Chapter 4

 

 

As a new day dawned at Aeoferth Hall, so too did Alex’s excitement over the endless possibilities that awaited her in Africa. She woke before Gaius, an unusual occurrence, and thought through all the good she hoped to accomplish in the Darfur camps. Her previous visit had been too brief, because her mortal body had not been strong enough to handle the flow of Celestial power the Lord’s Nephilim channeled when healing another.

But now, Alex told herself, she was much, much stronger. She envisioned how she might release her aura over the thousands who eked out an existence under the sun’s harsh rays and who cried out for deliverance. And with this return trip, she was committed to healing as many as she could during the weeks they planned to remain in the region.

She felt Gaius stir and then he lifted his head to glance at her. She smiled and he turned on his side so he could face her.

“What are you doing awake before me?” he smiled back at her, and reached out to cup Alex’s face.

“Thinking.”

“About?” he asked, while his thumb swept across her skin.

“All the souls I’m going to heal and help,” she said with such an innocent and joyous smile, that it took Gaius’ breath away momentarily.

His eyes narrowed slightly as pride flitted through his gaze. “No matter who we touch or help, Alex, know that great things lie ahead.”

“I know,” she chuckled and then leaned in to gently match her lips to his. “Shall we rise and take flight? I can’t wait to get started.”

“Absolutely,” Gaius agreed, though he had to pull her to him for another kiss before he could let her leave the bed.

 

After breakfast, the morning was filled with the calm and steady preparation Alex had come to expect from the Nephilim. Everyone’s luggage was loaded aboard their helicopters with no hurry or strain. She and Gaius had time to give many of their friends the gifts they had purchased on Santorini before their S-92s lifted off, bound for London. Though most of their friends were coming along, Alex wanted to share in private conversations regarding the items while she had the time.

Alex and Gaius piloted the helicopter on which they traveled, and they continuously reached out to touch each other while at the helm. She smiled inwardly, because she knew she was behaving like the newly married lady she was. But somehow, Alex did not care. She savored each and every moment with Gaius, even in the confines of the S-92.

Her aura flowed over the three machines in their small fleet, and Alex smiled knowing they were all safe and well protected under her watch. But as Heathrow came into view, Alex felt compelled to add a little extra strength to her aura. Images of the battle with the seventeen dark immortals who had ambushed them there, came unbidden to her mind. She was shocked that the memory was upon her before she could call it back, and she trembled slightly.

Gaius felt her shiver and he looked over at her sharply.

“Alex, look at me,” he said softly. “You are safe, sweetheart. Use your ability to sense the area, and feel that there is no danger here now,” he encouraged her, as he took Alex’s hand in his.

Gaius knew it was better for Alex to feel for herself that no dark immortals lay in wait for them, than to rely solely on his words. And better for her to learn the skill, so that she could ensure her own preservation in future moments, in case he was not by her side when danger came calling.

She did as he asked, and sent her aura flowing densely over the surrounding tarmac and terrain. Her consciousness rose over the airport and she studied the entire area for children of the Fallen. Once she saw and felt that no danger lurked in wait for them, Alex began to relax into her seat.

“Thank you, Gaius,” she whispered. “The images of that night were there before I could stop them.”

“I know. But this is a new day. Feel and know you’re safe, my love,” he intoned.

He nodded and touched her cheek before looking out of the windows again. Alex breathed in deeply and took over the controls to complete the landing. Her aura further cushioned the wheels and she smiled tentatively over at Gaius, feeling a little more in control.

 

Their luggage was efficiently transferred to the planes they were flying into Sudan. They needed more cargo space to carry all the medical supplies, food, and fuel needed for the mission trip, so it had been decided they would take three of their Airbus ACJ321s. Gaius put an arm around Alex’s shoulders while they stood idle on the tarmac. He began to share his aura directly with her, in the hopes of reassuring her that she was safe.

Alex soon moved into the co-pilot’s seat next to Gaius, and when permission came, they entered the queue for their designated runway. She grinned as he gave control over to her and she lifted them smoothly into the air. He noticed that the worry, which had drawn lines of concentration across her face, eased away and she relaxed into her seat. And when Alex spread her aura over the three planes to protect her family, she truly let go of her uneasiness.

During the flight, Heath came forward and brought food for them, and Alex helped Gaius hold his lunch as she had on their honeymoon flight. She continued to blush as he slowly took bites from his sandwich, and winked at her often. Alex scolded him half-heartedly when he chuckled, because she knew he was deliberately trying to solicit a response from her. Finally, she swatted his shoulder and heard his laughter grow a bit louder from her censure.

