
NEPHILIM ARISE
Steena Holmes
www.steenaholmes.com
Copyright © 2012 by Steena Holmes
All rights reserved.
This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
He stood motionless in the cold, sparse room, visions of what was to come played out in his mind.
It was perfect.
The rat droppings were fresh. His intended guest would have more company than first thought. The stench of mold, urine and sulfur filled the air. The aroma aroused him.
He rubbed his hands together as he viewed this small piece of paradise. The scorched cement blocks were a nice addition. The fingers of long ago flames licked the walls and left burn patterns snaking towards the ceiling. The little cracks in the floor crisscrossed each other until the kaleidoscope of weeds peeping through the cracks decorated the floor. Ants and other insects scurried away from his boots as he walked around the room.
Chains anchored in the walls promised torturous delight. Exactly what his guest deserved. Saliva pooled and dripped from his lips as he imagined the hell he was about to create for her.
It was all for her.
Innocent. Humble.
A gift. For him.
\*\*\*\*\*
It was time to say goodbye.
Nathan laid his hand on the frigid tombstone and closed his eyes. The usual platitudes of prayer wouldn't be welcomed. Not today. Not from him. She deserved more, even in death.
He'd known this day was coming, that there would come a point in time when he needed to step away from everything that held him back. The man he used to be was no more. It was time to stop pretending that there was even a glimmer of hope left.
I'm sorry Sue. I tried. Without you, the good in my life disappeared. I know what I did was wrong. But it's time to be honest - nothing would have changed. A promise was made. I'm only sorry you had to find out the way you did.
Nathan rose and dusted the loose grass off his jeans. The moon cast an erie glow throughout the cemetery, illuminating the tombstones around him. The silhouette of a bird perched atop an old stone cross was soon covered by mist as it rolled in off the lake.
The cemetery during the day was a serene setting sitting on the shore of Redemption Lake. But now, at this time of night, there was nothing peaceful about the atmosphere. He shivered as a cool breeze whisked around him.
"Once upon a time was never enough. Not for us. Not for our love. I'm sorry, Sue. I wish I could have been more." Nathan looked one last time on the tombstone before turning away.
Once upon a time was meant only for fairy tales. Where true love conquered evil with a single kiss and a worthy prince would slay the dragon.
Once upon a time, Nathan had been that prince. Before he became the dragon.
\*\*\*\*\*
Rotting carcasses littered the highway.
Nathan Hanlin entered the twilight zone as he drove along the curving mountain road towards home from the cemetery. The remnants of ominous music played in his mind. If he didn't know better, from the dark swelling clouds filling his rearview mirrors to the dust swirls up ahead, Nathan would think he'd entered his own private hell instead of just leaving it.
Sentries of large black crows faced him on either side of the highway.
His recent nightmare come true.
For the past week his dreams were filled with the reviling birds circling over a car wreck. Nathan shuddered at the memory. He'd heard that crows were once used as messengers from the spirits, but if they were trying to tell him something, he sure as hell didn't want to hear it.
He rolled his shoulders, a weak attempt to ease a knot that had set in more than an hour ago. The highway leading towards Redemption, the small town he called home, stretched on forever. A chill had permeated his body hours ago. No amount of heat blasting from the vents could warm him up.
One day the icy tendrils of death would leave him. One day. But not today. Never today.
A horn blared behind him. A blur of black whizzed by, but he would recognize the bike anywhere. Eva Sine owned the only bike in small town Redemption.
"Crazy woman." Her headlights danced their way across the darkened road as if she manoeuvred through the carcasses without a care. Any normal woman would have slowed down and the moment the first dead animal appeared. Not Eva. Everything was a challenge to her.
Even him.
Swerving to miss another unrecognizable pelt, Nathan's grip tightened on the steering wheel. The crows' beady eyes followed him as he drove past. It was unreal how they perched there, their black wings tucked tight against their slick bodies. Only their eyes moved, as if tracking him.
He could have sworn they were looking directly at him. Not his vehicle. Him. As if they knew him.
The large bronzed archway leading to Redemption approached in the distance. Nathan pushed his foot until the speedometer inched higher. Thirty feet ahead a barricade of large black crows were positioned beneath the large metal sign. Swirling clouds of dust sheathed the birds' movements, creating an illusion of a huge black dust storm. Hundreds of eyes stared at him.
You need us.
Nathan jerked his foot off the pedal. What the...?
He must have been more tired than he thought. Not a good thing to be on this road. His vehicle inched its way along, coming to a full stop right before the crows as their deafening caws filled the air.
The side windows and windshield cracked as the multitude of crows flew at him, their screams filling the air. Nathan ducked his head to his steering wheel, hands over his ears. The glass shook from the impact. Nathan was sure his windows would break. He didn't understand what was happening. His skin rippled from the onslaught of the invisible beaks poking at his skin. Fingers of dread tunneled through his brain. Nathan cried out in anguish, begging God for help.
Raising his head, he jammed his foot on the gas and accelerated until he drove past the swirling cascade. Gasping, Nathan struggled to regulate his breathing, failing with each inhale. Once he made it beneath the archway, he glanced in his rearview mirror. Nothing.
No crows, no swirling dust, nothing. The chaos had vanished.
He hit the brakes, his toes cramping from the quick movement. He leaned forward and rested his arms on the steering wheel. Scratch marks ran along the hood. Nicked, dented and littered with stray feathers, his truck looked like it had been dragged into hell.
Nathan reached for the door handle then stopped. His arms collapsed and chafed against the leather edge of the wheel before they fell onto his legs. His body shook as if an earthquake erupted beneath his feet and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Pools of sweat poured down his face as they mingled with his tears.
What just happened?
She, who could see all natural and supernatural, was blind.
Joanne arched her body, attempting to relieve the pressure of the unnatural twist to her wrists bound tight behind her bowed back. Struggling to stand, she cried out when her legs, frail and uncooperative, proved unable to support her aged body and she crumpled to the floor.
A noise roared ahead of her. Her body shook with the vibrations that resonated through the cold wood floor. The air held the stench of sulfur. It lingered and settled into the pores of her flesh. The smell grew stronger and Joanne gagged. An icy chill breeze teased her left cheek and she twisted, desperate to escape the permeating odor and gasped as a sharp object tore into her skin.
The heavy thud of a footstep sounded off to her right. One after another, until they stopped in front of her. Tremors shook her body as a hot, foul breath covered her. Jagged claws clenched her face forcing her to cry out. Droplets of blood wound their way down her cheek, mixed in with her tears and fell to her shoulder.
A horrific sound echoed through Joanne's mind.
"You are mine."
The streets were quiet as Nathan drove through town. His hands still shook from the recent attack. It didn't make sense. The time it took to reach Redemption from the Pass flew by in his desperate attempt to reach home.
When he first moved here to serve as Senior Pastor at Destiny Center, it reminded him of a town he'd seen in a Thomas Kinkade painting. Quaint and picturesque with white-picket fences, barking dogs, English gardens and the friendliest neighbors a person could ask for.
He noticed the lights on the walnut tree in the center park were dark, which was strange. Transplanted in the early 1900's, parties and town meetings were hosted beneath its extended branches and thick trunk. Throughout the year, it would be lit up with white lights strewn throughout its limbs which would shine for miles. The lights were never out.
He had proposed under that tree.
Nathan pulled into the parking lot outside of the small Second Chances cafe. When he'd first moved here he couldn't get over the names of the streets, stores and even the churches. Everything was tied back to Redemption. He shook his head. Everything, since time began was tied back to the concept of redemption.
Despite the late hour, he hoped Jack, the owner of the cafe or his feisty wife, Kate, would take pity on him and serve him a piece of the homemade apple crumb pie he knew would be waiting for him. Kate saved him a piece every night.
Or maybe Kate baked him a special cake. If anyone would remember, it'd be her. This year, he was okay if someone remembered.
When he pulled on the door, he was surprised to find it locked. He tapped on the glass with his knuckles and waited for Kate to lift her head from the counter she was wiping down. When she motioned with her hand for him to come in, he pulled on the handle again. With brows raised, Kate walked out from behind the counter.
"Are you just now getting back?" Kate held the door open for him.
Nathan nodded.
"You shouldn't stay there so long. Surrounding yourself with death won't help you live---" Her lips pursed at Nathan's glare but she didn't finish her sentence. As much as he would hated it, he would have walked out if she had.
He placed his hand on her back as they walked towards the bar stools. He wouldn't say it, but he could show her he wasn't upset. Besides, he didn't like to see the dark circles under her eyes and he knew he was probably the cause of them today. Her unraveled silver hair escaped from her carefully coiled bun and wisps of curly hair fluffed all over her head. The sound of her shuffled feet filled the diner as she grabbed a half-full pot of coffee.
Lukewarm and old was better than the sludge he made at home.
Nathan sat on one of the ripped red leather stools at the counter and glanced around. He nodded at Basil and the other man who sat with him in a booth nursing cups of coffee. Jack raised his cup as a salute to Nathan. The other man in the booth sat motionless with his head turned, looking out the window, not moving or making a sound.
Setting the cup of coffee down in front of him, Kate rested her elbows on the counter and gestured to the men.
"Well, Rev, we've got an old grump who won't go home," Kate said in a stage whisper. "Basil there has been playing with his cold cup of coffee for over an hour now."
"Coffee?" Nathan twisted his head to look at the old man. "Bay, are you sick?"
"Watch the dark. That's when they get you," Bay grumbled as he scooted out of the booth. He placed a bill on the counter and dragged his feet over to the door.
Ole' Bay mystified Nathan. He always had. He was a fixture of Redemption from the days of old, or so it seemed. Nathan didn't think he'd ever heard him utter anything sensible or even understandable. Watch the dark? That's when who gets you? Nathan shrugged his shoulder as he watched Bay stumble out the door. Drunk like usual.
Kate locked the door as it closed behind the old man. With drooping shoulders, she grabbed the last slice of apple pie for Nathan. Rachel Gibbons, one of his best friends, made the best homemade pie around and she always brought one into the diner around dinner time for him to enjoy. They always met here, at the diner instead of at each other's homes. A habit from his ministry days. Never be alone with a woman - friend or not. Always have witnesses around. Too many of his old friends had been caught in traps they couldn't get out of because they weren't careful.
Struggling not to let his disappointment show, Nathan patted the red vinyl stool beside him and waited for Kate to sit and rest her feet.
"I never thought Basil would leave," Kate sighed. "The old man came in over an hour ago and asked for a cup of coffee. Basil drinking coffee." Kate shook her head. "There was a time when he would only drink tea. If Jose was still around..." She pursed her lips. "You know he doesn't come in here very often anymore. Jack says its cause I remind him of another time, another life. When he was happy. Now, he'd rather nurse his JD over at the Powder Horn Saloon."
Nathan glanced over his shoulder and stared at the lone man left in the booth. Something about the man didn't sit right with him. He seemed too still and out of place.
"Are you waiting for someone to come by?" Kate nudged his shoulder.
"No, but who's that stranger sitting in the booth? How long has he been there?" Nathan said out of the corner of his mouth.
"What man?"
"In the booth, he's been staring out that window since I arrived," Nathan said.
"Rev, I think maybe you've had too much coffee for the night. There's no man sitting anywhere in this diner, except the one beside me asking me silly questions."
Nathan pushed his coffee mug away. "This isn't the time to be playing games with me. The man who sat with Bay. He's been staring out the window since I got here." After a day like today, he wasn't in the mood for this.
"Honey, it's too late for games. Why don't you head off home and get some sleep since you obviously need it. That booth is empty."
Nathan couldn't believe Kate would have the audacity to disagree with him. Did she think he was blind?
He stood and faced the booth. A distance of six feet was between him and the stranger. With each step he took, a numbing sensation worked its way up his legs, tingling, until he could barely lift the dead weight of his feet off the ground. Nathan strained against the effort, physically lifting his legs by sheer will until he reached the booth.
