Light and Dark (Working Title)

Chapter One
I sat on the hood of my blue Toyota Camry, gnawing at my peanut butter and pickle sandwich. I fanned myself with the book that I had been reading when I first arrived, I glanced at the cover, “The Complete Guide for Working for Yourself”. So far it had been more help as a fan. It was a sweltering day, the heat rose off the roof of my car in visible waves, I had to keep peeling my tank top from my back and I had already downed two bottles water. I had been waiting for over an hour for this client to show up, I was about to give up, the desert heat was too much to be sitting around in the blazing sun.
I glanced up as the engine sound hit my ears, the Cessna 172 dipped overhead, and set down on the packed earth of the dirt runway. The Blue Dimond Airstrip was barely that, it was a small stretch of backed earth surrounded by a handful of crumbling wooden hangers. This plane was probably the first to set down here in years.
“About damn time,” I mumbled around a mouthful of bread. I slid from the car’s hood and double checked the back seat of the car, I pulled a fresh water bottle from the ice chest in the trunk and replaced the heated one in the cup holder. I fluffed up the back of ranch Doritos and turned the keys in the ignition, hopefully to get the interior cooled off before the client got to the car.
The Cessna pulled to a stop on the other side of the rust covered chain link fence and the passenger door opened. A man in his late forties and a silk black suit stepped from the plane. He turned back to have a word with the pilot before turning to make his way toward me. He ran a pale hand through his graying black hair and tugged at the hem of his opposite sleeve. He held a steel briefcase tightly in his other hand. He was a dark contrast against the white exterior of the plane he had climbed from, and the pale sands of the tumbleweed covered hills behind him. The man was unnaturally pale, or maybe I was just used to the desert tanned people or the Mojave. He wore large dark sunglasses that he did not take off as he stepped up to me, so instead of looking the man in the eyes I was looking at my own reflection.
He grimaced as he took me and my aging car in. “You are Lyra?” He asked, his voice flat and bored, glancing down at his Apple watch.
“I am,” I said, I did not like this man already, “You are Tydon?” I clarified.
“Yes miss, as I am sure my fare stated, you are to take me from here to the Harrah’s casino and back here once my business is concluded there,” He stated, he glared down the bridge of his long nose at me, “My business within the casino will only take ten minutes,” He looked down at his watched, “If you are able to get me back here by four thirty I will throw in a bonus to your fare,” He said, I grinned.
“Not a problem,” I said, “I grew up on the streets of Vegas I know the fastest routes to the casinos on the Strip,” He just glared at me. “Shall we?” I said gesturing to the back seat for him.
I got in the driver’s seat and turned the car down the dirt road back to the one sixty, it would be thirty minutes to the Harrah, ten minutes there and thirty back, I glanced at the clock it was only three now, plenty of time. I glanced back at my passenger, “What brings you to Las Vegas, Mr. Tydon?” I ventured, my eyes flitted to the brief case, was that a handcuff?
“Business,” Was all the man said, he sat ridged and unmoving in the back seat as I turned the Camry onto the freeway.
“Why fly in here and not straight into McCarren?” I asked.
“My business required it.” He said flatly, “I would prefer that we not speak further during our time together,”
“Yes Sir,” I said, I turned my eyes to the road ahead, but my eyes kept finding their way to the rear-view mirror and the strange pale man in my back seat.
Sin City loomed before me as the freeway made its way around the low hills and into the valley. The smog hung over the city like the cloud of evil the city attracted. It was my home, I grinned, no one could ever tear down what the rich mobsters and oil tycoons had built. Even during the day, the city glowed like a diamond in the middle of the vast brown desert.
Thirty minutes later, on the dot, I pulled into the drive of the Harrah’s Las Vegas. The famous dancing girls pranced across the electronic screen beside the sliding doors. I put the car in park against the sidewalk and got out to open the door for Tydon.
“Ten minutes,” The man said in his flat voice, I watched as he disappeared through the glass doors and leaned against my car.
I logged into the casino’s free Wi-Fi and scrolled my Facebook account to pass the time. A security guard came over to me and asked to see my identification. I showed him my license and my credentials as a driver. He moved on once he was satisfied that I was not loitering. I went back to scrolling, another minute later my phone froze, the screen bounced and waivered. I tapped it against my thigh, what was wrong with it. I sighed, it was frozen for sure, I held down the power button until the screen went black.
“My phone is glitching out,” I heard someone growl, I glanced up, a young man in baggy pant, and a shirt that was almost as big as a tent. He was growling to his friend as they walked by.
I turned my head to watch others around me, many were tapping their phones against their hips or arms. Had all their phones froze as well? I had no time to think about it further as Mr. Tydon had come back and was bending into the car, I noted his briefcase was gone, what had been so important to be handcuffed to his wrist, but not important enough to bring back with us.
