The Glittering Halo

by Liddie Cain

  My uncle, Raguel, followed behind him. They walked straight to Eziel’s side and greeted one another by gripping each other’s shoulders. Together, the three of them walked over in front of me and Conall. Michael met my gaze with intensity. “Rozalyn, who was once the guardian angel Alidia and daughter of Azrael of the Seraphim, I have come to help save Azrael from the depths of Hell.”

  Hanna walked up, her expression stricken, and Michael drew her close. I could hear him even as he spoke softly. “God has heard your prayers, faithful Hanna. He sent me to you and Raguel. Heaven has gone on long enough without Azrael. It is time for him to take his rightful place.”

  He looked up again, his eyes finding Felix before continuing, “God has sent his blessing to strike down Devina, and the army to do it with.”

  “Join us, Michael, Archangel of Heaven,” Aurnia said as she walked down off of the throne dais. “We feast to honor those about to go into battle.”

  Michael inclined his head toward her before he and Eziel went to take a seat at one of the tables. Hanna and Ariel clasped hands and went to sit with them. Aurnia signaled to Kenna, who stepped out of the room briefly. When she returned, the serving staff flowed in behind her carrying trays of food. A table was set up in the middle of the room. Conall reached for my hand again and led me to sit in between Felix and Mac. Jason, Conall, Drest, Aurnia and Darby also joined us. Fergus, the head guard and Kenna’s husband, walked up to Aurnia’s side. “My Queen, the Merrow scouts have reported that the Demon Overlord has called her generals without notifying Felix.”

  Felix and Mac both tensed. “Our time is up,” Felix said.

  “I’ll speak to Michael and Raguel,” Mac said, already standing out of his seat. He stopped, reaching over and using his fingertips on my chin to tilt my face up to his. “If anything happens—”

  “No,” I interrupted loudly, then shook my head and continued with a calmer tone. “I know what our love means to each other, Macory Jacobs. But I will not start saying goodbyes because I will not entertain the idea that I might lose you.”

  A small smile spread across his face, but a hint of sadness lingered. He nodded. “My soul would always find yours again, Dove.” With a soft touch of his lips to mine, he slipped away and walked to the table where the angels were sitting and talking. Felix was leaning away from me speaking to Conall, but I could still hear him.

  “Thank you for everything you’ve done for us. I know this wasn’t your fight,” he said.

  “Of course it was. Rozalyn binds us together. Her war is our war,” Conall said with a frown. “I will march into this battle with you.”

  “I couldn’t ask that of you, Unseelie King.”

  “There is no need to ask,” he responded, his spring green gaze shifting from Felix’s face to mine. “I would not be able to live with myself if I did not go.”

  Felix brushed his hand over my thigh in a comforting gesture, not trying to break my attention from Conall. I touched his hand with mine before standing and stepping around his chair so that I could reach Conall. I framed the Unseelie King’s face in my hands. “Thank you,” I whispered.

  “We are your warriors. I could do nothing less.”

  I kissed him, marveling at how I gained the affection of this marvelous soul.

  “I’m going, too,” Drest said.

  “As am I,” Aurnia added.

  I looked up at all of them with wide eyes. Felix stood up beside me. I could sense his heavy thoughts. He still carried a lot of guilt over what was happening. But to the brave people at that table, he just bowed his head and said, “Thank you.”

  “You aren’t leaving me behind either,” Darby said flatly. Me and Aurnia both started to argue with her, but she held up her hand to silence us. “You won’t change my mind.”

  “Then you will be glued to my side,” Aurnia said with a huff.

  Darby agreed.

  “Well then, time for a costume change for us ladies before we blaze our way into Hell,” Aurnia said. The banquet in our honor continued as we all left the room to prepare. Felix, Mac and Jason stayed close, and I was glad that they did. My bravery would have faltered if I had been left alone. I clung to the strength that I gained from them. I touched them when they were close enough and took comfort when they touched me back. Then I prayed many, many prayers for their safety.

