It was very dark as we pulled into the hidden driveway deep within the mountains. I was rather surprised that our trip had gone so smoothly. Although all of us were feeling very anxious over what we were about to see and learn, I had the sense that we all had a lot of anticipation within us too.
Raphael stopped the SUV in the woods to keep us hidden.
"So, what do you think? Should we be cautious or just approach it?" he asked, keeping his voice quiet.
"I don't see where we'd need to be too cautious. If he's been hiding this long and is now taking care of Noah, then I can't see him being hostile." Raziel pointed out, leaning forward from the backseat.
That was true. Aiden had taken steps to hide for a long time. If he'd held any aggression towards us, he very well could've come after us, and having Noah with him, one would think that he'd have the upper hand.
"We'll walk up there and find out. I don't want any trouble unless there has to be." I told them as I opened my door.
One good thing about being Nephilim was that we had extremely good eyesight. I doubt that even a person with perfect vision as a human would've been able to see in that darkness without a flashlight, yet it was easy for us to do.
How funny to think that as a young human, I'd needed reading glasses.
Stepping out of the SUV, I took in our surroundings and felt the area out. I could sense four Nephilim in the distance. They were all still there, probably with no idea that we knew where they were.
The house had been well hidden just beyond the trees. It looked old, and to someone who just stumbled onto it, they might have thought it was abandoned. Apparently, Aiden was quite good at disguising things.
We could see a light on in what was probably the den, and another in the front entrance. There was also a car parked near the side of the house.
Yes, they were definitely home.
As we stood there, I noticed the light in the entryway suddenly go out.
"I think they just detected us," Raphael noted.
"Let's go up there," I responded.
I don't know why, but I had a distinct feeling that Aiden had told his children to hide as we came up to the house. More than likely, he did fear us. It amazed me that he'd taken Noah in if that was the case. If he'd carried fears that we may harm his children, why had he risked being found with one of ours?
Walking up onto the front porch, I tried the handle to the front door and found that it was unlocked. Raphael and I nodded at each other, and I opened it.
Stepping inside, we saw that the house was clean and looked lived in, although most of the things in it were older. Standing in the entryway, I wondered if we'd have to go looking for them.
But that question was quickly answered by the tall figure coming into the darkened hall.
"So, Ren was right. I'm glad he called me when he did. I certainly would've been more than surprised." the young man admitted.
"Aiden Renaldi, I'll presume." I guessed.
We couldn't see him very well from the bit of light that was coming from the den behind him. It had left him mostly in shadow.
"I am. I'll take it that you're Michael. You don't look that different at all from the pictures I've seen." the young man responded, taking a step forward and turning on the light.
Seeing him for the first time was truly incredible. He looked so much like Raphael. He had the same dark blue eyes and white-blonde hair. I even swore I saw a resemblance between him and Raziel. I could definitely see where they were brothers, even though they'd had different mothers.
He seemed pretty at ease with us as well. That surprised me some. I would've expected him to be more on edge.
"I'm a bit surprised to see who you brought with you. I was expecting the young fox and Sumarian." Aiden admitted.
"There was no point in bringing them when we found out exactly where you were," I told him.
"Enough of this! Where's my son?!" Raziel demanded as he took a step toward Aiden.
Aiden's eyes widened as he saw him. Apparently, he hadn't been expecting Raziel with us. But his expression quickly softened.
"He's upstairs with my children. Don't worry, he's fine now," he reassured him.
"We know that you took on Noel of your own free will. Why did you do that? Was it really because of your concern for Noah?" Raphael asked him.
Aiden nodded, "Yes. It's a burden I feel I should take on until she can be freed from the darkness plaguing her. He should have no involvement with her unless needed."
"Then you should've sent him home. It was your son who brought him here in the first place, so you should've just sent him home as soon as you removed her." Raziel informed him.
This wasn't good. He didn't seem to like Aiden now that he'd actually met him. Perhaps that resentment that I'd been worried about was finally rearing its ugly head.
"I gave Noah the choice of when he wanted to go home. He said that he wasn't ready yet." Aiden explained.
"Don't give me that! He knows how everyone was worried sick about him, especially me and his mother!" Raziel countered.
"He does," Aiden agreed, "But Noah's been trying to escape too. It seems that he's been hiding within himself for a long time. I believe that he's looking for a place to feel like he belongs."
"Noah knew that he belonged with us. Just what are you and those kids of yours feeding him?" Raziel challenged.
