by Lola StVil
“What if we don’t?”
“We will.”
“Pry, you know Silver is already dealing with some heavy shit. Even if he won’t say it out loud. The whole group knows something is wrong. If he loses his dad…”
“Swoop, this is not the time to crumble. We will not let those demon assholes end Uncle Rage’s life. We’ll get to him in time. I don’t care if we have to split the sky in two, we will save him,” I promise her.
“And what about Silver, who is going to save him?”
“What do you mean?” I ask her.
“Pry, he’s in trouble. Something is going on with him and it has been since he’s been back. He needs someone to talk to, and it has to be you.”
“I tried to…he’s not responsive to…”
I look into her pleading eyes and marvel at just how stunning Swoop is. She has the best pout in the game. My brother Sam learned the art of pouting from her.
“Okay, okay. I will talk to him.”
“Thank you,” she says as she kisses me on the cheek.
She tells me she is going to track down a few demons and interrogate them, in case there is something else we need to know. Before I can reply, she does six somersaults in the air and does a handstand out of the room.
And now, for my talk with Aaden…
********
Finding Aaden wasn’t a challenge. I knew exactly where he’d be. And sure enough, when I enter the small Tuscan village, I find a very lost looking Noru. He stares into the water fountain in dark dismay.
His mother Ameana was my father’s second in command. She had a thing for water fountains and Uncle Rage made sure to take Aaden to visit all the ones she loved. No matter how many fountains they saw, he always wanted to return to this one. It’s the last she saw before she died.
“You would suck at playing ‘hide and seek,’ you always go to the same place,” I tell him as I approach the nearly empty town square.
He doesn’t reply. Nor does he look towards me. I look out into the three-tier water fountain. At the top is a stone statue of a young woman carrying a jug of water. The jug is angled so that water seeps out and cascades on to the layers below.
“They’re gonna kill him,” he says, still not looking at me.
I tell him about my plan to find something to trade with so that we can get passage to the forest.
“And how much time is that going to take?” he snaps.
“I don’t know, but we’re going to try.”
“THAT IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH!”
“Look, I know this is hard for you, really I do. But you can’t lose it right now. We have the whole team working on this. There is nothing more important than saving your father.”
“Then let me surrender myself.”
“No!”
“Why the hell not?”
“I can’t—the team can’t lose you. You are too valuable. You know that. C’mon Aaden, think.”
“I am not going to sit by and let him get killed.”
“I’m not part of the board. I know how important your father is to you and how much he’s done for both the angel and human world,” I plead.
“Yet you are willing to let him die?”
“I can’t sacrifice you for your father, and you know what, he would agree with me. Rage and your mother went through hell to make sure you were safe. I’m not going to ship you off to Malakaro now and dishonor their sacrifice.”
“This is such bullshit. If the situation were reversed, you’d break all the rules to get your father out of danger,” he accuses.
“Yeah, and you would try and stop me. You’d be thinking clearly and not be clouded over with emotions.”
“PRYOR, YOU WOULDN’T LISTEN TO ME. YOU’D GO OUT AND DO WHATEVER THE HELL YOU WANT. SO WHY CAN’T I DO THE SAME THING?”
“BECAUSE I’M THE LEADER AND I SAID NO!”
Fuck! I shouldn’t have said that. This isn’t the way I wanted this to go. I didn’t mean to rank on him.
He looks back at me and a flash of anger crosses his face. His gaze is fierce and deadly.
“I’m not letting my dad get ripped apart in some Omnis-forsaken forest. I’m not going to let Byelle pick over his bones. I don’t give a damn if you throw me off the team, I’m going to surrender myself and there is nothing you can do to stop me,” he swears.
“You try and I will take your powers away. You’ll be defenseless. You’ll be a target for any random low-level demon. You won’t get anywhere near Malakaro to trade yourself in for your father,” I warn.
“You would really do that?” he says, enraged.
“This is my team. I will run it the way I see fit. You are my second in command. We will not lose you. And if you disobey, I will drain every ounce of power from you. Do not test me. Is that clear?” I order.
He glares at me with such ire a chill passes through me.
I want to hold him; I want to make it better. But that’s not my job. That’s for his girl and I’m not his girl. I’m the First Noru. And I have to ensure the team’s survival. Even if that means making an enemy out of the only angel I’ve ever wanted.
“I asked you a question, Noru. You will not defy me on this matter. Are we clear?” I demand again.
“Got it,” he mumbles heatedly as he turns and walks away.
If it wasn’t official before, it is now: Aaden Case hates me.
