by Lola StVil
Mrs. Maybelle is about to lead us into the house. That’s when one of the kids points to me and shouts “Noru!” All the other kids quickly clamber to get a look at the team. They ask us to demonstrate our powers and recount battles.
“Okay, okay, you all get back to playing, leave them alone. I’ll call you all in when lunch is ready,” she says to the kids.
All the kids go back to playing except one little boy who refuses to go away. Instead, he stands next to Bex. The boy is about three years old and he looks up at Bex as if he were a giant. Bex looks down at him, shakes his head, and crosses his arms over his chest. The little boy does the same. Bex heads for the house and the boy follows.
“Go play,” Bex instructs.
“I am,” the little boy replies.
“This is Kevin. He loves him some Paras,” Mrs. Maybelle informs us.
“You’re a Kon!” Kevin says excitedly.
“No kid, I’m not,” Bex replies as he storms inside the house.
“Kevin, why don’t you follow Bex and show him your best ‘Para’ moves?” Swoop says.
The boy runs and follows Bex inside. I know Swoop is trying to cheer Bex up, but I’m not sure the kid is the way to go about it. Mrs. Maybelle makes the rest of us take a seat on the porch as she goes into the house to get us refreshments. I think she’s doing this to keep herself busy and not think about the news that Pryor has been taken.
“Is Bex okay in there?” Swoop asks when Mrs. Maybelle comes back onto the porch with a tray of drinks.
“Them two little knuckleheads are fine. Kevin is showing Bex how to ‘fight.’ He is just kick’n his little arms and legs in the air every which way. And Bex is try’n to keep a straight face.”
“The light yellow glass has citrus calm flavored Coy, for the team,” she says as she passes it out.
“What’s the brown drink?” I ask.
“That’s for the human; it’s sweet tea. I know how these fools can get carried away with things and forget to feed the humans who accompany them,” she says, furrowing her eyebrows at me.
“Thanks,” Randy says as he takes the glass and brings it to his lips.
“And who’s the last glass for--the green one?” Swoop asks.
“It’s for li’l bit. She needs to drink it,” Mrs. Maybelle says.
“What is it?” Diana asks.
“If I tell you what it is, I will have to tell you what it’s for. Do you want to have that conversation here, now?” Mrs. Maybelle asks.
“No.”
“I didn’t think so. Now, go on and drink. Trust me.”
Diana drinks the glass of green mixture and thanks her.
“Now how can I help get that little girl back?” she asks.
“We need you to help us find Mercy Island,” Swoop says.
“Silver, you know it is no place for angels. It ain’t no place for anyone,” she warns.
“I know, but we need to get there. There’s something on the island that will help us rescue Pry. You know I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important,” I reply.
“I know…okay, I will do my best. But first I need you to do something for me,” she says.
“Anything.”
“Be careful. The more power you all have, the more folks want to destroy you. So make sure you make it on back,” she says.
“We’ll do our best,” Swoop replies.
“Good, because I got lots of chores for you all to do around the house,” she says.
We laugh, but she is serious. And I’m certain once this is all over, we will be back here fixing things and taking orders.
***
Bex manages to get Kevin to rejoin the other kids but only after vowing to return another day. Bex tries to act bothered by his “super fan,” but we know better. He has a light in his eyes I have not seen him display since, well, since we last saw Pryor.
Before we get started, Bex calls and checks in on Key. He tells us she is still resting and according to Julian she is on her way to making a full recovery. We then gather in front of Mrs. Maybelle and watch as a greyish film grows over her eyes. A few moments later she opens her eyes and tells us we can find Mercy Island off the coast of Turkey. She gives us the exact coordinates; we thank her and start to leave.
“Hold on now, you can’t just fly to Mercy Island without knowing what you are getting into,” she calls out.
“The truth is, we simply don’t have time to do any research on where we are going. We just need to get there,” I reply.
