Hidden Worlds

by Kristie Cook

  “I’ll get Chaos,” Miku says as she slipped past the mob and flew up to the roof where the Akon had stood a second ago. I ordered Jay to go and help her take him out. Until Miku got Chaos under control, the mob would continue. Ameana lifted several humans in the air and into a nearby dumpster. Reese Blinked behind them and knocked them out.

  The biggest guy in the mob was focused solely on me. No doubt it’s Chaos’ doing. The human swung a makeshift bat at me. I ducked every time. I looked around for something to hit him with that wouldn’t cause too much damage. There was nothing.

  Finally he took a swing at me and it grazed my head. He was expecting blood and guts to come pouring out. When that didn’t happen, the shock made him pause for a second. That was all I needed. I took the bat from him, cracked it in two and threw it to the ground. He lunged at me; I moved out of the way causing him to lose his balance and land on the floor.

  I stood over him. I finally got a clear look into his eyes. I saw his fear. I reflected it back. I can’t reflect at full force because it would kill him, but I reflected a glimpse of his nightmare back to him. He cried out and covered his face with his hands.

  Meanwhile, Miku had started singing to Chaos. He held his ears as if they are being stabbed. Miku can’t kill an Akon with her siren song. She can kill Runners, Pawns and humans (that is, if we were allowed to). But she can distract Akons by causing immense pain. And she did that very well. Chaos was on his knees, screaming.

  While on the ground, Chaos picked up a rock and threw it at her. The rock was about the size of a fist. Had a human thrown it, it would have no impact. But Chaos had such strength, the rock looked more like a rocket as it came hurtling towards her. She wasn’t able to duck in time. It hit her by her temple and she went down. The song she was singing halted with an eerie silence. Chaos seized his chance and attacked her.

  Rio looked up just in time to see what was about to happen to his twin. Horror spread across his face as he realized he would not be there in time to save her. Chaos pounced on her. She made the most wounded cry I’ve ever heard. Chaos settled in for a final blow when a strong breeze whipped by him. He looked down on the ground; his victim had been taken away by the wind. Chaos turned around to find that the wind was really Jay, who had managed to glide in and rescue Miku. She laid in his arms.

  “She’s good,” Jay shouted down to Rio. He knew full well that if he didn’t let Rio know the status of his twin, Rio would fly up there. Lucky thing he didn’t go up on the roof because at that very moment, Mayhem shot out poison daggers from each arm. The six daggers made their way towards Ameana. Normally she would be able to call the daggers away from her; she has complete control of moving objects. But she was dodging lightning bolts coming from the palm of Frenzy’s hand. She had no idea what was coming.

  Rio bolted towards her, placing his body in front the oncoming daggers. His shield blocked them from reaching her. All six of the daggers landed on Rio’s chest. Ameana was safely behind him. The daggers stayed in Rio’s chest then dropped to the ground without causing any damage whatsoever.

  Seeing that Reese had escaped death, Agony focused in on him and tried to control his body. He began to twist Reese’s leg. Reese called out as the pain went through his body. He focused enough to Blink away before Agony could break his leg.

  Seeing that his fellow Akon needed help, War closed his fist and sprayed something out of his knuckles. I didn’t know what it was until he aimed at Reese, who Blinked, and the liquid hit the ground. It melted right through. It actually ate through the concrete.

  “Reese, it’s acid, watch out.”

  As War was busy trying to spray Reese, I flew over and rammed him in to the wall. Mayhem continued to shoot daggers from his wrists. Reese Blinked behind him and attacked him. They both fell to the ground. Reese tried to pin down Mayhem before he was able to shoot out more blades. But Mayhem administered a powerful blow and got away.

  Before Reese had time to recover, Mayhem launched six daggers straight at Reese. There was no time for anyone, including Jay, to do anything about it. I called out Meana’s name and she was able to call the blades to a stop mere inches from her body.