“Back to Blue Diamond Airstrip, Miss Lyra,” He said as I closed the door behind him.
I glance back at him in the mirror, his pale face was pulled taunt in what I had to guess was apprehension. “Is everything alright, Mr. Tydon?”
“Yes, now get me back to the airstrip,” He said.
I let out a sigh, and pulled the car onto the main Strip. I turned down a side street to escape the evening traffic and wove our way back to the freeway. A cloud of dust bellowed behind the car as it bumped onto the dirt road leading to the airstrip. The pristine white Cessna was still waiting for Mr. Tydon. I held open his door, he stood and glanced down at his watch again, it was a quarter after four, still fifteen minutes to spare. He put a hand in his pocket, and pulled out a stack of cash, he handed it to me. I stared at it as my shaking hand took it from him. I flipped through the bills all hundreds, this was more money than I had ever seen in my entire life.
“My gratitude Miss Lyra,” He said, he left me standing their gawking like a small child, he climbed into the Cessna and it disappeared down the runway in a cloud of dust and just kept flying west, towards the dipping sun.
Still dumb struck I climbed into my car and turned towards home. In one hand, I gripped the money so tight that my knuckles were white. I stared down at it as I sat at a red light, East Tropicana was a busy street even at the best of times. My fingers slid over the stack again, and I burst out laughing, I was caught in a hysteria as my fist held the money tightly. This was the best day of my life.
I pulled my car into my assigned parking spot in the Sportsman Royal Manor lot. I stuffed the money into my purse and glanced around, my neighbors were not the best people. I slunk from my car and quickly up the stairs and into my apartment.
I closed the door quickly behind me and bolted the lock. I pulled the hideously patterned curtains tight, and went to the bathroom, the only room I felt was secure enough to pull the money from my bag. I pulled the lid from the toilet tank and extracted the Ziploc baggy from the water. Every tip I had earned went into this bag, it was my safety net, in case I could not make enough driving, luckily so far, driving in Vegas was good money, plenty of tourist needed rides around the city. I let the stack of case drop into the bag, and put the bag back into the tank.
I went to the bed in the main room, and sat on the edge. My hands were shaking, and my heart was pounding, I still could not believe that creep had given me so much money for a simple fare. I lay back on the hard spring mattress and stared at the ceiling, I could hear the crack addict neighbors arguing next door. The dogs down stairs were barking again, the complex manager would be there in a few minutes to yell at the tenants. None of them knew that I had a few thousand dollars in cash stashed in my toilet, I grinned, this could be my ticket out.
It was still early in a city like Las Vegas, so I took out my phone to take another fare. The closest one was a few blocks away, so I went back to my car and made my way to pick up the client. The two women I picked up were stripers, on their way to work. By the time we got to their club my car smelt of cigarettes and marijuana. I did not care to much about the smell after they each handed me a twenty. I told them to have a safe night and decided that I would call it a night. I drove back to the Sportsman with the windows down.
I climbed up to my apartment and fell onto my bed. I just lay there for a little while longer, staring at the white popcorn ceiling. My mind drifted back to that metal briefcase, and the pale man in the dark suit. I shrugged it off, it was none of my business, and he was by far not the strangest passenger I had had in my Camry.
I pulled myself from the bed and went to the kitchenet, I made myself some roman and sat down in the chair by the window to watch television while I ate. As always I ended up not watching whatever it was I had turned on but I ate with one hand and with the other I scrolled through my Facebook feed on my phone.
I glanced up to the sound of the weekly safety broadcast test. When I realized for the first time in the nation’s history it was not a test. I could hear the screeching noise echoing from the other televisions in the complex as I turned my set up to hear, and stood to be closer to the screen, this had to be important.
The presidents aging face appeared on the screen, he was glancing around the gray room he was in, presumably at the people that the camera was not showing. “People of this United States of America,” He began, “It grieves me that I have to be the first to use this broadcast, and it pains me that I must tell you all this horrible news.” He took a deep breath and glanced up, “May God have mercy on us. At twenty-one hundred hours I and my cabinet have taken shelter in the fallout shelter designed to protect our government officials in the event of a nuclear attack. I am sorry to say, that we are under such an attack now, thirty minutes ago, our satellites detected launches from Korean, Russian and Chinese nuclear launch sites, as of ten minutes ago, launches were detected from Europe and the Middle East, and five minutes ago we have launched our own nuclear arsenal in retaliation. All attempts to bring these missiles down have yet been unsuccessful. I hope that this is not the last time that I will speak to you, but as it stands now, the world as we know it has come to an end. It has been an honor serving you, may your God grant you rest.” He said, his voice solemn, “And may God Bless the USA,” He said, the screen went back to the blank test screen and then to an emergency news broadcast. I stared at the television dumb and deaf to what the crying journalist was saying. I could hear screams of terror through the walls of the apartment. I jumped as I heard gun shots, and more screams. I sat down hard on the corner of my bed and stared at the floral wallpaper behind the television.
