“I’m going to find The Face and ask her some questions. I’m going to ask her how she and the board could let a demon get to my little brother.”
“It wasn’t a demon that got to him. It was a Kaster.”
“How do you know that?” she asks.
“It’s not hard to guess” I reply, not wanting to bring up the subject of Ruin.
“Which Kaster?” she demands.
“Harm. He got inside the body of the boy next door and was able to enter the house.”
“I need a Port,” she pushes.
“For what? Where are you going?”
“The Face told me that Sam would be safe. I trusted her and she lied to me. I’m going to bash her skull in. Then I’m going to hunt down every Kaster and gut them while they’re still alive. And when I’m done, I will have a family reunion with Malakaro. NOW WHERE’S THE DAMN PORT?”
“Pry, I know how you feel, but—”
“You have no idea how I feel. He was my responsibility. My parents trusted me to look after him and instead I...I can’t fly with my wings like this. WHERE.IS.THE.PORT?” she blares.
“You can’t go back there until we know that no humans died as a result of your powers. If the Omari—”
“I don’t care. I’ll walk to town if I have to,” she declares.
I call after her but she opens the door and takes off. She doesn’t even stop to put on her shoes. She just runs out into the storm wearing just jeans and her tee shirt. I run out after her. Within seconds we are both drenched.
The unnaturally cold rain beats down on us with brute force. The wind threatens to rip the trees from the earth. And the sky breaks open and spits out lightning, one bolt after the other. The ground under our feet is muddy and uneven.
“Pryor, you’re too weak to go anywhere,” I shout out to her.
She looks around for a car or some sort of transportation vehicle and she sees nothing. Determined not to let that stop her, she looks over the side of the mountain.
“Don’t do it. Your wings aren’t healed. If you fall...”
She pays me no attention at all and starts to climb down the mountain.
Damn it!
I go to take flight but then I remember my wings aren’t completely healed either. They may not be able to support the both of us. I start climbing down the mountain in hopes I can reach her and can pull her back up without my wings.
Pryor is a few feet below me. The rain has made her hair clump and stick to her face, giving her zero visibility. I tell her to stay where she is as I carefully climb down to get her. But she manages to move the hair from her face and continues down the mountain.
She plants her foot in what must have felt like a steady foothold, only to have it crumble beneath her. She screams as she drops several feet.
“Pryor!” I roar.
Having no other choice, I take to the sky and dive down to get her. Thankfully I catch her in time, but just as I feared, my wings are starting to give out. I quickly fly us back up to the top of the mountain, just as my wings fail completely. We both land in a muddy ditch a few yards from the cabin.
Pryor goes to take off again, but I wrap my arms around her from behind and pull her back towards me. She struggles but she can’t break free of my hold.
“LET ME GO!!!” she orders.
“I can’t,” I reply.
She tries to use her powers, but my hold on her is preventing her from aiming her hand at me. She fights even harder to break free of me. Fully enraged now, she opens her mouth and clamps down on my forearm. Her bite is vicious and breaks through my skin. Blood seeps out, but the rain quickly washes it away. I gasp slightly but never loosen my hold on her.
“LET ME GO, THEY HAVE TO PAY FOR TAKING HIM AWAY!” she cries out.
“They will,” I promise her.
“THEY HAVE TO PAY!” she screeches in genuine agony.
“They will,” I whisper in her ear.
Her body starts rocking back and forth, but it’s not me she’s fighting. She’s being rocked by a new emotion. It’s not just anger anymore; it’s despair. I feel a warm liquid drip down to my hand; I look, expecting to see more of my blood. But I’m wrong. It’s not blood. For the first time in her life, the most powerful Noru in the world has been brought to tears.
I summon up what energy I have left and pick her up off the ground and carry her back to the cabin. I gently place her on the armchair and place a towel beside her. I then go look for something she can change into. The best I can do is a long sleeve shirt of mine. I stand in front of her and hand her the shirt.
“It’s old but it’s clean,” I promise her.
She doesn’t look up at me. She’s in a full-blown daze. I look beside her and the towel is untouched. I call out her name. She looks at me, but I’m not sure she really sees me. She’s drowning in grief and she doesn’t care about drying off. She doesn’t care about anything right now.
I kneel down beside her and look into her face. She’s stopped crying, which I’m thankful for. She was never a crier. I remember when we were kids and had to take Defensive Flying classes. We were on earth and our instructor made us fly through this impenetrable forest in Japan that the humans called “Suicide Forrest.”
There was a set pattern we were supposed to fly. Pryor lost her way and ended up hitting a tree trunk face first. She slid off the tree, leaving most of her face on it. We all rushed to her side and expected her to be crying and moaning in pain. Instead she pressed her lips together to keep from groaning. And all she wanted to know was if she could try again. She was seven at the time.
“Pry, I’m gonna dry you, okay?” I ask.
She remains silent and distant. After I dry her off, I remove her wet clothes and try my best not to stare at her. I’ve pictured the two of us alone with each other. Even the thought makes my wings expand. But this isn’t the way I want it to happen for us. I mean, if it ever happens.
You know it can’t happen and you know why...
