MIDNIGHT DIVINE (The Helio Trilogy Book 1) (24 page)

Dropping the wings, I spot
my friends suspended from the ceiling in the corner of the room. They dangle in
the air lifeless, feet swinging inches from the floor. In the middle, Jack's
face and body are covered in blood. Gashes mar his entire body around black and
purple bruises. His dark verdant wings hang molted and stagnant. Alice and Eric
drape on either side of him. Yet, they're suspended differently than Jack.
While Jack’s hang
s
from a chain
binding his wrists
over his head, Alice and Eric mirror each other with their hands bound
behind their backs, binding their wings behind them. Both of their heads hang
low on their chests with blood dripping from their mouths, eyes, and ears. But
the worst realization is the meat hooks speared through their chests
, holding them aloft
. They sway like pigs in a meat locker ready to be
carved.

As I take tentative steps
towards them, I can’t determine who to help first. “Solas?” I rasp low with
tears burning my eyes and a lump in my throat. I look away from the macabre
scene.

“I’ll get the two…,” his
voice trails off. “Try to wake the Arch in the middle.”

I walk up to Jack and reach
for him, “Jack?”

Solas flies to Alice,
lifting her gently from the hook through her body. Blood squelches in her
chest, and Alice shrieks with a gurgle. Solas lowers her to the ground on her
side. I run to her and grasp the sides of her face, pushing strands of her hair
away from her eyes. “Alice? Alice, can you hear me? It’s Ivy. Wake up, honey,”
I whimper to my best friend with tears blurring my vision. Solas unchains her
hands from behind her back with a key from a guard. “I’m right here, Alice. Can
you hear me?” She's unresponsive. I turn to Solas, “Get the others down while I
heal her.” Confusion crosses his face, but he doesn’t question me as he does as
requested.

I turn Alice onto her back
and place my hands over the hole in her chest. My palms seize to her chest and
radiates a warm golden glow. The ache in my heart intensifies in such a manner
I think it'll
shatter into a million pieces
. Squeezing my eyes
shut in concentration, tears drip down my cheeks. Alice sucks in a large
breath, and my eyes shoot open. The warm glow from my hands diminishes as I remove
them, grasping her face again, “Alice?”

“Ivy?” Alice croaks. I nod
my head and bundle her into my arms. We embrace each other a moment before our
heads snap to Eric's guttural cry. “Eric!” Alice screams, crawling swiftly to
him and holds his head in her lap.

“Ivy, I need you to help me
get the Arch down,” Solas requests. I stand and wrap my arms around Jack
’
s waist, lifting him up. He's cold. Fear grips me as
Solas lifts
Jack’s
chains from the hook in the ceiling. He floats
Jack down and lays him on the ground gently.

Wrapping my arms around him
, I
pull Jack tight against me, laying my head on his
shoulder with my nose tucked into his neck.
He’s so cold. Why's he so cold?
“Jack?” There's no response.
The Qeres
must have taken a toll on his system. He isn’t healing like he should be.
“Jack, it’s Ivy. Please
,
wake up. Wake up,
Jack,” I wrap my wings around him and squeeze his body tighter against me.
Closing my eyes, I push all of my love for him into his body. Through the thin
layer of my eyelids, I glimpse a golden light flare inside our cocoon. “Jack.
Come back to me, Jack,” I cry. Nothing happens as the healing light recedes.
“Jack?” I whimper again.

A hand grips my shoulder,
and a low mellifluous voice I don’t recognize speaks, “Let me help him,
Princess.”

I lower my wings and face
the source of the voice. I don’t recognize his face, but notice his deep purple
wings and violet eyes. He's a Reaper. His black cloak is deathly still. I
refuse to let him take Jack from me and send him to Paradise. “No,” I scowl at
the Reaper's sad gaze. I turn back to Jack’s lifeless body. His beautiful pale
face is covered in blood, and I wipe it from his cheeks. “Jack?” Nothing. “Jack
Roe!” I shake him. “You better fucking listen to me, Jack! You’re not dead! You
can’t leave me here! Do you hear me?” Nothing. “Jack!” I scream at his face.
“Jack!”

“I’m sorry, Princess. He
was given a lethal dose of Qeres. The higher the dosage, the faster it eviscerates
the essence of the Divine. If I do not take him with me now, his essence will
expire completely within a half hour,” the Reaper professes.

