“I wasn’t trying to go against you guys. She’s the only family I have left. I don’t like her either but we grew up together.”
“I’m gonna say this slow so you can process: If you don’t tell me what her second power is; I will kill you.”
“Marcus, she has a soul,” I scold him.
“I don’t give a rat’s ass what she has. I want the information and I want it now.”
I have no doubt in my mind that Marcus would kill Eta. Even if it meant he would go to Difi. So long as he is able to save the team, that’s a sacrifice he’d be willing to make. I look into Eta’s eyes, and judging from the fear behind them, she has come to the same conclusion.
“My grandmother told us we were special because very few Quos had two powers. I found my second power a year before Bianca found hers.”
“What’s her second power?” I ask.
“When we were little she was able to emulate her surroundings and blend in. At first she would try to disappear into the wall but you could see her arm or legs. But over the years, she developed her powers and now…”
“Now she can completely blend into any environment,” Marcus adds.
“Yes, Bianca can be invisible,” Eta confirms.
“I knew it! That’s how Lucy was able to track the team; she’s getting Bianca’s help,” Marcus replies bitterly.
“Wait, you don’t know that,” Eta replies.
“The hell I don’t! Your cousin sides with evil and you withhold information from us. As far as I’m concerned, you two are one and the same,” Marcus spews.
“Why would Bianca agree to do anything with Lucy?” Eta asks.
“I don’t know. But then I don’t know why you Quos do half the things you do. When we were supposed to head for our honeymoon, your cousin made us stop off to drink pure lemon juice. I mean what the hell is that?” Marcus asked getting more upset with every word.
“She did what?” Eta asks, alarmed.
“She drank lemon juice; why, does that mean something to you?” Marcus asks.
Eta looks off to the side. She’s deep in thought and I can tell she finds her thoughts distressing.
“Eta, what does the lemon juice mean?” I ask.
“Nothing…nothing,” Eta says.
“Look, you better not be lying to us, I swear to Omnis; I’m in no mood for this crap,” Marcus snaps.
“Look, I don’t think Bianca has joined forces with Lucy; yes, my cousin is a grade A bitch. That doesn’t mean she is evil.”
“I beg to differ,” I reply.
“Hey, I’m not her biggest fan; especially after what she did to our grandmother. But I wasn’t raised to turn my back on family. I’m sorry.”
“I don’t want to hear about your family ethics. My entire team has devoted their lives to saving millions of human families. And they are about to die because you helped Lucy get to them,” Marcus replies.
“I didn’t help anyone take your team. I told you Bianca wouldn’t join with Lucy,” Eta urges.
“And we’re just supposed to take your word for it because you’ve been so honest with us?” I reply.
“I’m sorry. I should have told you guys about her second power,” Eta says.
“Whatever, just tell us how to find Bitchonica,” I counter.
“I don’t know where she is.”
Marcus glares at her. If looks could kill, I would need to go shopping for a black dress right now.
“Where. Is. Bianca?” Marcus asks in a steely tone.
“I don’t know,” Eta swears.
“Great so she could be in the alley with us right now?” I ask.
“No, she’s not,” Eta replies.
“How do you know?” Marcus says.
“Because we are related. She’s immune to my powers and I’m immune to hers. That means while no one else can see her, I can. So if she was here, I would know.”
“You will call Bianca and arrange for her to meet with you. That way we can find out what she knows,” Marcus instructs.
“And if I don’t call her?” Eta asks firmly.
The First Guardian leans in close to her. His powerful chest and arms loom over her. His searing glare seems to penetrate deep down into Eta’s soul. She shivers slightly and swallows hard. At this point, I’m a little afraid of Marcus, so I know Eta must be terrified.
“Eta, please help us,” I reply in a soothing voice that I hope will defuse the tension.
