“We were born to fight evil and instead we are relegated to helping old ladies cross the street. Now the angels look at us as if we are a complete waste.”
“Fighting isn’t the only way we can help humans, Bex. There are other ways,” I remind him.
“I don’t give a damn about the other ways. We were born and bred to fight and win. We came to being with a purpose and you took that away. I worked my ass off, we all did, and you threw it all away,” Bex says hotly.
“How many times do you need me to say that I’m sorry for not showing up? What do I have to do to show you that I really am sorry?” I ask.
“I don’t need your sorry. What I needed was for you to do for us what we have always done for you: Show up. And you didn’t do that, so screw you,” he replies.
Before I can reply, an angel literally crashes through the window. She flips in the air expertly and lands on her feet with poise and grace.
“Swoop, how many times do we have to tell you to stop doing that? Why can’t you just use a Port to get here like everyone else?” Key scolds her twin sister.
“And what about me says ‘she’s like everyone else’?” Swoop replies with a sneaky smile.
Keyohmi is not amused. Kiana and Keyohmi are three minutes apart. But in reality the two are more like worlds apart.
Kiana, or “Swoop” as we call her, is the resident wild child. While Key got her mother’s light complexion, Swoop has her father’s darker skin tone. She did, however, get her mother’s almond-shaped grey eyes and small frame.
From afar you would not notice that Keyohmi and Kiana are sisters. But once you see them side by side, you notice the same features. It’s like looking at two identical pictures, but one is light and one is dark: both striking in their own way.
Swoop has the most amazing hair. It can do anything. One day she’ll braid it in lovely complex patterns that mystify me. The next, she’ll let it all out in a thick Afro of loose curls. Unlike my hair, hers does what she wants it to do.
Although they are very different, what both twins have in common is their love of fashion. However, their styles are very different. Swoop loves to mix and match bold colors, textures, and patterns. She is obsessed with boots, belts, and anything vintage. She always adds an artsy flare to her outfits and makes them her own.
Today she’s wearing grey high-heeled suede boots that reach her ankles. Her blue jeans are ripped throughout and her off the shoulder shirt has a faded imprint of a skull with roses in its mouth. She accents her look with necklaces of different lengths and has on light makeup because with her unique beauty, very little is needed. Her regal facial features elevate her from your average pretty girl to a high-class fashion model.
Swoop’s powers are impossible speed and agility. Once she takes off, she moves so fast she is literally a blur of colors. She can snap the neck of a dozen demons before they even realize she is in the room. She can twist and turn her body at inhuman angles and moves with feline precision.
“I texted you an hour ago,” Key scolds her.
“Chill, Warden, I was busy in the yard bartering for smokes,” she jokes.
She comes towards me with her arms out.
“Hey, sweets!” she says, beaming.
We embrace and she tells me she’s missed me. She then turns her attention to Randy, who is finally back to his normal color.
“Who brought the nerd candy...yum,” she says playfully.
“Um...hi,” Randy says, not knowing how to react to Swoop’s greeting.
I get Swoop and East up to speed on the past few hours.
“Yes, and Randy needs our help, so Key drops everything to be there for Pryor and the human. You know, like she was there for us,” Bex quips.
“C’mon, man, let it go,” East says.
“Wait, now you’re on her side?” Bex counters.
“There are no sides,” I remind him.
“See, that just shows how delusional you are. We were a team and you screwed us. So now you don’t get to have us at your beck and call!” he screams.
“You don’t want to help me, then fine. Just tell me how to find this Oden guy,” I ask.
“Oden?” Easton replies with concern.
“Yeah, I overheard my parents talking about him. They said helping Randy would mean getting in touch with him and they didn’t think it was a good idea. Who is he?” I ask impatiently.
“I’ve heard of him. He’s a high-ranking demon, Pry. You can’t go to him,” East replies.
“East is right. If he’s anything like what he’s rumored to be, he’ll kill you before you get near him,” Key says.
