Gateway to HeVan (23 page)

“Your privacy will be protected at all times.  I give you my word,” Addie stated gravely.

“I want to know what happened with the brandy,” said Grace.  “Granny Mac said that just before your shuttle left, a case of Seraphian brandy was delivered.  She suspected sabotage.  She sent you a message to toss the case out of an airlock.  What happened?”

“When I saw the vintage on the first bottle, I knew there wouldn’t be any poison in it.  There is no way a Seraphian would poison a brandy of that vintage; there are less than one hundred bottles left.  It is too valuable.  However, Seraphian brandy is exclusively aged in casks made of wood from the kapok tree.  The wooden crates used to transport the bottles are also made of kapok wood.”  Malpha gave them all another sheepish smile.

“I’m rather well known for my preference of Seraphian brandy.  As soon as I touched the crate, I knew something was wrong.”

Grace interrupted, “If you knew something was wrong, why pull out a bottle to check the vintage?”

“I could see the year engraved on the necks of the bottles.  To continue, I recognized the wood was incorrect.  An analysis with a hand scanner revealed it wasn’t wood at all, but an explosive molded to look like wood.  Further scans showed the detonation timer would be triggered when a bottle was removed from the case,” Malpha answered.

Grace interrupted again.  “If this brandy was so great and valuable that he wouldn’t poison it, why would he blow it up?  Also, why use a timer and not an immediate blast?”

“Most likely, Morrack felt the sacrifice was worth it.  I’ve been attempting to purchase a case of this vintage for over sixty years.  The Seraphians have been unwilling to sell one to me.  Perhaps he felt I’d be so overjoyed with the gift, I’d grab a bottle without seeing the trap for what it was.  As for the timer, it would have given me enough time to open a bottle, pour a glass and take a sip.  His version of a last request, I suppose.  Even after so many years as adversaries, Morrack doesn’t know me as well as I know him.  I was immediately suspicious.  I disarmed the detonation sequence long enough to remove the brandy and safely eject the explosives,” Malpha concluded with a shrug.

Arjun looked over at Malpha.  “What year is the brandy?” he asked.

“3347.”

Arjun shared a look with the other men.  “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to part with one bottle?” he asked, with a pleading look on his face. 

Addie looked at her
Ankida
.  This was a new side of him, one she’d never seen before.  He was practically salivating.  She looked around; the other men were acting the same way. 

This must be some brandy
,
Addie thought

“No, I won’t be giving you a bottle.  There are eighty additional bottles available for purchase on HeVan.  I will be taking these with me.  I believe I’ve earned them.  However, I will be giving one bottle to Cassandra.  She informs me she is not of an age yet to enjoy it.  When she reaches the age of maturity, the brandy
will only have been improved.  She was a tremendous help on the shuttle,” Malpha answered.

Malpha would say no more on the subject.  When everyone looked over at Cassie, she blushed. 

Cassandra saw the looks in their eyes; they weren’t going to let this drop. 

“Malpha, remember what I said?”
asked Cassie.

“
Oh, yes, there is one more thing—do the words, ‘what happens on the shuttle stays on the shuttle', have any meaning to you?  You may take that as your answer.”

Addie and Grace began laughing.  “Ooh, don’t make me laugh,” said Grace.

“Alright, then, that’s settled.  Cassandra, do you have anything to add from your visions?” asked Addie.

Cassie was about to speak, when two warriors burst into the room, followed by Catherine and her
Ankida
, Rapha, Delpha, and Zephyr.

“What is it; what’s wrong?” asked Arjun.

Catherine walked over to Addie’s chair and held up a scanner.  “Did you even realize you were in labor, Addie?  Your chair sent us a signal.”

“I’m in labor?  I thought it was a backache.  I’ve had so many aches and pains in the past few months, it seemed as if it were just one more,” said Addie.

Delpha and Zephyr went to the hall and pushed in a portable med-bed. 

“You’re having the babies now!” said Arjun. 

He walked over to Rapha and turned him around.  Grasping his shoulders in his hands, he stated, “She means everything to us; take every care,” he said in a hard voice.

