“Ok. I agree. That does sound better. It'll give me a chance to scope him out. Maybe we can lure him out of the coliseum and away from the humans.” I find it odd that I'm starting to recognize myself as unhuman.
“And how do you expect to lure him out?”
“I’m not sure yet. I’m just flying by the seat of my nonexistent pants here,” I mumble as I pull around the back parking lot of the coliseum.
The sun is setting behind the colorful foliage lining the campus, painting the sky orange and pink. I shut the engine off and stare into the distance in contemplation. I find it difficult to get into the right mindset. On the one hand, I need to be ready to release my emotions on stage through the music. On the other, I need to prepare myself for battle. I want to catch Lucian off guard, entice him into following me away from the party, and attack him when he least expects it. This night, I need to be a rock goddess and a lethal warrior all the same.
Shouldn't be too far of a reach—I've got this.
Alice interrupts my reverie, “One thing at a time, Ivy. Roll with the punches.” I glance at her with a crooked grin. “Come on. Let’s get the party started,” she urges with a small smile.
Alice and I grab our duffle bags containing our armor out of my trunk and enter the back of the coliseum. Hardcore-punk-ska music echoes off the walls of the massive auditorium and through the outlining halls. The music’s high energy triggers my body, and my blood begins to pump harder through my veins. A pleased smile breaks across my face in delight. We traverse the halls backstage until we find our dressing room door marked ‘The Red.’ Alice barges in, and we find Regan slapping the strings of her unplugged bass. “Hey!” Regan shouts as we enter and drop our bags next to the lit up vanities.
“Where’s Becky?” I ask her.
Regan stands to put her bass away, “She ran off to find drinks. We’ve got about an hour until set-up. We’re up after Killing Karma.”
I join Alice at the vanity and check my hair and make-up. She helps me pin my top hat in place on top of my head, so it won’t fall off during our set. Becky kicks the door open and stumbles in with four large solo cups, two in each hand.
Fucking drummers, I chuckle to myself.
Becky passes spiked punch around to each of us, “Drink up, ladies! We’ve got a helluva show to play!”
We cheer to her toast, chug our drinks, and put on our masks before we join the party, which is in full swing. Walking into the coliseum, my ears ring with guttural vocals of a pop-punk song. There are more fraternity and sorority students than I imagined there would be. My eyes widen upon witnessing at least two thousand co-eds grinding, jumping, and thrashing to the beat of the music piercing our ears. My heart rate picks up instantly with nervousness. There are so many people here I find it hard not to feel paranoid. I anticipate every soul in the room, at any moment, will turn on me and converge with aggressive malevolent intent. Alice taps my arm rapidly with the back of her hand, “Um… Ivy?”
My head snaps to her. She points at the front entrance. “What?” I ask, following her gaze. “What the fuck are they doing here so early?” I growl as our armor clad unit comes through the front doors together.
“I don’t know,” she says, worry marring her face.
“Whatever. It doesn’t matter. They’re here already. Let’s go mingle until we’re up,” I suggest.
The band on stage begins to play a slow song, making it easier for Alice and me to split separate ways while trying to keep our distance from our not-so-subtle hoard of comrades entering the party. The further I walk away, the more gravity I feel pulling me back. I pause with the feeling of Solas’ nearness. I take a few more steps, and a black-gloved hand grips my arm to stop me in my tracks. For a brief instant, I fear Lucian had found me before I realized his presence. But the touch is warm and sends tingles down my spine. I spin around to find a tall and broad, black-clad warrior from our small army.
“I can’t do this right now, Solas,” I grumble.
He stands unmoving as if he expects me to say something. His gloved hand over the thick velvet sleeve of my tailcoat hinders my ability to feel his emotions, but I sense something amiss. The leather enveloping his touch slowly slides down my red velvet sleeve to entwine with my exposed fingertips. His other arm wraps around my waist and draws me closer to him. I rest my free hand on his bicep, and he begins to sway, leading me in an intimate and gentle waltz.
