by Lola StVil
“I’m sorry, Pry. But you know it’s true. Silver hurt you and instead of facing you, he goes off and commits murder. He’s a miserable being and he won’t quit until he’s made all of us just as miserable,” Key tells me.
“Just ignore Aaden, Key. You know Bex doesn’t have a thing for me,” I plead.
“It’s not that simple.”
“Yes it is. Unless you think Pryor’s a real threat,” East says.
“Do you think I would come between you and Bex?” I ask.
“I think when you love someone you do whatever it takes to secure that love. You don’t hang around beings that try to pull you apart, like Silver,” Key explains.
“Bex, do you agree with her?” Swoop asks.
“If you guys are in trouble and need us, we’ll try our best to be there, but yeah, we’re out,” Bex replies, making eye contact with me for the first time.
“So that’s it? You’re both out?” I ask, dumbfounded.
“Yeah, sorry,” Bex says as he takes Key’s hand.
The two of them start to walk away. I call out after them.
“I’m sorry too but the fact is we don’t have the luxury of choosing to be a team or not. Not with Malakaro sending Kasters after us,” I reply.
“What are you saying, Pry?” Key asks.
“Bex is not technically a Noru. He does not have to do what I say. But you are and I am not excusing you from this team. You will be a part of it. You will do what I ask, when I ask it of you,” I demand.
“And if I don’t?” Key asks.
“If you don’t, I will press your Deck,” I reply firmly.
“Pryor!” Swoop scolds.
“I mean it, Keyohmi. You walk away from this team and I will place my thumb along the markings in the back of your skull and strip your powers away—permanently.”
********
As the school day drones on, we remain quiet for the most part. Normally Randy would have a thousand questions but he senses none of us are in the mood for a Q&A. I never thought I would have to press anyone’s Deck and take his or her power. But the fact is I really don’t have a choice.
If I were to allow Key to walk away it would weaken us. I can’t afford to lose Bex either, but I knew that keeping her on the team was also a way to keep him. Bex would never let Key face danger without him. He’s protective and wherever she is, he is sure to be. So, by threatening one, I was able to hold on to both. I did my job as the First Noru. I kept my team together.
So why do I feel like crap?
“I am very sorry to report that the board will not allow you to chase Oden,” The Face reports.
She has no idea that we learned the news hours earlier. She waits for a reaction but we are all fairly quiet.
“Did you hear what I said?” she asks.
“Yeah, we did,” I reply in a whisper.
“Good. Now, back to class, all of you,” she instructs.
Without saying another word, we leave The Face’s office. As we head down the hallway, I mention to Randy that the reception is spotty. He takes my cell and tries to strengthen the signal.
I turn to address Key but before I can say anything, she storms off in the opposite direction; Bex reluctantly follows.
“He doesn’t strike me as the ‘do whatever your girl says’ type,” Randy tells East.
“Maybe his steel wings are in the shop and he only has paper ones on,” East says.
“What does that mean?” Randy asks.
“It means Bex needs to grow a set,” Aaden replies.
“He’s just trying to be supportive and stand by her. I think that’s better than taking off and hiding for a year,” I reply scathingly.
“Oh so that’s what I was doing in prison? Hiding?” he asks.
“I don’t know what you were doing in Bliss. All I know is that you bailed on us,” I counter.
“You mean I bailed on you,” Aaden challenges.
“You really think you were ever that important to me?” I ask.
“Then why do you keep harping on my leaving?”
“You’re right. I’ll let it go. I’ll pretend like you never went away. Better yet, I’ll pretend like you never came back!” I swear.
“Pry?” Randy calls out.
“What?” I reply, in a harsher tone than I intended.
“The Face just got a text. The board has new information on Malakaro.”
“What is it?” Aaden asks.
“It says here that he’s the one behind the Alexi murders,” Randy says.
We explain to him that the beautiful immortal birds had been disappearing and many were later found dead.
“Why would Malakaro want to kill Alexis?” Swoop says.
“The board thinks he was torturing them,” Randy replies.
“Yes, but why?” East asks.
“What could be the point of killing harmless birds?” Aaden says.
“The Face said Malakaro wants two things: to take everything away from your family and to put an end to all things,” Randy reasons.
“So how can torturing birds help him get either of these things?” East wonders.
“Maybe Malakaro just enjoys torturing birds,” Randy suggests.
“He wasn’t torturing the birds; he was testing them,” I announce in a horrified whisper.
“What are you talking about?” Swoop asks.
“Malakaro used the Alexi as guinea pigs because he needed to find out how to kill something that’s immortal,” Aaden says gravely.
“I knew you guys were powerful but...wow, so which one of you is immortal?” Randy asks.
Aaden looks over at me and we exchange a look of unimaginable fear.
Sam...
**********
The next few moments are a complete blur. I take off into the air and head straight for the house. My speed is nearly like that of Bex and Swoop. Aaden and the others take off after me. They call out for me to wait for them so that I don’t face evil on my own. But I don’t slow down and I certainly don’t stop.
Malakaro has found a way to kill my little brother...
I fly furiously through the air and ram past anything in my path: birds, skyscrapers, and trees, whatever. I have to get to Sam.
