First Estate

After three days, she told us goodbye. She gave us a prayer that would reach her and promised to answer. She could teleport anywhere and not worry about winding up inside a wall. She told me that if I reduced my mass to zero I didn't have to worry about that either. That was something Mom didn't know and I decided to let her know as soon as I could. I really needed to talk to her, but she didn't answer texts or phone calls so I had to wait.

The last thing Mariha told me was that I was lucky with her. She had once known a Nephilim named Lilith and they had been good friends for hundreds of years. She thought Lilith was dead, but for her sake, she was going to take a chance on me. I didn't tell her that her friend was my mother.

Chapter Seven

It took me a couple of days to get everything sorted out in my mind. The whole situation with Mariha was very unsettling and we sort of put Sagan moving in with me on the back burner. I was just carrying too much baggage right now. It got even more complicated when Mariha showed back up.

She was waiting for me on the sidewalk outside my office on a Tuesday about a week after she left. I took her to Starbucks to talk. It didn't seem right to take an angel to a bar.

"Parker, you have to do some things quickly," she told me. "I made my report and it seemed like everything was fine. Unfortunately, there's a high level supervisor in my department named Arian that's a suspicious and kind of nasty individual. I know that sounds weird for an angel, but that's his function. He's a professional cynic. He pokes into everything and he told me people don't just have their cancer disappear. He assigned another angel to check into Boston. Since you warded her, they can't just peep. She's disappeared off the angel radar and that has him really suspicious."

"What do you think I should do?" I asked her.

"She needs to disappear. The whole family needs to be warded and they need to be gone the next time someone looks."

"What about you? Are you in trouble?"

"I would be if I hung around. I'm going to disappear, too. If they don't find anything, it will all die down after a while. Maybe we'll get some orders about you. I've done it before. After a couple hundred years, things change and I go back to work. You need to get busy and I need to be far away from here. Call me if you need me."

She kissed my cheek and she was gone.

A couple at the next table had a shocked look on their faces and I got out of there. I texted Sagan but she was in class and didn't answer. I called Mona and asked her to meet me at Boston's school.

"Is there something wrong with Boston?" she sounded very worried.

"No, nothing like that, I just need to talk to her very badly. I need you to check her out of school for me."

"I don't know what this is about, but if you really need her, I'll meet you there," she told me.

She was waiting when I got there. She had already signed Boston out and in five minutes, she came out and looked around for us. She saw my car and came running down the sidewalk. She hugged her mother and ran to me. I knelt down and held her for a minute.

"Mona, I'm sorry but I need Boston for the rest of the day. I promise I'll tell you all about it tonight. There is kind of a crisis in my life. It's going to be okay, but it's complicated. Will you trust Boston with me the rest of the day?"

"Of course, but you're scaring me, Parker."

"Don't be scared. We'll figure this out. We just need to talk it out. We'll be fine."

I took Boston's hand and we went to the car. She had a million questions and I told her to just be patient. We needed to get Sagan and I would tell them both.

"Why don't you just tell me?" she complained.

"It's complicated and I just want to say it once," I told her. "Be patient, kitten."

We found out where Sagan's class was and waited outside the building on a bench. My phone buzzed and I saw that she had texted me. She came out the door a few seconds later and Boston saw her. She jumped up and ran to hug her.

"Boston, what are you doing here? Why aren't you in school?"

"Parker brought me. He's being mysterious. He says he needs to talk to us."

Sagan kissed me when they walked up, I held their hands and we walked back to the car. I took them to a sandwich shop around the corner and we talked over lunch. I explained what Mariha had told me and we talked about what we were going to do.

"I don't see any way we're not going to have to tell your parents what's going on," I told them. "They're going to have to move. You all need to disappear. Mariha says they know where you live, but they don't know anything else. You just haven't been important enough to gather that information. She says that if they can't find you they'll just give up. It isn't a big deal because they don't know what's going on."

"I have an idea," Sagan told me. "We need to talk to Lilith. Maybe she can help."

We went to my house and I set up a Skype call. Mom came on the screen. "There's my babies," she said when she saw us. "Hi, girls, you're looking as beautiful as ever."

"Mom, we need your help." I explained the situation to her.

