Sapphire Flame (Sapphire Wings Book 3)

“It would appear that the darkness left over from that time is still holding strong within your youngest sister’s soul.” Jekia was saying as we walked.

It was half an hour later, and we were now talking in a more barren-looking forest. Everything about our surroundings felt darker, although I likened it to the atmosphere there. Jekia had told us that this would be the right area to look for any of those portals that had opened, and in doing so, we would more than likely run across Noah if he was indeed looking for Noel.

It was during this time that we’d decided to talk to Jekia about what had been going on, and what had occurred back when we were teenagers. He didn’t seem that surprised to hear any of it. But then, he had also seemed well aware of this darkness that had been following our family.

“It seems that way, although it does worry us about how much Noah’s personality has changed with all of this in the recent months,” Raphael admitted.

“I still say that it has to be her influence on him. Noah was always a quiet and laid-back kid before all of this.” Raziel insisted.

“Yeah, he was. But I think he’s always had a tough time with figuring himself out too.” Sevee told him.

“Maybe. It’s not easy being what we are anyway.” Raziel lamented.

“No, I would imagine not.” Jekia agreed, crossing his arms as he regarded us, “It is not easy for any creature to adjust to being within the mortal world, especially in these times. For the Nephilim, it is even more so, considering the fact that they must hide in plain sight among humans. Even if you all play the part of humans very well, and even carry a human bloodline, it is obvious that you will not feel that you completely belong in that world. For a younger Nephilim, such would more than likely be a vice to them until they can mature.”

“Very true.” Sean agreed.

Jekia looked amused as he regarded him, “You would understand some of that too, wouldn’t you? You spent the first fifteen years of your life on this side, and adjusting to the mortal world was not easy for you. You even brought yourself trouble for your actions with your now wife. She is your daughter as well, is she not?” he continued as he glanced at me.

“She is, and yes, Sean did push things almost too far at that time. We were lucky that Mia was able to break him as she did.” I acknowledged.

Raphael looked at Sean squarely as I said this. I knew that look. He had a bone to pick with him, and I betted it was the same one I had.

“Yes, he was broken, but there can still be issues,” he stated.

“You are unhappy with me over all of this?” Sean guessed, not looking the least bit concerned.

“You know perfectly well that we are. It’s quite obvious that you were aware of Noah speaking of Noel, yet you kept that information from all of us, and you also made sure that Sevee did the same. You do realize that doing such was like handing Noah over to the wolves.” Raphael continued.

“That was never my intention, and I will not deny that you have a right to be angry towards me for those things, but I still did what I felt was best for my family,” Sean informed him.

“What was best for yours, huh?” Raziel muttered.

“Please, don't get me wrong Raziel.” Sean responded, “This has nothing to do with me not caring about what happens to Noah. That’s the furthest thing from the truth. I love Noah as I love my children, and if I had believed that he would do something like this, then I would have spoken up right away. But you also understand my worries about my children. Not only did we go through the traumas with Sevee, but Seraphina also nearly took her own life for the influence this darkness has had on her, and she still can’t speak. It was fragile enough simply to have her around Noah for how much it was pushing him to say he is in love with her.”

“All of that can be understood, but you prioritized your own with this too.” I pointed out.

“Of course he did. Any of us would. It’s simply the nature of an Alpha.” Jekia spoke up.

“An Alpha’s nature you say?” Raphael responded.

“Yes,” Jekia confirmed. He looked at Sean, “Although he has a human mother, Sean will always carry what Sage had, and that includes his Alpha status. Such also influences one’s personality, and things such as this fit very well. While we can care for others, our women and children are the main priority in our lives. I would imagine that this has affected Sean even more with what has occurred with his children, especially his daughter. Even now, you are torn over what is happening to this one and protecting your girl, aren’t you?”