He looked for identifying features, trying to place the man. Nathan was sure he'd seen him before. But his eyes wouldn't focus on any one spot. The more he stared, the more difficult it became. It was as if he was looking out through a train window, speeding by buildings that bled together the harder he looked. Nathan scrunched his eyes together, hoping to clear them, but all they did was sting. He forced them open.
Now two steps away from the booth, Nathan leaned his body forward so he could rest his hands on the table. A wave of exhaustion and incredible sadness overwhelmed him the moment he touched the table.
The man's head twisted and his black eyes narrowed as his focus turned from the window. Immobile, Nathan fought to breathe while a black haze floated over his eyes. He stared deep into the man's gaze until he lost himself in the pool of darkness. Indescribable horrors flashed through his mind.
Images of lightning, fire and wings filled his mind. A child's cry echoed around him. A woman's scream.
Nathan shook his head. The grip of fear diminished as he turned his head away from the man in the booth. The physical effects vanished with each breath he took. His feet no longer cemented, Nathan whipped his head around, only to find the object of his inspection no longer there.
Nathan searched the diner, hoping to catch a glimpse of the stranger. Confusion overwhelmed him. Was he losing his mind? Oh God, he hoped not. Not now. Not like--
"Nathan, come on now, honey. You just come with me." Kate grabbed onto his hand and led him to the front door.
"I'm crazy, just like her." Nathan muttered as his head throbbed.
"I doubt that. I think your mind is usually quite clear."
"I swear there was a man inside your diner. When I looked in his eyes, I saw hell. Literally. And earlier, I was attacked by a demonic swarm of crows."
"Nathan, honey, I think you need to go home and get some sleep. You look exhausted." Kate left him at the front door and ambled over to the small kitchen sink hidden underneath the counter, placing Nathan's dirty dish and cup in there.
"Kate, my mind isn't playing tricks."
"Honey, you're tired. You keep runnin', too afraid to face your inner demons," Kate waved her hand at him. "Don't look so surprised. You're not that good of an actor. You rarely go home at nights. You hole up in your office where you think no one notices. Go. Home." She pointed to the door. "You don't have to face those demons tonight, but you do need to sleep on something other than your office couch."
How did she know? He'd never told a single soul the truth about what had happened.
Kate grabbed onto his arm. "Now, walk me to my truck." Nathan had no choice but to obey. His mother had taught him that, at least. "Promise me you'll go home and get some sleep?" She patted Nathan on the cheek as he stood there puzzled.
He bit his lip as he helped her into her truck. "Good night, Kate," he muttered as he closed the driver's door. He backed away as plumes of black smoke jetted out of the exhaust when she turned the key. It was time to either park this old piece of junk out in the field or fix it.
Maybe he'd talk Jack into donating it to the high school shop class.
Nathan hoped Kate noticed he didn't make any promises to her. He wouldn't do that to her, especially when he knew he wouldn't be keeping them. Going home in the evenings wasn't an option Nathan usually considered. Tonight, though, might be an exception.
Demons from his past couldn't be any worse than the ones he'd already faced tonight. He'd grown up with a crazy mother who saw spirits in every corner. She always told him he had the gift, something he vehemently denied. Why would he be proud of a gift that destroyed his mother?
No. Nothing could be worse than what he'd already experienced.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Joanne's parched mouth ached as the water echoed against the metal it hit over in the corner. Her tongue swelled with each drip until the dryness of her mouth became unbearable. Afraid to make a sound she lay on the cement floor, quivering with cold and dread.
She was caught in a nightmare. One of her own making.
She'd known for years that this day could come. Would come. But as the years passed, the threat of discovery, of remembrance disappeared.
She thought she'd been safe. She'd never been more wrong in her life.
Footsteps skulked closer. She counted the seconds it took for each thud on the floor. One foot lagged behind at a slower rate. She tried to figure out who her captor was but she couldn't recall anyone with a limp leg.
Joanne trembled as the air filled with the stench of the monster. Something inside of her warned her to get ready. She relaxed her body a second before flying through the air and being thrust violently against the wall. She couldn't breathe. Curled into a ball, her body ached as waves of pain tore through her. She couldn't contain the cries as she was kicked over and over. Joanne begged for the horrific beating to stop but with her every mournful cry the feral attacks increased.
She was going to die.
"You're not going to die. I have plans for you. I've always had plans for you." Cold hands gripped her face.
Joanne recognized that voice and knew.
He'd come back for her.
Every bone felt broken, every muscle torn, trickles of blood welled up through open cuts, pinpricks of pain danced along her skin. She prayed for darkness to overtake her, to consume her and end her misery.
"Not only for you, Joanne, dear." Tremors flowed through her body as the voice hissed her name. Once upon a time the demon had whispered her name, like a silk caress against her skin. Once upon a time when he'd been an angel in disguise.
The crackle of laughter filled the air. She'd forgotten he could read her thoughts.
"I've never been in disguise. You've always seen me as I am. As I should be. As I will be once again - thanks to you."
Joanne shook her head and ignored the pain. It wasn't possible. How could he know?
"You thought you could hide our son away from me? There is no place you can run that I can't follow. You thought your prayers to God would save you, didn't you?" The hatred and arrogance in the voice of the one she once used to love shook her to the core.
"You're mine, Joanne. The moment you pledged yourself to me I stole your soul."
Darkness stole over her as she struggled to understand what he was saying to her. How could he steal her soul? How did he find out about her secret?
"Nathan," she whispered before she gave in to the bliss of darkness that surrounded her.
Going home to an empty house really didn't hold much appeal.
As Nathan made a right turn on Grace Street, his headlights barely made a dent against the darkened road. It was as if a black shroud enveloped the street. He cranked his neck to look up at the old fashioned street lamps that normally illuminated the dozen or so aged Victorian houses.
They were all burned out.
Even his porch light was dark. Nathan glanced at the clock on his console. The timer wouldn't have gone off yet. He kept his porch light on till midnight.
He pulled into his driveway and killed the ignition. His neglected home didn't hold the warm feelings it once did. There was no laughter, no light in this building. What once was a home was now a house and Nathan hated it.
He blamed God.
Nathan dragged his weary body out of the truck.
"It's about time you dragged your sorry ass home."
Nathan's blood stirred at the sound of the husky yet very sexy voice. He straightened before searching for the voice. The sharp squeak of the porch swing had him twisting his head before he caught sight of the one woman who tempted him to sin with every thought.
"How long have you been waiting?" He crossed the yard and bounded up the stairs. Suddenly he didn't feel as tired. The sight of her took his breath away every time. He'd never met another woman like her.
"All my life darlin," Eva winked as she scooted down the seat leaving room for Nathan to join her. She wore her signature black leather jacket with a red scarf wrapped around her slender neck. Her black hair was pulled up into a ponytail and swung to the gentle rocking of the swing.
"You say that every time," Nathan struggled not to jump when his leg hit hers. He casually readjusted himself so that only an inch separated them on the swing.
This woman made him blood boil in more ways than one. She was the bane of his existence yet he needed her like he needed air to breathe, and it bothered him. Not even Sue had affected him this way.
"Maybe one day you'll realize I'm telling you the truth," Eva whispered before she bent down, reached between her legs and pulled out a brown paper bag. "Here, I got this for you." She held it out.
Nathan shook his head. "I don't drink. You know that."
Shoving the bag into his hands, Eva swore. "It's not alcohol you jerk." She pushed herself to her feet and stormed off his porch.
The sudden burst of anger surprised him. Going after her would do no good, so Nathan held the bag in his hands and just watched her leave. The tight jeans she wore hid little, and he'd be a liar to say he minded. She jumped onto her motorcycle, pulled her helmet over her head and drove away, the squeal of the tires loud in the night air. He glanced at his watch. She'd be back.
She always came back.
Nathan sighed, sank back against the wood supporting his back and glanced at the bag in his hands. Some days he didn't understand that woman. She'd shown up in town a little over a year ago, standing out in her black leather pants, jacket and boots. The first time he'd seen her was at the cemetery. The second was when he stood at the edge of the cliff far from town and looked down at the crystal clear waters of Redemption Lake wondering why he shouldn't jump.
If it hadn't been for the sound of her motorcycle down a forgotten dirt road, he would have.
Ever since then she'd always been there for him. At his darkest moments. When he felt most alone. Or troubled.
Nathan rubbed his hand over his face. He wanted a do-over. He deserved a do-over after the day he'd had.
Happy birthday to me. Not even Kate had remembered.
He slowly pushed his body off the swing and straightened. The brown bag slipped from his grasp and landed with a thud on the deck. He bent down to pick it up, but the bag ripped in his hands. A brown leather book slid out.
Kneeling, Nathan picked up the book and gently stroked the material. Soft. Like butter beneath his fingers. He opened the book and found blank pages inside.
A journal.
She bought him a journal.
A sharp pain sliced through his heart before he stood and walked down the porch steps.
Out of everyone in his life, why did it have to be her that remembered his birthday? Why was it her that bought him a journal - a gift that not many would understand the significance?
His footsteps heavy, Nathan headed towards his side kitchen door. No one used the front door anymore. His foot nudged something he couldn't make out in the darkness. Why wasn't the outside light turned on? He had it set to a timer.
Shadows lengthened across his driveway as he made his way to the door. The full moon illuminated the pathway for him, which was odd since the outdoor light should have been on.
Actually, the lights in the house should have been on as well. Yet the interior of his home remained dark.
Nathan laid his fingers on the door knob, gripped but before he could twist, it pushed open on its own. Cold fingers of dread tiptoed up his spine. The door should have been locked.
\*\*\*\*\*
Inside, Nathan hesitated.
A heavy curtain of silence filled the house. He hated dark houses. Hated dark corners. Hated anything dark. A light was always kept on. Always.
He flipped the light switch on and off, hoping for a miracle. The deafening stillness stretched until icy cold fingers settled around his neck to choke him. Mentally shaking himself, Nathan tossed the journal in his hand onto the counter beside him and stiffened his back. Time to man up.
First he needed music. And light. The first thing he'd done after his wife, Sue, died was to hardwire the house with speakers in every room. Too many ghosts haunted him in the stillness, too many memories of a happier life taunted Saloon him.
He headed towards the pantry and fumbled around in the shelves until he found his flashlight. He grabbed his battery radio, matches and his box of emergency candles. He set the radio on the kitchen table and turned the volume up loud enough to drown out his thoughts and shone the beam of light into corners.
A bright flash caught his attention.
He inched his way towards his kitchen table, the light illuminating his path. His eyes were playing tricks on him. They had to be. Why else would a birthday cake with one candle be sitting in the middle of his table. A half folded card sat next to the cake. He stuck the flashlight in the crook of his arm and reached for the card.
Happy Birthday Nathan. May you find a sliver of happiness on this day meant to be celebrated. I promised no gifts, but everyone deserves a cake on their birthday. Love Rachel.
A vanilla coconut cake. He struggled not to smile, but it was hard. That would explain the opened door. She must have forgotten to close it properly. Maybe the lights had been out when she came and she thought she'd be helpful by leaving the door partially opened for him.
There was something about Rachel that tugged on his heart. She was delicate. Sensitive. Someone to be protected. His heart was too coarse. Too ugly. Blackening daily from guilt and anger. Yet, she pulled at him, creating a desire to be more that what he'd become.
She reminded him of Sue.
Nathan's shoulders sagged at the thought. Eva thought he was using Rachel as a replacement for his dead wife.
If only she knew.
Ignoring the cake, he made his way down the hallway, his feet scuffing along the hardwood floor. He set the flashlight down on the floor by his study, casting the shadow of his silhouette against the wall. His bedroom door was at the end of the hallway, where the light didn't reach.
To the right, his office door stood open. The moonlight shone through the open window, the curtain billowing as the night breeze whispered through the screen. His old worn couch beckoned. Maybe the midnight breeze would ward off any nightmares tonight.
He pulled the hand-knitted afghan across his body and with his arm tucked behind his head he surrendered to the weariness deep in his bones. A lonely keen from a mountain lion echoed through the night sky. Its eerie song drifted through the valley.
