Thirty-Three
LILITH
“This shouldn’t hurt too much,” Lilith purred to Gray and Aurora as she placed long-fingered hands on each of their shoulders. Aurora tensed at her touch, but Gray leaned into her, the piece of her soul within him seeking the larger half housed deep inside her inky black heart.
She’d managed to sneak the two Stellar babes to the top of Calton Hill, near the National Monument of Edinburgh. Caducus had taken up residence in the castle—the pretentious bastard. And, yet, a man after her own dark heart. The desire to meet him flared up in her core, licking the hollow cavern of her sternum like flames.
But not just yet.
She still had a job to do. To prove herself to him.
Pumping her power into Aurora and Gray’s skin, they slowly began to mutate into creatures of darkness. In appearance, at least. If only changing their insides, their souls, were that easy. Gray turned his palms outwards, drinking in the evolution.
Aurora’s shoulders hunched forward, resisting. But, even so, her blonde hair turned bone white, her eyes filled with blackness, her pupils swallowing her blue irises and spreading out until a pair of solid black eyes—demon’s eyes—stared up at Lilith. Gray’s hair turned a darker black, his skin graying and eyes matching Aurora’s.
It wasn’t difficult to imagine the two Stellars as her children. Lying outside of the garden of Eden, she had once dreamt of such a thing. But Adam’s pompous ignorance hadn’t allowed such a thing to happen for her. How Lilith had longed for a small being, housed in her womb, to raise and teach and mold. Pressing a palm to Gray’s cheek, she wondered if Caducus would be gracious enough to give her this gift. What might the two of them be able to create together?
“There,” she murmured, looking from Aurora to Gray with a proud smile. “You look just as you should.”
Aurora’s black eyes blinked in horror as she took in Gray’s new appearance. But Gray looked up at Lilith, veneration in his gaze.
Running the pad of her thumb over his cheek, she smiled. “It’s time to go, little demons. Remember our mission. I shall communicate with Samuel within my mind. When he allows us aboard their airship, Aurora will sink back into the shadows and find the boy. I will make sure the four of us make it safely out of the floating vessel…if it means destroying every last fallen angel and half-demon.”
Gray nodded, and Aurora’s back straightened in determination.
“Remember. Do not give your humanity away. Move with slow, deliberate steps. And do not speak.”
With these instructions, Lilith led the Stellars to the top of Calton Hill, scanning the skies for Samuel’s airship.
Come to me, dear Samuel, she thought into the air. We must speak.
Silence.
Then, the distant sound of waves on the wind rose up as Samuel’s airship came into view just above the clock tower atop the Balmoral Hotel. As the vessel reached the edge of the hill, it halted. A figure stepped out of the shadows, resting coolly against the railing.
Samuel.
Well, well. Lilith heard the casual, ever-so-slightly arrogant voice speak in her mind. If it isn’t the wife of Lucifer.
She scoffed in her mind. Wife? Hardly.
Mistress then, he corrected. Quite a small army you’ve brought with you. Two demons. They must be rather special. Or you must be more foolish than I thought. Then again…your loyalties lie with Lucifer. So, perhaps it is the latter.
My loyalties have shifted, Samuel. Love for an angel has made Lucifer soft. He’s losing the darkness I once admired in him. I believe it is time I moved on... To a new master.
And how do you expect him to believe you? To trust that you’ve truly left loyalty to your dear Lucifer behind? Coming from the queen of deceit, you understand why I may feel a certain hesitation in putting any amount of trust in your words.
Naturally, Lilith thought. And I do not blame you for your doubts. However, I’ve brought a gift—two gifts, actually—which should prove my newfound loyalties to Caducus.
A pair of demons? The humor in Samuel’s voice was evident. Do you not know we have an army of our own? What do we need with a pair of Hell’s minions?
These creatures have never been and shall never be Hell’s demons. But they are the most powerful weapons the army of the Light has at their disposal.
The most powerful weapon the army of the Light has are the Halo Stellars.
Lilith’s mouth curved upward. Precisely.
