Chapter 1
The Lord's Nephilims
In silence, Star looked at her twin sister, Day, and let her mind drift quietly to remembrances of her childhood. On a far wall, she spotted a painting of the Tennessee River winding its way around and away from downtown Chattanooga. It added to those memories by reminding her of her first trip to Sewanee with her adoptive mom, Abigail, and her adoptive father, Alex Tabor, the President of the United States. It was the family's first vacation since his re-nomination with the Christian Alliance Party and the Dark Dragon's destruction.
She sighed deeply in thankfulness that they had survived the Day of the Dragons. When she was only eight-years-old, Alex carried the United States to stand toe-to-toe against the beast, the false prophet, and Apollyon's dark angels that united as the Dark Dragon's armies. She remembered standing beside Abigail and Alex with tens of millions of other believers from all over the world. They stood beside light angels while preparing for a great battle with nothing more than palm leaves in their hands as they sung praise hymns to God's glory. They filled the streets of Jerusalem and poured from its borders for miles and stood completely around the holy city. A sea of believer humanity and angelic beings held hands while singing Victory in Jesus together. As Apollyon's forces approached Jerusalem and shook the ground with the whirring of tanks and armament, God's people raised their hands high into the air in praise to their King.
She remembered not being afraid but looking up at her parents thrilled at being with so many joyous people but not understanding it all. She remembered the glory light of heaven that swept over them. She remembered the touch and feel of God's presence, and she knew she was loved and protected. She also knew without anyone telling her that she wouldn't be harmed and the Dark Dragon armies would finally be destroyed. The last thing she remembered as believers all around her passed out from the awesomeness of God's glorious power was the thunderous sound of millions of angels taking to the air and pulling their massive swords from their back-sheaths, including her own angelic father, Caleb.
After God's angels launched their attack, all the believers started singing and praising God again. On the horizon, they saw the sky blackened with angels from both sides in a mixed brawl of vicious fighting. It was soon after that the earth shook so much that it was almost impossible to stand. She found out later that terrible earthquakes opened gigantic chasms in the desert swallowing much of the Dark Dragon army. Still, she wasn't afraid.
In the midst of all the commotion, she heard the Lord whisper to her, "You are loved by me. Your dad, Caleb, with Aaron, are leading us to victory. You are my own. You are my precious Nephilims." Day and Star looked at each while being held in their parent's arms, and they knew they both heard God's voice the same way. They didn't understand what Nephilim meant, but they remembered the warmth of God's love and felt pride that their real father, Caleb, was near.
Soon after that, the earth shuttered violently again, and God's own hand came from heaven. It reached down through the bloody mayhem and grabbed both the beast and the false prophet in a tight grip. Other dark angels saw it happen, and a great wailing-shrieking pierced the battle noises as dark angels turned to flee. Suddenly, Jesus descended from heaven with a wrestler's grip and encircled Apollyon in His arms. Nothing prepared Apollyon's dark angels for such a double, Godly intervention. In a large swoop like a whirlwind, the other hand of God caught the escaping dark angels and swept them off to the South American coast.
Later, Star heard that God opened up the volcano Fernandian in the Galapagos Islands with a mighty step into its fiery depths, and Jesus unlocked Fernandian's bottomless pit just before thrusting Apollyon into it. God threw Apollyon's dark angels in after him. The beast and the false prophet were next. They dissolved in balls of flame before ever reaching the liquid lava. Apollyon and his dark angels weren't as lucky. They were suffering the terrible pain of being burned alive but never dying. God himself capped the top of Fernandian with a single hand that made high ridges form between His fingers. Right after that, the Dark Dragon forces that were left went quiet, not knowing what to do, but knowing that even they couldn't battle against such power.
They were surprised and puzzled to see millions of birds coming from all directions, but God's angels knew. The birds were commanded by an announcing angel, "Come and gather together for the supper of the great God." These birds were sent by God to eat the flesh of the Dark Dragon armies who were to die in battle.
The light angels moved into the massive Dark Dragon tank divisions accompanied by the Christian Alliance (CA) armies. The light angels slashed open tanks with their swords that let the CA armies whittle them to pieces as they tried to escape. They chased and ran against the Dark Dragon army while forcing it along the coast of the Mediterranean until they were little more than a small band of no more than 5,000. They tried escaping and hiding in nearby Egypt to no avail. Light angels tracked them down, every one of them, till not a one was alive.
The victory celebration in Jerusalem went on for a week. Star remembered the dancing in the streets and the great Eucharist celebration that angels helped administer. She remembered watching Jesus descend on the place where the previous temple had been rebuilt, and subsequently, destroyed. The previous temple let the Dome-of-the-Rock shrine remain and stood near where The Dome of the Tablets had been. Jesus arrived just after His angels destroyed all remnants of Muslim worship and artifacts. There would be no compromising this time. They prepared a place for what was to be called Jesus' Glory Throne. Jesus would rise from His throne and walk lovingly through the people for hours. He never seemed to tire of holding and embracing everyone He met.
