Divinity: Immolation: Book Three (The Divinity Saga)

by Susan Reid

  “You’d be surprised how many mortal people have encountered an angel several times over in their lives at some point without even realizing it. Immortal or not, even as a divine warrior you wouldn’t be able to handle the level of glory that is my true form. The same goes for Aliks.”

  I looked at her in wonder and awe and simply nodded.

  “Though Cam`ael has fallen, as a former angel, he knows much of how Elohim works. With that being said, nothing occurs without purpose or reason. All I can tell you is that when the time comes, both you and Cam`ael will know and understand it. But for now, you’ll need to know and understand the rules and the universal laws that now apply to you as an immortal human, especially since you have officially become an open vessel. Let’s practice this skill a few more times, I’d like you to be more precise in your aim. Afterwards, we can promptly return to the Spirit Realm.”

  All I could do was stare at Aon, dazzled by her glory. I wasn’t even sure what to say or how to respond to all of that.

  “Just a second. So, all this has been allowed to happen for a reason though, right?”

  “That part is obvious.”

  I sighed, sort of satisfied with everything she explained to me.

  Then I shook my head fervently, “I don’t wanna know. The sexes I mean.”

  “You love the element of surprise? As you wish, I can accept that.” Aon smiled with a slight bow of her head.

  No, wait! Now it was going to really drive me crazy since I know that she knows. I bit my lip in consternation and then blurted, “Wait, what about Cam? I don’t want anyone on either side to get hurt over me! If we wait any longer then…”

  She sighed and interjected, “Cam is alright, however, upon your return there are going to be some major issues to work out.”

  I narrowed my eyes at her tersely, “I thought angels weren’t supposed to lie?”

  “I didn’t lie. He was truly about to face trouble, that is until Aliks intervened.” She grinned slyly and winked.

  I exhaled, pursing my lips.

  “Then what issues are you talking about?” I wanted to know.

  “You’ll see.” Aon simpered.

  XXV. Cam`ael

  “You may as well come too, Cam`ael. The cat’s out of the bag.” Aliks relayed to me with the line of warriors in procession behind him.

  I had other things to do. I was about to remind him of those things, as well as the assistance that he had been ordered to provide for me, until something urged me to go along with whatever he had in mind.

  These warriors have defected. I wasn’t entirely sure of what that would ultimately mean for them unless they chose darkness instead, but they haven’t. Not yet anyway.

  Though I was still angry, I relented. If Aliks was saying that Starling was fine, I knew that he was telling me the truth. But where was she? What was happening that I still couldn’t communicate with her telepathically? There was only one reason that I could think of and it had my curiosity on edge.

  I followed them to the northern part of the shore, which ran like a wide swath of curving white sand with shimmering pebbles, flanking the Eternal Lake.

  Several small caves lined the rocky ridge that formed drastic angles of carved rock; all jutting out over the water, and complete with waterfalls that cascaded gently over their ledges.

  Aliks created a protective dome in a clearing big enough for all of them to fit inside. The invisible barrier was made up of safeguarding symbols, designed to keep all the of the dark ones away and out. I had no choice but to stand along the outskirts and observe.

  I could still clearly see and hear them all whispering, just as they could see and hear me.

  “Cam, do you still need us? What happened? Where did you go? What happened to hanging with the Psyrens?” Ry reached out.

  “It’s nothing now. As a matter of fact, I’d like for all of you, with the exception of Atiro, to stand by. I may need you all in a bit but not for battle.”

  “Alright then. How did it go with Grace?”

  “I’m not sure. I may need more time. I don’t know how to go about establishing anything remotely trusting with the Psyrens.”

  “Well, you never know…”

  A single brow rose, “Come again?”

  Ry chuckled. “I think I’m in love, Cam.”

  Ry always had jokes and something sarcastic to say but I know for a fact that he would never joke about that.

  “With…who?”

  “Man, I can’t believe I’ve wasted all this time hating them.”

  I grew contemptuous. “Who?” I repeated.

  “You know, Draea.” He said matter-of-factly as if I should have known.

  “You’re kidding. Snake girl? Whatever happening to shoving it into any and all available orifices?”

  Ry laughed. “The snake should be so lucky. She’s been one of the only ones who could withstand looking into my eyes. She thinks they’re wicked righteous.”

  “Really? You may have just found your soul mate, Ry but I still want you to be extremely careful around her and the rest of them. You know the effect that women, lust, and love on us males.”

  “Yeah, I know. Anyway, I’ll let everyone know, so holla if you need us.”

  “Alright.”

  Well, I’ve seen and heard of far more bizarre things during my existence. Though I would love for Ry to find what I had with Starling, I wished it wasn’t with a damned Psyren of all beings. I guess we can’t help who we feel attracted to and love. I was a prime example of that.

  I listened in on all of the hushed conversations and barely there whispers that were as clear as a bell to my ears. The male warriors worked to gather large logs and various materials to build a fire. They were all very guarded and wary of me, understandably. The brunette girl, Jamie, was offering no other explanation or information, even to the seraphim when he kept insisting. She had an arm around the mute, dark-skinned girl to console her.

