The Noru 2 : The Last Akon (The Noru Series, Book 2)

by Lola StVil

  “You know the mixture I was taking?” he asks.

  “The Healer told me.”

  “Does everyone know?”

  “No, I told them it was your private business.”

  “Thank you,” Bex says, trying to stay calm.

  “Are you ready to talk about it?” I ask.

  “No.”

  “Okay, I get that.”

  “I should get some rest before we fly home,” he says, turning away from me on the bed, signaling to me that like it or not, our conversation is over.

  ***********

  When I walk out into the waiting room, I find East and Aaden in deep conversation. Aaden is aggravated and East looks worried.

  “The two of them can fix this,” East says.

  “And what if they can’t?” Aaden asks.

  “What do you want me to do about it, Silver?” East says, growing upset.

  “Bex will listen to you. You two are close.”

  “The hell he will; he needs time to process what just happened,” East replies.

  “That is the one thing we don’t have,” Aaden reminds him.

  “You have no idea what’s going to happen.”

  “That’s crap and you know it! You need to go in there and talk to Bex right now!” Aaden insists.

  “And do what? Tell him to stay away from Pryor because she’s yours?”

  “This has nothing to do with Pryor. You know why we have to get ahead of this thing.”

  “Again, there’s nothing I can do.”

  “If you don’t talk to him then I will because there’s no way I’m going to allow what happened to take place again,” Aaden promises.

  “Bex has to get over the fact that his girl nearly killed him. That is going to take a little while,” East says.

  “Bex is pissed, and yeah, I get it. I would be too. But I’d rather have him angry; he’ll suck it up and deal. But you know Key is different. She gets angry and people die,” Aaden reminds him.

  “I know.”

  “I spent a year of my life in hell protecting her, and I will be dammed if all of it was for nothing. You do whatever it takes, but get Bex to make up with her. She may be an absolute sweetheart but when she gets drunk, she gets careless and does things that affect us all.”

  “Maybe I shouldn’t have mind wiped her,” East says.

  “She didn’t need to keep reliving that night. And knowing that she was the girl in the alley would kill Keyohmi.”

  “Yeah, but now she has no idea what she’s capable of when she’s angry,” East counters.

  “Yes, but we know. And that is why we have to make sure Bex forgives her. We have no idea what could happen if he doesn’t…”

  CHAPTER NINE: REDD’S DAUGHTER

  “How could you two keep this from me?” I ask furiously as I take East and Aaden aside.

  “The team wasn’t together back then,” Aaden replies.

  “So what? You should have told me,” I demand.

  “You wanted nothing to do with us, remember?” East scolds.

  “I didn’t leave to get away from the team, I left to get away from—other things,” I reply, trying hard not to look Aaden’s way.

  “Okay, we should have told you, but it’s in the past now,” East says.

  “Judging from Aaden’s reaction it may not be. So why don’t you two tell me what happened?” I order them.

  “Key and Bex had some big argument. Apparently he just couldn’t face the fact that a certain Noru was leaving the light and moving to earth,” East says, looking at me pointedly.

  “Fine, he was pissed at me, I know that. Go on,” I reply.

  “That’s just it; Bex couldn’t go on. He obsessed about how wrong it was for you to abandon us. Key thought he was being too hard on you. They argued and Key said he was only pissed because he wanted to lead the team. And Bex got angry and said she was acting like Redd, her mother’s evil alter ego.”

  “Bex said that? Key has always feared that some of her mom’s evil side would rub off on her. That’s why she only uses her powers when it’s absolutely unavoidable,” I reply.

  “Yeah, well Bex knew that and he used it to hurt her because he was really mad that she’d accused him of being jealous. I watched them argue and scream at each other for like half an hour,” East says.

  “How did it go from her and her boyfriend arguing to her killing five humans?” I ask.

  “She came down from the light and she was overwhelmed at the thought that there could be even a hint of evil in her. So she went to a bar. Actually she went to a few. Aaden caught up with her at the last one,” East explains.

  “By then she was already high. She was on the drug I told you about called Wednesday. I’m guessing she got it from some dealer at the previous bar,” Aaden says.

  “So the drug made her system weak and when the humans came after her, she couldn’t defend herself,” I reason.

  “By the time I got to her she had already been violated. And when she realized what happened…” Aaden doesn’t finish his thought; he really doesn’t need to.

  “They can’t blame her for defending herself. You should have let her come forward,” I tell them.

  “No, Aaden was right to keep Key out of it. Even though the humans did something vile and disgusting, the fact is if Key wasn’t high she could have fended them off without killing them. But because she was using drugs, drugs that are banned, she would automatically be at fault,” East adds.

