Empyreal (The Earthborn Series Book 1)

by Spencer Helsel

  Castus’s voice boomed throughout the chamber, calling everyone to quiet. “Warriors of Empyrean, gifted citizens of our protection,” what few gifted could gather in the doorway fought for a place up front to see, “I call this convocation to order! I present to you our esteemed and honored guest: Lady Alecto, Commander of the Forces of Asphodel and our closest ally.”

  Applause broke out as Alecto strode into the room. She was graceful as she was fearsome. But where she impressed Dani by the way she carried herself, more than a few Numen gave her looks of adoration that had nothing to do with respect. And why wouldn’t they? Not only was she beautiful, but a warrior. She was the ultimate woman. More than a few of their stares were near-cartoonish. She imagined them dropping their jaws to the floor and rolling out their tongues.

  Boys . She shook her head.

  Alecto strode before the glass pool, torches and Elders to her back. The tips of her wings slid gently along the floor. When she spoke, her voice was like warm, smooth honey.

  “Thank you, Elder Council. It is my privilege to be here.” She smiled to the assembly. “And it is an honor to be before you. For so long, my kind has fought side by side with yours against the forces of Hell. So many of us, my sisters included, have pledged themselves to the great God of Light. It is a bond. And I am here to say that this bond is stronger than ever! The City of Dis, the Forces of Asphodel, stand with Empyrean!”

  A round of applause. Alecto knew how to give a good speech.

  “Thanks be to you.” She calmed them. “But I am not here to only say this. I am here for two important reasons. The first,” she turned to the Novices, “is to watch as our newest Earthborn display courage, cunning and skill, and join the ranks of the Numen warriors. I have no doubt that their place will be earned. To them I say: welcome and good fortune.”

  More applause. More than a few Novices stood, waving to her as if she were some kind of celebrity. Even Nathaniel was stupidly standing to get attention.

  “But there is another reason I am here.” Alecto continued. “In these times, the fires of Hell burn more brightly. My kind has always been on the front lines. We have always protected this realm and those below. But the demonic rise. We die at their hands. I have watched many brothers and sisters perish in battle. Our duty is to prevent their escape, but demons continue to creep into the world unnoticed. Numen and Hellion alike die at their hands. So many others suffer for nothing. So I have come here not just as a spectator, but as an emissary.”

  Her wings flared, causing many of the men to gasp. The drama was not lost on anyone.

  “I come here, humbly, like so many times before, to beseech you not to forget your non-human brothers and sisters. For so long, Numen have protected the upper world. Hellions have protected the lower. Every day more of us die. I come to ask you to join with me. The demonic are rising. It is time we stop them together.”

  She turned on the Elders, holding out her hands. And then, she bowed to her knees. “I ask this great Council to remember us. We are losing. We need aid. As you call me here to preside over these upcoming Trials, I ask you once more to consider sending us assistance. It is with great respect and admiration I beg this of you.”

  Most, if not all, of the Numen broke into applause as she stood. Alecto was an amazing speaker. She inspired with words. Dani never met someone who could keep people’s attention like that. The men on the Council enjoyed her speech, though with more smug and self-satisfied grins. They looked pleased by Alecto begging for help.

  She turned and bowed once more to the room. When she turned to the Novices, the applause thundered. Her eyes penetrated through the crowd and as Dani watched, she searched the faces of each Numen.

  Until her eyes met Dani’s.

  Their gazes locked. Dani flushed. Was she looking at her? Why? She looked away. She couldn’t keep eye contact. After a few seconds, she looked back and Lady Alecto no longer stared her direction. The embarrassment lingered, though.

  Castus called for silence again. The applause died. Alecto turned, standing patiently for their verdict.

  “Lady Alecto, we thank you for reminding us that it is not just this city, or any city, that defends the world from darkness. It is all of us.” He cleared his throat. “It is an honor for you to be here as witness to the next generation of Numen. And it is for that purpose that I announced the next Trials to commence!”