“I called up a friend of mine, Harris, he has studied Mercy Island for years. He’s obsessed with that damn place. He’ll be here in a few minutes. He’ll tell you everything you need to know. Here he is now,” Mrs. Maybelle says.
“Good evening,” the old man says as he appears behind us.
“Normally, I don’t let him pop in and out of my living room--it’s rude. But this is a special situation so I let him go on ahead,” Mrs. Maybelle says.
The old man has intense blue eyes, snow-white hair, and wears a well-worn tan colored leather jacket. He’s over six feet tall and very alert.
“Oh my Omnis, he could totally be an old-man version of Indiana Jones!” Randy says, barely able to contain his excitement.
“Who?” Swoop asks.
“Okay, that’s it. When we get back, everyone is getting cable,” Randy says, shaking his head.
“Harris, Mrs. Maybelle says you know something about Mercy Island,” I say to the old man.
“Yes, but before I tell you what I know, quick question: What is it about your life that makes you want to end it?” Harris asks.
“We don’t want to end our lives, but there’s something very important we need to find on Mercy Island. It will allow us to rescue a friend of ours,” Swoop says.
“Is your friend worth it?” Harris asks.
“Yes,” we all reply, while Diana remains silent.
“Okay, if you insist. Here goes,” the old man says as he unfolds a hand drawn map and lays it out on the table for us to study.
“Mercy Island is surrounded by a dense, dark forest with a swamp in the center. Getting through the woods is going to be your first problem.”
“Why?” Randy asks Harris.
“The island itself is very much like a living thing. The ground, the air, the trees, everything is aware. The island will see you as an invader and it will protect itself by creating whatever maleficent force to destroy you.”
“That’s just like Lost,” Randy says wondrously.
We all look at him blankly. He looks back at us and once again shakes his head in disbelief at our ignorance.
“Never mind,” Randy says.
“Okay, so the woods are filled with evil. Can you get more specific?” Bex asks.
“We have no way of knowing what’s in the woods because no one has ever come out of it,” Harris says.
“Well, that’s comforting,” East quips.
“However, I have something that will help you along the way,” Harris says as he hands me a rectangular box made of black leather.
I open the box and find a necklace with a ruby red, teardrop crystal pendent. In the center it has the symbol of Time, Death, and Fate. Swoop takes it from me and examines it.
“What does it do?” I ask Harris.
“It’s called an Inka pendent. It’s a virtual Wikipedia of demons and malevolent beings,” Harris replies.
“That’s amazing, how does it work?” Randy asks.
We look over at Diana and ask if she would be okay with being scanned by the Inka. She declines and says she hates gadgets. I agree to be scanned instead. Swoop points it towards me; a red laser beam shoots out of the crystal and scans my body. It then creates hologram of me in the air with all my biological information.
Subject: Aaden “Silver” Case
Species: Noru (Offspring of High Ranking Guardian. Only five in existence)
Hybrid: Half Akon (Demon), Half Guardian (Angel)
Abilities: Indest
ructible fire, object summoning, unparalleled strength.
Weakness: Unknown
“That’s perfect! It’ll give us a fighting chance. Thank you,” Bex says.
“Bird, put it around your neck,” I tell her.
“I don’t know, Sliver. Can I see it in another color?” Swoop asks.
We turn to look at her. She shrugs her shoulders.
“What? It clashes with my outfit,” Swoop points out.
“She’s not wrong,” East adds.
“This is the only one I have,” Harris says in disbelief.
“Don’t listen to them, thank you so much. We really appreciate this,” I reply.
“I’m happy to help. Mrs. Maybelle is always talking about all of you. I feel as if I know the whole team personally,” Harris says.
“Again, thank you for the Inka; combined with our powers we should have a fighting chance,” I tell him.
“What are you talking about? You know the agreement the Furies have with Omnis, don’t you?” Harris says.
“Yeah, Omnis allows them to run the island any way they want,” Swoop says.
