Lucian steps from the shadows with Lilith by his side, “Well, well, well. Who would’ve thought the infamous Solas would fall right into my lap with the one thing I’ve been prohibited from hunting.”
I let out a low growl as he steps inches from my own face. “I will kill you myself if you touch her again.”
Lilith taps the side of my face with more force than necessary, “There, there. As long as she gives us what we want, we will not have to touch her at all." As she strides away from me, making her way to Ivy, her leather pants swish in time with the click of her boots on the cavern floor. The shadows creeping along the walls seem to skitter away from her presence. Lilith grabs a fistful of Ivy’s hair, “Rise and shine, daughter.” Ivy’s eyes flicker open. She mutters incoherently before her focus locks on Lilith’s face. Lilith smiles, “Hello, pigeon. Miss me?”
Ivy grits her teeth, “Lilith.”
Lucian forgets I’m present when Ivy awakens. He turns his full attention to her, “You know why you’re here. We’ve been through this before, as I’m sure you remember,” he sneers with a vicious grin.
She squints her eyes at him, “My answer is still the same… Fuck… You.”
Lilith backhands Ivy across the face. I jerk my chains as hard as I can to get to her. My roar echoes, shaking the cave like an earthquake. When I deem my efforts worthless and Lucian glances at me with a toothy grin, I turn manic. “Get your fucking hands off her!”
Ivy’s head slowly turns back to her mother, an evil grin growing before her darkening eyes. “You know, why is it that every time we meet, you have me in chains. Are you afraid… Mother? I’ve told you before, and I’ll tell you again. Even in these chains you won’t break me.”
Lilith looks down her nose at Ivy. “We did not have much time together before. I expect to have all the time in the world to break you. This is my specialty. How do you think Lucian learned all that he has? It was from me. Yet, there are things he still has to learn.”
As she pivots back to me, Ivy sees her mother's intent. I would rather it be me than her. Ivy screams, “No! Use me! Leave him out of this! He has nothing to offer you!”
Lucian speaks for his mother as she rips my shirt, baring my chest, “Oh? This seems to be a much more effective way to get through to you.” He gives a half shrug. “Maybe I’ll keep him.” If our wings weren’t bound so tightly at their bases, I would slice Lilith's head off with them, but if I move them even an inch, their bindings would begin to sever them.
Ivy shakes her chains, pulling as hard as she can with her bound feet and wrists stretched out wide. For a split second, I glimpse her face over Lilith’s shoulder. The pain in her countenance causes more sorrow and agony than either Lilith or Lucian can cause. Lilith runs her nails from the top of my shoulder to an angle across my chest. I bite down hard, refusing to look at the macabre scene she’s carving in my skin. This is no superficial wound. The blood doesn’t ooze, it pours. My body begins to shake, and Ivy’s cries turn into wails. Before I give in to the pain with my own screams, I send a warning to her mind, Turn it off. Don’t let my pain be your pain. Turn it off. Please, turn it off.
She replies back, “No. This is my fault. You wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for me. Your pain is my pain. I’ll figure this out, Solas. I promise to get us out of here.”
When Lucian joins his mother with a glowing hot cattle prod aimed for my ribs, I plead to Ivy, Don’t watch, Ivy. Please, don’t watch. And whatever you do, never give in. Never. She cries out in pain with me, piercing the air with its resonance.
The agony of torture from mother and son persists for hours. I’ve been stretched to the point my joints have popped out of place. My blood is dried over my skin where I’ve been slowly and deeply flayed. My wrists have been broken, a kidney’s been cut from my back, and my knee caps have been shattered. Just when everything is on the verge of being completely healed, they start over again.
Ivy refuses to let me suffer alone, yelling obscenities and letting her empathy feel, not only my emotional pain, but my physical pain through our bond and closeness. She finally passes out from lack of energy, and I’m so grateful.
Lilith scoffs at Ivy’s limp form. “Well, this just will not do.”
Lucian flings my blood from his fingers before he retrieves a heretic’s fork, “What do you suggest?”
