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O B U M B R A T E

| THE ILLUMINE SERIES, BOOK TWO |

PRAISE FOR
ILLUMINE

BOOK ONE OF THE ILLUMINE SERIES

"A fabulous YA read, full of many different surprises at every turn! You don't know what, or who you'll run into next!" -
UNIQUELY MOI BOOKS

"...
 Illumine is a fast paced, action packed paranormal which will keep sink it's teeth into you until you've reached the last page!" -
BELLEBOOKS

"I will definitely be reading the next book in the series to find out more!" -
BOOKSTACKSONDECK

"If you like YA books about a little bit of magic, angels, and demons, I think you should give this book a try!" -
SYNCHRONIZED READING

"... If you’re looking for a fast supernatural read, this one is perfect!" -
I READ INDIE BOOK BLOG

"Can't wait for the second book in this series set to come out this summer. Hurry up summer! I’ve got some reading to do!" -
NATS BOOK NOOK

"...[ESSALLIE & KAYDEN'S] witty banter, their smoldering hidden feelings, all of it meshed beautifully and I was smitten." -
HOPELESSLY DEVOTED BILBILOPHILE

"... The overriding story arc of a girl who has been kept in the dark as to who she is or what she can do and has to seek advice from a creature that has tormented her nightmares is compelling." -
READING THE PARANORMAL

"
This is surely to have a sequel that I myself will be looking forward to reading." -
JACQUIE TALENTO

"Alivia Anders' books must be read; they capture the reader from the start." -
LEIGH KERN

"I really felt like Essallie was telling her story, the emotions and characters that were concentrated on only made me want to know more as I began to connect with them. The reality spliced with fantasy was the perfect mix for laying out in the beach sun and forgetting about reality." -
KATIE QUINN

"
If you enjoy Angels/Demons with various supernatural creatures thrown in the mix, you should enjoy this story!" -
WILLOW CROSS, AUTHOR OF
BIRTHRIGHT

"PERFECT YA FICTION."
-
ALEX RIMANY

"Essie... Was great as a protagonist, and dutifully stubborn. Her personality made for an interesting story, as well as the personalities of the people closest to her... Illumine was a fun, quick read that besides leaving me anxiously awaiting the second in the story, left me smiling." -
MERA'S YA BOOK LIST

Also by

A L I V I A   A N D E R S

I L L U M I N E

DON'T MISS BOOK THREE OF

THE ILLUMINE SERIES

R I V E N

This book is a work of fiction. Any references to real people, places, and events are strictly used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination.

Copyright © 2012 by Alivia Anders

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact our Special Sales email at [email protected].

This author can be brought to your live event. For more information or to book an event, contact the Events email at [email protected].

Photographs copyright © 2012 by Alivia Anders

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

Book design by Alivia Anders

The text for this book is set in Adobe Garamond Pro

Manufactured in the United States of America

Summary: When half-angel Essallie Hanley teams up with another half-angel named Ari, the two seek to uncover the trail of mysteries surrounding her life, while trying not to fall prey to a demon's antics and a great evil hell-bent on stopping her. 

ISBN 978-1-4700-7714-3

ASIN

If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is "stripped" and therefore stolen property.

O B U M B R A T E

| THE ILLUMINE SERIES, BOOK TWO |

A L I V I A   A N D E R S

For Holden.

My angel, forever in my heart.

CHAPTER ONE

BREAK ME DOWN

Once upon a time, on a cold winters night

A young and fair maiden was given a fright

She had awoken to chaos beyond her control

A horrorful sight, a new world to behold

The ocean sealed under a mass of chains

While perched atop, one coffin remains

A circlet of fire wrapped about like a cage

As muffled screams sounded desperate with rage

Yet the only comfort the maiden received

Was watching the white roses burn as she grieved

"Miss Hanley."

I jolted against my plastic-backed chair, muscles clenched. The pencil in my hand froze mid-stroke as my mind went blank. I dared the chance to look up. Mr. Whitley, my Biology teacher, gave me a disapproving stare, lips pulled tightly across his aged face. Behind him, my classmates all stared at me, stone-cold silence filling the room.

Instantly I relaxed. A man like Whitley was about as threatening as a newborn hamster. I kept a cool face as I asked, "Was there something you needed?"

Behind him, I heard some of the kids snicker. Whitley did his best to appear intimidating, puffing out his chest and letting his glasses dangle precariously on the edge of his nose, but only succeeded in looking like a moth-eaten teddy bear. "I was going to commend you on your excellent note-taking for the final next week. Thankfully, I held my tongue." His hand rested lightly on the edge of my desk, tapping it twice at the paper on my desk. "It
is
good to know though, that you won't be failing your art final."

