Etheria (The Halo Series Book 1)

by Melody Robinette

  “Do, uh…do any of those books talk about Stellars?”

  Gray wouldn’t ask anyone else this question because he knew they would pick up on the hint of desperation in his voice. But not Sev.

  “Yes, actually.” Sev ran his finger along the texts, his eyes narrowing as he searched. “Well, I was sure it was—ah, yes. I forgot.” He reached into his inner jacket and pulled out a small blue book the size of a deck of cards. “It’s in this one.”

  Gray held out a hand. "May I?"

  “Of course.” Sev placed the minuscule text into Gray’s palm. “I’ve already read it. I’m not used to such diminutive literature, so I’d be glad to get it off of my hands. I was worried I might lose it. Just make sure to return it to the library when you finish.”

  “No problem.” Gray examined the intricately decorated cover of the book that held the secrets to his connection to Aurora.

  After everyone had finished their lunch, they gathered in a small circle, waiting for Samuel to instruct them on what to do next.

  “Please tell me we’re done with the trampoline,” Chord whined. “My body is on fire. I mean, it was already hot to begin with, but this is a bit excessive.”

  Aurora chuckled, and Brielle rolled her eyes.

  “We are done with the trampoline,” Samuel said. “In fact, we won’t be doing any more physical training today.”

  “Oh, sweet. We actually get a break?” Chord exclaimed. “Are they going to set the water slides back up?”

  Samuel shook his head. “No, you will be receiving your Halo armor today.”

  Brielle’s eyes grew wide. “Armor?”

  “To protect you from demon attacks. From this point on, you will wear it during training and when going into battle.”

  “It’s not, like, super heavy or anything, is it?” Brielle asked. “Because I don’t know if I can fight and run with a bunch of heavy armor on me.”

  Samuel fixed her with a disapproving look. “The armor is practically weightless. But, if it weren’t, you would still be expected to wear it, as you will be facing much more physically demanding trials than heavy armor.” Brielle ducked her head in embarrassment and Gray thought he saw Aurora’s lip quirk upwards. Samuel continued on in an even tone. “Now, if you are all ready, I will take you to get fitted.”

  “Okay,” Chord said, “but it better not make me look fat.”

  Twenty-Six

  ???

  The traitor swept through the passages of the ship unnoticed by the swarming Halos, chattering away like children going shopping for school clothes. Pathetic, he thought. They believed they were strong and significant now that they had discovered what they truly were. Well, they would soon be tested.

  The traitor moved into the empty stadium, all Halos either training on the top deck or playing dress up in the Atrium. Three mulciber stones should be plenty to rile everyone up, to give them a taste of what they were facing. A twisted game of which Caducus would approve.

  A few would die, of course, but that was of no concern to the traitor. Many more would soon perish before Etheria reached Arx Isle. Opening the portals was just a preview of the war to come…because the traitor was growing bored.

  He placed the mulciber stones on the raised pillars where the Powers had stood only a few days before, addressing the crowd of Halos, empowering them and asking for them to be selfless and brave.

  The traitor closed his eyes, raised his hands, and in a deceased language, called upon the power of Caducus to release the demons from their temporary prison, to open the portals between the Darkness and the Light. The Darkness obliged and the mulciber stones glowed with a blood-red light before the black holes appeared in the air-like flames burning through paper and the creatures of Darkness came flooding out like a geyser.

  Twenty-Seven

  AURORA

  Powers directed Aurora and Brielle to a separate section of the Atrium where the female armor was located. Brielle chattered away, pretending they were friends or something, and Aurora tried her best to ignore her. But then Brielle said, “So, what’s up with you and Gray? Are y’all fighting, or something? I only ask because I’m concerned, you know?”

  Sure you are, Aurora thought.

  “Nah, we’re good,” Aurora answered, knowing this was the opposite of what Brielle wanted to hear. “Why?”

  “Oh, really? I guess I’m just imagining things… Well, that’s great! I’m glad y’all are okay then.”

