The Lyris

  “I'M NOT UPSET!”

  “I’m glad you’re not upset, otherwise you might start screaming,” she quips.

  “Whatever,” he says as he stomps out.

  “What’s his problem?” She asks.

  “He’s…complicated. Never mind that, can you find out where the Sage went?” I ask.

  “Do my best but try and prepare, because something is coming,” she warns as she jumps on to the Port.

  “We’ll be on the lookout. Thanks,” I reply.

  “Hey, does he have a girl?”

  “Who?” I ask.

  “Dark and brooding.”

  “No, Rio isn’t seeing anyone.”

  “No wonder; she’d have to be nuts.”

  I can’t for the life of me figure out what wicked plan the Sage may be making, but I figure I should talk to the one person who can think evil while still being good. I head to the infirmary to talk to Miku. No one knows evil like she does. She may have some idea what the Sage’s next step will be.

  Inside the infirmary, Arden plays nurse to some very happy male Quo and Ty follows her every move. As soon as he sees me, he comes my way.

  “How do you do it?” He asks.

  “Do what?”

  “Make Bianca go out with you.”

  “Well…it just…happened.”

  “C’mon, I need to know. I need to ask Arden out before the rest of these guys.”

  “She’s a little too old for you,” I caution him.

  “No, she’s perfect. And we could be just like you and Bianca.”

  “Ty—”

  “—think about it. You looked at Bianca and you didn’t care that she was a Quo. Arden could feel the same way about me.”

  “I know, but—”

  “—she could take me into her heart the same way you took Bianca. Yeah, Bianca’s hot but she’s still a Quo. You looked past that.”

  “There is nothing to look past. There’s nothing wrong with being a Quo,” I try to impress upon him.

  “Well, I know that now, because of you and Bianca. Nothing is off limits to me now. That includes super hot ‘spacey’ chicks.”

  “Ty, I don’t think—”

  “—Who says Arden can’t love me like the way you love Bianca?” I take him off to the furthest part of the infirmary so that we won’t be overheard.

  “Ty, I have to tell you something.”

  “What is it?” He replies innocently.

  “It’s about me and Bianca…”

  “Okay,” He says waiting for me to continue.

  “Bianca and I are…we’re not…Bianca is…”

  Damn it!

  “Bianca and you are what, Marcus?” He asks growing more and more curious.

  “We’re glad that our union inspires you. But you should just speak from your heart when you talk to a girl. Just be honest.”

  He smiles broadly and tells me he’s going off to prepare his opening line to Arden. I rub my eye sockets with the heel of my hand and feel yet another headache coming on. I should have told him the truth but looking into his eyes, I just couldn’t hurt him. So instead, I’ve allowed him to believe a lie.

  Some Angel I am.

  I make myself focus on why I came to the infirmary. I find Miku a few cots away from the entrance. Her arm is as good as new. Judging from her expression she is not a fan of having to be laid up.

  “How are you?” I ask her.

  “Why am I here, Marcus? I’m fine.”

  “Yeah, but rest can’t hurt.”

  She rolls her eyes and turns away.

  “C’mon, Pretty. Just another hour, then you can do a mega mix of death songs, okay? ”

  “I guess,” she says like a stubborn child.

  “I met the source and she says the Sage is planning something. She doesn’t know what yet and I was hoping you had an idea.”

  “Well, if I was him, I’d find a way to change the state of this war. We’re winning because we have more soldiers. What would change that fact?” She asks.

  “There’s no more Quo for them to recruit, so how would the Sage turn things in his favor?” I ask.

  “I’m not sure. But whatever it is, I’m sure it’s going to be on a grand scale. The Sage went to a lot of trouble to get the Quo to have faith in him and become Believers. In order to keep the Believers on his side, he’s going to have to renew their faith in him.”

  “In order to that, he’s gonna have to do something big.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Hey, can I talk to you?”

  I look up and Emmy is standing behind me.

  “Miku, how’s your arm?” She asks.

  “Better, thanks. You can have Marcus. I’m gonna go back into the field,” she says as she hops off the bed.

