by Lola StVil
“We got out of hand, but we’ll be quiet. We really do care about Diana,” Swoop says.
“Well, then maybe you should start acting like it,” the Healer snaps.
“You’re right. It won’t happen again,” Bex says.
“Good, now if all of you can stay quiet, I will allow you to say good night to my patient,” Martin says.
I start to follow everyone as they head back into Diana’s room, but Bex takes my arm and insists I remain outside with him. He says he needs to talk to me. I object, but he insists. Randy and I glare at each other as he enters Diana’s room.
“Bex, I have to go say good-bye to Diana,” I remind him.
“No, what you have to do is regain control of your team. Pryor, what’s going on?”
“Nothing. Randy and I are just having a disagreement.”
“It doesn’t look that way to me. You’re not only at odds with Randy, the whole team is out of balance.”
“They just want me to be like before, but I can’t. I can’t smile no matter what’s going on. Or be ‘little miss sunshine’ because that’s what works for them.”
“This isn’t about that, Pry. You can’t just disappear on them whenever you want.”
“Is there any rule that says I can’t have a personal life?”
“No, but there’s a rule that says you’re the First Noru and you better act like one.”
“Are you saying I’m not doing my job?”
“I’m saying there is no reason I should get a call from the team asking to help find you at one in the morning.”
“They overreacted.”
“I went looking for you and I was worried. They were all worried, Pry. It wasn’t until Hunter called and told me you were okay—”
“You talked to Hunter?” I ask.
“Yeah, he said he found you on a mountaintop?”
“It’s more complex than that,” I assure him.
“Pry, I know you’re having a hard time, but you can’t just take off.”
“Why not? Silver does,” I remind him.
“Silver doesn’t lead this team; you do.”
“Well, maybe I don’t want to do that anymore. Maybe I’ve had enough.”
I want to be the kind of girl who can put my personal life aside to take care of business. I want to separate my heart from my duties as a leader. But I can’t seem to do that. I hate myself for it. I thought I was stronger than this. I thought I could handle the breakup, but I was wrong. Knowing that Aaden was in the clinic and didn’t even ask about me hurts. It’s crushing to know I’m not on his mind at all.
You can judge me if you want. You can call me pathetic because that’s the way I feel. How did I get to this place? Why didn’t I stop myself from falling in love? Why does this shit hurt so much? And why is that pain never ending?
Diana is falling apart. She has good reason. She lost her kid. She can mourn and cry. But nothing happened to me. Some guy I thought loved me, didn’t. That’s it! So why can’t I shake this off? How did I get to be so fucking fragile? I really hate myself right now. I hate who I am now that he’s gone.
When we get back home, the team starts to investigate the Raven. We scour demon bars and hangouts, looking for anyone who might know who this chick is and what she wants. We separate to cover more ground. Unfortunately whoever this Raven woman is, she covers her tracks very well.
“We’ve all had a long night—you guys can go get some rest. We have to get up early to go see Diana,” I instruct.
“I don’t know if I can even Recharge knowing where Diana is,” Key says.
“Key, there’s nothing you can do for her right now. Besides, if you don’t come with me now, you’ll miss our big date,” Randy tells her.
“Oh yeah!” Key says with a grin.
“Where are you guys going? The car wash?” Swoop teases.
Key has been learning a lot about the human world from Randy. And for some reason she finds the most normal human places fascinating. Their first official date was at the airport. She got super excited to watch humans get inside a big metal object and take off into the air. She asked Randy a thousand questions about airplanes and how they could stay up in the air. Randy had a blast knowing she was completely captivated by what he had to say.
“No, for your information, Randy is taking me to do something called grocery shopping!”
“C’mon, man, really?” East says.
“She wants to go,” Randy counters.
“I’ve seen it on TV so many times, but I never stopped to think about it. Humans need to eat. So they enter these large buildings and they gather the food and ride around in carts, smashing into each other. Awesome!” Key says, sounding more like a kid than a powerful Noru.
This is normally the point where Randy asks me to go with them and I say no, but he doesn’t ask. I guess that’s his way of saying our fight isn’t over.
“Swoop and I were going to a party tonight, but given what’s happened with Diana, I think we’ll skip it and stay home,” East says.
“I’m gonna take another pass at a few bars. I really don’t like the sound of this Raven,” I confess.
“If you find her, call us. Please don’t go off on your own,” East says as he takes to the air along with Swoop.
I’m amazed at how well East flies considering he only learned a few months ago. It’s like he was born to be in the air. I love watching him take off. Meanwhile Key and Randy go off to their “adventure.” I head down the same path I took before, hoping to find some clue as to the identity of our new foe.
It worries me that she took on Malakaro. I can tell that it worries the team too. Swoop was fidgeting with her earrings and Key kept looking off to the side as if expecting this Raven woman to appear out of thin air. No one wanted to say it out loud, but Malakaro is a familiar terror. Now we have a new creature, one I know nothing about, and that could be deadly for us.
I know that I haven’t been focused lately. However, this new evil is great motivation. I’m not going to be a lovesick teen anymore. I am a grown woman. I had a guy. He broke up with me and now I am on my own. So what? It happens every day. I don’t have to fall apart. I don’t have to allow it to wreck everything in my life. He’s just a guy.