The heavy fog of Nathan's nightmare drew closer, the distant sound of a baby's cry echoed through his mind. A tear escaped through his lashes and slid silently down his cheek as he welcomed the sound, embracing it, knowing it would never draw closer.
Kate stood at her front counter and evaluated the windows of her diner. They were covered in streaks her nephew missed. She grabbed old flyers and her spray bottle. Good help was hard to come by.
Breakfast aromas drifted out of the kitchen where her husband Jack slaved away at the stoves. Homemade grits, bacon and eggs, toast and a strong coffee were the morning staples at the cafe. In Redemption, most folks tended to congregate at the diner in the early morning before they headed to work.
This morning turned out to be quiet. Too quiet. Grumpy old Wilbert sat in his usual spot complaining about the coffee. She never made it strong enough for him.
The conversation she'd had with Nathan last night replayed in her head. That boy was in a heap of trouble and there was nothing she could do about it.
But she knew who could.
A tired smile crept over Kate's face as Rachel Gibbons entered the diner, a swinging basket at her side. She was a breath of fresh air for Kate's weary soul.
"Jack, your favorite non-daughter is here! Make up some batter, will ya? Better make a double batch if you can," Kate called into the back.
"Come make it yourself, woman! Can't you see I'm busy?" His voice boomed.
Kate looked around the swinging door into the kitchen. "The only thing I see, old man, is you working on the crossword puzzle instead of making breakfast like you should!"
Kate turned in time to catch Rachel placing her hand on Wilbert's left shoulder. When she leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek, Kate smiled. That girl's heart was as big as an ocean. Wilbert ducked his head, but Kate knew there was a grin on his face. You couldn't help it around Rachel. Orphaned at a young age and raised by the local pastor, she was a woman who refused to let life interfere with her passions.
"Good morning," Rachel said before leaning down and placing a light, feathered kiss on Kate's cheek. She set the basket down on the counter and began to unfold the towels that covered whatever delicious treats she hid inside.
Kate's mouth watered. Rachel had recently rented out the little kitchen in the bakery next door. Jack considered Rachel a second daughter and refused to charge her whenever she came in for meals, so in exchange, Rachel would bake mouth-watering scones, muffins and cookies for them to sell.
"Good morning, sweetheart. Jack is making some waffles and I picked some strawberries from the field just for you," Kate said as she brought out the glass holders she kept just for Rachel's baking.
Rachel's smile lit up the room. "Hmm, fresh strawberries. Mind if I swing by later today and pick some more? I have a recipe for strawberry scones I'd love to try."
The little bell above the door jingled as Kate wiped her hands on her apron. "Jack, Doug's here." Kate poked her head into the kitchen and eyed the pen that rolled off the crease in the crossword puzzle book.
"His order is ready." Jack motioned with his head to the side counter by the door as he poured batter into the waffle iron.
She blew him a kiss before grabbing the brown bag.
"If you happen to see Basil this morning, would you mind making sure he's all right? He was acting a bit strange last night," Kate walked down to the cash register and waited for Doug to join her.
"Strange? Bay?" Doug frowned as he pulled out his wallet.
"He was in here drinking coffee till closing."
"Basil?" Doug repeated.
Kate nodded. "Just make sure he's not getting sick. Tell him I'll have soup ready for him if he's in the mood."
She kept her eye on Doug as he left her diner. He never headed in the same direction when he left, yet she always assumed he went to meet Bay. Wherever the old man could be found.
She poured coffee into two white mugs and handed one to Rachel, who walked towards the middle booth by the window.
"I wonder how Nathan's birthday went yesterday?" A sad smile crept onto Rachel's face as she cradled the mug in her hands.
"It took everything in me not to wish him a happy birthday," Kate sighed. "Nothing's gone right for that boy in a long time."
Rachel raised the cup to her lips. "I made him a cake." She gently blew the steam away before taking a sip.
Kate glanced up in surprise. "When I did that last year he wouldn't speak to me for over a week. Are you sure that was wise?" The longer Nathan nursed his anger and hatred the worse he became.
Tears welled up in Rachel's eyes. "I miss the man he used to be. I want to help him get back there."
Kate reached across and rubbed Rachel's cold hands. "Oh honey. While I'm the first to believe in miracles, even that might be too much to pray for. Losing Sue and his baby the way he did, on his birthday...I'm not sure he can come back from that."
Kate read the determination in Rachel's gaze. The girl had the heart of an angel but Nathan---his wings had tarnished a long time ago.
"He can, Kate. Don't give up on him. Please?"
Shaking her head, Kate sipped her coffee while glancing around the cafe. Sure would be nice if it were busier. She could use a distraction. Even the main street was a virtual graveyard. Other than Eva sitting in the park across the street. What was that girl doing all alone in the park?
"What are you looking at?" Rachel asked.
Kate tore her gaze away from the empty streets. No sense in mentioning Eva, not now. Kate wasn't sure if it was jealousy or something deeper, but Kate always froze when Eva was around. "There's something in the air...It's like a heavy shroud covered the town overnight. I didn't think there was a storm coming."
Rachel leaned back and set her mug on the table. "There's this old saying my father used to say. Every generation, evil takes form and steals the soul of the most devout. Do you think it's true?"
Kate sighed. "There tends to be a kernel of truth in every tale you hear about our past. My grandma used to tell us kids stories about the evil one. How you could hear his lonely cry in the wind." She shrugged. "You tell me. Haven't you seen enough evil in your life?"
Emotions filtered across Rachel's face before she blurted out, "I'm scared that it's true."
Kate reached across the table for Rachel's hand and squeezed. "There's a scripture verse I try to remember when I get afraid. We are not ruled by a spirit of fear but of love, power and a sound mind."
Rachel sighed. "Oh I know, but living it is a different thing altogether. Do you know what I'm talking about?"
Kate pursed her lips. "I do," she said, "but don't allow fear to consume you."
"It takes a strong woman to face her fears and walk right past them. Sometimes I don't feel that strong."
"Oh honey." It was everything Kate could do not to cry. "You are one of the strongest women I know." She thought about the hell Rachel had gone through as a young child. The horrors she'd had to face. "You've taught me a thing or two in my old age about embracing life."
Rachel's finger drew circles around the rim of the coffee cup. "At my real father's old cabin there was a book he used read whenever he was drunk. I think it was a journal he found from a miner. I remember him reading me the stories late at night. I'd get nightmares. He said I needed to learn to face my fears instead of indulging in fairy tales."
Kate leaned forward. It wasn't often Rachel would talk about her childhood. God knew they weren't full of good memories. A drunken mother, an abusive father. Kate knew you should never speak ill of the dead, but Rachel's parents were no angels. "What's so special about this book?"
"I think it might have the answers we need. If this myth is true, this journal might hold the secret to saving the soul of the most devout." Rachel's face blanched as she whispered the words.
"Do want me to come with you?" She knew right away that Rachel intended to go to the cabin for this book. But as far as she knew, the girl had only ventured to the cabin twice in her life since her father killed her mother and left Rachel alone in the woods.
Rachel shook her head. "No. This is one fear I need to face. His ghost can't scare me. Not anymore."
Kate didn't think that was a wise move. "Take Nathan with you at least."
Rachel's brow lifted. "He's too scared to face his own past. I don't think asking him to face mine would be right. Not now at least. Our relationship seems to be at a standstill." Rachel shrugged her shoulder. "I'll be fine."
Kate bit her lip. Jack would be telling her to mind her own business right about now.
"Do you love him?"
A myriad of emotions covered Rachel's face. "It's hard to love a man who won't be honest with you, let alone himself." She sighed. "It's even harder to love a man who doesn't love you back."
Kate shook her head. That wasn't true. "He loves you Rachel. He's just confused. His anger towards God masks everything else in his life."
The smile Rachel gave Kate was half-hearted. "He doesn't seem to be confused when it comes to Eva. Have you noticed that?"
Kate had. And she didn't like it.
Kate sat in silence, contemplating her answer. She casually glanced back out the window and noticed Eva was no longer alone. Nathan now sat beside her on a park bench, facing the large walnut tree in the centre.
Something was going on between those two. Since the day Eva first drove into town on that fancy motorbike of hers she'd stuck to Nathan's side like glue. Kate pursed her lips. She didn't like it. Not one bit. If that boy had any soul left to save, spending time with that devil's child wasn't the answer.
"Don't give up hope." Kate said. "He needs you. More than he knows."
A chair scraped against the cold hard floor. Joanne struggled to raise herself up from where she lay.
"I've got to tell you, Joanne, for a while there our son was turning out to be a disappointment."
"He's not your son. He'll never be." She spit the words out as her anger rose to the surface. She bit her lip. Letting him rile her was a mistake.
"There's the spunk I've missed."
Joanne snorted, then winced at the pain. "I doubt that." The moment he'd walked out of her life forty years ago proved it. So why was he back? There was nothing she could do for him.
"You're wrong. Why do you think I picked you in the first place? That wasn't a random meeting. I didn't set foot in a church to pray to God." The disgust in his voice mystified her. She'd forgotten he could read her thoughts.
"What do you want, Max? Or is that even your name?"
The chill in his laughter caused shivers to run along her skin.
"Close. Morax." The pride in his voice sickened her.
Morax. Dread filled her soul. The last name of her doctor was Morax.
How? She would have recognized him. Dr. Morax was a Christian man, she was sure of it. She never saw demons surrounding him. There was a bright glow about him. It's why she trusted him so much.
Then she remembered that she'd never seen demons around Max either. Not until the very end.
"What do you want?" She couldn't imagine what he wanted with her. It didn't make sense. She was older now, while he sounded as if he'd never aged. She hadn't lived in the real l for years. Her son had forgotten about her. She was of no use to the man she'd once loved more than life.
"The pastor aspect to our son surprised me. Your influence was too strong. So was that weak willed woman he married. I knew getting you out of the way was the key. He's right where I need him to be. And don't worry, he's not alone. Hasn't been for a long time. And soon he'll realize that."
She was glad for her forced blindness. For years she'd longed for just one more look of his face but now she welcomed the dark. The cold from the cement seeped into her bones and she tried to readjust her angle. Her numb limbs wouldn't respond.
At the snap of his fingers icy, talons grabbed hold of her body and lifted her. Demons. His minions. If she'd been able to see them when she'd first met Max, she would never have fallen for him. It wasn't until afterward, after she'd given her virginity to him.
The radiant skin of a fallen angel only diminishes with time. It fades but never goes away.
"Leave me alone," she muttered, angry at herself for dwelling on him, on their past.
"I've never left you alone. Why would I start now?" The husky tone to Max's voice warned her.
Her body stiffened when he held her and drew her close. She angled her head away from his chest. She stifled a scream as it lodged in her throat. He took three steps and placed her on a softer surface. Rusted springs creaked as her weight bore down on them. She imagined herself on a cot and tried not to think about what infested the mattress she laid on.
"I'm hurt, Joanne. To think that after all my tender care towards you as a patient, that you would feel this way about me now. Have I ever let you down? I gave you the greatest gift I could. A son. Our son - made for greatness. I've taken care of you when everyone else forgot you. I'm hurt."
Her hands fisted and her nails dug into her palms. Sincerity dripped from his voice like poison from a forked tongue. Under her breath she prayed the Lord's Prayer.
"Why do you bother? He's already given up on you. He tested you and you failed. He may be the God of second chances, but when you sell your soul to the Fallen, there's no second chance."
She listened for his footsteps. She needed him to walk away. To leave her alone. To stop reading her every thought.
"I'll never leave you. Nor forsake you."
His bitter laugh as he walked away filled her with dread.
"Aren't you freezing?"
Nathan scuffed his feet against the fallen leaves. He hunched his shoulders against the brisk wind at his back.
Eva shrugged. "I feel alive. That's what matters, isn't it?" She patted the space beside her on the bench.
He glanced over his shoulder towards the windows of the cafe. He'd seen Kate in the window earlier, sitting with Rachel when he'd pulled up, but it was the draw of motorcycle parked across the road that pulled him.