I try to search his eyes peeking beneath his cowl. They're dark from our surroundings, and his gaze bores into mine with intensity. Knowing he'll hear me over the chaos with his angelic hearing, I whisper, “I don’t know what you want me to say, Solas.”
Before I can continue, his body becomes still and tense as if there's danger. His eyes slightly widen. It's so minute I would have missed it if I hadn't been staring. He jerks my arm and guides me through the slow moving crowd. Barging into my band's dressing room, we catch Alice and Eric in an intense conversation. They pause and stare at us in shock as we stop inside the door. Without a word, my warrior escort points to the open door, furiously gesturing for them to leave us.
As the door slams shut behind the Reapers, I yell, “What's up with you?”
He reels on me and grabs the tops of my arms firmly. His eyes are different. They're a beautiful, vibrant green. I realize this warrior's not Solas. My hand reaches up to the warrior’s helmet with violent tremors. When my fingertips touch the cover on his cheeks, I urge the solid black metal down. My heart gives a solid thump in my throat before plummeting to my core. The black helmet falls from the warrior's face.
My voice comes out a mere whisper, so soft I don’t know if I speak at all, “Jack.”
Jack wrenches me to him with ferocious passion, and his mouth crushes mine. Love, regret, sadness. His lips are soft, warm honey, taking my legs out from beneath me. He doesn't let me fall. He claims my mouth, my heart, my mind, and my body all over again with a single kiss. I'm overcome with his emotions as they mix with my own confusion and doubt. Jack's mouth leaves my lips pulsing and tender as he withdraws. His beautiful and irritating shit-eating grin plasters across his face. I'm stunned silent and feel faint. I can't seem to form a single word on my lips.
If I had any doubt whether he was real, his deep, soothing, velvety voice assures me, “Fancy meeting you here, Sunshine.”
I croak, “Jack?” He nods, and I jump into his arms, wrapping my arms and legs around him tight. I'm engulfed in his embrace. Choking on the tears running down my cheeks, I chuckle at the situation. “How are you here?” I ask without loosening my grip on him.
“Michael,” he whispers.
“I’ve missed you so much, Jack,” I cry.
“I’ve missed you too, Sunshine.”
Reluctantly, I peel myself back to see his face. It’s really you.
I kiss him again. His soft lips press tight against my own, our tongues caress each other, and the familiar tingle of his touch calms my rapid beating heart. Realization hits me hard, and I retract my mouth from his. After setting me down on my feet, Jack takes my face in his hands. “Jack, I—”
“I know, Sunshine,” he says as he strokes a tear from my cheek with his leather-gloved thumb.
“You do?”
He nods, and a grim expression passes over his countenance. “Michael told me about Solas.”
I avert my eyes to the ground while he continues to hold my face in his hands. “I’m so sorry, Jack.”
“Shh,” he hushes and kisses my forehead before embracing me again. “Let’s not talk about it right now. I know my return's a shock—and I should have waited. I just couldn't help myself when I saw you—but you’ve got a show to do, and we have a Prince of Darkness to defeat.”
With a shuddering breath, I agree with him, “Ok.” I don’t know how much more I'll be able to handle at this point.
Entering stage right, I lift the strap of my black electric Ibanez over my head. The DJ fills the dead space between sets with the scratch of his records
. I busy myself on stage with the girls, plugging in and getting ready for his remix to end. Alice leans into my ear, “You ok?” I nod in silence and kick the pedals at my feet on. “I didn’t know he was here until right before you guys came in the dressing room. That’s why Eric and I were arguing. I would have told you if I'd known.”
“I know, A,” I glance at her with a forgiving smile. “Let’s forget about it for now. We’ve got shit to do tonight.”
She nods and takes center stage. The DJ’s music begins to die down, and Alice puts the mic to her lips. Lifting her free arm in the air, she wails into the mic, “What’s up, Red Meadow!” The crowd cheers. “We're The Red, and we’re gonna rock your asses off tonight!” Even louder cheers resound around the massive domed coliseum.
