Before the Fall Page 13

  The wind blew and his scent surrounded her. She clutched his neck, bringing him closer, wanting his taste and more of his intoxicating scent. He gave out a small moan, tightening his hold on her.

  A jolt electrified her body when his tongue slid across the seam of her lips. She parted them and his tongue dipped into her mouth, stroking every part of her, each stroke setting her body on fire.

  She felt weightless against him, thankful that he was holding her up. When he loosened his hold and his hand ghosted up the small of her back, she tightened her hold around his neck, fearing that she would fall.

  When he finally pulled back, his light eyes were dark. His breath was staggered.

  “You kissed me,” she said breathlessly.

  “I was looking for the right moment but you wouldn’t stop talking. Any headaches?”

  “No.”

  “Good, then I’ll kiss you again.”

  18

  Lahash gazed out into the rising sun as he stood surrounded by the herd of sheep and goats. Leaning on his walking staff, he started up the hillside, urging the herd to move with soft calls and whistles. He went to the lead ewe and tossed out crumbs of dry bread. He couldn’t remember the last time he had felt this excited about anything. In less than an hour, Naomi would join him like she had done over the last few weeks.

  He couldn’t believe that she cared for him. Even now, it was a miracle to him that someone so beautiful, so honest and brave, would prefer him over any other man in Ai, including his brother.

  He chuckled to himself when he thought how surprised Jeremiel would be when he found out he had been seeing Naomi. He didn’t tell anyone about her. Though there were many times he wanted to climb up the city wall and shout it from the top for all of Ai to hear.

  His mother knew. She would throw him glances and seemed to be as happy as he was about it. She never brought up Naomi coming to visit and it didn’t appear that his father knew either. His father acted the same way toward him as he always did. Though he did catch his father looking at him with an odd expression on his face. It was like his father had never seen him smile before.

  He knew he would have to tell his father soon. He wanted to spend his life with Naomi and he planned to ask Gideon for her hand soon. As was tradition, he needed to offer her father a gift when he asked for permission to marry her. He had nothing of value to give yet. Most of what belonged to the family was given to the first-born. He knew that it was tradition and all families did that. Yet, he was hoping that maybe his father would see things differently. Or maybe his mother would argue on his behalf. Either way, he needed to go to Gideon soon to make his plea to him before someone else in Ai did.

  He looked up and saw a majestic bird soaring through the air—its white feathers spread wide as it soared against the pale blue sky. His favorite color because it reminded him so much of Naomi.

  He closed his eyes, taking in the warmth of the sun on his face. Today is the day I will tell her. She needs to know that I want to be her husband, her protector.

  He took in a deep breath and smiled. For once, there was no doubt in his mind that she felt the same way about him.

  He felt someone watching him. He opened his eyes and turned, looking up the hill. Naomi stood at the top. Her dark hair shone like velvet beneath her white shaviss. Her lips were slightly parted as she gazed intently at him. It was moments like this when he was thankful for his gifts of being able to see farther than other people or he wouldn’t have been able to see the love that shone on her face. And that love was for him.

  ***

  Naomi watched Lahash as he wove his way in between the grazing sheep, using his staff to propel him upward, the muscles in his legs flexing with each move that he made. She stood transfixed, watching his every move. When he grew closer, he tugged at the thick woven rope than held his keffiyah in place. He removed the head covering, tossing it aside.

  “You should be careful where you put your keffiyah,” she said.

  He placed his right hand to her neck, his thumb brushing her cheek. “Why is that?”

  “You don’t have to wash it. It will just be harder to—”

  She sucked in a breath when he rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip.

  “Harder to what?” He dipped his head, his breath mingling with hers.

  “To . . . clean.”

  His head covering was all but forgotten when hot lips gently sucked her lower lip. She melted into his arms and ran her hands through his thick hair. His lips traveled over her face, her cheeks, her eyelids, and down her neck. Each touch of his lips was gentle as if they were worshiping her.

  His hands skimmed over her body as if memorizing her curves. Under his breath, he mumbled something about perfect skin and glistening water.

  She felt him grow hard against her. A groan rumbled in his chest. The sound of it drove her crazy and she clutched him tighter when he tried to pull away.

  “Naomi,” his voice with ragged. “I cannot go any further with you.”

  She pressed herself against him and he groaned again. “Why not?”

  “You are a maiden still.”

  “So.”

  “Your innocence is to be revered and not to be taken amongst the sheep and the goats on a hillside.” He pulled away from her.

  “Do you not want me?”

  Eyes simmering with passion locked with hers. “I want no other.”

  She took a step toward him. “Then, I am yours.”

  He took a step back. She took another step forward. Then an ewe ambled between them, chewing the grass. Lahash let out an audible sigh.

  They stared at each other for a moment then laughed. As she patted the ewe’s head, his face grew serious.

  “Naomi, there is something I want to ask you.”

  “Yes?”

  “Would you mind if I go to your father and ask for his permission to be betrothed to you?”

  “What took you so long? I feared that I would be an old maid waiting for you.”

  “You? An old maid?”

