would need silence right now. I just feel so lucky I didn't lose his friendship. After a few minutes of digging around in the cabinets, I find all of the ingredients I need to bake the bread and begin to mix it. He moves his ingredients into the stew pot and I catch him looking at me, I know he wants to say something but I find myself interrupting him "Levi, I really am sorry. I just wanted to say thank you for not being angry with me. You have proven to be the best friend I could ask for in my short time here and I should've given you more credit and told you about Kailand when I first found out about that cave. I just – I just didn't really know what to think of it myself until today."

He reaches over with his left hand and tousles my hair like a big brother "It's okay, little one. I would've had a hard time believing it all if I hadn't seen it for myself today. I would've done the same thing as you." I can tell things are completely okay between us and I let out a contented sigh. Just then, Ephraim walks in, the tension in the room raises to incredible heights and I realize his forgiveness won't be as easily gained as Levi's. We wait for him to say something, but instead he walks out on the side porch past us. I wipe my hands on the towel and follow him out after asking Levi to give us a moment together he nods and continues cooking.

When I step out on the porch I find Ephraim heading to the shed where they park the atv's to protect them from the rain "Ephraim, we need to talk." He turns around and I his expression is angry "Now you want to talk? That's amazing, because I wasn't really sure you were capable of talking." I draw my lips in a tight line to keep from arguing with him. I deserve his anger after the way I broke his trust and withheld the cave from him. He steps forward and grabs my face roughly and carefully punctuates each word he says to me "Why. Would. You. Not. Tell. Me?" I realize it isn't just anger I see in his face, but something far worse - hurt.

I feel my eyes begin to water and I grab his hands that are still resting on my face to keep him from pulling away and leaving so much unsaid between us "Ephraim. I am so sorry. I never thought I was keeping anything from you or from anyone, part of me was so shocked that I thought I was dreaming, I kept waiting to wake up and then realized it wouldn't happen when I went back to the cave again today. Before you showed up, I planned to tell you and Levi both, even though I didn't know how to. Please, please forgive me! I never wanted to hurt anyone at all, especially you. Won't you forgive me? Can't we all move on from this?" the tears are falling and I realize I am begging him, pleading for him to understand me. He pulls back and I let my hands fall, he turns away and begins pacing, I can see he is running his hands through his hair and though his back is to me, I feel thankful that he is not just running, he turns once again to face me and starts taking slow, deliberate strides towards me once again "Ilyana, don't you understand anything?" I am not sure how to answer him, he continues to move closer, like a predator stalking his prey "You don't need my forgiveness." I find my heart rate quickening as he moves closer, fearing what he will say to me. He picks up his pace and is right against me, he has me backed up to the side of the house and both of his hands are pressed flat against the wall on both sides of my head, he is so close I can feel the heat from his breath "You have me in the palm of your hand, Ilyana. You have weakened me. Before you ever thought to ask for my forgiveness, I gave it to you. You could break me Ilyana, and I would still find myself thanking you for it. Just grateful for any scrap of attention you give me. - No other person alive can say that." He reaches his hand into the back of my hair and roughly pulls my head up to face him "I hate, that you hold that power over me."

I don't know what I was expecting to happen next, but I was not prepared for this, before I could react he picked me up off the ground by my hips and pressed me into the wall. His mouth crashes into mine roughly and though my lips sting, I don't refuse him. He kisses me desperately and I know that this isn't a romantic kiss, or even necessarily an angry kiss. It is him searching for some confirmation that I feel the same, that I won't break him. I cannot give him my heart right now, but I can promise him that I would never seek to hurt him. He pulls back after a moment and looks at me questioningly.

I put my hands on his chest to create some distance "Ephraim, nothing in me would ever want to hurt you, I'm sorry that I hurt you. But please know that me being quiet, had nothing to do with you. I did not consider how my silence might make you feel." He takes a step back and I can tell I did not respond how he hoped. I grab his face and pull it towards me to make eye contact before I continue "I am glad to know that you have my back. I think I have known it all along. Me not telling you, has nothing to do with me questioning your loyalty and everything to do with me questioning my own sanity. I know better now though and just like you forgave me the moment I hurt you, I was sorry the moment I realized I did. I need you to understand that I have your back too. As your friend, I would never want to stab you in it."

He pulls back and laughs "Friend?" he shakes his head and looks at the ground "I trust your heart, Ilyana. I would absolutely never hurt you under any circumstances. But I need you to know, that nothing in me wants to be your friend. But I want you so badly that I will settle for whatever you are willing to give me." I can feel my face redden, but for once his words don't excite me, they terrify me. Unsure of how to respond I remain silent until he speaks up again "I need to go back to the enclave. I just need some time to think and I can't do that effectively when I am near you." He walks towards the shed again to get the ATV and this time I don't stop him.

# CHAPTER 19

Ephraim:

I drive around for hours before I head back to the enclave, all that makes me go back when I do, is the knowledge that I would run out of fuel and be forced to walk back if I didn't. I have never felt so confused. A part of me feels so connected to Ilyana, like she is the first person that has actually seen the man I really am in my life. But, her actions indicate that means nothing to her. She is not cruel or hard or an egotistical purebred. She is kind and good, she just doesn't want me. Even if she won't say it, I already know it.

I walk towards the apartment building after fueling up the ATV and parking it in the garage next to my bike. On my way upstairs I run into Alya "Brother! What on earth are you doing here? It's so late!" she leans in and gives me a hug, as irritating as she can be at times, the sight of her is comforting right now, I hug her back and dismiss her question "I should ask the same, shouldn't you be in bed? Or did I catch you sneaking out to a little rendezvous?" as much as I hate to admit it, my sister does have a bit of a reputation for being a little too ummm, affectionate, with men.

She slaps my shoulder "You know I would never. Something triggered the alarm on your garage, I wanted to make sure everything was ok since you weren't planning on coming back tonight." I am relieved at her explanation and we both begin to walk back upstairs. As much as I don't want to sleep, I can't just sneak off to the library right now without her questioning me. By the time we reach the apartment I begin to take my shirt off and act as though I am going to take a shower. She sits down on the couch as if she is waiting for me and I realize she is not going to let me just come home at 2am without any sort of explanation.

I sit across from her in the chair and for a moment we silently stare at one another, I refuse to indulge her curiosity so easily. It would appear she went to bed early tonight though and is well rested and ready for a challenge, I know I have already lost to her. So I relent. "What can I help you with, Alya?" she relaxes on the couch "Good, for a moment I thought you might be too stubborn for me to deal with tonight. Why are you slinking in at 2am? Did something happen with her?" it figures that is where my very liberated sisters mind would immediately wander "No, Alya. Nothing happened with her. Will you go to bed now?" she feigns offense "You are sending me to bed? Ephraim, I am your big sister. I know when something is wrong. We can do this the easy way, or we can do it the hard way – it is your choice. But just rest assured, that we are not parting ways until you tell me exactly what happened and why you are here now."

I groan and begin muttering under my breath "I can't make that out Ephraim, I'm going to need you to speak up." I can feel my eyebrows drawing into a scowl. But then I realize there is no use being mad, this has been our routine as long as I was old enough to speak. "Fine. I will talk, but I need you to be discreet about it. I am not really sure how to handle everything but the last thing I need right now is more people telling me what I should do. So I am going to need you to promise not to speak of anything I am about to tell you." She looks concerned at my words and prods me to go on. At first I mention only the original elders, I speak of how there were 9 and not just 3, I tell her of the betrayal and the imprisonment. Before I know it, I have told her everything I know. The look of concern is still etched on her face, but I can't help but notice the absence of one emotion I would've expected – surprise. "Alya, what do you know about this?" she is not looking me in the eyes when she answers me "I have heard stories of a different Counsel. I have even heard rumors of betrayal amongst the elders, but I just don't see how they could possibly be behind anything that you are saying. It just doesn't match their character. We may not be as old as some, but I am still old, brother. I have lived hundreds of lives and not once do I recall the elders ever sacrificing any Nephilim – with the exception of Levi. But I have honestly always thought they were quite gracious and went easy on him compared to what they could've done." I just nod in agreement expecting her to say more "I need to go to sleep, this is just too much to take in right now. I promise I will help you look into this more in the morning if you promise that you will take some time to rest tonight, you look exhausted and mother was right when she said nothing good ever happens after midnight." I reluctantly agree and tell her goodnight, she leaves the living room for bed and I make my way to the shower before I crash for a few hours in hopes of recovering from my day.

Alya:

I head off to my bedroom and wait until I hear the shower start. I don't know what to make of everything my brother just told me. I know he is not crazy, but if he thinks that they can all handle this alone he is. He has no way of knowing whether or not the stories this Kailand person told him are true. I hear the water running and I press "send" on my phone it rings for a moment before I hear a sleepy answer "Alya is everything ok?" I fidget for a minute, not sure of what to say it is not every day that I find myself calling on the elders "Marcus, we need to speak, but I have to be quick, Ephraim is in the next room and he would kill me if he knew I was calling you. Ilyana found a prison on the island. Holding a bunch of old Nephilim that claim to be members of an original group of elders. They are trying to find a way to break them out." He just breathes into the phone for a moment "Have you been there?" I tell him no, but let him know that Ephraim has confirmed it. He mutters something under his breath I can't understand "I will take care of this Alya, thank you for notifying me." Then I hear the phone disconnect. I breathe a sigh of relief and pray that I didn't just make a huge mistake and betray my brother for nothing.

# CHAPTER 20

Ilyana:

I woke up feeling more refreshed this morning than I have for days. I got ready quickly and raced out of the bedroom hopeful that Levi was awake. I was pleased to find that not only was he awake, but he was already dressed for training and had a cooler full of supplies ready to go, outside of the cooler was a baggy with some razors, scissors, tooth brushes, combs and even a harmonica. I grin at the thought of how early Levi must've woke up to do all this – he is as excited as I am. He hands me a granola bar and bottle of water "Mind if we take the atv's today?" I jump up and down like one of those obnoxious cheerleaders in highschool – Kailand will be so surprised at how early we will get there today. We make the drive in no time at all. Levi barely stops the ATV before I jump off and start running for the cave. The moment I step in, I feel the power effortlessly creep through me and my hands begin to light up again. The walls immediately show and I call out for Kailand. His eyes meet mine instantly and I reach through the barrier for his hand without meeting any resistance. I find that today I can reach through, almost all the way to my shoulder "Good Morning" I say to him with a smile as we both sit down on our side of the barrier, hands still locked "Good Morning" he grins back and my heart speeds up and my skin begins to warm. He is absolutely breath taking. I can only imagine what he must've looked like before being locked up here. Levi follows me in with the cooler and sits it down beside me. He tries to see if he can reach his hand through but hits the wall. He gets a frustrated look on his face "Well, I guess you really are the chosen one." I laugh at his petulance knowing that this is the first time I have been able to do something with my powers that he can't. He smiles at me good naturedly and nods to the cooler.

"Oh! We brought you some things" I about squeal as I reach into the bag and pull out some spoons and several thermos full of stew I am relieved to find that it passes through with ease "Levi made this for you last night, he cooks amazing stew." I hand him the spoons and a few paper cups that he can use as bowls for each of the captives with him. He smells it and I think for a moment I see tears stinging his eyes. He looks at me with pride and then begins pouring the stew "Thank you, both. I had forgotten what food even smells like." I nod and Levi brushes it off as if he does it all the time. I look in the thermos and smile when I see that Levi even packed bottles of water – it is something so small, but such a thoughtful detail that I never would've thought to do. I pass the water through to him and he opens the first small bottle and takes a drink. Color returns to his face in front of me and I know it is already doing him good. I pull out my loaf of bread wrapped in a towel "Kailand, I made this so it may not be very good, I don't really cook all the time and I didn't have a lot of ingredients to work with, but I hope it is ok." He laughs at my apology as he takes it from me "Do you really think any of us in here would turn away any food? As far as I am concerned, what you have brought me is fit for a king. I have not had food in over four thousand years." He smells the bread and begins to break of pieces for everyone in his family and he puts it on top of their cups of stew.

