by Lola StVil
“Anytime today, Az,” Jinx shouts back through the portal.
“No,” Nexus says. “Just heed Rye’s words and be careful.”
Aziza nods and steps through the portal and it closes behind her.
“Rye, Sailor, I need to talk to you two alone. The rest of you can go,” Nexus says.
Mel laughs as she stands up.
“This teacher thing is going to your head, Nexus.” She laughs.
“It is kind of more fun than I thought it would be,” Nexus admits. “But the germs. My God the germs. Teenagers really are disgusting. Some of the things they do horrify me.”
The team files out, laughing at Nexus’s disgust until only Sailor and I remain in the room with her.
“What’s the catch then?” I ask.
“What do you mean?” Nexus says with a frown.
“You wanted just us two. That means you’re going to drop some major bombshell on us, right?” I say.
Nexus shakes her head.
“No. I just want to remind you two that a member of your own team is the Horseman,” she says. “It means you will have to be extra vigilant. And Sailor? I know this is a lot to put on you, but when the time comes, you need to be able to kill that member. Can you do it?”
Sailor looks down at her desk for a moment and then she looks up at Nexus.
“With any other weapon, honestly, I don’t think I could do it. But with this weapon, yes,” she says.
“Sailor, I know this sounds like it’s a bit less up close and personal, but believe me when I say it’s not. You will have to touch the crystal to the fatal wound, a wound which you must cause. And you will have to watch the life leaving the person’s body so you know when the soul is truly out.”
I feel a shudder go through me at Nexus’s description, but Sailor still just looks thoughtful.
“That’s the thing though. I can watch the soul being sucked from the body. And I can stop when the Horseman’s soul is out. Before the soul of the team member is removed from the body,” she says.
Nexus pales visibly but she doesn’t respond.
“It’s possible, isn’t it?” Sailor presses her.
“Yes, it’s possible. But Sailor, it’s so dangerous. It’s not something I would recommend you try.”
“Why not?” Sailor demands.
“Because if you’re off by even a second, the consequences will be dire. If you’re too early, the Horseman won’t be contained. And if you’re too late, you will shatter the soul of the team member, trapping half of it in the crystal and leaving the other half to wander in limbo for eternity.”
“Then I’ll have to make sure I time it right then, won’t I?” Sailor says defiantly.
“Sailor—” Nexus starts.
“No,” Sailor interrupts her. “These guys are like family to me, and if there’s a way to get rid of the Horseman without killing one of them, then it’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
She is fierce, and even Nexus seems to see there is no talking her out of it.
“Then prepare for the hardest thing you have ever done, because the idea of any of these guys stuck in limbo, well, that’s a fate worse than death.”
Sailor nods her head.
“I can do this, Nexus. I know I can,” she says.
“I hope you’re right,” Nexus says.
She jumps down off the desk.
“Well I have a staff meeting to get to. Can you two clean up the sand off the floor?”
She’s gone before I can tell her no, and I sigh and get up and head for the cupboard in the corner. I get out a dustpan and broom and begin to work on the sand. Sailor watches me in silence for a moment, lost in thought.
“You believe I can do this don’t you, Rye?” she asks.
“Yes,” I say simply.
She looks surprised and I laugh.
“What? If anyone can do this, it’s you, Sailor,” I say. “I was more worried that your nerve would go and you wouldn’t be able to kill someone. But saving them? I know you’ll pull that one off. The real danger in my mind isn’t going to be splitting the souls. It’s going to be fatally wounding the Horseman in the first place.”
Sailor nods thoughtfully.
“Yes, that’s not going to be easy by any stretch of the imagination. Everyone is so strong, but everyone has a weakness too. Once we work out who it is, we can formulate a plan. Rye, who do you think it is?”
I don’t answer immediately and Sailor keeps thinking out loud.
“I hate having to be suspicious of the team when everyone is helping me so much, but I do think it’s a little off how Jinx and Aziza were so keen to go and search for the weapon alone. Do you think it’s one of them?” she says.
I don’t like the idea of questioning Nexus’s intel, but I have to be honest with Sailor. I stand up and go to the trash can to deposit the sand as I speak.
“Sailor, Nexus is wrong. None of them are War,” I say.
“How can you be so sure?” Sailor asks. “Nexus seemed pretty certain about it.”
“I’m sure because I know these guys inside and out. None of them would ever betray us like that. You know that, right?”
“Well sure, I know none of them would ever intentionally betray us. But this isn’t a betrayal. They haven’t chosen to work with the Horsemen,” Sailor says.
I know I have to say it, as much as it pains me to even think it.
“Sailor, everyone on the team is strong enough to fight off a dark possession. If one of them really is War, then it’s most definitely a betrayal.”
CHAPTER TWELVE: WHO IS SHE?
Sailor comes bounding down the hallway towards me as I grab some stuff from my locker. My first thought is something is wrong, but then I see she’s smiling and I relax slightly.
“Hi,” she says as she reaches my side.
“Why are you looking so pleased with yourself?” I say.
“Guess who’s got a date tomorrow,” she says.
