“Wha—”
“Shh!” Jack sighs heavily in frustration. My focus bounces left to right as if rapidly searching an invisible book, yet not seeing my current reality. I drone, “Ever feel like your mind isn’t big enough for what you need it to do?” I pause for him to reply, not looking in his direction. I continue to search the unseen. “There’s an answer to it all. I know it. I can feel it, but when I ask the one question I know will lead me there, it’s like running into a brick wall or drowning in water. Something is stopping me from the truth.”
“What’s the question?” he persists.
I snap out of my introspection, coming up blank, “Huh?”
He repeats, “What’s the question you think will lead you to the answer?”
“What answer?”
Jack quirks a brow, “To the question…”
“What question?”
The car comes to an abrupt stop on the side of the road. Jack turns to me fully, “Alright. What’s going on? Are you ok?”
My consciousness floats, remaining tethered to my body. A pressure compresses my mind. I push my palms against my temples, squeezing my eyes shut. “I don’t know.”
“Take my hands,” he demands.
My hands slap against his, and we clasp them together firmly. A calming nature falls over me. My muscles relax gradually from my head to my toes. I become tranquil to the point my own hair seems weightless. My lungs release an unrealized tension.
Jack eases, “That’s it. Just breathe.” I nod, comparing the feeling with a marijuana-induced high. Once he’s satisfied with my state, he begins, “Now… You said it felt like something isn’t right about this. What are you referring to?”
I state flatly, “My existence. My reason for being.”
“You’re looking for answers,” he asserts.
“Yes.”
“There’s a question you have, and you think the answer is the ultimate answer.”
“Yes.”
“What’s the question?”
I attempt to dig into my mind for the question. It doesn’t come to me. “I don’t remember.”
Jack’s expression morphs from curiosity to worry. He eases a hand away, maneuvering the other to thread his fingers through mine. He shifts the car into first with our entangled hands, then pulls back onto the road. My mind is lethargic, causing me to lay my head against the cool glass of the window. Jack uses a knee to steer a moment while he fishes his cellphone out of his pocket. He pushes the number three on his speed dial, and I hear the other end ring three times before the line picks up.
“What’s wrong?” Solas answers.
I lift my head to look at Jack. He squeezes my hand with a gentle smile, “Sleep.” My eyes close. As my mind begins to drift, I hear him tell Solas, “Someone’s blocking her thoughts.” Before dreams can capture me, the rank in my arm sears an angry red. I whimper and reach out to touch it, garnering Jack’s attention. “Oh, Shit,” he barks. Solas is yelling on the other end of the line in the background as tires shriek. We skid to a stop as I glide my fingers over my rank from my elbow to my wrist. I can’t stop myself, the agony coercing me to follow my father’s call. All the while, Jack is pleading, “Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait!”
The interior glow of Jack’s Skyline fades away. The nothingness in between the surface and the Veil takes over, and I realize for the first time that I can’t feel my body during the transition to the Veil. Jack’s calming touch is gone.
Chapter 16
Tall, gray tendrils of dry, coarse grass surround my limp body. A sheet of grayness drifts above me. The warmth of Jack’s touch reappears in my hand, then his overly troubled countenance hovers over me, hiding the sky of the Veil from view. Grasping my face in his hands, he shakes me, “Are you ok?” I nod as much as I can within the restriction of his clutches. “I can’t be here without permission. You have to take me back.”
The haze over my mind begins to clear. I smile up at him, a slight blush tinging my cheeks, “When have you ever worried about breaking the rules with me?”
Michael’s voice bites, “Perhaps he fears our wrath more than you. It is called respect; something I thought you had learned, but I may have made a mistake.”
Jack eases me to my feet, refusing to let go as we face the Originals. I sway, forced to shake my head to focus on regaining my equilibrium. My words are mumbled, “Why are you here?”
Jack squeezes my hand once, warning me to mind my tongue. Michael presents his hands, “We have not heard from you in days. Did you find the Horsemen? Are they dead?”
