The Quo

  Ameana ignores her and address the Healer.

  “Has he improved enough that he can go on a mission by the end of today?”

  “No…”

  “Thank you,” Ameana says softly. He nods. Emmy goes over to Ameana.

  “Please, you can’t do this. He just need a little time,” she begs.

  “Jay, take her,” Ameana says in her official tone.

  Jay walks over and takes Emmy’s hand. She starts to cry. The Twins bow their heads.

  “I can Convince you if you want. That way you’ll remain calm,” he offers her.

  “I don’t want to be calm. I want Marcus,” she says as fresh tears make their way down her face.

  Man, this chick can cry…

  She pleads to the room. She calls out for the Twins to help her. Miku offers to take her far away but she declines. The Mood Ring tries to reassure her that Marcus is long gone and won’t feel anything.

  “NO! He’s in there Rio. I know he’s in there!” she swears.

  “Jay, take her,” Ameana instructs for the last time.

  Jay starts to walk Emmy out of the room.

  “WAIT!” she shouts.

  “Emmy, we don’t have time for this,” Ameana scolds.

  “I just want to say goodbye. Can I say goodbye?”

  The team exchanges a look. Ameana reluctantly agrees.

  “I would like to do it alone,” Emmy informs them.

  “I don’t know about that,” Ameana says.

  “C’mon, I will never lay eyes on him again. Please?”

  “Okay, you have five minutes. Then the rest of us will come and say goodbye.” They all step out of the living room and allow the frail human some time with her soon-to-be dead Tic. When they are alone, Emmy reaches for what looks like a small flash drive. But I know it is the Port the Healer uses. She throws it into the air, and it unfolds before her.

  She drags Marcus up and tries to get him onto the Port. It takes her four attempts but finally she manages to get it done. I thought she would take him far away and I would be unable to see what she was up to. But as it turns out, all she did was take the Port up to the roof.

  As soon as they appear on the rooftop, I know exactly where they are. They are on top of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest tower in the world. Below them is the city of Dubai.

  She drags Marcus off the Port. This also takes her several attempts. She pushes and pulls until Marcus is standing, however unsteadily, on his own.

  What the hell is she doing?

  She speaks to Marcus like she expects him to respond.

  “I wish there was another way to do this but there isn’t,” she says.

  The zombie-like Angel is about to fall backwards; she quickly grabs him and stabilizes him.

  “I know that you’re in there and I know you hear me.”

  She swallows hard and continues.

  “The Healer said that no one has ever been able to Spring. But if anyone could come back instantly from addiction, it would be you. You just need an incentive.” She takes him over to the edge of the roof.

  Wait, she’s not going to…

  “I’m doing this because I believe in you and I’m not scared because I’m in your arms. And I know, I know you won’t let me go.”

  She leans in and whispers softly into the nearly-dead Tic’s ear:

  “Marcus, please save me…”

  She wraps her arms around him and hurls them both off the tower.

  They fall from the sky like freshly-wounded birds. The wind knocks them around like cheap plastic bags. And although they are still connected as they fall, the Tic is no more alive than he was before. I shake my head as I watch the two idiots plummet to the earth.

  The human has jumped to her death…

  Ameana and the team burst onto the roof and watch in complete astonishment as their former leader and the human make their way to a bloody end. The Guardians are so in shock it doesn’t even occur to them to try their wings in case Dubai isn’t a no fly zone. Even I had to pause and stare at the scene taking place in front of me. It seems like it took forever for them to hit the ground. But eventually they did.

  The Tic landed before she did. His body split the sidewalk open and made a massive hole. He fell deep inside it. The limp human followed him into the abyss. We waited. It’s like we somehow expected them to survive like in the movies.

  But this isn’t a movie. There are no heroes and no happy endings. The minute the Tic’s body crashed down to earth, he was dead and so was she.

  Still, we waited.

  I watched on the Mind Tracker and the Guardians watched from above.

