The Helio Trilogy: Volumes 1-3

by Valerie Roeseler

  He gestures towards Trey, “You want to help your friend here?”

  I nod. I’m in so much pain I can’t speak anymore. I look over to see my punisher. He's bare chested with soft brown wings resting behind his shoulders, and I’m confused by the tears in his gray eyes. He has brown hair tied back at his nape and leather cuffs on his forearms.

  Beleth steps closer to me and holds out his hand again. This time it’s offering a dagger. I look to him in question. “If you want to prove to me that you are ready, help your friend, put him out of his misery.”

  “What?” I whisper.

  “Take the dagger. He is in much pain. There is more that awaits him if you do not.”

  I don’t doubt he will torture Trey to his death instead. The thought crosses my mind to take the dagger and impale Beleth with it, but I’m too weak. I don’t know if I can manage it. I think, I can’t do this, as I hesitate before taking the dagger from his outstretched palm with my own shaky hand. I grip the hilt and stagger to Trey. He looks at me with fear in his eyes.

  I don’t want to do this.

  I brush his hair from his forehead and caress his face. I feel the fear and love surging within him. “I can’t do this, Trey,” my hand trembles on his cheek.

  His voice becomes a mere whisper to keep Beleth from overhearing, “It’s ok, Ivy. I would rather it be you. I’m so tired. And it’s not forever. I can’t be killed. My essence will be sent to Sheol. Lucifer will make sure I'm punished as well. I need you to do this. Get on his side. Find his weaknesses. Find a way to get out of here. This is your only way to do that. If I'm ever allowed back to the surface, I promise to find you again. I won’t let you down a second time.”

  “I’m so sorry, Trey. I never should have come to Red Meadow. You wouldn’t be in this position if it weren't for me.”

  “I don’t regret it. I only regret the way I treated you,” Trey’s confession is honest and touches my heart.

  I forgive him wholly. “I know. You're forgiven, Trey. I see the good in you. I know the sorrow you feel for what you are. You were never given a choice. I wish you had a soul capable of redemption. Then, maybe Paradise would await you instead.”

  “The world's not that easy. Do it, Ivy. Make it quick.”

  “Thank you, Trey. For everything you’ve done.” I wrap my hand around the back of his neck and press my lips to his. I push all of my feelings into the kiss in hopes he’ll feel what I feel for his friendship, the respect for his bravery, and my admiration for the goodness in his heart even though he was forced to do wicked things.

  A warmth emanates between our lips. There's an intense strain from my chest as if my heart's being ripped out. In shock of the sensation, I force it away to draw my thoughts back to the present situation and what I have to do.

  No more pain. I’m sorry, Trey. Please forgive me.

  Leaving my lips on his, I sweep the dagger deeply across his throat, ensuring his death is swift. I step back. Trey’s eyes bulge as his blood gushes from his neck and splatters my face, neck, and chest. Other than the slice I made at his throat, his entire body's healed and left with a slight golden illumination before it fades. I drop the dagger and fall to my knees, heaving and sobbing for the loss of him.

  I killed him. He's dead. I've never taken a life before, and the weight of it churns in my stomach while it crushes me. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. Please forgive me. Please forgive me.

  Chapter 14

  Beleth steps into the puddle of Trey’s warm blood growing in front of me. I can’t look at him. “You did well, Lilim. Come, you will get cleaned up, eat, and rest in the comfort of your quarters. Tomorrow is a new day.”

  I don’t remember getting back to my room from the dungeons. My mind's a blur from the last few days of imprisonment. Beleth stands before me with his hands behind his back while observing me in silence.

  “I’d like to get cleaned up now. Do you mind?” I know I'm testing him by giving him attitude. Yet, now that I'm not in a cage, I have to know how far he'll let me push him.

  “By all means. The lavatory is there,” he gestures with the sweep of his hand and takes a step back. I pull out another sports bra, underwear, tights and a long sleeve shirt. Twisting in the direction he indicated, I find the entrance to the bathroom and close the door behind me.

