Etheria (The Halo Series Book 1)

by Melody Robinette

  GRAY

  Gray spent the following day on the Ferris wheel. The constant movement was comforting. For the first time since he’d arrived, he didn’t wonder what Aurora was doing or long to be near her. He wanted to be alone. As an extrovert, he didn’t value solitude quite as much as everyone else seemed to. He liked being in the company of others. They distracted him. Solitude permitted his thoughts and memories to take over. He knew his mind was a dangerous neighborhood to wander through alone.

  Today, though, he needed them to take over. He needed to remember who he was, to examine precisely what this decision would mean for him. One might think this was a no-brainer for someone who’d dedicated his life to saving others. Especially for someone like him, who had no family to speak of. He had the guys at the firehouse, of course, but he was one of the youngest and one of the only ones without someone to go home to. He didn’t always relate to them, which was why he threw himself into his work. Gray loved what he did every day. Following in his uncle’s footsteps and helping people had been his goal since he was fourteen. So, why was this decision so difficult for him now?

  Surprisingly enough, he’d never really thought of himself as a hero. Who wouldn’t save someone from a burning building? Wasn’t that the decent, human thing to do? Heroes were teachers and army men and single mothers who worked three jobs to provide for their children. Not him. And, after the images the angels put into his mind last night, he knew he wasn’t the true hero.

  In every burning building, the angels had been there, pulling him forward, helping him carry people to safety, holding him up when he felt too weary to continue on. They’d been there on 9/11 too. Within the images Michael had shown him, Gray saw the colorful orbs changing to angels, their feathered wings pumping as they wept with the people below. Sometimes, it seemed, not even angels could save everyone.

  As Etheria neared Victoria, Canada, Gray vacated his spot on the Ferris wheel. He’d made his decision with the sunset, as it sank into the sea. In the back of his mind, he’d known what he had to do all along. His insecurity and self-doubt had just been fighting it. The first place he wanted to go when his feet touched the deck was where he knew Aurora would be. He felt a tradition begin as, for the third time in the past three days, he’d found her swaying on the giant wooden swing set at the back of the ship.

  He tried to think of something clever to say, but couldn’t find the words amidst his jumbled thoughts. So, he settled with the always useful, “Hey.”

  Aurora didn’t flinch this time.

  “Hey,” she answered. He didn’t know if her lack of facetious enthusiasm was a good or bad sign.

  “So…have you decided what you’re going to do?” he asked, unable to veil the anxiety in his voice.

  She let out a long slow sigh. “It appears I will be staying.”

  He came to stand near one of the wooden beams, leaning back against it. “Guess I’ll be bugging you for a bit longer then.”

  The corner of Aurora’s lip kinked upwards. “Dammit. If I’d known that, I might have made a different decision, entirely. You think it’s too late to pack my bags?”

  “Definitely too late. You’re doomed.”

  Aurora snapped her fingers in an exaggerated flourish. “Shame... Actually, the real person I should have consulted was Brielle. If she’s staying, I may go ahead and jump overboard, leaving my bags behind.”

  Gray let out a barking laugh as he pushed off the wooden beam and settled into the swing beside her, kicking off the ground with his heels. “You know, you’re a lot calmer than I’d expected you to be.”

  “Me too. God and I had a nice little one-sided chat last night. Got a lot accomplished there. Then Samuel scared the shit out of me and, I guess he sort of convinced me.”

  “Samuel?” Gray said in surprise. “I thought you couldn’t stand him. Well, more than you can’t stand the rest of us.”

  Aurora chuckled. “Yeah, well. I’m a fickle girl, Grayson. Most Gemini women are. Surprise, surprise.”

  “Gemini? You don’t strike me as the kind of girl who reads their horoscope…”

  She rolled her eyes. “I don’t read horoscopes. But I did take an astrology class in college.”

  “An astrology class?”

  “General studies major, remember?”

  "Bet you're just full of random information, huh?"

  Aurora shot him a sly look. "You have no idea."

