MIDNIGHT DIVINE (The Helio Trilogy Book 1)

by Valerie Roeseler

  “Don’t worry, young Lilim. I will see you again soon enough. There is nowhere your friends can hide you that I will not find you.”

  Torn from my vision, I pull myself out of the water with ferocious violence and an audible gasp to fill my lungs. Water sprays to the ceiling high above me. It's a volcanic eruption of boiling liquid which seems to freeze at its apex before drenching everything within a fifteen foot radius. My mind's clear now. I remember everything.

  Jack charges towards me and slides on his knees to the bathtub I've been placed in. His hands clutch the sides of my face. “Ivy!” I look in his eyes. His beautiful, glistening emeralds are brighter than I remember. “Ivy! Speak!”

  “Jack,” I whisper. Jack pulls me into a tight embrace, my face clutched to his chest. A torrent of emotions flood over me—Relief, love, hope, worry, need. He releases me from his embrace to examine me again. I can see everyone in the room now. Jack, Evelyn, Alice, Eric… and Trey. “Trey!” I pull away from Jack. “You’re alive! I thought you were dead!”

  “I’m a demon. A sword through the chest hurts like a bitch, but it won’t kill me.” He shrugs his shoulders and plasters fake amusement on his face.

  Evelyn shrouds me with a towel. “Come on, dear. Let’s get you cleaned up.” I step out of the tub, dripping on the pristine tile floor. “Everybody get out so Ivy can change.” Everyone obeys with reluctance. Jack kisses me on the cheek—Relief. Love. Worry.—and shuts the door behind him as he leaves.

  Alice brings clothes into the bathroom and sets them on the counter. “Are you ok, honey?”

  “Yeah. I think so.”

  Evelyn dries my hair with another towel. I catch her reflection in the mirror. Her face is ashen, and her hair has lost its normal shine. She looks more ill than the last time I’d seen her. I spin around and hug her tight. She's stunned at first, but holds me with her weak arms. A rush of emotions tear through me again. Sadness, weakness, worry, fatigue. I realize these feelings are not my own—they’re Evelyn’s. My heart swells with intense love for her. I don’t want her to die. I wish I could help her. My eyes shoot open, and my vision is blinded with pure white light. I can’t pull away from her. My body is magnetized with hers. There's a jolt of electricity between us, and I'm fused to her body like metal being welded together.

  Evelyn cries out in pain, and Alice’s screams are muffled from the constant humming in my head. I can’t break the tether between us. All at once, Jack, Eric, and Trey burst into the bathroom. My vision clears, and Evelyn collapses in my arms. I'm shaken with fear and lower her to the ground, surprised I can control her weight in my arms. She feels so light and fragile. Jack rushes to her body on the floor, and I step back in horror. What did I do? What happened? Oh, God! She’s dead!

  “Mother! Mother!” Jack cries out. Evelyn’s eyes quiver open wide. She appears stunned to still be alive. Jack helps her to her feet. “What happened?” he yells at me.

  “I don’t know!”

  Evelyn touches his arm to get his attention, “Jack, I’m fine.” Tears run down my face. “Truly. I’m more than fine.” The color in her face has returned, and her hair appears to soften before my eyes, shining with its angelic splendor. Jack inspects his mother, trying to figure out what's going on. “She healed me, Jack. The Qeres is out of my body! I felt her pull it out of me. I don’t know how, but she did it, Jack! She did it!” she cries with blissful joy.

  Jack twists to face me, his eyebrows raised high in surprise, “How?”

  “I don’t know! I don’t even know what Qeres is!”

  “It’s a poison that eats a Divine angel’s essence,” Eric provides.

  “From a spider?” I look to Jack for an answer.

  “No. It’s a perfume. There was an attack a few months ago. One of the Fallen had dipped his knife in it before he sliced her back.”

  “I don’t understand how I healed her. Does it have something to do with what Trey called me? Lilim? What's that? I had a vision before I came out of the water. A Fallen… the one who kidnapped me on the cliffs… he called me the same thing. At first, I thought he was confusing my name and calling me ‘Lilly’ instead of ‘Ivy’. But then, I remembered Trey’s words before I went under the water. What is that? What am I?” I regard each of them and notice the fall of their faces.

