Beyond Beta's Rejection

Harper

I stood outside a set of double doors fiddling with the cord that was wrapped around the stupid cloak that I apparently had to wear. Elias and Marcus stood next to me, flanking me. I felt sick with nerves and everything in my brain was telling me to run away. Well, almost everything. There was something deep inside me that felt pulled towards the entrance of the Sanctuary in front of me. That’s what Drake told me it was. A sacred space which could only be inhabited by the Warriors of the Divine Order.

Drake had done his best to explain what would happen earlier, and why it needed to happen. He told me that the grace that ran through our bodies, that made us part angel, recognised each other because it was from the same angel. He said that individually we held a finite amount, one that would recharge slowly when used. But when we were all connected, then the grace was able to run in an infinite circle, and instantly renewable, much like it did in the angels.

I still wasn’t convinced until Drake asked if I felt unusually tired after I had used the angel blade or been in a fight with the different Circle units that we had been taking down these last six months. He said that even being close to demon bloods had an effect on us in our individual state. This was why it was important to be connected, because only then would we truly be connected to our angel.

The side effect of this was that just like our grace was one, so would we as a collective become one, and the strongest of us would be the oldest. The idea that I would be at the mercy of the other two, that they could, even without trying, to influence my own decisions and thoughts was terrifying. Colton had used his rank and my insecurities to manipulate me and compel me to his will. Even after the work I had done with Elias to release the trauma from his abuse from my system, it still didn’t remove the memories. I occasionally woke up after nightmares around the gazebo, ones where Colton and Damien succeeded in their plans.

I shuddered at the memory, and Elias reached out for my hand. I squeezed his hand in thanks.

“You don’t have to do it, you know,” he said, and I smiled.

“Yes I do,” I replied, “But I appreciate you are trying to help me feel like I have a choice.” That was the worse part. Knowing that I really didn’t have a choice in all this. If we wanted to fix the seal, then we needed to be at our strongest. Drake had also said that as time went on the need to be with the collective would grow stronger. None of this was ever going to be my choice. At least this way I could choose when.

The doors in front of me opened and Drake and Brighid stood in the entrance in identical cloaks to me. Brighid’s face was blank as she met my eyes, but Drake sent me a reassuring smile.

“Harper Kirby, Divine Warrior of the Shifter line, are you ready to swear your loyalty to the Divine Order and the grace that runs through your veins?” Brighid’s voice ran out clear but lacked any sort of emotion. I glanced at Elias again, and seeing the strained smile on his face I squeezed his hand before letting go. I faced Brighid again and took a deep breath.

“Yes, I, Harper Kirby, am ready to accept the full honour of the grace and swear my loyalty as I take my place in the Divine Collective.” Drake had told me in advance what I was expected to say. At the time I thought it was stuffy and formal, but as I uttered the words now, I could feel the pull inside me growing stronger. It felt like I had said the words before, not once but many times. Like the memories of the past Warriors were being unlocked. Drake smiled and with a nod he turned to the side.

“Then enter the sacred Sanctuary and take your vows in the eyes of our fallen sacrifice Rachel, Angel of the Lord,” he said. I stepped forward through the entrance of the doors and the darkness that awaited.

I was barely in the room’s entrance before the feel of tingles spread through my body. It felt warm and inviting, and like home. I felt tears in my eyes at the familiarity and beauty of it. I was remotely aware of the doors closing behind me and then felt hands on my arms on either side as Drake and Brighid guided me towards the centre of the room. We stopped in front of what looked like a circular altar. In the centre was a small figure and there were lights surrounding it, although I couldn’t see the source of the lights. Carved into the altar were the four symbols of the different Divine line, adjoined in the same way that they were in the book earlier. Drake led me halfway around the altar to stand right in front of the symbol for the shifters. The symbol, which was also on the necklace that I still wore around my neck, seemed to shimmer as I took my place in front of it. At the same time I felt a warm current creep over me. I watched as both Drake and Brighid took their places behind their symbols. They placed their hands on either side of the different carvings and Brighid nodded for me to do the same. I took another breath and mimicked their movement. I felt a jolt of something like electricity as my hands touched the stone. It was strong enough that I had to resist the instinct to take my hands away.

“We stand here at the centre of the power of the Divine Order,” Brighid said in a clear tone. “Here, where our mother Rachel fell and delivered the gift of her soul to the world.”

“We are blessed here to have found another wandering Warrior and we welcome her home to the Collective,” Drake continued, his voice equally clear.

“Warrior of the Shifter line, do you swear loyalty to the Divine Order?” Brighid asked.

“Do you swear to use the gift within your being to protect the world in the essence and name of Rachel?” Drake added.

“And do you promise to put the calling above all else in this life and the next?” Brighid finished. They both watched me, waiting for my answer. All thoughts and fears of lack of choice seemed to dissipate as I felt an acceptance somewhere deep inside me. I nodded almost automatically, and I felt the words flow from my mouth without even registering or knowing what I was saying. At the same time I knew exactly what I was saying because I had said it a hundred times already, if not more.

“I swear my loyalty, my life and my gift to the calling of the Warriors of the Divine Order.” With each word I felt a weight lifting from me. “I give my life, in this one and the next to the Divine Order and thank the angel Rachel for the gift she shared with us and the world.”