Eta nods and pulls out her cell phone. The truth is had Eta prolonged the decision to help us, there’s no telling what the outcome would have been…
An hour later the three of us head over to one of Bianca’s many apartments. This one is a penthouse on the upper east side of Manhattan. When Eta knocks on the door, Bianca opens it. From her designer dress to her ruby necklace, Bianca’s outfit is pitch perfect.
“Oh, you brought friends. How nice,” she says with a false smile.
She isn’t surprised to see Marcus and I. In fact it’s as if she’s been expecting us. We enter her Japanese inspired home. It includes a giant spherical metal artwork with hand printed symbols, a glass coffee table with a large crystal vase containing bamboo, and a wall mounted display with two Japanese swords.
“That sword belonged to Oda Nobunaga. He started the unification of Japan in the fifteen hundreds. He fought for his people bravely. I have admired him for some time now. Even though he was only human,” Bianca says.
“Did you give my team to Lucy?” Marcus asks.
“Oh hello, husband. It’s been awhile,” Bianca replies.
“Did you track my team and give Lucy their location?” Marcus barks at her.
“Cousin, you have brought very rude people into my home. I’m not impressed,” she says as she heads over to the small table off to the side of the room.
The table holds a letter opener, stationery and a laptop. Bianca sits at the desk as if she is about to write a letter. She jots something down on a note pad and holds the note between her fingers.
“Here is what you came for: Your team’s location,” Bianca teases.
Marcus rushes over and rips it out of her hand. The moment the paper touches his skin it disappears. Bianca laughs.
“Did you really think it would be that easy?” she asks.
“What do you want?” Marcus replies.
“You know damn well what I want. You sign the contract and I will tell you where your team is,” Bianca promises.
“Why the hell would I trust you?” Marcus says.
“I’m hurt; we took vows,” Bianca teases, cruelly.
“Bianca, tell me you didn’t do this. Tell me you didn’t join forces with Lucy,” Eta says.
“Oh I did. And that’s the reason why our race will finally be on top. And everyone, even dear old Lucy, will pay. Eta, you have no idea what’s coming,” Bianca says with menace in her voice.
“What do you get out of this deal?” I ask.
“I have a very special item that she’s keeping safe and sound for me.”
“Bianca, don’t do this. I want equality too but this is not the way,” Eta pushes.
“It’s up to you, Guardian. Sign the papers, let me have access to the light and I will tell you where you can find your team.”
“Don’t trust her, Marcus. Lucy would never share that kind of information with her,” I shout.
“No, but the demons who came for your team all made contact with me. I know exactly what flashes occurred in their heads. It would be easy to figure out the team’s location from what I know.”
“Is that how you found out about me and Ameana?” Marcus asks bitterly.
“No, the bartender had no info at all. So I followed you two upstairs, blending into the surroundings beautifully. I got front row seats to your drunken night of passion.”
“And you just had to send it to Rage, right?” I ask.
“I didn’t have to but I certainly enjoyed it,” Bianca gloats.
“Don’t think because you hav
e a soul I won’t kill you,” Marcus vows.
“See that’s the thing about you Angels; you’re always on the fence. You’re angry and hating me right now. So, attack. No, you’re going to try and scare me with words. But guess what? I can be scary too,” Bianca says.
Then she touches the center of her necklace and suddenly the metal artwork on the wall turns into a black void. We watch in terror as a hoard of Sives crawl out of the artwork and invade the room.
I know Sives very well. They start out as a coating that can be added to weapons to make them twice as lethal. Once it makes contact with Angel’s flesh, it comes alive and eats through bone to get to the soul. But Bianca has managed to get them to come to life without touching flesh. Now, the chrome-like mosquitos with three heads are everywhere.
“These Sives are a special breed. They’re called Raw Sives. I got them at Hun’s Market. You see the trick is to starve them for a few days. That way they are meaner and angrier,” she explains calmly.
The bugs crawl all over us; they are not hard to fight but there are a lot of them making it difficult to keep them off of us. None of them are going for Bianca. She laughs and explains that she has taken the mixture to make her immune. But I think it’s because the bitch has no soul for the Sive to go after.
