MIDNIGHT DIVINE (The Helio Trilogy Book 1) (40 page)

A regular Jekyll and Hyde,
Lucian’s expression changes from malice, to astonishment, to enjoyment, and
finally settles on shame before facing the King of Sheol. Solas' transformed
appearance into Lucifer stays cloaked in darkness, but I know it's him. Lucian
doesn’t seem to notice it's not truly his father as Solas releases his wrist.
“My apologies, Father. You're correct,” Lucian admits as he regards me again.
He places a hand on the shoulder of my armor, and a smile creeps up his face.
“After all, she
is
my sister in Darkness, and I should be more than
willing to welcome her home.” Instantly, I'm enveloped within Lucian’s thick
tendrils of black smoke. Its foul aura seeps into my bones and obscures my
vision. When the smoke dissipates, I'm standing alone in a hot, dark cavern,
shackled to the face of a rock wall by my hands and feet with only the light of
mounted torches to illuminate my surroundings.

You tend to learn a lot
about yourself being captured and tortured for an unknown expanse of time by a
sadistic creature. I for one, have learned my bones will mend themselves within
an hour if they're broken or fractured. His little stretching device, he calls
“The Rack”, was an exceptional tool he used to enlighten me on that fact. I've
discovered my skin will regenerate itself within forty minutes, whether it's
been melted off with various boiling liquids, peeled off slowly with paring
knives, or split open with a whip. I've also been educated on the point that I
can't drown. Instead, I continually suffer a cycle of choking and regurgitating
liquid. But the most important things I've learned are that pain is subjective
as well as temporary, and with more agony afflicted upon me, the more resilient
I become.

In the beginning, Lucian's
visits were infrequent. As time has passed, they've become methodical. More
desperate. If I have any concept of time left, I can expect his visits every
two hours. My armor was stripped from me the first day I was transported into
the stifling cavern, and my undergarments are barely hanging on by a thread at
this point. I don’t remember the last time I ate, and the only hydration I've
received has been in the form of waterboarding.
It’s been explained to me that because I was
transported strait from the surface and not the Veil, I’m still in the same
physical form and my body was not left behind.

Has it been days? Weeks?
Months? How long have I been down here? How much longer will he put up with my
continual rejection? How long do I have until he kills me? How am I ever going
to get out of here?

Phantom shadows of dark
creatures dance and skitter along the rock walls surrounding me, making me
skeptical of my mental stability. A soft and sultry voice calls to me from the
darkness, “Hello, little pigeon.” My eyes flutter open to find the source within
the cavern. She's tall and slender with charming curves and long wavy black
hair. Everything about her is enthralling, down to her captivating stride. Her
burgundy, Grecian gown is adorned in gold around the collar and waist, and
trails elegantly behind her. “I see Lucian has made you feel welcome in your
new home.” A gentle smile touches her blood
red lips as she glides towards me. “How delightful,”
she declares, clasping her hands in front of her chest while raising her
shoulders and eyebrows in unison before they fall with her heavy sigh. Her
vibrant green gaze rolls over me, and I have to fight to keep my focus. She
lifts my chin with the vicious point of her black fingernail. “Are you there,
little pigeon?” she purrs.

My mind feels disjointed, and
my speech is garbled as I try to speak through blistered and cracked lips, “Who
are you?”

She lets my chin fall to my
chest, and I struggle to lift it to see her face again. “Don’t tell me you
don’t recognize your own mother, little pigeon?”

Mother? Why would Lilith be
here? Why has Michael not made a decision? Is she going to help me?
“Lilith,” I rasp, letting my head loll.

Her tone loses its
amusement, “You may address me as ‘Your Highness’. I may have birthed you, but
only for a specific purpose. You will learn your place beneath my feet. You.
Are. Mine.”

My mind becomes more lucid
with her words, and the name she address
es
me with isn't lost
on me. I realize she's not here to help me escape. She's here to help Lucian
succeed in taking possession of my essence. Any flicker of hope for the mother
I never met vanishes, intense loathing replacing it. I find my voice stronger
as I spit the words from my mouth, “I'll never be your
pawn
. I'll tell
you the same thing I told Lucian. You may have me chained, but you
won't
break me. What makes you think
you can change my mind?”