“It’s time to go,” A melodious voice said behind me, I turned to see a woman dressed in a white dress. I glanced around the room, the door was still bolted and my window was closed. I stood to face her, my blood went cold and my heart seemed to stop how had this white woman come to be here.
“Who are you and how did you get in my apartment?” I demanded.
“You don’t recognize me?” She asked, I narrowed my eyes at her, but that is when I noticed her eyes. A deep almost black green, but it was the outer edge of her eyes that looked familiar, the same black that I saw in the mirror every day, her hair was blond almost white, and she was tall with a slender build. I looked down at my hands, my black hair falling in my face, she looked familiar but I could not place it.
“No I don’t, should I?” I asked, she looked hurt, her mouth curling into a frown and her dark eyes softening.
“My name is Mia, I suppose I cannot expect you to remember me, you were only an infant.” She said, she took a step towards me. “We need to go,” She said.
“Why? Where?” I demanded.
“Do you want to die with the humans in their hell fire?” She asked, “We are going home, you can finally come home,” She said.
“I have no idea who you are,” I growled.
“Look Lyra, I am your guardian, I have been watching over you since I placed you on that church doorstep twenty-two years ago. I was sent by your mother to fetch you, we need to get out of here now.” The woman snapped, she held out her hand to me, I stood there gawking at her, I still had no idea who this woman was or how she got into my apartment.
I did not have time to dwell on who she was, as the ground beneath my feet began to shake and the apartment floor buckled beneath me. I rushed to my window and threw open the drapes, the city was on fire, a mushroom cloud began to bloom over the strip. I could see the blast wave hurtling over buildings towards me. I ducked in time, just as the glass of the window shattered, I could feel the heat growing around me. I screamed, I was going to die, there was nothing that could be done about it now.
“Take my hand,” Mia cried, she still stood as still as a statue beside the window, the glass had not touched her, instead it had fallen around her as if it had passed right through her. “Quickly now Lyra.” She said. I crawled toward her, the window glass slicing into my hands and knees. I reached out my hand, the floor beneath me shuddered again.
I cried out as the floor buckled and I began to slide backward. I threw myself forward and landed at Mia’s feet as the floor disappeared where I had been, and crashed to the first floor below. Panting and sweating I reached my blood covered hand up, I glanced back out the window as I put my hand in hers.
The city was gone in a cloud of smoke and fire, what had happened to our world, why would someone want this. I was going to die there was nowhere to run, this Mia woman could not out run this death that was rolling towards me. I closed my eyes against the blaze, the heat baked my skin, it felt like every sunburn I had every had magnified into one. I felt the tears evaporate from my cheeks.
“Now Macha,” I heard Mia shout.
Everything went quiet, the heat vanished from my face, and there was just a white light glowing on the other side of my eyelids. I opened my eyes, for a moment, I had to shield them from the clear brightness of the pale room I was in. I looked around, the room was so white the walls seemed to be creating its own light from the walls. Mia was gone, and I lay on a slab of some sort of stone, but it was too soft and comfortable to be stone. I could not sit up, I tried and failed to move, I could feel my heart pounding, my breath came fast, I could only move my head to look around. There was no door in this white room, I was trapped, I could feel my panic growing, as I willed my limbs to move.
“Rest,” I heard the words as if in my own head, who had put that thought there, because the only thoughts I was having were of getting up and finding a way out. “Rest,” The word repeated, my eyes grew heavy, and the darkness crept in, despite the brightness of the room.




Chapter Two
“You were almost too late,” A woman’s voice growled, the voice was delicate but cut through the darkness in my mind as a flame.
“I could not force her to come with me,” I heard Mia’s voice retort. “I could not even move, let alone force her to take my hand. She might not have ever met you but she is exactly like you.” Mia snapped, I heard footsteps, then a heavy sigh.
“Is she going to die?” I heard the first woman asked.
“No Macha she will survive, it was just some cuts from glass and a burn from the fire, but she will be fine in another day or so.” A man said, I felt a hand touch my forehead. I wanted to flinch away, I could not stand to be touched by others.
“When will she wake?” The woman, Macha, asked.
“I do not know, by everyone else’s recovery she should have been away two days ago,” The man whispered to her.
“She has missed out on so much, sleeping here in her room. I fear that if she continues to sleep that she will miss too much to find her place among the Light.” She said, her delicate voice solemn, I could feel the hand on my forehead shaking, her breath was coming is small bursts, she was crying.
