Etheria (The Halo Series Book 1)

by Melody Robinette

  “Very what?” Aurora said, not having seen Gray, as she was facing away from him.

  “You’re a little overdressed for swimming, aren’t you?” Chord directed at Gray.

  Aurora turned now, resting her sapphire eyes on him, causing his heart to throw itself into his sternum against his will. She pulled the towel in her lap up higher to cover her stomach and chest, an action that didn’t go unnoticed by Gray.

  “Aw, shoot,” Brielle said from behind him. “If I’d known y’all were swimming, I’d have put on my bathing suit. Gray and I were just talking about how beautiful the day is. I think I’ll go change and join y’all.”

  Aurora’s eyes flickered to Gray for a moment before she looked back to Brielle. “Actually, I was just telling Chord I was going to go shower.” The look Chord shot at Aurora suggested otherwise. “I’ve had too much sun as it is. We Seattle dwellers are the closest a person can get to being a vampire.”

  Gray tried not to stare as Aurora stood up and pulled on a faded yellow cover up. Muttering a quick ‘see ya later,’ she walked briskly away from the three of them. He’d thought he’d made progress with her yesterday. Especially after he’d told her his 9/11 story. Apparently, a few hours of sleep was enough to do away with all that. Either that, or she was doing very well at not treating him any differently because of it. A little too well.

  “She needs to get laid,” Chord said.

  Brielle’s eyes widened, and she clutched the cross dangling from her neck. She left not long after that.

  “Wanna try that twisty water slide?” Chord said to him after a minute.

  “I’m not wearing a bathing suit,” Gray reminded him.

  “So?”

  Gray paused before saying, “All right.”

  And he followed Chord to the stairs at the base of the slide in his favorite pair of shorts.

  Eighteen

  AURORA

  After a day of bathing suits and butter colored cover-ups, Aurora decided to wear a dress to dinner. When she left the others, she'd gone down each of the water slides several times by herself, until Chord and Gray nearly spotted her.

  She wasn't entirely sure why she felt like avoiding Gray today. Yesterday had been…well, a bit too close and personal for her liking. So, she figured she should at least try to balance things out. Something nagging in the back of her mind told her he was a good guy, but she stubbornly refused to acknowledge such thoughts.

  Aurora shimmied into her dark blue, Empire waist dress, cut a few inches above her knees, topping off the look with her favorite pair of black ankle boots. Analyzing the outfit in the floor-length mirror inside the bathroom door, fleeting thoughts of Gray’s reaction moved to the forefront of Aurora's mind. But she stifled these as well, as she stifled most other inappropriate thoughts.

  If she chose to tell these things to a therapist, she would probably get an earful about “repressed feelings” and an “unhealthy attitude.”

  Luckily, she couldn’t stand therapists.

  Brielle entered the room just as Aurora was leaving and remarked on how lovely she looked, though Aurora sensed something else in her comment. Jealousy? Surely not. Not perfect Brielle.

  Dinner was at a restaurant called Midnight Meadow, located near the skating rink on the eighty-second floor. The passageway leading to the restaurant transitioned from star-strewn carpet to a dirt path with trees on either side—like an enchanted forest.

  Branches from the trees wound up in an archway, under which Orion waited in his white suit and bowtie.

  “Don’t you work at Glimmering Grotto?” Aurora asked as she approached him.

  “The servers move with the diners, Miss Aurora.”

  “Where’s Anth—”

  “Here I am!” said the bright red-headed boy from the previous night, poking his head around one of the trees. “May I escort you to your table?”

  “Sure… Are you always this excited?”

  “Is there a reason not to be excited?”

  Aurora didn’t quite know what to say to this, so she followed the boy in silence. She had been expecting more trees, though the name of the restaurant should have given her a clue. Just as Glimmering Grotto had been an accurate description of last night’s dining room, Midnight Meadow was no different. It was indeed a meadow lit by twinkling star-like lights with wildflowers blanketing the ground. Looking down, Aurora realized she was now walking on grass. But, of course, it couldn’t actually be grass. Artificial grass, maybe. Rather realistic artificial grass. With a grass scent.

