Fate’s Match
Daughters of Saria, Book I
Elysabeth Grace
Copyright © 2019 by Margo Hendricks
Published by Midsommer Publishing
All rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction. Characters, places, and incidents, are the production of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is coincidental. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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Cover design by Dreams2Media
Contents
Glossary
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Epilogue
Coming Soon
Fate’s Kiss
Thank You
Author’s Notes
Acknowledgments
About the Author
For Sydney G
Glossary
Demons - Offspring of the fallen angel Mephistopheles and human females. Demons possess minor telepathic abilities, mostly illusion-making and limited mental control over humans, and teleportation.
Djellaba – Linen or woolen outer robe worn by male Imohag to protect against the harsh climate of the desert. The djellaba is worn over shirt and trousers and designed to allow quick access to a sword or dagger.
Enclave - Birthplace of and home to all angels. When Satan is expelled, he attempts to replicate the Enclave on Earth.
Fallen – Archangels and angels who rebelled with Satan and initiated the first angelic civil war. Like Satan, these angels were expelled from the Enclave.
Fate – Guardian of all life and the genesis of life threads. All life possesses a life thread; the path a living being’s existence will follow from beginning to end. Fate’s decision to never interfere with a life thread is tested with the birth of angelic twins Lucifer and Satan.
Guardians – The elite group of archangels chosen to protect Seraphim. Lucifer’s Guardians are Gabriel, Raphael, Saraquel, Michael, and—until her incarnation as the human Saria—the archangel Lilith. Before and after the expulsion, Satan’s guardians are Uriel, brother to Gabriel, Mephistopheles, Azazel, Abaddon, Belial, and Beelzebub.
Hierarchy – The elite group of Seraphim who establish and oversee angelic laws, customs, and social life. Membership in the Hierarchy is based on primogeniture. The group is led by the First Seraphim who is always of the bloodline Deiani.
Imohag – A proper noun used to refer to the male Amazigh (also known as The People). The Amazigh are a semi-nomadic Saharan people living primarily in Algeria, Mali, and eastern Morocco. The name Imohag was chosen by Lilith’s second human mate (whom she freed from demonic captivity) to describe himself and his male descendants.
Life thread – The living essence in all creatures that governs the beginning and end of life. For human beings and angels, the life thread responds to free will and choices, Fate’s gift to both races. At birth, all angelic and human life threads are uniquely colored and unmarked. Changes in color are gradual and most take place over a lifetime except for life mates.
Lilith – Archangel in love with Satan. Lilith believes she and Satan are destined life mates until the Hierarchy names her Lucifer’s Consort. Fate reveals to Lilith her destiny and what will happen if she chooses Satan. Lilith accepts the Hierarchy’s decision.
Lucifer - Firstborn twin son of Seraphim Ser and Rapha. When Ser chooses to step down as First Seraphim, Lucifer will assume the role. Like all Seraphim, Lucifer’s Consort is chosen for him. Lucifer does not challenge the Hierarchy’s decision and accepts Lilith as his Consort despite knowledge that she and his twin are life mates.
Order of Angels - Seraphim, archangels, and angels. Angelic social order is hierarchal, birth-determined and immutable.
Rapha - Consort to Ser and Keeper of the Archives. Mother to Lucifer and Satan. Lucifer and Satan’s birth is an anomaly within the angelic race. Until Rapha gives birth to the siblings, no twins existed.
Satan - second-born twin son of Ser and Rapha. Satan’s life thread is the first one to come into existence flawed. As Satan matures, his thread darkens. When Lilith is named Lucifer’s Consort, Satan challenges the Hierarchy’s decision and claims her as his life mate. The group’s unanimous refusal to retract their decision infuriates Satan and he incites a rebellion to overthrow the Hierarchy’s rule. For the first time in angelic history, there is civil war.
Ser - First Seraphim and father to Lucifer and Satan. Fate reveals Satan’s potential darkness and the civil war he will cause to Ser in a dream. Fate also reveals what Ser must do to ensure the safety and well-being of the angelic race.
Shifters – A category of human beings believed to be capable of assuming animal form. A very small percentage of those classified as shifters are true shifters. These humans trace their descent to the original Saria (the archangel Lilith) and her human mate Imohag. True shifters live in the Ahaggar Mountains of Algeria.
Supernaturals – The first supernaturals to appear on Earth were demons. Over time, other forms of demonic supernaturals come into being as a result of planned breeding programs created by the Fallen.
Tagelmust – A length of dyed cloth, usually cotton or linen, used to protect an Imohag male’s head and face against the harsh climate of the desert. Traditionally, the tagelmust is a symbol of adult masculinity and therefore not worn by male children.
Tahaggart – The language of the Tamahaq and Imohag.
Takoubas – Traditional Imohag sword.
Tamahaq – A proper noun used to refer to women who are direct human descendants of the archangel Lilith. Repudiated by her first human mate, Lilith becomes the human Saria and chooses the name Tamahaq for her female descendants. In each successive generation of Tamahaq, one female is destined as the Guardian of Fate’s gifts.
