The Dark Paradise Trilogy Box Set

by Heather C. Myers

  Andie furrowed her brow. “What does Jack have to do with this?” she asked, not rudely.

  “Like I told you before,” Reese said, “I know who Jack is.”

  “I remember. I just don’t get how you know. No offense, but I barely figured it out because… Well, because Jack screwed up and I notice everything. But that’s not the point. How did you find out?”

  “That’s what I want to talk to you about,” Reese said. This was the nerve-racking part. This was where Andie either became the only person she could trust after Ollo or she became the person who thought Reese was bat-shit crazy. “Do you know why I came here in the first place? Why me and my family came to Onyx, I mean?”

  “I’ve heard rumors but I don’t know anything definitive one way or the other,” Andie said. She shrugged her shoulders.

  “My family brought me here when I was in a coma,” Reese said. She didn’t really talk much about the accident, but the more she spoke, the more cathartic she felt. “I got into an accident when I was living in Beverly Hills. My friend died. I ended up in a coma. I had been driving.” She paused a moment, trying to find the words. “I didn’t know it at the time, but the reason for the accident was because I was having a vision.”

  Andie furrowed her brow but didn’t say anything. Reese was glad; interruptions would completely throw her off right now.

  “Anyway, Onyx had the best doctors in the nation,” Reese went on. “Plus, my dad just got a really good job with Jack Phillip at his company, so they transferred me over to Onyx General. I was in a coma for a while, while my family settled in this new city. My mom got a job with Lucas Burr at his office, and my brother was enrolled in Onyx High. I was too, but since I couldn’t attend, they weren’t sure what I grade I’d be in, or when I would actually go.

  “On my seventeenth birthday, I woke up. Well, technically, someone woke me up. Ollo. You think he’s my boyfriend, but he’s really my trainer.”

  “Why do you need a trainer?” Andie asked, after the waitress set their drinks down.

  Reese swallowed the strawberry lemonade before responding. “I’m a Seer,” she replied. Andie looked as though she was going to say something, but Reese cut her off. “Listen, I know this sounds absolutely crazy. I know. But I promise you it’s true. I have the ability to see things. I can’t predict what I’ll see or when I’ll see it, but every once in a while, I’ll have a vision of the future and it will always come true. I saw my family die.”

  Andie’s face paled. “What?” she asked in a soft voice.

  “I knew they were going to die,” Reese said. “Ollo wanted to take me camping in order to help train me. He thought shooting at targets–I use a bow and arrow–in the basement of Bacchus’s Brewery wouldn’t help once the war started. He wanted me to shoot at moving targets. I thought if I left, they’d be protected. But when I came home… I knew it would be fire, too. And I have an idea who did it.

  “Anyway, I’m getting off track.” She leaned back in the booth to collect herself. “I’m a Seer. Until I have sex, I’m neutral in this war–”

  “You keep mentioning a war,” Andie said, interrupting her for the first time. “What war are you talking about?”

  “The war between angels and demons,” Reese said. “Listen, we can have a religious discussion in a little bit about God and freewill and His part in this war, which is, He doesn’t have a part in this war. But there’s a war going on in Onyx right now between angels and demons.”

  “Right now?”

  “It’s taking the form of the crime increase in Onyx,” Reese explained. “It started when Noir threw himself in front of the bullet meant for Keirah. Noir was a psychopath, sure, but he kept crime lords at bay because he caused chaos throughout the city. Initially, the Bosses wanted to get rid of him because his tactics weren’t organized. However, they realized if he were to go, other people would try to fill his void and accumulate his power, which means threatening the Bosses and everything they stand for.” She looked at Andie. “Is all of this making sense?”

  “Kind of.” She nodded. “Go on.”

  “The devil wants Onyx to lose faith in God. Once that happens, their souls are practically his, and if the devil wants anything, it’s souls. His power is only measured by those who look at him as a ruler. The only way to go to Hell is if you don’t want to repent for your crimes or if you’re truly evil.”