Grace looked over at Addie, “He’s already lost it.  He’ll never last,” she whispered to her sister. 

“Ya think?” Addie answered.

“You’re using sarcasm?  You’re barely in labor, nowhere near transition, and already with the sarcasm?”
asked Grace.

“I’m having a C-section.  I have to get in my snide remarks, foul language
, and blaming them for getting me in this way now, while I still have the chance.”

“True
—so true,” said Grace, nodding her head.  “Do you need any swear words?  I have quite a collection.”

“Nope, I’ve got it.”

“Okay, let me know.  I’m here for ya, sis.”

Both of them were talking nonsense to cover up the fact they were very nervous.  They knew Addie’s babies would most likely be born premature and underweight. 
She was still four or five weeks away from her due date.  Addie allowed Rune and Kylan to lift her onto the med-bed.  Rapha pressed a few buttons and the med-bed went from hovering about two feet off the floor to three and a half feet above the floor.  They guided the bed out of the room and down the hall.  Everyone got up and started to follow.

“Hey, don’t leave me hanging,” called Grace, who was still lying in her chair.  She couldn’t get out without help. 

Justyn’s face got red.  He turned around quickly, went back and picked her up. 

“I understand
—queen’s babies, et cetera.  However, I’m the mother of your children—you are not ever allowed to forget about me.  I need to be there for my sister, my faithful one. Mush—carry me where I need to go,” Grace ordered.

It didn’t take long for word to spread throughout the ship about the queen’s babies being ready to be born.  The
passageways cleared on the way to medical and then clogged up behind them as they passed.

They had been waiting for about an hour when Jennifer arrived with a cart of food.  She’d made sandwiches and meat pies
—food they could eat while being held in the hand.  She couldn’t walk through the crowd, so the trays were passed around the room.

**
**

Malpha was eating something called a chocolate chip cookie.  She was thinking the flavor of the chocolate, whatever it was, would go well with her brandy when
he
walked in.

She was sitting with a group of women.  He hadn’t noticed her yet, so she took advantage and watched him
covertly as he made his way over to the warriors at the door into the medical treatment rooms and spoke to them.  He wasn’t as tall as the other Nephilim, but he was very manly.  His hair was a burnished brown and his eyes a piercing blue.  The way he carried himself told her he was aware of his body and his surroundings.  Even more strangely, her breathing grew shallow and she knew her pulse was scrambling.  This was the effect she thought Arjun and his brothers would have had on her.  However, it was the stranger who was making her feel this way. 

He turned in her direction.  She looked away so he wouldn’t catch her staring.  The next time she looked, she was surprised to see he was crossing the room to her.  He caught her eye and she could not turn away.

“Hello, I don’t believe we have met.  I thought I had been introduced to all of the women on board ship.  And here, the most beautiful, has been in hiding.  I am Ben of the KowLer,” he said with a short bow.

“And I am your bride, Malpha.  Perhaps we should step into the hallway and speak privately,” she said in a soft voice.  She was shocked to note her hand
trembled slightly when he reached for it.

By the time they weaved their way through the crowd and found a spot where they could speak, Malpha had made up her mind about what she wanted to do.  She didn’t give him a chance to speak; she spoke first.

“Except for an overnight bag with a few basic necessities, all my things are on the shuttle, ready to go.  Addie and her
Ankida
are going to be busy with their progeny for the next few days.  It would not be right to interrupt their happiness.  I suggest we contact the Bridge for a pilot and take this opportunity to leave,” she said.

Ben, King of all KowLer, could not believe his luck.  This beautiful woman was going to be his wife.  Also, she didn’t seem to feel they needed a long formal courtship.
  He was slightly disconcerted with the way she seemed to be making decisions for them.  But as he was in agreement with her plan, he went along with it.  There was time; she would learn.

“As you wish, my future queen,” said Ben.  “We shall depart whenever you say.”

It didn’t take long to make the arrangements.  Within the hour, they had slipped away to begin their new life together.

