First Estate Bk. 02: Destiny's Child

Greyson slipped her arm through Benson's. "We're lovers," she said. "It's complicated."

"It always is," he said. "Let me step outside a moment. They heard him speaking to the guard at the door. When he came back he sat down at his desk and wrote for 20 minutes. When he stood up, he had one more question.

"What's to stop the Watchers from coming in and nuking the place while I'm gone?"

"We won't let them," Greyson said. "They wouldn't make a move against you without consulting with us first. We have veto power over any action. For that matter, what would prevent them from nuking the place while you're here?"

"I guess you have a point. I'd like to hear it from him," he indicated Raphael.

"You are insulting the Reaper Greyson," Raphael said. "I have known her for 27 years. In all those years she has never lied to anyone. She speaks the truth. The Reapers have control of all activities concerning actions against rebel Watchers and their cohorts on this world. Nothing is done without their direction."

"I apologize for the insult," Byron said. "None was intended. I don't know if I can trust you."

"Neither do we know we can trust you," Benson told him. "We're willing to take a chance."

"Then I guess I am too. I'm ready."

Raphael moved close to him and they were standing in front of River House. They took him in and introduced him around. When he saw Lilith he did a double take. "Damn, it's the Demon Goddess!"

This did not endear him to her at all. "Have we met?" she asked. Frost dripped from her lips.

"No, but you're a legend. I've seen paintings."

"Do you make it a practice to believe legends?"

"Well, no, but I've heard all the stories. I mean, you destroyed seraphim, toppled kingdoms and humans slaughtered themselves in the millions for you."

"Do you imagine that this was my desire? I am neither a demon nor a goddess. These legends bore me. Don't call me that again. I am Lilith, Princess of Shinar, mother, Nephilim. Don't confuse me with the legend."

"I'm very sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I won't say it again. Please, it's just such an honor to meet you. How old are you? No, sorry, that's none of my business. My God you're beautiful. I'm going to stop talking now. Sorry."

She laughed and thawed. "It's not your fault. I get that a lot and I'm tired of it. I'm more than six thousand years old. I've lost track. You are very beautiful too, young Nephilim. Why have you come here? Who are your parents?

"We invited him," Greyson quickly spoke up. "He's going to stay a week. Talk to him, Lilith. Tell him about yourself. Tell him about our family. Don't bite his head off. Show him what you're doing. Let him get to know the rest of the family."

Lilith pulled her aside. "Why is this my job, Greyson? Get one of the younger ones."

"No, they would be more likely to get in a fight with him than like him. I trust you, Lilith. Besides, he worships you."

"Greyson, I love you but you wear me out. Every time I see you, I wind up scurrying about doing something. You've been like that all your life. You made me carry you around constantly when you were a baby. Somehow, you've always made me love it. You're pushing it here."

"I'm sorry; Mama, but I need your help."

"Now I'm really suspicious. That's what you called me when you were little and when you do I always know you're trying to wheedle me."

"Is it working?" Greyson asked.

Lilith couldn't help laughing. "Of course it is. There are two beings in the world I could never say no to; you and Boston."

She took Byron away on the grand tour and she was holding his arm.

Greyson found Benson in the library. He was checking commercial real estate listings. She supposed he was working. She stood behind him and watched for a minute with her chin resting on his shoulder. He reached back absently and petted her. She moved her cheek against his and nuzzled it with her cute little nose.

"Hey, babe," he said. "Just checking what's going on in Massachusetts. We don't want to miss out on any big opportunities. I made an offer on a development property. I need to talk to Bronley. You want to run down there with me?"

"Yes, I'd like that."

"OK, go get changed."

"Why? What do you want me to change into?"

"You going to run in that?"

"Oh," she said. "I didn't know you meant really run. I thought it was a figure of speech."

"No, I meant really. If I don't run, I'll get fat. I'm not like you, beautiful. I have to work at it."

"Well, I don't get fat, but I do like to run. I'll get my stuff."

She went away to dress while he changed his shoes. He already had on shorts and a tank. When she came back he whistled. She had on a pair of spandex Adidas running shorts in black and solar pink and a matching sports bra. Her shoes were also pink and black and he never remembered her looking so cute and athletic.

"My God, Greyson! You look amazing! When did you get so smoking hot?"