  More applause. Dani awed at the near-blood lust from the other hosts; Numen eagerly shouting to watch the Novices fight for their place. The gifted were a little more constrained, but excited. And with Alecto standing before them, something else didn’t escape her notice, either: the Council didn’t say a word about what she requested.

  “Do not be surprised.” Mastema said behind her. “Lady Alecto has asked for aid for decades and received none.”

  “I’m surprised she still asks.”

  “When everyone you know dies,” he murmured darkly, “there is no limit to what you will do.”

  Dani didn’t doubt that.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  In honor of Alecto, training was suspended. The Trials would begin in three days. Everyone released to their villages. As they left, she spotted Roxelana and Shea amongst the gifted audience. The two of them saw one another, but neither was eager to talk.

  Nathaniel caught up to her at the bridge. “Congratulations on first spot in the Trials!”

  “Aww, thanks Nate. I love it when people celebrate my impending death.”

  “You’re not going to die. That hasn’t happened in decades.”

  “Not comforting.”

  As they were about to cross, a small contingent of soldiers cut them off. At this point, Dani assumed every armed guard was for her.

  She stopped. Sure enough, one of the four demanded, “Novice Daniella. Lady Alecto wishes to speak with you.”

  Nathaniel’s eyes widened. “Really?”

  Dani shook her head. “Pick your tongue up off the ground, Romeo. You’re embarrassing.” She sighed and said to the soldiers, “Sure. Lead the way.”

  She left Nathaniel and followed the group of escorts back into the Citadel, feigning disinterest. But secretly, she worried. Why did she want to talk to me? She spotted Ethan through the crowd; equally shocked by her new found fame. Lady Alecto, the darling of Empyrean, wished to speak to her. Oh goodie.

  The four Gatekeepers marched in formation, leading Dani through the streets, past the Gardens and into the Fane. The sanctuary, lit by the many star-like lanterns, illuminated the beautiful Alecto in their glow. She waited at the feet of the Archangel; an angel herself in the gloom.

  The Fury’s beauty was startling up close. She turned and folded her wings back upon herself like a cloak around her shoulders, bowing to the soldiers. Dani saw them go all a-twitter with smiles and blushes. Did these guys spend any time with women?

  “Thank you, kind sirs.” She said to them, making more than one turn the same deep crimson of their armor. “You may leave her here with me.”

  “We can post outside if you wish, m’lady.” The lead guard told her.

  “That will not be necessary. Go with my thanks ere we speak again.”

  They fell all over themselves as they bowed and left. Dani tried not to make gagging noises.

  As soon as they were gone, though, she couldn’t find the words to speak, either. The leader of the Hellions was more intimidating than ever. It wasn’t just her beauty, although Dani felt like an ugly toad next to her. No, it was her strength. She had a strength that could be felt. This woman was hands-down the most daunting person Dani met. No wonder everyone treated her like royalty.

  She bowed, feeling like the redheaded stepchild in the room. “My lady.”

  Alecto smiled softly. “My dear, you do not need to be so formal. It is a courtesy the Numen have extended to me for eons, but I do not wish it from you. You are free to be yourself.”

  “I am being myself.” She lied.

  Alecto gave her a playful loo
k. “From what I hear, the very first week you not only challenged Elder Asaph, but Elder Heman and an entire contingent of cynocephali. Alpha Remus was quite troubled by your unceasing temperament. And I discovered you have already gone through many trials during your tenure here. You nearly blinded a man, as I understand it.”

  “He deserved it.” She retorted.

  “Indeed.”

  Dani blushed sheepishly. “I didn’t mean to hurt him.”

  “He was—how do you say—being a jerk?”

  Alecto knew a lot about Dani. Dani knew almost zero about her. “I really love your wings. I thought you were an angel when I first saw you.”

  She smiled even more gently, if that were possible. “Thank you. You are very kind Daniella, though as I am to believe, you go by Dani?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Well, then we shall call you by what you wish. Yes, Dani, many have mistook me for an angel. My kind gave rise to the idea that angels have wings.”