  The girl kept her large brown eyes fixated on me. Her eyes were haunted, full of loathing butt she was terrified of me. I recognized that look. Humans that encountered the horrors of what the dark ones perpetrated often looked like that all the time. In her case though, I was sure there was an entirely different reason for the fear and hate in her eyes.

  The female Seraphim kept watching me too, as if trying to read my intentions and signature. Good luck with that, I chuckled to myself.

  “All of our portal gems are useless marbles now.” The blonde girl frowned while crushing something in her hand. The powdery crystal-like substance blew away in the breeze.

  “We can’t even teleport to our own homes anymore.”

  “I still can’t believe what happened. I mean, I can’t believe that they’d cast us out for helping Devlin and Starling like that. They clearly saw that she was no longer afflicted. It makes no sense to me.” The Asian girl commented.

  “Doesn’t matter. We’re on our own now, whatever that means.” The male with the blonde hair stated as he began to stack rocks in a circular formation to mark the fire pit.

  “Lira is the main one I’m concerned about.” The dark haired male then said.

  “I’ll be ok and I’ll try not to be a burden.” She scowled at him, “Where is Starling? Is she going to be okay?” She then asked Aliks.

  “She’s safe.” Aliks assured.

  “That isn’t what I meant by that, Lira. And try not to speak out loud too much.” The dark haired male said to her with a nod of his head in my direction.

  I smirked when the petite girl blushed and turned away from me.

  “Why is he standing there? I don’t understand. What’s going on here? He’s clearly a fallen. How long has Starling been messing around with him anyway?” The seraphim pointed at me and asked.

  No one bothered to address or answer him.

  “I will vouch that he is no threat, meaning that he is not interested in fighting with, possessing, or afflicting anyone.” Aliks replied looking sternly at me.

/>   I watched the Seraphim with a dark glimmer in my eyes. Something moved in the trees beyond their protected dome. The aura was one of theirs.

  “I can vouch for that too.” Jamie finally spoke up.

  They all paused their tasks to look at her, including the haunted warrior.

  “How do you know?” The blonde male asked.

  “I can definitely vouch for him too.” A familiar voice said, just before he emerged from the trees.

  “Durien!” The petite, dark-haired girl shot up and ran over to him, hugging him firmly.

  Durien smiled, taking her in for a brief hug and then nodded at me.

  “I would ask what happened and what’s going on but I think I already know.”

  “Does this mean you’ve also voluntarily accepted shunning?” The dark haired male asked.

  “I go where I want to go. I don’t live at the hall anymore anyway but technically…yeah, I guess so.” Durien glanced my way briefly again.

  “But you’re a brander.” The girl mentioned.

  Durien smiled at her, “And you’re a scout. From the looks of it, we have fighters, a succor, and some seraphim too. I’d say we’re set.” He pointed out with positive enthusiasm.

  Durien did make an interesting observation.

  All of the others contemplated his assessment and then nodded in agreement, with the exception of the seraphim.

  Then, he suddenly spoke up again, “You also vouch for him too? He’s a fallen and they’re not to be trusted, they’re manipulative liars, they’re…”

  “They’re not like the other ones.” Jamie completed for him to shut him up.

  I’m really beginning to like her.

  He looked at her as if she’d just slapped him, but then again, he was probably used to it given the way she knocked him out with ease last nightfall. I chuckled to myself thinking back to that scene.

  “How can you even say that?” He looked at her with disgust.

  Jamie stood with her hands on her hips, and then she glanced at me, “Show them your light power.” She directed at me.

  This time, everyone, except for Durien looked at her in inquisitive shock and then back at me expectantly.

  Muscles flexing, the seraphim looked at me with astonishing anticipation, waiting for me to do it.

  “You have light power?” The blonde girl asked softly in surprise.

  “How is that possible?” The seraphim demanded to know from Aliks.

  “How are many things possible?” Aliks responded simply.

  “Hey, someone is missing.” Durien commented, looking around the group.

  “Missing but safe.” Aliks assured.

  Durien nodded, glancing at me briefly because he already knew that Starling had been among them.

  “Cool, so we’ve also got one with super deadly weapons and an essence to match.” He then smiled at Lira.

  “But what are we gonna do now? We can’t re-enter the hall and our portal gems don’t allow us back into the human realm or to our homes anymore, which sucks because I loved my home and now, none of us have any clothes or anything.” The blonde girl said.

  Durien thought for a moment and then looked at me briefly before directing his attention back to all of them. “We may have some options but it requires both an open mind and a mutual understanding.” He took in a deep breath and cleared his throat.

  “I agree with Durien. What happens from here on out is based on many things. Granted, I don’t recommend that you make deals with just any being. You all would fare much better in the human realm. At least there, you’re protected by universal laws and you are free to go anywhere you’d like — though safety lies in numbers for you at this point. You’ve all become open vessels, which means that even though you continue to maintain your weapons, essences, and talents, you can also easily become compromised and swayed. You have no other recourse than to seek out assistance but I cannot interfere as an angel.”