“Yes, and the one thing the Furies detest more than anything are angels. That’s why the first thing they planted on the island was row after row of Devil’s Tongue, ” Harris adds.
“Damn it!” Bex shouts as he grits his teeth.
“Um…what’s Devils Tongue?” Randy asks.
“It’s a tree that’s been outlawed in the Angel world.” Swoop replies in a sad voice.
“Okay, so the island is full of this tree. What does it do?” Randy adds.
“It makes this sap that seeps into the earth. If an angel steps on soil that has ‘Devil Tongue,’ their powers are taken from them,” I reply, trying desperately to remain calm.
“Wait, wait one second. Are you saying this tree will render them all powerless?” Randy asks Harris with sheer terror in his voice.
“Human, the moment the angels step onto Mercy Island, they will be just as powerless as you.”
Chapter Sixteen:
Just A Girl
Hearing the news that we will all be powerless on Mercy Island does nothing to deter us. The fact is we need to find the Deed and we will face whatever we need to. I convey this to Harris. He looks back at us as if we are already dead.
Mrs. Maybelle warns him that if he doesn’t help us by giving us whatever it is he has that may be helpful, he will have her to deal with. Like all of us, Harris is afraid of Mrs. Maybelle and agrees to help us even more.
“I’ve researched Mercy Island, and given the account of angels who swear they have flown near the area, the layout is simple enough,” Harris says.
“How simple?” Bex asks.
“The Port will leave you and your team on the shore. Once you get there, there is a forest, a swamp, and finally a temple dedicated to the Queen of Furies, Melinda,” Harris says.
“That’s the one that lost the child on the island, right?” Mrs. Maybelle asks.
“Yes. It’s the only place I could think of where someone would place something of value, because it’s heavily guarded.”
“Thank you. Is there anything else?” Swoop asks.
“Well, I’m not trying to get on Mrs. Maybelle’s bad side, so here,” he says, handing over three items from his leather pouch. The first is what looks to be a small flashlight.
“That’s a handy little gadget I picked up a few years back. It’s every weapon, all at once. It’s called Gain. It’s intuitive. If you need it to be a blade, it’s a blade. If you need an axe…”
“Nice! How many do you have?” Diana asks.
“I’m sorry, I only have one,” Harris replies.
“We’ll make it work. Anything else?” I ask.
“Just this: that island will play tricks on your mind in ways you won’t believe. Stay together and don’t let your guard down for a second.”
***
When we arrive on the shores of Mercy Island, the first thing I notice is the silence. I thought there would be howling and various growls from different parts of the island, but there isn’t. Instead there is silence--a stark, heavy, unnatural silence that covers the entire island.
The steel grey sky above us is angry and violent. There’s a chill in the air, the kind that goes deep into the marrow of your bones and makes you feel like you will never be warm again. Our Ports hover on the edge of the raging dark sea. The shoreline is rocky and surrounded by glass and bone. Ahead of us stands a dense forest of decrepit ash colored trees.
“The Port won’t take us past this point,” East says.
“I thought maybe we could navigate through the trees somehow so that we could avoid placing our feet on the ground, but East is right, we can’t use the Port in the forest,” I reply.
The team jumps off the Ports and lands on the jagged shore; the Ports then disappear.
“They are programed to come back as soon as we signal for them with the device Harris gave us,” I tell Randy, who looks stricken once the Ports go away.
“Okay, what now?” Swoop asks.
“If Harris is right, the Deed will be on the other side of the island. And we can’t get there without going through the forest,” Bex says.
“Why is it always a creepy forest?” Randy asks, shaking his head.
“Could have been worse, could have been a cave,” Swoop says, reminding him of his misadventure a few months back.
“That’s not helping,” Randy replies.
“Okay, I know Harris said our powers wouldn’t work, but let’s test them out anyway.”
Everyone tries to use their powers but nothing happens.
“I thought at least you and Ruin would have some power,” Bex says.