Undead – The offspring of a demon and a witch. The number of undead is extremely small since very few survive the birth process, most often killed by their mothers. The undead are capable of mating, although to reproduce they must be mated to a descendant of Lilith. The undead require human blood to survive.
Witches – The offspring of female fallen angels and human males. These births are extremely rare since there are very few females among the Fallen. Witches are the only females capable of producing the undead.
Prologue
Earth, Before the Human Era
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The archangel Lilith moved across the warm sand toward an outcropping of large boulders. Her bare feet left no imprint on the fine granules. She had no idea where she was or why this barren world had called to her. The only certainty: she was no longer in the Enclave.
Drawing her sword, she studied her surroundings. Asymmetrical mountains curved across the distant horizon. Pale blue sky flowed into the depression between each hill, while white clouds lingered over the dark mounds of rock. The area appeared unpeopled and forlorn. No trees, flowers, or grass imposed themselves on the sterility before her. No buildings dotted the sparsely grassed land. Then there was the quiet.
Closing her eyes, she sent her mind in search of life. Emptiness. “Fate must have had a reason to bring me here,” she muttered.
The silence was comforting. Her flight from the Enclave was a surprise even to her. Her usual reaction
was to fight, not flee. She was a Guardian and Guardians didn’t run from conflict. Her departure had been precipitous, driven by anger. For some time she mindlessly soared and glided, putting distance between her and the dictates of the Hierarchy, until she spied this world. Upon landing, she had been relieved not to sense the presence of other angels. She needed to be alone to confront the emotional war waging inside her. To scream invectives against Fate and demand the reason for her intervention.
The skin on Lilith’s neck suddenly pebbled, the fine bumps a warning. Her wings quivered then whipped opened and her fingers gripped her sword. One of the elite Guardians to the Seraphim Lucifer, she had learned to take nothing for granted. Her sharp brown eyes swept the area. Satisfied there was no threat, she sat on a large boulder and mulled over the trigger for her flight.
“You will become Lucifer’s Consort.”
She had stared at her father Oriel’s impassive face before she demanded the reason for his decision. His terse reply — “prophecy decreed it.” When she reminded him that it was Lucifer’s twin, Satan, who held her heart, her father dismissed her words as he walked away. “The Enclave requires your sacrifice, daughter.”
Tears of frustration and heartache spilled down Lilith’s cheeks. Satan was her life mate. He was the one who made her heart beat a little faster and who teased the laughter from her. He was the one who knew her better than anyone, even herself. Their mating was inevitable. Or so she had believed. “Why must I be the one?”
“Because I have need of you.”
Lilith swung her body towards the sound, her wings flared and her sword drawn. She gasped when silver, blue, and green threads blended and a translucent angel stood before her. Her fingers tightened around the sword’s hilt. “Who are you?”
“You wanted answers only Fate can give.” The illusion moved closer.
Lilith raised her sword at the apparition. “Fate gave us free will so that we choose our destinies, the path our life will take. Fate does not interfere with the thread of our existence. Who are you?”
“Don’t be so stubborn,” Fate said. “You know who I am, Guardian, so lower your sword. My interference is necessary to prevent the extinction of life.”
Stunned by both Fate’s appearance and words, Lilith leaned against the boulder and shifted her sword to her right hand. “Who would dare such a thing? No angel would willingly seek to destroy our race.”
“There is one, daughter. Your life mate.”
Lilith stiffened and backed away from Fate. “No, Satan would never do that. Such hatred for life is not in his heart.”
“Satan’s heart is shrouded in darkness, something I didn’t foresee while he and Lucifer lay in their mother’s womb. His life thread fractured, seeding ambition, envy, hatred, and betrayal in his heart instead of love, fidelity, and honor. Satan’s birth introduced that darkness into the world.”
“I have seen no darkness in him,” Lilith protested. “He is the angel he has always been.”
“To you perhaps since you do not have the ability to see his life thread. The Seraphim will betray Lucifer and all angel kind.”
“You can’t know that.” Lilith squirmed, appalled at her outburst. “Forgive me. I didn’t mean to . . . you must understand, Satan has my heart. Perhaps our mating would change things.”
“If Satan were at peace with his destined path, I would have no reason to interfere. He is not and I am forced to act. Your bond will not change matters. All life, Lilith, will die, for eternity. I cannot permit such destruction. Satan’s pride and ambition cannot go unchecked.”
Fate added substance to her being until she mirrored Lilith, who tried and failed to stifle her gasp at seeing a life form like her in every way except angelic.
“Come sit with me,” Fate said gently. Once Lilith was seated next to her, she took the archangel’s free hand. “You do have a choice, Guardian. Life as Lucifer’s consort or Satan’s mate. If you accept Lucifer, you must guard his life so I can walk this world as part of a new species, humankind, to take him as my consort. Your acceptance means you will become human, breed as they do, fight to protect their existence, and die in human form. Satan will become your enemy.”