When their runway became visible, Alex asked her aura to completely hide all three planes and she felt the familiar ripple pass through her shield that let her know they were invisible. Gaius coached her through the landing, but allowed her to complete all of the maneuvers. She was grinning broadly by the time they came to a complete stop.

He stood and pulled her to her feet, then lowered his lips to hers. Alex sighed and leaned into his chest, losing herself in the moment briefly, until she felt Heath making his way to the front of the plane. She pulled back and began to blush brightly.

Gaius kissed her forehead, and they turned together just as Heath entered the cockpit. He praised her for her skill and technique, and told them he would take over the procedures necessary to ready the plane for its stay near the hangar they owned. Alex patted Heath’s arm as she and Gaius left the small space in the direction of the main cabin. They moved forward to assist their friends, as luggage and supplies were transferred onto trucks.

Alex sensed Dibia before she saw him, and she put down the case she held to find him among the crowd. Her aura traveled across the space in search of her dear friend, and she felt his aura connect with hers as they made eye contact. A wide smile spread across his face, and he ran forward to hug her and swing her around. Alex held on tight and giggled with him until her feet touched the asphalt again.

Dibia cupped her face in his hands and looked at her eyes intently, just as Rohan had the previous day. A slow smile worked its way across his handsome face.

“Ah, my dear, dear friend. Yes, indeed. I see you clearly, and you are whole once more. I am so happy for you,” he whispered, in his lyrical accent.

Alex felt a small tear slide from her right eye and she nodded against his palms. “There is no more struggle or pain, Dibia. I am whole in every way a soul can be,” she said softly and smiled.

To that statement, Dibia released her face and looked for Gaius, who was walking towards them. Gaius moved forward and he and Dibia hugged one another, slapping the others’ back soundly. Alex flinched from the sound, wondering if they had hurt one another, but their smiles told her that they had barely felt the blows.

“I am well pleased to see two of my dearest friends at peace again,” Dibia told Gaius.

“We are, Dibia. We’re extraordinarily happy,” Gaius said tenderly, and smiled down at Alex.

“Yes, I can tell. Come, let’s finish with the supply transfer so we can all visit at Ahadi’s home out of the sun,” Dibia prompted them.

Gaius led Alex over to a Rover that had several cases on the ground behind it, ready to be loaded. They worked with Elrick, who came towards them with a few more pieces of luggage in his hands, and soon everything was ready for their drive.

Rohan and Iain took the front seats of the Rover which Alex and Gaius climbed into. She waited to see who would take the seat to her left, and when Jack opened the door, she squeezed Gaius’ leg in approval. She leaned over and hugged Jack, catching him momentarily off guard.

“I’m so glad to have you with us on our mission trip, Jack,” she said.

“Alex, I can’t imagine any other line of work now,” he chuckled. “And,” Jack added, as he drew away, “I told you, I’m not going anywhere.” His dimple was proof enough that he was happy to be included with the Nephilim.

“Until the end, right?” Alex grinned, lacing her fingers through his.

“’Till the end, Alex,” Jack nodded, and then leaned over to bump her shoulder with his.

 

The remainder of the day was spent at Ahadi’s home getting everyone settled into a room and relaxing. Alex and Gaius took a little extra time unpacking in the same room they had stayed in before, so they could savor a small measure of privacy with one another. She was loathe to pull away from him, but agreed when he promised her they had all night to lie together. With his gentle coaxing, they eventually made their way to the kitchen.

Alex poured herself a glass of juice and sat down at the long, weathered teak table. She slowly ran her hands across its surface, feeling the cool texture against her fingertips. Memories of the intense pain and struggle she had worked her way through during her previous visit surfaced, and her eyes began to fill with unshed tears. She felt Gaius’ hand on the back of her head and he turned her face towards his.

She smiled slightly and then leaned over to kiss his cheek. Alex looked around her to see everyone within the room watching her as they took note of her tears.

“It’s alright, everyone,” Alex said, and smiled to ease their worry. “I was just remembering the pain and struggles of the past, but I am so very thankful and at peace now. Sometimes, I suppose it takes hardship, adversity, and hurt to really appreciate harmony and happiness. And because of my journey, I can truly stand in wonder of all the Lord has blessed me with. And I’m home now, so it was all worth it in the end.”

