by Lola StVil
We knock on the red door and a few moments later a beautiful human opens it. She has skin the color of coffee beans, long braids that frame her face perfectly, and a brilliant smile. She looks to be in her late fifties although it’s hard to know for sure.
“Aaden!” she says, smiling even bigger as she embraces me.
“Hello Femi,” I reply.
She greets everyone on the team and is happy to meet Randy, the best friend Pryor has told her so much about. Femi has no idea that we’re angels. And although she was at the center of the biggest story in the Angel world, she has no memory of it at all. Looking at her now, I think it was for the best.
“Where’s Pryor?” she asks.
“She has a school project so she couldn’t make it. We were nearby so we thought we’d stop and say hi,” East replies.
“That’s great. Come in!” she says, opening the door wide.
We enter the nicely decorated home and are surrounded by framed pictures of Pryor and her family. The dark hardwood floor and soft lighting make the house feel like home.
“Julian, the kids are here!” she shouts towards the rooms upstairs.
“So Pryor used to spend a lot of time here when she was little?” Randy asks.
“Yeah, she lost control of her powers and ended up flying into the living room. That freaked Femi out. Julian had to get someone to wipe her mind,” I reply in a whisper.
“Julian will be right down. You all have great timing. I just made a nice pot of beef stew and I also have fresh buttered biscuits and lemonade. Everyone have a seat,” she says as she gathers the plates.
“Thanks, but we’re not hungry,” I reply.
Randy flashes me a quick look of panic. I always forget he needs to eat. East eats too but he’s only half human and doesn’t need to eat as often as a human does.
“Actually, Randy would love a plate,” I reply.
“Certainly. You know, I have never seen any of you eat,” she says.
We smile back at her, not sure what to say.
As she serves Randy a bowl of stew, Julian comes down the stairs. He looks to be a little older than his wife. He’s put on a few pounds but is still in pretty good shape for his age. Just one look at us and he is already on high alert.
“Femi, honey, weren’t you going shopping?” he asks.
“I was but I can’t now. We have guests.”
“Please don’t change your plans for us,” Bex says.
“Go, honey, you deserve to shop a little. I’ll take care of the kids. Hurry, the stores are closing,” he encourages.
“Well…there is a sale at Nordstrom…” she replies.
“Missing a chance to shop is a major crime,” Swoop says.
“Okay, but I’ll be back soon,” she says as she takes her coat and heads out to the garage.
“Where’s my granddaughter? What’s a full demon doing in my house? And what drug is Keyohmi on?” Julian says, changing his tone the moment his wife is out of sight.
“How do you know I’m on—”
“Key, I’m the original First Guardian. I know what a stoned angel looks like.”
“Oh. Well if you want to tell how awful I am, you’re too late. I let everyone down and now I’m off the team,” she says softly.
“I see. And where is my Pryor?” he asks.
We explain things to him. Then he curses the Angel world.
“First my Emmy is stuck in the light and now Pryor’s gone. This Malakaro bastard is really starting to tick me off.”
“Here, here,” East says.
“And the demon?” he asks.
“This is Ruin. She enjoys walks on the beach, long sips of Coy Dark, and saving the occasional angel’s life,” East says.
He looks at Diana suspiciously. He’s about to say something. Fearing the words that are likely to come from his brazen lips, I interrupt him.
“We need you to look after Key.”
“Yup, I need to be babysat,” she says sardonically.
“It’s what’s best for you,” Bex whispers.
“If you care about what was best for me you wouldn’t have feelings for someone else,” she counters.
“Can you keep an eye on her?” Randy says as he swallows his food.
He must have been starving because he clears his bowl in minutes.
“Who’s the hungry human?” Julian asks.
“He’s Pryor’s best friend. Can you watch Key?” I ask again.
“Yes, I can look after her, but is it wise to go without her? From what you’ve told me, The Center is full of evil. You really want to leave one of your own behind?” he says.
“We don’t have a choice,” I respond.
“Your parents are good angels. You twins are the most important thing to them. Why would you do such a stupid thing like this?” he asks Key.
“She’s been under a lot of pressure,” Swoop says, taking her sister’s hand.
“That’s what being Noru means—pressure. Suck it up, kid,” Julian says.
“You don’t understand,” Key replies.
“The hell I don’t. I chased my wife for a million lifetimes. I know more about love than all of you combined. And you know what I learned after finally getting what I want from Omnis?”
“What?” she asks in a sad voice.
“Everything that bastard put me though was necessary. How else would I know to appreciate it?”
“I don’t want to be like this, okay? But when I try to pull myself together…I know Bex is just an angel like any other angel but…” Key stops and lowers her head to the floor.
“Babe, I told you that I’m not leaving you,” he insists.
“But you have feelings for Pryor,” she reminds him.
How Bex feels about Pryor is something I bury deep inside and I refuse to think about or process. Yes, I always knew how he felt, but now it’s out in the open and I hate it. Yet focusing on it right now would be foolish. And so would trying to focus on the other question that’s been nagging at me. The question I’m afraid to ask out loud.
Does Pryor have feelings for Bex?