“Where will you take him?”

“To the Veil where he can
journey into Paradise.”

“Help!” Alice plea
d
s. The Reaper turns to Alice and kneels down to Eric.
Lightening bursts from his fingertips into Eric’s convulsing body.

I look back to Jack and
kiss his cheek as I lay him down. “Jack,” I whisper. I feel the body heat of
someone standing behind me. I don’t care. I lay down next to Jack and curl into
his body. I can’t breathe. My heart is breaking into a million pieces, stabbing
my insides with searing needles.

“What happened?” I hear Cassius
and Beckett ask in unison.

You're too late. I'm too
late.
I sit up and take in Jack’s peaceful expression,
locking it into my memory. I bend down and kiss his icy lips. “I love you,
Jack. I’ll always love you. You are mine, and I am yours." I sit up and
Alice hugs me from behind, holding me tight. “Take him,” I tell the Reaper.

The Reaper nods, touches
Jack’s arm, and they disappear in a blink before my eyes. Alice cries as I
wail. The pain and hurt are all consuming. She sits back and lays a hand on my
right shoulder with her head bowed. Eric kneels next to her
, completely healed
as if nothing ever happened,
and places a hand
beside hers. Cassius steps forward and positions a strong hand on my left
shoulder, followed by Beckett’s heavy hand beside his. Solas steps close and
settles a warm hand on my back. With all of their heads bowed, Solas speaks
soothing Enochian words I don’t understand. Each touch is accompanied by
different emotions of love, loss, sorrow, pity, and hurt. Then there's silence.
Then there's peace.

Hands leave me except the
one on my back. “I’ll take her to her chambers to rest,” Solas says, scooping
me into his arms, and I drape my arms around his neck. I can’t face anyone, for
the
fear my entire body will shatter. I tuck my left wing
in and stretch my right wing over my body to hide. “Cassius, show Ivy’s friends
to the guest chambers.”

Solas carries me out of the
torture room and ascends the steps. The air warms around us, but my entire body
continues to shiver. My insides are like ice and burn like fire. Solas embraces
me closer to his chest. The footsteps follow
ing
us soon veer in the
opposite direction. We ascend more steps, and I'm transported through another
corridor before we make a sharp left turn.

Solas gently lays me on my
bed,
after
I retract my wings inside myself. He sits beside me
and takes my right hand in his left as his other hand slides the lacy fingerless
glove down my arm, removing it in a slow motion. His eyes search mine with a
pleading sorrow as if he wants to comfort me, yet doesn’t know how. Taking my
left hand, he removes the remains of the tattered glove from my arm.

“Thank you,” I say gravelly.

“I should be thanking you,
Ivy. I understand you've lost someone very close and dear to your heart. For
that, I have no words of comfort. It's a pain I would never wish for you. His
essence will prevail in Paradise until you can meet again.” My gut clinches
with his words as my heart sinks. “But what you did for this legion today, I
will never be able to fully repay you. Even if I served you for the rest of my
existence, it could never amount to the freedom you've given us. I'm forever in
your debt, princess.” He kisses my hand.

My chest heaves and rocks
as I begin to cry, and Solas lifts me into his firm embrace. Tucking my face in
the crook of his neck, I squeeze him back. As much as I want to be alone in
this moment, the comfort he offers is what I need. “I don’t understand, Solas.
Why? Why would
he
take him from me? I love him, Solas. I love
him.”

Solas smooths my hair down
my back, “I know you do. He knows it as well. He'll always be a piece of you,
Ivy. He'll always be with you. No one can ever take that from you. We can only
hope he is sent back to the ground for future missions.”

“Can they do that?” I ask
with hope.

“It's not unheard of,
though there hasn't been a case in a very long time. I know you have a lot of
questions right now. But a new day is dawning. There are great things ahead for
you. And if you allow me, I would like to be by your side to help you through
with whatever you may need. I won't leave you.”

“We would like to offer
ourselves to you as well, Princess.” Cassius announces as he enters the room
with his brother.