  “Okay, I get what you two are saying, but does that mean every time Key gets upset she’s going to turn into Jarella?” I ask.

  “Who?” They both ask in unison.

  “Jarella. She’s the incredible hulk’s girlfriend,” I reply.

  They look at me as if I am nuts. Note to self: No more Comic Cons with Randy.

  “Never mind that. I just need to know: When Key gets upset, does she become dangerous?”

  “No, I don’t think so. There have been plenty of times that she’s been upset since then and nothing has happened,” East replies.

  “But this isn’t her just being upset. This is the guy she loves throwing her out of his room. This could be the end of the two of them,” Aaden says.

  “And you think that would drive her to hurt someone?” I ask.

  “Not directly. But Key isn’t like her twin. Swoop can handle Coy better than most. But Key, she drinks and she gets careless. But she has way too much power to be running around reckless and pissed off,” Aaden reminds us.

  “You could say that about all of us,” East counters.

  “All of us are not Redd’s daughter,” Aaden says.

  “Redd is her mom’s alter ego. She has not shown up in forever,” I reply.

  “Yes, but remember when Redd did appear she was vicious and ultimately killed hundreds of humans,” Aaden reminds us.

  “That was in the past. Her mother takes a mixture to make sure that she doesn’t become Redd again,” East says.

  “Yes, but we don’t know if some of Redd is inside Key. Her mom’s evil may be hereditary,” Aaden offers.

  “Silver, she was raped; she had every right to be angry and to want revenge,” East replies.

  “Hey, I’m on Key’s side. I gave up my life to keep her from being punished. I wanted to blast every one of those bastards myself. But the fact is, she can’t run around killing people.”

  “Aaden’s right. We have to make sure she’s handling things and not resorting to drugs or Coy,” I reply.

  “I shouldn’t have mind wiped her. Then she’d remember what happened last time and stay away from that stuff,” East says.

  “Or knowing what occurred would have upset her even more and driven her into a deeper spiral,” Aaden says.

  “I take it Bex has no idea about Key and the alley?” I ask.

  “No, he doesn’t. Silver was able to get word out to me and I wiped her mind. It was as if that night never happened, including the fight. So when Key saw Bex again, they were fine. B
ex apologized and she thought it was strange because she didn’t even recall being mad at him,” East tells us.

  “It’s not enough that Swoop is watching her. We have to make sure things work out for her and Bex,” Aaden says.

  “We can’t force them to make up. There’s a chance they might not get past this,” East says.

  “It might help if Key knows what the second mixture he was taking was for,” Aaden says, looking over at me.

  “This has to be between the two of them guys,” I reply, uneasy.

  “Yeah, but it’s not. Key is certain the two of you have something going on. Pry, do you?” East asks.

  “Yes. Bex and I are secretly in love and often meet up for quickies in the back of his car. Seriously, do I look like Kristen Stewart to you?” I ask, losing patience.

  “Then we have to convince her of that,” Aaden says.

  “No, it’s not our job. This is between them,” I reply.

  “Maybe we should tell her,” East insists.

  “At this point, it’s too late. She’ll recall that horrific event and to make matters worse, she’ll be devastated to know she’s the reason why Aaden was sent away,” I say after a few moments of reflection. My cell vibrates before the guys can respond to me. I look down at the display.

  “What is it?” Aaden asks.

  “It’s Randy. The four elements have written him back. They are interested, but only if Randy can find the Balo Dagger, the dagger Juliet used to kill herself,” I reply.

  “My family knows all the top museum curators, there has to be someone who can help us, let’s go,” Bex says as he walks towards us.

  “Are you sure you’re well enough?” Aaden asks, although he was more than a little eager to take off.

  “I’m good,” Bex says.

  “Key took off. Swoop went after her,” East informs the Para.

  “So?” he counters.

  “So we have to wait for her,” I say, taken aback.

  “Whatever, you guys do what you want. I’m heading back to the house,” Bex says as he walks out of the waiting room.

  It’s official: The steadiest Noru couple in the world may be over.

  *********

  I have Aaden go with Bex to help Randy find the location of the dagger. Not long after they leave, the twins return to the clinic. Key looks calmer, but there’s a great deal of sadness in her eyes. We silently agree not to push the subject of her and Bex anymore tonight.

  When we get back to the house, we find Aaden, Bex, and Randy gathered in the living room waiting for us. Bex refuses to even make eye contact with Key. The two stand far away from each other.

  Just as we are about to start, Ruin comes down the steps and joins us. I am not sure that she should be in here with us given that she’s a demon, but it feels rude to point that out.