AURORA
Keeping her anger for Lilith at bay was probably one of the most difficult things Aurora had attempted so far as a Halo. She knew the evil woman had done something to Gray. She only hoped the damage wasn’t irreparable. But she couldn’t worry about that now. Because Soren needed her.
And, for once, she was going to be the mom he needed her to be.
It felt strange playing dress-up as one of Hell’s demons. Aurora’s gray-tinged skin crawled as if she’d been dipped in a pool of ants. Gray’s solid-black eyes, which she assumed matched her own, were unnerving. Though that wasn’t why she avoided them.
Meeting the gaze of the person whose eyes once fixed her with such unadulterated love, but now held nothing more than indifference, felt like she’d swallowed acid.
Aurora’s eyes snapped to Samuel as he appeared on the top deck of the airship, leaning forward with an air of amusement. Her heart, already hammering like mad in her chest, sped up, making her light-headed. Lilith spoke to Samuel silently. Aurora wished more than anything that she could hear what the two of them were saying.
Lilith was persuasive, true, but was she persuasive enough to trick Caducus’s lead dark angel?
Watching Lilith’s countenance, looking for any indication as to what the two dark angels were saying, Aurora waited in impatience. Then she saw the corners of Lilith’s mouth turn up imperceptibly. Whatever was said had pleased her.
Then suddenly the ground beneath them quaked, and a pillar of earth shot upward with the three of them riding atop it. Aurora lost her balance, reaching out to grab Gray’s arm. He didn’t pull away, though he did nothing to steady her.
Whatever Lilith had said to Samuel had either convinced or angered him. The column of dirt halted its upward movement as it reached the height of the airship. Aurora’s eyes connected with Samuel’s and it took everything she had to not glare into their icy blue stare.
She was supposed to be Lilith’s obedient little demon, after all.
A portion of the railing lowered to welcome them aboard the airship. Aurora wasn’t sure how, but she could feel Soren’s presence.
Her son was near. She knew it.
The urge to run for him nearly choked her.
Samuel said nothing to Lilith or her demons in disguise. Perhaps the two of them were still speaking in the privacy of their minds. No need to say words aloud.
Aurora didn’t like feeling censored.
When Samuel actually spoke, it startled her. “If you will follow me. The open air isn’t safe.”
Why? Aurora thought. There are no Halos or angels for thousands of miles.
The airship felt unnaturally still. She had been used to the rocking that came with ocean waves. The constant hum and movement. This vessel was as solid and unmoving as cement.
Lilith and the two Stellars followed after Samuel, around the sloping deck and through an onyx door, which slid open to permit them.
Aurora expected the ship to be swarming with Horns and Caducus’s demons, but the passageways were empty. No beings, of any sort, in sight. This should have been a good thing, but it unsettled her somehow.
It shouldn’t be this easy.
Samuel led them into a sort of dark sitting room. Aurora was reminded of an old-style smoking room only men were allowed to enjoy. Lilith, though, looked quite at home, sweeping to a high-backed armchair beside the silent fire with red flames.
Gray followed until he was standing on her right side, like an obedient pet. To avoid suspicion, Aurora came to stand on L
ilith’s left, eyes scanning the cavernous room, searching for a sign of her son’s presence.
Then a door leading deeper into the ship slid open to reveal the very person for which she’d been looking, accompanied by the man she’d wished to never see again.
She should've killed him when she'd had the chance.
At the sight of her son, Aurora tensed all over. Soren was dressed like a young gentleman from the 19th century. She didn’t know the names of his pieces clothing, but she’d seen plenty of Jane Austen movies to recognize garments from the era.
But his clothes weren’t the only things that had changed. His expression was hardened and cold, mirroring the look on David’s face. His father’s face. David guided their son into the room by the back of the neck, as if he didn’t trust Soren to walk in the correct direction.
It made Aurora’s stomach burn.
If anything could convince Aurora of the uncharacteristic changes in Gray, it was this moment. His black eyes remained on Lilith, awaiting instructions or praise. He didn’t even blink when Soren entered the room. Aurora’s stomach burned more as if she’d swallowed liquid flames. She felt like throwing up. But she had to swallow the bile.