  “So a lot of these criminals are really demons doing the devil’s bidding?” Andie asked.

  “Some of them, yes,” Reese said with a nod. “Some of them, no. Not knowingly, anyways. And that’s where I come in. Part of my responsibility is to protect Onyx, to give people a reason to hope and to maintain their faith in God, even if it looks hopeless right now.”

  “That sounds like what Black Wing does,” Andie murmured, more to herself than to Reese.

  “It is, exactly. This war started once Noir disappeared. I needed to be out there, protecting the city. I have been practicing and training and doing everything in my power to make myself better, more prepared, ever since my family died. But I still didn’t have that experience. So Ollo and I came to a compromise where we would ask Jack if I could go with him at night and help him protect Onyx. I would be fulfilling my duty and I would gain on-hand experience. And that’s what I wanted to tell you. I wanted to tell you about me and what I’m doing with Jack because Jack trusts you more than anyone and I trust you, and we both wanted to let you know what’s going on.” She paused again, and looked Andie in the eyes. “We don’t want to keep anything from you, And.”

  Andie nodded, letting everything sink in. “And Jack?” she finally asked. “What does Jack have to do with this war?”

  “I can’t say,” Reese said. “It’s not my place. But I’m sure if you talk to him, especially now that we’ve talked, he’ll tell you everything you want to know.”

  Andie nodded, but the look on her face was indecipherable. Oh well. Reese said everything she needed to say. And honestly, it felt good to finally share her secret with a friend.

  21

  “Where are we going?” Keirah wasn’t sure why she felt compelled to whisper, but she did. Currently, she was behind Seph, as the goddess led her through the labyrinth that was Hades’s mansion?, place of residence? She wasn’t sure what to call this place, except that it resembled a high-end luxury hotel where famous people lived. Her eyes tried to take in her surroundings, but she was too focused on where they were going than anything else. Although there were some interesting paintings that hung in the hallways she definitely wanted to check out later on, when she had the time. When she knew what was going on with Noir.

  “Just follow me,” came Seph’s reply.

  Keirah pushed her brow together at the abruptness of it. She didn’t believe Seph was the abrupt type, but then again, she didn’t really know Seph as well as she thought.

  When they reached the first floor, Seph led her across an empty room, which was as big as the living room and kitchen combined in her mansion back in Onyx, and through a curtained door. There were voices coming from the room, but Keirah couldn’t see anything, not yet. It was too dark. Seph seemed to know exactly where she was going, however; she walked with her head held high, and didn’t need to reach out in order to make sure she was going to trip or run into something. Keirah tried to emulate Seph’s confidence, but she couldn’t help but reach out in front of her and try to predict if anything was there.

  All of a sudden, Seph stopped to the point where Keirah nearly ran into her. If she didn’t have blonde hair, Keirah was certain she wouldn’t have seen the goddess in front of her.

  “Wait here,” she instructed, and disappeared through a doorway Keirah couldn’t see.

  “Wait, where–”

  But Seph was already gone and when Keirah tried to find the door she had gone through, all she could feel was the flat surface of the wall. She clenched her teeth together in frustration and tried not to let a growl emit past her lips. Her fingers curled i
nto fists and she couldn’t help but pound against the wall she leaned against. All she wanted was Noir. She didn’t think it was that difficult to at least tell her where he was and how she could get him back. She didn’t like being toyed with or led on; she didn’t like playing games. She had gone back and forth between Lucas Burr and Henry, and now that she was finally where she needed to be, she wanted answers. Something. Keirah didn’t want to wait around anymore.

  Suddenly, Seph popped her head into the room, taking Keirah by surprise. “He’ll see you now,” she told her, and stepped back so Keirah could walk through.

  Keirah hesitated, not because she was nervous, but because she couldn’t see where she was going. She refused to ask Seph for help, and instead, started to walk slowly where the goddess was. She strained the muscles in her arms to ensure they wouldn’t reach out in front of her and make her look like some kind of fool.

