by Lola St. Vil
Marcus thinks we’re going to hound him, but we don’t. Everyone is quiet and keeping to themselves.
Marcus calls us all up onto the roof.
“Before we take off, I want to say something: We’ve made bad decisions and taken dangerous risks. We’ve broken laws and bent the rules. We’ve all done things that the Angel next to us doesn’t approve of. We have fought, attacked and judged each other.”
“But at the end of the day there is no one on earth or in the light that would do as much as we have done to keep each other safe. The reason isn’t because we are on a mission. The reason why we put our souls on the line for each other is simple: We’re a family. Every one of us would die for the other. And nothing that happens at Tamara Falls will change that.”
He looks at each of us.
“Are we good?” he asks.
“Hell, yeah, let’s go meet the three wise men,” Jay jokes.
We take to the air and head to South Asia to meet the Council.
Emmy had wanted to come along to support Marcus but he told her that Guardians were barely able to withstand the kind of force that accompanies the Council. That means it would be almost impossible for a human. He also reminded her that all humans would be frozen so long as the council is on Earth. So, her coming along would be pointless.
I’m glad of that. I don’t want to be distracted by thinking about the human. I have no idea which way the meeting is gonna go but I don’t envy Marcus.
He has to pick Jay because Jay is the weakest. But then again, Rio is responsible for his actions, shouldn’t he be made to pay?
I don’t want Rio to die…
We fly in complete silence. Once we get to the top of mountain, we stand side-by-side and await the Council.
Marcus stands at the head of the line. On his left side is me, followed by the Twins and Jay.
Our hands are firmly placed behind our backs, our eyes facing forward and our wings obediently behind us.
A few tension-filled minutes later, the sky opens up.
A pool of light bursts into the night sky. Six Paras emerge gracefully from the sky and onto the mountain.
They are followed by Rahell, the Taker. She is a beautiful Para with wild flowing hair, whose job it is to take the fallen Angel and escort them down to the house of fire. She resembles her younger sister, Arden.
After Rahell, comes The Council.
The three beings are over ten feet tall. They are made up of mostly light and shadow. They are cloaked in red and appear to be without hands or feet.
The Paras speaks first.
“Good evening Marcus; Guardians.”
We nod slightly but are other wise unmoved.
“We are here so that you can tell the Council which member of your team will pay with their lives for stealing souls from Death. You are aware of that?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Please speak the name of the Guardian whom you have chosen.”
“Me.”
“No!” I shout. The others begin to protest along with me. So, that’s what he was thinking when he said I would become more important to the mission.
Damn him for not talking this out with me. How could he not consult me about this? I don’t want to replace him.
Every member of our team begins to argue. We hear the sound of thunder and realize it’s coming from the Council.
It causes us all to be silent, immediately.
The Council members all speak at the same time. Their voices are as commanding they are frightening.
“We have told you before, you can not sacrifice yourself. You are the leader and the strongest Guardian on your team. You must pick from a member aside from yourself. We will not speak on this issue again.”
Marcus takes a step towards the Council. Every single Para moves to stop him from getting any closer.
“It is for your own protection, Guardian. You are not strong enough to stand any closer than this. Their energy will destroy you even from this distance.”
Marcus stands where he is. He doesn’t back down but he wisely doesn’t go further.
“The reason why it has to be me is simple; it’s the only way to maintain true balance.”
“Explain.”
“The Council was created to ensure that the balance of good and evil remain in tact. But if we get rid of Rio, we lose the Twins power. Granted, we don’t know what power they have once we combine their strengths but if history is any indication, they are more powerful than the rest of my team put together.”
“Then you are choosing Jayden.”
“No, he is the reason we beat The Hun. He stood between him and the Witness. He put his life on the line with no thought at all for self preservation.”
“That is his job.”
“He knew he was going to be chosen here today and that he might die but still he did what was needed. How do you want to repay him? By sending him to burning for all eternity? What will that do for other Guardians to come? How can they ever trust that the Council will do right by them? You take Jay and you take whatever faith we have in you.”
“So, you have chosen your second-in-command, Ameana Jones?”
“No, she’s the team’s best chance of finding the Triplex. She’s brilliant, resourceful and never lets her emotions get in the way. She is our biggest asset.”
“Then what are you proposing? Someone has to pay for stealing my soul away from me. The grand design was interfered with. That will not be tolerated. Not even by a Guardian.”
“Then take me.”
“No.”
“Taking anyone else would greatly tip the scales in favor of evil.”
“And killing the leader of the Guardians doesn’t help evil?”
“No, it actually helps Good. I’ve been holding my team back. I’ve broken rules, I’ve gotten humans killed and I have disobeyed instructions from the Sage. I’m the biggest liability to my team. The reason why Rio broke the rules was because his leader wasn’t there to keep him from doing it. It’s only fair that they go on without me.”
The Council makes the sound of thunder again, but this time it’s directed to the Paras. It’s like some secret language that we can’t begin to understand.
One of the Paras turns to address us.
“The Council will need a moment to decide what course of action to take.”
“Okay,” Marcus says as he heads back into the line with us.
“Are you crazy?” I ask him.
“Maybe,” he says.
“Yo, for real, that is the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen you do.”
“Aw, you’re gonna make me blush,” he retorts.
“Hey, stop joking around, what if they say yes?” I snap at him.
“They will, they have to,” Marcus says, almost to himself.
“Look, I appreciate what you’re doing, but this is all my fault. I should be punished,” Rio insists.
“You know we need your Twin powers. We can’t lose you or Miku.”
“What about me?” I ask.
“Well, you said you could be a better leader than me in your sleep so…”
As I am about to reply, the Para informs us that the Council has made a decision.
Before they can speak, Rio comes out of the line.
