Revealed

By Heather Hendrix

Lilith Bell is a half-blooded fallen angel who is searching for her twin brother, and is running from a human agency in high pursuit to study and destroy her. She flees Tivoli, Italy for New London, Connecticut. What she finds is Bellcourts, an eerie school that in her opinion imprisons the emotionless immortals attending. And meeting Vincent Silas, a charming vampire was certainly not part of her plan. Little does she know his secret is darker than hers. There’re others out there...waiting. For years, they've sat in silence hoping Lilith would find the clues that lead her to them. When you’re immortal all you have is time. But with danger lurking around every corner, Lilith finds her time may be running out.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Heather Hendrix
• Release date: Jan 3, 2012
• ISBN: 9781466284357

Heather Hendrix

YA Author

Book preview

REVEALED

Heather A. Hendrix

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Amazon.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, place, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locals is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2011 Heather A. Hendrix

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 10: 1466284358

ISBN-13: 978-1466284357

FOR MY FAMILY, WITH LOVE

CONTENTS

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Copyright

Dedication

Preface

1. BELLCOURTS

2. EXPLANATION

3. NIA

4. THE COMMON ROOMS

5. FRIEND

6. SECRETS

7. DATE

8. GIRLS NIGHT

9. ENTERTAINMENT

10. DARIEN

11. LIBRARY

12. UNLIKELY MEETING

13. WINTER BALL

14. EDITH

15. THE TRUTH

16. THE GUARDIAN'S RULING

17. BURNING

18. CARMELA

19. STORM

20. HEALING

21. REVEALED

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thanks to my husband Matthew; my parents Melinda and Tommy; and Michelle, Chris, Blake, and Valerie. Thanks for giving me a lifetime of humorous conversations to shape me into the person I am today. I love you all.

And, thanks to Mary for talking with me about my characters, and ideas. Thank you for your enthusiasm and insights. Also, thanks to Rebecca Finch, Miriam Lord, and Joni Aycock for supporting my dreams; you girls rock.

Enormous thanks to all of the bloggers and readers for your support, without you, none of this would be possible.

For Nothing is hidden, expect to be revealed;

nor has anything been secret,

but that it would come to light.

MARK 4:22

Preface

Dear A,

We are doing great. I think this is it. We can finally stop running. They haven’t found us in over two months,

Love Me

No reply.

Waiting…an hour later still no reply. I drum my fingers across the keys once more before signing off. The room is dark expect for the monitor. Not that it’s much to look at with the lights on, nothing but a desk, computer, and spare bed. I wander down the hall to the sound of a familiar voice on the phone. Not the owners house, but their son. The door is opened just enough for me to see him standing by the fire. I almost walk in when I hear these words.

No…she has no clue. I understand the protocol and I will bring her to you tomorrow. Just don’t kill her. The boss says he needs this one alive. The last one didn’t make it.

I force the air into my lungs, and move silently forward to his room. My hand reaches for the lamp before I even realize what’s happening. I hear his footsteps moving slowly and precisely. I’m standing beside the door when his last footstep lands in front of me. The lamp barrels down on his temple, and he crashes to the floor. I run.

For years, we have gone undiscovered. But an alliance has been forming among a small unit of humans. They call themselves, The Immortal Resistance Provision. One by one, we are picked off, studied in their laborites, made spectacle freak shows. I think we were betrayed by one of our own.

1. Bellcourts

Lilith

~~

The airport’s crowded as I sit on a chair close to an exit. My mother will be arriving soon. I dig through my purse in attempt to powder the redness away from the fresh tears. It’s been a year, the longest we have been a part. It’s risky with me being only sixteen, but necessary none the less. I’ve set up our new house, and waited to make sure I wasn’t followed. The minutes pass by. Night is approaching and I start pacing the waiting area. I sit back down, start biting at my nails, and I look out the window. There’s nothing but a mirror image of the inside airport as the sky turns dark.

