Story: Dawning Radiance
Genre: Dark Fantasy/Romance/Action
Rating: T for violence. Possibly because it mentions D going off and doing everything he does with those poor girls he beds all the time.
Claimer: I own each and every one of the characters in this story, so please do not use them, as they are my babies...enjoy!
I lay on my bed; blankets pulled tightly around me while my father sat beside me, stroking my head and telling me the most amazing stories of my mother until I was finally able to fall asleep.
I didn't know how long I had slept, but when I reopened my eyes it was pitch dark in the room, save for the sliver of moonlight slinking through a crack in the curtains.
I sat up stiffly and rubbed the back of my throat, which was dry again, and found a pitcher of ice water and an empty glass on the bedside table. I had drank two full glasses before someone else in the room cleared their throat and I automatically grabbed for a weapon in my belt, which had been removed, and spun around to look for the source of the noise. Sitting in a chair leaning against the white and gold wall, was Nate, watching me intently "How are you?" he asked, sounding genuinely concerned "Where's Valshe?" I inquired, ignoring his question. He sighed deeply and pointed at the wall behind him "Next door…sleeping probably, and the other Demon is in that room over there" he pointed at the wall opposite him.
Nodding, I moved over to the window and threw the curtains open, so the room was awash in a dim silver glow "I feel better" I told him, in answer to his question and turned back to face him. For a moment I thought he had fallen asleep, his eyes were closed, and he looked completely relaxed "That's a relief…Valshe was worried about you" he informed me after a long silence then stood up and moved towards the door. "Come on" he called over his shoulder as he exited the room like a shadow.
As much as I hated the idea of following a Nephilim into unknown territories, I did, and met Nate in a huge lavish room, with a fireplace almost as tall as Valshe and as wide as one of the cafeteria tables back at the base with an elegant mantle carved in swirling designs of gold and bronze. I could tell my eyes were wide as I turned around and around, trying unsuccessfully to take in the brilliance of the room "Cool huh? I've lived here for seven years and I'm still not used to it" Nate mused, smirking at my childishness. "It's probably not the best idea to discuss this in this place…walls have ears and all that" he explained when I gave him a questioning look "So I thought we could take a walk?" he suggested "That's fine" I replied and followed behind him as he smiled graciously and opened a large door, revealing the courtyard beyond it.
The courtyard, much like the room we had just left, was unnecessarily large, extravagantly decorated, and well kept. Walking out of the shining bronze gates and onto a damp cobblestone path leading towards a glimmering lakebed I took a deep breath; I had never breathed cleaner air. "I assume you've heard about how Angels and Nephilim can form Pacts with each other right?" he turned his head a bit and waited for my response.
I shrugged "I never really paid much attention in class, Nephil…it'd be best if you explained" I replied, and he gave an amused laugh "Well, there's a kind of spell Angels and Nephilim can use; a binding spell…it's a lot like how Demons do that blood ritual to become partners, just not as grotesque…" he paused as if debating on how to continue, and sighed heavily. "It burns Demons; some of us have tried it before…and humans? You know how it works with them. Anyways, Rey got the bright idea to try it on Valshe…and it worked for just a few seconds, then faded…on top of that, Nephilim and Angels can't make it through a Demons Portal alive…but Valshe could right? Don't you think that's odd?" he inquired, sitting down on the cool sand of the lakebed and tossing a stone, sending it skipping over the placid water in far spaced leaps before sinking into the dark, moonlit water below. Sitting down on a flat, dry rock a few yards away, I narrowed my eyes at him "Of course I think it's odd, but that doesn't really matter does it?" I quipped, narrowing my eyes at him.
Suddenly, he pushed himself fluidly to his feet and moved towards me "Here," he offered, and held out his hands, in which was cradled a small leather bound book that looked like someone's journal, held shut by a yellowing piece of white ribbon. It was stamped with white, complicated Angel runes that I could only make a little sense of no matter how hard I looked at them, and eventually gave up and took it from him. "How am I supposed to read this? I'm no Angel" I sighed, waving it at him carelessly "The runes inside are much easier to read than the ones on the front" Nate insisted, and motioned for me to open it.
Pulling in frustration at the ribbon, it finally slipped out of its knots and I was able to open it. Inside, pages were beginning to yellow and age as well, but they were still unbelievably well taken care of, and Nate had been right; the runes in this book were more than easy enough for me to comprehend. Nate looked over my shoulder and cleared his throat "I think it was on page fifty six…" he coaxed and I scoffed as I flipped through to the page he'd indicated. Raising a brow at the picture crudely sketched onto the page, I glanced at Nate for a moment, but he didn't seem to notice. The picture displayed was of an Avenging Angel, his two sets of wings shimmering and a Reaper Demon, probably a True Blood, his wings covered in blood and a wicked grin on his handsome face, both pulling on the arms of a human male, who looked pained, as if their efforts were tearing him apart. Shaking my head, I began to read, listening to Nate's steady breathing as he continued to read over my shoulder.
