“I am not interested in procreating with humans like the rest of you,” Lucius corrected him sharply. “I came here to teach and observe, as was the original purpose here.”
“We all came here with the same purpose,” Armaros said defensively. “But what were we to do when we saw all of their men had been murdered? They needed our protection and care.”
“So, you say,” Lucius muttered. “And now you are all trapped here, bound to Earth to care for your children.”
“Earth is not so bad.” Armaros shrugged.
“Well, I have no interest in taking advantage of human weakness.” Lucius informed him as he began to walk away.
“Whatever you say, brother,” Armaros chuckled, ducking back into his hut.
Lucius reached his abode, once the home of a Watcher before he retreated with his children to Mount Hermon, a safe haven turned fortification for the Watchers and their offspring, giant humanlike creatures with angel wings. It was a humble dwelling, but one with sturdy walls that offered him quiet solitude. He was looking forward to its sanctuary, startled to discover Michael already waiting for him inside. He’d helped himself to the chair behind Lucius’s desk, looking over the tablet he’d carelessly left open. Michael searched his face. “Why study Egyptian texts when this is your job now?”
“You do not control what I do in my spare time,” Lucius reminded him coldly.
“Where were you just now?”
“A child wandered into my house. I escorted her home.”
Michael seemed satisfied with the answer, rising from the seat. On Earth, he appeared human, his thick ivory wings absent from his muscular back. He still kept his sword nearby, however, the blade laying neatly at his side. “Do you have the reports for this week?”
Lucius went to his shelf and selected a roll of papyrus. “I believe that Armaros has impregnated his human wife and will be moving to the mountains shortly,” he informed Michael as he handed him the scroll. “There are only a few original Watchers still left in town. Other than that, the reports are the same. Occasionally, those who have moved to Mount Hermon come into town to visit and make trade. The human settlement continues to expand into a proper village, the humans using what they learn from the Watchers to cultivate the land. They now make furniture with cypress trees exported out of the mountains, make crude weapons from iron, predict the weather to improve their planting, and create their own medicine. All unremarkable actions common to any growing civilization.”
“And have you been able to gain passage into their fortification yet?” Michael asked as he unrolled the papyrus to examine what Lucius had recorded. “Do you know what kinds of weapons they possess?”
Lucius sighed. “I have visited the mountains, but I cannot get close enough to observe, since it remains heavily guarded. From my estimations, there are at least seventy Watchers still alive and at least double the number of offspring. It is hard to say how many of the human women still live, but I have heard whispers that they do not survive long after they give birth to the Nephilim.”
Michael rolled up the scroll. “What about the mother of the twins? Perhaps you can use her to gain access to the stronghold.”
Lucius darkened. “I have no interest in human women. That is not what I have been brought here for.”
“As if you are above using manipulation tactics,” Michael dryly pointed out. “That is precisely the reason we chose you.”
“I have already told you how many there are, so why not attack them now?” Lucius asked. “Your numbers far exceed theirs. My true skill set lies in waging war—let me guide you there, instead of wasting time as an informer.”
Michael had stiffened, his lips pressing into a line. “It is my skill set as well, for I am General of Heaven’s Great Army. I would like to see the type of creatures we are dealing with before I send hundreds of angels to their deaths.”
“I did not mean to upset you.” Lucius put up his hands in defense. “I will find a way to breach their fortifications.”
“You had better,” Michael said with a lingering scowl. “Need I remind you, we pulled you out of Tartarus for our purposes. It would be a pity to have to send you back.”
Lucius sighed, suddenly wondering if that wasn’t such a bad idea.
Three more days went by before the twins’ next visit, and Lucius found he was relieved to see them. This time, they carried across their little arms a sash dyed the most beautiful shade of purple he had ever seen.
“What is this?” he asked, as they proceeded to hand it to him.
“Mama made it for you,” Ashera explained. “She traded the bracelet you made her at the market for figs and nuts. We had enough for three dinners! She wanted to say thank you, so she made you this.”
“She does not have to thank me,” Lucius murmured, though he was touched, examining the fabric in his hands.
“Mama is very proud,” Ashera informed him with a knowing tone.
He looked down at the children standing at his feet. “Do you often go without food?”
For the first time, sadness crossed over Ashera’s soft doe eyes. Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Sometimes, but do not tell Mama. She works so hard.”
Lucius frowned. “Follow me.”
He marched the twins into the marketplace, where vendors bargained the last of their wares before the day’s end. Ashera kept up with his long stride, but Abi seemed tired, so Lucius scooped him up in one arm as they navigated the carts, filling up a basket with more figs, nuts, wheat, and wrapped slabs of meat. When the basket got too heavy for Ashera to carry, he held her in his other arm, trying to ignore the smirking Watchers as he headed towards Elissa’s tent, food and children in tow.
Elissa was so surprised to see them that her hands flew up to her mouth, staring at him with wide eyes. “I cannot accept this!”
Lucius pointed to the sash she’d made for him, which he’d draped across his tunic. “This is far too nice a gift for me to accept, so I had to make sure things were even.”
“Then you must join us for dinner,” she insisted.
The twins jumped up and down, delighted at the prospect. “Yes, please stay!” Ashera echoed.
Lucius smiled, overcome with the first genuinely pleasant sensation he’d felt for many years. “I would be delighted,” he told them.
The days went on in this way, Lucius and Elissa engaging in a battle of generosity, seeing who could out-gift the other. Ashera strolled into his house at will, always followed by Abi, begging him to come over for dinner when the sun set. Elissa’s nerves had finally settled, finally able to flex and move her once shriveled hands. She now wore her head held high as she strolled through town, Ashera and Abi healthy and thriving, dressed in clean clothes with proper sandals on their feet.
Lucius continued his observations, though he noticed Michael stopped pressing him to infiltrate the Watchers’ stronghold. He didn’t feel moved to bring it up for he was adjusting to his new life, any thoughts of Nephthys and his brother fading further and further from his mind as the days passed. He enjoyed spending time with the children, their simple innocence something he’d never gotten the chance to experience in his former life. They managed to surprise him every day with their thoughtfulness and views on the world around them, little minds that absorbed everything he taught them, as they managed to teach him as well.
“Do you love my mother?” Ashera asked him randomly one day.
