Nancy K. Duplechain - Dark Trilogy 03 - Dark Legacy (6 page)

When Noah told
him what happened with the visit from the woman with the wings, a grim
expression befell Miles’ face.

“She said she was
the daughter of Samyaza? He is a Watcher Angel. That she wants you to join them
disturbs me very much. It sounds like they’re recruiting. Did she say anything
else?”

Noah looked very
uncomfortable and shifted in his seat on the sofa near the fireplace. “She
called me Son of Gadriel.”

Miles’ eyes
widened. “So it is Gadriel who is your father.”

“Is that bad? I
mean, I know it’s bad, but is it like
bad
bad?”

“Gadriel is …
when the Grigori came into power—they are the Watchers mentioned in the
Book
of Enoch
, more specifically in the
Book of Noah
which is also
mentioned in the
Dead Sea Scrolls
—when they came into power, their
leader was Samyaza. After the Watchers began reproducing with human women, they
were bound with chains in the deepest valleys of the Earth, and there they
awaited Judgment Day. But the world was still riddled with Nephilim as well as
the humans who turned to the Dark Side, so God ordered a great flood to wipe
them out.”

“Wait, you don’t
mean
the
flood, do you?”

“Indeed. And it
worked. But not on the Grigori. Some time ago, Gadriel was able to break out of
his restraints and set the others free. He became their new leader. Now they’ve
been all over, creating Nephilim to help them take over the Earth.”

“Why do they
want to do that? Are they just pissed off at God or something?”

“That’s part of
it, yes. But they want this to be their domain. God rules Heaven. Satan rules
Hell. The Grigori want to rule Earth.”

“Oh, is that
all?”

Miles didn’t
seem to notice his sarcasm. “Given the nephil you encountered last night and
the others we saw at my house, it seems we’ve a real problem on our hands. And
for some reason, they desperately wanted the Book of Avelina. So far as I can
tell, it’s of no use to them. Only a paladin descended from Anseis would be
able to use it.”

“No offense,
Miles, but I don’t care about that book right now. One of them came to my house
last night.”

“I understand
your concern, but I think the grimoire will give us the answers.”

“I think it’ll
just give us trouble. I don’t want those things coming anywhere near my mom.”

“Cee Cee has
placed a protection spell around your home.”

“So she’s just
supposed to stay there forever? She can’t leave the house? She can’t live like
a prisoner!”

Miles sighed.
“Of course I don’t mean for her or you to live that way forever or even for an
extended time. Just until we can figure out what’s going on.

“How long will
that take?”

“Be patient.
I’ll speak with Father Ben and Charmagne and see what we can come up with. For
now, be with your mother and look out for her.”

***

“Noah! Company!”
yelled Selena from downstairs.

He found his mom
standing in the living room with Nadia. “Hey,” he said, a little perplexed.

“Nadia, you
said?” said Selena.

“Yes,” said
Nadia.

“She says she’s
a friend of yours.”

“Yeah,” said
Noah. “We just met a few days ago.”

Selena grinned,
and Noah knew she was doing her “mom” thing, seeing her little boy growing up
and possibly finding a girlfriend. He wished she’d stop grinning like that. It
was getting awkward.

“Uh, you wanna
go hang out in my room?” said Noah.

“Sure” said
Nadia.

As they headed
upstairs, Selena called out, “Door stays open!”

Noah’s cheeks
flushed with warmth, and Nadia giggled. He closed the door to his room anyway.

“I like your
house,” said Nadia.

“Thanks. So,
what’s up?”

“I needed to get
out of there. The convent. It was stifling.”

“Oh. How … how
are you? Are you okay?”

She nodded. “I
keep trying to block everything. I don’t want to think about it.” She ran her
hand along his desk against the window. She picked up a pencil and sat on the carpet
with her legs crossed. “To be honest, I don’t have to try too hard to block
anything. Everything I touch, I get flooded with that object’s or person’s
memory.”

“Like what
happened when our hands touched?”

She nodded.

He scrunched his
brows. “How can an object have a memory?”

She shrugged. “I
think it’s more of an imprint left by the person or people who used it. I’ll
pick up a pencil like this, and I’ll just get an image of you writing something
down, like homework or something. I can feel the graphite gliding across the
paper. I can hear it, smell it. But other things have stronger imprints. Like
Sister Adele’s rosary that she wears. When I touched it, I saw how she had it
since she was a very young girl and how she clung to it for protection when she
was mistreated because she was deaf and mute.”

Nadia looked up
at Noah, who stared back at her, not with distrust or caution, but like he
believed every word she said. “I shook your mother’s hand when she invited me
in the house.”

She waited for
him to catch on to what she was saying. When he did, Noah said, “You saw her
past?”

