“I had them reconstruct my favorite night: the night you kissed me.”
She studies the Replay. The mini Shadow Servants interact and then kiss. The scene repeats itself as if on a loop.
“This is so crazy. It’s even snowing like it was that night. The snow never stops falling. I don’t even have to shake it. And they are wearing exactly what we were wearing that night!” She is completely taken with the Replay.
She runs her fingers over the dark wooden base of the orb. It has the date that she kissed me etched on it. I see her start to get weepy. The sight of her crying, even happy tears, really messes with my head. So I try to snap her out of it.
“I know I could have gotten you jewelry. I still can.”
“Marcus, the most important thing you can give me is your Rah. I already have that.”
“You really like the Replay?”
“I love it and I love you. Thank you so much.”
She hugs me and whispers how happy she is.
“Okay, your turn,” she says, handing me a red envelope. There is a handwritten message on the back.
“Let this bring you
what your love brought me:
Peace.”
“What’s in this?” I ask. She delights in the curiosity in my voice and tells me to open it. I tear into the envelope and find the most valuable thing I now own.
“Emmy, how did you…?”
I pull out a photograph of my parents and a little boy. They’re smiling brightly with a Christmas tree in the background.
“That’s Antony. Your little brother,” she informs me. I can’t stop looking at the picture even as I talk to her.
“Brother?”
“Yeah, he’s a cutie.”
“How did you get this?”
“I asked the Twins and they did their Tech magic and found out where your family lives now. And since you wouldn’t let me out of your sight these past few weeks, Jay went to their house and took this from their mantel.”
“My mom, she looks so…happy.”
“She is. She has a blog about coping with the loss of a child. It gets a ton of traffic. Also, Jay found a certificate of completion from a rehab center on the wall.”
“She’s clean now?”
“She has been for a while now. Your death wasn’t in vain.”
I look at the picture again and fall silent.
“I know it probably brings up a lot of stuff, seeing them again.”
“It does.”
“Was the gift a bad idea?”
I look up at her.
“A bad idea? Emmy, this gift was…Thank you, baby.”
I pull her close to me, wrap my arms around her, and kiss her fervently.
“When I lost my Mom, I thought that was it. My world was gone. Just like that. But you took care of me, Marcus. You brought some of my world back to me. I just wanted to do the same for you.”
“You did more than that. I can’t believe in a few days, I’m never gonna see you again.”
“Let’s not talk about it. I can’t take never seeing you again.”
And so we laughed and talked as if there was no countdown to the New Year. As if I wasn’t about to go somewhere she wasn’t allowed to follow.
***************************
Like I said before, everyone wants to throw us a party. At one point, we had to turn a few Angels down. But when we are given a party by the party girl herself, Arden, we simply can’t refuse.
No one parties like the powerful Para. Her father is an Original. That comes with all kinds of serious obligations and duties. Her older sister is Rahell, the Taker. That is also a serious job. Every time an Angel dies in battle, Rahell appears and takes his body to the house of fire. Rahell is the picture of dignity and restraint, while her sister, Arden is…well, Arden.
She stands before me now in a sexy emerald, futuristic-style dress. Her makeup is very much like her, striking and a little too much. But beyond the glitz and the glamour of Arden, she is a kind girl who’s helped us out in the past.
“So, First Hottie, where is your human?” she asks.
“Since she is going to be alive for a few more decades, she decided to stay home and study.”
“So she’s a scholar?”
“Not really. I had to bribe her into it.”
“What sinful act did you promise her?”
“I told her we’d be normal for one evening. We’d go to a movie and just hang. She’s wanted that for awhile now.”
“Normal? Why would anyone aim for normal?” Arden laughs to herself. Then she holds up her drink and makes a toast to the crowd.
“Let the Coy flow and your inhabitations go!” she shouts.
The hundreds of Angel partygoers can be heard screaming and cheering throughout every inch of the mansion. My team is more than happy to follow the partygoer’s example.
Miku is dancing with the only guy who wasn’t scared of her or turned on by the fact that she used to be Redd. Jay and Isabelle talk over full glasses of Coy. Ameana is standing off to the side doing what I knew she’d be doing, pretending not to stand next to Wolf (while standing next to Wolf). He’s fully recovered thanks to the healers at Daraquin.
The only Guardian I don’t see is Rio. I call his cell and it goes straight to voice mail. I head off towards the unlikely couple. They’re deep in conversation but it’s hard to tell if it’s a personal one or not.
“So, is there any other member of your team you kissed?” Wolf asks.
Okay, definitely personal. And for Wolf, very dangerous.
“I don’t owe you a rundown of who I have and have not been with,” my ex counters.
“I just need to know how many Angels I have to compete against, to get you.”
“I’m not a prize,” she says.
“So far…no,” Wolf mumbles.
“What is your problem?”
“You work hand in hand with your ex. I’m about free love but that’s too free.”