  The road to Hell is paved with dust and bone. Well, the road to the first lower realm of Hell was. Michael opened the portal right on the beach of the Gloaming Court, an eerie doorway that opened onto that white pathway leading into the darkness. We knew the moment we stepped across the threshold that Devina had realized something was up because Felix hit his knees. That humming connection between us, given by his mark on my side, broke instantly. Felix and Mac’s presence left my mind. Mac stumbled, but stayed on his feet. Jason and Darby knelt beside Felix as I blinked through the shock to my system of the connection being broken.

  Drest touched my arm with lifted eyebrows, asking without words if I was okay. “I’m alright,” I said. “What’s wrong with Felix?”

  Eziel had made his way from the back of the group to touch his hand to his son’s forehead. “His immortality has been stripped.”

  The ones around Felix shifted and I could see him clearly. He looked pale, but struggled to get back to his feet. There was not the slightest hint of otherworldly energy around him. No feral demonic aura that caressed across my skin and seeped into my thoughts. My beautiful archdemon stood there, black wings hanging uselessly, mortal for the first time in his existence. It terrified me.

  I stepped over to him, gently sliding my arms around his neck as if I might break him and making him frown at me. “I’m not going to fall to pieces.”

  “I know, but now Devina can—”

  “The same reasons that she was trying to hide what she will did will keep her from harming me. She can take away my powers here in the lower realm, but if she tried to kill me, it would violate the same laws she did before and has spent centuries hiding,” Felix told me, stroking his fingers back through my hair.

  “Guess we will be on foot for the rest of the trip,” Mac said. “Felix was the only one that could have transported us further.”

  Michael nodded. “Any other power I could use to get us there faster would be spotted quickly.”

  Conall rubbed his hands together in front of him. “Then it is a good thing you brought a couple of royals from Fairy with you,” he said with a grin. I felt his power stir as he glanced to Aurnia and Drest. “I’ll do the honors. Seelie powers would call almost as much attention to us as heavenly, and fairy creatures are not part of Drest’s current capabilities.”

  “Yes, but nothing too outlandish, Conall,” Aurnia said with a wave of her hand. He only grinned.

  The ground at our feet shuddered as the air began to stir. Shadows along the roadway thickened and closed in toward us. That darkness shimmered as something moved within it. Darby stepped sideways and grabbed Felix’s hand. My heart began to race from instinct, but I trusted Conall and stood my ground. Hooves thudded onto the ground as oxen stepped out onto the road. They were as black as the veil of shadowed they had just appeared from, with large glowing eyes that were the same spring green shade of Conall’s. He took in a slow breath and exhaled, his skin glowing and his face radiant as if the power had felt good.

  Barden, his appearance just as shadow painted as the oxen, walked forward and ran his hand down the shoulder of the closest one. “Beautiful, my King,” the Unseelie noble, that was also one of my sometimes lovers, said. I walked up beside him and met his smile with one of my own.

  “Are they like the fairy horses?”

  “They cannot walk on air as the horses can, but they keep a low profile,” he responded.

  “Good choice,” Aurnia said.

  “They can carry three of us at once, so everyone divide up. Barden, if you will do the lead animal?”

  Barden, Conall and Drest mounted on the back of the front ox. The rest o
f us divided up. Aurnia, Darby and Michael took the next beast, I sat between Felix and my angel mother Hanna, Eziel, Ariel and Jason rode together, Mac pulled himself up behind Sylvia and Raguel. Barden gave us all a moment to situate ourselves before he let an enchantment slip across all the oxen and started us forward.

  Hanna had been silent so far. It wasn’t unusual for her, she was always quiet, but I could see the tenseness in her form. My human parents had raised me to have the compulsion to use soothing words when I knew someone was stressed, and I started to tell her that it was going to be okay before stopping myself. It was a dumb thing to say. The Devil himself had captured the love of her life. There were no words of comfort that would mean anything. Instead, I wrapped my arms around her from where I sat at her back. She leaned back into the embrace and brought one hand up to touch the back of my arm. We held onto each other, swaying with the gentle movements of the ox carrying us.