Demons didn’t throw up.
“What have we here?” David asked, inclining his head in Lilith’s direction. “A prisoner? But this is no angel.” Leaving Soren beside the doorway, he strolled to stand before Lilith, placing two fingers beneath her chin, inclining her head. She swatted his hand away like he was nothing more than an annoying insect. Then a clawed hand shot forward, wrapping around his windpipe, bringing David to his knees as she rose to tower over him.
Aurora didn’t care for Lilith in the slightest…but she approved of this, at least.
“You are correct, Horn. I am no angel, nor demon. I am Lilith, Queen of Demons, created eons before you or your oldest kin were ever thought of.” Her voice had an otherworldly growl to it, like multiple tongues speaking at once.
David’s eyes were wide, his face turning scarlet.
Soren watched from the doorway, looking unsure of what he should do, shifting from foot to foot. Samuel watched, his face communicating nothing more than mild interest.
Lilith continued on, squeezing tighter. “I battled angels before either of your masters had even broken in their wings. You’d do well to know your place, Horn. Half of you is easily destroyed, and the other half will send you into the darkest of pits. You didn’t think your demon blood made you immune to Hell did you?” The expression on David’s face said he did. Lilith let out a cackling laugh. “Pathetic thing. I’ve eaten creatures far more powerful than you for breakfast.”
With these last words, Lilith spat in his face and released him. David’s red countenance remained that color as he wiped the spit away and adjusted his collar, moving as far from the demon woman as possible. Despite the gravity of the situation, Aurora felt the smallest flutter of satisfaction in the pit of her stomach.
“So, Samuel,” Lilith said calmly, as if nothing unusual had recently transpired. “Tell me, when shall I meet your master? Caducus.”
“Soon. He’s keen to lay eyes on you,” Samuel said, strolling slowly to stand just behind Lilith’s chair. The minuscule hairs on the back of Aurora’s neck stood up in his presence. “But first, he wishes to meet his daughter.”
The words he’d just spoken didn’t make sense in Aurora’s mind. Suddenly, Samuel’s hands wrapped around her arms, whirling her around until they were face to face. Her skin tingled as she felt her demon disguise melt away.
He pulled her to him, lips whispering in her ear. “I believe it is time you became acquainted with your angel father, Aurora.”
Thirty-Four
LOGAN
It had been too long since Logan had gotten into a decent fight with a Horn. Two Horns in this case.
The mouth breathers thought they had her as they pulled her inside by the hair on the cramped landing of another set of steep stone steps.
Lucky for her, a crux and a lightweight dagger were already held tightly in each hand. Letting out a growl as Luna’s face floated into Logan’s mind, she slashed upwards with her dagger. Blood from the Horn’s neck sprayed the dark wall as the evil man slumped heavily against the door.
The other Horn stepped over the body, seemingly unconcerned about his fallen brother as he flashed Logan a sinister glare, raising his own crooked weapon.
But Logan was faster, jabbing her crux forward.
A sizzling sound met her ears as the man’s demon blood burned and a hole grew outwards in his abdomen. He fell to his knees at first, glaring up at Logan with dark eyes. She blew him a slow kiss as he fell forward.
Banging could be heard just outside the door as the others tried to break their way in.
Groaning, Logan dragged the two Horns out of the door’s path on the landing, lifting the iron bar keeping the door shut.
Brielle stumbled forward as the door opened, landing into Logan’s outstretched arms. The brunette breathed a sigh of relief, hugging her tightly before she pulled back and hit her hard in the arm.
Logan held back a laugh. “What was that for?”
“Scaring me to death.” Brielle’s eyes scanned down to the fallen Horns, growing wide. “Did you do that?”
“No, Casper the Friendly Ghost came along and helped me out.”
Chord and Sev launched through the door, stopping as they took in the cramped space filled with Horns and blood.
“Hurry,” Logan said to them. “Where there are two, there are hundreds.”