The Queen is silent a moment, drumming her fingers on her crossed arms. She watches Lucian force the heretic’s fork between the base of my throat and my chin. If I move my head or attempt to speak, the fork will puncture my throat. Lilith turns to make her way from the cave. “Let us leave him to heal a little more. Summon the warriors of Kiaofi with their demon slaves,” her voice begins to fade the further they walk away, “Have them watch over the prisoners. When we return, we will let them feed on their flesh.”
Ivy
The stench of blood and sulfur is stronger when I awaken. I jerk the restraints detaining my hands above my head. My wings are bound together where I’m not able to move them without tearing them from my shoulders. I search the darkness for any eminent danger. Solas hangs next to me, faint and lethargic. His breathing’s labored, and his head is stretched back as far as it can go with a double edged pitchfork, the size of my hand, wedged between the hollow of his throat and his chin.
“No,” I plead aloud, my voice hoarse and dry.
Solas’ eyes remain closed. I imagine how much pain he’s already endured to pass out in such a state. I call out his name, my voice cracking and my throat sore. He grumbles in response, yet doesn’t open his eyes. I fear any movement from him will cause the pitchfork wedged beneath his chin to puncture his neck.
Opening my mind, I hope he can hear me, Solas? Solas, wake up. Can you hear me? Wake up.
His feeble thoughts flow to me, "Ivy?”
I speak back to him through our connection, I’m here, Solas.
“No. You can’t be here,” he says in my mind, yet his body remains to appear unconscious.
Well, I am. Open your eyes. Look at me.
Slowly, he twists his head, the fork digging into the hollow of his throat and peeling the soft underside of his chin. When he feels the fork slip, he shakes it loose with the jerk of his head. It drops to the ground with a clatter. His breathing comes deep and long with his eyes squeezed shut in my direction. I can only imagine the anguish he put himself through to do as I asked.
His eyes open with a snap, ice blue glaciers piercing my soul with relief and love. Then, he glares. “Have they touched you?” His vocal cords sound brutally crushed.
I ignore the pain he’s in, “No. Not yet. We have to get out of here. Can you use your telepathy to speak to anyone?”
“Only within a distance, but there’s no one within Sheol who’s willing to help us.”
My extremities are numb from hanging in one position for too long. I readjust myself, “Maybe there is. Can you speak to Sasha?”
“The hellhound?” he asks as if I’m delusional.
I roll my eyes. “Yes. She has telepathy as well. Do you think you could reach her?”
“I can try. I don’t know how far I’m able to reach out in my weakening state, but I’ll try.”
Solas closes his eyes and footfalls echo in the distance, getting louder with each step. I warn him in a whisper, “They’re coming back.”
His gaze meets mine again. “Whatever happens, Ivy… I’m sorry. I never should’ve left you. Not the first time. Not the second. I’ll never forgive myself for getting you into this mess. I’m not the being I used to be. I’ve shamed The Creator. I’ve fallen physically, as well as mentally, because I let revenge in my heart. Darkness is not to blame. And neither are you. This was my own doing.
“I’ve sacrificed myself to keep you safe, though it seems your fate is beyond my capabilities to change. Don’t mistake me for a hero. I don’t deserve such a title. I don’t know if what I’m doing is right or wrong. What I do know is that I’m on the wrong side of the Light, but will do
my best to remain on the righteous side of the Darkness.
“The longer I’m here, the further I feel myself falling, if that’s even possible, descending closer and closer to the blackest places of Darkness. That’s where the end for me is. If you ever find me there, I pray you take my essence—”
I whisper shout, “—Shut up! I won’t give up on you, Solas. Do you hear me? I’ve seen the Light within you. Even if you don’t see it, I do. Let me get you out of here. I’ll find a way. We’ll keep you hidden. We can go to The Keep. You don’t have to do this. I can’t stand the thought of you down here any longer. As long as I’ve known you, you’ve done nothing but love and protect me. You’ve pushed and challenged me, trained me to be who I am now. Let me save you for once. I need you, Solas. I have no idea what I’m doing on the surface. I need my Chief.”