  “Who is he?” Keirah whispered once she got close to Seph.

  Seph smiled in a way that didn’t quite fit her face. It was a smirk, and her face was too nice, too angelic, for something as devious. “You’ll see,” she said, and once Keirah was past the doorway, she shut the door and started to lead Keirah down another hallway. This time, however, there was light–candles flickering–and Keirah could make out where she was going much more easily. Of that, she was grateful.

  The hallway led them to a room similar to rooms in every historical drama Keirah had ever seen that featured royalty: it was a throne room. There was a man sitting in a high-backed chair dressed in a suit of all black overlooking the empty room. The chair itself was elevated on stone steps, giving him an even higher position to look down from. It made Keirah feel small and, for the first time since she started looking for Noir, shy.

  Seph walked out in front of the man without a problem. “I have a girl here to see you,” she told the man. “Well, woman, technically. On earth, she’s an adult. But a young one.”

  Keirah watched as the man’s entire demeanor softened once he rested his dark blue eyes on Seph. A gentle smile touched his face and made him look more approachable than Keirah thought was possible.

  “She’s a breather,” Seph added before walking back towards Keirah and beckoning with her hand for Keirah to go stand in front of him.

  “A what?” the man asked, but not because he was confused by Seph’s diction. Rather, he was surprised that someone like her was down here.

  His dark eyes flashed on her and Keirah felt herself gulp. She couldn’t help it; the man was intimidating, and when he looked at her–his demeanor was suddenly hard and defensive, his eyes calculating and suspicious–she felt as though he could penetrate right through her. Who was this guy?

  “Go on,” Seph encouraged Keirah. “Tell him. You came all the way down here. You might as well try and get what you came for.” She stepped back, leaving Keirah alone to take the brunt of the man’s stare.

  The room was hollow and cold, empty and void of anything and anyone. There was nothing but his throne and the dark, stone steps the occupied the room, except a royal blue rug underneath her feet. Probably for those that knelt for him. Also, because it appeared to match the throne’s furnishings. Other than that, there were no windows, no doorways that Keirah could see. She couldn’t even tell which direction she and Seph had come from because everything looked the same to her.

  Looking up at him, Keirah realized it was an easy place to get lonely, and she wondered if perhaps he had ever felt that way. The possibility made him seem more human, and she felt herself relax in his presence. She took in his appearance, and found that he was young and attractive. His hair was dark auburn, his eyes dark blue, and his jawline was chiseled. The suit he wore molded to his stocky body, emphasizing his broad shoulders and long legs – Keirah put him at six feet two at least. It was clear he didn’t trust anyone besides Seph, and he played everything close to the vest. He was cautious. Keirah could respect that.

  “My name is Keirah Shepherd,” she began, not quite sure how to introduce herself. “I’m here because I want someone. I was sent here by both Lucas Burr and Henry.”

  The man’s brow perked when he heard Henry’s name, but other than that, he gave her no other indication that he was affected by her words.

  “Tell me more about yourself, Miss Shepherd.” The man’s voice was low and controlled, deep but soft. When he spoke, he didn’t need to be loud; he had the kind of voice that people quieted down for in order to hear whatever he had to say.

  “I’m eighteen,” she continued. “I guess you could say that on earth, I was a student, a good student, until I was kidnapped by a man – I guess an Excom. He took me and never really gave me back.”

  “And you want revenge?” he guessed, which sounded odd coming out of his mouth. If Keirah had to assume, she would say the man before her almost always knew the answer to anything. Guessing from him was just… hinky. It didn’t sound right.

  “No.” Keirah shook her head.

  “You want to forgive him, so he can go to Heaven?”

  “No.”

  The man sat back in his throne. Though his face was still passive, Keirah could detect a hint of confusion tickling his brow. “Then what do you want?” he asked.

  “I want him back.”

  Now, his face showed complete surprise. “Excuse me?” he said.

