“It’s rare that the Cravens are wrong.”
“Well, they are this time,” I snap.
“Then what do you what?”
I look around the Market carefully, lean in and make a request I’m sure she’s never heard before.
“I want a Rah.”
She looks at me blankly as if she somehow misheard what I had said.
I shift my weight at first but then I force myself to stand steadily before her.
She continues to look at me in disbelief.
“So, can you help me or not?”
“But you’re a demon, you don’t have a Rah,” she says.
Duh…
“Yeah, I know that. I want to know if you can make me one.”
“I don’t see how.”
“Well, if you figure it out, there are a hundred third coats in it for you.” I hand her my contact info. She looks at the paper and nods.
As I am about to turn away, she calls out to me.
“She must really be something.”
She’s not something; she’s everything.
I don’t want to look into the Mind Tracker again because if I see that Hippie, there is no telling what I might do. But I need to make sure the Tic isn’t improving or even if he is, I need to make sure he’s not getting better fast enough to help his team.
I resign myself to take a chance and look in on the Guardians. I see that I have nothing to worry about. The Tic is only incrementally better. There is nothing the human can do about it. Showing him the Replay seems to have awakened him up emotionally but still he’s too weak to grow back any significant amount of feathers.
The other piece of great news is that the hippie is gone. When the team asks Ameana what he wanted she just says he was having a hard time with their break up. Then immediately they all begin to argue over Ameana’s love life.
“Guys, can we please focus?” the human demands as she studies the Tic. She continues to talk to him and try to engage him. She even tries to downplay giving him his Rah back but nothing works. Marcus is in considerable pain both physically and mentally.
Beautiful.
The Healer enters the room on his Port.
“I programmed the Port to go to the roof. I thought some air might be good for Marcus,” the Healer says.
“Thank you so much for helping us,” Emmy replies.
“I’m not sure I am,” the Healer admits.
“What do you mean? Marcus is ready for the last phase,” Emmy says.
“He should have grown more feathers by now. He’s not doing too well with the second phase.”
“He’s doing better,” Emmy says stubbornly.
“I think we should move on to the final step,” Ameana orders.
“We could but it will require the one thing all of you seem to be lacking.”
“What?” Emmy asks.
“Time.”
“How much time?”
“He needs to go to the mountains and work on regaining strength in his wings.”
“Okay, let’s do it,” Emmy says.
“Wait, how long will that take?” Jay asks.
“A month or two.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Ameana asks.
“I said before it could take months,” the Healer says in his defense.
“We don’t have that kind of time. We only have a week left,” Miku says.
The Mood Ring’s cell goes off. He reads a message I can’t make out then turns his attention back to the team.
“That was Rahell,” the Mood Ring informs them.
“How is she?” Miku asks.
“She’s recovering. I texted her earlier and asked for details about the code that the Council put in place. She just hit back; she says it’s a Title Code.”
“Seriously?” Miku says.
“What does that mean?” Emmy asks.
“It means Rahell got it wrong. The Code doesn’t require that Marcus Cane put the Shoma together. It requires that the First Guardian put it together.”
“Great, so you guys can make Ameana the new First Guardian until Marcus is better,” she offers.
“It doesn’t work that way. So long as Marcus is alive, no matter how ill he may be, the Code will recognize him and only him as the First Guardian,” Miku explains.
“Miku, what are you trying to say?”
Ameana answers the human with great regret.
“In order for us to save the Angel world, we have to kill Marcus.”
CHAPTER EIGHT:
THE END
The arguing begins almost immediately. Ameana calls for everyone to be quiet. Then she addresses the Healer. She asks that he tell them the best case scenario. The Healer finds himself in a room with a team of on-edge Angels and a freaked out human. He chooses his words carefully.
“Marcus has done well in that he no longer needs CP. But he has yet to find his way back to us. That requires training and building back his strength. That’s the last phase: Retraining. He has to remember who he used to be and what he used to be capable of.”
“Let’s say he becomes a model Tic. He has the best Retraining phase you have ever seen. How long will that take?” Ameana asks.
“Best case, maybe three weeks,” the Healer replies.
“There is no other way?” Miku asks.
“No. Unless he were to somehow Spring. And again, that has yet to be done in my lifetime.”
“Okay, thank you. Will you leave us please?” Ameana says.
The Healer nods and says he will be on the roof. He gets on the Port and disappears. As soon as he is gone, they all go at it again.
“I can’t believe you guys are even thinking about this,” Emmy says, disgusted.
“It’s not like we’re happy about it,” Ameana counters.
“We can’t kill him. We can’t,” Miku insists.
“I’m not a fan of this plan either but the fact is Marcus isn’t going to get better in time,” the Mood Ring argues.
It’s too bad I’m not near them. I would just set the Tic on fire and that would be the end of it.
“You don’t know that. We still have a week,” the human argues.
“C’mon baby girl, you heard what the Healer said,” Jay adds.
“I don’t care what he said. Marcus is going to make it.”
