Miracle - Chapter 18: Chapter 18

I sat next to my sister on the front porch, my stomach in knots. I was pretty sure I was more nervous about today than she was.
"Ezra hasn't called you yet?" she whispered, so Mom wouldn't overhear.
I shook my head. Maddy was supposed to get picked up by her new school this morning, but I hadn't heard from Ezra whether I'd be going with her.
Mom seemed certain she was ridding herself of both of us today, though. She'd made me pack a bag just like Maddy, and had ushered us both out onto the porch a full hour before the car was supposed to show up. At her insistence I was in a white button-up and khakis. Maddy was wearing a mint green, shirtwaisted dress with tiny strawberries on it, and her cowboy boots. We both had our hair combed and faces washed. My heart wouldn't stop racing, which Ezra had to be aware of since I had the smartwatch on.
Last night, when I'd asked whether he'd gotten permission to bring me to his house yet, he'd thumped the watch twice. So chances were, he wouldn't be here today. I wasn't about to argue with Mom though. I felt sorry for whoever Maddy's driver was. They were going to have one hell of a fight on their hands if they didn't want me in the car.
"Maddy, if they don't take me today..."
She reached out and grabbed my hand. "I'm not going without you."
"I think you have to," I said, glancing up at Mom pacing the porch with a cigarette. "But it's okay. I'll come as soon as I can."
"No, I don't like it. The school won't let me bring my phone. I don't know how long it will take to find internet. How am I going to get in touch with you?"
I didn't like the thought either. Up to now, the only times Maddy and I had been separated were for the occasional sleepover at a friend's house. I didn't know how I was going to make it through tonight without her. "Just get online as soon as you can, and email me."
The school brochure didn't have an address, and I got the feeling that was deliberate. They weren't just picking Maddy up to be nice, they didn't want anyone knowing where they were taking her. It's why they wouldn't let her bring any WiFi or cellular devices.
Ezra said he lived near the school, so it had to be close to Enoch's Peak. If worst came to worst, I could find my way there. But based on the Google satellite map, I might not find much. And what if they weren't taking Maddy to a school at all? What if it was some kind of slave camp, or sex dungeon, or futuristic breeding hospital?
No. No, Ezra had promised she would be safe.
But with an hour to stew in paranoid thoughts, I'd practically worked myself into an ulcer by the time gravel started crunching along the road that lead up to our house. Maddy and I sprang to our feet at the same time, and Mom shaded her eyes as a large black van with tinted windows pulled into the driveway. There were no logos on it, but it gleamed in the morning sunlight like it had been freshly washed.
It came to a stop behind Mom's parked car. The entire side of the van separated from the rest and slid back. A set of mechanized steps slid out from the running board, dropping elegantly down to touch the cracked concrete of our driveway. Inside, I caught a glimpse of tan leather benches and what looked like hardwood flooring.
The driver's side door opened and a woman got out. She was dressed in green slacks and a white blouse, with a green and blue plaid scarf tied around her neck. Her dark hair was pulled back in a no-nonsense bun, but her smile didn't seem fake. She stretched her arms out toward Maddy.
"Madison Hayes? It's lovely to meet you. I'm Lilah."
I looked her over with fascination. Was this what a female Nephilim looked like? She wasn't shockingly tall like Ezra and Dr. Sarias, but she was just as beautiful. And older, too, maybe in her mid thirties. She took Maddy's hands in hers and bowed over them slightly. "We're so excited to have you joining us at Brides of Heaven this year. You're going to love it there."
Mom came up behind them, and held up our bags. "Here's their stuff. You two get on in the van."
As if she hadn't heard, Lilah turned to me next. Her smile faded noticeably. "You must be Connor."
She knew my name? "Uh. Yeah."
"Hm." Her gaze flicked between me and my sister. "At this time, arrangements for your transfer have been delayed. Only Madison will be traveling today."
It was almost comical how Maddy and Mom got the same scrunched, stubborn glares on their faces at once. Maddy moved to my side, wrapping her arms around my left arm like she was daring this lady to pry her off me. And Mom scoffed.
"That's bullshit, they're both ready to go. I was assured by multiple people at your lousy excuse for a call center that he'd be leaving today too."
"Unfortunately, that isn't possible."
Mom pushed past her and tossed both our bags into the open coach. "Sure as hell is. See?" She turned around to see Lilah calmly extending a white envelope.
"The boy's sponsor is providing this for his continued upkeep, in the meantime."
