Chapter 25

“Let's sit. It's a long story,” Raphael motioned to the table as he took a seat at the head. Seats were taken and Rhiannon found herself sitting next to Raphael and across from Nuriel.

“I'm not sure where to start except to tell you why we let the taboo become what it is today and why it is that we retreated from the world.” He looked around at everyone, already feeling the impact of what he was about to say, “It was the angels who let the elves into our world.”

Rhiannon looked around at the faces of the Angels, downcast, remorseful and then at the faces of her Fay company. They looked . . . bitter.

Raphael started again, “Many centuries ago, long before any of us were born, before the Plague Wars even, Angels, Humans, and Fay lived together in relative peace. It was not uncommon for us to intermarry. In fact a few years ago when I was rummaging around in the basement of the library I came across a very old journal that contained an account of an angel, his human wife, and their children. When a Human and an Angel come together their children are Fairy,” Raphael looked up. “I was intrigued to say the least. From what I read this was common and acceptable practice, but about 1600 years ago there came an angel called Asbeel. He loved a human woman called Hannah who was very beautiful but she didn't care for him. She loved another. Asbeel became angry and jealous. He kidnapped and raped her. No angel had ever done such a thing before. It was not unheard of in a Human male, but not an Angel. They were ashamed. Asbeel was found and imprisoned and Hannah was cared for by the Angels in secret. They didn't want anyone to find out what had been done to her. Hannah had become pregnant but when the child was born she died. Despite the fact that the Angels had the power to heal, there was nothing that they could do for her. The child was given to a Human family to raise but something was wrong with it. It was evil. It was an elf, and from that time forward elves have spread throughout this world more rapidly than could be explained by the appearance of one single elf, but it was Asbeel's act that allowed it to start.” Raphael sighed and mussed his hair.

“After a few hundred years the elves had become a problem and the Angels had begun a slow retreat from the world. We did everything that we could to stop the elves including giving magic to the Human leaders of the old empire. Instead of using it to fight the elves, they used it to fight each other, and it was the start of the plague wars. The plague wars isolated the Humans from the Fay, as the Fay were immune, but their power to heal had no effect on the illness. They began living in the magically guarded strongholds that you live in today to keep out elves and plague victims. By this point in history the Angels could see what was happening and they encouraged the separation of the Angels, Humans and Fairies, thinking that perhaps it would help us stop the spread of the elves, or at least we could figure out where they were coming from. The plague situation became so severe we had to act, so we blasted everything. Not even the magic that we gave the Emperors survived and after that we retreated into our mountain cities for good. We never told anyone where the elves had come from but we are the descendants of Asbeel's people and we felt that it was our burden to bear. We lost most of our magic after the plague wars and as we diminish, the elves grow in strength.”

It was a hollow moment for Rhiannon and Rowan, finally knowing why they had lived the way they had and why their lives had been what they had. All of the secrecy, growing up never knowing what they were and finding out the hard way. All because of pride. Rhiannon thought of all that her parents had had to go through. The death of her birth mother. The burning of her adoptive parents. Screw the elves. It was the Angels with their damned pride that had started all of this. Rhiannon turned to Nuriel, her voice barely under control, “You've always assumed that you knew best, haven't you.” She didn't mean it as a question but her next words were, “Have you ever considered that it might be your toxic secret that has let the elves proliferate?”

Nuriel hung his head.

Raphael looked at Rhiannon for a long moment. “Please don't hate me?” he pleaded.

She looked into his eyes. “Never. I could never hate you Raphael,” she managed.

Then Raphael turned to his mother Sarah, “Tell them Rhiannon's story,” he asked her. “It's a perfect example of how upholding the decisions of our ancestors will only cause more pain.”