MIDNIGHT DIVINE (The Helio Trilogy Book 1) (22 page)

He continues, “I have given
you the gift of empathy and insight
in conjunction with Immortal Pestilence
. With it, you can see the true nature of one’s
essence. You will be able to determine if they are worthy of redemption. If
they are, you have the power to reward them with a second chance—a soul. They
will be stripped of their wings and be made human to live a mortal life. At the
end of their mortal life, they will be judged by St. Peter to determine if they
deserve Paradise once more.”

I step back in shock, lock
my fingers over my head, and begin to pace back and forth.
I have no right
to judge someone's worth.
“Immortal Pestilence,” I whisper to myself.

Michael chuckles, “Yes. You
worry that it is an impossible feat,
but
you have already
proven you are capable.” I stop and regard him with a raised brow. “The former
demon, Trey. You befriended him. I watched your struggle beneath Beleth’s
torture. I know you did not have a choice in your actions. Yet, you overcame
every obstacle.” I squeeze my eyes shut and swallow the burning lump in my
throat. “You saw the goodness within him. You did not realize what was
transpiring as you released his essence. Let me show you.”

Michael glides his hand
through the air with his palm up, my attention turns right. A large full oak
tree appears, and I can’t believe my eyes when they fall to a man strolling
towards me.
Trey
?
He smiles with his arms open wide. “Trey?” His smile
widens further. “Trey!” I run into his arms and hold him tight. “You’re here!
You’re really here! I’m so sorry, Trey! I’m so sorry!” I cry onto his shoulder,
my voice a muffled sob.

“Ivy. Everything's fine.
I’m only here because of you.” I step back as we lock forearms together, afraid
to let go.

“I don’t understand.”

“When you kissed me… You
gave me a soul, Ivy. I wasn’t sent back to Sheol as I should have been.” My
eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “I wasn’t supposed to go straight to Paradise
either
, but I wasn’t given a chance to live a mortal life
after you released me. The soul you gave me is untouched and pure. You've given
me the greatest gift, Ivy. I don’t deserve such a gift. I can never repay you
for what you've done. Thank you.” Tears pour down my face. I can’t find my
voice, so I nod my head. “I have to go now. I hope to see you again, friend.”
He pulls me in for a hug, and I close my eyes to saver the feeling. Then he's
gone, disappearing from my embrace.

I face Michael who appears
at my side and wipe the tears from my face, “So what now?”

“There is more you need to
know before you can return.”

“I don’t know how much more
I can take.” I don’t mean to say
it
out loud or for it to
come out so ungrateful. Yet, there it is.

“You can handle a lot more
than you think, Ivy.” He places his right hand on my shoulder, “When I made the
offer with Lilith
,
I did not take into consideration who your
father is. I never asked, and she never offered me a name.”

“Azrael.”

“Yes. It was not expected.
I had intended for you to become an Arch Warrior like your mother
was
. Because Azrael’s rank in the hierarchy is above the
Archangels, he has passed on his Reaper gifts to you. Reapers have the ability
to usher mortal souls into the Veil so they may be guided to their rightful
destinations, but because you are a direct descendent of Azrael himself, you
are capable of reaping a soul directly from its host. Because your paternal
lineage was unknown, and I gave you the capacity to reward souls to deserving
beings, consequences were fabricated.” I try to piece everything together.
“This is why you are an enigma, Ivy. You are more powerful than what was
intended. You have the power to not only reap a mortal soul, but to reap the
essences belonging to beings of Light and Dark alike. It also allows you to
make a choice in whether or not you will appoint them a soul for redemption.
You are the only creature with this ability besides myself. It is a great honor
and great sorrow all the same. It is critical that you do not take this gift
lightly and only use it when necessary.”

“How am I supposed to learn
to use all of my gifts? And how will I know when to use them?”

“It will come naturally.”

We stand in silence as I
take everything in. I inhale deep through my nose until my lungs are full and
release it in a calming breath. “So, now what?”

“Now you will go back and
do what you were created to do.”

“Back to Beleth? How am I
supposed to get away from him?”

“You will figure it out on
your own. I cannot tell you what to do with the knowledge I have given you, a
s am I not to
interfere with your mission.
”

“How do I get back?”

Michael takes my left hand
and turns it palm up. I look down at the new black raised scaring from my wrist
to my elbow. It’s a tattoo close to Alice and Eric’s, but much longer in length
and containing additional shapes. “This is your official position in the hierarchy
—y
our rank. All angels have them. Only Reapers
and higher orders
have them with functionality. When you run your first
two fingers from
your elbow
to
your
wrist it will bring you here into the Veil. Run those
same fingers from
your wrist
to your elbow, it will
take you back to your body.”
I’m not really here? Only consciously?

