Nephilim Quest 1 Shadowhunter / Prologue and Chapter 1: In the Shadow of War
The chapter in both audio and written format
Here you can listen to the Book 1 of the Nephilim Quest series. I have divided the actual chapter into three audio files, because it is long. The audio chapter is free to listen, the actual written chapter is for paid subscribers (monthly 5$ ,or yearly 50$) subscription. (Writing and self-publishing my books is not cheap - I pay a professional editor, proofreader and cover designer, so every subscription helps me tremendously.)
The audio comes first, scroll down to the actual text below the audio files.
This is the beginning of the story. A little girl, forced to stay in the shadows…
Chapter 1 / In the Shadow of War
Facts:
The Blitz (Blitzkrieg) happened in 1940-1941 during World War II. Germans bombed England in massive bombing campaign, targeting industry, cities and military targets. From September 7th 1940 London was bombed for 56 days and nights, and from October onwards this changed into night-time bombings. Over 13 000 people died and 20 000 were injured, but the bombings never managed to break the morale of the British people.
One of every six Londoners were made homeless at some point during the Blitz. 1.1 million houses were damaged or destroyed. Many famous buildings were hit: Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, the Tower of London. Some parts of London were so badly damaged they had to be rebuilt almost completely after the war. People took shelter in the Underground stations.
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Nephilim Quest 1 / Shadowhunter
Prologue
What if you slept?
And what if, in your sleep, you dreamed?
And what if, in your dream, you went to heaven
and there plucked a strange and beautiful flower?
And what if, when you awoke, you had the flower in your hand? Ah, what then ?
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge
***
Whispers.
They were with me already when my mother cradled me as a newborn. They were there when I learned to stand and walk and started exploring the world on my own. They were there when people looked at me and I could see surprise and fear in their eyes.
"Do not mind, my lovely," mother whispered to me when I understood I was different from others."Yours is a gift that has to stay in the shadows."
And so I stayed there, at the edge of the shadow world, the one they called Shuet, the Shadow. I hid from the sunlight and night became my friend. And I learned to talk with the shades and the stars and the whispers of the night and they taught me their deep secrets.
Chapter 1 / In the Shadow of War
She ran for the shelter, clutching the baby in her arms.
"Soon, sweetie, soon! We're on our way to safety, I promise." She was saying it as much for her own benefit as the baby's, as if simply saying the words could make them come true.
The baby did not cry. It listened to the sirens, eyes as round as plates. The Luftwaffe was bombing London, again. People had lost count of how many consecutive days they had been running for the shelters with the rising and falling scream of the siren filling their ears, sweeping them onwards like terrified animals towards a place of refuge.
"Come along, Miss, 'Itler's not going to wait for you, dear!" The ARP warden took her by the elbow to encourage her along with the others. Then he saw the baby in her arms. "Sorry, Madam! But please, hurry up do, missis!"
She was not only escaping the bombs, but also the creatures that were after her baby. Their baby. The only precious thing she had left of him and their love. Her reason for living.
Beautiful. He had called her beautiful. And he had not yet seen his daughter.
She had not been aware of her heritage before she met him. She had only fallen madly in love with the tall young stranger. In the midst of the war they had clung to each other as though they were drowning and the touch of the other would save them both. He had told her what she was, and after the initial shock the knowledge had finally eased her pain of being different.
She no longer cared about her childhood – the way all the others had mocked her, how she kept getting herself into trouble, and that final day, when she had taken all she could stand. After that, all the children avoided her, and even though no one believed their stories, she became an outcast. Before, they had bullied her, now they did not even come near her. She spent the rest of her childhood alone, without a single friend, completely ignored.
When she was old enough, she moved to London and found a position as a servant. No one commented on her tall frame in the kitchen. They hardly spoke to her at all, and she lived for those moments when anyone threw her a word, even if it was just an order to peel potatoes. She remembered with warmth the day the grocery boy took a liking to her.
"Hullo, Beanpole!" he said the moment he saw her. "What's the world like from up there? I bet people are always saying you've got your head in the clouds!"
"Nothing I can't handle! I just duck whenever a bird flies towards me." She quite surprised herself by coming smartly back with a reply that earned a delighted chuckle from the boy.
"Handy for me that you're so tall," he grinned, "now I don't have to knock on the door, 'cause you'll see me coming for miles off, wontcha, eh, Beanpole?" He was cheeky, but so cheerful and kind that she couldn't be offended. She found she was smiling despite herself.
He carried the groceries into the kitchen.
"Where d'you want them then, gel? Over there?" He touched his cap and was on his way with a wink and an appreciative lipsmacking noise. She was still smiling when a voice cut in from behind her.
"Oooh, someone's got an admirer!" It was one of the maids, the pretty one, who had seen the whole thing. She fluttered her lashes mockingly, with her hand on her round hips. "Fancy that, you've got yourself a follower who likes 'is women to look like a boy!"
To emphasize her meaning, the maid threw back her shoulders so that her own rounded bosom made the boot-boy's eyes pop out.
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