Please, please, please, Omnis, don’t let him be hurt or worse...
The team is right behind me. They must have called Bex and Key because the two of them aren’t too far behind. Moments later I land just outside of my house. I smash the door in and run upstairs.
“Sam! Sam! Sam where are you?” I run to his room and call out his name.
The silence that greets me is torture.
“Tony! Sam! Where are you?” I scream.
I hear the team calling out for me to wait for them as they come charging up the stairs. But I can’t wait. I run to the last room of the house: my parents’ room.
I find bloody remains of the former Seller turned Angel spread throughout the room. All that’s left of Tony-Tone’s once bright grin is a contorted, macabre expression of shock. The grief of losing Tony doesn’t get a chance to sink in because I have yet to find Sam.
I look around the room and there is no sign of my brother. The thought that Malakaro has him enrages me like nothing I’ve ever felt. The team enters the bedroom and is rendered silent by the ghastly sight. In the corner of my eyes, I see a spot, a pair of kid-sized “Batman” sneakers peering from the closet. I race over to the closet and pull Sam out.
“There’s just one drop of blood on the left side of his mouth, so I know he’s not hurt too badly,” I tell Key desperately as she kneels before him.
Her face is filled with regret and sorrow. She looks up at me as if to say she’s sorry. I kneel down beside my brother and yell at Key.
“FIX HIM!” I order her.
“I can’t,” she replies.
“No! No! No! You can fix him. He’s hardly bleeding. His body is intact. Please, heal him,” I beg.
“I can’t,” she whispers.
“
KEY, PLEASE, LOOK AT HIS BODY; HIS BODY IS OKAY!”
“His body is okay but whatever mixture Malakaro created...it took his soul. I’m sorry; Sam’s gone.”
BOOK II:
AADEN ‘SILVER’ CASE
"He was beginning to understand that evil is not absolute, and that good is often an occasion more than a condition.”
—Gilbert Parker
CHAPTER ELEVEN: KENMARE
It’s the screaming that wakes my ass up. All around us humans can be heard crying out for help in high-pitched tones. The first thing I see when I open my eyes are the body parts of the former Seller, Tony-Tone. Also on the floor is the lifeless corpse of one of the few angels who I actually give a damn about—Sam. The blast sent him flying across the room. A mix of regret, sorrow, and rage invade my body as I look over at him.
Suddenly, I hear someone groan next to me. I turn to see Key and the rest of the team on the floor. Whatever it is that had knocked me down, did the same thing to the team. They gather themselves and look at the damage in the house. The entire outside wall has been ripped off. The house is gutted and nearly everything is in shambles.
“Is everyone okay?” Key asks.
“Yeah, I think so,” Swoop tells her sister.
“What the hell just happened?” I demand as I inspect the bloody gash behind my head and pick myself off the floor.
“I don’t know, but we have to get the humans because whatever it is, it’s terrifying them,” East says as he helps Swoop to her feet.
“The explosion could have been caused by Kasters,” Bex suggests.
“I don’t think they have Powerballs that strong,” Swoop says as she wipes blood from her chin.
I look out of the gaping window that was once the side of the house. There’s a massive orb of dark light demolishing the streets of New York City.
“Oh no,” I whisper as I take a good look at the moving sphere of destruction.
“What is it?” Swoop asks.
“The blast wasn’t caused by a Kaster,” I reply.
“Then who caused it?” Bex asks.
“Pryor,” I inform them.
Without thinking, we all take to the air and go after the dark void. When we get close enough, we are awed by the sheer energy coming from the First Noru. Pryor is emitting so much power she is hovering several feet in the air without using her wings.
Her eyes are submerged in darkness. Her skin is infused with black spider-like veins that run all along her body. Her ability to Pull has expanded from the palm of her hand to her entire being. Her powers radiate off her body and affect everything around it. Trees are falling, homes are crumbling, and the humans are scattering in fear for their lives. Pryor Reese Cane is now death itself.
“Pryor, your powers are out of control, you have to stop!” I shout.
She keeps moving throughout the city with no concern whatsoever about the destruction she is causing. The team tries to pull the humans out of the way of falling debris, but the stronger Pryor gets, the harder it is to keep the humans safe.
The twins try to reason with her by begging her to calm down and focus on controlling her powers. It doesn’t work. Pryor is driven by wrath and grief, two forces that never relent once they get a hold of you.
“We have to stop her,” East shouts as he saves an elderly man from one of many falling homes.
Pryor’s powers continue to expand, causing cars to flip over, fire hydrants to explode, and the very ground to shake.
“If we can’t reason with her, we have to contain her,” Key says.
Swoop hurls her necklace at Pryor’s feet. A Holder quickly forms around her. The bubble-like prison surrounds Pryor and holds her powers. She looks at her new prison and closes her eyes. When she opens them again a beam of darkness shoots from her pupils and causes small fractures to appear along the Holder.
“The Holder is giving out!” Bex says.
“What the...?” East says, dumbfounded.
“Pryor, stop, please! You’re going to hurt someone,” the twins shout at the same time.
I try to get close but there’s just too much power swirling around her.
