Page 97 of Scrooged for the Holidays
“Interesting. I would have thought if a place like heaven existed, it would be accepting.”
“It can be hard for many to understand and accept what they don’t know. Often, Nephilim are born out of a night of passion. Kai claims his mother swore she met her angel lover in a dream. Remi’s mother wouldn’t speak of her night with his father, and my mother wished for me to leave her care because she was afraid of what I was.
“This place, the magic of it”—I look around at the library and gesture with my hands to the beyond—“called to each of us when we needed it, much like it did for you. Remiel arrived first, then Malachi, and lastly, me. We’ve lived here together for over three-hundred years and are guardians of this town and those who visit here.”
Her eyes bug out of her head. “What?”
“Which part are you what-ing about?”
She levels her gaze at me. “All of it, but I meant your age.” She raises a brow. “Do you know when your birthdays are?”
“It’s inconsequential. Though with Kai’s ability to see the past and his love for history, he could tell you. But after a time, years don’t matter.”
“I’ll admit,” she says then pauses. “This sounds completely…”
“…impossible?”
She laughs, the sound floaty and soft. “That’s one way to put it, though I’m really wondering if I crashed in that snowstorm and I’m in a coma somewhere. That would make more sense than a town that appears when people need it and is full of half human, half angels who are not only insanely attractive but are also hundreds of years old and for some reason interested in me?”
Her eyes widen. “Oh, and you can’t forget I’ve been living moments from my past and present that I never expected anyone to see but me, much less otherworldly beings I’ve been intimate with.” She pauses for a long moment, her cheeks staining a delicate pink.
“Kai and Remi would never judge you, Greer. They’re the best beings I know. When they were guiding you, did you feel like they did?”
She releases a tense breath and thinks for a moment. Eventually, her shoulders ease, and the pink leaves her cheeks. “No, they didn’t.”
“Good.”
She shifts in her chair, eyes connecting with mine, one brow slightly lifted. Her curious and challenging nature is back, emblazoned on her features. “I’m assuming you’re on deck for some fun time with me and my future tonight?”
I pause and lean forward. “You would assume right.”
She nods, accepting it better than I thought she would. “And I’m for sure not in a coma or dead?”
I deepen the intensity of my gaze. “No, you’re not. You’re perfectly alive and well, Greer—of that, I’m sure.”
She laughs a bit louder and rubs a hand over her face. “Right. Could you explain now why this is all happening to me? You said I was drawn here, much like you and the others were, out of need, but I’m not part angel, am I?”
I shake my head. “You’re not.”
She nods, her brow pinched in thought. “So was it God who picked me or something? Or was it because I just happened to need a place to stay during the storm?”
“You really want to know?”
“I wouldn’t be asking if I didn’t.”
I hold her gaze for a moment before speaking. “I’ll explain from the beginning, so you have the full picture.”
She nods, and I continue.
“There’s much about Nephilim that is unknown, even to those of us who are one. There aren’t many of us roaming around on earth, and most live here. The magic of the town calls to them like it did to me, Remi, and Kai.
“When Remi arrived, the Nephilim guardians here taught him everything they knew about the town and passed the guardianship to him when he was ready to take over. Eventually, Kai and I joined him in that guardianship.”
“Is there a reason it was the three of you?”
I dip my chin. “We’re the three most powerful Nephilim that we know of on earth and have the skills to see the past, present, and future. The power we’ve been given lends itself to help those Elysian Pines pulls to our borders.”
“So you’re saying it was the town that chose me?”