“Why does it matter to you who I work with?”
“You know why.”
“Wolf, I can’t be what you need, okay?”
“Why?”
“Because I’m not into that anymore.”
“Oh, so you’re into girls?”
“Funny.”
“I know a lot of really cool lesbian Angels. I could introduce you.”
“I meant I’m done with dating.”
“Forever?”
“Yeah.”
“Your aura is getting dark. That’s what happens when you lie.”
“I’m not lying, I’m done with relationships.”
“Well, then it’s too bad because you’re already in one.”
“I told you before, you and I—”
“I mean you and Marcus.”
“He walked out of our relationship months ago.”
“Exactly,” he says. She looks at him, confused. He turns to her and closes the gap between them.
“Ameana, Marcus left you months ago, but you’re still standing here having a relationship with his ghost. Marcus walked away, why can’t you?”
Not wanting to hear the answer, I clear my throat loudly.
“Hey, I’m sorry to interrupt but have you guys seen Rio?” I ask.
“He said he was going back to the house,” Wolfs replies. Ameana is avoiding eye contact with both of us.
“Okay, thanks,” I say awkwardly.
I know the mission is over, but since we lost Reese, I don’t like not knowing where my team is. So I head back to the house. Once there, I head to Rio’s room and find it empty.
I call his cell and it goes to voicemail. I turn on the tracker that the Council gave us months ago. Most of the time it is accurate about our location but we stopped using it because it wasn’t one hundred percent. I call Jay to see if he might know where Rio is.
“No, I haven’t seen him. Did you ask the other Wonder Twin?”
“I don’t want to worry her if he’s just talking a walk
or something.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Do you need me to help you find him?”
“No, it’s okay. Stay and hang out with Isabelle. Just watch the others for me.”
“No problem. Hey, is it cool if I mention the Quo to Isabelle? I mean they should be a hot topic soon right?” he asks.
“We did promise to keep it quiet but they should be out in the open in a few days so…yeah, I guess.”
I hang up with Jay and call Emmy, but she hasn’t seen Rio.
“Have you tried his cell?” she asks.
“All I get is voicemail.”
“Marcus relax, everyone is just blowing off steam. You should be, too. Weren’t you supposed to be at Arden’s party?”
“Yeah but—”
“But you went all First Guardian and overprotective. The mission is complete. When will you give yourself a break?”
“You’re right. I can hang back for about an hour. If I don’t hear from him by then, I’ll gather the team.”
“Sounds reasonable. Now, go and party.”
“If you’re done with studying, maybe you can come with?”
“Actually, I am done studying. But I have company.”
“Who?”
“Okay, don’t read too much into this, but it’s Julian.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, we’ve been talking about what my mom was like on the bridge. And I’ve been telling him stories about her that I haven’t really let myself remember until now. It was too painful, ya know?”
“Yeah, I do…”
“But you can come over if you want.”
“No, you two keep talking.”
“Okay, but remember - tomorrow, you, me, normal.”
“Got it.”
I stayed at the house and Rio returned an hour later.
“I was about to send a search party. Where were you?” I ask.
“Flying around.”
“Flying around where?”
“Um… I don’t know, Mom.”
“Look, I’m not trying to be a jerk but I was calling you all night.”
“What happened? Is Miku okay?”
“She’s fine. Everyone is fine.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“I just like knowing where everyone is.”
“Look, I know I’m always getting on you about stuff, but in the end, you did a great job. We saved the world and have time to celebrate. You did it.”
“More of a team effort kind of thing.”
“Yeah, but you made sure we held it together. You can relax First Guardian. The battle is over. We have won.”
The battle is finally over. And yeah, we won…
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: THE QUESTION
It was a total waste of human money for Emmy and I to go to the movies. We never watched the screen. We took turns staring at each other. And when we weren’t doing that, we were kissing or laughing at nothing in particular. At some point in the movie, the guy tells the girl he’s going to have to save the world from a nuclear reaction plant.
“We saved the world and they didn’t put us in a fancy movie,” Emmy whispers.
“Yeah, but it took us a year. This guy saves the world in an hour and a half,” I remark.
She beams at me and I take her hand. I tell her it’s time to bail out of the movie. Emmy agrees. We head out of the movie theater. Once outside we’re surrounded by the bright lights of Times Square.
“I’m hungry,” she announces.
“We could get anything you want, anywhere in the world.”
“Hot dog from that guy,” she says, pointing to the hot dog vendor a few feet away.
“That’s all you want?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re a cheap date.”
“Not so fast, First Guardian. I also want a pretzel and drink.”
“That’s a lot of money.”
“A girl’s gotta eat.”
We head to the hot dog cart where my girl puts away three hot dogs, two pretzels, and soda. I look at her with total astonishment.
“What? My appetite’s back.”
“You ate enough for four people.”
She laughs and wipes her mouth. I shake my head and marvel at how easy it is to make her happy.