**
**

Back in the surgery room, a team was delivering the fourth infant.  Each infant had
her own medical officer dedicated to her well-being.  Each was immediately scanned for lung development and any other possible anomalies and abnormalities.  After the tests were completed, they were washed, wrapped, and put into incubators. 

Grace was right.  Arjun and his brothers had all needed mild sedation.  Addie wasn’t feeling any contractions.  Catherine had given her a muscle relaxer to make the birth go easier.  Unfortunately for her
Ankida
, whose souls were connected with Addie, they felt all the contractions she didn’t.  By the time the last baby had been delivered and her incisions closed, her
Ankida
were in med-beds of their own, out cold.

“I need to hold each of my babies in my arms.
I need you to give a stimulant to my guys so they can get off their asses and get over here.  Men are such wimps!  And I want my sister,” Addie told Catherine emphatically.

“Okay, sweetie
—I’ll get Grace first and then check on your men.  I’ll bring over the babies after the men are here,” she said.

Grace was carried to the room and put in a chair near Addie’s bed. 

“So, are you finally going to tell me their names?” asked Grace.

“I can’t help it if it’s against some huge Nephilim tradition to pick names in advance or say them out loud.  We haven’t even discussed them with each other.  So I figure I get to pick all the names; I’ve got them all up here,” she said, tapping her forehead. 

Addie was energized and aching to hold her babies in her arms.  She’d felt them grow, move, kick
, and squirm together in the womb.  Now she wanted to see their faces.  Would they have her nose, their father’s eyes?  She had an inexplicable need to count their fingers and toes.  Back when she got pregnant, she’d been told that not only was she having six babies, but there were three sets of twins.  What she didn’t know was if they were fraternal or identical. 

She was a little worried about having children who looked alike and not being able to tell them apart.  Part of her knew she’d always be able to recognize her children.  But there was a teensy, tiny doubt
—what if she made a mistake?  She never wanted one of her daughters to feel unloved or less in any way than her sisters. 

I’m really a mom now
. I’m worrying over something which may never happen
, she thought.

“Addie, are you even paying attention to anything I’m saying?” asked Grace.

“Nope, I’m not.  I’m basking in baby land.  Do you think it will take much longer?” she asked a little anxiously.

Before Grace had a chance to answer, her three
Ankida
walked in.  Each one was carrying two babies.

“Shouldn’t they be in the incubators?  Don’t they need oxygen or something?  They’re so tiny!” she said
, ending in a worried whisper.

“They
are
small; we expected some problems.  But Addie, other than being small, they’re perfect.  They don’t have any medical issues.  All their scans came back as full-term, healthy babies.  The only thing we need to be careful of is keeping them warm.  They’re too small to generate enough heat on their own,” said Catherine from the doorway.

“Would you introduce me to your daughters?” asked Grace
from where she sat beside the bed.

Arjun stepped over to the bed and handed Addie the daughter he held against his chest with his left hand.  The baby fit into the palm of his hand.

Reaching over, she took the baby from Arjun.  “Catherine, is this my first born daughter?”

“Yes
, Addie, your
Ankida
are holding them in the same order we took them from your womb.”

Addie took a moment to stare into the face of her daughter before turning back to her sister and
Ankida
.

“This is Aelwen Naya Azazyel
.  Her name means
fair renewal
.  I chose this name for her because I knew she would be beautiful and she would help bring renewal to the Nephilim people.”

Lifting up the baby, she kissed her head and then placed her against her breast. 
Aelwen immediately latched on and began to suckle.  Addie touched the tiny cheek with the tip of her finger.  She had baby-soft skin and dark, curly hair like her father.  She opened her eyes.  Addie was expecting blue eyes, as all babies had blue eyes, didn’t they?  Aelwen’s eyes were green, as green as the grass on a summer’s day.  Being so small, her belly was quickly full.  Addie picked her up, rested her on her shoulder, and rubbed her back.  It didn’t take long for Aelwen to let out a lady-like belch.  It made Addie smile.

“Would you like to hold her?” she asked Grace.

“Oh, yeah, I need to introduce her to her cousins here,” said Grace.

