Alan Price and the Colossus of Rhodes (The Nephilim Chronicles) (8 page)

“You are not alone, Alan. You never
were. Take some time to adjust to the truth. Danielle is assigned as your
support. She can answer any other questions you have. And I am always available
to you as well.”

Alan stood sensing an end to their
meeting. He felt numb from the crown of his head to the bottom of his feet,
still trying to process the twist on history and draw connections to how his
life would continue.

Michael extended a hand. Alan took
it as Michael made eye contact. “I’ve been around for quite a long time. There
are just some things I know. I know you’re stronger than you think you are,
Alan. Trust me.”

Chapter 26

 “How’d it go?”

Alan took a moment to gather his
thoughts as he closed the car door behind him. He sat silent for a moment
staring at the grey car dash before answering.

“Oh my gosh, you’re in shock! Alan,
Alan, are you okay?” Danielle turned to him and placed a hand on his arm. Her
eyes were huge as she searched for an answer on his blank face.

“I’m not in shock. I’m fine. I mean
as fine as I can be after having a heart to heart with an Angel.”

“Archangel.”

“What?”

“Michael is an Archangel. He’s like
the boss of all the Angels. I just kinda left that part out. I figured you had
enough on your plate. You should probably start reading up on this stuff.”

Alan raised an eyebrow in
Danielle’s direction and noticed she still had her hand on his arm. Danielle
must have noticed it at the same time because she retracted her arm as if she
had been burned. “Oh, sorry. Ummm… So yeah, crazy stuff, right? I remember when
I was first told the truth.”

Danielle pulled into the busy
midday traffic and headed back towards Alan’s penthouse. “So, first things
first. We’ll go to your place and gather your things. Since they know where you
live now it won’t be safe there anymore.”

Alan was woken from his daze at
Danielle’s words. “Wait a minute, I’m moving? Where?”

“Yep, we can’t have you stay at
your penthouse anymore. You’ll move in with me into the facility the Organization
provided for us. It’s pretty cool, lots of—“

“You’re still going to call them
‘The organization’ even though I know that they’re Angels and I’ve talked to
Michael?”

Danielle shrugged as she switched
lanes. “Why not? Unless you can think of another name we can safely use in
public without drawing attention. And it’s really not that far from the truth,
they are a kind of celestial organization.”

Alan had to admit that she had a
point. They couldn’t go around talking about angels and demons in public, at
least not without a fair amount of stares. “What are we called now?”

“What do you mean?”

“Yeah, we have Angels which are
apparently real and our employers, the Fallen are demons. But what are the
humans called that have entered this war on both sides?”

“Nephilim.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“The technical term for us would be
Nephilim. We refer to those recruited by the Fallen as dark or demonic Nephilim.
It’s a Hebrew term. Depending on what translation you believe it either
describes the combination of Angels and humans or giants among men. I mean it’s
not a perfect translation since we aren’t half-breeds or ogres, but it’s the
closest word we have. You know the saying, ‘When you have oranges’.”

“I don’t think you’re saying that
right.”

“Of course I am. When you have
oranges, make orange juice.”

“It’s lemons.”

Danielle turned from the road and fixed
Alan with a stubborn look, realizing she was wrong but not willing to admit
defeat. “Let’s agree to disagree, Alan.”

Alan let out a deep breath as he
stared out the window. Danielle’s insistence wasn’t what was bothering him, not
after his conversation with Michael. Life would never be the same. He looked at
unsuspecting people walking to and from stores. He saw hands hailing cabs,
drivers tuning radios and talking on cell phones. They had no idea what was
really going on, and now that Alan did, life for him would only become stranger.

Chapter 27

 “Don’t worry about packing
things like a toothbrush or shampoo, we have all of that,” Danielle said as she
wandered around Alan’s penthouse. “Sweet place by the way. You really went all
out with that stolen money thing.”

Alan was in his room throwing
clothes into a dark duffle bag. He smirked as he was reminded of how he had
thrown money into the same bag years before. Then a thought crossed his mind.
“Danielle?” he said over his shoulder as he threw another pair of jeans and
socks into his bag.