"So, you met Mariha," she chuckled. "Did she tell you that we were lovers for a hundred years?"

"Jesus, Mom, no she didn't. I don't want to know about that. Listen, I have a plan. Can you erase people's memory?"

"Yes, and I can make them remember things that didn't happen. Why do you ask?"

"I want the girl's family to remember something that didn't happen."

"What do you want them to remember?"

"I want them to remember Boston going to Mexico to get cancer treatment. I want them to remember that Boston and Sagan are in Mexico now getting treatment and that they don't know when to expect them back."

"I can do that," she said. "When do you want me to do it?"

"I'll call you and tell you, probably this evening. I need to talk to Mona first."

"Okay, baby. Kisses, girls," she was gone.

We talked until we had all the details settled in our minds. Boston was ecstatic when we told her she was moving in with us. "We were planning to do this anyway," Sagan told her. "This just gives us a good reason to give Mom."

"I'm going to miss them," Boston confessed. "Sagan's always been sort of my Mom anyway. It's not that Mom doesn't love me or anything; I've just always been closest to Sagan."

Sagan hugged her close. "It won't be forever, Boston. When things settle down we can get back to normal, but we want you to always live with us."

"I'd like that more than anything," she scooted over against me. "Parker will be my big brother till we get married."

That set us all off laughing and we felt better about the situation. The interview with Mona wasn't going to be fun, but it had to be done. I called her and she agreed to meet us at the houseboat.

We were closer and we waited for her for about 10 minutes. I told her we had something to tell her that she wouldn't like. She would think it was very weird and she needed to prepare for a shock. As we were talking, I slowly raised her up off the deck until her feet were six inches off the floor without her noticing. She was about the limit for the weight I could lift by telekinesis and I had to focus. She didn't notice and I told her my story.

"Parker, is this some kind of a joke?" she asked, "if so, it isn't very funny. I don't get it."

"Mom, look down," Sagan told her.

She shrieked and waved her arms in the air like she was falling. I set her down and her knees sagged. I lifted her again and she sort of groaned. I was afraid she was going to pass out so I moved her over a chair and sat her down in it."

"Oh, my God," she exclaimed. "You weren't joking. You really are an angel. That's how you healed Boston, isn't it?"

"Yes, but I'm afraid there's some bad news about that." I explained the situation to her.

"You're in trouble because you helped my children, aren't you?" she asked.

"Well, yes I am. I don't care about that but we need to cover our tracks."

"What do you need me to do?"

"You aren't going to like it, but I want Sagan and Boston to come and live with me." I explained our plan to her. I told her that we were going to give her some memories of things that didn't really happen, but that they would be enough to fool any angels that came looking.

"You won't be able to see them for a while," I told her. "You're going to think they're in Mexico."

She wept and sobbed. She clung to them and petted them. I continued to explain why it had to be this way and finally she cut me off.

"I understand, Parker. I even agree. That doesn't make it any better. It doesn't make it any easier. I wish we'd never met you," she continued to sob uncontrollably.

"Mom, that's the meanest thing you've ever said," Boston told her. "If we hadn't met Parker neither one of us would even be alive. I would have died twice without Parker. How could you say that?"

Mona wept even harder. "I'm so sorry, Parker. I didn't mean it. You don't deserve that from anyone in our family. I'm just so miserable. My baby is just ten. She's too little to be without me. I expected you and Sagan would get together, but not Boston."

"It's not forever, Mona," I told her. "Pretty soon we'll check in with Mariha and see what kind of progress we're making. As soon as it's clear, I'll get in touch with you and you can come and see us. You won't even realize it's going on. Mom is going to give you memories of Boston going to Mexico with Sagan and you'll get good reports that will make you happy."

"That scares me to death," she said. "We're just humans, Parker. We weren't meant to interact with angels and whatever you said you are."

"That's not true," Boston told her. "People have had dealings with angels all down through history. Parker's ancestors ruled the world and interacted with humans all the time. We can get through this. I know how strong you are, Mom. Just think how grateful you are that I'm alive and not dying from lymphoma or squished by a car."

