The Last Nephilim

Chapter 1-1

Chapter 1

Eli glanced out the airplane’s window and as the clouds parted, saw the ground below. A flight attendant announced their impending approach, first in Spanish and then in English. Eli turned to Josh, who sat in the middle seat. Josh’s eyes closed as he leaned toward Sully. Eli deliberated for a second if he should wake him but thought that Josh could use another moment of sleep. Eli checked to make sure that Josh had his seatbelt fastened. Sully slept next to him. Eli lifted the blanket that both collegians shared and confirmed that Sully had his safety belt on, too. He smiled at their clasped hands. Both Josh and Sully had settled into a comfortable partnership, calling each other boyfriend readily and easily. Josh now insisted that Eli not call him Joshua, because Sully thought Josh sounded cuter than Joshua, and Sullivan stopped fighting Josh’s use of Sully, instead of Sullivan, for the same reasons.

Eli tugged his own fastened seatbelt even though he didn’t need it. He could survive even at this altitude. Satisfied that both Josh and Sully were belted in and safe, his thoughts drifted to the past.

How long had it been?

Eli strained to see if he could make out the ancient city, a town he remembered from two millennia ago.

Teotihuacan.

Smog now blanketed the area, penned in by mountains. He closed his eyes and remembered his search of Micha so long ago. Eli had fond memories of the Nahuatl-speaking peoples who congregated in the swampy basin of Central Mexico, clustered around an ancient plaza, which would later be known as the Pyramid of the Sun. He remembered the Mixtecs, and Maya, and how voracious they’d been in learning about farming, the sun, and the planets. He taught them as much as he could before he had to move on before his secret would be exposed and because of his frustrations that the natives continued to use human sacrifice.

Josh leaned across Eli to gaze out the window. “Not a lot of skyscrapers in Mexico City?”

“Not many places are like New York City.”

“Looks like it’s got a big problem with smog.”

Eli nodded. “No more than L.A. The mountains surround the city. Here.” Eli pointed. “You can see the biggest ones from here. Ajusco is right there, and over there is Nevado de Toluca and Iztacclhuatl.” Eli thought about telling Josh the names he knew them before they were renamed but realized the past was irrelevant in this instance.

“How do the names roll off your tongue?” asked Josh, his head c****d to one side. “When was the last time you were here?”

Eli smiled. “A long time ago.” Both Eli and Josh peered out the window, as the plane made its circular route around the city, in queue, waiting for clearance to land.

“I dreamt of my father,” whispered Josh.

“Oh?” asked Eli. “Good dreams?”

“I dreamt he didn’t want to know me or have a relationship.” Josh paused. “Uncle Eli, what if he doesn’t want anything to do with me? Or you?”

“Micha will reject me quicker than he will deny you.” Eli patted Josh’s hand resting on the armrest. “Remember he doesn’t know who he is. When I tell him that we are lovers going back almost three thousand years and he’s my reincarnated lover going by the name of Adam Michaelson…well…what do you think?”

Josh laughed. “I guess you do have a point. Should I speak to him first, or should you?”

Eli caught his reflection in the window. The cabin lights created an imperfect mirror as dark clouds moved in from Mexico City. His oval face had a perfectly sculpted long nose, not too big or wide, that tapered to full lips and a dimpled chin, below. He looked a few years older than Josh’s nineteen, but not by much. At least on the outside.

“Before we introduce ourselves to him we’ll figure out what, given the situation, would work first.”

Sully stirred in his seat and yawned, stretching his legs out underneath the seat in front him as he groaned, dropping the blanket that had covered them as he moved. “God, when are we going to f*****g land?” asked Sully. “I feel like my butt’s been soldered to this chair.”

“Soon. I think we’re circling waiting to land.” Josh moved closer to Sully.

Eli watched them kiss lightly. “I’m going to have to get used to you guys showing affection.” As he spoke, he saw Josh blush slightly.

“Sometimes, Uncle Eli, I forget you’re from a different mindset.”

Eli didn’t respond, silent as the plane slowly made its descent. He remembered Josh’s earlier question and wondered what Micha would do when confronted with Josh’s presence and Eli’s.

Adam Michaelson didn’t know that a summer college fling had resulted in a surprise pregnancy. Josh’s mother had never told him, and when she’d changed her mind, she hadn’t been able to track down Adam. Josh had grown up hating his biological father. That anger and hatred had grown as Josh bounced from foster home to foster home after his mother died when he was young and when he aged out of foster care; Josh became homeless at the age of eighteen. It took all of Eli’s convincing the last few months for Josh to accept the fact that Micha, or Adam, had no idea that Josh existed and to give Micha a chance.

Eli didn’t want to admit to Josh that Micha had, in different reincarnations, difficulty accepting the fact that Eli and Micha were lovers from ancient Egypt. Eli remained unchanged by time, and in those rare instances when a reincarnated Micha didn’t accept Eli, Eli would return a few years later to persuade Micha again. Eli’s never aging image was persuasive.

This time was different. He’d never met Micha with another human. Even though Josh knew the true extent of Eli’s powers as a Nephilim, they both kept Sully in the dark, an issue that caused conflict between Josh and Eli since Josh wanted to have Sully aware of everything in his life. Even about the almost-immortal Eli.

What if Micha/Adam rejected them both? Eli would hazard the storm, and wait out the time until Adam was ready to accept the truth. He wasn’t sure what would happen to Josh if Micha/Adam rejected Josh. That would be the cruelest thing to happen to Josh. Josh and Sully helped Eli track Micha using social media, but even as they did so, Josh had been reluctant to meet his father. Josh had only changed his mind recently after Eli bought airline tickets and waved Josh’s boarding pass in Josh’s face.

Now, Eli just hoped Josh wouldn’t regret coming with him to Mexico.