What happens next amazes me. He stops what he is doing and carefully walks the cups of food and bottles of water to each person there. They all smell it and become more responsive than I have ever seen them – they are even able to feed themselves mostly. At least after the first bite. He patiently makes sure that everyone there is eating and drinking before he returns to sit down beside me. All you can hear is chewing and noises of satisfaction. He looks at me and smiles "You did that for them. You both did. This is the most they have lived in hundreds of years. They may even be ok once this is all over with." I feel tears stinging my eyes and look to Levi and see that he is also wearing a solemn expression. I gently kick his knee and mutter "Good on you, Levi!" he smiles and I return my attention to Kailand. I am surprised to see that he is still just watching everyone, not even eating. I take our joined hands and push the side of his leg "Eat, you need to be strong because eventually we are going to get you out of here and that is going to take a lot of work for both of us!" he looks at me seriously and nods. "I just didn't want to let go of your hand until you were ready."

His words surprise me and I let go of his hand, I begin to wonder why I always find myself holding it. I realize that he is the type of man that would give you the shirt off your back if you asked. He has not had a morsel of food in thousands of years, but yet he feeds everyone before him and refuses to feed himself until he believes that I am ready for him to. I desperately wish I could take him away from the pain and isolation of this place. He is watching my face and waits for me to smile before he will pick up his food and start eating. He takes surprisingly proper bites. I guess old habits die hard. He keeps speaking about how delicious it is and cleaning his face in between bites. He makes sure to compliment the bread I cooked for him extra, which I appreciate.

When he is finished with his food I begin to hand him the last few items: a large pack of granola bars, a few larger bottles of water with cups that they can pour it into to share, his hygiene items he requested and finally his harmonica. He looks confused when he sees it. Levi tells him to place it against his mouth and blow and as soon as he does, all the faces in the cave turn to look at him and he lets out a small smile "Music, I guess?" I nod "It's a harmonica, I never learned to play, but if you are any good with music, it is supposed to be fairly easy to learn." He thanks me and then begins to collect all of the empty cups from everyone. Most of them are sleeping now, some have gone back to rocking and muttering to themselves.

He walks back over to me, sits down and reaches towards me to give him my hand. I hesitate for a moment, wondering if he is only doing this for me. I decide I am over thinking it and offer it to him. I look over and catch Levi staring at me confused, but before I get a chance to read into it, Kailand interrupts my thoughts with a question.

"May I ask you something, Ilyana?" he looks hesitant for some reason which puts me slightly on edge, but I am not willing to show it "You can ask me anything, Kailand." He smiles and continues "I feel like I have revealed so much of myself, but I know nothing of you. Thousands of years have passed so I know much has changed, but do you have any idea which of the original families you would've originated from?" I think about his question before I answer, I realize it is not anything I ever really considered. I already had a family that loved me and raised me, I never thought about the fact that somewhere there was a family that belonged to me but gave me up. The thought is very bittersweet, it is neither happy or sad, I feel hopeful at the thought of not being my only family alive, but what would cause a family of Nephilim to abandon their child is beyond me.

"I don't really know. I was adopted by human parents from Russia when I was a young child, I never knew who my real parents were. Never even thought about it." He looks troubled but doesn't apologize for asking instead he presses on "You're parents gave you up to be raised by humans? I have never heard of such a thing." I respond easier now than before and see that Levi is also paying close attention – I realize I never told him my story, I am sure he heard the basics, but no details about what made me who I am now "I don't know that they exactly gave me up. It's more like they abandoned me. I didn't know I was adopted until a few weeks ago when I found out what I am. But I found out I was abandoned at a gas station in Russia as a young child and adopted at the age of 3 by my American parents. They never told me about it and were both killed by the demons before I found out any more." Levi brushes his leg against mine in an attempt to comfort me, they both look at me as though they expect me to start crying at any moment, but I know that I have already spilled all the tears I had in me. Kailand looks at me somberly "I am sorry, love. I know what it is like to lose your family. I shouldn't have asked." I smile and lean back against the cave behind me "It is a terrible thing, but I am glad you asked. I never really thought of the possibility that I may have more family somewhere out there then I initially realized. I lost everything when my parents died, it's nice to think that maybe there's something more. Even if they abandoned me."

Just then my phone rings, it is a number that I don't recognize. Kailand looks confused at where the noise is coming from and Levi is surprised – my phone never rings, all Ephraim and Alya ever do is text and not very often. I answer the phone hesitantly "This is Ilyana." I definitely do not recognize the voice on the other line "Ilyana, this is Marcus." My heartbeat stops "It is time for you and Levi to come to the enclave immediately. I have something very important to discuss with you and time is of the essence." I hesitantly respond "I will tell Levi. What is this about? I still am not controlling my powers very well." He laughs on the other line "I think your powers will be just fine. Come. When you get here, head for the apartment buildings that Alya lives in – Levi will know where that is. I will send someone to meet you and show you to your apartment, we will speak tonight." The phone shuts off and I realize he disconnected the call without ever telling me what we are to discuss. I shove my phone back in my pocket and look at Levi who is clearly concerned "It's Marcus. He says we have to go to Alya's apartment building immediately and we are meeting with him tonight."

Levi mutters an expletive under his breath that makes me blush and I realize that this is bad. It is getting harder for me to say goodbye to Kailand and the power that surges through me in the cave, but we can't risk anyone coming to find us here so we leave immediately and I silently pray for the best.

# CHAPTER 21

Ilyana:

I am surprised to find that it only takes Levi and I fifteen minutes to reach the enclave by ATV from the caves. As much time as I have spent running across this island - you would think that I would've happened upon something this grand. There is a stone wall with multiple entrances, I breathe a sigh of relief as we drive past what appears to be the main one. I see no sign of guards or other Nephilim but something in me, that can't be explained, knows that there are many others close-by. I guess that it is my powers, since going to the caves I have noticed I am almost always picking up on the aura's around me, it's not overwhelmingly clear or strong, so I haven't mentioned it to Levi or Ephraim. But they definitely somehow feel stronger here. We drive through the last set of gates, which have a small dirty path that appears to be meant only for foot traffic. Almost immediately Levi pulls to a stop in front of a massive building. It appears to be only 4 stories high, but it spreads out wider than I can see. I realize this must be the apartment building when Levi begins to get off the ATV.

Levi pulls the keys out of the ATV and begins to speak "Remember how we talked about circulating your powers in you instead of channeling them around you?" I nod, remembering our many unsuccessful days training. "Good, now would be a great time to practice that. You practically wreak of power right now. Even I am having a hard time blocking you. Deep breaths and try to focus your power around the center of your body instead of your arms or eyes or feet, it will always flow out that way." I stare at him incredulously "Well, you never said it like that!" I find that drawing the power in is much easier when I know where to focus it. My stomach suddenly feels warmer and I know that I am doing it. He looks up at me and smiles "You know, he's good for you." I scoff at him assuming he means Ephraim, he misreads my interpretation "Fine, maybe it's just the cave, but your powers are extremely focused when you are with Kailand, even moreso when you touch – I am beginning to think that maybe he is your anchor." I realize that there may be some truth to what he is saying, being in the cave is somehow peaceful, everything going on doesn't overwhelm my senses so much when I am there. I think about the implications of him being my anchor and immediately realize that it could create even more issues between Ephraim and I "Levi, I never thought about it before, but you may be onto something. But can we maybe keep it to ourselves for now?" He nods in understanding "You know, it's not your fault if Ephraim gets upset. Beneath that giant chip on his shoulder, he still wants what's best for you, no matter what that means for him." He turns and starts walking towards the building.

Before we reach the entryway, a girl that appears to be no more than 16 years old comes out, I know she must be older, but there is something so innocent and carefree about her that makes her seem young. I channel a small amount of power to my eyes and see that her aura is a pale, happy pink. I like her already. "My name is Lizzy! I'm so happy to finally meet you, I felt you all the way from the far kitchens! – Marcus told me I would! We need to head back to your apartment before everyone else comes out to see what you are." The words spill out of her mouth quickly as she gestures for us to follow her. We walk quickly up 4 flights of stairs and turn down the first hall. She walks to the second door to the right and pulls out a key to hand to me and addresses Levi "Marcus told me to get an apartment set up for you, but I thought you would want to be close to Ilyana so it is not ready yet. I am having the next apartment on the right cleaned up for you and it should be ready by tonight, in the meantime. Marcus instructed you stay with Ilyana. He does not want either of you wandering the premises yet and he has a package waiting for you both in the sitting room.

I open the doors and am somehow not surprised to find that the apartment is every bit as grand as you would expect after seeing the outside of the Enclave. The ceilings are at least 9 feet high in the entryway – higher in the living room. I set my keys down on a table by the most beautiful chaise lounge I have ever seen, I automatically picture late nights reading in it, then quickly dismiss that notion realizing that it won't take place for some time. The kitchen is equipped with beautiful copper appliances and dark green, marble countertops. I walk into what must be the sitting room and see a set of stairs leading up to a small loft with a private balcony. There is an open hallway beneath the stairs that I quickly deduce leads to a closet, the master suite and a guest bedroom and bathroom. I am overwhelmed by the enormity of the apartment and can't believe it is mine. As beautiful as it is, I know I will miss the cabin though, there is something so peaceful about the seclusion there. I remember Sasha and mention it to Lizzy she brushes it off "Already taken care of! Marcus sent Ephraim and Alya to retrieve your personal effects. Everything should be back by this evening, including your beloved Sasha – I can't wait to meet her, I have always loved animals!" she squeezes her hands together in excitement.

I nod and smile at her. As kind as she is, I would really love some space to take things in. But as excited as she is acting, I don't have a heart to ask her to leave outright, I decided to try a different approach "Well, thank you for showing us here. I guess since I will be meeting with Marcus tonight it might be a good idea for me to go ahead and get cleaned up. When will I see you again?" I smile politely and she seems to take it well "Anytime you need. I have been working for Marcus for a few hundred years as one of his personal assistants, he wants me to take care of you now – if of course that is acceptable to you." She looks at her feet in the insecure way us girls do when we are sure that rejection is coming. I reach out and touch her shoulder "I can't think of anything I would enjoy more." She leans forward on her tiptoes "Wonderful, ma'am! I will leave you be to get adjusted, if you need my help, just press the buzzer by any one of your doors and it will connect to me. Otherwise, I will be back in about two hours to help get you ready for tonight. You too Levi – any friend of Ilyanas is a friend of mine!" she abruptly turns around to leave, all the while, muttering about how excited she is. As soon as the door closes behind her I turn to Levi and can't help but let a small laugh escape.

He does the same "I guess they are really taking this whole Chosen One thing very seriously! Your own personal maiden? I am impressed!" I brush him off and then remember that she said there was a package waiting for us both in the sitting room.

Levi follows me at the mention. I find two boxes – one addressed to Levi and one to myself along with an envelope for me. I try not to obsess over the intricate calligraphy on the front or the wax seal on the back – it is almost like I stepped back in time to one of my many beloved novels. I break the seal and begin to read aloud:

Dearest Ilyana,

I hope my invitation finds you well. I have been made aware of some new developments and would like to assure you I am eager to work alongside you. I would have loved the honor of receiving you myself, But due to the sensitive nature of the new developments, it is of the utmost importance that I address the matters at hand from a distance. I have left you in the company of one of my best maid-servants and hope she will be to your liking – between Lizzy, and the packages I sent your way, you should be well prepared to meet with me tonight. Alya and Ephraim are due to pick you up at sundown this evening and they will escort you and your companion Levi to our designated meeting place.

Sincerely,

Marcus Antonopoulos

I suddenly have a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I say a silent prayer for Kailand and the others back in the cave, something in my gut tells me that whatever happens next, could affect them.

Levi opened the package addressed to him while I was reading the letter aloud. Its contents included a fresh suit, shirt, shoes and even a handkerchief and gold cufflinks – both with his initials delicately embossed and carved in. When I finish with the letter I waste no time opening my package and naturally, I find its contents no less magnificent. There is a beautiful Tiffany Blue, strapless, fitted, floor length gown, silver high heeled sandals with delicate fuchsia stones evenly spaced along the straps. There is a smaller box inside that I open and I almost gasp at the site. It is a platinum necklace, with over the top fuchsia gemstone flowers with tiny Tiffany Blue centers, along with delicate drop earrings and a bracelet to match. I imagine the jewelry itself is probably more expensive than my entire wardrobe back at the cabin combined. I carefully close the box and push it back – afraid of ruining the contents. Levi catches my reaction "You will be stunning." He offers me a reassuring smile – again I am grateful to have him as a friend, I kiss his cheek and tell him as much.