She nodded,
looking down at the pencil in her fingers. “I’m sorry about what happened to
her.”

“So you saw
him
.
My … father.”

Her eyes found
his, and she nodded.

He almost didn’t
ask the next question. “What did he look like?”

“Like you. Dark
hair, eyes the color of steel.” She hesitated and then said, “Beautiful purple
wings.”

He sat on his
bed and stared down at the floor.

“I’m sorry if I’ve
upset you.”

“It’s not you.
They’re coming back.”

She frowned, her
eyebrows knotted. “What’s coming back?”

Noah sat next to
her on the floor and then took off his shirt. He hesitantly turned around so
that she could see what he was talking about. They looked like tiny shards
of amethyst struggling to break away from his shoulder blades. She lightly
traced a finger over one of them. He bristled.

“Does it hurt?” she asked.

“Feels a little sore.”

They looked so much like gem
stones that she was expecting them to feel jagged and rough, but they were soft
and yielded to her touch.

“I can’t believe this is
happening,” he said sadly, and pulled away from her, putting his shirt back on.

She leaned back against the wall,
bringing her knees up into her chest and resting her arms across them. 
She watched as he nervously paced the room, and then she smiled softly. 
“I think it’s beautiful.”

“Nadia, nothing about being like
them is beautiful.”

“Don’t you want to keep them this
time?”

“No.”

“Well, don’t do anything foolish
like you did the last time.”

“How am I supposed to get rid of
them?”

“Keep them for a while. Maybe
you’ll need them.”

He looked at her and knew she was
referring to the Nephilim who invaded Miles’ house. “They’ll be back, you know.
Miles says they’re recruiting. One of them found me last night.”

Nadia looked alarmed. “And you’re
alive?”

“She didn’t want to hurt me. She
wanted me to join them. Apparently my
dad
is in town.” He sat on his
bed. “And if I find him anywhere near my mom, I’m going to kill him.”

***

Nadia stayed for dinner that evening.
Noah had pulled his mother aside to tell her not to ask about Nadia’s family
and then he told her what happened to them. Selena made light dinner
conversation, but her heart was broken for the girl. After they ate, Noah
offered to drive Nadia back to the convent.

“Feel like taking a little detour?” said
Noah. The convent was across from City Park. He was driving on Claiborne Avenue,
about to get on Highway 90 to switch to I-10. The Superdome was in view.

“Where to?” said Nadia.

“The Quarter.”

Cee Cee opened
the door and greeted him warmly. “Oh, come in my baby! I wasn’t expecting you.
How you been? Any pain left over from … well, you know.” She whispered that
last part.

“No, ma’am. I’m
sorry that we just showed up. If it’s a bad time—”

“Not at all! I
love comp’ny. And you must be Nadia.” She took Nadia’s hands in hers. “Miles
told me about you. I’m so sorry about your parents, my baby.”

“Thank you.”

“Oh, I love that
accent! It’s just darlin’! Y’all come right in and have a seat.” As she headed
for the kitchen she called over her shoulder, “Would you care for some cake?
It’s a rum cake! I made it myself this mornin’.”

“Oh, no thanks,”
said Noah, following her.

“No, thank you,”
said Nadia.

She opened the
fridge and pulled out half a rum cake and plopped it down on the table. “Sit,
sit,” she said.

Noah and Nadia
sat as Cee Cee pulled some forks and dishes out and put them on the table near
the cake. She cut three pieces and put them in front of Noah and Nadia with
forks in the plates, ready to go. She started digging into her piece.

“The reason I
came here, ma’am, is—” started Noah.

“’Ma’am!’ I love
it! You so polite! I know your mama raised you good,” she said with a mouthful
of cake.

“Uh, thanks. I
know you do, um,
Voodoo
stuff.”

Cee Cee laughed.
“Lil’ boy, I am a Voodoo priestess. I
practice
Voodoo.”

“Sorry. Miles
said that you’re a paladin?”

She licked her
fork and nodded solemnly. “Indeed I am.”

“Well, I was
wondering if you had a spell or something that could … that could keep my, um,
wings from growing back?”

Her eyes widened.
“They growing back?”

He nodded.

“Well, my baby,
maybe you shouldn’t mess with ‘em.”

“I really don’t
want them. I don’t want anything to do with those things, those angels.”

Cee Cee patted
his hand sympathetically. “I understand, my love. I think I can help you. You
sure you don’t want some cake, though?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Nadia?”

She politely
shook her head.

“All right then.
Just go sit over there at that table in the living room.” She quickly finished
her piece, put the rest of the cake back in the fridge, and placed her dishes
in the sink. She sat in the chair next to his, at her altar, and said, “Now
turn around and take off your shirt.”

