Blue Stone

I woke to frantic pounding on my front door. It was Roxie. “I was worried to death you were with that bunch at the saw mill. Looks like you had better since.”

Still, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I motioned for her to come in. “Roxie I have something to show you. Please stay calm, I just need answers. OK?” She nodded her head warily as I pulled out both of the spell books. “Roxie are you okay? You look like you might pass out?”

“No dear I’m fine, but I never expected to see those much less together again. I suppose you need the story that goes with them. You get yourself together and meet me at the park by the dam.”

With that she left me to get ready. It seemed like I would never get to the park. Finally, I saw her sitting under a huge oak tree with several boxes sitting at her feet. “I’m here, so what is the story?”

“The beginning is the best place to start. We know the originals, but some generations are lost to us.” She paused to open a very old Bible.

“Let’s start in Genesis chapter 6.” She began reading:

“1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,

2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.”

Then, she pulled out another old book. “This is the book of Enoch, it records more of the story according to Jewish tradition.” As she read from it and the information sunk in I began to think of Micah, Kayne, and all of the other creatures in our nightmares. This is what it said:

“6. And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto them beautiful and comely daughters. And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw, and lusted after them, and said to one another: ‘Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men and beget us children.’ And Semjâzâ, who was their leader, said unto them: ‘I fear ye will not indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.’ And they all answered him and said: ‘Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.’ Then, the they all together and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. And they were in all two hundred; who descended in the days of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon, and they called it Mount Hermon, because they had sworn and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. And these are the names of their leaders: Samîazâz, their leader, Arâkîba, Râmêêl, Kôkabîêl, Tâmîêl, Râmîêl, Dânêl, Êzêqêêl, Barâqîjâl, Asâêl, Armârôs, Batârêl, Anânêl, Zaqîêl, Samsâpêêl, Satarêl, Tûrêl, Jômjâêl, Sariêl. These are their chiefs of tens.

7. And all the others together with them took unto themselves wives, and each chose for himself one, and they began to go in unto them and to defile themselves with them, and they taught them charms and enchantments, and the cutting of roots, and made them acquainted with plants. And they became pregnant, and they bare great giants, whose height was three thousand ells: Who consumed all the acquisitions of men. And when men could no longer sustain them, the giants turned against them and devoured mankind. And they began to sin against birds, and beasts, and reptiles, and fish, and to devour one another’s flesh, and drink the blood. Then, aThen, the earth laid accusation against the lawless ones.

8. And Azâzêl taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields, and breastplates, and made known to them the metals of the earth and the art of working them, and bracelets, and ornaments, and the use of antimony, and the beautifying of the eyelids, and all kinds of costly stones, and all coloring tinctures. And there arose much godlessness, and they committed fornication, and they were led astray, and became corrupt in all their ways. Semjâzâ taught enchantments, and root-cuttings, ’Armârôs the resolving of enchantments, Barâqîjâl (taught) astrology, Kôkabêl the constellations, Êzêqêêl the knowledge of the clouds, Araqiêl the signs of the earth, Shamsiêl the signs of the sun, and Sariêl the course of the moon. And as men perished, they cried, and their cry went up to heaven...”

She paused again gathering her thoughts. “These are the stories of the beginning and why God’s wrath was felt in the form of a flood. However, some of the Nephilum survived, but blended in better this time so not to be caught. They spread out into every corner of the earth with Noah’s seed repopulating the earth. There is a great gap in the history after that except for the few mentions of the ones that went back to their gluttonous ways. Some are what we call vampires today, they never lost the desire for blood. Others are witches most are good at not drawing attention but others have been persecuted for their abilities.

The Nephilum DNA is a recessive gene in most people. However, just like with all genes sometimes it is dominant and can be transmitted depending on the gene. That is, how most become a supernatural being, except for vampires they can turn someone with their blood as well.

Part of your history begins in Ireland the rest in Germany. Seven generations back on either side of your family were very powerful men. Your parent’s lines has been traced back to before the 1800’s.

Abros Jüng was your grandfather seven generations back on your mother’s side. His name means divine immortal. He was very powerful, but loved by everyone. He was generous, loyal, honest, and peaceful. His people speak of him with affection. Most of his descendants however have turned their back on that power fearing it was pure evil. Your mother believed it was a trick of Satan and would have no part of it. I believe the Nephilum gene is neither good nor bad on its own, but it is what you do with the gift that determines that. We all have the freedom to decide how to use what God has given us. Because of that fear there is not much to tell on your mother’s side.

Your father’s family is the dark to your mom’s light. Kieran Donovan’s name means dark warrior. He started out a just man, with many military honors, but soon was consumed by his power. He became ruthless. So much so that the clan he belonged to covered him with black representing constant grief, because he brought so much grief and shame to his people. Finally, the whole clan turned on him and worked a Fleur-de-lis spell on him. This bound his powers and restricted his seed to only males for six generations. The seventh would be a girl and would receive her full power. That just made him furious so he killed the clan leader bringing shame on his family in such a way that they banished him. His son moved to the states. Over the generations the story became legend and then forgotten.

There were a lot of folks like you, Micah, and Kayne that had settled in the valley near the river. Most were peaceful and careful to keep their differences hidden. Some were practicing dark arts and the vampires were becoming less discrete. So, the town’s people took notice and began to fear them. That area was where your people originally settled. After a few years a feud erupted between the clans and the town boarded up the some of the homes on the river with the folks inside and burnt them others were trapped by the water. Then the dam was built to cover up the massacre and trap the ones that can regenerate. Oh the officials said it was to control flooding and a power plant that never happened, but it was for ever more the grave marker for over 100 souls. A few got out alive and moved to the mountain and stayed there to this day.

