But the dark creatures seemed distracted, murmuring amongst themselves as they traveled in groups. Many of them seemed unconcerned about following the wooden path, climbing over the railing and spanning the dusty corners of the underground city.
Maintaining their cover became increasingly difficult as the small groups of Horns turned into larger groups. Logan thought she heard the word Carreau whispered more than once. She wanted to ask the others if they’d heard the same, but didn’t want to jinx their luck.
The boarded walkway grew crowded with Horns as the disguised Halos approached a threshold, through which Logan saw a mass of the dark creatures.
Straining her ears, the sound of someone speaking floated through the thin underground air. Unconsciously, their group moved closer together, Brielle’s empty hand seeking Logan’s wrist, squeezing.
A solid group of Horns came out of the threshold, letting the Halos pass. The large room, which seemed to have been a tavern of sorts once, was half filled with Horns.
Standing atop a wooden block, though, was not a Horn. If Logan had any money at all, she’d wager he was a demon.
Gray skin textured like an elephant’s covered his body. He had talons for hands, and red eyes slit like a cat’s. His gaze slid over the room, lingering on Logan’s shifting figure a beat longer than she felt he should have.
“Please,” the demon stated to the group of Halos dressed as Horns. “Make your way inside. I must speak with all of you. Touch all of you.”
Touch?
The Halos sidled toward a corner of the room, and Chord shuffled closer, whispering loud enough for Logan to hear. “Ant Queen.”
“No shit.”
The room filled with more Horns, slowly outnumbering the Halos by…quite a lot. Logan pushed away the dread that came as an unwelcome thought pulsed like a heartbeat in her mind.
We might not make it out of here alive.
The Halos waited in still silence as the room swelled to the brink with Horns. A line of them came to stand before the Halos, making Logan feel slightly safer. She’d rather be pinned to a wall by half-demons than anywhere near their demon leader.
“It smells like ass in here,” Chord muttered to Logan.
She said nothing back, tensing up as one of the Horns standing before them turned his head in their direction, the hood of his cloak shadowing his face.
Suddenly, the gray-skinned demon spoke in an echoing voice. As if multiple voices were talking at once. “Welcome to your new home, Horns. Caducus has graced me with an excellent city to rule. Some of you may wonder who I am. I,” he paused for dramatic effect, “am Carreau. Once a prince among the angels—a Power—who fell from grace, as they say. Now I have the privilege of being the prince of Caducus's demons…employed to break the resolve of the bravest and most determined of mortals. I harden hearts and gift despair to humankind. Once the humans here have awoken—and I assure you, they will—I will make certain they feel a level of hopelessness they’ve never before felt. And you, my friends, will be there by my side, aiding me in this journey. A city once known as Seattle shall be henceforth re-dubbed the City of Carreau. And it will be a grand metropolis of destruction and despair—where Horns and demons run the streets. The beasts we create will be our pets, instilling fear in the human residents.”
Disgust at this imaginary world the demon had conjured up made Logan’s stomach spin sickeningly. But she swallowed the bile creeping up her throat. Now was not the ideal time to throw up.
“So, come, Horns. Come forward and greet your new city leader and be labeled a Carreaun.”
Logan shifted, resisting the urge to exchange glances with the other Halos. Though she knew what they were all thinking. What did he mean by labeled?
As the first Horn made his way to Carreau, however, it became clear what the demon meant.
Reaching forward, Carreau grasped the edges of the dark hood, lowering it to show the Horn’s face—a young man with fiery red hair and freckles. His bloodshot eyes were wide as Carreau’s lips turned up in a black-toothed grin.
“Name?” Carreau spoke.
“Joshua,” the redhead said in a small voice.
“How biblical,” Carreau purred.
Moving his left hand from Joshua’s hood, Carreau pressed one of his taloned fingers into the young man’s forehead until it bled, then he dragged it sideways, cutting into his skin. Joshua cried out in pain. It looked as though Carreau was drawing a circle, but stopped halfway.