I watch Alice kick off a beat with the bob of her head. Becky, Regan, and I start in after the fourth nod. I’m taken away from everything haunting my thoughts with the first hammer of my guitar, the rock of my body, and the music booming all around me, vibrating my entire being into a soothing high. At this moment, I'm a rock goddess. I'm not the spawn of the Angel of Death and the Queen of the Damned. I'm not responsible for killing a Duke of Sheol. I don’t have wings as black as a starless night sky. I don't have abilities unfathomable to the human population. I'm not in love with two angels, one of the Light and one of the Dark. I didn't watch the Angel of Light I love die in my arms. I didn't move on uncharacteristically with another. I didn't feel the betrayal of being lied to and finding out the Dark Angel I fell in love with actually used to be my best friend. I don't have the Prince of Sheol after me. I didn't just witness the Angel of Light that died in my arms come back to me. There's me, my guitar, the music, the sting of the steel strings beneath my fingertips, and the sweat dripping down my face and the back of my neck.
As our last song kicks in, Alice bends over with the mic to her lips, letting out a guttural scream before standing back up to sing the first verse. A heavy weight lifts from my body. We jump and dance around the stage, letting all of our aggression out. The song ends in a wail, and the audience screams, chanting our names as Alice gives them thanks. We wave to the crowd as The Red exits the stage.
Alice and I run back to our dressing room to change while Regan and Becky head for the bar. We told them we weren’t staying for the party and would see them later. We speed around in a blur, changing into our armor and head back out to the party. Alice keeps stride with me as we mentally prepare ourselves for what's to come. “Have you seen Lucian?” I inquire.
“I haven’t, but Eric sent me a text and said Thea saw him watching you on stage. He said to be ready.”
“Where's Solas?”
Alice stops in her tracks. I stop ahead of her and spin around. “He’s not coming, Ivy.”
I take a step closer and quirk my eyebrows, “What do you mean ‘He’s not coming’?”
She releases a heavy sigh. “Apparently, when Michael sent Jack back, he confronted Solas about… about being Gideon. Eric said Jack and Solas had a long drawn out conversation. When it was over, Solas demanded Jack take his place as your date to the Ball. There isn’t enough armor for them to both come.”
I turn on my heels and march out into the crowd. Michael knew he would bring Jack back and decided not to say anything to me. He knew he would bring him back and only brought us seven sets of armor. I WILL be having a little chat with him. This is bullshit!
Alice calls after me, “Ivy! Wait!”
I spin on her swiftly, keeping my voice low, “No. This is bullshit. First of all, don’t call me by my name tonight. Second of all, we need him! I need him! He’s supposed to be here!” There's a pause of silence between us as Alice regards me with her violet doe eyes. “I’m done with this conversation right now. If Michael wants to leave me high and dry to fight Lucian on my own, so be it. Stay close. I’m going to find him before he figures out what we’re doing.”
Turning my back to her again, I march away with rage boiling beneath my armor. I scan the crowd searching for Lucian’s tall, lithe figure. I expect him to be wearing a black fitted suit with a black dress shirt and a skinny black tie with a red jewel. The pulsing music reverberates around the stench of sweat from the crowd. Rainbows of lights flicker and dance over the mass of bodies in the coliseum, making it harder for me to find him.
A familiar clinking of metal armor approaches behind me, accompanied by a magnetic tingle I know is Jack. I pause in my steps, and Jack stops next to me, warning, “He’s here. What's your plan?”
Continuing my search of the crowd, I mumble, “Where is he?”
“Don’t react. I think he's lost track of you. Now, he's searching from above.”
“We need to draw him outside, away from everyone. What do you suggest?”
Beckett flanks my other side. I recognize his gait and his tone of voice, “We have an idea.”
“What?” I ask.
“Theodora's standing by. You give the word, and we'll set off the fire alarms and sprinklers,” Beck says.
I think about his suggestion. While it'll clear the building, it'll be mass chaos that could possibly work to our advantage. “Set everyone up at the exits. When everyone's in place, have Thea pull the alarm system. He doesn’t leave here. Understand?”
“Understood,” Beck replies and hustles to carry out my orders.
Jack looks down at me, and I note question in his eyes. “What?” I prompt.
He shakes his head, “You’ve changed, Sunshine.” I peer up to him speechless.