  Etheria soon pulled into port between a pair of tiny looking cruise ships, which were likely fairly sizable when they weren’t sandwiching an angel-liner. Aurora jumped off her swing and moved to the railing, looking down at the dock. Gray followed her lead, coming to stand beside her, their arms just barely brushing—though this was enough to send tiny waves of energy across his arm and down his spine.

  Not five minutes after the anchor lowered and the ramp released, a stream of people disembarked. More than Gray had expected.

  Aurora looked down at them in a disapproving way. “There sure were a lot of cowards on the ship.”

  “I wouldn’t say that,” Gray countered. “You never know what they would be leaving behind. Maybe some of them have children or people depending on them at home. Not everyone can be a lone wolf, like us.”

  Aurora glanced obliquely at him. “How’d you get to be such a good person?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean the world is just so ugly sometimes. People can be so horrible, so evil. I’ve gotten to the point where all I can see anymore are the bad qualities in others. I only see faults and shortcomings. When I was a substitute teacher, I almost went mad from the idiocy of those damn kids. They were so shallow and self-centered and didn’t care about anyone or anything other than themselves and their technology and their insignificant high school problems.”

  “And? What did you care about in high school?” Gray asked, genuinely interested in her answer.

  A dark shadow passed over her features, and she stepped away from the railing.

  “So, since we aren’t disembarking,” said Aurora, “is dinner still at seven? Cause I’m starving.”

  Gray recognized she was avoiding his question and decided to humor her. “Me too. I think we’re dining in Winter Wonderland tonight.”

  Aurora laughed. “What’s with all of these alliterations?”

  “What’s wrong with them? Alliterations are actually always awe-inspiring and amazing and awkwardly accurate.”

  She stared at him blankly. “You’re a freak.”

  “Perhaps. But I’m thinking you’re a secret freak, underneath all that burning, passionate hate.”

  Aurora fixed him with a half-lidded stare, and he flashed her an overly exaggerated smile as they left the familiar scene of the wooden swing set in search of yet another alliterated dining room.

  AURORA

  Aurora wouldn't admit it, but she was relieved Gray was staying on Etheria too. Even after knowing about angels and Halos and all of that, Aurora was still awestruck by Winter Wonderland. The floor was a lake of icy glass surrounded by glaciers and snowy mounds glittering in the twinkling lights. Icicle chandeliers hung above each table, illuminating the area in a wintry-blue glow.

  Anther popped up to greet them. His carroty hair stuck up in all directions, and his grey-blue eyes shone from behind a fringe of see-through lashes. After Aurora’s deluge of hidden memories last night, she saw Anther in a new light. He was young and cheerful, yes, but now she could detect a sort of glow to his skin, a fire in the depths of his eyes, which communicated his true identity. “Gray! Aurora!” he said. “Glad you could make it!”

  “You mean glad we didn’t disembark?” Aurora said bluntly.

  Anther only smiled. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you to your table.”

  So far, they were the only two there. Aurora hadn’t realized it mattered to her so much, but she secretly hoped Chord and Sevastion decided to stay. They’d grown on her. Brielle could walk the plank for all she cared. But, of course, t
he next person to arrive was the southern belle wearing a flashy dress of all white.

  Aurora smirked, raising an eyebrow. “Trying to dress the part there, Brielle?”

  “Hello, Aurora,” Brielle simpered. “Lovely to see you. And Gray, you are looking handsome tonight.”

  Gray peered down at his black polo shirt and jeans. “Uh…yeah, thanks.”

  Brielle soon began talking, and Aurora tried to convince herself that surely the icy ocean water wouldn’t be more painful than this.

  “I mean, of course, I had to stay,” Brielle said, flicking her light brown hair off her shoulder. “I’m among God’s chosen. What an unbelievable honor. I mean, the fighting stuff is scary, but I’m sure the angels will teach us how to use our divine powers. The vision they showed me last night was terrifying, but also really empowering, you know? Gosh. Can you guys believe this is happening? We’re heaven’s warriors! And, with God on our side, how can we lose? I wonder if we will have wings!”

  “Only after death,” Juniper cut in when she approached the table. “Anything to drink?”

  “Alcohol,” Aurora said.