He cleared his throat as he sat down. "I owe you an apology."
"Yeah. You do." Eva crossed her arms.
She wasn't going to make this easy for him.
"Thank you for the journal. It's been a long time since I last wrote in one. I---"
"Need it. I know." A brief smiled graced her face, her cheeks flushed from the cool breeze. Her long black hair rose slightly in the wind and Nathan swallowed.
"How did you know?" He'd never told anyone about his journalling habit that died along with Sue.
Eva's eyebrow rose as she twisted towards him and rested her arm on the back of the bench. "It's kind of hard to miss your bookshelf full of journals. I noticed you didn't have one yet for this year, or for last year. I know it'll be hard, but..." Her shoulder lifted in a shrug as she bit her lip.
"Sue used to buy me my journals." A shiver ran down his back. He'd promised Sue yesterday at her graveside that he'd start to journal again.
"She never would have wanted you to stop." Her fingers teased the back of his neck with their gentle caress. It didn't take much for him to imagine the feel of her fingers in his hair---stop. He shouldn't be going there with his thoughts.
"There's a lot of things Sue wouldn't have wanted me to do that I've done since her death." Nathan shrugged.
Eva gave him a smile that told him she knew more than she let on. More than he thought she knew. "You're a changed man. Don't beat yourself up over what could have been. Living in the past only hurts you, no one else."
Silence reigned between them. Memories of decisions made played out in front of Nathan. Of stepping down as pastor, of turning his back on God. Decisions he could never redo. He glanced at Eva only to find her staring at him.
Eva nodded her head towards the cafe. "Go on. They're waiting for you."
Nathan glanced over his shoulder. The parking lot to the cafe was empty save for his Jeep and two pick up trucks. Which was odd. The place was normally packed in the mornings. Everyone came for Jack's breakfast waffles or eggs.
The sight of her motorbike snagged a memory.
"When you zipped past me yesterday on the highway, didn't you notice the crows?" They'd invaded his dreams last night, their beady eyes hounding him.
Her eyes darkened as she stared at him before turning her head and staring off into the distance. "Yeah, I noticed." Something in her voice caught his attention.
"I've never seen so many of them before, not like that."
Eva withdrew her arm from the back of the bench and gripped her hands together. "My...father...believes the gods use them as messengers," her voice dropped.
Nathan leaned forward. Eva never talked about her father unless it was to call him devil incarnate.
"He used to tell me if I ever needed help, to search for a crow. There would always be one around when I needed it." She laughed, bitterness laced in the sound. "What parent tells his daughter to search for a crow?" She shook her head. Nathan noticed her knuckles were white. "Funny thing was, he was right. Whether I want them there or not, there is always a crow." She bit her lip, the sadness evident on her face. "Never a father."
Nathan reached out and covered her hands with his own. Eva unclenched her hands and threaded her fingers through his. She winked as he smiled at her.
"Go on," she said. "If you're not careful, Kate will serve you cold coffee."
Nathan stood but didn't let go of Eva's hand. He didn't think he could even if he had wanted to. "Come with me."
Eva chuckled. "Kate would have a heart attack if I stepped foot in her store. And poor little Rachel would be beside herself. I don't mind sharing you." There was a gleam in her eyes, a predatory glance. "For now." She smirked.
Nathan took a step back, letting go of her hand. He watched as she clenched her fist and stuck both hands inside her black leather jacket pockets. She leaned back against the bench,kicked out her legs and crossed them at the ankles. Her head dropped back, her black hair swinging close towards the ground. The way her lashes brushed her cheeks as she closed her eyes...Nathan's heart skipped a beat.
Mine.
The thought startled him. He turned towards the cafe, knowing there was another woman inside he should be claiming instead. If he had any hope of redeeming himself, of getting back to the life he once had lived, it was with Rachel. Not Eva.
So why was every step he took away from the beautiful woman on the bench difficult? Why did his throat tighten at the thought of leaving her?
A harsh caw filled the air. Nathan glanced up to find a single crow circling the air above him.
"See Nathan. They're always there." Eva's voice carried across the park.
\*\*\*\*\*
Nathan rubbed his chilled hands together as he stepped into the cafe. He spied Jack in the corner pouring coffee into mugs resting on a tray.
"Please tell me one of those is for me," Nathan called out as he walked over to where Jack stood.
The big man shrugged one shoulder before he turned, a fierce frown covering his face.
Nathan smiled sheepishly. He had no idea why Jack was in a sour mood, but he knew enough to keep quiet.
"About time you got here," Jack grumbled as he grabbed another mug and slammed it down on the counter. He glared at Nathan while he filled it up to the brim with coffee.
"Damn diner is too quiet this morning. Crazy folks believing demons walk the streets." Jack narrowed his gaze.
Nathan gave a quick glance over his shoulder to the empty street outside. "What demons?" He noticed Eva still sat on the bench, her body hunched over so that her hands hung below her knees. He never did ask why she was out there, alone.
Jack growled low under his breath, causing Nathan to take a step away from the counter. Pure anger filtered across Jack's face as he glared at Nathan.
"What's going on, Jack?"
"As if you don't know." Jack marched around the corner of the counter. Nathan took another step backwards but the back of his legs hit the bar stool. He reached behind him and placed his palm on the counter.
"You need to ask?" Jack stabbed his finger against Nathan's chest. "You brought a demon into this diner last night."
Nathan's eyes widened. "It was already here." His chest ached. Jack had used every ounce of strength is in his bulging muscles and damn it hurt. "Whatever that ...thing...was, it was already here when I arrived. Kate served the man a coffee. I didn't bring him...it...in." Anger boiled inside Nathan's soul. How dare Jack accuse him of something like that.
Jack glanced behind him before directing his gaze back at Nathan. "Kate saw nothing. You were the one to see that cursed thing last night. Not Kate. Don't go blaming her for something that is your fault."
Nathan brought his arms up and knocked Jack's hand away. "I'm not blaming anybody for anything. What the hell is your problem today?"
Jack took a step back before rubbing his hands over his face. When he took them away, he looked haggard.
"Something is happening in our town and I don't like it. Not when it affects Kate. Cause then it affects me. You've got her worried, boy. You keep running in circles when it comes to the calling God has on your life. And let me tell you ---I'm getting tired of seeing you make the same mistakes. Reminds me of my dog chasing its tail."
Nathan's jaw dropped. Jack was the one man Nathan knew would always be there for him, supporting him and offering a listening ear when Nathan needed it. Not once since before Sue's death had Jack confronted him like this.
"Well, Jack--"
"Don't bother trying to explain. I've had enough of all your silly excuses and explanations. Mood swings are fine for children, but you are a grown man. When you're beaten down, act like a man. Swing back. There's always a season for sorrow and questioning. I reckon God ain't too afraid of our questions and He'll even give us a bit of leeway when we need them. Yours have gone on for long enough." Jack crossed his arms. "Step up and be the man God made you to be instead of the boy you used to be." He turned away and headed back to the kitchen.
"Now go on over and give my Kate a big hug. She's been waiting for you." Jack called over his shoulder.
Nathan reached for the mug Jack had left and filled it with coffee from the pot sitting on the electric warmer. Sure, he was mad at God. Why wouldn't he be? God let his wife and unborn child die. But that was in the past. Every man made a course change in their life one time or another. Just because he used to be a pastor didn't mean he always had to be one. Didn't mean he wanted to be one either.
Why believe in a God who didn't believe in you?
Kate couldn't figure out Jack this morning. She heard the tongue-lashing he'd given Nathan. Everyone in the diner had heard. It'd been a long time coming, but that didn't excuse his gruffness. The man was cranky and she hated to see Jack in that mood. She relied on him to be her rock. Especially when she was having a bad day.
Like today.
"Sorry, Kate," Nathan mumbled sat in the booth beside Rachel and reached for her hand.
"What are you apologizing for?" She leaned back in the booth and watched the silent exchange that occurred between the two.
"You don't need to worry about me. I'm okay," Nathan shrugged his shoulder before reaching for his coffee mug.
Kate snorted. "That's the largest bald-faced lie I've heard today. Try again."
Nathan just shrugged. Kate shook her head at the boy. Some day he'd get rid of the blinders he wore. She just wished the walls he built around his heart would crumble. She was getting tired of the hard exterior.
"Was the cake okay?" Rachel's soft voice broke the silence.
Kate held her breath, unsure how Nathan would respond. If he hurt this girl, she'd make sure Jack broke a few fingers. Her lips pursed together. Son of her heart or not, the boy needed to learn a lesson if he broke Rachel's heart. She caught the brief clouding in his gaze as he glanced at her before looking towards Rachel.
"I ate half of it for breakfast. Thank you," he said.
The smile on Rachel's face warmed Kate's heart. The boy done good. Kate gave a small nod before hearing the slam of the kitchen door. She turned slightly to watch Jack wink at her as he came towards their table.
She shouldn't have doubted the boy. Rachel deserved to be treated like a queen and she had no doubt Nathan was the man to do it, once he let go of his anger. Until then...Kate shook her head. Everyone had their own personal journey to follow.
Jack laid out plates of freshly made waffles covered with strawberries on the table. For Rachel, Jack added some whipped cream on the side. He tended to indulge Rachel in her sweet tooth whenever he could. Kate gave Jack's hand a squeeze before he turned away.
"Honey, would you mind bringing over a fresh pot of coffee? I think we're going to need it. None of that decaf stuff you try to sneak on me, you hear?" Kate said. Jack's eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled at her.
She turned her attention to Nathan. She needed to know he could handle her next words. She'd minded her thoughts for a while now, waiting for the right moment. After Jack's lashing earlier, adding her own two cents wouldn't hurt. She just prayed he was ready for it.
"Honey, last night you plum scared me. I couldn't sleep all night 'cause I was so worried. I think something's going on and its time you paid attention."
Nathan dropped his head onto his hands and sighed. Raking one hand through his hair, he glanced over at Rachel. "I am paying attention."
"Are you?" She knew there'd been a demon in the diner. What bothered her is that she didn't sense it. Why Nathan?
"I'm not blind. I know what I saw." Nathan leaned back and took a sip of his coffee. "I don't understand it. Why me? I'm a nobody. Certainly not a threat. So why would I be seeing demons and not you?" He pushed his coffee cup away. "Don't tell me God is trying to get my attention. He had it years ago and He walked away from me, not the other way around."
Off to the side a 'harrumph' sounded.
"What did I tell you earlier, boy?" Jack said. "You should be thanking those lucky stars of yours God hasn't given up on you yet. Instead of loving you the way He does and putting up with your foolishness, He should be giving you a good time out like the young parents today do. Why, in my day you would have been taken out to the old woodshed--"
"It's a good thing your parents aren't around to hear you say this," Kate said, interrupting him. "Your parents didn't even have a woodshed, you old grump."
"Harrumph," Jack grunted as he turned away. The bell on the diner's front door jingled, alerting him to a new customer's arrival.
The three occupants of the booth sat in silence for a minute. Kate waited for Nathan to speak first. Rachel only bowed her head.
Nathan grabbed his coffee cup again, took a sip and set the cup back down on the table with a thud. "I lost my wife and child. Where was God on that night? I've moved on. I can't forget what happened, but it's in the past. I'm ready to move forward with my life. Doesn't mean I have to ask God to hold my hand while I do it. I don't trust him. Not anymore. I don't think I ever will."
"Then I feel sorry for you," Rachel whispered. A sheen of unshed tears welled in her eyes and an unrecognized anger welled up inside of Kate.
"You can't blame God for what happened to you. Those were man-made choices, not God-ordained ones." Kate clenched her fist as she struggled to keep her voice low and level.
Nathan shook his head. "There was no reason for Sue to veer off the road that night. She grew up in these mountains. I don't care what anyone says. She didn't just drive off the side of Crow Mountain. She was killed. God could have protected her. Where were her angels that night? They did nothing to protect her. Nothing."