********
Not only did I order him not to defy me, I told him he was to stay close to the house so that the whole team would be together. But he knew that mostly I wanted to keep an eye on him. We fly back together. The flight is silent and filled with tension. When we enter the house, we find the whole team eagerly awaiting our return.
“What is it, did you guys find something?” Aaden asks eagerly.
“Have you been watching the news?” The Twins ask in sync.
“No, why? What is it?” I push.
“It’s none of your business is what it is,” Swoop says, delighted.
“Silver used to hang out with her, he might want to know,” Key says.
“Know what?” Aaden replies.
“This just came online a few minutes ago,” East says as he hands Aaden his cell phone.
Aaden and I look at the video that’s being displayed on the screen. There’s a demon girl standing on the ledge of the Empire State building looking terrified.
“Is that—”
“Ruin,” Aaden says, finishing my thought.
“She’s been standing there for a while now, looking scared,” Key says.
“It’s going viral as we speak,” East announces.
“Why is she up there?” Aaden demands.
“Maybe she was drunk,” Bex suggests.
“Diana can hold her Coy better than most guys I know,” Aaden corrects him.
“East, zoom in on her eyes,” I say.
He does as I ask and right away I know what’s happening to the Kaster, Ruin.
“Pryor, what is?” Aaden asks.
“She has the same empty look in her eyes that the humans had a few weeks back when they started jumping off buildings. Back when they were being controlled by Malakaro.”
“That doesn’t make sense. Why would Malakaro send her up there? She’s a Kaster. She’s on his side,” Randy asks.
“I think I know,” Swoop says as she reads a text off her cell. We all turn to face her, eager for an explanation.
“According to my contact, demons everywhere are watching this broadcast per Malakaro’s instruction. He wants them to see what happens when they disobey him.”
“How did Ruin disobey Malakaro?” I wonder.
“And what does he have planned for her?” Key asks.
She would not have to wait long for the answer. Ruin grabs hold of her wings with both hands and starts to tear them from between her shoulder blades. She lets out a bloodcurdling, ear piercing scream as her flesh is being pulled apart.
“Diana, no!” Aaden shouts at the screen.
Before we
realize what’s happening, Aaden takes off into the sky.
“Aaden, wait!” I shout.
It’s no use; he’s already airborne. I tell the team to follow.
“We’re helping her?” Swoop asks in disbelief.
“She saved my life once. So yeah, I guess. But my main concern is Aaden.”
“There’s a shocker,” Bex says under his breath.
Key flashes him a quick warning glance. I’m not really sure what’s going on with the two of them, but now is not the time to find out.
“We don’t know what Malakaro has planned. It may be a trap because he knows that Ruin used to be a friend of Aaden’s. We can’t let him go alone,” I reply.
“Good point, let’s go,” East says.
“Randy, keep searching for a way to help Rage. We’ll get Aaden back,” I say as we all take to the sky.
When we get to the Chrysler building we find a horde of demons and angels looking on. They shout and encourage Ruin to keep pulling her wings apart. Angels are happy to see demons in pain, since they normally inflict pain on others. The demons shout for her to keep hurting herself because they feel she deserves it for not doing as Malakaro ordered.
The humans have gathered with their emergency vehicles. They don’t see Ruin’s wings. To them, she is some crazy girl who’s pulling at something only she can see. They set up barriers and the firemen gather to figure out the best way to get her down from the ledge.
The twins head down to the ground to try and protect the humans in the crowd. East and Bex head into the crowd too. They try to keep everyone back. So far, it’s not working. Both angels and demons want front row seats to Ruin’s meltdown.
Aaden goes straight for Ruin and I follow behind closely. He calls out her name, but she barely looks at him. She has torn off nearly a quarter of her wings.
“Diana, stop it!” Aaden begs.
“It’s no use, she won’t be able to break the control Malakaro has on her,” I tell him.
The ledge of the Chrysler building is bathed with demon blood. It seeps down along the side of the skyscraper. Ruin continues to cry out as she inflicts the cruelest punishment on herself.
“We have to knock her out,” Aaden shouts as he tries in vain to loosen Ruin’s grip away from her wings.
I hold out my hands and prepare to Pull; that’s when I hold out my palm and suck the life force out of the being in front of me.
“No, you’ll kill her,” Aaden says.
“I can try and use less energy but I can’t promise it will work,” I warn him.
“We can’t risk it.”
“What do you want to do?”
“I can’t blast her with my Powerball, she’s in such a deep trance, she won’t block it; it’ll come straight for her and kill her.”