Do you ever notice that when you miss someone, the world has a tendency to rub it in? Well, as I walk down the streets of New York City, all of a sudden there are far more couples than there were before. The songs that remind me of Aaden are playing in the car radio of the taxicab a few feet away. And I swear a bee flew by “buzzing” his name.
So far tonight any and everything that could remind me of Aaden has been thrown in my face. But I am not focusing on him or any other guy. I’m about to find the new evil and beat her ass, so the world can suck it; I will not be distracted by anything.
Well, almost anything…
I stop dead in my tracks when I reach the end of the street and see the store in front of me. If it was a store full of couples on their wedding day, I would have been fine. If it was a video of all the times Aaden and I laughed and held each other, I could have gotten over it. But standing there, forcing me to swallow the lump in my throat, is the one thing I didn’t think would affect me—a hardware store. There it is looking at me in the window: Bright, shiny, and perfect—a hammer.
Seriously?! I’m the most powerful angel in the world and I come undone over a hammer? This is bullshit! Argh!
I honestly don’t know how I got to the Chop Shop perched on top of the Himalayan mountains. One minute I was in “First Noru” mode, then the next I was on the verge of crying and I had to stop that at all costs. Next thing I know, I’m here in the middle of the dance floor, having the best time of my life. I vowed that I wouldn’t sleep with anyone. That was such a dumb thing to do. But I would go dance and just let loose a little.
Two hours later I have had fourteen shots of Coy Dark, three bottles of Fury, which is similar to human tequila, and I’ve smoked two Power sticks. Power sticks ar
e green and smell like citrus. They’re outlawed because they make you think you’re more powerful than you are. That causes you to act irrationally. But since I’m crying at the sight of a hammer, I figure fuck it, I’m already irrational. I smoke six more Power sticks.
It’s now three in the morning; I don’t remember how much I’ve had to drink or what it is I vowed I wouldn’t do tonight. I hope I didn’t promise not to get on top of the bar and start stripping, because if that’s so, I have broken a promise to myself.
Standing on the bar, slowly taking my shirt off is the most fun I’ve had—ever! This is a high I have never felt before; I love it! The crowd is wild and cheering madly. The music encourages me to let loose. I scream at the crowd as loud as I can.
“THERE ARE NO FUCKING HAMMERS HERE, LET’S DANCE!”
The crowd shouts back and cheers as my shirt hits the floor. I reach around the back to unhook my bra and the crowd goes wild once again. My bra hits the floor, exposing my breasts to the entire bar.
“PUT YOUR CLOTHES ON!” a voice says behind me. The voice cuts right through me. I know who it is the second I hear it. The speaker’s tone is commanding and severe. The music stops. The dancers stop. Everyone in the Chop Shop is frozen in fear. The being that has entered is so powerful he has rendered the entire room silent.
I turn slowly towards the direction of the voice, hoping that I’m wrong about who it belongs to; I’m not. Standing at the entrance of the club is the First Guardian, Marcus Cane.
Chapter Four:
Why Are We Here?
My father snatches me off the bar and down to the floor. He then quickly covers me with his jacket. The color drains from my face, my body turns cold, and my hands tremble so much, it takes three tries before I can hook my bra back on. Thankfully, I have better luck with my shirt. Millions and millions of questions swirl around in my head as my dad hastens me towards the door.
How did he get back to Earth? Does the fact that he’s here mean that the bridge has been rebuilt? Is Mom back too? What about Uncle Jay and Aunt Miku? What does this mean for our current mission?
All these questions will have to wait. Right now isn’t the time to ask anything. In fact, judging from the rage in my father’s eyes, silence is the only thing he wants from me. Still, as we exit the club and walk out into the crisp mountain air, I try to smooth things over.
“Dad, I can explain—”
“You are not explaining. You are following me back to the house. And Omnis help you if you deviate from the route I am taking by so much as an inch…” he warns.
Without saying another word, he takes off into the air and I follow. My father doesn’t speak for the entire flight. I can almost see the anger bouncing off of him. He channels it into his wings. He flaps them wildly as he cuts through the air. It’s all he can do not to reach out midflight and throttle me. I have never seen my father so irate before, not even in battle.
As we head for the front steps of the house, I slip something into my dad’s jacket without him knowing. When we enter the house, my father slams the door shut so hard, the whole house seems to shake. The same can be said for my father’s voice. It trembles from ire and disbelief.
“How dare you!” he demands.
“Dad—”
“This is not a conversation! You are listening, not talking!” he barks.
I reluctantly close my mouth and fold my arms across my chest. I am determined to look him in the eye although everything in me wants to run away.
“Your mother and I are in the light, worrying ourselves to death about you. I move earth and heaven to come back down here, and what do I find? My only daughter happily degrading herself. Do you have any idea what it feels like to watch your child take her clothes off for strangers? You have disgraced your team, your family, and yourself!”
“I’m sorry.”
