by StVil, Lola
“The Princess has issues,” Wolf explains.
“I will let her do with you whatever she wants Tony. I mean it,” Marcus warns.
“Okay, okay. What do you want to know?”
“Where is the Oka headed?”
“They didn’t tell me.”
“Guess,” Marcus encourages with a deadly tone.
“I really don’t know.”
“They had to have modified it. How?” Ameana asks.
“They had me put in a lawyer of Brom.”
“What does that do?” I ask him.
“It protects the box from the elements.”
“What else did you do to it?”
“I had to rig the Oka so that it could withstand a massive fall.”
“And?” Ameana says impatiently.
“And I put a Scar on it.”
“What’s a Scar?” I ask.
“It’s a carving you make on an item. Once the carving is made, any attempt to break open the item and it will self-destruct taking the contents of the box with it.”
“How do you open the box without destroying what’s inside?”
“You have to find the key. It will be the exact match of the carving. It will fit like a puzzle piece,” Jay says.
“Damn it, Tony!” Marcus barks.
“I know you’re all upset with me right now but on a side note, it was some of my best work,” Tony says, very pleased with himself.
“Great, now even if we find the Oka, we won’t be able to open it,” Jay says.
“Tell me you know where the key is,” Ameana demands.
“See, now that I do know,” Tony says bursting with pride.
“So, where is it?” I ask.
“Before I tell you, can I say, it’s great to have the team back together.”
“We are not a team. At least not with you” Ameana corrects him.
“Well, maybe not but we are sort of like family. Ominus knows how much it hurt me when Redd did what she did. But it always hurts when your loved ones betrays you. Believe me, I know. I had a Seller friend once, he was my intern then went and started his own shop right under my nose! I don’t know if you know him, Mode? What an opportunist. He just broke my heart.”
“Tony,” Marcus warns.
“Okay, okay, but first you have to promise that when I tell you where the key is, you won’t get mad.”
Marcus acts with such swiftness, the entire building shakes. Before I can make out what is happening, he has Tony by the throat and has lifted him several feet in the air. Tony struggles to breath.
“Emmy, if he kills me, please take care of my pet Rat, Pineapple. She’s a gentle soul.”
“Talk!” Marcus orders.
“Okay, I’ll tell you,” he gasps.
Marcus throws him to the ground and we all turn to hear where the key to unlock Rio’s freedom is.
“The Key is in …” Tony mumbles the rest of the words making it impossible to hear him.
“Where?” we all ask, at almost the same time. Tony looks around at us and shows us an emotion not generally known to Sellers—shame.
This can’t be good…
“Stop mumbling, out with it!” Marcus roars.
“The key is at the bottom of Sariah Lake.”
My fears are confirmed when everyone in the room looks at each other. When powerful Angels look terrified, that’s a bad sign.
“I didn’t know til after that Rio was in the Oka,” Tony says with genuine regret.
“Please tell me this Lake Sariah is like, ten miles outside of Utah,” I joke nervously.
“It’s not in Utah,” Wolf says.
“So…where is it?”
“In Difi,” Ameana says mostly to herself.
“Wait—you mean—”
Marcus completes the statement I’m too terrified to finish.
“The key to saving Rio is in Hell.”
Naturally…
CHAPTER NINE: POWER GLITCH
“Why would you let them put it there?” I ask Tony.
“Do you think I had a choice? Do you know what it’s like to be a Seller? I am at the mercy of every single being higher up than me. What could I have said to them?”
“Could have said no,” I reply.
“Yeah, and when they kill me?”
“You’re a Seller, you get to come back.”
“Come back to what? Geez, do you guys not get what’s going on out there? Redd is everywhere. She is hell-bent on destruction. There won’t be a world to come back to.”
“That is not gonna happen,” Marcus says heatedly.
Tony gets up and goes towards the window. He points to the barren streets.
“It’s already happening. I was one of six Sellers on this block. Now, I’m the only one left. Everyone is running scared. That thing at the Embassy really shook everyone up. Why do you think they are having a Summit?”
“Wait, what are you taking about?”Ameana asks.
“Seriously guys, break a Splash every once in a while.”
“We’ve only been gone a few hours, how much could have happened?” Marcus asks Ameana.
“Here take a look,” Tony says as he takes a globe and smashes it against the wall. The words of the Splash gather up along the walls and form the latest issue of the Redd saga.
Are You “REDD”-Y For The End?
Hello my little winged ones. I.M. Trouble here, reporting more disturbing news. A few hours ago Redd, struck again. She and her Pawn, Benny Stone, attacked the Embassy. Yes, the official meeting place of the Original Paras on Earth has now been completely destroyed.
Human officials in Italy are baffled by how an earthquake can hit under only one building. We could have told them that a powerful ex-Guardian commanded the earth under the Embassy to cave in on itself. But hey, the humans will find out soon enough that not only do Angels exist, but they can turn evil and destroy everything.