Nathan pushed himself away from the table and stood. Kate reached her hand out to stop him, but before she could, something large hit the window and Rachel screamed.
\*\*\*\*\*
A shudder ran through Nathan's body as he stood mesmerized at the window. He couldn't believe what he was looking at. Within a span of less than fifteen minutes, the world he'd known outside had changed. Drastically.
What had earlier been a grey, dismal type of day was now hell on earth.
The sky illuminated an eerie blood red sun hidden behind midnight black clouds. Large heavy clouds blew in over the mountains and hid the sun, casting an demonic glow.
Thump. Thud.
Dead crows fell from the sky, their lifeless bodies covering the street outside.
He glanced at the park and saw another body lying on the ground.
Eva!
Nathan bolted towards the front door only to be stopped by Jack who stood in his way.
"Rachel needs you. There's nothing you can do for the dead birds."
Nathan glanced behind him. Kate had her arm around Rachel while they stared outside.
"She's fine. Eva is out in the park." He pushed at Jack who refused to move. "Get out of my Jack. She needs help." He waited till Jack moved before he pushed on the door and stepped outside. "Call the ambulance," he called over his shoulder.
Nathan quickly glanced up into the sky. The crows were falling out of nowhere. What the hell? Sidestepping and praying to God he didn't get hit, Nathan raced across the street and over to the park where Eva lay on the ground, curled up into herself.
It took him a moment, but he realized that all around Eva, the grass was clear. Everywhere Nathan looked, dead birds littered the ground, but around Eva, there was nothing.
Kneeling down, he gathered Eva into his arms. "Are you okay?" She rolled her face towards his chest, her body heaving. A deep overwhelming need to care for her filled him. Fear stoked his heart as she sobbed in his arms. He didn't know what was wrong or who had hurt her, but he'd never seen Eva broken like this. Never.
"Tell him to stop." Eva gripped the collar of his jacket and raised herself up in his arms. He stared into her eyes, unable to look away. Her irises were so dark, he would have sworn they turned black.
"Tell who?"
"He has to stop. He's killing them for no reason," she sobbed. "It's my fault. It's all my fault." Eva released his collar and collapsed back in his arms.
Nathan gathered her close and rocked her. "Who, Eva?" He whispered against her hair.
A shudder ripped through her body. "M--"
"Nathan!" Rachel screamed his name, the sound reverberating through the park.
Nathan whipped his head around, his arms tightening their hold in Eva.
Rachel stood outside the cafe, her arm outstretched as if reaching for him, horror etched on her face as she screamed his name again.
Time stood still as Nathan turned to view where she was pointing. The large walnut tree located in the middle of the park had uprooted and teetered. A sudden gust of wind picked up and whipped around the tree, the leaves on the ground funneling into a cloud around where he sat. Nathan's body froze as he watched the tree tip towards where he sat on the ground with Eva.
Move! Nephilim, son of Morax, move!
Nathan's eyes widened as a dead crow rose from the ground, flapped it's black wings and hovered a foot away from where he sat. The dead crow spoke to him. The. Dead. Crow. Spoke.
"Move, Nathan. We have to move," the heavy weight in his arms struggled against his hold. He glanced down at the woman he'd briefly forgotten. Eva's face scrunched as she fought against him.
"Move damn it. I'm not ready to die." She pushed her hands against his chest, forcing him to fall backwards. His arms let go and as he fell, Eva sprang to her feet. She reached down, grabbed his hand and hauled him upwards.
They weren't going to make it. The crow uttered a sharp 'caw' before rising in the air. Eva yanked on his hand, forcing him to jump out of the way. A gust of wind shoved at his back, pushing him further than he thought possible. He landed with a thud on the grass, his breath knocked out of him.
"You idiot! Why did you stop?" Eva sat beside him, hunched over her knees, her hair windblown and filled with dry leaves.
Nathan rolled over to his side and raised himself up. His whole body felt bruised. He stared, amazed at the old walnut tree. It landed exactly where Nathan and Eva had sat, it's branches broken and scattered all over the park. There was a large empty hole where the tree once stood.
"Eva. The crows..." Nathan stood and turned, searching the park and the main street for the black bodies. But there were none. None. All the crows had vanished.
Eva slowly stood to her feet, brushing off her jeans. "They're gone." Her eyes closed as a smile graced her face. She raised her face up to the sky and laughed. "I knew you couldn't kill them," she whispered.
Nathan took a step towards her. "Who are you talking to?" None of this made sense to him.
Biting her lip, Eva reached her hand out. Nathan took it, winding his fingers through hers. The warmth of her skin wove its way up through his arm and into his heart. Like always.
"Nathan, we need to---" Eva's eyes narrowed before she dropped his hand and stepped back.
Before he could remark on the closed look in her eyes, arms closed around his chest and squeezed. He glanced down at the small wrists wrapped around him. Rachel.
"I'm so glad you're okay," she mumbled behind his back as her head rested against him. He turned and wrapped his arms around her small frame. Her hair barely came up to his chin.
Nathan rested his chin on Rachel's head as he watched Eva back away. The wink she threw at him before tossing her hair threw him for a loop. He wanted to let Rachel go and run after Eva, but something inside of him held him back. Something always held him back. He couldn't understand it. It was as if his heart belonged to two different women no matter how hard he fought it.
Rachel needed to be loved. She deserved to be protected, kept safe. Cherished. Her pure heart didn't deserve his blacked one, yet no matter how hard he tried to keep her at a distance, she was always there. Waiting. She believed that there was more to him than there was. She saw something in him that even he couldn't see. She believed in him. Or rather in who she thought he could be.
Eva, on the other hand, accepted who he had become and didn't try to change him. It was as if she knew the scars were too deep. She didn't try to change him or push him. She didn't need him. But she wanted him. Or at least, he thought she did. She was one woman who got him so twisted he wasn't sure what he wanted or didn't want.
No one, not even Sue, had done that to him.
He rubbed his hand in a circular motion on Rachel's back as he watched Eva stride her motorcycle. He had no doubt he'd be seeing her again. He had some questions she needed to answer. A quick glance at the ground confirmed that.
Nathan walked through his empty house, thankful for the white noise of the radio in the background. After leaving Rachel in Kate and Jack's tender hands, he escaped the carnage of the park and drove for a long time down the back streets and mountain roads. He needed time to decompress, to understand what had happened.
Everyone there had seen the carnage that littered the street and park. The dead crows weren't a figment of his imagination. So how could they just disappear?
Rachel said she'd seen them all fly away after the walnut tree had fallen. But how was that possible? Why didn't he notice? The ground had literally been a sea of black feathers one moment, and clear the next. They didn't fly away. They disappeared.
He didn't even want to think about the fact one had spoken to him. Nathan ran his fingers through his hair. He wasn't going crazy. He couldn't be. He only thought the crow had spoken to him.
His breath hitched in his throat. He had to be crazy. Either way he looked at it, a speaking crow or thinking the crow spoke - he'd lost his mind.
He roamed through the house, unable to settle in one spot and paused at the one door that had stayed closed since the day Sue died. He reached his hand out, but it faltered before falling down to his side. He bowed his head before bending forward and resting it against the door.
His life had changed in one moment. He wished for the clock to turn back, for choices to be remade. He wished for the innocent belief he'd once held towards God.
That one awful moment held the power to not only change his life, but his faith.
Nathan stood that way before he exhaled and stepped backwards. Every day he tried to open the door and to step inside. Every day at the last moment he wouldn't, couldn't, open the door. He wasn't ready yet to face those inner demons.
He headed towards his study and sat in his chair. Nathan loved his study. He picked up a book and reread the first page for the fourth time before setting the book down.
Kate said you couldn't turn back time, that you had learn to let go and 'let God'. But letting God do anything was pointless. No matter how hard you believed, no matter how good of a life you lead, it didn't matter. Rachel believes that things happen for a reason. But what reason does death hold? Jack said Sue's death was accidental. That it was no ones fault. But he was wrong. It was God's fault. Nathan believed that with all his heart.
The road conditions had been pristine that night. Sue knew the mountain roads like the back of her hand and would never speed through the windy trails. Especially being pregnant. Keeping their child safe was all that mattered to Sue. She would never purposefully kill herself and their child. Never.
He knew all the platitudes, all the right things to say. He used to be a pastor. Of course he knew what scriptures to quote and what words to pray. Didn't mean they were real, or even true.
He would never admit God wasn't at fault. It should be God's fault. Nathan gave up everything for him. Sacrificed everything.
Nathan's hand fisted and he punched down on the arm of his chair. He even sacrificed his mother, all in the name of God.
This time there was no sacrificial lamb to the rescue.
No. God could shout it from the rooftops. Send an angel to stop him in his tracks. Visit him face to face. Have bloody crows speak to him. Didn't matter. Demons or not, folklore be damned, Nathan didn't want to hear God's reasonings.
Nathan perused the books on his shelves. Maybe now was the time to get rid of some of the stuff he would never use again. His Biblical Thesaurus, Greek translations and references weren't for the everyday life. Jim, the interim pastor they brought in to cover Nathan's absence after he stepped down could probably use them.
On the top shelf were some old books he'd inherited from the previous pastor, next to the box of journals found in Sue's vehicle on the night of her death. The box had been taped shut when he received it and it remained that way today. He wasn't sure if he was ready to read his wife's inner thoughts. What if he found the truth to her death? What if she did kill herself?
He blocked off those thoughts. She didn't. She wouldn't. She couldn't. Not with their child in her womb.
Nathan reached for the old books and set the bulk of five on his desk. The top one was an old black leather journal, creases covering the spine and front cover. As he opened the first page he wrinkled his nose as a musty smell wafted from the open pages.
"Dated July 20, 1901: My first day as the spiritual head for the townsfolk of Redemption. This is a God-ordained position that will not accept failure. I eagerly anticipate a transition from Reverend Somer to myself, trusting that the Reverend has prepared his flock to receive a new spiritual head. I have been adequately warned regarding the history of this town and understand the grave duty I carry. This town will not turn from the glory of the Lord while under my watchful eye. I know the signs, understand the temperament of an unhealthy church and will not allow this to happen again."
The last word leapt out at Nathan. Again. As if the pastor had been through this before. He flipped ahead to the middle of the book and what he read shocked him.
"November 9, 1902: I have failed. I have lived a lie for the past thirty years. I know the Word of God, yet have not held it as close to my heart as I should. Why else would this tragedy befall me. My faith is weak, my character downtrodden by the temperamental congregation that I serve. My only option is to hand in my resignation. Reverend Somer told me that it was God who appointed the minister to this church built for refuge, but I cannot believe that this post was ordained for me."
Nathan searched the previous pages to see what tragedy happened to this unnamed pastor, and when he found no clue, he searched ahead and only found blank pages. That was the last entry in the journal.
He picked up another journal. This one was dated February, 1939 and the minister was Reverend Scheldt. The beginning of the journal sounded similar to the previous one, excitement with the new position, full of dreams and aspirations for the church and its community. Nathan flipped to the middle of the journal and still found a minister who was excited about his calling. It appeared he held a real love for the congregation. He flipped through a few more pages, this time landing almost at the back of the journal. Dated Christmas Day 1941, almost two years into his pastorate, he wrote,
"Christmas Day, a day filled with joy and hope, celebration for the birth of our Savior. Yet today, it is one filled with sadness and despair. Today, instead of celebrating our Savior's birth, I am mourning the loss of my wife. I can find no words to describe my sorrow. My congregation, the same ones who killed my wife, have tried to shelter me, to console me and hold me up in prayer, but I find their prayers abhorrent, their consolation repugnant and my only wish is to be left in peace."
Nathan couldn't believe what he was reading. Here was someone else who understood what he was going through, someone with whom he could relate. He grabbed the books and sat down on the couch.
"My beautiful beloved is dead by their blood drenched hands and asinine prayers, yet they assume I will continue on with my duties for the Christmas celebration. I am not that strong, nor that dedicated it would seem. I cannot celebrate in the birth of one who would take from me my very life source. The church will have to learn to celebrate the life of a God I can only wish dead."
