planted the bamboo forest on the windward side of the island to break up the blow of the wind.” Zell talked as he busily built a fire. “I’ll fix you something to eat.” He suddenly acted awkward and uncomfortable about the fact that we were truly here in the middle of the ocean, perched high atop impenetrable cliffs, utterly alone, just the two of us. He moved to a small kitchen area and took out a large steak which he cut into strips. He lightly browned the strips on top of a gas stove that looked incredibly modern and new. He quickly made a salad as the steak strips sizzled.
“A guardian angel that cooks?”
“I’m half human, remember. The best part of me is human. I understand why God loves you so. As a race, you are spectacular.”
“I don’t feel very spectacular at the moment. Tell me about your mother.”
“She died in childbirth when I was thirteen years old.”
“Did your father raise you after she died?”
“Humph,” Zell snorted. “My father was only in and out my whole life. It was over a year after she died that he came back and found out she had died in childbirth.”
“Did he stay with you then?”
“No. When he swept through the door asking for her, I told him she wasn’t there that she, and my baby brother died during the birth. He stood still for a few moments looking into my face. Then he turned and left again without saying a word.”
“How did you live? Who took care of you?”
“My mother’s sister, my aunt, Miriam, looked after me somewhat. Her house was too crowded and small. I lived in my mother’s house alone most of the time. Although, in the beginning, I usually showed up at Aunt Miriam’s at meal times.” Zell’s serious tone was broken by soft laughter. “I had eleven cousins, each more mischievous than the last. That is when I learned to cook. Better to cook than to fight them over the meals.” He laughed again at some faraway memory.
“Is that the last time you saw him?”
“No, when I was fourteen he came back again. I had just had my vision of you a few weeks before his return. He taught me how to fashion swords and the secret of the flaming sword. According to my father, he was teaching me a trade, so that I could support myself. I decided then and there that I would become your protectorate. That I would turn the only thing my father ever gave me, the knowledge to fashion weapons from metal and make a business of it. I vowed that I would perfect the swords and knives I made, and I would become the most skilled warrior the world had ever seen. I decided to wait for you and defend you even until death itself.”
“ The Archangels became upset that Azâzêl, my father, was teaching humans to make weapons. Not just me, he taught many men how to make war, and they came to get him. They bound him up and took him away. I thought they were going to take me too. You have never seen anything quite as frightening to look upon as an Archangel.” He lowered his voice and looked me in the eyes.
“ Don’t get me wrong they are not monstrous looking like the Dark Ones. Quite the contrary, they are absolutely stunning, but fierce looking, like the gigantic, unbeatable warriors that they are. They all bent down to look at me as if deciding what my fate would be. I heard a voice I shall never forget. Just the sound of it made me want to weep. It was like if thunder could make words, all it said was ‘Leave the boy.’ The Archangels stood up then and left taking my father with them.” Zell finished the story and our dinner at about the same time. He laid our dinner on a low table in front of the fire.
“You say your race is called the Anak?”
“We are also called Nephilim or Jedi. I read one piece of research that suggested the union between the celestial angels and the human women corrupted the DNA code, and that corruption explains why the Anak were bloodthirsty giants. Whether true or not, I don’t know, but it makes sense.”
“
“A guardian angel that cooks?”
“I’m half human, remember. The best part of me is human. I understand why God loves you so. As a race, you are spectacular.”
“I don’t feel very spectacular at the moment. Tell me about your mother.”
“She died in childbirth when I was thirteen years old.”
“Did your father raise you after she died?”
“Humph,” Zell snorted. “My father was only in and out my whole life. It was over a year after she died that he came back and found out she had died in childbirth.”
“Did he stay with you then?”
“No. When he swept through the door asking for her, I told him she wasn’t there that she, and my baby brother died during the birth. He stood still for a few moments looking into my face. Then he turned and left again without saying a word.”
“How did you live? Who took care of you?”
“My mother’s sister, my aunt, Miriam, looked after me somewhat. Her house was too crowded and small. I lived in my mother’s house alone most of the time. Although, in the beginning, I usually showed up at Aunt Miriam’s at meal times.” Zell’s serious tone was broken by soft laughter. “I had eleven cousins, each more mischievous than the last. That is when I learned to cook. Better to cook than to fight them over the meals.” He laughed again at some faraway memory.
“Is that the last time you saw him?”
“No, when I was fourteen he came back again. I had just had my vision of you a few weeks before his return. He taught me how to fashion swords and the secret of the flaming sword. According to my father, he was teaching me a trade, so that I could support myself. I decided then and there that I would become your protectorate. That I would turn the only thing my father ever gave me, the knowledge to fashion weapons from metal and make a business of it. I vowed that I would perfect the swords and knives I made, and I would become the most skilled warrior the world had ever seen. I decided to wait for you and defend you even until death itself.”
“ The Archangels became upset that Azâzêl, my father, was teaching humans to make weapons. Not just me, he taught many men how to make war, and they came to get him. They bound him up and took him away. I thought they were going to take me too. You have never seen anything quite as frightening to look upon as an Archangel.” He lowered his voice and looked me in the eyes.
“ Don’t get me wrong they are not monstrous looking like the Dark Ones. Quite the contrary, they are absolutely stunning, but fierce looking, like the gigantic, unbeatable warriors that they are. They all bent down to look at me as if deciding what my fate would be. I heard a voice I shall never forget. Just the sound of it made me want to weep. It was like if thunder could make words, all it said was ‘Leave the boy.’ The Archangels stood up then and left taking my father with them.” Zell finished the story and our dinner at about the same time. He laid our dinner on a low table in front of the fire.
“You say your race is called the Anak?”
“We are also called Nephilim or Jedi. I read one piece of research that suggested the union between the celestial angels and the human women corrupted the DNA code, and that corruption explains why the Anak were bloodthirsty giants. Whether true or not, I don’t know, but it makes sense.”
“
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