My... sponsor? Was she talking about Ezra?
Mom stalked over suspiciously and snatched the envelope. She ripped one end open, and her scowl mellowed as the stack of cash inside became visible. I watched her lips move soundlessly as she started counting. My eyes widened. I guess in addition to being gorgeous, superhuman, and brilliant, Ezra was also rich. Figured.
Lilah's expression was smug. "I trust this resolves the concern?"
"For a couple weeks," Mom said, the defiant lines around her mouth unsubdued. "But you people better be ready to take him by the time school starts, else I'm sendin' him back to Dumas High. I ain't messin' with no truancy officers. And I sure as fuck ain't homeschooling."
I cast panicked eyes at the Nephilim lady. If she knew Ezra, she had to know what I was. And what a fuck-ton of trouble I'd be in if that happened.
But she looked unconcerned. She reached into the van and grabbed my bag—not sure how she knew which was mine—and pulled so that it fell down the retractable steps. In the process, it came open and my books flew everywhere, inside the van, down the steps, onto the driveway.
Mom rolled her eyes. "Oh for God's sake, Connor, you packed that nonsense instead of clothes?"
I darted forward to rescue three of my Lord of the Rings volumes from their undignified sprawls on the concrete. The dust jacket of The Fellowship of the Ring had a tear at the bottom that I felt in my soul, sharp as a paper cut. I picked it up, smoothing its pages in frantic apology.
Maddy was next to me, stacking the rest of the fallen books in my arms and tugging my bag out of the way of the van's wheels. "I think they're mostly okay," she murmured to me, patting my back for reassurance.
I laid the stack on the porch, shaking my head. I'd go through each one later, but right now my insides felt battered right along with them. These books were my closest friends. I wanted to glare at Lilah for being so careless, but she and Mom were too busy staring each other down to pay any attention.
"We should get going, Madison," Lilah said. "If you'd like to say your goodbyes?"
Maddy's face drained of color as she met my eyes. I'm pretty sure mine did too. "Maddy," I whispered. My throat closed up.
She stared at me a second, then turned and crossed her arms. "If Connor's not coming today, then I'm gonna wait," she announced. "I'll go when he does."
"I'm afraid that won't work," Lilah said patiently. I got the feeling this was not the first resistant new student she'd faced down. "Orientation begins tomorrow, you won't want to miss it. We'll check you into the dormitories and get you registered for—"
"I'm not leaving my brother," Maddy declared, cutting her off.
Mom sneered. "Shut your mouth, you don't got a choice. This was all fixed 'n figured before you was born, so get your butt in the van."
"No!" Maddy moved in front of me, as if she was about to shield me from the wrath she had just called down on our heads. And sure enough, Mom's eyes narrowed.
"Maddy Ann, did you just backtalk me?"
"I'm not going!" she shrieked. "You hear me? I'm staying with Connor!" She jammed a hand behind her, so I reached out and took it. Her fingers clamped with mine.
"Like hell you are." Mom marched over to us and started pulling at our arms, trying to separate us. When Maddy wouldn't let go, Mom backhanded her across the face. I cried out, but Maddy's grip on my hand didn't weaken. Instead, she just put herself even more solidly between Mom and me. Mom snarled, shoving us both. "For the love of God, you brats are stuck on each other so much it ain't natural. Stupid chit, even when they come get him, he ain't goin' where you are. Your school's all girls."
That was exactly the wrong thing to say to my sister, and I knew what was going to come out of her mouth next. "Then I won't go. You can't make me."
"Oh, you bet your skinny ass I can," Mom roared, and she was inches from grabbing fistfuls of Maddy's hair when Lilah stepped up, one graceful hand poised in front of Mom's nose. Kind of like she was holding her back with a force field, though there was no visible glittery light or energy hum or anything. Mom stopped with a grunt, as if surprised anyone would dare interrupt her rampage.
Lilah's attention was steady on Maddy, though. "Madison, I'm sorry. I can see how frightening this is for you." She nodded in sympathy. "It's all right to be scared. Everyone is, leaving their loved ones behind for the first time. And I know you and your brother have a..." her eyes dropped to our joined hands, "a very close bond. That's wonderful, really it is. You're going to miss him very much, aren't you?"
"Not if I don't go," Maddy snapped. Mom growled a warning, but Lilah was unfazed.
"The thing is, dear heart, your brother's situation is... very unorthodox. He's fortunate to have the interest of a private sponsor, but any negative attention could jeopardize his eligibility to join our community."