  “Yep! We’re great,” Aurora said with the forced optimism that only Gray himself would be able to detect.

  The two girls approached a line of tables full of what looked like leather pants, only they were a deep, blood red. Above each table hung a sign, stamped with a letter of the alphabet.

  “Um, ma’am?” Brielle said the to woman rushing about behind the tables. “Are we supposed to just take one of these?”

  “Nope, I have yours right here, Brielle.” The lady grabbed a pair off the top of the section labeled with a B.

  Brielle's mouth formed a small “o” as she took the pants. “How did you—?”

  “She’s an angel, Brielle. That’s how,” Aurora cut in, and reading the angel’s nametag said, “Hi, Emma. Don’t mind my roommate. She’s kind of slow sometimes. Size Aurora Coel, please.”

  Emma laughed and reached over to take a pair of pants from the top of the A table. “Here you are, Aurora. The rest of your armor will be down that way.”

  “What all are we getting exactly?” Aurora asked Emma, ignoring Brielle’s crossed arms at Aurora’s “slow” comment.

  Emma brushed her auburn hair back from her face. “Let’s see, it’s the pants, an armored shirt—and by armored, I mean it’s just a tight shirt woven with fibers of salt—and then there’s the vest and the jacket. I’m forgetting something. Oh! The boots. I think that’s it.”

  Aurora thanked Emma and went in the direction of the vests with Brielle rushing to catch up to her.

  “Why did you say that?” Brielle asked.

  “Say what?”

  “That I’m slow.”

  Aurora laughed, shaking her head in exasperation. “Oh my God, Brielle. I was joking. Calm yourself.”

  “Well, I don’t think it was amusing. You know, I work with special needs kids, and there’s nothing funny about it.”

  Dammit. Aurora wished Brielle hadn’t told her that. She had always loved and respected Daniel’s teachers for what they did. Daniel was so difficult to manage all on his own. She couldn’t imagine what it was like to have an entire classroom full of kids with such individual and often demanding needs.

  “Trust me. I know there’s nothing funny about it. My brother has special needs.”

  “Your brother? I thought Samuel said none of us had siblings,” Brielle said suspiciously, trying to catch Aurora in a lie.

  “My adopted brother. My mom is a special education teacher.”

  “Oh. Well, if your brother has special needs, then you really shouldn’t joke about things like that.”

  Aurora screeched to a halt at this, whirling around so she and Brielle were face to face, though she was a whole head shorter than the brunette.

  “Listen, honey,” Aurora began, “I didn’t say you were mentally disabled. I said you were slow. Completely intelligent people can be slow by way of ignorance—not by mental inabilities. Big difference. And you know nothing about me or my brother, or anything at all really. So, you’d do best to shut that pretty pink lipsticked mouth of yours before I smudge it off with my fist.”

  Brielle’s eyes went wide at this. “You would actually hit me?”

  “I’ve been fighting the urge since I first met you,” Aurora said through clenched teeth. “Now, let’s go get the rest of our Halo garb and get the hell away from each other.”

  As she spoke these words, the ship shuddered to a stop, making Aurora and Brielle stumble forward. Screams from above could be heard throughout the Atrium.

  “What the—?” Aurora was cut off by a
calm voice coming over the ship speakers.

  “Etheria’s security has been breached. Three portals have been opened in Starlight Stadium. They are now closed, but their demon contents have already been spilled. Please do not panic, and fight to the best of your abilities.”

  “Is this a test or something?” Brielle screeched at Aurora, looking petrified.

  “I don’t think so.” Aurora took in the expressions of the many Powers working the tables in the Atrium. They didn’t necessarily look worried, more like concerned for the Halos.

  Some of the braver—or perhaps overly confident—Halos were already charging up the stairs to aid in the battle. Others looked like they wanted to find somewhere to hide, Brielle included. Aurora scanned the area for Gray, Chord, and Sev, but they weren’t visible amongst the now undulating crowd. Her head spun, and she wasn’t sure what to do next. She felt like one of those characters in a movie whose lives turned to slow motion while everyone else is moving around them in double time as the camera slowly zooms in.