I put my shirt on her and then walk her over to the bed. As I tuck her in, I remember the mixture Key had me make. I take it; I stir it around with a spoon and feed it to her. She pulls away slightly.
“It’ll help you get your strength back,” I plead.
Slowly she opens her mouth. Once the bowl is empty, I head to the armchair to give her some space.
“Don’t go,” she whispers.
“You should rest,” I reply.
“Stay.”
She makes room for me on the bed; I get in with my clothes on and lay beside her.
“Aaden?” she calls out softly in the darkness.
“Yeah?”
“Don’t tell anyone I cried, okay?”
“Okay.”
While her mother “cried” in the form of rain, Pryor cried in the form of silence. I mourned with her by not speaking. Although there was so much I wanted to say...
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: THIS TIME
Pryor is in and out of consciousness for the next few days. Part of it is because of having been injured. But a part of it is because it’s much easier to close your eyes and pretend things are okay than to live in the real world. I’m guessing when she closes her eyes, Sam is alive and all is well. The only trouble is, sooner or later you will have to open your eyes.
When she is awake, she’s quiet. I give her updates as I get them from the team. Most of the humans are out of immediate danger, but a few are still clinging to life in ICU. I wondered if giving her updates was wise, but if it were me I would not want to be left in the dark.
The rainstorms haven’t let up. There are times when it’s stronger than others but it’s still raining. Pryor’s dad, Marcus, must be having a hard time consoling his wife, Emmy. However, I’m sure the rain will stop eventually because Marcus won’t give up until she gets better.
How long does it take to get over the death of your child?
I sit up on the bed and look out into the gloomy sky. I silently offer my condolences to Pryor’s par
ents. I then turn to look at their child lying beside me. And the thoughts that I had been trying to push away, now invade my mind.
Was there something I could have done to prevent Harm from getting to Sam? Would things have been better if I didn’t stay away? Did I allow The Center to turn me into a coward? Or did I do the brave thing by staying away?
I hate when I go down this road in my head. There is simply no way to know if the choices I’ve made were the right ones. All I know is staying away was the only way I could keep The Center from sending the Omari bastards after me.
I recall all the rat holes, dive bars, and back alleys I frequented after Diana and I parted ways. I didn’t fight like before or blow anything up. And except for the occasional one-night stand, I pretty much left the girls alone. I wore a black hoodie, kept my mouth shut, and faded into the background.
I was a pathetic miserable soul and wanted nothing to do with the Angel world. I hated most of them, especially Paras. Yet I was unable to summon up enough hate to really harm them even after all they did to me.
To make matters worse, the only thing I had to look forward to was also the thing I dreaded: the moment when Pryor needed me. On one hand I looked forward to it because it meant that I would be able to lay eyes on her again. On the other hand, Pryor is skilled and powerful. If she needed me, it meant she was in real trouble.
It wasn’t just Pryor I was worried about; it was the whole team. Like Pryor, Key and Swoop are skilled but that didn’t mean they couldn’t get hurt. Take East for example, he’s one of the most powerful Quos I know but sometimes he second-guesses himself because he’s only half angel. That doubt can sometimes cause him to make mistakes during battle. And then there’s Bex...
Bex and I were cool once, a long time ago. But I caught him looking at Pryor after a training session one day. It was just a quick flash but I swear there was longing in his eyes. It irritated me. That was just schoolboy crap though; nothing too serious.
Then I was taken to The Center where my life was essentially taken from me. I later learned The Center was run by Paras, and that made me detest most of them, including Bex. Yet however I may feel about him, Bex is on the team and I wouldn’t let him get killed. So no matter how far off the grid I was, I watched the angel channel to ensure everything was okay back home.
I recall the night I heard about Malakaro and whose child he was. I knew Pryor would be distraught and I wanted to be there with her. I forced myself not to go near her. But I paid extra attention to current events. When I heard about the Pathway explosion I was Recharging under a bridge in Oslo, Norway. I headed back to the team immediately.
I knew the Angel world would try and protect the team, but I also knew Pryor. I knew she could be impulsive. Then I learned about this human named Randy who needed Stirr and Pryor was helping him get it from a demon. I sought them out and found them just outside some bar that had been trashed.
As soon as I landed, the team told me Pry had gone after the demon named Kill. We all split up and tried to find her. I fought hard to keep the panic at bay. I had to believe that I had gotten there in time.
Once I saw a house in flames a few blocks away, I knew Kill was behind it. Demons loved setting things on fire. When I got closer, I saw a human laying dead at the front door. I scouted out the scene and saw the demons attacking Pryor.
I was about to intervene when I heard a human baby cry. I knew I needed to see to the baby’s safety first. I quietly entered through the window and carried the baby out. When I went back in, Pryor was on fire on the floor. The demons tried to stop me from saving her.
I killed one of them; the other escaped. I then carried Pryor away. It was only when she was safe and sound in the warehouse that I started to think clearly.
Bex and East had gone to watch over Randy. Meanwhile Key had come out of her makeshift hospital room and told us Pryor was better and should wake soon. That’s when the tension in the air began to lift. I knew for sure because that’s when I was attacked by Swoop. Well, attacked is the wrong word, but she did leap onto my back and wrap her legs and hands around me.