My thoughts become a cohesive unit, gears turning like a well-oiled machine. I evaluate the presence of the Originals, determining their stance. Camael is the furthest to my left, followed by Gabriel and Raphael. My father stands opposite of Raphael with Michael between them. “Is that all you care about?” There isn’t a response as Michael waits impassively. I continue, “The Horseman of Pestilence is Mephistopheles. An entire town, including every living thing in it, was almost wiped from existence, and—”
Jack interrupts, “Ivy saved them. If it weren't for her, Red Meadow would be a ghost town.”
Raphael admonishes with a gentle smile, “You were ready.”
His statement causes a twitch of pride in my lips that I hold back from releasing fully. Gabriel inclines his head to me with approval as well.
Michael prompts, “Is?”
“Is what?” I cross-examine.
He clarifies, “You said the Horseman of Pestilence is…”
I admit, “He was gone when we arrived. The damage to the town was already done, and we had to act fast.”
His chin lifts haughtily, “Do you know how much energy and time has been wasted by bringing us all together here?” I bristle internally. “We would not have been forced into bringing you here had you updated us sooner. Why do you remain at the Roe’s estate?”
My vision flicks to Camael, sternly resolute at Gabriel’s side, then back to Michael. I explain, “We believe Cora is residing in Red Meadow.”
There’s a trace of interest in my father’s violet gaze as he tilts his head. Michael barks, “She is not your mission! The Horsemen are your mission!”
My Darkness flares beneath the surface, itching for a chance to release its wrath on Michael. If I’m honest with myself, I know I would allow it if my immortality wasn’t tied with humanities.
He demands, “You are to report back to The Keep immediately for training.”
Before I can retort in defiance, Azrael reminds me tenderly, “You made an oath, daughter. You must uphold your end of the contract to avoid the consequences.”
Part of me wants to ask of those consequences if I don’t return to The Keep. My more sensible self yields, “Yes, sir.” With nothing more to argue, I constrict Jack’s hand in mine as I reach with my opposite one to slide my fingers back down my rank.
The Veil vanishes, reality slamming into me after a split moment of nothingness. My eyes surge open to Jack’s distant bellow, “Where the fuck’s my car?”
Solas speaks softly from my side, “Welcome back.”
I turn my head to see his uneasy smile. He’s leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, his fingers steeple at his lips. My room within the manor is dark, save for a small lamp on the bedside table. I rasp, “How long was I out?”
He rises from the chair he moved close to my bed as Jack storms in, “Where the fuck’s my car?” Solas tosses him the keys to the Skyline. Jack catches them mid-air. “You drove my car?” he asks with disbelief.
Solas slides his hands into his pockets, replying coolly as he glances to me and back to Jack, “I feel this is a trick question.”
I sit up, then push myself out of bed. An invisible pressure slaughters my brain, causing me to clutch at my temples. I fall back to the mattress, hunched over until it passes. When I look up, Jack and Solas are staring at me with a mix of anger and concern. “What?” I ask.
They answer together, “You’re bleedi
ng.”
I notice the blood splatter on my shirt, seemingly coming from my face. I reach up, finding fresh blood from my nose. “Shit,” I mumble, rushing to the bathroom. I wash my face clean until I’m positive the bleeding has stopped. Returning to the bedroom, I note to Solas, “We have a lot to talk about.”
“Yes, we do,” he counters.
Jack repeats to Solas, “You didn’t answer me. Did you drive my car?”
Solas scoffs. “Does it matter? It’s here and safe.”
I ask again, “How long were we out?”
He affirms, “About sixteen hours. It’s fifteen hundred now. I was on the phone with Jack when you were called into the Veil. I heard the commotion and backtracked to the warehouse to find you.”
“What’s fifteen hundred?”
Jack fields my question, “Three o’clock in the evening.”
I thought we would have lost an entire day. I hope we have enough time to check out The Tunnel later tonight before we have to get back to The Keep.
