The Lyris

  “Fine, what’s the Demon’s name?” I ask.

  “It’s not a Demon, it’s a Seller—Tony Tone.”

  “Why, Tony, why does your name always come up?” I bark at him.

  It’s a half hour later and we’re a few miles from the bar. Tony appears on a Port after I called him on his cell and demand he meet us.

  “I’m a popular guy. I try not to let it go to my head, but you know how it is…” He says proudly.

  “Tony, this ‘Boss’ guy wants you dead!” Jay informs him.

  “The guy’s always so dramatic. I mean, so I relieved him of a few coats. Big deal,” Tony says defensively.

  “It is a big deal. He has a healer we need and he won’t let her go until we kill you,” Rio replies.

  “Oh, that’s bad,” Tony says to himself.

  “It won’t be too bad, you’re a Seller, you’ll just come back right?” Miku asks.

  “Normally, yes. But with the light being destroyed and the Council being gone…there’s no guarantee. I could end up in limbo like all the souls that have died during these past few moths.”

  “Well, then, you have a problem because if it comes down to choosing between your life and Emmy’s...” I reply.

  “Okay, okay, but just so we’re clear, this isn’t my fault. Baby oil for Weeping oil? Man, that guy’s such an idiot! I wish I could have seen his face when he opened the boxes,” Tony laughs so hard, he can’t catch his breath.

  “I don’t think you understand what’s happening. If we don’t kill you, we can’t save Emmy’s life. And I’m not sacrificing my girl for a sneaky, lying, cheating, Seller!” I tell him honestly.

  “You know, Marcus, words hurt,” he says as if I’ve just broken his heart.

  “TONY!” I shout as I grab him by the neck and left him up in the air with one hand.

  “Oaky, okay, I have an idea,” he says trying to catch his breath. I put him down.

  “Let’s hear it,” Miku says.

  “I’m assuming he has you under contract, right?” Tony asks.

  “Yes, and according to the contract, you have to be dead,” Rio replies.

  “I have the perfect thing. See ‘death’ is tricky. You have to get specific. If my heart stops, then yeah, I’m dead but that doesn’t mean I’m not alive,” he brags.

  We all look at him, confused.

  “You don’t get it?” He asks.

  “No and we’re running out of patience,” I warn him.

  “I have a mixture here that can stop your heart for five minutes. Then start it back up again. So, I drink the mixture, you show my body to the Boss and he gives you the healer. Then, you tell him you’re going to discard the body and you take me out of the building, minutes later, I come back to life. Easy, right?”

  “Or we could just kill you,” Ameana says.

  “Mimi, that hurts,” Tony says.

  “Don’t call me that,” she warns him.

  “She likes me, the ‘hostility’ thing is just a thing we do,” he says to Rage.

  “Okay, you’re sure this mixture will make your heart stop for five full minutes?” Miku asks.

  “Yup, I’m ready when you are,” he says smiling.

  I don’t know why I haven’t killed Tony. He’s helped us in the past but often he’s more troublethan he’s worth.

  He drinks the mixture, his eyes close and his heart beat slows down until it stops. Ameana uses her powers to lift him into the air and over to the Boss’s bar.

  When he sees Tony’s body, he’s delighted. So much so, he offers us Coy to celebrate.

  “Thanks, but we’re pressed for time. Release the healer,” I order him.

  “Of course,” he says, smiling.

  He unties the Samson string from around her neck. Elle runs towards us. The Boss looks down at Tony’s body, kicks it a few times and spits into Tony’s face.

  “We’ll get rid of the body for you,” I offer.

  “That won’t be necessary,” The Boss says.

  “Why?”

  “I’m gonna send a message to Sellers who dare try to cheat the Boss. We’re gonna Bar-B-Cue Tony-Tone,” The Boss relays smugly.

  The team and I exchange a quick look of panic as the Boss takes Tony’s body out back.

  We follow him in hopes of stopping him.

  “That’s messy; we’ll just get rid of him for you,” Miku replies.

  “It’s already been decided. Light’em up!” The Boss instructs his bodyguard.