  Trey speaks up first, “Lilim… is the name given to the direct offspring of the Queen.”

  “The Queen of the Damned. He said that too. In my vision. Who is she?”

  “She goes by many names and many titles, but the name she most goes by is Lilith.”

  Lilith. I remember mythical stories of her from high school Literature.

  “I don’t understand. I thought Lilith was a demon. My mother's supposed to be an Archangel.”

  Eric speaks next, “Lilith was an Archangel. She was given to the first man, Adam, with the understanding she would be his wife. But she refused to submit to Adam. She didn’t love him. She felt being an angel made her superior to man, because we were created first. She ran away from Adam. The Creator sent three angels to retrieve her. When she refused to return, she was cursed as punishment. Her heart turned wicked, and she became a demon.”

  “Wow. Everything I know about the world is a lie. Eve wasn’t Adam’s first wife, my mother's a demon, and I’m a direct descendent of the Angel of Death himself!”

  “Not just a descendent, Ivy. Azrael is your father,” Trey emphasizes.

  I whirl on Trey, “Excuse me?”

  “I’m sorry Ivy. I was trying to tell you before.”

  “So what the Fallen angel in my vision told me is true? Just as you said? I’m destined to be evil? Some kind of weapon against the Angels of Light?”

  “No. As long as your essence stays uncorrupted, you'll be given a choice. And from what I can tell, that choice is to align with Light.”

  “Wait, wait, wait, wait. A weapon?” Jack echoes.

  “I don’t know how I would be a weapon. My only abilities have been the visions, and now we can add healer, I guess.”

  “I’m not sure exactly what, but I’m positive you'll develop more abilities as you evolve into full angel,” Trey grins with his words.

  Great. Just. Great. A stillness settles in the air around us. “Can you guys give me a minute? I want to get out of these wet clothes.”

  Everyone obliges my request and leaves me to my own devices. I support myself with my hands over the sink, leaning into the mirror to look at myself. With the new clarity of my thoughts, I begin to see subtle differences in my appearance. My eyes are brighter, my skin's smoother, and my physique is leaner. I feel stronger, mentally as well as physically. The revelation of who I'm becoming, who I am, is sinking in. I won’t let myself be used for the Darkness. I have to do everything possible to defend myself, and I can’t go on trying to ignore my fate. A sense of determination comes over me.

  I peel my damp clothes off, put on the dry garments Alice brought me, and plait my long black hair into a high tress. I grip the knob of the bathroom door, taking a moment to center myself and walk into my bedroom. It's empty. Then, I have an epiphany. Trey confided in me the truth about why he was sent to me and how he didn’t want to. If he had the missing angel in his grasp, he would have let him go… If he was telling the truth. But I believed his sincerity. I don’t think he has the missing warrior. Maybe he knows who does though.

  Voices drift into my room, and I walk into the hall to find where they’re coming from. I hear Jack. He's angry and threatening Trey. I have to make Jack understand Trey isn’t a threat. I run down the stairs taking two steps at a time. I'm standing in the foyer before I know it.

  Whoa. When Jack told me I would be faster, I didn’t think it would be that fast! And my hearing is a lot better too! There’s no way I could have heard them from my bedroom on the third floor! I thought my transition was supposed to come in stages, and the fever was only my metabolism changing? I think this is happening faster than they expected.

  I round the c
orner into the kitchen to see Jack at the most ferocious I've ever seen him. He has Trey by his shirt, pushed up against the far wall. Trey’s feet dangle off of the floor, but there's no fear in his eyes. Jack’s magnificent wings arc behind him, and his jaw is set tight as he growls at Trey with a deep and menacing reverberation.

  “Jack!” I bellow in the sternest voice I can muster. Everyone turns to me in surprise at my tone. Jack keeps Trey in the air despite my interruption. I speak low and deliberate, “Put. Him. Down.” There's a connotative growl beneath my words which surprise me, but I keep my intense gaze upon Jack without falter.

