The Divine Whisper (5 page)

“What?
It’s not like I haven’t been late before.”

“You’ve never missed an entire meeting.”
He hated the knowing look Malachi gave him. “What were you doing anyway?” he asked.

Huffing his frustration, Gemariah tried to play it off as nothing.
“I was making my breakfast.” He waved in the direction of the, now cold, frittata.

“I wasn’t talking about this morning, and you know it.
Why didn’t you see my messages? I left you more than one.”

Gemariah shrugged and looked away.
“I wasn’t home,” he mumbled.

Malachi let out a sigh and shook his head.
“Another one? Are you trying to break some kind of record?”

An obsession was more like it, except he wasn’t about to admit that.
“Something like that.”

Having enough of the third degree, he decided to switch back to his devil-may-care attitude, and leaned back in his chair again.
Propping his boot clad feet on the table, he plastered on a sly grin and looked back at Malachi. “What can I say? They can’t keep their hands off me. I could teach you a few things, if you need.”

Malachi rolled his eyes, but couldn’t hold back his smile.
“Happily married.” He held up his left hand to flash his ring and asked, “Or have you forgotten?”

“Oh yeah, where is that little spitfire?
She was here earlier.” Gemariah glanced around the conference room, and even leaned back in his chair to peer out one of the windows that looked into the other offices.

“
She
didn’t want to be late for work, so she had to leave before you got here.” The emphasis about her was not lost on Gemariah.

He pushed back the irritation he felt from his friend still getting on his case, and decided to give as good as he got.
“Isn’t that sweet? Are you getting regular office visits now?” Putting his feet back to the floor, he leaned forward and whispered, “Tell me. Are these visits PG, or have you been secretly christening your desk when no one else is around?”

Malachi just stood there with his hands clasped behind his back.
His gaze didn’t waver from Gemariah, and he could have almost looked bored. That was his friend, always so put together and in control. If it wasn’t for the slight blush adorning his friend’s cheeks, Gemariah would assume Malachi hadn’t heard him.

Considering that evidence enough, he opened his mouth to say more, but Malachi put up a hand to stop him.
“Think what you want, but she was actually here on business. That’s why I moved up the meeting.”

That got Gemariah’s attention.
“What’s up? Is she okay?” He hadn’t known Trinity that long, but he already thought of her as a little sister. The thought of her mixed up with the ugliness they dealt with every day, didn’t sit well with him.

“Yeah, she’s fine.
She’s witnessed unusual things happening around a student at her school, and would like one of us to check it out.” Malachi looked down, and started to stack the papers on the desk in front of him. Without looking back up, he continued. “It could be nothing, but by her description, it’s possible the student could be possessed. Everything sounded legit, so I’m sending a couple people out there.”

Gemariah nodded in agreement.
“So, when do they leave?”

“It has to happen while the student is unaware, that’s why they’re going to the school today.
Plus, I want Trinity there to help control any outsiders finding out what’s going on. She’s not going to be there this afternoon, so that’s why it has to happen in the morning.”

“Playing hooky, is she?”
Gemariah chuckled and shook his head. “Such a little rebel.”

Malachi let out a long sigh.
“No, today’s Nicci’s doctor appointment. She told her that she would be there for her.”

Malachi was finished organizing papers now, and was looking right at him.
Not wanting his friend to see any bit of interest in his expression, Gemariah smirked. “What, she still sick? Have they checked the stick up her ass? Maybe that needs to be changed.”

The smack against the table made Gemariah jump, and he looked down to make sure nothing was broken.
When he looked back up, Malachi was glaring down at him. “I don’t know why you two hate each other so much, but the woman is sick, and she is my family now too. Show some respect, dammit!”

Swallowing the lump in his throat, and pushing back the urge to walk out of the room, he just nodded.
He was out of line again, and he knew it. Clearing his throat, he decided to start again. “You’re right. I have to ask, though. If she’s so sick, why haven’t you tried to find out what’s wrong?”

Malachi broke eye contact.
There was obviously something more going on there. After what looked like a small internal struggle, Malachi responded. “I’ve tried a couple times, but I can’t get through.”

Gemariah sprung to his feet.
“What do you mean, you can’t get through? Is she a champion?”

He prayed she wasn’t.
Champions always seemed to die young since they’re sent from heaven with the sole purpose of fighting the spread of evil. To prevent corruption, they were made with a sort of barrier against evil powers. Unfortunately, the barrier also deflects powers of good as well. Champions are usually sent to protect a specific person, but are drawn to help anyone in need.

Plus, they were always a rare find.
Except recently, the entire team had gotten to know one in particular. Being one of Trinity’s students, they all believed Hugh was sent to protect her. There was even a night where he was the one and only reason she was still with all of them, and it had almost taken his life. Miraculously, he pulled through, and became an honorary family member ever since.

“I don’t think so.
This felt different,” he stated, bringing Gemariah’s thoughts back to the conversation. Malachi looked as if he was struggling with the correct words. “When I tried to heal Hugh, it was as if he was repelling my abilities. When I tried with Nicole, I couldn’t find a way in. It was as if my spirit was skimming the surface, but couldn’t get through to connect with hers.”

Gemariah was not comfortable with this new information, which surprised him because he didn’t care about the girl, or what she was going through.
He decided to change the topic before he got too involved.

“So, tell me more about the mission this morning.”

Malachi looked grateful for the subject change. “The mark is a fifteen year old girl named Katelyn Roberts. She’s what you would call the ringleader of a group of girls that have been dominating the school. They terrorize the staff, as well as the students.”