  The mob had been taken care of. Some were in the dumpster, knocked out. Some were laid out in the alley, bruised but alive. I flew up to the roof where Rage had been waiting for me. He stood in front of me and I knew it wasn’t a good idea to take my eyes off of him. Sure enough, his eyes glazed over with a dark film and seconds later a ball of fire appeared heading straight for the Guardians down below.

  “Look out,” I bellowed to them. They looked up and saw the ball of fire coming straight for them. Rio stretched out his winged shield and tried to cover the team as much as possible. He fell back, his whole body engulfed in flames. Had his shield not held up, he would have been tar.

  I pulled a telephone pole out from the ground like it was a toothpick. I charged at Rage and wrapped it around him. He set fire to the ground beneath me. I rolled to the ground before the fire could spread to me. Rage threw another wave of flames at me. I rolled quickly so I wouldn’t be charred.

  I leapt off the side of the building. He quickly dove after me. I knew he would. I flew around wildly to avoid his wrathful blaze. There were several near misses, but I had to lead him where I needed him to be.

  I flew across the street near the fire hydrant. Rage quickly swooped down to scorch me, but I was quicker. I flew up and over to the fire hydrant. I bent the hydrant until it busted into a spring. I manipulated it so that the water gushed and hit Rage directly.

  “You’re a little hot under the collar. Thought you might like to cool off.” The water would not destroy him, but it would take him a few minutes to get away and recharge. That meant a few minutes where I could get the drop on him. The water pushed him backward and into the side of the building, leaving a huge imprint.

  He looked possessed with demonic rage. But he would still need a few moments for the blaze to come back. He ripped a traffic light out of the ground and swung it toward me. I moved just in time for it to miss me and hit several cars. The windows shattered. The cars crumbled. Every car alarm on the block went off.

  I knew it was time to go. Once humans arrive, we can no longer fight. The council would never tolerate Guardians fighting out in the open. And even Akons have to be careful of exposure. Besides, our first priority was to go find this Emerson person, get the Triplex from him, and destroy it.

  I got back on the rooftop and called my team. I whistled a sound they knew to mean retreat. Jay had fled earlier and come back with a car. We all piled in as Rio shielded us. As we drove off, Rage’s fire was back in full force.

  He threw a ball of flames at the back of our car. The car was on fire. Luckily it was the back of the car. The tires had blown out. The car spun in the middle of the street. The smell of rubber and smoke filled the air.

  “It’s gonna blow. Get out!” Jay shouted. We all scrambled out and flew upwards. Jay stayed in the car. He would never leave it to explode in a populated area. “There’s no time, Jay,” Miku says from up in the air.

  “I got this,” he said as he pressed hard on the gas and careened down the street.

  We followed as Jay turned the car into a dead end street. The car plowed into the wall and exploded. “Jay,” Miku yelled, as we saw the explosion from a block away. We jetted over to the crash. The car was burning. Everything in it was melting into a sticky paste. We all stared at the flames that had engulfed what was left of our friend.

  “You called?” Jay said from behind us. We turned around and found him in perfect health, with a smirk on his face. “Did you see how daddy took that corner? Yeah, my game’s tight, kid.”

  Ameana rolled her eyes. “You are so juvenile.”

  “I’m so glad you’re okay,” Miku said as she gave him a big hug.

  “I could do that,” Reese said.

  Jay countered, “What? That was a last-minute, risking-my-life, James-Bond-type joint. Respect it.”
>
  “You did okay.”

  “Hate’n.”

  “Where is the house you got us?” I asked Jay.

  “Upper west side.”

  “Alright, let’s get another car and go there. We need to Google this Emerson Baxter. Whoever he is, his life is about to change.”

  Chapter SIX: MARCUS

  Once we got to the house, everyone went to work getting information we needed. Not just on Emerson, but on Julian as well. He knew the council better than anyone. I sent Reese and Jay to look into the last address we had for him. The twins had narrowed the list of people named Emerson Baxter in New York City down to three. They went to check out their addresses. If they found Akons nearby, they were to call and wait for back up.