  Her Halo armor was heavy in her arms. Snapping into action, she called to Brielle, “Get the rest of your armor!”

  “But—”

  “Just do it!”

  Aurora jetted around the perimeter of the room, stopping by each vacated table marked with the letter A, snatching one of each piece of armor. She had a peculiar feeling that every item of clothing would fit her perfectly. Brielle followed her lead and did the same. They ducked behind one of the tables and Aurora proceeded to strip down. Brielle’s mouth fell open.

  “You’re just going to change out in the open like this?” Brielle’s head swiveled around to see if anyone was looking. “There are men in here still.”

  “We don’t exactly have time to be modest.”

  Brielle’s cheeks burned, but she soon began ripping off her shirt and pants, the two of them throwing on the perfect fitting clothing and boots. Aurora stood up, pulling her golden hair out of the body-hugging leather jacket and caught a glimpse of herself in the reflection of one of the glass elevators.

  Decked in crimson—and a little black here and there—she actually looked like the fighter she was supposed to be. And felt like it too. Funny what a little bit of clothing could do for a person’s confidence. She tucked her crux through the holster built into the pants, then realized she would probably need it and pulled it right back out.

  More screams sounded from the top of the ship, and Aurora looked out of the grand Atrium windows to see black shapes falling overboard, bursting into balls of fire as they hit the salty water. Everything had just become a little more real.

  “Come on!” Aurora yelled at Brielle.

  “We’re really going up there?” the brunette said in a high-pitched voice, not far from a whine.

  “I am,” Aurora replied and turned to charge up the stairs, not bothering to look over her shoulder to see if Brielle followed.

  GRAY

  Gray had been separated from Chord and Sev when they joined the wave of people charging up the stairs. He regretted now not putting on any of his armor. Standing on the top deck, looking out at the mayhem, he felt extremely vulnerable in his t-shirt, jeans, and Chucks. He wasn’t sure why he had thought demons would all look the same—all black with bat-like wings. But none of them looked like this. Some were tiny and spider-like, some the size of a triceratops, some with fangs and pincers and stingers and claws, and some with no distinguishing features of any sort. They looked like the monsters that used to star in his nightmares.

  Except worse. Much worse.

  One of the winged demons shot towards him now like a deadly cannonball. Slashing his crux through the air, the unsuspecting demon practically impaled itself. Gray watched in mixed horror and fascination as the creature’s midsection burned away, leaking a sticky tar-like substance onto the pristine deck. Glowing embers created an imperfect circle in the demon’s torso as if Gray had lit a match beneath a piece of Styrofoam.

  At first, he'd thought this might be a test for the Halos, but as he passed several Powers battling the demons alongside them, he began to change his mind. A greater sight than even the hoard of evil creatures was the incredible image of the fighting angels, their wings fully extended in all of their shining pearlescent and silver glory. Gray had to force himself to continue onwards, momentarily struck by the radiance of the holy beings.

  Being armed with only a crux and decked in unprotected street clothes, Gray stuck to the smaller demons, avoiding the ones with stingers and claws. That was, until he saw Aurora going up against one all on her own.

  She was one of the only Halos actually wearing armor. And even with the chaos of battle and the deafening screeches of demons, he couldn’t help but marvel in her beauty for at least a few seconds. With a backdrop of gray clouds and fog and shadow colored demons, Aurora was a beacon of red and gold, her hair trailing just past her shoulders in loose curls. She wore a fierce look as she slashed at a demon resembling a scorpion the size of a horse. Her eyes flashed and jaw clenched. She looked more like a warrior queen than an angel.

  Aurora moved in closer to the demon’s underbelly, trying to jab the soft flesh. It was clearly not okay with this as it quickly brought its pincer around, knocking her to the ground. Arching its back, the creature brought its stinger towards the deck on which Aurora lay. This was about the time Gray jumped into action, charging at the scorpion demon. He stabbed at its tough, armored torso, which only distracted it for a moment so Aurora could climb back to her feet.

