"Are you ready?" he asked.
I nodded and followed him to one of the most rare sights in Manhattan. A parking spot. He waved at a red sports car and it unlocked using his scanned hand print.
When he opened the passenger door for me, I slipped in and sank into the leather comfort. "This is the newest e-Drive on the market," I said when he got in. "They aren't cheap."
He grinned. "No, they aren't."
"But you've been unconscious for years." I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. "Where did you get the money to pay for this?"
He started the engine, bypassed the auto drive feature, and pulled out. "I've lived a long time in this world, Scarlett, and I've accumulated a massive amount of wealth. I've also acquired a decent survival instinct. I have safe houses throughout the world with stashes for emergencies. Today, I used one."
"Smart," I said. "Given how much you spent on this beauty, why aren't you letting it drive, since that's what it was designed to do?"
He shook his head. "I prefer to stay in control as much as possible. Less chances of ending up dead that way."
Our drive took an hour and led us to a long stretch of wilderness on the outskirts of Manhattan. He pulled up to a property that had seen better days, with overgrown weeds, debris littering the grounds and shambled buildings lining the entryway to the main building.
I looked up and smiled. This place was amazing. Even in its current state it was magnificent—an old cathedral that rivaled the Notre Dame and was made of black obsidian that glinted in the sunlight.
"What is this place?" I asked as we parked and got out.
"It belonged to the Nephilites. It was their main temple before the war. They believed Nephilim were gods. Angels returned to protect the earth and lead the people. They would offer their blood as sacrifice and erected this cathedral as a place of worship. They created a community around it, which is what those other buildings were for. Lodging, storage, barns."
"That religion is outlawed now," I said. "Anyone caught practicing is sentenced to death." I walked around, admiring the architecture as Evie pulled up footage of the cathedral before the war. I scanned the articles briefly. "It looks like this place was destroyed during the war and all the worshippers were hanged as heretics and traitors."
I stepped on something soft underfoot and bent to pick it up. A doll. Old, torn, weathered, but once belonging to a child who had lived here, who had played here, and who had ultimately died here.
"Do you believe Nephilim are gods?" I asked.
"No, I do not." His lips were set in a grim line. "But people should be allowed to believe as they wish and worship as they are led, as long as they do not harm others."
A memory returned to me, one I hadn't recalled in many years. I was young and the Nephilim War had just erupted into international news, but no one knew what the outcome would be. No one knew the devastation that war would cause for all involved on both sides.
I remembered sneaking downstairs one night to watch the news with my parents when I was supposed to be asleep. They showed a clip of several Nephilim in flight, their gorgeous wings outstretched, some blue, some purple, some bright gold or yellow, all captivating to a child who dreamed of nothing but flying.
My dad caught me and walked me back to bed.
"I want to be Nephilim when I grow up, Daddy," I told him as he tucked me in.
"Why is that, my little Star? They're the enemies."
"Because they can fly and they don't even need a plane. And besides, you always say that no group is bad, that individuals in any group make their own choices. Couldn't I be a good Nephilim?"
He smoothed my hair off my forehead and kissed it. "I suppose you could, Star. If anyone could, it would be you."
Zorin tore the boards from the front door of the cathedral and walked in, then turned to look at me. "This is where we will train."
***
"Wow, you're really just going to throw me off the roof of this cathedral? That's your brilliant training plan?" I stood at the edge and looked over the fields around us. The wind blew against me, and I breathed deeply of the fresh country air.
"Your wings are like a new limb. And like any limb, they are best first used by instinct. The height will motivate you… even if the fall doesn't kill you, it will hurt. Before we start—"
Without letting him finish, I ran to the opposite edge of the roof, building momentum like I would in airplane, and I jumped off the edge.
I didn't so much fly as I fell. And fast.
My heart raced in my chest, knocking against my ribs as if it could escape this fool body and find someone with better self-preservation instincts. But I knew I could do this. I was born to do this.
Come on, wings, do whatever you're supposed to do. Now!