“She is already of the Light, she will have a place among us.” He said, his voice soft, attempting to comfort Macha.
“Apollo’s sons have already learned to fly and are learning to bend the Light to their will, yet my daughter lies here asleep.” Macha said. My heart jumped, she had called me her daughter. “Nodens what if she never wakes.”
“My Samuel only woke yesterday, give her time,” He said, I heard his footsteps as he left Macha to be alone with me.
“My dear Lyra, please come back to me,” I felt her hand lift from my skin, I felt a light breeze as she moved away. I was alone, I could not open my eyes, I could not move, and the darkness closed in once more.
My eyes opened, I was in the white room still, I took a deep breath and raised my arm, it moved. I let out a shuddering breath of relief, as I pushed myself up. I swung my legs from the soft slab that had been my bed and let my bare feet touch the warm stone floor. I looked down at my hands, the cuts from the glass in my apartment were gone, the flesh was white as though the damage had never happened. I ran my hands over the garment I was wearing, a backless halter dress, bleached pure white, with delicate gold stitching around the belt. It felt as though it were made of silk as soft as it was beneath my fingers.
“Macha,” A familiar male voice called. I turned, an arched doorway was opened five feet from the foot of the bed. Leaning against the side of the archway was a man, bare chested, in billowing white pants. His thickly muscled arms were crossed over his broad chest. His eyes were like my own, with a black sclera and blue irises.
A woman came to the doorway, and rushed into the room. Her golden hair flying behind her as wings on the wind, her dress that mirrored my own billowed out around her as she came to a stop before me. She looked down at me her purple eyes full of concern. She knelt on the ground at me feet and took my hands in hers, I flinched away.
“Oh,” She whispered, “I remember Mia telling me that you do not like to be touched, I forgot, my apologies.” She said, her hands dropping to her own lap. "Lyra I was so worried about you.” I narrowed my eyes at her.
The same almond shaped purple eyes, the same narrow nose, the same widow’s peak. It was so similar to my own reflection, with the exception of her golden hair. “Are you really my mother?” Was the first thing I asked, my voice cracked from disuse, from the table behind her, Macha took a glass of water and handed it to me. I drank the water, it was sweet and heavy, but filled me with warmth. “Honey,” I whispered.
“Of course,” She whispered, taking the glass from my fingers and placing it back on the table. What question had she just answered so certainly, I wondered. She rose to her feet and sat on the bed next to me. “Lyra, I am your mother, my name is Macha.” She sighed heavily, she glanced at the doorway where the man still leaned, mischief danced in his blue and black eyes. “Apollo may we have some privacy?” She asked, the man huffed but he shrugged and spun around the corner.
“Where am I?” I asked, I stared down at my hands, I was running my thumb against my palm, a habit I hated that I had. I glanced over at the woman sitting beside me. She had a small smiled of pity, her eyes were soft and full of tears, she took a shaking breath.
“You are in the Dusk Tower of Kolob.” She said, I narrowed my eyes and just stared at her, I had no idea what any of that meant. “You are in, what humans called, Heaven,”
“So I am dead,” I breathed, I turned from her to stare at the walled.
“No, not at all, you were brought here at the express command of the Seven.” She said quickly, “Lyra, I am trying to explain this how it was explained to all the other Nephilim but I am failing horribly. I was always better with a weapon than with words.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, “Lyra, I am an Angel of God, I have watched over the earth and mankind since your creation millennia ago,” I stared at her in disbelief as she continued. “You are my daughter, but you are not pure Angel, your father is not one of my comrades. It is the Law of the Seven that no Nephilim may live in the Towers of Kolob unless they have died and been reborn in the pure Light. That law was removed three weeks ago, when every Nephilim living on earth was rescued and brought here to live. You are a creature of the Light, you were born of me, I had to give you up as an infant, Mia watched over you your whole life to make sure you were safe,”
I jumped to my feet and spun on her. “Safe,” I cried, “Do you have any idea what sort of life I lived?” I demanded. She hung her head in shame, she began to run her thumb against her palm. I froze as I saw her do the same action that I so often found myself performing in moments of anxiety.
“I know,” She whispered, “In normal cases you would have been raise by your human parent.” She looked up at me, “You father was no longer available to raise you when you were born, he was gone.”
I sat back down on the bed and looked down at my feet. “Who was he,” She looked up at the white ceiling and sighed, a faraway smile came to her lips.
“He was a great man,” She whispered, “I had been sent to watch over him, to bring him back from the Darkness, I fell in love with him. When Azrael found out about my affair he ordered me brought back to Kolob, but it was too late, I was pregnant.” She looked over at me, “I got to spend two weeks with you before Mia had to take you to Earth.” She smiled at me, “I have missed you so much. I am so sorry for what you had to endure.” I shrugged.