Many of you recall that only a few days ago, the head of human interest, Montrose, committed suicide. Then his son, Junior, was murdered shortly after. The BIMA (Best Interest of Mankind Association) has speculated that Redd is responsible for both events. Naturally after having suffered the loss of their leader and his son, BIMA is demanding swift action be taken against the former Guardian.
As you Angels know, the Original Paras have an affinity for humanity as they were the first ones to be of service to the otherwise helpless beings. They don’t take kindly to Redd murdering humans; especially not one so well-connected in the Angel world. They have joined forces with BIMA and have gone to the Council.
How bad is this situation? Well, all Angels have been given a 9 pm curfew (except for Guardians.) Sellers all over the world are closing up shop and the Para city of Daraquin is on lock down.
So, how does the Council plan to deal with Redd? Well, apparently everyone wants a say in answering that question. The OPA (Original Paras Association), the GWG (Ground Walkers Guild) and of course BIMA, have called for a Summit.
Yes, my little winged ones, there will be a summit of global proportions to deal with the Redd problem. The last time a Summit this size was called it was centuries ago to deal with the Hun problem. And even then the Originals didn’t come down. This time they will be here in full force.
You read it here first. The Originals are coming down to crack the whip. Look for Gabriel, Michael, Raphael and the other four Originals (referred to by humanity as archangels) to descend on New York City. Traffic is going to be a nightmare.
So why all this trouble over one girl? Unlike the Hun, Redd is neither interested in the advancement of good or evil. All Redd wants is Chaos. Chaos normally works well for evil but not this time.
Redd has attacked demons, Runners and Pawns. She is an equal opportunity terrorist. Lucy has requested that the Council postpone the Summit. Many suspect that she has a hidden agenda (say it ain’t so) ,but the Council decided to act without delay. Tomorrow, the Redd Sum
mit begins.
Oh, and how are the Guardians dealing with the mess they’ve caused? Rumor has it they’re down in Baja working on their tan. Sigh. Who thought leaving the job of saving the world to a group of kids was the right thing to do?
Oh yeah, The Council.
Irony is real *%&#%&
* * *
As soon as Marcus finishes is done reading the Splash, we head out. He is so angry I can feel his wrath from where I’m standing. If Rio were here he would probably be in pain because whenever anyone feels one thing and one thing only it always hurts him.
“I should have killed Tony-Tone months ago. Then Lucy would have never gotten her hands on an Oka,” Marcus says angrily.
“Is killing your default?” Wolf asks.
Marcus shoots him a deadly glance and Ameana clears her throat and tries to regain some order.
“It wouldn’t have mattered if you took Tony out. There would have been another Seller only too eager to take Tony’s place.”
“Ameana’s right. Killing Tony would not have helped,” Jay adds.
“Okay, let’s think for minute. We have a box we can’t find and a key to open it at a place we can’t get to,” I say.
“We can get to the key,” Marcus says.
“Well, yeah if we’re willing to go to Hell,” I start laughing at the ridiculous notion.
Everyone just looks at me.
“You guys are actually thinking of going to the House of Fire?” I ask.
“No, Ameana will go and talk to The Sage. He may know a way to open the Oka,” Marcus instructs.
“But Tony said there is no way around it.”
“The Sage may know something we don’t. It’s worth a shot,” Marcus says.
“Okay, I’m on it. What about the Oka? How will we find it?” she asks.
“Tony had to enforce it for weather so it’s somewhere really cold or really hot,” Jay says.
“He also had to protect it from falling so it’s somewhere up high. Like mountains? ” I add.
“Maybe,” Marcus says, thinking a mile a minute. He turns his attention Ameana.
“Take Wolf with you. After you two go see The Sage, hit a couple of Pawn and Runner hang outs see if they know anything about where the Oka might be.”
“What about the Summit?” I ask.
“It’s in a few hours, I want to go and stand up for Miku. Maybe having someone from the team speak for her would get some kind of sympathy but—“
“—we can’t stop looking for the Oka or the key,” Ameana finishes for him.
“Exactly. So lets focus on that. It’s the only way to get Rio and Miku back. Then we can deal with the Summit.”
“Can they decide to punish Redd by killing her?” I ask.
“You can’t kill what you can’t find. And she’s been very good at hiding,” Marcus assures me.
“Jay and I have to get you home. He needs to convince your mom you’ve been home all night and that everything is fine. As soon as we’re done, we’ll head back to the house.”
“Do I have to take rock and roll Gandhi with me?” Ameana asks.
“Do I have to go with the ice Princess?”
“Can you two stop going at each other for two seconds? Damn!” Marcus says unable to hold back his anger.
“Fine,” Ameana says reluctantly. The two take off and head for The Sage’s home.
“Those two are gonna kill each other,” Jay says.
“Or not,” I say softly.
* * *
The three of us enter my apartment. My mom heads right for me. It is one in the morning and she still has her work clothes on. That means she has not gone to bed because she was waiting for me. This is so bad.
“Where the heck have you been?” she demands.
“Mom, I’m sorry.”
“Sorry? It’s one in the morning. Do you know how worried I was about you? Where have you been?”
“I know, but Jay has something to tell you,” I turn my attention to Jay. This is the part where he whispers something in her ear and a few seconds later she acts like everything is just fine.
