“It’s not fair. I shouldn’t have to expose all my secrets, because the Shoma wants it that way. I have a right to my privacy.” She argues.
“Do you want to tell us what’s so sacred about the Replay you had made? Are you and Bianca conspiring against us, because that’s exactly the kind of thing that insipid little she-demon would do!” I snap.
“What? No. I would never do that. I have fought along side you guys this whole time.” Eta reminds us.
“Yeah, and now you act’n real shady; what’s up with that?” Jay asks.
“You need to be honest with us, Eta. Tell us what’s going on.” Miku says.
“What’s going on is that, I have been loyal to your team and I think this one time, I should be allowed to get things my way.” Eta says, growing more and more nervous.
“Your way? Who the hell here has gotten things their way on this team? Aaden could be killed, Marcus had to take CP and this virus is running through the Angel world, like the black plague did through humanity. And you stand here and say you want things your way? Seriously?” Miku barks at her.
“Everyone calm down. Eta, I’m sorry that we are about to enter your personal life, but the fact is, we will do whatever it takes to get to the next clue.” Marcus warns her calmly.
“So you’re going to kill me to get to the Replay?” She asks.
“If that’s what it comes to. This is bigger than one person. If you have a good reason why we should not see the Replay, other than your need for privacy, now is the time to tell us.” Marcus says.
“You can’t look at the Replay; it’s mine.” She replies stubbornly.
“I need to know what’s in it. I’m not trying to be a jerk, but the time has past for us to be gentle. Eta, I want to see the Replay and I want to see it now!” Marcus commands.
Marcus doesn’t leave room for arguing. He just walks out into the hallway and the team follows. Eta pulls me over to the side to talk.
“Emmy, please don’t let them do this.” She begs.
“Eta, we need that clue.”
“You said you were my friend.” She says sounding wounded.
“I am, but you aren’t really leaving us a choice here.”
“I thought I could trust you, but I was wrong. We’re not friends. All you care about is the mission. I can’t figure out why you and Bianca don’t get along, you two are the same; selfish and thoughtless.” She says as she storms away.
Being compared to Bianca stings. I know she wants her privacy, but like Miku pointed out, most of us here don’t get what we want. What’s inside the Replay that’s making Eta act this way? What could she be hiding?
By the time we get back to the Villa, each member of the team has a theory on what Eta has in the Replay. Jay bet Rage that Eta is hiding porn. Rage thinks she’s having a secret “take over the world” meeting with Bianca. And Marcus thinks it could be a memory of her grandmother that Eta is just not ready to share.
As soon as we land, Marcus instructs Eta to go get the Replay and he makes Jay go with her to ensure that she doesn’t destroy it. A few minutes later, Eta comes back with a globe the size of a small coconut. She puts it on the table and shakes her head.
"You know what you are doing, is not right,” she says.
“It’s only going to take a few minutes. Then, you can have the Replay back and we will keep your secret, whatever it may be.” Marcus assures her.
Eta finds no comfort in Marcus’s words. She asks if the others can go away while the Replay is in use, but Marcus says no because he doesn’t know which member of the team the next clue is connected to. That means everyone should see the Replay.
“Marcus please, please don’t do this,” she begs.
“Open it.” Marcus orders her.
“No.” she replies stubbornly.
“Eta, now.” Marcus says glaring at her.
“Fine, but it’s not a Replay. It’s a faux Replay.” Eta replies angrily.
“What’s that?” I ask.
“It’s a Replay that’s constructed from desire; not memory.” Rage says.
“See, I knew it! It’s porn, pay me.” Jay says to Rage with a big smile.
“No, it’s not. It’s not filthy. It’s… ” Eta falls silent.
“At this point, I don’t care if it’s the Kama Sutra with sock puppets. Can we just get on with it?” Marcus pushes.
We all turn to Eta and wait for her to open the Replay with the pattern she had locked it with. Having no other choice, Eta draws a complex pattern at the base of the globe. That pattern will unlock the Replay.