  The time came for Marcus to come back up, if he actually did Spring.

  Nothing happened.

  He didn’t Spring.

  The team waited even longer.

  Nothing.

  Marcus Cane and the human are gone.

  I turn away from the Mind Tracker and pull out my cell to inform the Sage. I will convince him to let me find a way to keep Ameana off track so that they never put the Shoma together. Then he and Lucy can do whatever he wants to with the rest of her team.

  At first, I thought the light is coming from outside because it’s so vivid and bright. Then I realize it’s coming from the Mind Tracker. I walk over and look inside.

  The light is coming from the hole that is now Marcus and the human’s grave. It slowly swells from a single narrow beam to a radiant wave that engulfs the city. It floods the entire Mind Tracker. I am forced to look away. When I return to the screen, I see what must be an illusion.

  The First Guardian is flying up from the dark chasm of death with fully formed, illuminated wings. The brightness is far more powerful than that of any Para Angel. His wings flap powerfully in the air as he gracefully carries the human back onto the roof.

  Dumbfounded, I dial the Sage’s cell and announce what I have yet to fully comprehend:

  “The First Guardian is back…”

  BOOK II:

  EMMY

  “And when to the heart of man

  Was it ever less than a treason…

  To bow and accept the end

  Of a love or a season…”

  —Robert Frost

  CHAPTER NINE:

  VICTIMS

  As soon as he places me safely on the roof, the First Guardian looks up at his team. They look back in complete awe. It’s almost as if they are under some kind of trance that prevents them from moving. I can understand that. I have not fully processed what has just taken place.

  The first member of them team to react is Miku. She rushes over to him and leaps into his arms.

  He embraces her tightly. All at once, the rest of the team snaps out of their frozen state and embrace their leader. Ameana is the last one to greet him. They stand a few feet apart and both seem to be sizing each other up.

  “I was in and out most of the time so I might have this wrong. But were you going to kill me in order to replace me?” Marcus demands.

  “Yes.”

  “Good girl,” he says, embracing her. She returns his affection and smiles despite herself. Then he looks over at me.

  “Hi,” he says simply.

  “Hey,” I say lamely.

  Suddenly it feels like everyone in the world has disappeared. And even though we are surrounded by his whole team, we are alone. It’s a space we both know we can’t stay in - the space where “Emmy and Marcus” can live without any interruption.

  That space is paradise; a paradise we are always being thrown out of, though we try our best to linger. I can tell it’s time to come back to the real world because he lowers his head to refocus.

  Sure enough, when he looks up again, all of his attention is on his team.

  Casted out yet again…

  “I know I owe you guys an apology and an explanation, but I think that will have to wait for now. Have we found any possible way to defeat the Quo?”

  The team goes on to tell him about the Shoma and the thre
e missing pieces they have to find.

  Marcus listens carefully and only speaks when they are done.

  “How much time do we have now?” he asks.

  “Less than three weeks,” Ameana says.

  “Yo, I hate to be that guy but there is no ‘we,’” Jay says.

  “What’s the problem?” Marcus asks.

  “Ameana is dating Rage,” Jay says, not bothering to hide his repulsion.

  All eyes turn to the Second Guardian. She looks back defiantly.

  “Still?” Marcus asks her.

  “What do you mean ‘still?’” the Twins ask.

  “You know about me and Rage?”

  “I saw the two of you the night the Quo attacked. I was hoping it was a phase.”

  “Well, it’s not. I love him,” she says, forcing herself not to break eye contact.

  “I need to talk to Ameana—alone,” he tells us.

  We all head back towards the door of the roof but even before we make our way down the stairs the two begin. While they are not shouting, their confrontational voices are loud enough for us to hear. We closed the door to the roof but no one made a move to go downstairs.

  Who knew Angels were nosy too?

  “You know this Rage thing is beyond a bad idea,” Marcus starts.

