by Lola StVil
The army of critters turns in unison towards the sound of their fallen friend. They immediately take to the air and come after Dylan. They swarm him like hyped-up, psychotic bees. They emit chirp-like sounds as their tentacles pop out and latch on to Dylan’s face.
We snatch them off Dylan as fast as we can, but when we get rid of one Wintuk, three more appear in its place. Dylan lets out a bloodcurdling scream, and a Wintuk latches on to his eyeballs and starts to drain him. I yank the bastard off Dylan’s eyes and squeeze it until its eyes pop out.
The colony of Wintuks double their efforts to eliminate us. They send a cry into the air and hundreds more Wintuks appear from every direction and swarm us. They aren’t just on Dylan; they are attacking all of us. When their tentacles attach to my skin, it feels like getting kissed by a chainsaw.
The more they suck, the weaker we’re getting. We are being forced down to our knees. We fight them off as hard as we can, kill hundreds of them, but there are just far too many to make a difference. If we don’t find a way to kill them all—fast—we will die here. The being that’s most affected by the Wintuks is the Para with the longest hair. He must have been weak already from the battle with the Fawn, and now his body has given up the struggle almost completely.
The Wintuks pick up on that and send out a hideous cry to alert the others to triple their efforts on the weakened Para. Soon, thousands of Wintuks are descending upon him. There are so many of them on him, we can’t see him anymore.
“GET AWAY FROM HIM,” Diana rages.
She grabs hold of the sharpest twig she can find and jabs herself in the leg, so deep we can see right through to the bone. She hollers in pain, but her plan works. The Wintuks are drawn to the sight and smell of her bare bones. They flock to her and leave the weak Para behind. But by then it’s too late. The Para is nothing more than a layer of skin.
Without warning, the Wintuks start to flee. They scatter in the air and fly away as fast as they can. They leave in droves and don’t even look back at the corpse they were feasting on. We look around, shocked by the creatures’ sudden departure. The last Para runs to tend to Diana. Pryor helps him while I look everyone else over.
“What the hell made them run away so fast?” East asks.
“Aw, I’m afraid that was my fault,” someone says pleasantly above us.
We look up and there’s an extremely pale woman hovering in the air. She has on bloodred lipstick, with matching eye shadow. Her hair is dyed sterling silver and swept up in a stylish bun. She wears drop diamond earrings and a spiderweb-patterned necklace that wraps around her throat and is encrusted in rubies. Her flowing red satin dress highlights her devilish figure. I would never have known she was related to the Face, if it wasn’t for her eyes. They both have the very same eyes.
“The Wintuks fled because they have a very keen sense of death. They know that there is going to be a whole lot of death here very soon,” Ever says as she lands a few feet away.
Pryor marches up to her, and before she can get close, Ever flicks her wrist and a current of red lightning leaps from her palm and lands in the center of Pryor’s chest.
“Pry,” I shout as I run over to her.
She mumbles that she’s okay.
“Of course she’s okay. What fun would it be to kill her in one little zap?” Ever asks innocently.
“Just because we know your sister doesn’t mean we won’t kill you,” I warn her.
“My sister…everyone thinks she’s so proper and so righteous. Ha! She’s a first-class, grade A bitch!” Ever informs us.
“Okay, she took Fate from you, but that was forever ago. Can’t you let it go?” Diana shouts between labored breaths.
“Oh, I can. And I will. Because I have something she loves. And I’m going to destroy it in front of her. Oh, Barbara, come on out, honey!” she shouts towards the mausoleum. She swings both her hands wide in the air and all four of the mausoleum walls come tumbling down. Standing in the middle of the tomb, tied to a cement pillar, is Ever’s sister, the Face.
Right away we run to help her, but Ever sends her red lightning straight for us. It picks us up off the ground and binds our hands, feet, and wings in the air. Nothing we do loosens the red current holding us captive.
“Barbara, don’t fall asleep now. I know the mixture I gave you is strong, but you’re gonna want to see this for yourself,” Ever informs her sister. She then turns and focuses on us.