  “I’m in love with him,” Keirah said, yet again. Each time she told someone the truth about Noir, the truth about her feelings for him, she noticed her voice get stronger. She wondered if that would be the same if she ever were to tell Commissioner Jarrett. He would be so disappointed in her… She didn’t even want to think about it.

  But the man before her was not Commissioner Jarrett. In fact, she still hadn’t officially been introduced to him just yet.

  “Who are you?” she asked, without thinking. Another flicker of surprise shadowed his face, and she couldn’t tell if it was because he was addressed so informally or if it was because she didn’t really know who he was. She didn’t want to be rude, especially since this man could be her ticket to Noir, so she amended, “I apologize. As a breather, I don’t know who you are. Since you’ve agreed to see me, I wish to know just whom it is I’m speaking with. If that’s all right with you.”

  His face returned to its normal stony state, but he did not smile. “I believe breathers know me as Hades,” he told her, “but here, I am referred to as Haye.”

  “I came up with it,” came Seph’s voice, filled with pride and a smile.

  Haye softened once again and gave her a nod of acknowledgment. “You did,” he told her. He turned back to Keirah. “I run Purgatory. I decide if a particular soul is worthy of Heaven or deserves to go to Hell. I decide how a soul is to repent. I decide punishment. I decide everything here. I dictate where people go and what they do. I have never personally met a breather, however.” He leaned forward. “You want this Excom back, you say? Why?”

  “Like I said before, I’m in love with him. My life is different, empty, now that he’s gone. I want to be with him.”

  “Do you think you’re the first soul to come to me with a request like this?” Haye asked, arching his brow. His back was straight against his chair as though he had been practicing perfect posture his entire life. “Everyone wishes to be reunited with their loved ones, Miss Shepherd. It’s what makes death easier to come to terms with, to not go through something as transforming as death by one’s self. Sometimes, souls choose to remain in Purgatory until their grandchildren or spouse or best friend has also arrived. Sometimes, it’s groups upon groups of people, waiting for others to cross over. I can only allow so much before Purgatory gets clogged with souls and becomes less effective, whereas Heaven and Hell are both so grand, waiting for those worthy enough to fill the space. I cannot allow it for an Excom.”

  “But why?” Keirah knew it wasn’t her place to question him. As a ruler, his word was law, and questioning the law could be seen as an act of treason. She wasn’t at home anymore, and
the laws she knew could not help her. She didn’t know how things worked down here, but she knew she needed to be careful with what she said or else it could affect her. Maybe not now, but when her time came and she had to come to Purgatory, not as a breather but as a soul who needed to be guided on the correct path.

  “Why, what?” Haye asked. He wasn’t used to having his authority questioned.

  “Why can’t you allow it for an Excom, specifically?” she asked. “If neither Hell nor Heaven wants him and he’s condemned to a prison on earth–whether that’s the Arctic or a desert–why can’t you release him back to where he’s supposed to be?”

  Haye opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out. He wasn’t quite sure how to answer that, and Keirah had to bite back a smirk to hide her triumph.

  “Why was he sent here?” he asked her, completely throwing her off. He seemed like he genuinely wanted to know, as though the thought hadn’t crossed his mind until that moment. “How did he end up dying on earth?”

  “He saved my life,” she explained. “I was going to get shot and he threw himself in front of me in order to protect me. If he were human, I’m certain he would have died. And I thought he did. Except, his body disappeared rather than crumpled to the floor, lifeless. I assumed that it was one of his games, that there was a way to find him. And I was right. I just didn’t think he ended up here, and I didn’t know what he was until after talking to both Lucas Burr and Henry.”

  “Lucas Burr sent you here?” He exchanged a look with Seph, but Keirah couldn’t quite make it out. If she had to guess, it was a look of confusion but not surprise.

  “He told me where to go,” she said. “He shot me and I ended up here. I’m not sure if that means I’m dead on earth or what, but Seph called me a breather so I assume I’m okay.”