by Kristie Cook
Jay Glides over to where Rage has fallen and tackles him. Frenzy comes to the aid of his fellow Akon by throwing bolts of electricity at Jay. Jay’s whole body shakes uncontrollably as the volts pass through him. Marcus goes over to help.
Pissed off, Mayhem throws his daggers at him. Ameana redirects them back to Mayhem, who moves just in time to miss getting killed by his own weapons.
The Guardians are doing a good job fending off the Akons, but Rage has got the better of Marcus. He has thrown what looks like a small whirlpool of wind to the ground. Marcus is powerless as it pulls light from his center.
As the light gets drained from his body, his wings get darker and darker. He is turning a sickly gray color. He stands paralyzed in front of the whirlwind. It’s a Soul Chaser. He’s gonna die.
I run out of the hut and tackle Rage from behind. He isn’t expecting it and I temporarily send him off balance. The stream of wind that is sucking Marcus’ soul dry starts to die down because Rage is not there to control it.
But Rage isn’t down for long. He gets up and punches me in face with the fury of Atourum. I fall back, momentarily blinded by the sheer force of the hit. The small distraction I caused helps Marcus pull away from the Soul Chaser. When Rage turns to strike me again, Marcus grabs him and plows him into a nearby hut, causing it to split in half.
I can’t fully make out what is going on because my left eye is quickly swelling shut. It throbs and pulses like a heartbeat. With my one good eye, I see the duffel bag that was in the car. I can’t reach it so I call out for Ameana who is closer. She sends the bag floating over to me. I grab the Stopper and point it at Rage. He was about to crack Marcus’ head into the tree stump. I press the button and Rage is instantly frozen in place.
Meanwhile, Jay has trapped Frenzy underneath one of the tables. Chaos has Miku under his control and forces her to attack her brother with a discarded dagger. Rio shields himself. Ameana comes to the rescue by picking up a piece of sharp jagged metal and plunging it right into Chaos’ back. He yells out in pain as it lands between his shoulder blades. He yanks it out and goes to attack Ameana.
Jay grabs a Para light a few feet from him and shines it on Chaos, causing him to go blind temporarily. Ameana is able to get away.
Just then Rage is unfrozen. I go to press the Stopper again but Mayhem kicks it out of my hand. It flies off and lands several feet away. Rage gets on his bike and takes off. Seeing this, Jay says we need to get to the Cave before Rage gets there and moves Julian.
“I saw a car back there near the entrance. Let’s go,” Marcus says as the Akons take off following their leader.
Marcus leads us to the back of one of the huts where a small car awaits. It looks to be about a hundred years old.
“We can make it work. Get in,” Jay says confidently.
We all pile into the car. Jay closes his eyes. It’s like he’s negotiating with the car. Or sweet-talking it like he does the girls at school. Whatever he’s doing, it works. The car slowly comes to life. Jay then turns it off and tries again. The car roars.
“Yes, that’s what I’m talkin’ about,” he says as we race down the road.
The Akons have a big lead on us. The fact that the angels can’t fly in this area is frustrating. Had they been able to take to the air it would speed things up. The car is already going eighty, but that isn’t fast enough. Jay says he doesn’t want to push it by making it go any faster; it might stop altogether.
Marcus takes a quick glance at me. He flinches at the sight of my left eye which is now completely shut. I turn away because I don’t want him to worry and anyway, it’s not his problem. I should have gone for the Stopper first. That way I wouldn’t even have had to tackle Rage. But I did the first thing that came to my mind because I couldn’t let him suffer.
There is a light coming from down the road. The car slows down until it sputters and dies. It can go no further.
“We can run the rest of the way,” Marcus says.
We get out of the car and head towards the cave.
“Meana and Jay will take Rage and Chaos. I’ll take Mayhem and Frenzy.”
“How can I help?”
“By staying out of the way,” Marcus answers.
