Page 7 of Wings of Lies (Daughter of the Seven Circles #1)

Chapter

Six

S tunned, I stared at Oliver. “We’re angels?”

He moved his head from side to side. “Ehhh, sorta.”

“Explain.” Please, please give me something to explain what I almost did.

“The purple ring signifies angel blood. But that doesn’t mean you’re a pure angel. Most of the time, at least around here, if you see someone with a purple ring, they aren’t full-blooded, or they’re Fallen.”

I blinked. Besides the continuous flutter tickling my mind, none of this sounded familiar. And yet, probably because I was locked in a cage and most likely half-insane, I believed him. Although, glowing hands and Oliver’s bluntness helped.

“Which are you?”

“I’m a Nephilim. Half angel, half human.”

“And what am I? Am I a Nephilim like you?” The thought eased the tension in my shoulders, especially since he didn’t say anything to set my guilty conscience of murder at ease. But if I was like him, he could explain what was happening to me.

“I don’t know. It’s hard to tell a Nephilim and an angel apart,” he said. “But you have two rings. I’ve never seen any Nephilim with two rings. I’ve never even heard of it. And I’ve heard of a lot.”

“Have you heard of angels with them?”

He sighed, scrubbing at his head. “No.”

“Okay, what about a Fallen? Am I one of those?”

Oliver scooted back to the edge of the bed and slid to the carpet, brave enough to be near me again.

He rested his arms on his knees. “A Fallen is a fallen angel. They did something bad, disobeyed angelic law, were cast out of whatever place they came from, and had their wings ripped out of their back.” He raised his arms and twirled his finger. “Turn around and lift your shirt.”

“Why?”

“Fallen have scars on their backs.”

I turned, grabbed the edge of his sweater, then paused. I wasn’t wearing any underwear.

“Here.” He handed me the comforter off the bed.

I wrapped it around my waist and pulled his sweater up to my shoulders. “Well?”

He was silent.

“Oliver?” I flinched as his icy finger traced a line along my back.

“You’re not Fallen,” he whispered. “But you do have scars. It looks like someone carved five tally marks across your lower spine.” His somber tone hinted at the meaning behind his words.

“You think someone tortured me?”

“Yes.”

“Marcus? ”

Oliver pulled his hand back. “I wouldn’t put it past him. But your scars aren’t fresh. If he did torture you, it was a while ago.”

I sighed, sliding his sweater down, and turned back around. I’m glad I didn’t remember my torture, but I wished I knew who did it and why.

“Is there any way to tell a Nephilim and an angel apart?” I asked.

He rubbed his thumb over the black tattoo on his wrist, sinking further into the side of the bed with each pass.

“Angels usually have more power, seeing as Nephilim are half-human and inherit a lower dose of power from their fathers.”

“What about their mothers? Do they give their children power?”

“Female angels can’t be mothers. It’s not possible for them to have kids with humans or their species. It’s against creation, or so I was told. Whatever that means.”

Did that make me a Nephilim? But from the memory of my mother’s eyes flashing purple and power forcing me outside of our house, I didn’t think she was human. So what did that mean?

“What’s your power?” I asked, curious about what he could do.

We sat in silence as he bit his lip. “Let’s just say my deadbeat dad didn’t give me anything pleasant. Although”—he perked up a bit—“I don’t mind the lusceler or what we call super speed, fast healing, or immortality. Guess that makes up for whatever relationship we never had.”

“You’re immortal?” I gaped. “How old are you?”

His smile turned wicked.

“I turned one hundred a few months back.”

“No, you’re not one hundred.”

“Oh, but I am.”

“No—you look?— ”

He interrupted. “We get to choose when to stop aging. I chose 27. Anyone with angel blood has the ability. Well, except the Fallen. They lose it when their wings are ripped out. But that’s neither here nor there.”

“Anyone with angel blood?” I squeaked.

Excitement twinkled in his emeralds, accompanying the sly tilt of his lip. “Yes. Which does, in fact, include you.”

“What?” What else was I forgetting?