“Now, my employer said to keep you all alive because he wants to have the pleasure of killing you. But I don’t know if I can resist,” Ever admits.
“Screw you and your demon boyfriend, Malakaro. I will kill him. I promise you!” Pryor screams.
“Malakaro? No, no, no, dear. He’s stuck in that little bubble. I’m sure he’ll get out and be very upset that my boss got to you all before he did, but, hey, if Malakaro wanted the Noru dead, he should have hired me,” she says with a bright smile.
“Then who hired you?” East demands.
“You know, I really didn’t come to answer questions. I came to put on a show,” Ever replies with a cold laugh.
“You’re gonna end us anyway, so just tell us,” Diana says.
“Fine. My boss is the guy who wants to bathe in your blood. The guy who has earned his retribution the same way I earned mine,” Ever replies.
“So does this dick have a name or what?” I push as Pryor silently signals to me.
“He’s referred to as the Architect, and he wants all of you so bad…it’s a shame, there won’t be much left when I’m done,” Ever says sadly. She then turns her attention to the Face.
“Alright, Babs, it’s showtime!” she says as she sends a strong current at her sister’s chest, shocking her from her mixture-induced haze. The Face wakes up and is horrified to find us bound in midair, about to be killed.
“Ever, don’t. Please!” the Face begs in a weak voice.
“Begging! Yes, that’s good, Babs, but let’s start out properly. Let’s let the kids know what they’re in for. I hear we have a historian with us. Dylan, is it?” Ever asks.
Dylan glares at her but doesn’t respond. Ever zaps Swoop with such force, she howls in agony. “Okay, okay, I’ll do whatever you want. Please don’t hurt her,” Dylan replies.
“See, there. That wasn’t so hard. Now, over the years, I have acquired some very useful powers. But none of them are as much fun as the power I was born with. The humans actually have a garden that replicates my power very well. Care to tell them about it?” Ever says.
“There’s a garden in north London called Alnwick Garden. It’s comprised of the most lethal plants in the world. It has everything from hemlock to ricin. The plants and flowers there are so poisonous, visitors are forbidden to smell, touch, or taste anything. It’s so dangerous that the humans place the plants behind a cage,” Dylan replies.
“And what does that really mean, historian?” Ever asks.
“Ever has a million different kinds of virus inside her. The merciful ones kill instantly. But there are some that could leave you paralyzed; some that could make you hallucinate or, worse, drive you insane,” Dylan adds.
The Face begins to beg Ever again to let us go. Ever enjoys the torment in her sister’s voice and smiles like she’s getting her picture taken.
But as Ever continues to bask in the glow of her evil, something odd starts to happen to me. My strength is returning. I can feel sparks of fire igniting between my fingers. I turn to Pry and right away I can tell she’s feeling the same thing. Her powers are also returning. I look down at the ground and then I begin to understand. We are no longer on the ground, so the sap that inhibits our powers is no longer affecting us. In her eagerness to capture us, Ever took away her advantage without realizing it. Pryor signals to me and wants to know if I’m ready. I’m stronger but still need a little more time. I shake my head no. So she nods and tries to buy us more time.
“I can see why Fate picked her over you. You’re kind of an asshole,” Pryor
says.
Ever blasts her with two hands. I go to retaliate, but even in her pain, Pry shakes her head no. She knows we need more time for our powers to return. But the sound of Pry screaming as her body is electrocuted is pure hell for me.
I will make sure this chick dies screaming.
“Ever! Please. I’m sorry. I’m sorry I hurt you. Please…” the Face begs yet again.
“It’s so unfair to pay all this attention to only one angel. There are so many of you. But don’t worry, I have enough love for you all,” Ever says as she summons a flood of red plasma-like waves at all of us. Our screams fill the sky and make Ever downright giddy.
“Yes! That’s it, kids, let’s have fun!” she says as she blasts us yet again.