“No! Sorry does not cut it here, Pryor! Do you know how many times your mother and I risked our lives so that we could protect you? Is this what we did it for? Is this the kind of angel we raised you to be? Are you the same Noru I trained?”
“Yes, I am.”
“No, you’re not. Because if you were, you wouldn’t be dishonoring all our sacrifices the way you did tonight! And tonight wasn’t the first time, was it?”
“Dad—”
“I’ve been getting caught up on what you’ve been doing, and it seems this is an every night thing with you.”
“It’s not every night,” I reply.
“It’s not supposed to be any night!”
“I just needed a break,” I mumble.
“YOU ARE THE FIRST NORU, YOU DON’T GET BREAKS!”
He yells so loudly, I jump before I can stop myself. I can feel his eyes glaring at me. He furrows his brows, curls his lips in disapproval, and speaks with a tone that leaves no room for argument.
“We raised you to be brave, wise, dependable, and selfless. Your mother and I really thought that was who you were going to turn out to be. Instead, I come down here and find a soulless, selfish brat who has abandoned her team.”
“That’s not true! I’ve been there for my team!”
“Really? Is that why Diana almost killed herself? Is that why Key almost became a Tic? Is that why Aaden is on the other side of the world? Because you’re looking out for them?”
“Don’t bring up Aaden. You have no idea what’s happened with us,” I warn him.
“You knew that getting into a relationship with a team member could be painful and messy, yet you did it anyway. Now you are running away from the consequences. Is that what we taught you?”
When I don’t reply, he snaps at me and makes me jump once again.
“I ASKED YOU A QUESTION! IS THAT WHAT WE TAUGHT YOU?”
“No,” I mutter.
“Then why the hell did I find you on some Omnis-forsaken mountain, shaking your butt and taking off your clothes? Did you get hit in the head during a battle and lose all your good sense?”
“No.”
“Did someone poison you? Is this some side effect of that poison?”
“No.”
“Damn it, Pryor, I need an explanation! Tell me there’s a reason why my only daughter is partying like a brain-damaged monkey!”
“Dad—”
“I trained you to stay focused no matter what was going on; what the hell happened? Do you even remember why we were placed here on Earth?”
“Dad—”
“WHY ARE WE HERE?”
“To protect the humans.”
“And is that what you were doing standing on that bar stripping? Was that supposed to help humanity?”
“No.”
“Well, maybe this new Pryor doesn’t give a damn about the humans. Is that it, Pryor?”
“You know I care about them.”
“The only thing I know is that all the years of training have been for nothing! The world is going to hell, your team is spinning out of control, and all the while you are starring in your own peepshow.”
“Dad, you don’t understand!”
“You’re right, I don’t! Your actions have proven that you are reckless, idiotic, and unworthy of leadership. Go to your room.”
“You can’t be serious; I’m not a child—”
“I SAID GO!”
I throw his jacket off of me, run up the steps, and slam my door shut. I take out my cell and call Key. She updates me on the past few hours.
“The bridge that leads to and from the light has not been repaired. But they were able to assemble a small portal that could take one being to and from the light. However, the portal requires a lot of power and therefore can only remain open for a short time—twenty-four hours. Then your dad is supposed to go back.”
“He’s only here for one day?” I ask.
“Yeah, then the portal will close up again,” she says.
“Hey, who’s that in the background? Where are you?” I ask.
She puts me on speakerphone and informs me that the whole tea
m with the exception of Aaden and Diana are at the Face’s house.
“What are you guys doing over there?”
“Your dad ordered us to stay here tonight,” Key says.
“What? He can’t order my team around! Why did you guys listen to him?” I ask.
“Um…because he’s Marcus Cane,” East replies.
“Damn him! How can he just come back after being gone all this time and try to take over?” I rage.
“Look, I don’t know what you’ve been through tonight, but I promise you whatever it is, we’ve faced far worse over here,” East says.
“Really? What’s going on?” I ask, growing concerned.
“It’s bad, Pry. I mean really bad,” East says with mounting fear in his voice.
“Easton, what is it? Were you guys attacked? Was anyone hurt? How many demons were there?” I beg.
“Demons? This is worse than demons, Pry!”
“East, what happened? What has you so scared?”
“Cats.”
“What?”
“The Face is a cat person!”
“Damn it, Easton, I thought you guys were in danger! I really thought something bad happened,” I scold.
“Something bad did happen! Lord Byron peed on me.”
“The poet?”
“No, the cat. The Face is obsessed with them. She names them after famous human writers. She has six of them, six! Shakespeare, you shed on my new fedora, I’ll feed you to the pit bull next door!” East vows to the animal meowing in the background.
“East, can you please focus for five seconds? Do you have any idea how hard it is to talk my dad down from the ledge after he found me in a Chop Shop?”
“Do you have any idea how hard it is to get cat hair out of suede?”
“Wait, you were in a Chop Shop?” Swoop says.
“Yeah, only for a little while,” I reply.
“I thought you were going to stop going to that place since…the thing that happened last night,” Randy says.
“What thing happened last night?” Swoop asks.
“You knew she went to a Chop Shop?” Key asks Randy.
“Um…yeah, kind of. We talked about it,” Randy says.