Lilith.

I’m up and running toward the sound of my name before I even see my mother though the passengers groggily staggering to claim their luggage.

Mom, I say at the same moment my eyes take in her face.

The ride to the new house is silent. We don’t talk much, my mother and I.

Later on, after dinner and no talk about the IRP agent and his evil trick I fell for, we go our separate ways. She isn’t one for I told you so even though it’s clearly written on her face. I fall across the bed in my room not expecting much sleep. The clock reads September 1, my birthday. For most people this is a celebration, a time for cake, presents, and people singing. But I can’t escape the nightmares that haunt me even while I’m awake. Today is just a reminder of why I’m continuously on the run. My father was murdered on the day I was born…and my twin brother was taken from us. Why take him and not me? That is a question I ask myself and my mother all the time. She just says, You were born ten minutes after your brother. They must have thought he was the only one. Well that was true until my now human mother enrolled me in school. I was five. It didn’t take long for my unusualness to get back to the IRP.

~~

James Leo Bell was my father and former instructor at Lockburn Academy. On that night he gave his last lecture. The desperation in his voice screamed from the words he’d written maybe just hours before his death.

September 1, 1995~

There are those that walk among us, who are different. Good and evil exists in all creatures that walk the Earth. We must learn to live with the good, it’s our only chance.

No one has memories of their birth, but I remember mine with clarity. The sky was endless, dark, and magnificent. I could taste the rain on my lips. Something was wrong, the drops were salty, the taste of tears. I looked up; my fingers instinctually reached out to touch the tears rolling off my mother’s cheek. She sighed in despair, fearing for my life as well as her own. She knew I was different, and we would never be safe. I was born with a curse handed down from her genetic make-up. She was a half-blooded angel who married my father, a human. I’m a freak. My body can heal itself with the brush of my own hand. I glanced up from under my lashes to my reflection, mirrored in her eyes. Wavy blonde locks, warm Ivory skin, but the eyes were strangers, smoky, a jade green. They were nothing like soft blue of my mothers or the dark brown eyes of my brother Aeron. I could no longer feel his warmth next to me. After a few moments, I heard a faint humming trying to comfort me. My mother’s voice flowed smooth and soft. I listened harder letting it seep into my memories. Only, the softness started ringing in my ears. I felt a menacing scream run deep through my bones. Crap.

I quickly smudge the dark outline of an iris on a canvas before standing. I have been up for hours after my last nightmare. It’s strange because it’s not the normal scary things are after me-making- me jump- from- sleep type of nightmare. Mostly they are of me suffocating or drowning. I wake up unable to speak and hoarse or coughing up water from where I’d nearly died. This only leads me to believe whatever happens in my sleep is real. Dying isn’t enough. They want me to suffer over and over again. And to make it worse the last thing I see before I almost die are those cold dark eyes of Aeron’s.

Another song starts blaring from my stereo. The alarm my mother must have set. She doesn’t know that I never sleep-until I’m too drained to stay awake. I throw on a pair of jeans, and some grey t-shirt. My hair wasn’t as easy. I just pull the hood of my jacket over the wavy mess and grab my sketchbook before heading for the door. I make my way into the kitchen and pour a cup of coffee. I don’t call it ours, because it doesn’t feel like home. None of them do. I stare around the unfamiliar. A large room with moldy white cabinets and old appliances. All of the walls are taupe, and bare. I watch as our cat Jinx swats at a piece of Styrofoam that got away from the one and only box in the kitchen. I found him one night nearly dead in an alley in Spain. Had it not been for his eyes, I would have never seen him. He was my first successful attempt at healing something other than myself. It tried following me, and I steered him away. He finally got the hint. It wasn’t but a few days later, I found him on a side walk in town. His front right leg was broken and one eye closed shut. I healed him again and he has been running with us ever since. He momentarily stops to arch his back into a stretch, and makes his way over to brush his tail across my legs.