I inspected my new
markings. It contains eleven characters of a language that I don’t understand.
The first is a slightly curved line, from left to right. The second character
below it resembles a seven. The third is a C with two lines coming from the
back of its curve. The forth looks like a squiggly L. It’s followed by a
capital I, a three, a backwards lowercase h, another squiggly L, another
backwards h, a weird Z that reminds me of half a
Greek cross
, and another backwards three.

“What language is this?” I
ponder.

“It is Enochian. The
Angelic language.”

“What does it say?”

“Death.”

“What? That’s my rank?” I
remark, slack-jawed.

“You are an enigma. There
is not an actual place for you within the hierarchy. Azrael is not too happy
about it either
,
because he is the
Angel
of Death
. This makes you higher in rank
as you
are
Death.”

“Great.”
I haven’t even
met my father
,
and he already hates me.

“If you need me, Evelyn
will know how to reach me. Goodbye, Ivy.”

“Thank you, Michael.” He
spreads his wings and replaces his helmet before he nods once to me and bolts
into the sky as a blinding white comet
,
blowing my hair from
my face and flattening the
grass.

I'm hesitant to return to
The Keep.
I just killed one of
Beleth’s
soldiers
,
and from what
Michael has told me, I’m pretty sure I took his essence. Ryker won’t be
recovering. I need a plan for when I get back. I don’t know what my final
transformation will look like. I wonder if my wings are purple or green. I
shouldn’t go around parading my abilities. If Beleth ever finds out, he'll hold
me in that dungeon for eternity. I need to get rid of him. He's foul and lacks
redemption. The only way I'll be able to free myself from him completely is to
kill him. Take his essence. What happens to an essence when I take it?

I examine my new marking.
Now
or never, Ivy.
Using my index and middle finger, I slide my fingertips from
the top of my wrist to my elbow. Each letter illuminates with a white glow
following my touch. The Veil fades to blackness, and I awaken in the bed of my
chamber within The Keep. Cold silk sheets graze my bare skin as I sit up.
Why
am I naked? How the hell did I get in here?

I search around the dim
quiet room and appear to be alone.
I’ve
got to get some clothes on before someone comes in. I’m surprised Beleth didn’t
lock me up again for killing Ryker. Will Cassius and Beckett still be on my
side? Will Solas? Was he ever on my side?

I tiptoe to the dresser
with the sheet wrapped around me
,
trying not to alert
anyone I'm awake. Easing the drawer open, I find the same black leather pants I
wore to Jack’s race to distract him.
I’ve
got to get back to Jack.
I leave the drawer ajar to make less noise and
ease the top one open to take out a matching set of undergarments before
putting them on. The sheet pools at my feet, and I slide into the leather
pants.
Where are my wings?
I creep
into the bathroom to see my reflection. I turn around regarding my bare back,
save for the straps of my bra. I don’t see anything different.
Where are they? Michael said I was fully
transformed. He also said my gifts would come naturally… Maybe if I focus.

I face my reflection,
taking a relaxing breath as I contemplate what it will feel like to have wings
as extremities and how I should move them. The base of my spine warms with
tingles, and the sensation continues up my vertebrae in deliberate succession.
As it reaches the base of my neck, a slight burning grows between my shoulder
blades consonant to warm wax being poured over my skin
before
cooling
after
contact. I'm afraid
to turn my back to the mirror and witness what's happening, believing it could
scare me into ceasing my attempt. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. The
need to flex my back muscles is prominent. As I do, a turbulent whoosh echoes
off the stone walls of the bathroom
,
identical to the
rumble of a piece of paper being sucked out of the window of a speeding car.

Opening my eyes to the
awesome thunder, my jaw drops.
What
the... This can’t be right! What did I do wrong?
Large midnight wings
stretch to my sides in malicious taunting of the being I have become—Death. I
study the black branding of Enochian script staring back at me and suck in a
deep shaky breath before forcing my wings to retract inside myself.
I’ve got to cover my rank up. I can’t let
anyone know. Especially Beleth.
Not worrying about the noise anymore, I run
back to my dresser in search of a black razor back tank top that will allow my
wings to come and go without interference.