There's nothing I can say. He's right. I used to be guarded and refused to feel any emotion. Since the first stages of my transformation, the wall I’d built around myself began to crumble. With every turn, I was letting people into my heart, and I became an emotional wreck. Then something happened along the way. I became ferocious, unyielding, and protective. My wall was restructured. Only this time, my ‘family’ is behind it with me.
“Don’t get me wrong. I’m proud of you,” he adds.
“Let’s just hope I don’t fuck shit up tonight.” I want to hold his hand and kiss his lips before the fight begins, but there's no way to do so without revealing who we are. “You got my back?”
I hear the smile in his voice, “Always, Sunshine. Let’s fuck some shit up.” With that, Jack leaves me in the center of the coliseum to face the battle ahead.
An irritating, ear-piercing screech repeatedly echoes as a torrential downpour fries the electronics on stage, causing it to spark and crackle. The crowd screams and begins running for the exits to get out of the water ruining their Masquerade Ball. I chance a glance to the stratum auditorium seating surrounding the open floor as I'm pushed and shoved while I remain in place. Then I see him. Lucian stands rigidly in the downpour with his feet wide and fists taut at his sides. His deceivingly handsome features are marred by his fierce, menacing scowl. Before I can look away, his eyes land on me. I refuse to cower and continue to stare him down. Partygoers continue to push their way around me, obstructing my gaze. One moment he's there, the next he's gone.
A sulfuric odor invades my senses, rage prickles up my spine, and I know he's behind me. Feigning boredom, I turn to face him. He takes tentative steps towards me with his hands clasped behind his back, and his posture reminds me of Beleth. Before I can speak, Lucian says, “I’ve been looking for you, Lilim. But I guess you already knew that or you wouldn’t have worked so hard to hide from me.” With silent movements, I unsheathe a dagger hidden up the sleeve of my armor and grasp its hilt. He stops two feet away and cocks his head to the side to examine me. His black hair is crisply styled with a boyish part above his left eye. Students continue to charge out of the building around us. “Too bad you were unsuccessful.”
Lucian lunges for me, and I spin my blade. The point of my blade presses against the smooth skin beneath his chin, and his hands grasp my arms to keep me in place. “Maybe. Maybe not,” I seethe. Jack approaches with the other guards from the edges of my peripheral. Lucian's unfazed by t
hem or the threat of my blade. Tilting his chin down on its sharp tip, a menacing sneer splits his face as the flames in his eyes intensify. It sends chills down my spine. “It seems you don’t know how this works. Your little friends won't be able to save you. Let me enlighten you.” A jolt of electricity shoots through my body and causes my wings to shoot out of my shoulder blades. Burning, blinding white light takes over my vision and explodes into darkness. Jack’s muffled cries fade into the distance as my body goes numb and rigid. The clink of my dagger hitting the floor rings out before I lose all consciousness.
The rustling of thick feathers kindles my awareness. Without opening my eyes, I assess my surroundings. The side of my face lies against the cold hard ground. I feel coarse ropes binding my wrists and ankles together, restraining my wings behind me. Shit. How did that happen so fast? We should have had him. How did he escape with me if we had him surrounded? The harsh scent of sulfur clings to the air full of static electricity, making my skin crawl. I know I'm not alone. Let’s get this over with. I let my eyes flutter open. The warehouse from my vision appears to be empty, but I know better. Rolling onto my knees, the cold concrete digs through the leather of my pants. The aluminum ceiling is lined with large spotlights. Only the one above me is lit, leaving the cavernous building pitch-black.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” Lucian clucks his tongue as he approaches from the darkness. His slender figure moves with ease and confidence. The light above causes the red jewel pinned to his tie to wink with every step he takes.
I don’t expect the grin on his face, mocking my stupidity of being captured. I contemplate, Maybe I did fuck up. Solas wasn’t at the Ball to follow us. No one knows where I am. Everything's changed, but I won't let him keep me here. My fingers work into my feathers to find the razor blade Alice placed there for me.
The Helio Trilogy: Volumes 1-3 Page 37