“No, I can help. I have a Stopper. I’ll watch and when it’s best, I’ll zap him.”
“Alright, just stay out of the way until then. And if they come close to you, use the Para light to blind them. When they start shooting, you take cover no matter what is going on with one of us,” Marcus says pointedly. I take that to mean he didn’t appreciate me risking my life to save him.
We see the cave Ebo had spoken of. It is glowing brightly from within. Around the cave are miles of wildly growing trees and brushes.
Rage shoots at us from on top of a nearby tree. We duck and take cover. Ameana picks up all the bikes and starts dropping them on their respective owners. Jay is able to flash the Para light and blind Rage long enough to get him to stop shooting. Marcus takes off after Mayhem who has just thrown a dagger inches away from my face.
He instructs the twins not to worry about us and to focus on reprogramming the timer at the base of the Cave. They take one more look at the battle situation and reluctantly go towards the cave.
“I can see him! I see Julian” I shout to the team as I head over to the opening.
“No,” Rio says as we are about to enter.
“What is it?” his sister asks.
“A Soul Chaser. I can hear the wind swirling. Stay behind me.” He takes out his shield and Miku gets behind him.
“It’s too strong. We won’t be able to go in. It’ll pull my wings right off. We need to be able to turn it off at the base.”
I run over to them. “I’ll go. The Chaser won’t cause me as much damage.” They look at each other not sure they should allow me to do in. Marcus overhears our conversation as he and Rage throw blows at each other.
“No!” he shouts to the Twins.
This is stupid. It’s my planet too.
“I’m going,” I say and head into the cave.
“Emmy, it’s too strong for you,” Marcus roars as Rage throws a fireball at him. He is so focused on me he barely has time to move. If not for Ameana, navigating the fireball away from him, he would have been set ablaze.
“I’m the only one that can come close to it without dying. I’m going.”
“Jay will Glide over and do it,” he shouts. He is trying to get to me but Rage is on his tail and won’t let up. He keeps having to dodge fireball after fireball.
I look to Jay just as Mayhem stabs him in the leg. I start to call out his name but before I get the words out the twins are at Jay’s side.
Frenzy hurls a bolt of lightning straight for Ameana.
“You are really getting on my nerves, you freak,” she yells.
It’s the first time I’ve seen her lose control in the line of duty. She pulls a tree out of the ground and drops it on Frenzy. He moves away just in time. It falls on the ground, shaking everything around us.
Seeing that Ameana has managed to almost get the better of Frenzy, Rage launches a fireball at her. Unlike the other times, she doesn’t see it coming. Both Marcus and I call her name at the same time. She looks up just as it lands on her.
I think my heart has stopped. I look over expecting to see Ameana up in flames. But there is nothing there. A few yards away Jay holds Ameana protectively in his arms. Marcus calls for Rio to shield him as he makes his way over to Ameana.
“Are you okay?” he asks to her.
“Fine. Thanks, Jay,” she says breathlessly.
“Ain’t nothing.” He puts her down. Marcus pulls her close.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asks again.
“Yeah, I’m good.”
“I thought you were—”
“No way.”
“It’s time, let’s go,” Rage yells at his team. All of them get on their bikes and take off.
They didn’t think they could defeat us. They j
ust wanted to slow us down so that we would get caught up in the blast. The others are thinking the same thing, too.
“It was all just to delay us,” Jay says.
“I should have known,” Marcus says bitterly.
“Focus, guys. We need to get to Julian,” Ameana says.
“We can’t go in. The Chaser is too strong. And, according to this, we only have two minutes until the whole damn cave blows up” Rio replies.
“Can’t you rewire it?” Marcus asks.
“Not enough time,” the twins reply.
“I can do it,” I insist.
“No, it’ll pull you in,” Marcus counters. There’s no time to argue. I take a deep breath and run into the cave.
“Emmy!” Marcus calls after me.