Solas continues, “Jack’s car was parked on the shoulder, still running. I couldn’t get through to either of your minds, so I jumped out to check the car. You were holding hands.” He pauses, causing guilt to crawl up my throat for an apology I don’t give. “I realized you were both in the Veil. There was no indication of how long you would be gone. I called the others, and Cassius flew back to help.” He addresses Jack, “We moved you to the front passenger seat of the Camaro. Cass wasn’t comfortable driving your car, so he drove mine. As you can imagine, we brought you home and made you comfortable. Your car is fine. It’s parked right outside.”
I wonder, “Where are the others?”
“Sleeping. They went to The Tunnel last night.”
My eyes widen with hope and surprise, the anticipation eating at me, “What happened?”
Solas snickers with a sideways grin. “We can wake them now if you want. I’m sure a house meeting is in order.”
I hold a tight smile, shaking my head. “Yeah. Let me get a shower. You guys go wake them up.”
Jack follows Solas through the door. I hear him walking down the hall, “My car was locked. How’d you get in?”
Solas eludes, “Ah. Good question.”
There’s banging on a bedroom door. Jack pursues more sternly, “No, seriously. How’d you open the door?”
Solas only chuckles.
I pace the rug of the entertainment room before the fireplace. Theodora and Cassius sit in the armchairs facing me. Alice, Eric, Becky, and Beckett crowd the couch uncomfortably while Jack and Solas mirror each other, leaning in the doorway with their arms crossed over their chests.
I bite my bottom lip, nervous about where to start the conversation. Their eyes follow me back and forth until I stop to face them. I release a cleansing breath. “I confronted Tallulah at the warehouse when everyone walked out. I don’t know if any of you noticed before, but she’s making Kapet.” I consider Jack, hoping he knew and it doesn’t appear that I’m ratting her out because of my personal discrepancies.
Jack shrugs a shoulder, “So? We knew she was when it was brought to The Keep.”
Solas elaborates, “It was Lucifer who brought it to The Keep as Telly.”
I add, “Not only does this mean Lucifer knows and uses Kapet, but Tallulah is the one who supplies him.”
Jack dismisses, “You don’t know that. He could be making his own. The Fallen he brought to The Keep were making it in the dungeons.”
Alice questions, “Were they? Did you see them creating it with your own eyes?” Jack doesn’t answer. She addresses the room, “Did any of you?” The remainder shake their heads in negation.
I survey Jack again. “You know where I stand with her. I’m not saying that she is or isn’t, but who’s side do you think she’s really on here?”
I’m astounded by his easy reaction as he approaches me, “I’ll find out.”
That was too easy.
Jack stands by my side, facing the room. “While we’re on the topic of not trusting…” he searches the room. “Ivy’s mind is being blocked. She had a reaction on the way from the warehouse.”
“What triggered the reaction?” Eric wonders.
Jack tells him, “I’m not sure yet. We were talking one minute, then she described a feeling of not being able to reach an answer to a question she was asking herself.”
“What was the question?” Theodora inquires.
I shrug. Jack sighs, rubbing his forehead. “That’s the problem. Whatever the question was, she didn’t remember mere seconds after the effects began.”
“What were the effects she experienced?” Becky muses.
I fidget, not able to give a straight answer for what happened. Jack continues, “She felt the block first and described it as her mind not being big enough for the answers she knew were there. When I asked what question she was asking herself, her mind lapsed. She had no idea what we were talking about. Her speech began to slur, and she became heavily lethargic.”
I quirk a brow to Jack, half joking, “Was I on acid?”
He doesn’t find it funny. Cassius probes, “Who would have the ability to block another’s mind without them knowing?”
Solas remarks evenly, “Anyone able to create wards.”
The room inspects Solas. Alice pipes up, “Well, was it you?”
Solas knew the question was coming. He doesn’t answer defensively, “No.”
I believe him. I wonder aloud, “What could possibly be so important to be warranted this extremity?”
Alice remarks, “Did you ask your father about it when you saw him?”
