They started as shapeless shadows and distorted voices until whatever blurred veil covering Aurora’s eyes was lifted and she could make out the outlines of a room she’d grown to fear and a man she’d grown to hate with every atom in her body.
“David,” she growled.
“Hello, little lamb.” He stepped forward, so a beam of moonlight hit his face. “Miss me?”
She moved in retrograde, scrambling like a wounded insect to the corner of the room. Her breathing quickened. Her heart pumped violently. The problem with nightmares was that they had a way of overriding one’s perception of reality. They had a way of convincing you they were real, and that you had no way of escaping them.
All memories of Halos and angels fell away, and Aurora was back in Seattle. Back in her frail, sixteen-year-old skin. Before she knew she was a Halo. Before she’d learned how to make herself strong. And it felt terrible.
“What are you doing here?” Aurora asked in a choked voice.
“Me? You’re in my house, little lamb.”
“Stop calling me that,” Aurora snapped.
“Aw,” David purred, moving languidly towards her, more intimidating and frightening than any demon could ever be. Demons didn’t have the brainpower. They didn’t think or manipulate. Not like David did. “Didn’t hurt your feelings, did I? I know you’re stronger than that, Aurora. Now, anyway. Can’t say much for how you were before.”
“What do you want from me?” Aurora breathed, pressing herself up against the wall, wishing she could disappear into it. “Why are you here? Why am I here?”
“You’re always here,” David murmured, closing in on her. “Whether you know it or not. I’m always flitting around on the outskirts of your mind. Always. You know that slight sense of unease you constantly feel? That’s me.”
Aurora closed her eyes and shook her head back and forth, pressing the palms of her hands to her temples.
“You know, you hurt me too.” David inched closer, only feet from her now. “Keeping secrets from me. Giving away things that weren’t yours to give away.”
Aurora’s eyes shot up at this, zeroing in on David’s cold blue ones. He knelt in front of her now. She could feel his breath on her face. Then his hands were on her, holding her down, pulling up her dress.
“No!” she screamed, fighting back.
Not again. Not again.
As David moved into position, the room exploded with light, knocking him onto his back. Blinking and shielding her eyes, Aurora looked up to see a silhouette she recognized. Comforting warmth spread through her like drinking hot chocolate on a freezing, winter day.
It was Gray.
His hand reached out for her to take.
“It’s okay,” he said in a soothing voice. “Let me help you.”
Before she could reach for him, Gray was knocked sideways by David who towered over him with hate-filled eyes. Gray rolled to narrowly avoid a kick to the ribs and jumped to his feet. Neither of them had weapons, but their fists were damaging enough.
“Stop!” Aurora shouted as she watched David drag his knuckles across Gray’s jaw.
She tried to come to his aid, but she couldn’t. It was as if she’d been tied to the wall by a rubber band. Each time she attempted to stand, she was pulled back down.
David and Gray went back and forth like two dueling cobras until David grabbed ahold of Gray’s shirt and shoved him backward into the glass window, which shattered like Aurora’s wildly pumping heart.
“Gray!” she shouted.
He looked unconscious. Or worse. David moved over the broken fragments of glass, crunching like bones beneath his feet. Gray’s eyes fluttered open, focusing not on David, but Aurora. They whispered a silent poem to her, communicating things Aurora couldn’t explain, but completely understood.
David bent down, picked up a shard of glass, and slid it artfully across Gray’s throat. Aurora’s scream was cut off suddenly as she felt her own world collapse in on itself, darkness overtaking her.
Five
SAMUEL
Darkness had fallen.
The time of day when demon activity was at its peak. They were safe in the shadows. Hidden from the Light. Illuminated by nothing but moonbeams, the man in the claret cloak walked the path to a clearing in the woods. Coming over the hill, his eyes were met with the delightful sight of a horde of Horns dressed in long robes of gray. They greeted him with rapt attention and silence. Removing the hood of his cloak, Samuel rewarded them with the smallest of nods.
