by Lola StVil
Suddenly, several Powerballs are launched into the air and coming straight at me. The Gentleman signaled for his crew to fire, without my seeing it. There is no chance to get out of the blast radius. I will be hit, it’s simply a matter of where and how bad. Three Powerballs combine in the air and blend into one massive orb.
“Shit!” I shout as I dive for cover.
The blast lands just inches away from my face. The sheer force sends me flying into the larger-than-life crystal centerpiece; it shatters into dust underneath me. The humans scream and scatter, fearing for their lives.
The Gentleman’s army surrounds the lobby and hurls Powerballs nonstop as they head towards me. The orbs make contact with the furniture and blow it to pieces, making it hard to take cover. Most of the humans have gone, but others either didn’t run away fast enough or were too terrified to move in the first place. Now there is a group of them caught in our battle.
The number of Powerballs being launched into the air is impossible. There are just too many given that the Gentleman’s army is small. It’s not only the amount of orbs that’s throwing me off, it’s the speed with which they are coming. They come in rapid succession at top speeds.
Who or what is causing that to happen?
My first instinct is to help the humans get to safety, but I can’t do anything until I find the source of the rapid fire. So I force myself to ignore the cries of the humans, the sound of glass breaking, and the consuming chaos.
That’s when I spot him standing off to the side by what’s left of the front desk. He’s a tall, ugly-looking goon with arms that have transformed into cannon barrels. He pumps out Powerballs at unnatural speeds, ensuring no one makes it out of the hotel alive.
I want to take to the sky, but I know I’ll get hit before I can get anywhere near the cannon asshole. An idea pops into my head and I get down on the floor and place both of my hands flat against the cold marble. I place my hand against it, the heat from my palms begins to spread through the floor, and the marble starts to crack.
I could set the whole floor on fire and it would take out the demons, but it would also take out the humans trapped here with me. My fire needs to be contained, controlled, and targeted precisely. That’s hard to do with all the Powerballs flinging overhead. The floor heats up, but it’s too hot, and soon the entire hotel floods with fire.
“Shit! C’mon, c’mon!” I shout at the floor as I try to contain the flames.
You can’t contain the flames until you contain yourself.
I calm myself and try again. This time I am able to pull the fire back and redirect it towards the cannon demon. He looks back at me venomously, certain he can obliterate me before the flames engulf him—he is wrong; he dies screaming.
With the number of Powerballs reduced significantly, I take to the air, rush over to the humans, and get them inside the glass elevator. It’s not my first choice, but the exits are all blocked by demons and there is nowhere else to go. Once the glass doors close, I’m weak with relief, but my relief is short lived; a nearby demon takes aim at the human cargo and sends bolts of lightning straight at them.
“No!” I shout as I race to stop the light from making contact with the glass box.
I’m too late. The elevator has been hit. The humans shriek with terror as they go plummeting to their deaths. I reach them just in time to stop them from crashing through the floor. I hold the elevator on my back. Seeing the position I’m in, the demons take advantage and aim their Powerballs straight at me. If I let the elevator go, the humans will die. If I don’t fight back, I will die and the humans will die shortly after me.
“Go, I got it,” someone says as they support the weight of the elevator.
“Marcus?” I reply, not sure if the First Guardian is really next to me.
“I got the humans, take care of the demons. Go!” he yells.
The shock hasn’t worn off. I have so many questions. Marcus is back—does that mean all the Guardians are back? How long have they been back? Does he know about me and Pry?
Hey, this isn’t the time to question; it’s the time to kill. Good. I’m in the mood to do just that.
I tackle the demon that attacked the humans, drag him by his feet, and throw him across the lobby. He caves in the wall and groans as I fly down to him. He’s about to say something, but my foot gets in the way of his mouth. After I’ve killed him, I move to the next demon and the next. Meanwhile, Marcus kills the demons at the entrance and gets the humans out of the building safely.
He then races back into the hotel, and together, we battle demon after demon. Just when we think we are done, we hear laughter coming from across the lobby. The last demon, the only one now in our way, is nearly twice our size. He’s bald, bulky, and has teeth that resemble shards of glass. Marcus and I are confident we can take him. That is until the demon bastard divides into two. The second version of himself is his shadow.
“What the…?” I ask out loud.
Marcus and I exchange a look of complete astonishment.
“You ever seen that before?” I ask him.
“No, we’ll have to learn as we go,” he says as he charges at the demon.
I tackle the shadow and learn that nothing I do can hurt it. I mean really, nothing I do has an effect on it. Right now, it’s kicking my ass. Marcus is having better luck with the actual demon but not by much.
“Holder!” Marcus shouts as he grapples with the demon.
I take a Holder out of my back pocket and slide it over to him. He tries to contain the demon inside the bubble-like prison, but the demon struggles and gets free. It takes Marcus three tries, but he is finally able to beat the demon into submission. The demon lies on the floor inside the Holder.