  One of them goes into the bar and comes back with a gallon of gasoline. He pours it all over Tony. He then flicks open his lighter and throws it directly on to the body. I catch Ameana’s eye just in time to signal her.

  She waves her hand and redirects the lighter away from Tony. The Boss’s guards, quickly hurl power balls at us. Rage sets half of them on fire. The other half quickly take cover. The Boss takes out his own lighter and throws it as Tony’s lifeless body. Ameana is too busy with the other bodyguards to stop the lighter from making contact. Tony is going to be burned alive.

  Luckily, Rio throws himself on top of Tony just in time to block the flames with his shield. The two of them are under a sea of flames. Jay Glides over to the Boss and takes him out with a swift blow to the head.

  All the Demons have been killed but the fire on Rio’s shield rages on. Elle walks up to the flames and sucks the fire up into her mouth.

  “She inhales fire?” Jay asks Rage.

  “Yeah, and that’s not all,” he replies.

  We look on as Elle spit’s the blaze back out a few feet away from us. Rage looks at her with admiration. That is, until he spots Ameana looking at him. He turns away from Elle and acts as if she doesn’t exist.

  Tony wakes up and smiles brightly.

  “See, what did I tell you? No big deal right?” He says.

  I resist the urge to strangle him. Tony asks if Emmy has woken up yet.

  “No, but the healer will help her,” I infirm him.

  “The healer that’s flying away?” Rio asks me.

  We look up and, sure enough, Elle has taken to the sky.

  “I’m so sick of this,” I swear as I take off after her.

  Her massive raven colored wings allow her to skillfully dodge me. I signal to the team; they take to the sky and block her from every direction.

  “I don’t have to help if I don’t want to,” she demands.

  “We saved your life,” I remind her.

  “I’ll send you a thank you note, Boy Scout. Right now, I got places to be,” she says looking for an opening to escape.

  “We’ll give you whatever you want. So long as it doesn’t involve harming anyone,” I inform her.

  “Fine. I want money. Lots of it,” she demands.

  “I’m sure we can arrange something,” I assure her.

  She smiles and heads back down to the ground. We land right beside her, fearing she may try and get away again.

  “I want more than just money. I want protection the whole time I’m working on the human. If Lucy finds out that I was helping you—”

  “—we won’t let anything happen to you,” Rio assures her.

  “One last thing; this is the deal breaker: I don’t get this and your human, dies,” she vows.

  “What is it and keep in mind, I’m quickly losing my sense of humor,” I warn her.

  She looks at Rage as if only they are the only two people on Earth.

  “Elle, don’t,” Rage warns her.

  “You owe it to me,” she spits bitterly at him.

  “What is it?” I ask again.

  “I want Rage to answer my question. The same question I asked months ago. The same question he’s been avoiding,” she says never taking her eyes off of him.

  “See, that’s what pisses me off about you. You always force me to be the asshole,” Rage replies.

  “I don’t have to force you, ‘handcuffs,’ being an asshole is what you do naturally,” Elle counters.

  “Handcuffs?” Ameana s
ays addressing her boyfriend.

  “It’s a long story,” Rage responses, avoiding Ameana’s eyes.

  “You guys want my help, then you better get the former First Akon to answer my question.”

  “What’s the question?” Miku asks.

  “This is gonna be bad…” Rio says mostly to himself.

  “The question is—”

  “—Elle, don’t,” Rage warns her.

  “Remember when this mission was just about getting a little map?” Jay quips.

  The former couple stare at each other. Ameana watches the exchange carefully.

  “Elle, seriously close to killing both you and Rage,” I promise her.

  “What do you want Rage to tell you?” Jay says sensing how serious I am about killing them both.

  She looks at Rage and speaks as if they were alone. There’s pain in her eyes, and her voice shakes slightly.

  “Why her and not me?”

  It isn’t just the question that catches us off guard. It’s the tone of Elle’s voice. Since meeting her, she has been flippant and snide. But this time, her voice was soft, uncertain…human.

  Wow…

  We all turn to Rage. His jaw is clenched and he balls his hands into fists.

