Obumbrate (The Illumine Series)

by Anders, Alivia

  I ignored his words and the hammering in my chest, doing my best to keep him from dragging us to the ground. Alarm bells rang in my head, reminding me that Ari was still missing from the party. "How exactly do you get better? Because there's no way I can carry you like this forever."

  For a second his gaze returned to the serious Kayden I was accustomed to. "Do you really want the answer to that?"

  I locked eyes, prepared to dish the first retort on my tongue, and stopped. Even with his brooding stare my heart felt like it could explode at any moment. I didn't want to look away from him, because what if that last time I saw him was his last? If he died right now, how far did I really think I could get before I'd break down and sob? I realized that while I told Ari my scars were his to guard, Kayden had the same right, maybe even more. I couldn't see the final picture without him, couldn't stand the thought of letting him go. And yet, if I didn't...

  "Essallie?" Kayden tilted his head to the side.

  Something screamed inside of me to respond. Something, anything. Anything that didn't involve flinging myself into him and kissing him like I'd never see him again. I had to hate him, hate him to the very core so Ari wouldn't kill him. So my heart would survive the break. Demons and angels didn't mix, they couldn't. No amount of love could fix something like that.

  "What a pity to interrupt something so lovely."

  I looked up in shock, staring through the heavy smoke blanketing most of the destruction. Two figures, outlined in black, came into view. Fire instantly blazed my knuckles, Kayden wrapping his arms around my shoulders as I let him free from my grasp.

  Ursula stood alongside the Queen, both wearing elegant black gowns and hair styled to sit in twisted spirals above their heads. But where Ursula looked soft and beautiful, the Queen looked composed and assured, smiling knowingly to me.

  "My, what a mess you've made of this place. Still, how nice it is to see you again, Essallie," the Queen purred, half-lidded eyes regarding me curiously. Gesturing to the blown open door on her right, she turned to walk inside. "Come, I'm sure we have much to discuss."

  The pounding in my heart froze, replaced by a slithering sickness swirling in my gut. One look at Kayden told me we had no choice- to run would mean death for both of us, and while I had no qualms about using myself like a human bomb against the Queen, I wasn't about to put Kayden and Ursula in the middle of it.

  Following the Queen inside, I waited until the door clicked soundly shut before I breathed. We were standing in a room almost as large as the balcony, its walls and floors the same shimmering black from the bookkeeper's. Five small pedestals, all evenly spread out, stood in the center of the room, a floating blue orb dimly glowing just above.

  The Queen gave a dismissive gesture to Ursula. "Take Kayden and leave. I'd like to speak to the Nephilim-"

  "Essallie," I corrected with a snap.

  She paused, only the faintest of twitches betraying her calm demeanor. "-Essallie, in private."

  Beside me, Kayden gave a the Queen a smile. His stance was strained as he visibly tried not to attack the woman dressed so elegantly before us. "Now isn't the best time. We're both injured, thanks to your idiot squad. You'll do better by letting us go."

  "And ruin all my fun? You have no say, Kayden darling," the Queen replied sweetly, smiling. With a flick of her hand, Kayden exploded into smoke, hurtling out the door with Ursula sauntering in tow.

  The door sealed behind me, I found myself alone with the Queen. A woman who wanted me dead, for reasons unknown. Fire lit on both of my hands, the burning in my stomach spreading to every end of my body. If she wanted to start anything, I would be ready to take her down in a fight of flames.

  Walking with unparalleled grace, the Queen moved carefully through the room, putting the floating orbs between us. Her gown was much like Ursula's; a tightly fitted bodice, wrapped in swaths of black shining fabric cut in a daring low neckline, the bottom flared out with layers for extra flow. Around her neck rested a small, red pendant heart nearly identical to my white one.

  When she spoke, her voice was boring, like a drone reciting an age-old quote. "I see you found your way back to Charon."

  "Hope you didn't waste too many brain cells on that one."

  "And still just as snarky as the day we met." Her tongue clicked in disappointment. "Tell me, is that Kayden's influence working on you, or all your own?"