Sean let out a tired sigh, “Very much so.” he confessed. He then looked at us, “I do apologize for not speaking up about these things, and if I had even thought that Noah would leave like he has to go to her, then I would have spoken up along with Sevee. But you do understand where I come from with this as well. I have failed several times now in protecting my children from the effects of this demon’s influence. I do not intend to allow it to take either of them from me.”

I halfway expected Raziel to become angry over all of this, so it surprised me when he took it very well.

“Yeah, I get it, and I know you didn’t do this just to abandon Noah. I hate to say it, but I would've done the same thing if I was in your shoes,” he confessed.

As much as I hated thinking it, we were all the same. In a sense, Raphael, Gabrielle, and I had done that too by keeping our knowledge of this curse to ourselves for so long. We also were acting as Sean did in trying to protect our own, whether it was right or wrong.

Jekia spoke again as we all lamented this, “While it is good that you all can acknowledge such things, there is still the pressing matter of locating this boy. But as much as I hate admitting it, such could be a task here. If she has already found him, then he could be within the purgatory realms right now. That would not give good odds of locating him anytime soon, considering such realms are a maze of mist and darkness, not to mention often stalked by some of the more powerful Fallen.”

“That is a real issue then, and there’s no way for us to know right off whether he’s still in this world or there.” Raphael sighed.

“Is there a way for us to find out?” I asked Jekia.

Jekia thought about it before answering, “There could be. Perhaps it would be possible to allow you to meet with the Watchers and inquire about what they can find.” he suggested.

“Watchers? What are they?” Sevee asked him.

“I don’t believe we’ve ever heard of such creatures either,” I added.

“Yes, I do forget that you are considered young and inexperienced in these worlds without your Angel.” Jekia lamented, “The Watchers are considered the guardians of Hell. They stay in tombs that are located right outside of the Purgatory realm, and it is their job to keep the records of all who exist or have existed. If any would be able to locate information on a certain being, whether alive or dead, it would be them.”

“Sounds like it could work. How would we contact them?” Raziel asked him.

“I would not personally be able to do so. As of this time, I do not have permission to leave my lands, nor would I be willing to for the issue of protecting my own. But there is a possibility of you being guided there by others. The Sumarians are often tasked to work with the Watchers, so one of them could be of great assistance to you.” Jekia answered.

“And what are Sumarians?” Sevee asked us.

“I have heard of them before, but I can’t say I’ve ever met one. They are guardians of the mortal and spiritual worlds. You could call them enforcers of the laws between the two which ensure that this world remains hidden from most humans. I would liken them almost to the equivalent of Nephilim, perhaps just under them.” Sean explained.

“Yes, I have heard the same before, but how will we go about finding one? I don’t believe we’ve ever met any either.” Raphael pointed out.

“No, not that I know of,” I confirmed.

“Well, it is…”

Jekia stopped speaking as we suddenly felt the air turn colder. We all turned to see a dark hole opening up in the ground about ten feet from us. Damn. This must have been one of the portals that we’d heard about.

A dark shape slowly crawled out of this hole, a distorted-looking man with tattered clothing that looked like it may have been from the early nineteenth century. He had a machete in his hand, the blade stained with blood, and there was blood on his shirt and face from where he’d been shot, the bullet holes still visible.

“Honestly now.” Jekia huffed as he watched the man take a lurching step forward.

“Is that supposed to be a spirit?” Sevee asked.

“Just stay back for now and let us handle it,” Sean ordered.

But before the spirit could get close to us, something white suddenly flew down at him, knocking him back. The next thing we knew, a large white owl was hovering over him, holding his machete in its claws.

“Return to Purgatory. This is not your place!” the owl ordered in a female voice.

We all tensed up as we heard it. That voice. It was familiar.

Jekia looked amused as he watched his scene unfold, his stance easing again.

“I do enjoy it when my workload is lessened,” he commented.