  A rectangular stone tub sits in the corner. Erected from the cobblestone ground, a slender silver spout angles over the far corner of its edge. There's a large, gold-framed mirror tilted against the wall beside the bathtub. Not wanting to look at myself, I turn my back to the mirror and peel the remaining bloody clothes from my body in front of the stone sink to my right. After filling the tub with lukewarm water, I ease into it, wincing from the burning sting of my open lacerations.

  As the stinging begins to subside, my eyes sweep over beautiful crystal decanters with different shades of liquids. There's nothing distinguishing what each bottle contains. Picking up the first of the four bottles, I release the round stopper and inhale a scent of roses. I pour a generous quantity into my palm and spread the silky soap into a lather. The aroma sends me back to Evelyn's gardens. I scrub my skin and hair, removing evidence of what I've done from my body while it remains a stain on my mind. Have I sealed my fate with my sin? Was that Beleth's plan all along?

  I find a soft, white towel to dry off, and my body shakes as I dress. Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I open the door to see Beleth hasn’t moved from where I left him.

  “Do I have shoes?” I prompt for the second time, hoping he doesn't shackle me again.

  He walks to a dark walnut armoire carved with intricate floral vines and reveals all of my shoes paired together, lining each of its shelves. Grabbing a pair of socks from the dresser beside me, I wonder why he's being so accommodating. I join him next to the armoire and pick out a pair of black military style boots. “Thanks,” I mumble, taking in his profile, trying to understand why I feel no fear standing so close to my captor. Beleth appears caught off guard with my words as his brow twitches so faint I might not have noticed if I hadn't been studying the planes of his face. After pulling my boots on, I find Beleth observing me again. “What?”

  He squints his eyes, “You are astonishing. You seethe with potent hatred, yet you are thanking me for a small gesture of accommodation.”

  I shrug, “I don’t understand you either. First, you kidnap me and leave me for dead in a cave. Now, you kidnap me and try to make me a guest after you've imprisoned me and gave me no choice but to slaughter my friend.” I shake my head looking down and shove my hands into the back pockets of my tights.

  “You did him a great service. If it were not for you, my legion would have torn him to pieces for his treachery. Come, you need to eat.” He turns away, and I follow him through the threshold of the chamber.

  Mounted torches light our path as our footsteps echo with hollow thumps reverberating against the limestone caverns. Trey’s pleading eyes spark in my vision at an unwanted frequency. I restrain the tears in my eyes from betraying weakness and prefer to suffer the burning lump in my dry throat. We descend a narrow corridor of cobblestone steps, giving me the uneasy feeling I’m being led into another dungeon.

  As the floor levels out, we walk further down the cavernous corridor, and Beleth pushes open the door to our right. There's a long oak table surrounded by fourteen tall-backed matching chairs. Each chair is cushioned with black leather, secured by smooth silver rivets. Large tapestries of vicious fantastical creatures decorate the walls in dark hues. A bar opposite the entrance shelves every whiskey, rum, tequila, vodka, brandy, and absinthe you can imagine. The glass bottles glisten from the two large candelabra chandeliers illuminating the room over the dining table. Beleth paces to the far end of the table and pulls a chair out. “Sit,” he commands.

  I oblige him as he pushes my chair back up to the table, keeping my hands under its surface to hide their shaking. I don't want him to mistake my quivering for fear. It's pain. My back is on fire, but
I can feel its gradual healing manipulating my tender skin with the sensation of being sewn together—a worn ragdoll being repaired with an invisible needle and thread. I find myself searching for his weaknesses as he moves to the opposite end to seat himself, giving me some much-needed distance from his menacing presence.

  Beleth begins, “What do you prefer?”

  “I prefer to go home.” I'm feeling stronger every second my wounds mend.

  “That is not an option. This is your home now. It would be in your best interests to acclimate yourself quickly.”

  Fear seeps into my bones, and I put up a wall of sarcasm to hide my emotions, “Well under the circumstances, I imagine you don’t get delivery.”

