“Where does it come from?”
“When humans have sex they produce fluids. Angels on the other hand produce the Outer Arc. It’s the residue of his soul forming in the air. The more his soul desires you, the more he loves you, the more you two give in to your passion, the bigger the Outer Arc grows.
“I’ve heard some have even grown to the size of a watermelon but normally it’s the size of a grapefruit. Guys will brag that their love for you is the size of a football field Outer Arc. But you look over and there it is, the size of a pea,” she giggles.
“Now the greatest part about the Outer Arc by far is that it even pulls emotions from humans, too. And once you two have the Inner Arc orgasm, the Outer one is ready. It will then transfer every emotion he felt during sex into you and everything you felt into him.”
“Are you saying aside from having your own orgasms, you also experience his?”
“Yup, hence the dual orgasm.”
“So you knew exactly how the guy felt about having sex with you?”
“I knew his every thought. He was a very happy Angel. And of course the Outer Arc filled him with what I was feeling.”
“What if there is no, ya know…orgasm?”
“It’s pretty hard not to have one. It’s just a matter of how powerful it will be. And also at some point during the act, if the love making is really, really good, you will experience the Exchange.”
“The Exchange? What’s that?”
“No two Angels make love the same. The soul reacts differently depending on who it’s with: one being could suddenly be airborne without using their wings; another could start shooting power balls involuntarily. It’s a mixed bag. You never know what’s going to happen.”
“What’s an example of an Exchange?”
“During sex, as the Outer Arc grows, he could feel so close to her that, for a short time, he takes on her powers.”
“That is so…cool.”
“I know! It’s like the guy loves you so much, he takes in a piece of you.”
“Does the girl ever get affected?”
“I don’t know about humans. But as a Quo, I did have a very nice Exchange with Chris”
“What happened?”
“Well, you know how I can stop time for a few seconds? Well, when the Exchange came, not only could I stop time, I could manipulate it. So…I slowed down the Inner Arc and sped up the Outer Arc,” she says, bursting out laughing.
“Nice…did he like that?”
“Ooooooooh yeaaaaaaaah!”
I laugh harder than I have laughed in a long time. I like Eta. She’s pushy and nosy but she’s sincere. She’s…innocent. She believes in things like ‘true love.’ She reminds me of…old Emmy.
“That’s a lot to process,” I say when I can finally catch my breath.
“I know. But it’s very much like when humans have sex. It’s just that there’s an additional source of joy, the Outer Arc. And then there’s the nice little surprise if the sex is good.”
“That would be the Exchange?”
“Yeah.”
“So there are two orgasms: the Inner Arc and the Outer Arc. And the exchange is the aftermath of having--?”
“Earth-shaking sex.”
“Sounds…amazing.”
“It is. And it’s the best you will ever feel. Ever. ”
“What about the human parts?”
“You’ve never slept with a human?”
“No.”
“I haven’t either. But from what I read, it’s like the Angel thing without all the extras.”
“I always think that I’m going to mess up. Ya know, like put something in the wrong place.” She laughs at me and puts her hand on my shoulder.
“Yeah, I have human friends who think the same thing. They usually figure it out.”
“I wouldn’t know what to do,” I admit.
“That’s why it’ll be so great when you and Marcus make love; you won’t have to worry about what’s right or wrong because you’ll be making love with someone who actually cares about you. That means there is no wrong.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” I reply, unable to look her in the eye.
“I don’t suppose they have Angel condoms, huh?” I ask only partly teasing.
“Actually there is. It’s called Tam. It’s great because it’s a liquid meter that senses when the guy is getting turned on. It gets warm and the guy drinks it. It forms a barrier.”
“That sounds so much better than what we humans have.”
“Tam is from a plant of the same name that grows near Malaysia. Now that plant is all but gone for no reason. Many suspect Omnis is trying to replenish the Angel population. So Tam is in short supply. ”
“Got it. Hey, thanks for sharing. I really was in the dark about…well, all of it.”
“Just don’t do like me,” she cautions.
“What do you mean?”
“I spent so much time worried that Chris was thinking ‘Eta isn’t pretty enough, tall enough, thin enough…’ I ruined what could have been even more amazing. When I experienced Chris’s Outer Arc, all he was thinking was what most guys think when we let them see us naked: thank you,Omnis. ”
Eta has been so open and so honest with me it feels wrong to lie to her anymore. I take a deep breath and hope she takes the news well.
“Eta, Marcus and I aren’t together.”
“Why? Don’t be mad at him for being a Tic. He was lost without you. That’s why he—”
“—it’s not that.”
“It’s because he lied about getting back with Ameana?”
Wow, they really do know a lot…
“That’s part of it,” I say softly.
“I’m sure he did what he thought was best. He tried to save you. That’s what you do for people you love. Don’t punish him for loving you.”
“You have to stop romanticizing everything. Marcus and I aren’t characters in some book. He’s an Angel who has lied and cheated on me. And I was no better, walking around like some lovesick fool. Love like mine and Marcus’s only survives in books.”
“Emmy, what are you saying?”