“What will it look like?” Alex asks me.
“There are shadow servants inside the Reply. They form a miniature world, with miniature people. They will reenact the scene that’s been programmed.” Suddenly the world inside the globe comes to life and Eta’s fantasy starts to plays out:
Eta sits on a bench at a bus stop. Frustrated, she gets up and she looks up and down thestreet; there is no sign of the bus. Deflated, she sits back down on the bench and withoutwarning it starts pouring rain.
Eta is drenched. She looks around for something to shield her from the rain, when shelooks up the bus goes by her and doesn’t stop. She tries to pause it with her powers, butthe bus is long gone. Miserable, she starts to head back to the bench.
That’s when she first sees him: Her angel, Marcus. He extends his hand out to her. Shehesitates, but soon she puts her hand in his. She is bashful and blushes when their fingerstouch. He gently pulls her towards him and gives her a smoldering long gaze that causesher to giggle with pleasure.
His gaze becomes so intense; she has to look away to resist the urge to fall into his armscompletely. That’s when he places his hand below her chin and raises her face up so thatthey are now both eye to eye.
He brushes a stray hair from her face and pulls her even closer. Once she makes contactwith his board muscular chest, she lays her palms flat against it; she then looks deeplyinto his eyes. The rain starts to gain strength so Marcus takes off into the sky, holding herprotectively as they climb higher and higher.
Marcus lands in front of a gorgeous loft style home. They go inside and find a largeliving area with a fireplace and a stunning ocean view. The two of them get cozy by thefire and talk. We can’t hear what they are saying, but the couple laughs frequently andare very demonstrative.
Marcus then takes off her clothes slowly. She lays naked before him and he marvels ather body all the while exploring it with his lips. That then turns into an intense session oflove making between the couple. Marcus was thorough, focused and precise in everyway. He seemed to have a mental roadmap to all the areas that lead Eta to pure ecstasy.
When it was over, the two remained intertwined in each other’s arms, long after…
None of us move for several seconds after the Reply goes dark. We try not to look at Eta, but it’s nearly impossible. The only person who’s not watching Eta is Alex. And that’s because he’s too busy watching me. I refuse to make eye contact with him. He would find some way to make all of this Marcus’s fault.
“Happy now?” Eta asks Marcus.
“Eta--”
She storms off into her room and slams the door shut before Marcus can finish. After yet another awkward pause, Ameana is the first to speak.
“I loved her shoes.”
We all look at her in disbelief.
“What? It’s very hard to find Saint Laurent Python ankle boots in chocolate. Tell them.” Ameana says to Miku.
“She’s right. It’s a great find.” Miku concurs.
“We have to go check on her.” Marcus replies.
“We? She’s not obsessing over us; she’s obsessing over you, Marcus. You need to go in there and speak with her.” Rage tells him.
“Yeah…I know. Are you good with that?” Marcus asks me.
“Well let’s see. You work with your ex. You live with your wife and now you want to go have a heart to heart with the girl that built a Replay, centered
on having sex with you. Sure, Marcus. Sounds good. While you’re at it, maybe we can go online and set a profile for you on Match.com.” I reply with an icy smile.
He takes me aside and whispers to me so that the others can’t overhear us.
He chooses his words carefully and says them in a soothing tone so as to keep me calm.
Yeah, like that’s gonna happen.
“Babe, you knew she had feelings for me.” He says.
“Yes, I did know that, but what I didn’t know, was how deep those feelings ran. Marcus, she built a Replay ‘love nest’.”
“It’s just a fantasy for her. Humans are very selectable to Angels. It doesn’t take a lot for them to fall for us. It’s just hormones.” Marcus insists.
“Hey if she had a Replay with nothing but you, a jar of honey and a scarf, I would be fine. But Marcus, you guys talked in the Replay; you weren’t just having sex. You two were intimate. You held her. I know it wasn’t real, but…it really sucked to watch.” I confess.