Star remembered seeing Jesus walking up to Abigail and Alex while she and her sister hid behind them, not knowing quite what to do. Jesus knelt before Alex and Abigail and gently pulled the girls from behind them into His embrace.
Once again, they heard that word. "My precious 'Nephilims.' How I love you. You have much to do for me. You will know when that time comes. I will be there for you. I will not leave you defenseless or alone. I love you both, daughters of Caleb and Sal." Star and Day felt the power of His presence sweep over them, and they swooned in His arms. Jesus kissed their faces while putting them back into Abigail and Alex's waiting arms.
Star continued to daydream as her heart beat wildly remembering that time, and Day noticed. "You're thinking about that time in Jerusalem when we were kids, aren't you?" Star nodded "yes" with tears flowing down her face, and then started humming just above a whisper.
"Stop that, Star! That song gives me duck bumps, or whatever Mom calls them."
"But, every time I start thinking about that day, I want to sing it. I'll never forget millions of angels with the Christian Alliance army marching back across the desert shoulder to shoulder. They stretched for miles across and back. It took them all day to pass by us. All the time, they were singing Amazing Grace. I tingle all over every time I hear it now.” Star started humming it, now.
Day agreed and grabbed Star's hand saying, "Do you remember that they sang it in ancient Hebrew, but everyone understood what they were saying, even us?"
"I remember Mom pointing to the angels leading the march. Remember? She pointed to the best looking one with the blonde hair and said, 'That's your real dad, your angelic father, Caleb, with his friend Aaron beside him. Behind Aaron is Joseph, and behind Caleb is Isaac. The only one missing is Irish, but she's an heir-servant angel. She's Aaron's love. Look around at all the women angels with rainbow colors. Those are heir-servant angels. If you're lucky, we might meet Irish before we go back home.'"
"Yes, we did see Irish just before we left. I've never seen any creature as beautiful her. All those rainbow colors, and her eyes were rainbow stars instead of the white stars of men angels. Did you remember how you felt when we got near her? I felt so warm, loved, and full of peace. When she hugged me, I didn't want her to let me go."
"Me, too," replied Star, "me too."<
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After several quiet minutes, they turned back to a stack of newspapers and continued to look through the death notices. Star reached for the Washington Post while Day opened the New York Tribune. Their newspapers were piled-up beside them as they sat in the University of Tennessee cafeteria while commanding a corner table all to themselves.
Star replied despondently, "It's been three months since we've spotted a match."
"Yes, I know. Abigail said that these deaths mean something. She's still hung up on this dark Nephilim conspiracy thing. I kind of believe her. You and I both know that dark Nephilims exist, first hand, but it's Abigail who thinks they're up to something," whispered Star.
"I know. She says there have been too many twins dying lately. She thinks they were all dark Nephilims, and something sinister is going on. She thinks that they're killing their own. She thinks that they're purging their ranks of the weak and the non-committed, but I've never been totally convinced of that," replied Day as Star nodded in agreement.
"Mom said that the deaths of so many twins at about the same age were a sign that something big was getting ready to happen," Star answered back.
"Yeah, a sign all right. A sign that it's very, very unlucky to be a Nephilim twin in their 20’s. Very bad luck!" Day said it too loudly, and Star covered Day's mouth with her hand to hush her.
"Keep a lid on it, will you, Sis?" warned Star.
"You're a nervous wreck, girl. Calm down. No one knows what we're talking about. Not even Riley could figure it out."
Star talked defensively, "Well, sister, it's been a little hard to concentrate with Riley visiting you all the time. I hate having to page you at my own apartment to make sure you're not lip locked. You two disrupt the natural order of what I call my privacy, rest, and quiet. I've been walking on pins and needles trying not to let him know I exist. It's making me a wreck. Twice, I've come face to face with him and got slammed with one of his Day kisses. Not a bad kisser, though. I can't wait till next week when you two go back to school and I move to my new place on the mountain."
Day's eyes glazed over for a second as she said, "Yes, he is, isn't he?" She sighed, "A great kisser, but lip locked is about all he's getting so don't be so paranoid. We have an Abigail oath. I won't break it. He's too important to the plan. You know that, which brings me to your part. You haven't made contact with his dad, the professor, yet."
"Not yet. Give me a break. My part isn't as easy as yours. I'm a little more high profile than you are. My new professorship at Sewanee doesn't give me much flexibility. Everyone watches the teachers. We're always in the 'limelight,' to use an Abigail word. Of course, that's why we're here, isn't it? Just an eyeballing expedition, right? Oh, it just makes it worse that he teaches ancient political science. It's such a lost art," replied Star despondently.