  With the wave of his hand, a wide variety of foods stretching across the span of the table appears with a ripple in the air. It's as if a heat wave produced the food out of thin air. Some I've never seen before. He smirks at my astonishment, “Does this satisfy you, Lilim?”

  “How did you do that? Is this food real?” I marvel.

  “It is not an illusion if that is what you are asking.”

  Picking up a blueberry, I squeeze it between my thumb and forefinger to test its suppleness. I smell its sweetness and eat with hesitance while wondering if it could have been poisoned. I close my eyes, feeling it drop to my empty stomach. I begin to pick fruit off of the table at random to eat while Beleth watches me from the other side of the table. What are you playing at?

  “It occurs to me, Lilim, that you have evolved significantly faster than has been anticipated.”

  He knows. He watched me heal Trey before I…

  I nod my head as I swallow. “I guess you could say that.”

  “Tell me. What abilities have you developed?”

  “The usual, I guess. Strength, the ability to heal faster, sight, taste, hearing.” I decide not to tell him about healing Evelyn.

  “Hmm… What of your gift from your mother, your second sight? Has it become stronger?”

  How does he know of all this? Did Trey tell him?

  “I don’t know if I do have second sight. I mean, I thought my visions of you were omens, but it turned out it was you torturing me in my sleep,” I give him a pointed look.

  My captor tilts his head. “You have had visions of me,” he repeats more as a statement than a question.

  In his slight expression, I know I've given him more information than I should have. “More like nightmares. But now, I realize you were just getting into my head and taunting me in my sleep.”

  Beleth quirks an eyebrow at me and rights his head, “I do not possess the ability to enter or alter your dreams, young Lilim.”

  I'm surprised but irritated with him for his unrelenting name for me—‘Lilim’. “Please, stop calling me that.”

  “It is what you are.”

  “I have a name.”

  You’re pushing it, Ivy. Reign it in.

  “Understood.”

  Understood? What game is he playing at now?

  “What of your ability to heal others? When did it present itself?” he prods.

  I feign ignorance, “You mean what happened to Trey? I did that?”

  His smirk makes me think he knows I'm lying. “Yes. That was you. Have you never healed before?”

  “No. I thought it was just something that happened when beings like him died.”

  Lie. Play nice.

  “Hmm... You would be wrong. You are what caused his body to mend. It will be a good skill to have in your position. I wonder if it is a gift your father was able to pass on to you. Your mother does not have an ability as such,” he considers aloud.

  “Oh.” The silence is awkward between us. I know he's expecting my complete compliance. He wants to be my master. As much as I loathe the thought, I decide it'll be my best route to finding a way to escape him. Otherwise, he'll throw me back in the dungeon to starve. “May I go back to my room? I’m really tired.”

  “Cassius! Beckett!” Beleth calls out. Two bare-chested angels walk through the door. The angel on the left is tall and broad with shoulder length chestnut brown hair tied back at his nape. His eyes are gray, and I noticed leather cuffs at both of his wrists. He's the angel who punished me with the whip in the dungeon. The angel beside him is lean, just as tall with the same brown shade of hair, only shorter, and there are leather cuffs around his wrists as well. The only difference between them is their build and the length of their hair.

  Twins?

  Beleth rises, “Follow me. I will take you back to your quarters.”

  We walk in the darkness of the corridors back to my room. The Duke's two lackeys sandwich me between them as we follow. Beleth opens the door and lets me enter my room as he remains outside the threshold with the guards. “I will leave you to rest. Cassius and Beckett will stand guard outside your door. Let them know if there is anything you need.”

  “Cigarettes?” I muse with shyness to avoid the desperation in my tone.

  The corner of his mouth turns up, “They are on the mantle.”

  I nod, and he closes the door. I look to the fireplace, wondering who lit the logs while I was gone as I hear the door click. Shit. He just fucking locked me in, didn’t he? I need a plan. How am I going to get out of here? I can’t even think straight. I need sleep. In the morning, I’ll start planning my escape.

