Noru 5_Ways Of The Wicked

by Lola StVil

  “Why didn’t you tell me, Randy?” Key asks.

  “It was just between me and Pryor,” Randy says reluctantly.

  “Are you keeping secrets from me?” Key asks him.

  “What thing happened last night?” Swoop asks again.

  “Key, I’m not keeping secrets from you. I mean, this isn’t really my secret,” Randy asserts.

  “The point is, my dad found me there and he’s going ape shit right now,” I counter before they can start arguing with each other.

  “Damn, he came into the Chop Shop and found you drinking?” Swoop asks.

  “No, I was doing something else,” I whisper.

  “What were you doing?” the team asks in unison.

  “Does it matter?”

  “Yes,” they all shout.

  “Fine, I was kind of taking my clothes off…”

  There is silence on the other end. The only sound comes from one of the six cats.

  “C’mon, guys, say something!” I push.

  “I’ll start. When does the ‘new’ Pryor go away, because she’s really getting on my nerves,” Randy says.

  “Is Randy speaking for everyone?” I ask.

  There is silence once again.

  “Really, guys?” I ask.

  “Pryor, we love you, but you need help, and we’re glad your dad is back. You need him,” Key says.

  “I wasn’t hurting anyone tonight,” I remind them.

  “Pry, you were hurting someone tonight. The same being you’ve been hurting for weeks now—yourself,” Easton says sadly.

  ARGH!

  “Whatever, I have to go,” I reply.

  “Ah…someone wants to talk to you,” Key says.

  “Who?” I ask.

  “Hello, Ms. Cane,” the Face says.

  Great! Just great!

  “Hello,” I reply, trying to keep the irritation from my voice.

  “Ms. Cane, I think it’s only fair to warn you that your school absences may result in a truancy charge. As I told your father earlier today, you cannot miss any more school,” the Face says.

  “You told my father I missed school?”

  “I certainly did. It is my responsibility to keep your parents informed. Your mother is a dear friend of mine, and I vowed to look after all of you. It’s important that your father know the extent of your bad decision making.”

  “You have no idea what’s going on with me. He’s my father, I should have been the one to update him,” I snap.

  “From the Chop Shop? I hardly think that is the place for a father-daughter discussion.”

  “You were the one who told him where to find me?”

  “Indeed. It’s high time you were reined in.”

  “You don’t get to decide what happens to me.”

  “No, you are the only angel who can decide where you will end up. So I am counting on you to make better choices.”

  “If there is something I need my father to know, I will tell him. You can’t just blurt out everything to anyone who asks you,” I inform her.

  “Believe me, Ms. Cane, there are things I didn’t tell your father. Things it would hurt him to know. Things that occur at three in the morning on the side of a mountain that have no business happening!”

  Oh my Omnis! She knows about me and Hunter! But how is that even possible?

  “Are you going to update my father fully?” I ask with bated breath.

  “No, but I will be seeing you in school on Monday, won’t I?”

  “Yes, I’ll be there,” I reply.

  “Glad to hear it. Your team has to be back at the clinic early in the morning to check on Diana. That means it’s time for them to go Recharge. Good night, Ms. Cane.”

  “What? Wait!” I call out. I hear a click and the line goes silent. The Face blackmails me and then hangs up the phone on me.

  Perfect.

  I quickly place another call and tap my fingers on my desk impatiently as I wait for him to pick up. I get voicemail.

  “Why does the Face know about us? Hunter, if you are walking around telling everyone about that night, I swear I will rip your damn guts out and play jump rope with your entrails. Call me back!”

  I check online to see if everyone knows about Hunter and me. Thankfully the news is not out. However, the news of my dad’s return is everywhere. They also focus on the Guardians who are still in the light and could not get back. Pictures of my mom and the rest of the Guardian team are trending online.

  I put my phone away because seeing their pictures just makes me feel worse. I plop down on my bed and my father’s words come back to me. The more I think back to what he said downstairs, the more pissed off I get. He wants to know what happened? Ha!

