Chapter 16

Silence hung heavy in the air for a long suffocating moment before a childish giggle cut through the tension like a sharp knife. Immediately a blush stormed across my cheeks even as the heavily pregnant teen before me continued to laugh.

“Sorry, that was rude.” I apologised before sticking my hand out to the young woman. “Hi, I am Savannah Holmes, your new big sister according to her majesties government.” I ignored the burning in my cheeks as I gave the girl a small smile while rolling my eyes.

“I’m Nicole, but I’m sure you knew that.” Her hand caressed her protruding stomach and she smiled. “And yes, I am pregnant…very pregnant.” 

We both laughed before silence lapsed over the pair of us. However, I quickly became uncomfortable when I felt eyes burning into the back of my neck. I was tempted to turn around and find the cause but my attention was drawn to the sixteen year old before me who narrowed her eyes and her mouth flashed with silver as her lips pulled back into a snarl.

“I think we should take this discussion inside.” She murmured to me before ripping her eyes off of whatever was behind me so that she could meet my questioning gaze. “The people around here don’t take kindly to strangers, especially government lackeys – their words not mine.”

I nodded my head dumbly at the young girl before me who, despite the bulging stomach and the aura of innocence surrounding her, was a complete spitfire. It took a great deal of concentration to break through my speechlessness, but I eventually whispered my assent with a word or two before following her into the house.

As soon as we crossed the threshold, the two of us were assaulted by the overbearing stench of bleach and Dettol. It was almost as cloying as the sterile scent that is associated with hospitals. The power of the smell was enough to burn the back of my nose causing me to start sneezing into the palm of my hand.

“Sorry about that, I’ve been on a cleaning spree. I don’t know why, I just have to clean.” The teen shrugged her shoulders before closing the door behind us.

For a second I felt trapped in. My escape route was closed off and it should have terrified me. Yet, strangely enough, as my muscles tensed in preparation for the fear, the door abruptly cut me off from the overpowering urge to flee. I felt relaxed, as if I had finally come home which I decided to embrace even though the hairs on the back of my neck were still on edge. It was confusing to say the least, fear and comfort combining into an unsettling mixture of emotions.

“Come on through, I’ll make some tea and then we can talk about of this.” The girl waddled away from me leaving me to scurry after her.

Dragging myself out of my internal thoughts, I allowed myself to take in the scenery. The house was surprisingly homely despite being ridiculously sterile and being decorated in seventies floral wallpaper that had definitely seen better days. In general, the entire house looked as if it was a house that time had forgotten. Except, everything was meticulously clean and even though the paper on the walls was yellowing, it all looked like it had been loved.

Light was flooding through the frosted glass on the front door and hit the array of picture frames hanging on the wall. Each dust free frame sparkled like they were made of diamonds even though they looked as though they had been bought in Poundland.  But the pictures within were worth the true value as they documents important occasions and events within the Armstrong family. The most recent ones were of Nicole, metal smile and all but the common denominator in all was that they looked happy.

But if that was true, I questioned as my feet found the worn carpet of the lounge, in the midst of this homeliness, why did the house feel so lonely?

 “I’ve just put the kettle on.” Nicole announced as she penguin walked back into the room and then collapsed into a worn sofa that sat opposite an empty fireplace. “Take a seat Ms Holmes, or can I call you Savannah?”

“Savannah is fine.” I smiled and took a seat in a moth eaten arm chair adjacent to where she was sat. “Now I’m guessing you know who sent me and why?”

The girl who was caressing her stomach with a contented smile stilled for but a moment before she continued on like not a work had been uttered.

“Yes, I know.” Nicole lifted her eyes so that they could meet mine and enquired. “But the real question is, how much do you know?” She paused, her eyes taking in all of me before she held out her hand with her palm facing upwards. When I only looked at the offending limb, she laughed. “I need your hand for a moment.”

