Sapphire Flame (Sapphire Wings Book 3)

It was the next evening when Raziel received the first phone call.

Anna came running into the den while we all sat talking at Raphael’s house, telling us that Noah had just called Raziel’s phone. That didn’t surprise me that he’d do so. If Noah would be contacting anyone, it would be his father first.

As it turned out, the number he called from was well encoded. That told us that whoever he was staying with had planned things well ahead, which was very odd to us too.

As we’d suspected, he had run away because he feared what might happen since Noel had escaped Lumae’s seal. Even though Raziel practically begged him to come home and kept assuring him that everything would be safe, Noah still refused. He also avoided telling him about who he was staying with, only referring to them as ‘friends’.

Raphael and I really didn’t like the sound of all of this. If Noah wouldn’t even say exactly what they were, that could spell a lot of trouble, and the fact that they’d allowed him to contact us was already very strange. Something more was definitely up with all of this.

When that call was done, Raphael and I decided to go into his office to talk privately about all of this.

“So, what do you think?” I asked him as we stood there.

“I believe that he’s still here on the mortal side, just like we suspected,” Raphael answered.

“He probably fears the Sumarians finding him on the other side.” I reasoned.

“Have Sevee and Lenore contacted you or Sean yet?”

“No, but I’d imagine that they’ll be getting back to us very soon.”

Raphael crossed his arms, taking a few minutes to think everything over before speaking again.

“It’s very strange, Michael. That number was highly encoded. Why would anyone, even one from the other side, need that much protection so that they wouldn’t be traced? I doubt that it was put in place just because of Noah. That would take more time to do than he’s been gone, unless they used a special ability to do it.”

“You think that’s possible?” I inquired.

I knew that Raphael knew a lot about those kinds of things. He was the one who managed to keep us hiding in plain sight in this world. He’d already been planning on altering our information again soon, along with memories in Madison so that no one noticed how the Renaldis didn’t age. Such things were necessary for us, and although all of us knew how to do this manipulation, Raphael was the best at it, hands down.

“I believe so. If a human were to do that, it would take at least two or three months for them to set such a program up, and with the burner phones, it would be a wasted effort. No, I’d say more than likely this is some kind of special ability that whatever he’s with has.” Raphael confirmed.

“So we’re looking at some very intelligent and crafty creatures here.” I surmised with a nod of my head.

“I highly doubt they’re just any creatures. To have that kind of know-how and ability, they would have to want to keep themselves hidden at least to an extent, or maybe even need to.” Raphael reasoned.

I could easily read between the lines of what he was implying, “You believe they’re similar to us.”

“I believe they are just like us, perhaps even other Nephilim. Why else would Noah put such trust in them right away?”

“Would you listen to yourself? You’re saying there are others like us that are actually living somewhat close? That couldn’t be with what Ryo told us. He’s claimed that the other Nephilim families are in other countries!” I argued.

I probably shouldn’t have found it as preposterous as I did, but I just couldn’t fathom it. Even though we’d confirmed that there were two other clans, they had never been seen before. What were the odds of Noah finding one of them where we hadn’t in all these years?

“Stop and think about it, Michael. We don’t know for certain if those other clans could have recently come to this country. That wouldn’t be out of the question with as easy as it is to travel from one to another.” Raphael countered.

I still highly doubted that one, but I was becoming more concerned. That dream came back to my mind. I’d seen three figures with angel wings, and Noah had been going to them. Could it have been a premonition that was given to me?

Now I hoped that Sevee and Lenore returned soon. I had to know if Lenore had found out anything about what I’d asked her to so that I could either confirm or deny that notion.

It was late the next afternoon when they finally returned to my house. Sevee admitted first thing that they’d found nothing during their time with the Sumarians and Ryo. When Noah had hopped into that car with whoever he’d met, he’d disappeared from the main Renaldi books.

However, Lenore signaled to me telepathically.

“I’ll meet you in your office when we’re done. I think you may be more than interested in what I found.”

I agreed, then continued pretending that nothing else was going on. I didn’t want anyone else to know what I’d asked her to look into yet. There was already too much of a fuss over Noah.

It didn’t take long for Lenore to slip into my office with me after I’d excused myself. She quietly closed the door and locked it, then faced me.

“Well, what did you find?” I asked her, being sure to keep my voice down.

“Let me start by saying that I’m absolutely amazed, Michael. I never would’ve imagined this one.” Lenore responded.

Her words didn’t bode well. My suspicions seemed to have been correct.