  Malakaro happened, Dad—your son. Remember him? The one you “forgot” to tell us about; the one you have been lying to me about my whole life. That lie is the reason the world is in trouble right now. It’s the reason our lives are hell.

  Maybe I would have had more time to be a “good leader” if I wasn’t walking around trying to gain back powers that were stripped from a member of my team without his consent. Thanks to Winter—yet another adult with a secret that almost got us killed.

  How dare my father scold me! I have read all about the Guardian missions. His team got caught up in all sorts of crazy things. There was scandal after scandal. Now he stands there looking at me as if his team was perfect! Now he stands in judgment of me? Is he serious? What the hell?

  I can’t count the number of times the Guardian team has been in the media. At one point my mom and dad spent every waking moment in the limelight. The team dated each other, slept with each other, and got into every bad situation you could possibly think of. The team would stop speaking to each other, fight each other, and go off without making contact for days at a time. They would bicker and argue at every turn.

  The more I think about it, the more I realize my father has no right to scold me at all. After all, this is my team. I should run it the way I want. He ran his team the way he wanted and I deserve that same respect. Why didn’t I say that before? Damn it, I can’t believe I didn’t argue back! Well, that was a mistake and I plan to correct it right now. I open the door to my room and find that my dad has placed a Tri-meter at the base of the door.

  A Tri-meter is a small device that can detect if you are human, angel, or demon.

  My dad had it altered when I was a kid so that it could detect Noru. That’s one of the ways he was able to ground me. The Tri-meter would detect that a Noru was trying to leave the area; the doors and windows would lock and no amount of force could open them.

  “Seriously, Dad? I mean, really?” I rant as if he were standing before me.

  Suddenly green emanates from the watch I’m wearing. It signals that the Tracker I placed in my dad’s jacket is now active. I figured he would try to keep me away from all the action, so I slipped the green marble-looking device into his jacket. This means that although I can’t leave my room, I can see and hear everything play out on my watch.

  I watch as my father takes to the air and lands a short while later in a neighborhood I am very familiar with. He walks up to a brownstone house and knocks on the door. A few moments later, Uncle Rage opens the door. Judging by his expression, he’s shocked and excited to see my dad standing before him.

  “Marcus, you’re back! Shit, man, why didn’t I know—”

  Before Uncle Rage can finish, my dad grabs him by his neck and hurls him down the block!

  “No!” I shout as I watch the scene play out before me.

  My father flies over to Uncle Rage’s barely moving body, picks up the nearest car, holds it high above him, and lowers it onto the demon’s head. My father is going to kill the last Akon.

  Chapter Five:

  She Knew

  Uncle Rage rolls out of the way just in time to avoid a messy death. My father peels off a layer of metal from what’s left of the car and goes after him.

  “What the fuck, Marcus?” Uncle
Rage shouts.

  My father doesn’t answer, he just swings the metal makeshift weapon at the Akon’s head. He’s able to dodge the attacks, but my father has backed him into a wall.

  “Marcus, talk to me. What’s going on?”

  “YOU KNOW DAMN WELL WHAT’S GOING ON! YOU SAID YOU WOULD LOOK OUT FOR MY FAMILY AND YOU LIED TO ME!” My father rages as he swings his weapon again.

  This time the metal makes contact with the Akon and slices into his forearm. He swears as blood oozes out of the newly formed gash. My dad moves in to strike again. Uncle Rage summons a fireball in his hand and warns my father not to come any closer.

  My father rips a lamppost out of the ground and swings it with every ounce of strength he has. It cuts right through the nearby buildings, causing them to come crashing down onto Uncle Rage.

  “Shit!” he says as he takes off into the air, desperate to avoid being buried alive.

  My father takes off after him.

  The two are engaged in an aerial cat-and-mouse game. The Akon weaves complex patterns and flies erratically in an attempt to lose the First Guardian. However, my father’s dogged determination makes it impossible for Uncle Rage to get too far ahead. Knowing it’s only a matter of time before my father catches him, Uncle Rage takes his chances and faces his attacker.