I glanced down at the paper in front of me. A large human eye encompassed the whole sheet from corner to corner, dark lashes framing a detailed interior sketch of chains settling over ocean waves, a sole hand reaching out from under the surface. Above the chains rested a coffin white roses lain on top, fire licking around the base. It was a scene straight from a macabre book.

"Uh, thanks? The idea sort of stemmed from a poem, I think." I half-shrugged, not really sure where I got the idea from. Whitley didn't seem to notice, or care for that matter.

"I'd put the drawings away and lay off the Edgar Allen Poe, Miss Hanley. You missed a lot while daydreaming away. Unless your wish is to have my class again next year, your peers all off at college, leaving you behind in this tiny town," he straightened and moved his hand off my desk, returning up to the white board at the front, continuing to map out the portions of our upcoming final.

Tugging the sleeves of my cream sweater over my hands, I tried to focus on the board in front of me. My eyes however, had another plan. They continued to drift down to the drawing laid out before me. It was one of dozens I had completed in the last two weeks, each one more detailed than the last. It always started with the same almond eye shape; same curve of the pencil under my hand, same smudging and detailing, everything perfectly identical, save for one thing. Some of the eyes told stories of black birds and blood, others told stories of sunlight and fire. The aching part was that each had been created while I revisited Leo's death in my mind.

I snapped my notebook shut to hide the drawings out of sight. Lips clenched tight, I made sure to pay extreme attention to the white board and write down as much as I could before the bell rang ten minutes later. Whitley seemed pleased when I passed by him to leave, apparently taking my sudden interest in last-minute note-taking was on his accord. Maybe he thought I'd taken his words seriously, like the notion of having to repeat a year in a public education system was the most terrifying thing that could happen to me.

Hah. If only he knew. One look in my head and he'd see school was one of the last good blessings I had left.

In the hallway I stood in front of my open locker, staring at its contents without really seeing. I half-pretended to debate on what books would be most important to take home with me for studying, but what exactly mattered when you knew death was knocking on your door? Even if I did give a damn, I could still fail all of my finals and graduate with a low C-average in every class. I had to give it to my grandparents. If it hadn't been for them pushing me into one of NYC's select private schools, I wouldn't have the luxury of slacking off like I had been. Again, that was still assuming it meant something. The idea of even seeing graduation rested on the assumption that I'd live long enough to actually make it down the aisle and take that diploma, that maybe they'd teach me something useful for my limited existence. Seeing as they didn't teach me the ins and outs of being half of a mythical creature, and how to save myself from a fiery death, I was betting that would never happen.

Nothing had gone right since I'd set foot in Belfast. And that was putting it lightly. Just as I has started to settle into my old home I had learned a bitter truth; that every part of my life had been a sick, crafted lie. From the second I came into existence, I had been shuffled and shoved, picked on by a lunatic mother, abandoned by an unimaginable, alleged heavenly being of a father. I had learned that running from your past only brings it front and center, hungry with a vengeance. Life, to me, felt like a tragic painting. I felt like a sparrow with clipped wings, still believing it could fly.

I sighed and pressed my forehead to my locker. Since coming home from the hospital in Charon, day to day life had been practically impossible. It was hard enough learning I wasn't the human I thought I was, but add in a demon that was constantly looking for a weak-point in my instinctive defenses to kill me, and I was already in over my head. Kayden, Ursula, and Abigail had all agreed to let the past fall behind us and to never speak of it again. Leo wasn't dead to anyone but us, and as far as everyone else knew he was off in New Zealand for a student exchange program.

Leo... he was gone. Everything had happened so fast, my mind was still trying to wrap itself around the reality of it. A cold shiver raised goosebumps on my skin, scattered fragments of that night playing out in my head. One minute, it had been about dressing up and having fun, embracing a side of me I didn't know was possible to love.

Then it had all turned to blood, so much blood.

Blood on my hands, dark red liquid staining my palms, embedding itself deep in the cracks and cuticles of my fingers. Blood on my white dress and on Leo's button-up, sticky and slick as it clung to his paling skin, clouded eyes staring blankly at the ceiling as his final breath exhaled from his lips. 

I wanted to mourn him, honor his death, but everywhere I turned someone was watching me. Kayden rarely left my side at school, and when I would think I'm alone at home the floorboards would creak and give away Jayson silently listening in to my stifled sobs. Jayson quickly caught on that something was different when I came home from what he thought had been an innocent sleepover at Ursula's. Maybe it had been the way I started sobbing the first time I picked up my sketchbook, days after his death. Maybe it had been the night he found me sobbing on the bathroom floor, my hands scrubbed raw to the point of bleeding all over the linoleum floor. He had silently been watching me fall to pieces, completely unaware of the weight on my shoulders, completely unaware of how I wanted to tell him everything. Instead I had lied, citing that finals was taking a toll on me, that Abigail would know exactly how to help. After all, she was my shoulder to lean on.