She blushed. "I've always been like this, Benson. Why didn't you ever look at me?"

"I did, but you never wore that before. I mean, I saw you swimming and thought you looked hot, but that looks like, do you just want to sneak back to bed?"

"Yes, but let's run first."

He let her set the pace. It was about three miles by the road to Bronley's house. "How fast do you want to run?" she asked.

"You decide," he said. "I want it to be serious though."

"Well, we'll run five minute miles then. No cheating, OK?'

"You have a watch?"

"No," she said. "I can keep track in my head. I always know what time it is, Ben. Don't you?"

"No, I guess my clock is defective. You keep track. That's amazing though. I didn't know you could do that."

He followed her and the sight of her butt flexing under that tight, thin material and her muscles flexing in her legs made him want to run forever. There were very few women that could run with her. They ran the first two miles at in 10 minutes and she kicked the last mile. When they got to Bronley's, they walked for a couple of minutes and blew.

"What did you run that last mile in?" he asked.

"4:03," she said. "I think I could have got it below four but I didn't want to embarrass you."

"Very funny; I'll set pace on the way back and we'll see." He knew he could run a sub four minute mile and he wondered how fast she really was.

Bronley was home and she was very glad to see them. She still looked as good at 45 as she had when they first got to know her at 25. They had worked for her since Greyson was 21 and Benson was 15.

Benson ran a branch office in Boston and he wanted to develop a building complex for MIT. Bronley got a feel for the idea and promised to fly up and look it over with him. She pulled the proposal up on her computer and suggested several changes. She knew what she was doing and Raphael showed up as they were finishing up. She told Greyson they were going out, and they giggled together for a while.

When they finished the first mile on the way home, Greyson called 3:55 and she fell back a little on the second. Benson thought it might have been similar but he was getting gassed toward the end of the third and she passed him. He was blowing hard when he finished and they cooled down for another five minutes, walking down the path by the river.

"Those big muscles take more oxygen to move," she told him. "You can probably sprint faster than me but I'm always going to catch you after a couple of miles."

"Being little has its advantages," he said.

"Well, I'm not really very little," she said. "I just seem little around you and the twins. I'm really taller than most girls."

"You're perfect, babe," he said. "I wasn't making a short joke. Let's hit the shower."

He got in and in a moment, she joined him. He couldn't resist soaping her up. She was all honey tan and slippery sleekness. He ran his hands over her breasts repeatedly and down her muscular belly to the delight below. She ground her butt against his excitement and he took her from behind, her hands braced against the shower wall as she moaned out her pleasure.

He carried her to bed and continued to make love to her for two hours. She was exhausted and collapsed on top of him.

She cried a little and he asked her if she was ok.

"Yes, it just scares me a little how you can make me feel. God, I love you, Benson."

"I know, I love you too. Greyson, you're absolutely incredible."

Chapter Three

They spent quite a bit of time with Byron the next day. They showed him around the estate, introduced him to their people and let him talk to former demons, now Nephilim like him. They took him out to eat with Boston and let her work her charm on him. They took him fishing with Mariha and at the end of the week, he was totally disarmed.

"I think I was deceived about you," he told them. "I had heard that you intended to rule us all. I don't see any sign of that. I've never met Watchers before but Mariha and Raphael seem like stand up people. You haven't tried to hide anything from me and you've been totally open with me. I've never met anyone as sweet as Greyson. If you ever get tired of Benson, you let me know, Greyson."

She blushed, predictably, and thanked him. "That's very nice of you, Byron, but I'm a Siren and a Reaper. I'm never going to get tired of Benson. I'm his for the rest of my life. Siren's love only one man."

"He's very lucky," he said. "I'm going home. Can I come back sometimes and visit here?"

"You're welcome any time," Benson told him. "If you pray to Raphael he will teleport you here any time you want to see us. We haven't hidden anything from you. This is what life can be like for people like us. We hope you'll want to be part of what we're building here. Do you think you'll have difficulty with your parents? Will the rebel watchers try to do something to you because you're our friend?"

"I hope not. I wouldn't be surprised. They can be ruthless with what they call 'race traitors.'"

"Would you like to have a Watcher assigned to Watch over you?"

"Can you do that?"