“No games, Lenore. I need you to tell me about it.”

Lenore conceded, holding her arms as she regarded me, “Alright. Let me start by saying that Raphael is a completely innocent party in this one. He had no idea about it. But to answer your question, yes, Noel Renaldi did have a child after she left the family. She had a son.” she confirmed.

It took a lot of strength to keep myself composed, although I was sure that I’d gone pale.

“When?” I managed to ask her.

“According to Ryo, he’s three years older than Raziel. But he was also well hidden. It’s odd, but Ryo claims that he didn’t even remember seeing this information before. He was apparently far removed from the rest of the Renaldis for some reason.” Lenore explained.

A sigh escaped me. Three years older than Raziel. There was no doubt in my mind about this now.

“So, she was pregnant when she left us.”

“Yep, although what led to his creation wasn’t exactly consensual on Raphael’s part from what I’ve heard. That curse is more twisted than we thought.” Lenore commented.

“Let’s not get into that right now, okay Lenore?” I requested.

“Sorry. I get where all of that is still tough to think about.” Lenore agreed.

“Whether it is or not, I really don’t care at this point. My only concern is getting Noah back, and I believe that his disappearance may be connected to that child. Can you tell me what else you found out about him?”

Lenore nodded, “Alright. Well, to start with, his name is Aiden Renaldi, and he was born on April 18th. Your aunt, Dot Renaldi, ended up raising him. From what we could find, his last known location was out in Kingsport, Tennessee, but his current whereabouts are still being determined. The Watchers lost track of him after Noel died because his volume apparently disappeared, so they’ve got their own work to do with him.”

“Damn,” I muttered.

I was almost certain now that Aiden was the one Noah was staying with. All of the pieces fit. But without anyone knowing where he was, we were still at square one. Not only that, but this also meant that there were other Sapphire Nephilim out there. Whether or not he was the product of a forbidden relationship brought on by a Fallen’s curse was a moot point. He was still one of us, and still Raphael’s oldest son.

“If you don’t mind my asking, how in the world did you all miss this one? As a matter of fact, I asked Ryo the same thing. How does a member of a Nephilim clan end up missed for so long? It doesn’t make sense.” Lenore continued.

“I don’t know,” I confessed, “But right now, that’s the least of our worries. I need you to do me a favor and contact Ryo again. I want to go to the Halls myself and look for anything I can find on Aiden Renaldi.”

“But Sevee will know that something up if I do that,” Lenore warned me.

“You can go ahead and tell him about this. I want him to accompany us there too. I’m also bringing Raphael. It’s about time we found out everything we can about Aiden. I believe that's also where we’ll end up finding Noah.” I responded.

I admit that I wasn’t that concerned about the reactions to this. They were all going to find out anyway by the time this was all over.

As soon as I stepped out of the office, I went to find Raphael. I knew that he was there with Raziel. It didn’t take me long to locate them either. The two were standing out on the porch, talking some things over privately. I didn’t see Anna with them, although I reasoned that she may have been with Sara and Mia.

Raphael was the first to notice as I opened the door to join them.

“Is there any more news?” he asked me.

“I think we have a solution to this. We’re going back to Ryo to find some more information that will probably lead us to Noah.” I told them.

“What kind of information? I thought they’d lost everything when he got that ride.” Raziel spoke up.

Well, no sense in hiding this from him. I may as well be blunt with all of it, though I wanted to address Raphael first.

“By the way, you were wrong. You have two sons.” I stated as I looked at him.

Now Raziel was thoroughly confused, “What are you talking about?”

“You’re not serious, Michael,” Raphael responded, though his eyes were faltering with the somber revelation.

“I am. Noel had a son about three years before Raziel was born. I had Lenore check on it for me, just to confirm or deny suspicions that I kept having. What Lumae thought she saw was real. Noel was trying to keep this hidden from her and us for some reason, but she did give birth to a son.” I explained.

Raphael looked down as he crossed his arms, shaking his head. I got a strong sense of sadness and regret from him. No, he’d never even suspected this one.

Raziel was staring at us as he tried to process it. His attention then turned to me.

“Hold on. So you think that Noah is with this guy, my half-brother?” he confirmed.

“That’s what I believe. All of the pieces seem to fit.” I verified.

Raphael was finally pulling himself back together internally and able to face us, “What did Lenore find out when she learned this? Is there anything we can go on aside from when Noel had him?”