Lilith’s green eyes darken
as she tries to retain her composure, “You do not want to force my hand. My
methods of torture are far greater than Lucian’s.” She grips my face in her
hand, digging the sharp points of her nails into my cheeks.
Satisfaction,
spite, revulsion, fascination.
Warmth trickles down my jawline. The blood
on my face makes her grin with promises of more pain. “What will it be, little
pigeon? Do you release your essence? Are you ready to join the Darkness you
were created for?”

The inside of my mouth
begins to bleed as she squeezes tighter. I gather the thick blood on my tongue
and spit
in
her face. “Fuck. You,” I wheeze with a gory smile.

Crack!
The back of Lilith’s hand strikes across my
cheek
, splitting the corner of my mouth.

“She's quite resilient.
Isn’t she, My Queen?” Lucian inquires, appearing within his residual cloud of
black tendrils.

“Yes. Quite,” Lilith
answers with intrigue
and wipes her face with a small square cloth Lucian offers her
.

“Maybe it's time to take
things to the next level. It's been three weeks,” he suggests.

“Yes. Let’s introduce her
to Sasha. I’m sure she's ravenous. If that fails, skewer her for the lower
demons to feed on her flesh,” Lilith purrs as her eyes flicker with delight
before she turns from me and saunters back into the darkness from which she
came.

Lucian steps forward and
grasps my throat. “Shall we?” His foul nature seeps into my bones and consumes
my anemic frame. I blink once and am transported into a rusted steel dome cage
surrounded by a mote of flaming lava for as far as I can see. My shackles are
absent
,
and I collapse to the scorching dirt. The cage is
immense and bare, save for the gigantic beast the size of a horse crouched
along the far side.
Sasha.

I inch backwards into a low
crouch as to not make any sudden movements. The hellhound's snarl is deep and
rumbling. She bares her shark-like teeth as her glowing red eyes flare and her
black leather skin ripples with anticipation. There's nowhere for me to go, and
I have no weapons to defend myself. My only strategy for survival is to hover
at the apex of the cage and pray she can't jump that high. Spreading my wings
inch by excruciating inch as not to startle her, I prepare to launch myself in
the air.

Sasha observes my movements
and takes a stooping step towards me. Her jackal-like ears pin back on her
massive head. I begin to rationalize any further action.
She’s a hellhound.
Basically a dog, right? A
demon
dog, but a dog no less. Dogs smell fear. If
I’m going to gain the upper hand, I can’t be afraid.
With gradual
movements, I rise to a stoic stance and leave my wings spread wide to show my
strength. Sasha takes another low step towards me. I fist my hands at my sides
and let anger overcome the fear within me. I mumble, “If you bite me bitch,
make no mistake… I
will
bite back.”

Sasha’s ears perk up and
twitch towards my voice. I perceive the slightest tilt in her head. She takes
another small step in my direction, her body minutely rising from her stoop.
The growling ceases, and she sniffs the air between us. Remaining perfectly
still, I don’t know what to expect from her. A pulsating cackle comes from her
closed muzzle. It’s not as menacing as her growl, and sounds more like she's
trying to communicate
by coughing
. Keeping from any sudden
movements that may spook her, I decide to take a chance. I lift my left hand in
offering, letting my fingertips droop down in a gesture of kindness. Sasha
stalks forward and stoically sits before me, ears erect and spine lengthened to
make her even taller. She sits unmoving, resembling a depiction of the Egyptian
god Anubis. Letting my wings fold behind me, I let my hand fall to my side.
“Why are you not attacking?” I ponder. Never making eye contact, she responds
with a throaty bark that sounds like a walrus.

Lucian appears behind her,
“Well, this just won’t do.” Flanking the hellhound, he scolds her, “Shame on
you.” Sasha’s lips quiver in a silent growl, eying him with distaste.

I take a step back from
them and feel my strength building inside of me. “Seems your pet's defective,”
I sneer.

Lilith appears beyond the
boundary of the steel cage, watching our interaction. Lucian sighs and pets
Sasha’s leathery neck in soothing strokes. “No. She's confused by you. Your
essence may be neutral—neither of the Light or the Dark
—
but your wings are as black as midnight. She takes
that as a symbol of your allegiance.” He pauses to consider my retreat, resting
his hands behind his back. “She'll only attack a creature of Darkness on my
command.”

