“Ready to come face to face with Hades?” Gray said. “Sure. Why not.”
“Hades is actually a character from Greek mythology,” Aurora began. “Not the same thing as—”
Her words were cut off by a loud sucking sound as a brilliant light illuminated the outside edge of the doorframe. Where, before, there had been a sturdy door made of heavy wood, now all that could be seen was blackness within the arch of glowing blue. The sucking sound came with a feeling of air being pulled from the room like a vacuum. Aurora wasn’t sure if it was just her mind, but she felt like she couldn’t take a deep breath.
“Are we supposed to walk through?” she shouted over the roaring noise.
Michael merely nodded and gestured with the hand he no longer had pressed against the door. Because, you know, it had disappeared.
Gray took the first step forward, but Aurora beat him to the threshold. If whatever waited for them on the other side was going to harm them, she would rather be in the line of fire. Not Gray.
He reached for her, as if attempting to pull her back, but she had already stepped through. Then everything around her vanished, replaced with a searing, burning, full-body pain.
Thirteen
CHORD
Pleasant things swam through Chord's mind in the form of super sexual dreams when Lady Lionheart docked rather jarringly against land.
“God dammit,” he grumbled.
Sev’s arm, which had been thrown across his back, slid away as the Brit propelled himself quickly off the bed, moving to the window. Drawing back the curtain, he peered outside, squinting.
Forgetting his annoyance at being taken away from a dream full of climaxes and sugarclouds, Chord perked up in bed, stretching his neck in an attempt to see past Sev’s long black hair. “Where are we?”
“Not sure…” Sev said in that thoughtful voice he had when his mind went into overdrive. “This window faces out more toward the sea. I can only make out the edge of a city.”
“Does it look like an Italian city or a Mexican city or a Canadian city or an Arctic city or—?”
“Are there Arctic cities?” Sev mused.
Chord climbed out of the bed and cursed as he tripped on the pants Sev had discarded on the floor the night before. “I don’t know. Maybe igloo cities.” Shouldering Sev over as gently as Chord knew how—which wasn’t very—he pushed his face up against the glass of the window. For the most part, only water could be seen. A line of pink and orange rested on the dark horizon. His sleep schedule was so backwards—mainly because he and Sev hadn’t been doing much sleeping—that he wasn’t sure whether it was sunrise or sunset.
Sev let the heavy black curtain fall shut. “We will have to go to the top deck.”
“I guess this means our sexual exploits—sexploits, if you will—are over again?” Chord said in reluctance as the two of them left their room. “Now that the work has begun?”
Silence was all that came from Sev until they made it to the stairs. “Perhaps…we could attempt to find a balance between work and play.”
Chord felt something akin to hope bloom in the depths of his hollow chest where his heart should be. The past however many hours tangled up in bed sheets with Sev had been like waking from one of his more vivid sex dreams. But he’d figured it would end as it usually did. Sevastion Blackwood didn’t play around. Not when there was work to be done, books to be read, experiments to be conducted. When they’d entered the bedroom, Chord had vehemently reminded himself it was only temporary and not to get his hopes up. Now, the unlikely British sex machine had gone and surprised him once again.
Not wanting to upset this new development, Chord simply followed Sev up the stairs without a word, trying not to smile too broadly. Then they emerged on the top deck, taking in the cityscape...and not smiling became less difficult.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Chord grumbled. “Of all the places in the world this lady boat could have taken us, and we’re back in freaking Seattle.”
The Seattle skyline—though breathtaking in most circumstances—taunted Chord with its space needle and the reverse of the public market sign, the big Ferris wheel, and Mount Ranier looming in the background.
“Clearly we’re needed here more than anywhere else.”
Flashing Sev a sidelong glance, Chord sighed dramatically. Stretching his arms behind his head, he let out a yawn/groan. “Well, before we go off and capture a Beast, I’m going to need coffee.”
Coffee didn’t settle the nervous twisting in his stomach like Chord had hoped it would. He wasn’t really even that tired. Coffee had always been more of a comfort—a friend saying, I know you’re super tired, but just drink me, and you’ll be fucking awesome today. You can do it. I believe in you.