What is it Jinx, I ask reaching down to pick him up. He just maneuvers around my hands and makes a bee line for the living room. I follow him to where my mother Adina is sitting on a pale leather couch. She’s staring out a large bay window overlooking the garden in the backyard. The mere perfection any child could wish to have in a mother. She looks up from a cup of coffee, her new daily regimen.

Good morning Lilith. Did you sleep well last night?

Yeah, if you don’t count the infinite nightmares that wake me up throughout the night, I think.

I try and put my best face on for her, Sure mom. Thanks.

I study her expression again for a minute. No! I told you, I don’t want anything. I’m not taking your money! I will do this on my own. It was my idea to come back here, not yours.

My mother has a small fortune thanks to my grandfather’s canny ability to play with investments. My father came from a long line of business men, with a passion for saving money. He of course left it all to my mother, who set up several different accounts, all under different names. We can never be too careful. It would only take one tiny mistake to end up in some IRP laboratory.

Please Lilith it’s only one present, and it’s for your birthday. You are my only daughter, and your only sixteen once.

It’s not going to make this any easier on you. I’m going and you can’t bribe me out of it.

Please, just reconsider Lilith it’s dangerous for you. Life is dangerous for me, I think. Staying with me makes it twice as dangerous for her. Choosing to be human over immortality has been a worthless endeavor. Now I will have no choice but to choose the same path. It’s the only way I can protect her.

Fine where is it.

Yay! Follow me it’s in the driveway, she looks at me hopeful.

Does this mean you’ve changed your mind, she asks.

Not a chance.

Okay, but just know I’m going to miss you so much.

Mom, I’m not moving out until next weekend. Besides you live less than ten minutes away from campus.

Alright let’s go, she says leading me down the hallway, but stops at the front door.

What are we waiting for, then I see what she’s holding. This is so ridiculous. What am I like five?

Oh Lilith just turn around so I can tie it, I turn and let her have her way. Now are you ready to see it?

Umm I was ready before you blindfolded me.

I guess we start down the walkway. I brace myself when we come to a sudden stop, and she pulls the ends of the handkerchief gently. As it falls to the ground, I have my second eye popping experience for the morning. I swiftly readjust my expression. I don’t want to look apprehensive. Tangible possessions that give us identities are never a good thing. Still I know she’s trying.

"It’s great mom, uh, what kind is-

It is a 1999 BMW M3 convertible with glossy black paint, and a 5-speed manual transmission, it even plays cassettes, she says in one breath.

I force a laugh, Really they still make those.

She throws me an exacerbated look, Funny, Lilith.

Alright, Thanks it’s….Umm…nice.

Nice is a good word, even in spite of my unusual bad mood this morning. I’m grateful, it actually fits me. New and shiny on the outside, damaged and broken on the inside. I give my mother a quick hug, and shut the car door. I hope I can still drive a 5-speed, and stay on the right side of the road. I let the top down to enjoy the warm breeze still lingering in the air. I try an ease the car back slowly stopping every few seconds. I force it in gear at the end of the driveway and stomp on the accelerator. It propels forward faster than I expect. I tap the breaks slowly, and they squeal. So much for a low profile, I think. This thing will draw attention from everywhere.

At least there isn’t much traffic. The sun is just beginning to appear over the horizon. I finally make it to the shore that leads to the light house my father drew often in his journals. He didn’t exaggerate its beauty. I park the car looking at the shore before slamming the door shut. A few people passing look at me, but continue on their way. I pull my sketch book and pencils out of my bag, and wander down the coastline. I walk along carrying my shoes in hand and my feet submerged in the water every few seconds by the tide. I stop when I see the red brick structure offshore, and plop down in the sand pulling out my materials. To keep from smudging the lines, I run the pencil over the paper gently. From there I build in the white windows and door. The front contains six windows and a door in the center. Three more windows appear above on a gray mansard roof. I carefully frame the lines to square off at the ends. I make sure and add the white concrete base. It’s not as good as my fathers but it gets the point across. Now how do I get out there? No boats or bridge. It just floats there surrounded by blue salty sea. Oh, and now the clouds are covering the only sun I’ve seen in months. I watch the shadows dance across the sand, until I realize the one blocking my sun isn’t moving. I turn slowly squinting into a pair of grey eyes.

