chapter 2
Malachi Starkman liked to jog in the early hours of the morning. There was something about the cool crisp air that made all the objectionable stuff around him transparent. He always liked to think that when you live in this rough world, you have to take all the good things you can get, no matter how small. He didn’t even mind a little rain here and there as he ran.
Needing to clear his head, he had been jogging for a couple hours now, crossing the same pathways for the third time. It wasn’t working like he had hoped.
Sometimes he just gets sick of all the bullshit! This is what happens after being around for 328 years. It’s a long time to deal with all the crap he goes through, and he’s still considered a baby for his kind. He just needs to feel normal sometimes; well as normal as he can, and not be a coveted “exalted one.”
His strides got quicker as the bitterness crept up inside him. Did he ask for his life? “No!” he ground out. Did he want this to be all his life was about? “Hell No!!”
Just his luck, he was born the great-grandson of the fallen angel Azazel. Azazel, who was told that spending time on earth would cause his evil inclination to overpower him. Of course he would ignore the warnings, stubborn shit. He got to be related to the one that fought his way out of heaven to come down and be with the beautiful “daughter of man”. Pretty soon, he began to start trouble, more than any of the others that fell with him. Leave it to Great Granddaddy to never do anything half ass. It is said that when he fell, he fell hard and still to this day, thrives off the misery of others. Malachi had gotten the honor of witnessing some of his work.
Malachi’s teeth began to ache from clenching them. He always got wound up every time he thought of his well-known and long lost relative.
Azazel was the one that taught men how to battle with supreme skill. He took the secrets of the heavens and passed them onto man. Wars were fought and battles started, people killed others just because they could. It was a huge setback in the war between good and evil. If that wasn’t enough, he taught the women more ways to allure men. His art of beautifying oneself to seduce men was really an act of deception. Because of him, the morals of decent people were turned to nothing. He lead the humans to a path of wickedness and impurity, bringing them over to the side of Satan. This world would have been so different without Azazel, and Malachi was ashamed that he had to be tied to him.
He always laughed a little when people would complain how bad their relatives were. When people would say how ashamed they were that their ancestors were bank robbers or slave traders, he would just think to himself, you have no idea!
Once in a while he liked to push himself when he went running. After so many hours, he could finally feel the slight burn in his chest and legs. It made him feel more human than he actually was. It made him feel a little more vulnerable than what he was. He is, what people would call, a nephilim.
The fact still remained though, that he was not fully human; far from it in fact. He had more angel blood in his veins than human. People would know how much of a freak he was if they had met his grandpa. Even standing twenty five feet tall, he had superior strength and speed. If that didn’t make someone run and hide, the double rows of teeth on top and bottom did. By that time though, it was too late. Rumor has it; human was one of “Pappy’s” favorite things to eat.
Thank the heavens that as generations passed, the descendants got less freakish looking with more humanity settling in. In fact, he was now only slightly taller than the average male human. He could possibly feel normal at times, if he didn’t have the same superior abilities as his ancestors.
He had to admit, the powers were kind of cool. Every nephilim had special abilities but one stood out above the rest. He was an empath, occasionally had a way of feeling the past and future, and could heal anything living. The empathy part came in handy a lot in his professional…and his personal life, he thought with a smirk on his face. The power that he excelled the most at was healing. There was a certain thrill that went through his body when he used this power. He was the best in the area with it, and it just came naturally to him.
Malachi! Get your ass home, I’m getting bored.
Malachi rolls his eyes, bitterly thinking about the telepathy he shared with anyone he was closely connected to. There was no privacy! Can’t a guy just get away for a while?
This was definitely not going to help the mood he was in. Of course Gemariah would come over to his place today. He’s going to know something’s up, he always does.
Fine! I’ll be right there. If you drink the last of my coffee, MAKE MORE! My eta’s 10 minutes.
First he needed to figure out what was going on with his head, now, before Gemariah could pick his brain. It was on overdrive; that had to be it. The last 24 hours had been pretty nerve racking for him.
His squad, all nephilims as well, work for an organization that helps banish or kill, depending on the situation, demons on earth and the souls they corrupt. They have people scattered all over the world, but his team’s home base was in Chicago, including the surrounding areas. Basically he was the company’s lapdog that risks his life while they sit on their asses. The bitterness started creeping back up into his thoughts.