“Home sounds good, doesn’t it, Alex?” Gaius asked, his eyes softening.

“Indeed, it does,” she said softly.

Her friends’ tender smiles and nods were met by her own, and then she turned back and kissed Gaius gently on his lips. She whispered her love and watched as his eyes crinkled at their corners. He told her he loved her more than any other and laid his cheek alongside hers to nuzzle her. They both inhaled deeply, and Alex closed her eyes to savor the precious moment and the good that had come after so much pain.

 

The following morning, additional supplies were taken from their planes and the Nephilim and Jack entered the Darfur refugee camps under the illusion that they were only a shimmer on the horizon. When they materialized as before, Alex spread her aura out far and wide to calm the masses, so that no panic or rush for the supplies ensued. Gaius hugged her to his side and kissed her forehead in silent praise of her effort.

Zabia was the first to greet them again, and Alex moved forward with Gaius, Dibia, and Rohan to speak with him. He remembered her and hugged Alex tightly, rather than shake the hand she had extended. Alex laughed lightly with Zabia, as she patted his back and reassured him they were all really there to help once again. When Alex leaned back from his hold, she saw Mablevi, one of the expansive area’s only medical doctors.

They stepped into one another’s arms too, and Alex felt him shake slightly as he tried to contain the emotion running through his heart and mind. She cupped his cheek and promised they would do what they could to ease the people’s suffering. He nodded his head and Alex saw him working hard to maintain his composure. She let a small amount of her aura travel through her fingers to give Mablevi encouragement, and she saw his eyes widen slightly from the contact. She chuckled and then stepped back to Gaius’ side.

Supplies were unloaded and cataloged first, and then the immortals began to visit and heal people who were displaced, dehydrated, malnourished, abused, ill, or in need of great hope. And it was during that first day’s visit, amongst so many, that Alex had to relearn a hard lesson.

Just as her fight with Rangor had followed the Lord’s plan, so too did the healings the Nephilim were allowed to work. And though Alex wanted to mend each individual she came in contact with, there were a few whom she could not. For some, their souls were more prepared to move on, than their bodies were willing to be restored. And it was with a heavy heart, that she had to let the first of many refugees during their visit go on to the Lord’s care.

Alex sat beside an elderly man, one who was frail and barely breathing when they first entered his makeshift shelter, and held his hand in hers. Gaius had placed both of his palms on the man’s chest, but he knew that there was no more time left for the man’s body to survive. No amount of aura would bring him back and sustain him, now that his soul was ready to take flight.

Gaius lifted his eyes from the refugee and stared at Alex, knowing this would wound her heart greatly. Something in his eyes must have told her the truth, and he heard her exhale heavily as her own eyes clouded over with tears. Jack and Rohan both stepped forward and placed a hand on Alex’s shoulders.

“His body is greatly damaged, sweetheart, but his spirit is at peace with this. He has been for many days, as his time drew closer to an end. We have to let him go,” Gaius said softly.

“I understand,” she said simply, and then wiped her tears away. She opened her mouth to say more, but then promptly closed it. Alex swallowed hard and looked up at Rohan and then to Jack.

Jack nodded and smoothed a hand over her hair. “I know you want to use your power to undo this, but even I can sense that this man is ready to say good-bye, Alex. And I have no aura with which I can confirm it. Just my gut feeling and the look on his face to go by.”

She nodded and then looked back to Gaius. “Can we do anything to make his passing easier? Make sure he doesn’t suffer any more than he already has?”

“Yes,” Gaius answered tenderly. “Place your hands on him, along with Rohan and me.”

She did as he asked, and awaited his next words.

“Now, mentally connect with us and watch as we use our auras to remove his pain. We’ll cancel it out, just as your aura stamps out darkness and the Fallen’s created metal - Dalkeenan. If you see this man’s pain as a malevolent force, such as what the children of the Fallen wield, then your power will eradicate it. This man will only feel warmth, love, and comfort as his mortal life comes to an end.”

Alex continued to hold the man’s hand in one of hers, and with her other she began to smooth her fingers over his forehead and into his hair. Rohan placed his palms on the man’s stomach as Gaius settled his hands over the man’s heart and chest. Together, they willed any and all pain from his body, and replaced it with a peace and calm unlike anything he had ever felt in all his days. His breathing became less labored, and his whole body relaxed under the influence of their auras.