The spirit attempted to stand again, but the owl wouldn’t allow him to advance any further. With a hard flap of her wings, a gust of wind threw the spirit back to the portal he’d come out of. The owl quickly circled it, and that portal closed like it had never been there.

“I did wonder if they would send one of you to look for us,” Jekia stated as the owl flew over to us.

“Of course they did. This wasn’t something to leave to chance, even if they trust you completely to take care of them.” the owl responded.

Sevee stepped a little closer, staring up at the owl, “Is it really you?” he asked, the hesitation marking his voice.

The owl giggled, then transformed, turning into the familiar form of a girl with long white hair and bright blue eyes. There was no doubt about it now.

It was Lenore.

She smiled at Sevee as she stood there, “Didn’t I promise you that I’d be back one day?” she reminded him.

“Yeah.” Sevee breathed. He quickly pulled her into a tight hug, “I’ve missed you so much."

“I didn’t realize that Astartes could become Sumarians,” Raphael commented.

“Not usually, but you could call this a little bit of mercy for me,” Lenore admitted. She pulled back a little and smiled at Sevee as she touched his cheeks, “I’m glad that you’re here too, even if it’s not for the best reason.”

“No kidding.” Sevee breathed. I could tell that he was holding back tears. He could hardly speak either for how his voice was straining from how emotional he was.

"It's alright Sevee. I'm here, and I'm not going to ever leave you again." Lenore promised, giving him a quick kiss before hugging him again.

But for as touching as this was, there were bigger issues that we needed to take care of. We could always celebrate having Lenore back afterward.

“While it's good to see you come back to us, if you’re a Sumarian now, then I’m guessing you know about what’s going on with Noah and Noel’s spirit,” I spoke up.

Lenore nodded, still holding Sevee's arms, “Yes, I know all about it. While I was hoping to come back to surprise Sevee, I got sidetracked when they ordered me to find you here. Not that I’m surprised. I figured you would come looking for Noah when they told me what was going on.” she answered.

“Yeah, you know we would. Have you or any of those other Sumarians found any sign of him?” Raziel asked her, now sounding hopeful.

I was too. Since Lenore was now a Sumarian, she had access to information that the rest of us didn’t, even Jekia.

“I know that they’re actively looking for him too, but right now, I haven’t heard anymore yet. My main order was to come here and find you.” Lenore admitted.

“That’s understandable, but you also have good timing." Jekia told her, "I was just speaking to them about the possibility of asking one of the Watchers for help with this. Are they able to do so at this time?”

“That's the reason they wanted me to find them. I've been told to bring them to Ryo for now. It might also be safer with these portals opening. There have been sightings of a few Fallen going in and out too, and without their Angel with them, that could be very dangerous. Not to mention that they don't want to tie you down with this mess while these portals are opening. He said that you already had enough to deal with, and the Seraph sends a heartfelt thank you for all your help.” Lenore told him.

Jekia smiled, "I would help regardless, but I appreciate his thanks."

“Have you met that Angel?” Raphael asked her.

Lenore shook her head, “No, not personally, but I’ve met others that seem to know him, and the order they gave me was sent by him.”

Jekia glanced around us, “I hate to cut this short, but it may be better if you continue your conversation on the way. The night will be falling very soon, and as much as I hate saying this, I should also get back to my own to ensure that things smoothly run their course and that my family remains safe."

“We understand. Thank you for your help in this too. We appreciate it.” I told him.

“Any time. I hold no issues with helping your family or Sean’s as you may need it, so feel free to call on me anytime.” Jekia assured us.

Well, at least we knew we had a powerful ally in this world now. That much was obvious as we said farewell to Jekia and watched him take off into the distance. Lenore remained with us as Sevee hugged her again. He'd pulled himself together now, and was speaking clearer.

“I’m so glad to see you again. I didn’t know when I’d ever get to.” he sighed.

“It’s okay. I’m glad it didn’t take that long either.” Lenore faced him as she pulled back, her expression becoming worried, “Sage is okay, right? They told me that Jekia saved him, but he wasn't hurt, was he?"