Logan moved forward, stepping over the fallen Horns, keeping a tight hold on her weapons. She sent a glance over her shoulder at Brielle, who had suddenly stopped, looking down at the Horns in contemplation.
“What?” Logan said.
Brielle didn’t answer, but knelt down, tugging at the cement-colored cloak on the topmost Horn. Looking up at Logan, sweat-soaked strands of hair plastered to her forehead, Brielle whispered harshly. “Wait. Help me.”
“Why do you want his cloak? Need a memento of this lovely journey?” Logan said, stooping to help her nonetheless.
“Disguises. People in movies always find uniforms of the enemy to blend in.”
“This isn’t a movie, Bri.”
“No,” Chord said from behind the two of them. “It’s a mother-effing nightmare. Get the cloaks.”
Logan and Brielle tugged on the dark gray garments, cringing at the wetness of the blood. Maybe it would camouflage their smell to the other Horns…if it didn’t make Logan hurl first.
The stairs curved and turned downward, ending in a long, dark tunnel, which Logan was sure was dotted with more Horns.
“Stay behind me,” she murmured to Brielle.
“No,” Brielle said. Logan’s eyes flashed to her girlfriend’s, whose gaze remained steadily forward. “You don’t have to protect me, Lo. I’m fully capable. I’m a Halo.”
Logan realized how much she tried to take care of her. Part of her still saw Brielle as the unsure girl on Arx Isle who needed her hand to be held every step of the way.
But she’d been through too much since then to not change.
"No, you’re not,” Logan said. “You’re a Super Halo.”
CHORD
Chord would normally be annoyed at Brielle and Logan’s lovey-dovey whispering, but his ice-cold heart seemed to have melted at some point…because he smiled instead.
What had happened to him? Was he actually happy right now, just because someone else was? That was so unlike him. He liked it.
Aurora would be horrified.
The group of Halos made their way steadily forward. The dark and narrow passageways were easy enough to traverse.
Until a wall of Horns loomed over them.
Brielle was the first to react, slicing a red arc across the first Horn’s neck with a flourish. Logan shot her girlfriend an impressed glance before running her crux through the heart of the next Horn.
Chord and Sev struggled pa
st the two girls to get to the next row of Horns. Sev’s rapier was already held at the ready, slicing an X through the dark creature’s chest as Chord ducked a flying dagger and gutted the next Horn.
Jax and Anthony scaled the wooden railing lining the path Chord assumed had been set up for underground tours, moving around Sev and Chord to reach the next group of Horns streaming in.
The grunts and panting and hearts beating in their ears died away as Anthony took out the last Horn.
“Well,” Chord said with a heaving chest. “Now we have enough cloaks.”
The remaining cloak-less Halos pulled the garments from the backs of Horns close to their stature. Sev and Jax had to make due with cloaks that hung several inches from the ground to cover them.
“So, do we try to blend in or fight?” Chord said to the group as a whole.
“Blend in,” Logan and Sev said together.
“It is essential we find their leader,” Sev added. “Killing small numbers of Horns will not get us far.”
“How do you know they have a leader?”
“Every anthill has a queen.”
“You’re so poetic.”
Logan rolled her eyes at the two of them. “Then let’s go find the queen…and rip her crown off her head before we rip out her heart.”
“Violent woman,” Chord muttered as their group moved forward once again.
Drawing their hoods up and forward, the Halos were indistinguishable from the dark creatures they intended to take down. Chord hoped he didn’t accidentally mistake one of them for just another Horn…
LOGAN
Their first test came as a pair of Horns passed by their group. The Halos didn’t flinch, moving to the side as the other cloaked creatures sidled by them, speaking in hushed whispers. Male and female. The Horns didn’t spare them a second glance.
Logan tugged her hood more forward nevertheless.
As they traversed farther into the underground city, shuffling obediently on the wooden walkways set up for tourists, the Halos disguised as Horns came across more and more gray-cloaked figures. Each time this happened, Logan clutched more tightly onto the dagger and crux in her hands, expecting to be discovered by each new Horn.
Stellar (The Halo Series Book 3) Page 19