“Everly-Ann, take me. Hurt me. Not them. They’re just kids. Please, please,” the Face says, howling for mercy on our behalf.
That’s when I feel it—the spark in my body now has the capacity to be a full-on fireball. I signal to Pryor and she silently agrees—it’s time to strike. She signals to Diana, who starts to tease Ever.
“Hey, bag of crazy, did you ever ask your sister what it is she does better than you? I mean, what does she have that you don’t? I’m guessing a lot of things. For one, she must have killer moves in bed. I mean, Fate is still chasing her ass,” Diana taunts.
Ever, newly enraged, turns to the Face and physically starts to bash in her face.
“Aaden, now!” Pry orders.
I send two fiery orbs at Ever. She dives down to the ground just in time to avoid being set on fire. East, now able to access his whip, throws it out and catches Ever by her neck. He starts to drain her strength.
“We can’t get down. If we do, we’ll lose our powers again,” Diana says.
“I can hold you up, but I need help,” the Face says weakly.
“I got it,” the last Para replies as he forms a glowing orb and sends it towards the Face. The orb strengthens the Face and adds to her ability to move objects. The Face is now removing the red current that binds us and is keeping us airborne.
“You’re a booster. You can enhance other angels’ powers?” East says to the last Para.
“Yeah. Why? Can’t all boy-band members do that?” the Para says bitterly.
The Face places us down on top of the concrete rubble that used to be the walls of the tomb. “You should be okay here,” the Face says, exhausted. We help free her and make sure she’s okay.
Pryor drags Ever by the whip around her neck. “Now, let’s talk,” Pryor says.
“You think it’s over? You don’t know anything. My boss is going to drink your blood and make you pay!” Ever shouts.
“Maybe, but not today. Today, you’re going to tell us where we can find your boss and get the ashes back,” I warn her.
“I’d rather die,” Ever spits.
“Ever, please. Talk,” the Face says.
“Screw. You,” Ever says hysterically.
I grab her by her neck. “You watch how you talk to your sister,” I bark.
“Silver, my favorite tortured soul. The Architect likes you best of all.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” I demand.
“He’s very fond of you. The two of you share such a deep connection.”
“I’ve never met anyone called the Architect. I don’t have any idea who he is,” I shout back at her.
“No, but you are very familiar with his work.”
“Ever, where are the ashes we need to defeat Malakaro?” East roars as he tightens his hold on her.
“You’ll never get it out of me,” she vows.
Pryor kneels down on the ground beside her, their faces only inches apart. “If you don’t tell me who the Architect is and what he did with the ashes, I will kill you. Right here, right now,” Pryor promises.
“You’re prettier up close. I can see why the Akon offspring married you. You think he loves you, don’t you? Idiot. They don’t know how to love. No one does. Guess I’ll have to show you,” she says as she blows Pryor a kiss. She exhales, and red snowflake-like fragments emerge from her mouth and land on Pryor’s face. We are expecting blood and guts or whatever crazy things her viruses do. But nothing happens.
“That’s it? That’s the best you got?” Pryor says.
Ever just laughs.
“I really tried with you, Ever, I really did. You just couldn’t bring yourself to let go,” the Face says sadly.
Ever looks up at her older sister with ire and shouts from the depths of her soul.
“It’s been years. You are my little sister. I love you. Why? Why can’t you let this go?” the Face pleads.
“I LOVED HIM AND YOU TOOK HIM FROM ME! I WON’T STOP HUNTING THE NORU DOWN BECAUSE YOU CARE ABOUT THEM. I WILL KILL THEM. IF NOT TODAY, THEN TOMORROW OR THE NEXT DAY. I WILL NEVER STOP! I DON’T CARE HOW LONG—” A pair of large shears cuts through the air with deadly precision and embeds itself in the middle of her forehead. I look over at the being who fatally stabbed Ever—the Face.
She looks back at us and explains her actions in a sad, but resolved tone. “No one threatens my family.”