"That's enough, Raziel," Raphael spoke up.
Raziel wasn't ready to back down, "Come on Dad! Don't you find it a little suspicious that his son just happens to be out there when Noah decides to take off again?"
Aiden didn't seem concerned, although he did look a little put out.
"I'll admit to Yuki's impeccable timing, but he was not out there looking for Noah. He had just decided to take off again and happened to find him, and once you come to know Yuki's personality, you'll see that he was more than happy when he realized this. To be honest about it, he tends to be a born instigator, even if he's not one for being out around many people." he explained.
Oh God, not another one.
That was the first thought that popped into my head. What was it about this family having these young troublemakers?
I had to wonder if my father had secretly put a curse on me with this. He was always complaining about me when I was a teenager. Maybe he'd wished that I'd have to deal with such troubles too.
But I shook it off. No time to fret over it now.
"We're not here to cause you any trouble Aiden. It's true that we came to retrieve Noah, but we also wanted you and your children to return with us. You three are still part of this family." I told him.
The surprise clearly showed on Aiden's face, "You would?"
"What's done is done, and the past cannot be changed, but it would be better if you returned with us. It's where you should've been all along." Raphael added.
Raziel crossed his arms as he looked away, "I don't care. I just want my son back." he muttered.
"Wow. Now that's resentment." we heard a male voice say.
We looked up to see a teenage boy standing by the railing at the top of the stairs. He had the same dark eyes, but his hair was dark brown. This must have been Aiden's son.
"Yuki, I thought I told you to stay up there until I called you." Aiden scolded him.
"Come on Dad. You know that I can't sit up here and wait while God knows what happens to you. It's bad enough that you have to put forth all of that energy containing that woman." Yuki countered.
In an instant, he'd jumped over the railing and landed on his feet beside him. Something about Yuki gave me a very bad feeling, even if he wasn't being that aggressive. He had something powerful within him. I could sense it. He could be very dangerous if provoked.
I think that Raphael felt it too.
"What can he do Aiden?" he asked.
"If you'd like a demonstration, just go ahead and try to harm my father. I'll be more than happy to show you." Yuki offered.
"You're pretty confident for someone who's never met us," Raziel noted.
"Don't push him," I warned through telepathy. I had this bad feeling that if Yuki decided to do his demonstration, Aiden may not be able to stop him.
"That's enough Yuki, and show a little respect. You're talking to your grandfather and uncles." Aiden told him.
Yuki looked back at us, "Really? I'm shocked. I thought that I'd get to meet that Fox that Noah was so jealous of."
"Hey Yuki, is it also your habit to say what doesn't need to be said?" we heard Noah ask.
We looked up to see him coming to the top of the stairs. With him was a girl who looked to be around the same age as them. She was quite pretty, with the same dark blue eyes and long brown hair, though hers was lighter than Yuki's. These children must have taken after their mother in those aspects.
I was more than certain that this girl must have been Hayden. What was a little disconcerting was that she already seemed pretty close to Noah. I could sense it. Was she the real reason that he'd been so hesitant to leave? Hopefully, a little bit of time would prove me wrong and show that she had just become a close friend.
"What can I say? I'm the type who says what he thinks." Yuki stated, not acting worried at all about his attitude towards any of us.
I noticed then that Noah's eyes widened a little when he saw Raziel. I doubt that he'd expected his father to be there.
Hayden looked over at him, "So they're our family?" she guessed.
"Yeah. Come on." Noah answered, leading her down the stairs.
Hayden quickly went over beside her father and brother once she got down there. Noah faced Raziel as he stood near him.
"I know you want to, so go ahead and say it." he sighed. He didn't sound too concerned. The Noah that we'd always known was most certainly back.
"No. I'll deal with you when we get home," Raziel responded, looking at Aiden and his children.
Well, no time like the present to state what I wanted out of them.
"Aiden, I think you've realized that we have no intention of harming you or your children. All we'd like now is for you to return with us. If anything, let us find a way to remove Noel so that you don't have to worry about her causing any more harm." I requested.
Hayden looked up at him, "I think it sounds great Daddy. It can be really lonely here, and we'd have a family that's just like us." she pointed out.
"It does sound pretty good," Yuki admitted, crossing his arms.
He didn't seem as thrilled over it as his sister. Something told me that he was the distrustful type when it came to almost everyone. It made me wonder what had made him decide to stop and help Noah in the first place.
"Well, I'm not one in a position to turn down such a request from the leader of the Sapphire clan." Aiden relented.