The call about the possible possession yesterday shook him. When they went to the call, the possibility was confirmed, and they had to banish the demon before any more damage could be done. All of this is everyday stuff, except for the part where it was a ten year old boy. Women and children were the hardest for him. There’s always a lot of violence in a banishing, and it’s no fun throwing punches at the body of a young boy. Luckily there was no lasting damage, but it still didn’t sit well with him.
After that, he started to wonder if this was all there was going to be to his life. When you are someone that, if careful, could live indefinably, the prospect of that is a little frightening. Sometimes he just feels used for what he is.
This feeling’s been in the back of his head for a while now. It was just the mission yesterday that kicked it into overdrive. He probably would have gone off the deep end if it hadn’t been for….
“Ahh Shit! Don’t think about it…don’t…” He warned himself, but it was too late. The memory of his dream had already snuck back into his head.
Her creamy skin.
Her beautiful auburn hair that fanned the bed.
Those sinful violet eyes that narrowed with pleasure.
The most perfect breasts he ever saw, that fit just right in his h…
“Laundry, golf, reality TV.” He was trying to think of anything else. Malachi shut his eyes trying to will away the vision, but, at the same time…hoped he didn’t run into a tree.
It wasn’t helping, and when he shut his eyes, different thoughts came to mind.
The little mewling sounds when he ran his hands along her soft skin.
Her moans getting louder as he licked his way around her body.
Her crying out when he stabbed his tongue inside her ope…
“Hell’s Fire!” His eyes flew open and he increased his speed. If he couldn’t stop his imagination, there was no use letting everyone see how much he enjoyed the dream. As he ran, he was still aware enough to know he couldn’t go as fast as he wanted. He didn’t feel like drawing unwanted attention to himself, but at the same time, just wanted to be home. He quickly started to sweat more than usual. Malachi was trying to convince himself that it was just because of the over excursion but was failing miserably.
Just then, his chest started to feel…full, and his heart was pumping a mile a minute. It startled him at first until he realized what was happening. The memories brought onto him the same feeling he had in the dream. The feeling when she opened herself up to him, accepting him.
A groan was pushed forth from his chest. Need to get home, need to get home, he repeated to himself.
He rounded the corner to his street and thanked whoever that he was almost there.
It’s about damn time! My grandmother could have gotten here faster.
Dammit!!! He completely forgot about Gemariah. Malachi jogged up to his house, slowing down as he got closer. Once outside his door, he put one arm above his head and leaned into the door. As he held himself up, he concentrated on a spot located on the floor. To anyone watching, it looked as if he was taking a breather but in actuality, he was using all the inner strength he had, willing himself to calm down.
After a few minutes, he reined in his emotions and opened the front door to walk in. The smell was always the first thing he noticed because it smelled of freshly cut wood. There had been a lot of remodeling in the process to make the place his and the aroma kind of stuck. The house seemed to have a calming effect on him.
He had lived in many different places, but this one was his favorite. It was a simple ranch style house in a quaint suburb. Sitting on one acre of land, it was built in the shape of a letter L. The outside looked classy with its brick covering, the inside was spacious, and the house was…all his. Because it was located in a small town north of the city, he was separated from the major crime when he finally got home. There were many things he loved about the city of Chicago, but he needed an out now and then.
Walking in farther, he noticed his friend in the living room and he grinned. “Of course your grandmother could get here faster. She was 20 feet tall, two strides and she would have been done with one block.” He responded to Gemariah’s earlier jest.
“Okay, fine, you got me there.” Gemariah said with a smirk. “But really, what took you so long? When I saw you, you were only a minute or so away. It’s been close to ten.”
Malachi turned to walk to the kitchen, shielding his face. “I just had to wind down after my run. I was on the porch for a few minutes.”
“You never have to “wind down” after a run.”
He was grasping for an answer when Gemariah started walking toward the kitchen table, a paper under his arm, a coffee cup in one hand and…
Scowling, Malachi snapped. “Is that the last of my pull-apart?” At Gemariah’s smirk, he knew the answer. “Dammit, I was going to eat that!”
Doing a quick check through the cabinets, he realized two things. One, he really needed to go grocery shopping, and two, unless he wanted a tuna sandwich for breakfast, he had nothing to eat this morning.
That’s not happening…
“What’s not happening?” Gemariah popped his head up from the paper.
“Grrr! That thought was just for me, not you!” Frustrated, Malachi shut the cabinet a little more forcefully than normal and decided to settle for a cup of coffee.