  “He saved my life. I’m not letting him go.”

  “What about Wolf?”

  “I told him the truth.”

  “That you are leaving him for a murderer?”

  “Rage has done bad things, I can’t change that. And neither can he. I’m not in love with who he was, I’m in love with who he’s trying to be.”

  “So now it’s love?”

  “Yes, it is.”

  “Ameana, this isn’t just a bad relationship decision. This is dangerous,” Marcus warns.

  “Marcus, you got with Emmy when the entire world said it was a bad idea.”

  “So that’s what this is about? You want to get back at me for Emmy?”

  “This has nothing to do with that.”

  “Oh, so you never used Rage just to piss me off?”

  “Okay, in the beginning, I did. But this time, it’s different. This time I’m with him because he makes me happy.”

  “How can you be happy with a demon?”

  “I can’t explain it. It just is, okay?”

  “No, not okay. You cannot do this.”

  “So you’re going to forbid me? Press my Deck so I can no longer fly?”

  “I could.”

  “Yes, you could. But then that would make you the world’s biggest hypocrite.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You loved the human no matter what any of us said. You loved her even though it could have meant the end of humanity. I learned how to love Rage and stand by him by watching you love and stand by Emmy. And now you want to punish me for it?”

  “Ameana—”

  “You found something amazing with the human. And you left me alone to go out and seek it. Now I have found something amazing, and if you try and stop me from being with him, I will never forgive you.”

  “Mimi, he’s an Akon. He’s going to hurt you,” he says softening his tone.

  “It’s not just Akons that can hurt, First Guardians can crush a girl’s heart, too,” she says pointedly.

  Marcus remains silent. Ameana takes the opportunity to add a final thought.

  “You can forbid it, but I’d rather not sneak around,” she says sincerely.

  “You’re gonna see him anyway?” Marcus asks almost to himself.

  Her silence seems to shout “Yes” to his question. Marcus reflects quietly for a moment. Then he addresses her:

  “Okay, then I guess you’re with Rage.”

  Without warning Jay bursts through the door and stomps toward Marcus and Ameana. The rest of the team and I follow, fearing Jay is about to really lose it.

  “Are you freaking kidding me with this?” he blares.

  “Jay, calm down,” the Twins suggest.

  “No, I’m done with this team!” he vows.

  Ameana is about to speak, but Marcus stops her by lightly touching her hand. He then instructs her to go look for Tony-Tone. He tells her they need him to figure out a way around the no fly zones. Ameana looks like she wants to argue but she decides against it. She leaves the rest of the team and goes back downstairs.

  “Are you telling me that you buy this whole ‘demon turned Angel’ crap?” Jay says in disgust.

  “No,” Marcus replies calmly.

  “Then what the hell, yo?”

  “Rage is evil. That’s all he’s ever been and that’s all he’ll ever be, but so long as she feels he can change, she’s going to stand by him.”

  “So we just watch her make this mistake?” Miku says.

  “Think of Rage as a Mack truck and Ameana as a human. Rage is going to slam through her and then run her over. She’s going to be knocked down, bleeding, and helpless. When that happens, we should be there for her.”

  “But Marcus—”

  “Jay, she has always stood by this team. And she’s going to make this mistake regardless of what we think about it. She doesn’t know it now, but Rage will hurt her. I don’t want her to be all alone when that happens.”

  “Marcus is right. Rage is going to break her heart. And we should be there to help her put it back together,” Miku says.

  “I’m sorry, but are you saying that in the middle of saving the Angel world by finding three random objects spread throughout the planet in no more than three weeks, we’re supposed to babysit Ameana to make sure she doesn’t get hurt? That s crazy,” Jay says.

  “Yeah, it is. But she has been through a lot and she would make the perfect victim for Rage. He’s probably just dating her so he can infiltrate us,” Rio says.