“Good evening, Horns. Your attendance tonight is valued and necessary. As you know, there was a minor hiccup on Etheria. Most of the Power Halos managed to live through the opening of the demon portals with very little loss. Thanks to a pair of Stellars who have thrown a major wrench in our original plan. However, it is lucky for us that these particular Stellars are not as heartless as the lot of us. Aurora Coel and Grayson Cross,” he spat the names like a child choking on medicine.
“Allow me to paint a concise biography on these two darlings. Grayson loves everyone and sees the good in all things. He has a band of firefighters who are like his family. We could attack anyone, really, and Grayson would come running to save the day. And then…there’s Aurora. If she didn’t have a handful of selfless qualities, I’d say she was one of us. Dark and cynical. Hates most living things. But her mother and adopted brother are her whole world—them and Gray, of course. Something she isn’t quick to admit. I would say we go for her family first. However, I have another plan. You see, I’d like to lead these angel darlings on a little tortuous quest before we do away with them and turn them into the Guardians we all know they will become. Our goal is not to kill them. Not just yet. Our goal is to crush them. Emotionally. Spiritually. Until they can no longer function. How do we do this, you ask?
“Gray and Aurora have a fondness for their little Halo group. I propose we go after them first. Their families, their towns. Get them away from that blasted holy island. And then, one by one, we will crush them.”
Six
GRAY
After Aurora’s little meltdown with Abigail and Patrick—and the resulting blow up on the top of the hill—Gray came to the conclusion that it would be best for him to keep his distance. That was clearly what she wanted anyway. He happily—fake happily, but still—obliged by exploring the island on his own. He would have asked Sev to join him, but the Brit had taken to the library in his spare time to both make out with his new girlfriend and work on his demon book. Chord talked too much, as did Brielle, and he still didn’t know the twins as well as he did the others. So that meant he had to go it alone.
He wasn’t sure why Aurora valued being alone so much. Gray looked at alone time as over-thinking time. Without the distractions of others, he was left to focus on everything—good and bad—in his life. With Aurora’s past, he would have thought all that thinking would drive her to the verge of insanity. He didn’t like thinking about his past much. And now his future was a murky abyss, and he didn’t care to think about that either.
So, instead of thinking of his real future, he pondered what life would have been like if he’d met Aurora casually on the streets of New York or something. What if they hadn’t been chosen to lead this dangerous and heroic life? What if they’d never been selected as Halos? What if their fathers had been real men and not faceless angels they would probably never meet?
Gray wondered what Aurora would be like without her ironclad walls and tough-girl demeanor. If she kept her humor and sarcasm, she would surely still be her. Just a happier version. Would she let him hold her hand then? Let him kiss her even?
He imagined them meeting in Central Park maybe. Aurora would be reading under a tree, wearing a red dress that brought out the blue in her eyes. Gray would have a dog probably, and he’d accidentally-on-purpose throw the Frisbee in her direction. His dog—named Max because that was a good dog name—would bound after the Frisbee and knock Aurora’s book out of her hand. She would be startled at fir
st, but then she would laugh and pat him fondly on the head, looking around for the owner.
“I’m so sorry,” Gray would say charmingly. “The wind caught that one.”
“It’s no problem,” Aurora would say with a laugh that sounded like wind chimes.
They would strike up a conversation and talk the entire afternoon, learning everything about each other. As luck would have it, Aurora would have just moved to New York for a change of scenery, and Gray would have just bought a house. It would be a whirlwind romance full of candlelit dinners and dancing, kissing in the rain, and cuddling in the cold. Aurora would tell him she’d never felt like this about anyone before, and he’d say he hadn’t either.
He would buy her a diamond ring sandwiched by sapphires that matched her eyes. They would have a small wedding, maybe outside, perhaps in an old, antique building. Their parents would be there. All of their parents. And they would carry on like parents do. Aurora would look like an angel walking down the aisle, and he wouldn’t be able to hold back his tears, which his firefighter buddies would later give him a hard time for. But Gray wouldn’t care. He wouldn’t be ashamed. Because he would be so sickeningly in love with Aurora Cross. His wife.