Then Logan realized it was the letter C.
“There,” Carreau said, seemingly unconcerned by Joshua’s pain. “You are now, and shall always be, a Carreaun.” Leaning forward, Carreau pressed his lips atop the bloodied letter, which sealed closed and turned black at his touch. The demon’s red eyes slid up, landing on the Horn behind Joshua. “Next.”
One by one, the Horns stepped forward to receive their branding. The marked Horns were expected to leave the room so more Horns could soon enter and receive their branding.
“What are we going to do?” Brielle whispered to Logan as Carreau welcomed his next subject. “He’ll know we aren’t Horns.”
“I have a plan,” Logan sent back.
“But—”
Logan shushed her as they stepped closer to the demon.
The screams of the Horns lessened as they knew what to expect. The branding clearly hurt, but Joshua’s scream had been one of surprise, being the guinea pig.
Making sure their group was one of the last to go, Logan stepped forward, clutching both her crux and dagger in her hands as she came to stand before Carreau. The tension in the others behind her was palpable. The demon set his eyes on her, sending a cold chill down Logan’s back. Carreau’s breath smelled of sulfur, making her stomach turn.
Then the demon reached forward to grasp the edges of Logan’s hood, lowering it to reveal her face.
Thirty-Five
SOREN
Soren’s heart went from its constant quick pumping to nearly stopping altogether. He watched in horror as the demon that’d accompanied Lilith morphed into Aurora. Into his mom.
Had Samuel just said she was Caducus’s daughter? Had Soren misread his words? Did that make Caducus his grandfather?
Unable to stop himself, he glanced towards his father, who stood in the dark corner beside the heavy marble desk, near the dark and light angel statue. This revelation seemed to be news to him as well. His usually smooth face had changed into one of stunned shock.
Though Soren wanted to run to Aurora, to help her, he forced every muscle in his body to remain still. If he acted too soon, they would notice. They’d know he’d never truly switched sides. So, he stayed where he was, hands clasped into fists as his mother’s newly morphed face drained of color.
The other demon shed its disguise as well, to reveal Gray. Something was different about him, though. His eyes seemed darker, more vacant. And the way he watched Lilith made it look as though he was a child awaiting instructions from his mother.
“My father?” Aurora breathed. “But—”
“Had you been hoping for someone kinder?” Samuel purred, keeping his hands locked on Aurora’s arms. But she didn’t struggle or fight. She’d been stunned. “Someone more angelic?” Aurora’s unfocused eyes moved back and forth in quick succession, not focusing on Samuel. She appeared to be searching her mind for clues to make sense of this.
“Really, Aurora,” Samuel continued in the same purring voice. “Did you expect any less? Did you not wonder how someone so dark and twisted as yourself could be half an angel? Surely you would have been sweeter. Better. Little did you know, your angel father’s heart was darker than any demon’s. And his blood runs in your veins.” Samuel’s eyes flicked to Soren then. “In your son’s.”
Aurora seemed to snap out of her dumbfounded state, her wide-eyed gaze meeting Soren's. He wanted to communicate that he was on her side. He wanted to tell her he was sorry for leaving and that he wished they could all just go home and forget about
the angels and demons and evil and good.
But he couldn’t do any of that. He couldn’t silently reassure her. Because Aurora wasn’t the only one looking at him now. Shoulders hunching up and forward, Soren cast his eyes to the ground.
“Unfortunately,” Samuel continued. “Your son also has a bit of his father’s blood too. Demon blood.”
Soren gritted his teeth together.
“It shall be interesting to observe. We’re watching the other Trinities as well.”
Soren’s eyes shot up to Samuel’s again. Other?
“There are others?” Aurora asked, giving voice to Soren’s thoughts.
“A couple.”