I try and fail to keep my face neutral. I know Sailor and I being together is a risk, and we’ve never really discussed whether we’re a couple, but Sailor said she wanted to fight for us, and to drop this on me like this is so unexpected. I mean, we’ve just told each other that we love each other.
She laughs when she sees my face and playfully elbows me.
“Jealous?” She grins.
“A little,” I say through gritted teeth.
“You don’t have to be. It’s with Raven.” She laughs. “I just caught up with her and asked her if she’s up for our girly day out tomorrow. She was a little surprised, but she said she is, so we’re going to the mall tomorrow.”
Her reply fills me with a strange mixture of relief that she’s not going on a real date, and nerves that she’s still going through with this. Mel hasn’t gotten back to me with any information yet and I don’t like the idea of Sailor being alone with Raven until we know more. I was really hoping she’d just forget the idea, but I should have known better than that.
“You’re not still jealous, are you?” Sailor teases me.
“No,” I say. “But I’m not convinced this is a good idea.”
“That’s okay.” Sailor smiles. “I wasn’t trying to convince you to give me your permission to do this. I was just letting you know what’s happening.”
God she’s infuriating at times.
“Just make sure I have all the details of when you’re leaving home and where you’ll be going,” I say.
“Aye aye, Captain,” she says with a sarcastic salute.
She finally seems to realize I’m not messing around and she puts her hand on my arm.
“Hey. You don’t need to stress about this. It’ll be fine, but Rye, that woman is dating my dad, and I need to know the truth about her.”
“I know,” I say. “But it’s my job to worry about you.”
She smiles.
“Seriously, Rye, if I can’t take Raven, we’
ve got big problems,” she says.
I can’t help but laugh at that. With the dagger in her boot and now the sword she carries everywhere, she makes a good point.
“Okay, I’ll give you that one. Yeah, you could take her. Not that I’m suggesting a cat fight with your dad’s girlfriend is a good plan,” I say.
“It depends on whether there’s mud involved,” Sunday says, coming up behind me.
“Well that’s my cue to leave.” Sailor says, laughing.
She heads away shaking her head.
“What the fuck?” I say.
“Just injecting a little Jinx-style humor,” Sunday says. “I really expected him and Aziza to be back by now.”
“The Mojave Desert is huge, Sunday. It could take them a good few days to even cover it,” I say.
I change the subject abruptly, remembering I have a more pressing issue right now.
“Where’s Mel?” I say.
“Last I saw her, she was heading to English,” Sunday replies.
I head in the direction of Mel’s English class.
“Yeah, nice to catch up with you too, Rye,” Sunday shouts after me.
I give him the finger and his laughter follows me down the hallway. I manage to catch Mel before she gets into her class. I beckon to her and she comes over.
“Come on. We’re skipping class,” I say.
She glances back over her shoulder.
“Won’t it be a little suspicious if four of us are missing on the same day?”
“Probably, but this is more important than that. Sailor has arranged her day out with Raven, and I need to know everything you managed to find out.”
“Oh. Well I don’t need to skip class for that. There’s really nothing to tell. There’s absolutely nothing in her past that even hints at her being anyone other than who she says she is. Mind you, there’s a lot of gaps, whole portions of time where I can’t find a trace of her. And there’s nothing I can dig up about her childhood or anything like that.”
“That sounds a bit sketchy,” I comment.
“I know, but in some ways, it’s reassuring. If she was with the Boundless, she’d have a whole fake history available easily in case anyone got suspicious and looked into her. This feels like there might be something off about her, but if I had to guess, I’d say it’s nothing supernatural,” Mel says. “Maybe she was in an abusive relationship and had to disappear. Or maybe she’s been up to no good in her past. But I don’t think it’s connected to the Soul Gems or Sailor in any way.”
“Okay,” I say. “But don’t stop looking. I want all of those gaps filled. And if we find out she did a stint of shoplifting and doesn’t want that following her here, then we’ll keep our mouths shut about it. But we have to know.”
“I’m still on it. And the second I find anything one way or the other to explain the sketchy gaps, you’ll be the first one to know.”
“Thanks, Mel,” I say. “You best get into class then. I wouldn’t want to affect your perfect attendance record.”
“Ha ha very funny,” she says, but she hurries away from me and towards the classroom anyway.
I still don’t know how I feel about this whole Raven thing. Mel’s right. There’s nothing to tie her to the Boundless, but there’s nothing to rule her out either, and her sketchy past isn’t doing anything to make me feel better about her and Sailor spending the day alone together.
I decide to make one last attempt to talk Sailor out of this. In the meantime, I decide I might as well go to class and keep Nexus happy.
***
“Sailor. We need to talk,” I say as we leave the school at the end of the day.
“That sounds serious. Are Jinx and Aziza back?” she says.
“Not yet,” I tell her, shaking my head. “This is about tomorrow.”
“Don’t start this again, Rye. You’re not talking me out of this one.”
“Sailor…” I say.
“For God’s sake. What part of I’m doing this don’t you understand, Rye?”
“The part where you forget I’m the leader of the team and that I don’t want to lose anyone else,” I say.
She sighs.
“Look, I get it. But we’re going to the mall on a Saturday afternoon. Even if Raven is planning to take me out, she’s not going to try it there, is she?”