“Well, that’s great for him. Meanwhile our entire race is on the brink of annihilation,” the Mood Ring says.
“Why are you so quick to send Marcus off to his death? He has always fought for you!” Emmy shouts at him.
“I love him, but I don’t think it’s right to doom an entire race of Angels for one guy.”
“How dare you make that judgment? Marcus went to hell and back to bring you back to life when the Council killed you!” she shouts.
“Yes, he did. And if it was a matter of trading my life for his, then fine. But we’re talking about thousands of Angels. Not to mention the effect our absences will have on humanity.”
“You are such a traitor,” the human accuses.
Clearly upset by Emmy’s words, the Mood Ring responds, “I love Marcus like a brother but he got himself into this mess. We can’t allow every Angel to pay because of what he has done.”
“Really? Because he had no problem taking the blame for you when you broke the rules. He put his soul on the line for you and now you’re standing there pushing for his death!” she blares at him.
“That is not what I’m doing,” he protests.
“Emmy, we all love Marcus. The Healer was right, we are a family. And if there was any other way…” Jay says.
“So now you agree with Rio?” Emmy asks, filled with anger.
“Baby girl, we need to look at it from every angle.”
“That’s bull! You guys want to kill him and I won’t let you!” she screams.
“Marcus wouldn’t want to be the reason that thousands of Angels died. And seriously, when we’re gone what do you think will happen to you humans?” Ameana asks.
r /> “I don’t care. You guys aren’t getting near him.”
“Maybe Marcus will do much better in the third phase than the Healer thought,” Miku says.
“And if he doesn’t?” her brother asks.
“We can deal with it then,” Miku replies.
“It will be too late. We now have less than thirty days,” Ameana says.
“Ameana’s right. Marcus would want us to go on without him,” the Mood Ring adds.
“You guys want to kill your leader and friend? Okay. So which one of you wants to do it?” Emmy asks in a frantic voice.
The team looks around awkwardly at each other, no one speaks up.
“Which one of you wants to do it?” she asks again.
And again there is silence.
“Okay then, can you guys at least tell me how you plan to kill your friend? Maybe the Twins can hold him down and beat him to death. Or maybe Jay and Ameana can get a Soul Chaser and throw it at him,” Emmy says, dripping with disgust.
“You think this is easy for us? Do you have any idea what’s going on out there?” Miku snaps.
“Maybe that’s the problem. You have no idea what’s going in our world. The Quo have been hunting us like dogs. When they find us, they take us to a place called the Yard. It’s a massive field where they…” Miku can’t finish her sentence.
“Look, I’m not saying you guys should give in to the Quo. I’m saying we should wait for Marcus to get better,” Emmy says.
“That is no longer an option,” Ameana reminds her.
“You can’t do this!” she screams.
“Marcus isn’t the only one in this world,” Jay pleads.
“Well, he’s the only one in my world. And you will not touch him,” she counters between gritted teeth.
This goes on for another twenty minutes. Each member of the team goes back and forth between taking Marcus out and saving him. Finally, after watching this crazy display of cowardice, Ameana stops it.
“ENOUGH!” she says firmly.
The room goes silent. All eyes turn to my girl.
“I have heard all of you and I get it. Believe me, I do. However this isn’t a team decision and it’s certainly not a human decision.”
“What does she mean?” Emmy asks the Twins.
“It means, as second in command, it’s up to her to say if she feels Marcus has been compromised,” Jay says.
“What? No!” Emmy cries.
“The decision to take out the First Guardian can only be done by the second,” the Twins say all at once.
“No, the whole team should have a say,” Emmy pleads.
“You are not part of the team anyway so it really won’t matter,” Ameana snaps.
“Don’t do this, Ameana. Please, don’t hurt him,” she begs again.
Ameana looks over at the Tic in the corner. She closes her eyes for a few moments. When she opens her eyes again, she is stone faced and her voice is firm.
“Marcus will not heal in time. Allowing the Angel race to die would also place humans in jeopardy as we are their protectors. It is my decision that the First Guardian must be replaced.”
“No, you bitch!” Emmy shouts as she goes to attack Ameana.
The Twins stop her from landing any blows. Ameana is too focused on the Tic in the corner to even bother with the human and her hissy fit.
“Ameana, are you sure about this?” Jay asks.
“Yes. I will retire Marcus at first light.”
Her tone leaves no room for doubt.
Emmy goes over to the Tic and cries. The team looks back at Ameana with a mix of admiration and heartbreak. Ameana’s face is stern and unaffected. The others watch as she exits the room without another word. She gets on a Port and disappears.
A few minutes later the Mind Tracker picks her up. She’s at a small park surrounded by Angel statues. I’ve been to that park before. If I’m right, she’s in Italy. I chance the wrath of the Quo and take to the sky to go to her. I’m there in a matter of minutes. She doesn’t see me hover off to the side.
