by Lola StVil
“The shock takes a while to get past.”
“What about everything else? I’m not over my little brother. It’s been years. So how can I get over…”
“You won’t. Not for a long time. Honestly, it will never be all better. But it will be…manageable some days, and other days…”
“Aaden, what do I do now? How do I…”
“I know what you have to do.”
“Tell me,” she begs.
I really fucking hate this…
“I need you to do something that’s not in your nature—I need you to walk away from the team and let me lead,” I say carefully.
“What? Why?” she says, leaping to her feet.
“Because you need time. Not just some weekend somewhere. You need real time to get back on track.”
“No! I’m not going to walk away from my team.”
“It won’t be forever.”
“So what exactly is the plan here? I leave my team when they need me most and then what? Do crosswords in my PJs? Catch up on The X-Files reboot? Update my Facebook status?”
“Pry—”
“Wait! I know—I can go online and join the heated debate. Tell me where you stand, Aaden: Who makes the best comics? DC or Marvel?”
“I need you to be serious.”
“I am not leaving my team.”
“I know it’s not what you want, but it is what has to happen.”
“Why?”
“Because you need time away.”
“This is the worst time to go away. I’m not like you, Aaden. I can’t just walk away from the beings that I claim to love.”
“That is not fair.”
“No, but it’s true. You want me to abandon the team like you have abandoned us in the past,” she replies.
“This isn’t the same thing.”
“Yes, it is.”
“No, it’s not!” I plead.
“You want me to walk away from the team, just like you walked away from us—because it was so easy for you.”
“THERE WAS NOTHING EASY ABOUT WALKING AWAY FROM THE TEAM, AND THERE DAMN SURE WAS NOTHING EASY ABOUT WALKING AWAY FROM US,” I shout as I stand up to face her.
“THEN WHY DID YOU DO IT SO FUCKING OFTEN?”
“I have been wrong to leave in the past, but you leaving the team now isn’t wrong; it’s the right thing to do.”
“And why is that, Aaden? Did you enjoy leading the team when I was taken? Is that it? You enjoyed it so much you now want to overthrow me?”
“Do you seriously think that?” I demand.
“Then what the hell is it? Why do I have to go away?”
“BECAUSE OF THIS!” I reply as I slide my tee shirt up so she can see the fresh twelve-inch gaping wound on my side. The gash goes clean through my skin and down to the bone.
“Oh my Omnis! What happened? Who did that?” she begs.
“You did. You were sleeping and you had a nightmare. You struck me in the chest. I moved away in time, but you made contact with my left side.”
“I did that?” She gasps.
“Yeah.”
“Oh my Omnis. How could I…” She flops down on the edge of the bed with her head in her hands and starts to cry.
“It’s okay. You didn’t mean it. I know that. And it’s healing. I’ll be fine in a few days. I took a whole pouch full of mixtures. I’ll be fine.”
“I am so sorry.”
“I know you are, and I don’t blame you. But you need to go somewhere to get help. You have too much power not to be in complete control of it. I don’t care that you attacked me, but I know you. And if you end up hurting someone on the team or a human, you won’t be able to live with yourself. You have every right to lose your shit right now. But the screwed-up fact is when you lose it…”
“The ones I love get hurt,” she says as she makes eye contact with me.
“Yeah.”
“Why can’t I just stay here a little longer with you? The two of us together can help me get back on track,” she suggests.
“I’d give anything to stay here and hold you for as long as it takes, but this can’t be about…us. It has to be about you.”
“You really want me to go away?” she asks in a whisper.
No, I want you to stay here with me, making love until we shatter all the windows in the state of New York.
“Yes, I want you to go—to get better,” I reply out loud.
“I don’t even know where I would go.”
“When my dad lost my mom, Mrs. Maybelle made him go to get counseling at this place in Australia called Sanctuary Harbor. My dad hated it at first. He says there were too many flowers and girl things. He also hated being forced to reflect and talk about his feelings to the Quo counselor there. But when he got out, it changed him. He didn’t walk around with a goofy look on his face and do yoga or anything, but it helped.
“My dad wasn’t always in control of his powers. This place helped. They are Quo, so they have powers and know what a burden it can be. They are contractually sworn not to repeat whatever it is you tell them or a very painful outcome awaits them.”
“Did you go there when you lost Sparks?”
“I did, but not right away like I should have.”
“What was it like?”
“Too many flowers and the artwork sucks. But it helped. It made me focus on the good things in my life, like my dad and you.”
“What about my mom and—”
“I already spoke to her. She thinks it’s a good idea and so does the team.”
“How long would I have to stay?”
“It’s not a punishment, Pry. It’s help. You can stay as long as you need to.”
We fly to Australia, but she asks that we drive up to Sanctuary House instead of fly. She says it’s so she can enjoy the view of the ocean, but I think it’s also a way to prolong the good-bye. I’m all for it. On the ride there, we are mostly silent. We take in the ocean air and cool breeze. It’s so easy to pretend like we are just two people out for a nice drive, and so we do.
