Stellar (The Halo Series Book 3)

by Melody Robinette

  Currently, Anthony’s hair was standing on end due to the fast moving wind. Logan threw back the rest of her coffee, standing.

  “I’m going to change into my Halo armor. Who knows when we’re going to—”

  “Land ahoy!” someone called from higher up on the boat. Trixi or the other chick from Portland. Logan wasn’t good with names.

  A sick sinking feeling settled in her stomach as she turned to see the Seattle skyline appearing out of the fog.

  A tsunami of memories swallowed her whole, Luna’s death replaying in her mind like a horror movie she was being forced to watch. Logan felt the blood drain from her face. A burning desire to fight hit her with force. All she wanted was to put on her weapons belt and fill it sharp objects. Then she wanted to kill some Horns.

  “Wait.” Brielle stood, placing her hands on the rail, leaning forward. “Is that…a Halo vessel?”

  “Where?” Danni Jo asked, rising from her seat as well.

  Brielle’s finger jabbed forward, pointing at a traveling boat. But, instead of the angels’ typical pearlescent hue, it was solid black, like the shining shell of a scarab.

  “The big black one?” Danni Jo said.

  Jax chose that moment to step out onto the deck. “Someone talking ‘bout me?” The two girls looked back at him in surprise, and Jax let out a booming laugh. “Is that an angel ship?”

  “What if it’s a demon ship?” Danni Jo said through a breath.

  “Only one way to find out,” Logan said darkly. “Storm the vessel.”

  With coffee drained and Halo armor on, the Power Halos stood at the front of their boat as it slowed, pulling in next to the black vessel with sharp angles and needle-like masts shanking the sky. Logan weighed her weapons belt down more than usual. She was itching to use them.

  For Luna.

  And a little bit for herself.

  The group of Halos streamed off Tigerlilly, onto the dock, walking the short distance to the next boat. Brielle fell into step beside Logan. “If this is a demon ship, don’t you think they’d be outside right when they saw us coming?”

  “Not if they didn’t see us. They’re more active at night. Could be sleeping.”

  Brielle frowned doubtfully. “Do demons sleep?”

  Logan blew a strand of hair out of her eyes and put a finger to her lips, hushing her girlfriend in the kindest way she knew how.

  Logan was the first to leap from the dock to the railing of the ship, swinging her leg up and over. Despite the dark color, there was something familiar about the architecture of the boat. Something angelic rather than demonic. Unless that was the point and this was all just a clever booby-trap.

  One by one, the six others leapt aboard. When it was Jax’s turn, the boat actually dipped ever so slightly with his weight. Logan led the way with crux and dagger in hand, keeping to the shadows.

  She made it to a door leading to a narrow staircase, which descended into the boat. Uncertain murmurs could be heard behind her, but Logan pressed forward, determined to find a Horn and shove a crux into their eye socket.

  Out of the silence, a muffled scream could be heard, causing Logan to halt temporarily to listen. It sounded as though someone was being tortured. She picked up the pace now. The further down they traveled, the louder the screams became.

  Whoever or whatever it was, the voice sounded male. And somehow…familiar.

  Adrenaline fueled Logan’s steps as she made it to a darkened corridor where the screams were louder than ever. A door sat propped open at the end of the hallway. Logan approached it, crux held aloft.

  “Logan, wait—” Brielle said through a shaky breath.

  Leaning forward, inches at a time, Logan’s eyes drank in the room. Three bodies could be seen. One was an eerily still beast girl lying on a metal examining table with duct tape on her mouth. Someone else—a man with strawberry blond hair—bent before her with a syringe held in a trembling hand. And one other person sat crouched in the corner.

  The source of the screaming.

  And Logan realized now why it had sounded so familiar.

  Lowering her crux, she stepped into the light of the room. “Sev?”

  The man with the syringe whirled around then.

  It was Chord. His eyes were wide and bloodshot, tears cutting trails down his blood and dirt-covered face. One of his eyes was black and blue and swollen.

