Page 97 of A Game of Monsters

There was pain in Rafaela’s voice, suggesting that Duncan’s mother had met her end long before this day.

“Altar and the Creator warred over… chaos?”

Rafaela nodded. “They fought over who could use Duwar, and who could not.”

“A Game of Monsters,” I repeated. “Duwar also mentioned this.”

But again, I didn’t believe it.

“It was given that title by the Nephilim. A time when Altar used Duwar to create his children, the fey, and the Creator believed the harnessing was unjust and unfair. The Creator, no matter how he tried, was unable to make beings to rival the power of the fey. The humans were simpler creatures. It was only by giving of the Creator’s own matter – blood and tears – that he was able to make us. But that was to his own detriment. The Nephilim were the result of the Creator’s demise. But by the time he discovered this, it was too late and Duwar had already been locked away, the gods weakened due to their conflict.”

“You told us that the Nephilim were meant to protect the keys. But you really came to find them before Aldrick, and use them.”

“No, I came to destroy them. That was never a lie. Cassial though, he wanted the very same as Aldrick.” Rafaela sucked her tongue over her teeth, followed by a sigh. “In truth, we didn’t know of the existence of the keys before Aldrick started searching. Likely because even that knowledge was not given to the fey. It wasn’t until Aldrick began his expedition to free Duwar and harness the power to change the world in his desired image. Because Aldrick was half-human, Gabrial was able to read his intentions. It was how we discovered the possibilities of these keys and used that to come over to your realm, under the guise that we were to protect you.”

“Aldrick, was he one of these Saviours you mentioned?”

Rafaela looked into my eyes, straight through my soul. “Yes. Aldrick was a child born from two realms – but not made. This was our biggest mistake. Although Aldrick was one of our many attempts to start the prophecy Gabrial shared, as you can imagine, he was one that was almost successful. Except he was no Saviour because he was born.”

“Not made,” I added, still not knowing what that entailed.

“Exactly.”

The sickness rose its head again. “And the difference is?”

“To be born from two realms is easy, but to be made is something entirely different. It requires a change, a physical alteration. It has nothing to do with realms and races, but gods. Made from two realms. Mortal and divine.”

“So, Duncan is…”

Rafaela shook her head, reading my thoughts. “He is no god. But he is something close, because he has the potential to touch the divine and survive it. Thank the Creator, otherwise he may not have lived through Duwar’s possession for this long.”

I simmered on all the knowledge unloaded upon me, trying not to drown in it.

“This is why the Nephilim punished you for destroying Altar’s keys.” It was beginning to make sense, even if I didn’t want to believe it.

“It is.”

My stomach cramped with the urge to vomit, but I held it at bay. “You and Gabrial both planned to destroy the keys to keep them away from Cassial.”

“You see now that her death, although painful to me, saved her from suffering at the hands of her own people. She is with the Creator now, in his kind embrace.”

Kind. I laughed at the word. There seemed to be nothing kind about him.

“Robin, I should have faced death by Cassial’s hand, but from my understanding, the letters he received from you attempting to reach me planted a seed of interest into your need to discuss our practices. If you had not attempted to reach me, I may have been killed long ago.”

Instead, she suffered. Over and over. Just a glance at her wingless back proved as much.

“And the gate, the one Gabrial showed me in her vision. More lies. More deceptions. You were not protecting it.”

Rafaela bristled, wrapping her arms around herself to fend off the chill of night.

“Some of us were, others wanted to open it. The gate within Irobel has been the attempt of the Nephilim tofreeDuwar. For years the Fallen have tried. Using old texts, trying to reverse Altar’s ultimate deception to the Creator. But over and over they failed. Until Aldrick showed them the way to success.”

“And what of these thousands of Nephilim that you mentioned, the ones who didn’t believe in this? Why didn’t they –you– stop those who had been corrupted?”

“We were outnumbered, it is as simple as that. Yes, there were thousands of us, but there were more of the Fallen. Poison spreads faster in willing veins, and Cassial ensured those who worshiped him were malleable subjects.”

Another thought came to mind, one which tied me back to something Rafaela had told me before.

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