by C. Gockel
“Even Silver?” Pryor asks.
“Yeah, but don’t tell him,” she says.
“So what happened? Why did you get so...crazy about a comment that you knew was a lie?” Pryor asks the oldest twin.
“Pry, Bex and I have been together for so long, I can’t see my life without him. And when I think about losing him...he’s my anchor. He always keeps me grounded. And that’s hard to do with everything that’s going on. I know Bex acts all tough but he’s the first to make a silly face or crash land somewhere crazy if that’s what it takes to cheer me up. I love him,” she explains.
“Keyohmi, remember when you thought your future was in hair styling and you created a mixture that was supposed to give Bex an instant perfect haircut?” Pryor asks.
“Yeah,” she says, already laughing at what Pryor’s about to say.
“And what happened, Key?”
“The mixture gave him a rattail haircut—made out of a real rat,” she says, unable to stop herself from laughing.
“Yes! And not only did he pretend to love it, he wore the rat on his head for a month until the mixture wore off. That’s real love,” Pryor says.
The two continue to share a laugh. I decide it’s a bad time to talk to Pryor and head downstairs to the kitchen to see if there is any Coy in the house. As soon as I enter, I find the human sitting at the table.
“So...you’re Aaden,” he says, putting on his best menacing face.
“You’re just now catching up?” I ask Randy.
“No, I just wanted to watch you. I’ve heard a lot about you,” he says.
“Well I’ve heard nothing about you and I’m good with that,” I admit.
“Here’s the deal, Silver, platinum, aluminum, or whatever your name is—Pryor is not just my friend. She’s my best friend. Now she may have a thing for ‘dark and handsome’ but I won’t allow you to hurt her,” he warns me.
I walk over and stand right in his face. I am towering over him. Randy isn’t even the size of one of my wings. He looks up at me and swallows hard. I can see his lips quiver slightly.
“If I hurt her, what the hell would you do about it?” I counter.
“You hurt Pryor and I’ll rip your damn face off,” he says.
I look down at him. What he’s lacking in size, he makes up for in sincerity.
“Fair enough, human,” I reply as I back off.
I can see why Pryor wants to save this guy. Randy doesn’t have any strength to speak of but stepping up to me on behalf of his best friend shows character. That always counts with me.
“Guys, get up here!” Pryor shouts down to us.
Randy and I exchange a look of concern and run up the stairs to Pryor’s room. The rest of the team is already gathered.
“What’s wrong?” East asks.
“The Face just called me. They are letting me keep my powers,” Pryor says in disbelief.
“What? But they haven’t even had the meeting yet,” Swoop says.
“They didn’t need to. A Kaster killed one of the board members tonight. He was a very powerful Para. They figured if a Para couldn’t fight a Kaster, we’d have no chance at all. Especially if they took my powers away.”
“The geniuses just now figured that out?” I rant.
“Guys, I get to keep my powers,” Pryor says, smiling for the first time since we’ve been back.
“Actually, it’s more than that. Check this out,” Swoop says, handing Pryor the cell phone.
“What is it?’ I ask.
“According to the text The Face just received, the board member was attacked near the Taj Mahal, in India. The Kaster might still be there. I think we should check it out,” Pry informs us.
“Let’s go!” Swoop says.
Then Pryor looks over at Randy and her face fills with concern.
“Randy, we haven’t forgotten you. We’ll get Oden. I just want Harm to pay for what he did to Sam. I really—”
“Pry, making Harm answer for what he did to your little brother is top priority for all of us. Oden can wait,” Randy assures her.
“Thank you,” she says, embracing him.
“So we’re all going on a mission to kill Harm?” East says.
“Yes,” Key replies.
“And you know we will get in trouble for this, right?” East asks.
We all say, “Yes.”
“Okay, just checking, let’s go!” East says, leading the charge.
We land in India a short while later. The air is thick with heat and the clay colored earth surrounds us. The Taj Mahal is one of the places I’ve always wanted to go. Although hunting down Kasters wasn’t part of my plan.
