“That’s why having sex without a Tam is a very bad idea,” I say trying to keep the irritation from my voice.
“Okay, so who is it? Who’s pregnant?” Emmy asks impatiently.
She doesn’t have to wait long for the answer. The Alexi swoops down to us and lands in the middle of our camp. The shield did not slow it down at all.
Everyone waits as the Alexi walks around the camp. It has a melodic chirp that every female Angel I know loves. The Alexi flaps its wings and moves a few yards away, to the opening of Bianca’s makeshift home.
I force myself to remain calm. Three hellish minutes later, Alexi moves onto an opening on the other side of the command center. I clear my throat to cover the relief I’m feeling. A few moments later, Alexi flies into the nearest opening and stays there.
The young woman comes out of the opening with Alexi by her side and a male Angel beside her; I’m guessing he’s her husband. She is beaming with happiness. All the Angels cheer and congratulate them. Suddenly her smile is replaced by fear.
She just now realizes how risky it is to have a Sib without being able to take refuge in the light.
So, if she survives the Handover, there will be another huge hurdle: how to generate enough soul to feed both mother and Sib with no access to the light.
She cries out to Omnis and her husband holds her. The team and I run over to walk her back inside.
“It won’t survive. My baby won’t survive while I’m here. Oh no, oh no…” She wails in agony.
Emmy goes over to her, takes her hand and asks her name.
“Angela.”
“Okay, Angela, everything is going to be fine.”
“How do you know; you’re a human.”
“I know because I’ve seen what you Angels can do. I know you guys are capable of amazing things. And this baby will be too.”
“No, it’s not gonna survive. It’s not,” she moans again.
I look over at the husband and he looks almost as scared as Angela does. I take him off to the side and try to calm him down.
“Look, having a baby now is dangerous and foolish. But it’s here, so you better get it together because she needs you.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay. Okay.”
“Go over there, help her get on the ground and make her as calm as possible for the Handover.”
“Okay, okay.” But I know I’m not getting through to him, because as many times as he says okay, he has yet to move.
“HEY, SHE’S ABOUT TO HAVE YOUR KID, MOVE YOUR ASS!” Rage bellows from across the room.
Strangely enough, it works. He runs over to her and takes Angela’s hand. She calls out his name over and over again saying she’s scared.
“Everyone, clear the room!” Someone yells from the doorway. We look over and find Wolf standing in front of the opening.
“I mean it, everyone out,” he says, sounding more official than I have ever heard him.
“You’ve done this before?” I ask.
“Yes, a few times. It’s nothing to worry about, Angela. It’s just nature, doing her thing. The Alexi is here to help guide your Sib to Noni,” he tells the stricken woman.
“We’ll leave the three of you alone,” I announce as we start to head out.
“Marcus I need you to stay and keep her body still while I try to keep her calm. The more upset she is, the more difficult the Handover.”
“Okay, I’ll stay.”
“We’ll be outside if you need us,” The Twins say in unison.
Ameana reassures her that things will be okay. Rage takes her hand and they head out. Before they can make it to the opening, Angela calls out for Emmy.
“Human, you were tortured once before, right?”
“Um…once or twice,” she replies.
“Then you can stay. You know what this will feel like,” Angela tells her.
“This is not torture; this is a beautiful moment that transcends nature. It’s righteous,” Wolf reminds her.
“Screw that; this will be torture,” she shouts.
“Okay, I’ll stay with you,” Emmy swears. Angela nods gratefully and she calls out for her husband.
“Uri!”
“Angie, I’m here. I promise everything will be alright,” he says.
But his voice is shaking so much, it’s hard for anymore in the room to believe him.
Wolf and I exchange a concerned glance. Judging by the shaky voice and hands, not to mention the terror in his eyes, Uri is not doing well.
He keeps pacing around, looking at the Alexi as if willing her to come back at another time. But once a female is pregnant, there is no getting rid of the Alexi. She will stay there until the Handover is complete.