I consider Sasha’s
overwhelming presence and crouch low in anticipation of her attack. She's not
to be underestimated. Lucian bellows in a language I don’t understand, ordering
the attack. Simultaneously, I leap into the air as Sasha rocks forward and
swipes at my fleeing form. Her large paw connects with my ribs, slicing my side
open wide and throwing me into the cage. My wings crunch against the steel
before I tumble face first into the dirt. I roll onto my back, and Sasha lands
on top of my insignificant frame, pinning me in place. I hear my chest crack
before the intense pain shoots through my shoulders into my fingertips. She
cackles, and her skin ripples with its tremor as I struggle to breathe with labored
pants. I turn my face away and glimpse Lilith’s delighted countenance.

“Ah, Ah, Ah,” Lucian chants
playfully to his demon pet. “Don’t kill her, Sasha. We need her alive.” Sasha
snorts. A gust of searing
,
rotten breath
caresses my cheek, and I squeeze my eyes shut. Her cackle echoes in my ear. I
cringe and shrink further into the ground as I peer at her teeth from the
corner of my eye.

“You fucked up, Lucian,” a
familiar voice calls out of my line of sight. My chest continues to heave under
the pressure of Sasha’s weight.

“Well, if it isn't Jackie
Boy,” Lucian
taunts
. “Your father must be highly disappointed in
you for coming here.”

“Not nearly as disappointed
as
your
father for disobeying a direct order. I wonder what torture
he'll find suitable for you.”

Lucian’s growl is followed
by the pounding of footfalls and the clashing of weapons.

Azrael materializes beside
Sasha and me. She whips her attention to him, and he places a gentle hand on
her large head. Sasha staggers off of me, shaking her head with a sad bark. She
stumbles into the side of the cage and collapses with a ground shaking quake.
Azrael holds a hand out to help me up. Wide eyed, I take his hand and let him
assist me in standing. “What did you do to her? Is she dead?” I wince.

“No, child. She is merely
asleep,” he says.

I watch as Jack and Lucian
fight fiercely against each other. Lucian kicks Jack in the chest. To my
surprise, Jack only slides back a few yards as his feet dig into the dirt.
Before he comes to a stop, he charges with sword drawn. Lucian parries away
from Jack’s blade, but Jack spins on him and releases a shorter sword. It
slices Lucian across the shoulder blades. Lucian turns into Jack, not expecting
him to have time to react. His underestimation of Jack’s abilities are
critical. Jack seizes Lucian’s neck between his crossed swords. Without
hesitation, Jack leans forward and parts his swords, executing him. He stands
with arms open wide as the Prince of Sheol’s corpse falls to the ground with a
thud, and his head bounce
s
across the dirt
floor of the cage.

Lilith’s screams fill the
atmosphere. I hadn’t realized she'd entered the cage with her back to me and
Jack’s back to her. Advancing on Jack, she grabs the sides of his head. Jack
cries out in pain, and I don't think. I have no time to second guess myself.
Before I understand what I'm doing, Lilith’s form is beneath me with her face
in the ground. I turn her over and pin her arms down with my knees. Her eyes
widen as I grasp her face. A freezing fire penetrates my palms and flows into
her. The ringing in my ears is so deafening I can’t hear her screams. Her back
arcs as I leer into her bright green irises. Dark red tendrils tinged with
black flecks emanate from her chest and grow above us like thick vines. The
extraction I'm coercing from her changes
,
and she begins to
draw it back. Her dark essence withers back inside of her, and she vanishes
from beneath me.

I cry out in frustration
and punch the ground beneath me. My father approaches me as Jack picks me up
and clutches me to his chest.
Love, sorrow, guilt, relief.
I collapse
into his large frame, the exertion of the last few weeks taking a toll on my
body. In my exhausted state, I have no tears nor words. I'm withdrawn,
unresponsive, stupefied, and inert. Jack whispers in my ear, and I detect pain
in his voice. “I’ve got you, Sunshine. I’ve got you.” He kisses the top of my
head and smooths out my tangled hair. “I’m here. I’ve got you.” The comfort of
Jack’s arms and his calming presence are a shock to my system in comparison to
the torture I've been put through. Still, I can't force any movement from my
extremities.

My father’s voice comes
closer, “Let’s get her home.” Jack lifts me up and cradles me into his bulky
chest. Azrael places a hand on my shoulder, and we depart Sasha’s cage within
the confines of Sheol. We emerge in my dim lit room on the third floor of
Jack’s manor. “I will inform the others of our return and urge them to let her
rest,” Azrael says before turning to leave.