He did as
instructed. “This isn’t going to hurt, is it?”

“No, angel.”

He glared at her
over his shoulder.

She quickly
added, “The good angel, that is. Not the … well, the bad … just turn back
around, you.”

Nadia stifled a
giggle.

Cee Cee silently
marveled at the wing bones raised under his skin and the little purple feathers
beginning to emerge. She lit a black candle and placed it before a picture of
the Virgin Mary that she kept in the center of the altar and then made a paste
out of crushed bay leaves, sandalwood dust and holy water. Rubbing the paste on
his shoulder blades, she prayed the
Apostle’s Creed
seven times in a
gentle and soothing voice, and then called on the Archangel Michael.

“Saint Michael,
guard this young man, Noah, all of his days until the hour of his death.
Protect him from all evil. Remove these wings from his body, for they are his
father’s wings, and his father has made his decision to turn his back on the
Heavenly Father.”

Noah’s eyes
found Nadia’s as Cee Cee took a spool of black lace and wrapped it around his
chest, covering the paste and his wings seven times, and fastened it in place
with a safety pin and a
Sator Square
for protection against evil and its
influences.

“Sator, arepo,
tenet, opera, rotas … rotas, opera, tenet, arepo, sator,” she whispered, and
then patted him on the back. “All done, my baby.”

He put his shirt
back on and turned to her. “That’s it?”

She nodded.
“Sleep with that on you tonight. Tomorrow they should be gone.”

“I don’t know
how to thank you,” he said, smiling.

She didn’t
return the smile, instead looking at him with weary sympathy. “Now, I have to
tell you somethin’. One day, your wings just
might
grow back.”

“Why?”

She patted his
knee. “They’re coming back now because you need them to help you protect
someone. When you feel someone you love is being threatened, your body will
respond to your heart’s desire to save them in any way you can.”

“I don’t need to
fly to be able to save anyone.”

“You don’t know
that,” said Nadia.

Noah rolled his
eyes at her.

Cee Cee tilted
her head. “Maybe. Maybe not. But I’m gonna trust you know what you doin’.” 

The phone rang
then. Cee Cee picked it up. “Hello? … They did?! I’ll ask Miles to … I think he
can help, Clo … All right. We meetin’ at Clovis’ house? … I’ll be there as soon
as I can.” She hung up and turned to Noah and Nadia. “I gotta go, my babies.”

Cee Cee grabbed
her rhinestone-studded Elvis purse and ushered them out the door. When she
opened it, a tall and pretty girl about Noah’s age with dark skin and dark blue
eyes was coming up the stairwell. Her lashes were wet, and the whites of her
eyes were red. She was bundled in a black trench coat with a sleek red dress
peeking out and holding her black heels in one hand and a little black purse
hanging from one shoulder. She stopped and looked up at Cee Cee.

“Oh, you’re
leaving?”

“I gotta go.
What you need?” said Cee Cee.

“Grave moss.”

“I ran out the
other day. Haven’t had a chance to get more. It’ll have to wait, my baby. Come
back day after tomorrow. Oh, Noah and Nadia, this my niece Ruby.”

“Hi,” said Noah.

“Hello,” said
Nadia.

Ruby gave them
an uninterested nod of her head and then said to Cee Cee, “Can you at least
give me a ride home?”

“How’d you get
here if you didn’t drive?” Then she noticed her appearance. “Oh!” She crossed
her arms. “When you gonna leave that fool alone?”

Ruby rolled her
eyes and headed back down the stairwell. Cee Cee and Noah and Nadia followed.
When they got to street level, Ruby said, “I didn’t come here for a lecture. I
just needed a ride.”

“Baby, I can’t
right now. You can stay here if you want.”

“I have school
tomorrow.”

Cee Cee seemed
flustered, but then it looked like a light bulb went off in her head. “Noah!
Can you give Ruby a ride home?”

“What?” said
Ruby. “Naw, that’s okay.”

Noah shrugged.
“I guess. Where do you live?”

“She lives in
Algiers, about a mile after you get off the bridge.”

“Yeah, that’s
fine,” said Noah.

“Wonderful!
Problem solved! Now if y’all will excuse me, I gotta
go
!” She hopped
into her Lincoln Town Car and drove off.

“All right.
Let’s go, then,” said Ruby, looking utterly humiliated.

Noah looked at
Nadia and raised his shoulders as if to say w
hat could I do?
She smiled
at him, and the three of them climbed into the Charger and headed for Algiers.
The whole trip across the river was made in painful silence. Before they were
off the bridge, Nadia turned on the radio just to have some background noise.

As they exited
the bridge, Ruby said, “Turn right up here.”