  I stiffened, the fire on my hands burning brighter. "If you wanted to keep me on your good side, you should have made mention that it wasn't the world who was out to get me, but yourself. You play a good game, Lucretia."

  She stopped moving deeper into the room, her bare shoulders rising in a display of controlled anger. They dropped as she turned, any signs of her rage masked. She reached out to touch one of the orbs, fingers running down the side and back up.

  "No one has spoken my name to me in such a manner in over three hundred years." Her words seemed to betray her bitterness, but her tone of casualty off-set the mood. "It's almost refreshing to hear someone rebel against me for a change. Of course, that still doesn't change the outcome of our conversation."

  "Which is what?"

  Her eyes met mine, a frightening smile revealing sharp teeth. "I always get my prize, Essallie."

  "Yeah, well not this time." I felt my bones begin to rattle and shake, the potion's effects wearing off. Like a snake shedding its skin, Lilix's appearance washed off of me, leaving my true self unveiled to the Queen.

  The Queen appeared unfazed by my declaration of resistance. If anything, she smiled a little wider, relishing the idea of a battle to obtain whatever it was she so desperately wanted from me. "I take it my two favorite Vens won't be returning for future assignments?"

  "Don't know, want to ask them yourself?" I stepped further into the room, the glow of one orb cast on my face. The reflecting shine of a gold plaque, posted on the black pedestal, caught my eye. A name I didn't recognize, Adia Cassidy, had been etched in dark red. "Why are you sending people to capture me, Lucretia?"

  "My desire was only to bring you to me, never to hurt you," she said gently, moving closer to me. Her fingers lingered over another orb, whispers growing in my ears each time she touched one. "My intentions are more noble than you think."

  "I'm sure they are," I spat, putting as much sarcasm into my voice as I could. "Except the evidence between the Vens attacks sort of put a hole in your promise of peace."

  "You wouldn't understand." Her tone turned sharp and dark. "You've never come so close to having everything you've ever wanted, yet still be so far."

  "What the hell are you talking about?"

  With a flick of her wrist, two black bands snaked out of the dark, binding my wrists, immobilizing me. I struggled against the bands, the black burning into my skin as my fire did little to slice through them.

  "You are a miracle, Essallie. A miracle I have been dreaming of for over three hundred years. Your very existence is proof that I have not waited in vain on the word of a madwoman, but a true prophet who told me that one day I could have a child again."

  "Wait a minute, you said you lost a daughter. But you can't have children," I stared, shock spreading on my face as the pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place. "Unless she wasn't yours to begin with."

  "She was not mine, but a gift given to me nonetheless." Fists formed at her sides. "When she perished, I lost everything. All that remains of her now is a memory, a tiny spark in my dark heart. I was destroyed, knowing my line would die with me, a disgrace to my family.

  "A woman approached me one night, wild with the fever of a premonition. She spoke of a Nephilim who would be able to give me the thing I searched most for, all I would need is her blood and mine to mix."

  I jerked against the bands, twisting my hands and wrists in futile attempts. "News flash. Even if I could give you wanted, my clock is running out. I'll die before you can do anything with me."

  "That's where you're wrong, Essallie." She nearly darted across the
room to put her hands on my face, nails digging into my cheeks. "It's already beginning. How else do you think you've lasted this long? On faith?" She let out a dark, harsh laugh. "You're smarter than that, think Essallie."

  "I don't know-"

  She pushed my face away in disgust, stalking off across the room. Shark-tooth shaped burgundy scales grew from her unblemished, pale arms, creating the illusion of sleeves. "Funny, how blood ties into everything in our lives. It defines relations, connections, unspoken words performing the impossible. Everything always boils down to blood." She paused, reigning in the rising wild sound of her voice. "What a shame, Chase couldn't leave you be that night at the circus."

  "Chase was a madman who only thought of himself," I hissed, the thought of him alone bringing my fire to a brighter blaze. It wrapped up my arms protectively. "He has nothing to do with this, he's dead."