“You do realize that only a few hours ago I caught you and Alex…”
“Okay, okay, you’re right. Do you know what you’re gonna say to her?” I ask.
“No idea.”
“Hey, when you talk to her, can you ask where she saw those shoes?” Ameana asks.
“Also, ask her how she did that last move.” Rage adds.
“Yo, son! Eta was going crazy with that last move! And baby girl has no formal gymnastics training? I’m gonna have to give it up to her,” Jay says clapping with admiration.
“So…any chance I could get you to do your own version of the last move Eta did?” Rage says teasingly to Ameana.
Ameana sends him flying out the window and clear across the valley.
“What, you not gonna try and kill me like Ameana just did with Rage?” Jay asks Miku.
“No, because I know, you were just kidding.” Miku says, unable to look Jay in the eye.
“Wait, so you and I trusting each other more. Yo for real, I like that.” Jay says, sliding his arm around her waist.
Miku and I exchange a quick glance. I can almost see the guilt climb up her body and crawl into her eyes.
“I know that you’re pregnant and hormonal, but next time, can you hurl me into something other than livestock?” Rage asks Ameana as he reenters the Villa.
We turn and find Rage covered in feathers and chicken poop. Jay bursts out laughing.
Marcus comes back into the living room and tells us that Eta says she’s fine, but he’s not sure if she’s telling the truth.
“Should one of us girls go talk to her?” Miku offers.
“I think she should be alone right now. And it turns out, she has been taking Gentum.” Marcus replies.
“So that’s why her powers have been off.” I say to myself.
“Yeah, she took it so that she could suppress her feelings, like Jay did when he first fell for Miku.” Marcus says.
“I was trip’n. I mean look at us now. Sure we had moments, but we hold’n it down. Right mama?” Jays says with a sexy swagger only he can pull off.
Miku looks up at him nervously.
“What’s wrong?” Jay asks her.
Crap, don’t do it now Miku…
I look at Rage and he’s thinking the same thing.
“Nothing. We should get back to the Replay. Did you guys notice any clues?” Miku asks, dodging Jay’s question.
“Actually, I think I may have found something.” Ameana says.
For the next half hour, we watch parts of the Replay (I covered my eyes when “the couple” start to, you know…) and soon we figure out the clue. It’s a series of numbers on the front of the bus. They turn out to be coordinates; they lead to the northern region of the Sahara desert.
As we were getting ready, Raphael contacted us to get an update on the mission. Marcus told him about our progress and that we were headed for the desert. He made us wait for him, said he had information for us. That was an hour ago. Now, Raphael enters the Villa with a black crush velvet box the size of a tablet. He sets the box on the table.
“Where is the Quo? She will need to hear what I have to say as well.” Raphael informs us.
“She’s not feeling so great; we let her rest.” Ameana replies quickly.
“In fact, we were wondering if we could allow her to skip this mission.” Marcus says.
“Since you have the coordinates, they should lead you not to a clue, but the actual Alpha. So you may be able to go without her. In fact, it may be best for Alex to remain here as well.” Raphael says.
“Why would I stay behind?” Alex asks.
“Our sources tell us Lucy already knows where you are going.” Raphael replies.
“Do you know what she has planned for us?” Marcus asks.
“Nothing.”
“So…what Lucy’s going to just let us walk into the desert and take the first Alpha?” Miku says.
“When she found out where the Alpha was placed, she knew she wouldn’t need to send anyone after you because the chance of you making it out alive are…slim.” Raphael says.
“Um…thanks for the vote of confidence.” Rage says.
“Okay, start from the top. What’s in the desert?” I ask.
“The section you’re going to is in north Libya. That is the epicenter of the Egans.”
Everyone in the room that has wings is immediately on high alert. I’m guessing this can’t be good. Who am I kidding? Do the powers that be ever have good news for us? No. It’s always some insurmountable craziness.
Just once I’d like one of them to say something like “Hey, you guys are going up againstsome really mediocre demons. They flunked out of demon school, so they suck at killing. You should be home in time for X-Factor.”