After lacing up my trusty
combat boots, I find my torn leggings in the bathroom and tear a bottom section
off a clean leg. I slide my right hand through the hole to be sure it'll cover
my markings. It's loose. I scour my shoes for a black shoelace. Crisscrossing
the string over the loose material, I secure it tightly so it won’t fall or
budge if it's touched.
If anyone suspects
anything, it will be that I’m trying to make some sort of fashion statement.

Satisfied, I smoke a
cigarette and pace my room.
I need to get
out of here. But I’m not leaving until I get rid of Beleth, and I need to still
find the missing angel. I need to just wait for an opening and hope it doesn’t
take too long to present itself. I need to talk to Solas and see if he’s really
on my side. I wonder if I can just call him in my head like he said. Or do I
have to be close to him for him to hear
me
? Maybe Cassius or
Beckett will tell me what’s going on.
I stride to the door and try the handle. Finding it unlocked, I open it
with tentative caution and peek into the darkened hallway.

“How are you feeling?”
Beckett asks with woeful concern in his expression. He's alone.

“Um… honestly
?
Confused," I answer as I step into the corridor.

“We are as well,” he notes,
straightening his stance while his features become inscrutable.

“What do you mean?”

“Cassius and I were so sure
you wouldn’t give in to Beleth’s attempts to darken your essence. That was his
intent
—to ensure you would be on The King’s side when the
time came. But… We watched you destroy Ryker. That's never been done before.
And we witnessed your final transformation.” Beckett swallows hard, and his
Adam’s apple bounces in his throat. “Your wings… you've become Fallen.”

My eyes widen in surprise.
They think I’m one of them. Even though I
hate for them to see me that way, this could be my chance to get close enough
to Beleth.
I put on a façade, pretending he's correct. “Well, there are
consequences for what I did.”

“Yes. How did you do it?
I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

I can’t explain it to him.
I can barely explain it to myself. It's just as Michael said, it just came
naturally.

Solas interrupts my
thoughts and saves me from answering, “I’m glad to see you're awake. Beleth has
sent me to check on you every hour. We weren’t sure how long you would be
unconscious. That was quite a revolutionary transformation.”

It’s not what you think
, I tell him in my mind and hope he's listening.

“Come. He wants to see
you,” Solas says.

I nod my head before turn
back to Beckett, “Wish me luck?”

“You don't need luck,”
Beckett winks with a coy smile.

Solas leads me through the
dank passageway, anger rolling off him in waves.
I need to talk to him. Explain things before we reach Beleth.
“Solas?” I call ahead of me. He ignores me, and I get the feeling he's angry
with me.
You killed a fellow soldier. Of
course he’s mad.
“Solas, wait,” I command forcefully. He whirls on me and
backs me into the wall of the corridor without touching me. His eyes bore into
mine
,
full of hate and mistrust. “Please, let me explain.
It’s not what you think,” I plea.

“How am I supposed to
believe anything you say?” His tone is deep and menacing. He's never spoke to
me like this before, and it terrifies me.

“Read my mind. I’m not
trying to lie to you,” I offer.

That only seems to make him
angrier. “Since your final transformation, you've been blocking me. Your mind
is silent. Only li
a
rs hide their thoughts as you do.”

“It’s not on purpose. I don’t
even know how I’m doing that. Please, believe me when I tell you how sorry I am
about Ryker. I don’t know how it happened.”

Solas takes a step back,
“Ryker? You think this is about Ryker?”

“Isn’t it?”

“This is about you! I
thought you would be the one to finally defy him, but you played right into his
hands. You’re wings don't lie. You’ve changed. Your essence is tainted, and now
you'll be The King's new favorite pet. When that happens, the world will become
chaos, and there will never be any hope for the rest of us to try to prove
ourselves to the True King. There will be no going back for us.”

“It’s not what you think,
Solas!” I push off of the wall, my own anger surfacing.

He steps forward to close
the gap between our bodies, “Then what is it, Ivy? Enlighten me!”

“Look,” I hold out my right
forearm.

He stares at the makeshift
cuff. I reach for the shoelace to untie it, and he peers at me with knowing.
Solas halts my hand, grabbing my wrist with force, and his emotions surge into
me again.
Anger, confusion, lust,
curiosity, wonder.
He
releases his grasp
and hastily unties the string around my arm. As he pulls the tie completely
from place, I stop him, “Wait.” He scowls at me with hooded eyes. “Just… I
don't want you to freak out. Promise me.”

His eyes soften as he
reaches up and brushes my cheek with the back of his fingertips, “I swear it.”

In gentle motion, his hand
smooths the cloth down my arm until my forearm is nakedly displayed. At first
he's confused, then he's surprised. “I don’t understand.”