Maddy's hand tightened in mine as she processed this. And I eyed Lilah anxiously. Was she just saying that to get Maddy to back down? Or did she mean it? If Maddy put up a fuss about going, their council might not allow Ezra to come get me?
"I know it may seem counterintuitive, but the best thing you can do for him is come take an active role in our student body. Model the type of behavior and contributions that we could expect to see from Connor, assuming he's permitted to come to us."
Maddy glanced over her shoulder at me, silently asking what I wanted her to do. I didn't know how to answer. Ultimately, neither of us was safe here. That was a certainty. We only had Ezra's word to go on that life in Colorado would be any better, and honestly, it was probably foolish to blindly trust him on that. But what was the alternative? Mom didn't want us here. I was a walking time bomb, kept in check by a spray bottle that was nearly out of pink stuff. Maddy and I were already stirring up commotion wherever we went. And it sounded like every time Ezra reached out to help me, he was putting himself at risk as well.
If Maddy would be safer with this lady than with me, I wanted that for her. And if Ezra would be safer if I was with him, I wanted that too.
Okay, let's just face it—I also just wanted to be with him. Period.
I squeezed her hand, and then let go. Tears pricked the back of my eyelids. "I'll be okay, sis. You should go."
"But how am I going to check on you?" she protested.
"As soon as we arrive at the school, you'll be issued a student phone," Lilah told her. "It's part of the standard welcome package. You can call him right away and give him your new number."
I gave Maddy a faint smile. "See? So we'll talk again in a few hours. And as soon as I get there I'll come see you."
"Certainly," Lilah said. "In fact, we'll get Connor added to your list of approved visitors first thing."
"You're sure about this?" Maddy asked.
No, I wasn't. But I nodded anyway. Ezra, you better have been telling the truth about this school. Somewhere over my shoulder I heard Mom give a sigh of exasperation.
Maddy threw her arms around my neck and hissed fiercely in my ear. "I really don't want to leave you, bubba. You've got to stay out of Mom's way while I'm gone, okay? Don't get into trouble."
I nodded again, hugging her hard. "I won't."
We held hands all the way to the van's steps, and she kicked her bag deeper inside. Lilah laid a hand on my shoulder. "Thank you, Connor. I assure you we'll take excellent care of her. Madison, do you want to say goodbye to your mother as well?"
Maddy glared out across the driveway. "Bye," she said flatly.
Mom had her arms folded across her middle. "Good fucking riddance."
Oh yeah. We were just one big happy family, weren't we?
The lump in my throat expanded as the side of the van slid back into place, effectively sealing my sister inside. I turned to Lilah. "The drive takes seven and a half hours, right?"
"That's right."
"I'll expect to hear from Maddy by six tonight, then."
Lilah arched a brow, then glanced at her watch. I waited while she counted in her head. "Yes, that should be about right. Though if we have any trouble on the road it could be a bit later."
"Six," I repeated.
She gave me a look that very clearly said Or what? But she didn't challenge me. "It was nice to meet you. Perhaps we'll be seeing each other again." It didn't sound like she was particularly enthused by the prospect. She turned and inclined her head toward Mom. "Ms. Hayes."
Mom snorted in return. "Just hurry up and get outta the drive, I'm gonna be late for work."
I brought my empty bag up onto the porch and watched the van backing out. It felt like my guts were turning into lead, weighing my heart down to my toes. I shaded my eyes and watched as the vehicle carrying my sister pulled onto the county road, and headed out of sight behind a fringe of mesquite.
Fuck. She was really gone.
Had I just made a huge mistake?
Mom yanked her car door open without sentiment. "I'm going to work," she said, and pointed to the books stacked at my feet. "Clean that up."
"Yes, ma'am." As if I was going to abandon them after the trauma they'd been through.
Mom reversed out of the driveway far less sedately than the Nephilim van, and tore off the opposite direction.
I was left standing on the porch. Out in the tree a dove was cooing, backed by vocals from about a dozen chirpy, tweety birds. The sun was hot on my face, so that sweat was starting to trickle behind my ears.
The house was mine for the day. I should go back inside. Put my books away, clean up the kitchen from breakfast. The bathroom could use a good scrubbing, and with all the sugar in the pantry I could make a batch of cookies, that might be fun.
Except there was no one to eat them except me and Mom, whenever she got home tonight. I doubted she'd care.
