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Nephilim 6: Father Of Us All


rockhopper

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Here is the sixth story in this series. Chapters one through five were originally posted on the old site and are in the Archives on this site. Click my user name to your left and select "topics" to find them and my other stories.

 

I began this story about six years ago. I've come back to it many times, but just finished it.

 

Disclaimer: I don't own the song "Last Night of the World" from Miss Saigon (music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, lyrics by Alain Boublil and Richard Maltby, Jr.). It is a lovely song, and, in fact, is the ringtone on my phone for boyfriend. :)

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I had become quite accustomed to the nomadic life. When distance and money are meaningless to you, you go wherever you want and stay however long you like. Still, it was nice to go back for a short visit to what had been my home city once upon a time.

 

I went into what had been my favorite bar back in the day. It was a piano bar, dimly lit with a mainly older crowd. The pianist was playing lounge style. The sing-along would come later. I sat down and ordered a scotch. It was the same bartender I remembered from when I had been a regular there all those years earlier. He was now middle-aged and, though still handsome, showing some signs of wear. I, on the other hand, had not only not aged a day in the last decade or so, but, indeed, had a face and body such as I never dreamed of back then. The bartender clearly thought I looked vaguely familiar, but couldn't place me. I decided I would just let him think that. There was no reason to try to protect myself and there was also no reason to reveal myself.

 

“It's always best to let the humans be if you can,” sounded a voice for whom I felt some recognition. I turned around and saw Primus Maximus, the first of our kind. He had manifested himself as a fortyish man, slender and wiry, with a beard and a wry smile. He looked a little different every time I had met him, but this should be of no surprise: Primus Maximus, or, has he liked to call himself, Max, was probably the most powerful of all created beings. I can do pretty much anything I want: Others, like Adam, Jake and Lars dwarf me by far. All of us together are as nothing before Max. He is the Father of Us All.

 

Like most of my elders, he is very mysterious about his origins, but I know this much: The giants in the land—the Nephilim mentioned by the author of Genesis—includes Max and by then he was not the only one.

 

“Max!” I gave him a hug and kiss, “How have you been?” Not long ago, I would not be so casual with him, but now that I had Transfigured one myself, I had become much more confident and comfortable. Jeremy, whom I had only a few months earlier brought into our life, was now enjoying his newfound liberty. We had agreed to meet up on a somewhat regular basis, but there was no intent on either of our parts of making anything exclusive.

 

“Peter, you do an old man proud. It seems as if only yesterday you were that timid boy Adam had brought over. Of course, to me, the Industrial Revolution is like yesterday!”

 

“Max, what brings you to this establishment?”

“I check in on all my charges from time to time. You were with Adam at first, so I knew you wouldn't need me right away. I was glad you had him to see you through the first few years, but I knew that the attachment wouldn't last. Dear Adam has very romantic notions still. Nearly a millennium and he still hasn't lost all traces of his humanity—a very laudable quality, by the way—but it is not for our kind to have lifelong bonds.”

 

“Why not?” I asked.

 

Max laughed. “We are beings of eternity, my dear. The human notion of a lifelong commitment may work if you have a mere 80 years, but for us it is preposterous.”

 

I nodded. At one time I would have disagreed. I thought Adam and I could spend forever with each other, but now I knew better. Although I would always love Adam, even when we were together, he had no expectation of exclusivity. After I understood that, I realized that the emotional bond would remain whether we were together all the time or not.

 

“You are thinking way too much, Peter,” Max chuckled.

 

I was embarrassed. “I'm sorry. It wasn't all that long ago that I was human.”

 

He chuckled again. “My dear Peter, I could catalogue what I have done in my long time on this ball of mud, but it would be pointless. More than any other being on this planet, I could claim ownership of everything. Indeed, I have been a king. I have been known to history and I have been stealthily along its side. I much prefer the latter.”

 

“I know you were looking forward to seeing this place again, Peter,” Max smiled, “but would you mind if we stepped out to take care of a few things?”

“Not at all,” I smiled, knowing full well that Max wanted to greet me properly in the way of our kind. I wondered if he was the one who started it. Of course, for us, “stepping out” didn't involve going out the door. Stepping sideways would probably be a better description. In the next moment, we were out of time and space, out of sight of the other bar patrons, but an eyeblink away.

 

Max put his hand on my cheek. “Ah, Peter!” He looked into my eyes and we kissed. As is custom for the younger partner in the congress our kind enter upon meeting, I found myself looking up at a much bigger, naked Max. In addition to making himself a giant, he had also changed his body to reflect my taste: He had a ripped physique, like a very heavily muscled fitness model. His fuzzy pecs, bouncing as I looked at them, seemed as broad as a meadow. His shoulders and arms complemented his chest perfectly.

 

“Come!” he spoke in my mind and, on his bidding, I soared up to rest on his hand.

“Peter, I must tell you, I haven't enjoyed the company of a New One as much as I do yours in centuries. Going back at least to Jacobus—Jake, as he calls himself now. Adam was always a little broody.”

“Thank you,” I blushed.

 

“Still can't take a compliment! As I said, it's not at all a bad thing to hold on to some human traits. We move among them. We must be able to interact with them.”