  Even from across the room, her eyes locked on Gray who was talking animatedly to Chord and Sevastion. This made her lips quirk into a small smile, which made her mad. Already he had too much pull over her, and he wasn’t even trying.

  Gray's eyes went to Aurora as she approached the table, and his sentence crumbled at the end. Chord watched him expectantly until he followed Gray’s gaze.

  “Well, don't you look sexual tonight,” Chord remarked, smiling slyly as he looked from Aurora to Gray and back.

  “Thanks,” she muttered, ignoring his implications. “So do you.”

  “Ha! Yes, but that’s nothing new, now is it?”

  Brielle arrived at the table shortly after Aurora, festooned in a sparkling pink dress, not unlike the fabric of her bathing suit. An uncomfortable silence fell over the table as the southern belle settled beside Gray.

  “This place is cooler than last night’s restaurant, don’t y’all think?” Brielle said eventually—a desperate attempt to get people talking.

  Gray nodded, and Sev muttered an, “Mmm.” Chord ignored her, pretending to be more interested in the salt shaker shaped like an acorn.

  Not caring to socialize with the grating brunette, Aurora turned her head to glance around the restaurant. The night sky ceiling was more than just lights set in black fabric. She couldn’t find any seams or plates to indicate it had been man-made, and the stars twinkled in an eerily realistic way. A shooting star flashed across the sky then, and Aurora spoke absentmindedly, “That is a ceiling, right? I mean, it’s impossible for that to be the actual sky…isn’t it?”

  The others turned their faces upwards, squinting at the sky-like ceiling.

  Sev answered first. “Yes, I was doing the mental calculations just now, and I believe this restaurant is situated just beneath the skating rink.”

  “Meaning…?” Chord said with an amused grin at Sev’s mildly annoyed glance his way.

  “Meaning it would be quite impossible for that to be the actual sky,” Sev answered.

  “It’s not the sky,” a voice interjected. Aurora looked away from the ceiling to see Samuel sliding into his chair wearing an all white suit. “But it’s not the ceiling either.”

  “What do you mean ‘it’s not the ceiling?’” Aurora said with narrowed eyes.

  Samuel was saved from explaining himself when Juniper arrived to take everyone’s orders. And, by the time she’d gone around the table, too much time had passed for Aurora to revisit the subject. Besides, Brielle was already asking everyone about his or her jobs and started squealing like a hungry pig when she found out Gray was a firefighter.

  “Wow!” she exclaimed after her outburst. “That is just so brave.”

  Hott, Aurora thought. You mean ‘that is so hott.’

  She didn’t even attempt to hide her rolling eyes and heard a chuckle from across the table to see Chord making the same face. At least someone else on the ship understood her disapproving ways.

  “And what do you do, Aurora?” Brielle asked.

  Aurora’s gaze moved slowly from Chord’s to Brielle’s. Her expression appeared genuine enough, but she had a feeling the delightful Texan was just trying to prove to Gray how unsuited she was for him.

  Folding her hands before her, Aurora fixed Brielle with a guarded expression. “I’m not allowed to talk about my job. Top secret government stuff, you know.”

  Brielle’s eyebrows rose at this. “R-really?”

  Aur
ora didn’t give up the act and nodded ominously before turning her head as if it was no big deal that she was a secret government agent. Judging by the amused looks on everyone else’s faces, it was evident Brielle was the only one who believed her. Gray was visibly struggling to keep a straight face, placing a flat hand across his mouth to cover his smile. Even Samuel cracked a smile.

  But, throughout dinner, Samuel seemed more distracted than even Sev. His eyes continuously scanned the restaurant as if he were waiting for something, and his dessert remained untouched. The others didn’t appear to notice, and Aurora felt like maybe she was just paranoid. Then she realized, while their table was discussing Chord’s job in the film industry, the other tables in the dining room were each growing silent and tense.

  Then the slowly building, truly puzzling chaos began.

  People started to cry; others began shouting. Some fled from the room, flipping their chairs over as they left. Others looked thunderstruck or confused.

  “Sounds like some people weren’t happy with their meal,” Chord said, nonplussed. “They must not have ordered the beef tenderloin.”

