“I don’t see it that way,” I dared to argue, “but I see your point. Anyway, fascinating story. What I’m interested in is whether you might know of weaknesses… How does one, ahem, kill a nephilim?”
He waved his hand dismissively and reached for the pot of hot tea. “Oh, they’re easy enough to kill. They’re just hybrids! Nothing special. They’re mortal, although they live a long life, so they do grow old. Just stab them in the chest or something.”
“I’m afraid that won’t work on this particular nephilim.”
His eyebrows disappeared under the disheveled hair that had fallen on his forehead.
“Your father? He’s not just a nephilim, he’s a Grim Reaper. That’s another story. You can even stop thinking of him as a nephilim.”
“Do you know him? Do you know his parents?”
“I was long retired in these mountains when his parents’ parents were born into this world. I’ve only heard of him. Everyone has.”
“I was hoping…” I sighed heavily.
He looked at me thoughtfully, and for the first time since I’d met him, I saw genuine concern in his shifting blue eyes.
“I’ll tell you a secret, girl. When you want to get rid of someone, anyone, well… except for some cosmic monster, there’s one weapon that will never fail: a pure heart and a hand that has never hurt a thing, not even a fly. The loss of innocence is the weapon.”
Well, that crushed me. It crushed me for good. Not only was I not innocent and had never been, I didn’t know a single soul in this world that was one hundred percent innocent.
“But that’s impossible,” I said. “You’re talking about… I don’t know, a child. A baby. Even babies hurt flies.” Okay, maybe not. “They… they suck on their mother’s breast and bite the nipple. That counts as hurting. When they’re born, they tear their mother’s flesh apart. That counts as hurting.”
He shrugged, unimpressed. “Well then, find a baby who wasn’t born naturally. A C-section basically means the doctor hurt the mother, not the baby. Find a baby that never kicked while in the belly and was never breastfed. Easy.”
I stared at him as if he’d gone mad. Maybe he was mad. I was sure immortality could do that to some. When he didn’t react, I jumped to my feet and started pacing the cramped room. This trip had proved to be useless. More frustrating than anything… What was I supposed to do with this information? Only someone without sin could retire Valentine Morningstar, and Apis the First had said it himself: once the Watchers asked the mages to give them genitals, innocence and perfection was lost from the world.
I had to get out of there, but not in the dusty air of Leh. I was sweaty, dirty, and hungry. GC and his grandfather had started talking about family stuff.
“I’m going back,” I said quickly, my mind made up. There was no point in waiting for him. He was a big boy, he could find his way home, across the world.
GC stood up and placed his hands on my shoulders. I was shaking. He looked me in the eyes.
“Are you okay?”
“Y-yes. No. I’m not okay, this is impossible.”
He pinched my chin playfully. “Not when my goddess is in charge.”
I groaned. “You’re just saying that.”
“No. I believe in you. We all do.” He pecked my lips and let me go.
I teleported straight to my room.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Professor Maat was moving from one desk to another feverishly, handing out our assignments before the field trip to the Carnelian City.
“You will see creatures you’ve never seen before. They are so peculiar and dangerous that they’re forbidden from leaving their pocket universe. Every once in a while, one of them breaks the law, crosses over, and wreaks havoc among humans. These breaches never end well, and Grim Reapers have to reap for days after the intruder is caught. The problem is that most of them are highly poisonous. If they don’t bite, then they carry diseases the human body was not designed to come into contact with. Luckily, most of us supernaturals are immune.” She stopped in front of my desk. “Oh, Mila. You’re… you’re not supernatural.” She was holding my assignment between her long, dainty fingers. “Maybe you should skip this field trip.”
“What?! Professor Maat, no! I want to go!”
“And make me responsible for your death if you catch the scarab flu? I don’t think so. I happen to love my job.”
I sighed. “Please. I’ll be careful.”
“It doesn’t matter how careful you are. You’re human, and you can’t breathe the same air as most of the people and creatures living in the Carnelian City, let alone drink their water or inhale their dust. It’s too dangerous. You’re staying.”