Gray’s imagination was so convincing, he could practically smell the icing on their wedding cake. He could hear the band playing in the background. He could feel Aurora’s arms around his neck, her waist in his hands.
This daydream was so real in fact he didn’t even see Luna sitting cross-legged at the base of a nearby tree reading a book.
“Gray. Hey, Gray!”
Her voice pulled him straight out of his real world daydream and back into his current reality—a fantasyland complete with half-angels and sidewalks made of actual silver. Right now, he preferred the real world. The fake real world.
“Oh. Hey, Luna,” he said, in a daze. “Sorry…didn’t see you there.”
“That’s all right. I didn’t mean to bother you. I was just saying ‘hi.’”
Gray thought of continuing onward but figured that might be rude. So he stopped walking and went to sit beside Luna. It was for the best anyhow. He didn’t need to be living in a made up future that would never happen.
“What’re you reading?” he asked, leaning against the trunk of the tree.
“It’s called After Life.” Luna smiled demurely at him. “It was written by an angel.”
“Fiction or Nonfiction?”
“Fiction actually.”
“Hmmm.”
“What?”
“That’s just interesting,” Gray answered. “That an angel would write fiction, I mean.”
“Why?” Luna asked.
Gray shrugged. “I dunno. I guess because they’re already angels. They’re already living the life of a character in a fantasy novel.”
“When fantasy becomes your reality, it’s no longer fantasy.”
Gray looked at Luna then, really looked at her. Her eyes were a dark gray-blue. But they were genuine and kind, holding wonder and diffidence in their depths. Her face was narrow, and her chin came to a point, framed by long ash blonde locks.
Suddenly Gray was overcome with the desire to know her.
“Why do you and your sister look so different?” he heard himself blurting.
Luna blushed and then laughed coyly. “Well, I look like how we’re both supposed to. Logan went through some, uh, changes. Mostly because of her ex-girlfriend.”
“Girlfriend?”
“Yeah, Logan’s a lesbian,” Luna answered unceremoniously. “Her girlfriend was all into punk and stuff like that, so Logan dyed her hair black and started dressing all edgy. People stopped referring to us as the twins and all that twin-related small talk. Lots of people didn’t even know after that. And I think she liked that. I never minded it, really. I like being a twin. But Logan wanted to stand out, apart from me. So, she made it happen. It’s forced me to stand on my own a little more, though. I admit, I sort of used Logan as a crutch sometimes. I would let her do the talking for both of us. After she went through her transformation, as I like to think of it, I’ve spoken for myself more. It’s been difficult because I’m kind of shy, but I’m getting better at it.”
Gray watched Luna tuck her hair behind her ear. “Wow.”
“Wow what?”
“That was just a very thorough and fascinating answer.”
Luna blushed, and a close-lipped smile spread across her face. “Once I start talking, you’ll find I’m sort of an open book. Hope that’s okay.”
“Luna…” Gray flashed her a broad smile. “That’s perfect.”
Seven
LOGAN
Logan revolved, naked, in front of the bathroom mirror. "Dammit."
“What?” Luna called through the door from the bedroom they shared.
“I’m getting a tan.”
“The horror.”
Logan sighed and wrapped a towel around herself—more for Luna’s sake than her own—before opening the bathroom door. “It’s one thing to dye my hair black when I have my wintery Alaskan skin to offset it and make it dramatic. It’s a whole other thing when you have tan skin. It’s like I’m from Jersey Shore or something.”
Luna face planted into her book, shaking with laughter. “You’re, like, a shade darker than you were before. I’d hardly call that Jersey Shore. More like Caucasian-human-being instead of vampire.”
Logan took off her towel and threw it at her sister before stomping back into the bathroom to change into her Halo armor.
“Don’t you think it’s pointless to shower before we train and sweat all day?” Luna called out.
