Chapter 19

 

Rohan and Sabina entered the kitchen a little later than the others, only to find that breakfast had not yet begun. It seemed Gaius and Alex had also just come downstairs, and the meal was postponed until all of the council members were present. Rohan tenderly kissed Sabina’s forehead, then released her so she could make tea for herself and he could pour himself a cup of coffee.

“How did last night go?” Rohan asked Gaius, settling himself on a stool to Gaius’ right. Gaius furrowed his brow and turned his head in Rohan’s direction. “I mean, did you and Alex get any sleep after everything she saw yesterday?” Rohan said, explaining himself a bit further.

“Ah,” Gaius sighed. He scrubbed a hand through his thick chestnut locks and took a sip of coffee. “She rested well, until shortly before seven. Then, we had a new memory of Asterron come calling and we had to deal with that. Our fathers helped us through it, though.”

“Please tell me she wasn’t in their waters again,” Rohan breathed out and shook his head slightly.

“No, but that was my first worry, too. We’ll tell you all about it when we meet after breakfast,” Gaius said, smiling a little at his dear friend.

“Where is she?” Rohan asked, as it finally dawned on him that Alex was not in the kitchen with them.

“Outside with Cara,” Gaius said and swiveled his wrist over to look at his watch. Alex had only been outside for the last five minutes with their pet, so he felt no cause for alarm.

“Alone?” Rohan asked, feeling slight dread that she might be unprotected and in danger.

“Ganymede is still keeping watch, Rohan. Calm down, brother. Do you think I would let Alex out of my sight if I thought she was in danger?” Gaius chuckled and took another sip of his coffee.

“No, but…,” Rohan began, though Gaius interrupted him.

“Rohan, listen to me,” he said, as he settled his palm on Rohan’s shoulder. “I will see no harm nor danger come to Alex, you know that. For I could not make it without her. But as danger encroaches on her, she needs the small bits of normalcy that bring calm and purpose to her days.”

“You said it yourself in your own kitchen, when the council met after Keres fell. You told Alex that she’d go off the rails a bit if she lived her life in a constant state of battle readiness and anxiety. And she would, brother, as would we all,” Gaius said and grinned, watching as Rohan began to smile a little with him.

“No, I want Alex to learn the balance she needs during significant moments or prolonged periods of unrest and battle. I want her to find the small things that bring her peace, and learn to incorporate that into her hours. Alex is resilient in her own right, even with her valiant spirit fighting to overcome it all. And she will find what works for her with my help, and with me standing back and giving her the space she needs to find some of it on her own.” Gaius’ smile grew wider as he watched Rohan shake his head in wonder. “What?” he chuckled.

“I swear, I want just an ounce of your patience to rub off on me,” Rohan sighed. Both men laughed softly at his jest.

“Oh, I think your patient wife will teach you well.” Gaius smirked. “Just listen to her, brother.”

“He does, Gaius, every day.” Sabina smiled as she walked past the two.

She patted Gaius’ back and then took her place beside Rohan to enjoy her cup of tea. Rohan draped an arm around Sabina’s shoulders and lightly kissed her forehead. Gaius smiled to himself as he wrapped his hands around his mug, happy to see two who meant so much to him, at peace and well loved.

 

After another fifteen minutes, Alex finally returned to the kitchen with Cara by her side. Both looked happy and refreshed, and Gaius watched as Alex walked around the island and settled herself on his lap. He handed her a glass of orange juice he had poured for her and she whispered her thanks, then downed the offering.

She was back on her feet before he had uttered a word, and she went about feeding Cara and pouring another glass of juice for herself. When that was gone, she had a third. Gaius pressed his lips together so he would not laugh aloud. He knew her nausea was now a thing of the past, and Alex would be ravenous at breakfast.

 

True to his prediction, Alex ate her fill and then some. No one made a comment over her extraordinary appetite, but Gaius did note that several of the men were quietly observing Alex’s plate as she filled it full a fourth time. He had long since finished eating, so he placed his napkin on the table and draped his arm over the back of her chair and just watched her eat.