"It's not really a request Aiden. Think of it more like an order." Raphael corrected.
Raziel sighed, "It wouldn't do you any good to try and fight them on it. They always get what they want. Or at least they do most of the time. Anyway, it's better than having to hide like this for the rest of your lives."
"Well, when you put it that way, I suppose I'll have to agree. I would like better for these two as well, so I'll go ahead and agree." Aiden agreed, looking at his son and daughter.
I can say that I knew then how deeply Aiden loved his children. For him, they were everything, and he probably would've done anything for them.
It was an attribute that I didn't think many of us had in our family for one reason or another. Although Raphael and I have always dearly loved our children, we could've done better with them when it came to our heritage. Even if Mia and Raziel were trying hard not to repeat our mistakes, sometimes I wondered if it was really doing any good.
"Good. Then let's get moving. I'd like us to get back tonight," I stated. I looked at Raziel, "Go bring the SUV up here so that we can help with taking anything they want."
Raziel nodded, then turned and headed back out.
Near me, Raphael pulled Noah aside, "No trouble Noah. There's already enough going on and your father has been very worried." he said quietly.
Noah nodded, "Understood."
Aiden had turned his attention back to his children, "Go pack what you'd like to take with you. We'll get rid of everything else." he instructed.
"Okay, Daddy." Hayden agreed. The two then headed upstairs.
"They're planning something," Raphael noted quietly as Aiden went up as well.
"He's already told me. They'll destroy this place once they're ready to leave. They don't want to leave a trace of them ever being here." Noah answered.
"How?" I asked.
"He'll get Yuki to do it, but I don't know exactly how he's going to," Noah admitted.
"That boy has a tremendous power within him. I know that you all could sense it just as I could." Raphael warned.
"What can they do?" I asked Noah. After being here as long as he had, I was certain that he must have known more about them.
"I have no idea what Yuki can do. He refused to say, and he wouldn't let Hayden tell me. But I know that Hayden is like Seraphina, except that she can only read thoughts and specific imprints in a person's mind just by touching them, and Aiden seems like he's an empath and blocker. He can sense others' emotional states no matter how good they are at hiding them, and manipulate those emotional states if he pleases." Noah explained.
Now I was concerned. That power of manipulating emotions had been Noel's specialty. It seemed that Aiden had taken her place with that.
But what was Yuki's power? If he'd refused to tell Noah, that may not bode well.
It didn't take long for Raziel to return with the truck. Moving outside to the porch, we watched as Noah walked down there with him. They didn't start arguing, but one could tell that they weren't on friendly terms. Noah was still defending his actions, and Raziel was still telling him how irresponsible he was.
"They don't always get along very well, do they?" Hayden noted as she came out with us.
I took a moment to study her appearance again. She was actually a rather small girl and reminded somewhat of Mia in how she seemed to carry herself.
But somehow, I had the feeling that she wasn't as fragile as she appeared. Hayden seemed to have a hidden strength to her, as though she'd endured a lot in her short life. Once again, it made me wonder just what might have happened with this family and whether it involved Yuki.
But I decided to leave it alone for now. If anything, perhaps I could bring it up when things were a little more settled. So instead, I just stuck to the subject at hand.
"They tend to have a personality clash at times, and he has been pretty worried about him. It's only natural that they're not too happy about seeing each other right now." I told her.
"I told Daddy that we'd feel guilty for letting him stay so long. It really wasn't very fair to you all." Hayden complained, putting her suitcase down beside her.
"Your father had good reason to let him stay, and he was honoring Noah's wishes. There are no hard feelings with this." Raphael reassured her.
Hayden studied him, "So you're my grandfather. I can't believe that I'm actually getting to meet you. I was beginning to think that it wouldn't happen."
"Strange things do happen. I wasn't expecting a few days ago to have a granddaughter either." Raphael replied. I detected a slight hint of amusement in his voice.
Hayden smiled. She seemed more than pleased about that for some reason. I'd later figure her out better in that she longed for acceptance in the Renaldi family. She wanted it even more than her father had.
"So tell me, Hayden, why is it that your brother wouldn't tell Noah what his abilities are?" I asked her.
"He's afraid. I'd tell you myself, but he might end up hurting me if he loses his temper." Hayden answered. Somehow, I didn't think that she was bluffing on that one.
By then, Aiden was coming back out with Yuki.
"Go ahead and put our stuff in the car. We'll follow them out," he instructed.
