The Helio Trilogy: Volumes 1-3

by Valerie Roeseler

  He articulates, “As I have revealed to you before, I will not be able to pull her into the Veil if she is cloaked by a ward.”

  “I know, I know. You can at least try.” Alice elbows me for my tone of disrespect.

  Azrael agrees with an incline of his head. “Time in the Veil is much more prolonged than on the surface. I cannot give you an expected time of return with news.”

  “I understand.”

  Alice requests, “May I go with you?”

  He smiles at her softly, “I appreciate your love for my daughter, as I am certain she does, but I need you to prepare for her return. If I am able to liberate her from Sheol, Darkness will not be far behind.”

  Alice’s face falls. I interject, “I wish to go into Sheol for her.”

  His eyes travel from me to my mother. “I am told it would be highly against better judgment. Only if you are needed, will I request your passage.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Safe travels, friend,” Mother says as Azrael disappears.

  Beckett enters with a groan, “I thought he’d never leave.”

  Suddenly, Ezra’s deep, lush wings explode from his back, tearing his white, cotton shirt from his chest, and he pummels Beck to the ground. A sharp point of Ezra’s wings maintain Beck by the throat as he growls, baring his clenched teeth, “What is your business?”

  Eric and I field Ezra’s attempt at intimidating Beck by placing a warning hand on his shoulders. I convey to Ezra, “He’s with us.”

  He studies me a moment. “You allow Fallen in your home?” Cassius and Theodora arrive, growling at his words. Ezra glances from them back to me, “Three of them?”

  “It’s a long story,” I sigh.

  Eric pulls Ezra from Beck as he offers, “Come on. Alice and I will catch you up.”

  Ezra obliges, leaving the room with them, “You better start explainin’, mate.”

  Mother wraps her arms around her middle, deciding as she nods her head, “I’ll make us some dinner. It’s getting late, and we need the energy for when Azrael returns.”

  I hug her tight, “Thanks, Mother.”

  She smiles, “Big T’s barbecue?”

  “Sounds great.”

  “Why don’t you go get cleaned up.”

  “That would be nice. I need a moment to myself. I’ll join you when it’s ready.”

  After cleaning up, I don’t know how long I sit at the end of my bed, staring at the phone in my hands. Ivy’s bright smile gazes back at me, reminding me of a time when she was blissfully happy—before we discovered her true nature. I’m lost in the fog of sorrow and anger, the pull of the Darkness tainting my essence surrounding me. I wish the possibility of one phone call could bring her home, yet I know she can’t answer. The longing to hear her voice is a vice around my heart. I call her anyway.

  It rings until her voicemail picks up with her cheerful voice, “Hey, it’s Ivy. You know what to do.”

  The line beeps, indicating the start of my option to leave a message. Words leave me in the space of silence. What do I say? I hang up, standing from my bed in exasperation and pacing with thought. No. I need to tell her how I feel. Even if she doesn’t get it until she returns to the surface. I sit down again, calling her back.

  “Hey, it’s Ivy. You know what to do.”

  When the beep hits my ears again, I hesitate. “Ivy, I’m sorry for the way I left. I’m a bastard. Please, forgive me, Sunshine. I love you and never should’ve pushed you for answers. I was too late coming home, but it’ll never be too late for you. I wish you would’ve come to me. I would’ve helped you find Solas if he’s what you truly want. Now, you’re out of my reach, and I can’t save you. You know that I love you, Ivy. I don’t know how much that’s worth to you anymore. I used to be the one you believed in… That you loved. If you come back… When you come back, know that I’ll do everything I can to rebuild what we’ve lost.” I catch the lump in my throat, swallowing it down. “I love you more than anything you could ever do wrong. Safe travels, Sunshine.”

  As I end the call, I breathe a sigh of relief with prayers that she gets my message. I stand, tossing my phone on the bed behind me, then leave the room to join everyone for dinner.