Legend has it that the clans were feuding over who held the elemental stones. None of them were powerful enough to use them together, so there had to be five in the circle to use them. Sadly they were lost in the fires. Your grandma said there were some that wanted to exact revenge on the town with them and that was why they were left behind to be destroyed with the village.”

We sat there in relative silence for a while as I absorbed the story. Little did she know I have those very stones under my bed. “So at what point in the seventh generation is this daughter supposed to receive her power?”

She looked at me with a confused look. “Her 18th birthday, why?”

“Because, Roxie I am the seventh generation and Halloween is my 18th birthday. Are the stories true? What will happen?” Panic was seeping through my veins like ice.

“I don’t think so, it’s just stories to keep you awake at night.” Her smile was meant to be reassuring but it wasn’t. We will find out this weekend at the party if it is just legend or reality.

Roxie gave me enough to whet my appetite. She wouldn’t touch the subject of Micah and Kayne. So, it was time to take Angelika up on her offer and give her a visit.

Angelika was delighted to hear from me. Her island was amazing and creepy at the same time. The place is so untouched by time you can almost see a horse drawn carriage coming down the dirt path. Except for bugs, there is no life here. The only sound is the rushing water all around us. The grounds are completely overgrown making it look abandoned. The cabin is small, painted white with an inviting little porch.

The inside is completely different. It’s warm and cozy, not rustic at all, more Victorian really. The couch is a deep red velvet in front of the window, across from it is two arm chairs so plush you could get lost in them. The kitchen is fairly simple and it is all situated around a small staircase and a very warm fire. The bedrooms are upstairs, but I didn’t get that far. “Welcome to my home. I must admit to be being surprised to see you here. You know what I am and yet you aren’t afraid. Curious.” She seemed to have appeared from nowhere and startled me.

“No, I figured if you wanted to kill me you’d have already done it.” She seemed to believe me for now.

Angelika slowly made her way to the couch patting it for me to sit beside her. “So, you want to know Micah and Kayne’s story. I will start with Micah.” With that we were transported back in time to when the guise were boys.

“Micah’s parents were poor farmers like everyone else in this area. His mother was a saintly woman. She taught him to write and read with the only book they owned, the Bible which was common for the time. She was the heart of their home. She died when he was 14 from TB. It devastated Micah and his father. Micah was needed on the farm even more so now. Poor child never knew what it was to be a kid.

His father was a cruel man. He began drinking heavily after his wife’s death and beating Micah. If the boy so much as breathed wrong his father would tie him up to a post in the barn and whip him till he bled. Micah’s father died a few years after his mother. The Sheriff said his throat was ripped out by a large animal. A lot of folks thought Micah finally turned on his dad. If he did he got what he deserved.

The Gannon’s were a wealthy family from New York and lived on the other side of the farm. When Micah told them he couldn’t afford to keep the farm, the Gannon’s bought it and let him live in the house for a portion of his harvests.

Micah and Kayne had grown up together and were like brothers. So, the Gannon’s treated Micah as family until the boys graduated.

Kayne’s parents started having problems with their son hanging out with Micah. “He is just from the wrong side of the tracks and it is bad for your reputation as a future businessman, consorting with such people.” They said. Micah felt abandoned and completely alone now. He grew bitter and vengeful.

Doyle and Myrna started treating Micah as a servant instead of family like he was used to. Doyle would shout at him in a manner not fit for an animal. What finally broke Micah was when Doyle swung a horse whip at him for not having a bountiful harvest. That night he burned the fields to the ground. He was caught and Doyle was going to flog him the next morning, but Kayne snuck to the barn and they both escaped.

They worked the railroad as brakeman for a while and when the work was available logging. They slept in old train cars at first. Then when they had saved enough money they rented an apartment over the bar on East St. That is, where they met Sean, he was the bartender.

Sean was a good man your great-grandmother loved him dearly. There was a lady that frequented the bar. It’s said that she was so beautiful that men followed her like lost puppies. She lived in a cabin on one of the islands in the river. Kayne was fond of her, but Micah told him she was dangerous. There were rumors that she was a witch. One night Kayne decided to follow her and Micah went along to protect his friend. They watched as Sean rowed her home. Sean saw that she got home safe every night. He was such a gentleman. Once Sean had gotten back and left the boat the boys took their turn.

It was dangerous crossing the river, it had an undercurrent and was icy cold. They rowed up to the dock and tied the boat up. The boys were so full of fear and excitement they both nearly fell into the river. When they finally made it to the house she was waiting for them. She invited them in for a drink. After the drink they both became disoriented and that is when it all went wrong.

She was a vampire, she fed on both of them, but it intrigued her how they were brave enough to come to her home. So, she turned them. It wasn’t a mess like in the movies. There were just two neat little holes.

The railroad reported them missing so the police went looking for them. Two days later they found the boys. Their murders were pinned on Sean. The town’s people hunted him down. Ceana Jüng tried to protect him but she failed. They tore him apart and then burned his body. It would’ve been a gruesome sight.

They were buried the next day. That graveyard is under water now. The lady came back long enough for the boys to raise and explain what she’d done. Micah didn’t like it at first, he couldn’t take a life. He took what he needed to live and left his victim alive and no memory of what happened. Kayne loved the power. He is good at looking unassuming but just when your guard is down he swoops in for the kill. Every time Micah started to settle or have a ray of happiness Kayne ruined it. So, Micah became bitter again and struck back at Kayne. They have hidden their quarrel well, but make no mistake if you get involved with either of them you will experience it firsthand.”