“Uri, I want you to go get a vial of Mist. It’s a liquid that produces synthetic soul. It’ll help her regain some strength after the Handover. Go to the market, our source says it’s in Puerto Rico today. Find Tony-Tone, he should have some,” Wolf says.
“Okay,” He says, too panic stricken to move.
“Uri, go now!” I order.
He gives his wife a quick kiss, looks over at the Alexi with a mix of excitement and fear, then he runs out and takes to the air.
“Why don’t you guys use Mist to protect against Soul Chasers?” Emmy asks me in a whisper as Wolf tries to calm Angela.
“It’s only for pregnant women. It doesn’t have any effect otherwise,” I inform her.
“How will the Sib survive in Noni? I won’t have enough soul for it to grow,” Angela cries as she is helped to the ground.
We help her place her arms out to her side and straighten her legs. The Alexi, a bird who’s not known for patience, flies around the room, signaling she’s ready for the Handover.
Emmy gets down on the ground and takes Angela’s hand. Wolf goes over and takes her other hand. He instructs me to hold Angela’s legs and make sure she doesn’t move, so that the Alexi is not thrown from her chest. If that happens, the Handover will be unsuccessful; the Sib will die.
As the bird lands on Angela’s chest, panic and horror spread across her face. Wolf reminds her that she needs to stay calm in order for the Handover to go as smoothly as possible. The Alexi opens its beak and emanates a white laser beam right into Angela’s chest. Angela was right; the Handover is nothing less than torture.
As soon as the Alexi’s beam hits Angela’s skin, she unleashes a cry so chilling, everyone in the room winces; even Wolf. As the Alexi continues to carve a line, about six inches long, down Angela’s chest, Angela screams like she is being set on fire. Emmy tries to reassure her and convince her that everything will be okay.
For the next fifteen minutes, the room is filled with heart wrenching screams and moans. Wolf tells Angela not to focus on what the Alexi is doing. But the young woman is in so much pain, I don’t think she can focus on anything other than the agony.
Once Alexi is done carving the line down her chest, Angela begins to calm down. I look at Wolf as if to ask if the worst over. He looks back at us and shakes his head ‘no.’
Wolf explains to us that the Alexi is now searching for the Sib, once it finds it, the beam will disappear and the Alexi will inhale as much of Angela’s soul as the Sib needs. We’re hoping it’s not more than Angela has to give.
The beam disappears. The Alexi begins to suck from the open cavity in Angela’s chest. It sucks in a light blue speck the size of a pearl - the Alexi has found the Sib. Wolf tells her that she needs to brace herself because this is the hard part; the Alexi starts sucking out Angela’s soul.
“OMNIS, KILL ME! KILL ME!” She begs repeatedly.
Her body shakes violently as though she is being electrocuted. Emmy and I exchange a look of fear. We’re both thinking the same thing: Angela might not make it.
Wolf scolds me for not holding her down hard enough. I put more weight on her so that she doesn’t move. Still, I can’t put all of my weight or I’ll break her legs. I try to find the right amount of pressure but no matter what we do, Angela is in
an agony.
“PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, KILL ME, KILL ME, KILL ME!!!” She manages to wrangle out of my grip and sit up slightly. The sudden movement causes Alexi to lose its balance. We all watch in horror as the Alexi is about to be thrown from Angela’s torso.
This baby is going to die…
“No!” Emmy shouts as the Alexi starts to fall sideways.
Thankfully, at the last second, the Alexi is able to use its wings to regain balance and remain on Angela.
“Angela, you have to stay still. If the Alexi falls off again, your Sib will die,” Wolf tells her with great alarm in his voice.
“I can’t do this…I can’t do this,” she moans desperately.
The Alexi continues to suck even more soul from Angela’s chest cavity.
“ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”
She is in too much pain to make out words anymore, and she’s shaking just as violently as before.
Wolf looks at us and shakes his head. This isn’t going well. At this rate, Angela will throw the Alexi off again and this time, it may not be able regain its balance. I have her legs, but again, any more pressure and I will snap it in two.