Addie transferred the now sleeping
Aelwen to Grace with one last kiss and then turned back to Arjun and took the next baby from him. 

She repeated her actions with the second baby, naming her
Bedelia Asha, which meant
heavenly hope
.  Once Bedelia was fed, Grace handed Aelwen back to Arjun and took Bedelia. 

Then Kylan stepped up and handed
their third daughter to Addie.

This process of bonding with each infant and then naming them
in front of their family was a joyous time.  After Bedelia came Cara Shanti, meaning
beloved peace
; Dilys Tarika, meaning
beloved star
; Erena Amara, meaning
peace eternal
; and Fenella Mahari, which meant
beautiful divine maiden
.

Catherine
, seeing all her charges were doing well, left the family alone.  Grace, seeing her leave, decided to have some alone time with her
Ankida
, too.  So she asked Justyn to carry her from the room.  When they got to the waiting room, she was startled to see so many of the warriors with tears in their eyes.  Then she realized they had been given the gift of hope.  The
Nam-Nin
had returned and there was hope for their people.

She looked over at the wall.  Someone had written out the names of each of the babies and posted them on the wall.  Once they had been named, those names would have power.  Many would inscribe them on amulets or other objects to remember the birth and to bring the meaning of their names into their lives.

Back in the delivery room, Addie was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable.  The numbing agent they’d used to close the incision was wearing off.  She felt as if she should be able to walk around normally now, but knew she couldn’t.

“What’s wrong, Aditya?” said Arjun. 

Arjun preferred to call her by her full name.  He was the only one who never called her Addie.

“It’s silly,” she said.

“We would like to hear it; even if it is silly,” said Arjun.

Kylan and Rune nodded their heads in agreement.

“I just thought that after I had the babies, I’d be back to normal.  I don’t mean completely normal. I know I have some healing to go through.  It’s just the pain meds are wearing off a little and I’m realizing I’m never going to be the same, physically, as I was before.  I’m not going to have a flat-toned belly again. I’m not going to be sexy anymore.  I’m flabby and have horrendous stretch marks and my ass is huge and you aren’t going to want me anymore!” she said with a whine in her voice. “I know I’m being ridiculous, but I can’t help it.  As happy as I am with my babies, I’m miserably unhappy with my body.”

She was feeling a flood of hormones.  The endorphins from the birth had faded and she was now growing irritable and tired. 

“Aditya, we love you.  We loved you from the moment we first saw you,” said Arjun.

“Yes, but I was thin then!” she said, nearly in tears.

Her
Ankida
were about to do whatever they could to impress upon her the fact they would love her, even when, after a long, long, long life, she was older, bent and toothless—and she was far from that now.  All of a sudden, Cara and Dilys gave out little squeaks and started to glow.  Golden sparks flickered in the air above their tiny bodies.

Suddenly Addie started glowing also
—the glowing light covering her body.  She lifted from the bed and the light surrounding her growing brighter and brighter until her
Ankida
had to shut their eyes.  When the glow dimmed, Addie settled back on the bed.

“Give me those girls!” she said. 

When she held them both in her arms, she brought them close to her and looked into their eyes—Cara’s and Dilys’s golden ones.

“When you get older, you’ll realize when your mother is being dramatic and perhaps a little weepy.  It doesn’t mean you have to tire yourselves out doing something nice for me.  Don’t get me wrong, I love what you did.  But you’re the babies and I’m the mommy.  It’s my job to take care of you, not the other way around.  Now, I’m sure you must be very tired, but you need to nurse some more before you go to sleep,” she said.

When she had them both nursing, she looked up at her
Ankida
.  They looked surprised, awed, and confused, all at the same time.

“It wasn’t me who healed Natalie and Makor; it was them.  They have my
Nam-Nin
powers.  They probably all do.  In Cara and Dilys, it’s manifested as the power to heal.  They’ve given me back my body the way it was before I got pregnant.  You can’t see it under the blanket, but I can feel it.  I’m not in pain or uncomfortable anymore.”