"Levi, what are we going to do about the letter? What if he found out about the cave somehow? Ephraim was really angry last night. We probably should never have let him leave like that." He snorts back "Do you honestly think you can let Ephraim do anything? He has been running amuck for centuries, he does what he wants, when he wants. Though it would've been interesting to see you try to stop him." I think back to the lip lock with Ephraim again last night, it felt amazing, but I don't know how I am supposed to give him what he wants when I still don't even know who I am. Now that kiss is just another thing I never should've let Ephraim do. "You might be right, but that still doesn't make me feel any better about the letter from Marcus. What could he possibly have planned that would require us to wear clothes like that?" he shrugs dispassionately "I never understood why the elders do anything the way they do. But I do know one thing, if there were any of them I would trust to have on my side, it would be Marcus. He is younger than Guinevere and Julius and less stone-like. At times he almost seems like a regular Nephilim." I think about what he is saying and realize I should've spent less time turning off my thoughts in an empty field and more time learning about the elders. Especially now that I've learned they could be nothing more than three very high profile traitors that have gone undetected for thousands of years.

"Levi, can you teach me about the elders? I'm suddenly feeling extremely under-prepared for tonight." He laughs at my nervousness "Join the club, all that I could tell you would only succeed in making you more nervous I'm afraid." He stops to look at his watch "We should have about 3 hours until show-time. Go focus some energy on relaxing. Take a shower, shut down your mind and do whatever you can to just rest. I have no clue what is waiting for us tonight but I feel like it would be a bad idea to go without any break from your powers. Go and practice." I thank him and head off to take a bubble bath that would make a king jealous.

# CHAPTER 22

Alya:

I find myself silently praying that Ephraim doesn't answer his phone, moving Ilyana in might be easier done without him. He may not be a purebred, but I have met few beings in my life that are more perceptive than he is. My heart stills when I hear his voice on the other end "What?" he answers flatly and I can tell that he probably did not get much rest last night either. "Is that any way to greet your sister?" he practically growls in response "Hello, Alya. How may I help you?" my breath catches and for a moment I wonder if Marcus has called him "Can you meet me at the gate as soon as possible? I'm already here waiting, it's time to move her home. We've been elected to bring her personal effects in by this evening when Marcus plans to have a reception dinner in her honor.

I hear the rustling of his backpack and know he is on the move "I'll be there as fast as I can." The phone line goes dead.

I find myself wondering if anyone even knows how to say goodbye anymore. I finally give in to my better senses and call Marcus back, he answers on the first ring "This is Marcus." He is clearly much happier to hear from me than my brother was "Marcus, I was, well. I was just wondering if it is absolutely necessary to bring her back tonight so unprepared? Shouldn't I talk to her first and let her know what is happening?" he lets out a small laugh "You're over-thinking things, Alya. Tonight is a celebration, your friend has practically brought the dead back to life! Do you know how many years I have spent wondering what befell the others? We may not know everything, but we know they are alive and that gives us more hope than any of us have had in years." I can hear the elation in his voice and know that he means every word, but something in me still feels like I am leading this girl to her funeral. "You truly think it wise?" I go on to explain once more that many of the others were as good as vegetables but he doesn't let that deter him "Alya, we are Nephilim. We have friends in very high places, if there is any way to recover what is lost, our healers will find it. If not, they will at least make them comfortable. I need to go now, I am expecting Guinevere and Julius any minute. They need to prepare for tonight." I try to interrupt, in an attempt to point out the hypocrisy of preparing them and leaving Ilyana in the dark but he cuts me off "Not a word to anyone, Alya. You have my word that you and your friends are in good hands." He disconnects the call at this point.

Just as I prepare to throw my phone in a childish outburst, something catches my eye and I realize hurricane Ephraim has arrived. My brother wastes no time letting me know how he feels about the decision to bring Ilyana back "What the hell are they thinking, Alya?" he lifts his shoulders and arms in a gesture that reminds me of the impassioned little boy he once was. "She is in no way ready to come back and they know that! I have been giving them detailed reports - Every. Single. Day. They should know this." I say nothing as I turn to get on my own ATV, he continues "What is their angle, Alya? If they called you, they must've told you something. Why do they need her back right now when her power is still so uncontrolled? It must be something huge for them to risk bringing a loose cannon like her in."

I realize if I don't say something, he will keep going and I am liable to tell him everything – that is something I can't risk while we are still so close to the elders. If I am feeling uneasy about tonight, I know he will too and if his temper gets the better of him in such close proximity to the elders, we will likely both spend the rest of our lives paying for it. "Brother, try to be optimistic. The Counsel is often less than forthcoming, but I do not believe they mean anyone harm. We need to hurry if we are going to be back in time to prepare for dinner, rumor has it, it will be the black tie affair of the century." I begin take off before he has a chance to respond and begin to feel tears stinging my eyes. I'm trying to convince myself that this is no different than the many other secrets we have kept from one another over the years, but in my gut I know that I just lied to my brother and that is an offense that won't easily be forgiven.

By the time we arrive at the cabin, I begin to compose myself. I park outside of the shed so I can pull the boxes out without anything blocking me "I pull a stack of boxes and packing tape down "Okay, so I will pack a small duffle with a few of her personal items while you pack the rest in boxes. I will send a group tomorrow morning to pick up everything that she won't be needing tonight." He stoops down in front of me and I can feel him boring a hole through my eyes, trying to find the truth "Alya, what did you do?" his voice is surprisingly gentle for the stern look he is wearing."

I begin to carry the boxes inside but before I even exit the shed he stops me and takes them. I take a deep breath and hope my voice doesn't break as we walk towards the house together "It's nothing Ephraim, they just thought a girl she knows packing her girly items would be better than a team of complete strangers doing so." I shake my head as I realize how weak my lie is and know my avoiding the question won't escape his notice. He is silent for a moment as we enter her room and speaks up as he begins to fold the boxes "You know, the humming might be a little irritating, but it brings life to this house, I don't know how Levi is going to get by if he stays out here alone. It is still full of her things, but somehow feels so empty."

The tenderness in his voice crushes my resolve. My eyes fill with the tears I wouldn't give into earlier "Ephraim, we need to talk." I sit on the bed in front of him "Oh, so you're finally ready to tell me what you have to do with this?" I nod my head unable to look him in the eyes "I'm sorry, Ephraim. When you spoke of the prisoners last night it reminded me of a story mother used to tell me about the original Counsel members. She would tell me how cruel and deviant they were. She said they were sneaky and two-faced. They sold out the entire colony." He pulls my face up to meet him "What. Did. You. Do." I recognize the anger and lack of control in his voice and decide to let it all pour out of me "It's not bad, not really. I waited until you left to shower last night and called Marcus." His muscles clench and his fists begin to ball up, he has never hit me, but I have also never betrayed him like this "But, it's not like that Ephraim, I was wrong! He said they thought they were all dead and that this is good news! Tonight's dinner is a celebration in her honor. He is elated, I am sure that no harm will come to her! Marcus gave his word and he never lies!"

He turns his back to me and lets out a loud groan before shouting, I have never heard my brother shout until today and now I understand why the demons can be so dangerous "WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO US?" he turns his face to look at me and his face is contorted into something far worse than anger – he looks devastated at my betrayal "Before today, I would've swore that you never lied as well. You have always had your secrets – your little indiscretions. But not once did I hold it against you, because at the end of the day. I knew when it was warranted, you would never lie and you would never break your word." My tears fall harder "I'm so sorry Ephraim, please, please forgive me! I never meant to hurt you." He begins throwing items haphazardly in boxes. "Make yourself useful or leave, I do not need or want your company, but your help in cleaning up this mess is welcome since you are the one who created it." I scramble to my feet and begin packing her night gowns and a couple of outfits she may want if she decides to train early I look at him out of the corner of my eye and see he is leaning into her favorite sweatshirt, it looks tiny in his hands. He lifts his face up and looks my way. The words that fall out of his mouth are icy and I know he is no longer speaking in a fit of rage "You better pray that Marcus keeps his word and does not harm her. Or I give you my word that I will destroy him, you, and anyone else who works against her. She is a queen in her own right. I have seen the extent of her powers, good, evil or something completely different – I will never align myself against her. If you have any will to survive – which is questionable after your stupid, foolish, actions. You would be wise to do the same." He goes back to work and I absorb his words. Anything that would evoke that kind of fear or reverie out of Ephraim would have to be more powerful than even I thought she is capable of. I say a prayer under my breath and hope that it holds any weight. If anything happens to this girl; I know deep in my soul that Ephraim is much better at keeping his word than I ever was.

Marcus:

I find myself pacing in the entryway of the great room after disconnecting with Alya. I don't know what exactly she is anticipating or why she doesn't understand the cause for celebration. She will understand when she arrives tonight though. I have had a hand in hiring all of the best help. Everyone who is anyone will be here tonight when we unveil the news of her discovery. I have to admit, I found all the stories of the "Chosen One" to be a bit trite. It always wreaked of the stories loose lipped servants would make up to scare children into behaving. But I can see now that they must have been based in at least some truth. I think back to the prophecies about further generations and the earth opening up and I can't help but believe that this is the beginning of the cataclysmal events that have been whispered in our ears since before I was even a young boy. A part of me is nervous, but mostly I am excited, I have done all in my power to be a good Nephilim, balanced and judicious in even the most dire of circumstances. But I do know that for a future generation of Nephilim to rise from the ashes – there must first be ashes. That is the part that scares me. But if this Ilyana is as powerful as I have been told, I can only have faith that she is exactly the being to lead us through to the other side and I wouldn't be caught dead standing in her way. I can't seem to break think of anything else until I hear an all too familiar voice break my thoughts "Marcus, what is the meaning of all this?"

I don't need to look over to know who that sour voice belongs to. I bow my head in a sign of respect towards her and gently kiss her wrinkled, dry hands – it is impolite to ask a woman her age, no matter what species she is, but for her to show such signs of age, I know that she must be truly ancient. "Guinevere, thank you for meeting me here." I lift my face to see that Julius is standing behind her as well, with a dry, annoyed expression "Julius, I can see I must've pulled you away from something important, but I assure you. It will be worth it." He cuts his eyes my direction "I will be the judge of that." Out of the three of us, I am the youngest. There used to be more of us, but we believed our families were casualties of our wars with the demons. I always felt guilty because if I had not been away from the enclave in pursuit of my own curiosity, I would've been lost with them. But as fate would have it, I was visiting our compound in Rome at the time of attack and my life was spared. Once news reached Rome, I knew I had to step up and fill the seat of elder on behalf of my family. Ever since then, I have been trying to compensate for the loss of my dear brother and our family, but it never seemed to be enough for Guinevere or Julius. Today I will finally get the chance to prove my worth to them.

"Won't you both have a seat? I will have the servants bring us all some refreshments."

I catch an almost imperceptible glare from Guinevere and realize they will not be sitting, so I continue on "For centuries, I have been mourning the loss of our original families. We have had 6 empty seats in our meeting hall and I believe many of our people have suffered. But now, now we have hope." Julius looks as disinterested as before and Guinevere's annoyed expression changes into one of curiosity "And what, pray-tell, do we have hope in?" her formality is showing and I suddenly am feeling very unsure of myself. "Tonight, we feast in honor of Ilyana. She has discovered a hidden portal on the island that has been holding our family members captive for the last six-thousand years. She has been unsuccessful in her attempts at freeing them, but we do know they are alive and beginning tomorrow we can contact our other communes and work towards their freedom." Guinevere's face is once again unreadable and Julius looks enraged as he begins to speak "So you are taking the word of a girl you don't know, who has no control over her powers and you are throwing a gala in her honor without even verifying the accuracy? All over a bunch of relatives that long ago died in battle? You are a bigger fool than I ever thought."

