The Shoma

  No one took more pleasure from Rage’s pain than Jay. He would ask Rage what Ameana wanted. Rage knew Jay would make fun of him, but he’d be so taken aback by how ludicrous the request was, he had to share Ameana’s request with someone.

  “My fiancée has a craving; she craves the scent of flowers,” Rage says, through clenched teeth.

  “Big deal man, there’s a bunch of flowers out on the patio,” Jay replies.

  “No, she has a craving for a particular flower,” Rage says, trying to contain his irritation.

  “What flower?” Miku asks as she exchanges a bemused look with Jay.

  “The Ghost Orchid,” Rage says, balling his hands up into fists.

  “I’ve never heard of that,” I confess.

  “I looked it up and reason you haven’t heard of it is because it has been extinct for about a hundred years. Well that is until Ameana had a yearning for it. Then she instantly located it. Where? Niagara Falls. Oh, I’m sorry, I mean behind the Niagara Falls.” Rage says about to lose his mind.

  “How does she know where you can find it?” Miku asks.

  “Turns out her hormones have a GPS system that could rival both the Omari and the US government.”

  “Does it have to be that flower?” I ask.

  “Apparently, it does,” Rage replies.

  “How are you going to get behind the—”

  “—I DON’T KNOW!” Rage snaps.

  We all burst out laughing. The Akon is baffled by his current problem and looks desperately at us for help.

  “C’mon, what do I do?” Rage asks.

  “Take an umbrella,” Jay says as he doubles over with laugher.

  As Rage heads out the door, he mumbles something about Angels, hormones and torture. He then closes the door behind him.

  The day after that, Ameana badly craves the scent of fresh honey. I mean, really fresh.

  Rage leaves the villa wearing a full beekeepers suit, complete with veiled hat and boots.

  When he clumsily makes his way out the door, I laugh so hard tears spring to my eyes. I swear Jay is literarily rolling on the floor. Miku and Emmy take like a dozen shots with their camera phones.

  Tonight, when Rage tells us what new scent the Second Guardian is craving, for the first time ever we feel kind of bad for the Akon.

  “Freshly molten lava?” Miku asks.

  “Wait, you’re not gonna go into a volcano?” I ask.

  Rage can’t bring himself to talk. He just glares at us, but just as he heads to the door he turns back and addresses us.

  “I’m the First Akon. I’m a top-level Demon. I command and I wield fire,” Rage says, shaking his head in disbelief at what he’s been reduced to.

  However, under all his objections, I know he’s more than okay with getting Ameana what she wants. When he comes back with the item she asks for, there’s a sense of pride in his walk. And Ameana shows him just how much she appreciates all his efforts. The walls here are pretty thin…

  “Hurry, Tom-Tom,” Ameana calls out from their bedroom.

  “The first person to laugh gets set on fire,” Rage warns us.

  We hold our laughter in, but seconds after he’s out the door, he hears a chorus of laughter crescendo behind him.

  Although Rage’s daily tasks serve as a tension breaker, they do nothing to improve things between Jay and Marcus. I overhear Miku trying to convince Jay to apologize, but he refuses. The two of them went back and forth on it for a few nights. Tonight, however, Miku is staying on him to make things right. I can hear them in their room, bickering.

  “Yo, just get off me,” Jay says.

  “I know you’re upset about Arden, we all are, but this isn’t Marcus’ fault. He’s under a lot of pressure,” Miku replies.

  “Why are you taking his side?”

  “I’m not. I just want you to try and be a little more understanding,” Miku says.

  “He’s going to let that girl die. What the hell am I supposed to understand?”

  “So you would just let them kill Ameana’s son? C’mon, Jay, that’s not you,” Miku counters.

  “I don’t want anything to happen to the Sib, but Ameana made her choice. She knew what could happen.”

  “Hey, she’s my best friend, and you need to show her some respect!” Miku demands.

  “And when do I get some respect from you?”