Nathan leaned back and closed his eyes as the grief written in these old pages overwhelmed him. He wasn't alone. Someone else who had walked in his shoes years ago understood. He was surprised the journals survived the flood, but he was glad they did. After devouring the remaining journals, one theme remained consistent.
A deep loss affected their faith in such a devastating manner they stepped down from their positions. The journals mirrored his own journey.
Nathan placed the journal down on the couch, unable to handle anymore. He walked over to the bay window and stared out at his backyard. He couldn't believe how dark it had become. He had lost hours in those journals. As the sun set and cast an aurora as it gently sank behind the mountain, an overwhelming sense of loneliness set in.
He missed Sue. Things were tense between them at the end, but he had to believe their love had been real. They would have been able to work through their issues, rebuild the trust he'd foolishly destroyed by his omissions.
His gaze followed the colors as they trailed down the side of the rocky hill and rested on the valley below its feet.
Nathan gasped.
A large black hole hovered in the air. A swirling mass of crows swooped into the hole and then emerged moments later, one after another, as if the currents of the dark opening forced them into a pattern.
He gripped the curtains as the black hole swirled, making its way from the foot of the mountain to the field before him. The grass beneath this mass flattened as it hovered.
Craziness ran in his family. He thought it'd skipped him, but he'd been wrong before.
The cloud stopped at the edge of the field where it met Nathan's property line. He placed his hand upon the cool glass and recalled the heaviness he'd felt the previous night when he approached the stranger in Kate's diner. He felt that way now.
He made the conscious effort to look away and closed the curtains.
He made his way to the kitchen and filled a glass with water from the tap. Nathan raised his hand to wave at the neighbor from across the street who stood on his front lawn, but the look of horror on Nels' face as he held a shovel in his hands had him leaving the glass on the counter and rushing out the door.
As the screen door banged behind him, he immediately noticed the damp chill to the night air.
"Do you see that?" Nels yelled out as he pointed to a few houses down the road.
Nathan stood at the edge of his driveway and peered down the dark street. "What am I looking at? It's almost too dark to see anything that far down."
"You don't see that? My wife thinks it's a UFO. I've been watching it for the past half-hour now." Nels' knuckles tightened around the shovel handle.
Nathan looked down the road again.
About six driveways past his own, there was a dark, hazy image. It was like a swarm of mosquitoes gathering in the dusk for feeding. It moved with slow precision, on to the next driveway. A remnant of the swarm stayed in place, reminding him of a sentinel on duty.
"Did you see it move? What is it?" The panic in Nels' voice was more than noticeable.
The swarm continued its way down the street until it stopped one house away from his. A low hum filled the air and the tiny hairs on Nathan's arms stood up.
At each driveway, a sentinel in the outline of a dark haze hovered above the pavement.
"I have no idea," Nathan admitted.
"Why isn't it coming towards us?" Nels took a step backwards and held the shovel away from him.
"Why don't you go back into your house? I'm sure Heather would feel more comfortable with you by her side." Nels' wife was peeking out the front curtain.
Nels held the shovel in both his hands across his chest, nodded and turned away. He kept glancing behind him before he reached his front door.
Nathan took a step towards the swarm. He watched it move away from him. What was it? A swarm of mosquitoes in search of food or could it be something else entirely?
The closer he came towards the swarm, the further it moved away. He quickened his pace but the distance between them never changed. When he finally stood on the opposite driveway, the vibrations the swarm gave off intensified.
Nathan stopped.
Something, or someone, protected him.
The black hole he'd seen out his window had stopped at the edge of his property. This dark swarm stayed away from him. Why?
An entry he passed over earlier in one of the journals flashed through his mind. Nathan rushed back into the house and grabbed one of the journals that had fallen to the floor from the couch.
"While the evil one takes residence the just shall prevail. A town surrounded by darkness will only survive if the spiritual covering remains intact."
There was no spiritual covering over this town anymore. Not like there was back then. With the variety of churches that filled Bandit Creek, it was impossible to place this burden on one pastor.
But even if you could, placing the burden on him was pointless.
Nathan was finished with God. When he stepped away from the church, he didn't just relinquish his title and authority. He relinquished his belief as well. And somehow it felt right.
\*\*\*\*\*
The pounding at the front door caught his attention.
Nathan rushed through the house and stopped in the middle of the living room. Who would knock on the front door? Everyone knew to come to the side of the house.
Unless that someone was Eva.
He peered through the curtains and saw her pace his front porch. He knocked on the glass. She twirled and beckoned for him to come out. Nathan shook his head. It was late. She could come in.
Except she never did.
The scowl on her face told him it was useless to argue with her.
He rounded the corner of his house and could hear her muttering. "Why is it my job to tell him? This was your decision--"
He scuffed his foot on the rocks loud enough to grab her attention. If she was on the phone he didn't want to interrupt. Except she wasn't. Her hands were empty and there was no bluetooth ear piece in her ears either.
"Who are you talking to?"
Eva jumped. "You shouldn't sneak up on people."
Nathan climbed the stairs and then leaned against the railing before crossing his arms. "I didn't."
Eva continued to pace across the porch, her footsteps pounding on the wood.
"I know I need to replace some boards, but I wasn't planning on doing it tonight," Nathan drawled.
Eva stopped in her tracks directly in front of him.
"You know, it's a lot warmer inside my house. One of these days you'll have to come in."
When she turned he noticed the tears that ran down her cheeks.
"Ah, Eva..." Nathan held out his arms and waited for her to accept his embrace. What was going on with her? He dropped his arms at the firm shake of her head. He caught the way her shoulders stiffened.
"Today...Nathan...today---"
"Was hell. I know. I was there. Are you okay?"
She shook her head before reaching up and gathering her hair in her hands. With deft fingers, she quickly braided her hair and let it rest against her shoulder. The silky black strands sparkled in the moonlight.
Nathan swallowed and took a moment to compose himself. God, she was beautiful.
"I heard the tree is already gone. The mayor wants a pergola made out of it."
Eva snorted. "Just what this town needs, another monument to the past." She took a step closer to him, her knees bumping into his.
A shot of electricity up his legs from the slight touch.
"What happened this morning, Eva? I leave you sitting alone in the park and then not even fifteen minutes later crows start falling to their death and I see you lying on the ground." Nathan gripped the rail post in his hands and stared deep in Eva's eyes. He dared her to lie to him. To tell him nothing happened this morning.
When she turned her head and stared out at the road, he'd had enough.
"Damn it, Eva. I need to know what happened. When the tree was about to fall on us, tell me you didn't see that crow rise from the dead! Tell me you didn't hear him. Tell me damn it that I'm not going crazy!" It took everything inside of him not to let go of his death grip on the rails and reach out to her. The sudden feeling of drowning overwhelmed him. She was his anchor and he needed her. God, he needed her.
She must have heard it in his voice. Her gaze returned to his, her eyes as black as night.
"You're not crazy," she whispered. "Today was a sign. A message meant for you. I just hope you listened." She leaned in and pressed her lips against his before stepping back. A look of sorrow and sadness passed over her features before she turned and ran away from him.
There wasn't time for him to act or even react. Eva had kissed him. Brief as it was, it shook him to the core. He hadn't kissed anyone like that since...Sue.
Nathan whipped his body around at the roar of Eva's motorcycle. Damn her, she couldn't leave. Not now. She didn't answer any of his questions. What did she mean, today was a message for him. Message for what? And from whom? God? He shook his head.
He doubted this was the type of message God would send. Not now. It was too late for him, his soul too black.
Joanne woke to a blinding light. She tried to close her eyes from the light, hoping for a reprieve from its intense glare.
A parade of shivers travelled over her skin. A black circle crept along her iris, blocking out the light. It reminded her of an eclipse she once peeked at as a child.
Tears formed, creating sand-like texture within her eyes. She wished she could rub them, blink them, anything to alleviate the dryness which formed.
Whispers surrounded her. She tried to distinguish the garbled words, but failed. The sensation of floating underwater while listening to the voices overwhelmed her. She blinked. Surprised, she blinked again. She turned her head and realized nothing held her back - no pain, no restraints.
A soft beep sounded to her left, above where she lay. The smell of the room had changed yet was familiar somehow. She knew where she was. The air, with an antiseptic, metallic taste to it, confirmed it.
She wasn't with Max anymore. She was back in her room at the Mount Joseph Private Hospital. A wave of relief flowed over her.
She turned her head towards the door and stared at the back of a white doctor's coat. The soft glow around the man reassured her. Everything was fine. She could see. Thank you, Jesus. She could see. Tears streamed down her face as she took in the drawings she made and taped to her wall, the pictures of Nathan as a child she'd kept and the row of journals on her single white book shelf.
A low murmur caught her attention. She strained to hear what was being said, but could only make out a few words.
"Not strong enough."
Joanne stiffened. She recognized the voice.
Then remembered.
"Yes, Doctor. I understand." The soft voice of Joanne's favorite nurse reached her ears. Shelly. She could help her. Shelly was always there with her, listening to her. She would understand. She had to.
She raised her arm up to catch Shelley's attention up but the doctor took two steps back and settled his hand settled over top of hers and squeezed.
He glanced over his shoulder and smiled.
She knew those eyes. She'd recognize them anywhere.
She wasn't safe. Not here. Not anymore. She knew exactly where she was.
In hell. With the devil named Morax.
Kate held the cordless phone in her hand. Something was wrong. She knew it deep in her bones.
After the tree fell yesterday, Rachel was determined to get answers. Kate begged her not to go to the cabin, not by herself, but Rachel refused to listen.
Kate shook her head. She didn't like it. Not one bit. The girl should be answering her phone. She should be home by now.
There was a steady buzz in the diner. Everyone kept talking about the strange things that had happened the past two days. There was a theme to every story. Large black holes, swarms of mosquitoes appearing in everyone's driveway and a mystery man in a long black trench coat that kept disappearing.
"A swarm of mosquitoes?" Kate would ask, nodding her head absently. "A swarm of any type of black bug isn't something to get excited about in my opinion. All you need is a can of spray and you'll be fine." She'd muttered whenever anyone mentioned it.
She excused herself after refilling everyone's coffee and escaped into the kitchen where Jack washed dishes. He slung a dishcloth over his husky shoulder, and whistled a tune only known to him. She smiled. Even after all these years, just watching him made her happy.
She walked over to him and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned his head, gave her a saucy grin, and leaned forward to give her a kiss on her cheek.
"Don't be telling me people are complaining about my whistling, woman. I made sure I was quiet. Don't want anyone to know I'm really back here. I've had enough cooking for the day." Jack rinsed out the sink and wiped his hands on the towel.
"I just told them I had the radio going back here so you wouldn't be bothered," Kate said.
"That's my woman. So why are you bothered?"
Kate leaned back against the large wood island. "Remember that black cloud of bugs we saw last night?"
Jack gave her a funny look. "The mosquitoes? Yeah, so?"
"I don't think they were mosquitoes," Kate stated.
"What's so special about some stupid bugs?"
Kate sighed. "I'm not excited about some bugs, Jack. I think the devil has come visiting and we're serving him our best apple pie rather than pouring arsenic down his throat."
Jack pursed his lips. "So you're saying that these bugs weren't natural bugs?"
"That's what I'm saying!" Kate said.
"Hmm, imagine that."
Kate crooked her eyebrow at her husband, but apparently he didn't get the hint, as he turned his back and walked away. She ground her heel into the floor and groaned. Either he didn't care or didn't get the significance of this information.
"Jack!" she called out. God knew this man frustrated her to no ends some days. Her mama said it's why the good Lord brought him into her life, for patience.
"What do you want now, woman?" he responded over his shoulder. "You want me to get all excited because we actually saw the enemy at work? You know me better than that." Jack pulled a cloth out of a drawer and began to dry the dishes in the rack.
Kate lowered her voice and made sure there was no one at the kitchen door. "I think we need to call a town meeting."
"Now why would we be doing something like that over some vampire mosquitoes?" Jack shook his head.