  The Queen didn't move, the scales on her body inching up and around her shoulders and neck. "Curious, that he knew exactly where and when to find you. Especially when you made the decision to attend the event at the last moment."

  "He was hunting me!" I shouted, writhing. "Sooner or later he'd of found me."

  "And yet he chose that moment, that part in time, to seek you out and attack you in a full house." She paused. "Shocking how no one leapt to your defense but your little crew."

  I began to argue with her, the words sinking in. She was implying something very heavy, a damning thought that Chase's attempt to kill me was set up from the start. I licked my dry lips. "I bet there's only a few in all of Charon who could stun a whole room, and even fewer who could find piece of my past and use them to have me killed."

  "Alas," she clasped her hands together, elation spreading on her face. "She's finally putting it together."

  My skin began to turn cold, ice water running in my veins. The fire on my arms and hands dulled, pulling into the skin until only sparks remained. "It was you. You orchestrated the whole thing that night. Because of you, Leo is dead!"

  "And what a pity that is, truly." For a moment, she looked remorseful, but it quickly vanished under her mood-altering mask.

  "You're just as bad as Kayden." I shook my head, refusing to let tears pool in my eyes. I would not give her the benefit to see me cry. "Why are you bringing this up? Why now?"

  "I'm curious as to how you survived." Her voice had gone soft, probing. Tilting to her head to one side, she came to stand in front of me, leaving only inches between us. "Everyone knows demon poison to Nephilim is a sure death sentence. What makes you so special that you lived?"

  I thought back to that day, ghosts of the screams ringing in my ears, faded images of blood and fire clouding my eyes. "I... I don't remember. Kayden said Ursula gave him something-"

  I froze, all air leaving my lungs. One brief, tucked away memory surfaced, like a hidden body rising to the top of a lake. A tiny vial, as small as my pinky finger, filled with a thick, dark red liquid. The vial opened, held over my screaming mouth, and the pain washing away.

  "That was your blood." The words crashed over me instantly. I could barely speak the words as they left my lips. "Your blood and mine, mixed."

  The Queen's exalted look brought air back to my lungs, blotches of rage coloring my cheeks. The moment I said it out loud, she gave me a full, frighteningly beautiful smile. "Little unknown secret of a demon-Nephilim hybrid; our blood works as an anti-venom against both Nephilim fire and demon poison."

  In that tiny, blink of a moment, everything changed. I was no longer in control of my life. Someone had already moved me across the board, placed me in the direct line of fire, and had left me to fend for myself. Any strength I had left vanished. If it hadn't been for the bands holding my wrists, I would have collapsed onto my knees.

  "Don't look so stunned, Essallie. It'll all be over before you know it," the Queen soothed, reaching out to touch my face again. This time it was gentle, caressing my cheek as if I was her favorite new pet. "In a matter of days, your soul will split, and I will finally have my wish. A daughter I can call my own."

  "I won't let you," I started to scream, pushing away her hand with a swift shake. "I won't let you use me like this."

  "Darling," her voice carried through like a mist, clouding my mind as darkness swelled overhead. "You don't have a choice."

  AND NOW, A SNEAK PEEK OF THE FIRST BOOK IN ALIVIA ANDERS' UNWANTED, A NEW SERIES AVAILABLE SUMMER 2013.

  Escape means to survive.

  Survive means to live.

  The cabinet was small, barely holding enough space for the pipes. Bottles of cleaner, rags and brushes, and several wrenches joined me in the miniscule room. This was most likely the only moment I would be thankful for my recent years of near-death starvation at my aunt's hand.

  I was told once that when your adrenaline hits, everything slows to a crawl. At the time, Dad had used the words senses heightened, joking that for a blink in our lives, we became superheroes.

  For my sake, I hope he was right. If the owner of the home found me, there would be no escape.

  My fingers grasp for one of the wrenches before I stay quiet and still.

  Footsteps sounded onto the linoleum tiles. A chair was pulled back from the table, a mound of papers thudding on the tabletop.