  “After what this demon’s put you through! You’re defending him?” Jack seethes with anger.

  “He didn’t have a choice, Jack. And even though he knew there would be consequences, he defied his orders to help me. They’re after him now as well. I watched the Fallen who kidnapped me impale him from behind his back! And you can’t deny that without his help I would still be stuck in that cave and probably dead. He has information that can help us. We need him, and he needs us. Now. Put. Him. Down.”

  Jack lets go, and Trey drops to his feet, smoothing the wrinkles out of his shirt, “Thank you, Ivy.”

  “Don’t thank me yet. I need to know something.”

  “I can’t promise you I have an answer, but I won’t lie to you.”

  “Where's the angel that was sent to protect me?”

  “I promise you, I didn’t have anything to do with that. It was all Beleth—the Fallen who kidnapped you. He’s Lucifer’s right hand man and the Duke of Sheol. Rumors have been spreading that it's been difficult to capture you, and Beleth has finally taken things into his own hands. If Beleth still has the warrior, he’s probably within the dungeons of his Keep.”

  “How do we get there?”

  “You don’t,” Jack barks.

  “Why?” I challenge.

  Jack’s body is rigged with tension. “You’re not strong enough yet, and we don’t know where it is. We'll have to start hunting.”

  “Maybe Trey can help?” I suggest and face the demon among us.

  “I've never been to The Keep. I don't know where it is. Let me see what I can find out. I’m just going to have to stay low and try not to draw attention.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I don’t know how long it’s going to take. I’ll keep you updated.” With that, Trey walks through the back door of the kitchen, shedding his shirt as he sprouts black wings with yellow stripes through the center. They remind me of a Goldfinch. Without looking back at us, he shoots into the air and flies away.

  “Do you really think we can trust him?” Alice criticizes.

  I look around the room at the curious faces of the angels around me, “Yes. I don’t know how, but when we touched, I could feel his pain. I could feel his emotions as if they were my own. It happened when Jack grabbed my hand as well, and again before I healed Evelyn. I feel as I can trust him.”

  “You’re empathic?” Eric inquires.

  “What’s that?” I ask.

  “You can feel emotions others feel when you touch them,” he explains.

  “Um, I guess. I think that’s what happened. I know I’m right about Trey. I just need you all to trust me.”

  They accept my declaration with hesitance, and I realize it's going to take some time to convince them. Alice and Eric leave to retrieve my car from the hiking trail where I’d left it, and Evelyn goes to her study for more research. Apparently, my transformation is happening faster than anyone expected, and they come to the conclusion I have the ability to heal because Azrael possesses the same trait. Jack threads his fingers through mine. I pull him to me and hold him tight around his waist. I need the comfort only he seems to provide. “I don’t want to sit here and do nothing.”

  Jack kisses the top of my head and looks down at me, “I think I know what you can do.” He leads me through a narrow doorway off the side of the kitchen I haven’t noticed before. He flicks on a light switch and reveals polished wooden steps leading down into what I imagine is a cellar. Every step we take exposes more and more light. With the last step, we move into a vast open room with vaulted ceilings and blue mats lining floors. There are heavy bags hanging in a corner next to a few speed bags, and the walls are lined with more equipment you normally see in a boxing gym.

  “What’s this?”

  “It’s a training room. It’s rare if it gets used anymore, but I’m hoping to change that.”

  “You want all of us to train?” I arc my eyebrow in question.

  “I want you to feel safe here. We have to prepare for every contingency. I want to do everything in my power to protect you. I would lay my life down for you, but you need to be able to defend yourself if something happens and I can’t be there. We have to be smart. I know you can defend yourself, but you need to be prepared for the type of beings that will be after you. They’re stronger, faster, and have had millennia to strategize.”

  “I use to be able to defend myself without many problems, but after Beleth attacked me, I realized I was useless against a being with that much power. But since my fever’s broken, I feel stronger. I think I would be ok with the self-defense tactics I already know.”