His words sting, I knew he was unhappy when I took my seat alongside him and Guinevere, but he has never so poignantly expressed his opinion of me. Guinevere raises her hand and gestures to quiet him "Julius, let our friend have his moment. Of course he would believe the stories of this girl who knows nothing of our history – she would not fabricate stories of the original elders whom she never knew existed." I am humbled by her reasoning "Thank you, Guinevere, you have always been a source of great knowledge." she nods approvingly and does something I have never seen her do. She lifts her dry hands to her mouth and loudly demands that all servants vacate the room immediately until further notice, she then asks the security guards which are stationed around the room to stay as she has something she would like to discuss with them. They all step closer and form a small circle around us. She waits for the room to fully clear. "I will personally assume oversight of tonight's preparations, Marcus. I am sure you can agree a woman's touch is always welcome when planning such an extraordinary event." I start to thank her "In the meantime, I hope you can understand the judgment I must pass on you now is in your best interest." I can feel my eyebrows start to furrow in confusion as she continues "To pursue further action towards freeing the imprisoned workers a trial must be held and since you have taken action without any elders knowledge, you will be detained until after the full trial is conducted." She gestures for the guards to detain me and they do as she asks without hesitation "I don't understand, Guinevere. I want only to help." Julius is wearing a smug expression and Guinevere is trying her best to look understanding "I know, young one. But this is the way of our order and it always has been, you do not understand the extent of the damage your little party could've caused tonight." I am now unable to move due to the tight grip of the guards on my limbs. She reaches forward and plucks my cellular phone from my pocket. "You will get this back once a determination is reached." She hands it back to Julius without even a glance his direction. "Guards, take him to his room now and see that I am alerted if he even thinks to exit. I would rather not have to imprison one of our elders." As they push me along I hear her call the servants back in and order them to take down all décor and call only the junior counsel and appointed jury members to come for a trial.

# CHAPTER 23

Ilyana:

I am pleased to find that after just a few moments in the bubble bath I am able to push past and mostly disconnect from my powers. I can feel them all pulling at my core, but nothing is leaving my body. I rest my head back on a towel I placed in the bath and shut my eyes. For a moment I let everything that is weighing me down float away and I allow myself to revel in the magnificence of this place before I will begin to ready myself for tonight.

I am startled by a knock on the door and find that my water has gone cool "Ilyana, are you in there? I'm here to prepare you for tonight!" I recognize Lizzy's voice from earlier and realize that I must have allowed myself to fall asleep. A series of incoherent expletives slip out of my mouth as I get a towel and begin to dry myself "I'll be out in a sec. I fell asleep!" I expect her to fuss over my carelessness, but instead I hear her start to laugh. I wrap the towel over my body and step out "Really, this is funny? You obviously don't know how difficult making me presentable is." She puts her small hand over her mouth to suppress further laughter "I assure you Ilyana, a little unruly hair is no match for me! This is what I live for." I allow her confidence to sink in and take a deep breath "Okay, where do we start?" she motions me over to a small powder room facing the window "Have a seat there, facing the sun – it will give me the best lighting so you don't end up looking like you have a mask on by the time I finished with you." I do as she says and sit in the swiveling chair closest to the window.

Lizzy begins to pull out numerous makeup pallets and hair contraptions and it reminds me of when Alya came to me and cut my hair. I find myself pondering over their skill and wonder if in the next 4000 years I will be equally matched to either of them. She walks over to me and gently places her hand below my chin and pulls my face up to the side "Perfection! This shouldn't take us long at all." I begin to blush and look away at her kind compliment and hope she won't notice "You know, Ilyana. In all the years that I have walked this earth. I can't say I have ever met someone that exudes more power than you. Nor have I met someone who is so insecure. You are perfect, but since the moment I first met you – you have been wearing a mask of self-doubt." I slink back in the chair as she moves in to brush my hair and put it into curlers as I realize the truth of what she says, she continues "I am not chastising you, Dear. I am simply telling you. You may not know the vastness of you own power. But that is secondary to everything else, you are a good woman – I can feel it in my bones. You are beautiful and kind. That makes you valuable, you need to stop questioning it and start knowing it." She pats my shoulder and I quietly thank her. I catch her smile reflecting in the window and I feel myself relax. I know that I have found another friend, albeit – a very outspoken one, but nonetheless she is my friend and I have been very short on them these past few weeks.

She's humming aloud and busily working on my hair when it dawns on me I should try killing to birds with one stone "Lizzy, do you mind if I ask you some questions to set my mind at ease tonight?" she stops humming "Of course, but you should know I may not be of much help. I have been a servant to Marcus, but all of my friends and acquaintances run in quite different circles than someone like you or Marcus would." My eyebrows furrow in confusion "Someone like Marcus or I?" I don't really know that I want to be more like Marcus and the other Elders than her. "Yes, someone more powerful. Higher on the food chain – if you will." She keeps working and I still can't quite make sense of what she said, I am sure she is speaking metaphorically, but I don't know what makes one person more powerful than another – socially speaking. "Well, what can I answer?" she catches my eyes with hers in the window and smiles as she encourages me on. "Well, I guess, can you describe what you just meant by food chain? What makes you lower and someone like Marcus higher – aside from his age?"

She lets out a small laugh "Marcus actually isn't quite as old as I. His age and being the only living family member in his bloodline is what makes him an elder. But it isn't what makes him and I different." She spins my chair around and goes to work on my pedicure "What makes him different is power. Over the generation, many of our bloodlines have been compromised. Making us more human and less angel." I think I am starting to understand what she is saying, though I am not sure that I like it "So, in other words. The top of the food chain houses all of the bigoted, social elitist types?" she lets out a full laugh and has to stop herself from painting my toes for a moment before responding "I've never thought about it like that before. But it is a fitting description for many of our nobles." She shakes her head with a smile "But there are many like you, kind and humble. They just don't voice their opinions so often." She begins applying paint again "Mostly, they are at the top of the food chain, because they are simply stronger. If we were ever sent into a battle. Many of them would be at the forefront protecting the rest of us – in theory." I think about Kailands description and realize that she has probably been brainwashed into believing these things. "Can I ask how your bloodlines make you weaker?" she looks frozen for a moment and I begin to second guess my line of questioning but she continues on "In our society, it is quite shameful to be less than full Nephilim. My Mother was human. So I am more powerful and long lived than a regular woman on the street, but I am still mortal. I can sense others abilities like my father could, but I am unable to project any powers beyond physical." She seems less tense the more she talks so I remain quiet, hopeful that she will share more "Someone with power like yours, could in theory send the walls around us crashing down with only your thoughts. Some Nephilim even have reported having glimpses into the future or into the past. But me? If I want to move something – I have to use my physical strength."

She looks despondent for a moment and I understand what she is saying so I begin to speak up "You know, I don't know who my biological parents were. I was raised by human parents – they were very good to me. I could never see their life as holding any less potential or value than mine. I am sorry that you are made to work as a servant. You and I are friends now and I can tell that you are more suited for filling a throne somewhere than this." I gesture to my feet and see tears threatening her eyes "I am sorry about your parents, Ilyana. Marcus made sure I knew about them. But never feel sorry for me. I am treated fairly and am free to go if ever I please. This has been a haven for me and I enjoy staying busy and helping others." Her meekness overwhelms me and I quickly understand why Marcus said she is the best. She notices the time and we no longer speak as she buzzes around me, fixing my hair, smudging kohl liner around my eyes and gloss onto my lips. I look outside and realize the sun is steadily sinking. I am still in my towel when she hands me a pink-striped bag full of undergarments and brings my dress and jewelry over to me and excuses herself to clean the powder room while I dress myself.

I have never been so terrified or concerned with my own appearance in my own life. _Why can't there be a mirror in this room?_ I hear a light knock just before Lizzy steps back in. I am fully dressed but turn around and request her help with my necklace clasp and zipper. She quickly assists me and when I turn around to face her, both of her hands rush up to her face and she gasps "You are a work of art! You must see yourself!" she pulls me back through the bathroom, to the floor length mirror and I barely recognize the woman sitting in front of me. The dress has managed to make curves where I never knew they existed. My hair is exquisitely smoothed out into big waves that are expertly pinned back on one side to draw attention to the beautiful earrings Marcus gave me. "Well? What do you think?" she asks with her hands on her hips. I am at a complete loss for words so I take her by surprise and just hug her "Thank you, Lizzie! Thank you!" she laughs "You're welcome, my lady!" she says as she pulls back to do a small curtsy. I laugh at her formality "I will be on my way now. Your companions should be ready at any moment." She excuses herself to leave and once again I am left to myself. I can feel my nerves trying to creep up and my power trying to sneak back out but I talk myself out of panicking and take slow breaths as I begin to pace my bedroom.

I nearly jump out of my skin as I hear another small knock on the door "Come in." Levi steps through, he looks absolutely dashing. He is always so playful and light, seeing him in a suit with his hair styled and face completely shaved shows him in a brand new light. I have to stop myself from ogling my favorite friend "My, my – you sure do clean up nicely, Levi." He relaxes his shoulders and I realize how tense he clearly is, before I can think about it he winks at me "I should say the same. Ephraim is going to have a heart attack when he sees you!" I stiffen at the mention of Ephraim but Levi doesn't seem to notice as he continues on "Speaking of which, your entourage has arrived and seems to be in an unusually prickly mood." I follow him out through my bedroom door "Well I guess we better get this show on the road then." As soon as we reach my foyer I can tell that something is wrong. Alya and Ephraim are standing on opposite sides of the room and she looks ready to cry while he simply looks angry. "Is everything ok?" she looks up and begins to walk over, but before she reaches me Ephraim takes my arm in his and begins to walk me out the front door "Everything is fine. Let's get this over with." I realize it would be best for me not to get in the middle of whatever is happening right now.

We walk through the apartment building and through a massive, beautiful courtyard unlike anything I have ever seen. There are clay colored stones and fountains everywhere and perfectly manicured flowers and vines growing all around us "It's beautiful!" I say as I look around for agreement. I notice that Levi and Alya are walking at their own pace behind us and Levi is looking deeply troubled by whatever it is that Ilyana has to say. I look up to Ephraim for some explanation but he chooses to sweep it under the rug "Don't worry about them. My sister has quite the history of selecting poor bedmates, it's probably just another one of her spats." I look back at them but Ephraim continues to pull me along "He feels me hesitate and clearly forces a smile "You look absolutely breathtaking. Let's go show you off." He pushes us through a large set of doors and I realize that this is it.

When I step through the doors I expect to be greeted by Marcus, or perhaps even a nicely dressed butler to escort me. What I was not prepared for however, is for all faces to be expectantly turned in the direction of the door. I take a step back and feel Ephraims hand push gently against the small of my back I turn to look at his face and realize that it is also registering surprise. He leans down and barely whispers in my ear "I won't let anything happen to you, but you can't back away now or they might think you're weak." I take a deep breath and do my best to convince myself that I am not weak. I proudly walk ahead into the silent room, some heads are bowed slightly and others seem to be arrogantly strained as high up as they can possibly go, as if to literally look down their noses at me. I almost laugh at the ridiculously constipated expression they are wearing. I head to the front of the room where I notice an older looking woman that appears to be in charge and a small man beside her as though he is her equal are sitting. No one speaks so I remind myself again that I am powerful and I push myself to do my best impression of a confident Nephilim "Well, this is quite the party. Did I perhaps arrive a moment too early?" I turn around the room and wait for a response. Everyone here is facing me and I notice the Levi's expression has darkened and Alya is at the back of the room near the doors still, with tears in her eyes. I hear a voice speak behind me "Ilyana Malakhova, please step forward." I hesitantly do as she says and step forward as she continues "There has been a slight change of plans, Marcus will not be welcoming you here today. I am Guinevere and this is Julius." She gestures to the statue of a man beside her "You are hereby charged of consorting with terrorists, high treason & murder. How do you plead?" My mouth drops and before I know it Levi and Ephraim are flanking me on both sides and several voices from behind are speaking up, I hear words being thrown around and have no clue what to make of things. I look around at the chaos that has ensued in the room and then face the cold woman in front once more as I raise my voice "This has to be a mistake. I most certainly have committed none of the crimes on your list!"