  A dry sob tore through his throat as his gaze fixed on Logan. “Thank the fucking Light.”

  Twenty-Nine

  AURORA

  No one had anything to pack. Halo armor and weapons were all the two Stellars needed, which were already strung across their fatigued bodies.

  To Aurora’s chagrin, Lucifer led them back to the river of blood. She followed Gray to the back of the vessel as the two demons and angel remained near the front. Lucifer and Michael sat facing one another as Lilith leaned casually back against the stern, watching the two men speak back and forth with disinterest.

  The boat parted from the dock beneath the bridge and proceeded to move back up the river. The two fallen angels were too preoccupied to frighten the Stellars with their shows of what Hell could be, so all Aurora could see was dry flatlands and crawling demons, sniffing the air curiously as they passed by.

  “What do we know of this Caducus?” Lucifer asked Michael. “He wasn’t around when I fell. Damned infant.”

  “The angels know very little about him…” Michael answered quietly. “Only that he was assigned to be a Power when he—”

  Aurora cut in from the back of the boat. “Caducus is a Power?”

  Michael nodded at her. “He took his title a bit too literally, it would seem. As he watched men rise up, leaving behind their morality in the process, he asked the Light why humans were allowed to do such things and angels weren’t.”

  Lucifer rolled his eyes. “And people thought I was unreasonable. Simply because I refused to bow down to the diminutive humanoids. But I’m the bad guy.” Lucifer threw up his hands in mocking dramatics.

  Aurora turned to Gray then. He was leaning up against the side of the boat, hazel eyes staring straight ahead, darker in the dim light of Hell. The sharpness of his square jaw seemed more pronounced as he clenched his teeth. Aurora wondered what was bothering him so much. She wondered if it was her, and then scolded herself for being pathetic.

  “Gray.” Her voice was barely a whisper, but it felt like a scream. His eyes moved slowly sideways, but he didn’t turn his head in her direction. “What’s going on with you?”

  “I’m riding in a boat in Hell, Aurora,” he stated coolly. “What’s going on with you?”

  The way he spoke, emptied of feeling, unnerved her. She swallowed down the panic she felt building. Maybe it was just the effects of being in Hell. But then, she wasn’t acting like a complete bitch. Well, no more than usual.

  “Why did you leave this morning?” she asked after a moment, hating herself.

  “I was hungry,” he replied. “Is that not allowed? Am I expected to stay by your side every moment of the day?”

  “No,” Aurora said through her teeth.

  Just don’t leave me to wake up alone the morning after we’ve had sex for the first time.

  She wanted to press on, to pull out of him whatever was bothering him, whatever dream he’d had that turned him into this cold version of himself, but she didn’t.

  Turning slowly around, Aurora listened to Lucifer and Michael’s ongoing conversation, ignoring the burning in her eyes. Must’ve been the sulfur.

  “So, tell me,” Lucifer continued to Michael. “Before we go after the angel man-child throwing a tantrum, how are we expected to steal away the Stellar's boy without alerting the entire army to our presence? Certainly, you don’t think they won’t sense us there. It isn’t as though we can sweep in his open window and snatch him from his crib.”

  “That’s what I’ve been trying to parse out myself,” Michael agreed. “It will be rather difficult.”

  Lilit
h let out a loud cackle. “Oh for hell’s sake. Honestly, the two of you act as though you’ve never dealt with power-hungry angels before. Lucy, allow me to remind you of a time you fancied taking over the Earth as well as Hell. Though, all you managed was to create a plague of sickness and suffering and death. Then the poor souls flew up to heaven and left you no richer a ruler than before.”

  “I’m aware of my past transgressions, Lilith,” Lucifer said without looking at her. “Tell me, though, how this helps in any way?”

  Reclining against the stern of the boat, her elbows propped up on either side of her, Lilith looked as though she was thoroughly enjoying Lucifer’s annoyance. “You male angels always look at the big picture and try to tackle it in the most ridiculous way possible.”