I give Jack a sidelong glance, then magnify, “When my father pulled me into the Veil, I couldn’t let go of Jack’s hand because of my state of mind, and I accidently pulled him in with me. All of the Originals were there, waiting for us.” I swear every heart skipped a beat as I spoke. “They wanted to know why we’re still here and haven’t reported back to them. I told them the possibility of Cora being in Red Meadow, but Michael didn’t care. He’s pissed I didn’t catch Mephistopheles. He demanded I return to The Keep immediately for continued training.”
Cassius examines, “Only you?”
I hesitate, unsure if he’s implying his desire to remain in Red Meadow. I cross my arms with the awkward uncertainty, “I guess you don’t have to go back if you wish to stay here.”
Theodora amends, “If we remain, my brothers and I could use the time to track Cora down while you continue your training. It’s not that we don’t want to be there, but we can be useful here.”
I inspect, “Did you not have any success last night?”
“There were many Fallen present. We were being watched closely. Griffins are not seen much, so it’s an odd experience to come across. Because of this, we are not trusted. We spent the night proving we were only there to enjoy ourselves. With time, we will approach others and work ourselves into the fold to sniff Cora out.”
I survey my Chief Commander’s perspective on the idea of the Griffins staying behind. He nods once in agreement from the doorway. I test Theodora, “What will you do if you find her?”
She assures me, “We will not engage unless we are discovered and threatened. We will do our best to keep to the masses, blend with the community, and search for any answers. The woman who found the necklace is my first priority. I want to know where she found it.”
I request, “If you have any news or need help, I want you to call Solas immediately.”
She rises, facing Solas behind her, “You should have no problems with the other Griffins. Be sure they are taking shifts and not overdoing it. Let them know the war is not over and to remain alert.”
Solas grins tightly with an incline of his head, “I will do my best in your absence.”
A hushed sadness falls over the room. Becky mutters, “What now?”
I straighten my spine. “We’ll leave for The Keep in the morning. Tonight, I want to enjoy our freedom and each other’s co
mpany as if it’s just another day in Red Meadow.” I regard Jack to my left, “Feel like gracing us with those excellent culinary skills?”
He gleams his million dollar smile, “Whatever you want.”
In my mind, I think, I just want this to be over.
Alice hops from the couch, pulling Eric with her, “We’ll go grocery shopping with Jack. There’s hardly anything here with actual sustenance.”
Becky yawns, exhausted from the late night at The Tunnel with the Griffins. She leans onto Beckett’s shoulder, closing her eyes. Beckett kisses the top of her head, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her in close. Watching them interact with gentle affection versus intense infatuation for each other warms my heart. I wish them all the happiness in the world. They deserve it, and they are a great pair for each other. A small smile graces my lips. I turn away, not wanting to stare, only to be met with Solas’ expression reflecting my own.
Jack leaves with Alice and Eric, his features concentrated as he mentally plans a meal for everyone. Beckett scoops Becky into his arms and takes her upstairs to rest. Theodora and Cassius exit the room, heads together, scheming the nightly events for after the rest of us return to The Keep. Solas vanishes into the parlor on the second floor of the manor where I can hear him shifting things around.
I know I should be sleeping as much as I can before I’m thrust into training again, especially since I never rest while I’m in the Veil. My body may relax and rejuvenate its overuse, but it weakens with the lack of nourishment it requires. Besides, my mind is what requires sleep. My body can heal itself easily enough with or without it. Beyond my need for sleep, I long for the peace I only find with a good run.
After changing into more appropriate attire, I let my feet carry me around the perimeter of the estate. The soles of my shoes pound the soil at a humanly leisure jog. A touch of winter still clings to the warm air as the approach of spring fights for its time of the year.
With recent threats of humanity becoming extinct behind us, I take a moment to absorb that this may be my last day of independence from Michael’s tyranny.
Away from the Originals, their secrets, elusive answers, and infuriating sense of superiority continue to plague me. I loathe Michael. Part of me knows I should be ashamed to admit that, yet I smile at the memory of throwing up on his boots. I couldn’t make myself do it again if I tried.
The Helio Trilogy: Volumes 1-3 Page 88