"As all Angels know, there has been no known occurrence of humans being able to fully see the world of Ethereals, however, a prophecy we've just recently deciphered may just break this cycle. The war between that of we, the Angels, the light side of the 'coin' so to speak, and the Demons, the dark side is escalating fast, showing no signs of a near end. According to this new prediction, when the fighting reaches it's climax, a third party will come into the picture; the human race. This human will be gifted the Ethereal sight at birth, by being both blessed by an Angel, and damned by a Demon and will thus be able to see the world as we do, and will be caught between the side of Demon and Angel. Once the human awakes to their sight, they will be approached by both Angel and Demon kind alike, as they will be the weight that will tip the scales to either favor, meaning the war will be won by the side the human chooses. Of course, that wasn't completely deciphered in the Vision, so we are unsure of whether or not this might hold any truth.
Perhaps you may be confused by why this human will be so sought after? Because the human baby was both blessed and damned at birth, they are granted a choice, though either way they'll be prohibited to stay human, will become an Ethereal being; part of our world.
As the change proceeds, the human will gain powers of both Demon and Angel, for example, the ability to use the weapons of both species, being able to travel through both the Angels Path, and the Demons Portal, gaining the Angels powers of spells and finally, the select use of Artes of which Demons are gifted with. It is however, not until the human becomes a full Ethereal that they will be presented with their choice; whether to join our kind as an Angel, or to join the Under Realms as a Demon.
After they choose their path, they will be given immense powers, and as an Angel, will be given powers that are quite possibly stronger than the High Seraph, while if they become a Demon, they will be granted powers stronger than the still-to-be-discovered leader of the Demon realm, essentially being granted the power of a God among immortals."
Sighing heavily, I turned to Nate, who had finished reading quite a while before I had, and he was watching me intently "Did you read the whole thing?" he asked, his face both unemotional and excited at the same time "Yeah, most of it…"I replied and gave a bored yawn; I hadn't paid much attention in class when I'd been required to go, and pulled out a B average by mostly best guessing, yet he expected me to pay attention when he was trying to teach me about something so useless? "Read…this part" he pointed to a short paragraph at the end of the entry and looked back at me expectantly "You might as well just explain it to me" I told him, and spread out on the stones cool face while he sighed in mock frustration beside me.
"Well…it briefly explains how one of the parents were blessed by the High Seraph, and the other damned by…whoever it is leads you guys…" he paused as if he thought I'd actually answer that, and he resumed when I closed my eyes and stayed silent "And that's apparently how the child got both…" he finished bluntly.
"That can't be right," I quipped, earning me a confused release of breath from the boy sitting next to me "If someone is damned, they repel the love of someone who was blessed; that's just how it works" I explained, opening my eyes and noting his tiny nod of agreement, though he seemed more entranced by the brilliance of the stars above us. "While that may be true, you know how humans are; they don't need to love one another to make a mistake together" he replied knowingly "I guess you're right, but that's still never happened before…" I sighed again and shook my head "Not until Valshe you mean" he met my gaze with his dark brown one and I realized how oblivious I'd been.
Mentally, I was beating myself at how stupid I'd been; how hadn't I noticed how the pieces started to match up with the few we'd already had, though I couldn't say I was completely convinced. Copying Nate and admiring the stars I'd only seen once or twice since I'd become a Demon I mulled it over for a bit…Valshe was the first human that could see the whole Ethereal world that any of us had ever heard of, looking back she'd been able to hold and use both the feather staff I'd given her, and Nate's blade when she's moved to swing it at him.
I knew nothing of her parents, nor could I tell without meeting them, if they'd been favored by Angel or Demon, and made a self note to ask her about it later. "How would you know? Why would Valshe talk to you about her parents?" I asked, and clenched my fists when I saw his smug smile out of the corner of my eyes "She told me because I asked her about it; her parents were never married, it was that 'I got drunk, I met so-and-so, I slept with them, we got you' kind of thing apparently…her mom's relationship is difficult for Valshe, her dad has a girlfriend, she only sees him a few times a month..." he hesitated when he told me each bit of info, his lower lip slightly tucked in, showing he was biting it.
He stood up abruptly, and turned to me "That's it I guess…" he said, took one last glance at the just beginning to lighten sky, and started to walk back where we'd came. Jumping up and following after him, I caught at his shoulder and he flinched away with a dark glare in my direction "Why would you tell me this anyways? You're a Nephilim…so why help a demon?" I prompted, his face never smoothing from the violent look he was shooting me. "Because unlike the Demons, Angels and Nephilim like a fair fight; maybe even a little challenge…and Valshe is a kind girl, so I'm sure that even with you guys working to get her on your side, she'll always come back to us" he replied shortly as we came to the doors and he flung them open before brusquely stepping inside.
On the way up to the bed room they were allowing me, another question raised in my mind "So where's your brother? He was hurt too wasn't he?" I inquired with disinterest, not expecting the reaction I was rewarded with.
Nate sighed and leaned heavily on the wall before turning slowly to face me "He's sleeping it off…not that it's your business…" he returned weakly, and half limped to where I assumed his room was, absent-mindedly clutching at his side, as if in pain.
A/N: Yeah, I'm going back and editing some stuff in all of the chapters for the sake of the story and you readers...see how considerate I am? The next chapter has some more of the darker stuff like in this one, and I'd like to inform all you lovely readers now that I've decided that I'm not going to be able to finish this epic something-or-other in just one book, so there will probably be one or even two more after this one -chuckles darkly- wait until you all see what I have planned for my poor little charries! Until next time, review if you can, and remember to eat your smart cookies!