  “We’ll find another way to save the human,” he tells us.

  “What? No. Just answer the damn question,” I order.

  “No!” He replies.

  “Thomas, we don’t have a lot time. Just tell the bitter little Demon what she wants to know,” Ameana says.

  “C’mon Rage, stop be’n a punk’n say something, damn!” Jay swears.

  “ANSWER, DAMN IT! WHY HER AND NOT—--”

  “BECAUSE I DIDN”T LOVE YOU!!!”

  The fury in his words causes fire balls to spring up in both his palms. He hurls it angrily towards the surrounding trees. When he speaks again, the anger gives way to brute honesty.

  “I tried. I couldn’t,” he confesses.

  “Then, I’m the stupid one because I did, Rage; I loved you,” she admits fearlessly.

  “Elle, you loved Rage; Ameana loves Thomas,” he replies simply.

  “I hope I get to be there when your little Angel realizes the truth: Thomas is dead. He’s been dead for a long time,” she says to Rage.

  She walks up to Ameana. Their faces inches apart.

  “Sooner, rather than later, Rage’s true nature will resurface. And in more ways than one, he’ll burn you.”

  Tony meets us at the hospital with all the items Elle asks for. We head to Emmy’s room where Elle skillfully prepares the mixture.

  I remind her that if she messes up in any way, I will have no issue taking her out.

  “Relax, Boy Scout, I know what I’m doing. I’m great with my hands. Isn’t that right, Rage?” She teases.

  I can feel Ameana starting to lose it. I signal to Miku to take her out of the room but Ameana refuses to budge.

  Hours later, the mixture is complete. It’s a sticky blue color with flecks of gold in it. Elle explains the process to us as she coats Emmy’s chest with the mixture.

  “Right now, it’s searching for her soul. It should take about an hour or so. Once it finds it, the mixture will glow bright silver. When it latches on, it will change to violet. That means she’s on her way back to the living.”

  After Elle’s done, we look on helplessly. An hour passes and the color has not changed. Elle tells me some souls take longer to find than others.

  C’mon, this has to work…

  We wait another hour. There is no change in color.

  I warn Elle that if she somehow did something to Emmy, she’ll pay for it.

  “I need the money you’re giving me. Killing the human doesn’t get me anything,” she tells me.

  “Can she be trusted?” I ask Rage.

  Wait, did I just ask the First Akon who I could trust?

  “She knows how to heal,” Rage assures me.

  “What else can she do, ‘handcuffs’?” Rio asks, suppressing a smile. Jay and Miku laugh at Rio’s comment.

  “CAN WE PLEASE FOCUS FOR ONE MINUTE? THIS GIRL IS NOT WAKING UP. SHE’S THE ONLY THING I LOVE AND SHE IS NOT WAKING UP!”

  The room falls silent, instantly.

  “C’mon man, let’s take a walk,” Jay says.

  “No, I’m gonna stay here.”

  “It’s all good, son. We’ll just step outside,” he assures me.

  I follow him down the hallway. When we get to the end, I lean up against it and hang my head.

  “She can’t die, Jay. She can’t…”

  “Remember who you’re talking about; Emmy is a ride or die chick. She NEVER gives up. She’s like the energizer bunny on, like, extra crack and CP,” he jokes.

  “If this doesn’t work…”

  “This’ll work,” he says with certainty.

  “It has to, because…I’m all out moves.”

  Just as we are about to head back to her room, someone exits the elevator across from us and bashes me in the head. It happens so quickly, neither Jay nor I have time to process it.

  I look up and find Julian aiming to hit me again. Jay Glides over to him and stops him.

  “What the hell is your problem?” I shout.

  “You dirty, selfish piece of Guardian crap!” He roars as he tries to attack me again.

  “Julian, be easy,” Jay orders.

  “Get off me. Your useless, infantile leader almost gets my child killed, yet again. This time she’s in a coma and he doesn’t even tell me about it. I’m her father!” Julian screams.

  “I didn’t have time to tell you,” I counter.

