by Lola StVil
“I’ve waited for this for a while now. Today you die, bitch,” he vows as he pins me to the wall with one hand and summons a Powerball with his other.
“Maybe, but not by your hands,” I reply as I jab the fork between his legs. He drops me instantly and wails. I rush over to East and drag him out of harm’s way. Suddenly, the elevator door opens to reveal Aaden and Diana inside. They quickly join the battle.
“Check on Swoop and Randy!” I order.
“Swoop’s okay,” Aaden says as he helps her get inside a small storage closet.
“Randy’s okay too!” Diana shouts from a few yards away.
“Good, now take him out of here!” I reply.
“You need me,” she yells.
“Randy is all that matters right now. Keep him safe,” I order.
Diana takes Randy in her arms and flies out the window. A bald demon with a nose ring grabs Aaden out of the closet and sends him flying down the hall. He then viciously begins stomping on Aaden mercilessly. East signals it’s okay to leave him alone, so I dart over to Aaden’s side. I grab a mop from the storage closet and crack it in two over my knee. I ram the jagged rod in between the demon’s ribs and hear his rib crack. Again he howls, but it doesn’t stop him.
He stops kicking Aaden long enough to send a powerful blow to my midsection. Once again, I’m airborne. When I land, my head hits the floor so hard, my vision is blurry. The pain ringing in my skull tells me death is not too far off.
Shit! Why are demons so damn strong? Oh yeah, they aren’t stronger, I’m just weaker. Screw it, weak or not, I’m gonna kill this asshole! No power doesn’t mean powerless!
I open the door to the room near me. It’s empty. There’s only a bed and a mounted TV. I can’t lift the bed, so I’m out of luck. I look inside the next room and still nothing I can use as a weapon.
“C’mon, c’mon, c’mon!” I shout frantically as I enter the third room. Thankfully it’s a surgery room.
“Yes!” I cheer as I scour the tray of metal instruments. I pick the sharpest objects I can find, including a pair of curved scissors and a scalpel. I run back out into the hallway. Aaden is one blow away from meeting his end. My chest tightens and rage engulfs me.
“Hey! I thought you and I had something going? Don’t tell me you’ve moved on,” I say to the killer before me. He smiles and turns his attention to me. He quickly rams me into the wall. He hits me with such force the tools in my hand fall to the floor.
Fuck!
“What was that you had to say, little girl?” he asks, only inches away from my face.
“She said die!” Easton shouts as he takes the scalpel from the floor and sinks it into the bald demon’s temple. The blood seeps out from his head and onto the scalpel. Black blood drips down from the tip of the scalpel like sap from a tree. The demon dies with shock on his face.
I want to thank East for the last-minute rescue, but it takes too much effort to talk. From the corner of my eye, I can see Aaden start to recover and pull himself off the floor. Swoop and East have managed to take down the remaining demons by working together. There’s yet another demon near me, but he has a serious gash on the side of his head. His death must have been painful.
There’s only one demon left, and he’s on the floor with his head cracked open. He’s about to die. Yet as he lies helpless on the floor, he starts laughing. Aaden stumbles over to him and asks him what’s so damn funny. He whispers his reply as he coughs up blood.
“You’re lying!” Aaden shouts.
“It’s true! It’s all true!” the demon says as his body goes still. He dies with a smile on his face.
“What is it, Aaden? What did the demon—” I never finish my question because without warning the demon beside me with the gash performs one last act before giving in to his injuries; he aims a Powerball at a canister of oxygen. The building explodes.
We are all heaved into the air with nothing to catch us. We flare our arms and legs wildly as the wind whips around us. The ground is seconds away. Even if someone were to catch us, they couldn’t catch us all.
This is it.
This is how we end.
Suddenly, just a few feet away from a deadly landing, something holds me up. Something holds us all up—wings.
We have wings!
I hear the team laughing as they float next to me. Everyone is weak with relief as they flutter around. I order them to land, and soon we are back safely on the ground. I open my palm, and I watch in amazement as the power over life and death returns to me. It’s not just me. Swoop is doing handstands and backflips at super speed. We all have our powers back!
“Thank you, Omnis! Thank you!” I cry out.
We all hug each other tightly and exhale with newfound hope. But I look over at Aaden, and his joy is short-lived.
“Aaden, what is it?”
“The demon who was laughing…he said this was just the beginning and that the one who sent him to destroy us will keep sending more until we are all dead. I asked him who sent them.”
“He said Malakaro, right?” Swoop asks.
“No,” he replies.
“Then who? Aaden, who sent them to kill us?” I ask.
“Bex.”
Chapter Five:
The new Order
When Aaden says my boyfriend’s name, a hush falls over the group. It feels as if the whole world has gone still. There’s a cold wind that comes from nowhere and settles itself in the center of my chest. I fold my arms across my chest and bite my lower lip so I can feel something other than shock.
“Are you sure that’s what the demon said?” East asks.
“Yeah, he said it was Bex who sent him. He got the contract with the seal of the Kon,” Aaden confirms.
