by Lola StVil
“Why didn’t we vet him? I remember scolding East because he didn’t vet Mel, and this whole time Spider has been…”
“I know, babe. The whole thing is really messed up.”
“Do you think if we found out about him sooner, we could have stopped…”
“Pry, I don’t think anything could have stopped your dad from dying. I think giving up his life for yours was, for Marcus, a worthwhile death. He died the way I want to—protecting the one I love.”
“This entire time Alfred, or should I say the Maker, has been the power behind Malakaro. We’re going in there and ending him once and for all. We end the Maker and this all stops now. We save humanity and Randy,” Pryor tells us.
“What if Randy’s not in there anymore?” East says.
“I can’t think about that. Let’s just go and catch a Spider,” Pryor orders as we burst into the bar.
The seven or so demons that are there die within seconds. Swoop snaps two of their heads off. East and I stamp three in the head until they burst open. Diana “kisses” the remaining demons, sucking their lives away without much effort. Spider turns around on his stool, the whole team surrounding him. He gives us a bright, flashy grin. He’s not scared at all. In fact, he’s grateful to have an audience.
“Hello, Alfred,” Pryor says.
“We don’t have to be so formal. It’s me, Spider. Your favorite peon,” he says.
“All this time, you were with us just so you could check on us and report to Malakaro?” Swoop says.
“Jason and I needed to know what his favorite team was up to. As his best friend, I had to do my part. You understand, don’t you?” he asks.
“And why aren’t you out helping your friend?” I ask.
“I will be, but first I thought I would have a celebratory drink. Want to join me?” Alfred asks.
“And what the hell are you celebrating?” East demands.
“That the bitch is dead. And far more important than that, she was killed by the very son she chose to stay with.”
“Why didn’t you just tell Randy who you were?” Pryor asks.
“Why? Did you think I came here to get to know that loser? Do you think I wanted him in my life? All I ever wanted was revenge. That’s all anyone who was left behind ever wants. Jason and I worked for years to get to this moment. We even sacrificed our friendship by never being seen in the same place at the same time. Well, at least not seen in my human form.”
“Alfred, you did this just to get back at your mom, but that doesn’t make sense. She left Randy too. He was a victim just like you,” I remind him.
“HE’S NOTHING LIKE ME!” Alfred says, losing his cool for the first time since we entered the bar. He glares at us and curls his lips with hatred.
“She had two sons and chose to throw one away. Just like that asshole Marcus. I spent years of my life wondering what I did to make her give me up. At least Jason went to a home with Quos. Living with half angels is better than living with humans. Do you know how much it sucked to hide my power to transform? I had to suppress who I was every fucking day of my life because that bitch picked the wrong son!”
“Your mom gave up on Randy too,” Swoop begs.
“Only because I made her. I threatened to slice her useless son’s face open while he slept. And for good measure, I promised her that I would take that pathetic husband of hers out too. Unless she went away—forever. But then she came back; guess she heard about Marcus and knew that Jason and I were close to our end game.”
“And what exactly is your end game?” Pry asks.
“Contrary to popular belief, Jason and I aren’t evil. We are…seekers of justice. All we want to do is make the ones who dared to leave us pay. Yes, I could have killed my mother a long time ago, but how sweet is it that she was murdered by her son? The very same one she chose to keep. I saw when poor old Randy turned evil. It was so sweet. And as soon as that weak-ass force fails completely, Randy will officially be gone.”
“That means he’s not dead yet. That means he’s in there somewhere,” Pry says, turning to me with hope in her voice.
“Aw, that’s so sweet. You do realize that the reason the world is going to end is because you wouldn’t put your big-girl underwear on, right? I mean, if you had just killed Randy, we would not be here. You angels are so weak and predictable. Frankly, I expected more from the First Noru. I thought you’d kill Randy, but you didn’t…ah, so sad.”
“You learned to hide your powers when you were living with humans; that’s how you were able to hide it from us,” Diana says.
“Yes, little Kaster. I did,” Alfred mocks.
“Millions of innocent people are going to die all because you have mother issues?” I shout.
“Oh, Silver, let’s not talk about mother issues, okay? I mean, you are a textbook case of mother issues. In fact, I’d recommend some therapy.”
“Yeah, back atcha,” Diana replies.
“It took years to set everything in place. I honestly thought we’d get here much quicker. I thought that when I realized Swoop had a dark side. That’s why I hung around you that much. I tried to feed your lust for darkness, but alas, it was not to be. But just so we are clear, I was never into you, dear. It was Raven. I could see her wanting to break free. You were so cruel, so vicious, so perfect. But that part of you is gone forever. Shame.”
“You’re the one who told Malakaro where we were going and what we were up to,” East says.
“Duh,” Alfred says, then sips his drink.
“You got my father killed.”
“Pryor, wake the hell up! Your father was not a hero! He was not the good guy in this story. He was the coward who was afraid of a five-year-old boy; he walked out and never looked back!”
“My father left Malakaro because he was a sick, twisted fucker who deserves to die!”
Alfred leaps into the air and turns into a large stealthy black panther—Makayla. He pounces on Pryor and knocks her down to the ground. We all rush to help her, but she tells us to stay away.
“No, he’s mine,” she says as she wrestles the beast. He takes a bite of her leg, but she is so pissed, she doesn’t seem to feel it at all. She could use her powers on him, but she doesn’t. She insists on taking the Maker on with her bare hands. The beast goes to take a chunk of her wings; she moves swiftly and gets on her feet. The panther tackles her again, and again we try to help. She vows to kill whoever stops her from defeating the Maker on her own.
“You think you can kill me with a bite? Do you know who the fuck I am?” she informs her foe as she wraps its tail around her hand. She swings the creature around three times and flings it into the wall. She flies over to it, grabs its head, and bashes it into the floor, cracking its skull. The animal whimpers and transforms back into its human form. Alfred lies dying on the floor of the bar.
“Your plan didn’t work, you demented fuck! It didn’t work!” she shouts.
Alfred is coughing up blood, but there is a smile on his face. “You haven’t won,” he says.
“You’re the Maker. We kill you; we end Malakaro,” Pry reminds him.
“Stupid, naive little girl. Haven’t you figured it out yet?” he says.
“Figured what out? What is it?” Pryor says, striking him repeatedly. Alfred should be dead by now, but he’s not. And the only thing keeping him alive is sheer will.
“You have to kill the Maker,” he says, coughing up blood yet again.
“You are the Maker and you’re dying. It’s over, you bastard!” Swoop yells.
“No, I’m not,” he whispers with delight.
“Bullshit!” I spit.
“East, read his emotions. Is he lying?” Pryor calls out desperately.
“When someone is lying, I can sense they are off somehow. They focus hard on the lie and try to mask their effort. He’s not doing that. He wants me to know how he feels.”
“And how the hell does he feel?” I ask.
“Happy. Free. Wonderful,” East
says sadly.
“Because he’s not the Maker, and he knows we haven’t stopped the end of the world,” Diana says.
“Then who is it? Who gave Malakaro all his power? Who allowed him access to so much evil it got my dad killed? Tell me! Who is it? Who is the Maker?” Pryor demands as she grabs Alfred by his blood-soaked collar and shakes him violently.
Alfred, knowing he can’t put off death anymore, uses his last breath to turn our lives inside out.
“Death is the Maker.”
Read the final installment of the Noru series, RAGE OF ANGELS!!!
Available now!