The white marble museum has an extensive collection of calligraphy on the outside panels and impressive dome-shaped ceilings. In the center of the courtyard, there’s a reflecting pool lined with a series of well-manicured shrubs. There are columns throughout the massive structure that make it feel as if Omnis himself lives inside.
“You guys see anything yet?” Pryor asks.
“Nope,” Swoop says.
“Maybe we missed them,” East suggests.
“We have to keep looking. This is the only lead we have on Harm. I have to find him. I have to,” Pryor vows.
“We have to. We’re a team, remember?” Bex says.
She doesn’t reply, instead she just keeps surveying the area.
“Is she going to be okay?” East asks.
“This is personal for her. She’s not going to stop until she finds Harm,” Key tells us.
“Yeah, but she needs to let us help her,” East adds.
“We will. We just need to keep a close eye on her and make sure she doesn’t do anything crazy,” Bex adds.
“Have you ever met Pryor’s mother?” Swoop asks.
“Crazy is a family trait,” Key agrees.
“Damn it!” Pryor shouts from several feet away.
“What is it?” I ask.
“The Face got another text. They want her to inform us of the news in the morning.”
“Pryor, what news?” Randy says.
She looks over at him sadly.
“What?” the human pushes.
“There was a fight with some demons over territory. Oden got hit with a Powerball. He’s dead.”
“Wait, what does that mean?” Randy asks.
“It means we have no way to take you off of Death’s list now,” she replies.
The human hangs his head in despair. Pryor is about to walk over to Randy and reassure him but she never makes it there.
17
Fight Or Flight
“Get down!” Key yells.
Having been trained to anticipate attacks, we don’t think or hesitate. We all drop to the floor. Randy, on the other hand, has no idea what to do. So instead of getting to the ground with the rest of us, he looks to see what Key is talking about. The fireball heads straight for him. He stands there, frozen in the face of certain death. Bex, being the closest to the human, tackles him to the ground. Fireballs invade the entrance of the Taj Mahal.
Our attackers hide in the surrounding trees and bushes, making it difficult to get a clear view of them. Pryor instructs us to place Randy in a Holder and split up. Swoop quickly takes off her bracelet and throws it at Randy. The bubble-like prison immediately forms around the human.
“Aaden, Bex, aim for the trees. We need to draw them out,” our leader orders.
Bex and I set the trees on fire. The demons have no choice but to come out of hiding and take to the sky. There are dozens of them, but they didn’t come alone. All the Kasters, including Ruin, accompany them.
Damn it!
Our team takes off into the sky. Kill orders the demons to fire another round of fireballs at us. We manage to dodge them with skillful flight maneuvers. Pissed, Kill orders Twist to attack us. The crew cut scum does as his leader says. He sends out a surge of electric currents aimed right at Swoop’s head.
“Look out!” I warn her.
It�
�s too late. Swoop doesn’t get out of the way in time. The current hits her in the face. Her whole body seizes up; she’s writhing in pain. I throw a fireball aimed at Twist. He sees it coming and disconnects from Swoop in order to dodge the flames. Swoop has lost consciousness and is falling out of the sky.
I call out desperately to Bex, who is the closest to her. He dives to catch her but Kill tackles him and the two slam into one of the pillars of the Taj Mahal. Meanwhile, Swoop is still falling and I can’t get to her in time. Right before she hits the ground, East appears on his Port and catches her.
Terrified that her sister could be dead, Key dives down towards the ground, but she’s intercepted by three demons. She “paints” the sky with them in one quick wave of her hand. She lands and runs to East, who is trying to revive Swoop.
“Is she okay?” Key asks him.
Before East can answer, Bex calls out her name. She looks up and sees that Kill has managed to get the upper hand on her boyfriend. And now Bex is only a few inches away from having a fireball shoved into his chest.
“Key, go! I’ve got this,” East assures her.