“I’m saying in real life, Edward kills Bella.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN:
UNACCEPTABLE
Rage and Ameana land a few yards outside of Nipoe’s home. As they walk over to us, Marcus reminds the team that this isn’t about Rage; it’s about rescuing as many Angels as we can. Jay grunts. He’s not happy at all with the arrangement.
It turns out Jay isn’t the only one who who’s unhappy; as soon as Rage gets within earshot, he glares at us.
“Before we do anything Guardian, understand this: I don’t take orders from you,” Rage says harshly.
“And you understand this: you cross us in any way, I’ll gut you open and leave your remains for Fire Swans to feed on,” Marcus counters.
“Well, now that the pleasantries are over with, maybe we can talk about the mission?” Ameana says with more than a little nervousness.
“Why were you watching us on the Mind Tracker?” Jay asks.
“I made a deal to protect Ameana.”
“So to hell with the rest of us?”
“Yeah, basically.”
“Thomas,” Ameana warns.
“He asked a question,” Rage replies.
“Can we just focus, guys?” Miku says.
“Redd, I like your work. You wear evil well. You ever miss it? Maybe think about going back?” Rage teases.
“This guy? Really, Mimi?” Miku says to her best friend. Ameana avoids her eyes.
“We should get back to business,” Rio suggests.
“Mood ring! Tell me, what am I feeling right now?” Rage asks.
Rio ignores him and addresses Marcus:
“This is never going to work. This guy…he’s an Akon. He’ll betray us before we even get to the stadium.”
“He came to help. If he was going to sell us out he would have done it already,” Ameana replie
s.
“And we need him to get us down to the cells,” I remind them. Rage turns his attention to me.
“Human, miss me?”
“No.”
“C’mon. It’s been weeks since I tried to kill you. Don’t you miss that even a little?”
“Rage, that’s the last time you address her,” Marcus says with the certainty of a leader.
“Whatever. What do I have to do?” Rage asks.
“We need you to go down to the sublevel, take out the Guards. They’re human Soul Chasers, so we can’t do it,” Marcus replies.
“Yeah, that whole ‘soul’ thing can be a real bitch.”
“Lucky for you, you don’t have one,” Rio says snidely. Ameana clears her throat and shifts her weight. This is so not fun for her.
“We need all the help we can get, so we’ll be calling Wolf to aid in the rescue,” Marcus continues.
“Did you know about this?” Rage asks Ameana. She pauses and tries to remain calm.
“Thomas, he’s a Para. We need him.”
“Did you know about it?”
“I didn’t, but I’m not surprised.”
“So once again, you’re working with both of your exes?” he accuses.
“Yo, hate to interrupt ‘couple time,’ but we need to get started,” Jay says.
“Speedy is right. We can talk about this later,” Rage says to Ameana.
“No, we won’t. He’s a Para. He’s useful and we’re using him,” she states in no uncertain terms.
The team looks on as the couple has a silent fight. Ameana is unyielding and Rage is highly pissed. This rescue mission is in trouble even before it begins.
Wolf agreed to help us, so the team decided to wait for him before making plans. In the meantime the Foundation members and the Twins scout locations on the map. They are looking for a place to hide the Angels once they have been rescued.
I’m told that the tricky part will be trying to shield their location in a Whirlwind. Normally, a Whirlwind hides a house or hotel but this time the Whirlwind has to hide an entire city. As they pull their ideas together, I space out and recall Marcus’s harsh reaction to my wanting to go to the sublevel where the cells are.
I decide to talk to him but when I spot him, he’s heading out of the room. I take off after him.
“Hey, what was that from before?” I ask.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I wanted to go to the cell and help out.”
“Oh, you mean when you volunteered to get killed? Yeah, maybe another time.”
“This isn’t about my being in danger. You’re acting this way because you’re mad at me.”
“Why would I be mad?”
“Because of Lucas.”
“I don’t care. Date whoever you want.”
“If you don’t care why are you being such a jerk?”
“How am I being a jerk?”
“You called me Emerson. Like you don’t really know me.”
“Maybe I don’t.”
“What does that mean?”
“Never mind.”
“No, I wanna know.”
“One minute, I’m the guy for you. Next, it’s Lucas. Who’s it gonna be five minutes from now?”
“What are you implying?”
“I just…I thought we had something…I guess we don’t.”
“We did have something. Then you made a decision and that decision came with consequences. That’s why the thing we had is over.”
“Is this just your way of teaching me a lesson? You’re just using this guy?”
“No, that’s not it.”
“So this thing with you and Lucas is real?”
“Yes.”
He reacts as if I’ve just punched him in the chest, hard. He pauses and then speaks softly:
“You love him?”
“I like him, a lot.”
“That’s not what I asked you.”
“He’s a nice, sweet, laid back guy. He’s always taking pictures because he thinks I’m pretty. And things are simple with him. Things with you and me were always…”
“Complicated.”
“Yeah and right now, I need ‘simple.’ Tell me you’re okay with that.”
“I’m okay with it,” he says quietly. Then he heads back the way he came.