Alex cleared her plate, and then reached for a bowl of sliced fruit that sat nearby. She looked across the table at Iain and Gaillard, finally noticing that they were watching her every movement. Conleth, Nikolaj, and Benen had the same quiet look of concentration on their faces, and she furrowed her brow as she stared back at them.

“What? Do I have something on my face?” Alex asked, lifting her napkin and patting her mouth lightly.

“Nope,” Iain drawled out, as he began to smile at her.

“Then why are you all looking at me like that?” she pressed.

“Because you just ate more than they did. Combined,” Rohan said dryly.

“Oh, good grief,” Alex sighed and swatted Rohan’s chest, wresting a grunt from him. She went ahead and placed the fruit on her plate. “I’m hungry,” she muttered, more to herself than the men across the table.

“We can tell,” Gaillard said, smiling broadly at her.

“Hush,” Alex fussed under her breath, and then proceeded to polish off the rest of the fruit left in the bowl.

Everyone around her laughed lightly at her censure, but they still continued to observe the astounding hunger that accompanied an aura which was equivalent to all of theirs combined.

 

When the council took their seats in the library following the meal, twenty-one chairs were still arranged in a circle with one sofa completing the ring. Alex smiled as she took her place on the center cushion of the couch between Gaius and Ganymede. She slipped her shoes off and crossed her legs under her body. She began to snack on the apple she had brought along as she leaned forward and quietly encouraged Cara to lie on the rug before her.

“Are you still hungry?” Rohan asked, grinning like a scoundrel as he stretched his long legs out in front of him.

“Not as much as I was before.” Alex smirked and then took a large bite of her apple. She raised and lowered her eyebrows playfully at him. Rohan only winked at Alex as he wove his fingers through Sabina’s. They turned their attention to Ganymede then, as he began their discussion.

“Good morning, everyone. I trust that we are all rested and ready to move forward.” Ganymede smiled as he looked around the circle at each Nephilim and received their nods of agreement. “Very good. I propose that after we talk and plan this morning, we meet with all the others gathered here at Aeoferth and bring them into our discussions. They are all ready for information, and there is no real need to keep them from the truth of Alex’s journey any longer,” he said.

No one offered protest, and so he continued.

“We are now at a point where we must consider how and when your fathers and I will pull back for a time. Our Fallen brothers are waiting for me to leave Alexandria before they move in, and this must be accomplished with great care on our part,” he said.

The auras within the room began to convey trepidation and concern.

“I know that this will not be an easy path for us to tread, but we will walk it together, though the enemy will not see it as a joint effort until it is too late for them to escape,” Ganymede added.

“Will you take down your former brothers, or will Alex through her aura in form?” Rohan asked quietly.

“We will engage them this time, Rohan. Though, my daughter will need to be prepared to defend herself if just one gets past our line. Or if another, who was not featured in the memory she witnessed, decides to join the battle at the last moment,” he replied. “Just as you have all taught her – Alexandria must always be prepared and never hesitate.”

Rohan inclined his head, and said nothing further.

“Ganymede must step away from Alexandria, as must we all, for this threat to finally be brought to an end,” said Haniel regretfully. “There is nothing good about the enemy forcing our hand thusly, but we now have the elements of knowledge and surprise on our side. They know not that we have listened to their intentions.”

“There is only one place that I would logically want to be at this time, and they know it,” Alex said quietly. “I want to be near my human family for this last year before the deadline passes. And if it looked as though a period of peace had returned, that is where Gaius and I would go, without question.”

“That is true, daughter,” Ganymede said, as he lifted his hand and ran it over her hair.

“But I can’t do that, Ganymede. I can allow myself to be used as a target or a decoy, because I can appear through my aura, and they cannot truly end me when I am in that form. But if I’m near my family, I will greatly endanger them. Any one of them could be grabbed in an instant, right before my eyes, and used to force my surrender. I won’t use my parents, brothers, or Jameason in that way. Ever,” Alex said a little more forcefully than before.