  “What are you saying?” the female seraphim asked Aliks.

  Aliks turned to me, “Are you willing to offer your assistance?”

  A flat out ‘No’ was the first thing on the tip of my tongue when I glanced over each of their faces. Half of them were confused as it is already.

  “They never stated that they wanted my help.” I pointed out.

  There was an unsure ‘No’ in response, and one ‘I don’t know’, but far more ‘Yes’s’, which surprised me. The dark-skinned girl remained silent.

  “We don’t have a choice. In fact, this collaboration has been a long time coming. It’s necessary. In my opinion, we’re not gonna win this war against the dark ones without them. I know Cam`ael. Actually, I’ve been knowing him and his friends for quite a while now. I’ve been there to see him and his friends quick to jump in and help us fight many times over. They didn’t expect and certainly got nothing in return for their help, not even a thanks. Believe it or not, we both share a common enemy. I’m not gonna tell you guys who to trust and who not to trust, that’s up to you.

  But I will say this. He is the reason for Starling making it safely to be rebirthed as a warrior, and he’s also the reason that she returned safe and sound after saving Jamie. So you can think what you want but for me, actions speak louder than anything else. I trust him and his circle of friends. They’re not like all the others we’ve come across in the past. We’ll need them.” Durien explained.

  I sincerely appreciated his words. I noted each one of their expressions and the sudden shift in body language and temperatures, regarding his speech. I could tell that it definitely made an impact. Aliks nodded in approval at Durien.

  The seraphim grimaced, repulsed at me. “Cam`ael, huh? True God given name?” He inquired suspiciously.

  “And what was yours? Oh, that’s right. You have no memory of it. Instead you’ve chosen a flimsy name, which means servile or slave, or in a more fitting human term, a helpless pussy.” I grinned wickedly.

  Aliks shot me a glare of warning and reproach. “Stop negating progress, and lose the name calling and dark sarcasm!”

  I could hear the low snickers that were coming from all of the male warriors.

  The seraphim’s lips tightened into a thin line and he narrowed his eyes, “At least I didn’t disobey and fall with dishonor.”

  “It’s never too late.” I replied with spite.

  The red-haired girl sighed, shaking her head and rolling her eyes, “Really? Males are all alike no matter what being it is, I swear.”

  The other girls all agreed heartedly.

  “I wouldn’t make an enemy out of him at this point.” Jamie warned him.

  “He’s already an enemy.” The seraphim sneered.

  “I’m begging you, allow me to zap him good, just one time.” I implored Aliks.

  “That would be counter-productive.” Aliks replied.

  “For who?”

  Aliks flashed me a wry gaze.

  “I find it disturbing that you both have been colluding with him and his friends all this time.” the seraphim then directed at Durien and Jamie.

  Durien turned to him with a stern expression. “You call it colluding, I call it creating a strong alliance.”

  “Cam`ael and those in his circle are the only ones who will be able to create portals for you to move around. It’s something to consider but I am merely advising you all. Alliances will be one of your greatest assets as the dark army continues to grow. I say, that if Cam`ael is offering to assist, you’d all be wise to consider it.” Aliks added.

  “I never offered that. Don’t put words in my mouth.”

  “Work with me here.”

  I sighed heavily in thought. “I’ll be willing to offer shelter. I’ll find them something in the human realm, once Starling has returned safe and sound.”

  “I told you that she was fine. She is with Aon, and they will be returning at any moment now. Aon knows what has transpired and she knows where we are now.”

  I paused again, finally giving in — painfully
.

  “Portals and a very temporary shelter isn’t all that I will offer. You guys have been trained quite thoroughly but it’s not good enough, not if you’re plan to last against the dark armies. You’ll need to learn smarter and more effective counter-attacks, vulnerabilities, and how to dodge magick as well. I as well as my friends would be willing to train you above and beyond what a normal warrior should know. The choice is up to you.” I spoke.

  I had their attention now and they were definitely thinking about my words, as well as what it would ultimately mean.

  “At what price? What do you do get out of it or want in return?” The servant seraphim asked with sarcasm, distrusting of my intentions.

  At some point, I’m going to beat the last remaining glorified shit out of him…if there was any left.

  “I already have all that I want and I won’t make this offer again if you decline it today. Trust goes both ways, and quite frankly, with the exception of Durien, I don’t trust any of you either.” I told him flatly.

  There was a long, silent pause, which allowed all of them time to exchange glances among each other.

  Suddenly, Jamie stood up with her hand raised. “I’m in.”

  The blonde haired girl raised her hand next. “Me too.”

  Durien’s hand was already raised.

  “I’m in too.” The Asian girl stood up.

  Though his hand was halfway up already, the dark haired male leaned in and attempted to whisper quietly to the blonde girl. “You sure it’s not because of how he looks?”

  She smiled playfully at him. Judging by the scent wafting off of her skin, he assumed absolutely right.

  One by one, with the exception of the two seraphim and the dark-skinned girl, they all stood up and joined in the acceptance of my offer.