  Ameana and I would look in the Muse to figure out where to go next. The Muse is a red leather-bound book in which past Guardians have written. It tells of their encounters with previous Akons, Sages and Runners.

  The most important part of the Muse is the list of Sellers and where to find them. A Seller is a low-level criminal who committed nonviolent crimes while human but who died as a result of a selfless act. Due to their past offenses, Sellers cannot go to the light. But their last act on Earth proved that their souls have the capacity for good. So they don’t belong in the darkness, either.

  Both Omnis and Atourum agreed to give Sellers eternal life until they do something so pure of heart or so evil that they go directly into the light or the darkness. Sellers rarely know what to do with the gift they’ve been granted. More often than not, Lucy gets the Sellers in the end.

  “Here, I found one that may be able to help us,” Ameana said as she walked over to me and sat down on the sofa. I should have been paying attention, but I was thinking about what the Sage had said. I repeated the words over and over in my mind. “You will betray them all.” The thought that I could betray my team was still impossible for me to digest. But what was even harder to doubt was the Sage’s track record: he was never wrong.

  “Marcus,” Ameana called out again. I didn’t know how many times she had said my name. I guessed she had been trying to get my attention for some time.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “Nothing, just … thinking.”

  “You’ve never been good at lying.”

  “Isn’t that a good thing for an angel?”

  “It’s a good thing for a guy. What is it you’re thinking about?”

  “Something the Sage said.”

  “What did he say?”

  I told her everything. She listened calmly and didn’t speak for a full minute after I was done. I wanted her to talk and let me know what she was thinking, but Ameana’s not one to be rushed.

  “I can’t see you changing sides. You are not the type to Turn. You don’t have an inner conflict, do you?”

  “No. I know exactly what I’m here to do, and I’m more than willing to do it.”

  “Okay, maybe this Emerson person fights with you and prevents you from completing your task.”

  “I thought about that. But even that doesn’t make sense. How strong can this Emerson guy be?”

  “The Sage is never wrong. If you Turn, it will be because of circumstances beyond your control.”

  “Like what?”

  “I don’t know, like Lucy forcing you to.”

  “I don’t think I Turn because of Lucy. The Sage would have said that.”

  “It has to be something, Marcus. The Sage is never wrong.”

  “So you think I’m gonna betray the team? You think that I am gonna just sit back and let Lucy destroy everything?”

  “No, that’s not what I’m saying.”

  “You can’t have it both ways, Ameana. Either you believe the Sage or you believe me. Which is it?”

  “Don’t make this about us. This is about the mission. You have to stay clearheaded about this. If the Sage says it’s gonna happen, then it will. We need to think of some kind of back up strategy for when you Turn.”

  “Now it’s ‘when’ I Turn? So that’s it? The Sage says it, and suddenly it’s a fact? Suddenly you have no faith in me?”

  “He is thousands of years old. He is held in high esteem by the council.”

  “I’m not talking to the council. I’m talking to you. Do you think I will Turn?”

  “I think the Sage doesn’t make mistakes.”

  “So the answer is yes.”

  “I’m not saying it’s any easy thing for me to picture, but the Sage had to have said it for a reason.”

  “I don’t care about the council or the Sage right now. I’m talking about you and me. Do you think that I am capable of betraying the group?”

  “Look Marcus it’s not that sim—”

  “Yes or no. Do you think I am capable of betraying the team? Betraying you?”

  “The Sage is never wrong,” she said softly.

  “Thanks for your vote of confidence.”

  “C’mon, Marcus. What do you want me to say?”

  “You said enough.”

  “You’re being unreasonable.”

  “I didn’t think you’d dismiss what the Sage said. But I thought you’d at least put up a token of doubt on my behalf.”

  I got up and slammed the door on my way out.