“I’m afraid it wasn’t much. It turns out that after Noel died, the Watchers lost track of him. His book apparently disappeared. All we know for now is that he’s three years older than Raziel, was living with Aunt Dot, and his name is Aiden Renaldi.” I explained.

“Aiden, huh?” Raziel muttered.

“I see. Well, we do know that Aunt Dot lived in Kingsport at the time, but I had heard from Dad that she’d moved at some point, although he didn’t tell me where. Her body was brought back here after she passed away too, but now that I think about it, that was kind of odd. Someone else made sure that happened for her, but I never could find out who.” Raphael admitted.

“Sounds like it might’ve been Aiden then. Maybe he was honoring her final wishes or something like that.” Raziel suggested.

“It’s very possible,” I concurred, “But for now, I do believe that we need to head back to the Halls and see Ryo. Everything’s recorded somewhere in there, and maybe now we can find that book.”

Raphael agreed, “Alright, then let’s get going.”

“I’m going too,” Raziel announced.

“I don’t think that would be a good idea, Raziel. You shouldn't be leaving Anna yet.” Raphael reminded him.

“I get it, but she’ll be fine staying here with Mia. Besides, she told me that she needs Noah brought home, and I promised her that I’d do that once we got any leads on where he is.” Raziel told us.

There was no changing his mind about this. If Anna was begging Raziel to bring Noah home, then he wasn’t going to back down. Not that I blamed him. Noah was their world, and both would do anything to have him back safe and sound.

“This one is your call, Michael,” Raphael stated.

“I guess so,” I sighed, then looked at Raziel, “I’m fine with you coming, but please make sure that Anna’s okay with it. None of us want to risk having her break down if we can help it.”

“Yeah. I’ll go talk to her now.” Raziel quickly agreed. He then headed back into the house.

Raphael turned to me once he was gone. His eyes looked conflicted.

“Michael, if this is true, then what are we planning on doing once we find him?” he asked quietly.

“I don’t know. Right now, I’m not even that sure that we’ll have much luck with it. It’s already strange that they’d conveniently lose his book like Ryo is claiming.” I responded.

“I agree,” Raphael nodded, “It sounds more to me like it was taken at some point, although I’m not sure of why that would be done if he’s still living.”

“Do you think it’s possible our Angel had something to do with it?” I suggested.

“Anything is, but I’m not going to overthink that one right now. No matter what’s going on with that, our priority should be to find Noah. Time is not on our side with this, especially since Noel is loose. If that’s the case, then so is that curse, and we have no idea of how it may continue to affect him.” Raphael reminded me.

He was right about that. We didn’t have a lot of time with this, especially when thinking of what that curse may end up doing to Noah. Somehow, we had to find Aiden, and hopefully, we’d also find Noah with him.

It didn’t take long for us to regroup and head out after that. Raziel made sure to talk to Anna at length before we left, and though Mia, Sara, and Sean promised to take care of her, he also ensured that she’d be okay without him for a while.

For her part, Anna was more than willing to allow him to do what he needed to.

“Just bring Noah home.” she’d told him.

“I promise I will. We’ll find him and bring him home safe.” Raziel agreed before hugging her and kissing her goodbye.

We left there with restrained hopes though, which only amplified as we reached the halls and joined Ryo in looking through the records. He was less than happy over the discovery of Aiden and blamed the original Watcher of our family for this mix-up. As it turned out, the position had been given to him shortly after Raziel and Mia were born, although no explanation was given as to why the other Watcher had been removed or why some things were never disclosed to him.

Since Lenore had brought this up, Ryo had been scouring all of his books in an attempt to locate Aiden’s, but he’d had no luck up until the time we’d gotten there. I admit that I’m rather glad that I was so used to research at this point. The next several hours went by with us checking over every volume we could find on the high shelves.

At this point, I almost felt like we were on a wild goose chase. Maybe I had been wrong about the premonition. Maybe it wasn’t Aiden I’d seen, and he had died years before. Noah very well could have found another from one of the other clans.

But thankfully, I was proven wrong about that, and it was Raziel who found that proof.

“Hey, look at this!” he called from the ladder of a nearby shelf.

“What did you find?” Raphael asked as he came over to us.

Raziel sat the book he’d grabbed on the table in front of us, “There’s no name on the spine for whatever reason, but look at the name on the first page.”

He was right. In golden lettering on the first page was the name Aiden Renaldi.

