by Lola StVil
“You touch that kid again and I’ll cut your damn balls off!” she shouts.
I like her.
I don’t intervene because East can take care of himself, especially in a crowd of humans. He doesn’t need my help. Although at some point it may take the two of us to hold Marisol back.
Fearing that so long as the large man is in her presence, she’ll never calm down, East guides her kicking and screaming out of the crowd and takes her to the back of the building. I follow, hoping to get his attention.
“What do you think you’re doing? That guy could have killed you!” East scolds.
“Hey, I’m not the problem. He’s the one getting drunk and taking his pathetic life out on his son,” she argues.
“I’m not defending him, but you need to get yourself under control.”
“I’m not going to sit back and let that ape hurt anyone,” she protests.
“Okay, start from the beginning,” East says.
“James comes into the shelter every day with one injury after another. He gives me these weak excuses like falling down on his bike, but it’s a lie.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure. When his father comes in to get him, he’s so scared he nearly wets himself,” she explains.
“You could have called the cops,” he replies.
“No, because then they would move him to another foster care family and they might be worse than this guy.”
“So your solution is to confront his foster father and threaten a man three times your size?”
“I wanted him to know that I’m watching him. And if he ever hits his son again he’s gonna have me to deal with.”
“Oh, and what will you do?”
“Kick his ass,” she replies confidently.
“Okay, I get you wanting to go all ‘Kill Bill,’ and by the way, that’s sexy as hell, but you could have been hurt,” he warns.
“My ex-boyfriend ripped me apart daily and that was my fault. I gave him permission to destroy me because I never spoke up. I’m not gonna do that anymore, East. I can’t. The day I walked out on my ex, I vowed that I would never remain silent while someone was suffering. I will help put an end to it. That’s who I am now. Please don’t ask me to be anyone else,” she says passionately.
“Sunny, I don’t want to change you. But thinking you can tackle that guy all on your own is crazy,” East replies.
“Well, then strap on the straightjacket and bring on the meds,” she says stubbornly.
“This isn’t funny. You punched that guy and he could file charges. You’d go to jail. That’s okay with you?”
“Depends. Would I get conjugal visits?” she asks with all sincerity. East smiles despite himself.
“Yes, I would come and ‘do’ you in jail; that’s just the kind of classy guy I am,” he says.
“Who said the conjugal visits were with you? We just started seeing each other. I have lots of options,” she teases.
He smiles and gently pulls her towards him. She looks into his face and beams up at him as she wraps her arms around him. He brushes a stray hair away from her face and tucks it behind her ear.
“What is with you and getting in harm’s way?” he asks.
“James’ dad is a bully; I hate bullies.”
“You can’t stop all the bullies in the world,” he cautions her.
“Who says? I have a cape and everything.”
“Marisol, please take this seriously.” He groans.
“I had to take a stand. Or to quote a famed South African civil rights leader, Desmond Tutu, ‘If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.’ ”
“Why couldn’t I fall for a simple girl, one who likes to shop and hashtag everything?” he asks himself out loud.
She laughs at his dramatic sigh. Then he looks into her eyes. At first I thought he was taken with her, but judging by the way he’s looking back at her, it’s more than that. East is in love.
“I’m sorry I made you worry. And I’m sorry I’m not more ‘Uber glam,’ but you’re stuck with me. Is that okay?” she asks sincerely.
“Yeah, that’s okay,” he replies as he pulls her in and kisses her tenderly.
As their kiss grows, my comfort level decreases. I have no choice but to let them know I’m there before things get any more heated. I clear my throat.
“Silver!” East says, caught off guard.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but we need you back at the house,” I reply awkwardly.
“Is there news?” he asks anxiously.
“Is this about your angel friend?” she asks.
I glare at Easton. Marisol should not have any idea about angels, period. He didn’t wipe her mind.
“Oh, I know. It’s a secret. Sorry,” she replies.
“Don’t worry about it,” I reply, smiling politely.
“Um…Marisol, this is Silver. Silver, this is Marisol. She’s my girlfriend,” he says proudly.
We shake hands and she asks if she can help in any way. East tells her we have everything handled and apologizes for having to leave. I turn away as he gives her a quick kiss good-bye. We start walking down the block in silence for a few moments. East is the first to speak.
“I’m sorry,” he says.
“For leaving a mission to go talk to your girl or for not wiping her mind like you said you did?”
“Both.”
“East, c’mon, what are you doing? You know Marisol can’t know about us. When we get Pry back, she’s gonna kill you for not doing what she told you to do. And on top of everything else, you’re distracted from your mission. And we can’t afford that, ” I remind him.
“I had made plans with her before all of this and I just wanted to cancel in person. When I got here she was in the middle of cursing out this guy and…knowing that Pry is in trouble made me want to make sure others in my life are safe. I just wanted to check in on her. Time got away from me.”
“Okay, fine, but why didn’t you wipe her mind?”
“Knowing there were angels on Earth gave her hope. I just couldn’t bring myself to take that away,” he confesses.