  Before crossing the threshold of the kitchen, I take in the scene as Angels, Reapers, and Griffins settle into their seats, pilfering what foods they prefer onto their plates. My mother, the task master, enforcer of good manners, and provider of motherly affection to all, fills glasses of tea and water around the table. Eric, the champion go-getter, advisor, and high-spirited warrior, scoots closer to his girl. Alice, the most sprightly Reaper with more passion for human life than I’ve ever witnessed, gives Eric a loving smile as she squeezes his hand beneath the table. Ezra, my brother from around the world, eyes the Griffins with distrust, but he will soon learn they’re not as they appear. Theodora, the quiet, yet lethal, commander, joins her twin brothers in robust laughter. Cassius, the level-headed and possibly the most loyal of the three Griffins, thanks my mother for the food. Then there’s Beckett, mocking a movie scene, and everyone laughs. The juvenile nature of his personality has always found a way to pull Ivy out of her brooding. The Griffins are evidence of beautiful essences that belong even to those who’ve made the worst mistakes. And who am I to judge? My stomach fills with heaviness, a wicked guilt for Ivy’s absence.

  Mother turns to me expectantly. I give her a reassuring, tight smile before finding my place at the table and ignoring the empty seat to my right. “Looks great, Mother. Thank you.”

  Thanks resound around the table, Big T’s Sloppin’ Sauce around the edges of mouths and coating fingers. It’s in these moments of joy, I see the beings beneath their troubles. It’s these moments that I cherish in memories, staying with me when bad times threaten to erase all traces of the people I hold dear. Even in Ivy’s absence, I feel her with us. She’s touched each of us in a way that’s left us changed, marked with the Light only she can shine.

  Azrael materializes, setting Ezra and the Griffins on edge. Erupting from my seat, I berate in expectation of good news, “Did you contact her?”

  The Angel of Death smiles wide, “Be prepared to leave. They are coming.”

  Chapter 20

  Ivy

  Pushing myself from the dusty ground of the cage, my eyes meet Telly’s joyful gaze. She’s out of place in her plain, white tennis shoes, slim jeans, and a maroon shirt that reads Nerds do it best. A thick, black strap crosses over her chest, and her hair’s pulled high into a tight ponytail.

  The guards spin on her, speaking in angry, coarse Enochian as the rebellious hellhounds around us stir into a frenzy of protectiveness. She laughs at their apparent threats, her voice pitching in a way that grates against my eardrums. The guards growl at her, readying for a fight. Telly speaks in a serene tone, easing their tension, and they allow her to approach my cage. She beams at my broken form with her back to the guards, taking in my shredded clothes, my bound wings, and the dry blood caked on my skin.

  I whisper, “What are you doing here?”

  Solas interrupts my thoughts, “Who is that? I can’t get a read on her mind.”

  Telly winks before addressing me, “You didn’t think I would help you get into Sheol for fun, did you? I came to collect my reward.”

  “What did you do, Tallulah?” I beg, tears brimming my eyes. I can’t decide if she’s putting up a front or if she’s here to save us. I add, “You told me you couldn’t come with me to Sheol.”

  She shrugs, “I only come down here when it suits me.”

  The snickering from the guards pulls her attention away. I ask Solas, What are they saying?

  He seems confused as his eyes bounce from the guards to Telly. “They’re making fun of her for bringing a gun into Sheol.”

  I thought guns didn’t do anything to Angels.

  “They don’t.”

  Telly chuckles with the guards. “It’s pretty odd, huh?” she asks them. The guards laugh harder, causing her to
cackle in a fit, grabbing her stomach as she hunches over. Her laughter ceases as her gleeful expression drops to a serious scowl.

  Without warning, she slings the assault rifle over her shoulder, spraying down the guards with two short bursts of rounds. The shots echo through the hound coop, and the Fallen guards drop to the ground in a fit of unearthly screams. The hellhounds bellow and snarl, throwing themselves at their cages to break free. I cover my ears, squinting my eyes. Before I realize what’s happening, Telly has my cage open. I gawk at her expectantly.

  She squats down before me, “Are you ready to get out of here or what?”

  Peering around her, the Fallen guards are nowhere to be seen, but their blood coats the ground where they stood. I nod vigorously, crawling from the cage. She cuts the bindings around my wings. I pull them within me to heal faster. Their bases were wounded during my fit of pain while my bond to Solas was ripped from me.