  I dare not breathe. My heart races faster than helicopter blades slicing through the cloudy skies on an emergency rescue. Pressure builds in my ears, chest, and throat until I ache to gasp.

  Seconds tick by slower than syrup from a tree, and I'm tempted to run. It crosses my mind that I could catch the owner off guard, burst from the cabinet doors and run. Outside the doors, it has gone silent, papers stilled and feet unaccounted for. All I can be sure of is that my heart beats faster with each passing moment.

  The cabinet door flies open.

  A hand reaches in, grasping in a frenzy for me until it finds my arm, pulls me out and throws me onto the tiled floor. The blackened barrel of a gun holds true to my face.

  I know better than to scream for help. Instead I scramble with haste, rolling over and finding myself on my feet.

  The man keeps his gun trained on me, hand and arm military steady. His expression stays cool, calm. It reminds me of how Branden would get when one of his dealers would try and stiff him. Like a lion lying in wait, poised and in control, ready to attack the first weak spot his opponent shows.

  I refuse to hive this man a weak spot.

  He motions his free hand to the chair pulled from the table, the one he sat in moments ago. Our eyes stay locked and unblinking, neither moving.

  "I think you should have a seat."

  I say nothing. In my head I begin to visualize the different ways our encounter could proceed, all of them with me staying strong. I picture myself stuffer than a wooden board, harder than the toughest rock from the deepest volcano.

  He sighs disappointingly. "Unless you prefer that I call the police?" His free hand now reaches for the wireless phone mounted on the wall, inches away.

  My fists clench tighter, teeth locked. The willful voice in my mind screams. Run! Attack him! Take the gun from him and go! But the fading, confused girl in me struggles. Part of me still clings to the past I had just left. The truth that I am no longer Ariana Melrose, social butterfly of Miami, daughter of the man who built the Unwanted system. I was now Ariana, fugitive of the law, outcast of society, Marked an Unwanted, fighting a system my own blood has created.

  Time has been taken from me. A lifetime of decisions, gone.

  Unwanted. Unloved. Undesired.

  "No one," I say, watching his hand freeze as the loud and clear sound of my voice fills the gunpowder-packed silence. "Is going to take me alive, Unwanted or not."

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  What rests on these pages would have never been possible without the love and support I have had along the way. For that, I thank my family for understanding that even though the dishes were skipped more than a million times, I promise the work shows on these pages. I couldn't have finished
this without the help of my absolute best friend Stephanie B., each Taco Bell and McDonald's run makes so much more sense when we dissect my brain over fast food and not carrot sticks. Shawna S., another best friend, each vent session helped immensely. Thank you for all my friends named Katie, you each helped in your own uniquely weird ways, from graphic designs to grammar and more. Thank you to Willow Cross, you're an angel girl, and without you I think I might have caved months ago, or at the least hid in a tub of Ben & Jerry's for four months too many. And thanks to Tim, my loving man, who will probably never read this and know that while he contributed to some of my potholes, he helped fix them too.

  But the biggest thanks continues to go to every person who picked up ILLUMINE, who posted the reviews and mentions and praises, who shared copies with their friends and co-workers on their Kindles or Nooks or paperbacks. You are the reason I continue to write Essallie's story, you are the reason I smile. Without you, none of this would continue. So, thank you.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Alivia Anders is the author of Illumine and Obumbrate, the first two books in The Illumine Series. She began writing at thirteen, discovering the world of internet fan-fiction and RPG-forum sites that gave her a 'back-door' entry to the writing realm. Four years and many hours spent glued to a computer screen later, she found her true calling in writing.

  Alivia currently lives with her family in her hometown of Coopersburg, PA. She frequently admits that if she wasn't so intolerant to dairy she'd live at her local ice cream shop called The Inside Scoop.

  Visit her online!

  Blog: aliviaanders.blogspot.com

  Twitter: @aliviaanders

  Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aliviaanders

  Learn more about The Illumine Series at theillumineseries.com.