“At first I thought you were just hooking up with some chick and having fun, but I can see now it’s more than that,” I admit.
“Yes, it is. It’s so much more. We started talking again and it’s like we never stopped. I love her.”
“But here’s the problem. You just spent the past like half hour telling her to stay safe. Then you go and tell her the biggest secret in the world, the same secret that could place her in danger. Demons find out she’s important to you and she becomes a target. You say you love her and that’s great. But how much is your love going to cost her?”
He doesn’t reply. However I can tell my words are weighing on him. He lowers his head as we walk in search of an alley to take off from.
“She seemed nice,” I offer.
“She is. She’s crazy but nice.”
“She really would have tackled that guy, huh?”
“She would have fought him to her death. That’s what scares me,” he admits.
“I know what you mean. Pryor’s the leader and the strongest of us, but every time we’re in battle, I just…”
“You want to tell her to sit it out?” he guesses.
“Yeah. Not gonna happen though.”
“Nope. Never,” he agrees with a smile.
I update him on what Randy found as we head down the nearest alley. Just as we are about to take off, East gets a text. He reads it twice in disbelief.
“What is it?” I ask.
“It’s Swoop; she says The Center sent us a message--”
Before he can get the rest of the words out, both of us take to the air. Once we land, we rush inside the house, where the rest of the team is already gathered.
“They sent us a Replay,” Key says.
She holds the large orb in her hand and it activates. But there is no visual image inside the or
b. Instead the message from the orb is auditory. It replays Pryor’s terrified screams.
“No. No. No,” Randy begs as his eyes fill with tears.
“Wait, there’s a slight buzzing in the background. Do you hear it?” Swoop asks.
“Yeah, I hear it,” I reply.
“What’s the buzzing sound? What does it mean?” Key says.
I don’t reply. I can’t form the words.
“Silver, what does the buzzing mean?” Bex demands.
“It’s the sound of one of the tools they used on me. It’s called a Susu. I’d recognize it anywhere,” I reply in horror.
“What do they use it for?” Randy asks.
“It’s what they use to…”
The rage coursing through me makes it hard to keep talking. A fireball springs inside my palm and I fear in a few seconds the house we stand in will be nothing but ash. Sensing this, Swoop places her hand on my shoulder and speaks calmly.
“Silver, don’t lose it. We need you. Just please talk to us. What does the buzzing sound mean? What are they doing to Pryor?”
“Cutting her open.”
Chapter Eight:
Mrs. Colton Bishop
The team immediately comes at me with a thousand questions. They want to know what happened to me at The Center. They beg to know what Pryor has been going through since she’s been there and what they are likely doing to her now.
I remain silent, which causes them to reach an even higher level of panic and frustration. The team’s questions fill the room and together with the sound of Pryor’s agony, form a perfect crescendo of torture in my ear. I throw the orb into the wall so hard it shatters and takes a large chunk of the wall along with it. The room falls silent. No more Pryor screaming. No more questions.
Without saying a word, I step over the rubble and head out to the backyard. I know I need to calm my rage and be a leader, but right now, I can barely think straight. The ire that grips me demands that I kill and destroy everything in sight. Not giving into that urge takes all I have. I lean back against the wall and look out at New York City. I hear someone enter the backyard. I turn and find him coming towards me.
“Bex, not now,” I warn him.
“On my way back to the house, it took me three tries to get airborne,” he says.
“Why?”
“No focus,” he says, shaking his head in disbelief.
I don’t say anything back.
“I have been flying since before I could talk and all of a sudden, I had no idea how to take off. The twins haven’t Recharged and Randy hasn’t taken his eyes off the computer screen in hours, not once,” he says in a quiet tone.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because you are not the only one who is missing her. You’re not the only one in agony knowing that she’s being hurt.”
“You’re saying you know how I feel but the truth is you don’t. You have no idea what they are doing to her; I do.”
“Yes, and knowing what she’s going through right at this moment can cripple you or motivate you. Make a decision and do it quickly.”
***
It’s a few minutes later and I have gathered the team. They look back at me; I’ve never seen them this edgy and anxious before. The twins fold their arms across their chests as if to brace themselves from what’s to come. Randy is no longer crying, but sadness creeps behind his eyes. Bex taps his foot impatiently and Diana studies my every move.
“Okay look, I’m not Pryor. I can’t do that ‘nice and gentle’ thing she does. All I can do is be honest and tell you what I know,” I say to them.
“Fine, tell us what they are doing to Pryor,” Key says.
“I will, when and if the time comes. But right now we need to stay focused,” I reply.
“Why are you keeping this from us?” Randy asks.
“Because if you knew what was being done to her you’d do something reckless and get yourself killed or you’d curl up in a corner and beg East to wipe your mind.”
My saying that just causes Randy to freak out more. Right away I regret my choice of words. I’m just not great at this leadership thing.
“Randy, we’re going to get her back. And when we do, I’ll be the first to tell her how helpful you were. So please keep helping and don’t fall apart on me,” I plead.