  Aurora regarded the room with growing concern. “Um…I don’t think they’re upset about the food.”

  A knowing smile lifted Samuel's features. “No. Definitely not the food.”

  “You say that like you know why they’re upset,” Aurora challenged.

  “Oh, I do know,” Samuel remarked, steepling his fingers before him, ignoring the growing pandemonium.

  “Okay. Cut the bullshit, Samuel," Chord said bluntly. "Tell us what the hell you’re talking about.”

  Samuel’s mouth curved upwards. “Very well. The others are upset because they have just discovered the true reason they were invited on this so-called cruise. They’ve just been told what they are and for what purpose they were created.”

  “Let me guess,” Aurora said. “You know the answers to all of those questions.”

  “I do.”

  "I knew it," Chord said dramatically. "We're all involved in an elaborate sex trade business."

  Samuel's smile wavered. "Not quite."

  Brielle folded her arms impatiently across her sequin covered chest. "Then tell us."

  All at once the sounds of the dining room disappeared. Aurora scanned the area to see people still there, mouths moving, but no noise coming out. Their surroundings had suddenly turned into a slow motion scene in a silent movie.

  "What's going on?" Gray asked, frowning.

  “It was much too loud, and you all need to hear what I am about to tell you," said Samuel. "Don’t worry; I’ll remove the hush once I’ve finished explaining.”

  “Wait, but how did you—” Brielle began.

  “Shut up, Brielle,” Chord snapped. “Let Samuel talk.”

  An affronted look appeared on Brielle’s face, but no one seemed to care, as they were all watching Samuel with a variety of expressions of their own. For once, Sevastion was paying attention to the conversation rather than studying the architecture of the room. Gray’s eyebrows knit together as he leaned slightly forward, waiting for Samuel to begin. Brielle’s angry look quickly turned to one of nervousness, her eyes wide with worry. Chord wore a suspicious and untrusting expression upon his face, which surely matched Aurora's own.

  Her hand inched towards her steak knife. "You're going to kill us, aren't you."

  “No.” Samuel chuckled. “We aren’t killing any of you.”

  Aurora’s eyes narrowed at him. “Prove it.”

  “Well, allow me to start by naming a few facts about all of you that you may, or may not, know you have in common,” Samuel continued in an almost bored voice. “First, none of you know your real fathers, nor do you know anything about them, including their last names.”

  Aurora looked around at the others with raised eyebrows.

  “I know my father,” Brielle protested.

  Samuel turned to her. “Greg Stone is not your biological father.”

  Brielle’s mouth fell open, stuttering, “B-but he’s—”

  “Your mother met him while she was pregnant with you. She neglected to tell you this. If you are patient, you will understand why.”

  Eyes filling with tears, Brielle tried to protest, but only squeaks escaped her mouth. So she shut it, keeping her full, shining gaze on Samuel.

  Aurora watched this exchange in disbelief. None of them knew their fathers? None?

  Samuel continued. “Also, you are your mother's only biological children. You’ve had peculiar occurrences in the past, which you couldn’t quite explain or make sense of. Strange images or visions, near-death experiences, things that could only be described as miracles. And it is safe to say, whether you enjoy your jobs or not, you have an unsatisfied feeling deep within you, communicating a sense of unfulfillment, as if you are supposed to be doing something more, but you aren’t quite sure what that is.”

  Aurora’s heart inexplicably raced. It was stupid, really. What was she expecting him to say? “You’re all witches and wizards and you’ve been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?” True, she’d had some strange experiences in her life, but who hadn’t? And, of course, she didn’t feel fulfilled in her job. She didn’t have one, and when she did, it was a job the devil himself wouldn’t be able to handle without drinking heavily.

  Chord threw a hand up in the air. “Are you going to tell us what all of this is then, or are you just going to make us guess?”

  “Are you sure you’re ready to hear the truth?” Samuel asked quietly, fixing his crystalline eyes on Aurora’s, which narrowed.

  “Yes,” she answered for the table.

  “You are Halos,” he stated before further clarifying. “Power Halos. Offspring of archangels. And you’ve all been created for a particular purpose.”