  “I thought I said you should stay here for another hour,” I remind her.

  “Marcus, you can’t stop the music; or the death toll,” she says, smiling as she heads out.

  Emmy asks if we can go somewhere. I follow her to the side of the mountain where she touched my hand and gave me hope that we would be okay. Why does that feel like forever ago?

  “What’s up?” I ask when it’s clear we’re alone.

  “I’m not saying sorry for blowing up at you before because I’m not—sorry.”

  “Okay.”

  What???

  “But, I am sorry that I worried you. I know it sucks to see the person you love in pain and I didn’t mean for you have to go through that,” she says softly.

  “Come here,” I whisper in her ear.

  She leans in and embraces me tightly. Somehow, feeling her against me makes everything better.

  And for the first time, the sound of power balls, screaming, and death go silent.

  Emmy; my peace in the madness.

  “I know this is hard but it won’t be this way forever,” I remind her.

  “It’s just…that necklace meant a lot to me. And since you’re with Bianca, it’s all I have.”

  “Emmy, you know that’s not true. Bianca is just a lie we need to live in order to win this war. I don’t love her. I don’t want her. She’s just a means to an end. The person I want and love is you. Baby, it’s always you.”

  I gently pull Emmy out of the embrace so I can see her face. I find an expression I didn’t think would be there—shock. She is looking at something over my shoulder, and it is causing her to panic. I turn to see what’s she’s looking at.

  Ty.

  He looks at us with a mixture of loathing, surprise and confusion. His face is like that of someone who has been stabbed in the heart by a friend.

  Ty immediately runs off.

  “Ty, wait!” I shout as Emmy and I take after him.

  He doesn’t stop. He walks past the hideout, the infirmary and command center.

  “Ty, wait, let us explain,” I call out to him again.

  He turns to Emmy and me.

  “LIAR!” he accuses.

  “Ty, keep your voice down,” I implore him.

  “We can explain, if you just listen,” Emmy tells him.

  “NO!!! YOU LIED! THE SAGE WAS RIGHT, THERE ARE NO GOOD ANGELS. YOU’RE JUST USING US SO YOU CAN GET WHAT YOU WANT. I HATE YOU, MARCUS. I HATE ALL OF YOUR KIND!”

  As he speaks, a power ball starts forming in his hand.

  “Ty, calm down and listen,” I order him.

  “I DON’T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING YOU SAY, LIAR!!!”

  The power ball has grown to a normal size and is thus very dangerous.

  “Ty, you can hurt someone with that. You have to destroy it,” I warn him.

  “YOU’RE JUST LIKE THE SAGE SAYS - EVIL. THIS WHOLE TIME YOU’VE BEEN PRETENDING TO LIKE US - TO LIKE ME.”

  “I wasn’t pretending, Ty. I do like you.”

  “WHAT ABOUT BIANCA?”

  “Ty, it’s complicated…”

  “YOU USED US JUST TO GET YOUR ARMY!”

  The power ball is now among the biggest I’ve ever seen. He’s getting angrier and angri
er with each passing moment. He’s going to throw it at me. I should attack him and force him to put down the power ball but I don’t want Ty to get hurt in the process.

  “Ty, please, put down the power ball,” I beg.

  “WE BELIEVED IN YOU, WE DIED FOR YOU AND YOU BETRAYED US FOR HER!” Without any warning, Ty hurls the massive power ball. But he doesn’t throw it at me; he throws it at Emmy.

  There’s no time to block it.

  No time to duck.

  No time to intercept.

  Today is the one day…

  The power ball hits Emmy’s center mass.

  She collapses to the ground, lifeless.

  CHAPTER TWELVE:

  SNAKES & EX-GIRLFRIENDS

  I kneel over her but I can’t see her face, there’s too much blood in the way. I call out her name repeatedly, each time more and more desperate. She is dead silent.

  “Marcus, move!” Someone shouts behind me as they yank me away from Emmy’s body. It happens so fast, it’s hard to keep up. I hear people talking but I’m too fixed on Emmy to make out who is saying what.