  “Of course. I am way past the age of marriage. Many of my childhood friends are with their second child. Some even on their third.”

  “Well, then. We will have to remedy that soon.”

  She beamed. There was nothing she wanted more than to have his children. She walked around the ewe and went to him. Standing on her toes, she brushed her lips against his. “Yes we will.”

  He groaned before ducking his head and kissing her deeply.

  There was a pair of high-pitched giggles.

  “What was that?” He jumped back, startled by the sound.

  She rolled her eyes and peered in the direction of the bushes.

  “Lilia. Leah. Come out of there.”

  The two girls scrambled out. They went to Naomi and stood by her side. Both of them stared up at him and continued to giggle.

  Lahash laughed at the sight of them. Naomi was mesmerized by the way his face lit up when he smiled and the deep rumble in his chest when he laughed. He was so different from when she had first seen him. His face had been a mask, as if he didn’t want to let anyone in. That is, until he met her sisters. Most men in the city thought of her sisters or the other little girls in the city as a nuisance. Not Lahash. He actually cared for them.

  Leah had her arm around Lilia. Lilia’s hair was wild like a bird’s nest with leaves in her hair. She wondered how long they had been watching.

  Lahash squatted down and plucked the leaves out of Lilia’s hair.

  Her heart skipped a beat at that simple gesture.

  “I didn’t know pretty little girls lived in the bushes. If I had known, I would have looked a long time ago.”

  Lilia giggled and buried her head into Leah’s chest.

  “And here’s another lovely young lady just as beautiful as her sister,” he said to Leah.

  Leah smiled at him shyly.

  Naomi felt a warmth in her chest as she watched Lahash tease her sisters. There was no doubt that he woul
d be a wonderful father. How could anyone not see how wonderful this man was? When Lahash went to her father to ask permission to marry, he would have to say yes.

  “What do we say, Leah and Lilia?”

  “Thank you,” they said in unison.

  He winked at them and stood. “Well at least I didn’t make them cry this time.”

  She laughed. “I think they’ve gotten used to seeing such a devastatingly handsome man. What are you two doing out here? You know father would be angry if he found out.”

  “Father sent us to find you,” Leah said.

  “He did?” she felt the blood rush from her face. “He doesn’t know I am here. How did you know where to find me?”

  “Mother told him.”

  She groaned. “She promised not to say anything to him.”

  Her father had strong opinions as to who she should be with. It was no secret that he had strongly favored Saleos. She shuddered. Though, since the games, he had spoken frequently of Jeremiel. On some occasions, she had run into him conversing with her father whenever she had returned from an outing with Lahash. He would give her a polite nod and they would have a brief conversation but nothing more.

  “What’s wrong, Naomi?” Lahash asked.

  “My father is very . . . picky about who I spend my time with. I don’t think he would approve if he knew I was with you,” she said. “He has his own preferences.”

  He frowned. “Preferences? Who?”

  “Saleos.”

  His nostrils flared. “He’d rather you be with him?”

  She nodded.

  “Is there another?” He looked at her intently.

  She swallowed thickly. How could she tell him that her father favored his brother? Would he fear going to her father to ask for her hand if he knew?

  “Tell me, Naomi. Who else must I challenge to win your hand in marriage?”

  She looked down, playing with Lilia’s hair. “Jeremiel.”

  He sucked in his breath.

  “He’s with father right now,” Leah said.

  “What? Are you sure? This is not one of your pretend plays is it?”

  Leah’s eyes widened and she shook her head. “He really is there. And he brought his father too.”

  “Oh, no.” Naomi sank to the ground on her knees. This was it. There was only one reason why Jeremiel would bring Raphael when he never had before.

  “Father says you need to come home right away,” Leah added.

  She looked to Lahash. His lips thinned into a fine line and his nostrils flared.

  “Lahash. I’m so sorry,” she said.

  His face softened as he looked at her. “You have nothing to be sorry for. Besides, there could be other reasons why they are there.”

  His face looked hopeful.

  Her heart broke just a little bit at the sight of it.

  “I should have told my father about you.”

  “Would he have listened even if you had?”

  She sighed. “No, but still...”

  He placed a light kiss on her lips. “You are the perfect daughter. You bring honor to your family. To go against your father would bring disgrace and shame to you. I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

  Her eyes began to tear. “I don’t want to lose you.”

  He wove his hand into her hair, touching the nape of her neck. Pressing his forehead against hers, he said, “You won’t. Go home with your sisters. I will be there as soon as I can.”

  She closed her eyes. She didn’t want to leave. She had a bad feeling about this. Something inside her told her that once she left everything would change.

  “I don’t want to leave,” she whispered, her voice quivering.

  “You are strong, Naomi. Keep being strong. We will be together. I will do everything in my power to have a lifetime with you. I promise.”

  19

  A cloud of dust swirled around Uriel’s feet as he paced the side of the mountain, waiting for Lucifer’s arrival. To the east was the great city wall that surrounded Ai, protecting its citizens. To the west was a sea of sand and rock that lay between the mountain and Jericho. The mountain was eerily quiet with neither human nor animal near it. It was a place where Lucifer could do what he needed to do without any interference.