Lilith shook her head. “You can’t ask this of me.”
“Fate doesn’t ask this of you. Life does, all life.”
“Why must I become human? I am a guardian, an archangel. That should be enough to protect this new species.”
“You misunderstand me. Without you, humans will not exist. Your female humans will be called Tamahaq and will be feared and hunted by Satan’s followers. The protection of the Tamahaq will be the task of Lucifer’s Guardians.”
Fate rose and stepped away from the boulder. Lilith stood and followed. “Why?”
A profound emotional silence enveloped her, as if Fate sighed. Agitated by the quiet, Lilith pressed. “Tell me why I must become human?”
“When you give birth to the first Tamahaq, she will receive the keys my human body will need to end Satan’s rebellion. The power to know and control another’s mind, the ability to become any life form except angelic, the ability to move across distances, and the power to see every living creature’s life threads. Only your female descendants can seed them to the female human I will become, Lilith.”
Lilith shook her head. “If I become his brother’s consort it will destroy Satan. There must be another way. I will talk to Lucifer.”
“There are two prophecies that will shape the future I have shared with you, daughter. No one but you and your Tamahaq descendants can affect the outcome. Whether Analise Willoughby walks the earth as Lucifer’s consort or a weapon in Satan’s hands begins with your decision,” Fate stated.
“If I refuse this path?”
“It is your will. You can follow your heart. But in doing so, you must bear the consequences. Satan has chosen. He will rebel, whether you are his life mate or Lucifer’s consort. He is not alone. There are angels who will follow him. As Satan’s life mate, your allegiance must be to him and that path will end in the extinction of all life, including his.”
Lilith’s tears fell, her body quaking. “Please do not ask this of me.”
“Your love is not be enough to stem his descent into chaos. To save his life, you must take Lucifer as your consort so that I may walk the earth to end the war Satan begins.”
Lilith shivered when what felt like a kiss moved tenderly across her forehead and she became embraced in light. Images flooded her awareness, life, death, and destruction cascaded like raindrops. A half-smile formed on her lips when she saw the brown faces of her female descendants. Saria. Amina. Anne. Analise.
“The race of angels are moving closer to civil war, Lilith. Discord is already seeded and your way of life will change. You must choose wisely.”
Fate’s brilliance faded and Lilith sank to the ground, her heart crushed by the visions Fate had shown her. Two paths lay ahead of her, both strewn with death. Only one path, the one she would walk with Satan, was shrouded in absolute darkness. Her fist went to her chest, vainly rubbing at the ache there. Unlike her father, Fate had left the choice in her hands. Her hands.
Lilith stared at the calloused appendages resting on her lap. It was her choice, but it didn’t matter. Whether she was the tear in life’s fabric or the thread that repaired it, her decision would destroy angelic lives.
She launched herself into the air and as she approached the Enclave, she spied a pair of angels engaged in mock combat. The shudder that went through her left her numb. Against the bright blue sky, the angels tested each other. Sunlight illuminated the expansive cobalt wings that marked Lucifer the firstborn. Opposite him, a pair of steel-gray wings dipped as second-born Satan struck. His victorious shout flooded her ears as the brothers soared and danced in the air, swords clashing in a noisy disruption of the quiet around her.
Sadness careened through her and she shut her eyes. A current of air shifted around her and she began to spiral head over heels. Suddenly, stron
g arms enveloped her. She inhaled. The scent was Satan’s. His fingers reached for her chin and angled it. His lips gently brushed hers. “Life mate,” he whispered.
Lilith lifted her eyelids and stared into his blue eyes. She saw so much love in their depths. Her arms snaked around his waist. “You are my life as I am yours, Seraphim.”
1
Pacific Ocean, 1587
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Silence swallowed the galleon’s cabin as if all life and its attendant noises had been sucked from the Spanish vessel. Amina tilted her head toward the door, listening for another burst of cannon fire or the clash of swords. There was nothing, just an unnerving quiet oozing through the cabin’s thick walls. If the ship weren’t rocking unsteadily, she’d swear the fierce battle raging on the deck and the demon trickery that locked her in captivity were fragments of a bad dream.
It was far too quiet.
Her fingers fisted against her hips to still their trembling, and to ease the steady erosion of her courage.
“You are quite a troublesome creature, Amina bint Daoud ben Mohammed. No matter what Raphael has told you, your destiny belongs to my Sire. Accept what is inevitable and claim Mephistopheles as your Consort.”
Startled, Amina jerked and squealed when her head met the solid wood of the table’s underbelly. She reached up and rubbed the tender spot. Another demonic trick that caused her pain. Although reluctant to abandon the safety of the table, she didn’t like the idea of being trapped in a cabin in the midst of a battle. Taking a deep breath, she crawled between the table’s legs and peered at the door. It remained bolted and intact.
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