  “You are stronger, yes. I don’t understand why. That change wasn’t supposed to advance so suddenly. It must have something to do with the genes from your mother. And it brings up the question, if your transformation is progressively faster than we expected, when will the final alteration happen? We have no way to tell now. Either way, I know you can defend yourself, I've seen that first hand. But I need to know how well you're prepared for beings who are fiercer than you’ve encountered before.”

  “Ok.”

  “For now, I want you to rest up. We’ll begin in the morning. Wear something you can move comfortably in. I’m going to check in with the others later and see where we stand.”

  Back in my room, I open the doors to the terrace for some fresh air. I sit at the table and chain smoke while I contemplate my new position. My whole life, I’ve been sleepwalking. Not anymore. It’s time to become the warrior I was meant to be. I won’t let them take me. And I’ll be damned if I’ll let any of those evil parasites harm my friends. Time to rest up, baby girl. Tomorrow's a new beginning.

  Chapter 12

  Jack starts my training by making me show him what self-defense tactics I already know. He counters each one with more power and quickness than I'm ready for. I end up on my back a few times. While my reflexes are faster than they used to be, I'm still not quick enough.

  “Stop holding back, Ivy. Don’t be afraid you’re going to hurt me. I promise you won’t,” Jack smirks.

  “I’m sorry, Jack. I just can’t see you as the enemy. It makes it hard for me to want to hurt you.”

  His smirk turns into a devious grin. He changes his approach, “Your emotions will cost you. You have to be objective or you'll risk making the wrong decision. Instead of trying self-defense, because that comes to you naturally, let’s try some hand to hand combat. He walks over to the wall and picks up two sets of black fingerless gloves. He holds out a pair to me, “Put these on.”

  The gel padding over the knuckles make me feel a little better that I can’t cause much damage. “Ok. The padding makes me more comfortable.”

  “I thought it would, but I want you to be prepared. I’m not going to hold back, and I don’t want you to either.” I nod my head, securing the glove around my wrist. “Now, most of your opponents will be taller and a lot wider than you. You have to change your strategy on how to advance on them. Because you're smaller, you don’t want to punch from below them. You'll lose the force behind the hit because you'll be fighting gravity. And always remember to keep your other hand up close to your face. It’ll protect you. But if it’s too far out, they can use that to push it back at you. That would be counterintuitive. So, start in your fighting stance.”

  I place my feet in a wide stance with my left foot in front and my right foot be
hind me. I hold both of my hands in loose fists close to my face as Jack instructs me.

  “Good. Now, when you go to throw your punch, instead of a straight punch to the jaw, swing your elbow up and back in an arc, and complete the circle coming down at an angle to connect with their face.”

  I practice the swing along with a few more combinations he teaches me. After ghost boxing for half an hour and bouncing on my feet across the floor, Jack begins circling me. He's a silent predator ready to pounce with his graceful stride. The movement of muscles beneath his skin are rolling plains kissed by a constant breeze. “Are you ready?”

  “As I’ll ever be,” I reply with an arrogant smile and shift into a defensive crouch.

  I let out a calming breath. Jack takes his first swing at me from my left. My senses are getting stronger and all movement becomes slow motion. I see his fist coming and duck underneath it while simultaneously bringing my right fist into his chest and letting his body’s momentum work for me. I parry around to his backside and hook my arms around his neck for a tight clench. I jump up and place both feet into the backs of his knees and pull back. His heavy body lands on top of me as my back crashes to the mat. As he comes down on top of me, I push back up with my legs and force him over my head. Jack lands in a crouch behind me. I pop back up into a crouch across from him. A growl comes from deep in my chest out of pure instinct. “I thought you said you weren’t going to hold back?” I tease him.

  Jack charges. We brawl hand-to-hand for another half an hour. I'm surprised at my ability to learn so quick, even picking up on things I've never been taught before. I take a break and retrieve my bottle of water, collapsing against the wall. Jack joins me and nudges my knee with his, “I’m proud of you, Sunshine. Your form and reaction time is ever improving. You're a fast learner. Once you're fully transformed, your strength, power, and fighting skills will supersede any enemy you come into contact with.”

  “Really?” I look at him to gauge his reaction.