Five large Fallen warriors march into the caves with emaciated and decomposing creatures galloping on all fours behind them. The creatures appear they were human at one point, and now their naked skin is tight and leathery with open sores over their bodies. The skin on their faces stretches over where their eye sockets should be. Their noses have been severed, leaving two small holes behind, and their teeth are shark-like. The creatures chitter as they enter, crawling on their deformed hands and feet.
My eyes widen at the sight. I send my question to Solas, What is that?
“Demons of Kiaofi. They’re vicious, wretched creatures. They feed on the flesh of others at their master’s command, and their favorite snack is teeth.”
Teeth!
“Yes. Lilith had them summoned to watch over us so we won’t escape before she lets them eat our flesh. The demons are fast and highly capable of catching us in our weakened states. I imagine she and Lucian will be back soon to watch the show.”
Each Fallen warrior takes up position around the mouth of the cave to get a better view of us, and the demons creep forward, sniffing our skin and hair. I begin to shake. I can’t do this. I don’t think I can stand them eating me alive. What are we going to do?
“Look at me, Ivy.” Regarding him with a snap, I pray he has an answer. Tears run down my face as my body shakes more violently. He commands silently, “Don’t let them win. I’m right here. I won’t leave you again. Stay strong.”
Lucian strides in with Lilith on his heels, “Oh, good. You haven’t started without us. I see you’ve met some new friends. They’re quite beneficial when it comes to things like this.”
Lilith makes her way to a makeshift table full of torture weapons they’ve been using on Solas. She picks up an odd shaped cattle brander and heats it over a fire. When the iron reaches the temperature she needs for it to glow red and hot, she locks her eyes on me. “Before we begin, I would like to give you a gift, my little pigeon.”
“No!” Solas croaks.
“Oh, yes.” She walks behind me and rips the back of my shirt open. Solas screams my name. I grip my chains and shriek with the searing, white, hot agony as it shoots up my spine and through my core. My vision threatens to leave me blinded, but Lilith’s voice pulls me back, “With this brand, you will never be able to hide from me again. I’ll be able to track you wherever you go.”
My breathing’s labored. Hot tears coat my face, mixing with the sweat pouring from my skin. I have no words. I’m defeated with nowhere to run and no one to help us. If I could only touch them, I would wrench their essences from their bodies. But my limbs are stretched out to the max. The only things within my reach are the bindings restricting me.
Solas whispers in my mind, “Stay strong, Ivy. Don’t give in.”
My mind is weak as I reply, I don’t know how much I can take this time.
“Don’t forget what I told you. Don’t forget who you are. You’re Ivy Harris. Pestilence to Darkness. You are Death. You will hunt down your enemies and make them suffer for all the pain they’ve caused you.”
I counter, You also said you would be there if I needed you… Even if I didn’t think I did.
“Come on, princess... Never again. Never again will I leave your side… Unless you ask me to. Just stay strong. I’ll keep trying to reach Sasha.”
The demons chitter, eager for their next meal. Lucian’s eyes ignite with excitement. “Let us begin,” he states with a calm and collective demeanor I’ve witnessed in his predecessor, Beleth. “Release them,” he commands. The Fallen warriors bark a command of their own, then their demon slaves charge us with their teeth bared.
Chapter 16
A legion of Fallen, Griffins, Reapers, and even a few Angels of Light surround me, bowing on one knee with their wings spread wide. Their formation gives the center of Beleth’s Throne Room the space warranted as a black pool of thick tar boils with a vile stench, yet they pay it no attention. Their eyes are only for me.
I’ve been here before, but it’s changed. There’s more of a variety of beings here now as I sit on Beleth’s black throne of obsidian stone. Silent. Inscrutable. Stoic. Ready. My midnight wings spread wide and commanding. Taking the long torch I hold in my right hand and turning it upside down, I snuff its flames, gripping the hilt tight enough with both hands that my knuckles turn white.
The white gown I'm wearing is shrouded as the torch’s smoke rises from the ground. It reminds me of the gown I wore to the binding ceremony with Beleth. It churns my stomach. But the most disturbing thing is the black tar seeping from my eyes as if they are tears. The entire legion chants, “Teloch! Teloch! Teloch!”