“It forged me into the woman I am today,” She smiled.
“You are so young yet you have live more than most ever had to in your country.”
“I had to grow up fast after I ran away, I was only sixteen, in a city like Las Vegas I am lucky that worse did not happen to me.” I whispered.
“You will never have to worry about that here,” She said, “I am one of Azrael’s council, you will live well among our people.” I cocked my head.
“Who is Azrael?”
“He is one of the Seven, and the Lord of the Dusk Tower, and the ruler of the Twilight City of Kolob,” She said as if this explained everything, “Once you and the other Nephilim of the Dusk Tower are prepared we will all leave the Tower for the City, but that will be another week or so yet.” She said.
I shook my head. “I don’t understand.”
“Oh,” She said, she rubbed her thumb over her palm again, “I believe that humans referred to the Seven and the Archangels, they are the oldest of us, there used to be nine but the eldest two have left us for a long time now, the oldest watched over and protects mankind, the other he,” She paused, she glanced at me, “He is lost to us,” She smiled weakly, “Azrael is known as the Archangel of Death, although that is just what your myths and religions have turned him into, he is a great warrior and protector of many, he protected those that gave their lives until their souls found rest, that is how he got the title. He and the other six lead and guide our kind. The Seven each have a Tower,” She waved her hand to the structure around us, “Where new Angels are brought from the Light into the world, once they have a handle on their power and their wings they leave the Tower and enter into the city of their Seven. Our city will be the Twilight City on the edge of the Light.”
“This is a lot to take in,” I whispered, I looked up at her, “Did you say wings?” I asked.
Macha smiled, “Yes of course, we are Angels, I know your myths included wings, you had to think those came from somewhere?”
“I never thought Angels were real so why would I think their wings were,” I growled.
“I will show you how to unfurl them, but not now,” She said, she reached over to the table, a bowl of odd colored fruit sat beside the glass, I had not noticed the glass bowl before, but Macha plucked one of the golden pieces of fruit from the bowl and handed it to me. “Eat, drink, rest,” She said, she stood and made her way to the archway.
“Did you call that man Apollo?” I asked.
“You have heard of him?” She asked.
“I have heard of the god by that same name,” I said, I looked down at the fruit in my hands, it looked almost like a plum or peach but its skin was reflective gold.
“Ah yes, the humans and they legends,” She said, “He is that same Apollo from the tales, most if not all the gods, goddesses, Angels, and heroes of you ancient myths and legends are Angels or Nephilim,” She said. “But I will explain all of that later, now eat.”
“Macha?” I ventured, she paused at the door and looked back at me, “Are Demons real than too?” I asked.
“Yes,” Her mouth curled into a frown, her eyes became distant, she looked past me, “Demons are very real,” She said stepping from the room and out of sight into the blaring white room beyond.
I looked down at the piece of fruit again, I could see my golden reflection in its skin. If not for the stem at the top I would have thought the fruit a golden sphere. I brought the orb to my lips, I was not ready for the taste of the meat. As I chewed a myriad of flavors washed over my tongue. I stared down at the pale white flesh of the strange fruit. It tasted like brownies, I took another bite, it tasted like pizza, the third bite tasted like sushi. Every bite tasted different than the one before, when all that was left of the fruit was the stem, I had tasted almost all of my favorite foods. I felt like I had just attended an all you can eat buffet, I leaned back against the wall beside my bed, full and suddenly tired. I lay down on the warm soft slab and sleep soon overcame me.
I heard laughter, I opened my eyes and sat up, my room was empty, except for myself. I took a drink from the honey water on the table and pushed myself to my feet. My dress fell around my legs and billowed around me as I hesitantly stepped to the edge of the archway.
Before me opened a large square common room, with what seemed to be a mist garden carved into the center. Archways lined the four walls of the room, each presumably leading to another room like my own. In three of the corners were large round white tables surrounded by chairs, in the fourth corner was a globe that was slowly turning.
Five young men sat around a table in the corner furthest from my doorway. One of the young men, with ear length brown hair and sun tanned skin, was waving his arms as he told the others a story. I watched them, for a moment and took in the rest of the room, where was the way out, where was Macha or Apollo, I was nervous about venturing out of my room into a world I still did not understand. I retreated back into my own little cove and sat on my bed. I took my time eating another golden fruit hoping that Macha would return soon allowing me to get out and learn more about Kolob.
I was bored and wanted to get out of my room when I heard footsteps at my door. I looked up to see one of the young men standing just outside my archway. His bright blue eyes were a blazing contrast against the outer black, his black hair fell in waves around the top of his head, and his smile was bright and warm.