  “Marcus, let’s talk about this,” he says as he turns to face him.

  This proves to be a grave mistake. My father makes no attempt to stop. In fact, he speeds up and tackles Uncle Rage at full force. They both go tumbling backwards into the Chrysler Building. They careen down the side of the skyscraper, reducing it to rubble floor by floor.

  When they finally hit the ground, my father wastes no time; he strikes Uncle Rage in the face and chest. At first, the Akon focuses more on blocking, but my father is so ruthless with his blows, Uncle Rage has no choice but to fight back. He launches a fireball at the First Guardian. The blast sends him flying down the street and into a two-story red brick town house.

  The humans who were seated at the breakfast table in the kitchen are now screaming for their lives. They flee the scene as the demon and angel exchange vicious blows with one another. My father manages to get the upper hand and is now pounding the Akon into the ground.

  “Uncle Rage, get up!” I scream from my room as if he could hear me.

  My father gets ready to strike again, but the Akon reaches for the closest metal chair and bashes him in the head with it. My father falls over to the side.

  “That’s enough!” the Akon warns.

  “It’s not enough, not until I kill you!” my dad vows as he charges at Uncle Rage once again. He knocks the Akon off his feet and rams him into the table. Food goes flying in every direction. The Akon gets up and looks at his soiled shirt.

  “Your wife gave me this shirt!” the Akon says.

  “HOW COULD YOU LET THIS HAPPEN?” my dad demands.

  “So Aaden and Pryor slept together. It happens, chill the fuck out!”

  “AADEN SLEPT WITH MY CHILD?”

  “You didn’t know? Crap.”

  “ARGH!” my dad shouts as he grabs the Akon by his neck and slams him into the only wall left standing. He knocks the Akon’s head into the wall over and over again. Blood squirts out of the back of Uncle Rage’s head. Uncle Rage summons two fireballs in his hands, yet he doesn’t fire.

  “Fight back!” my father says.

  “No.”

  He catapults the Akon into the massive fish tank across the room. The glass shatters and gallons of water spill onto the floor, taking half a dozen colorful fish along with it.

  “Rage, I will kill you, so you better fight back.”

  “If I kill you, your wife—my best friend—will be pissed. And I would rather incur Omnis’ wrath than Emmy’s,” the bloody Akon explains.

  My father stands above Uncle Rage and thinks about what he just said. He swears, sighs heavily, and then sinks down to the floor alongside the Akon. They are both bleeding, disheveled, and exhausted.

  “How much damage did we do?” my dad asks.

  “Destroyed most of Manhattan.”

  “Again?”

  “Yup,” Uncle Rage replies.

  “We have to try some new spots,” my father suggests.

  “I hear London has some cool shit. It would be kind of nice to crash into some of their stuff. You know, that big clock tower thing.”

  “Or maybe Shanghai or Kuala Lumpur, they have some nice skyscrapers there too. There are so many nice places I could beat the crap out of you in. It’s hard to choose.”

  “You’re just lucky that your wife scares the crap out of me.”

  “Man, she scares me too. I can imagine her walking in to find this mess,” my dad admits.

  “Her purple eyes would get all dark and serious. Then she’d put on her ‘mom’ voice and say—”

  “There better be a good explanation for this!” they say in unison as they both share a laugh.

  “Rage, did Aaden and my little girl really…?” My dad can’t even begin to finish the question.

  “Did Pryor really lose her virginity? No. She stayed in her room the whole time you were gone. In fact, she only left the house to battle, feed the homeless, and go to Bible class.”

  “You’re an asshole,” my dad says.

  “Come on, I’ll buy you a drink,” Uncle Rage says as he gets up and signals for my dad to follow him.

  “What about the humans?”

  “They can buy their own drinks.”