“Hey, it's alright. He's fine. He wasn't hurt, and he's doing great. He’s with my mom and our family right now while I help look for Noah, but you'll see him as soon as we get back home.” Sevee promised her.

“Oh, I can’t wait to see him. I've wanted to hold him so bad.” Lenore confessed.

“Sorry;" Raziel interrupted them, "I know that there's a lot on your mind with your baby, but there is a more pressing matter right now that you need to help us with before we can go back. We still need to find my kid.”

“I understand, and I promise we will.” Lenore responded, “As I said before, we need to go see Ryo. It’s safer with those Fallen roaming around here, not to mention he might be able to help us track Noah down quicker.”

“I’ll take it that Ryo’s one of the Watchers.” I guessed.

Lenore nodded, “Yes. He’s the Watcher who’s been assigned to this family, and also the one who looked after me right after they turned me into a Sumarian. He was supposed to teach me what I needed to know about the different realms and creatures on this side, but I admit that it was pretty boring at times with all of the studying he made me do.”

This was interesting. So Ryo was assigned as the Watcher for our family line. I wondered if he would be able to tell us more about this curse and what had happened to cause it.

“Out of curiosity, did Ryo tell you whether or not Noel’s spirit has escaped Purgatory?” Raphael asked her.

“No, but we can ask him about it. I’m sure he’ll talk to you about those things when we get there.” Lenore answered. She pointed forward, “Come on. This is the quickest way to get to the tombs from here, and probably the safest.”

I admit that having Lenore back felt like a shallow victory with what was currently going on. If she had been able to return as she’d intended, then it would’ve been a very happy occasion. But there was too much at stake at the moment to even celebrate it any more than welcoming her back and seeing Sevee’s emotional reaction. Even now the two were staying close, with Lenore happily inquiring more about their son.

But I couldn’t shake that sinking feeling inside of me as I thought about all of this. Even if she didn’t voice it, it was obvious that our Angel was very worried about what was happening with Noah. If he was this concerned already, then I feared that we may be getting ready to lose a child.

With all of this bothering me, I decided to speak to Lenore more about it. Perhaps she could give us some insight into what was currently happening. She had been in contact with those who handled such problems within this world and was given orders directly from our Angel.

“Lenore, how much did they tell you about why Noah’s come here looking for Noel?” I asked her.

“Only bits and pieces. I can tell you that they claim he came looking for Noel more for personal reasons, but Ryo also admitted to me that she had been reaching out to him for quite a while. From what he was saying, she’s been trying to influence him, and she’s succeeded some, but he’s been fighting her for a long time.” Lenore answered.

“We can presume that this influence is in the feelings he now believes he has for Seraphina and his turning on his parents,” Raphael noted quietly.

“Yes. That’s what it sounded like to me.” Lenore agreed, “By the way, I do know about the issues with Noel before too. It’s pretty incredible how much things got screwed up after that Angel had to go back. I don’t think any of them anticipated all of the turmoil that's happened.”

“Let us refrain from such comments for now out of respect for what’s already happened.” Raphael requested.

“Yes sir. I understand.” Lenore obliged him.

“Hey, I’ve got a question for you.” Raziel suddenly said to her.

“What is it?”

“It's about all of this stuff with Noah thinking he’s in love with Seraphina. What could happen if he keeps this up? Will he get sick?” Raziel inquired.

Lenore blinked like she was confused, then seemed to understand.

“Oh, you’re talking about what happened to Noel, aren’t you?”

“Exactly,” Raziel confirmed. He glanced at me and Raphael, “Dad and Michael told us that Noel’s wings were black and toxic when she died. Was that because of this demon’s curse, or was it because of what she thought she felt toward my dad?”

“We’ve been wondering about that too. Do you know anything at all about it?” I added.