“You are up,” He said, he stepped to the opening and leaned against the side, crossing his arms over his bare chest. I realized who he reminded me of at that moment. He looked like Apollo. “My name is Dominic,” He said, “I am a son of Apollo.” He glanced to his side as another man game to stand nearby, this young man had light brown hair and hazel eyes, “Sam looked who is awake.”
Sam eyed me with a raised eyebrow. “Our parents are out a council meeting at the moment, Lyra,” He said, “If you would like to come join us, we were about to have some mana.”
“Mana?” I asked.
“Yes I am sure while as good as the Ambrosia is you would like something a bit more substantial?” He asked.
“Ambrosia,” I felt the heat come to my cheeks, I knew so little about this place, and these two men watching me were not making it any easier.
“The golden fruit,” Dominic stated, he shot a glare at Sam. “Don’t let Sam get to you, he only woke up a few days ago, he is as new at this as you are,” I detected a small accent in Dominic’s husky voice but I could not place it, just the elongation of some of his vowels.
“I had to learn, as does Lyra,” Sam said, his voice mater-of-fact. He looked down his nose at me. “If you would like to join us we will be at the table with Dominic’s brothers.” He glared at Dominic and moved away. Dominic remained, watching as Sam went back to the table they had claimed.
“You have brothers?” I ventured, Dominic turned his bright blue eyes back to me.
“Yes three of them, my father was quite the man whore.” He laughed, “Of course there was a time he had dozen of children apparently. He like to remind me and my brothers over the past week that we are he luck children to be born in a time that Nephilim are allowed to live among the Angels.”
“I can understand if you want to be alone, but my brothers aren’t so bad once you get to know them,” He said with a little hesitation in his voice.
“You make them sound so nice.”
Dominic shrugged, “Well, I have only known them all for two weeks so it is hard to say for sure,” He stated. I stood and stepped to the other side of the archway to watch the men at the table with him. I watched him out of the corner of my eye, he was taller than my five foot eight inches, I guessed about six foot maybe a bit less, he was broad shouldered and his bare arms and chest rippled with well used muscles. Dark scars marred his arms and upper chest, he had lived just as hard a life as I had by the look of it.
“So you and your brothers did not grow up together?” I ventured watching the men at the table two of them were watching us, while Sam told them about me.
“What? No, I had no idea who my father was until I woke up here. My mother was a single mom her whole adult life, she died a few years ago from cancer.” He paused, looking at me, “But I had it better than you from what I hear. You grew up in the system?” I nodded, “That had to be rough, I know how bad the foster care system was in Tennessee, I cannot imagine how bad it must be in a place like Las Vegas.” I shrugged.
“Yes it was horrible but I survived,” I said. “How old are you and your brothers?” I asked.
“I am twenty three, my youngest brother Ben is seventeen, the younger is Jason he is twenty two and my older brother Luke is twenty five, I think Sam said it is twenty two.” I glared at the other men.
“Why are we so close in age?” I wondered out loud.
“Apollo told me that thirty years ago there was a great time of migration among the Angels and many visited Earth to act as guardians to bring back people from the darkness. I guess Angels aren’t the perfect saints that we were all told they were.” Dominic yawned.
“No it seems the Greek myths about our parents are the more accurate tales.” I whispered.
“By the way you can call me Dom, all my friends do,” I eyed him out of the corner of my eyes.
“Are we friends?” I asked.
“Well maybe not yet, but I would like to think that eventually we can become so, it seems that from what Apollo has told us that we will be living here for a few weeks and after this we will all live in the council building within the city.” Dominic stated, he smiled at me as I looked straight at him, his smile was bright and comforting in such cold place.
“So we will be close to each other for a long time?” He nodded, I let out a long sigh of frustration. “I am not used to having friends or even acquaintances in truth.” I admitted.
“That is alright, from what I heard your mother telling Nodens and my father it is not surprising, but I hope that you will give me a chance,” I could not help but smile at his insistence.
“Lyra did you have a good night’s sleep?” Macha’s voice came from above, she, Apollo and another man with white hair and green eyes that I guessed to be Nodens, descended through the mist above the center of the courtyard.
“Oh yeah that mist leads to the floors below and above so be careful,” Dominic said.
I stared in awe as the three Angels landed on the stone before me, their wings extended from their back, each at least six feet long, covered in gold and white feathers. Their primary feathers brushed the ground as they folded them against their backs. Nodens and Apollo made their way over to where their sons sat at the table.
“I will talk to you later?” Dominic asked.
“Yes thank you Dom,” I said, I grinned as he gave me a shy smile and went to join his father.
“Would you like to learn more now?” Macha asked from beside me.
“To grow my wings?” I asked, she nodded. Her own wings dissolving in a shower of dazzling white light.