She rolls her eyes "So you are pleading not guilty?" I laugh at her insolence "A trial? Really? Yes, of course I plead not guilty – this is absurd!" Levi places his hand on my shoulders and leans down to speak quietly where only I can hear him "you would be best not to anger her. We will get you out of this, I promise." Ephraim is leaned down reading Levi's lips and nods his head in agreement "No harm will come to you without passing through me first." I nod and step forward away from them both and addressed Guinevere – who I am liking less and less with every second "Please tell me what basis you have for these allegations, so we can get to the bottom of this and all enjoy the rest of our evening." I notice the entire room around me has quieted. Guinevere continues "Marcus came to us today to tell us of your recent discoveries. Your friend Alya made him aware that you were consorting with known terrorists being kept in the enclave holding." I raise my hands as if to stop her and immediately begin speaking over her "Terrorists? That's what you call them? They are the friends and family of many the original counsel and as far as I am aware – they are no more terrorist than you." I hear a few gasps behind me and I press on "What of the other charges, treason, murder? What grounds do you have for those accusations?" her eyes narrow "You were consorting with known terrorists, they have been feeding you lies and now you mean to disrespect the elders in front of you that hold your fate in their hands?" I step forward at her words and am surprised to notice she cowers back as I speak barely above a whisper "Ma'am, I don't know your who you are, or where you came from. But last time I checked, no one held my fate in their hands – least of all you and your cowering sidekick. Where is Marcus?" she clears her throat and leans forward again "Marcus is being detained, he believed you to be beyond reproach in these matters and it was clear his judgment is clouded where these matters are concerned."

I scoff at her disrespect, I don't even know Marcus but I would defend anyone against this woman "So you mean to insult the judgment of your peer and co-elder?" she ignores my question and speaks over me "As for your other charge. You are responsible for the murder of your adoptive parents. When we learned of the destruction that followed you prior to your arrival here, we were willing to believe it was due to your own inexperience or age. But, in conjunction with your recent crimes. We can no longer dismiss it as such." That's it. I am officially infuriated "The murder of MY OWN PARENTS?" I shout at her "You are a bigger piece of work than I thought! I have never murdered anyone. You KNOW I was being followed by those monsters! – I have witnesses! They were the cause of the destruction! They murdered my parents – and would've murdered me given the chance!" I am inches from her face when I stop speaking. I feel an arm at my side pulling me back and don't even bother to look and see who it is. Guinevere is not breaking eye contact with me "Witnesses? You mean the half-blood simpleton standing beside you – or his whore of a sister that already sold you out? Listen to me when I tell you, your witnesses mean noth..." I cut her off. I have been pushing my power back but she has not only offended me and the memory of my parents, but she has now made the mistake of shaming my only friends. My power has been boiling and now it is steadily pouring over to her "NO! YOU LISTEN TO ME GUINEVERE! I AM NO MURDERER, KAILAND AND THE PRISONER ARE NO TERRORISTS AND MY FRIENDS ARE NOT SIMPLETONS OR WHORES. BUT IF YOU THINK TO MAKE AN EXAMPLE OF ME – WHEN I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID TO THOSE PRISONERS – THAT WERE ELDERS WITHIN YOUR OWN COMMUNE NO LESS! THEN YOU ARE THE BIGGEST FOOL OF ALL!" she is no longer making eye contact with me. Her face is turned down and she is clinging to the table in front of her. Julius is cowering close to the ground like the measly wimp I knew he was the moment I saw him.

I turn to address the rest of the room "I suppose you all are my jury?" I look at the 30 or so faces across the room and see some begin to nod "Then let me tell you of these terrorists she speaks of. I met them quite by mistake one day in training. They are being held in a prison with dark magic – if they are the elders own prisoners, who is it that is holding their own captives? These prisoners are not traitors. They are Nephilim like you and I. Family members left over from battle after these Elders standing before you silently killed each of the 6 remaining elders. This woman and this coward of a man standing before you, bringing these accusations against me were willing to kill off and hide anyone that might get between them and their crooked schemes and comfortable lifestyles. They have been deceiving you for centuries – while your true leaders have been locked away starved, turning into stone." I look around and see many faces looking up at the elders differently after hearing my words "I may not know much yet, but I have been told that I am powerful enough that I can help free your original counsel. So, today I am drawing a line in the sand." I raise my voice "You WILL STAND WITH ME! OR I WILL DESTROY YOU WITH THEM!" I feel my power flooding out and the ground beneath me is shaking. Everyone around me is cowering to the ground. Levi is crawling up beside me "You need to draw your powers back in – it's too much and if you don't, none of us will be left to stand with you." I hear the alarm in his voice and immediately crouch down on his level and begin to draw deep breaths. When I feel the room around me start to calm I begin to stand again. I look around me and see that people are shifting, some further away from me and many closer. I notice that Alya is still in the back corner crying and I give her a pleading glance but know that her mind is made up. I look at Ephraim and see that he is feeling the blow of her rejection as well. I place my hand on his forearm in an attempt to calm him and he just looks away from her "I'm on your side. No matter what." He mutters to me as he turns to face the counsel, I do the same as Guinevere speaks up "I see that you mean to bring dissension amongst our nobility." A large man standing close to me speaks over her "The protocol indicates that in times of conflict like this we must bring in Elders from other compounds to reach a determination." Guinevere pulls her eyes shut and lets out a low growl "Correct. We shall both have our trial. In the mean-time. We will put the girl under house-arrest." I narrow my eyes at her "I assume you will be under house arrest as well then?" she scoffs at me and the man speaks up again "Protocol would state that Miss Malakhova's expectations are quite fair."

Guinevere stands up and hits the table in front of her "Fine. If she so much as steps outside of the compound, she steps outside of our protection we have provided her the last few weeks. Julius and I will accept the same. Until we are able to conduct a full trial. No more & no less." The man looks rather smugly at her then turns to me "Are her demands acceptable?" I look at Levi or Ephraim and they both shrug – so much for guidance "Fine, those terms are acceptable. Are we done here?" I look around the room at all the wide-eyed faces and for the first time Julius speaks up "Tomorrow we will contact the other compounds. For tonight, you are all dismissed." Everyone begins to move around the room, Guinevere is among the first to leave and she refuses to break eye contact with me until she steps outside the door. When she exits I immediately feel the oxygen rush back into my legs and I allow myself to stumble back into a chair behind me.

The room is now empty of every except for Ephraim, Levi and the man that spoke upon our behalf I turn to him "Thank you for your help. I believe tonight would've ended much differently had you not spoke up." He laughs "Maybe I shouldn't have then. Guinevere has been in need of someone that would put her in her place for as long as I have lived here." I smile at him and reach my hand out to shake his "I'm Ilyana as you may know. What is your name?" he takes my hand and shakes it "I'm Samuel, the current historian of our little enclave." I stand up so we can all make our way back to the apartments "Samuel, is it safe for me to assume you are on my side?" he laughs again – as young as he looks there is something very old and comfortable about him "Yes, Ilyana. I think it is safe to assume that anyone that felt your power in there is on your side." I blush at his compliment and secretly hope I didn't scare anyone too much "Well, I am honored to have met you and I can assure you that I am on your side as well, Samuel. I want to help whoever will allow me to." He nods his head in agreement as he exits ahead of me "I suspect we will be needing a lot more of your help. For tonight we should all rest though." I wave goodbye as he exits and look to Ephraim and Levi. They look how I feel "Thank you both. You don't have to stand with me, but you did. That means the world to me." Levi gives me a bear hug and kisses the top of my head "I can't believe we got all dressed up for this..." I laugh at his nonchalant comment and grab Ephraim's hand to pull him with Levi and I as we all make our way back to the apartment building.

# CHAPTER 24

Ilyana:

As soon as we make it back to the apartments I give Levi a bear-hug goodnight and head to my room to undress for the night. I can see some of my boxes have already arrived so I quickly open the first one labeled "clothes" and pull out the first tank top and pair of sweat pants I see. I pull my hair back into a loose pony tail and grab my running shoes. After all that happened tonight, I'm not willing to trust Guinevere for a minute. I don't know how I'm going to do it, but tonight's the night. I am going to get Kailand out of that cave and anyone who gets in my way is going to pay. I'm relieved to see the living room and kitchen lights are all out and I hear some serious snoring coming from the guest bedroom. I quietly step out into the hallway of the main apartment building after checking both ways and determining that the coast is clear. I reach the stair case and no sooner than I go to open the door do I hear the apartment door behind me shutting. I stifle a gasp and look up into the face of an infuriated Ephraim. "Really, Ilyana? They put you under house arrest and literally the first chance you get you sneak out, and in a hot pink pair of sweat pants that are bedazzled across your ass?" I gasp and grab my butt in embarrassment, I would NEVER pick out pants like this for myself, he growls under his breath "I'm sure your brave escape won't be noticed by anyone!"

I prepare to defend myself but then something catches my attention "So you are saying that I should've put on darker colors, maybe a hat or camo shirt if I wanted to sneak out successfully?" I describe his outfit in full detail and feel a smug smile spread across my face as I realize I won this battle, he speaks up "Okay fine, then where are we going?" unfortunately that's not at all what I was expecting from him. But I am too stubborn to back down and still feel too guilty to lie to him "Well, I don't know where you are going, but I am going to the caves, I don't trust Guinevere at all and we need to take action before she does!" I continue walking and push my way through the doors and start running for the gates in hopes of escaping before anyone catches a glimpse of my bedazzled rear-end.

I make it outside the gates in no time and stop behind the wall to allow myself a chance to get my bearings when I hear Ephraim stop beside me "Why are we stopping now? Don't you have a prison to break into?" I try my hardest not to answer but quickly realize my sense of direction is no match for the pitch black night sky overhead and then I get an idea. I've been trying to keep my powers in, maybe I could focus them out some – like a tracking device. I stretch my powers forward as much as possible in search of that warm, yellow aura that surround Kailand "Bingo! It's that way." I point up ahead and look to Ephraims face for confirmation and see a look of surprise on his face "How did you even know to do that?" I shrug my shoulders and explain that it just felt right. He looks a little perplexed at first but it doesn't take long for his walls to come back up "Well, after you then." He says stoically.

We run for what feels like an eternity but in reality was probably only a half hour, before heading into the cave on the beach, I attempt to walk around outside and see if there is any better way of accessing the prison. I'm at a complete loss. So I head directly into the cave and as soon as I pass through the entrance I see the prison come to life "Alright, it's time to go, Kailand!" he looks confused for a moment "Time to go? How is that even possible? This kind of thing takes time to plan and no offense, but I really don't think you are strong enough for all of that yet." His words frustrate me but I can't blame him for being completely honest and it serves as motivation "Well, Kailand! I don't have a clue how I am going to get you out. But the elders know about you now so we really don't have time to figure it out." He rushes up from where he is sitting, Ephraim is pacing like a caged dog behind me "He's right Ilyana, this takes planning and I don't have a good feeling about doing this right now." I am surprised that he would display that much doubt so openly "Well, then maybe you should head back and sneak off to wherever you were heading to before you decided to babysit me for the evening." He scoffs at me and pushes on "Seriously, Ilyana! We know you are powerful. We know you want to rescue your boyfriend, hell even I want to help rescue them after what I witnessed tonight with the counsel! But do you seriously think that you can free them by sheer force of will?" I refuse to let his words get to me _. Just find the right angle, this is just like any other puzzle I've ever done in my life, I can figure it out if I just put in the right amount of effort._

"So you're just going to ignore me then while you stare at the wall like it's going to reveal some new answer to you?" I stop what I am doing and turn to face Ephraim, I can feel tears about to break but I refuse to let them fall in front of him "Ephraim, you don't understand, I just can't let them stay here another night! This all feels wrong and I know that time is running out!" just then I hear a new voice speak up from behind me "The girls is right! You two should be ashamed of yourself, just look at the power rolling off of her, she's the answer to the prophecies." Kailand nearly gasps as he looks into the face of the old woman who's hair he was so gently brushing when I found him that first day "I thought I'd lost you! We were wrong Ephraim, she can do this." I face Kailand and don't allow myself any further time to think about what just happened, I press my hands against the wall, I shut my eyes and bite my lip and push all the power I can possibly muster up into the wall. I have never felt such a huge surge all at once and I am shocked when my body starts to literally hum with power. I open my eyes and look at the wall to see that nothing has budged but the entire wall is pulsing with a bright blue light. The display catches me off guard so I stop pushing my powers just long enough to appraise what is happening around me, through the prison walls I can see Kailand against the far back wall positioning himself protectively in front of the other captives and I glance at Ephraim and see him squatting down and bracing his body against the wall on the opposite side of the cave with his hands covering both of his ears.

When Ephraim realizes I've stopped he springs up and begins to charge me "Are you completely mad? You just announced your presence to the whole damn island! Good luck breaking anyone out now!" I look back at Kailand and catch a concerned look on his face "I'm so sorry, I had no clue! I just know we need to do something now! What else could I have done?" Ephraims arms go slack at his side as he considers what I just said, I hear Kailand speak up behind me "I've never seen power like that from a single being. I didn't even know you had that much in you. You need to go. If that couldn't break through these walls then nothing can, but you could be in a world of trouble if you get caught trying to..." His breath catches and I notice he is no longer looking at me but staring behind me. I turn around slowly and see that Ephraim is already bracing himself for an attack. After weeks of out-running them, I should've known they would catch up to me.