I hesitated but then deciding there was nothing else for it, I placed my hand in hers. Her skin was warm and clammy but it was nothing compared to the pain that shot through my hand when her fingers closed around it like a vice. I yelped and tried to pull away but she held fast for a few seconds. Then abruptly as she had captured it, she released my digits and stared back at me with a  startling air of serenity.

“You do know.” Nicole added with certainty as she shook her fringe of golden hair from her eyes. “Not that many people can deny it nowadays, but you know about that world that runs alongside ours. You know about them.”

When I only gaped at her she chuckled at me. A blush stormed across my cheeks and I tried not to feel like the naïve teen sitting before my teacher. I am older than her, I thought to myself in chastisement but it did nothing to ease the feeling that this little girl knew a lot more than even I knew after being submerged in the world of the supernatural for almost two years.

“Oh come on Savannah, do I need to really say it out loud?” She cried when I continued to gape. I even swore that I could hear her mutter something along the lines of ‘adults are so stupid’ but I soon overlooked it when I heard her next words. “I know about the Angels and Demon’s too.  I’m part Nephilim, most of this town is. It’s why it’s called Angels’ Landing.”

I just nodded dumbly not quite sure what to say. In the hour that had passed it felt like all of my brain cells had left me so that I was nothing more than a brainless oaf. Shaking my head back and forth and blinking hard a few times, I tried to clear the fog that had settled within my mind.

“Angels’ Landing? It makes sense I suppose. Now other than being pregnant, my question is what else do I need to know about you? If I have been assigned you as my charge, I can only assume that there is a reason for it.” I tapped my chin with my forefinger as I tried to consider the possibilities but other than the girl before me being a pregnant nephilim, I couldn’t possibly think of another reason for my presence.

“It’s complicated.” Nicole mumbled, twirling the end of her ponytail around her finger and averted her gaze from me.

“Tell me. It could be important.” I urged leaning forwards in my seat and keeping my eyes firmly upon the reluctant teen before me.

“Do you remember all of the strange stuff that happened last year? How people just walked off?” She questioned but it was obviously rhetorical as she did not wait for my response before she continued speaking. “Half the town walked off but not before killing their families. I was out that night and of course, being a descendant of an Angel, I was exempt. But my parents weren’t so lucky.”

My heart ached for the girl before me because, despite her pregnancy, she was only a sixteen year old girl.

A weary sigh escaped the teen’s lips before she glanced up at me.

“My dad was human…, he killed my mum and then just walked out of the door without even looking back.” Hollowness entered her voice and without a doubt, from the torturous expression upon her features, she had been witness to these events.

Coughing, Nicole pulled herself up in her seat and tried to regain some composure but it was difficult with the twin tracks running down her cheeks and the reddened eyes which continued to spill.

“Anyway, after that the town hasn’t like outsiders. This is why I am pretty much on house arrest.” Her hand moved over her stomach once more before she levelled her gaze with me. “My baby was conceived with an outsider. It went against the town council’s plans for me which is why I am in seclusion. You see this place is more like a cult that traditional town. By the time I am 20, the elders expected me to get married and further the Nephilim bloodline. I think I was meant to be an Angel’s consort if you can even believe that.” Incredulity was thick in her voice, as if she was confused by it all even though the girl had grown up with all of these principles. “And all of this hate is because I consorted with the ‘enemy’. They don’t even know the half of it.”

She chuckled to herself with such bitterness that it threw me off guard. I slumped back in my seat and took the opportunity to look puzzled and stare at the girl like she was the biggest mystery in the entire world. At that moment she truly was a mystery to me and I had no idea where it was all going. The only thing I knew  for certain, was that this teen was going to cause me a whole world of trouble.

And I was soon proven right when Nicole had finally calmed enough to stop the overt displays of emotion. Then, with a voice barely more than a whisper and her eyes staring absently at some far off memory, I felt the ground get pulled out from under me.

“Just imagine what they would do if they found out the father was a demon.”