He took a mug out of the cupboard then picked up the pot. The weight of it startled him, or better yet, the lack of. Looking down, he realized with more than enough frustration, there was no coffee. He shoved the pot back into the coffee maker a little too rough and the pot shattered all over the place. He took a deep breath before turning on Gemariah. “I thought I told you to make more if you took the last of the coffee!”
Without looking up from the paper, he answered, not concerned at all with the show of destruction. “Oh yeah, you were out of coffee grounds, so I didn’t.” He finally looked up. “Looks like you wouldn’t be making any if you did have some, now would you?”
All Malachi could do was rub his forehead and slightly pace the house. He knew he was being irrational and needed to control it.
Finally he realized there was only one thing to do. “Get your keys, we’re leaving!”
“Really, and where, may I ask, are we going?”
Malachi didn’t even look at his friend as he walked to his bedroom. “I’m going to change clothes while you clean up the glass in the kitchen. Then you’re going to buy me breakfast…and more damn coffee.”
“I don’t know why we need to come here. You got your precious breakfast…with a coffee I might add.” Gemariah grumbled as they stood amongst the crowd of customers. “Who in hell names a place “Java Lava” anyway?”
Malachi didn’t even look in his friend’s direction. “Because, I need to get more coffee. Someone likes to come over and drink all of mine.”
“You really should have someone look into that problem.” Gemariah answered distractedly. He had been looking around nonchalantly, but Malachi noticed Gemariah’s gaze had zeroed in on something. When he gave his million dollar smile, Malachi knew it was someone and not something. The suspicion was confirmed when the wink shortly followed. Turning his head to follow his friend’s gaze, Malachi saw the object of his interest; a tall, thin, ebony haired super model. Same old, same old. Gemariah’s taste in women never wavered. The only thing that ever changed was the hair color. This woman would grab Gemariah’s interest for the time being, but not for long. He was a good friend and all, but when it came to women, Gemariah just wanted to have fun.
Malachi rolled his eyes. “Can’t you give it a rest for one day? Wasn’t it just two days ago, you hooked up with that redhead at the library? He looked up at Gemariah with a confused look. “What were you doing at a library anyway? Did you get lost?”
That brought on a smile from his friend before he said, “No, a little birdie told me that there was something worth checking out there.” Laughing at his own joke, he added, “Plus, that was two days ago. Live in the now, Malachi.”
Malachi shut his eyes and shook his head in exasperation. He probably would have to admit soon that there was no help for the rake. If he hadn’t changed in the last three centuries, he probably wasn’t going to now.
“What is taking so long, shouldn’t the line be moving?” Gemariah eyed the counter suspiciously.
It wasn’t his fault that he was on edge. Nephilims don’t blend in that well, and therefore get a little on edge when trapped in crowded spaces.
“Just relax and flirt with your model of the day.” Malachi soothed. “It’s just a busy morning.”
Gemariah scowled at Malachi, which brought a chuckle out of him.
Ignoring his laugh, Gemariah did eventually draw his attention back to the ebony haired woman. From the looks of things, it seemed that she hadn’t given up on him either.
Gemariah always had that effect on women. It seemed that all he had to do was smile and crook his finger, and then they all come running, sometimes literally. He’s the tall, well built, blond shaggy haired golden boy.
Malachi didn’t mind that his friend got the majority of the attention. He knew he put out a “back off” vibe, but that’s how he liked it. People took one look at his height plus build, and became wary. Then add the trimmed black hair, goatee, and the grim look he always wore. It’s no wonder his social life was nonexistent, unless you count his dreams.
Don’t go there!
Don’t go where? Gemariah projected back telepathically.
Stop! That was my own thought again, not for you!!
Don’t get bent out of shape. Keep your thoughts to yourself better and stop projecting them. Not my fault, dude!
Looking contrite, Malachi answered back.
Sorry, I’ve just been a litt..
The conversation was cut off when they both got jarred while standing in line.
“What the f*ck…” Gemariah yelled a little too loudly for the comfort of the people in the coffee shop.
Looking over, Malachi spotted the culprit. He looked around fifteen years old, brown hair that covered his face, and pants two sizes too big that looked like they were held up by the forces that be.
“Watch where you’re going kid!” Gemariah shouted, finally figuring out what happened.
The kid then turned around and threw his middle finger in the air. “Make me Goliath!”
Malachi couldn’t help but be amused by that statement considering Goliath was one of the original nephilims. Gemariah on the other hand, broke out of line and started walking toward the kid.
Obviously, by the shocked look on his face, the boy did not expect this and turned to run away. The only problem was that all the people in front of the exit were hindering his escape.