“Come sit we will talk over here and I will try to explain it to you.” Macha lead me to the table closest to us and sat down, crossing her long legs and folding her hands in her lap. I sat across from her and waited, she was watching the men at the table in the next corner. “Within each of us is a well of Light, it is from that Light that we gain our power and our wings.” She said after a few moments. Dominic it seemed had grown bored with whatever Nodens was telling them and came to sit beside me and listen to my instruction. Macha eyes him wearily for a moment before continuing. She held out a hand her palm up, from her hand sprouted a blossom of white, the flower spun slowly above her hand. She closed her hand the flower disappeared and when she opened it again a long thread of light began to weave around itself until it formed a long white spear, which she aim at the wall across the miss, it stuck in the wall for a moment before disappearing. “With the light we can create anything, from clothing to buildings, it takes skill to make the structures permanent but in time you will attain that control. Now I want you to stand up, take a few steps back, the first wing unfurl is quite dramatic.” She said. Dominic moved his seat so that he could watch me better as I took a few steps from the table and paused. “When you are ready I want you to reach with in and feel the heat that dwells within you, find your way to the light and touch it.”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, I looked inward, there within the back of my mind I found the well, an open circle glowing white, I knelt within my mind and reached out my hand, I felt the heat overcome me and flow through me. I opened my eyes, I was surrounded in a cocoon of swirling white energy.
“That is it,” Macha called.
I could feel the energy growing, but through the white cut a dark shadow. “There is another power here,” I called out.
“What?” Macha exclaimed.
“A dark shadow, like an eel swimming through the clear.” I screamed as the darkness, rose up and brushed my consciousness where I touched the well. No pain or terror came only warmth, similar to the sun on my face on a spring day in the desert.
“Do not let the darkness touch you,” Macha called, but it was too late, the white cocoon was now town with shadow, and the spinning vortex closed in around me blanketing me in its power. I felt a weight grow on my back, and I fell to my knees. “No,” I heard Macha whisper
I heard the gasps of those around me. I looked up at Dominic who stood right in front of me, he had extended a hand to help me to my feet, but his eyes were on my back. Hesitantly I took his hand and he pulled me to my feet, I shifted my weight on my feet to get used to the new burden of my wings. I felt the muscles beneath my skin, stretch and extend. I felt the tips of my primary feathers brush the ceiling overhead. I stretched the right one to extend before me so I could see my own white and gold feathers. I was surprised to see instead, feathers so were so black they seemed to absorb the light emanating from the walls and ceiling. The feathers created in their place their own colored light, deep hews of red, blue and green, from deep within between the feathers. I stared at my wings was it because I was a Nephilim, but if so why were Dominic and the others staring at me with the same shock as our parents.
“They aren’t supposed to be this color are they?” I whispered to Dominic.
He slowly shook his head. He took a deep breath and in a flash of light his own wings extended from his back, they were white with gold bands, so like the Angels but with the slight difference. I hung my head in shame why were my wings different, was it because I had let the dark tendril touch me?
“How do I get rid of them?” I asked.
“No you need to learn to fly,” Macha said, “This is how your wings will look but that is alright,” She said after a long pause. “Dominic, you have just learned to fly perhaps you can best explain it to her.” Macha said, she crossed her arms and waited, Nodens and Apollo came to stand beside her and they exchanged hushed words.
“Um, okay,” Dominic whispered, he stretched his own wings for a minute before continuing, “So um you have seen birds fly it’s just like that, you just have to flap your wings in tandem until you leave the ground and keep flapping.” He said, he shrugged and began to pump his wings as to show me what he meant, his bare feet lifted from the ground and after two strong wing beats. The wind from his wingbeats buffeted me and sent my hear whipping against my face. I followed in kind, I beat my wings against the air, it was difficult at first as it was a muscle I had never had the opportunity to utilize in the past as a human. I felt my feet lift from the ground as the vortex created by my wings caused my dress to cling and tangle around my legs. A squeal of excitement escaped my lips as I rose above the stone. “See not to hard is it?” Dominic asked, “Now focus on the muscles holding your wings at the angle that they currently are and tilt them.” I began to float forward, I tilted my wings the opposite direction and swooped backward. I laughed out loud as Dominic lead me around the edge of the mist and out into the center to learn to hover and turn.
“Excellent my dear,” Macha called from the walkway.
I glanced over at her, and I watched as Nodens leaned close to Macha to speak to her. I heard the words, “We need to take her to Azrael, Michael will want to know of this.” He growled, I watched as Macha’s expression hardened and she glared at him.
“Who is Michael?” I asked.
“The leader of the Seven,” Dominic said. I felt my blood freeze in my veins, and my breath catch, Nodens wanted to take me to the Seven, why because my wings were different. I felt my wings beat out of sync, and I began to list to the right. “Lyra focus,” Dominic snapped but it was too late, I felt myself falling, I stared up at him as I fell through the mist, his mouth hung open and his eyes were wide. “Lyra!” He cried.