I’m beyond exhaustion and agony. The only control I have is to let my eyelids fall once the demons have backed off our flesh. I can’t even scream because my voice box was torn from my throat and is still mending. Lucian didn’t expect that to happen, so now he must wait for me to recover and regenerate a new one to get his answer of whether I’ll give him my essence. Lilith has been standing silent on the far side of the caves, obscured in shadow. I can’t wrap my head around how she can hate her own daughter so much. Solas has collapsed beside me, but I can hear his shallow breathing. He’s still alive; though, I don’t know how much longer either of us will stay that way.
Lilith steps from the shadows, a mischievous curiosity sparkling in her eyes and playing across her lips. Her boots click as she speaks to me, “Well, well, little pigeon. Where did you go?” Her tone is that of a mother cooing her baby. Not able to answer her, my top lip quirks in a sneer as I grip the chains restraining my wrists. When I know their movement has her attention, I flip her off with both hands. Her face falls. She backhands me across the face, leaving scratches from her sharp nails. “Do not think you can play me for a fool! I gave you that gift!”
I try to laugh, but it comes out as short bursts of air through my nose. In this moment, I’m not only laughing at her anger with me, but at the idea that she wants me to vocalize an answer. She scoffs, rolling her eyes, before demanding to Lucian, “Bring me the tonic. I want to know what she saw in her vision, and I am not waiting for her to heal.”
“Right away, Your Highness,” Lucian bows with a crooked grin, then disappears in cloud of black smoke.
Lilith treads slow circles around me, “Why are you making this harder on yourself, pigeon? This could all be over if only you would agree to relinquish your essence.” She pauses her movements before I lose sight of her behind me and trails a finger up my exposed rib cage where a demon tore through my clothes to enjoy my flesh. She examines the blood on her fingertip and has no reservations about tasting it herself. She moans softly with appreciation. “Unique in every way.” Her gaze meets my tired eyes, “Your blood has a dark sweetness to it. I would not expect it any other way. After all, I created you.”
Lucian returns, using his evanescent ability. In his hand is a silver, pear-shaped flask. The flames surrounding the interior of the lair glisten off its surface. He passes the flask to our mother without a word, but there’s an obvious irritation in his red, smoldering eyes.
Lilith pulls a stopper from the flask, tilts my head back and pours the tonic down
my throat. I expect a wretched flavor or a thick liquid, yet it’s the cleanest water. I’ve had the pleasure of tasting it once before. Trey gave the same tonic to me as I was beginning my transformation and my body temperature was rising significantly. He said it comes from a hot spring that is pure and untainted, known to have healing properties. Within minutes, my body mends itself. I shake my head in realization that Trey had been helping me with my transformation and I was clueless. The healing water’s resplendence awakens my mind, mends my body, and kindles a fire of energy through my veins. I’m stronger and more alive, and I know I can withstand any other torture they put me through.
Lilith takes a step back from me, admiring my new state, “Ah. There you are, pigeon.” I take a deep breath to calm my frustration with her motherly tone. She continues, “Now, tell me what you saw.”
I contemplate whether I should tell her it was only a memory of Beleth’s legion bowing to me, but something tells me it would anger her more. I wonder if I could effectively lie to her if I fabricate a vision. I gesture to Solas with the nudge of my head, “Give him some tonic, then I’ll tell you every detail.”
Lucian starts to protest. Lilith cuts him off with the swift elevation of her hand to warn his silence behind her. She hesitates to speak as she scrutinizes my integrity. Her hand comes down, “Give him the tonic.”
The Prince sneers at her back, but does as he’s told. Lilith’s promenade around me proceeds again. She ventures, “This is how things should work between us. I give you something you want, you give me something I want, and vice versa.” I keep my eyes ahead of me as she continues to circle, and I hear Solas come back from the edge of death. “He has been healed as requested. Now, tell me of your vision.”
Solas’ caution enters my mind, “What are you doing?”
I’ve got this, I tell him. “There was a legion of Fallen, demons, and creatures I’ve never seen before. They came from above and below. They were running as a unit.”
Gilded Inferno (The Helio Trilogy Book 2) Page 16