  “They don’t?”

  “I am unsure. I have never met one.”

  “Well,” she gushed, “it’s easy to see why people think you’re one. Are all Fur—er, Erinyes so pretty?” Mastema warned her not to call them Furies.

  If Alecto noticed, she ignored it. “Yes, my sisters are of great beauty, though I would not be so boastful.”

  She felt like a silly fangirl standing next to this incredible woman, though Dani hated ‘fangirl’ as much as any things boys called her. But Alecto had an almost disarming niceness. How was she the leader of an army of monsters?

  “I’m actually not that kind.” She admitted. “Most people think I’m rude.”

  “Well, they have not seen what kind of person you truly are, then. My kind—the Erinyes—have a way of judging the character of someone. ” She turned, walking calmly with Dani around the statue’s pool. The pacing was so soothing Dani just fell in step with her; mesmerized. “We can see faults as well as goodness. I see great goodness in you Dani.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Has it been difficult for you here?”

  She shrugged. “A little.”

  “Do you have friends?”

  “A few. A boy named Nathaniel I came up here with is a close friend.”

  “Is that so? Who else?”

  “A few here and there have been friendly. A couple Guardians, some Novices. My Guardian is…well, he’s okay.”

  “Mastema.” She nodded. “I have heard great and terrible stories of him.”

  “Don’t believe the hype. He’s kind of a pain,” then quickly added, “but a great teacher. Another Guardian helped out, too. Ethan. He’s been really kind to me.” She tried to keep the warmth out of her voice. “I, uh, don’t know if you wanted to know all of that.”

  They moved around the backside of the statue, the horn pointed towards the sunsplashed doorway. Alecto regarded the archangel’s likeness mildly, saying, “Dani, it is perfectly fine for you to do so. I have met many Numen. I have served with many. But when I heard of you, I knew I had to meet you.”

  “Why?”

  She stopped, turning towards her. “There is great change in the world, Dani. It is in the air. The ways we have kept must change. My warning to the Elder Council was quite truthful. The fires of Hell burn brighter. I have seen them myself. Numen will need to face what is to come and I tell you truthfully: you are a part of that.”

  “Me?”

  “I do not know how you were called. Nothing like it has ever happened before but,” Alecto told her, “I, for one, am glad. You mark a change in the order of the universe. I believe you happened for a purpose. I came here to see that for myself.”

  Dani flustered. Me? She came to see me? Dani never felt special. Hell, she felt very un-special most of her life. Even amongst the Numen— even as the only girl—she was still that awkward girl who felt like she didn’t belong.

  “You are unique,” Alecto told her, “but I see you as something more: an omen of things to come. I hope that you will remember this when the time comes for you to make your mark. Remember that you are not like the rest of your fellow Numen. You have a destiny to fulfill.”

  She didn’t know what to say. For the first time, someone told her the complete opposite of what she was used to. She wasn’t an outsider or a freak; she was important.

  “I wish you luck in your Trials.” Alecto told her. “I will be watching closely and with great interest. I am certain you will not disappoint.”

  With that, Dani was allowed to leave. As she walked away, she glanced back at the angelic lady looking up to Gabriel. Alecto was, for all intents and purposes, a fine lady; the first to say anything truly nice to her.

  An omen of things to come. She didn’t understand everything Alecto told her, but she liked what she heard. She could get used to someone believing in her.

  ______________________

  Dani felt more confident than ever as she walked back across the Vale. She had the rest of the day and mused about what she might do with it. She would need to train and study eventually. But in the meantime she could—.

  She stopped as she crested the hill. Below her, her house lay in ruins; boards ripped from the sides and plants cut apart. Someone took the torches out of their holdings used them to break in her window and smashed them on the ground. Food stores Dani put together over the past month—meats she bought, vegetables she picked—spilled across the stones. Someone lit the lamp oil and burned all of it in a huge pyre. They trashed her pavilion, broke her training equipment and left the house a broken shack.