The men were amazed and a little worried.  Something like this had never happened throughout the history of the Nephilim.  Their daughters would need constant protection.  Only the most loyal of the warriors could know of the powers they possessed, both for their sakes and their mother’s sake. 

After a few minutes of exchanging worries and concerns, they also realized what it meant to them, personally.  The last few months had been difficult for them.  Seeing Addie bedridden was hard.  They knew it would be months before they could all make love to her together and it was torture.  When she saw she had their attention again, she spoke.

“I’m looking forward to reacquainting myself with your bodies very soon.  We’re going to have to be
mindful, though.  The girls are going to need to feed every two hours until they gain some weight,” she said with a smirk.

“I’ll be lucky to last two hours,” said Kylan.

“Okay, we’ve established that we’re all looking forward to some quality time between the sheets.  We do have a
few
other things we need to decide and take care of before we head back to our quarters.  First, do we or do we not let the people on this ship know about my fabulous post-natal figure?  If we do, we’ll have to say I healed myself because I’m not ready to let it out what Cara and Dilys can do.  Next, we will have to greet our people and let them catch at least a glimpse of our girls, because those girls are the future of the Nephilim people.”

Addie looked at each of her
Ankida
and watched as her words sank in.  She reached for Aelwen and Bedelia, they were starting to fuss.  She put them to her breasts.  Instead of talking, she gave them the attention they deserved—one-on-one time with their mom. 
Okay, two-on-one time.
  When they were finished eating and being burped, Erena and Fenella were fussing, so she fed them next.  When the babies had all been fed again and fallen asleep, they put the babies down in the incubators lined up along the wall so they would stay warm.

Addie spoke again. 
“While speaking to Cassandra can wait, we need to finish with Malpha.  I had invited the king to come to the ship today.  We need to introduce them and see if Malpha is willing to marry him.  Regardless of what I said before, I won’t force them to
join
.  If she doesn’t like him and doesn’t want to see if she will like him, then we have to work something out—and fast.  Maybe send her to Earth—I don’t know, but something,” she said.

“You would send Malpha to Earth?” asked Arjun.

“She can easily pass for a human.  With her skills, even in my male-dominated world, she could go far and succeed.  Of course, we’d have to send messages ahead of her so our people there wouldn’t attack her.”

“One of the idioms you’re so fond of
—let’s cross that bridge when we get there,” said Rune.

“I love you, guys.  Okay, so we’ll see how it goes with Malpha and Ben.  We still need to speak to Natalie, decide the best way to protect her.  Her
Ankida
are cured but she’s still very fragile.  Finally, the babies are here; we need to leave KowLer and finish our voyage to HeVan.  I’m ready to be home—home with my babies and my
Ankida
.”

“I don’t think we can hide your quick recovery
—especially on this ship, where we have grown so close to one another,” said Kylan.

“I agree; it would send a message of distrust.  We can’t lie to these warriors.  We have been through too much together,” said Arjun.

“But you do agree we keep the fact it was the girls who healed me under wraps?” Addie asked.

They were all quiet for a
while as they considered their options.  This was a critical decision for them to make, as it could have repercussions going forward.

“I think if we take what Arjun said to its natural conclusion, we have our answer.  Based on the fact we cannot trust or rely on the current Council, I will point out two things.  First, when a secret is shared between two people, it is no longer a secret.
Second, we would trust every warrior and female on this ship with our lives—and we have.  Do we also trust them with our daughters?  I think we do.  I think when we arrive on HeVan—we tell the Council how much we appreciate all their hard work.  We can give them a great retirement party so they can go home and enjoy being with their families.  We install a new Council made up of those on this ship and on the Venger.  After all, all of the lineages are represented here.  The Council will have much less power after Addie takes her seat as
Nam-Nin
.  The personal guards and all those near to our family will be those who understand at all times the importance of protecting and guarding our children, the future of the Nephilim and HeVan,” said Rune.

Addie wanted to jump for joy; Rune’s ideas were absolutely perfect.  Then she remembered she could jump for joy.  Throwing back the covers, she jumped off the bed and started dancing around the room.