I sit up as they kneel on
one knee with their heads bowed and a fist over their chests. I'm taken aback
and wipe my swollen face, “Guys, stand up.” They regard me with meaningful
fixated gazes. “You're not slaves to a Dark legion anymore. Beleth is gone.
You’re free. There's no need for you to pledge yourselves to me anymore. You're
both my friends, and I will never treat you any less.” I face Solas who remains
holding my hand, “This goes for you too.” I address the three of them, “You're
free now. I would never ask you to stay by my side. I have no idea what lies
ahead for me. But if you would like to stay with me of your own volition and
not by any pledge, that's up to you. And you may leave at any time you feel
necessary. Am I clear?”

All three smile as they
agree in unison, “Yes.”

“Ok,” I breathe out a
heavy, shaky sigh.

Solas pats my hand, “We'll
let you get some rest. Do you need anything before we go?” I shake my head.
“Ok. We'll take turns guarding your chambers tonight and be sure any
belligerent rebels are locked in the prison below.” I nod in acceptance. He
rises and kisses the back of my hand again, then cups the back of my head,
placing a soft kiss to my forehead. I'm a little more at ease, but I'm still in
crushing pain from the loss of Jack as Solas and the Griffins leave me to rest.

It's cold and quiet. I get
out of bed with the comforter wrapped around me and start a fire in the
large
hearth. Bright orange, red, and green flames lick the
sides of the fireplace, illuminating the room. Plopping down in front of the
fire, I hug my knees to my chest. I stare into the fire and let it engulf my
vision. Everything but the flames at the base of the logs turn pitch black.

I’m so sorry, Jack. I
should have got to you sooner. If I was just faster I would have made it. I
would've been able to save you. It’s all my fault. I never should have gotten
involved with you. You would still be here.
I repeat my words over and over. My cries turn to wails, and at some
point
,
I let my exhaustion take over my wrecked body and
emotions.

A hand grips a fistful of my hair and wrenches my head
back to look him in the face. His square jaw is set as he bares his teeth
,
growling at me on my knees. My hands are bound to my
ankles, restraining my wings firm against my back. The slightest twitch causes
the binding to cut deeper into my appendages. “You will suffer,” he snarls with
a vibration in his chest
,
reminding me of a
rattlesnake. Raising his free hand, he backhands me across the face, and my
head snaps to the side as the taste of salted copper fills my mouth. “No one's
coming to save you,” his voice rumbles and hums in my ears as his flaming red
eyes scowl at my weakness. He produces a blade and depresses its sharp point
into my chest. The tip slowly digs into my flesh as he twists it deeper. I want
to wince from the pain, but I've learned to conceal my vulnerability. He jerks
my head back and releases my hair to clutch my chin. “Relinquish your essence
to me,” he demands.

“No,” I croak.

“Then I'll watch you die.” The blade plunges into my
heart, and I gasp as blood fills my mouth, spilling down my lips.

“Ivy. Ivy, wake up,” Solas’
voice drifts into my conscience. I can’t open my eyes. I shiver from head to
toe, still wrapped in the comforter from my bed. A cold sweat coats my skin and
my hair's sticking to my face. My chest wants to cave in, and I whimper. Solas
pulls me into his lap and rocks me. “You’re ok. I’ve got you. I’ve got you.” I
reach for his shirt and clinch the fabric in my fists. Laying my head on his
chest, my body heaves and shutters as I silently weep.

I can’t do this by myself. I don’t know what to do.

Solas’ voice enters my
thoughts,
“I’m here, princess. I’ve got
you. I won’t let you face this alone. I’ve got you. I’m here.”
His strong
body continues to rock
me with a soothing rhythm.

After hours of sobbing from
the loss of Jack, the vision I had in my sleep penetrates my thoughts. The
monster that held me captive, demanding my essence
,
has me trembling with fear.

Solas' motions freeze.
“Lucian,” he seethes as his chest thunders against my cheek.

I sit up, peeling from his
embrace, “You know him?”

“He's your opposite.” I
wait a moment for him to elaborate. “He's the Prince of Sheol, the son of
Lucifer.”

My brows raise in wonder,
“Why does he want my essence?”

“He can't take it from you
because he's not a Reaper. You must give it to him willingly. If you do,
everything good in you will cease to be. You'll become his father’s weapon,
which has been their plan all along. What I don’t understand is… Why him?
Lucian's a screw up. The King would never let him take on such an important
mission.”

“I would rather die than
give them my essence,” I say with confidence, wiping my face.

His lips brush my forehead.
Affection, protectiveness.
“I know
you would, but we're going to do our best to keep that from happening.”