  Aurora and Chord opened their mouths to protest, but Samuel waved a hand to silence them. Aurora felt her mouth moving, but no words escaped.

  “You may speak when I’m finished. Where was I? Ah, yes. There are seven classes of angels. Lucky for you, Powers are the strongest and most fearless of all. You are the warriors. You are the ones who will fight the holy battles. I’m not sure if any of you are familiar with the book of Revelations, but it mentions God’s 144,000 ‘chosen’ ones. Well, that happens to include all of you, and it doesn’t mean what many have so self-righteously assumed it means.

  “While Lucifer is surely an ominous force to be reckoned with, he is not the only angel to rise against the Light—not by a long shot. And, soon—very soon, in fact—another formidable angel will fall to darkness. Caducus. But, he won’t be banished to Hell. No, he will be banished to Earth. A world whose inhabitants will need warriors to fight for them. This is where you all come in. As Powers, your duty will be to fight the demons and dark followers of Caducus on Earth. We are in for a long, hard battle. And this is why the Light created Halos. You are among the Chosen.”

  Open mouths and blank, unbelieving stares made up the faces of the five supposed “Halos” at the table. Aurora stared at Samuel in disbelief. She didn’t believe in angels. She didn’t really believe in anything. This was a stupid and impossible and improbable and strange, evil trick being pulled on all of them. And she refused to be involved.

  To Aurora’s surprise, she let out a condescending laugh. Apparently, Samuel had decided to allow them to speak again. “So, you expect us to believe that we’re angels?”

  “Half-angels,” he corrected. “The term is Halos.”

  Brielle's eyes sparkled with tears again, though now they seemed to be happy ones, her face glowing with exhilaration. "I knew it."

  Chord was the next to speak. “Look, Samuel. I’m a Christian and all,” then at the look on Brielle’s face added, “Yes, honey, surprise, surprise, the evil gay man is a Christian,” before turning back to Samuel. “Anyway. I believe in God and heaven and angels and all…but this doesn’t make any sense. Wouldn’t we have known we were angels? I mean, wouldn’t we have been trained and
prepped for this so called ‘holy war’ from the very beginning?”

  “No, see, that is precisely what shouldn’t happen,” Samuel said passionately, leaning forward. “Now you have all had around twenty-five years of living as a regular human amongst humans. Empathy is essential when fighting to save the lives of others. Angels—even those who were once souls on Earth—have lost touch with their humanity. Halos haven’t.”

  “Jesus Christ,” Aurora muttered under her breath.

  “Precisely,” Samuel said.

  “This is absurd. I’m not listening to any more of this garbage,” she said, standing up. “You’re a whack job.”

  This didn’t seem to offend Samuel in the slightest. In fact, he still wore that maddeningly amused smile. “Could be. But, if you’d like to know more and hear from other whack jobs, you are more than welcome to come to Starlight Stadium tonight at 10 pm to witness the Powers addressing the ship.”

  “Not likely,” Aurora retorted, slamming her chair against the wooden table and breezing out of the restaurant, which she hadn’t realized was once again loud and raucous.

  Nineteen

  GRAY

  It didn’t take long for Gray to follow after Aurora once she’d left the table. When given a choice between staying behind or following her, he knew he would always follow.

  By the time he reached the outside of the restaurant, she was already gone. People continued to trickle out of Midnight Meadow—some crying, some laughing at the absurdity of it all, and others simply looked horror-stricken.

  “He seriously expects us to believe we’re half-angels?” someone said as they passed by. “Ha! What a load of crap.”

  Gray left the front of the restaurant in search of Aurora. He had a feeling he knew precisely where she’d gone. The top deck of the ship was desolate. The scent of apples and caramel lingered in the air. The carousel still turned. The chocolate fountain was ever-flowing. But there was no one in sight. It was a carnival graveyard.

  When he reached the rear of the ship, his sneaking suspicions were confirmed. There Aurora sat, swinging lazily on the oversized swing set, muttering to herself and shaking her head. Gray wasn’t sure whether he believed in angels or not. But, as he watched the arctic breeze move through Aurora’s golden hair, her sapphire eyes reflecting the light of the moon…he thought maybe he could.