The whirlwind is more like a hurricane. It’s louder and more vicious than the one back at the village. It is pulling me in. I grab hold of the cave wall as the wind lifts me off my feet. I am now completely sideways. It’s like I’m holding on to the wings of an airplane. It’s sucking the air from my lungs. Breathing becomes almost impossible.
I have to get close enough to press the release without getting sucked in. I hear Marcus’ voice but with the rush of the wind whirling around me, it sounds like a whisper. I think he is coming into the Cave after me. I can’t tell. I am too focused on getting to the center of the Chaser to look behind me. Even if I could, the pressure would snap my neck in half.
The only way this will work is if I let go of the side of the cave. Then I can try and reach the release before it sucks me in completely. I let go, but for some reason I don’t get sucked into the center of the Chaser. Something is holding me back. I feel Marcus’ hand around my foot.
“Let me go. I can reach it,” I shout.
“No, it’ll kill you.”
“We only have one minute,” the twins shout to us. “We can get out of here or save Julian, but we can’t do both.”
“I can get to him,” I shout to Marcus.
Marcus refuses to let go of me. I kick him as hard as I can and I feel his hand slip away. Normally I wouldn’t be able to get free of Marcus’ hold but the Chaser has weakened him greatly.
“Thirty seconds,” the twins shout behind me.
I see a blurry figure beyond the Soul Chaser. He lies motionless on the floor.
As soon as I get close enough, the wind claims me and drags me to the center. My body is being sucked in.
My limbs feel like they are being ripped from their sockets.
“Twenty seconds,” the twins call out.
I force myself to stay focused on the center of the Chaser and pay no attention to the agony traveling down my body.
“Ten seconds.”
I try in vain to steady my fingers. The wind is too strong. I can’t get a strong enough grip to press the button at the center of the Chaser.
“Five seconds.”
“Emmy, no!” Marcus roars in pain.
I grab on to the side of the ball and press down as hard as I can.
It is too late. The wind of the Soul Chaser is replaced by a blast of blinding white heat. I can feel my body cut through the air. The blast grips me and tosses me like a weightless paper bag.
The white heat travels everywhere making every part of me burn; from the inside of my eyelids to my toenails.
Finally, I land somewhere, hard. Rocks and debris land on top of me, entombing me. I’m not sure what did it—the blast itself, the rocks that land on top of me, or the fire dancing across my body—but darkness soon follows.
***
Someone is calling out my name. I can’t tell who is speaking, but I know it’s more than one voice. I try to open my eyes but the light hurts, so I keep them shut.
“C’mon, read her wave.”
“I did. She’s alive.”
“Then why isn’t she moving?”
“Because a bomb just exploded in her face. Back off, man.”
“Read her wave again, Rio. Are you sure she’s alive?”
“Yes. But just because she’s alive doesn’t mean she’s okay.”
My head feels like it’s made of stone. The burning sensation has lessened but not gone away.
Given the strength I put into moving my body, you would think that I could get up. But no, it seems I have barely budged.
“Emmy, can you hear me?”
Come on, open your eyes, even if it hurts. They are so worried about you.
“Emmy, can you hear me? Emmy?”
Finally I convince my eyes to brave the harsh light. The first thing I see is a pair of deeply concerned eyes.
“Are you okay?” Miku asks near panic.
“Yeah,” I manage to say.
She hugs me tightly.
“I’m so glad you’re alive! If you were dead, I was going to kill you,” Miku says, filled with relief.
We actually made it out okay! Everyone lets out a sigh of relief—well, almost everyone.
“What the hell is your problem?” Marcus fires at me.
“Stop yelling.”
“You could have been killed, do you understand that? We can’t let anything happen to you.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. The mission wouldn’t survive,” I say flippantly.
“No, not the mission—me. I won’t survive if something happens to you. Why the hell are you torturing me?” He spits out with unrelenting rage.
From the corner of my eyes, I see Ameana’s body stiffen. But Marcus is too upset to care at the moment.