Ryo stepped over with us, holding a hand over the book to flip through the pages and scan them, “Yes, you have found it. This is the missing volume.” he confirmed. He glanced at the shelf where Raziel had located it, “Odd. I am certain we looked over that shelf several times now. But no matter. It is here and there is no more need to worry about it.”

I found that odd too, but decided to let it go. We had more pressing issues to deal with.

“What does it say?” Raphael asked him.

Ryo flipped through the pages as he continued scanning them, “According to what I am seeing, Aiden is still alive. It appears that he developed his wings at sixteen, and lived with Dot Renaldi until she passed on. It also appears that they had moved to Virginia right after Noel died.” he explained to us.

“And he’s still in Virginia?” I guessed.

“Yes, he is still there. According to this, he’s living in the mountains with his two children now. They are listed as Yuki and Hayden Renaldi.” Ryo answered.

“Yuki and Hayden?” Sevee repeated, “That’s some different names.”

Ryo ignored his comment, only explaining a bit more detail to us about them.

“Yes, as I said, both are Aiden’s children. Yuki is a boy, age sixteen, and Hayden is a girl, age fifteen. Their mother is also deceased, so it has just been the three of them living there.”

So, my dream had been correct after all. Those three Nephilim that I saw in shadow were Aiden, Yuki, and Hayden.

“They have Noah too, don’t they?” I surmised.

Ryo nodded, “Yes, according to this, Noah is staying with them. Yuki was the one who found him when he left his home. However, it does appear that he’s in good hands. Aiden’s been taking care of him until they can figure things out.” he explained. He suddenly stopped, “What is this?”

“What’s wrong?” Raphael asked him.

Ryo shook his head, “It seems that Aiden is nothing like his mother, and certainly not affected by this curse. He did not wish to see Noah continue to suffer, so he took on the burden of carrying Noel’s spirit until she can be released.” he explained.

I’d heard enough then, “Do you know exactly where they are now?”

“As I said, they have been living in the mountains of Virginia now,” Ryo answered.

“Then we’re heading there,” I stated. I looked at the others, “I’m taking Raphael and Raziel with me. Sevee and Lenore, I want you to head back to my house and wait for us. We’ll probably be bringing back company along with Noah.”

“Come on, Pop. We want to see them too.” Sevee complained.

“Don’t argue with me Sevee. I’m really not in the mood. Besides, you’re going to see them soon enough, so have some patience.” I told him.

Lenore held his arm, “Come on, Sevee. You know this is hard enough with everything going on.” she reasoned.

Sevee reluctantly gave in, “Fine. I’ll go back with the others then.”

“And no trying to follow,” I added.

“What do you take me for?” Sevee responded, trying to sound innocent.

“We know you. Now go on.” Raphael ordered.

Ryo shook his head, closing the book as the two left.

“Well, it seems that all of this is coming together now, but are you sure that you want to find this Nephilim?” he asked us.

“This should have been done a long time ago. He’s still one of us, no matter how he ended up being brought into the world.” I stated.

I really did mean that when I said it. None of us had asked to be born, especially into this family, and I couldn’t imagine what Aiden must have felt for these last thirty years. He was hidden away, a tragic footnote of the distortions this curse had caused. Had he even understood what was happening to him when he got his wings? Could Aunt Dot comfort him during that time? We all remembered how hard our wings had been on us. For Aiden, they must have been hell.

It didn’t take us long to get home and break the news to the rest of the family. Although one would’ve imagined that there would be outrage over such news, that was far from the case. Instead, they all seemed to feel what I had.

“That poor boy. Imagine how lonely he must have felt all of these years. He was practically isolated because of where he came from.” Sara was saying.

“And he’s taking care of Noah too, along with his own children. I’m… grateful for that. At least we know he’s safe.” Anna admitted as she held her hands to her chest.

Raziel was quiet as he sat beside her. I wondered what he was thinking now that he’d had time to let it all sink in. What a shock it must have been for him too. Raziel had always believed that he was an only child, and with good reason. I was certain that his faith in his father was badly shaken.

“So, when are you going?” Sara asked me.

“We’re leaving shortly. I’d like to get there by nightfall.” I responded.

At that time, we all heard Raziel’s phone begin to ring. He took it out of his pocket, looking at the screen.

“It’s that same encoded number. It’s probably Noah,” he told us.

I nodded at him, “Go ahead, but don’t mention anything about us knowing about Aiden or his children.”

“And everyone needs to be very quiet. I want you to put it on speaker so that I can hear what he’s saying.” Raphael added.