They start biting us as we try to fend them off. I tell Eta not to let them get under her skin because then they will go directly for her soul and kill her. Marcus tries to help her fend them off but there are way too many on him. For the Raw Sive, Marcus is the best meal; he has more soul to feast on than Eta and I.
“Are you ready to sign?” Bianca calls out to us among the chaos.
“Go to hell!” I reply.
“Speaking of hell, I heard the torture your mom went through when Lucy killed her. I heard it from Lucy herself. I gotta say, I nearly died laughing. Is it true you were only minutes away when she was being filleted?”
I’m going to kill Bianca today.
Finally Marcus is able to get to the artwork where the Sives are coming out of and hurl it out of the window. Seeing this, Bianca grabs hold of a Port she had stashed in the corner.
She jumps on it and is about to disappear but I yank her ass off of the Port; back on to the floor.
“Push the button on her necklace. That’s when the bugs came maybe it’ll make them go away,” Eta yells as she tries to swat the Sives away from her.
Bianca stands up again and reaches for the Port and again, I pull her down on to the floor.
There’s a Sive that’s broken the flesh on my arm and is now digging underneath my skin.
I call to Marcus to contain Bianca while I take care of the Sive before it gets too far into my body.
Once Marcus takes hold of Bianca, Eta makes her way over to us and presses the small red button at the center of Bianca’s necklace. The Raw Sives start retreating in to the walls of the apartment.
“It’s a controller. I’ve heard about them but I never saw one in action. The artwork is really a holding area. It holds weapons in plain sight. You press on it and whatever you are storing in there comes out,” Eta explains breathlessly.
I’m not really listening to Eta. I’m watching Bianca. Even though Marcus has her restrained, she still has a smirk on her face. She knows he won’t kill her because she has a soul. I hear in my head the things she said about my mother. I see all her evil and twisted deeds before me and I know what needs to be done.
I look around and spot a Holder that had fallen out of Marcus’s pocket. I pick it up; Bianca’s eyes widen in alarm thinking I’m going to use it on her. But she’s not the one I want to trap. I hurl the Holder at Marcus and Eta. Before they have a chance to react, they are held prisoner behind the see-through bubble.
“Emmy, what’s going on?” Marcus asks.
“You’re about to get a divorce,” I promise him.
Bianca stands a few feet away from me, ready to beat me to death. It’s the first time Bianca and I are on the same page; I’m ready to beat her ass. Marcus and Eta keep calling out for me to let them go and stop what’s about to happen. I block out their voices so that they are nothing but white noise. The only thing I see in front of me is the she-devil I’m about to take down; permanently.
Bianca tackles me with all her strength and sends me flying into the glass coffee table. The table shatters underneath me; I groan as the glass fragments embed themselves throughout my body.
After going through the glass table, I hit the floor, hard. So hard, my right shoulder snaps out of its socket. I cry out as the sharp pain engulfs me. Bianca grabs me by the collar, picks me up and hurls me towards the wall. I slam into the wall with my injured shoulder.
Fuck, this shit hurts…
I force myself to stop paying attention to the pain. Instead I latch onto Bianca and we struggle back and forth until we are both back on the ground. She rips into my flesh with her claw like nails and makes four bloody gashes across my face.
I grab hold of her face and return the favor, I sink my thumbs into her eye socket. I squeeze until I feel bone. She cries out and holds her head in her hands. I take advantage of the situation and kick her hard in the face. Bianca goes flying into the sofa, then bounces off and hits the floor.
I run over to attack her again but Bianca surprises me. She picks up a large piece of glass and she slices into my midsection. The agony is so surreal I have to crouch down. Bianca gathers herself, grabs hold of my hair and yanks a hand full of it out from its roots. I fall all the way to the ground in excruciating pain.