  “What? I have never been disrespectful to you?”

  “Really? So telling me who I can and can’t talk to isn’t disrespectful?”

  “Look, this isn’t about us. You need to get your powers back,” Miku reminds him.

  “Why should I beg Marcus?”

  “Because he’s the only one who can restore your powers and because he’s the leader and you were wrong to talk to him like that.”

  “HOW WAS I WRONG?”

  “We can’t always save everyone, Jay.”

  “Just what a person with an evil side would say.”

  “What?” She asks.

  “Nothing.”

  “You think I’m saying what I said because of Redd?” Miku asks.

  “I’m gonna keep it one hundred with you; I’m gonna tell the truth.”

  “Fine, what is the truth?” She pushes.

  “Sometimes, you don’t sound like an Angel.”

  “You know what, Jay, screw you,” Miku says, as she slams the door and stomps out of their room.

  Marcus appears in the hall and asks if everything is okay.

  “Couple stuff, I guess,” I reply.

  My heart starts racing. I took the vial to make my feelings stop, but after a while they tend to come back and I’ve had to take more; and seeing Marcus stand in the hall, looking concerned and protective, makes me think what it would be like to be in his arms. I go back into my room and drink two more vials of Gentum.

  Drinking the Gentum was a good idea. Had I not taken it, I would be experiencing serious heartache right now, because Marcus and Emmy are about to have a moment.

  It starts with Marcus getting a call from Rahell. I hear him talking to her in the hallway, I open my door just enough to see what’s going on.

  “Rahell you know I would help if I could…What, of course I care about Arden…You don’t have to beg, I would if I could, but…No, I don’t want anything…Yes, I know how much she means to you…No I don’t want anything to happen to her, but—”

  Rahell is screaming and cursing at Marcus so loud now, I can hear her side of the conversation.

  “I HATE YOU MARCUS. YOU’RE A MURDERER! MURDERER!” Rahell screams, then she hangs up on him.

  “ARGH!” He roars as he hurls the cellphone out the window. It shatters on impact.

  Emmy appears from her room and goes over to him, deeply concerned.

  “Marcus—” She begins as she reaches out for him. He moves away from her.

  “—Don’t.” Marcus instructs.

  She looks at him confused and hurt by his reaction. He runs his hands through his hair, stretches both arms out in front of him until he’s touching the wall in front of him. When he speaks, his voice is soaked in stress and longing.

  “Emmy, I have to keep my hands on this wall so that I don’t reach over and grab you like I want to. I have to keep my hands on this wall so that I don’t grab hold of the only thing that’s keeping me going.”

  “Marcus don’t—”

  “—If I let go of this wall, I will take you in my arms and I. Will. Never. Let. You. Go. Not for the Sib, not for the mission not even to save my own soul. I know that ending things so you could have a normal life was the best thing for you, but letting you go was hell; a hell I can’t face again.”

  “You don’t have to let me go. We can figure this out. Bianca and my father shouldn’t get between us like this.” Emmy pleads.

  “Every move I make ends up hurting you. I don’t want to be that guy anymore and I’m trying really hard not to be, but every time I hear your voice, every time I see those eyes, every time you walk into a room??
?I fall in love with you all over again. Then I remind myself that we can’t be together and it hurts.”

  “Marcus, I—”

  “--IT FUCKING HURTS!” He screams.

  It startles Emmy; she flinches. She studies his face. She sees the guilt he carries around as the leader. The heaviness that comes with leadership is weighing on him, now more than ever before. Still he keeps his hands placed firmly on the wall so that he doesn’t give in to his heart.

  “Baby, tell me how to help you,” she whispers in his ear.

  “Go.”

  “Okay, I’ll go back to my room and—”

  “—No. I mean, New York; I want you to go back home.”

  “What?” Emmy replies, dumbfounded.

  “I can’t make you, but please, do this for me. Because if you stay, I won’t fight it. I’ll give in to you; to us. I promised myself that I was going to stay away from you so that you could have a painless life. Go. Please,” he beseeches.