“No, sweetheart. We know you would not,” Gaius said, taking her right hand in his left. “Nor would any of us allow harm to come to them. They will remain well guarded throughout this threat.” Gaius smiled at Alex encouragingly, then looked over her head at her father.

“What if I take her to another city, Ganymede? As though we’re making a short trip away from the gathering, just the two of us. If we thought the danger was at an end, I might do just that,” Gaius said, finding it harder to speak the words than he wanted.

He knew his aura was conveying his apprehension, and Gaius tried to suppress his power briefly to keep his emotions in check. Alex released his hand and scooted a little closer to him on the sofa, then settled her hand on his back and began to caress him. She let her aura help to sustain him, while they discussed a most foul and deadly choice.

“Where could they go that would seem removed from all of us, yet not too far away?” Elrick asked. His chest noticeably rose and fell as he also drew in a deep breath to steady himself.

This was the one thing none of them wanted – to see Alex without the angels at her side.

“We could go home, to Elysium,” Alex said, but Gaius shook his head.

“No, that would not seem logical to the Fallen. For if the assembly travels south to London, as if we are preparing to stay near your family for an extended period of time, then I wouldn’t retrace our steps and fly you back north for a while. If we were going to make Elysium our destination, then it would make more sense to take you there before we fly south to the Groabans. Such a maneuver would cause them to suspect foul play on our part,” Gaius said as he contemplated their alternatives.

Different council members began to name cities within a short distance of London and talk through the merits and difficulties of each. Alex did not want to be around many mortals, though, for fear that any one of them could be seized and held hostage, just as her own family could. Finally, it was decided that Gaius might seek privacy for them both in a rented property outside of a major metropolis. And such a move on his part would truly signal their fathers’ departure.

Ahadi rose and turned on the laptop and projector that Alex and Gaius had used days before. She accessed various properties as everyone called out suggestions, letting one and all have a chance to look over the surrounding terrain and neighboring houses. Soon, a residence was located just over the English Channel in northern France near Calais that everyone agreed was the correct choice.

Ganymede turned back to look at Alex. She noted his look of concentration and slight sadness. Alex knew this meant he was about to ask something of her which he would rather not.

“Alexandria, you have begun to learn that your aura is adaptive and far more vast than you knew when you faced Rangor. You’ve proved this to be true during the recent battles and throughout the mission in Africa, which rescued Mathew and the other slaves at the quarry. When you leave us, with Gaius at your side, you will need to use your power as you did at the Colosseum, to shelter you both.”

“They could take him, or hurt him right in front of you, in order to force your surrender. Will you form your husband, as you did the souls Keres and Absollum harmed when you faced them in Rome? Show me how you would accomplish this,” Ganymede instructed as he lightly patted Alex’s leg.

Alex glanced at Gaius and took in every detail and nuance of his appearance that day. She noted the clothes he wore, the shoes he had chosen, even the way his hair fell just past his collar. She smiled slightly as she reminded herself that she needed to trim his hair.

Then she let her eyes roll closed, and she asked her power to guard her very heart. That it might give protection and security to the one other soul whom she could not live without. And with that earnest plea, Alex’s aura surged from her chest, and perfect copies of them stood in the middle of the circle.

“Very good,” Ganymede praised, as Alex opened her eyes and studied what she had created. “Now, let them walk and talk for you for a time. Let us see how you concentrate on the business of the council, while your duplicates have conversations outside this room with your brethren. You will have to manage both, Alexandria, for several days. For your aura in these forms, shall be all the enemy will see.”

“You mean, Alex and Gaius will be hidden behind her power the entire time they’re away from us?” Elrick asked, astonished that this was Ganymede’s plan.

“There is no other way I will allow her to go out into the world, Elrick, knowing my Fallen brothers might take Alexandria or Gaius in the instant before Haniel or I could step in and defend them,” he said gravely.

“I can do this, Elrick,” Alex said, as she gave him a confident smile.

Elrick smiled back at her, though Alex noted it did not fully make it to his eyes.