“It doesn’t matter, I have to try. If he knows a way to save Randy...I have no choice,” I reply.
“Pryor, I don’t want you dying for me, okay?” Randy says.
“I can handle one demon, Randy.”
“Your own father and mother are staying away but you are going to charge ahead on your own? Exactly how stupid are you?” Bex asks.
“Well I can’t depend on you to help me, now can I?” I snap.
“We were there for you and you—”
“I KNOW, BEX, I KNOW! I FAILED, OKAY? YOU WANT TO MAKE ME FEEL BAD FOR THAT BUT IT WON’T WORK BECAUSE I ALREADY FEEL LIKE SHIT. YOU GUYS PUT YOUR FAITH AND TRUST IN ME, AND I FAILED YOU ALL. AND WORSE I LOST NOT ONLY MY TEAM BUT MY FRIENDS,” I cry out.
Everyone in the room is taken aback by my outburst, especially me. My pulse is racing and my hands are shaking from a mix of guilt and adrenaline. I force myself to calm down and lower my voice.
“I know that I wronged you guys, and I will have to live with that. But I’m trying not to let yet another person I love down. Maybe I don’t deserve your help but if anyone deserves angels on his side, it’s Randy. Help me save him. Please.”
Key places a hand on Bex’s shoulder. He shakes his head and looks away. Swoop and East shrug and give me a small smile that signals they are on board. We all turn back to Bex and Key.
“I think we should help,” Key says firmly.
“We shouldn’t make a decision like this without Silver,” he says.
They call Aaden “Silver” because that’s the color of his wings. He’s the only one in existence that has silver wings. His fireballs are silver too and far more powerful than the other angels’.
Hearing them say Aaden’s nickname makes my face flush with anticipation. I feel like I’m going to jump out of my skin if I don’t lay eyes on him now, right now. Helping Randy has kept my mind off of Aaden but now standing here with the rest of the group, his absence is very noticeable.
After I didn’t show up at the Atu, I ended up asking Aaden out a few days later. I guess I just wanted to convince myself that I was capable of doing something brave. So I asked him out and he said no. I tell myself it’s because he doesn’t want to be seen with a coward. He doesn’t want anyone to see him with the Noru who was too afraid to lead her team.
But there is another reason why Aaden could have said “no.” A reason that hurts so much to think about that I am forced to bury it deep inside me. Occasionally, when the words surface and gather in my head, they cause a rippling wave of sadness that knows no end.
Aaden said no because he doesn’t want me...
Being rejected by Aaden felt like daggers going through me. I remember that day so clearly. We were alone near our favorite spot in Central Park. There had been a slight chill in the air. New York City in the fall was my favorite season. I daydreamed about Aaden and I snuggled together under a tree, laughing, talking, and kissing...
I remember the exact moment I started wanting him as more than just my friend. Before then we were just hanging out and chasing low-level demons together. It drove our parents crazy, but we didn’t care. We had the time of our lives.
Then one day we had misjudged a landing and ended up sliding face first off a mountain. We were bloody and howling with laughter. When we finally stopped laughing, I was on the ground and he was on top of me.
<
br /> I looked up at one of my best friends and suddenly I wanted something I had never wanted before—his lips on mine. The thought scared me because I had never kissed anyone before. I still haven’t.
Yet there we were, laying at the base of the mountain, and all I could think about was his lips. And to make matters worse, my face and hands began to tingle once I realized just how close he was to me. Then my cheeks grew crimson and my fingers started trembling. I wanted to lift my head up and make his lips touch mine, but I didn’t know how.
How do you kiss? Who goes left and who goes right? Is that something you decide beforehand? What if I do it wrong? What if he doesn’t kiss me back? What if he runs screaming and makes a giant cutout hole in the shape of his body on the mountain side running away from me?
Ever since that day I’ve thought about and obsessed over what it would be like if Aaden and I touched. I mean not like friends but like...well, you know...