There are at least a dozen of the demons standing less than 10 feet away from us right now. I try to think of everything that Levi and Ephraim have taught me in training and brace myself for what I realize will probably be my death. For a long time no one says anything and then one moves towards Ephraim in a way that I can only describe as slithering, and regards him carefully "I would have expected you to be smarter than this. You bring a newborn Nephilim to the compound and let her play with power outside of your walls. Bad for you, but good for me." The creature begins to slide his hands over Ephraims neck and slowly lift him off the ground. "No, you will not harm him! That was the deal!" I look over and see Alya talking to Guinevere calmly.

I can't even keep silent anymore "Alya, what are you doing? You can't possibly be on her side after seeing her prance in here like she is friends with these beasts!" I wait for a response that I realize isn't coming. For a moment it feels like time is suspended while we all wait to see who will make the first move. The creature that had Ephraim off the ground is now slowly lowering him at Guinevere's nod and he speaks up again as he looks at me "Kill the girl, I'll handle this mutt." The remaining creatures begin to charge me, I hear Kailand kicking the walls, catch site of Ephraim throwing the beast off of him in a desperate attempt to help me and see Alya shaking as tears fall out of her eyes "I'm sorry Ilyana, I'm so sorry!" This moment is too much for me. I feel my body begin to shake with nauseating levels of power as I begin to fight the beasts before me. I brought nothing more than a pocket knife and it's not even enough to fight them. One of the beasts lunges towards me in an attempt to knock me over and before I have a chance to realize what I am doing I grab onto his neck and feel it snap beneath the force of my arms. I am shocked by how easily it gave under my force and struggle to hold back the vomit that is forming in the back of my throat as I am covered in silver fluids from his body as another beasts charges me, this time it catches me by surprise and takes me to the ground, I grapple as good as I can and try to find an advantage – any advantage I might have over this disgusting creature. He pounds his fist into my stomach and I feel the other beasts follow suit and begin to kick my back, I cry out and look over just in time to see Ephraims body go limp while Guinevere commands the beast that was holding him, the sight is too much for me to take in. My body goes completely numb, I don't feel anything. I don't feel the blood trickling down my face, the bile in the back of my throat, I don't feel the hands and feet that are clawing at every part of my body, threatening to rip me apart, all I feel is fear for my friend and disgust at our own kind sitting back and allowing this to happen.

Before I can even form a cohesive thought, I let out all the power I have ever had in me, the sheer force of it going through my body is enough to make me feel like I am going to explode and I let out a scream as I feel the blood boiling beneath underneath my skin. I see cracks forming in the body of the creature closest to my face just before he ruptures in front of me, after all of his pieces crash to the walls and ground around me like a broken mirror, I see complete and utter destruction. I see various scattered body parts from all the creatures that were just assaulting me. I see their disgusting fluids leaking all around the ground and I see light beginning to come in from the entrance of the cave. It doesn't take me long to notice the absence of Alya, Guinevere and even Ephraim. The thought of what I may have just done to one of my only allies is enough to finally bring the tears out that I had been holding in. I turn to face the prisoners and see Kailand running full speed towards me, no wall, no invisible barrier, I feel a small smile pull at the corner of my mouth as the room around me goes dark and I hear the angel in front of me calling my name as he reaches forward to catch me.

# CHAPTER 25

Ephraim:

The room around me is dark and cold, I wonder for a moment if this is the Oasis I have finally reached. Hundreds of years of roaming and death, all I wanted was peace and I wonder if this might be it. As the thought forms in my head I realize this can't be peace, this can't be death. My body is aching, I feel like I have been hit by a truck and then the realization of all that's occurred hits me. I think of her desperate and lying on the ground while they do everything they can to violate her I scream and struggle to get up but then recognize the all too familiar burn of iron digging into my body holding me in place. I stop struggling for a moment and try to figure out where I am when I hear a small cry from another room "I never thought it would get this far. I know he didn't mean any harm. I am so sorry, this is just who he is. I don't think he can help it!" Alya. Her feeble protests and weakness disgust me. She's defending me as though I am guilty to the murderers that she has aligned herself with. I listen as her voice comes closer "Come now, Alya. It's not your fault. He is an abomination and we never should've allowed him to exist in the first place. It's not even his fault who he is. It's in his nature. Not many of our own kind are nearly as smart or as open to seeing the truth as you are..." at that I hear a door open and see the lights flick on.

I am unsurprised when I look over and see Alya trailing in slowly behind Guinevere. I can barely hold back my disgust. My own sister won't even look me in the face, a sure sign that she knows she screwed up. "Well, well! It looks as though sleeping beauty has awoken." I refuse to respond to Guinevere's jabs at me. I have gone on countless missions and spent years of my life in service to this traitor only to be held captive by her. There is water dripping down from the cold, dingy stones that make up the ceiling above me, I can tell that we are below ground by the smell of earth that overwhelms me. "Do you have nothing to say to your elder, boy?" I spit in her face. "You are nothing to me." I yell at Guinevere but somehow can't seem to peel my eyes off of my sisters face as the words slip out of my mouth. I see the tears welling up in her eyes and Guinevere catches it too. "I should probably leave you two alone, it looks like you have a lot to talk about." She turns to leave the room and Alya grabs the back of her dress like the weak idiot she is. Guinevere brushes her off and continues to leave "He can't hurt you now, Alya. Speak freely. He won't be walking away from this one." The door slams shut behind her.

Alya remains with her back facing me for far longer than I would've thought and just as I think she is going to get up and walk out too. She turns around to face me, her body is trembling and tears are streaming down her face as she addresses me for the first time "Brother, I am so sorry to see you like this, I never wanted you to get caught in the crossfire! How could you just side with someone you don't even know over our own elders?" I stifle a laugh, annoyed by the idiocy of all that she is saying "Our own elders, Alya? You mean the ones that came to the caves to exterminate an 18 year old girl who just so happens to be the first Nephilim we have seen in centuries?" she looks down at her hands as the tears fall and I continue "The same elders, that turned on Marcus, and placed him under lockdown, god-only knows where, because he wanted to throw a girl a party when she found the missing family of our original counsel? The same elders. That used Levi, me and apparently you, as their own personal slaves, answering every time they call, placing their comfort above our own happiness and health? How could I possibly have chosen to side with the strongest, least embittered Nephilim I have met in my entire life..."

She wrings her hands and begins to speak barely above a whisper "Don't you see, Ephraim?" she steps forward and brushes the hair out of my face, her touch disgusts me. "There is so much more to it than good and evil or who's siding with who! Guinevere is trying to strengthen us, form allegiances where we never had any. Have you ever seen the demons answer to a Nephilim like that answered to her in that cave? I admit, it struck me as strange at first too. I didn't like hearing of Marcus in prison or Ilyana being sacrificed. But, it's all for the greater good!" I don't even know how to respond to her, it's as if she actually believes the words that are coming out of her mouth. "Ephraim, you were the one they sent to retrieve this girl, because all the destruction that was left in her wake, can you imagine how many thousands of lifes were lost because of who she is? Guinevere is simply trying to stop all that! I really wanted to be her friend, you know that. I was there for her, I tried to make her feel at home, but I always felt so uneasy around her and it was for good reason! She's a murderer – you're my brother, this is just as much about protecting you as it is about forming new alliances"

I look at her and wonder if she can detect the hypocrisy in her own words like I can. "You are a coward and a hypocrite, Alya. I am no longer your brother and you will no longer address me as though you are my sister. We are not on the same side and you are dead wrong and have lost your mind if you seriously believe any of the words that just came out of your mouth."

# CHAPTER 26

Ilyana:

As I come to, I am immediately aware of a burning sensation in the back of my throat and the most powerful migraine that I've ever felt. I feel like I'm outdoors by the heat that is pounding onto my skin, but as I open my eyes and allow them to adjust to the light, I finally take full account of where I am at and I recognize the old ruins. "Good Morning, angel..." a small smile begins to form and I can feel blush creeping across my face, I look behind me and see Kailand walking into the old dining hall at the training grounds. As happy as I am at the sight of him being free my heart aches at all that was lost and I have to hold back the tears. "This place isn't what it used to be. I remember racing through these halls as a child, spying on the parties. Hiding with my friends and creating mischief at every turn." You can hear the nostalgia in his voice "Now this hasn't been used in decades, it's falling apart in ways I never could've imagined. I'm guessing they've moved the enclave then?" he turns to look at me square on for confirmation and I nod unable to speak for fear of what may come out.

He looked so weak in their grasp. Ephraim never really found peace and now that he finally was free of the counsels grasp, his own sister fed him to the wolves and I sat back powerless while that creature drained the life from him.

Kailand reaches out and wraps his arms around me in a way that I know is meant to be comforting but somehow, only seems to succeed in reminding me of all that was lost "Ilyana, it's not your fault! You did everything you could. You were caught in the middle of this horrible war that you had no hand in producing, think of the countless life's you saved by coming to us last night!" he is wiping the tears from my cheeks and trying to get me to look into his eyes and find the truth in his words, but all I can picture is all the destruction that was caused at my hands. He grabs my hands to pull me up to stand "There, there! Steady on your feet. I want you to come look at something." He continues to stroll out into the courtyard area with my hand in his and I see the most beautiful site. In the middle of the courtyard is the old woman Kailand seemed so fond of. She looks so young and beautiful and suddenly I find myself feeling insecure and wondering exactly who she is to him.

She is standing close to the well with fresh water she has obviously used to clean herself and her hair, I realize the grey that I previously saw must've been dust from where she hadn't moved for centuries. Of course, she was a Nephilim so it wasn't possible that she could age, but my mind never registered the thought. She has torn off parts of her dress to use as cloth and is cleaning the faces and hair of the other captives with it. She has the silkiest black hair I have ever seen and it is cascading down her back in a long, damp braid. She is singing in words I can't quite make out as she gently cares for the other captives that still seem absolutely stunned by the rays of the sun pounding down on them. She catches site of Kailand and I and begins to run over to us.

I am shocked and nearly fall when she wraps her arms around me for a warm embrace "It's you! I knew you would wake up soon, I just knew it! You've set us free!" she pulls back and looks at me with tears of gratitude rolling down her cheeks "I never thought I'd see the sun again, I gave up on living and then an angel of mercy showed up. You fed us and cared for us, you treated us with dignity – something I hadn't felt for centuries and then, you freed us..." I smile at her kind words but am absolutely stunned when I see the beautiful woman slowly settle into a bow in front of me "Anything you need or want, I am at your command, my lady!" I fall to my knees in front of her. Her kindness and gratitude is one thing, but I will never have someone bow to me again, not after the things I have done.

My throat stings and my voice is hoarse as the words come out of my mouth "Please don't! You never should've been imprisoned in the first place, I just did what was right. There was no other option. Call me Ilyana and if you want to show your gratitude, you will never bow to me again." She is at eye level with me now as we both sit there on our knees, her with a look of awe on her face and me, a broken mess. "Ilyana, it is. My name is Rose." A smile forms across her her heart shaped mouth. "Can I do something, Ilyana?" I know that I have nothing to fear from this woman so I nod my head, unsure what to expect. She reaches her hand over my neck and her eyes go slate grey in front of me, I see her light green aura flowing out and begin to feel it wrap into me.

I am confused by what's happening, as her face goes back to normal, she wrinkles her nose at me in a small way "I never thought I would see the day come where I would be able to do that again. You've given me another gift!" I feel completely confused by what just happened and as I go to ask her, I realize my voice is completely back to normal and my migraine is gone "How did you do that?" she lets out a small laugh and tells me "It's one of my gifts, I used to be a healer, before we were held captive, the power surge back in the cave was enough to strengthen me and gave me back my gift of healing, I'm still nothing that I used to be, I may never be that powerful again, but thanks to you I can feel the power that I lost coursing through my veins again." I smile at the thought and look up to Kailand and see him smiling at me in a way that I never felt before, I feel heat beginning to rise to my face but fortunately before I have a chance to wallow in my own insecurities he reaches down and offers us both a hand to pull us back up to our feet.