  “Aurora,” Brielle scolded. “We’re angels. Do you really think we should engage in that kind of behavior?”

  “We aren’t angels. Our moms had relations with angel men who didn’t bother to hang around and raise us. Now we’re just Halos on a big carnival boat that does, in fact, serve alcohol. And, just in case you forgot, Jesus drank wine. So, I’ll take a very large glass of wine, Juniper. Thank you so much.”

  Brielle’s eyes grew wide, and her mouth pursed to such an extent that her lips had disappeared. Gray covered his own mouth with one hand, to keep from laughing.

  “Wonder if the others are coming,” Aurora continued, pretending she hadn’t just said several inappropriate and mildly offensive things.

  “Well, I sure hope not,” Brielle muttered.

  “And why is that?”

  “Well, for one, Sevastion is an atheist,” she said in a low voice, as if she were letting Gray and Aurora in on a dark secret. “I asked him the other day what he believed in, and he said ‘science.’” She spat the words atheist and science as if they were poison in her mouth. “And Chord is just…well, he’s not angel material.”

  “Who made you queen of the angels?” Aurora snapped. “Allow me to remind you once again that we aren't angels. Also, the fact that Sev and Chord were invited here in the first place means they were also chosen. So, do us all a favor and stop running your holier-than-thou mouth because, at this point, we are all on the same level.”

  This shut her up. Either that or the fact that Chord and Sevastion had just appeared, and her disbelief demanded silence.

  “Hey, angel-faces!” Chord exclaimed, clapping Brielle on the shoulder as he passed by, making her flinch and cringe away. “Glad to see you didn’t jump overboard. I almost did, but I didn’t want to get my wings wet.”

  Brielle did a passable impression of Aurora and rolled her eyes.

  Gray shook Sev’s hand and said, “I wasn’t sure if you’d stayed or not. You haven’t been to the room.”

  “I was doing some research in the library," Sev explained. "Then I spoke with Michael for several hours.”

  “What were you researching?” Aurora asked, grateful to have more people at the table to keep Brielle from speaking.

  “Angels, demons, the Bible. Things of that nature. I wanted to make an informed decision.”

  “Can I be honest and say I’m thoroughly surprised you stayed?” Chord blurted to Sev. “No offense, but you don’t seem like the warrior type.”

  This didn’t appear to offend Sev at all. In fact, he nodded in acknowledgment. “I’m not. But you don’t seem like the angel type either, and you’re still here.”

  Gray and Aurora both let out howling laughs, and Chord raised his glass of wine to Sev.

  “Touché, Sevastion. Touché.”

  Twenty-Two

  GRAY

  A wake-up call in the form of an airy feminine voice rang out through the ship the following morning.

  “All Halos to the top deck by seven am. All Halos to the top deck by seven am. Thank you.”

  Gray glanced over to see Sev sitting up, reading a Bible with a multitude of other religious texts piled at the foot of his bed.

  “Anything interesting in there?” Gray asked through a yawn.

  Sev didn’t look away from the page. “Very.”

  “Still an atheist, though?” Gray said, half joking.

  Sev looked up then, his thick brows meeting in the middle. “I’m not an atheist.”

  “Oh,” Gray said lamely. “Sorry. Brielle said—”

  Sev sighed. “Ah. Yes, when she asked me what I believed in, I told her I believe in science. I believe in other things too, of course. When it comes to the afterlife, I’m not sure what to think, to be perfectly honest, as no living human can speak to this. I’ve researched all of the world’s religions and many have good and bad points to them. I told Brielle this as well.”

  “I’m sure she just assumed.”

  “Yes, well, it can dangerous to assume.”

  Gray remembered what Aurora had said about this particular word and chuckled to himself. “Which is why the word assume starts with the word ass.”

  Sev quirked an eyebrow. “What?”

  “Nothing.”

  Gray and Sev grabbed a couple of chocolate chip muffins and perfectly ripe bananas off the seemingly endless breakfast buffet before making their way up to the top deck. When the elevator doors slid open, the pair of them stopped in their tracks.