Gemariah couldn’t help but looking bemused.
“Malachi, they have kids like that in every school.”

“That’s what I told Trinity, but what she told me after, made me think that it was something more.
You know Trinity can see what we see now?” At his nod, Malachi continued. “Trinity confronted the girl after an altercation and with Roberts’ increased irritation, Trinity got a better look at her. According to her, she was very jittery, had clammy skin, her teeth became sharper, and get this… red tinted eyes.”

Gemariah nodded.
“Yep, that sounds like a possession alright.”

“That’s not all.”
Malachi waited until he had Gemariah’s full attention. “Trinity said that the red in her eyes vanished for a split second and the girl’s face softened. It only lasted a second before the color was back and she was sneering at Trinity again.”

“She’s fighting it.”
Gemariah nodded in appreciation. He always admired the ones that resisted. He then started to laugh. “You’re going to have a hell of a time. Teenagers are always a bitch to turn back. Good luck, man.”

Malachi grinned.
“I have to be at a training seminar in an hour. It’s mandatory for us big wigs, or I wouldn’t be going.” His look became more serious. “I don’t like the fact of Trinity being around this, and I’m not there.”

“She’ll be fine,” he said nonchalantly.
“So who’s the lucky twosome that gets to take down a demon that’s probably just as stubborn as the hormonal teenager?”

Before Malachi could answer, Tori strolled through the door, carrying her bow case and an arsenal of blades.
She didn’t say anything, only stared.

Tori, for lack of a better word, was a badass.
From her hair to her clothes, everything portrayed an image that said, “Don’t fuck with me.” A while back, as a way to mock the threat of temptation always bearing down on them, she got a tattoo of a serpent wrapped around her body with an apple in its mouth. She never did anything to hide the tattoo, and instead wore it as a banner.

She hardly ever talked, just got the job done and went home.
Once in a while, they all got to see her let go, but it was a very rare occasion.

“Tori… and you.”

Malachi’s words had him floored.
Swinging his head back around, he glared at his friend and raised his voice. “What? Why me?”

“Get over it, Slick.
You lost your opportunity to object when you blew off the meeting this morning,” Tori spat. She never did bullshit around, did she?

“I didn’t blow off anything!
But I don’t have to explain myself to you, when it’s none of your business.” Having already gotten his fair share of grief from Malachi, he didn’t need it from someone else as well.

“Enough, you two!”
Malachi spoke up when it looked as if Tori was going to say more. “Gemariah, everyone else is busy. Yes, this landed on you because you weren’t here. It sucks, but that’s life.”

Tori sighed as if bored by it all.
“Are we done here?” Hiking a thumb over her shoulder, she spoke to Gemariah. “Go get your crap, so we can head out.”

“Let’s get one thing straight.
You don’t get to harp at me for things you have no idea about, and you sure as shit don’t get to order me around. Are we clear?”

She chuckled.
“Come on… you’re starting to sound like Gideon.” When she saw that he was not in a joking mood, she sobered and said through clenched teeth, “Crystal clear.”

He marched past her, to his area in the storage room.
His movements were jerky as he grabbed a few smaller weapons to tuck into his coat. As he slipped his ax into its holder at his hip, he started to play back his conversation with Tori in his head.
Maybe I had been a little harsh, even borderline dickish
, he thought.

Turning to leave, he stopped to take a deep breath and get his emotions back in check.
After a couple minutes, he felt calm enough to slip his laid-back persona back into place, before making his way towards the car.

He always tried not to care too much about one thing.
That way, when things went wrong, he was less likely to succumb to the darkness he always had to fight back. It was the same for any nephilim. The slightest thing could be their undoing. It was why he chose to just not care.

Tori was waiting in the car when he got to the garage.
Of course, she had taken the driver’s seat, but that wasn’t surprising. Tori was the best driver he had ever seen, and had even gotten them all out of tight situations a time or two. Cars were her thing, just as cooking was his. No one argued about her driving anywhere, because they never knew if that was the day her skills would save their life… again.

When he got in, she barely gave him time to shut the door, before taking off.
They exited the garage, and the sun nearly blinded him with how bright the day was. As if the sun wasn’t enough, it had recently snowed, and the glare was intensifying the light.

“I hate days like this.
It’s so deceiving. You would think that with it shining so bright, it wouldn’t be as blistering cold out as it is right now.” It felt like winter had snuck up on them, and then showed her fury for not being as perceptive as they should have been. This week alone, temperatures had dropped to the single digits with below zero wind-chill.

He glanced over at Tori, and saw that her face was like stone, and stuck in a scowling position.

“I’m serious. There is a high risk that my balls are going to freeze off.”

There was no answer; not even a move to acknowledge that she heard him.
Damn, she was still pissed. He had better make it right, and quick.

Gemariah sighed.
“Okay, what’s it going to take?”

He saw her cheek move, and knew she had bit the inside of her mouth to prevent from smiling.

“Out with it, Woman. Cookies again? Chocolate, peanut butter, what?” The woman’s sweet tooth would someday be her downfall. If a person could make a decent dessert, they could get away with anything. It worked well for him. He was always screwing up or saying something stupid; at least he could bake to make up for it all.

She looked as if she was contemplating his question, before getting a sly look on her face. She knew what she was doing.
“I’m thinking those strawberry cheesecake bites would be nice.”
Of course she would
, he thought. She couldn’t have made it a little easier on him?