Not wanting to delay further, she sectioned off a portion of her consciousness to fulfill Ganymede’s wish. Alex always imagined that the rooms within her mental Library could be tasked with the management of her Light working on multiple fronts. And so she assigned one for her created forms, and another for the conversation before her.

“Go,” she whispered in her mind, and the copies turned and left Aeoferth’s library hand in hand. Cara angled her head as she watched them walk away, then she looked back at Alexandria’s true body. Alex chuckled as she leaned down and patted Cara’s head to reassure her.

“Now, let us discuss the Fallen’s strategy in detail. We need to devise detailed plans for you and your brethren, so that not one of you is lost. We know the public space they plan to use for the false confrontation, and the estate Asterron will try to take Alexandria to once she walks to them,” Ganymede said, ready to move forward.

But it was Gaius who interrupted him and spoke next.

“And we also know that they intend to set it all in motion with a deliberate mental attack aimed at Alex. Will that be allowed?” he asked quietly.

“I would think not,” John said sternly, looking to his father, Jerahmeel, for reassurance that this was not to be.

“All matters must be discussed, son,” Jerahmeel said somberly.

“No, this one matter does not,” Rohan said evenly. “She’s not going to let the Fallen assault her mind with such a barrage. Rangor was bad enough, and he was just one. Now she’s got ten waiting for her. Why in the hell did we put Alex through that mental training episode two days ago, if we’re just going to sit back and let them have at her anyway?” he said, feeling true anger settle into his tone and aura now.

“Sweetheart, be calm,” Sabina said, taking his hand and looking intently into his eyes. “They will not let her be hurt in such a way, you know this. You all know this,” she said confidently, looking around the council. “Ganymede would never allow the Fallen to have access to Alex’s mind, so that they could torment her. Would you, Ganymede?” she asked him, turning her gaze in his direction.

“I would protect my daughter with every means possible, Sabina,” Ganymede said with a gentle smile.

One and all saw it was a true and genuine grin, one that spoke of how touched he was by Sabina’s words.

“How will this come to pass, then?” Gaius asked as he smoothed his palms over Alex’s right hand trapped securely between his. “Surely, they would feel the increased barrier you had her create during the practice session. And if that shield is there within her mind, holding them at bay, then they will know it has been Alex’s Light all along that they’ve been observing and not yours, Ganymede. It would tip our hand before the battle began, and they would scatter.”

“Gaius is correct. We will most likely never again have them all together in one place, such as they are planning. And we need them together, so that our fathers can engage them and end them,” Nassor said, inclining his head in Gaius’ direction in a show of support and agreement.

“There are ways this can be accomplished,” Israfil told Nassor. “Alexandria can create much with her aura, including a false mental world. We can help her hone this skill, so that it is not her true consciousness they are filling with images of war, bloodshed, and battle. But yes, my son, our Fallen brothers will need to believe that they have successfully infiltrated Alexandria’s mind, or they will disband.”

“And if that happens,” Israfil added gravely, “she will never be safe again. For they would know her as the true talent and power she is in this lifetime. The Fallen would crave that power and stalk her independently. And Alexandria’s days would be filled with much danger and heartache.”

“This is what we do not want as an end result of our efforts,” Ahadi’s father, Uriel, stated firmly. “Just as you all played the game laid before you by the children of the Fallen weeks ago, so too must we for a time with their fathers. We must keep these ten together as much as possible, until the moment we can step forward and end them.”

No one said anything more for a few quiet reflective moments, as they pondered what had just been said. Alex looked around the room at her loved ones and slowly shook her head. Sabina caught the motion and the two met one another’s gaze. Alex began to smile as she stared at her sister, and Sabina did in return.

“Would you all consider Keres to be one of the most powerful opponents I have faced since I returned?” Alex asked softly, not taking her eyes away from Sabina.

“Of course,” Benen said, angling his head slightly at Alex. “She was incredibly strong, talented, and extraordinarily skilled in the art of mental warfare.”