Lenore hesitated, “Well, only a little bit of what I’ve been told, and I don’t think it’s that straightforward of an answer.”

“Anything will do Lenore. Please tell us what you know. We’re as worried for Seraphina as we are for Noah.” Sevee begged her.

“Alright...” Lenore relented. She thought for a moment before continuing, “As I said, it’s a little confusing, and I don’t know about how this curse started. However, I do think that this sickness has some connection to it. You see, this is the only time that there have ever been actual families of Nephilim from what they’ve told me. Your Angel wasn’t Fallen either. He was and still is a powerful Seraphim. But with this curse, they’ve now realized that Hell's darkness can infect Nephilim like you. There’s not a name for this sickness it causes, but I guess the best we can liken it to is corruption because it literally darkens the soul.”

Great, I thought. So Noel’s illness was connected to this curse and what we are.

“Interesting. Can you elaborate on that?” Raphael requested.

Sean, Sevee, and Raziel were very interested too, listening closely as Lenore continued.

“Like I said, I can do my best with this, but I can’t answer everything, and I’m not sure that Ryo could either. This is still kind of new to all of them, and I guess your Seraph and the other Angels understand it better than any of us along with whatever circumstances are behind it. Maybe it’s better if I start with talking about them to kind of give you an understanding of what they’re like, at least from what I’ve been told.”

“Sounds like a good place to start,” I told her.

“Okay.” Lenore nodded, “Well, first off, we can start with what I told you about your grandfather. He is a Seraphim, one of three that was sent into the mortal world to start families like ours. He was given a more permanent material body for that task, although they can also transform to have bodies like ours too. It’s also something to note that Seraphim like him normally never leave the Heavens except to battle the Fallen Ones. I believe that may have played a role in what happened that ended up sending him back to the Heavens for now, but I don’t know any details of it. I also believe that whatever happened ties in with this Fallen’s curse on the Renaldis and what happened with Noel, making her so sick.”

“It would make sense. Perhaps her illness with her wings was like an Angel falling.” Sean surmised.

“Yes and no. From what Ryo’s always told me, Nephilim like our family have wings that tie in with their souls. If the soul darkens, so do the wings. On top of that, Noel took her own life before her wings could kill her. That caused a lot of confusion about what to do with her soul, not to mention that it sounds like your Seraph wasn’t able to do anything to help her at that time. So, in the end, Ryo said that they ended up locking her away in Purgatory until the time came when he could help her.” Lenore explained to us.

So they locked her away because they didn’t know what to do for her. But it also gave me some hope. It was obvious that our Angel, our Seraph as Lenore called him, had not abandoned us or her. He simply couldn’t help her yet.

Of course, this didn’t help the situation with Noah at the moment, especially with what was said next.

“But you said that she’s been reaching out to Noah for a while now, and he admitted that to me too. It doesn’t sound like locking her away did any good.” Sevee pointed out.

“Nope. Not at all. She’s a very powerful soul, which probably comes with the Nephilim blood she has; and now they’ve got a bigger problem in that she’s been trying to escape. I bet that’s why she’s called Noah to her. She probably wants to use him to do it.” Lenore responded.

“Then we need to find Noah quickly. If she’s aiming to escape…” Raziel started.

“It’s okay.” Lenore reassured him, “They’re not gonna let that happen that easily, and last I heard, they were working on blocking her from getting through any of these portals that are opening up. As long as they can do that and Noah doesn’t meet up with her, then it’ll be alright.”

By then, we were finally coming to the tombs that Lenore and Jekia had told us about. We stopped as we took in the sight of them. They were very large, towering structures that reminded me of an old horror movie about an asylum that I’d watched as a kid. These buildings were much like it, built up with strong grey bricks and no windows.

Lenore led us forward, where we came to a massive door that must have led inside. It was sealed shut with an odd-looking symbol in a golden circle in the middle of it. That symbol was made up of a combination of the sun, moon, and earth. Lenore stood in front of it, placing her hand on it. The symbol lit up when she did.