  Michael had placed us a good distance from the central city in the lower realm. He had been trying to avoid us being seen as we entered. As we traveled, Felix and Michael spoke in low voices about the best ways to approach the city. An army of angels was waiting for Michael’s call, but he didn’t want to call them so early that Devina had time to organize her defenses.

  “I should go in alone,” Felix said. He felt me stiffen and touched my arm.

  “We have no way to communicate with you. Roz is the only one who can quickly invoke one of us with the angel mark.”

  Felix didn’t respond. I didn’t need to be able to read his mind in that moment to know what his reaction was. I turned to look at his locked down face. “Remember the speech you gave me about why she won’t kill you?”

  “Yes,” he responded tightly.

  “The same applies to me.”

  “I know,” he responded with a sigh. “Doesn’t mean that I don’t hate it.”

  “Hell no,” Jason said loudly.

  Conall had been turned to hear the conversation. I saw his frown, but he didn’t argue. He just gave me a single affirming nod. I nodded back and looked at Mac. My breath left my body at the pained expression on his face. I immediately slid off of the back of the ox I was riding. He moved in a blur and I was in his arms in an instant. His lips traced across my cheeks, my eyelids, then across my mouth before he leaned back to look at me.

  “I knew there was a chance you’d end up on the front line of this, but I had let myself believe I would be able to keep you hidden somewhere behind the rest of us.” His voice was rough as he spoke.

  “I can do this,” I replied.

  “I know, Dove.”

  Barden had stopped a few yards ahead of us, waiting for us to rejoin the group. Jason had also gotten down and walked over to us. Mac let me go so that Jason could pull me up against him firmly. “I don’t want to agree to this,” he said with a glare over my head to Mac.

  “None of us do,” he replied.

  “Stop fussing over her. She’s a Nephilim,” Aurnia said flatly. “She’s got a better chance at living through this than you vampires do.”

  Darby touched her arm as if to warn her to watch her words. Aurnia rolled her eyes. “Well it’s true. Vampires are disposable to Hell. Heavenly creatures must be treated with care or they will break the celestial laws. Even demons obey those laws, or they get thrown into infinite purgatory.”

  Eziel raised his eyebrows at Aurnia. “You are well versed in our ways.”

  “I might not be of your pantheon, but I’ve lived in the human world for long enough to know how things work for the other immortal beings around me.”

  Raguel shoved his hand back through his hair. “My niece can take care of herself. She’s the daughter of Azrael.”

  Hanna jumped down onto the ground, Ariel reaching out and touching her shoulder. “Enough. Raguel is right, you aren’t giving her the same amount of faith she gives you. She is the daughter of one of the Seraphim!” Her fists settled onto her hips as she glared at Jason mainly.

  “She has walked the streets of gold and sang with the Heavenly Hosts. You worry over a mortal shell that is temporary.”

  “It’s the temporary part that bothers me,” Jason replied, but gently, as he looked back at her. “Okay, okay,” he continued, holding his hands up in surrender, “I won’t interfere. I know this is about things bigger than me.”

  He turned back and framed my face in his hands. “I love this mortal shell and I need you to try to keep your soul attached to it, okay?”

  It made me smile. I went up on tip-toe to kiss him. “Okay.”

  “May we proceed before a demon army closes in on our location?” Michael asked neutrally.

  Everyone mounted back up again, though Felix took Mac’s place on the back of the ox with Sylvia and Raguel so Mac could spend the rest of the trip touching me. I leaned back into his body and welcomed his arms wrapping around me. Hanna turned so that her legs were hanging over the same side and tightly held my hand as we continued on.

  There were multiple realms for Hell, just as there was for Heaven. This was the realm that could be considered the closest to the human world. It was the place where Imps and lower demons lived. Unseelie Fae frequented this realm, so having a caravan led by an Unseelie noble such as Barden was not that odd for the few inhabitants we passed as we got closer to the city. Older vampires sometimes chose to live here when they had a blood bound human to bring with them for food. There were even humans who chose to live here as part of deals they had made with demons while on Earth.