“Let me guess, the Egans are a group of very nice demons who are made of sugar and spice?” Alex says sardonically.
No one responds to Alex and no one looks me in the eye. The tension in the room continues to grow.
“C’mon, we faced the Goumy. How bad can these Egans be, right?” I ask.
“Seriously, what are Egans?” Alex asks Raphael.
“They are the evil equivalent of Paras, pure evil,” he replies.
“Okay, so how do we defeat them?” I ask.
“That’s just it human, no one walking the Earth can defeat the Egans. They are demons made of Gar. Gar is an eternal flame. That means Egans are immortal. They also have another distinct advantage over the Goumy.” Raphael adds.
“Okay, what is it?” I say, already sorry that I asked.
“In addition to being immortal. The Egans are Naturalizers.”
“What does that mean?” I push.
“It means not only are the Egans immortal, they negate powers from other beings. In other words Marcus, once you and your team step into Egan territory, you will have no wings, no powers and no way to defend yourselves.”
CHAPTER TWENTY‐FIVE:
LINE OF FIRE
All of us in the room look at Raphael and say nothing. It’s a few moments before we can talk again. Or rather it’s a few moments before any of us can find a respectful way to tell the Original that he’s out of his damn mind.
“Did you really just walk in here and tell us we are about to die?” Rage asks.
“I’m telling you the facts,” Raphael says.
“There has to be some way he can fight the Egans,” I add.
“I told you, no force on earth could stop them.”
“So then what, we are doomed? Then why go?” Rage says.
“That’s what good guys do, Akon. They go places they aren’t likely to survive because the cause they are fighting for is just and worthy.” Raphael informs him.
“Yeah, whatever. You are not taking the mother of my child into certain death.” Rage counters stubbornly.
“There has to be something that we can do to even the playing field,” Marcus insists.
“What’s in the box?” Miku asks.
“Lik
e I said, no force on earth can kill an Egan, but we Paras do have a weapon that can slow them down. It’s right in here,” Raphael replies as he open the box.
Inside the black velvet case are round silver colored patches, the size of my palm.
Raphael holds the patches up to us to examine.
“This is a Rev. You place this into the palm of your hand and it will emit a synthetic version of a power ball. It won’t kill them, but it will inhale the Gar from the Egan.”
“Can I get the Para to human translate?” I ask.
“When these ‘patch’ like weapons blast the Egans, the flames that surrounds them will die down. Since the flames are the source of their powers, it will temporarily paralyze them. That will give you time to flee.” Raphael tells me.
“Okay, we got you. Now, once we blast them with the Rev, how much time until the flame returns and the Egans are moving again? What, three or four minutes?” Jay says.
“Seconds. The Rev gives you three or four seconds.”
“You guys couldn’t come up with anything stronger?” Miku asks.
“Real talk, yo. You sending us into battle with paperclips and a rubber band.” Jay agrees.
“Not even the paperclips.” Rage says shaking his head.
“Almost no power works near the Egans. You are lucky to get a few Revs.” Raphael says.
“You nailed it Para, that’s exactly what we feel; Lucky,” Rage snipes.
Raphael decides to ignore Rage’s insolent tone and proceed.
“We also have a Samson Rig.” The Original explains.
“What’s that?” Alex asks.
“There is a massive sink hole in the middle of that part of the desert. It is the only logical place for the Alpha to be as it is the most difficult to get to. It is in the very heart of the Egan territory. You will need something to help lower you into the void.” Raphael says, as he takes out what looks like a penlight. He presses a small button at the tip of the device.
Suddenly it turns into a three-legged metal stand nearly as tall as me; on top of the stand in a glass casing with a large spool of rope.
“A Samson Rig is the industrial version of Samson string. Like its counterpart, it can identify who is touching it. That way should a demon attempt to climb up after you the rope will disappear. Unlike regular Samson string, this one is endless. We thought it best to use it since we don’t know how deep the hole is.”