“Hello again, Ryo,” she called.

A deep voice responded to her through that symbol, “Lenore. I see you have returned sooner than I expected. Did you locate them?”

“I did. Will you open the door so that we may enter?” Lenore requested.

“Yes, of course.”

The seal’s glow faded, and the massive door slid open. What was revealed to us was incredible. An immense library stretched out as far as the eye could see. Many creatures were moving about there, all of them appearing to either be researching or organizing the millions of books on the shelves.

The door closed as we followed Lenore inside, and we were only a few steps in before we were greeted by a dark-haired man who wore a black druid cape. This must have been the one who was speaking to Lenore through that seal. He was very tall, at least seven feet, and reminded me of modern-day Vampires in movies with his pale complexion, sharp face, and black eyes.

Lenore smiled as she looked up at him like he was an old friend.

“I told you I’d make this quick,” she stated.

“I expected as much, especially when you have shown such an attachment to them and your lover.” the man responded.

Raphael crossed his arms as he regarded the man, although I had the sense that he was being cautious over all of this.

“I’m going to take it that you are Ryo.” he guessed.

“Yes, and you are of the Renaldi family of Nephilim. A pleasure to finally meet you in person after knowing of you for so long.” Ryo responded.

“Lenore said that you were expecting us,” I added.

“Yes, I most certainly was,” Ryo confirmed. He turned and seemed to float forward, “Come with me. There are things we should discuss.”

We followed him deep into the library, looking around us as we walked. The bookcases that lined the walls were as high as a two-story house, and each shelf looked to be packed with books, volumes, and volumes of them with golden writing emblazed onto their spines. Each looked quite thick too.

As I looked, two Sprites pulled one of those volumes out. They were smaller creatures, perhaps about twelve inches tall, with bright purple skin and hair. Their clothing also appeared to be made from small leaves. They glanced at us as we passed, smiling politely before flying off with the book, their clear purple wings leaving a trail of matching sparkles behind them.

“This is an incredible place.” I heard Raziel comment.

“Indeed so. I would imagine that young ones such as you all have never seen any quite like it before. We have five libraries like this, and all are as immense and full.” Ryo explained.

“Five like this? Do they keep all of the records of life?” Sean asked him.

Ryo nodded, “Yes. We have every record of every living being that has existed, and it is our duty under the Arch Angel Azrael to ensure the keeping of such records.”

“Is it only you here?” I asked him. It seemed like quite a job for one being to handle.

“No. There are several other Watchers here who work with me, but they are currently busy with the lines assigned to them. You are my responsibility for this time. However, I am in charge of over five thousand volumes now, and I could tell you everything about them as I need to.” Ryo answered.

This caught Sean’s attention, “Over five thousand you say? Out of curiosity, was my father’s one under your watch?” he inquired.

Ryo stopped to face him, “Yes, he certainly was. He was quite the Fox as well, even for one of the most well-known Alphas within the Veil. But it seems that you have not realized how much you and your son take after him. Even if he could be quite a rogue, he was very noble at heart. One could say that such a thing led to you being here.”

“Seriously?” Sevee looked surprised by that one.

Ryo let out an amused chuckle, “Believe it or not, destinies are never set in stone. Many factors can change the course of life. Your mother had such a thing happen to her. She was not originally meant to ever meet Sage or even survive her childhood, yet from the moment he happened to lay eyes on her, her entire destiny was forever altered. Such is the beauty of life.”

We began to move forward again, yet his words echoed in my mind. Destinies are never written in stone, and every choice we made could change the course of our lives. It made me think over my own life so far, along with the lives of those within our family. Maybe everything did end up happening for a reason.

We finally stopped at one of the long tables, and Ryo snapped his thin fingers. In an instant, a small pixie brought him one of the many volumes.