That day at the park I finally summoned up the courage to ask him out, and he said “no” just like that. Oh, and he also said some lame ass thing about being sorry. I was such a fool. I never thought he would say no. I mean I hoped he would say yes, but I never thought I would get a flat out “no.” I took to the air and had my parents transfer me to human school. That was the last time I saw Aaden.
In the past year, from what I have been told, Aaden has changed. He’s grown...darker. For one thing he left school and never looked back. I’m surprised that Uncle Rage let his son do that, but he did. Nowadays he doesn’t even hang out with the group, from what I hear. He’s become more of a loner.
He’s so to himself that he’s grown a sort of mystique around him. He spends more time around humans than he does angels. He’s been known to say awful things about the Council and the Angel world as a whole.
In addition, the more elusive Aaden is, the more girls want to be with him. In fact, getting to spend a night with “Silver” is the Holy Grail for most girls in the Angel world. I guess I can understand it. Aaden is tall, dark, and the very definition of brooding.
He looks very much like his father, Rage. He has dark hair, intense dark eyes, and a body that makes it hard for any girl to stay away. In addition to ferocious silver fireballs, Aaden can “Call.” That means mostly anything he sees with his mind’s eye, he can summon to him.
He’s often seen wearing a black leather jacket, black tee shirt, and boots. He rides motorcycles off of cliffs, and I’ve been told he now has a number of tattoos. He has always been hot tempered but now I’m told he’s outright insolent.
I miss him...
“ So, um...where is Aaden?” I ask.
“We don’t know. Uncle Rage says he’s ‘doing some thinking,’ whatever that means, but he assures us Silver isn’t in danger,” Key says.
“From what I hear, Silver is the danger. I heard he was in a brawl over a couple of girls with some Quo,” Swoop says, delighting in the latest gossip.
“I heard he’s having a great time since his dad let him off the leash,” Bex adds.
“So, um...he has...a girl? That’s nice,” I reply, trying to sound casual.
“No, sweets, not ‘a girl’—girls. Lots of girls,” Swoop says.
“Yeah well, whatever. So, are you guys going to help me find Oden? Or are you guys going to stand there and let me get killed by this Oden bastard?” I ask, only half joking.
“Little girl, Oden is the least of your problems,” someone says from the doorway.
We turn and find my mother standing at the entrance of the warehouse. It’s one thing to piss off my mom; it’s another to piss off Death. I can see out the window; the dark swirls of ominous clouds brewing...
Dear Omnis, my mom is going to kill me...
CHAPTER FOUR: OFF COURSE
“Do you have any idea what you put us through tonight?” my mom shouts.
“I’m sorry but—”
“Don’t you dare try to excuse your behavior!”
“I had to help Randy.”
“And how did you help him? By placing him in the path of demons? By having him nearly fall to his death in the warehouse?” my dad asks.
“That wasn’t my fault. The demons came out of nowhere,” I argue.
“That’s what demons do,” my dad snaps.
“Look, I know I broke the rules by telling Randy and by leaving the house when I was grounded, but this was for a good cause,” I plead.
“Mommy, what’s wrong?” Sam asks from upstairs as he comes out of his room.
“Nothing, baby, go back and Recharge,” my mom replies.
“Pryor, did you lift up the house over your head? Dad said not to do that,” Sam advises me.
“Sam. Recharge. Now,” my dad orders.
He wisely goes back to his room and closes the door.
It has been about half an hour since my mom came into the warehouse and made everyone go home. She was going to have East Mind wipe Randy so that he didn’t remember, but after nonstop begging from Randy, she decided to let him keep his memory.
“I know I’m in trouble but I can’t just let Randy die. I can’t,” I beg.
“You think we like this? You think this is fun for us? Watching our child in pain? Pryor, we would fix this if we could,” she tells me.
“If that’s true then why aren’t you going to see Oden?” I challenge.
“What did you say?” my dad asks, his tone firm.
“She overheard us talking about Oden, and she gathered the others so they could go see him,” my mom replies.