  “Exactly. We can’t let Rage come between us. If Ameana thinks Rage has changed, she’ll find out soon enough that she’s wrong. In the meantime, we will have her back,” Marcus vows.

  The Twins nod in agreement. Jay avoids eye contact. Marcus steps toward him and addresses him:

  “You’re important to this mission but if you want out, I get it. Only I’m really hoping you’ll stay because…we need you.”

  Jay is silent for what seems like forever.

  “You get’n me a new car,” Jay informs him.

  “Okay.”

  “I don’t mean a ‘nice’ car, I mean I want a bad ride that’s not even out yet,” he clarifies.

  “Deal.”

  “Man, I never thought Ameana would go out like that,” Jay says, shaking his head.

  “What do you mean?” I ask.

  “Ameana has always been a strong ‘handle her business’ kind of girl. I mean, I don’t really want to hang with her at the club or anything, but I loved fighting beside her. Now she’s all in love. Man, that’s whack.”

  “Don’t let the love part fool you; Ameana’s confrontational waves are as strong as ever. She’s always ready to fight,” Rio warns.

  “How is that possible?” Jay asks.

  “She’s got a love to fight for. That is a strong motivator,” Miku adds.

  “On the bright side, Rage could meet a horrible end. After all, look at what happens to anyone who has ever dared to love us Guardians,” Jay says.

  “What do you mean?” Miku asks.

  Oh Jay, don’t say anything that will hurt her feelings…

  “Every time one of us falls in love, the person we love gets tortured, kidnapped or blown up into a million pieces. The truth is the people we love become victims. They are always worse off for having loved us. That’s why I will never do that again,” he assures us.

  I steal a quick glance at Miku. She looks down toward the ground. My heart aches for her. Rio reads her Wave and looks confused.

  “Sometimes love works out,” I say, trying to both stop Rio from questing his sister and change Jay’s mind.

  “Does that mean you and Marcus are back together?” he asks. r />
  The question catches me off guard. And judging from the look on his face, Marcus wasn’t expecting it either. We all know it’s something that needs to be addressed but we didn’t think Jay would be the one to bring it up. And we certainly didn’t want it brought up in front of the team.

  Marcus looks at me intently. It’s like he can somehow see through my soul. Sparks run from my spine to my toes. I make myself breathe deeply and stand still even under the heat of his gaze.

  “Okay…” Jay says, trying to read the expression on both our faces.

  “Um…we’ll go and see if Ameana needs any help tracking Tony,” Miku says, practically dragging Jay and Rio downstairs.

  It’s only the two of us on the roof now. The silence in the air is so thick it’s hard to breathe. In the past three months I have thought about what I would say if I ever saw him again. I said different things in my mind depending on how I was feeling that day.

  On the days where it was hard to get out of bed because I missed him so much, I cursed him out. I called him every name I could think of and I somehow developed massive strength and I beat the hell out of him.

  Then on the days when I remembered his touch, his kiss, and what it was like to be loved by him, I would play out the same moment but this time, we spent the entire time making love. Which of these two scenarios is actually going to play itself out?

  Well Emmy, you don’t have super strength, so you definitely aren’t going to beat him up. Andsince your bra doesn’t match your underwear, making love is probably a bad idea. Maybe we’llend up somewhere in the middle: I’ll slap him like girls do to guys on TV. Then we’ll make out…

  I shake my head slightly to get myself to stop spacing out. The truth is I don’t have any idea how to feel in this moment. So much has happened between us. Where do we even start? It’s not like we ran into each other at the mall or Starbucks. We connected again while falling off the tallest tower in the world. So what exactly is a good opening for that?

  “Thank you for…” he begins as if he could hear my thoughts.

  “Well, you’ve saved me a million times, it was my turn,” I say while twisting my hair between my fingers.

  Emmy, stop doing that, you’re not five!

  I drop my hands ever so awkwardly to my side. I’ve had hands for sixteen years and all of a sudden I have no idea what to do with them.