Something slammed into me and seemed to push me back from the altar. The pressure was incredible, and I fought to hold on as much as I could. I looked at the other two to see that they were unmoving, their eyes closed and their faces blank. Neither of them seemed to react to the massive force, or to me. Had I done something wrong? I was as sure as I could be that I had said all the right words and it felt so right. So why was I being forced away from the stone?

“Let go Harper,” Drake’s voice floated through me. I glanced up again as I struggled to hold on, but he was as still as he had been, not a twitch.

“Harper, trust the power,” he said again. I screamed against the force as I felt my figures slipping from the stone. I looked down in surprise to see my hands still firmly on the stone, as still as the other two. What the f**k? I swear I could feel the stone drag under my fingers as I gripped.

“Harper, let go girl,” Brighid’s voice this time flowed through my body and I felt the feeling of compulsion as my fingers relaxed and I flew back away from the altar. I screwed my eyes shut and screamed as I mentally prepared myself to hit the wall of the Sanctuary behind me.

But the impact never came. One moment I was flying through the air at great speeds and the next I was standing still. I opened my eyes to see both Drake and Brighid grinning at me.

“It’s quite the disjointing experience the first time, isn’t it?” Brighid said and Drake chuckled. I looked around me confused. I was no longer standing in the Sanctuary. I was in what looked like a large flat terrain. It seemed to go on for miles and was what looked like some strange coloured sand that glimmered in the sun. In the centre of the three of us was the statue that was on the altar, only this time it was at least twice as tall as us. There was a strange circular pattern burnt into the ground and in it were four circles. Three of them were filled with the symbols of the different Divine lines. The shifter one was below me, the cross of the immortal line was below Drake’s feet and below Brighid the fae symbol. What was fascinating was that the symbols followed as each person moved, and remained under their feet. They pulsated as if there was a current running through them, much like Brighid’s brand did when I saw it earlier.

That wasn’t the only difference. The cloaks were gone, and each person was dressed in black. Drake wore simple trousers and a loose shirt, while Brighid was in a long free flowing silk looking dress that floated around her as she moved. I looked down to see that I was also in a dress. Mine was more fitted on top but flared at the waist. It looked to be made of a delicate lace type pattern.

“Where are we?” I asked, although I already knew the answer. Brighid laughed and Drake winked.

“Where do you think we are, angel?” he asked.

“In the Neverplain?” Drake winked again and walked towards me. He took my hand and pulled me into his arms. I gasped as I felt sparks flow from his touch and into my body. He grinned and twirled me before pulling me back in close from behind.

“Welcome to the Divine Order,” he whispered in my ear and another set of shivers ran through me. Part of me wanted to pull away but another, much stronger part felt inclined to hold on and enjoy the feel of his touch. I frowned and pulled out of his arms. I wasn’t sure I liked this. It felt like the connection from the mate bond, only somehow more. That wasn’t right. Elias was my mate, and I wasn’t happy if something was trying to compromise that.

“What the f**k,” I exclaimed and Drake laughed.

“Relax sweetheart,” Drake said, “I’m not trying to seduce you, all you are feeling is the connection of the grace. We are becoming part of one whole, it is natural.”

“Not quite yet,” Brighid said with a glare at Drake. “Stop confusing the girl.” She turned to me and smiled.

“This next part is uncomfortable and must be done in the Neverplain as your human body would struggle with the force, but your astral body is much stronger. Don’t worry, it will be over relatively quickly.” I narrowed my eyes at her.

“What does relatively quickly mean?” I asked, but she just smiled a knowing smile that I wasn’t sure I liked.

“When we are done, then your physical body will hold the symbol of your line and the essence of your grace.” She turned to Drake. “Shall we?” she asked, and he grinned and nodded. They both moved towards me quickly and before I could say anything they grabbed my hand. As soon as their hands touched, I felt a current of power run through me. The symbols at our feet grew, so they connected together and the power grew hotter and hotter. I winced at the heat and gritted my teeth as I felt what I could only describe as knives carving into my back between my shoulder blades. I gripped the hands of the other two as the heat continued to grow and the pain got worse. I began panting as the pain became unbearable and tried to pull my hands out of their grips but they both held on string.

I couldn’t take it anymore and screamed in pain as my knees buckled below me. I had felt this type of pain before. It was the same as six months ago when I burned up under the angel energy when Nathanial had tried to kill me. But this was so much more intense. I screamed until my throat felt raw and begged the two of them to stop. Was this normal? Or was it a trap? Had they decided I wasn’t worthy and were now killing me? What happened when you died in the Neverplain? A thousand and one questions went through my head. It felt like it went on forever until my eyes started to cloud with black spots and I felt myself being dragged into the black.

***

The first thing I felt when I came to was several arms around me. I was cradled in a strong embrace. I opened my eyes and saw that I was back in the Sanctuary. I was between Drake and Brighid and it was their arms around me. My body felt like I had been hit by a brick wall repeatedly and my mouth felt dry and my throat raw. Brighid smiled down at me as I pulled myself from their arms.

I didn’t need to look to know that my back now had the symbol for the shifter line on it. I could feel the constant pulse like a second heart. Brighid glanced over at Drake.

“Okay,” she said, “Now you can say it.” Drake looked down at me with a warm smile.

“Welcome to the Divine Order, angel.”