The Quo

Ameana turns to Miku and confides in her as if it’s only the two of them in the room.

  “Pretty, I’m different with him. He’s different with me.”

  “You’re not doing this. You are not getting with Rage,” the Mood Ring says firmly.

  “The only reason I’m alive is because Thomas risked his life to save me,” she protests.

  “He’s ‘Thomas’ now? Yo, what the fu—”

  “—Jay,” Miku warns.

  “Wait, so she can get with an Akon but I can’t swear? Really? That’s where you’re drawing the line?” Jay says, completely disgusted.

  “We all need to calm down,” Miku tells them.

  “No, this is ridiculous. Isabelle died. Reese died. Almost every member of Daraquin City, including children, died. And how do you honor them? By sleeping with a demon.”

  “We’re not having—”

  “—I hope it was all worth it because it will cost you everything,” Jay swears.

  “You guys are being really unfair right now,” she says.

  “Us? You cheated on Wolf, you lied to us, and you’re with the First Akon. How are we being unfair?” Miku asks.

  “My mom never loved me the way she should have, the way I deserved. And Marcus…he ripped my freaking heart out. Now I find someone who so loves me so much that he is willing to bend his true nature until he breaks. And you want me to turn my back on him?”

  “Mimi, after what he did for you, we get how you could have feelings for him. But he’s an Akon. He’s never going to change,” Miku says, placing a hand on her shoulder.

  “My mother loved me in the beginning, then she changed. Marcus loved me, then he changed. Maybe you’re right, Rage will never change. But you know what? Maybe that’s what I need - a guy who’s unchanging.”

  Jay runs his hand through his hair while shaking his head.

  “I seriously can’t believe we’re having this conversation. How long have you been seeing him? Does he know where we are? Is he waiting to attack us right now?”

  “No, I didn’t tell him where we are.”

  “Because you don’t trust him,” Miku points out.

  “Because it’s team business and I want to keep it separate.”

  “Keep it separate? Are you on drugs right now? Seriously? Please tell me you’re high,” Jay says, getting up and pacing all around the room.

  I’m really hating this guy. He’s so lucky he’s not next to me. They would never find his body…

  “Marcus got to love whoever he wanted and now—” Ameana begins.

  “—this is not about Marcus. It’s about you making the biggest mistake since Julian broke the rules. Never mind what happens to the team now that you’re “with” Rage, what happens to you? You can’t maintain your soul in the bed of a demon!”

  “We haven’t had—”

  “Oh, well, you two haven’t slept together. Well, then, everything is fine,” Rio mocks.

  “Ameana, it’s not our place to tell you who you can and can’t love. But it is our place to tell you what the team will and won’t allow. This cannot happen,” Miku says sadly.

  “Well, that’s too bad because the fact is, it’s happening,” she says firmly.

  Yeah, tell’em.

  “I read your wave and I know you have deep feelings for Rage but to give in to those feelings is dangerous and foolish.”

  “I’m done fighting with myself about this. Why can’t I love who I want?”

  “Because you’re not a spoiled fourteen-year old human. You’re a Guardian who’s died and come back to help humanity. Start acting like it.”

  “Rage deserves—”

  “—Don’t nobody wanna hear what Rage deserves. He’s set buildings on fire and laughed while humans ran for their lives. And you stand there like a smitten little girl and tell us what you think your little boyfriend deserves? Ameana, go to hell!” Jay shouts.

  He heads for the door. The twins call out after him.

  “ Jay don’t--”

  “—NO. NO. If she stays with Rage, I’m done. Do you hear me, Ameana? You stay with that psychopath and I am done with this team.”

  Before they get a chance to argue with Jay, Ameana gets a text.

  “It’s Rahell. She wants us to meet her now. She says it’s life or death,” she informs them. The team looks at each other and silently agrees to put their argument on hold for the moment, although the tension is far from over.

  “Where is she?” Miku asks.