“How dare you stay away so long? Look how hot and amazing I’ve gotten during your absence,” she demanded.
I playfully threw her off of me knowing she’s impossibly agile and would land on her feet. Sure enough, Swoop did a few back flips and landed right in front of me. She stood there poised and ready to be marveled over.
The truth is Swoop had turned into a hot chick. Before she was pretty but now she was an absolute babe. That’s what most guys would see, but not me. Swoop was like my little sister. I could never think of her in those terms.
“Actually, you’re a little on the scrawny side. In fact you’re kind of ugly,” I replied with a smile.
“I never liked you,” she informed me as she beamed and embraced me tightly.
Key told me she was glad that I was safe as she wrapped her arms around me. I’ve always admired her skills. Watching her kill is truly like watching an artist at work. I never got as close to Key as I did to her sister. I think it was because I knew Bex had feelings for Pry and it didn’t feel right that I never mentioned it to her. And even if I did, I’m not sure she’d believe me. And anyway what would be the point?
A few hours later the twins told me that Pryor was awake and wanted to see me. I thought of all the things I wanted to say to her. Unlike most girls, Pryor was never into the pretty flowers and scenic places. She loved anything odd and out of place.
She said odd things on earth were examples of Omnis’s humor. And that discovering something odd was like catching Omnis in an unguarded moment of laugher. So she made a list of strange and unusual things she’d like to see. She called it her “Ha-Ha” list.
I wanted to tell her that she was never far from my mind and that I kept up the list in my travels. I added things that I thought she’d get a kick out of seeing. There’s the blob fish. Humans consider them ugly because they’re a misshaped blob. Yet I knew Pryor would find them intriguing if not adorable. Then there’s the tree I found with a car embedded in the trunk. And a river so salty that when the humans go into it, they come out twice the size they went in.
I wanted her to know that I visited every place she ever told me she traveled to with her mom so that I could see what she saw. And most of all I needed her to know that I wanted her. I always wanted her.
Yet when I entered the room and saw her standing there with the new clothes the twins went out and got her, all I could think was how close I came to losing her. The more I thought about it, the more it upset me. And in true “Silver” fashion, I blew it. I lost my temper and yelled at her.
“Hey, what are you doing?” Pryor asks, pulling me out of my flashback.
Focus, Aaden. She’s mourning her brother and she needs you to stay focused on the here and now.
“Oh, I was just gonna take care of the fire, it’s dying,” I reply as I send a small Powerball into the fireplace. The dying embers are now bright flames.
“You seem pretty far away. What were you thinking about?” she asks.
“Nothing. How are you feeling?”
“Like I want to sleep forever,” she shares.
“My dad was like that after my mom died. It took a while for him to snap out of it.”
“How long?” she asks.
“Too long.”
I go over and apply more of Diana’s mixture to her wings. Then I make her drink more of Key’s mixture. She tells me it tastes awful but it does help.
“Has it been raining all this time?” she asks.
“Yeah, but it’ll stop,” I promise her.
“I wish I could talk to my parents—tell them how sorry I am that I didn’t protect Sam.”
“Pry, they already know. And blaming yourself won’t help.
“If you’re feeling up to it we can maybe take a walk? The rain has slowed down,” I tell her, hoping to improve her mood.
She doesn’t reply. Her eyes are already closed. Sh
e’s gone again.
*******
The next day, I head back to the Seller shop to get more supplies for us. When I get back,
I knock on the door of the cabin before entering.
“Hey, can I come in?” I ask.
“Just a sec,” she says.
I’m glad she’s awake but what she says will take a few seconds takes like ten minutes. I still don’t know what girls do that makes them take so long to get ready, but I have come to accept that as a fact of life. Pryor calls out and tells me to enter. I open the door and find her standing there in a tee shirt and nothing else.
She is easily the most amazing thing Omnis has ever created. But honestly I felt that way when she had her clothes on...
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were—I’ll come back,” I tell her as I quickly head for the door.
“No, don’t go. When I said come in, I meant it,” she says with a soft smile.
“Um...where are your pants?” I ask.
“Well, these few days all I’ve been doing is going from ‘sorrow’ and ‘rage’ to ‘more sorrow’ and ‘more rage.’ I want to feel something new. So I thought we could...you know,” she says shyly.
“Oh.” Is all I can think to say.
“So...you want to?” she asks.
“I’m gonna go so you can put your clothes back on.”
“What? Why?” she pushes, sounding hurt and insulted.
“We can’t do this.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re in mourning for someone you love, someone we both loved.”
“I know what I’m mourning. You don’t need to remind me. Why can’t we just do this? I mean really who cares?”
“Pryor, we can’t.”
“Why? And don’t blame it on grief.”
“Okay, you want another reason? How about this: you’re not ready.”
“You’re not in my head or my body. How do you know I’m not ready to...you know,” she says.
“For one thing, people who are ready to have sex don’t call it ‘you know.’”
“So you’re turning me down because my vocabulary is too childish for you?” she replies.
“I’m saying—”
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