“So what do you want to do after our fine dining experience?” she asks.
“I was thinking we could have another experience,” I say, taking her hand in mine.
I pull her close to me and press my lips against hers. It still amazes me that anyone can feel this good. Kissing her always causes my wings to flutter uncontrollably. Her eyes are closed so she doesn’t notice just how much her touch affects me. It’s crazy; I should be able to kiss this girl and not completely lose control.
“I was thinking we could go to Bangkok, they have a hotel there with a spectacular view. Or maybe we could go to the mountains. Or maybe—”
“Marcus. Slow down.”
I laugh at the thought of Emmy telling me to slow down.
“Sorry, look if you’re not ready, you know that’s fine with me. In fact it’s great. I mean I don’t really need to…I mean we don’t have to…I mean—”
I sound like a complete idiot.
“Marcus. I want to make love to you and I want it to be tonight. I was just thinking it would be nice to be together where I spent the most time thinking about us—my room. Is that okay?”
“As long as I get to be with you, yeah.”
“Can you give me a few minutes before you come over? I want to freshen up,” she says.
We head down an alley, I throw out a Port and she hops onto it.
“I will see you in a half hour,” she vows with quick kiss.
She disappears and I decide to walk to her place. By the time I get there she should be ready. I’ve played this moment over and over again in my mind. The thought of finally being with her causes my wings to go crazy, seriously.
Marcus, be cool. Just remember she’s human and don’t let the light from your soul overwhelm her. The first time she has sex shouldn’t be the last time.
I try to maintain my cool and just think of it as any other night, but it’s just not working. The thought that I will finally be able to hold her and be with her for the entire night overwhelms me with anticipation. That’s when I realize I’m not walking, I’m flying.
Damn…
I don’t even know when I took to the air. It doesn’t matter. I told her I would give her some time to herself and that’s what I’m gonna do. So I stand across the street from her building window. I have a perfect view of her bedroom window. As she gets ready, she puts on a playlist. I can hear her music floating in the air.
She’s playing “Staying Alive.” It’s her favorite song to be silly with. The best part about it is she will eventually give into the emotion of the music and start dancing. She dances this awful 70’s disco dance that should be outlawed. I remember the first time I caught her dancing to it. We had been in a huge argument and she wasn’t talking to me. Miku made me go and invite her to dinner so we could learn more about her.
I walked into her apartment and found her dancing to “Staying Alive.” I never told her but that was the moment I knew I loved her. When we first met, I knew I wanted her but that’s different than love. Standing there watching her outdated, heartfelt moves, I knew in my soul I was in love with Emerson Hope Baxter.
Okay, that’s enough time. I watched her come out of the shower with a towel on, change outfits four times, and thank the city of Detroit for attending her “concert.” Finally it’s time to be with the girl I love.
Thank you Omnis…
I make myself take a moment and reduce the flapping of my wings to that of a normal Angel. Then I head across the street to where “my everything” awaits me.
“Off to have sex with my child, Marcus?”
Oh, you have got to be freaking kidding me!
I turn and find Julian behind me.
“What are you doing here?”
I ask, working really hard not to lose my temper.
“So you’re really gonna do it?”
“This isn’t your business.”
“Like hell. That’s my kid.”
“Look, I’m not doing this with you okay? If you can’t tell how much I love your daughter by now then you just don’t get it.”
“I know you love her.”
“Then what’s your problem? If Emmy didn’t want us to be together tonight she would have said something. Your daughter isn’t shy. She says what’s on her mind.”
“You think this is about the two of you having sex?”
“Isn’t it?”
“No, it’s not.”
“Fine, then. What the hell is this about?”
“You have loved and protected Emmy every single step of the way in this mission. I respect that.”
“Okay…”
“When you went to Difi and set her forest on fire, she retaliated by ripping Femi’s heart out. Now Emmy and the rest of your team has killed her son.”
“What’s your point?”
“The Guardians go back into the Light in a few days. You will not be permitted back on earth. What happens when Lucy wants revenge and you’re gone? Who do you think she’ll go after?”
A chill runs through my entire body as I face the window where Emmy is now playing with Ms. Charlotte. It never once occurred to me that Lucy would go after her. How could I be so stupid? How could I have missed that?
Julian, seeing me in deep thought, puts his hand on my shoulder.
“Marcus, I was wrong before. You do love her. It’s that love that’s blinding you from reality. It did the same to me. But unlike me, you have a chance to save Emmy.”
“I could have Angels around her 24-7.”
“The Council won’t allow you to use their resources like that.”
“I could have her placed in some kind of a Holder.”
“For the rest of her life?”
“Everyone knows we have to go back into the Light. So Emmy and I are over no matter what.”
“It doesn’t matter. As long as she means something to you, she’s not safe.”
“Julian, what do I do?”
“Emmy will always be a target because by getting to her, they can get to you.”