Danielle popped her head into his
room. “You have a home gym and a library?”

Alan looked up at her and smiled.
“Yep. Lifting and reading—two great things to do to pass time when you’re
a loner. Hey, I’ve been wondering about something. What about all the money I
took?”

“What about it?”

“I mean, am I going to get punished
for stealing all those years? I can’t imagine Angels are big on things like
theft.”

Danielle crossed her arms and
leaned against the doorframe. “Don’t worry, they aren’t going to lynch you or
make you pay everything back. Sure, they would rather you started to use your
gifts for something constructive but as long as your thieving ways are behind
you, you’ll be fine.”

Alan nodded and continued to pack.
He was reminded of his conscience that would speak to him when he was about to
steal. The whispers convicting him that he knew deep down he was using his gift
for self-gain when he could be helping others. “These years they were watching
me, they wanted me to make the right choice. They wanted me to stop stealing
and look deeper into why I was given my gifts.”

Danielle’s face was solemn. It was
clear she did not enjoy the topic. “I don’t want to beat you up about it but,
yes. They were giving you a chance to make the right decision before they
stepped in and nudged you along. Who knows? They might have given you a few
more years to find your way if it hadn’t been for all the recent demonic activity.
But you’re here now and that’s what’s important.”

Chapter 28

“No way. This is it?”

 “Sure is.”

“And you’re sure there is no way we
could have just used my penthouse?”

“Nope. Trust me; it’s not much to
look at but it’s safe and wait till you see the inside.”

Alan was trying to imagine living
in a warehouse as Danielle pulled to a stop. The building looked as though it
would fall apart during the next storm. Rust covered the steel outside paneling
from warped roof to bent door.

Danielle had taken him to the
city’s warehouse district outside of town. “It’s perfect,” she said. “With your
speed, the distance from the city won’t be an issue.”

Alan shouldered his duffle bag as
he followed Danielle to the door. “Am I being punished?”

“What? No.”

“This feels like some kind of
punishment.”

“Easy there, give it a minute.”

Danielle walked right to the
corroded front door. From what Alan could see, it was an ordinary looking warehouse
panel with a rusty knob and a worn hole for a key. Danielle looked up to the roof.
Alan followed her gaze but saw nothing. “Agent Danielle Turner, code name
Valkyrie.”

There was a brief pause before the
door slid open with a puff of steam. Alan jumped back surprised by the motion
and steam rising from the door.

“Welcome to your new home,”
Danielle smirked and walked inside.

Alan coughed, embarrassed. He
gathered himself and slowly walked inside. Danielle was right. The interior of
the place was nothing like the outside.

The warehouse was massive with a
high-domed ceiling and intense bright lights spread all around. Alan steadied
himself so he didn’t jump as the steel door hissed close behind him. The
warehouse walls which looked like they were ready to crumble at a moment’s
notice from the outside, were actually camouflage. Thick steel paneling met his
gaze on all sides.

“Come on, roomie,” Danielle said,
“I’ll give you a tour of the place.”

Alan followed her through the large
building as she pointed out specific rooms and areas on the way to his own
living quarters. “So, this is the training room. You’ll be spending a lot of
time in there. Over here is the communication room, that’s where I do the bulk
of my work. Kitchen is on the left, conference room on the right and you’ll
have your own private bathroom attached to your room.”

Alan nodded, taking in the scene.
The inside of the warehouse is what he imagined the future to be. Everything
was brightly lit with sparse decoration and large amounts of free space in
every room. White mats covered the training room floor; the conference room was
one large area with an oval table, chairs and a monitor on one side of the
room.

“And here you go.”

Alan nearly ran into Danielle,
still looking over his shoulder at the spotless kitchen area. He stepped
through a door into a mid-size room furnished with a bed, dresser, closet and a
door leading to his bathroom. “Ange—I mean, our organization isn’t too
fond of decorations, are they?”

“Nope, but there aren’t any rules
on what you can or can’t put up.” Alan threw his bag on the bed and turned.
Danielle was smiling to herself looking around the room. “I don’t know. I kind
of like the look. There’s something about simplicity. I think a lot of people
trade the idea for material things they don’t really need.”