  “Washington Square Park by the fountain.”

  I don’t wait for the team to agree. I turn the Mind Tracker off and make my way to Washington Square Park. I must get there before they do. The part that sucks about the Quo is they have made most of the world a “no fly” zone. Anytime we take to the air it alerts them. And while they have no issues with demons, it’s much easier to hop on the train.

  Although Angels are now trying to hide that fact that they are Angels, there is a glow on their face that’s hard to miss. That glow is even more present if you are a Para like Rahell. I noticed her right away.

  She’s wearing a black knitted cap with matching scarf. Her hair flows down her back and the sun catches her eyes, causing them to sparkle. The humans, especially the males, are taken by her.

  They all stop what they’re doing at one point to look at her. She puts on her shades. I dash towards her. I try to hide under my red baseball cap but she sees me coming and takes off into the crowd.

  Damn it!

  I have to get rid of her before they show up. If Ameana knows I’m the one who was sent to kill Rahell, she’ll be pissed (although I’m doing this for us; chicks are weird that way).

  Rahell runs through the crowd at top speed. She turns and sees that I’m right on her heels. She’s tempted to take off into the sky but she knows the Quo would then surround her with Chasers. If she wasn’t killed on sight, she’d be taken to the Yard. The Yard is a massive field where captured Angels are tortured into giving up the whereabouts of their friends and family.

  I reach out and grab Rahell’s hair. She yells out in pain but keeps running. I lose my grip on her and she is free of me. I leap several feet ahead of her and crash down on her. She goes tumbling to the ground. She wrestles with me but I am far stronger than her. This would be so much easier if I could use my powers but then Ameana would suspect it was me.

  Rahell screams and cries out. It’s hard for the crowd to hear because of the group of kids playing loud music and dancing for money. I got on top of her and started to choke her. The alarm on her is intense. I don’t know why I feel the need to tell her this but I do:

  “It’s not personal. I have to do this. I love her.”

  Just as the sign of life is all but drained from her face, I see the Guardians heading toward us. They bolt through the crowd. They will be on us in less than ten seconds. I frantically search for an exit. It’s too far away. I have to move now if I am to make it there without being recognized.

  Rahell has long stopped moving. There’s no time to make sure she’s dead. I jump to my feet and take off for the exit. Seconds later, the Guardians are at Rahell’s side. Ameana directs Miku to stay with Rahell. She then instructs her team to spread out and find the demon in the red cap.

  Ameana runs down the same path I’m on. I’m too far away for her to see that it’s me. I turn right and hide behind the nearest statue. She only has to turn her head to see me. I remain perfectly still in hopes she gives up. She doesn’t. She turns her head and just when I’m sure I’ve been spotted, a member of her team calls for her to return. She reluctantly runs back towards them.

  I look inside the Mind Tracker to see what’s happening. Rahell is moving but very slowly. She looks like she is about to lose consciousness. But she hangs on long enough to tell them about the Shoma.

  Damn, should have stayed and finished the job…

  She mumbles to the Guardians that her father suggested the Council input an extra layer of protection. So the Council enable
d the Shoma to identify beings. And only one being can put the three Alpha pieces together.

  “Who?” Jay asks.

  “My father always believed in the Guardians. He thought no one would do a better job of resetting the world than your leader.”

  “Wait, are you saying the only one who can put the Shoma together is Marcus?” Ameana asks incredulously.

  “Yes. So, where is he? Where is Marcus?”

  CHAPTER FOUR:

  A GIFT SO SWEET

  The Sage is seriously grating on my last damn nerve. How many times can I say the same thing over and over again?

  “They can’t find Marcus, so it doesn’t matter that they know about the Shoma. Only Marcus can put the Alpha pieces together.”

  “You don’t know that they won’t find him. It could only be a matter of time,” he insists.

  “Have you ever thought that maybe he’s dead?” I ask.