I shake my head, “I don’t
know what to do now. My life's been taken from me. I have no idea what’s going
to happen.”

“You'll need to stay here.
This is the safest place for you to be. We can protect you here.”

“There are some things I
need to take care of first. Where are my friends?”

“They left early this
morning. I assured them we would be taking good care of you. The girl… Alice?”

“Yeah.”

“She said they needed to
report to Jack’s mother.”

My unstable legs quiver as
I jump to my feet, dropping the coverlet to the floor, “Evelyn! Oh
,
no! I have to go. I need to be with her.”

“I would strongly advise
against it, but I know you won't listen. I'll go with you. Do you want Cassius
and Beckett to come along as well?”

“Yes… Well… I don’t know
how welcoming she'll be to you. She doesn’t know you the way I do. Hopefully,
she still trusts me.”

Solas stands and places his
hands on my exposed arms, “Get ready, and I'll speak to the Griffins.”
Affection, loyalty, responsibility.

“Give me ten minutes.” He
nods, then places another kiss on my forehead before he leaves.

I amble into the bathroom
and wash myself with cold water from the stone sink. Dry blood soaks into the
cloth, some of which I realize could be Jack’s. Avoiding my reflection, I push
tormenting thoughts from my mind, brush my hair, and pull it into a high
ponytail on the crown of my head. In my chambers, I stare into open dresser
drawers.
What do I wear to tell the
mother of the man I loved that her son's gone, and it’s all my fault?
Ripping garment after garment from the dresser and tossing it over my shoulder,
I finally settle on a pair of dark wash jeans and a black razor back tank to
allow my wings the freedom they require. I catch sight of my forearm, and the
lightly raised black ink stares back at me. I take a deep breath and release a
heavy sigh, dropping my arm back to my side. I find the makeshift cuff I rigged
to hide my permanent rank and slip it over my arm.

“Are you ready?” Solas asks
from the doorway.

“I think so,” I claim,
adjusting the black fabric over my mark.

“Here. Let me,” he offers,
stepping forward to take the shoelace from my other hand. He loops and
crisscrosses it around my forearm before tying it at the crook of my elbow
snugly.

“Thanks.”

“The Griffins are waiting
on The Common.”

“Ok.” I lead him from my
quarters and traverse the dark corridors to the vaulted doorway, discovering it
open. Cassius and Beckett are talking amongst themselves as we cross the
threshold. “Um… Are we flying there?” I ask Solas with apprehension.

“Yes. It's quite a ways to
the coast. If you get tired along the way, I can carry you. We can stop to rest
once we cross over land.”

“I don’t know how to fly!”
I shout as if he's lost his mind. Unrestrained boisterous laughter bursts from
the Griffins. “What the hell's so funny?” I berate, crossing my arms.

“Have you even tried to fly
yet?” Beck quips.

“No. I don’t know what I’m
doing!”

“But you do,” he explains.
“When you were born, you were able to move your arms and legs, correct?”

“Yes, but I had to develop
the ability to use them correctly,” I retort with indignation.

“That's only because your
brain was developing at the same time. Your mind's fully developed now.
Especially more so since your transformation's completed. Think of your wings
as just another extremity. You’ve watched birds fly, correct?”

I give him a dismissive
wave of my hand as I roll my eyes, “Yeah, yeah. I get the gist.”

“Let’s see what you can do
then,” Beckett challenges.

My wings burst from my
shoulder blades in response, jolting my torso forward as if someone slapped me
on the back. I right my posture. “So, what? I just start flapping them
like a bird
? Do I jump? Do I run?”

Solas speaks from my left,
“Just try to flap them first and get the feel of them.” I begin moving them up
and down tentatively, and the wind picks up beneath me. “Good. Now with more
force,” he commands.

Without evaluating the force
I'm exerting, my wings arc up and
fall
down once. With that
single beat, I’m shooting straight up the mountainside. The Griffins guarding
the face of
The Keep
in their full animalistic
form
s
follow me with their eyes. A gasp escapes me, and I
beat my wings again. The view of the ocean sparkles in the sun like a million
tiny diamonds blanketing its surface. Solas, Cassius, and Beckett join me in
the sky. “This is amazing!” I laugh. The brothers’ wings
—which I haven’t had
a chance to examine yet—
are a matching pair of soft
browns and tans with streaks of red. They remind me of wise owls. “Which way do
we go?” I beat my wings steadily to hover in place.