  Lucifer folded his own hands in his lap, his knuckles turning white. “Do you have an alternative suggestion or are you merely attempting to irritate me?”

  “Of course I have an alternative suggestion.” Her eyes moved from Lucifer, who still wouldn’t look at her, to Aurora and Gray. Aurora swore she saw a spark of deep amusement in their depths. “As Samuel is a newly fallen angel, I will approach his ship under the guise of wishing to join their efforts. They know of me, but we’ve yet to meet. I am something of a legend, you know.”

  “Yes, indeed,” Lucifer stated dryly. “You’re quite legendary.”

  A flush of anger or embarrassment colored Lilith’s cheeks as her lavender eyes narrowed at him. “After Samuel has allowed me onboard, with Miss Coel and Mr. Cross tagging along disguised as my obedient demons, I will keep the simple-minded men distracted while Aurora flits off to find her son.”

  “And when they realize you are not interested in joining them?” Lucifer said. “What then, pet?”

  “Then I shall unleash my wrath on the fallen angel and his pathetic half-breed lap dog.”

  Aurora knew Lilith was talking about David. This was the first time she and the demon woman were in complete agreement.

  “You think Caducus will not attack once you’ve killed Samuel?" Michael said. "The most loyal of his followers?”

  “No, he will not,” Lilith purred. “Trust me, Michael, darling. You are much too angelic to understand the inner workings of us dark creatures. We care for nothing. For no one.” Her gaze moved to Lucifer again.

  He didn’t disagree.

  Without being able to stop herself, Aurora turned to glance at Gray. His eyes were fixed on Lilith.

  And perhaps it was a trick of the long shadows cast by the passing mountains of sulfur, but Aurora could have sworn she saw the hint of an approving smile dancing on his lips.

  Thirty

  CHORD

  Chord took in the group of what he assumed were Halos standing behind Brielle and Logan, judging by their red-leather attire. Jax, the big guy who had helped Gray in Seattle, could be seen hovering in the doorway.

  They all wore horrified expressions.

  Chord had never felt happier to see Logan and Brielle. Especially the latter. But he kept a tight grip on the syringe in his hand, which they all stared at warily.

  “What are you doing here, Chord?” Logan asked in a low voice. “What happened to Sev?”

  Taking his cue, Sevastion let out a soul-wrenching scream from the corner, fighting against his bonds. Chord only had time to tie him to a chair. He hadn’t had the heart to tape his mouth shut, but now he wished he had.

  “He was bitten by a beast,” Chord explained through a wavering voice, trying not to break down completely. “We came here to find a way to change beasts back to their original forms. The two of us captured this one. But things went sort of bad, and Sev was bitten. Apparently their bites are contagious—they have demon venom in them or something.”

  “So, Sev’s a…” Brielle whispered, unable to finish her question as Sev cut her off with another screech. She pressed a hand to her mouth. Her skin had a tint of green to it.

  “He’s a beast,” Chord stated hollowly. “Which is why I have to find out how to turn them back.”

  Logan moved farther into the room, narrowing her eyes at the unconscious beast on the table before her gaze landed on the syringe in Chord’s hand. “What have you tried so far?”

  “Nothing. I barely got them down here and tied up. Sev put up a real fight.”

  “What’s in the syringe?” a girl from the back of the room asked.

  “Saltwater. We saw, when a beast falls into salt water, it reverts their skin back to its original state. Same with their mouths. Sev thought it was because it burned out the demon blood, leaving the human blood behind. But after the salt wears off, it goes right back. We were thinking of injecting it.”

  “Injecting it where?” Brielle asked, her green eyes wide and staring as Sev sent another howl through the room.

  “Their temple.” Chord pressed a finger to the side of the beast girl’s forehead. “Into the brain.”

  The group fell even more silent if it was possible—the only sound to be heard was Sev’s screams. Which was quite enough noise.

  It took everything Chord had not to scream at him to be quiet.