“Do you trust me?” I
stress.

“Yes,” he affirms with
confidence.

“Let me show you since you
can’t read my thoughts,” I reach up and place both hands on the sides of his
face. Closing my eyes, I replay my conversation with Michael in the Veil and
push my memories into Solas' mind. When I open my eyes, Solas is gazing at me
tenderly.
Admiration, pity, pride,
loyalty, and affection.
I release him before I can feel too many of his
emotions. It feels wrong to spy on someone at such a deep level.

“I’m sorry, Ivy.”

“It’s ok. You didn’t know.
No one knows, and I think it would be best to keep it that way.” I pull the
cloth back on, and Solas ties it up more securely.

“I understand.”

“I don’t think you do,” I
lower my voice. Solas quirks an eyebrow at my statement. I step closer to
whisper in his ear, “I know how you feel about Beleth, so I hope you can be on
my side. I need him to think I’ve changed. I have to get close to him. Close
enough to do to him what I did to Ryker.”

Solas whispers back to me,
“I'll do whatever I can to help you.”

“Thank you, Solas,” I hug
him tight, overflowing with gratitude.
I'm
going to get out of here.

As we approach the Throne
Room, the doors are closed and the silence is eerie. “It’s best if you play along,”
Solas whispers close to my ear, and I nod before he opens the doors. He marches
ahead of me, and I follow closely. He stops in the middle of the room and steps
aside to kneel in a bow to Beleth. I take my place beside him and mimic his
movements. My captor seems pleased with himself as I bow in submission. Neither
Solas or I move. My heart's beating so hard I think it's going to burst from my
throat.

Beleth’s footfalls
reverberate as he approaches. “Stand,” he commands us, and we rise
together
. I'm still the same cocky person I've always been and
lift my chin with confidence as I meet the roaring flames in his eyes. “You may
leave us, Solas.” I don’t dare glance to Solas as he marches back out of the
Throne Room. “Ivy, Ivy, Ivy,” Beleth begins to circle me slowly. “After all the
trouble I went through to ensure your safety… You kill one of my best
soldiers?” He smiles in amusement.

“It was an accident. I
didn’t know what was happening. I suspect my final transformation had a hand in
it.” It isn’t a complete lie.

He nods and appears to
consider it a possible coincidence. “Hmm… And how do you feel now that you are
fully transformed?”

“I’m not sure what you’re
asking, My Liege,” I add to play to his ego.

His pacing ceases before
me, and he stares into my eyes with a tight lipped grin on his lips, “I am
asking if I am still going to have a problem with your insubordination.”

I kneel in front of him for
good measure, “No, My Liege. I'm fully awake. I understand my place and my
purpose. I'm ready to be molded by your hands into the instrument you see fit.”
Was that too much, you think?

“Perfect,” he notes and
gestures for me to stand. I meet his gaze once more. “You are ready to be
molded then?”

“Yes, My Liege,” I try to
muster enough admiration in my eyes for him to believe my words, though I hate
calling him 'My Liege'.

“It will require me to
touch you again,” he adds and hovers his hand over my face.

“I understand,” is my only
reply. I loathe his touch, but I need to keep playing along.

“If you are truly ready,
Princess, you will have to prove to me that you are willing to submit to me.”

“I’m ready. What would you
have me do to prove my loyalty?” My confidence wavers inside of me, but I
refuse to reveal it.

“Bind yourself to me,” his eyes
flare with anticipation.

I knew this was coming. This is my chance. I have to
take it. No matter the consequences.
“I accept.”

The astonishment in his
eyes changes into arrogance, “Good. Tonight then. I will send for you when it
is time.”

“Yes, My Liege,” I bow my
head to him. “Will that be all?”

“For now. You may return to
your chambers and prepare yourself for what is to come. Till then, Princess,”
he bows his head and disappears in a black cloud of smoke.

Fuck. There’s no turning back now. I need to find out
what the ritual will entail. Hopefully, I'll get my chance before it’s
complete.

I turn around and leave the
Throne Room through the same open doors I entered, realizing this is the first
time I've not been required to be escorted around the premises. With this new
sign of trust Beleth has given me, I find my way down the corridors. Voices
travel from the Dining Hall. My stomach rumbles, and I pause outside the
entryway.
I wonder if there’s any food.
Would I be welcome in there?

I decide to take my chances
and enter the Dining Hall. Twelve men sit around the feast set along the long
table. They're laughing and enjoying conversation when I step inside
,
and every head in the room turns to me, silence
gripping the tension in the room.