“If Rio didn’t get to you in time to shield you, do you know what would have happened?”
“Julian is our only lead. We couldn’t let him die. Wait, is he okay?” I ask as the twins help me into a sitting position.
“He’s fine,” Ameana says, motioning toward the man on the ground a few feet away.
Marcus has yet to take his wrath-filled eyes off of me.
“I told you not to go in that Cave. You will do as I say or so help me Omnis, you will stay inside a Holder for the rest of your life!”
Marcus and I are now staring at each other like gun slingers in a showdown. Rio wisely intervenes by questioning Julian.
“Look, we have just gone through a great deal of trouble to find you. So tell us, what do you know about the Triplex?”
Julian looks at Rio calmly.
“I know this: so long as the human girl is involved, you will not get one single clue from me.”
Chapter NINETEEN: FAR FROM THE TREE
Marcus moves with inhuman speed, picks Julian up off the floor, and smashes him into a tree. He holds Julian by the throat and looks at him with what I can only describe as wrath.
“Do not test me.”
Julian looks back at Marcus, unfazed.
“Tell me what you know,” Marcus rages again.
When Julian speaks his voice is strained and barely audible because Marcus is pressing on his windpipe.
“Can’t talk,” he says.
Marcus reluctantly loosens his grip. Julian gets away and straightens himself up.
“Let’s do this at the house. We shouldn’t be out on the road like this,” Miku suggests.
The flight back home is tense, to say the least. For one thing, Marcus makes Julian fly with him. And it seems that at any moment, Julian will be dropped to his death.
Once we get back to New York, the team flies straight to their home on the Upper West Side.
Once we land, Marcus throws Julian onto the floor of the roof and barks at him to talk.
“I am grateful that you got me out of that cave. But I will not help so long as Emerson is a part of this,” Julian says.
“What is your problem? I risked my life for you!” I remind him.
“Yeah, and something that should have been done by a Guardian. What’s the matter, Marcus, too scared to face a Chaser so you send in a fifteen-year-old human?”
“I’m sixteen.”
“It is wrong to involve her. You will get her killed,” he says, ignoring me.
“Her name was the only clue given to find the location of the Triplex. We didn’t involve her, the council did,” Rio informs him.
“Yeah, that sounds like something those bastards would do.”
“I don’t like it either but we have no choice,” Marcus adds.
“Like hell you don’t. Put her in a Holder and keep her away from all this.”
“Why are you so interested in what happens to me?”
“Emmy, you could be seriously hurt.”
“I’ve already been seriously hurt.”
He barks his order at Marcus. “You were out of line to involve her. Emmy, go home.”
“No.”
“Go home, right now.”
“Just because you’re the original First Guardian, doesn’t mean you can tell me what to do.”
“I can tell you what to do because you’re my daughter.”
I don’t know what happened. I heard the words and by the time they had make sense, I already have my hands wrapped around his neck. The attack was so sudden that even the angels couldn’t stop me from getting to Julian.
They stand there for a moment in shock that I had attacked him. By the time they came back to their senses, I have already launched my fourth or fifth blow on him. He doesn’t fight back. He just tries to block me. The angels pull me off of him, kicking and screaming. I yell at him so loud I’m sure all of New York City heard me. I don’t care. He raped my mom. The original First Guardian raped my mother.
“Let me go,” I shout at the twins.
“You have to promise you won’t attack him again,” Rio says.
“I won’t, I’ll just kill him.”
“Emerson, calm down,” Jay says, looking into my eyes. He is about to convince me to remain calm.
“No,” Marcus says to him.
“Why?” he asks his leader.
“She’s entitled to her rage. We can’t take that from her.”
“So, just let her beat him up?” Rio asks.
“Let her go,” Marcus instructs.
They do as they are told.
I spit my words to Julian with venom. “You hurt her. She was a good person who never did anything to anyone and you destroyed her life. You come near me or my mother again and I will kill you.”