  “‘Maybe’ does not satisfy Lucy. She wants to know for sure that he’s dead.”

  “Well, since you kill Angels left and right it’s hard to keep track of who is and isn’t dead.”

  “Rage, you are disappointing me. Very few beings have done that and lived.”

  “Marcus Cane is nowhere to be found. The Shoma will never be put back together. Period.”

  “Let’s hope you are right. If Marcus is found and the Shoma does get put back together—”

  “—I know, I know, I die a painful death. I got it.”

  “If only it was that easy. It’s not your death that will bother you. It’s the way we kill her. The second Guardian will die looking into the eyes of her helpless love. Knowing Lucy, she’d keep you alive just so you could replay the memory over and over again in your mind.”

  “Now I know where Kairo got his charm from—dear old Mom,” I quip.

  “Keep watching them and the next time they are out in the open, I would advise you to warn me so the Quo can find them.”

  “I was trying to be undercover.”

  “You were trying to keep up appearances for your girlfriend. The next time the Guardians are out, you will alert us. Do you understand?”

  “Yeah.”

  He disappeared as abruptly as he came. Had the Sage stayed another few minutes he would have heard Ameana knocking on the door. Although he said he would spare her, I know I can’t trust him.

  She knocks on the door gingerly. I open it and she slowly walks in.

  “Hey,” she says simply.

  “What is it?”

  “Long day.”

  “Anything happen?” I ask carefully.

  “We just…we really need to find Marcus and fast.”

  “Why?”

  “Work stuff,” is all she is willing to say.

  “Saving the world stuff?”

  “Kind of.”

  “Why do you feel like that’s your job?”

  “Cause it is.”

  “So…did you tell them?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Let me guess. They were all very happy and supportive,” I joke.

  “Yeah, they’re throwing us a party with ice cream and cake.”

  “If they have Coy, I’m in.”

  She smiles despite herself. The smile fades quickly.

  “So, really how did it go?” I ask. She turns to me and pouts. I’ve never seen her look so…small.

  I take her hands and kiss them. Her smile returns.

  I sit her down on the bed, wrap my arms around her, and she leans into me.

  What the hell kind of perfume does this chick wear that makes her smell so damn good?

  It’s like a powerful potion that turns you into a moth who’s too dumb to avoid the flame.

  “Seriously, what were you expecting?” I ask her.

  “I don’t know. I thought Miku would take it a little better. More…”

  “Demon tolerant.”

  “Yeah,” she laughs. I didn’t know how much I loved her laugh until just then.

  “How about the hipp—Wolf?”

  “He’s pissed and heartbroken.”

  “Good.”

  She looks up at me as if to say “I’m not in the mood.”

  “I was just kidding,” I lie.

  “Jay says he’s going to quit the team if you and I stay together.” Then I’ll have to take care of him, won’t I?

  “Really, he said that?” I say out loud.

  “Yeah, I’ve never seen him so angry.”

  “Maybe he just needs some time to deal, ya know?”

  She turns to me earnestly.

  “Really Thomas, you think they’ll change their minds about you? About us?”

  “I guess.”

  “It’s crazy,” she says.

  “What is?”

  “I’ve never been this…”

  “This…conflicted?”

  “Happy.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, I know it’s crazy. I mean on one hand everything sucks right now. I mean my life and my team are falling apart.”

  “So when does the “happy” come in?”

  “When I come see you.”

  “Oh.”

  She laughs almost to herself.

  “Thomas, I’m not this girl. I don’t tell guys that I love them. It took forever for me to say that to Marcus. Why is it so easy with you?”

  “I don’t know. It’s a wonder you feel anything with me. My father always said I was broken.”

  “The broken toys are the most fun to play with.”

  She leans in and kisses me. Her lips taste like strawberry euphoria.

  Strawberry euphoria? Who the hell am I right now?

  “Hey, where did you go in your head just now?” she asks.