  The road eventually transformed into well worn lava rock and houses became more frequent. A green tinted atmosphere illuminated the low sky above us. There was no direct sunlight here since there were many creatures of Hell that were sensitive to it. As the population increased, we began to get more curious glances by those who watched us go by. “I believe we will soon lose the element of surprise,” Eziel said quietly.

  “Agreed,” Michael responded. “Time to split up.”

  Barden brought us all to a stop on the side of the road. There were a few houses ahead of us before one of the entrances to the city walls. Conall didn’t send away the shadow oxen completely, only allowed them to roam freely back into the sparse landscape behind us to pick at the limited vegetation. We stood, looking to Michael for how he wanted us to proceed. He placed a hand on Raguel’s shoulder.

  “I’ve been giving it some thought on how we make it to Devina’s palace. The Gloaming King would be the best choice for going with Felix and Roz. He is obviously Trow and Devina knows she enlisted their help for keeping Azrael, Eziel and Hanna captive. She will know who Conall is and might strike before they even make it inside. Drest’s powers are also more subtle.”

  He met Drest’s gaze, and they nodded at each other. Michael continued. “Conall and I will follow closely so that we can quickly call our armies when Felix and Roz can tell us where to send them. Raguel, you will bring the others and try to make entry through the staff residences. Vampires serve her palace, you should be able to infiltrate through there. Darby will need to pose as a blood bound human for Mac. Gloaming Queen, you’re with me and Conall. Any questions?”

  “Should we lie low until you make a move?” Raguel asked Michael.

  “Unless there is a reason to step in for Felix or Roz’s sake, I would remain as hidden as you can until you hear the trumpets of the angel army.”

  Then he turned to look at me. His fingers captured my wrist before I realized he was moving, and his voice entered my head as he spoke into my mind.

  “I broke Felix’s mark on you to protect you if he should fall. Devina can take away his immortality here because she holds the unholy contract for his soul, but she cannot break the bond he made with you. I can mend the bond if the worst happens.”

  “So I would be able to find him again.”

  “And he you.”

  He released my wrist and stepped back. It was a small reassurance that he must have known I needed. Some of the uneasiness in my head quieted.
Hanna stepped forward and touched my cheek before Darby hugged me tightly. There was no time for lingering kisses and hugs for the men I loved. After a quick kiss from Mac and Jason, I watched Raguel lead them away, heading through the gate and turning to walk along the outskirts of the city until they made their way up to the east side of Devina’s palace.

  Felix took my hand once they were out of sight. I met Conall’s gaze, watching him walk the distance between us before laying a soft kiss on my lips. “Stay safe,” he said.

  I smiled, stroked my fingers through his silky white hair, then gripped Felix’s hand as he and Drest walked us toward the city gate. Felix was so solemn as we let ourselves through the gate and continued deeper into the city. Drest walked beside us, his hand gripping the upper part of Felix’s arm as if he were forcing us along.

  “I’ve never actually been here,” Drest said under his breath.

  “You’re doing fine. Members of the Unseelie Court bring mortals here for different reasons, normally for bargains.”

  “How do we get in?”

  “Just tell the guard that you are bringing me to Devina,” Felix responded, still speaking quietly.

  The roads had become more crowded. Demons moved around us without their human facades. Their fire ember skin glistened in the low lighting. The more powerful the demon, the more white hot slivers were visible. Lower demons might not glow at all, and their skin would have the appearance of a lump of coal. Imps mingled in larger numbers, marked by the red glow of their eyes in their otherwise human appearance. The few that did venture into the human realm would mask the red glowing eyes, but here there was no need to waste that energy.

  A succubus strolled across the street and looked Felix up and down slowly, then moved on to Drest. He caught her interest with his vibrant Fae aura. Her appearance morphed as she stepped in his path. She went from a tall leggy blond to an average height brunette with brown eyes like me. A succubus had no true form and would adapt to the looks that would most appeal to the man they were trying to tempt. It was a visible representation that I was Drest’s type. A blush rose on his cheeks when he shot a glance at me.