I right myself and begin to brush the sand and grass off of my legs and knees. I look around me at all the captives, some walking, some are lying down staring up into the clouds and begin to assess all the work ahead of me. I feel a tinge of sadness when I think about how great Alya would've been at helping make everyone comfortable – she was so quick to make me at home. I have no idea what to do next but I know we can't all stay like this. I look to Kailand "We have to go to the Enclave, I need to get Levi and we need to figure out what we have to do to protect everyone here from Guinevere." He nods at me in agreement Rose lets out a small smile and excuses herself to go back and begin cleaning up her friends. I make a mental note to bring back whatever resources I can to help make her job a little bit easier.

# CHAPTER 27

Ilyana:

We take our time walking back to the enclave. After everything that happened last night I am afraid of what we'll find. For the first time, since I can remember, I have no idea what happens next. I am mourning the loss of my friend but know that Ephraim wouldn't want me caught up in my own emotions when there is so much work that needs to be done. I can feel Kailand watching me as we walk closer to the walls. I feel so numb that I don't even bother coming up with any words to convince him that I am ok.

He reaches down and grabs my hands just as the enclave walls appear in the distance and speaks "He would've been proud of you, Ilyana and he would've been even prouder to have died alongside you in battle." I refuse to cry at the thought so he continues on "It's not his fault who he was, but his kind is treated as an abomination in our society, he would've been raised as a soldier – a slave even and our soldiers were always taught, at least in my time, that there is no greater honor than to sacrifice your life for something bigger than you. When you defeated those demons, you brought honor to his death." I know he means everything he is saying but the words fall flat "He shouldn't have been there, I shouldn't have let him come with me. It's my fault he's dead, there's no honor in being killed by the actions of your own sister and your student who never bothers to listen to anything you say anyways." I stop walking for a moment and try to catch my breath as the tears spill out "I didn't bring honor to his death, I brought shame to it. No matter how many Nephilim I helped free or how many demons I killed – practically on accident no less! I brought nothing but pain to his life. His own sister turned on him because of me."

I wrap my arms around my torso in a protective motion and turn my back away from him. I can feel a panic attack coming on but can't afford the luxury of losing control, I can't even trust my own body not to betray me and kill the man standing beside me as a result. I stoop down and try to rest my head on my knees but the weight of all the pain I brought to Ephraims life is crushing down on me in ways I never could've imagined.

Breathe, Ilyana, just breathe.

Kailand senses the unrest in me and drops down to his knees in front of me and sits down until he is almost eye level with me he gently grabs the sides of my face and forces me to look at him "Ilyana, don't. You gave his life purpose and doing so means he had purpose in his death. He was exactly where he wanted to be and the only way you could shame him is by denying him that. Ephraim was powerful and he was as stubborn as an ass, he never did anything with you or for you because he _had to,_ everything he did was a choice he made because he wanted to." He is brushing my face in a comforting gesture as my sobs continue to come. I nod my head in agreement. I want to believe he is right, I don't want to discredit Ephraim in any way so I choose to believe he is right for now. My body is shaking as I try to calm myself down. Kailand pulls me down into his lap and holds me for I don't know how long and just allows me to cry. Once again, the man I met in the caves that should've been falling apart is doing everything that he can to hold me together. I am appalled by my own selfishness as I continue to take all the comfort he offers me. The skies begin to darken before I am able to gain enough control to enter the compound again.

As soon as we pass the gates, we make a run for the apartments, Kailand never more than a step behind me. I sneak in the building as quietly as I can and nothing seems to be disturbed. I quietly walk into my apartment and Kailand carefully shuts the door behind him. We walk towards my living room where I see a small light in and as soon as I get there I see Levi furiously pacing the room. The moment he spots me he rushes over to my side and wraps me in a big, protective bear hug in a way that only Levi can get away with. "Oh my God, where have you been? I've been worried sick, I thought you were dead!" the words race out of his mouth quicker than I can even respond "It's ok Levi, I'm here now! I'm ok. But, he's gone Levi. I'm so, so sorry!" Kailand reaches past me and places his hand on Levi's shoulder "I'm so sorry my friend, he died an honorable death." A look of confusion registers on his face. "He's not dead, Ilyana. He's being held captive by Guinevere and Julius in Cairo."

I grab the chair closest to me and sit down, the room around me starts to spin and I search his face for answers "How can that be? I watched the demon kill him in front of me!" I look to Kailand and he looks just as lost as I am. Levi sits down across from me "I don't know what you saw, but you didn't see him die. They've released photos and an announcement, Guinevere is accusing him of helping you lead a rebellion against the Counsel. She is calling for an alliance between the demons and the Nephilim they are calling themselves The Fallen Ones. She says it is for the good of all Nephilim, she says they will fight our wars for us and we will provide them with our resources. She's gone completely mad and she's requested that all Nephilim join her, that's why the compound is so empty now, a lot of the younger, more fearful Nephilim have followed her and even more are making arrangements to leave. She told us you nearly killed everyone in the caves today." I knew she was crazy, but I never would've thought she was capable of this. I want to be relieved that Ephraim is alive, but I am not sure if being alive as a pawn in her hands is any better than being dead. "What do we do, Levi? She's crazy! We can't let her do this!"

He leans back and lets out a huge sigh " I was hoping you would say that, I've got a bit of a plan, but I'm fairly certain you won't be too crazy about it..." I have no idea what he is about to say but know that I don't have the option of being too picky right now, I grab his knee and look into his eyes "I trust you Levi, whatever you say, I'll do it." He lets out a small laugh "You may want to hear what I have to say before you agree to this, this is your last real shot at getting out of all this chaos. Once we do this, you'll lose your shot at choosing." I shake my head "I never had a choice in this Levi, from the minute my Mom and Dad died and I was hunted down by those demons, I lost my say in the matter. As long as I have you with me, I'm in this thing." He smiles "That's my girl! We need to call Marcus and Samuel. We're going to need help working out all the details and they already came by here earlier, I know they're on your side."

I stand up from the chair "Okay, call them. Do you think since we still have Marcus, we may still have Lizzy too? I'm going to need some help getting things together for the other captives. They aren't ready to come here just yet." Levi reaches over and rustles my hair like I'm a small child "I'll get right on that! Go get cleaned up and meet me back in here in an hour, we need to get started right away." I start to walk off but catch Kailand out of the corner of my eye looking completely lost. I realize then how new everything must look to him. He has lived in a cave for thousands of years and I can't even fathom everything that's changed since the last time he was free. Levi catches me looking at an uncertain Kailand and before I have a chance to worry about introducing him to running water and electricity, Levi steps between us "You come with me, we're going to get you cleaned up too." Kailand nods his head at Levi gratefully and looks to me as though he needs my permission I smile at him and motion for him to follow Levi. I have a feeling it's going to be a long night.

# CHAPTER 28

Ilyana:

After I wash the last two days off of my skin and throw on my uniform of jeans and a tank top, I am surprised to find Lizzy already waiting for me outside of my dressing room. "Ilyana, I am so glad you are back! I was worried after all they put you through, you would never return!" she reaches in for a hug and I awkwardly pat her back and respond "They aren't getting rid of me that easily!" she laughs at the notion and then buzzes past me for a comb and motions for me to sit in the chair.

I so don't have time for this right now.

I slowly walk over and sit in the chair "I don't really have a lot of time right now, I needed your help with something else actually." She waves me off and goes in to comb my wet tangled curls anyways "nonsense, you can't meet with Marcus looking like this. I'll get you cleaned up and then I can attend to whatever it is you need me to do." I smile up at her gratefully and begin telling her exactly what it is I need. "After the caves, there was a lot of destruction, Lizzy. Those captives weren't in their right minds and they still aren't anywhere near what they must've been ages ago before they were locked up." From her reflection in the window I can see concern forming on her face "I can't imagine what I would do, locked away like that for so many lifetimes with no release, it's horrible." I look down to my hands folded in my lap and feel my shoulders go slack as she continues to work on getting the tangles out of my hair "I was hoping you would see it that way, I really was. I need your help with them. There are at least 40 Nephilim that were released whenever everything happened in the cave. They're all at the old enclave still and are in no way ready to come here. Only one of them is really even aware of all that is going on, she is trying to clean and care for the others, but with so many it is basically a lost cause. They need food and clothes and someone to care for them. Rose is doing all she can, but it is too much responsibility for one person."

She pulls my chair around to face her, and places her small hands that are dampened from my hair onto my lap and solemnly begins to speak "I'm so honored that you would trust me with this, I will make it my mission to do everything I can to help restore them to what they once were. As soon as I finish here, I will go to the pantries and get everything I can to help them get settled for the night." I reach out and hug her, at first she seems surprised by the motion but she quickly settles into it "I knew I could count on you Lizzy! I don't know what resources we even have or how we can help, but with Marcus and Sam on our side I am sure we can come up with something. For tonight, a few bars of soap and some food is I'm sure more than enough to help get them started."

I get up and walk over to my vanity, I reach in the cabinet and pull out the keys to my ATV and hand them to her "Here, take this and anything you need from my apartment, take that too. When you arrive, you will find Rose there. She is a little quirky, but I am sure she will love you and she can give you an idea of what all they need." She reaches out to take the keys from me "As you wish, Ilyana. But for now you need to sit back down, I'm not finished with you yet." She sets me down in the chair and finishes her work, she runs moisturizer through my curls to help keep them from tangling, she lines my eyes with coal and glosses my lips. She hands me some jewelry to put on and tells me stories of how the Nephilim women used to dress in times of battle. She finds a silky black, button up top that fits me rather snug and shows just a bit of skin below my belly button, she gives me some dark, designer skinny jeans and a pair of black combat boots. I'm not exactly sure what's next for me, but I am positive that no matter what, at least I will look like a badass. We say our goodbyes and she rushes out ahead of me to get to work on finding dinner for Rose and the other captives. I brush my teeth and put lotion on my hands just in time to head out into my dining room and hear Levi's plan.

When I walk through the dining room I am immediately greeted by Sasha, I bend over and talk to her, failing to acknowledge anyone in the room. I have missed my old, faithful friend and from the looks of things she has missed me too. She covers my hands with kisses as I pet her and coo to her. When she finally starts to stay in one place and settle down, I stand up to take my seat at the dining table. I see 4 faces staring blankly at me, Samuel, Levi, the man I presume to be Marcus and a barely recognizable Kailand. I can see that Levi helped him with his style, his hair is cut into a short, shaggy mess that somehow still manages to look perfectly planned and in place on him, his skin is completely clean and he's wearing modern clothes. I see dark jeans, leather boots peeking out beneath them and a black short sleeved shirt with a deep V-neck that showcases a leather cross necklace around his neck. I smile at the site "Well, don't you clean up nicely. How does it feel, Kailand?" he lets out a small breath as though he is relieved at the compliment "I feel crazy, men never dressed like this back in my time." We all laugh at the thought and then Levi speaks up "and what about you Miss Ilyana, you are looking like quite the badass yourself?" I realize my hands are reflexively reaching down to cover my exposed stomach, I make myself stop and find myself looking down to my feet and scratching the back of my neck "Yeah, I guess I have Lizzy to thank for that, she's quite a miracle worker." At that, Marcus chimes in "That she is, and she has taken an instant liking to you, when I saw her today, she couldn't stop speaking about you, you sound like an incredible young woman and I am so pleased to finally meet you." He reaches his hand across the table to shake mine and I instantly like him. He is completely different from the previous Counsel members I have met and I feel totally at ease in his presence.

The small talk stops as I take my seat at the table. The men all go to take a seat beside me and Levi stands up "Okay, so we are all agreed that Guinevere and Julius have to be stopped, they've gone utterly mad. They are power hungry and scared so now they have taken to bullying and manipulating us." Everyone nods their heads in acknowledgement as he continues "They have taken Ephraim hostage and if we do not strike back soon, I know that one of us will undoubtedly be next. As long as Guinevere is aligning herself with these monsters, our safety is at risk and we cannot take that for granted." I have seen Levi in so many different ways since we have arrived here, he has become my best friend and my greatest ally throughout all that has happened but the Levi standing in front of me is a completely different person than the goofy boy who became my family in the woods. He is authoritative and calculating. He reminds me of a commander preparing to lead his troops into battle.