Alan nodded thinking about her
statement. “So, what’s first?”

Danielle snapped back to reality
from wherever her mind was traveling. “Oh right. After you settle in, you’ll
start your training.”

“Right, training.” Alan crossed his
large arms and looked Danielle up and down. “I don’t want to seem rude. I mean
you can heal people so who knows maybe you can do all kinds of other things
too, but how are you going to train me? And in what?”

Danielle adjusted her glasses and
looked down on her slender but not necessarily athletic frame. “Hey, what are
you trying to say? I’m tough.”

Alan opened his mouth to apologize
but Danielle threw a punch that glanced off Alan’s shoulder. Her fist was half
the size of Alan’s and felt more like someone tapping him to get his attention,
than trying to hit him.

“Just kidding,” Danielle laughed.
“I’m not the one that is going to train you.”

Before Alan could ask another
question, the sound of the warehouse’s front door sliding open met his ears.
Danielle looked at Alan with a smile as he squinted over her shoulder to see
who was walking towards them. All he could see was a group of massive figures descending
the hall.

Danielle threw a casual thumb over
her shoulder clearly enjoying the moment. “They’re going to train you. Good
luck.”

Chapter 29

 “And you left him alive?” Her
voice was smooth. She had a way of talking that was silky to the ears while
still intimidating anything that lived. It was one of her many traits Dominic
admired.

Dominic Drencher rocked back and
forth in his new slippers, heel to toes. “Yes, as was instructed.”

“Good.”

The room was dark, too dark for
Dominic to see more than a figure hugged in shadows. She sat in a tall chair
covered in darkness at the far side of the room. “What shall I do next? We have
more than enough followers. Alan Price is nowhere near able to compete with me,
much less our superior numbers. Maybe, I should have killed him altogether and
just ended the possibility of his future meddling.” Dominic paused thinking
about his brief interaction with the young man. “He didn’t even appreciate my
cooking. Everyone likes my cooking.”

The woman spoke, not amused with
Dominic’s ramblings. “No, let him train and prepare. I know Michael well. He
needs somewhere to direct his attention. I will allow him to have his pet. I
need you on something else.”

Dominic smiled ear to ear. “Oh,
does someone else need killing?”

“No, not this time.”

“Oh,” Dominic could hear the
disappointment in his own voice. “Killing is my absolute favorite. What then?”

“Dominic, are you aware of our
heritage? Of how the Fallen were first condemned to earth?”

Dominic was aware that she already
knew the answer to her own question. Of course he knew, she had told him
herself many times before. He hated when she did that but he had no choice but
to humor her anyway. “Yes. After the war in Heaven the Fallen were cast out to
await their punishment on earth. The Fallen and the Angels came to an accord to
abstain from physical confrontation. And that’s why you have people like me to
do your bidding.”

Dominic’s tone took on an air of disdain.
He couldn’t help but feel a lip rise in disgust. “And that is why Michael has
people like Danielle Turner and Alan Price.”

“Very good, Dominic. You are
correct. My Fallen brothers and sisters are unwilling to engage the Angels. Not
only do they have superior numbers but also the strength they possess is hard
for even us to rival. However, what if I were to tell you that I’ve discovered
something to tip those scales? Something to even the odds that have been so
unfairly stacked against us.”

Dominic licked his lips. He
squinted trying to cut through the darkness. “What is it? What have you found?”

“Weapons, Dominic. After the great
fight in Heaven, all the celestial weapons were ordered to be destroyed to
ensure nothing like that could ever happen again. The knowledge of celestial
weapon-making has been lost for millennia, until now.”

Dominic dared to shuffle his
slippered feet forward just a few inches. He had to see her; just a glimpse
would be enough.

She continued with a sure voice
that practically corrupted men with its sound. “A book may be in the possession
of a mortal, a book that I have spent my entire earthly life tracking down. We
need that book, Dominic.”

He would do as she asked, more for
his own amusement and the opportunity to kill again than anything else. He took
another step forward
.
“Whatever you command. You will have
your book. You will have your weapons. Heaven and earth will belong to you.”