"We can, and we will," Greyson said. "We have several that are waiting assignment. I just don't want you to think we're putting a spy on you. The Watcher will be totally at your disposal. So long as you pose no danger to us it will help you in any way you desire."

"I'm not worried about that. The Watchers I've seen are almost fanatically loyal to you. If I trust you I trust them. By all means, assign me one. I can use all the help I can get."

When he left, the archangel Haniel came to them.

"Well done, little Reapers," he said. "At a stroke, you remove a tenth part of the power of the Rebels."

He spent two hours with them, Lexington and Reynolds, joining them along with Orion, outlining a plan for further moves over the coming months. He had three more people he wanted them to visit. Two were Nephilim and one was a human. He had chosen Orion and Sloan to visit one of the Nephilim and Landreth and Reynolds to visit the other. He believed that Greyson and Benson were the best candidates to convince the human of their sincerity.

Greyson took them back to Cambridge that evening and they spent the night making each other totally useless the next day. They lounged around naked all day and watched TV and cuddled. Greyson loved anime and they discovered Attack on Titan on Netflix. It was in Japanese but it had subtitles and she spoke Japanese anyway. She put it in his mind and suddenly he spoke Japanese.

"You're the most amazing woman!" he said. "I can't believe how good you are. Why didn't you ever try to impress me like this before."

She blushed prettily. "Thank you, Benson. I did, you were just semi-conscious for years. Besides, you would just have tried to embarrass me."

"It's so fun," he said. "You turn all pink and sexy. I can see your wings a little."

She was leaking fire and she quickly got it under control. "You can't fuck me tonight," she told him. "We've got to get those pesky humans under our wings tomorrow."

He laughed. "Nice pun. I better fuck you now then."

She squealed as he bit down gently on one little nipple and then there were only moans for a long time. He wanted to fuck her again the next morning but she paralyzed him until she could get out of bed. She locked the bathroom door until she was finished and when she was done she paralyzed him again until she could get dressed.

"I can't believe you did that," he complained. "I'm the Child of Destiny and I want to be treated with respect."

She laughed. "But, you're not at all respectable. Get dressed, brother. We have work to do."

She had breakfast ready by the time he was ready and when they were through she pulled him inside golden fire and they were in Berlin. It was no easy task to persuade the young woman they had been assigned that she should drop her classes and move to Australia. After a couple of demonstrations she was convinced they were who they said they were, but she began to doubt her own sanity. Greyson got her professor to open his shirt and then she released him. It took him a minute to notice and he dismissed the class and hurried away.

Freya thought that was very funny and after they took her out for dinner she agreed to go with them.

"I'm not making any promises," she said. "I'll check it out and then make up my mind, ok?"

They agreed and they were at River House. She was very intimidated at first but they could tell she was hooked. Sagan agreed to take her under her wing, so to speak, and they were free for a couple of days. They went back to Cambridge and Benson worked at his real estate business for a day and when to school the next. When he got home, Raphael was there.

"Hey, Turtle buddy," Benson called. "Are you slumming?"

"Since I spend most of my time in the sewers, this is upscale to me," Raphael laughed. "No, I was wandering if anyone had heard from Sloan. I can't find anyone who has. Have you?"

Benson checked his phone. "No, I haven't. She and Orion were off somewhere to talk to a Nephilim. Do you think they ran into trouble?"

"We're about to go see," Greyson said. "Want to tag along?"

"Wouldn't want to miss out on my gorgeous big sister and the Prince of Art in action," he said.

"Do you think they'll make me paint?" Raphael asked.

"Everyone enjoys a good painting every now and again," Benson said. "Let's go. Where are we going, by the way?"

"Budapest," Raphael said and they were there.

There were sirens blaring and a hell of a fire blazing over a large area ahead. There was a tornado going and debris was flying through the air.

"She's there," Greyson said, pointing toward the tornado. "She's heavily warded and I can't reach her. I can feel her though. She's in trouble, Raphael."

"Break through those wards," Benson told him.

"How? She's better at wards than me."

"I don't give a damn. Paint something; you're an archangel for God's sake!"

"I require something to work with," Raphael said. "Wait, that gave me an idea. You're going to bleed, Greyson."

"Why?" she drew back.

"I need Watcher blood," he said.

"Why can't you use yours?" Benson asked.

"It is volatile," the angel said. "I cannot paint with fire."