“Wait, don’t listen to Marcus. I’m the one who should be destroyed. Whatever Twin powers my sister and I have are not worth losing the First Guardian. Please take me. It was my mistake.”
“But I’m the weakest one, take me,” Jay says moving towards the Council. Soon we all begin to talk at once.
“SILENCE!” The Council roars in unison. The mountain next to the one we’re on splits in two.
We turn and see that the once great mountain is now no more than a pile of rubble.
“We did not come here to debate. We came here for a decision. Since we did not get one, we will have to render one ourselves.”
We all stand still and await the Council’s decision. It feels like years have gone
by but I’m certain it’s only seconds. But it’s hard to tell since they have stopped time.
“We cannot deny that you Marcus have done some questionable things since we sent you down to earth. There is a human that has stolen your heart. And according to Fate and The Sage, she will in fact be the end of you. But, you have also led this team well enough that the Hun has been destroyed. In addition, you have rescued the Witness and prevented him from facing a torturous death.”
“While we question the propriety of your actions, you have held up to the standards we have set. Getting rid of you would cripple your team. So, your offer to sacrifice yourself is therefore denied.”
“Since you are unable or unwilling to choose which of your teammates will face punishment, we will do it for you. We are going to take away the member of your team that has shown great weakness on the inside. That kind of weakness can destroy your team and if given a chance, the world.”
“The weakness we speak of involves a being’s ability to follow directions despite his desire to do otherwise. Had Julian been able to follow directions in the first place, none of this would have been necessary. But here we are again. And yet again, a Guardian refuses to follow direction.”
“We consider this to be a great weakness. We will not tolerate it. Nor will we allow the possibility of Twin powers to stand in the way of the Justice. Therefore we are taking Rio and sending him to the house of fire.”
“NO!!!” Miku shouts as she dives to protect her brother. But she is too late. As soon as the council speaks their last words, Rio collapses.
Miku runs over to him and tries to wake him. Rahell comes along and gently taps Rio on the shoulder. His body floats in the air and onto a reef of floating feathers.
“You can’t do this,” Miku screams from the top of her lungs. She tries to hold onto her brother but Rahell’s placing of Rio’s body on to the reef cannot be undone. The only time Rio’s body will come off the reef now is when it reaches the house of fire.
As Miku tries to climb on to the reef, we all hold her back knowing that if she goes onto the reef, she will not be able to get off. Then, she too will die.
She doesn’t care. She keeps trying to get on. She then cries hysterically as Rahell takes the reef and flies off the mountain with her brother.
No Angel can go where Rahell is headed. But that doesn’t stop Miku from jumping off the mountain and following her.
Rahell is taking Rio to the Port at the base of the mountain. It is the Port that leads to the house of fire.
Once Rahell takes an Angel there, nothing can be done about it. But still Miku tries in vain to save her condemned twin.
I’m so busy watching Miku, I don’t see Marcus take off after the Council.
He tries to follow them into the light. He is determined to reach them. He climbs higher and higher until he reaches the tail end of their cloaks.
The moment he touches them, they cast him out of the sky. The force of their power is blinding. Marcus drops back down to the mountaintop with such force, the entire mountain range shakes.
He doesn’t stop to look at what had been broken or wounded on his body.
He just runs back to the peak of the mountain and takes off after the Council again.
But this time they are ready for him.
They break his wings so he could not follow them.
Judging from his cries, the pain is exquisite. He does not care. He tries to take off again. I run and stop him.
“Punish me! Punish me!” he yells toward the light as he crashes down to the ground in defeat.
By now the Council is nowhere in sight. Time has been reinstated. I X-ray Marcus’ wings again and they have been mended. The Council only took away them away long enough so they could leave.
I would tell him that his wings are working again, but I don’t think he cares right now. The one thing he wants back is the one thing I’m fairly certain we’ll never see again: our friend Rio.
Jay checks on Marcus as Miku flies swiftly toward us.
Miku comes towards us with inhuman speed and strength. Her small frame cuts through the air expertly as her wings flap feverishly behind her.
“Something is wrong,” I say to them as I try to study Miku’s face. She’s still too far away for me to read her facial expression.
But from the way she’s flying, something is very off.
“She’s coming too quickly,” Jay says.
Marcus looks up and sees Miku cutting through the sky like a very powerful, very deadly rocket.
When she gets closer we see that her wings are now gray.
“Maybe it’s a side effect from getting so close to the Port?” I suggest.
“No, it’s not,” Marcus says in quiet astonishment.
“Then what is it?” Jay asks.
But he would never get the answer because sooner that we were ready for it, Miku hovers above us.
Her dark gray wings flap frantically behind her. Her voice is filled with so much loathing and bitterness, it’s unrecognizable.
She beams her stare of disgust down at Marcus as she addresses him.
“You did this. This is all your fault. You killed my brother.”
I start to fly up to comfort her, but Marcus takes my hands and pulls me back down.
“No,” he says with complete certainty.
I turn and shout at him, “Are you kidding me, Miku needs us!”
“She’s not Miku,” Jay says.
I turn back to see what in the hell he’s talking about.
Miku’s wings have now turned completely black. Her bright eyes are now shallow pools of blood.
“She’s Turning.”
“No. She’s Turned.” Marcus corrects me.
“Pretty, don’t! Fight it. Please, don’t betray us like this.”
But I can tell by the growing soulless look in her eyes, that it is no use.
“You were so busy with the human you couldn’t do your job. If it wasn’t for you, Rio wouldn’t have broken the rules. You took him away from me!”
Miku opens her mouth as wide as an ocean and sings.
And one by one, humans begin to die…
END OF BOOK II
*Author’s Note
BOOK III COMING SEPTEMBER 2012!