  She looks at his hands, still firmly placed on the wall in front of him. Her eyes fill with tear, but, true to her new “no tear” policy, she blinks them away. She takes a deep breath and turns towards Rage and Ameana’s room.

  Before Emmy gets a chance to knock, Ameana opens the door and stands before her. Ameana heard everything; we all did. She signals for Rage to take Emmy back to New York City.

  Rage walks out and waits for her on the patio. Meanwhile, Emmy turns back for one last look at Marcus. He doesn’t look back. He can’t. At any moment now, his willpower will give out, causing him to beg her to stay.

  In order to prevent that from happening, he keeps his head down; and while deciding not to see her one last time was wise, it kills Emmy.

  But, to her credit, she didn’t leave the villa hunched over in tears and sorrow. She holds her head high, places her shoulders back and gives her love what he requested but has never been able to endure: her absence.

  CHAPTER SEVEN:

  Q.R.N.

  It’s been two days since he’s seen her. He’s aware of every second she is gone. I can tell, because he keeps looking for her. When he hears footsteps heading towards us, he looks up with anticipation. Then when it’s someone from the team and not Emmy, his face falls.

  He stays away from her room as if it’s cursed; he’ll go the long way around just to avoid walking by it. When someone calls his name he looks up as if it will be her. When it’s not, he looks away so we won’t see the grave sadness that follows. The strongest Guardian is crumbling from within.

  At this point, even Jay feels bad for Marcus. Although the two still disagree on the Arden issue, Jay knows how much Marcus loves Emmy and how difficult it must have been for him to send her away.

  I have wanted to check on Emmy, but Marcus said she might need some time to herself.

  He did send some Angel friends to watch her, just in case she was in danger, but he didn’t think seeing any of us would help her right now. So, for the time being, I guess I will have to stay away.

  As night falls, Marcus starts his daily routine of pacing and worrying. There has been no word from the Originals or Emmy. All in all, I’m guessing these have been the darkest days for the First Guardian. Ameana, sensing the same thing, goes out to speak with him just outside my window. I listen closely as their voices carry into my room.

  “How are you feeling?” Marcus asks his ex.

  “I think I’m supposed to ask you that,” she replies.

  “I don’t know,” he admits.

  “You could call her and ask her to come back,” Ameana suggests.

  “I can’t do that.”

  “Why?”

  “Because this is what she needs: space away from missions, murder, and mayhem. She needs to live her life,” Marcus says.

  “The day the Twins saved Emmy from the Runners in the school hallway, her life changed. Nothing was ever going to be the same regardless, Marcus,” Ameana assures him.

  “You don’t know that. She still has a chance to go to school, have friends, and find a guy who…”

  “A guy who…?” Ameana pushes.

  “Who can put her first. That’s not me. I’ve shown that over and over again,” he replies.

  “She’s in love with you. The fact is she will follow you into hell. If memory serves, she did,” Ameana reminds him.

  “Just because she would do anything for me doesn’t mean I should put her in that position.”

  “Look, I don’t want to upset you. Especially, given what you are doing for my family, but Marcus, I don’t think you are staying away from Emmy because she’ll get hurt; I think you’re staying away from her so you don’t get hurt.”

  Marcus no longer having Emmy by his side brings with it a new kind of tension in the already stressful situation. It doesn’t help that he has not Recharged in almost three weeks. We all decided to try and take the stress off of him by not bothering him unless it’s important. So when Miku asks us to join her in the living room, we know it’s to address a matter that cannot wait.

  “What is it?” Rage asks.

  “I’m not sure. I mean sometimes I make a big deal out of nothing,” Miku replies.

  “Just tell us, Pretty,” Marcus instructs.

  “Jay and I have been monitoring internet activities. It’s what Rio and I used to do…”

  Just mentioning her deceased brother’s name renders Miku silent with grief. She is still hurting from losing Rio, though she tries to hide it. That seems to be a Guardian trait: hide pain and hope no one notices. Jay takes her hand and tells her he can continue to brief us.