“Pry, I know it hurts but Sam is gone and this will not bring him back,” I plead with her.
“If we don’t stop her now, she’s gonna hurt the humans,” Key yells out to us.
“Too late,” East says.
Pryor has broken free of the Holder and now she hovers even higher in the air. Her powers have increased yet again. And now it’s not just buildings falling to the ground, it’s the humans.
Key runs to examine them. She glides her hands in the air, just above their bodies.
“They’re still alive but not for long,” she informs us desperately.
“Pryor, please, please, stop,” I beg her once again.
It doesn’t work. The others have their hands full. I am the only one who is actually close enough to her to try and stop her.
“Silver, you have to stop her!” East says, coming to the same conclusion I have.
Damn it, Pryor, don’t make me do this!
I beg Pryor yet again but just like before, she is nonresponsive. Meanwhile all around us the humans are falling.
Things go from crap to complete bullshit when I look up and see the Omari: a team of Para Angels whose job it is to track down angels who have broken the law. They wear long white robes and move with speeds that are impressive even for angels. The Omari are hateful rat bastards who kill without remorse or pause.
“Call them off!” I yell at Bex.
“I can’t. I’m not their Kon yet,” he replies.
“I don’t give a damn if you’re not their king yet. You’re next in line; they will listen to you. Call them off,” I order.
“The humans are gonna die if we don’t stop her right now,” Key says as she studies the human body in her arms.
“Do not let the Omari touch her,” I bark at Bex.
“Pryor, try to control it, please,” Swoop begs.
The Omari surround Pryor and get ready to attack.
“Stay away from her; we can take care of this,” Bex warns them.
“The Noru is killing the humans. We were ordered to stop her,” the Omari say in unison.
“Fuck your orders; you touch her and I will kill you,” I promise.
“Silver, stay out of the way,” one of them cautions.
“She doesn’t know what she’s doing; she just lost her brother,” Key pleads.
“That may be but we can’t allow her to continue,” one of the Omari replies.
“Enos, you can’t do this. She’s the First Noru,” Bex reminds him.
“Bex, we have orders,” he says stubbornly.
“Guys...this woman’s gonna die,” Key says as she frantically tries to revive her.
“Key, heal her,” Swoop shouts.
“Pryor’s power is too strong; she’s hurting them quicker than I can heal,” Key says.
Enos, the bald Omari member with serious eyes, signals for his team to attack. The twins, East, and Bex all beg for them not to hurt their leader. But me, I’m done begging for today.
When the Omari link hands, an orb of light begins to form among them. The more power they apply, the more it grows. They are about to hurl the expanding Powerball at Pryor. While it may not be their intention to kill her, there is no guarantee she’ll survive their collective attack.
Thinking quickly, I send a Powerball to four nearby skyscrapers. The blast shatters hundreds of windows and causes a hail of glass to rain down on the Omari, temporarily breaking their connection.
Pryor stands a better chance of surviving an attack from me than she does the Omari. Having no choice, I hurl a Powerball at Pryor and hope it’s enough to stop her without hurting her. The silver Powerball hits her in her shoulder and throws her off balance.
“East, hug Pryor, now,” I yell.
East sends his force field into the air; it wraps itself around Pryor and begins to weaken her. But she i
s able to rip the force field apart before it can drain her power completely. Fearing she’ll regain her power, the Omari take aim once again.
I consider using my secondary power: my ability to Call; with it I can summon anything I see in my mind’s eye. I don’t use that power a lot. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. It’s been unreliable ever since I’ve come back from the Center...
Screw it, gotta try...
I Call for a Port just as the Omari aim their orb towards Pryor. I’m damn near weak with relief when the Port appears beneath my feet. My relief doesn’t last long because the Omari assholes throw the orb at Pryor.
Fuck!
I race over to her, grab her hand, and pull her onto the Port just before the orb lands.
While I am able to stop the direct hit, the impact of the orb hitting the ground causes a secondary blast that shreds into our wings, knocks Pryor unconscious, and throws us off the Port. Pryor and I go hurtling through the air uncontrollably. With damaged wings, we are unable to stop our impending deaths.
The rest of the team takes to the sky to help but the Omari block them. Furious, Bex attacks, as does the rest of the team. I keep calling for the Port but it won’t reappear. My luck has run out; my secondary power is failing me.
Omnis, you loathsome son of a bitch, you better not let her die. You owe me!
Once again I Call on the Port. This time it appears right where I need it to: underneath Pryor, breaking her fall. As I go tumbling past her, I latch on to the rim of the Port and pull myself up. I hold Pryor protectively against me and we disappear among the haze of Powerballs and debris.
************
When Pryor and I reappear, we are surrounded by lush green rolling hills, open skies, and the sound of waves crashing against the rocks from the water below. We’re in the small town of Kenmare, Northern Ireland. I had programmed this Port to take me back here should I ever need to make a quick escape. I lift Pryor off the Port and carry her over to my stone cabin nestled between two emerald banks.
Once inside the two-room cabin, I’m greeted by my second favorite sound—silence. The cabin is sparsely decorated. I never liked having too much furniture. Simple always worked best for me.