In no time at all, Gemariah had the kid by his arm and was all but dragging him out the doors.
Malachi watched and knew he should intervene, but then looked back at the counter, then backwards to see how many people were behind him. He was in a dilemma. He knew he needed to get golden boy under control, but he would lose his spot in line, and he really needed his coffee.
With a resounding groan, he left the line, and turned back to see his spot immediately fill. His irritation was building as he walked outside. At least it had stopped raining for a few minutes. He didn’t need that irritant as well right now. Then he saw Gemariah leaning down so he was right in the kids face, still holding onto his arm. “Come on man, let him go. This is bullshit; he’s just a punk kid.” He tried to talk Gemariah down.
“Not until this kid learns some manners” Gemariah said between clenched teeth, not breaking his stare on the boy.
The looks he was sending the boy had been known to bring grown men to their knees. Malachi could feel Gemariah’s anger coming in droves. In turn, he tried to send over more calming emotions, but his friend had the frequency blocked.
“Now what was that you said in there? I hope you’re not fond of that finger you flashed.” He gave the boy a little shake for good measure.
“What in the hell do you think you’re doing?” They all heard the screech close by.
Malachi looked over and saw a little slip of a woman running over to them from inside the shop. Man, but she was a tiny thing, 5’4” maybe? There was nothing else extraordinary about her though. She had the classic blue eyes and blond hair, but what couldn’t be missed was the murderous look she was sending them. He then notice what she was holding…a to-go coffee cup…damn the woman.
When she got to them, she put her hand on Gemariah’s shoulder and pushed. He didn’t move an inch and continued to state at her as if she were an annoying pest. “Let go of him!!” she yelled as she gave a little bit harder push this time.
Gemariah eventually let go, probably more out of shock than anything. It had been a long time since a human went toe to toe with him, probably never someone so small. He stood up to his full height while scowling down at her.
Undaunted, she immediately stepped in front of the boy like a mother hen and pointed her finger at Gemariah’s chest. “Don’t try to intimidate me with your size! It won’t work buddy. What do you think you were doing with him?”
Obviously ignoring her own question for a minute, she turned her back to Gemariah to face the boy. Looking him up and down, probably for damages, she started sprouting off questions. “Are you okay, Jeremy? What happened? Why aren’t you in school?” Obviously she knew him, but before he could give her a single answer, she rounded back around to face Gemariah.
Malachi was watching everything in amused silence. He didn’t think he had ever met anyone like her before. She was going at a mile a minute and reminded him of a small elf. It was probably all that damn caffeine someone would get by drinking coffee, he thought bitterly.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” Now she looked exasperated. “What do you think you were doing?”
Finally snapping out of his stupor, he pointed to the kid. “You need to put that boy on a leash! He pushes complete strangers and throws around lewd gestures as a way of apologizing.”
The scowl was back on the woman’s face, but this time she turned it in the direction of the boy. “Is this true?”
All the boy did was shrug and look at his shoes.
“Apologize!” The word was said with such conviction, Malachi had to bite his tongue as not to say he was sorry himself.
The boy grimaced in Gemariah’s direction. “I’m sorry you are freakishly big and can’t go in public without people running into you.”
Does this kid have a death wish?
Apparently, Gemariah wasn’t going to answer him back. Instead, he took a step toward the boy.
He didn’t get very far before a resounding thud sounded when a dainty hand was slammed on his chest. A stare down was now initiated between the two.
Without looking away, she spoke to the boy. “Jeremy, try again. This time say you’re sorry…and do it right.”
“But Ms. Summers…” was as far as he got before she snapped back at him.
“Now, Jeremy!!”
“I’m sorry. I should have been watching where I was going.” He said quicker than Malachi thought anyone could speak.
Still in a locked stare with Gemariah she told the boy to leave and wait by the corner for her. He was smart and immediately complied.
Malachi started to wonder if he should leave because he was starting to feel like he was intruding on something personal. In the end he decided to stay. This was getting far too interesting, and he found that he was starting to like the little, strong-willed, slip of a woman.
“And as for you…” Speaking in a low tone to Gemariah, she finally removed her hand. “What gives you the right to grab him the way you did? Or shake him for that matter?”
Smiling a little, Gemariah looked the woman from head to toe and back up again. “Listen Tinker Bell, that kid is a menace to society. I was just trying to teach him some manners.” He then shrugged and added, “May I suggest a belt too?”
Malachi saw the lady visibly flinch when he mentioned manners and cringed at how his friend had said something incredibly stupid. It even sounded dickish to him.