  I run to Solas’ cage, gripping the metal, “Are you ok?” He nods in silence. Telly opens his cage with a set of keys I imagine she stole from the guards. Solas pulls himself from the cage.

  I hug him tight, I’m so sorry.

  His chest rumbles against my cheek, “Let’s just get out of here.”

  Taking a step back, I search his face, “You’re coming with me?”

  “Even if you’re not my charge anymore, I made a vow to protect you. You go, I go.”

  Peas in a pod?

  “Peas in a pod,” he replies, taking my hand.

  Telly clears her throat, “You’ll need your wings to get out of here.”

  I pluck a feather from Solas’ wing to cut his bindings. I speculate, “Are you ok to fly?”

  He stretches his wings out with a wince, then folds them against his back. “I’ll be fine, just not as fast as I would like until they heal.”

  Hellhounds cackle with broken barks in the distance. Telly urges, “Come on. We should hurry.”

  I release my wings again. They feel better, but they’re not completely healed yet. Telly leads us through a dark tunnel, and we exit the open arena of the hound coop, meeting the chaotic stratum of Antenora. Demons crawl in the shadows, fires burn the buildings, and ash floats in the atmosphere.

  We take to the sky. I swallow down the pain from my wings, pushing as fast as I can. Telly leads us through the strata with ease. Solas and I keep checking behind us for any followers, but we’ve been lucky so far. Solas questions Telly, “What kind of gun is that?”

  She calls over her shoulder, “You like that?”

  He quirks a brow. “What is it?”

  Keeping her eyes on our path, she drops back next to Solas, and I speed up to join them. She admits, “It’s not so much the gun, but the ammo. I designed it myself. It’s Kapet ammo.”

  Solas suspects, “You mean the incense?”

  Telly nods with a smile. “I found a way to liquidize it without losing any of its properties and pumped hollow ammo cartridges once I was sure I had it right.”

  I ask, “What does it do? I thought bullets didn’t work on angelic beings?”

  Solas fields the question, “Did you not see what happened to the guards?” I shake my head. “They disincarnated into dust!”

  “Ashes to ashes,” Telly quips.

  “How does it work?” Solas inquires.

  Telly explains, “Kapet was used a long time ago to cleanse sacred places or spirits of the recently deceased. As a liquid, its nature is even more pure. When the ammunition enters a body, the casing explodes, releasing the liquid Kapet into the bloodstream. In this pure form, the Kapet purifies the essence so immensely, it destroys the essence—Light and Darkness alike.”

  Solas marvels, “This could be hazardous if it gets into the wrong hands.”

  “Yes, it could,” she acknowledges.

  We cross over all but the last stratum of Bam, the dark castle looming ahead. I wonder aloud, “Where are we going when we get back to the surface?”

  Solas suggests, “With Lilith branding you for tracking, I think The Keep would be your best choice. It’s still protected by concealment wards. It’ll work against her efforts.”

  I nod, unintentionally letting my thoughts slip, What about Jack? What about the others? They probably want nothing to do with me now.

  Solas intrudes, “Why would you say that?”

  My eyes widen in surprise. I’ve been lying to them, sneaking out to come find you, seeking visions and not telling them. Then, Michael commanded me to stay at the estate until further notice… I got into a fight with Alice. Jack and I argued because I wouldn’t tell him where I was going, and he left. Eric tried to force me to say, and I attacked him... I was desperate.

  “Why would you do that?” he astonishes.

  I fly further ahead of him, You know the answer to that already.

  Landing outside the castle of Bam, we retract our wings. I shudder at the sight of it, promising entranced loneliness and sorrow with each step. Solas takes my hand again, “Together?”

  “Together,” I agree.

  Telly leads us in. We’re met with soft moans and whispers floating through the pitch black surroundings. The air’s thicker, making it harder to breathe. My boots stick to the floor, coming away from each step with a resounding pop of suction. I don’t want to imagine what coats the floor because it can’t only be the blood I smell.

  Telly mumbles low, “We’re almost there.”

  A voice calls out in a muffled cry, “Help me! Let me out of here! Please!”

  Telly replies, “No one can save you from here.”