“I thought she said
you live a mile further down,” said Noah.

Ruby huffed. “I
do, but I’d be ever so grateful if you’d turn right up here.”

Noah turned.

“Now just loop
back around toward the bridge, but stay on this road.”

Noah did as he
was told, and then she directed him further until he found himself parked next
to a cemetery.

“I’ll be right
back,” said Ruby. She left her shoes in the car and stepped onto the sidewalk
and walked up to the wrought iron fence. Without thinking twice, she hitched up
her dress and coat, steadied herself on a fence pole and climbed over, careful
to avoid the spikes at the top.

Noah and Nadia
shared an incredulous look. “Stay here,” said Noah, getting out of the car.

Nadia got out,
too. “You’re not leaving me here by myself.”

“All right. Um
…” Noah squatted on the sidewalk near the fence and laced his fingers together,
his palms upward. “Hop up,” he told her.

Nadia arched an
eyebrow.

“Come on,” he
said.

Nadia put one
foot on his hands and pivoted with the other as Noah tossed her onto the other
side. She had a shaky land, slipping a little on the slick dew that was icing
over, but was able to stay on her feet. Noah backed up into the street, looked
over his shoulders to see if anyone was coming, got a running start, and easily
leaped over the fence, landing perfectly. He smirked at Nadia.

She looked
unimpressed. “It would have been easier to fly.”

His smirk
disappeared, replaced with an aggravated sideways glance. “Let’s go find her,”
he said.

They scanned the
rows of above-ground tombs and crypts with thin layers of frost, making their
way toward the older section of the cemetery where the granite and stone
crumbled and cracked. There were no flowers or wreaths on these graves, which
had been there for generations. Moss grew freely on some, and it was here that
they found her, kneeling beside the tomb of some poor soul named Theodosia Clementine
Honeywell who died in 1901. Ruby was scraping dead moss off the corner slab
with her polished fingernails and putting it in her purse.

“You really had
to do that tonight?” said Noah.

“Most
definitely,” she said, not looking away from her task. “My boyfriend—or I
should say my
ex
—is going to be very sorry.”

“Is this for
some kind of spell?” said Nadia.

“Yes, Frenchie.
It’s for some kind of spell.” She stood and turned to them. “All done,” she
said with a fake smile. And for the first time, she really looked at Noah and
said, “What about you? You taken?” She passed a glance at Nadia, sizing her up.

“Um …,” said
Noah, rubbing the back of his neck. “I really need to go, so can we bring you
back home now?”

Ruby smirked.
“Let’s go.”

When Noah
dropped Ruby off at her house in her rundown neighborhood, he walked her to the
door to make sure she’d be safe.

“Hang on right
here for a second,” she said, and then went inside. Noah stood there awkwardly
with his hands in his pockets.

She returned a
minute later with something in her hand that she slipped into his. He looked
down to see a black gris gris bag. “Just a little something for your trouble.
Wear it around your neck. It’s for protection.”

Noah smiled.
“Thanks.” He started to put it in his pocket.

Ruby rolled her
eyes, took it from his hand and hung it around his neck, tucking it into his
shirt. Her hand lingered on his chest. She stole another glance at Nadia, and a
little smile worked the corner of her mouth. “Thanks for the ride,” she
whispered in Noah’s ear, and then put her lips to his, kissing him slowly and
tenderly. Noah was lost in the moment for a second until she pulled away and
giggled, closing the door behind her. He stood there, dumbfounded, before
heading back to the car. Nadia raised her eyebrows at him.

“I have no
idea,” he said, and then headed for the convent.

It was getting
late, and traffic had thinned considerably. The Charger was the only car on the
bridge going back across the river. Noah was lost in thought about the kiss
Ruby had planted on him. Nadia stewed in silence. The radio was mindlessly
playing some old rock song Noah remembered from grade school.

Just as they reached
the middle of the bridge, something large landed in the lane in front of them.
Noah had just enough time to register the face of someone who looked a lot like
him in the headlights before he swerved into the next lane and spun around.

“It’s him!” said
Nadia. “It’s the man I saw when I touched your mother’s hand!”

The angel looked
over his shoulder and found Noah’s eyes, which looked so much like his own.
Noah revved the car and hit the gas pedal, charging for the angel. He flew up
just before the car hit him.

Noah turned the
car around, put it in park and said to Nadia, “Stay here.” He went to open the
door, but Nadia pulled him back.

“No! He’ll kill
you!”

“He doesn’t want
to. I’m going to take care of him.”

“Don’t be
stupid!”

“Stay in the
car!”

He stepped out
onto the bridge. The angel hovered about ten feet above, looking at Noah with a
menacing smile.