“Where—”
“Ah, ah, ah.” Samuel held his finger up, wagging it before Aurora’s face, causing her to reel back. “No attempted distractions. Come.” He snapped his fingers, and a black rope materialized from the air, coiling itself around Aurora’s wrists. “Time to meet your essential maker.”
AURORA
Aurora felt like she was walking in a daze. Her eyes kept flitting about, to Gray, to see if he was registering any of this information. But his face was as vacant as ever. She looked to Soren, for some sort of sign that he hadn’t turned away from her forever, but he kept his eyes fixed on the ground, his jaw clenched tightly.
He looked thinner than he had when he’d left Hiraeth. She glanced to Lilith, waiting for her to give up the game—to quit pretending she was on the darker of the two dark sides. But she never did.
And it was with a sinking realization that Aurora understood…Lilith wasn’t pretending.
Samuel led their little group out of the airship, which floated smoothly through the thick gray fog, to the castle Caducus had taken over as his own.
Her father.
All this time Aurora had been picturing a faceless angel with golden hair like hers. She’d imagined a scenario where they would meet after the Light had won the war.
It had been a lovely image. The two of them hugging and her being slightly stubborn, asking why he’d never made an appearance in her life, and him saying he had always been there.
Now, none of that would ever come to pass. Her father was a fallen angel. Half of her blood. She might as well have been a Horn.
SOREN
The airship approached the castle, sinking slowly into the fog surrounding the fortress until they reached the flat cement expanse—clearly a new addition—leading to what looked like a bridge of sorts running through an ancient stone arch. Where new met old.
Samuel walked to the edge of his ship and pressed a hand to the black iron railing. A ramp leading from the top deck to the ground materialized, and they descended, led by Samuel. Soren kept waiting to be scolded. He expected them to order him to remain behind.
But no one said anything. He wasn’t sure they even remembered he was there.
As they walked inside, Soren thought it was peculiar to see signs and plaques everywhere. It was clear the castle was once a tourist attraction. Now it was crawling with Caducus’s demons and fallen angels he’d heard Samuel refer to as the Fallen. He kept close to the group, wishing he could move closer to Aurora as the eyes of the Fallen landed on him.
The Fallen wore their torn wings proudly, showing the torn shreds of their former lives, the burned edges as the Light made sure their ability to fly was forever lost. They would only ever be able to walk forward, back, or perhaps down.
There seemed to be a hierarchy amongst the Fallen, with Samuel at the top, just beneath Caducus himself. Soren wondered where that left him and Aurora, since their blood contained some of Caducus’ DNA. Did angels have DNA?
Samuel led the group up to the dark doors with a plaque that read “Great Hall,” which, of course, made Soren think of Harry Potter. Evidently, Hogwarts wasn’t the only castle that had one.
Pressing a hand against the heavy wood, Samuel turned to look at the others. “No one may enter but Aurora and myself.”
Soren tensed up. What would Caducus do to her? Would she live through this meeting? Surely he wouldn’t kill his own daughter. But then Soren looked up at David, his own father. Or maybe he would.
As if he could feel Soren’s eyes on him, David looked down at his son and spoke. “Any last words for your mother? This may be the last time you see her.”
All the words Soren knew flooded his mind. All the words he’d wanted to say. But he had a feeling in his gut that this wasn’t the last time he’d see her. Dark angels like Caducus—Fallen Angels—had a demented need to play with their victims before they did away with them. Killing them as they stood, weaponless before them sucked away the fun.
No, Soren thought, this won’t be the last time I see my mom. It won’t.
But, if he showed his loyalties too soon, it could be the last time he ever had the chance.
So, he did what he didn’t want to do and plastered an ominous look on his face—a look he’d seen David make many times—as his gaze connected with Aurora’s.
And he spoke four words he knew would tear her apart and save her at the same time. But she wouldn’t know they would save her until later.
“I have no mother.”