I had this hollow feeling in my stomach. A restless frustration at not knowing what I wanted to fill the time with. Nothing seemed appealing, or meaningful. I didn't want to go into town, and even if I did it would be a waste. I was almost out of Ezra's formula and the refill hadn't gotten here yet. I didn't want to go inside, because as soon as I did I'd be choking on the overwhelming emptiness. So what, then? I was going to mope out here on the porch in the heat for the rest of the day?
I sat down on the top step, next to my books, and lifted the top one off the pile. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It was an old library paperback, already so worn it was impossible to tell if the tumble from my bag had done damage. I fanned through the pages and found nothing missing or loose except the section in the middle that was already unglued from the binding. Satisfied, I closed it up carefully and checked the next one, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information. It had a few creased pages that I carefully smoothed before setting it aside. Then my Tolkiens, which had quite a few rumples and scuffed pages. The one with the tear had suffered most, but I could probably repair it with some clear packing tape.
The next book, though, I didn't recognize. It was thin and hard bound, with a dark green linen cover and gold embossed edges. I picked it up curiously. I knew every one of my books by heart, and this wasn't mine. Where had it come from? There was no text on the cover or the spine. A small crown was stamped on the front, in the lower right corner. It was the only marking.
I laid it in my lap and opened to the title page.
Brides of Heaven Preparatory Academy
Textbook Series I
Introductory Elioud Studies
"Holy shit," I breathed, turning the page to the table of contents.
Welcome and Foreword by Ruth Armeras, Academy Directress
Unit One: The Elioud Legacy
The Watchers
The Angelic Wars
Extermination
Regeneration
Unit Two: The Elioud Program
Germination and Maturation
Preparing for Elioud Life
Groom Selection
The Science of Family
Unit Three: Meet the Nephilim
Biology And Life Cycle
The Seven Absolutes
Governance
New Life
Index
I ran a shaking finger down the list. Many of the chapter headings were vaguely worded, but it was enough to make me utterly certain I was not supposed to have this book in my possession. It must have been in the van, meant for new students to peruse on the road trip in case they were interested in getting a head start on the year's academics. Maddy probably grabbed it by mistake when she was gathering up my spilled books, and the Nephilim lady hadn't noticed.
I closed the book fast and wrapped arms around it, staring down the road where the school van had disappeared. What would they do when they noticed it was missing? Would they come back for it? If I read it and they found out, what would happen?
I definitely should not read it.
Then again... how were they going to know if I had?
I chewed my bottom lip, and got to my feet. Carried the book inside the house, into our bedroom, and laid it on Maddy's unmade bunk. Then I backed away for a second. It was hers, not mine. Not that she would care, since we pretty much shared everything. Books weren't even her thing, she'd brought a stack of fashion magazines to get through the road trip. If they'd let me ride with her today, it was a guarantee that I'd already be nose-deep in this thing, and probably have it devoured cover to cover before we arrived.
Though... maybe this was why they wouldn't let me go with her. I wasn't invited to their ultra-elite school, and if they were going to start sharing their secrets right away, they couldn't even have me in the van. I wasn't part of their project. Or at least, I wasn't a part that held any value for them.
That textbook, I was sure, explained what had been done to us, and why. It might even answer some of my biggest questions about Ezra. It had the word Elioud, from his company's name, all over it. That book held answers, and it had been dropped right in my lap.
I recalled what Ezra had said during his last visit. My people don't believe in accidents. And I was well aware that I was justifying, but what the hell. The book was in my hands now. The Nephilim had taken my sister and cast me aside. I had a right to know what I was. Why they'd done this. Whether everything I suspected was true.
I walked back out front to pick up the rest of my books. Brought them inside and piled them on our desk in the bedroom. Went into the kitchen and did the breakfast dishes, wiped down the counters, cleaned out the coffee pot. Then walked back down the hall and stood staring down at the innocuous green book lying on Maddy's wadded comforter.
I picked it up and carried it up the ladder to my own bunk with delicacy, as if it was going to sprout fangs and take a hunk out of my arm. I crossed my legs up under me, and opened it in my lap. Turned to the foreword.
Dearest Jewel, it is with great pleasure that I welcome you to our family here at Brides of Heaven Preparatory Academy. You do not know it yet, but you are a treasure beyond imagination. You may be asking why you have been invited to attend a school you've never heard of, why your family has sent you so far from home. We will be answering that question, and so many more, in the coming semesters together. But here is the core of it: you, beloved, are Elioud.