“Angela!” Emmy calls out.
She doesn’t stop wailing .
“Angela, I know it hurts. I know death would be better than anything right now. But you have to do this for your baby. You have to stop moving!”
Angela tries to stop but she can’t. She shakes her head and keeps begging for death.
“You know how I survived all the torture? I was never really there. I just left and went somewhere else in my head. Let’s go somewhere, Angie.”
“I can’t, I can’t, I can’t…” She moans.
“Where did you meet Uri?”
She doesn’t answer right away, she groans as Alexi continues to suck her soul from her.
“Where did you meet Uri?!” Emmy shouts.
“New Zealand…challenged me…Soul diving contest,” she manages to tell Emmy between moans.
“Did he win?” She asks.
“OMNIS! PLEASE...MAKE IT STOP!!!” She writhes in pain. Emmy calls out to her again.
“Angela, you’re not here - You’re in New Zealand with Uri. Tell me about the contest.”
“Loser…buys…bottle…Coy.”
“Who won?”
“Me….cheated…kissed him before we jumped...he lost control…injured on his way back up. He said make it up to him…exchange Rah…”
“He gave you his Rah on the first day you met?”
“Yeah…crazy...” She forms what looks to be the beginning of a very small smile.
It’s working. While Angela is still in pain, she’s moving less. The Alexi hasn’t lost its balance at all since Emmy has been talking to Angela.
“The Alexi is nearly done,” Wolf tells me.
Angela bites her lips as she talks to Emmy. She squeezes her eyes shut and moans between words. The pain of having her soul sucked out hasn’t lessened but the distraction is helping. I signal to Emmy to keep talking to her.
“How was the kiss?” She asks Angela. She can’t answer; she’s staring to shake again.
“Angela, was he a good kisser?” She pushes.
“No. I had to teach him…his ex was…Traveler…used too much…tongue.” Emmy laughs despite herself.
“Well, I guess you taught him well,” Emmy replies.
“I’m a great…kisser,” she says.
And against all hope, Angela manages a real smile, all the while keeping her eyes closed.
“Angela,” Wolf calls.
“I can’t take it anymore. I’m sorry…I can’t,” she cries.
“Angela, open your eyes,” Wolf instructs.
She opens her eyes to find the Alexi has flown off her chest and is now a glowing, sparkling blue.
“Did the Handover take?” Angela asks in a weak voice as she watches the bird.
“Yes, the blue glow means she has cargo,” Wolf replies.
Angela’s eyes fill with what looks like silver tears.
“Is she crying? I thought Angels couldn’t do that?” Emmy asks Wolf.
“It’s called Weigh. It’s like after birth. It seeps out of the new mom’s eyes. It’s a good release. It’s really the closest an Angel gets to tears.”
The Weigh slowly seeps from Angela’s eyes. The cut made by Alexi starts to close itself as Angela tries to get up.
“You are very weak. You need to rest,” Wolf orders her.
“I want to see the Alexi. I need to make sure it has my Sib,” Angela says, unable to hold her head up. Emmy takes off the sweater she is wearing, uses it as a make shift pillow and places it under Angela’s head.
Wolf tells Angela that she is connected to the Alexi because the Handover was successful. All she has to do is call the Alexi over to her.
“Alexi, Alexi…come here, pretty girl; come close,” she whispers, sounding exhausted.
The bird walks over to her. She strokes it and speaks in a loving tone.
“You have all my happiness inside you. Please, be good to him,” Angela asks of the bird.
The Alexi makes a soft sing-song like sound and takes off into the sky.
“How do you know it’s a boy?” Emmy asks her.
“Just a feeling I have,” Angela says, then closes her eyes.
Emmy calls out her name fearing she lost too much soul and has passed away.
“She’s recharging,” Wolf assures her.
“How long will it take for the Alexi to get to Noni?” Emmy asks me.