  I swear to Omnis, I don’t know how I got to the hospital. I don’t remember flying there. I don’t remember lifting Emmy off the ground or carrying her in my arms. But I know it happened because I’m here in the hospital, giving her over to the ER doctor. The staff quickly place her on a gurney and race down to the operating room.

  I didn’t notice them until I felt Miku’s hand on my shoulder. I look and the whole team is in the hallway with me, along with Rage. Nothing makes sense. I’m trembling and I can’t seem to steady myself. I need answers. I need to understand what just happened.

  “Why is she here? She needs to be healed by a healer. Why is she here?” I ask them frantically.

  “Emmy’s body is weaker than that of a Quo. They didn’t have anything that would help her in the infirmary. And the mixtures that could have helped her were blown up in the blast with the rest of Daraquin,” Miku explains slowly.

  From the tone in her voice, I’m guessing this isn’t the first time she’s told me that. But for the life of me, I can’t recall her explaining it to me.

  “She wasn’t breathing so we brought her here because nothing can be done until she gets air in her lungs,” Jay says sympathetically.

  “Oh, yeah…” I reply, still in a daze.

  “Marcus, sit down,” Ameana says softly.

  “She’s gonna be okay, right, Rio?”

  “I still see a wave, so she’s alive,” he replies.

  “Okay, okay, that’s good. She’s alive,” I announce to them. But when they look back at me, it’s not with joy or relief. They look at me with sorrow and concern.

  “What? What is it?” I ask.

  “Marcus, she’s alive but that’s the only wave I’m getting from her,” Rio says sadly.

  “So?”

  “It’s like when you were a Tic, I only got a faint ‘ghost’ of a wave.”

  “But I’m alive. So Emmy’s gonna live too. Everything is going to be fine.”

  “Marcus—”

  “—SHE”S GONNA LIVE!” I shout. The whole hospital staff stops and stares at us.

  “You’re right, she’s gonna be fine,” Ameana says.

  “She will.” I vow.

  Everyone looks at me, sadly. I don’t pay attention to them. There’s no reason to be sad. Emmy will be just fine. How many times has she been injured and come out okay? This is just like the other times.

  They’ll see, she’ll be just fine…

  It’s only then that I notice her blood seeping through my fingers. My hands shake even worse now. I can’t make it stop. I feel like someone is cutting me open with a dull blade. The thought that today could be her last day on Earth makes an acute, violent pain travel up my chest and spread through my body.

  My legs start to give way. I lean on the wall for support and slide down onto the floor. My bloody hands leave a morbid maroon trail on the once white painted hallway. I hold my head in my bloody hands and pray. The team sits on the floor along side me. Rage stands not too far away.

  It seems like an eternity before the surgeon comes out of the operating room. Once he’s out, we anxiously stand up. He says he can’t tell us anything because we’re teens and more importantly, we’re not family. Jay Convinces him quickly and he begins to talk.

  “She was bleeding into her brain. We operated and were able to relieve some of the pressure.”

  “But, she’s gonna be okay right?” I ask.

  “People with head injuries this bad have a very small survival rate. We’ll monitor her for the next few hours and we’ll know more then.”

  The doctor tells us how sorry he is once again and heads down the hall way.

  “Okay, this isn’t bad. I mean, it is, but we can find a mixture of something to cure her, right? Maybe, the healer that helped me when I was a Tic? We can find him,” I ask the team.

  “He died in battle on the first day. I saw his body. And the healers that were comparable to him, died in the blast set off by the Sage,” Ameana says.

  “FIND SOMEONE ELSE!!!” I order.

  “Marcus—”

  “—I AM NOT LETTING HER DIE!”

  “Alright, Marcus, what do you want us to do?” Ameana asks.

  “FIND SOMEONE TO HELP HER!”

  “Everyone who could help is dead,” Rio says softly.

  “Are you saying that with all the Paras and mixtures we have, we’re still powerless?” I ask.