She takes to the air to rescue Bex. I’m on my way to help them when a hole opens up in the sky and starts to suck me into its center. The force that’s pulling me in is so strong, when I fight to go the opposite direction, it feels like my skin is being ripped off. I struggle but it’s no use. I’m being sucked into the void no matter what I do.
Just beyond me is the creator of the vortex: Wrath. He has a scar across the entire length of his face and wears a sadistic grin. He commands the void with his hands and looks on as it pulls me in. He’s so busy controlling his creation he doesn’t see Pryor behind him.
She places both hands on either side of his head. Right away he drops his hands and the vortex starts to close. He tries to shake her off of him, but the longer she has him between her fingers the weaker his life force gets.
He flips her over, punches her in her stomach, and grabs her throat. She focuses her powers on draining the life out of Wrath. She blocks out the pain of his blows and slowly the vortex closes. I am free.
Wrath makes one final attempt to save his own life by plunging them both towards the ground. They crash into the entryway of the Taj Mahal. His efforts pay off. Pry’s hold on him is gone and now the two face off. I try to fly over to her, but the effects of the vortex have left me weak and flying takes a lot more effort than it should. Fearing I won’t get there in time to help her with Wrath, I call out to Bex, who has managed to break free of Kill with Key’s help. The couple quickly head over to Pryor.
Just as I land, I see Ruin make her way towards East and Swoop. I run after her, but she gets to them first. She surprises East from behind and takes his face into her hands. She inhales the air around him, causing a stream of grey smoke to escape from East’s mouth. Ruin is sucking the life from between his lips.
I’ve seen her do it before but now her connection to her victims is stronger, allowing her to kill them faster. I send a Powerball towards her, aiming so that it won’t make contact with her but will get close enough to get her attention. It works. The Powerball hits the pillars and the blast sends Ruin away from her victim. I check on East, who is slowly waking from the trance Ruin’s powers placed him in.
“That’s not nice, Silver,” she says, licking her bloody lip.
“I won’t do this with you. You need to walk away from this,” I tell her.
“Sorry; it’s my job and well, I’m very career oriented,” she says with a smile.
“I don’t want to hurt you, Diana.”
“Shame to give up something you’re so good at,” she replies.
“Leave. Now,” I tell her.
“I hope this isn’t a private conversation because I have a few things to say,” someone announces.
I turn and find a fireball headed for my chest courtesy of Kill. Thankfully Swoop intercepts by pushing me out of the way at top speed. Kill fires again and manages to hit what’s left of the building. The damaged structure is about to cave in.
We all scatter and run away from the falling monument, but the moment we are out of danger, East sends a shattering cry into the air. We look over and see a winged beast the size of a bull, with red eyes, flaring nostrils, and jagged teeth dripping with red saliva. The beast has latched on to East’s arm with his fangs and is now dragging him through the courtyard.
I take off to help him, but Swoop swiftly kicks me in the head and knocks me to the ground. Shocked, I look up at her. I see a swirl of darkness in her eyes.
Harm.
He has possessed her and is using her as a weapon.
“Swoop, you have to fight Harm. He’s controlling you and we have to go help East,” I tell her.
Swoop leaps into the air, wraps her legs around my neck, and hangs upside down off of me. She stretches her hand all the way down to the floor and manages to use her legs to flip me to the ground.
I hit the ground so hard the earth beneath me shakes. Swoop stares down at me and I can see Harm’s maniacal gaze looking back at me. I quickly get up and look around for something to contain Swoop.
“What is she doing?” Pryor shouts as she helps Key thin the herd of demons.
“It’s not her, it’s Harm. He’s possessing her,” I shout back.
“Where’s East?” Bex asks as he flies down to us.
“Manic turned into a beast and dragged him off. You and Pry go after him,” I say.
“No! You two take care of East. I’ll deal with Harm,” Pryor says.
Bex and I exchange worried glances. Key is looking concerned as well.
“Pryor—”
“Go, now! I’ll take care of Swoop and Harm,” she orders.