Marcus signals for me to send the shadow towards him. I use myself as bait and lure it over towards Marcus. The First Guardian opens the Holder slowly, allowing the shadow a small opening through which to enter. I’m doubtful that the shadow would just run into a Holder on its own, but it does just that. Marcus signals to me again and I send a ball of fire inside the Holder along with the shadow. The demon and his shadow are bound together and soon liquefy, making a macabre ‘milkshake’ inside the Holder.
“How did you know it would do that?” I ask.
“It’s a shadow. It doesn’t have a choice. It will go where its owner is. Like an obedient dog.”
“And you just happen to know that?”
“I’ve been around,” he says.
“Yeah, well…thanks. Who else is back?” I ask.
“Just me, for now. And don’t thank me. I should have let you get your ass handed to you. How dare you go on a mission without your team? I swear if you weren’t Rage’s kid—”
“I need to be on this mission alone. I can’t go to the team.”
“You want to play hero, do it on your own damn time. You put dozens of humans in danger just now.”
“Marcus, I wasn’t trying to do that. I wanted to get out before they saw me.”
“Well, that didn’t work, now did it? Your father took chances on our missions, but he made sure he had backup. What you did just now was stupid and reckless,” he scolds.
“I’m sorry. I screwed up. Maybe you haven’t heard, but I happen to be pretty good at that,” I snap.
“No, I heard. In fact, I have heard far more than I wanted to know. Why does the whole world know that you and my daughter dated? Why is she heartbroken, and what the hell do you think you’re doing leaving the team?”
“I have to go,” I reply, shaking my head as I walk away.
“You are not to take one more step,” he orders.
Seriously? I so don’t need this right now.
I stop walking and turn back to face him.
“I don’t give a damn what color your wings are or where you are in the chain of command. I am the First Guardian; when I talk, you will not walk away from me. Am I making myself clear?”
“Now I know where she gets it from,” I whisper to myself.<
br />
“What was that?” he asks.
“You know what, it was nothing. If you’re done scolding me, I have to go question a demon.”
“No, I am not done. Do you have any idea how much it hurt your father when your mom died?”
“What does that have to do with anything?” I ask.
“He cannot afford to lose you too. You need to stop whatever this mission is or take it to the team.”
“I told you I can’t do that,” I snap.
“Is it because you got one girl pregnant while going out with my daughter? Or because you dropped Pryor only after a few weeks?”
“That’s not what happened!”
“I don’t care what happened. All I know is that little girl is in pain, and once again, you are at the bottom of it.”
“I am not the one who kept the existence of an entire being secret from her. Do you have any idea how much it hurt her to find out you’d been lying to her about Malakaro all her life? You devastated her. She believed in you and you kept things from her. That’s what hurt her.”
“Aaden, that has nothing to do with you. That’s a family issue. One that I am not here to discuss,” he says sternly.
“Yeah, whatever. Thanks for the rescue,” I reply.
“I barely get out of the light when the Face drags me to her place to brief me. And what does she tell me? You are causing my daughter’s life to take a very bad turn, and I will not allow that. She’s been partying, forgetting her duties as leader, and drinking every minute of the day. Do I have you to thank for that?”
“I tried to find a way to end it nicely. I really did.”
“If you knew you weren’t going to have the balls needed to see this thing play out, then you shouldn’t have started it.”
“Argh! You don’t get it!”
“No, I get it better than you think. You want to do the ‘rebel’ crap, you want to ‘find’ yourself and screw every girl you can find along the way, fine. That’s up to you. But my child is not an ‘along the way’ girl. She is the daughter of Death and you will respect her or, so help me Omnis, I will come after you with a force unlike anything you’ve ever experienced.”
“You tracked me down here to threaten me?”
“I tracked you down to make you a promise. You screw around with my baby girl and it will be the last mistake you make on Earth.”
“I love her, okay? I…we couldn’t be together, but I love her.”
“No, you don’t! You can’t love her because you have yet to figure out how to love yourself. And while I want you to get to that point, Aaden, I’m not willing to have my child be used by you until you get it right. Pryor Reese Cane is not on this earth to wait for Aaden Case to get his shit together.”
“You have no idea how hard I am trying to protect your daughter. There are angels out there, PARA angels, who would be willing to do anything to her just to get what they want. And I’m the one…”
“Keep going,” he orders.
“Never mind, I’m the screwup who hurt your kid. And I get that. But I don’t have time to be yelled at right now. I have to look for a demon and hope that I can help save Jay’s family.”
“Jay? What does he have to do with this? Are the twins okay? What’s going on?”
“See, that’s just it, Marcus, you came down from the light minutes ago and you have no idea what’s happening. And instead of getting information, all you’re doing is threatening me.”
“Aaden, what’s wrong with the twins?”
“I don’t know. It may be nothing. Someone said something about one of them and I just want to go check it out.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“Why would I tell you anything? All you’ve done is judge me.”
“You’re damn right I’m judging you!”
“Well, I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry I can’t kiss every angel’s ass and play nice like Bex. I’m a broken, tortured half demon who is dragging your child to hell. Guess it’s a good thing we’re not together.”