“And yet she could not produce one single image during her assault that could touch me. If I could shield my mind, and over four hundred of our brethren’s as she sought a way in, then I can learn from our fathers and give the Fallen a false mental world to play in. I gave Keres and Absollum the Colosseum, and it was made real once more. Have faith in me, and know that I can weather this storm with our fathers’ support and with yours,” Alex said sincerely, letting her eyes roam over the council.

“Rohan, I love you, dear brother.” She smiled as her eyes settled on his. “And I love that you’re ready to see to my care, even before your own. But let me do what God designed me to do. Fight by my side, not in front of me. And when it’s all said and done, and Gaius and I need extra hugs, you can be there to help us through the aftermath of it all.”

“I said last night in the dining hall, that I will never be one who would cower behind a door and listen to those I love or innocents be cut down. Not when the Lord fashioned me to wield the power of us all, and keep all demons and their children away from you. I will do exactly as Ganymede and the angels instruct, and I will come home at the end of this. But let me do what I’ve been charged to do, and know that you are all well in hand,” Alex vowed.

“Alex…,” Rohan began, but he broke off and narrowed his eyes at her.

“Yes, Rohan?” Alex asked teasingly. She gave him a wide smile while she watched his stern glare begin to crumble under the playful look she was directing toward him in return. Finally, he groaned and blew out a heavy sigh. Alex lost all pretense of jesting then and she nodded slowly at him.

“Rohan, I’m only trying to lighten your heavy heart right now. Don’t think I’m not taking this seriously. I know how much danger we’re in, and not for one second will I let my guard down. Not one, brother,” she vowed.

“I know you won’t, Alex. And, frankly, that worries me too,” Rohan said somberly. “I watched you fold after you defeated Keres, and I saw what came afterward. You were managing so many different aspects to the various battles we engaged in, that the human side of you finally forced you to rest. I don’t want to see you expend yourself to the point of no return, and I feel like we came dangerously close to it there in Rome.”

“Alex was in no jeopardy of dying, son,” Eremiel said. “And there will be less for her to manage in this battle. Now that we understand our former brothers are involved, we can stand and fight alongside you. And we can shoulder much of what is to come.”

“Yeah, I know,” Rohan said heavily.

A knock sounded on the library door and Ganymede smiled, then invited Heath to join them. Everyone turned to see not only Heath come in, but also Alex and Gaius’ forms, Iain, and Noelle. The three immortals looked at Alex and Gaius sitting on the sofa and then glanced at their copies standing next to them.

“Oh, I can’t believe this!” Iain chuckled. “What game are you guys playing?” His boyish grin told them all he was not upset in the slightest that he had been duped by a false version of Alex.

“Not a game, Iain. We’re just practicing,” Alex said. It was her true body that voiced the words, and she smiled over his surprise.

Heath moved forward with Alex’s form and they placed two large trays on a side table. Both were heavily laden with fruits, cheese, and crackers. Noelle and Iain set down the trays they were carrying with drinks for the council and their fathers.

“Thank you, Heath,” Ganymede said. “Noelle and Iain, thank you as well.”

“It was no trouble. Alex and Gaius helped, or so we thought,” Heath laughed and scrubbed a hand through his hair. “We’ll leave you to whatever you’re practicing.” He smiled just as broadly as Iain, and they all headed for the door, with Alex and Gaius’ forms following behind.

Ganymede looked back at Alex and he also was displaying a full, dazzling smile. Alex chuckled and told him their copies were about to wash some laundry and change the linens from their room. She asked if anyone else wanted their linens changed as well. Light laughter spread around the circle at her offer, though Nikolaj and Benen both accepted with wide grins of their own.

Alex glanced next at Gaius. A slow smile began on his lips and she leaned up to kiss him lightly. She drew away and settled herself against his side, as he lifted his arm to give her room. Alex took his right hand between hers and began to study his fingers and skin.

While the group began a short break, to eat and refresh themselves, Alex held to Gaius. She prayed that her abilities would be enough to ensure his safety as they ventured away from the others. And she asked the Lord that there be no moment of weakness or distraction on her part that would cause Gaius to be taken from her.