  The carnival-like attractions had vanished. No Ferris wheel, no carousel, no chocolate fountain. Even the pools had been sealed and covered with solid flooring. Left behind was a flat expanse covered with open tents containing what looked like weapons stations, metallic rock walls, and expansive trampolines. Gray hoped, for Aurora’s sake, they’d left the wooden swing set standing at the back of the ship.

  “Can you believe this shit?” Chord muttered as Gray and Sev approached him and Aurora. “They tell us we’re Halos and then we magically can’t have fun anymore.”

  “What is all this?” Gray asked, indicating the tents.

  Aurora stood with her arms folded across her chest. “It would appear they will be teaching us how to fight demons,” she said with mild amusement.

  “Where’s Brielle?” Gray asked, more to see Aurora’s reaction than anything.

  He wasn’t disappointed. Aurora rolled her eyes and inclined her head, looking to the left. “Over there” She snorted. “Stretching.”

  Gray glanced sideways and, sure enough, spotted Brielle with her leg hiked up on the ship railing, toe pointed, and arms extended towards her ankle like she was getting ready for a ballet performance.

  Chord chuckled. “Wouldn’t want an angel to pull a hamstring while fighting off demons and shit.”

  “Morning, Halos,” a voice said. Samuel stood behind Aurora, who jumped slightly before fixing him with an annoyed look. “Ready to see what you’re made of?”

  “Fabulousness and glitter?” Chord offered, forcing the scowl from Aurora’s face and making her laugh, which made Gray inexplicably jealous. Chord went on, “At least I know that’s what I’m made of.”

  Brielle bounced up to the others when she realized their group had converged without her. “What did I miss?”

  “Oh, Samuel was just explaining the process we’ll have to go through to earn our angel wings,” Chord said with a straight and sober face. “You know, just a couple of weeks in the Halo torture chambers and then there’s killing the first born of an Alaskan couple, and then we have to learn how to speak in tongues. Then we get our wings.”

  Brielle’s eyes grew to the size of silver dollars until Aurora, Chord, and Gray couldn’t take it anymore and burst out laughing. Even Samuel’s mouth turned up in amusement.

  A dark blush crept up Brielle’s neck to her cheeks. “Jerks.”

  “Y
es, well,” Chord continued. “We can’t all be angels like you, Brielle. Oh, wait…”

  “Juniper said we don’t get wings until after we die, anyway.” Aurora scanned the top deck with narrowed eyes. “But none of you angels seem to have wings. What, were you not angelic enough? Is that why you landed the unfortunate job of training a bunch of halflings?”

  Samuel’s eyebrow rose in response to Aurora’s comment. Then the next second a loud sound, like a crack of lightning, met their ears followed by a strong gust of wind. Brielle clutched at her chest and let out a gasp as the others jumped back in shock, for an enormous pair of shining white and silver feathered wings the size of a gryphon’s now protruded from Samuel's back. After a moment of stunned awe, Samuel folded his wings back like a flying swan landing on a pond. Then they faded like vapor until they vanished altogether.

  “Angels wings only appear when necessary. They aren’t embellishments meant for show. They are tools. Angels do not earn their wings…but they can lose them.” The others looked scolded—even Aurora—and Samuel nodded his head curtly to end the conversation. “Now. Let’s start with the weapons tent, shall we?”

  First, Samuel demonstrated how to use the most basic and classic weapons like a knife, a sword, and a bow and arrow. After Chord’s arrow soared only a few inches to the left of Sev’s earlobe, Samuel frowned. “Let’s move on. You’ll have more time to practice later. Today is mostly about introductions.”

  They moved from the weapons tent to the next, which held hundreds of…well, Gray wasn’t sure what they were precisely. They resembled short, drop point blades carved from blue opal—the whitish-blue stones one might find in an old Native American shop. The blade was almost translucent, filled with a thin layer of swirling smoke that moved like a stream, stopping at the curved gold handle and traveling back up the shaft.

  “That is a crux,” Samuel said in response to their questioning looks. “Weapons created solely for Power Halos. The blade is composed primarily of salt.”

  “Salt?” said Aurora.