  “Healing an injury this bad in a human is something that could be taken care of in Daraquin. But it’s gone. There are no healers left who are that advanced,” Miku reminds me.

  “Pretty, if her only chance is human medicine, she’ll die,” I reply.

  She looks back at me with sorrow and that’s when the reality of the situation begins to sink in.

  “I might know someone…” Rage says reluctantly.

  “Who?” I ask.

  “My ex-girl.”

  “Your ex-girlfriend is a healer?” Jay asks, stunned.

  “Angels aren’t the only ones that get hurt and need healing,” he says defensively.

  “Well, is she any good?” I ask desperately.

  “Yeah, she’s the best. Little crazy though,” he says almost to himself.

  “You never mentioned an ex-girlfriend?” Ameana says suspiciously.

  We all turn to look at her.

  “Sorry,” she says, realizing this maybe wasn’t the right time to grill Rage.

  “Where is she?” I ask.

  “I’d have to look around, she’s rarely in one place for too long,” Rage replies.

  “Okay, go get her,” I instruct.

  “I’m coming with you,” Ameana says.

  “Um…she doesn’t like…”

  “She doesn’t like Angels. Big shock,” Ameana says.

  “Well, no she doesn’t. But she also doesn’t like you,especially,” Rage says clearing his throat.

  “How does she even know me?” Ameana replies, incredulously.

  “Yo, on the real, Emmy has saved our ass a million times. So you two need to squash whatever this is here and now. Rage, go find this healer Demon.”

  Rage looks at Ameana. She signals she’s okay with it, although I doubt she’s being honest. Rage takes off to find his ex.

  I lean against the wall and start laughing. It’s a sad laughter; the kind that comes from knowing you’re almost certainly damned. I say the words out loud and they sound even more hopeless than they did in my head.

  “The survival of the girl I love is in the hands of the First Akon…”

  The members of the team are talking amongst themselves in the waiting room. They sit a few seats away from me, leaving me alone. They sense that’s what I need. Still, they won’t go away completely. They insist on being there for me and for Emmy. I overhear them talking but since I feel like I’m in a dark hole, their voices seem to be floating around me.

  “You know I love
Marcus, but really, Emmy never should have been on that field,” Jay says to Miku.

  “Jay, you know he wouldn’t have been able to stop her from coming along.”

  “Yeah, Baby Girl is an action junkie.”

  “You are so dense. You really think Emmy comes along on our mission for the action?”

  “Hell, yeah.”

  “She comes along because she’d rather spend an hour with him in the face of danger than years safely without him. She comes with us because she loves him.”

  “Look how she’s paying for that now,” Jay says shaking his head.

  “How can you be this way? Since when was love a bad thing? You’re being a jerk,” Miku accuses.

  “Yo, you do’n a lot right now.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “That means I’m not the bad guy just cuz I don’t want be in a relationship-type situation.”

  “You’re just scared.”

  “Why you trying so hard to be with me? Did you see what happened to the last girl that was with me? They still haven’t found all her body parts.”

  “The Sage did that. It wasn’t you, Jay.”

  “Doesn’t matter. Marcus is in hell right now because he loved someone. Now he’s losing it and Baby Girl may not make it.”

  “Emmy is gonna be okay.”

  “Before the light blew up; yes. But now that we can’t find good healers, there’s no telling if she’ll make it or not.”

  “Shhh, I don’t want Marcus to hear you. And say what you want, but Marcus doesn’t regret loving Emmy.”

  “No, but when Baby Girl took that power ball to the chest, I’m sure she started regretting.”

  “Is it that you don’t want to be in relationship or don’t want to be in one with me?” She asks with a small voice.

  “Miku, I love you. You’re my home girl, why isn’t that enough?”

  “I’m not asking for your Rah, Jay. I’m just saying, maybe we could try and see if this goes somewhere. Unless you don’t feel anything for me at all, then it’s fine - whatever.”

  “Yo, why you so down with ending our thing?”

  “What thing? Oh, you mean the meaningless sex?”

  “Meaningless? So what if we don’t become a couple, then all the times we spent together was worthless?”