“I guess not,” I relent. “But can you not just put this off until we have more to go on?”
Sailor shakes her head. The anger seems to go out of her, and instead of looking angry, she looks sad.
“What is it?” I ask.
She shakes her head again and I stop walking and take her hands, making her stop and look at me.
“Sailor, tell me,” I say.
She looks down at the ground for a moment and when she looks up, I can see tears shining in her eyes.
“Rye, what you and I have, it’s putting me dad’s life in danger. But I told you I wanted to fight for us and I do. I trust you when you say you’ll find a way to appease the gods and save my dad. But I can’t risk his life in other ways, and if I’m right about Raven, then he’s not only risking his life every time he’s with her, he’s risking getting his heart broken. Because of me. And I can’t just stand by and watch that happen. Do you understand that?”
“Yes,” I say as my heart breaks for her.
It doesn’t seem fair that she has to risk so much, sacrifice so much. And if there are parts of that we can control, then of course we have to take the chances we’re given to do that.
“Okay, go out with Raven tomorrow. But I meant what I said earlier. Keep me informed of exactly where you will be and when you’ll be there. The team will be there every step of the way, and even if you can’t see us, we won’t be far away.”
She kisses my cheek and my heart skips a beat. God, I hope I’m making the right call here. I hope Raven has nothing to do with this and we can keep Sailor and her father safe. Surely she’s right though. Whoever Raven really is, she’s not going to try something in the middle of a packed shopping mall. And nothing can happen to Sailor on the way there or back without Adam knowing Raven was involved.
I just hope Sailor finds something definitive that proves this one way or the other, because the not knowing is the worst. Ignorance can be dangerous. But asking questions can be more dangerous.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: GIRLS’ DAY OUT SAILOR SPEAKS
If she tries anything, she’s dead, it’s that simple. I’m already starting to regret my day with Raven and it’s only been an hour or two since she picked me up. Rye was right; I should have just called it off. Not for the reasons he thought though. I’m not afraid of Raven. But my God, I’m going crazy here just listening to her voice. And she’s so pathetic. The meaner I am to her, the more she tries to kiss my ass. I mean, I’m the kid here and even I can see that she needs to man up a bit and tell me to show her a little respect.
As much as it’s going to kill me to buddy up to her, I do know I need to be a bit nicer to her. I can hardly expect her to let her guard down and let something slip if I’m keeping her at arm’s length—she barely dares say a word to me in case I bite her head off. It’s tempting though to keep pushing her, to see just how far I can go before she either yells at me, cries, or just gives up on this and goes home.
That’s not going to help me though, is it?
“Would you like to go in here, Sailor?” Raven asks quietly, nodding to a store to my right, cutting through my thoughts.
I make a snorting noise, and then I remember I’m supposed to be being nice to her. I guess in her own way, she thinks she’s being nice to me by choosing a designer boutique store to go in, because being a teacher she has to know this kind of store appeals to teen girls.
“Like I can afford anything in there,” I say, looking longingly at a pair of ripped jeans in the window.
Okay, I’ll give Raven her due. She was right. I would like to go in there and I would happily buy almost
everything they stock. Assuming I was a millionaire rather than a high school student.
Raven sees where my gaze has gone to and she looks at the ripped jeans and smiles.
“Try them on. If you like them, I’ll buy them for you,” she says.
I round on her, my temper flaring despite my best efforts to hold it in check. If she thinks getting me to like her is going to be as simple as buying me a pair of jeans, she has really underestimated my dislike for her. She should have brought Ya-Ya. She’d be eating out of her hands by now. Maybe that would have been a better plan all around. Ya-Ya would have chatted to her easily and gotten her to drop her guard. But I’m not sure I could have trusted her to ask the right questions; like my dad, she seems to think the sun shines out of Raven’s ass. They all do. Except maybe Rye, but even he’s holding out on giving a negative opinion of her.
“You can’t just buy my affections, Raven,” I snap.
Raven looks taken aback for a moment but then she sighs and frowns.
“You know, you almost had me fooled back in the hospital. I really thought whatever had happened to you had made you grow up a little bit, but I see now I was wrong. You don’t want your dad to be happy, do you?”
It’s my turn to be taken aback. How dare she imply I don’t want my dad to be happy? Of course I want him to be happy. Just not with her. I can hardly say that though, can I? Get a fucking grip, Sailor. Make her like you.
“We were perfectly happy already before you came along,” I snap, completely ignoring my own advice. “So don’t start thinking he can only be happy with you.”
Raven shakes her head and smiles sadly.
“Your dad is very good at putting on a brave face for you, Sailor. And don’t get me wrong, I know how much he loves you, and he will always be happy if you’re happy. But he was lonely. He wanted… no, needed, some adult company. And I think deep down, you know that.”
I feel myself nodding despite myself. I do know that. And I know I’m being selfish not wanting him to move on. But if I’m right about Raven, then she’s literally the worst choice he could have made. Why couldn’t she just be a normal teacher who has hobbies like reading or foreign movies rather than hobbies like stealing the Soul Gems and trying to get me killed?