In his old life, he’d always felt better about himself when he chose to go for some coffee instead of drinks at the bar. Because alcohol was on the other end of the friend spectrum, whispering things like, You’re a miserable human being. You need me to feel better. Drink me. Drink me again. And again. Well, you still suck, but at least you care less now.
Chord hadn’t even realized how little he'd had to drink since arriving on Arx Isle. Something about daily training and impending doom distracted him from feeling the need to consume alcohol. That, and his super-hot British man.
Sev placed a steady hand on Chord’s hip, stringing a final dagger through his boyfriend's weapons belt to join the arsenal that was already there.
At least they weren’t quite as heavy as human weaponry. Even so, Chord felt like he’d tied himself to the floor. “You think all of this hardware is really necessary? I mean…they’re just Beasts. They have the mental sharpness of a butter knife.”
“One wildebeest is harmless, but get caught in a stampede, and you’re dead.”
Chord snorted. “This isn’t the Lion King, Sevastion.”
When Sev looked at him blankly, Chord shook his head. Of course Sev wouldn’t have seen that movie. His parents probably brought him up watching the evening news…or whatever smart British people watched.
Sev moved to leave the weapons room, and Chord followed. This little boat of Michael’s was far more equipped for violent battles than he would have thought, and visually darker than any angel ship he’d been on up to this point. Like the outer shell of the boat, the inside was just as gloomy with floors made of mahogany and bookshelves filled with dusty tomes. Heavy wooden furniture and deep blue curtains to block out the light completed the decor. The only source of light came from dim sconces on the wall and oil lamps, which automatically illuminated at any sign of movement.
Chord and Sev left the boat of darkness behind as they jumped down onto the dock not far from Pike Market. Once upon a time, Chord had visited Seattle with his parents when he was a young teen. His family had done the typical touristy things, which included visiting the fish market where they threw smelly cod and salmon through the air for someone to catch on the other side.
Chord had hated it.
The market had been bustling and, for some reason, people liked to watch a couple of grown men throw fish around. Why this was, he couldn’t fathom. He’d been more anxious to find the original Starbucks and visit a pastry shop…because he was a fat-ass.
Now Pike Market was emptier than an alcoholic’s bottle of gin. No flying fish. No crying children. No people, whatsoever. Just a ghost market. It was sort of depressing.
Though, Sev didn’t seem all that depressed. More like determined and on alert…which was really sexy.
“Come on,” Sev said. “This way.”
Chord felt like his own priorities were slightly skewed, given that he was more concerned about the way Sev’s jaw tightened when he was on an important mission, or how the muscles in his arms rippled as he gripped his crux in one hand and his rapier in the other.
“Oh, I’m coming,” Chord answered. “Trust me. I’m coming.”
Sev flashed him a mildly perplexed look, and Chord pretended he didn’t notice as he peered
down Post Alley, half expecting to see a Beast stuck to the famous "wall of gum" (which is exactly what it sounds like). But, there were no Beasts there. He turned back to see that Sev had lengthened his stride up the narrow, cobblestone hill that was Pine Street. Chord’s legs were nowhere near as long as Sev’s, so he had to jog to keep up, his weapons clanking heavily against his thighs.
“Where the hell are all of these vile creatures?” Chord panted. “They were overrunning the city when we left.”
“Yes, but then Caducus fell, and they all disappeared, along with the Horns and demons. Perhaps they never came back.”
“Well, then why would Lady Lionheart bring us here? If there are no Beasts, then—”
Chord’s words dropped off abruptly when they made it to the intersection of Pine Street and 1st Avenue. They’d spoken too soon. He really hated that.
Sev cursed.
And Sev never cursed.
Looking left and right, Chord's heart rate tripled. Two hordes of Beasts were ambling down the street towards them like a sick zombie film. Only, he knew they were a lot faster than zombies. No dragging feet or outstretched arms.
