The Nephilim Chronicles

Chapter Three

The party was still raging on when Char noticed a blur of red and green before Professor Fenix hit the ground in all of her glory. Char was notably drunk, but not so much so that she wouldn't remember this night. The thing that caught her eyes, however, was that every last one of the Seraphim's own eyes were open. Each eye was surveilling the party as Professor Fenix walked over to the table, which always seemed to have food, thanks to the handful of guys standing around a nicely built grill making a near-endless supply of food.

"So what do you think?" Horizon asked Char, a playful glint in her eyes. Char felt a warmth spread through her cheeks as she turned back to her friend and smiled, a shared understanding passing between them.

"What do I think about what?" Char asked in turn, her curiosity piqued. Horizon's eyes landed on the Seraphim, who was currently loading a plate with food, and then turned back to Char.

"You really still aren't used to the Seraphim, are you?" This question came from Dennis, another half-elf, half-angel. Char blushed more and tried not to look back at the Professor.

"Not really; the only time I ever met anyone other than elves, angels, and some relatively common hybrids was when I met a half-harpy and half-angel. She was the one who did the tests for my village," Char explained. Once again, she found her eyes drawn back to the Seraphim, and this time, Professor Neptune joined her. After four years with a dozen Seraphim as her teachers, Char still couldn't get past her shock and awe. The Seraphim were sharing food off of the plate Professor Fenix had made, and now everyone in the little group of friends Char was sitting with was watching the professors.

"Five marks say they're dating," Horizon whispered to Charamaline.

"Wait, isn't Professor Neptune married?" Dennis asked.

"Not since our second year. Do you remember the day that the gorgeous Elf lady with the red hair down there showed up, and Professor Neptune spent the day locked in his office? Well, I snuck down there during my study hour and listened in. It turns out she had been having an affair because he never came home for any of the holidays, which is a major transgression against elves, so she made him sign divorce papers. Some seriously sexy black-winged angel swept in to carry her off," Horizon explained. Everyone in the group turned to her with their mouths hanging open. She shrugged and smiled darkly, "It helps that I can become tiny when I want to."

Even individuals who only had a quarter of fairy blood in them could shrink their bodies down to tiny sizes. The less fairy you were, the bigger you stayed, but none of them were ever any bigger than eight inches tall, and even they could hide in the right environment.

"Well, then, I've got five marks on them simply screwing around," Char added to the silence of the group.

"I've got five marks on the fact that they're just friends, and you guys are ridiculous," Dennis said.

"I'm with Dennis on this one," Mor chimed in. When the group turned back to look for the pair of Seraphim, they were nowhere to be found, not even in the trees. After a few more minutes of searching, they all discovered the Professors. They were flying together and dancing to the light music, still drifting through the party space.

"Pay up," Horizon demanded and held out her hand. Everyone else groaned and fished out the small bronze coin. The fairy grinned so widely that all of her sharp teeth glinted in the firelight. Char felt a shiver crawl up her spine. Another thing she still couldn't get used to was the way fairies were sweet and yet terrifying.

A little while later, as the party was starting to wind down, Char found herself stretched out on a moss-covered log near the small fire with her head in her girlfriend's lap. Mor's fingers were idly braiding her hair while they listened to the music and watched the flames dance. Horizon and Dennis had gone to bed an hour ago, so Char and Mor had just been chatting about everything from the last four years.