We take off in the direction I last saw the animal. I don’t like leaving Pryor to take care of Harm. Normally she handles herself just fine, but this isn’t a normal situation. Harm killed her brother and that is going to make Pryor emotional. And emotions can get in the way of battle. It leaves you compromised. From the grave look on his face, I can tell Bex it thinking the same thing.
“Let’s just find East and get back as soon as possible,” I tell him.
He nods in agreement. It’s the first time we’ve been on the same page since I got back. We track the beast’s paw-like prints to a clearing in the wooded area just off to the side of the mausoleum. But the dense grouping of trees makes it hard to navigate.
“Let’s split up; whoever finds them call out,” Key says.
Bex goes right, Key goes left, and I walk straight ahead. The wind rustles through the trees and darkness begins to fall. The longer we are away from Pryor, the more worried I am. Yet I know we can’t leave East out here with Manic. There’s no telling what he’s already done to my friend.
I hear Key call out. I rush to her side and get there the same time as Bex. We find the beast standing over East’s still body, about to devour it with his fangs. Both Bex and I blast him at the same time. It doesn’t stop Maniac; in fact it makes him even angrier. He roars into the night air and charges at us. We dive out of the way just in time. But the beast readies itself for another attack. I signal to Key to go help East while Bex and I deal with the overgrown rat.
The beast seems to be immune to our powers, so Bex and I quickly come up with a different plan of attack. I set the surrounding trees on fire, causing a smoke screen to limit the animal’s sight. We tackle him from both sides and attempt to stop him with brute force.
Bex climbs onto the beast’s back and pounds on its skull repeatedly. The animal rages and sends him flying across the forest. It starts to go after Bex, but I tackle it. We wrestle wildly and it steps on my leg and breaks it.
“Fuck!” I cry out as I feel the bone in my leg separate.
Bex rips a branch from the nearest tree. He takes the jagged end and plunges it into the back of the beast. It howls in pain but it keeps attacking. I take the makeshift weapon from Bex and jab it into the beast’s neck. It howls again, this t
ime in pure agony.
The animal flees deeper into the forest. We’re about to go chase it when Swoop and Randy appear in the clearing. Thankfully, her eyes are back to normal.
“Guys, Pry’s lost it, we gotta go,” she says.
We help Key with East and then head back to what was once the Taj Mahal.
“Swoop, how could you leave her?” I ask as we make our way back.
“You don’t get it. We didn’t leave her. She pushed us out,” Swoop replies.
“Wait, what do you mean?” Bex asks.
Swoop starts to explain on our way to Pryor.
“When Harm was controlling me, she didn’t beat him into leaving my body. She just talked to him.”
“What did she say?” Key asks in disbelief.
“She told him it took no balls to kill a baby and that if he wanted to prove he could actually grow a set, he needs come out and fight,” Randy tells us.
“Harm left Swoop’s body just like that?” I ask.
“She wounded his ego and the other Kasters heard it too. He had something to prove,” Swoop replies.
“I still don’t get it. Why didn’t you stay and help her fight?” Bex asks.
“I told you guys, she pushed us out. In fact, Harm and Pryor pushed everyone out.”
We get there and find both Pryor and Harm in the center of the rubble, looking back at each other with murderous expressions. On one side of the demolished courtyard are the Kasters and what’s left of the demons they brought with them. We stand on the opposing side, ready to attack.
“We have to go get her,” East whispers between clenched teeth.
“You’re hurt, East. You can’t help her,” Swoop says.
“We can’t just let her take on a Kaster alone,” Key replies.
“Screw this, I’m going to get her out of there,” I reply as I limp towards the center.
“You can’t go get her. None of us can; look,” Bex says.
We look down at the floor and there is a trail of silver blood from Pryor. It’s mixed with ink colored blood from Harm.
No, no, no...
When both angel and demon blood is mixed and forms a line, it’s called the “fight or flight” line. It serves as an impenetrable barrier. No one can get inside it. The two beings inside the line have to battle until one of them dies or they both agree to a truce and fly away. We explain that to Randy, who had tried to get to Pryor earlier and was met with a force field.