  Dani stared at what had once been her home. Her chest hurt. Something clawed up the back of her throat as she discovered the torn remnants of her bed.

  Etched across the doorframe, carved into the wood, was a single word: WHORE.

  She stood there, staring; for how long, she wasn’t sure. The empty, lonely wind scattered her loose hair about her face. She stared at what was once her home; the one gift that made her feel human. Wanted.

  She screamed.

  Dani fell to her knees. Everything came out; every hurtful thing someone said to her, every insult, everything she held back until now. She screamed and screamed. She slammed her fist into the stones under her so hard her hand ached. She felt something break and pain radiated through her hand.

  But she hit the rocks again and again, screaming through clenched teeth, ignoring the pain as her fist burned and turned red.

  “Dani!” a voice called. “Dani! Oh my God! Dani! Stop!”

  Footsteps. Arms around her. She heard other voices. She ignored them. She punched the rock until it cracked and bled. Or until her hand did.

  “Dani! Stop! Stop it!”

  She thrashed, screaming. Whoever held her cried out in pain. Her elbow hit something. New arms wrapped around her; stronger ones.

  “Hold her!” A gruff voice commanded. “Hold her!”

  She screamed again. “Let me go! Let me go!”

  “Novice! Calm yourself!” the voice commanded. A face, darker than hers, floated into her vision. He smeared away tears. It was Mastema. “Get yourself under control, Novice!”

  “Go away!” she screamed at him. “Get your hands off me!”

  “I command you to calm down! Get ahold of yourself this instant!”

  She clawed at him. She was just so angry. Everything she choked down for over a month raged to the surface. She struck at her Guardian. His hands were there. She heard words, a language she didn’t understand.

  Then darkness. Then nothing.

  ______________________

  “I’m sorry.”

  She curled up on the rim of her broken fountain, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. They wrapped her hand in a bandage. She broke it. It would take a few hours to heal under the care of panacea.

  Ethan stood to one side, the concerned expression so deep it made lines in his forehead. “You don’t have to be.”

  “She should be.” Mastema said from his place against her ruined
house. “Look at her hand. She is in no shape to train. Her Trials begin in three days. She needs every advantage—.”

  “Will you give it a rest?” Dani demanded harshly. She glared at her Guardian. “I am sick of you! For once can you just back off?”

  He held a hand to her house, as if to remind her. “Because your enemies will ‘back off’ as you say?”

  “You are so infuriating!”

  “Mastema, please,” Ethan begged.

  Mastema frowned. “I am right, Stormthrower. We cannot delay. This is merely a ploy by the others to ensure she fails.”

  Dani sighed. “They’re trying to psych me out, you mean?”

  “I assume that means what I said, yes.”

  “He’s right,” Ethan conceded, “they are trying to keep you off kilter. I’ll go to the Elders and tell them what happened.”

  “And blame whom?” Mastema challenged.

  “I know who it was.” Dani told them. “I didn’t see them, but I can guess.”

  “And without proof, it would only be accusations. It would be your word against theirs.”

  How many times had that happened? This wasn’t the first time it was someone’s word against someone else. Why fight? they usually said. If you know nothing will happen, why even bring it up? She hated it.

  “You must train. The Trial in the Vale will not be one of ease or comfort.”

  “Thanks. I wasn’t aware.” The sarcasm had extra bite this time.

  Mastema strode off towards the house. She would deal with that later, but for right now she didn’t care. It left her and Ethan alone.

  “Are you sure you’re alright?”

  She shook her head. “Honestly? No. I’m tired. I’m tired of having to prove myself to everyone.” She felt the same anger threatening to explode again, but tamped it down. “I know I don’t talk about it, but endlessly fighting everyone wears on me. I couldn’t take it anymore when I saw,” she waved to her onceclean hovel, “all of this.”