  I swipe the pack of cigarettes and a blue lighter from the mantle before sitting at the foot of the bed to pull my boots off. My first inhale of smoke since I've been taken is a new experience. My tastebuds are stronger, and I detect every distinct chemical-laced within the tobacco. It's a lovely compilation I make last while I gaze into the fire to clear my thoughts. I flick the filter of the burned out cigarette into the hearth before laying back on the bed. A tear runs down my temple. I can’t hold my eyes open any longer.

  A legion of Fallen angels surrounds me with their raven black wings spread wide. In the middle of the room is a rippling black pool of thick tar with a vile stench. I see myself from another’s eyes in the room. It's silent. Ominous. I sit on a black throne, elevated before them. I have wings, and they're as black as the tar before me. They're spread out wide and commanding. Stoic. I hold a long torch in my right hand.

  Turning it upside down, I use both hands to push the hilt down and snuff the flames. The white gown I'm wearing is shrouded as the smoke rises from the ground. But the most disturbing thing is the black tar seeping from my eyes as if they're tears. The entire legion bows on one knee and I detect tar dripping from their eyes as well.

  I wake up shivering with a cold sweat coating my body. That couldn’t have been an omen. I won’t be like them. I won’t lead them. Why was I crying? I throw the covers back and swing my feet to the floor. I pull a cigarette out of my pack and light it, then lean forward with my elbows on my knees, letting my head drop. Think, Ivy. How are we going to get out of here? Maybe, if I play nice… No… Play along. Get on Beleth’s good side. Make him trust me. Make him think I’m on his side. He’ll slip. Then, I’ll take my chance at taking him down. I can’t kill him. He can’t die. Can he? I’ll have to trap him. But how and where can I trap him that he can’t escape?

  I jerk to attention at the knock on my door. “Yes?” I call out.

  “Your presence is being requested in the Dining Hall,” one of the guards calls from the other side of the door.

  “I’ll be right there.” After pulling my boots on and plaiting my unruly raven locks over my left shoulder, I open the door to find both guards with their backs against each side of the door frame.

  The guard to my right is my punisher from the dungeons. He speaks without looking at me, “This way.”

  I follow him with the second guard behind me into the Dining Hall where the Duke's already waiting for me, as well as a new cornucopia of food across the table.

  Beleth stands as I walk into the room, “Ah, here you are. I thought you would be hungry. Join me.”

  In acknowledgment, I take my seat at the other end of
the table as the guards leave through a door beside the bar I hadn't noticed before.

  “How did you sleep?” he ventures.

  “Fine.”

  “Is something bothering you?”

  Really, dude? You fucking kidnapped me and made me kill my friend!

  “What’s going to happen to Trey?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Trey's a demon. You can’t kill a demon with a dagger. His essence will continue on. Exactly, how does that work? What happens to him now?”

  Beleth nods and taps his fingers on the table, “Yes, this is true. Trey's essence will move on. It will return to its rightful place in Sheol. I am positive The King has great plans for him.” A smile spreads across his face without reaching his eyes.

  “Torture.”

  “Expected. And if or when The King sees fit, Trey may be released back to the surface to serve in my legion once more.”

  “Oh.”

  I jump in my seat at the sight of a raven diving into the room and landing next to Beleth’s chair. I can’t believe my eyes when I witness the bird shift into a Fallen angel with his black wings tucked behind him. His head's bowed, and I can only see his black hair tied into a knot on the crown of his head. Beleth looks over his shoulder to address him, “Solas, are they ready?”

  “Yes,” Solas’ voice is deep and corresponds with his heavyweight kickboxer physique.

  “We will be there directly.”

  Solas nods once and rises. I'm stunned and can’t look away. Something about him seems familiar. He has a short goatee, and his eyes are the clearest blue glaciers locked with mine, freezing me in place. The scar through his left brow adds to his Viking-like presence. What I think is recognition passes over his expression before it falls, and he pivots away to leave through the same door my guards had left through.