What, I ask trying to mask the nervousness in my voice.

It’s haunted you know. That’s why no one goes up there, the boy says to me. He’s thin olive skinned, and has messy dark hair. I would say he could be a threat, but he’s fidgeting so much he can barely keep his balance. Nope…he’s definitely not IRP material unless they are resulting to desperate measures.

Who are you, I ask still looking for any sign he might be bait.

I’m Sage, he says sitting down next to me. Too close for my liking so I try to discreetly move over.

That’s different, I say. I’m about to get up to leave when I notice a pattern of leaves tattooed around his wrist making a complete band. I vaguely remember reading about immortals baring some kind of mark. It symbolizes to others that they are different, and what they are. Mine never showed up. I always thought it was because I am half human…broken. If only I wasn’t drawing a blank. I’ve got nothing.

Lilith, I say.

You must be new here. I haven’t seen you before.

It’s the beach. I could be a tourist.

If that’s the case, would you like a tour?

The light house, I ask. There are no boats or bridge.

Lilith, what if I told you that my name is not the only thing different about me.

My mind is screaming run you fool. Run. I just couldn’t make myself listen. A part of me is tired of running.

You’re not alone, I blurt out feeling a surge of power run through my veins. So, how about that tour, I smile about to stand, but he catches my hand. I shudder under his touch. I want to drop it. It feels wrong like holding a piece of sandpaper. I’m hovering between sitting and standing when a stream of sand wraps around our linked hands. It tickles my skin before moving away from us toward the ocean.

You’re a healer, he states.

You’re a sand person, I say wanting to jump right into the bottomless pit of the ocean.

He laughs, Perun, and lets my hand go. He’s waiting on me to move. Why not, I think and slip my shoes on before walking for the sand bridge that falls just under the water’s surface.

Will anyone see us?

No, we leave this world the second we step offshore.

How, and who are you? Did you know I was going to be here?

Well, this leads to Bellcourts. I’m a gatekeeper- it’s my job to make sure you get to school. When you’re done I get a new student. It’s a requirement for all High School Seniors.

I catch a hint of ridicule in his voice.

That sounds awful.

Do you always say what’s on your mind? Now would be a good time to stop that, he says just as we reach the base of the light house.

Thanks, I will keep that in mind?

You are very ill-mannered for a girl.

And you are annoying. Why am I going to this school?

Didn’t your parents tell you anything?

No, my mother doesn’t remember and my father is dead.

Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…

Just forget it. My father mentioned it a few times, but he was human, so he wasn’t sure.

Your father wasn’t mortal. James Leo Bell was a witch. It’s in all my history books. He could do wonders with vegetation.

You mean trees, I screech. Ugh. Add talking to plants to my freak qualities. All I need is a tie die shirt and a peace sign, I murmur swinging the door to the lighthouse open. My father wasn’t human, I say to myself letting the thought set in. I’m part witch. I would have to shove that aside until later. Tonight, I will figure this out.

It’s been interesting Lilith, shall I see you here in the morning. Perhaps at seven.

You’re not coming with me.

He smiles, Some things we must face on our own.

Yeah, yeah.