  I gasp for fresher air as we exit, my eyes watering from the coughing fit that neither Solas nor Telly are afflicted by. My voice rumbles like gravel, “How is that so easy for you?”

  Solas confesses, “Because we belong in Sheol, and you don’t. It’s the stratum’s way of rejecting your presence.”

  I catch my breath, and Telly instructs us, “We should fly the rest of the way to the portal.”

  Our wings release in unison. I notice mine feel remarkably better. I soar behind Telly, Solas staying behind me to keep an eye out for enemies. The cave emerges, and we dive single file through the dank corridor, veering right and left at different forks in its labyrinth.

  My mark burns with fierce urgency. I regard its angry, red nature, illuminating my right forearm, “Oh, shit.”

  Solas hunts for clarification, “What is it?”

  I have no time to explain. “Catch me.” Without waiting for a reply, I run my fingers from the crook of my elbow beneath my mark to its topmost point at my wrist. The corridors to the portal that will lead us to Red Meadow disappear and my vision goes black as Solas’ arms capture my limp form.

  The grayness of the Veil appears in a flash. I rocket over the tall grass as I attempt to stop myself before colliding with my father. I hover before him, the scowl on my face severe as I lower to the ground. I shout, “You have got the worst timing!”

  For the first time I’ve witnessed, Azrael reacts with emotion. His profoundly massive, purple wings explode from his back, arching high and stretching the length of a Greyhound bus. As his brows furrow, he bellows, “Do you expect me to sit idly by as my daughter positions herself in the throes of danger? Why can you not heed the advice given to you?”

  “I don’t need your protection! I’m fine! Everyone is smothering me with their safeguards! Why can’t anyone trust that I’m capable of handling myself? You’ve never been there for me before, and I don’t need you now! Back off!”

  My father’s eyes widen with my ever-growing rage. He takes a large step towards me, inches from my face. I don’t back down, defiant in my stare into his darkening violet eyes. “You cannot tell me to back off! I created you! I will always intrude on your life! You say I was never there for you, yet you never saw me in the shadows!”

  My heart drops to the pit of my core, along with the fury of his inconsideration. My defiance wavers as he takes a step away from me. With great sorrow, I look to the ground
in shame, “I’m sorry.”

  His wings retract, and he takes a moment to collect himself. “You cannot know the grief it has caused me to watch you mature in a destructive home. I was the one who petitioned for Solas to be your guardian because I was not to interfere.”

  “What?” I whisper in astonishment as I search his saddened expression.

  “With his abilities, he was able to keep you closer than most guardians would. Because of him, you grew stronger. It was not my wish for him to fall, but I had no choice but to turn him in to Michael.”

  “Michael’s the one who sent him to Sheol?” As I ask this, I begin to comprehend why Michael has never liked Solas. When he only gifted my friends and me with enough armor, Jack returned to the surface and took Solas’ place in our battle against Lucian. I knew Michael had something up his sleeve that pushed Solas further away from me. Now, I understand.

  Azrael states, “Solas took himself into Sheol. It was his choice. He knew the repercussions of Enochian Law.”

  “It explains a lot of Michael’s actions,” I express.

  The silence between us grows, yet it’s a comforting peace. My father sighs. “Where are you, daughter?”

  I close my eyes, expecting his wrath. “I was on my way to a portal in Sheol that’ll take us back to Red Meadow.”

  “Who are you with?”

  “Solas… and another Reaper.”

  “What is the Reaper’s name?”

  “Tallulah.”

  “Tallulah has not been of the Light for centuries. She belongs to Roman’s legion. Where did you meet her?”

  I disclose, “She found me. She was friends with Trey—the demon I sent to Paradise.”

  He nods three times with a tight-lipped grimace. “She is helping you escape?”

  “She is.”

  “Eric expressed that he had spoken with her. She made them believe she had never met you.”

  My head tilts with my confused countenance. “Maybe she was trying to protect me?”

  “Why would a rogue Reaper protect you?”

  Not sure I should expose Telly’s reason for seeking me out, I decide to contort the truth. “I offered to give her a mortal soul if she helped me find Solas.”