  “There’s a new group of Quo that has been formed. At first it was just a few members, but now there are thousands of them. They call themselves Q.R.N.” Jay informs us.

  “Q.R.N. what does that stand for?” I ask.

  “Quo Right Now.”

  “Why would we form another organization? What about the foundation my grandmother built?” I ask, more upset than I had first realized.

  “The Q.R.N. have formed because they believe the Foundation is ineffective and that…” Miku looks at me and stops talking.

  “What is it?” I push.

  “They think that since your grandmother died, her mission of peace between our races has died too,” Jay replies.

  “That’s not true, there is peace between us. Look at us here in this house,” I plead.

  “We agree with you, Eta, but to the rest of the world, it looks like—”

  “—like you guys somehow tricked me and now I’m under your thumb. I’m just some kind of puppet?” I shout.

  “We know it’s not like that, but it doesn’t matter. If the Quo people feel they are not being represented, they will react. In fact, they already did. Q.R.N started a campaign to launch there one and only mission,” Miku says.

  “What’s their mission?” I ask.

  “They want access to the light,” Jay drops the bomb softly in hopes the tone of his voice softens the news.

  “They don’t have wings, how are they supposed to get to the light and what good would the light do them?” Marcus asks.

  “We have Quo that have been testing out methods of simulating flight for centuries, so it’s not impossible. And being in the light would make us as strong as Angels. It would make it harder for us to die,” I reply.

  “Yo, I’m not against Quo having their freedom, but I’m not sure we want to go as far as giving them access to the light,” Jay confesses.

  “Not all Quo are bad. Some of us would use the light for good,” I argue.

  “And how would we tell the difference between the good Quo and the bad ones?” Miku asks.

  “I don’t know, but I don’t appreciate all of us being lumped in together. I have been helping you guys and now you’re telling me, you don’t think I have a right to the—”

  “—Eta, calm down. We know you’re a good person. We trust you. I would walk you into the light myself,” Marcus vows, taking my hand.

  His touch causes a su
rge of sensations to course through my veins and down my whole body. The warmth of touch curls my toes and causes my heart to leap out of it chest. I want to feel like this forever.

  I need more Gentum…

  “I’m sorry. I just got carried away I guess,” I reply looking into Marcus’ intoxicating eyes.

  “It’s okay. You’re Quo and you have every right to want what’s best for your people, but access to light means more than just Quo rights. Angels have access because we are inherently good. I don’t know about the Quo,” Marcus says.

  “Well Q.R.N. has already decided access to the light is what they want. They are gathering on Twitter. And in the past twenty-four hours, it has been hit nearly half a million times. They are trending and there is no sign of them slowly down,” Miku adds.

  “What are they saying?” I ask.

  “#light4us2”

  “Clever,” Marcus says sardonically.

  “This is bad. It will also give the Originals another reason not to allow our Sib to stay in Noni. They will have yet another reason to kill my son,” Ameana says.

  “That is not going to happen,” Rage promises his fiancée.

  “But if it does we have no control over it,” Ameana counters as tears fill her eyes.

  “Rage is right, your son will be fine. You have to trust us,” Marcus replies.

  “Yo, be easy. It’s just a stupid Twitter campaign, what could come out of it?” Jay asks.

  “Actually, a lot. The humans had an uprising in Egypt not long ago and it all started online,” I inform them.

  “She’s right. I had forgotten about that,” Miku says.

  “You think the Q.R.N. could actually be onto something?” Ameana asks, frantic.

  On a hunch, I turn on the TV. And sure enough, the Q.R.N. are following in the footsteps of the humans: they have created a revolt using social media. Thousands of Quo have filled stadiums all over the world. Each stadium has a massive blank screen with one phrase flashing repeatedly: “Quo Rights Now” and “Akons can; so can we”