  My father places a call to an old friend, who promises to fix things with the humans and make sure they don’t recall anything that’s happened. The two of them clean up, then fly off to a bar somewhere in Chicago. The bar is a small hole-in-the-wall place that’s easy to miss. Inside there’s a Shadow Servant bartender and a few angel and Quo patrons.

  As they sit at the bar and order drinks, a woman approaches them. She has graceful wings, curly blonde hair, dark brown eyes, and pouty lips. She glances at my dad with interest, but her main focus is Uncle Rage. She removes all his clothes in her mind’s eye and licks her lips suggestively before she speaks.

  “I was just about to leave when I saw you two enter. I thought it would be rude to go without introducing myself. I’m Karen; you don’t need to introduce yourselves, of course.”

  “What can we do for you, Karen?” my dad asks.

  “Your wife, Death, did she come down with you?”

  “No.”

  “Hmmm. Does that mean you’ll be lonely?”

  “Ah, no. I’m fine,” Dad says.

  “Yes, you are…”

  I so don’t want to hear this…

  She turns her attention to Uncle Rage and studies him closely. “This is gonna sound strange, but I’ve always wanted to meet the last Akon and ask him a question.”

  “Go for it,” the demon replies.

  “How hard does it get?” she asks as she slowly scans his crotch.

  Did she seriously just ask that?

  My dad and Uncle Rage exchange a look of disbelief.

  “I meant your life, how hard does your life get when you’re the last of your kind,” she lies.

  “I manage pretty well,” my uncle says.

  “If you ever need someone to talk to, I’m here. I love deep, long, penetrating… conversations. I can talk all night,” Karen replies.

  She heaves her breasts forward as she writes her info on the napkin in front of the Akon. She hands him the napkin, mentally strips off his clothes once again, and then walks out of the bar. My dad can no longer hold back his laughter. Uncle Rage joins him as they drain the Coy in the mugs placed before them.

  “So this is your life now?” my dad teases.

  “It’s all bullshit, you know that,” he says as he crumples up the napkin.

  “She was hot. You might want to keep that number.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Why not? She’s probably waiting for you in the parking lot. Rage, if you need a few m
inutes to handle things…” he jokes.

  “No, I’m good,” he says as he laughs out loud and shakes his head.

  Dad studies him closely and we both notice that he’s avoiding eye contact. “Is there a reason you’re walking away from what looks like a sure thing?”

  “I don’t know,” he says shyly.

  “Wait a minute. Rage, are you seeing someone?”

  “No! I mean… her and I are just… bullshit’n, you know? But the thing I like about it is that… I don’t know, she’s not an asshole.”

  “High praise,” Dad teases.

  “I mean, she’s not full of shit. And she doesn’t talk too much. She knows what’s up. She calls and we do whatever.”

  “So it’s just sex?”

  “Mostly, but then a few weeks ago, I found myself wanting to do something with her I never do with women—talk.”

  “That’s not a bad thing.”

  “Well, it damn sure ain’t a good thing. Talking, caring, and all that crap is…complicated. And I don’t do complicated.”

  “So you care about her?” Dad pushes.

  “What?”

  “You just said, ‘Talking, caring, and all that crap.’ Do you care about this woman?”

  “I hope not. That shit is a pain in the ass.”

  “You can’t be single forever, Rage.”

  “Watch me.”

  “Thomas…” Dad scolds.

  “Don’t nag me about being single. That’s your wife’s department.”

  “She’s not here, so I have to do it.”

  “Emmy thinks it’s her life’s mission to find me a woman.”

  “I’ve watched her plot and plan; believe me, she’s determined to make you settle down.”

  “Yeah, but I’m not sure how she would feel about me and this woman,” Uncle Rage says.

  “Why?”

  “She comes with issues.”

  “Like what?”

  “She was married when we first…”

  “Rage.”

  “He was a dick.”

  “That’s no excuse.”

  “We didn’t even plan it; it just happened a few times. Then a few more times…”

  “Who is she?” Dad asks.

  “It’s not serious, Marcus.”

  “You may not be in love, but I can tell she matters to you.”