Jay turns to my mom and says, “Ms. Baxter, I love you.”
Marcus and I exchange a look. The Woe is still in his system.
“What?” my mom says, confused.
“Jay, we know you love her. You love everyone. Can you just tell my mom how I was home all night and did nothing wrong, please.”
He whispers to my mom. In a few seconds, everything will be fine. We wait a few moments. Then we wait a few more.
“I asked you a question. Where have you been?” My mom says not sounding the least bit peaceful.
“Jay, what did you do?” I ask.
“Don’t blame this on your friend. You are the one who has broken curfew. Where were you?”
“Marcus, it’s not working,” Marcus looks at me and suddenly dread comes over his face.
“There’s a problem,” Marcus says to me.
“There’s definitely a problem, Marcus. It started when she began dating you,” my mom says.
I feel just like Tony-Tone felt except I’m going to die of embarrassment, not brute force. Someone please feed my Ms. Charlotte when I’m gone.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Baxter,” he says quietly.
Why oh why can’t I have power so I can go far, far away?...
Marcus explains under his breath that the Woe must be affecting Jay’s powers. He can’t convince my mom.
“Mom, look—”
“—No, you look. I want your friend and your boyfriend out of my house, now.”
Dear Ominus, kill me. Kill me now.
The guys look at each other. My mom glares at them as if to say she is very serious.
“Mom, please—”
“—I’m not going to repeat it again,” she vows.
I nod to Marcus that it’s okay. The guys leave me alone with my mom, or the woman who used to be my mom but is now a volcano about to go off.
“Mom, I’m sorry.”
“You are no longer allowed to see Marcus.”
“What?”
“You heard me. He is off limits. You are grounded for the rest of the summer. After you take final exams, you come home. You are not to go so far as to the bathroom without my say so.”
“That’s not fair! You don’t even understand what’s going on.”
“No, Emerson, I don’t. I had a perfectly nice teenager under my roof and I was thankful for that everyday, but suddenly she gets a boyfriend and she is staying out all night, lying to me about where she’s going and skipping class.”
I look up at her in complete shock. She walks over to the kitchen and takes out a letter with my school logo on it.
“I got this in the mail today. You haven’t been showing up to your classes. You are in danger of failing both chemistry and English. You love English. What is going on?”
“Nothing, everything is fine.”
“No, it’s not. And it’s my fault. I saw you were spending too much time with that boy and his friends. I should have put an end to it.”
“Marcus is not the reason why this is happening.”
“Okay, so what’s the reason?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, that’s just not good enough. Go to your room and come out when you are ready to talk.”
“Mom, I’m sorry to upset you but—”
“—EMERSON HOPE BAXTER, GO TO YOUR ROOM NOW!!!”
I turn in a huff and stomp away to my room. I slam the door and drop down to my bed, deflated. Ms. Charlotte sees me and jumps into my lap.
Normally after being out all day, she ignores me as if to say “how dare you leave me” but this time she comes to me. Maybe she can tell I need to be comforted. Or maybe her day sucked, too.
I decide to go back to the kitchen (if the warden will let me) and get Ms. Charlotte a treat. I figure one of us should have something good happen
to them today.
I enter the kitchen and find my mom is still in there. I turn to go back to my room but then I hear her sniffling. I peek into the kitchen and see her crying over the sink. She is on the phone with a friend.
“Carol, I just don’t know what to do. What kind of mom lets her daughter get out of control like that?”
The person on the other line says something I can’t make out.
“Yes, it is my fault. She doesn’t have a dad and she’s lashing out because she hates me for it.”
I can’t stand the sound of my mom crying. I head back to my room, close the door and lean up against it. Tears begin to well up in my eyes. I try to hold them back.
Just then Marcus pops into my room on a Port.
“Emmy, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I lie.
“Is there a demon here? We’ve been outside the whole time and we didn’t see—”
“—It’s not that.”
“Then what is it?”
“My mom is crying because she thinks she’s a bad mom. The truth is she’s great.”
“Don’t worry, Jay’s power should be back in a few hours. Everything will be back to normal.”
“No, Marcus, it won’t. It never will,” I snap.
“You’re right; it won’t,” he looks into my eyes and the tears I have been holding back flow down my face.
“She deserves a daughter that doesn’t lie to her,” I say to him.
“I know. But you’re only lying to protect her.”
“Marcus, why is this happening?”
“Which part?”
“All of it. Redd, Rio, my mom, us…”
“I know it’s a lot to deal with.”
“I never thought I would say this but I really want to be normal. I mean just for a minute. I want to be like everyone else.”
When he looks into my eyes, sadness reaches his face. He hides it behind a smile.
“Okay, we are normal. I’m just a guy and we just came home from a normal date where I tried to get some,” he jokes.
I laugh. He does too.
“So there were no demons, no flying, nothing on this date?”
“Nope. Just a scary movie, third base and pizza.”
“Third base?”
“Well, yeah. You just couldn’t keep your hands off of me.”
“Of course not.”