“Doing things the lazy way today Ryo?” Lenore teased as she sat on the table near him.

“Show some respect, Young One.” Ryo chided her, although there was a slight smile on his face as he set the book on the table.

Raphael chuckled as he glanced at Sevee and Raziel, “Sounds familiar.”

Ryo held a hand over the book, and it opened for him, the pages flipping as though they were pushed by the wind, “Yes, she has been quite the troublesome Sumarian at times, but it is rather refreshing to get away from how serious things have become.”

“You can’t hide it. We all know you’re worried over all this stuff with Noel and what she’s been doing to Noah, so of course, I'd try to help you lighten up a little.” Lenore pointed out.

“Yes, but at least we are moving to what must be done now, and considering that the Seraphim of this family has been so concerned for so long, of course we would do what we could to help him right the situation,” Ryo responded.

“I’ll assume you speak to our grandfather often,” I noted.

“Yes. He has visited me quite a bit throughout the years now. You could say that he likes keeping as many tabs on his family as he can. But as I stated, the issues that this Fallen has caused have been very vexing for him. He certainly did not intend for things to turn out as they have, even if they have been both detrimental and beneficial at the same time.” Ryo explained.

“You said that our family is under your watch, correct?” Raphael confirmed.

“Yes. You are.” Ryo nodded.

“Then tell me something. Why was this family chosen for this bloodline? And what about the other two that we’ve heard rumors of?” Raphael questioned.

Ryo hesitated on answering that one, so I decided to press him too.

“We’ve had questions about this since we changed, and our father could never give us straight answers. Are you as constrained as he was?” I asked him.

At my words, Ryo finally relented, “I have some constraints on me, but I can tell you some things. To start with, these families were chosen by the Seraphs themselves. The original plans were drawn up centuries ago, but due to different issues arising, the families were not able to be started until much later. However, once these women agreed to wed these Angels and have children, their entire destiny was erased, although such was also a good thing for them. Take your grandmother, Annabelle Renaldi, for example. She was supposed to be the end of her family line. What was written was that she would die young and never have children. Yet when your Seraph came to her, all of that changed, and she lived a longer, happier life with the family they created together.”

“How does all of that work?” I probed, feeling extremely curious now.

“It’s rather simple, and it all comes back to these volumes,” Ryo answered, showing us the pages of the book. To our surprise, they were blank. However, when he flipped to the front, we saw that there was dark gold writing much like what was on the spine, “These books within this library are very special. They fill themselves as things come to pass. The interesting part of this is what tends to happen with those intimately involved with the Nephilim families such as yours. Melissa Stanley, Maya Bivens, and even your mother; they were all influenced by the Seraphim’s power. Of course, your mother’s tragic death was nowhere in any design, nor was your youngest sister’s, but that was because of the dark influence that was left to follow all of you.”

“What of the Foxes that became involved with our family? Would this whole thing affect them as well, or were Sage’s actions with Sara already doing so?” Raphael asked him.

“Both, although Sage had this way of altering his design over and over. A royal pain for the Watchers who were assigned to his volume. Sage was always one step ahead of even us.” Ryo admitted.

That one made Sean laugh, “Yeah, that sounds like my father.”

“Yes, it was, but he was also considered a special interest from the beginning with his involvement in the ruling class of the Veil. Your mother was also the best thing that could’ve happened to him. I like to say that she was one of the best ones to lose her intended destiny.” Ryo responded.

I still had other questions on my mind as they talked about this.

“Out of curiosity, do you know why I ended up being the most powerful within our family? Raphael is the oldest, and he was the first to gain his wings. Wouldn't that have made him the first choice?” I inquired.

“That is something I cannot answer at this time, nor can I answer the reasons that your father and his siblings did not change. I have been told to leave that to your Seraph to explain once he can return to you.” Ryo informed me.

“What about the other two families? Are you allowed to speak of them?” Raphael pressed.

