Rise Of The Nephilim
Chapter 19

Maxine and Zeda stood inches away from their table in the aisle.

“I think I’m as good as dead,” Zeda said.

“No. You’ll get stronger; I’m sure of it. Besides, I wasn’t exactly a huge success either.”

“But, you―”

“I thought this day would never end,” Silla said to Maxine, pushing her way past Zeda. Zeda gave her a stern look.

“Yeah, I know. I’m not looking forward to tomorrow by any means.”

“You did pretty well, for a newbie. When I first arrived―seems like a millennium ago―I couldn’t even hold a damn sword in my hand. You . . . you’re a natural.”

“Hey, sister,” Haman called as he also pushed by Zeda, Shian at his heels. “You were impressive.”

“Hardly,” Maxine said, faintly smiling. She wondered what had changed. Haman had not been the kindest to her when she’d first arrived.

“By the way, I cannot thank you enough for saving my life yesterday. After the way I’d treated you, I would not have blamed you if you wished me dead.”

“Good for you, brother,” Shian said.

“You would be dead, indeed,” Silla chuckled.

Gaden joined in the conversation. “I’m glad you finally came to your senses, brother.”

Maxine thought it strange that his demeanor had changed so drastically:from cold, hard silence to warm chatter. Perhaps the anxiety of battle training had gotten the better of him.

“We should go to the sanctuary for a late evening dip,” Silla suggested.

“Yes, that is exactly what we need!” Shian agreed.

“Yeah, that’s not a bad idea. We’ve earned it,” said Haman, his eyes gleaming.

Maxine looked around for Zeda but noticed that she was gone. “Where is Zeda?” she asked.

“She’s probably back in her room by now,” Silla suggested. “No doubt crying her eyes out.” Guilt rushed through Maxine. “I think that we may as well kiss our sister goodbye,” Silla continued. “Her death is imminent. There’s no way she’ll be able to defeat the Epoch in a real challenge. She’s too weak.”

Shian nodded her head in agreement. “Father says weakness will lead us to doom,” she said.

Gaden placed his arm around Silla. “I think she’ll be the first to lose her neck,” he said.

Maxine gave them all a stern look. It bothered her that they were so quick to talk about their sister’s demise. “Not if we help her.”

Silla gave her an awkward look as if Maxine had said something forbidden. “If father heard that, he would be angry. He says if we can’t stand alone, we can’t stand at all.”

An awkward silence filled the space between them.

“Yeah, so are we going to the sanctuary for a swim then?” Haman said.

“You guys go ahead. I’m way too tired to do anything else tonight,” Maxine said. She wanted to go replace Zeda. Console her. After all, she believed that, had it been her, Zeda would have done the same. She had not known her for very long, but it did not take a long time to learn the quality of a person. Zeda was good and worked hard to please others.

Silla tugged at Maxine’s hands, mischievously smiling.

“Oh, come now, sister. Don’t be such a prude. Let’s go have a bit of fun.”

Before Maxine had a chance to decline, Haman scooped her up over his shoulders.

Maxine squealed, “Put me down!” Laughter filled the room. They ran with Maxine toward the sanctuary, ignoring her complaints.“What about our swimsuits?” she asked, feeling annoyed and completely restrained.

“There’s no need for modesty here,” Silla said.

Shian giggled. “Yeah, naked rules.”

Haman, weary with Maxine on his back kicking and yelling to be put down, slammed her back to the ground as they drew closer to the sanctuary. But before she had a chance to catch her breath, Silla grabbed her hand. “Come on, sister, let’s have some fun!” She pulled her towards the sanctuary.

Maxine decided that there would be no point in fighting. Her thoughts and feelings simmered in a stew of conflict, for part of her wanted to be happy for finally feeling accepted, while the other part of her burned with the thought of betraying Zeda.