“No, not Bex. He wouldn’t do this. He’d never come after us. Never,” Swoop says.
“I want to agree with you, but so much has happened in the past few missions. And not all the Paras love us,” East cautions.
“We’re not talking about ‘all the Paras,’ we’re talking about Bex, and he would never do that! Tell them, Pry,” Swoop says.
“We have no proof that it’s him. We only have the word of a demon,” I reply, deep in thought.
“So are you saying there is no way this could have been done by Bex?” East asks.
“It’s not likely,” I whisper.
“That doesn’t sound very reassuring,” East informs me.
“Well, I’m sorry, okay? I’m trying to grasp this situation.”
“Well, Pry, grasp quicker,” East snaps.
“What is your problem?” I ask him.
“We need to know who we can trust. I expected you to say ‘hell no, Bex would not do that,’ but you’re standing here looking less than convinced. So it’s scaring me, okay?”
“East, I’m pretty sure Bex would never do anything to hurt us. Bex loves me, but…”
“But what?” East pushes.
“I’VE BEEN HURT BY ANGELS WHO SAY THEY LOVE ME BEFORE!”
Everyone on the team turns their focus to Aaden. Crap, I didn’t mean to blurt that out. I’ve just made a bad situation even worse. Aaden looks at me with a mix of anger and hurt.
“Aaden, I didn’t mean…”
“It’s fine. Let’s just stay focused, okay?” he says curtly.
“Do you think Bex could have done this?” Swoop asks him.
“Bird, there are a lot of things that have gone down that I never thought would actually happen. And I’m not the best fan of the Kon. Or the Paras, for that matter. And I think anyone is capable of anything. But right here, right now, I would have to say no, Bex wouldn’t do this.”
“Well, let’s hope not. But if he did, I think you should put him on punishment. No sex for a year,” East jokes.
“Yeah, right, like they could go two hours without doing it,” Swoop jokes.
“You two need to stop and stay focused like Aaden said. Besides we haven’t even—never mind,” I reply, catching myself way too l
ate.
“You and Bex haven’t…?” Aaden asks with growing interest.
“We didn’t want to because I was human and we weren’t sure it was safe,” I reply, then clear my throat and look away.
“So now that you’re no longer human, guess I’m going to have to buy some noise-cancelling headphones, huh?” Swoop says.
“That is if he didn’t just try to kill us,” East reminds her.
“We would never do it in the house, and why are we even talking about this now? Or ever? We need to figure out who sent those demons if it wasn’t Bex,” I reply.
“Shit, we gotta go! Now!” Aaden says as he looks down at his phone and takes to the air.
“Hey, what is it? What’s wrong?” I ask as we all take off after him.
“Your house is on fire!”
We watch helplessly as blue flames engulf my home. The flames are not natural. They have been generated with powers. They are contained to only my house, and because of the kind of flames they are, they will continue to burn for days.
“What the hell happened?” I ask Diana.
“After I flew Randy out of the hospital, I headed here and found it like this,” she says.
“Did you get Randy to safety?” Swoop asks.
“Yes, I took him to the clinic. He’s fine,” Diana assures her.
“Who did this?” East wonders.
“I’m guessing demons, right?” Swoop replies.
“I don’t think so. You see the symbol that’s embedded in the smoke?” Diana asks.
At first we are puzzled by what she sees. It’s only when we look closer at the flames that we see a pattern in the smoke, a series of broken triangles and circles that repeat as my home burns.
“What does it mean?” I ask.
“I don’t know,” Aaden admits.
“I’ve seen this form of writing before. It’s called Cueko. It’s a language that only a Para can understand,” Diana says.
“Then we need a Para here. Damn it, where the hell is Bex?” I shout, unable to contain my frustration.
“Have you tried calling him?”
“No, Swoop, I’ve been hoping to reach him telepathically,” I snap.
“Hey, I didn’t set the house on fire, can we back off me!”
“Sorry. It’s just that I’ve been trying to reach Bex, and he’s not picking up his phone. And my house is being swallowed by fire that doesn’t fear water and can’t ever be destroyed,” I reply.
“We can put the house back together, right?” East says.
“How? The blue flames will keep going. How can we repair a house that’s always on fire?” I ask.
“It won’t always be on fire, but yeah, it will burn for a very long time,” Aaden says.
“So if these symbols are only readable by Paras, it means it’s a message to them,” Swoop says.
“It means more than that, Bird,” Aaden says.
“Silver’s right; Cueko can only be written by Paras. It looks simple, but it’s not. It’s very complex,” Diana replies.
“So you’re saying Paras set my house on fire and left a message for other Paras?” I ask.
“Yeah, looks like it,” Diana confirms.
“Perfect! This is just perfect!” I rage as I take out my phone once again and call Bex.
“Bex, it’s me! You need to call me back! This is important! I have no idea what’s happening, and I…call me back!” I shout into my cell, then hang up.
“We have to find a way to keep the humans back,” East says as the sirens from the emergency vehicles get closer to us.
“Hello,” East says as he places his cell to his ear.
“Whoever it is, they need to call you back. We need to get the humans away from this place,” Swoop says.
