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I paused at the door to the lobby and saw Gabe take off his jacket and roll up the sleeves on his athletic arms. The evening had been going so well, I hated leaving like this. But if anything, tonight gave me another reason to hit the road soon.
I didn’t belong here. The Nephilim weren’t my friends; they were my babysitters. I needed to find my place in the world, wherever that might be.
Chapter Sixteen
It was a muggy day in the Black Hills. The stables were steaming hot, even when I went there to exercise Reba and spent some time with Laramie early in the morning. I wanted nothing more than to take a shower and rest within the cool stone walls of our room, but Raquel had cornered me on my way back to the manor and dragged me back to the expanse of the northern lawn.
“It’ll only take a half hour if the two of us do it together,” she begged. “Come on, Lizzy. Don’t make me do it alone.”
She’d been given the task of creating the fire pits for this weekend’s ceremony. According to her, it was an event that always fell the week after the big anniversary party. The new warriors who officially came of age at twenty, would be christened, and then the partnership rite would occur.
I was a bit fuzzy on how it all worked, but Raquel said that every warrior who hadn’t been paired yet would enter into the rite, and some of them would get a mystical sign indicating the Nephilim they were meant to fight side by side with for the rest of their long life. It sounded like a bunch of funk to me, but what could I say? Just a couple of weeks ago, I didn’t know angels even existed. I couldn’t question those things anymore.
“Just one more year and it’ll be me entering the partnership rite,” Raquel said, a big smile stretching across her freckled face. She wiped a strand of red hair out of her face and began piling some logs in my outstretched arms. “Maybe I’ll be partnered with Patrick. He doesn’t have a partner yet, you know. I can count at least five partners that I know of that have ended up marrying each other. It’s quite common.”
I resisted rolling my eyes. Raquel was beautiful, don’t get me wrong. She was like a newborn colt, just growing into her good looks and long legs. But she seemed determined to chase after Patrick whether he liked it or not. Poor boy didn’t stand a chance.
At that moment, I spotted Gabe heading to the stables with Adam and one of his friends. He was looking at me, so I ducked my head and turned away, grabbing more logs than I could carry. We hadn’t talked since the party. Whenever I saw him, I ran away. Maybe I was a coward, but I couldn’t stand to have him look at me. It just reminded me of my epic embarrassment.
Raquel didn’t notice my discomfort. She charged ahead to the giant fire pit on the lawn, and began prepping for the fire that would burn during the ceremony. We stacked the logs up high in a teepee shape, until they stood taller than Raquel’s red head. It wasn’t long before the heat from the rising sun left us both drenched in sticky sweat which made our clothes cling to our bodies.
“So, how does this mysterious rite work?” I asked, collapsing on a nearby rock for a seat. “Is it some sort of magic?”
Raquel shook her head. “No, not magic. It’s more spiritual. Uncle Luke performs a set of rituals, and then the fire lets us know if someone has been picked for you.”
“The fire?” I squinted at her. “How does the fire let you know?”
Raquel pulled me to my feet. “Here, let me show you.”
She walked us back to the fire pit and had me stand next to it.
“All of t
he Nephilim have to offer up their life to God. It’s a symbol of our dedication to the cause. And in order for that to happen, blood must be spilled.” She pulled a small dagger from her belt and grabbed my hand.
Spilling blood didn’t sound like such a good thing. She must’ve seen the hesitation on my face because she grinned and shook her head.
“Don’t worry, it’s only a pinprick, really. Here, I’ll show you.”
In one swift movement, she pricked the pad of my index finger with the tip of her knife. Her grip was too tight for me to pull away. Before I could stop her, she squeezed my finger and let two drops of blood fall into the fire pit.
“There, that’s it. Now, you’d be a warrior.”
“Raquel!” I pulled my hand away and slipped the wounded finger in my mouth. “Why would you do that? My blood isn’t supposed to be in there.”
She slipped the knife back into its leather holder and shrugged.
“You’re not Nephilim, so it won’t matter. I wish you were, though. We’d have some great times patrolling the woods. I’ve heard demon battles can be fierce.”
I fought off a shudder. She had no idea.
“Come on, let’s go get some lunch,” Raquel said. “I’m starved.”
Even though I wasn’t hungry, I didn’t argue with her. That girl could eat nonstop. It was a miracle she was as thin as she was.
We went back to the manor and entered the dining hall on the first floor. I’d only been in there a few times since Raquel let me out of our room. During the last few days, I’d been eating in my room to avoid Gabe. But since I saw him heading to the stables just a half hour ago, I knew I could relax.
The dining hall was set up in a buffet style with mountains of mouthwatering food offered on a long thin black table. A few of the Nephilim who didn’t work as gatekeepers manned the kitchens. They must’ve trained as professional cooks somewhere, because I’d never tasted such wonderful food before.
