Page 12 of Wings of Lies (Daughter of the Seven Circles #1)

Chapter

Ten

A shuffling noise startled me, and the flames on my hands heightened.

“Oliver?”

The shuffling continued, followed by a pause. The setting sun darkened the forest’s shadows, hiding everything within. But my eyes never strayed, searching for any movement, every sense on high alert. A soft pressure pulsed behind my eyes at the slight chance it wasn’t Oliver. But it had to be.

“Oliver, come on. We’ve been through hell. Stop joking around.” My voice carried through the chirping crickets.

Then all noise quieted.

“I’m safe. I’m not a wimp. I’m safe,” I whispered to myself. “It’s just Oliver.”

But the silence of the forest reminded me of the Powers. What if they found us? Oliver’s story was wishy-washy to begin with. He had a concussion, and they knocked me out with a lightning bolt. There was no way he got us away that easily while injured.

What if they only let us get away to give us a sense of security?

My bright flames flickered around my hands, nearing my sleeve. “Oliver, come out.”

Minutes passed as I stood with every muscle tense, waiting for the air to change, for Oliver to pop out, but not even the breeze crinkled the tops of the trees.

Why was he hiding?

A few seconds more, and nothing.

I huffed, dropping my shoulders. “Lucy, you’re such a damn scaredy cat,” I muttered to myself.

The pounding of my heart quieted with my easing muscles.

The needles returned to their horror house beneath my skin, releasing me from my white flames.

I took a hesitant step, my head turning back and forth.

Still, nothing moved. Before I bent over to search Oliver’s backpack for matches, an ear-piercing wail wrenched through the stillness.

My horror house of needles surged, tearing through my insides to the surface of my skin. I screamed, hunching into myself. White light burst free, overtaking the black spots that attempted to take over my vision. It layered my naked torso in flames.

With my flame illuminating my surroundings, I could see further into the forest, but the thing didn’t show itself. Instead, it wailed for a second time. My flames jumped.

The thing shuffled closer to the edge of our campsite.

I backed up a step. It shuffled closer, slower this time, like it was taunting me.

My white flames pulsed with more light as the thing in the forest played with my nerves.

Its noisy steps edged the line between the shadows and light.

I could almost make out the outline of the dark figure as it stood there, watching, waiting.

Frozen, I didn’t know what to do. The fire coating my skin remained useless until the thing came closer.

I swallowed down my suffocating breaths, trying to calm myself. But it wasn’t working—it never worked. I pawed at my neck, frantically searching for my amulet, and felt my flaming hand hit my chin. I froze. But, of course, I was immune to burning from my power.

The thing wailed again and stepped into the clearing.

I was going to die. After everything I had been through, I was going to be mauled by this creature from hell.

Dark slime dripped down its gangly human limbs as it crouched on all fours. Spikes along its spine shuddered with the movement, readying to charge. I couldn’t see its nonexistent face. Inky sludge covered it. No nose. No mouth. No eyes. Just a creature sent straight from my nightmares.

Breathing heavily, I slowly stepped to the side. One more step and the tent would no longer be at my back. Then, I was going to run. On my final step, it flexed its finger-like claws and bolted.

A pulse resonated through the air as I tried to scream.

But I couldn’t with how hard I panted. White light surged toward the creature about to maul me with its spindly claws.

The pressure behind my eyes throbbed. I wanted to squeeze them shut to relieve the pain but couldn’t take my eyes away as my flame shot toward the creature.

Right before it made contact, the thing disappeared.

My dangerous energy hit the tree behind it.

Flames consumed the bark and leaves. The once large tree disintegrated into particles of glowing ash and fell into a small pile of soot. A dark silhouette stood next to it, partially hiding behind another tree.

“Please don’t kill me, Lucy.”

I froze.

“Oliver?”

“Yeah?” he squeaked, coming into the cast of my light.

One tree—one tree stood in the way of killing Oliver. Whatever power I unleashed was fast. There would have been no way to pull my flame back.

“Are you completely insane?” I screamed, waving my hands around. “What the hell were you doing behind that tree? I almost burned you alive!”

He nodded down to my breasts. “You know you’re naked, right?” he said, unfazed.

I whipped my arms up to cover myself, feeling heat spread from my neck to my forehead. “There—” I glanced to my sides. “There was this thing!”

Where did it go? It blipped out of existence and hadn’t come back.