“She’s powerful, Aaden, we can’t just hit her over the head with a brick,” I counter.
“Got it!” he says.
He rams his fists into the floor causing the foundation to crack beneath her feet. He signals for me to get ready to catch Ruin if need be. He attacks the pavement that surrounds the Kaster once again. This time the ledge crumbles completely, and Ruin goes hurtling towards the ground below.
Aaden manages to catch her in time. Yet even in his arms, she’s still trying to rip what’s left of her wings off. The pain is so overpowering, Ruin starts convulsing uncontrollably, as if she is being electrocuted.
“Tie her hands or she’ll continue to do damage to herself,” I tell him as he flies up towards me.
I hand him a spool of Samson string and silently thank my dad for always making sure I had some on hand. Samson string can’t be untied by anyone other than the being that originally tied it, so it’s perfect for what we need.
Once Aaden manages to tie her hands behind her back, Ruin finally stops clawing at her wings. She looks up at Aaden as tears flood from her eyes. Or what I thought was tears.
“She’s bleeding from her eyes,” Key says as she flies up to us.
“What does that mean?” Aaden asks in panic mode.
“It means she’s dying,” Key says.
“Help her, Key,” Aaden begs.
Key takes out a small gold colored vial and empties the content into Ruin’s mouth.
Ruin goes perfectly still; too still.
“Is she…?”
“No, Aaden, she’s not dead. I’ve just put her in animated suspension. It’s the only way to stop the bleeding. But it’s going to wear off in half an hour. If you want to save her, you need to get her to a Healer.
“Key, you’re a Healer.”
“Yeah, but she needs a Healer who specializes in wing repair. It’s delicate and takes years to perfect. If I give her the wrong mixture, it could be fatal.”
Aaden looks at me desperately. I’m embarrassed to say it but something about the way he looks at her causes a wave of jealousy to run down my spine.
Great, now I’m jealous of a dying Kaster. This day sucks so hard…
“Key, find a Healer who can repair her wings,” I say to her.
“I’ll try. Where should we meet you guys if I find one?” Key asks.
“At the house,” I reply.
“We’re letting a Kaster in our house?” Key asks in utter bewilderment.
“It’s protected, so Malakaro won’t be able to find her,” I reply, uncertain as well.
“Okay,” Key says, shaking her head in disapproval.
East and the others stay behind to wipe the humans’ memories and clean up the mess.
Aaden and I fly away from the madness and head towards the house, Kaster in hand…
*********
When we get to the house, we place her on the bed in my room. We gather towels to stop the bleeding. Aaden puts a cold compress on her forehead and gently wipes the blood from her face. I feel that wave again.
C’mon, you can’t stand here feeling envious of a girl on her deathbed! What’s wrong with you?
“Pry!” Aaden shouts, I’m guessing not for the first time.
“I’m sorry. What do you need?” I ask.
“Can you get me something to cover her with?”
“Oh, yeah. Hang on.”
I rush over to the linen closet and take out a few blankets and an extra pillow. I hand them to him. He thanks me, covers her up, and gently props the pillow under her head.
“I feel like I’m forgetting something. What am I forgetting? What else can I do?” he asks, frantic.
“Nothing. Key should be back soon,” I promise him.
A few moments later we hear footsteps. We leave the bedroom and enter the living room where we find Key along with an older angel. He has clay colored skin, salt and pepper hair, and dark rim glasses. He carries a dark bag containing what I’m sure are various mixtures.
“This is Abdul Muhammad. He’s a wing expert. He thinks he can help,” Key says.
“I can certainly try. Where is she?” he asks.
“Right in here,” Aaden says as he opens the door to the bedroom.
Abdul looks back at us, confused.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“She’s a demon,” he replies.
“So?” Aaden snaps.
“I don’t work on demons. Surly you can understand, being angels yourself,” he says.
“I don’t know what it is about my tone that leads you to believe you have a choice in the matter but trust me, you don’t. Fix her!” Aaden demands.
“I’m sorry, no,” he says as he starts to walk away.
“You do this for us and the Noru will owe you. Not just you but your entire family. If you help us, you will be helping the daughter of Death. And believe me, it helps to have Death as a friend,” I promise.
“It’s certainly better than having Death as your enemy,” Key warns.
“I’ll see what I can do. I will need help, however,” he says.
Key agrees to help him; the two enter the room and close the door behind them.
A few moments later K
ey comes back out and tells us they are mixing up a complex compound and it will be awhile.
“Is she going to be okay?” Aaden asks.
“We don’t know for sure--” She’s about to say something, but stops herself.