  I could have taken off into the air, but the way I was feeling, I didn’t want to fly. I wanted my feet on the ground. I was tired of all things angel-related: the council, the Sage and, most of all, Julian. I was so frustrated with him. I never knew him when he was a Guardian. That was way before my time. But he got on my nerves just the same.

  It’s his fault that I’m down here. Why didn’t he just let the girl figure it out for herself? Why did he insist on helping her? What was it about this girl that he had to save her and risk everything? How stupid can one guy be?

  It makes no sense to put everything on the line for one girl. He was a Guardian. All he had to do was keep his mouth shut. You ask me, any guy who would put his life on the line for a girl he didn’t know is an idiot. Sure, I could see helping her out while she was on Earth—but on the bridge? Didn’t the rules mean anything to him? Argh.

  This walking thing wasn’t going to help. I took flight and headed north. I wanted to get out of New York. Yeah, like that’s your problem, I scoffed at myself. But I couldn’t think of anything else. So I just kept going until I reached New England. I hovered above the Green Mountains. Usually the silence and the breathtaking views helped me, but not this time.

  Finally, I came down at the edge of a small town. According to the sign, it was called Barre. And according to the sign, it had a population of 9,291 people, none of whom I had ever met, but somehow I was supposed to save. That is, if I could get past the Akons, the Runners, the Pawns, oh, and the Sage.

  Alright, the real reason I was sulking on the cliff had nothing to do with any of them. I knew we could handle the Akons, we could even figure a way around Lucy. We might not beat her, but I think we could figure a way to get the Triplex before her. The problem is the Sage.

  It’s not the Sage you’re mad at, fool. It’s her, I said out loud to no one. And it was true. Yeah, the Sage had pissed me off, but my girl saying she thinks I’m capable of Turning? That doesn’t just piss me off, it really stings.

  I mean what does a guy have to do to get his girl to have some faith in him? She didn’t even question the Sage. She just started acting like I was the enemy.

  I broke off a piece of the mountain and threw it down.

  “Um, first we save the planet, then we destroy it. Didn’t you get the email?” I turned around and Jay was standing over me.

  “What’s up?” I asked.

  “Rio called and said you were … you might need to talk,” Jay said tactfully.

  “No, I’m fine.”

  “What did Ameana do?” Jay asked.

  “Every problem I have doesn’t have to do with her.”

  “Okay.”

  We were quiet for a second.

  “What did Amea
na do?” Jay asked again.

  “Is it wrong to expect some kind of trust and faith in the person you’re with?”

  “No,” Jay said, sensing that I would probably throw something at him if he didn’t agree with me.

  “I’m serious. What is going on with that girl?” I asked.

  “Okay, you want to catch me up?” Jay asked.

  I couldn’t tell him what the Sage said. It wasn’t going to happen, so why should I? Anyway this isn’t about him. I took a deep breath to calm down. It didn’t help.

  “I told her that someone a long time ago had said something about me that was completely untrue. I wanted her to agree with me, but could she do that? No. She just took the other guy’s word over mine. What the heck is that?”

  “What did this person say?” Jay wondered.

  “It doesn’t matter. She should have been on my side. I have always taken hers.”

  “Ameana’s greatest attribute is her ability to understand. Try and tap into that.”

  “She understands cruelty. But the other things—kindness, appreciation, faith—she has a problem with.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Look, I’m not saying I’m Omnis. I know I’m flawed. But I have been nothing but trustworthy and faithful. When do I get that back?”

  “Are you sure she has it in her to give back?”

  I didn’t answer. I didn’t think Ameana would so readily accept the Sage’s prediction. It made me uneasy, to say the least.

  ***

  Jay went home ahead of me. I sat there for another hour or so. By the time I got back to the house, I was somewhat calmer. I wasn’t resolved, but at least I wasn’t throwing things. I told Jay to have everyone meet back at the house so we could have a meeting. The Akons wouldn’t attack any of the Emersons until they were certain which one had the Triplex. To do that they have to get a Trimeter and measure which of the three Emersons had been tagged.