Day's voice peaked in excitement as she centered on one of her pet peeves, "I know what you mean! It's like ancient history! I mean ancient, ancient history! When is the last time, you ever heard of anyone even voting? It's been 25 years. Not that I'd miss a politician around to lie to us, but that's why our Lord and Savior mandated politics discontinued."
Star continued on Day's line of thought, "Think about all those professions that disappeared with the New Reign of Peace. Only contract attorneys are around now. There aren't any police to speak of; and when something pops up with a crime of some kind, they bring in Sherlock Holmes counselors. They act more interested in why it happened than stopping it from happening again. I suppose the only crime I've ever seen is someone running a red light. Meter maids handle that stuff now," said Star while she pointed out the cafeteria window at a meter maid putting a ticket on a nearby car window.
"I guess, what shocked everyone most were the taxes disappearing. Without a government to run, there was a bunch of extra cash around. No one ever lacks for anything anymore. We just put in a requisition to Jerusalem on an electronically formatted voucher, and then boom, it's taken care of. I heard that the same centralized money system that was created before the Day of the Dragons is being used very nicely, now. I like the approach."
Day's face squinted together when Star said the word "dragon." Several students heard her say it and talked among themselves while pointing at them. Dragon was a forbidden and cursed word that couldn't be spoken in public. It was a cursed word only to be spoken by Jesus Priests and in sacred biblical instruction.
"Watch what you say, Sister, please. It's dangerous. We could find ourselves cut off from the body for too much of that."
Star ignored Day's "dragon" hysteria and continued to talk, "Well, as I was saying, Sis. Now, we can do our passion, and Jerusalem pays for it. Shall we call it a passion allowance? At least, it's the same amount for everyone. Of course, no one gets rich anymore. The only rich people are a few with old money, but even they are limited to how much they keep. Call it God's socialism. The lucky ones are the ones who kept old, inherited homes. Still, anyone who had more than one residence gave it to Jerusalem. I bought my place on the mountain with a subsidized 500-year loan from Jerusalem and only put up 100 dollars," replied Star.
She continued, "I'm not very excited about making this professor connection. I know that we've discussed this over and over, but it seems a long way to go just to position ourselves," replied Star, almost remorsefully.
"I know, but Abigail said if we didn't connect to someone with national exposure, we'll never be able to effectively expose the dark Nephilims. We need someone important. Someone with new connections and political clout. The professor's continuous articles on world peace initiatives and equal-and-fair treatment of all members of our new society are the best-read literature of our age. Everyone listens to him, including Jerusalem. Abigail was the one who found out that he's speaking before the Jerusalem Council soon."
"But, sweetie, do we really have to go this far to bring him into our nest? Isn't there another way? Isn't there any way but this? We're stuck in the middle of this, aren't we?" she said as she grabbed Day's hand in emphasis.
"Yes, we are. I admit your stuck is harder to handle than mine. Mom also taught us about who and what we are with warnings about what we can be. I'm the perfect example of that, aren't I?" Day whispered across the table.
"Yes, and I'm jealous. I can't believe you figured out how to do that. Here, you're my identical twin, and I'm speaking to someone who looks just like that actress Jolene Blalock, according to you and those pictures from the archives. How did you do it, Day?"
"I don't know if I can describe it. It happened one day when I was trying to see if I could. I figured if an angel could do it, then so could Iat least, somewhat. I finally figured out the difference between a full-blooded angel and us. We stay the same size, no matter. An angel can turn into a bug if they wanted. Right now, I'll take what I can get."
"So, is Riley in love with Jolene or the real you?" she asked jokingly.
"The real you and the real me. I wouldn't do that to Riley. I love him. Really, I do. You just have to get your professor connection made before we can do anything more. You understand, don't you?"
"No, but I'll do it anyway. I understand that Riley is going to be one of my students this semester and has never met me. Well, he has, hasn't he? What a surprise he's going to have. What a shocker!"
"Since I'm leaving for Trevecca soon, I didn't want to deal with explaining you to him until the last minute. I imagine he'll be keeping a pretty low profile. He knows that Jerusalem won't accept a Jesus Priest unless he has a perfect 4.0 grade average. If they find out about me, he'll take all sorts of heat. 'Us' girls are supposed to be a distraction, you know. In addition, his father has been very vocal about Riley not getting sidetracked from his Jerusalem goals by dating. He's a fanatic about it."
"But, why can't I have Riley, and you take the professor? The professor is almost twice my age in spite of how famous he is. His roots go all the way back to his dad who was one of those responsible for defeating the first attacks from the Dark Dragon
Armies on the U.S. By the way, who's to say that he'll even like me?" she spoke pathetically.