"Sure." Yuki agreed, picking up the suitcases and boxes and taking them to the nearby car with Hayden.
As they did, Raphael glanced over at Aiden, "Your daughter seems worried when she talks about him." e said quietly.
"She is. She always takes Yuki seriously, because she knows what he can do, even when he really doesn't mean to." Aiden admitted.
"Like what?" I asked.
For a moment, Aiden was quiet. He seemed to be considering his words carefully.
"You may not realize it, but I'm quite grateful for this turn of events. I know how much power you can exorcise over us Michael, and I think that it's what's needed with Yuki to help him control his power." he finally answered.
"So you're saying that he can't control it?" I responded.
That wasn't good at all. Not if he had such a powerful ability as they were alluding to.
"He's incredibly powerful for such a young Nephilim. He's only sixteen years old, but I've seen what he can do from a very early age. Once Yuki loses himself, it can be extremely difficult to bring him back. The only way that I've found that I can is to suppress his mood, and that's extremely hard in itself because he's so strong-willed. We've already had one tragedy with it. That's why he'll refuse to tell you the full extent." Aiden explained.
"One tragedy? What was it?" Raphael asked.
Aiden sighed, "It was the death of his mother, my wife Haley."
By then, we noticed that Yuki was coming back up there to us. All of us made sure to let the conversation drop. No sense in risking anything with this.
Thankfully, he hadn't seemed to notice what we'd been talking about. Instead, he let us know that they were ready to go.
"Okay. Whenever you're ready to be out of here, we're ready" Aiden said, looking back over at me.
"Good. Then let's get moving." I told them.
With that, we all got into our vehicles.
"What exactly are they thinking of doing here?" Raziel asked as I started the engine.
"We'll see as we leave," Raphael answered.
I honestly didn't know what to expect as we began going back down that driveway. But as we were halfway through the woods, we had a glimpse of some of what Yuki was capable of.
As we watched, the house suddenly exploded into black flames. It was like a dozen or so firebombs had gone off, although there was no sound. Within minutes, there was nothing left by a barren spot that indicated that a house had once been there.
By then, I was beginning to understand just what Aiden had meant about getting Yuki to control his power. If that was just a small piece of it, we may end up having some problems. That young male Nephilim was indeed very dangerous, and it might take us some time to help him to control what was inside of him.
Our ride home ended up being rather quiet. Looking in my rearview mirror, I noted that Noah had fallen asleep. It was already past midnight now, and we were more than halfway there.
Beside him, Raziel was looking out of the window, his mind obviously a million miles away.
"Are you all right?" I asked him, opening our telepathic channel for just him and Raphael.
I was glad that we could do this. I was a bit concerned about Raziel's mental state, and I didn't want to chance Noah waking up and overhearing us about it.
Raziel looked back over at me, blinking his eyes for a moment, "I'm fine. Just tired." he answered.
"Try to get some sleep then. Everything with Noah is going to be fine now, and Anna will be more than grateful to see you both when we get there." Raphael reminded him.
"I don't think that I can yet. Not until we're home and I'm back with them both." Raziel admitted. We noticed him looking over at Noah as he spoke.
"Something's bothering you," Raphael guessed.
"It's nothing really. I guess it's just getting to me now."
"What is?"
"He didn't want to come back with us. It seems like he was happier there with Aiden and his kids." Raziel stated softly.
The hurt was clearly there. Apparently, being with his parents wasn't Noah's first choice anymore, even though Raziel had been trying very hard to hold his family together.
"I wouldn't worry about it too much. Noah's had a lot going on, especially in the last year, and he is just about grown now." I reasoned.
"I know, but I just don't get it. Why would he want to keep leaving us in the dark like this? What did I do wrong to make him think that he couldn't talk to me and let me help him?" Raziel asked, leaning against the window.
I knew that Raphael and I couldn't answer that question for him. As far as we were concerned, he'd done nothing wrong. For whatever reason, Noah just didn't feel like he confide in anyone, even as a young child. It wasn't Raziel or Anna's fault. It really had been no one's.
Thinking about that, I made up my mind then that I would speak to Noah later about all of this. He could at least try to reassure his father that things were okay and that he wasn't blaming him for anything. Raziel would continue beating himself up over this if he didn't, and that didn't help his mental state. The last thing that his family needed now was for him to have a breakdown as well, and I feared that he may have been dangerously close to it.
"Michael, I think we should keep an eye on this as well. It's not that I don't trust Aiden or those children, but Noah's developed quite an attachment to them in a very short time. I'm not sure if that's such a good thing or not." Raphael suggested.