Chord remembered Sev’s wildebeest metaphor. “Maybe we should—”
“Too late,” Sev said.
The Beasts had spotted the two of them. And now they were charging.
Fourteen
GRAY
Portals—or austiums—were painful. Really painful. Perhaps because they were created for angels, rather than half-angels, half-humans. Once Gray stepped through the open threshold, every nerve ending in his body felt like it was either being set on fire, or frozen with white-hot ice. Stars and blackness exploded in his eyes, and the air was sucked from his lungs.
He thought he was dying. Or, at least, he hoped he was. Because he wanted the pain to be over. The calm peace of death sounded pleasant compared to this. But somewhere in the depths of his brain, he remembered his death would cause Aurora’s.
So he fought back, pushing the fire and ice away as best he could. Then the burning and stabbing pain stopped, replaced with a glacial chill.
At first, he thought he had successfully mastered the art of portal travel. Until he realized, as his eyes came back into focus, it was because they’d arrived at their destination.
A land of ice.
There was no snow to be seen. Only a paved path of smooth, frozen glass leading to a towering castle of icy crystal in the distance. Sharp turrets stabbed like inverted icicles into the thick, frosty air. A slight lavender glow illuminated within the walls. The absence of the sun was eerily unmissable. But, somehow, it wasn't dark. The light seemed to be coming from the ice itself.
“Holy shit,” Aurora said in a breath that crystallized in the air.
“I’m not sure holy is the right expletive in this case,” Gray said.
“What should it be, then? Helly?”
Gray snorted, and Michael's typically neutral face flickered with amusement as they walked forward toward the ice castle.
“You’ll want to be cautious of your hell-related jokes here. Lucifer is generally up for a good laugh, but Lilith on the other hand… Well, she can be easily angered. And that’s on a good day.”
“Lilith is here too? As in the Lilith?” Aurora said before slipping on the icy path. Gray’s hand shot out to catch her. Once she'd been returned steadily to her feet, she pulled her hand from his, smoothing out her already-smooth corset of armor. Even now that their relationship had bloomed into mutual infatuation, she refused to be a damsel in any form of distress.
Michael ignored this exchange. “Lilith tends to go where the drama is—if she’s not the one causing it in the first place.”
Gray tried to grapple with this new information. Meeting with the dark angel of the underworld was one thing… Meeting with his right-hand woman who was known for her sexual tricks and manipulation was another. What had they gotten themselves into?
Glancing over at Aurora, he was unsurprised to see that she seemed nothing more than apathetic. Typical. One might think, between a substitute teacher and a firefighter, the latter would be the stoic one. Not in this case.
As they neared the ice castle, the air grew colder, making it harder to breathe. Gray pictured crystals forming on the lining of his lungs, like the frosty insides of a freezer. Surely the climate of Hell wasn't safe for a half-human. Perhaps allowing them to come here was really just Lucifer’s clever scheme to help Caducus out and rid the world of the two Halo Stellars.
The front doors towered over them now, looking like massive carved ice sculptures with designs of upside-down crosses and stars within circles. Michael reached up and grasped the doorknocker. Gray was surprised the thing didn’t shatter as it slammed down into the ice block door. Unlike the rumbling sound that typically came with every door knocker Gray had ever heard, this one created a harsh, almost shriek-like sound--reminiscent of a haunted scream mixed with the tinkling of jagged metal scraping against itself.
Gray felt Aurora’s hand slide through his, her frozen fingers hooking on tightly. He returned the pressure just as both doors slid inward to reveal a pair of looming shadows.
“Michael,” one of them said in a deep baritone. “It’s been, what? Eons?”
“Something like that.”
Michael smiled at the shadow in a way one might smile when being reunited with an old friend as if all the memories from the past was building behind it.
“Come in,” the other shadow said in a voice smoother than drinking chocolate, the kind only found in the nicest chocolateries around the world. New York had one. Gray once brought a date there. The drinking chocolate was the best part of the date. None of this was important, of course. But Gray’s brain wasn’t quite sure what else to think as the shadows moved forward, the lavender light of the ice castle illuminating their features.