Noah probably would realize this, but I doubted that he’d say anything. At the very worst, he’d just hang up.

Raziel unlocked the phone and hit the speaker button.

“Hello?”

“Hey.” We heard Noah say from the other end of the line.

“Are you all right?” Raziel asked him.

“I’m fine. I just wanted to check on you and Mom. Is she doing okay?” Noah answered.

Same Noah there. The two people he’d worry about the most, in the end, would be his parents. But I was detecting a hint of guilt there too. He probably knew very well what he was doing to his mother.

“I’m okay, but I have been worried about you. Are you still okay?” Anna replied.

“Yeah, I am. I’m still at the same place, and they’re taking good care of me.” Noah reassured her.

“You know we’re going to find you eventually,” Raziel stated.

“I know, but I told you that I’d come home once I could.” Noah reminded him.

“Noah, you know that there was no reason for you to run like that. We wouldn’t have let anything happen.” Raziel continued.

I had the distinct feeling that he was getting ready to challenge him into telling us where he was staying and who was with him. Raphael apparently did too, because he walked over behind him and laid a hand on his shoulder.

“I know you’re probably right,” Noah admitted, “But I didn’t want to take that chance, and you all can tell that I’m safe here. Nothing’s going to happen to me, so you don’t need to worry.”

At that, Anna took the phone from him, “Noah, I know that you’re doing this because you don’t want anyone to get hurt, but we’re still worried about you.” she reasoned. Obviously, she’d wanted to have her say, and possibly to let Raziel calm himself.

“I know, and I’m sorry Mom. I keep hurting you, don’t I?” Noah replied.

Anna took a deep breath, “It does hurt, but I know that it’s not your fault. You’re a gentle boy Noah, and you want to protect everyone, but you need to let us protect you and help you too. Even if you are safe there, we still miss you and love you. So please come home to us soon. I want to have you back while I still can. You’re growing up way too fast on me anyway.” she continued, actually smiling at the last part.

We heard Noah laugh a little, “Maybe I am, but I’ll come home soon. I wanted to ask you something though. Are Sevee and Lenore still looking for me?”

“Lie,” I whispered.

“Yes, but Michael’s also joined them now. He wants you back and to end all of this nonsense.” Raziel told him.

I think that he may have scared him with that one. There was a small sound on the other end, almost like someone catching their breath.

“Why?” Noah finally asked.

“Because you’re part of this family. This is where you belong Noah, and you know that. No matter what happens, you belong here with the rest of us.” Raziel told him.

“You really think that?” Noah asked softly.

Anna’s eyes widened a little bit, “Of course you do. Do you really not think so?” she asked him.

“Never mind. I love you both, and I’ll call you again soon.” Noah responded.

He was obviously dodging that one. Instead of letting the conversation continue, he hung up.

“I told you so,” Sevee stated as he leaned back against the nearby wall.

“Stop it, Sevee,” Sean whispered as he gave him a hard look.

I was no fool to all of this. What Sevee was implying had a ring of truth to it. It was just as I’d suspected all along. Noah carried the same feelings of not belonging that Sevee had. The problem was that now, he was more than likely with Aiden and his family. Perhaps Noah thought he was better suited there.

But no matter. We’d bring them all back and sort it out.

I glanced back over at Raphael, “Could we manage a trace this time?” I asked him.

Raphael walked over and looked at the laptop that he’d set up nearby, “Looks like we were able to get a hit this time. It’s the same address that Ryo found for us. He’s definitely with Aiden Renaldi.” he confirmed.

“Fine. Then let’s get going.” I responded.

Raziel stood up too, and Anna looked up at him as he did.

“Please, just bring him home safe.” She begged softly.

“We will. He’ll be fine, Anna. Don’t worry.” Raziel promised her.

He knelt down and gently ran a hand over her cheek. There was no doubt that there was a deep affection between the two. It was always there, especially in hard times.

I glanced over at Sevee, “No trouble.” I warned him.

“Of course not.” Sevee agreed, though I didn’t like that smile he gave me.

“I mean it,” I warned him.

“Do you really expect something to happen while we’re gone?” Raphael asked as we walked out to his SUV.

I shook my head, “No, but I’d rather give my warning to prevent it. The last thing I want to hear about when we get back is that Sevee started trouble over Noah’s problems.” I quietly told him.

“One should remind Sevee that those in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones,” Raphael stated as we got in.

I drew in a breath as he started it. I really had no idea of what awaited us just a few short hours from now, but I prayed that it would all turn out well.