Solas grins, “Just stick
with me. If you can keep up!” I force my wings to beat hard and fast as I angle
my body forward after him, and the brothers follow close behind. There's no
fear in my mind with the wind streaming over me and the powerful strength I
feel in my wings. Yet, I can’t help but think I've missed my chance to fly with
Jack. We fly for hours. With nothing but the howl of the wind over my ears, I
scramble for words to say to Evelyn. I can’t imagine how much hurt she must be
in if I feel like my world's collapsing around me.

“We are almost there!”
Cassius shouts, and I catch a glimpse of land in the distance.

As we approach a white
sandy beach, I yell, “How do I land?”

“Turn your wings against
the wind! It'll slow you down!” Beckett hollers.

Tilting my wings with
caution, the push of the wind begins slowing me down. Reaching the sand, I
gently beat my wings to hover in position before letting myself drop to my feet
by tucking my wings against my back. As my boots sink into the sand, my ears
start ringing from the sudden drop of sound. The waves of the coast whoosh
softly as they lap against the beach. “Where are we?” I ask Solas as he and the
Griffins land on either side of me.

“South Carolina. We’ve got
about a thousand miles to go. It'll be dark soon, but we need to find a place
to rest,” he suggests.

“What about a hotel? I
could use a phone to call Alice,” I
suggest
.

“Ok. We'll have to walk. We
can’t be spotted with our wings exposed,” he notes as he retracts his own
appendages inside himself. I follow suit, as do the Griffins. “We should stay
on the beach and hike north. There should be a few hotels to choose from.” I
walk next to Solas as the brothers trail behind us. “You ok?” Solas
asks me
.

“Define
‘
ok
’
.”

“It’s a lot to take in. I
was hoping the flight would help you clear your head.”

“I think it just gave me
more questions than solutions.”

“Like what?”

I sigh, “If I'd just gotten
to him sooner…” I hold back the tears as my throat starts to burn.

“If it's one thing I don't
question, it's the True King’s plan for us. Everything happens for a reason.
Most of the time we don’t like it, but in the end we find clarity in His
purpose.”

“I can’t fathom what that
purpose could be.”

“Maybe if you had gotten to
him sooner, Beleth would still be alive, and maybe you wouldn't. Then we never
would've been freed from serving him.”

“But just because you're
free from Beleth’s control doesn’t mean that you're completely free. Lucifer
still has say over what you do, right?”

“True, but we'll avoid him
as long as we can. For now, we're rogues.”

I reach out and entwine my
fingers with his. “I hope it’s a very long time,” I
mumble
, focusing on the sand beneath my boots, and I feel
his surprise and awe flow through me.

We walk for miles before a
private beach emerges on the horizon. “We’re here,” Beckett announces. As we
close in, beachfront cottages line the narrow strip of land. We encounter
rickety wooden steps leading up to a white, two-story French Colonial with a
deep covered porch lined with eight sets of windows.

“Wait here. I’ll get us a
cottage,” Solas directs us and enters the house which serves as the office for
the vacation rentals. I turn around and place my hands on the banister of the
porch, taking in the
reflection of the
sun on the water. When
Solas returns, he leads us back down the steps and further up the beach. “This
is it,” he confirms, checking the tag on the key and matching it to the number
outside the cottage duplex.

Trudging up the sand, the
cottage sits quietly. Its wooden walkway is modestly coated with white sand
brought in on the wind from the sea. The sand crunches underfoot as we approach
the covered porch. Solas leads us to the front door where he slips the key into
the lock, and it turns gratingly against its tumblers from sand embedded within.
We enter the small rental and Beckett switches the lights on behind me,
illuminating walls of blonde wood
en
planks, two queen
size beds to our right, and an enclosed bathroom further ahead. “You two are
next door,” Solas tells the brothers as he tosses them another key.

Cassius grunts. “Let me
know if you need anything,” he tells me before leading his brother back out to
the shared covered porch.

I hear their door open and
close before I wander between the beds and pick up the receiver of the blue
rotary phone on the white wicker side table. Spinning my fingers rapidly around
the face of the numbers, I dial Alice’s cell phone number. She picks up after
the third ring, “Hello?”

“Alice! It’s Ivy.”