“Dominic,” I screamed, I was falling backward as a rock from a sling, I could not roll over in the air, my wings were pinned to my sides, the joints continuously struck me in the face as down I fell. I passed through layer after layer of mist as the tower flew by me, I saw the occasional surprised face of an Angel on their floor shocked to see a black winged Nephilim falling passed.
“Lyra,” I heard Dominic’s voice call to me through the din of the wind passed my ears.
“Dom,” I shouted back, I glimpsed him from moment to moment between the mist, he was diving after me, his wings gone from his back. He was gaining on me but would I hit the bottom of the tower first.
I was going to die, was all I could think as my wings buffeted me, I had survived the end of the Earth only to fall to my death while learning to fly among the Angels. “Furl your wings,” Dominic called down to me, he was right above me but could not reach me through my feathers.
“I don’t know how,” I cried.
I gasped as the last layer of mist peeled away and I was surrounded by light, but not the strange glowing light of the tower, no this was sunlight. Above me was a great towering cloud, the top forming the anvil top of a thundercloud. Around the cloud above the sky was empty, clear blue for as far as I could see. Dominic was above me attempting to reach between my wings to get to me. He managed to grab my wrist and pulled himself between my thrashing wings. He was inches from me, as he held onto my shoulders to stay with me. “Focus on my voice, don’t let the panic pull you under.” He called to me, I tried to calm myself but my fear was overpowering.
“Okay concentrate just like you did to grow your wings the first time, think of the well, think of putting that power back into the well, dump the Light back in.” He called over the roar of the wind. I nodded, it was all I could do through the tears that lifted from my cheeks into the air. I felt blindly within my mind for the well and forced the power back into the well. My wings vanished in a cloud of white. “Okay, now I am going to kick you to force you onto your stomach okay?” He asked, I nodded, he put a foot gently onto my hip and pushed, it hurt but I flipped onto my chest, I was facing down, what seemed to be miles below us was a thick layer of unbroken white clouds. “Bend your knees to stabilize,” I followed his instructions, and my body leveled out and I was able to catch my breath and slow the growing panic in my breast. “Now just like before, touch the well, grow your wings let us get back to our floor on the tower.” He called to me, I felt my wings burst from my back and Dominic’s hands were torn from my wrists as he continued to plummet downward but my wings caught the air and I soared forward as the wind took me. The roar past my ears was almost deafening but it faded in time to allow me to hear, I looked at my wings, the wind flowing over my feathers. I could not help but let out a scream of delight I tucked my wings against my back and spun downward, I let out a whoop as I opened my wings and soared upward.
I broke my glide to spin around and look for Dominic, he was hundreds of feet below me flapping frantically in an attempt to reach me. I let my wings do the work, my muscles began to work just as my lungs worked to breath without me thinking. I glided forward, with the occasional pump of my wings waiting for Dominic to catch up.
“That was terrifying,” I called to him, as he grew level with me.
“I am sure that it was,” He shouted back.
“How did you know how to help me?” I asked, he laughed.
“I was a paratrooper,” He laughed.
“Seriously?” He nodded, “Wow that is amazing.”
“Well when my mother died I decided the military was the best option for me.” I glanced over my shoulder as I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye.
“It would seem that we have a shadow,” I called to him, he looked up, the white and gold feathers reflected the sunlight.
“I think that is Apollo, I heard him yelling after me as I dove after you.” Dominic said, “Watch this,” He laughed, he tucked his wings and stooped, he spun through the air like a top, laughing his opened his wings and spun back up to me in a few wing beats. “You want to try?”
“No thank you Dom,” I laughed, I could not remember the last time I felt so free. “I think I would rather get the hang of flying before I start doing stunts, I think the stoop I did was about as risky as I am up for after that fall.” I looked up at the tower. “How do we get back up?” I asked.
“I think there is an entrance up top, I remember Macha and Nodens talking about it a few days ago, but I wouldn’t know the first thing about finding it.” He called to me.
We both pulled up short, as a bolt of lightning flashed in front of us. The crack was deafening and pushed us each back a little with the force of the wind. When the light cleared, two figures stood in the air before us, no wings, just standing in the air. The first was tall and thin, his golden hair falling in thick waves to his shoulders, a silver circlet with an onyx gem adorned his head, his lime green eyes pierced through me as he looked from me to Dominic. The man beside him was broad and rippling with muscles, his golden eyes were the same color as his cropped hair, a great golden crown of twisted thorn vines with a myriad of different stones that reflected the light. The two crowned men glared at us.
“Nephilim,” The gold crowned man growled.