My scalp is burning and droplets of blood are seeping from its pores. I’m shaking from shock to my system. She stands over me and starts to kick me, repeatedly. Each blow is harder than the last. She administers the last three blows with such ferocity I feel my rib break. I open my mouth to cry out but the pain is too intense. I can’t get enough air in my lungs to scream.
“You think Marcus loves you? You’re a gullible little insect. Marcus is an Angel, they aren’t capable of love,” she shouts at me.
I don’t reply, I just groan on the floor and try to think past the pain.
“I was willing to allow you to live your pathetic life but now you’re in my way so you have to die,” Bianca vows as she raises her foot and stomps on me.
Her stiletto heel digs deep into my midsection; I start coughing blood. I lay there motionless, trying desperately not to pass out from the pain surging through my body.
“Goodbye, insect,” she says as she picks up a heavy crystal vase high above her head and prepares to lower it down and crush my skull.
Damn it Emerson, I know it hurts but suck it up and defend yourself. You didn’t come allthis way to die in Bitchonica’s living room. Yes, you may die someday but it damn surewon’t be today and it won’t be by her hands.
I summon up the last ounce of strength I have left and quickly look around for a weapon.
The only things close to me are pieces of glass too small to have an impact and a letter opener. Without thinking, I reach for it. And just as she’s about to bring the vase down on my head, I stab her in the leg.
I plunge it into her so hard; it goes clean though to the other side. She howls in pain and drops the vase just short of my head. It shatters and brings about a “glass” rain. She tries to remove the letter opener but it’s too painful.
Before she can get off the floor, I slide over and straddle her. Every breath hurts like hell but I don’t care. Once I’m on top of her I punch her in the face repeatedly. The more I bash her the more I want to keep going. I pound on her with my fist over and over and over again.
I spilt her nose, lips and chin open. There’s blood coming out of every orifice. I recklessly wipe away the blood on her face in an attempt to get to her eyes. When I can finally make them out through the blood, they are closed.
“Open your eyes,” I order her.
She doesn’t follow my instructions so I wrap my hands around her throat and squeeze.
Her arms and legs
start flailing uncontrollably. I clutch her throat even harder but she still has her eyes closed.
“OPEN YOUR EYES BITCH; I WANT YOU SEE WHO’S SENDING YOU TO HELL!” I rage at her.
I squeeze even harder; this time she opens her eyes. I look back at her with pure hatred and wrath. She is an inch away from dying. I hold her life between my fingers and all I can think is how wonderful it would feel to take her miserable ass out of this world for good.
Now that the fight is all but over, my adrenaline slows down and I hear can hear Marcus and Eta’s voice again. They are shouting at me not to kill Bianca. I can’t block their voices anymore. I hear them clearly now.
“Emmy, don’t do this; she’s not worth it,” Marcus shouts.
“Please, stop,” Eta begs.
No she has to die. It’s time for her to die…
“Emmy please, don’t do this; don’t kill another human being. You have no idea what it would do to you,” Marcus pleads.
It takes everything in me to release her from my grip. But I do. I let her go, she is alive although badly hurt. I exhale, exhausted; then I crawl over to the others. I release them from the Holder. Marcus comes over to check on me immediately.
“Emmy, look out!” Eta yells.
I turn around just in time to see Bianca lunge at me with a knife from the display on the wall. But before she can sink the knife into my chest, she falls flat on the ground; face first. The second knife from the display is protruding from Bianca’s back. Eta stabbed her from behind; Bianca is dead.
Eta looks over at us with a mix of horror and sad acceptance. Tears run down her face and her hands shake terribly. Marcus goes over to her and takes her hand in his and tries to steady them.
“It’s okay, Eta. Everything is going to be okay,” he assures her.
“She was just so…I had to do it,” she cries.
Marcus takes her in his arms and she sobs into his chest.
“I didn’t want to do it,” she pleads again.
“We know, Eta; it’s alright,” Marcus replies.
“I should have been honest with you guys. Maybe things wouldn’t have gone this far. I want to tell you about the lemon juice,” Eta replies as she looks up into Marcus’s face.