“What? When?” East shouts into the phone.
“What is it?” Aaden asks before I can.
“Okay, we’ll be right there!” East says as he hangs up.
“Wait, we can’t leave the area!” I shout at him as he takes off.
“Call your dad and have him come here and secure the humans. We have to go to the school,” East shouts down at us.
“What the hell is going on at the school?” Diana asks.
“It’s on fire!”
The fire raging at the school is much bigger than the one at my house. As we land, we watch hundreds of students fleeing the building. The Face is among the group of people trying to ensure that everyone gets out safely. But the crowd is in such a frenzy many of the students are getting trampled. We quickly take action and help the students get out.
“Look!” Swoop says as she helps one of the lunch ladies through the smoke-filled hallway and out into fresh air. I follow her gaze and see the Cueko symbols appear just like they did back at the house.
“The Paras set the school on fire!” Swoop says in utter disbelief.
“This is beyond crazy. Paras don’t hurt humans. What the hell is happening?” Diana asks.
“Whatever it is, it’s not just here and at the house. My dad just texted me; someone blew our house up too,” Aaden says.
“What? Is Uncle Rage—”
“He’s okay. He got out in time,” Aaden assures me.
“What about my mom? Was she with him? Is she okay?” East says as he starts to take off into the sky.
“My dad went over there, and her house was already in flames.”
“Is she dead? Is my mom dead? Is she?”
“No! East, she’s with my dad. He got her out in time,” Aaden says, placing a hand on Easton’s shoulder.
“I have to go see her,” East says.
“No, my dad thinks the best thing to do is lie low until they can figure out what’s going on,” Aaden replies
“Like hell! The Paras almost killed my mom. I’m going after them!” East says, taking to the air yet again.
“Easton, you will get back down here now,” I order.
Reluctantly, he lands and glares at me.
“I know you want to see your mom, just like Aaden wants to see his dad, but right now, we need to help these humans. That’s our job. Am I clear?”
“Yes,” Easton says through clenched teeth.
As the team goes off in different directions to help the students, I call out to all of them before they go, “I don’t know what’s going on, but until we find out, you run across any Paras, be prepared to attack.”
“Any Paras? Even Bex?” Swoop asks.
“Yes,” I reply as Aaden and I exchange a grave look of concern. I signal to him to look after the team as they help the humans. He nods in agreement. He looks like he’s about to say something, but then he thinks better of it and goes off to help the others. I pull out my cell and call Bex one more time.
“Bex, it’s me—again. I don’t know what’s happening, but I need you to call me back. I’m not calling you as a leader right now. I’m calling as your girlfriend. I need you.”
As I hang up the phone and turn around, I realize Aaden has been watching me. He overheard what I said. My words seem to carve into his chest, leaving him wounded and angry. I would like to say something to make it better, but there is nothing left to say for the two of us. I’m with Bex now. And I think I made the right decision. He’s the one I belong with.
If that’s so, Pry, where the hell is he when you need him?
It’s nightfall by the time we get all the humans secured. Uncle Rage takes the team to a safe house he owns off the coast of Madagascar. We’re here with Winter and the Face. We’re all scouring the Internet and making calls to figure what the hell is happening.
Soon Uncle Rage takes off to meet with a contact of his who might be able to shed some light on what’s happening since the board members refuse to return his calls. I had Diana go get Randy from the clinic. I watch now as the two of them walk up the steps and enter the two-story, nondescript home.
Randy looks healthy again. You’d never know that he almost died. But no matter how good he looks, all I can recall is t
he moment I thought he was dead and the rage that overtook me when I realized he’d tried to kill himself and leave me alone. Everyone is happy to see him except me. I stand back and make no attempts to get closer.
“Hi, Pry,” he says in a small voice.
“Hi.”
“Look, about what happened…”
“I don’t need apologies. I just want to know one thing: Are you back? Is my Randy back?” I ask.
He takes out a small jewelry box and opens it in front of me. Inside are two identical necklaces, each with a gold pendant shaped like half a frog.
“I had it made earlier today. You get one half and I get the other,” he says.
“I thought you were too old for Mr. Frog?” I reply.
“What the hell do I know?” he says with a big warm smile.
“Thank you,” I reply as I reach out for the pendant.
“Sorry I was such a jerk,” Randy says.
“Um…you went past jerk and right into ‘full-on dick’ mode,” East says.
“Easton, language!” the Face scolds.
“He’s right, you sucked real hard for a while there, Nerd. But it’s cool. Glad to have you back,” Swoop says as she hugs him.
“Hey, he’s my best friend, I get the first hug,” I protest as I hold him tightly.
“I’ve missed you, you just don’t know how much,” I say as I try to steady my shaking voice.
“Same here. I’m glad to be back to normal. Or whatever passes as normal these days,” he says.
“Yes, and you came back just in time to watch the world burn,” Swoop says.
“Yeah, I heard. Are the fires still going on?” Randy asks.
“Yeah, the humans have no idea how to stop it. Thankfully it’s a contained fire, but it will continue to burn,” Aaden says.