As we start to gather Swoop and Diana, both of whom are badly wounded, my conversation with Ever comes back to me. And as we make our way to the clinic in Hawaii, I can’t help but think there’s something I’m missing. Ever’s words come back to me.
“Silver, my favorite tortured soul. The Architect likes you best of all.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” I demand.
“The Architect is very fond of you. The two of you share such a deep connection.”
“I’ve never met anyone called the Architect. I don’t have any idea who he is,” I shout back at her.
“No, but you are very familiar with his work.”
We enter the clinic and right away the Healers begin to tend to us. But my mind is still on Ever. What did she mean when she said I was familiar with the Architect’s work? The answer comes to me suddenly. It brings with it a sharp coldness. I’m shaking, but I don’t realize it until East points it out. The room is going in circles. There’s a pain in my chest that makes it hard to remain standing. Pryor walks over to me.
“Aaden, what’s wrong? What is it?”
“The Architect,” I reply breathlessly.
“You know who the Architect is?” Diana asks as the Healer fusses over her wounds.
“No, I don’t know who he is, but I know what he designed…” I reply as the color drains from my face.
Pryor makes me sit down; she places her hand in mine. She speaks with a deeply concerned voice. “Aaden, tell me; what did the Architect design?”
“The White Room.”
Flashes of the White Room bombard me. I try to block them out and focus on the present. I remind myself that the Center has been destroyed and that everything is fine now. But that doesn’t stop my thoughts from traveling back. Suddenly, in my mind, I see the stark white room where I was forced to watch Pryor die over and over again.
I flash back to all the times she “died” in the cruel simulations played out in the White Room. There were times Pry died by fire. Times she died of blood loss and other times where there were pieces of her on the ground. I run to her and press my hand against her wound, but I can’t stop the bleeding. I see her blood spreading out on the cold floor, and in the middle of the puddle, I spot my reflection laughing at me. It’s repeating the same thing over and over again.
“You will always lose what you love. Always.”
“AADEN!” Pryor shouts, ripping me back from my horrid thoughts.
“I’m here,” I reply, looking around the room. The Healers are fussing over us. They’ve managed to fix our wounds and stop the bleeding but warn us as they exit the room.
“Your team needs to recuperate,” the head Healer suggests.
“Yeah, we will,” Swoop replies.
“Are you okay?” Pry asks me.
“Yes, I’m good,” I mumble.
“Are you
sure the Architect built the White Room?” Diana asks.
“Yes, I’m sure,” I reply.
“That means this guy is skilled with mind games and we are screwed,” Swoop says.
“I feel like we haven’t gotten anywhere,” East confesses.
“We know who Ever was working for, and we can use that info to our advantage,” Diana replies.
“Diana’s right. We need to comb the streets and see what we can find out about the Architect. Who is this guy? Why does he want to kill us?” Swoop says.
“Whatever his reasons, they must be personal,” Pryor says.
“I was thinking the same thing. The Architect went through a lot of trouble to get the ashes and draw your team to him. I’m guessing he has plans for you all,” Dylan adds.
“And you’ve never heard of him before?” Diana asks Dylan.
“No, but I can go back and check my files again,” he offers.
“That would be good, but I also need you to see what you can find out about the virus that Ever gave to Pry,” I reply.
“The Healers looked me over and they said I’m fine. I show no signs of a virus at all,” Pryor reminds me.
“That doesn’t mean you’re okay. I know she did something to you. She’s a walking poison garden. She wouldn’t have bothered to blow you a kiss if it wasn’t going to hurt you in some way,” I reason.
“Silver has a point, Pry. She blew you a kiss and we saw red snowflakes, and I’m guessing they weren’t there to wish you a merry Christmas. Dylan, please go and have a look for us,” Swoop says.
“Absolutely. Oh, and about what I said in the graveyard about us getting married…” Dylan begins.
“Yes?” Swoop says as if expecting him to change his mind.
“How do you feel about a winter wedding? I mean, everyone likes spring, but winter has always held more wonder in my opinion. What do you think?” he asks her.