Before anyone could blink, the woman threw the entire contents of her to-go cup in Gemariah’s face. Luckily it looked like it was an iced coffee, but it appeared he didn’t care. At first, there was the look of shock, but then came the anger. Gemariah opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, she was unleashing her fury.
“Well, the next time you wanna “teach some manners”, remember that. And know this, the next time you lay a finger on a child out of anger or stupidity, I will find you. Then I will call the cops and have you put in jail. The world would be a better place without a man that gets his kicks from manhandling children, walking around the streets.” She paused to take a breath and Malachi saw the fists clinch at her sides. “I’m shocked at the audacity you have to suggest taking a belt to a child!”
Those comments took all the humor away from the situation for Malachi. He immediately looked to his friend to gauge his reaction, but his friend was frozen in place with a look that could shatter stone.
Malachi finally stepped forward and spoke up. “Hey, let’s all calm down, okay?”
“Don’t even get me started on you! You’re no better. You stood here and did nothing!” She looked at him and pointed.
Finally Gemariah spoke up, but in a whisper. “You don’t know me.” Looking pissed off, he continued a little louder. “You don’t know anything about me! So get back on your high horse and back off!!”
“With pleasure.”
Malachi watched as she started walking to the corner where the boy was still waiting for her.
“Ms. Summers?” Gemariah hollered out, using the name she was addressed before.
She quickly spun around and placed her hands on her hips. “What?”
“The belt I mentioned was to hold his pants up. Maybe he might act more respectable if he dressed the part.”
She pursed her lips and turned back around. Without saying a word, she started to walk away.
Malachi looked over at his friend that looked as if he were going through an internal struggle. “She didn’t know.” He reassured Gemariah.
“Of course she didn’t know; no human does.” Gemariah shrugged like her words didn’t hit a little too close to home, but he knew they did. He also knew that his friend and closest team member was now thinking about his own demons, or better yet, his own fallen ancestor.
Gemariah got the pleasure of having Ramiel as the fallen angel that was his ancestor. Ramiel is known to have the personality of a tornado; care free one minute then horrifically angry the next. This is very similar to Gemariah’s personality, and therefore he is always concentrating on the differences between the two of them. One of Gemariah’s worst fears is that he will turn into someone as evil as Ramiel.
It’s always a fine line that nephilims walk. They’re all preprogrammed to be evil because of their lineage. Most can’t fight the urge, and it is forever a balancing act for the ones that chose the path of light. This was God’s gift to all, no matter who you were, free will. Therefore, even though it is told that all nephilims are evil, in reality, some chose to fight the good fight on the side of the Lord. It gets easier for nephilims the more generations that pass because of the increase in humanity to the bloodlines.
Anyway, ever since he fell from heaven, Ramiel has caused havoc and destruction wherever he went. He has been known to quote the saying “misery loves company”. One of his favorite pastimes is to corrupt families, often with the moral guilt that leads to domestic violence, including children.
This is why Gemariah is so shell shocked. Malachi knew, at that moment, his friend was comparing himself to the elusive fallen one.
While they were standing there, Malachi wondered if they should leave or try again at the coffee house. Out of courtesy, they should probably go, but he was starting to get a little on edge without his caffeine.
While contemplating this, he couldn’t help notice that the woman from before and the boy known as Jeremy, were now arguing. It really looked like she was ripping him a new one. All at once, the kid turned and walked away, and the woman was left standing there with her head bowed. Just then her head snapped back up and she squared her shoulders. Then, to his astonishment, she turned around and started walking back toward them.
“Heads up G, she’s coming back.”
This immediately made Gemariah stand at attention and turn around to watch her approach. When she stopped in front of the two of them, Gemariah crossed his arms over his chest and scowled down at her.
Clearing her throat, she glanced away before looking back at them. “I have it on good authority that you two dropped these in the store earlier.”
When she was done talking, she held out two wallets. Hot damn, but they were theirs. They were both so caught up in what was happening that they didn’t realize they were missing.
They each grabbed their own wallet from her hands. Malachi immediately put his in his back pocket, but Gemariah looked inside his to make sure everything was there. When Gemariah opened his mouth to say something, she beat him to the punch.
“Good day.”
With nothing but those two little words, she turned on her heel, and walked away.
What the hell was that?
Chuckling at his friend’s words, Malachi spoke out loud. “I’m not exactly sure, but I do know you have your wallet back and I still need coffee. Let’s go!”