Wolf enters the room to find the Foundation members, Guardians, and of course, Rage. But he isn’t focused on Rage. The only person he seems to have eyes for is Ameana. She smiles at him.
Rage glares at her. She rolls her eyes. Marcus shakes his head in frustration.
This is going to get very bad, very quickly…
“Wolf, we really appreciate your help,” Marcus says.
Wolf has yet to take his eyes off Ameana.
“Do you have a problem?” Rage asks him.
“No. Do you?” Wolf counters. His reaction takes us all by surprise. We’ve rarely seen Wolf so adversarial.
“You gonna keep looking at her?” Rage asks.
“You don’t own her.”
“She’s with me now. If that’s a problem for you, come here and we can fix it.”
“This is absolutely unacceptable,” Ameana swears. Everyone faces her. The voice is stern and filled with rage.
“We have thousands of lives depending on us. And instead of working together, you two want to discuss who has a right to look at me?”
“He was looking—”
“—Shut up!”
The room is absolutely still. Ameana speaks again.
“Wolf, if you can’t behave like a Para, go home. Rage, you ever treat me like I’m livestock, I’ll break up you with about ten seconds before I kill you.”
Rage and Wolf finally stop glaring at each other. But they both wisely remain quiet because Ameana is not done.
“Now the next thing that comes out of your mouths better be about this rescue mission or I’ll hurl you both into power lines and fry your asses. Am I being clear?” Rage and Wolf don’t speak.
“AM I BEING CLEAR?”
“Yeah,” Rage mumbles.
“Yes,” Wolf says under his breath.
Finally everyone in the room focuses on game day. They work out the entrances and exits that are best to take. They create a timetable that will allow them to get as many Angels out as possible. In the end, the plan is a solid one. That is if Rage doesn’t sell us out.
I actually don’t think Rage will betray us. I’ve looked at the Mind Tracker and so far Rage hasn’t been planning to double cross us. Or at least he hasn’t discussed it with anyone. And also, I’ve seen the way he looks at Ameana. He may be an Akon, but that guy’s in love.
“Excuse me, have you seen my cousin Eta?”
I turn to the voice and find myself looking at an Indian beauty queen. That’s the only way to describe how beautiful this girl is. She has the same midnight hair color as Eta. And like Eta, hers cascades down her back.
But what makes this girl far more attractive than her cousin are her high cheek bones, sculpted lips, and sea green eyes. She reaches a height of beauty rarely seen even in the Angel world.
I can’t stop staring at her.
“Hello?” she says, trying to get my attention.
“Oh, sorry. Eta was around here somewhere. Try Nipoe’s house. There was a meeting a while ago. She could still be in there.”
“Thank you. Oh, I didn’t make introductions; very rude of me. I’m Bianca.”
“Hi, I’m Emmy.”
“The human.”
“Yeah, that’s me,” I say, still not used to that title yet.
“Congratulations.”
“What for?”
“Being at the center of all this. Your name as the only clue…”
“Oh, yeah. It hasn’t been fun and games. In fact, it’s been pretty difficult.”
“Which part? Making the front page of the Splash? Being known worldwide among Quos, Angels and demons? Or landing a First Guardian?”
“Um…I’m not sure what you mean.”
This girl is weird; stunning, but weird.
She laughs carelessly.
“I didn’t mean anything by it, dear. I just wanted to point out that you have done well for yourself.”
“I have lost a lot of people that I love. The team has, too. I don’t care about the Splash or anything like that.”
“Still, it is nice to be known. How can you affect change in the world if no one knows you?”
“I’m not trying to affect anything. I’m just trying to…help.”
“I didn’t know you had powers.”
“I don’t.”
“Oh, so in what way are you helpful?”
“I just try to be there for them and offer like, moral support.”
“Oh yes, of course: Moral support. How stupid of me not to consider that.” She smiles pleasantly and heads towards Nipoe’s home.
I don’t like her.
“Hi, Emmy!” Eta says brightly.
“Hey, your cousin is here, she was looking for you.”
“Bianca?”
“Yeah.”
Eta’s friendly demeanor disappears. She is now alert and pensive.
“Eta, what is it?”
“We have been trying to get her to become part of the Foundation for years. She always said she wasn’t interested. She has never even been to a meeting.”
“Maybe she changed her mind.”
“No, Bianca is like a laser. Focused. Single-minded. And at times, deadly.”
“Um…she wasn’t the nicest girl but she seems okay to me.”
“She uses her powers to arrange things just the way she wants them.”
“What’s her power?”
“She can see your past. She knows everyone’s secret. That makes her the wrong person to cross.”
“Wow, okay. Note to self: Stay away from Bianca. Got it.”
“It’s not that easy, Emmy.”
“What do you mean?”
“Bianca is good at only one thing: Using what she knows to get what she wants.”
“What does she want?”
“Good question…”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN:
TASTE OF COURAGE
I wasn’t sure why we couldn’t just place a Whirlwind around whatever city we wanted in order to hide the Angels. Jay tells me it takes a lot of energy for a Whirlwind to operate; it would be impossible to conceal thousands of Angels all in one location.