"I never said they were vampires," Kate sighed. "Are you watching those Twilight movies again?"
"Kate." A deep rumble filled Jack's voice. She put her arms around his waist and held her cheek against his back. She listened to the steady beats of his heart, letting the rhythm soothe her.
"I still can't get a hold of Rachel," she whispered.
"Have you thought maybe our boy smartened up and whisked her away somewhere special? Kids do that nowadays." Jack angled his body and put his arms around her.
"Not these two. Have you seen the way he looks at Eva? I'm not sure if Nathan is the man for Rachel. I just wish he'd make up his mind." Kate thinned her lips. "She loves him, but I'm afraid it's only one sided. Besides, she was heading up to her pa's old cabin yesterday to look for some journals he kept there. She wouldn't have stayed the night. Not there."
At the mention of the old cabin, Jack's back stiffened. He'd been the one to find Rachel holding her dead mother's hand as she rocked silently back and forth. The blood bath from her father's suicide killing covered her. Jack still had nightmares from it.
"Let me clean up and we'll drive by her place again on the way home."
"I love you," she said, her voice a whisper. She received a 'harrumph' as a response.
Kate waved at her granddaughter who poked her head around the corner. "Lil Marie has arrived, so hurry up." She patted his back before turning away.
"I meant what I said. We need to get the word out and have a town meeting tonight. Folklore be damned. We need to bring out the poison. I smell a rat."
\*\*\*\*\*
Nathan stared in amazement. He couldn't believe the crowd that gathered in the town park. The street was lined with trucks, strollers and couples who walked closely together.
The late afternoon air was full of heavy clouds billowing overhead. That meant only one thing - a storm was coming. Nathan shivered. He hated storms. Growing up, his mother would always freak out and hide in the basement whenever a good summer storm hit on the prairies. He wasn't that bad, but he did close the curtains and turn up the music.
Several voices called out to him as he crossed the street but he didn't want to stop until he found Rachel. He'd woken up this morning worried for her. Every call he made to her cell went to voicemail. It wasn't like Rachel to disappear like this.
Something was wrong but he didn't know what.
The large gapping hole in the middle of the park hit him hard. That tree held so many memories for him. Sue had loved to have picnics there in the afternoons when he wasn't busy at the church. She'd surprise him at the church with a picnic basket in hand. Considering the church was only a block away, they'd walk towards the park, hand in hand. At least in the early years of the marriage. The last few years...the picnics didn't happen as often.
The somber mood weighed heavily on the crowd that edged in tight together towards the Town Hall steps on the other side of the park. Nathan pulled out his phone again and tried Rachel's number. When it went to voicemail after the first ring, he hung up. Where was she?
"Attention. Attention."
On the top step stood Kate, microphone in hand as she planted one hand on her hip. Nathan kept to the outer circle of the crowd. Whatever was going on didn't include him. Standing in the background, where no one relied on him, suited him just fine.
"We called this meeting for one specific reason. Something strange has been happening in town and I don't like it. Neither do you from the sounds of it. So we need to figure out what we're gonna do to stand up to the evil that's taken over this town."
Jack stood beside his wife, his arms crossed over his expansive chest. He reminded Nathan of a body guard by the frown on his face.
"What about the myth?" a voice called out from the crowd just as the wind picked up. Hats flew off heads, leaves swirled in the air. Nathan covered his face as the dirt under his feet churned and blew into his eyes.
"Are we gonna let a myth keep us locked behind closed doors?" Kate's voice boomed over the crowd as the dust settled.
Nels, standing four feet away from Nathan yelled out. "Sure am. Have you seen that thing walk down our streets? That's no man. That's the devil disguised as a stranger." He then gathered his wife close to his side as he carried their child on his hip.
Nathan caught Jack's glance and when the older man beckoned to him, Nathan just shook his head. No way. He didn't need to be up there. Let someone else address the crowd.
Yet somehow, under Jack's glare, Nathan found himself edging around the crowd until he climbed the stairs and stood beside Kate.
"Well Rev. What are we going to do about it?" Kate held the microphone out to him.
Nathan grabbed it, covered it with one hand and held it at his side.
"What's going on?" he hissed. "What do you expect me to do about this?"
When Kate shrugged her shoulders and took a step back, he wanted to lash out. His gaze swept over the crowd and his lungs constricted. He couldn't breathe. It was as if a heavy hand pressed down on his chest.
"Relax, boy. The people just need to know they're not alone." A solid hand landed on his shoulder. He glanced behind him. Jack stood at his side.
Nathan lifted the microphone up to his mouth. The expectant look in peoples' gazes was almost too much for him to handle. He tried to swallow, but his parched throat refused to cooperate.
Until he saw the scared look in a little girl's eyes.
"Fear is a funny thing." Nathan cleared his throat. "It's always going to be there, staring us in the face. But it has no power. Unless we feed into it."
The few heads that bobbed in agreement encouraged Nathan to continue.
"A lot of scary things have been happening to us lately. There's this myth about evil taking form. Guess this is the generation. But, there's a secret to myths we often forget about. They can change."
Nathan stepped forward.
"Just because it's happened in the past, doesn't mean it's going to happen now. Sure, we've all seen some strange things lately, but has anyone been hurt? I know I haven't, and I've seen my fill. Nels, that man you saw? Have you noticed he doesn't say anything, or even touch anything? Almost as if he's just an image. An image from hell maybe. But not something that can hurt us."
"What about that black swarm we saw?" Nels called out.
Nathan shrugged his shoulders. "What about it? Has anyone been harmed by the bugs in that swarm? Maybe it's just a freak of nature. Just 'cause it looks scary doesn't mean it is."
He went and stood right in front of that little girl with the wide eyes. Kneeling down, Nathan smiled as she stuck her thumb in her mouth.
"When we choose to face our fears, they lose what little power they had over us. Doesn't mean you have to conquer them. Just face them." He reached out and ruffled the little girl's hair.
"The first time the man appeared was a few nights ago, right? Was it before or after rumor of the myth spread around town?" Nathan backtracked and climbed the stairs. He handed the microphone back to Kate.
She winked.
"Makes sense, doesn't he? I remember as a child when we had a rat infestation from the mines. Folks didn't hide away then. Remember what they did? Put out the poison and killed those little buggers. Back in those days, folks knew the only way to survive was to fight. My granddaddy used to say they were the rats from hell. Guess we got the bugs this time around." Kate set the microphone in its stand and crossed her arms.
A low rumble of thunder echoed through the valley. Strikes of lightning flashed in the distance. The heaviness in the air intensified.
"We don't need the poison, but we do need some smarts. Stop being afraid. I didn't see the mosquitoes until I knew about them and I bet you didn't either. Once the fear set in - that's when I started to jump at every shadow. Face your fears. We can do it. We've done it before. Why, this town was rebuilt after the flood. If our ancestors could do that, we can do this."
Kate angled her face up to the sky. "Redemption's never been taken over by evil before and we sure as hell won't let it happen now," she shouted.
The heavens opened and a deluge of rain poured. Dusty paths turned to mud as families ran, young children gathered in their arms as they dashed across the park to the shelter of their vehicles. Nathan decided to wait for the rain to slack off and stepped back until he stood under the Town Hall overhang. Jack and Kate joined him.
"You need to find Rachel," Kate said.
"I've tried, Kate." Nathan shook his head and stared out at the empty grounds. The heavy pour turned into a light spattering of rain, until mist swirls gathered above the blades of grass blanketing the park. An eerie feeling permeated the air. "I haven't heard from her all day. She won't return my phone calls." Nathan stuck his hands in his pockets and shrugged back his shoulders. He was so tight. It had been a few days since he last went for a good run and he was feeling it.
It bothered him more than he wanted to admit that Rachel had gone quiet on him. She'd been shaken after the tree had fallen yesterday. He should have checked up on her afterwards, instead of leaving her alone like he had.
When Kate didn't answer he turned. Her arms crossed her ample chest and the fiercest frown filled her face. Her eyes shifted away as he stared.
"You might as well tell him, woman." Jack laid his arm across Kate's shoulders and squeezed.
Nathan rubbed his chin. "Tell me what? Do you know where she is but haven't said anything?"
"She went to the cabin." Kate's head lowered at the words.
He jerked in surprise. Cabin? There was only one cabin Rachel had ever mentioned and he knew she would never go there. Not willingly, at least. "You let her go?"
Kate lifted her head, tears brimming over her lashes. She didn't answer.
Damn it.
"Why didn't she tell me? Why would she go up there, alone?"
Jack growled. Nathan glared at him.
"Said you had your own demons to worry about, you didn't need to deal with hers as well." Kate's lips tightened into a straight line.
Nathan didn't know how to respond to that. He deserved it.
"Why?" Why would she go up to the one place she abhorred alone?
Kate shook her head. "Her pa used to read stories to her at night from an old journal he had. Ghost stories from the previous owner. Stories from the past. She remembered one about the myth in there. She thought it might have some answers."
Nathan shook his head. Why didn't she call him? She'd be out of cell phone range, so it made sense why she never answered when he called. It didn't explain why she would go alone.
"When did she leave?"
Kate bit her lip. When Jack nudged her, he knew he wouldn't like what she had to say.
"Yesterday. After you left."
Instant anger burned through his body. He wanted to hit something, someone. He'd never felt this way before. Ever.
His relationship with Rachel was nothing like he'd ever experienced before. Especially not with Sue. They didn't call each other all the time, or spend every waking moment together. Nathan wanted to take his time building their relationship. When he met Sue, he'd fallen in love right away. He proposed after six months and they were married 4 months later in a small country church. He swore before God that he'd love his wife forever and look where it left him. He didn't deserve someone like Rachel in his life. But it was her kindness, her innocence and honesty that wrapped itself around his heart until the walls he'd built were starting to crumble. He fought that crumbling every day. And look where it left him.
To know she hadn't trusted him enough with this burned like fire at his heart. And he was the only one to blame.
He was a fool.
"Seems to me you need to decide what she means to you. You've got to make a choice boy. You can't have two women in your life, in your heart. It's not fair to either one of them." Jack shook his head before he entwined his fingers with Kate's. The mist had made its way up to the third step, but the older couple ignored it.
"What if I don't make the right choice?" Nathan called out.
"You will. Now go find her," Jack called over his shoulder. Nathan watched the gentle way Jack handled his wife and as they disappeared into the fog, he realized just how alone he was.
He pulled out his phone and tried Rachel's number again. This time the only message heard was the automated voice telling him her mailbox was full.
Nathan stuck the phone back in his pants pocket and stared out at the empty park in front of him. "Dammit, Rachel. Why couldn't you have trusted me enough?"
The rain slowed till it became a drizzle. As Nathan headed down the stairs, an opening in the mist appeared. Tendrils of the fog swirled out and wrapped around his ankles. He knew it wasn't possible, but he would swear something was pulling at his feet. He picked up the pace and continued down the walk. The fog billowed around him, leaving the stone pathway clear. He could only see about eight feet ahead of him, but he knew he should be close to Main Street.
Thunder rumbled and flashes of lightning filled the darkened sky and illuminated the shadowy figure of a man standing directly in front of him. Nathan stumbled before he caught himself.
The man in black from the diner.
If this guy wasn't real, why did Nathan still see him? Something about the man pulled at him. Nathan knew the man had to be a figment of his imagination. He had to be.
There was only one thing to do. Keep walking.
He wasn't sure if it was the mist from the fog swirling at his feet or what, but the smell of sulfur intensified the closer he came to the apparition. Nathan refused to look at him, so he focused on the street ahead. He held his breath as he drew near and struggled not to gag as he passed the silent figure.
"I have her. Rachel is mine."
The man's raspy voice sent shivers along Nathan's body. He whipped his head around, but he'd disappeared. A lone crow stood in his place, its beady eyes blinking.
Join me.
Nathan almost fell to his knees as the words whispered around him, the cadence rising and falling as the words repeated over and over in his mind.
He stumbled to the nearest bench and grabbed hold until his knuckles turned white.