He touched Greyson and her blood pooled in his hand. He used it to make a symbol on the wall and pulled them in. They stepped into the middle of a raging inferno."

Sloan's small figure was twenty feet away. She was battered and disheveled.

"Brother, help me," she called when Benson stepped through. "Orion is trying to kill me!"

A shimmering shield appeared over her and she crumpled to the ground. Raphael appeared inside the shield and they disappeared. Benson felt Greyson take his hand and they were on the beach. Raphael was holding Sloan in his arms and he spoke a few words. Her battered features became flawless and she opened her eyes.

"Raphael?" she gasped. "God I'm glad to see you. I saw Ben." She looked around and saw him standing there. "Hey Benson. I see you brought your guardian angels."

"What in the hell is going on, Sloan?" he demanded. "You said Orion was trying to kill you."

"That he was," she said. "He's changed sides. He tricked me, Ben. I can't believe I was so stupid! I knew I couldn't trust him. He's always been a sneaky bastard. They were waiting for me, Greyson. As soon as we dropped in he solidified the air around me and six Nephilim and a watcher started trying to nuke me. I managed to get a sign up and then all hell broke loose. I thought they were going to get me. I tried to call you, Greyson. I wanted Landry or Lexi, but I knew I wouldn't be able to reach them. Did you hear me?"

"No, I hate to break your faith in me, but Raphael came by and told us you were missing. Are you sure it was Orion?"

"Yes, the bastard was laughing at me the whole time! He's the one that sent the tornado."

"This is going to be difficult," Raphael said. "I'm going to have to tell Lilith. She will be devastated."

"She's pretty hard to devastate," Benson said. "This has happened to her before."

"Yes, but she's changed," he said. "She's softer, more vulnerable and altogether lovely."

"Yes, she is," Greyson said. "I will tell her. I love her very much."

"We all do," Sloan said. "What are we going to do about Orion?"

They all looked at Benson. "What? Why are you looking at me?"

"You are the Child of Destiny," Raphael said.

"I can't believe he would just double cross us like this. He seemed sincere back on that island. Is it possible that he's being coerced in some way?"

"You didn't see him," Sloan said. "He was enjoying it! He was laughing like a maniac."

"I'm going to try to talk to him," Greyson said. "If I can find out what's wrong maybe we can fix it."

"You can give him a personality transplant," Sloan said. "That's the only thing that's going to fix him."

"Yes, I might be able to do that," Greyson frowned a little.

"Jesus, Greyson! I was kidding," Sloan told her. "Can you really do that?"

"I could... adjust him," Greyson mused. "If I knew what his problem is I might be able to fix him."

"I know what his problem is," Benson said. "He's a douche! I'm sorry Greyson. I know you love him but he's just an asshole. Sloan's right. He needs a personality transplant."

"Well, we aren't going to solve anything here," Raphael said. "Come, little reapers. Let's go to Benson's home and discuss matters in civilized climes."

"Will you play his piano for us?" Sloan asked.

"If Greyson will sing," he said.

She blushed. "I don't know why you always want me to sing, Rafi."

"Because I love you and you have the sweetest voice I've ever heard," he told her.

That made her blush even more and they were standing in Benson's living room. They talked for a long time and finally came up with a plan. Greyson felt like they needed to capture Orion and isolate him someplace. Raphael suggested somewhere inaccessible to normal people and Sloan suggested Sheol.

Greyson strongly disagreed and listed the many problems with that idea.

"Raphael, can you restrict his access to the Ways?" Benson asked.

"Yes, I will contact Michael and we will cut his access."

"Let's put him in Eden then," Benson suggested. "There's no one there, no one can get there and he can't get out."

"Perfect," Sloan said. "We put the snake back in Paradise! I like that place. I think Sheol is better. At least he wouldn't enjoy it there."

"No, I think Benson's right," Greyson said. "Is that what we're going to do, Benson?"

"Why does he get to decide?" Sloan asked. "I'm the one he tried to kill."

"He is the Child of Destiny," Raphael said.

"Do you love me?" Benson asked Sloan.

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

"Do you trust me?" he asked.

"Yes, ok; we'll do it your way," she said.

"Thank you Sloan, I love you too," he told her. "Let's keep this between the four of us for now. Maybe we can fix this."