He keeps talking "I think we all can agree that the greatest asset we have on our side right now is Ilyana, she defeated the demons in the cave and is the only Nephilim I have ever seen that was capable of bringing Guinevere to her knees.

Well this is taking an unexpected turn.

I listen as the men nod in agreement with all that he is saying. "I think that there are others like us that are tired of Guinevere's tyranny and constant use of fear tactics, but without someone else to follow, they are rushing to Cairo to join her because they know they have no other options. I think we need to give them an alternative and Ilyana is it." I can feel my heartbeat speeding up and my palms beginning to sweat at what he is suggesting. He can't possibly think I am capable of leading anyone. They all agree as though we are going to go through with this. Marcus speaks up "So what is our first move Levi, how do we show everyone that they have an option before Guinevere gets to them." Levi sits down in his chair and leans towards us as he starts to give us the details of his plans, before the words fall out of his mouth, I find myself standing up and my palm slams on the table in front of me "You are crazy if you think I am a good alternative, you didn't see what happened in the cave back there Levi, it's a miracle, I didn't kill everyone on this island then!"

I feel Kailand reach out and grab my hand as he carefully rubs his thumb across my knuckles in the comforting way that is so clearly him and for the first time he begins to contribute to the conversation as he looks me square in the face "Levi is not asking you to lead us into a battle, we talked a little while he was helping me get cleaned up. He is proposing that we put you on a platform to give others hope. I know I've missed a lot being locked up, but everything he described sounded like this island, these Nephilim have fallen under a complete dictatorship. They are afraid of their own shadows, the consequences of their every choice, consequences that are imposed and executed by Guinevere." Marcus clears his throat and adds his perspective in "What the boy's saying is true, I may've spent the last few thousand years filling an empty seat as a member of the counsel, but I never did anything more than that. She had the final word in every matter and now she is proposing we align ourselves with our mortal enemies for a little bit of comfort and security. Our people were meant to be warriors against injustice that was always created at the hand of these demons, if we align ourselves with them and give them our power and resources for war, what is it that they will be fighting? Who will they be fighting? Any enemy of theirs is a friend of mine and that's how it should be."

I realize he is right and take a deep breath as I sit back down, I feel Kailands hand still comfortingly holding mine and for a moment I think about Rose and imagine pulling away, but much to my own shame I continue to do what I have since I first met Kailand – I take from him. I take the comfort and the calm that he is offering and I allow myself to settle into the ideas being put on the table before me. I want to be appalled with my actions, but I just can't be, it feels right and I don't even know who she is to him yet anyways. "I'm sorry Levi, I know I said I trust you and would do whatever you said, I just never thought you would propose something like this. But the truth remains that I still trust you and I would follow you into hell itself if you said it was a good idea." I smile his way and he looks relieved as he smiles back at me "Alright then, so since we are all agreed, it's time to work out the details and get our friend back." He stands again and begins spreading out maps of the enclave that Samuel carried here with him. He discusses plan after plan of how we will draw support. Press conferences, hearings, meetings, flyers... His ideas are endless and though I have no clue how I will play the role that he is asking of me, I know that we have no other option so I am resolved to do my absolute best at whatever it is that he asks of me.

# CHAPTER 29

Alya:

I am once again pacing my room in Guinevere's new compound. I have been to Cairo many times in my life, but never like this, every time I step out into the hall, I see the demons standing guard outside of every door. I know they are our ally now, but they still make my skin crawl. I never quite expected to be in this position, pitted against my own brother. I am struggling each moment with whether or not I made the right choice, but I know deep down inside that there is no other option. No matter how kind Ilyana seemed or how much potential I saw in the girl, she doesn't have thousands of years of history backing her. She has done nothing to assure the safety of the Nephilim weaker than her and she has caused nothing but chaos since she arrived.

When Guinevere asked if I would join her, I said yes without hesitation, she promised me protection if I offered her my fealty. She said I was important in this new journey, that I could tip the scales in our favor and save a lot of Nephilim from the doom of being allied with Ilyana. She said I would be the mouth-piece of the new era of peace. But so far, all I have managed to do is get disowned by my brother and spend countless hours crying in my room, wondering if there was anything I could've done differently.

I resign myself to sitting in the corner and staring outside the window just as I hear a knock on the door, before I bother to respond Julius shuffles in the room "Guinevere has a job for you to do girl, come make yourself useful." I wonder to myself what the task might be but he doesn't give me any time to respond, I follow him out the front door into the hallway as he heads to the throne room. I walk past the demons beside me and I offer a small smile to the one closest to me, he responds by sticking his slimy tongue out to lick his near non-existent lips, the gesture is unnerving and causes me to speed up.

As soon as we reach the throne room I see Guinevere sitting in the highest seat. I walk in front of her unsure of what it is she wants from me, she does not seem to notice or acknowledge me at first so I speak up "Julius said that you needed me?" she sharply turns my direction and regards me with a look of annoyance. There are two demons standing guard on either side of her and she locks eyes with them and nods my direction without acknowledging me. The demon speaks up "You will bow to her majesty and address her as such."

Well this is new...

He grabs the staff in his hand and takes an intimidating step towards me. I quickly drop to the ground "Of course, your majesty, I do apologize. How can I be of service to you?" she reaches out and touches the corner of his sleeve as if to hold him off, suddenly I am getting the feeling that more than an ally to the Nephilim they have become a new pet for her. She speaks slowly as if she cannot be bothered by my presence. "Yes, Alya. It looks as if you can finally make yourself useful here. We have released statements to multiple compounds, some will be joining us shortly but more are hesitating out of fear of the unknown. For some reason, I can't quite understand – the Nephilim always seem to take a liking to you and given your unusual ability to manipulate time as you travel, you could prove to be an asset to us. I need you to go to the other counsels, starting with Rome, and tell them what an amazing fortress it is that we have built here. Convince them, to come."

I try to digest what she is asking me to do. I understand that she cannot leave herself, but if the other Nephilim are happy to remain unprotected where they are, there is really no reason for us to convince them otherwise, I try to take a different approach when I speak up "I will do as your majesty has requested, but do you think it wise that we push them so early on? Don't you think that as they sit back and watch us thrive they will eventually, naturally want to be a part of that?" she looks me square in the face and a condescending laugh escapes her mouth "You are a fool to think you know better than I! I have led you for centuries and this is the gratitude I get from you? Foolish girl. You will go and you will convince the others to join you, do not forget that we have your brother in captivity, I don't understand your displaced love for him, but I am keeping him alive, merely as a favor to you and depending on what you do next, you might find my gesture of gratitude to be quite fickle if you cannot put your talents to use for me." I know exactly what she is saying and I don't like it one bit, I should've known better, but I am completely at her mercy now "Yes your majesty, I will leave at once. We best have our servants begin preparing rooms, because soon this new haven will be full." She waves her hand to send me off and I quickly find myself running in the direction of my room to pack. I have no clue how I am going to get myself out of this one.

# CHAPTER 30

Ilyana:

I have never been a fan of public speaking, I took speech class as an elective in school at Mothers insistence and I remember arguing with her that it would never be useful to me eventually, I argued my way out of the class. Now as I stand up and prepare to make the biggest speech of my life, I realize that I may have underestimated the usefulness of that class I once hated. I am still dressed in the clothes from last night. None of us got any sleep as we sat around the table preparing for the journey ahead of us. My body is completely exhausted and I know that my makeup must be running. I silently wish that Lizzy were here to help me, but I know that she is helping make things right at the old enclave with Rose and that thought brings me comfort.

Levi suggested we take our time to introduce me to the citizens at the compound, win them over individually - help everyone feel safe on a lateral level as their friend, before I ever position myself as their leader or their safety blanket. Samuel and Marcus quickly shut down that idea though, pointing out that every minute we spent planning we were risking more Nephilim running off to join Guinevere out of fear. So here I am now, watching as Samuel offers an introduction to the other Nephilim, I don't know what their response will be or how any words will come out of my mouth, but I know that I have to do whatever I can to stop them from joining with Guinevere and beyond that, I will need allies if I have any hope of ever getting Ephraim back. Kailand is holding my hand as he slowly pats my back "You can do this Ilyana, this is the moment you were born for." I roll my eyes at the thought "If I was born for this, you would think that giving a speech to a crowd of scared Nephilim would come a little more easily." He laughs and looks me square in the face as he responds "Destiny is seldom ever convenient and it's even rarer for it to be natural. It's in the moments you're at your weakest and most vulnerable that you shine the brightest, you're beautiful in every sense of the word, Ilyana. Never forget that." He reaches down to gently cup the side of my face as he places a chaste kiss on my lips. "They are going to fall in love with you, maybe not immediately – it's natural to fear change, but when they see you for all that you are – then they will love you."

My cheeks grow warm at his compliment and kiss, never before has something so sweet felt so strong. I'm at a complete loss for words and before I have the chance to say anything, I hear my name being called by Samuel from the other side of the curtain. "Well here goes nothing!" I make my way through the curtains and up to the podium where the microphone is waiting for me. I am no more prepared for this moment now than I was last night and decide the best thing to do is speak from the heart. I look out at the crowd and see a lot of scared faces, Nephilim and servants alike, looking to me for the answers I'm not even sure of yet, but in that moment I want to do everything I can to protect them. For the first time since I have been here, I see children, presumably belonging to the servants, their faces dirty and small looking up at me, there is a little boy close to the front of the room with what appears to be fruit punch stains on his face. The site makes me smile and makes me feel more at home than anything I have seen since I got to this Island.

Before I can stop myself I begin speaking "I know a lot of you are here for answers, and the truth is, I don't really have them yet." They begin whispering amongst themselves but I continue on "The truth is, after what I witnessed two nights ago – what I was a part of. I know that I have a responsibility to everyone here. We were attacked internally by someone that many of you trusted and some of you may have even loved. We were attacked by someone that swore an oath to protect other Nephilim at all costs. We were attacked, trying to free prisoners that were being unjustly held for crimes they didn't commit by the very same leaders that swore an oath to each of you here and the worst part is the entire time we were being attacked for doing what we believed to be right, she was standing alongside our enemies, commanding my slaughter for defying her." At that several women in the crowd gasp "I was lucky to make it out alive and had there been more demons, I am not sure that I would've. We are our own strongest asset. The truth is, I am just one person, one person isn't always capable of a lot, but if we join together, if we begin training and once again utilizing our strongest asset, we can protect ourselves, we can protect our future generations, our safety, our comfort, our homes. One person can't do that, I can't promise it will be easy, I can't even promise that I know how we are going to pull it off, but I can promise you that I will die fighting for your safety, before I will ever allow anyone - no matter how powerful they might be, come to our island, into our homes and lead us with fear." At that several voices in the crowd shout in agreement much to my surprise. "I am here today, proposing that we reinstitute our training programs, strengthen our own fortress and for the first time in a long time, I propose we take the war to them. No more waiting in fear for our world to fall apart. If you are with us, now is the time to let us know, if you are not, you have a week to make arrangements to go elsewhere, if you need any help with that at all – come to us and we will help you make arrangements and make sure you arrive securely to wherever it is you are going." The crowd erupts, I see many people begin to leave, but what surprises me more are all the Nephilim that choose to stay, I see men talking to Levi and making plans for how they can strengthen our training programs, I see servants lining up and talking to Marcus, trying to find out what they can do to help, I am being met with pats on the back and smiles by some and scowls by a few others. I turn around to walk back towards the apartment building and immediately the little boy with the fruit punch stained lips steps in front of me, he has the most angelic smile on his face and I stoop down to his level to shake his hand "My name's Ilyana. What's yours?" he takes my hand and shakes it back "My name is Eli, can I tell you a secret?" I laugh and nod an emphatic yes. He stuffs a small toy car I didn't notice was in his hand down into his pockets and then gets up on his tippy-toes and cups his small hands around my ears so he can whisper his secret "War is coming..."

# Acknowledgments

Thank you so much for reading my book! This has been a labor of love and has taken a lot of time, I am working on a really awesome sequel right now that is slated for release on October 31st, 2014. I can't wait to dive back into Ilyana's new world with each of you!

If you enjoyed what you read, please help me get my book into more hands by leaving a positive review on the next page and also sharing on your Facebook or Twitter account!

You can "like" me on Facebook and receive exclusive updates on my upcoming releases, web site release, and information about upcoming novellas.

<https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKatelynCampbell>

I'll see you next time,

Katie