AURORA
The shock of Soren’s words hit Aurora like a physical force. Any breath she’d been holding in her chest was knocked out of her. She’d heard other mothers talk about how painful the first “I hate you” from their child was. Quite frankly, she'd thought they were just too sensitive. Like, clearly the kids were just angry at whatever their parent had done.
They didn’t actually hate them.
But now, as she looked down at her son in shock, his dark blue eyes narrowed and staring forward, she thought he just might.
“You can’t blame him, really,” Samuel said to Aurora. “He’s a quarter demon and a quarter Fallen. He’s never known sunshine and rainbows like angels. Come now. Your father awaits you.”
Leaving the others behind, Aurora was tugged forward by Samuel, the bonds on her wrists rubbing painfully, reminding her of what David had done to her in Seattle. Which only made her think of how Soren had saved her.
What had she done so wrong to him?
Everything, her conscience answered.
The overwhelming vastness of the Great Hall and stench of sulfur brought Aurora back to the present. She could tell the room was once grand and elegant.
Not anymore.
Symbols had been etched into the walls like massive tattoos—a trio of interconnected stars set against a deep purple backdrop. Aurora’s scanning eyes immediately landed on a man sitting atop a tall throne of bones, erected under a portrait. The image jarred her. It looked shockingly like her. Only masculine. A man with the same golden hair, falling down to his shoulders, dark blue eyes the color of natural sapphires, ivory skin. Moving her gaze downwards, she found the same man sitting on the throne.
Her father.
Samuel grasped the top of her arm more tightly, but she wanted to drag her feet into the ground. She had no desire to meet this man. After years of dreaming what her father might be like—even before she’d known she was a Halo—she wasn’t ready for all of that to be shattered by the real man. The monster.
The whole reason she’d been created in the first place.
How had the Light let this happen? He'd known an angel was destined to fall and would attempt to rule the world.
Shouldn’t he have known who it was? Shouldn’t he have kept that angel from procreating with a human?
None of it made any sense.
Caducus was surrounded by Horns and Fallen, eyeing her with curiosity. She imagined it was strange to see a miniature, female version of their master.
Samuel stopped at the back of the raised throne, and Aurora’s Fallen father stood slowly from his seat, eyes on his daughter.
“Aurora,” he said in a voice much softer than she'd expected. “My daughter.”
The words jolted her. Made her sick.
And if Samuel hadn’t been holding her fir
mly in place, she’d have taken a step back as Caducus took a step forward.
Then another.
The red-carpeted steps leading up to his throne were made of thick human femurs. Aurora wondered where they came from…who they’d belonged to.
Caducus approached until he was only a foot away. Aurora held her breath. She wanted so badly to look away, to avoid his gaze. But she remained resolute, to show him her strength, that she would not fear him just because everyone else did.
“Father.” The word felt foreign in her mouth. It felt wrong.
“Leave us, Samuel,” he said to the Fallen on Aurora’s left side before turning back to look at Aurora. “Come. Walk with me.”
Samuel released her arms and snapped his fingers to unbind her hands. He knew she wasn’t about to try anything with Caducus. Not yet, at least.
Not without Gray.
And, even with the most feared king of the Fallen by her side, the thought of her Stellar—stuck in whatever trance Lilith created—made the backs of her eyes prick with pain.
“Through here.” Caducus waved a hand at a door in the wall Aurora hadn’t initially noticed.
She wasn’t particularly inclined to walk with her evil father through a dark threshold, but it wasn’t as though she had much of a choice in the matter. So, taking a sharp breath, she marched through, half-expecting to be caught in some black tar darkness.
But the door emerged on a mountaintop looking over rolling hills of forests. Snow fell around, landing softly on the white ground.
Aurora had always loved mountains and forests. The height, the cool air, the peaceful quiet. Once upon a time, before all of this Halo business, she’d dreamt of moving to some remote mountain town and working at a local shop just to get by. When she’d nearly sworn off all men, she thought she could be some kind of mountain hermit who read books and owned five cats.
Stellar (The Halo Series Book 3) Page 20