He was going crazy. He knew it. Just like his mother. First the crows, next it would be rats or snakes. No way. Not him. Oh God, please don't let him be like his mother.
Nathan whipped his head around to face the crow who dared to mess with his mind.
The street was empty.
The swoosh of the windshield wipers did little to clear his view. Within minutes of him exiting Redemption a surge of rain poured from the heavens. Nathan's knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel. He could barely see anything on the road. The clouded black sky hid the moon from view. If he didn't know better, he would have sworn it was midnight.
Tension flowed through Nathan's blood as he inched along the highway. The further he drove into the mountains the tighter the curves got. The sharp drop off into jagged ravines and streams were death traps on nights like this. He stifled the urge to drive faster.
As he rounded a corner, the lights from his truck highlighted a large black mass in the middle of the road. Nathan stomped on his brakes and sections of the mass flew into the air.
Damn crows. Again.
The sound of their high-pitched cawing overpowered the drum of rain on the roof of his truck. The symphony from hell pounded until the air thickened with their cries. Fear slithered along Nathan's skin, covering him with its slimy presence. He shuddered.
He didn't want to drive through the murder of crows. The memory of the last time this scene played out still haunted him. The need to find Rachel conquered the drive of fear and he laid on the horn and sneered as more crows lifted off the road, their frantic black wings beating the air.
A flash of red caught his eye as he watched some crows join a large group circling in the sky. He jammed his truck in park and leaned over to catch a better glimpse. He struggled to see into the shadowed ravine, but a few of the birds swooped down and aimed straight for his passenger window. He could have sworn the beady eyes of the demonic birds glowed red.
He reached across, opened his glove compartment and grabbed a flashlight. He flicked it on and aimed the light out the window. When the crows shied away from the light, Nathan aimed the light towards the red object he saw in the bush.
Rachel drove a red pickup.
Nathan pushed the driver's door open and scrambled out of the truck. He might not have been able to save his wife, but he would save Rachel.
He had to.
A large black shape swooped down towards the hood of the truck. Nathan ducked. As the bird flew past Nathan detected a sulfuric stench. He lifted his arm and held his sleeve over his nose while digging into his pants pocket for his cell phone.
He called the sheriff's office and while he waited for someone to answer, he opened the driver's door again, reached behind his seat for the emergency first aid kit he kept there and whispered the first prayer he'd uttered in the past few years.
"God, please let Rachel be alive."
A burst of wind hit him full in the face as he edged up to the front of the truck. With his phone propped to his ear, he lifted his forearm to shield his eyes from any potential attacks from the swooping crows.
"Redemption Sheriff's Department," Mavis, the night switchboard operator answered.
"I'm out on Lost Lake Road. I think Rachel's in the ravine. Send the ambulance and tow truck. Just be careful, there are strange things going on out here," Nathan said as he rushed to the edge of the road.
"Nathan, is that you? You found Rachel?" The tell-tale slap of chewing gum smacked in his ear.
"I'm sure it's her truck."
"I'll radio the Sheriff now. Hang tight, sugar."
Nathan took a deep breath to calm himself as he peered into the dark abyss. Too many people died in these treacherous mountain roads. People like Sue.
"Rachel? Can you hear me?" Nathan yelled as loud as he could.
With his first step he slid five feet downwards. Nathan struggled to grab tree branches or even hook his shoes on exposed roots as he slid further down the sharp decline but the rain slicked his hands so much that everything slipped through his grip. Blasts of haunting cries filled the area as the seedy crows circled above the tree line. Nathan had never been more thankful for a shrouded area than now.
The sight of the truck wrapped around a tree had Nathan dry heaving. The smell of gas was overpowering. With his hand outreached, he grabbed on to the edge of the crumpled metal to stop himself and used the truck bed for support as he made his way to the driver's door.
"Rachel, can you hear me?" He pulled on the handle and wrenched the door open. She lay slumped over the steering wheel.
The sight of her lying there, lifeless, scared him. She couldn't be dead. He wouldn't let her be.
"Oh, God. Rachel, please be okay. I can't lose you," Nathan whispered as he leaned inside to brush aside her hair and checked her pulse. That's when he noticed the dark patches of blood coating her hair.
His hands shook as he placed his two fingers on her neck. Nothing. No pulse. No life.
"No." Nathan choked back a sob.
He couldn't lose her. An uncontrollable rage swept over him. How dare God do this to him. Again. What kind of sick, twisted games was God playing? Nathan had had enough.
"Damn you. Who the hell do you think you are taking another woman I love away from me?" he cried.
As he held back his tears, Nathan gently gathered Rachel in his arms and pulled her away from the steering wheel. The blue pallor of her lips chilled his heart.
The distant sounds of sirens filled the air. Nathan glanced over his shoulder for the lights, but the darkness held its secrets.
He bent forward and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. He let the tears flow unchecked. He couldn't believe the crushing love that swept over him for this woman. And she was dead.
He was too late.
He gazed up into the night sky and stared straight into the black, soulless eyes of a crow.
Join us, Nephilim, son of Morax.
He couldn't take it anymore. Nathan screamed, a deep guttural sound that tore his throat apart. He released his hold on Rachel and gripped the driver's door. With one pull, he ripped it off the truck and threw it at the crows circling above him.
The bird swerved out of the way and settled on the truck roof. It hopped out of the Nathan's arm reach.
Not what you seem. More than anticipated. Join us, before he comes for you.
"What are you?" Nathan yelled as he slammed his clenched fist on the roof. A large indent bowed beneath his hand. He couldn't handle this anymore. His knees buckled beneath him. He turned his gaze from the crow to Rachel and hit the ground with a thud.
Rachel. Dead.
He covered his face with his hands as a deep retching sob shook his body.
He should have saved her. Why didn't she trust him enough to tell him where she was going?
Because he didn't deserve her trust. Why should she tell him where she was going? Not even Sue had done that.
The night Sue died, he'd been at the church working on a sermon. They'd argued earlier in the day about a bill that had arrived. A bill Sue had no idea Nathan paid on a monthly basis.
To Mount Joseph Private Hospital.
Instead of telling Sue the truth about his mother after she accused him of not trusting her, he'd stormed out and refused to answer any of her calls or text messages. He stayed as long as he could at the church, hoping that Sue would have gone to bed before he got home.
He hadn't wanted to face the truth. Instead his fears were exposed.
Sue left him. He knew it deep in his heart.
The faint glow of lights drew his attention. Crisscross beams shone down the ravine, illuminating the slippery slope.
Help was here. But it was too late.
"Down here." Nathan scrambled to his feet and waved his arms until the flashlights blinded him with their brightness.
He cast one last look at Rachel and memorized the deathly mask that replaced the life, the sparkle, the joy of a woman who deserved more than this. His heart broke as he whispered her name.
Nathan recognized the paramedics as they made their way down the bank. He stepped back and out of the way as they bypassed him and focused on Rachel.
He noticed the concerned glances sent his way but it didn't matter. His stoic attitude was all he could handle. He knew he detached himself from reality. It was the only way he could survive right now.
As he helped carry her up the slippery embankment, he caught the winged flight of the crows out of the corner of his eye. He refused to listen to their whispered beckoning.
The thud of the ambulance door as it closed behind Rachel's body was the final straw. His feet cemented into the ground as he lifted his face to the cloud filled sky. His scream echoed off of the rock face and taunted him.
When he faced his truck, fiery anger filled him. He bent down and scooped up small rocks around his feet. One at a time he threw the stones at the murder of crows that covered his truck.
"Get. Away. From. Me," he ground out between clenched teeth. His chest heaved as the rocks bounced off of his truck without hitting a single bird.
Journals hold the key.
Nathan darted towards the truck and flailed his arms. The crows swept up in a swirl of cascading feathers and circled high above him.
He yanked open his door and threw himself inside the cab. His nostrils flared as he struggled to calm his breathing. He needed to get a hold of himself and head home before he lost it for good.
Nephilim. Son of Morax. Listen--
Nathan jerked the key in the ignition and rammed his foot on the gas pedal.
\*\*\*\*\*
The glare of headlights blinded him as he sped home. He barely caught the outline of a woman's silhouette before he jammed on the breaks.
Throwing his vehicle into park, Nathan jumped out and slammed the door.
"Damn it woman, don't you know I could have hit you!"
"You wouldn't have." Eva wiped the rain off her face and stared at him. "I'm so sorry Nathan---"
"No!" He shouted. He turned on his heels, wishing he could turn his back on everything and everyone. He couldn't go through this again. Not again.
"It's not your fault." Eva's hand gripped his arm and stopped him.
He shrugged it off. "Like hell it isn't. She should never have come out here on her own. She didn't trust me enough to go with her. I could have saved her!" The flood burst and tears streamed down his face.
Eva shook her head. "No, you couldn't have." She reached out to him and rested the palm of her hand against his face. Her thumb gently stroked his skin.
"There's nothing you could have done Nathan. She wasn't for you. She was never meant for you." Her voice, a silken whisper, surrounded his soul, soothing away the anger that consumed him.
"What do you mean?" Nathan stared deep into Eva's eyes and found himself lost. Visions of his life with her, with Eva, flashed before him.
"You are more than what you think you are. So much more. Those crows, they speak to you because they need you. They can help, Nathan. They can help you understand what is happening to you. What will happen to you..."
"What will...what are you talking about?"
Her lips curled into a half smile before she raised her other hand and rested a finger against his lips.
"Find that journal. Then you'll understand. I promise." She stepped backwards, her gaze never leaving hers, until she stood beside her motorcycle. "I'm always here, Nathan. Always. I'll never give up on you."
He waited until she sped away on her motorcycle before turned away and sat back in his truck. He pounded the steering wheel in frustration.
I'll never give up on you. What did she mean by that?
There was nothing he could do for Rachel. She was gone. So was his chance at redemption. There was no turning back now. Nothing left for him to return to.
He knew exactly what journal the damn crow and Eva meant.
It was time to delve into the past and find some answers. No matter what hell it led him to.
Morax sat in the corner chair of the study and watched his son pull the battered box off the top shelf. He rubbed his hands and resisted the urge to snicker. He'd waited a long time for his son to open this box.
All his plans had been made for this one moment.
The grief etched on Nathan's face did little to soften his heart. Grief was a human emotion meant as a crutch for the weak. His son was anything but.
He made sure he'd seen to that. What was one death compared to the survival of a species?
Morax leaned back and lifted his arms behind his head. With his legs crossed, he settled back to watch the beginning of Nathan's transformation.
There weren't many Nephilim alive. The odds of one living to their fortieth year was miraculous. The enemy did everything possible to ensure they didn't survive to the year of maturing.
But Nathan was different. There was a special quality about his DNA that no other Nephilim had, because of Morax' genius. He wasn't called the president of Hell or the demonic god of science for nothing. Genetic mutations were his creations.
Like his son. Like Eva. Created for each other to rule where no fallen angel had dared.
Morax leaned forward as Nathan pulled out the journal his mother wrote all those years ago. A journal full of research on the Nephilim, on fallen angels, on the women who succumbed to the seduction of angels.
Everything was for this one moment.
In order for the rest of his plans to be put into action, Morax had needed Nathan destroyed. The death of his wife and now the weak woman he was foolishly falling in love with guaranteed the demise of any pastoral longings his son might still retain.
He'd been mistaken to rely on Eva to lead Nathan in the right direction. Despite being a creature of his creation, he should have known not to trust her. Not when her heart was involved. She had two years to prepare Nathan for what was to come. Two years wasted when his son could have been training, learning. Preparing to rule.
Morax shook his head. He'd been the laughing stock of the council when they'd learned his son was a minister of the Most High God. Anger welled inside him at the memory.
They wouldn't be laughing now, not when his son became the savior of their species.
It all depended on the journal and the ripped page Morax held in his hands. The page containing all the answers to the questions his son would soon have.
A sickening smile grew as he watched the horror of knowledge spread across his Nathan's face.
This was just the beginning...