Oliver blabbed about immortality and all its amazing perks, but I wasn’t listening. Because as important as all this information was, there was something I needed to know above anything else. “Where’s Elora?” I interrupted.

He fell silent.

“That’s the place. Where she told me I needed to go. Where is it?”

His head fell back against the bed. He heaved a sigh, staring at the ceiling.

“Is it close?”

“Yes and no.”

“Explain,” I demanded again, impatient.

With pursed lips, he considered me. “It’s a world. In a parallel dimension.”

My eyes widened. I thought Elora was a place here on… “Are we on Earth?” I asked, horrified that he’d say no and rock my already teetering mind.

He nodded. “Yes, and I can see your wheels turning. But before I say anything else, I’m taking a shower, and you’re going to bed before you pass out?—”

I opened my mouth to protest.

“Or kill me. ”

“Fine,” I said, cheeks flushing.

Standing, Oliver held out a hand to help me up. I double-checked mine before taking his. He smirked, noticing my paranoia, then walked to the bathroom.

I cuddled under the covers and closed my eyes, hoping I’d be one step closer to finding my mom tomorrow.

Wake up, Lucille.

“Do you know where she is?”

Wake up, Lucille.

You’ll find your answers once you get out of your cage.

Wake up, Lucille.

We’re bonded.

Wake up, Lucille.

She sobbed as I fell. The never-ending sound tore open the carefully crafted calm.

Wake up, Lucille!

I’m your guardian.

Touch him. Now.

Wake up, LUCILLE!

I screamed, springing up from my bed, drenched in sweat.

“You okay?”

I jerked to my right.

Oliver.

He sat on the other bed, tying his shoelaces. Yesterday came flooding back. Besides his messy hair and wrinkled clothing, he looked well-rested. The same couldn’t be said for me. My muscles and joints throbbed in revolt.

“Yeah, fine. Just a bad dream…” I couldn’t remember, but that’s what I assumed. Finally, calm, I broached the topic he skillfully avoided last night. “So…”

“So…” He raised an eyebrow like he didn’t know what I meant.

“Elora? Where is it?”

“It’s near.”

“And?”

“And,” he drew out. “It’s not an easy place to get to by yourself. You’d never be able to find it.”

I swung my legs off the bed and sat across from him. “So, show me the way.”

“No.” He stood.

“No?” I swiveled, watching him walk toward the door.

Needles shot across my skin as my chest squeezed.

I was this close to finding more answers about my mom, and he was going to leave me.

Pressure throbbed in my hands. “Wait! You can’t go!

” I said, flinging out my arm as if I could stop him.

A pulse of pure-white light shot from my hand, flying straight for Oliver’s head.

He ducked in time, panning wide-eyed from my hand to the charred hotel door.

“I’m just going pee. I figured you wouldn’t want to join. But if my head is on the line, you can watch and make sure I don’t escape down the toilet pipes,” he said slowly, palms raised as if to placate my outburst.

I looked between my dimming flames and the black spot still smoking behind Oliver’s head. “Yeah, no, sorry,” I gulped. “Go—go pee. ”

I stared aghast at my hands, no longer lit by white light. That was the second time I almost hurt him or worse.

When the toilet flushed, I peered up, at a loss for words. Guilt lodged itself in my throat. Did I beg for forgiveness and hope he’d take pity on me and take me to Elora or did I—no. I had no other option.

I had no place to go but Elora. I needed him.

“I can’t take you.”

The same tormenting energy sliced up my arms. As hard as I could, I bit into my fleshy cheeks, hoping the sharp sting would keep the crazy flames away.

“But Oliver! You said I wouldn’t be able to get there on my own. What do you expect me to do?”

“Not go? Just because some voice in your head said you should, doesn’t mean you should. I mean, not unless you have some contract or something,” he muttered, shrugging his shoulders like this conversation meant nothing.

“You’re here. You have angel blood and can take me where I need to go. My only other option is to go gazing into people’s eyes to see if they maybe have the purple ring and ask them to take me to Elora.” That didn’t sound like the worst idea. I was desperate enough.