Lucifer and Lilith were every bit as grand and ominous as he’d thought they’d be. Dark hair, massive height, long, sharp nails. What he hadn’t been anticipating was their beauty. Ageless faces, flawless, pore-less skin. High cheekbones and square jaws. Lilith’s lips could put Angelina Jolie’s to shame, and her wide eyes with amethyst irises were mesmerizing in a terrifying way. They wore clothes of gray and silver with trailing fur cloaks. A pair of evil ice royals.
“Care for a coat?” Lilith purred in Gray’s ear as they walked tentatively inside the citadel, led by a seemingly unintimidated Michael. “This abode is rather chillier than what Lucy and I are used to.”
Lucy? Was she referring to Lucifer?
“I would like one,” Aurora spoke up. Her voice was icier than the walls of the castle, and her sapphire eyes were narrowed at Lilith, who was still inches from Gray’s face.
The front doors slammed shut behind them, and Aurora’s hand fell from Gray’s with a snap.
“Of course.” Lilith flashed a sugary sweet smile at Gray’s Stellar.
Turning elegantly around, Lilith snapped her fingers. Silver fur coats materialized suddenly, weighing down on Gray and Aurora's shoulders.
Lucifer surveyed the two of them over his shoulder with a smirk of a smile. “We’ve prepared a dinner. You must be starving.”
It was true. Gray and Aurora had both abandoned dinner after they’d discovered that Soren was missing. But he wasn’t sure how smart it was to eat from the table of Satan himself.
“Famished,” Aurora answered for both of them.
Gray glanced at her obliquely. The mask she once wore on a daily basis aboard Etheria was now firmly back in place. He couldn’t blame her. A pair of evil, fallen angels who ruled the flaming pits of Hell weren’t the kind of people to let your guard down around.
Dinner with the Devil was much more pleasant than one might expect.
A long table, surprisingly not made out of ice, was piled high with delicacies from around the human world. The best of the best. Many of which Gray didn’t know the name of. Though there were the obvious dishes like lobster, pasta, and pizza. Oh, and drinki
ng chocolate…which actually made Gray somewhat suspicious, given that he’d just been thinking about it. Lilith sipped at her porcelain cup filled with the thick liquid. Purple eyes flashed over at Gray with a hint of a knowing smile. Feeling himself blush, he turned back to his plate.
He didn’t bother asking how Lucifer had acquired any of the delicacies. Perhaps he had a way of reaching through dimensions and snatching platters off of people’s tables. Or maybe they were made by one of their demon servants—who happened to be just as beautiful as Lilith and Lucifer.
Gray watched the demon servants both warily and with interest. All the demons he had grown used to recently were ugly and stank of sulfur. These beings, though, were dressed all in silver, carrying trays of colorful drinks and decadent desserts. Quite the opposite of ugly and sulfurous. Previously, Gray had assumed heaven laid claim to all beauty, and Hell was left with all that was ugly and unpleasant. This didn’t appear to be the case. Though, some of the most beautiful things in the world could be the most deadly. Like those colorful frogs in the rainforest.
“Do not let the angels convince you that their food is superior to Hell’s.” Lucifer rolled a chocolate bon-bon between his forefinger and thumb before popping it into his mouth. “Gluttony is one of my favorite sins, after all. And the humans of the world seem to have fallen victim to its sugary, fattening grip lately. I love it.”
Aurora dropped the croissant she had been nibbling back onto her plate at this statement, her lip sneering into a disgusted frown.
Lucifer and Lilith's beautiful faces twisting into malevolent grins.
“These Stellar Halos are rather intriguing for a pair of humans, Michael,” Lucifer stated, as if Gray and Aurora weren’t able to understand.
“Half humans,” Aurora corrected. “And half angels.”
The edge of Lucifer’s eyebrow and mouth both raised at this. Lilith tilted her head up, narrowing her eyes. “Snarky, too," Lucifer said. "Did you make them what they are? Stellars, I mean.”
Stellar (The Halo Series Book 3) Page 9
