The Morningstar Brigade

Chapter 7

VII

URIEL

175 A.E.F.

Eli's Bedroom, Sanctuary

"Agh," Uriel moaned unintelligibly as he sat up in his bed. "What happened?" He hadn't gotten hit, but his body ached from the adrenaline crash of combat. The bright light of morning blinded him as he turned to look out the window. His memories of last night's battle turned into a violent blur as he tried to recall the events following Eli's arrival; he didn't push for further recollection beyond the violent sounds of blade against flesh and the acrid smells of bloodlust travelling on the frigid evening air. What mattered was that he was home. He was safe.

Eli allowed a slow smile to warm his face as he sat at the foot of Uriel's bed. "You're awake. Thank goodness." He exhaled carefully, the stress and guilt from the past night gently flowing from lungs that had been strangled with anxiety and uncertainty. "Don't worry about trying to remember too much right now. It's completely natural for things to not be entirely clear after a combat high. Considering that was your first time in a real life or death situation, it isn't surprising that you might not hold on to everything afterwards." He put a hand on Uriel's shoulder. "After I... did what I did...." He paused, weighing his words. "We came home and you collapsed, so I brought you up to your room."

Novo barked happily, leaping onto the bed and giving Uriel a wet barrage of sloppy kisses as his tail eagerly thumped against the bedroom window.

Uriel laughed, playfully trying to shove the overbearing brown blob of fur off as it continued its affectionate assault on his face. "Well, I guess that pretty much eliminates the chance that I just had one very bad dream." He looked over at Eli. "Is Novo really a-"

"Yes. A dog. A 'Chocolate Labrador,' to be be precise," Eli said holding up a page from a worn book. "He seems to have grown quite fond of you. I thought he was going to try to tear my hand off when I approached you after the fight. A protective little furball," the Fisher said with a laugh, scratching behind Novo's ears.

"He'd better be," Uriel said, raising an eyebrow. "I just about got killed saving this sloppy guy's life." He quickly scanned Novo's body and noted that that matted patches of blood had been cleaned and a few hastily assembled bandages had been placed on the dog's wounds. "How is he? Is he very hurt?"

Eli scratched the back of his head and looked at Novo thoughtfully. "I've cleaned all of the fresh wounds and I stopped any bleeding right after I set you in your bed, but I'm no expert on animal anatomy." He shook his head. "Honestly, I never even expected to see one in my lifetime. I hoped, but this? It's... it's impossible."

Uriel was silent a moment, then at last asked the question he had been avoided since the moment he and Eli had locked eyes. "What happened last night, dad?" He forced his body towards Eli, fighting the covers to advance. "I know, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gone out without you, but there was this noise that just wouldn't go away. Sounds of pain, like someone needed help." Uriel cast a quick glance over at Novo and then turned back to Eli. "What were those things?"

Eli stood up and quietly began to pace. "I've been trying to answer that question since the moment we walked out of the forest." His hand balled into a tight fist, the veins pressing against the taut flesh of his forearm. "They were Nephilim, that much is clear. Their hunger and the feral nature aren't the surprising part," Eli noted. "Nephilim have, we believe, been forced to live on Earth for centuries now without the ability to feed on the Breath they lack. The Breath humans possess. This state of starvation without release grates at their sanity day after day, and only the strongest willed of Nephilim are capable of retaining their faculties by the time they slip through the Gates and into Eden."