She walks over to the white gazebo at the center of the park and without warning, starts beating the crap out of everything in sight. She pulls apart one of the railings and uses it as a makeshift bat. She bashes the surrounding flowerbeds, benches, and drop kicks every Angel statue down to the ground.
All the Angels are broken now.
She looks up at the sky and lets out a scream so primal, chills make their way down my spine. Exhausted, she leans against a tree and slides to the ground. She’s sobbing although there are no tears in her eyes.
Angels can’t cry. But in this moment I wish they could. It’s better than watching her sob tearlessly. Her whole body is bent in grief and agony. She pulls her knees up to her chest and hugs herself tightly. A chilly wind blows through the park; she’s shaking terribly as her hair falls all around her.
Every time she whimpers, it feels like someone is carving into my chest. This hurts more than the daggers that went into me a few months ago. I’m baffled by the fact that watching her makes me feel actual pain.
How do I make things better?
I want to go to her but she hasn’t called on me. I should wait for her to call me, right? Otherwise she’ll know I’ve been watching her.
Please call me…
I fear she may be too upset to sit up, let alone call me.
Should I wait a little longer?
I don’t care. I’m going to get my girl.
Just then my cell vibrates. It’s a text from her. She tells me her location and writes:
“I need U”
I force myself to count to one hundred; that way it will look like I got there from somewhere else.
I am an Akon; I have enough self-control to count to one hundred. It’s no big deal.
I got up to fifteen.
I land and sit on the ground beside her. She doesn’t speak. She grabs hold of me like I’m the only thing she has left. She holds on tight and buries her face in my chest. I run my fingers through her hair and kiss her forehead.
“Stay with me,” she pleads.
“I will; like a good boyfriend,” I joke.
“Like my Angel…”
We spent the night under the tree. She didn’t want to move. She didn’t want the moment to end. I felt the same way. Wanting time to stop is a stupid wish but there I was, being stupid and loving it. She wouldn’t tell me what was wrong. All she would say was that she had to do something unthinkable.
I want to help her. But I can’t kill Marcus because I have no idea where their hideout is. I could follow her but that would really piss her off. Also, as much I would love to be the one that kills Marcus, once Ameana does, the team will have a newfound respect for her. They need to know she can do what needs to be done. That’s how you become a leader. I don’t want to take that from her.
But once she does kill Marcus, she will become the new First Guardian. That means she will be enemy number one for both Lucy and the Sage. I can’t let that happen.
“Hey, let’s go away,” I suggest to her as the sun begins to rise above us.
“Away where?” she asks.
“Somewhere where there are no Angels or demons.”
“Where’s that?”
“Las Vegas.”
She laughs.
“Thomas, there are Angels and demons there, too.”
“Yeah, but they’ll be too busy playing slot machines to notice us.”
“That’s your plan?”
“Yes, we’ll go to Vegas, get “human” married, and then have a few Demon/Guardians.” She laughs even harder.
“How many would we have?” she asks once the laughter subsides.
“Seven.”
“What?”
“Yeah, six is the perfect number to form a rock n’ roll band.”
“You said seven.”
“They need a manager.”
“So we’ll live on the road with the kids?”
“Yeah, what do you
think?”
“You know that’s the best plan I’ve heard all day.”
“I’m serious, Ameana.”
“About the band?”
“No, about us going away.”
“You know we can’t.”
“Why?”
“I have a team that needs me.”
I need you, too…
“I know I’m not the best girl to date right now.”
“You’re not too bad.”
She traces my lips with her index finger. I pull it into my mouth and suck on it softly.
“Thomas, how do you prepare yourself to do something you don’t think you’ll have the courage to do?”
“You tell yourself the truth: Everyone is capable of anything. Acts of good that would make Omnis jealous and acts of evil that would rival Lucy.”
She looks up at me as if she wants to ask more questions. But she doesn’t. Instead she looks at me and says she has a perfect name for the rock n’ roll band:
“The Screaming Mimi.”
“Deal.” We laugh, and she curls up to me.
“Thomas?”
“Yes?”
“How will it end for us?”
Badly…
I don’t reply. I just pull her closer.
Despite all my efforts, Ameana insists on going back to her team. Once Marcus is gone, how will I stop her from finding the Shoma? The second the Sage finds out that Ameana is the new First Guardian she won’t be safe from him.
Then there’s Lucy…
I turn on the Mind Tracker because I want to see my girl kill the pathetic Tic. I know it’s hard for her but Marcus deserves to be taken out. He’s an awful leader. It’s way past the time for Marcus to meet his end.
Judging from the faces in the room, no one on the team recharged. They all look wan and weary. The human looks worse. She has dark circles under her puffy eyes. I’m guessing she’s been crying all night.
Ameana enters the room. All eyes are on her. She looks and finds the Healer standing by the Tic.
“Emmy wanted me here to see if he had progressed at all during the night,” the Healer tells her.
“And?” the future leader asks.
“And he’s improved.”
“See I told you, he’s getting better,” Emmy says desperately.