“Yeah, me too. I think the sap from the trees is far more powerful than Harris thought,” Diana replies.
The wall of grey trees reaches high in the air. They are frozen in a series of twisted and cruel shapes. Some of them have gaping holes in their trunks that look like faces being tormented. Others have branches that seem to be pointing their fingers at us--inviting us to begin whatever foul fate awaits us.
“Swoop, keep the Inka pendent close so we can aim it at whatever comes at us. Bex, to my right, East, take the left. Swoop and Diana, let Randy stay in the middle so you can isolate him should anything happen. Randy, do not go off on your own, do not touch anything, and if something goes wrong, I need you to place yourself in the Holder. Got it?”
“Yeah, I got it; Randy to the Holder as usual,” he quips.
We walk towards the forest, but we’re unable to get in because thousands of black vines spring to life and form an impenetrable barrier blocking our entrance. In the center of the newly formed barricade is a three-headed serpent with unnaturally long fangs and a hiss that echoes throughout the island.
The three heads hiss and coil wildly around each other and then lunge wrathfully out at us. We quickly step back and are grateful to find that the beast cannot extend beyond a few feet. I signal for Swoop to aim the Inka at the wall of vines and the serpent. She follows my orders and soon a 3D image springs from the pendant and out into the air.
Subject: Forest of Ash & Bone
Current Image: Gideon Vine Barrier
Summary: A beast with the head of a snake and a body constructed entirely of vines.
The vines cannot be cut as they will return, stronger.
Weakness: The only way to get past the barrier is to feed the beast.
It hungers for that which is most precious to the traveler.
“The thing that’s most important to angels are our souls so I guess that’s what it wants. I’ll do it,” Swoop says, getting ready to place her hand out for the serpent to bite.
“No!” I reply, pulling her back from the creature’s waiting three-forked tongue. It’s not that simple, Bird. How do we know it won’t keep sucking your soul until it kills you?” I ask.
“Silver’s right. I’ll have it feed on me. Even without my powers I should b
e able to fight it off,” Bex says.
“No, I’ll let it feed on me,” I reply.
“You are half demon, Silver. It will need a full angel to feast on,” Ruin suggests.
“How do you know?” East asks.
“The island and everything in it stems from a hatred of angels. Bleeding them dry of their soul is the best way to go. I think a full-on angel has to do this,” she replies.
“That brings us back to me. I can do this,” Bex assures me.
“Feed just one of them--that way you won’t get drained too quickly,” Randy suggests.
“Good idea. You ready?” I ask.
Bex nods, rolls up his right sleeve, and stretches his arm out for the snakes to feed on. He gasps as the middle serpent clamps down on his wrist and begins to drain the soul from his body.
“Okay, the moment the opening is wide enough, everyone get in as fast as you can.”
“What about Bex?” Ruin asks.
“I’ll stay and help him detach from the snake,” I reply.
Slowly we watch as the light is being sucked out of Bex’s body. He’s shaking slightly and trying to stay focused, but it’s hard because every second the snake feeds, Bex gets weaker and weaker.
“C’mon, c’mon, c’mon!!!!” I shout angrily to the vines that refuse to part.
“Maybe we were wrong. Maybe a soul isn’t what is needed to get the vines to part,” East says, panicking.
“It has to be. That’s the most important thing to an angel,” Swoop says as she licks her lips nervously.
Bex is starting to shake even more and the glow has gone from his face. He lowers his head in pain as the snake drinks and drinks his life force.
“Bex, you have to stop, this isn’t working!” I yell.
“Wait, look!” East says.
We all turn to the wall of vines and watch as they begin to slowly separate. We shout at them as if that’ll make them come apart faster. We tell Bex to hold on and that we don’t have far to go. However, the truth is Bex is being drained at a much faster rate than the vines are parting.
“It’s gonna kill him! Can’t we help by pulling it apart now that it’s already loosening up?” East asks.