  “I’m thinking that maybe I’ve changed, too.”

  “Really, how?”

  “Nothing big. I just thought about you and stuff. I thought of getting you flowers.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, is that lame or what?”

  “Yeah, it’s kind of lame,” she confirms.

  “Good, cause I got you this instead.” I hand her a black plastic bag. She takes it while staring at me.

  “Can you stop looking at me and like, open it?” I say, sounding more and more like a dork.

  She takes the item out of the bag. It’s a hand-carved wooden statue of an Angel and a demon.

  They are kissing while sticking out their middle finger. There is a little plaque at the base of it that says “Screw ’em.”

  She howls with laughter. She shakes her head.

  “Very subtle, Thomas.”

  “I try.”

  “It’s great! Thank you, Thomas.”

  “It’s nothing.”

  “No, it’s something.” She reaches in and kisses me with more hunger than ever before. I return her passion and the room spins. Then suddenly, Ameana did the worse thing she could do to me - she stopped.

  “What the hell?” I demand breathlessly.

  “Thomas, do you have a red cap?”

  Crap! Crap! Crap!

  “What?” I ask her blankly.

  “I think this thing with us could maybe work but I need you to be honest with me.”

  “Okay.”

  “No, seriously. You can tell me your most evil thoughts and deeds; I won’t judge you. But you have to tell me the truth. Okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “Do you own a red cap?”

  “Yes.”

  “Oh,” she says, looking down at the floor, broken.

  “But I lost it back when we first came down to earth.”

  A huge smile spreads across her beautiful face.

  “So you don’t own a red cap?”

  “No.”

  She goes back to kissing me and although the passion is the same from her end, I’m not as into it for some reason.

  It was bad enough that Rahell lived and the Sage was pissed. A few hours later, while watching the Guardians on the Mind Tracker, something horrible happened. The m
ood ring boy comes into the living room and makes an announcement.

  “Right now, Wolf isn’t so happy about being near us for obvious reasons. But he still wants to help. So he put us in touch with one of the last surviving Omari members. Tracking beings down is what they do for a living.”

  “That and kill them,” Jay adds.

  “That, too; anyway they volunteered to help. They told me the first thing they did was to stop looking for Marcus like he was a Guardian and start looking for him like a guy who didn’t want to be found,” mood ring boy says.

  “And?” Miku replies eagerly. I lean in and listen closely to the Mind Tracker.

  “And they found him! They found Marcus!”

  Crap!!! I freaking hate that hippie guy and his army of trackers! AGRH!!!

  I throw the alarm clock against the wall; it shatters and falls to the ground.

  “Omnis, please let him be alive,” Miku says.

  Lucy, please tell me that bastard is dead…

  “He’s not dead,” the mood ring boy says.

  Again, crap!!!

  “Let’s go get ’em!” Jay says.

  “Okay but first…there’s something you need to know…” he starts.

  “Rio, we don’t care what it is. Take us to Marcus. Whatever the problem is, we’ll take care of it when we get there,” Ameana orders. He nods and the team takes off.

  I get up and pace the floor damning them for not saying where they were going out loud. All I can do is watch with the stupid Mind Tracker.

  The Guardians get to wherever it is they are going. It’s dark and all I can make out is a series of mazes, like alleys. Each alley is littered with homeless people and degenerates. They stand pathetically warming their hands over trash can fires. The team is confused about what Marcus would be doing in a place like this.

  The Mood Ring speaks to one of the homeless guys and gives him a hundred dollar bill. The guy points the way down yet another alley of useless souls. The team follows the instructions and find a dead end. There is nothing there but trash and a heap of grey clothes someone tossed out on the corner.

  “Where is he?” Ameana asks.

  “Oh no…” Miku says, horrified.

  “What?” Jay says.

  “I think that’s him,” she whispers.

  Oh sweet Lucy, can this actually be?

  I wait for them to move in so I can get a better view. Can it really be?