One minute passed and then another, until finally he took his last breath. Alex’s lower lip trembled as the elderly man exhaled, never to draw in another. She closed her eyes and prayed for the man’s soul, asking that he know eternal peace and not more of the hell he had lived through on earth.

Gaius moved around the cot and gently pulled Alex to her feet. He held her as she silently cried against his shoulder and slowly caressed her back. He knew that Alex had remembered such moments as they had just experienced before she transitioned, but living through the loss was still difficult for her.

Alex held to Gaius as she tried to put an end to her tears. She had told herself after Kronis’ death, that leaving the world behind to live with the Lord was not a sadness, but an eternal gift of communion and joy. It had helped her make peace with his loss and the sacrifice he had made so that she might live.

She knew that the man’s soul was bound for the Lord from the feeling she experienced during his passing. And Alex vowed to help ease anyone else, who she might find in their last moments, through the transition with beauty, compassion, and grace. For deep down, she knew that she would have to encounter such moments many, many more times before her long life came to an end as well.

 

Later that night after dinner, Alex strolled out to the shallow pool near the kitchen. She slipped off her sandals and dangled her legs in the cool water. Alex stared at the ripples her feet made as she slowly moved them about and remembered how she had taken refuge in the same place over a month ago, when she had been physically failing. Just as the one man was, who had died before her that day.

She heard a nearby door open and she looked up to see Gaius, Jack, Sabina, Ahadi, and Dibia headed her way. Alex smiled slightly and she patted the coping next to her, inviting them to join her. Gaius sat on her right and Sabina claimed the spot on her left. Within minutes, they had all shed their shoes and were enjoying the water’s cool and calming influence with her.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Sabina asked. She wrapped an arm around Alex’s shoulders and hugged her. Sabina’s head came to rest alongside Alex’s and they stared at the water together.

“You know we lost a refugee today?” Alex asked quietly.

“I do,” Sabina nodded. She lifted her head from Alex’s and placed a kiss on her cheek. “So too did my group and Ahadi’s. We healed many today, but we also saw some on to the next phase in their soul’s existence. It has always been the case in such places where famine, disease, and physical strife run rampant. But that still does not make it any easier for us to live through.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Alex agreed. She was silent for several minutes, as she mulled over the reality of the situation before them. The camp which spread out far and wide, and housed thousands upon thousands of displaced souls. A place where many had suffered too much and were ready to let go, whether Alex and her kind were there or not.

“We can’t save them all, can we?” Alex finally asked.

“No, my love,” Gaius said with a shake of his head. “We have never been able to save all innocents within our path. If it were possible, we would have long ago eradicated mankind’s suffering that comes in the wake of war, disease, and the injustices that they mete out on one another. There is much good we can do, be we cannot erase all the pain and evil in this world.”

“I know,” Alex exhaled and looked up into his eyes. “Doesn’t stop me from wanting to though.”

“That, I also know,” Gaius chuckled softly, and then leaned down to lightly kiss her lips.

“I find that concentrating on those we do heal and rescue, makes letting others go a bit easier to deal with,” Dibia offered. “After centuries of such work, I find I must focus on the good, so the sadness we encounter does not pull me under.”

Ahadi gave Dibia an understanding nod and she lightly patted his shoulder. “That is my mindset as well, during such work. Alex,” she said, and turned to see her better, “you will learn that many humans either cannot be physically saved, or don’t want to be. Some may rebuff your offer to receive help, no matter how much you try to give them. It is not easy to face such loss or rejection, but I know that you logically understand what I am talking about.”

“I do, Ahadi,” she answered. “Like the dark immortals we face, we can only help those humans who will allow us to, right?”

“That’s right,” Sabina nodded. “So tell me, how many were you

able to heal today?”

Alex’s thoughtful expression softened and she smiled a little. “Thirty-four, including several small children.”

“And now think of what those thirty-four lives will be like, now that their physical distress and pain is at an end. How much better their days will be and how much they might accomplish during their lifetimes, now that they actually can live.”

“You’re right. You all are,” Alex added, and then leaned into Gaius’ side. “And thank you for helping me think through this, rather than just let my heart lead me. Logically, I get it. I do.”

“There is nothing wrong with listening to your heart too, Alex,” Gaius said and then kissed the top of her head.

“We all happen to love that heart quite a bit,” Sabina smiled and brushed Alex’s hair back.

“And I love you all too,” Alex chuckled. She turned her eyes back to the water and thought of all the people she had healed throughout the day, and their recoveries brought a genuine smile to her lips.