“It doesn’t matter. The point is I let everyone down. And you guys need to go on this mission without me like Silver said. I didn’t think it was possible to fail on every level. I can’t even do my job. Swoop could have died today and it would have been my fault,” Key says.
“It’s okay, Key,” Swoop says.
“It’s not okay. I’m sorry, guys. I’ll stay here with Julian. You can take my wings away to ensure I do,” Key says.
She then turns around so I have access to her Deck, the spot behind her head where the leader can touch to strip a team member of their wings.
“She sounds really sincere. I think she regrets her actions. Are you sure we can’t take her?” Swoop asks.
“Look, I want to, but we don’t know when she’s going to go off the rails again and want more drugs. When this is over, Key, I promise we will get you the help you need but for right now, there’s no way we can take you. I mean it’s not like they have a pill that makes addiction disappear in a matter of minutes,” I tell them.
“No, not in minutes, but there’s something that can be done in hours,” Julian says.
“You mean a Soak?” Diana says.
“Yes,” Julian replies.
“What is that?” I ask.
“Yes! A Soak. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it myself,” Key says, getting excited.
“What is it?” Randy asks.
“It’s a black vial that’s used to clean the soul. It clears all the fear, doubt, and uncertainty normally attached to your soul. It makes it easier for you to resist drugs because you feel complete within yourself,” Key says.
“Why isn’t this more widely known?” I ask.
“It’s fairly new among Healers,” she says.
“I heard of it from the inventor herself. She’s pretty proud of it. You can give it to Key and in a few hours that will get rid of her addiction,”
Julian says.
“It won’t get rid of it, but it will give me the extra strength I need to resist it,” she pleads.
“Has it been tested? I don’t want you to take anything that could harm you,” Bex says.
“It’s perfectly fine. I want to try it. Silver, what do you think?” she says, filled with hope.
“Julian, can you and Key excuse us?” Diana says.
“What? Why?” Key asks.
“It’ll just be for five minutes,” Diana says.
“No, I’m not gonna leave; I deserve to hear whatever you’re about to say,” Key counters.
“I saved your life. All I’m asking is that you give me five minutes alone with your team. Then when you come back you can continue to glare at me. I promise,” Diana insists.
Julian takes Key upstairs and leaves the rest of us in the room. We turn our attention to Diana, who looks worried.
“We have a problem,” she says.
“Yay, another one!” East says sarcastically.
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“Once you drink the vial of Soak, it takes you to your darkest fear. I mean it literally takes you there. It makes you disappear into your fear. Then it forces you to face whatever it is that frightens you.”
“So Key will be pulled into a scenario where her and Bex aren’t together?” Swoop asks.
“If that’s her biggest fear, but I don’t think it is. That’s why we have a problem,” Diana says.
“Whatever the fear is, she can get past it. I have faith in her,” Bex says.
“That’s great, but it will also reveal things she didn’t know she was afraid of.”
“Wait, you mean…?”
“Yes, East, Soak will undo your work. It will give her back her memory—all of it,” Diana tells him.
That’s when I finally understand why Diana is worried about Key taking the vial.
“Wait, East never did any work on Key. Key’s never had her mind wiped,” Bex responds.
“That’s not exactly true…” East says carefully.
“What are you talking about?” Bex demands.
Crap, why now?
“Okay, Bex, we need to tell you something but you have to stay calm and know that we did what we did because it was the best way to keep Key from getting locked away,” I warn.
“What happened? What memory did you take from her?” he demands of East.
“Over a year ago, you two had an argument. I’m guessing it was about Pryor but I’m not sure. Anyway, Key was upset and she went out to a bar and took some pills. It caused her to temporarily lose her powers as a side effect. She was leaving the bar and five humans attacked and raped her. By the time she came to, she had her powers back. And when she realized what was done to her, she killed all five of the humans,” I reply.
I have never seen Bex look so tormented before. When he speaks his voice trembles from anger and profound sorrow.
“Raped?” he says, unable to wrap his head around the news.
“I know it’s hard to hear. When Silver told me, I totally lost it,” Swoop admits, placing a hand on his shoulder.
“Bex, I’m sorry. We would have told you but it was best no one knew. I only told Swoop because I needed her to make sure Key didn’t start drinking again,” I tell him.
“This is my fault,” Bex says.
“No, the people to blame are dead,” East reminds him.
“How is this not my fault? That girl out there, my girl, faced the worst thing that could possibly happen to anyone because of me. I don’t even remember the fight but I’m sure I said something about Pryor. Something that made Key mad and…”
“Bex, it’s okay,” East says.
“And today, I told her I couldn’t remember why I loved her. I said that to her. And meanwhile she’s going through this?” Bex says to himself.
“You guys argued. Bex, we all say things when we argue,” I assure him.
“What do I do? How do I help her? How do I…”
“She doesn’t know. I wiped her mind,” East reminds him.
“Wait, she killed five humans…you took the blame, Silver?” Bex asks.
“I told her to go and that I would take care of it,” I say.
“You went to The Center for Key. I thought you really killed those humans…I didn’t know…” Bex says, utterly bewildered.