"Star, you've got to be kidding! I love Riley! You know that! He was my assignment, first, and then we fell in love. I didn't plan it that way, but it was convenient. I'm not swapping things around now, no matter. Who's to say the professor won't like you? Just play it by ear. Who knows, you might just find out you like him. Stranger things have happened. Hey, I heard he lives at Red Fish. Got to have lots of old money, they call it, to have a place like that. I heard that Alex had something to do with getting the original Red Fish built. We stayed in it when it was just a little guesthouse years ago. I remember the view. It was great. It looks more like a cathedral now with all that stained glass. You'll just have to tell me about it when you actually get to visit. Tell me, Sister, do you have a plan, yet?"
"Not really. I keep praying that I'll just like this guy a little. If Abigail weren’t pushing so hard about this, I'd bail on you both. Every time I think about bailing, I feel terrible. So much for motherly guilt complexes."
"After Abigail found out about my morphing, she put this Jesus Priest replacement theory together. She looks through the newspapers too. We found that according to our count, 35 Jesus Priests have died in the last six months. She thinks that they were the ones the dark Nephilims couldn't replace because of their size. We Nephilims are just too big to be what we call the 'interchangeable substitutes.'"
"I wish I understood what they're up to. Is there anything else happening?" asked Star.
"Just one thing." Day pulled an article from the Montana Tribune that talked about missing, discarded nuclear devices. Day pointed to the article, which was circled in red with a note under it saying, "Love, Abigail."
"Mom got this for us?" asked Star.
"Looks like it, but I don't understand it, yet. This nuclear stuff was supposed to have been destroyed right after we destroyed the Dark Dragon," she whispered.
She continued softly, "This stuff looks like it was stored in missile silos along with the missiles. When they discovered they hadn't been destroyed, they found out that they were missing at least five, maybe more, hand-held nuclear bombs and seven built for dropping or being mounted on missiles. The facility looks to have been broken into within the last year according to some testing on the torch marks where they cut into the silo."
"But, why? Are we sure that it's the dark Nephilims? Couldn't it be someone else?" asked Star.
"Maybe, but there is this note, look!" replied Day as she pointed to something in the paper. There was a little note in the nuclear article with a separate picture of a footprint. "It must have been raining the day they did it. Someone left a footprint. Look at it. Do you see something strange about it?"
They both peered over the picture, and Day pulled a small magnifying glass from her purse to get a better look. On the picture was a footprint near the main hinge of the silo door. The photographer had taken his own shoe off and placed it beside it, which was an obvious giveaway to the girls.
"Wait, Day, the big-foot picture. How tall would you say someone would have to be to make a footprint like that? I want to make sure we're thinking the same thing."
"At least, seven-foot tall, at least," she answered.
"Nephilims!" they said loudly together, then ducked and put their hands over their mouths for their indiscretion.
Other students looked at them strangely, and then Day spotted the professor getting some lunch in the cafeteria line. Star ducked her head and looked up over the Washington Post, which was turned upside down, then she noticed it. She blushed as she quickly flipped it around while hoping the professor didn't notice. The professor looked over his shoulder at the twins giggling together and had noticed, then shrugged about silly girls and went on. Just as he was paying for his lunch, he noticed Star staring at him and stopped dead in his tracks.
He thought to himself, "That girl is beautiful! I wonder where she came from? I don't think I've ever seen a Japanese that tall before. She must be over six foot. She's perfect!" Then, he moved on, while shaking his head and embarrassed over his awe of her.
He spoke to himself, "I've been a widower way too long. I've got to get out more. These pretty students are driving me up the wall, lately."
Star kept punching Day in the side to get her to stop giggling. Day never stopped and kept poking back. "Do you like him? Do you like him?"
"Stop it, Sis. I don't know. He looks in pretty good shape for 50. He looks just like an old Riley. How could I not like that? His hair is interesting. It's down to his shoulders and looks like a blonde lion's mane. Not much on the forehead, though. See what you have to look forward to," she fired back at Day.
She watched Day peering over her shoulder while thinking about what she just said, "An old Riley."
"I can live with that. Riley could look worse. At least, he's not fat and ugly," answered Day.
"He looks like a lonely person," commented Star.
"Riley told me once that his dad doesn't get out much. He stays holed up at Red Fish doing his writing and such. He's got a complete gym with an Olympic size pool in the bottom level of Red Fish. The only time anyone sees him is when he teaches, or when he goes to the evening praise services at All Saints."
They got up to leave, gathered their newspapers, and stuffed them in a trash bin on their way out. The professor followed them out; and when he threw away his trash, he noticed all the death notice sections rolled together in front of him. He only got a glimpse of Day; and thought, how much she looked like that actress on the old Starship Enterprise series years ago. He couldn’t remember her name.
He chuckled. "Warped kids." His only comment to himself after catching another glimpse of Star was, "She's all legs. I really need to get out more."
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