But soon we pull up the circular driveway that leads to the sprawling beachfront mansion. There are orbs circling the property. They float in the air and form patterns that add to the mystique. But the orbs aren’t just decoration. Should anyone try to enter, they emit a surge of power a hundred times more lethal than electricity. This place is safe.
“It’s beautiful,” she says sadly as tears spring to her eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
“Am I a failure?” she asks.
“What? No. Why would you say that?”
“Because I need help to control my powers. Who does that? Why am I so weak?”
“Pryor, listen to me. You are not weak. You are by far the strongest being I know.”
“Then why do I need help?”
“Because the guy who taught you how to fly, how to battle, how to stand up for yourself and your team is gone. It’s okay to be lost. It’s okay to fumble in the dark; it’s okay because that darkness is not forever. And when it starts to lift, you will find your way back to us.”
“How do you know that?” she says as the tears spill down her face.
“You are Marcus Cane’s daughter. That’s how I know.”
A figure appears out of thin air behind the floating white gate. The figure is a woman in her late fifties. She wears a flowing dress and has a big smile. She waves her hand and the orbs stay still, allowing entrance.
“Pryor Cane, we’ve been expecting you. I’m Molly. And I can’t wait to show you around,” she says in a warm voice.
We get out of the car and she greets Molly.
“Well, are you ready to come with me?” Molly asks.
Pry looks back at me; I smile reassuringly.
She sees past it; she knows I hate to let her go. She knows it’s killing me. She reaches out and embraces me. I hold on to her, tight. There’s no way around it, she has to go inside and I have to let her. When we pull apart, we can’t look away fr
om each other.
“I’m sorry, but we really should go. There’s a lot for me to show her,” Molly says gently.
“Yeah, okay,” I reply.
Pryor steps away from me and goes towards Molly. Not wanting to watch her go, I turn and start to walk to the car. Then she calls after me. “Aaden!” she calls out from behind the now rotating orb gate.
I turn to face her.
“I’m gonna be okay, right?”
“Yeah, babe. You’re gonna be just fine.”
She smiles, but there’s no joy in it. Soon she disappears behind the large ivory doors of Sanctuary Harbor.
I head back to the car and keep reminding myself that I did the right thing. But while it may have been right to send her away, I feel like crap about it. What if I’m wrong? What if not being near us only causes her further damage? What if being here makes her go from fractured to outright broken?
“You look like you could use a drink,” Swoop says as she lands a few yards away. Before I can reply, the entire team has appeared on the property, everyone except Diana.
“What are you guys doing here?” I ask.
“We thought you and Pry should say good-bye alone. But we also thought maybe the ride back home would kind of suck without her, so we’re here to fly back with you,” Swoop says.
“Being a mom has softened you. It’s a shame,” East jokes.
“So, Pry’s gone?” Randy asks.
“Yeah,” I reply, avoiding eye contact.
“Okay, okay, put away those puppy eyes. I’ll buy you a drink,” East offers.
“Where’s Diana?” I ask.
“She thinks she’s found something, and she wanted to stay and follow up on it,” Swoop says.
“Are you sure that place is safe?” Randy asks.
“Hell yeah. I wouldn’t have left her there otherwise,” I remind him.
“Yeah, okay…” Randy says reluctantly.
East turns to me and sees the conflicted look on my face. So he calls out to me, “C’mon, interim leader, let’s go get that drink.”
I’ve had to send the girl I love away, I have no real leads to finding Malakaro, and we still have no idea why the mixture didn’t work. So, needless to say, this whole day has been crap. So it’s only fitting that my least favorite guy is waiting for me at the safe house when I get there.
“What is it?” I ask the Kon standing in between the doorway and me.
“You sent her away? Seriously?”
“It’s what was best for her.”
“Really? Are you sure it’s not what was best for you?” he pushes.
Man, I hate this guy. I don’t know how I managed to stop myself from killing him all these years, but he’s really pushing his luck right now.
“She’s getting the help she needs,” I inform him.
“You sent her off and didn’t tell anyone?”
“I told all the angels that needed to know. I told her team and her family. What the hell is your issue?”
“I don’t get it. I don’t know what it is she sees in you. All you do is destroy things. You take off on her whenever you choose. She finally knows enough to stay away from you, and you wait for her to be happy, then come and shit on it. But you swear you love her. What is with you?”
“You know what, Bex, do me a favor, stop acting like you came here to talk about Pryor. You came here because you wanted to confront me about sleeping with your girl when you were gone. Don’t hide behind a pretense. That makes you a coward, and I never pictured you as that. A first-class dick, yes. But never a coward.”
He tackles me and sends me crashing to the ground. I land on my wounded side and swear as the pain travels all along my body. I don’t even remember summoning the fireballs, but there they are in my hands and, soon, in the air headed towards Bex’s face. He ducks just in time, but I send twice as many fiery orbs his way.
“I’m sure you waited until Pry was so emotional she didn’t know what she wanted. Then you came along and told her you’d ‘make it better.’ Is that what happened?”
“Screw you! You really need to take my warning; shut up, Bex.”