My dad comes closer to me and speaks in a tone that makes my hands tremble. He rarely uses his First Guardian tone on us but when he does...
“Pryor, you are never to go near Oden. He is vile and he does not need to make contact with you in order to hurt you. He would do anything to get his hands on a Noru. You cannot under any circumstances go see him. Do you understand?”
“But I—”
“DAMN IT, PRYOR, YOU ARE NOT TO GO NEAR HIM; DO YOU HEAR ME?”
The entire house shakes when my dad shouts. His wings flap furiously against the air. I look him in the eyes and nod slowly.
“You may be the leader of the Norus but you do not rule in this house. Do you get that?” he pushes.
“Yes.”
“Your mother and I will not have this conversation with you again. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“Go to your room and don’t even think of leaving this house,” he orders.
I run up the stairs but then turn around once I get to the top.
“Can I say something?” I ask.
“You can always speak to us but if I were you, I’d be very careful which words I choose,” my mom says sternly.
“Every day since Sam and I were born you and Dad drilled into us how important it was to help others and to protect humans. You risked your lives over and over again because humans were worth fighting for. That’s what you taught us. And now you two stand there and tell me to go to my room while a human’s life is in danger...I think it’s hypocritical and it’s wrong. It’s just...wrong.”
*******
I’m locked in my room. It’s not an actual lock, it’s a small vial the length of a pencil that’s placed at the center of my room. It scans for me every five seconds. It’s called The Eye and I freaking hate it. If it scans the area and if I’m not sitting on the bed at the center of the room, it seals off all windows and doors, then notifies the being who programmed it, in this case my dad. It does this in a fraction of a second. It’s too fast for me to outmaneuver. I wish I had Swoop’s powers right now.
Just because I’m on lockdown doesn’t mean I can’t help Randy. I text the group and have them searching for any info on where Oden might be and also what his powers are. I need to know how he can help Randy and also what kind of powers we will be going up against. Then I call Randy to make sure he isn’t losing it.
“Are you okay? I mean considering,” I ask.
“Considering
I’m supposed to die? Yeah, I’m great.”
“Randy, I told you I wouldn’t let that happen.”
“I owe you an apology,” he says.
“For what?”
“I kind of freaked out in the warehouse.”
“Well, yeah, but when you learn your BFF is an angel and you’re gonna die, you are allowed to freak out. Go figure.”
“I just thought I would handle something like that...better,” he confesses.
“So you’ve been in this situation before?” I tease.
“No, but it’s classic hero stuff. They have to save their loved ones. The loved ones put on a brave face throughout their adventure. I didn’t do that. I totally freaked. And Keyohmi saw it.”
“She knows this is hard for you; it would be for anyone, Randy.”
“Hey, did she say anything to you?”
“About what?”
“About me.”
“Randy, Key is with Bex. They have been together like forever. I’m sorry.”
“How could she go out with that jerk?” Randy says, frustrated.
“Bex is not that bad. In fact he’s a pretty great guy. It’s just that my abandoning them hit him harder than the others because he helped train me. He really was counting on me.”
“If you say so. I still think she could do better...” he says, mostly to himself.
“You’re worried about getting a girl even with your life on the line?”
“Well if I have to die, getting a kiss from her wouldn’t be a bad way to go.”
I smile and shake my head; we grow silent. When I speak next, my tone has gone from lighthearted to concerned. I know he’s trying to be okay with the situation, but the truth is, he’s terrified.
“Randy, you don’t have to come with us when we go looking for Oden. In fact it may be better if you stayed behind,” I warn him.
“No, I’m not gonna let you risk everything while I stay home and play video games. I’m coming with you.”
“Okay, if that’s what you want...” I reply.
We fall silent yet again; this time, it’s his tone that changes.
“So...how do you feel about Aaden and the ‘lots of girls’ comment Swoop made,” he asks.
Voracious Vixens, 13 Novels of Sexy Horror and Hot Paranormal Romance Page 96