  “I’ve got this, Gray!” she shouted in frustration.

  “You were about to be stung to death,” he called, blocking the creature’s pincers with his crux. “I don’t think you do.”

  She gritted her teeth. “I’m telling you, I have him!”

  “You know,” Gray panted, dodging the demon’s stinger, “if we put our energy together again and used out Stellar power, we could wipe him—and several others—out in seconds.”

  Aurora ignored this, stepping in front of him to stab at the creature’s soft flesh. Her crux connected and the demon let out a loud, shuddering cry, but not before Gray felt a stabbing pain in his side where its stinger had pierced through his white t-shirt, blood and black poison painting it the colors of Aurora’s armor.

  Then he collapsed.

  Twenty-Eight

  CHORD

  Being a Halo had sounded super cool and attractive when Chord first imagined it. He pictured himself in good looking clothes, his hair slicked back in his trademarked pompadour, his muscles bulging impressively beneath his tight t-shirt. But right about now, he felt like a wimpy little middle schooler being ganged up on by a bunch of high school seniors. And Sev, the one he’d thought would cower in the corner at first sight of a demon, was the one cutting both his sword and crux through the air, taking out creature after evil creature. It was embarrassing that this scrawny British boy was fighting better than he was…and looked extremely hot while doing so.

  “Here, use this!” Sev tossed Chord a sword, discarded by its Halo owner who'd been pierced through the chest by a demon with a horn protruding from its forehead. The Halo collapsed in a pool of blood and Chord’s eyes threatened to black out, but he managed to take several deep breaths, restoring his sight.

  “You seem exceptionally calm right now,” Chord called ahead to Sev as he awkwardly caught the sword in his right, non-dominant, hand.

  “Not calm, just concentrating,” Sev returned, stabbing the horned demon where its arm met its chest. The muscles in Sev’s back—that Chord just now noticed—showed through his sweat-soaked shirt. “You coming?”

  “Nearly,” Chord answered.

  “What?”

  “Nothing.”

  AURORA

  Aurora’s heart sank as she saw the demon’s stinger pierce Gray’s flesh through his thin shirt.

  “No!” she screamed as he collapsed beside the deceased demon. She rushed to his side, falling to her knees. “Gray? Gray!”

  “
My hand,” he muttered almost incoherently.

  “What? Did it get that too?” Aurora said, only a step away from bursting into hysterics.

  “No,” Gray managed. “Take it. Take my hand.”

  Confused, Aurora did as he said. Reaching down, she picked up his clammy hand in both of hers, squeezing tightly. Suddenly a warm energy pulsed from each point where their skin connected and she began to feel her energy draining as it injected into Gray. She watched in shock as the poison in his wound started pumping outward, spilling onto the deck in a black, shining pool, until all that could be seen was clean, red blood.

  “I read that in the Stellar book.” Gray’s voice was a little stronger now, his eyes more focused.

  Relief spread through Aurora like a shot of whiskey. “Read what?” she asked him in a wavering voice.

  “That we can borrow energy and health from each other. We can heal each other. Let go of my hand before you lose any more of your energy.”

  He tried to pull away from her grip, but Aurora held on tighter. “No,” she said. “You need it.”

  She held his hand, growing steadily weaker until she watched Gray’s wound close completely. Then she let go, feeble and dizzy.

  “Are you ready to fight together?” Gray asked as she caught her breath.

  Her eyes moved upwards from his now healed injury until they locked onto his, the green and gold and brown pooling together in a medley of colors.

  She felt something inside her shift. Like a key opening an old, rusted lock.

  “I am.”

  Gray grasped Aurora’s right hand in his left and held it, returning to her some of the energy she’d lost. She tried not to think about how utterly strange this all was. It took several minutes for her to feel like she could fight again, but once she did, she and Gray were an unstoppable force. The pair of them walked forward, hands still clasped, slicing through the demons with their matching cruxes, killing them off one by one like they were nothing but pesky insects. The Stellars' combined power pushed outward, surrounding them like an electric field.