“Look, it’s nothing, okay? It’s what families do: protect each other,” I reply.
“So we aren’t gonna let Key take the Soak, right?” Swoop says.
“I think she should take it,” Diana says.
“What, you said taking it was a problem,” Bex says.
“Taking the Soak without knowing she’d been raped is a problem. But if you tell her what happened to her, she’ll know what she’s in store for when the Soak takes her back to that night,” she replies.
“No, I’m not gonna tell her,” Bex says.
“Why not?” Diana pushes.
“Because it would crush her,” Bex snaps.
“You guys never learn,” she says, shaking her head.
“Excuse me?” Bex says, baffled and insulted.
“How many times has Key asked you if you have feelings for the redhead? And how many times have you lied to her?”
“This is different,” Bex replies.
“No, it’s not. Stop keeping this from the ones you say you love. It doesn’t work. And you know why, because we know you. We women, who stand by you guys both in bed and in battle, we know you. We know what words to say to hurt you. What to say that will haunt you. And when you are wounded and your spirit broken, we know what to say to heal you. So when you look in our face and lie to us, it makes us girls want to stab you in the face.”
“Okay…” East whispers.
“You don’t understand. I was trying—”
“Para, you lied! You looked into the face of the girl you claim to love and you lied to her. You could have come clean and had a grown-up conversation, but instead you did what felt comfortable for you: you lied. And now you are doing the same thing again in this situation,” Diana accuses.
“It was the worst night of her life. Why would I bring that moment back to her?” Bex says.
“He’s right. I wiped her mind. If she doesn’t take the Soak, she’ll never know she was raped,” Easton replies.
“Just because you wiped her mind doesn’t mean you wiped her subconscious. Somewhere inside, that girl knows she’s been violated. I mean, look at her behavior. The first thing she does is find a guy to sleep with when she’s high.”
“Maybe it’s a coincidence,” Randy says.
“No, it’s not. I know because I—I know other girls that have been assaulted. They either get really shy and withdrawn or they go to the far end of the spectrum and use sex to try and get their power back.”
“Diana?” I call out softly once her voice starts to tremble.
“What?” she snaps.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
“Yeah, fine,” she lies.
“If fixing her subconscious is the key then we are out of luck. I don’t know how to do that,” East tells Diana.
“Nor should you. Seriously, five humans climbed on top of that girl and inserted themselves inside her. They walked away with a piece of her and maybe it’s time she gets it back. Tell Key the truth,” Diana says emphatically.
“You just don’t get it,” Bex says.
“Yeah, I do. You’re protecting Key’s innocence. Yet a few hours ago she was in Silver’s bed. I hate to break it to you, but the treasure you’re guarding has already been stolen.”
Chapter Eleven:
The Girl In The Alley
I expect Bex to get extremely upset with Diana and challenge her at every turn. Looking around the room, I am not the only one. We all know what’s about to happen. It will be an all-out argument, yet another thing we don’t really have time for. However, when Bex opens his mouth his tone isn’t confrontational at all; it’s remorseful.
“You’re right,” he says softly.
“Look, I’m not trying to be a bitch but—wait, did you just agree with me?” Diana asks, stunned.
“Yeah, I did,” Bex replies.
“Anyone else feel a chill?” East asks jokingly.
“Bex, are you saying you want to tell Key, because I’m not okay with that. She may be your girlfriend but she’s my twin and I’m not gonna let you hurt her even more so than you have already,” Swoop declares.
“Swoop, it’s the only way she can get better,” Bex pleads.
“Do you know what this could do to her?” Swoop replies.
“It can’t be any worse than what she’s been doing to herself,” Bex insists.
“Wrong, telling her could send her over the edge.”
“Swoop, we need to do this. If the Soak can help her fight her addiction, then I don’t see how we have a choice,” Diana replies.
“First of all, there is no ‘we.’ Secondly, the only reason we are allowing you to tag along is because you saved Key. And while that’s one thing in your favor, it’s the only thing. So stay out of this,” Swoop informs her.
“I am only trying to help but do whatever you want,” Diana says, shrugging her shoulders.
“Key is my sister and I have a say-so in whether or not we tell her something that will devastate her,” Swoop counters.
“What other choice do we have?” Bex asks.
“I’ll take care of her. I’ll make sure she doesn’t take any more pills,” she replies.
“You’ll watch her for the rest of your life?” East asks.
“If I have to, yes,” she says stubbornly.
“Bird,” I call out to her.
Swoop turns to face me. I haven’t called her “Bird” in years. I used to call her that back when she was learning to fly. Her wings were weak and fragile. She was learning basic flight patterns but she insisted on trying to outfly every bird in the sky. She marveled at their speed and once asked her parents if Omnis would ever let her fly as fast as the birds. They reassured her that she would someday be even faster.
“Silver, Key’s not like family to me, she is family. How can I let Bex tell her something that will crush her?” she asks.
“Bird, she can’t go on this way. She either faces the truth or it will wreck her whole life. The next time she gets high and loses her powers, there may not be anyone around to cover for her. You want to protect her, then arm her with the truth. We should have done this when it first happened,” I explain.