His face scrunched as he gazed into the distance, running his hands through his hair. “No, scratch that. That’s probably not the best idea unless you want to go to a psych ward or have a knife to the throat. Elora is a tightly kept secret among our kind. If you don’t know about it, you won’t.”

“Then what? You can’t honestly think I’m going to drop this and go about my—my whatever the hell this is!

I mean, they locked me in a room and tortured me, then I get dropped into your lap after I’m told to go to Elora?

” I lifted my hands, shaking them. “That’s a pretty damn big coincidence, don’t you think? ”

He let loose a heavy breath. “Yeah, fates a fickle bitch, isn’t she?” Sinking back down on the bed, he stared at me. Pain flashed across his face. “The thing is, I promised myself I wouldn’t return until I found a way to reach… someone.”

That stirred up a lot of questions and an idea. “What if…” I wasn’t sure how, but I had to try everything. “What if I could help you? In exchange for taking me to Elora, I’ll help you find a way to this person?”

After I found Magda, another person the voice in my head told me to find—who had my answers—then my mom. But I’d tell him that part later.

He considered me for a second. “You want to go that bad? You don’t even know anything about my situation. Or Elora.”

Yes, I wanted to go that bad, and I would do whatever it took to get to her. Nothing was about to stop me. I needed my mom, and she needed me.

The bubble of laughter that erupted from him confused me. He shook his head. “Maybe this is part of it, the vague bastard,” he muttered.

“What?” I asked.

Abruptly, he stood. “Fine. Deal. You’ll help me find a way to her, and I’ll take you to Elora. We can talk specifics on the way.”

Relief washed through me. I didn’t think it’d be that easy. But thank whoever for small mercies.

“I guess she was right about you,” I said, relieved.

He squinted at me before understanding loosened his brows.

“It was me. The person the female in your head spoke of was me.” It wasn’t a question.

And by the weary surprise pinching his lips, I regretted saying anything.

“I’m really starting to hate voices in heads,” he sighed, shaking his head. “Let’s go.”

I held back my eager smile, hurrying to put my shoes on. “So, how far is it?”

“Oh, probably about two days,” Oliver stated, glancing toward the daylight streaking through the window of our room.

“That’s what you call near?” I scoffed.

He shrugged. “Near enough.” Then he started clapping. “Now get that booty up! We got to go shopping. We have supplies to get.”

“Clothes and food,” I agreed, tying my shoes like I’d chugged four cups of coffee. My muscles ached when I stood but held strong with their renewed strength. It may be straight adrenaline, too.

Up and down, he surveyed my steady legs. “Among other things,” he muttered, raising a brow. “Seems sleep and the angelic healing is working. I wasn’t sure what the cowboy-hatted scum was pumping into you.” Oliver rubbed at the burn mark on his chest.

I stared at the scarred skin peeking out from his white shirt. At first, I thought it might’ve been some metal branding tool that made it. But after almost incinerating Oliver’s neck with my flaming hand, I didn’t think that’s how he got it.

“What is he?”

Oliver sank back down to the corner of the mattress like the mere thought of the man stole his energy. “Marcus is a highly praised lackey in the Tenebrous Kingdom and a powerful Syric.”

I blinked. “A Syric?”

Another weird angel term?

“Yeah, Syric.” He shook his head, gazing at the charred mark I made on the door. “A dangerous asshole with the ability to melt off your face with his glowy red runes.” He slapped his legs in emphasis and stood again. “So, keep that in mind the next time you see his half-covered psychotic smile.”

“And the Tenebrous Kingdom?”

Oliver snorted. “Oh, this beautiful place in Elora. You’d absolutely love it. Gorgeous waterfalls, luscious green grass, unique wildlife you’ve never seen before. It’s great.”

“Really?” I asked.

“No. Let’s go.”

We walked out of our room and back to the front lobby. Oliver smiled at each stair I confidently stepped down without his help.

“I’m so glad I don’t have to fireman carry you all the way to Elora.”

I snorted. “What do you mean carry?”

His smile turned sly. “How do you think we’re getting there?”

My brows furrowed. “A car?”

He chuckled.