“Tell me, is that the Silver secret to nailing so many girls? You wait for their defenses to go down and then pounce on them like some damn animal? Oh, but wait, something’s not right. She didn’t come to you, did she? We have been broken up, yet she hasn’t said anything about wanting to be with you. Wow, so what does that feel like? Knowing she was free to be with anyone, yet she never said a word about getting back with you,” Bex says as he studies me.
“That’s it. I’m done playing games with you!” I yell as I lift him above my head and hurl him across the street. He manages to land on his feet and sends a series of white orbs in my direction. I dodge all but one, which lands right in the middle of my wound.
You have to be fucking kidding me!
“I hope that didn’t hurt, Silver; I don’t want you to pass out before we can have more fun,” Bex announces as he forms a glowing circle the size of a beach ball above my head. I roll away in the nick of time, but the flesh on my shoulder is now burning off thanks to the intensity of Bex’s Powerball.
I decide that setting Bex on fire is too good an end for him. So I summon a curved nine-inch blade with spikes on the end. It appears above my head. I grab it just as Bex comes after me. This time, I stop him by skillfully cutting across the air with my blade and slicing into his midsection. The gash isn’t deep, but it’s long and bleeds enough to slow the Kon down.
“What the hell is going on?” Diana shouts as she lands behind us.
“He sent Pryor away so he could have the time he needs to bed the rest of his harem.”
“Not that it’s any of your damn business, Bex, I’m not screwing anyone!”
“Really? So let me guess: when Belle left your room with wobbly legs, glassy eyes, and a smile on her face, it was because you two were on your knees in prayer?” Bex replies.
“Belle? Are you hooking up with Belle again?” Diana asks in a disapproving tone.
“Are you having me watched?” I counter.
“That’s right. I don’t trust you,” Bex declares.
“Are you hooking up with Belle, Silver?” Diana asks again.
“No, she just came over—”
“We all know what she came to do, Silver. Maybe that’s all you’re good at—screwing. Maybe I shouldn’t be upset with you; maybe it’s the only thing you’ve ever been good at.” Bex snorts.
“You know, I had a really crappy day, and I don’t want to clean up any blood from my front door. So I am warning you; get the hell away from me. And tell your Para assholes if I see them, I’m gonna host a Para BBQ,” I vow.
“BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP!” Diana rages.
Bex and I glare at each other, orbs in hand, ready to attack yet again.
“Bex, you’re an idiot. You fell for a girl who was so clearly not yours. I’m sure there are other girls…stupid girls who don’t know any better than to actually want to be with you. And Silver, how many girls are gonna come out of that closet of yours called ‘the past’?”
“Nothing happened with Belle,” I insist.
“I don’t give a damn what did or didn’t happen. The point is no girls should be coming out of your room, especially not that ego-driven, self-centered, bleach-blonde bobblehead,” Diana scolds. Nix gets excited, and her markings start glowing.
“Nix, back to sleep. Mommy is scolding some kids right now,” Diana says.
“Diana, I know you didn’t come here for this. So what did you come for?” I ask.
“I came here to tell you something important. Yet I had to spend ten minutes playing referee. Is it safe to assume you two are done?” she says impatiently.
“Yeah, we got it. You hate us.”
“No, Bex. I don’t,” she says, looking into his eyes.
What the hell is happening here?
“Diana, out with it!” I snap.
“I finally figured out why the mix
ture didn’t work on Malakaro,” she replies excitedly.
“Great, why?” I ask.
“Because it only works on beings with natural powers,” she says.
“Wait, what are you saying?” Bex replies.
“I’m saying, while Malakaro does have basic abilities, someone gave Malakaro his extreme powers. Guys, he has a Maker. There are dozens of vials out there that can link a Maker to his creation,” Diana pushes.
“So you’re saying we kill the Maker, we kill Malakaro,” Bex replies.
“Yes!” she replies, beaming.
I look over at Bex; the two of us are past our issues, for now. Although he remains silent, I know Bex is thinking the very same thing I am. We both ask the question at almost the same time:
“Who the hell made Malakaro?”
Chapter Twenty-Six:
no Matter What
(Please note: mature content ahead. Younger readers can skip this chapter without missing any plot points.)
The good news is that the list of beings powerful enough to be the Maker is short. However, getting that list is proving to be an issue. The Kon has refused to tell us which Paras in his kingdom are capable of that kind of power. According to him, there is no way a Para would ever give powers to Malakaro. He’s certain our hunt needs to involve demons and demons only.
“Bex, we’re not saying one of your Paras is the Maker. We’re saying give us a chance to exclude them by letting us get our hands on the list,” Swoop says as she paces up and down the alley where we are meeting the Kon in secret.
“Swoop, it’s not that I don’t want to help; you know I do. But I can’t just hand over a list of our most powerful angels. A list that also has their locations,” Bex counters.
“Bex, what do you think will happen to the Paras on the list? Do you see us swimming in their blood and laughing? I mean, c’mon. We’re only looking for the Maker,” Randy pleads.
“I have to keep my Paras safe. And in case you forgot, Silver has murdered more than his share of Paras, including my brother. So excuse me if I’m not quick to place their lives in the hands of the Noru,” Bex spits.