“Aaden—”
“WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME, MARCUS?”
“For starters, I want you to change your tone—now.”
“Sorry.”
“Jay and Miku are on my team. They are family. If there is something going on with their girls, I need to know.”
“It’s just a rumor. I’m tracking the origin of it, and I’m sure it will turn out to be nothing,” I reply, not ready to admit that Swoop may actually be the Raven.
“Are the twins in danger?”
“No…they’ll be fine.”
“Aaden…”
“Key is okay, and so is Swoop. I just want to keep it that way.”
“And you have to check on this rumor alone?”
“For now.”
“You can’t take on this many demons by yourself.”
“You wanted to kill me a few minutes ago, and now you’re worried about whether or not I live or die?”
“If anyone gets to kill you, it’s me or your dad. That’s the deal.”
“Great, good to know. Can I go now?”
“Aaden, did you sleep with my daughter?”
“If you think I would tell you that, then you really don’t know me,” I reply.
“I knew you wouldn’t tell me, but as a dad, I needed to ask.”
“I guess.”
“I’ve been told that she’s…Aaden, is my little girl okay?”
“She’s dealing. I’ve seen angels take things better than Pry and I’ve seen some handle it way worse. I think she will be okay. She has the team. She has her grandfather and even the Face. She knows she’s loved. Most of us don’t have that.”
“You have that, Aaden.”
“Yeah, I know how my dad feels about me.”
“Not just him. There’s a line of angels who love you, Aaden. That’s why we want better for you than this rebellious crap.”
“Look, I really do have to go. I can’t lose the Gentleman. He has info I need.”
“Fine, but no more taking on groups alone. Got it?”
“Yeah.”
He signals that I can go, and I start to walk away once again.
“Aaden, I’m sorry about your daughter.”
“I’m sorry about Sam. I loved him.”
“I know you did. Thank you.”
“When you see my dad—”
“I will leave this part out. But no more solo battles.”
“Yeah. What’s wrong with your wife?” I ask.
“What? Why would you ask that?”
“I know what a guy looks like when the woman he loves is in pain.”
“She’s okay,” he lies.
I could have called him out on his lie, but just like I need to believe there is still hope for Swoop, Marcus needs to believe what he just said about his wife.
Once outside the hotel, I expect to find the Gentleman gone. Instead, he’s leaning on his luxury car, patiently waiting for me.
“You have no more demons for me to kill?” I shout.
“Not right now,” he says as he goes to take his shades off.
One look into his eyes and his victims will start to bleed from every part of their face. So I quickly fly over to him before he can remove his shades completely. I throw him down to the ground, pin him by his neck, and warn him firmly.
“You point those fucking eyes at me, I will snatch them out of your head and use them as key chains, got it?”
“Relax, Noru. I’m on your side.”
Chapter Sixteen:
No Limit
He starts to walk down the street and away from the wreckage he caused. I follow cautiously, knowing he could attack at any moment.
“The First Guardian let you date his daughter, knowing you dress like that?” he says.
“I didn’t come so you could give me fashion advice. What do you know about the Raven, and why should I believe that you are on our side? Nothing about you says ‘good’ to me.”
“Good? Surely y
ou jest. I didn’t say I was ‘good,’ I said I am on your side. And I am. At least on this issue.”
“And why is that?” I ask.
“I want the Raven dead just as much as you do.”
“For Malakaro’s sake?”
“I have my own reasons; ones I choose not to share.”
“Like the fact that you were in love with her?”
“Spider told you, didn’t he? That off-the-rack, poly-blend bastard!”
“You broke up with her, why do you care if she lives or dies?”
“The day I met Malakaro, I nearly wet my pants. Which would have been a shame, as I was wearing a classic single-breasted Tom Ford ensemble. When I looked at him, I thought, ‘Man, now there’s an evil demon.’”
“Yet you still ended up working for him,” I reply.
“Shit yeah! He has power unlike anything I’ve ever seen. I get him, you know? Someone did him wrong and now motherfuckers have to pay. Sounds good to me.”
“Enough about your bromance with Malakaro. I want to know about Raven,” I push.
“She’s not like Malakaro; she’s colder than he is.”
“What makes you think that?”
“When we first met, it was outside a club. I’d just finished killing some human who dared step on my shoe.”
“You killed him just for that?”
“They were Bruno Magli,” he explains.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Of course you don’t. Look at what’s on your feet. Anyway, they were expensive one-of-a-kind shoes and that jerk stepped on it, so I ended his life. Or so I thought. He was alive—barely. She looked down at him and, being an angel, I thought she’d try to help. Instead she opened and closed his nostrils like a kid toying with a pet goldfish that landed on the carpet. She watched the breath leave him and enjoyed it.”
“That’s exactly what your boss would do,” I point out.
“No, Malakaro is driven by his daddy issues. I understand that. My father was an outright waste of space. But Raven doesn’t have a reason. She’s not like a ‘being,’ she is a cold machine. She only exists for one reason—consumption.”
“Sounds like you’re jaded. What, did she cheat on you?”