What does that mean, you ask? It is a marvelous, miraculous state of being. Rare, and more precious than any gemstone on Earth. It is a gift that was bestowed upon you before your birth, and with it, you have the power to someday give the greatest possible gift to the one who loves you most.
We have created this course as an introduction to your heritage, and to the many exciting paths that now lie before you. In the next three years, you will become an integral part of our very special community, and will be able to choose a future for yourself that overflows with happiness, love, and all the things that bring you joy.
Brides of Heaven is dedicated to supporting you along this journey, and I am so looking forward to getting to know you and seeing how you will add your own unique touches to this amazing world of ours.
I wish you inspiring studies, and a fruitful life!
I turned the page, to the first unit called The Elioud Legacy. It didn't jump right in with an explanation of their fertility clinics, their seedy contracts that preyed on poor, single pregnant women. No, the first chapter opened up more like the Book of Genesis in the Bible.
Except I'd read Genesis, and Exodus, the whole damn Apocrypha, and none of these stories and characters were in it. This was something I'd never heard before, at least not laid out in detail like this, and it read like a post-apocalyptic steampunk religious fantasy.
After the creation of the world, God was so busy playing with his shiny new toys that his original creations, the angels, became restless. Some, out of jealousy, conspired to corrupt humans in the hope that God would tire of them. In response, God brought a secondary angel army to Earth to watch over his fragile mortal race. Led by the archangel Michael, the Watchers succeeded in rounding up the rebels, stripping them of their holiness, and binding them to the depths of Hell.
In the process, though, some Watchers became afflicted with a distinctly human disease: loneliness. Angels were ageless, formless, singular beings. They knew all the secret workings of God's material world, yet all they could experience of love was in service to their Creator, who had lost interest in them long ago. They had no mates, children, siblings, friendships, or parents. They shared the same breath of life that God had used to make the humans, and longed for the worldly pleasures humans had. They became enraptured by concepts of family, belonging, and most especially, the power to craft new life on their own, independent of God's whims.
After a few centuries, a Watcher named Samyaza led two hundred angels to Earth, where they built a city at the top of a mountain. There, each of them took human brides, and extended to their wives' families the protection and privileges of the angelic city. They taught the secrets of Creation to these elite people, how to predict weather and entice crops to grow, the science of medicinal plants, the art of molten metals. They built machines that made use of natural laws to aid in everything from the production of food and clothing to the mass printing of literature and observation of the stars. And they used their understanding of human physiology to bring children of their own into the world.
Half mortal, half angelic, the children of the Watchers were something the world had never seen before. Unlike the rest of creation, they had not been designed by God. Humanity christened them Nephilim, a race of giants with the fearsome power of Heaven contained in fleshly bodies.
The Nephilim found themselves in an even more grievous state than the angels. Where angels were genderless and bodiless, Nephilim were born male. They could mate with human women, but not in the formless state that their angelic parents could. Their hybrid seed was poison to delicate human reproductive systems. And as a result, no woman could carry a Nephilim pregnancy to term. Their children perished in the womb, and more often than not, took their mothers into death with them.
A Watcher named Kasdeja, moved by the plight of his heartbroken son, taught humans how to terminate pregnancies so the Nephilim would not lose their beloved brides to accidents. As this forbidden knowledge spread among humanity, so did the humans' animosity and fear toward the Nephilim, who were already widely considered an abomination.
A turning point came when another of the Watchers, Armeros, developed a better solution: by introducing Nephilim fluids into the blood of a pregnant woman, her unborn daughter could develop a tolerance while still in the womb. After the girl was born and had matured, if a Nephilim took her for his bride, he would at last able to father healthy, living children.
And the women born with this ability were called Elioud. In the angelic language, it meant "little goddess."
"Oh my God," I whispered, re-reading that entire page. "That's it. That's what Elioud Biogenesis is doing."
Mom had been injected with Nephilim fluids—likely some sort of processed saliva or blood derivative containing their DNA. Maddy and I had been born with a special immunity to Nephilim genetics. And in addition to making my sister capable of a Nephilim pregnancy, it apparently came with other fun side effects. Like being able to survive an infusion of antivenin made with Ezra's blood. And being sexually irresistible to human men as soon as we were of reproductive age.
But the purpose was to create breeders to carry Nephilim children. Because apparently, there was no such thing as a Nephilim female.
I'd been right, about very nearly everything. And what I'd gotten wrong was completely fascinating.
I hunched over the textbook and braced my arms around it, no longer caring if the school returned for its property. They weren't getting this book back until I'd ingested every last word.