“It depends on the flying conditions. But when the Sib does get to Noni, markings will start to appear on Angela.”
“We should let her Recharge in peace,” Wolf says. We follow him outside, where numerous Angels and Quo are watching the sky. The Alexi has taken flight. It gets smaller and smaller until it disappears from our sight.
I take Emmy off to the side for a few moments.
“Thank you for helping out,” I say, lovingly touching the side of her face.
“Wow, that was unbelievable,” she says.
“I know.”
“A Handover is pure agony.”
“You humans don’t have it any better,” I remind her.
“I guess not. The crazy thing is, as soon as it was over, all Angela could think about was her Sib. She looked so happy… Like she’d do it all over again.”
“Most Angels feel that way from what I’ve been told. And most humans,” I reply.
“I still can’t believe the whole Handover thing.”
“You ever…think about it?” I venture.
“What - like, babies?”
“Yeah.”
“Marcus, I’m only seventeen.”
“Believe me, life is short.”
“Okay, then let’s go have a few Sibs and then catch a movie,” she says sardonically.
“I didn’t mean now. I just meant…forget it.”
“What?”
“I like making plans with you, Emmy. You’re my tomorrow. Why can’t there be a Sib? I mean, when you’re like twenty something?”
“Marcus, I love that you factor me into your life, but let’s not lie to ourselves. You could be Bianca’s husband for a long time.”
“I won’t let that happen.”
“When the Alexi landed near the opening of Bianca’s cave…” She replies.
“I know. But I promise you, I was safe when we were together,” I assure her.
“I just want a problem-free moment with you for five seconds.”
“Hey, we’re gonna have an entire lifetime together. It won’t always be like this.” She reaches out and embraces me. I hold her tightly as I scout the area to make sure we’re alone.
“Emmy, I gotta go.”
“Wait, I just need a few more seconds in your arms.”
“No. We have to go.”
“Why?”
“The sixth Fire Swan is airborne; we are now at war.”
CHAPTER TEN:
&nbs
p; THE ONE DAY
Emmy’s eyes widen with fear. Although we’ve been preparing for days, it’s still jarring to watch half a dozen birds throw a wall of fire at the only thing that stands between us and them. I remind Emmy that we are prepared. I then send her to get Uri and Angela because they need to be taken to the hide out near the back of the camp, because it’s the safest place for them.
“After you get them there, you’ll stay there too. Got it?” I order.
“Okay. What about Bianca? She doesn’t have an active power.”
“Dalce will take care of her. You go help Angela.”
“Okay,” she replies.
She starts to take off; I take her gently by the arm.
“Emmy, I mean it. There are Death Stalkers here; beasts that feed only on human flesh. You have to go to the hideout and stay there.”
“Okay, I got it.”
“Don’t pull an ‘Emmy’ and show up out of nowhere. I’m serious.”
“I won’t leave the hideout.”
“Promise?”
“Marcus, do I really have to—”
I give her a stone cold, serious stare.
“Marcus—”
“Emerson, I’m serious. I need to be completely focused on this battle and this battle alone. I can’t do that if I have to worry about you. Promise me you will not leave the hideout, no matter what.”
“I promise.”
I squeeze her and she takes off to get Angela and Uri. I turn towards the command center where Ameana signals to me that the team is ready and everyone is in position.
Moments later, Bianca runs up to me, breathless with excitement.
“My Keeper friend sent us a dozen Tallies.”
I look up to the sky within our shield and find twelve Tallies; ‘flash freezing’ falcons. Their massive wings span wide as they skillfully soar in the sky. I’ve heard of Tallies but have never seen them in the flesh.
Tallies are the natural enemy of the Fire Swans. A beam of light emerges from the Tallies’ eyes and when it hits its target, the target is instantly crystallized. It then falls from the sky and shatters. The two natural enemies face each other from opposing sides.
“That’s perfect, but you need to get to the hideout - now,” I tell her.
“You’re right; I’m going. Marcus?”