  Screw it. I’ll be rude.

  “I’m sorry, but we really can’t discuss these plans with you here,” I tell her.

  “Why? Do you think I pose a threat to you?” Ruin asks.

  “You’re a demon, so I’d say ‘yes,’” I reply.

  “Pry, she wants to help,” Aaden says.

  “Yes, and you will recall that’s what cost me my wings to begin with,” she counters.

  “We are grateful that you tried to save Uncle Rage but let’s not kid ourselves, you did it because you are trying to get into Aaden’s good graces,” I reply before I can stop myself.

  “I tried to save his father because I knew that’s what he would have wanted. I put him first. Unlike you, who is holding on to him because you’re so terrified of losing him,” she snaps.

  “This has nothing to do with Aaden. And I’m not going to stand in my own house and defend myself to a demon.”

  “You gave me shelter, granted you only did that because Silver asked you to, but still you did it. I’m trying to repay you by giving you some much needed help. I think what you want to say is, ‘Thank you, Ruin.’”

  “What I want to—” I begin.

  “Pryor!” Aaden says before I can continue.

  “Look, we don’t need to do this. It’s obvious we will never be friends, but if you want to help get Aaden’s father out of danger, you better accept all the help you can get,” Ruin warns me.

  “I’m not accepting help from someone I don’t trust,” I bark at her.

  “Well, you’re not exactly high on my list either, Noru. But again I am trying to help Silver.”

  “We can handle it. I never agreed to let you in on anything having to do with my team,” I remind her.

  “Your team is weak; you need me.”

  “Diana, enough,” Aaden snaps.

  “Silver, you know it’s true. C’mon, how much do these Norus have to take away from you before you understand being around them only causes more hurt.”

  “What are you talking about?” Key says.

  “Oh please, you of all Norus know exactly what I’m talking about.” Ruin pushes past her.

  Key looks back at her, confused. We all exchange uneasy glances.

  “Diana, I’ll take you back upstairs. You need your rest,” Aaden says quickly, before Ruin can go into details with Key.

  “Fine, but we all know what this is. The First Noru is being a bitch because she can’t deal with what’s happening between us.”

  “Diana, outside, now,” Aaden says as he takes her hand and takes her out to the backyard.

  “Randy, keep working. I have to go and—”

  “And spy on Silver?” Randy says.

  “Just keep working,” I reply as I head to the backyard.

  I stand a few feet away from the back door entrance. To be perfectly honest, I’m not sure if I’m standing here eavesdropping as a the First Noru or as Pryor.

  “I know you’re mad at me but the redhead had it coming,” she says as she gets close to him.

  “Diana, I didn’t bring you out here because of Pryor,” he says awkwardly.

  “Then what did we come out here to do?” she asks.

  “Back inside the house you said we were ‘together’ and I think we should talk about that.”

  “Silver, did we really come out here to talk? Or did we come so we could…get creative?” She starts laughing and gets close to him.

  “If your team comes here and finds us making out, they will go bat shit crazy; specially the little girl, Pryor. She’d cry into her pillow all night and write about it. Dear diary, Silver broke my heart today.” She continues in a mocking tone.

  Why haven’t I killed this demon already?

  She leans in to kiss Aaden and he pulls back. At first she’s puzzled, and then she thinks quietly to herself.

  “I get it. You’re worried about your dad. Okay, I will help you guys find him and then we can get back to more important things,” Ruin says.

  “Diana, you don’t have to help us. You have more than enough going on. You just found out you lost your wings, you need to deal with that,” he says.

  “Is that what you’re worried about?” she asks.

  “You will never fly again. Do you get that?” Aaden says.

  “Yeah, and I should be going crazy but I’m not.”

  “Why not?” he inquires.

  “Because…” She looks into his eyes but can’t bring herself to say the words.

  “Diana, talk to me.”

  “I was worried for a while. I was really…down. But then I heard you and the redhead talking. She asked you if you loved me and you said yes. And as sappy and stupid as it sounds, knowing you love me makes things…better,” she says, sounding oddly shy.

  She leans in and kisses him. He kisses her back for a few moments but then pulls away. Seeing their lips connect feels like having my soul ripped out and placed in front of me. I gasp out loud and lean against the wall.

  Pryor, you don’t care, remember? Yeah, I remember but my heart doesn’t. It only remembers what his lips felt like on mine.

  Ruin’s voice pulls me out of my thoughts.

&nb
sp; “Silver, what is it? What’s wrong?” she asks.

  “You’re going through a lot right now and we don’t have to do this,” he says carefully.