"We don't even know anything about him or them, and I heard Aiden saying something about his wife being Yuki's tragedy. What do you think he means by that?" Raziel added.
I could clearly picture Aiden's eyes as he'd told us that. Something very bad had happened back then.
"We'll have to find out later. But I really don't think that Aiden is looking to cause any trouble. He's been very sincere about everything so far, and I think that he'll try to do what's best for his children." I told them.
"You have good ears, don't you Raziel? You never miss a thing." Raphael noted.
"Not when it may concern me or my family," Raziel responded, smiling a little.
"I have to wonder if Aiden will act anything like you two." I mused.
"I'd hope not. Besides, Raziel acts nothing like me." Raphael countered.
"No. He doesn't. He's worse than you at times." I informed him.
I heard Raziel chuckle a little from the backseat. A slight smile crossed Raphael's face as he sat back a little more. He glanced in the side-view mirror as he did.
"I believe that we should also change our approach a little with Noah and the others. They may be feeling a little overprotected now, and given what's happened with him and Sevee, that may lead to more problems in the future," he continued.
"So what do you suggest?" I asked him.
"Well, I was planning on moving away from Madison in a few more months. I've just about closed on my new house down in Baton Rouge, and I'm certain that you could find one close to it as well. I believe that it would be better to just get away from Madison altogether now. There's been too much that's happened there for us to keep reliving." Raphael told me.
"So you really are planning on going to Baton Rouge?" Raziel asked, sitting up a little to readjust himself.
"Yes. The deal is just about done." Raphael confirmed.
"Great. So that means we'll have to get used to even more people staring at us when we visit." Raziel complained.
"It's unavoidable and you're well aware of that. Besides, you've never had a problem around people before. If anything, you tend to like using your looks to get your way. I'm certain that Sevee learned it from you." Raphael stated.
Raziel shrugged, briefly sticking his tongue out. While he did have a point, I could more see that happening with Noah.
"Speaking of, do you really think that Noah will do any better if he maybe stayed down there for a while?" I asked Raphael.
"Maybe. Perhaps a change of scenery will benefit him." Raphael mused.
"It's worth a shot," Raziel agreed, "But I don't think we'd go that far south. Maybe we'll go to New York. Anna's from there, so she might actually like that."
"I think she would, and it might be good for her too." Raphael agreed.
"You know, I bet Sevee would love it in Baton Rouge or New Orleans personally. I heard him and Lenore talking about maybe moving to another state eventually, and Mia and Sean weren't against it. Actually, I think they like the idea of him being able to do that with his family. At least it sounds like he wants to settle down." Raziel continued.
"Really?" I said absently. Mia hadn't mentioned that one to me, although so much had been going on recently that it didn't surprise me. Maybe we could talk about it in a few days.
"It would be up to him. He is going for his G.E.D in the Spring, and I have no doubt that he'll get it, and on top of that, he works very well with Sean. It's pretty incredible how Sevee's pulled his life together now. I believe Noah could too once he decides what he wants to do." Raphael continued.
"It's a funny thing, isn't it? Noah and Sevee can be a lot alike, but they always end up going at each other in some way." I commented.
Raphael chuckled, "They are like a yin and yang in many ways to me, but no one ever said the two don't fight for dominance."
"Hey," Raziel spoke up as he glanced at Noah again, "Do you think there's a way Anna and I could help Noah figure out what he wants in his life now?"
"I think so, but some of it will also be up to him," I answered.
"Don't keep worrying so much about it, Raziel. Noah's a good kid, and he'll figure himself out soon enough. Just give him time and be there as he needs you. That's the best thing you and Anna can do for him." Raphael advised him.
A soft smile crossed Raziel's face, "Yeah, good advice. Sounds like what you did for me back when I was his age. I sure as hell caused you to worry about me a lot."
Raphael chuckled, now wearing the same smile, "You weren't the easiest kid, and there were some terrible things that happened that I wish I could've done more to prevent, but I knew you'd make a good life for yourself as you got older, and I've always been proud of you, no matter what happened. So, stop beating yourself up for what you can't control. Things will work out in time. I can promise you that."
The rest of the trip ended up being somewhat quiet again after this conversation. The three of us spoke about lighter things, trying to take our minds off of our worries for at least a little while. It was a welcome release from all of the pressures that had been on us for so long now. I was just hoping that things would continue going this well once we got home.