  “Guess it couldn’t hurt.” Logan shrugged. “The needle in the temple. Give it a try.”

  Chord’s hand began to shake again as he nodded. He wished the other Halos wouldn’t stare so hard. If he’d had his wits about him, he would have sent a very Aurora-like comment their way. But he couldn’t seem to form words.

  “Want me to do it?” Logan asked, holding out a hand.

  “No.” Chord knelt beside the Beast girl. “I will.”

  Sucking in a deep breath, he readied the needle over the soft spot in her head. The beast’s lashes began to flutter as if she knew what he was about to do to her. Then her lids flew open, fixing him with her black eyes, and he stabbed the needle into her skull, pushing the plunger down.

  He’d only thought beasts screamed loud.

  But now, the cries coming from the beast girl shook the walls, threatening to dislodge the metal instruments from their hooks. Brielle threw her hands over her ears, her face scrunching up.

  The beast screamed and screamed and screamed.

  The group exchanged pained glances.

  “Do you think it’s working?” Chord shouted over the noise. The small girl standing in the shadows spoke up, but her voice was drowned out by the screaming of both the beast girl and Sev. “You’re going to have to speak up, honey!” Chord called to her.

  Cupping his hands around his mouth, Jax bellowed, “She said the saline needs to go in her veins!”

  “She’s probably right,” Chord replied, feeling like he was trying to speak in a loud nightclub. Only, instead of blaring music, it was tortured screaming. “Unfortunately, I’m not a phlebotomist.”

  The girl spoke and Jax relayed her message again. “She said, ‘No, but she is.’”

  Chord waved an impatient hand, inviting the girl to join him where the screaming was loudest.

  She was a tiny little thing. If he didn’t know Power Halos were all created around the same time—making them all twenty-somethings—he would have assumed she was in middle school.

  Pushing her long braids behind her, the girl approached Chord, reaching for the syringe with a steady hand and frowning. Her big brown eyes scanned the shelves of supplies on the walls and lit up.

  Flitting about the room like a little hummingbird, the tiny girl gathered up an armful of things Chord wouldn’t have known were medical supplies.

  Dumping the objects in the tray beside the still-screaming beast, the little Halo set to work. The others closed in, watching her in silence. Not that they could have spoken much over the bellowing.

  Chord looked over his shoulder at Sev, whose face was red from all the exertion.

  His heart twisted in his chest.

  If this didn’t work, he didn’t know what he’d do. He wanted to wrap Sev in his arms and soothe his pain, or whatever was making him scream like that. But he didn’t want to turn himself into a beast t
oo.

  Now he understood why the Horns sewed their mouths shut. Screaming beasts weren’t exactly able to sneak up on their prey.

  Turning back around, the little Halo, who Chord heard someone call Anna was readying clear tubing attached to a huge needle and funnel at the top.

  “What’s all that for?” Chord asked loudly.

  “An IV,” Anna said. “They need a steady flow of saline for it to burn through all the demon blood.”

  He hated to admit it, but he likely wouldn’t have thought of that himself. He would have just driven himself mad by stabbing the beast in every spot he could think of until he collapsed, sobbing.

  He was still at risk of this if the IV didn’t work.

  Anna inserted the needle into the girl’s arm, asking the blond boy to pour salt water into the funnel.

  A circle of Halos surrounded the beast girl, watching in mingled horror and fascination as the saline entered her vein. She screamed louder than ever, as if she was being burned from the inside-out.

  She screamed for a long time.

  But then...she stopped.

  Black, hooded eyes closing, the beast’s head slumped to the side.

  Logan pressed two fingers to her neck where her pulse was. “She’s still alive.”

  Anna bent forward and lifted the girl’s eyelid to peer beneath. Chord watched with a hand pressed to his mouth as the inky blackness of her eyes slowly faded into white, her pupils and brown irises making an appearance.

  “It's working,” Brielle breathed.

  Chord looked to Sev, still screaming, and back to the silent girl on the table. “Why isn’t she waking up?”