“Gotta look good for the ladies,” Logan shouted back as she applied her black, winged eyeliner.
“What ladies? Both of the other girls in our group are straight as rulers.”
“Honey.” Logan peeked out of the bathroom. “No girl is that straight. Plus, some rulers are super bendable.”
“Not those two. Brielle is all anti-gay, and Aurora is, like, Gray’s soul mate,” Luna muttered in a strange tone.
“Wait.” Logan stepped back into the room, peering suspiciously at her sister, who was pretending to look anywhere but at her. “Do you like Gray?”
Luna answered with a blush, which she quickly hid in a pillow.
“Shut up!” Logan said. “You’re in love with Aurora’s soul mate?”
“I’m not in love with him.” Luna threw the pillow she’d been hiding behind at Logan, who easily dodged it. “I just, I dunno, I think he’s nice, and he’s cute, and he and Aurora aren’t dating or anything.”
“True. They’re just soul mates.”
“Ugh.” Luna groaned, cradling her forehead in her hands. “I’m an idiot.”
“You’re not an idiot. Aurora is an idiot. She could have that hot piece of ass in two seconds if she wanted to, but she’s too damned stubborn to give in to him. Or anyone else for that matter.”
Luna’s mouth dropped open. “Oh my God. You’re into Aurora?”
“Nah. I just think she’s hot. But I’m not going to try and mess with someone who has a literal soul mate. That’s sort of asking for heartbreak, you know.”
“Point,” Luna grumbled.
“Now let’s go stare longingly at the people we want but can never have,” Logan crooned.
Their training for the day revolved around climbing buildings without being attached to anything whatsoever. The training set up had a huge, spongy mat at the base of a building they were expected to scale. Once they made it to the top, they had to turn around and help the next person up using only their upper body strength.
The opposition between the members of their group was palpable. There was something awkward between Sev and Chord, who dramatically pretended there wasn’t. Then Aurora and Gray, of course, were a constant in the tension department. And now there was this weird situation between Luna and Gray as well. Logan and Brielle were the only ones whose heads weren’t clouded by sexual confusion and turmoil, which Logan voca
lized to a surprised and slightly offended Brielle.
“Excuse me?” she said.
“I said we’re the only ones who aren’t going all sex crazy about someone here,” Logan repeated brusquely.
“I heard you. I’m just not sure what you’re talking about.”
“Right. I forgot you were married to Jesus,” Logan said. “Where do you think he is in all of this?”
“Wow.” Brielle shook her head. “You’re as bad as Chord.”
“Ah, yes, well. You’re a hetero, so—”
“A what?”
“A hetero.”
“As in…?”
“As in not a homo.”
Brielle’s eyes widened. “Are you—?”
Logan smiled slyly. “Does it matter? Does it change your opinion about me?”
Brielle stuttered, “I-I mean—”
“Good to know,” Logan said with a breath of a laugh.
“No, I—”
“It’s okay. I’m used to it. Don’t fret about it or anything. I get it. You were raised to hate the gays.”
Brielle shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. “Well, I wouldn’t exactly put it that way, but what I was trying to say was that I’m getting better about it. Chord and I are on, um, sort of good terms.”
Logan’s eyes cut sideways at Brielle. “After he saved your life, you mean?”
“How did you—?”
“He told me.”
“Logan! You’re up!” their new leader, Verity, shouted from the top of the building.
Logan left Brielle standing with arms crossed and a mingled look of confusion and hurt. Eh, she’d get over it. She should know that’s what happens when you say offensive things. Some people will meet you halfway.
The building Logan was meant to climb seemed much taller when she stood at the base and gazed upwards. She surveyed the wall, scanning for footholds and places to clutch. The angels had done a good job at replicating a typical big city apartment building. Taking a deep breath and letting it out in a quick huff, Logan reached up a hand and grabbed hold of a window ledge, hauling herself up onto it.
Echo (The Halo Series Book 2) Page 3