She thought about that and smiled through her tears. "I am grateful. I know you got in trouble helping my girls and I'll never forget how you helped Jackson and me. Do you forgive me for saying that mean thing, Parker?"

"Of course I do. I would probably feel the same way in your shoes. I would fight you tooth and nail if you told me I couldn't see Sagan and Boston. But, it's only for a while."

She eventually calmed down and became reconciled. "I guess this is the price we pay for Boston being healthy. It's really a small price. Thank you for doing this, Parker."

"It's what I would have wanted anyway," I told her. "We were going to ask you if Boston could stay with us a lot when Sagan moved in anyway."

"When were you going to talk to me about this?" Boston demanded.

"We intended to right after we came back from Petit Martinique," Sagan told her. "We met Mariha on the plane home and it didn't seem like the right time."

"I don't like you making plans without me," Boston was indignant.

"Boston, do you love me?" I asked her.

"Yes, what does that have to do with anything?"

"Do you love Sagan?"

"Yes."

"Then quit making a fuss. Have a little faith. Neither of us would ever do anything without talking to you. You know that."

She was instantly contrite. "I'm sorry, Parker. This whole thing just makes me upset. I hate doing things because I have to. I want to live with you and Sagan, but not because I have to. I love you, Mom, but I want to stay with them anyway."

"It's okay, baby. I know Sagan has been more of a mother to you than I ever had time to be. I love you, too."

We needed to pack Sagan and Boston up quickly before the angels got wind of what we were doing. I got Jackson and Thomas out of the house for a couple of hours, the girls got their things, and Mona drove them to my house. She went home and I called Mom. She did her thing and we were set.

It was wonderful having my girls around the house all the time. We figured out schedules and when I was in town, I took Boston to school every morning. Sagan picked her up in the afternoon. I rented a car for her temporarily. She drove the Challenger when I was out of town and the rental when we were both home. She took Boston to school when I couldn't.

She needed a car and I asked her what she wanted. She had no idea so we went shopping.

"Do you think you want a classic like the Challenger or something new?" I asked her.

"I love the Challenger, but it's too much car for me. I want something less flashy but with more bells and whistles."

I thought I knew just the thing. I took them downtown and we drove a new Bentley Continental GT. They both fell in love with one in an Onyx Metallic paint job and a gray interior. Sagan was appalled at the price, but I told her we could easily afford it.

"No, Parker; it's too much," she said. "This costs more than my parent's house."

"I know, but this will be our family car. The Challenger isn't practical for a family. I'll drive it, too, and we can afford it. Let's get it. What do you say, Boston?"

She voted yes and I paid cash. Sagan drove it home and Boston rode with her. Sagan was afraid to drive it to school.

"What if someone opens their door and hits me or I have an accident?"

"That's why we have insurance," I told her. "What if someone steals it out of the garage? It's just like a pair of shoes. You wear them and you don't worry about stepping in a puddle. You drive this and don't worry about it. It's just a car."

I had to go to London for a few days and I worried about them while I was gone. They were warded, and I had done everything I could think of to make sure they were safe but I still worried.

They had a break from school over Easter and we went up to Boston to visit Mom. She was glad to see us and she spent most of the week teaching me how to be a Nephilim. Most of the things we did seemed to involve making gestures in the air. There were words, too, and they weren't in any language spoken today. I learned a new alphabet. It was mostly symbols that looked like pictures. There were birds and animals and squiggly lines all mixed up together. Boston recorded them all and kept them on her computer. We could do many things with them but they had to be kept hidden.

We learned how to write them on the walls so that angels and demons couldn't enter the rooms. Sagan was very interested in demons for some reason and Mom told her all about them.

"Lilith, are there things that humans can do?" Boston asked.

"What kinds of things, sweetheart?"

"I don't know, like spells or something? If I draw these symbols, will they work?"

"You're a very smart little girl, Boston, You're also a Siren." Mom told her. "Yes there are things you can do. You can handle the power directly because you're a Siren. Sagan can do things, too, even though she's human. The symbols are universal. They work no matter who draws them. If you learn the language of Shinar, you can do things that will seem like magic. I'm trying to think of a way to explain it to you."

"I'll try to learn it."