  He glanced at Jether and Joab. They stood as twin statues, dark eyes staring out into the valley below. They were so different from Jeremiel and Lahash. It was as if they had been born into the darkness, and they had not even been changed by Lucifer yet. He shuddered at the thought of what they would be like once Lucifer was finished with them.

  Uriel looked at Saleos, who waited patiently off to the side. In many ways he was like his Nephilim brothers, having an unyielding need for power and immortality. But even in him, Uriel could see some humanity. Deep within Saleos there was some of his mother, Jael.

  Uriel had spent his time in Ai watching over them. Whenever Jeremiel came into the city, which he had done more frequently the last few weeks, Saleos had acknowledged him briefly with a smile on his face. It was almost as if he admired Jeremiel. Uriel wondered if it weren’t for Baka’s and Lucifer’s constant influence whether Saleos would be different.

  “Saleos, are you sure you want to do this? Neither you nor your brothers know what you are getting into.”

  A cold swept through him despite the heat of the day as two pairs of black eyes glared at him.

  He stepped away from the twin Nephilim and went to Saleos, forcing a smile on his face.

  “Come now, Saleos.” He nudged him with his elbow. “You don’t want to be tied down to Lucifer. You can be free to do what you want without him, and you can keep the gifts you have now.”

  Saleos slowly turned to him, his tanned face a mixture of emotions. For a moment, Uriel thought he was actually considering what he said.

  “Lucifer is coming,” Jether said, his voice monotone.

  Saleos blinked and the moment was lost.

  “How do you know?”

  “Do you not hear him?” Joab asked gruffly.

  Saleos threw Uriel a glare, his muscles tensing as he spoke. “I do not. He could be the enemy and I cannot hear him. So in answer to your question, Uriel”—he leaned into him threateningly—“I am sure that this is what I want.”

  Saleos was a large man, much like his father. Although Uriel had the powers of an archangel ready at his disposal, for that one brief moment he actually feared him.

  “Why should I listen to someone like you? You are Lucifer’s lap dog running around the countryside fetching humans for him,” Saleos sneered. “You shall never find one as worthy as I am. I may start as Lucifer’s foot soldier. But someday, unlike you, I mean to rule beside him as an equal. And in order to do that, I must become like him.”

  “You will leave your father and mother behind?”

  An odd chorus of laughter came from behind him from Jether and Joab.

  “They are weak. My father is weak for not having the courage to do this for himself first before bedding my mother. If he had, I wouldn’t be in this position pleading for Lucifer to change me. I would have been like Jeremiel. As it was, he had to get someone else for my mother so that she could give birth to Jether and Joab. And my mother, she is weak for allowing herself to be taken. She should have killed herself before letting that happen.”

  He turned to his brothers. “Yet, I am happy that she did.”

  His brothers grunted in agreement.

  “You can’t mean that,” Uriel said. “Your mother raised you, cared for you, all of you, to be who you are today. How could you shun her?”

  “She did her job well. But she is only a woman. I am surprised, Uriel. You have done the same.”

  He balked. “I have not.”

  “Come now, Uriel. It is no secret that you have had sexual relations with many women throughout this land.”

  Jether’s and Joab’s grunts of approval made him sick to his stomach. It was true. He was no different from Saleos and his brothers. In his mind, he had som
ehow convinced himself that the women he bedded got as much from him as he did from them. Why was it only now that he was realizing the ramifications of what he had done?

  “Ah, Uriel, I see you are ready with Baka’s sons. Well done, my friend.”

  Uriel turned and saw Lucifer. Next to him were a dozen men. Some he recognized as men he had identified for Lucifer as those with potential. Others were Nephilim. All were muscular and similar in height and build to Saleos and his brothers.

  There was something strange about the Nephilim that stood at Lucifer’s side. They didn’t look how he remembered them. They still had that unearthly beauty that the other Nephilim like Jeremiel and Lahash had, but it was different. He looked over them carefully. Then one of the half-angels turned his head. Uriel staggered back at the grotesque face, horrified. When Uriel blinked, the face turned back to normal.

  He swallowed the bile that worked its way up his throat.

  “You have changed them.”

  Lucifer’s lips curled into a slow smile, his eyes lighting up when he glanced at his creations. “They are magnificent, are they not? Saleos, take a look at what you are to become.”

  Saleos took a step forward, inspecting the demons. They stood silent as statues, just like his brothers, except their black eyes stayed focused on Lucifer, waiting for his command. “Yes, they are.”

  He marched to Lucifer with determination and got down on his knee, bowing his head.

  “I am ready to do your will . . . Master.”

  “No,” Uriel’s voice was a hoarse whisper.

  “Is there a problem?”

  He swallowed thickly as Lucifer’s eyes turned to thin slits. No one moved or made a sound. His heart pounded against his chest, each beat screaming for him to stop Lucifer.

  He couldn’t let this happen. When would he stop? At a dozen? Two dozen? Then he recalled Lucifer’s threat. If he could create evil like this, there was no doubt that his threats were real. Lucifer could kill him.

  Guilt rolled in his stomach as he shook his head.