“Okay, I’m fine,” he lies.
I know he’s still terrified; his shaky voice betrays him. However, the fact that he’s trying to look composed is good enough for me.
“I need you guys to trust me. Knowing what they are doing to your leader is their way of distracting us from finding them. We can’t get pulled into that. We must stay focused at all cost. Is that understood?” I ask. Slowly they all nod in agreement.
“Great, now where are we on finding Bishop?” I ask.
“Every being I encountered had no idea where he could be,” Swoop says.
“No one has heard from Bishop in years,” Bex says.
“Yes! We got a location,” Randy says, looking on his phone.
“You found Bishop?” Bex asks.
“No, but I found the next best thing: his wife.”
“Bishop was married?” I ask.
“Yes, and for some reason he didn’t just give his Rah away like angels normally do. He also got married and had a human ceremony,” Randy replies.
“Why would he do that?” Swoop asks.
“I don’t know. All I know is that we have a record of his marriage license. And if you give me a few seconds I can tell you who his wife is...” Randy says as he scans the screen of his phone for answers.
“What if she’s in hiding like Bishop?” Swoop worries.
“It doesn’t matter, we’ll find her. Even if we have to threaten every demon, Seller, and Pawn there is,” Bex says.
“We won’t have to search for Bishop’s wife; we already know where she is,” Randy says, taken aback by what he sees on the screen.
“Where is she?” I ask.
“She’s at school; Bishop is married to The Face.”
***
We head over to the school moments later to see The Face. Her real name is Mrs. Greenblatt. Her job was to protect and look after us. It never occurred to any of us that she would be involved in The Center. Although I don’t know why I’m shocked. The amount of double-dealing and bullshit in the Angel world is endless.
Still, I find the news upsetting. It’s not that I like the Face. In fact we frequently argued. She was always a pain in the ass. She’d nag me to death about things I couldn’t care less about like not skipping class, not using foul language, and following the rules. It’s like I said, she was a real pain.
Yet there was something in her I respected. She never let my temper get in the way of lectures on being a better student. And even though I’d never say it out loud, I admired that she stood up to me and insisted we try to go on with our human education. Yes, most of the time, I wanted to staple her mouth shut, but I thought of her as a good being. I guess I was wrong.
We enter the hallways of the Livingston Academy and right away all heads turn towards us. The guys turn to face the twins and drool over their beauty. The girls put on their bright smiles and either walk towards us or gawk from a distance. A few girls smile at Randy. We’re surprised by this new development but no one is as surprised as Randy. He’s outright baffled.
“Are they looking at me?” he whispers to Swoop.
“That’s right, stud,” she teases.
“Last week I would have killed for that,” Randy says to himself.
“And this week?” Key asks.
“I couldn’t care less,” Randy replies.
I understand why Randy feels the way he does. Not so long ago he was just a scrawny kid who longed to get in good with the popular crowd and maybe score with a chick behind the bleachers. Then out of nowhere he finds out that he’s the Blue Rose heir.
The Blue Rose heir is the only being that can help Malakaro achieve his goal of evil dominat
ion by drinking the second half of a mixture. There are five vials he needs in order to make this mixture; he already has his hands on one.
Should Malakaro find out that Randy is the Blue Rose heir, he will come after him. The only one who can stop this is Pryor. And according to the angels, the only way she can stop Malakaro at that point is to kill Randy.
Many would be fearful of Pryor knowing that she is tasked to kill them, but not Randy. Instead he’s here helping us find her. I keep meaning to check in with him and see how he’s handling the fact that he’s the heir but something always gets in the way.
Like being betrayed by the one that’s supposed to be protecting us.
The more I think about it the more upset I get. Judging by the determined strides of the team, I’m not the only one who’s pissed off by The Face. In fact, the first one to go bursting through the door isn’t me; it’s East.
“Where the hell are you keeping her?” he demands.
“Will you excuse us please, Ms. Gordon?” she says to the startled student sitting across from her.
The girl gets up from her chair and heads towards the door, yet she doesn’t go through it. Instead, she finds herself staring longingly at Bex.
“You should go. Now,” Key warns the student.
She smiles bashfully at Bex and hurries out of the office.
“How nice of you all to grace us with your presence,” The Face says calmly.
“Look, lady, I’m in no mood to play around. Where is she?” I demand.
“Who?” she asks.
“You lie to me one more time, lady, and I’ll bash your damn skull in,” I promise her.
“Where is Ms. Cane? She needs to know that a member of her team is being insulting and downright offensive,” she counters.
“Stop acting like you don’t know she’s been taken,” Swoop snaps.
But judging by the shock on her face, Pryor’s disappearance is news to her. The shock turns into concern and worry. And for the life of me, I can’t see a hint of duplicity in her expression.
“You had no idea, did you?” I ask.
“Certainly not. That child is my responsibility,” she says.
“Don’t act innocent. You are married to the guy who took her,” Key accuses.