"Good, baby. Parker and I, because of what we are, can just do things. You can do most of the same things because you have his blood, but humans have to use the words and symbols. It's just raw power when we do it. For humans it's more like art. Take a ward, for example. Parker just manipulated the raw force and that's very powerful. You could do it, too, but humans would use words from the old language and they could do the same thing."

"Maybe it would be like the difference between a lightning bolt and an outlet in the wall." Sagan mused. "You can use the lightning and I can use the electricity by plugging something in."

"That's a very good analogy. You've got two very smart girls here, Parker."

"I know, but I love them because they're so sexy," I laughed.

They both punched me and I cowered away. Boston chased me around the couch and jumped on me. I collapsed to the floor and she tickled me mercilessly. I wrapped my arms around her and squeezed her until she couldn't breathe. She gave up and I sat on the couch and held her on my lap.

She snuggled in, Sagan came and sat beside me on one side and Mom sat on the other.

"I always wondered what it would be like to have a family like this," she told us a little wistfully. In many ways, she seemed like a young girl.

"What was your family like when you were little?" Boston asked her. She moved over on Mom's lap and played with her hair.

"Things were different then," Mom said. "Society was different. My father was a ruthless bastard. Being part of that family was like walking around in a nest of poisonous snakes. Everything I did had to be carefully calculated so that you didn't step accidently on someone's pride. I left when I was sixteen. I couldn't stand it anymore. My father murdered two of my brothers because he thought they were a threat to his power. My mother died mysteriously when I was ten. My father had dozens of wives that were all part of his political scheme. I think he murdered my mother. I was a pawn he intended to play as soon as I got old enough. I had dozens of brothers and cousins and they were all disgusting and brutal people. My father was going to marry me to one of my cousins when I was seventeen. Sexual mores were different then, too. Two of my brothers tried to rape me and I killed them."

"Jesus Christ, Lilith," Sagan exclaimed. "I had no idea. I mean, I know about Rome and Greece and Egypt, but you never really think about it happening to real people."

"Well, it's more civilized now, that's for sure. I've been married 14 times and I've had 26 children. They all became something horrible and ugly to me. They used their power to bend other people to their wills and I had to kill some of them to keep them from killing me. I decided I would never have another child."

"What about Parker?" Boston asked. "How did you have him?"

"His father was one of the old ones. He was around before God destroyed the earth to get rid of us. I don't know how he survived, but I thought he must be one of the good ones because the angels hadn't killed him. He seemed like a decent sort and he was very beautiful. Parker looks like him. When Parker was two, I found out that he was the leader of a cannibal cult that worshipped him and made human sacrifices to him. They practiced sexual perversions and when I found out I attacked them and killed most of them. Parker's father was horribly wounded but he got away from me."

"Mom, Mariha told me they killed one of us twenty years ago. Do you think it was him?"

"I hope so. I didn't know. It must have been. I haven't heard of any of us except me and him for 500 years."

"What was the cult called?" Sagan asked.

"The Thule society. They modeled themselves after an older group. I think the old ones were just nutcases and frauds. These were the real deal."

"Mom, what was Dad's name?" I asked her.

"I don't want to speak it, but you deserve to know. His name was Ohiyah and he was the second son of Enoch's oldest daughter."

"You mean the Enoch that didn't die; the grandfather of Noah?"

"Yes; that's part of the reason I thought he was one of the good ones. I heard stories about Enoch when I was a little girl and even the Nephilim respected him. I thought that if Noah and Lamech were good, then your father could be, too. Enoch plead their case before Michael after they were imprisoned. The Nephilim that were imprisoned became the first demons. Michael made thousands of them into demons and set them free. They don't come close to matching us in power but they're dangerous in numbers."

"Was there really a flood?" Sagan asked.

"I think that was an allegory," Mom explained. "I wasn't born yet. I know there were tidal waves, earthquakes and volcanoes. Parker's father talked about the earth being changed in the war. The angels came down by the millions and destroyed us. Humans were almost wiped out, too, and I know that only eight of them survived. I think God protected them from the devastation. It may have seemed like a flood. It was certainly a flood of destruction. Maybe there was a real flood. I never heard of one like the bible describes, but it could have happened. Maybe the tidal waves covered the earth."