Oliver’s mouth pressed down into a frown. “About that…” He ran his hand through his hair, laughing nervously. “So… that monster thing. With the drippy mud skin and creepy limbs… yeah, that might’ve been me.”

“You?”

“Yeah, well…” He laughed again. “After I hunted for our food, I thought about how I would teach you, and my first thought was to see how you’d fare against an attacker. To get a baseline of your powers.”

I nodded, biting my cheeks. Har d

“Didn’t know you’d do that…” he trailed off, sheepish.

I nodded again. That was all I could do was nod. My cheeks were raw with how hard I bit into them. Oliver admitting to scaring the living flame out of me to test me was smart but incredibly asinine! That pile of dark ash beside us could’ve been him.

“Lucy, are you okay?”

My skin would’ve been itching if I didn’t feel like I was about to fall over or asleep.

Guilt tugged at the creeping smile on his face, and I lost it again.

“You are insane!”

I couldn’t believe him. I didn’t know what I could do, which may be another reason to test my powers. But not on him! Not on anyone. My powers were too dangerous.

“I’m not trying to make you scream at me for a fourth time, but do you think we can have this fight after you put on a shirt? It’s hard to take you seriously when your boobs are out.”

Gritting my teeth, I stomped away from him.

I put on my jacket, realizing the back had a large hole. Damn it. It was my last piece of clothing, so I had no other options. At least it covered my chest and had a soft inside. Although, a bra would’ve been nice. Too bad I incinerated it because of Oliver’s thoughtfulness .

I stomped back to Oliver and the fire he made. His head tilted up from whatever he was working on in his lap.

“I’m sorry, Lucy, for almost killing myself in a crazy plan.

I deserve the glare you’re giving me.” It was hard to tell if his apology was sincere with the half smile that twitched on his face.

He picked up a skinned, impaled rabbit, balanced it on two sticks over the fire, and then patted the ground beside him.

“I think I figured a couple of things out. ”

“Tell me and explain the monster thing you did.” I crossed my legs, the loose material rustling as I moved. My numb, shaking hands hovered near the fire, warming. Moments ago, the chilly air didn’t affect me. Now I was freezing.

“What’s the main emotion you feel before your white flames pop out on your skin?” he asked.

“Fear.”

“And what about your purple flames?”

“Anger.”

“Good. Those are your baselines. They are the emotions that control you and your power, which is normal for a beginner. As kids, Nephilim get a feel for their powers using their baselines. Then they learn real fast that they can’t rely on their emotions forever, or they’ll hurt themselves or someone else.

With the amount of power you just threw at me, you will have to learn fast. Use anger and fear to coax your flames to the surface for now, then as you dive into your well of power, study what happens and break the emotional connection. ”

Easier said than done.

Oliver noticed my expression. “We’ll practice in a second. But first, I think I know what your white flames are.”

“What?” I asked, excited.

“I think they’re your Glory. An Archangel’s Glory, in fact. I’ve experienced it before. Funny story?—”

“No, no funny stories. What are you saying? You think I’m an Archangel?” I knew nothing about them, shocker. But I had hoped the word would spark a familiar nudge. My brain did that sometimes. It nudged at me like it was trying to make me remember something .

“The pure white glow, crazy consuming heat, and the force are exactly the same as their Glory. So yeah…” he said, trailing off at my glare.

“I don’t know, Oliver. What if I’m a Nephilim with Glory?”

He snorted. “Even if a Nephilim has a father who is an Archangel, they don’t pass down their Glory power. That’s a specific power to them.”

I rubbed at the ache in my chest, almost wishing I would’ve been left with different memories. Something that didn’t pull at my gut every time I saw her face. Something that didn’t leave me on the edge of my seat, thinking the worst but hoping for the best.

“But what if I have a mom?” I whispered.

Oliver stared at me, mouth shut, wheels turning in his squinting eyes. “Do you?”

“She’s one of the memories I kept,” I ran my finger through the dirt, swallowing.

“I saw her, surrounded by, I’m not even sure who.

It was dim, and they were wearing uniforms. I wanted to help, to protect her, like she always did for me.

But the moment I decided to join the fight, something forced me out of the house.

” I laughed, though none of this was funny. “That’s the only memory I have of her.”

Equally as quiet, Oliver asked, “But how do you know she’s your mother?”

“I just… I felt it,” I said, touching my chest.

Oliver scooted closer, giving me a knowing smile. “Family doesn’t have to share the same blood. You can still be an angel and have a mom.”