“Yes. I am. The other two families are currently in different countries than yours, and thus would not be around the same part of the Veil that you have been. They are also smaller than yours, though such was intended. While I cannot tell you much about them because they do not fall under my watch, I do know these things, They are in European countries, and they go by the family names of Hawthorne and Martell.” Ryo explained.

The Hawthrones and the Martells. So these were the other two families like us. I hoped that once we took care of this mess with Noah and Noel that we could start looking for them. At least we knew where to start now.

“So, what about the originals then?” Sean suddenly asked.

“What are you referring to? I am afraid I do not follow.” Ryo responded.

“I mean the original Nephilim, the ones who were around long before the families, and born to the Fallen. I believe that my father told me once that they now refer to them as Shadow Wings.” Sean elaborated.

“Ah yes, the Shadow Wing Nephilim.” Ryo nodded, “I would imagine you all would hold some curiosities about them, and it would be warranted. I can tell you that they do still exist, although hiding is a necessity for them now. As one would imagine, their very existence is offensive to some who are considered holy, and they have been hunted down and killed throughout the centuries because of that. Either they fight and continue to hide, or they could end up dying. In this way, your families are quite lucky. You do not fall under the stigma, and you never will.”

This confirmed another thing for us. There were original Nephilim left in the world. I wondered what they were like. Were they perhaps like us even though they had been born to Fallen Angels?

Our conversation was interrupted by the sound of flapping wings that echoed through the library. We looked above us to see a large white bird swooping down over the shelves and landing near our table. As it did, it morphed into a young man who looked around twenty years old, with dark hair that covered his brown left eye. I presumed that he was another Sumarian.

“Looks like you were right. They made it here in good time,” he commented as she smiled at us.

“Ah, there you are Ren. I’ll presume you have news for us.” Ryo responded.

“Yep. I wanted to let you know that we’ve found that Nephilim kid everybody’s been looking for.” Ren told him.

“You found Noah?” Raziel spoke up. He sounded incredibly relieved, just like we all felt.

“Wow, that was quick,” Lenore commented.

Ren grinned, “You expect any less? We are pros at this kind of stuff, and it didn’t take me that long to track the kid down after I got the order. But he sure did put up quite a fight before we could detain him. Her influence on him was pretty damn strong. But it’s all good now. We’ve got him safe and sound.”

“Where is he?” Raziel asked him.

“Don’t worry so much. He’s safe and sound, and we’ve made sure he wasn’t hurt.” Ren reassured him. He looked at Ryo, “However, as much as I hate to admit it, we also messed up a little. With all our attention on him, that Nephilim girl’s spirit escaped.”

Ryo let out a tired sigh, “You Sumarians apparently aren’t as thorough as you should be, but there’s nothing more to be said to it. We will have to send out reinforcements to capture her again.”

“Now don’t go blaming me for this one. Take that up with Morosa. He’s the one who was in charge of all of this.” Ren countered.

“And I would have expected better of him too. But no matter. Where is the boy?” Ryo responded.

“He’s very safe. We’ve kept him in one of the holding cells in our realm for now. That way she can’t influence him anymore or try to use him.” Ren answered.

Raziel stepped over to him, “Can you take us to him? We just want to bring him home now.” he requested.

“Well, what kind of person would I be to deny his father’s request?” Ren stated as he glanced at Ryo.

Ryo waved his hand, “Very well. Go ahead and take them to the boy so that they can return home. I doubt that the Seraph would want his own to remain within the Veil too long, especially with the risk of the Fallen roaming around so freely. We will deal with returning Noel Renaldi’s spirit to where it belongs.”

They were going to deal with Noel. In a way, I was glad of that. If she was returned and her hold on Noah broken, then maybe we could go back to normal, at least for a while. Besides, the important thing here was that Noah was safe. Hopefully, this would prevent him from developing the black wings like she did.

Hopefully, if we weren’t already too late.