  “That’s bull and you know it! You are a plague on Emmy’s life, Marcus and swear to Omnis I will be the last thing you see before you die.”

  “You’re the one who keeps hurting her, Julian, not me!”

  “How many times do you plan on taking my daughter to the edge of death?!”

  “Oh, just shut the hell up!”

  He leaps on top of me and knocks me to the ground. I can’t kill Emmy’s father, but I’ll be damned if I don’t knock him out. I tackle him and pin him down.

  “HEY!” Someone yells.

  We all look up and find Elle looking down on us.

  “The color’s changed. It‘s silver. Meaning, it found her soul,” she says.

  “So, she’s gonna be okay?” I ask.

  “Like I said before, after silver, it’s supposed to change to violet. The means she’s getting better.

  But that’s not what’s happening. Instead of violet, it’s turning gray with dark patches,” she replies.

  “What does that mean?” Julian asks.

  “It means the human doesn’t want to come back…”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN:

  THE CITY UNDER GLASS

  I pull up a chair and sit beside her bed. Her face is still completely drained of color and she manages to look frailer than before.

  “You came into my life with a piglet t- shirt, tangled hair and a wicked stubborn streak. Yet somehow, you made it impossible for me to live without you. I fought my way back from being a Tic so I could be with you; so you better not leave me. Do you hear me, Emerson Hope Baxter? You are not allowed to die.”

  My cell vibrates, I step away from her bedside to answer it.

  “Yeah?...Tony, what is it?...okay, calm down, we’ll be right there,” I hang and go back over to her bed.

  “I have to take care of something. I’ll be back as soon as I can. Emmy, I’m not gonna give up on you. Ever.” I kiss her forehead and make her a promise.

  “Emmy, you better wake up or I’m coming after you because our love doesn’t stop when our lives end. I’ll find you in the light, in darkness or in Hell, itself. I will not be without you.” I look lovingly at her one last time then head out to the waiting room.

  “Tony called; there’s something at the shop he wants us to look at,” I inform the team.

  “What is it?” Miku asks.

  “He won’t say,??
? I reply.

  “What kind of trouble could he have gotten himself in; he just left us a little while ago?” Rio says.

  “I don’t know, but he says it’s urgent,” I add.

  I turn my attention to Elle.

  “I’m leaving Emmy with you. Look after her as if your life depends on it, because trust me, it does. Let me know as soon as something changes.”

  “What if nothing changes?” She asks.

  “Emmy can’t give up; she doesn’t know how,” I promise her.

  A short while later, we land in an alley off Times Square where Tony has moved his shop. If you don’t know it’s there, it’s easy to miss. It’s a small “hole in the wall’ type shop, with bad lighting. As soon as we land, Tony lets us in.

  “This better be important,” Rio snaps.

  The team and I exchange a glance. That’s when I remember he wanted to talk to Winter and make sure she was okay after admitting she was Uri’s mistress.

  “This is very important,” Tony swears.

  “Well, what is it?” Ameana asks.

  “I’ve been working on something to help you guys,” Tony replies.

  “Working on what?” I ask.

  “I’ve been trying to create a master key. One that could open any and every lock ever made,” he informs us.

  “That sounds difficult,” Miku says.

  “It is. There are millions of patterns to copy and mixtures to configure. But I did it! I made a master key. I call it Prim. After the first girl I kissed,” Tony says proudly.

  “It sounds dangerous, if it falls into the wrong hands,” I comment.

  “Well…” Tony begins.

  “Who did you sell it to?” I ask not bother to hold my temper.

  “Hey, I wasn’t going to sell it,” Tony replies.

  “So you just made a master key to have a hobby?” Rage says.

  “Look, First Akon, the Guardians and I have a long history. They know who I really am in my heart,” Tony says eyeing us.

  “We do know. How much were you selling it for?” Rio asks.

  “See, I’m hurt,” Tony replies.

  We all look at him with growing suspicion.

  “Okay, half a million, but I was gonna come to you guys first. And I was gonna give your team the Friends and Family discount. That’s fifteen percent off.”