 

Max closed his hand and held me to his chest, enveloping me in his presence. I briefly ceased to be an independent entity and became part of him. Soon, I was back in his hand. “Come back with me to the bar, Peter. I'd love to talk with you over a Scotch. I taught those Scotsmen well. No wonder they call it the water of life!”

 

We were then as we had been, back in the bar. Max and I sat and talked for about an hour. I loved listening to Max's stories. He really had seen and done it all.

 

The pianist who had been playing finished his last number. After a short pause, another pianist started his shift. He was about thirty, of average height and build. His sculpted goatee was dark, as was the hair on his head, which had a slightly receding hairline. The previous pianist had mostly just played with a little singing. This man was sang while he played with joy and enthusiasm.

“Of course, my little love,” Max smiled to me, “There is a lot to be said for some mortals.”

 

“You mean the pianist?”

 

“Why don't you go play with him?”

 

“Max,” I began to be a bit uncomfortable, “Even when I was human, I didn't 'play' much. Since Adam Transfigured me, I've only been with our own kind.”

 

“And when you were human, you never thought you were attractive enough. Look at yourself, my dear. No mortal could resist you. And even if they could, if you want them, you can have them.”

 

“Use my powers to attract him? I couldn't. I mean, I guess I could, but I wouldn't.”

 

“All right, then, get him without using your powers.”

 

“What?”

“Even before you were Transfigured, you were adorable, even if you never understood it”

 

“Are you going to take away my powers?”

 

“No, silly boy. I trust you. You have the face and body you have now, but don't use any other talents you didn't already have. I'll bet you have no trouble! Now, go!”

 

He did say “talents”, I thought. I always was a pretty good singer. Not like Jeremy, of course, but few are. Even though our kind have no need for money, I always carried a twenty dollar bill in my wallet just in case. I pulled it out and put it in the pianist's tip jar just as he was finishing a song.

 

“Hello!” he said!. “May I take a request?

 

“Do you know “Last Night of the World” from Miss Saigon?”

 

“I sure do. That's a duet, though.”

 

“You sing Chris,” I smiled. “I'll sing Kim,”

 

He played an intro and began singing:

In a place that won't let us feel.
In a life where nothing seems real.
I have found you.

I have found you.

 

I replied:

In a world that's moving too fast.
In a world where nothing can last.
I will hold you.
I will hold you.

 

He smiled at me.

Our lives will change when tomorrow comes.

 

I smiled back.

Tonight our hearts drown the distant drums.

 

He nodded and continued:

And we'll have music, all right, tearing the night:

 

I swallowed and we harmonized:
A song, played on a solo saxophone.

A crazy sound, a lonely sound,

A cry that says love goes on and on,

Played on a solo saxophone.

It's telling me to hold you tight

And dance like it's the last night of the world.

 

And so it began. For the rest of the evening, Mike, the handsome pianist, and I sang romantic duets from Broadway and the American Songbook. I had a great memory for song lyrics before my Transfiguration and had been in choir and chorus for many years, so I was comfortable with this, even without using my powers.

 

Finally, his shift ended. He said he had never received that many tips in an evening and he had never enjoyed singing with anyone so much. He then asked if I wanted to go back to his place with him. The young human man inside me, newly out as gay and uncomfortable with his own appearance resurfaced and could barely believe this was happening. We left the bar together. Mike said “On a rainy night like this, we'll never get a cab.”

 

“Really?” I asked as one stopped for us. Now that I had landed him, I felt no qualms about using my powers.

 

When we got to Mike's apartment, we began kissing, Mike and I undid each other's shirts. He was quite impressive for a mortal. He had a decent amount of muscle under a nice blanket of hair.

 

“Peter, I've never met anyone like you,” Mike sighed. “I don't think I ever will again.”

 

“That's a pretty safe bet,” I smirked.

 

“I could fall for you really fast.”

 

And that's when it hit me. Even without using my powers, he couldn't resist me. My supernatural nature was driving him to obsession with me.

 

Suddenly, Mike seemed frozen. And there, in Mike's apartment, was Max, standing next to me, grinning.

 

“I told you!”

 

“Max! Why did you tell me to do this?”

 

“It's something all of our kind have to face sooner or later. If we get too close to humans, they can't resist. As I said, we must be able to move among them. Just don't get too close. They're drawn to us like moths to a flame.”

 

I smiled. “I suppose I would be taking advantage of him in one way or another. I think sticking to our own kind is a good idea He sure does want me, though.”

 

“I can fix that!” With barely a twitch of his eyebrow, Max erased that desire from Mike. Mike would remember this great evening singing duets with a mysterious man named Peter, but nothing else.

 

Leaving Mike's place, we returned to the bar for one last drink. I said to Max “Mike may no longer want to do anything, but I...”

“Not another word about it, dear one. Jake has agreed to meet us on the moon in five minutes.”

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  • 7 years later...
7 hours ago, elton said:

This series is a master piece. I do hope there will be more to come!

Thank you! I’ve been focusing my writing energies on longer fiction these days. I hope to be a published novelist. We’ll see. 

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