I enter climbing up a set of winding wooden stairs down a narrow hallway to another set of stairs. There are cracks in the stone walls, and the heavy scent of salt water stinging my eyes. I brush my hand across my face, tears. I can’t believe this is happening. My pace suddenly quickens despite my efforts to stop, and continue moving forward, straight for a stone wall. Several vines creep slowly into the windows, covering the wall with tiny white roses. I watch them move, expanding, and swirling into an archway. A force perils me forward, and I wince when the wall closes in on me. On the other side, stands a decrepit castle made of dark stone. Some creatures are perched on the buildings two massive round towers. A third lower tower sits in the middle, casing long steel beams-wind chimes. There are trees everywhere, the tallest well over one hundred feet. Mountains overshadow the skyline in the distance. I turn to see if the path from the lighthouse is still there. No, it’s just hills that stretch on an on. I twist back around following the path. I come to a gate framed by massive walls on each side. Bellcourts Academy etched in silver on both walls. Welcome to Bellcourts Academy, just sign your life away on the dotted line please, I think advancing through the gates.

My father had mentioned this school in his book, and until now, I thought he was going insane. No wonder he knew so much about immortals. I should’ve figured that out. My mother doesn’t remember anything about him, except she loves him. Doctors say her memory loss is likely a traumatic response from losing my father. Take her somewhere she would remember things, they would say. I was five years old when I stormed into my mother’s room and found what he left us to remember him by. I was thrilled when I came across the book, and seven journals until I realized they were about everything but him. No pictures, no letters, and for the first time in my life I felt… alone. Years later after the IRP boyfriend casualty, I came back to my father’s writings and decided to read them over and over. One day I decoded a message from drawings he’d left in the journals. I was looking at a drawing of a church in the first journal with a magnifying glass. I thought it was odd the doors were locked in a place of worship, and got closer. It was the same until I went to toss it aside. When I turned the paper upside down, on the lock was in the letter N. He had to put his message in different places, I guess so whoever killed him would think these were useless. There are seven temples in all. Each door contained a different letter on a lock. The eighth letter I found on the lighthouse. The message was clear: New London.

~~

From what I remember, the school chooses the students it desires at sixteen. The only souls that are allowed to enter into this realm are immortals. The school I am now required to attend for the next six years. Otherwise, I would be considered a threat, dangerous to humans, and therefore destroyed. I know I have to live through this in order to find my brother. And had it not been for the nightmares and consistent visions of those dark eyes haunting me, I wouldn’t have bothered. I can only hope this is part of my father’s plan, for me to attend Bellcourts.

I reach the main entrance, and proceed inside the building. It glows, thousands of tiny twinkling lights light up the ceilings. They resemble stars some disappearing altogether before expanding again. All I can do is stare. The dark painted ceiling stretches on, no end in sight. Straight ahead- several hallways and staircases disappear with several students-returning with none.

The school’s crowded with students scurrying for the hallways before they disappear. To my surprise, they all look believably human. Not that it’s that hard anymore with the way humans dress. They want to be different and go to great links to look as inhuman as possible. I glance down spotting a paper sticking out of my sketchbook, and pull it out- watching one small arrow form in the center. A small light appears hovering above the arrow. The kid on the beach must have put it in there somehow. All of the hallways disappear but one, as I head in the direction the arrows pointing. The hall has no paintings or awards, nothing to make it inviting. In fact, it reminds me of old dungeon cells, a prison. There was a reminiscence of a dungeon below the basement in the house in Italy. Suddenly, a loud ringing sound begins singing in the air. It sounds like wind chimes only a thousand times louder. It must mean classes have started, because a handful of the students are disappearing in larger quantities. I turn quickly to leave, but out of nowhere hear a door squeaking open behind me.

Can I help you? I turn again, facing a tall man with long dark hair, glaring over his glasses at me. The way he stares with dark uninviting eyes, makes me feel uneasy. The light disappears while the instructor runs his hand across his forehead, waiting for me to answer his question.

I’m new and not sure where I’m supposed to go, I say quick and to the point.

"You’re in the right place. The school never makes mistakes.

Okay.

I wasn’t about to question his response. There’s an empty chair in the back. I hurry up the awkward stadium platforms. Most of the students stare at me vacantly, because I’m late, I think. The room holds at least a thousand freshmen. The instructor follows me in wasting