“My father feeds on dreams,” I added quietly. “And what does it have to do with me anyway? What have I ever done to you? You hated me before I even knew about my dad.”
Vivian wrinkled her nose as though she’d just smelled something rotten. “You act like you’re better than any of us. I’ve seen the Dimensions,” she said in a high-pitched voice. “My friend is a Rascal and I’m more powerful than anyone here.”
“I never said that!” Suddenly my ears were droning. The anger and fear that I had stored during these last few days all came bursting in a mix of a headache and babbling. “Do you think it’s a load of fun having to flee your country to protect yourself and your friends? To leave your family for God know how long… Do you honestly believe I enjoyed learning that my father had lied to me all these years? That I was glad to know I was half Seraph, half something I have yet to understand…
“And how can you be so ignorant as to think I come to these meetings for any other reason than to get to know people who are like me—at last—and to experiment with my own ability in order to discover how it works and how to control it? Because if you really believe all of those things, then you need to get your head out of your own butt, because it’s squeezing your brain to madness! There are monsters out there you wouldn’t even want to dream about,” I said, thinking about the bemoths and the bird-woman. “My friend is a Rascal but he’s the kindest, most caring person I know. Yes, he does need to feed on humans once in a while, but he’d never touch anyone without their consent. Rascal or not—you shouldn’t judge a person based on their title but on their actions.”
“She’s telling the truth,” Adam spoke, squinting at my invisible aura. “Everything she said is the truth.”
“So what? Maybe she’s naïve. Maybe she believes what her Rascal friend and father told her because she’s too stupid to think for herself.”
Sine spoke for the first time since I’d arrived. “Vivian, from what I understand, you’re the only person here who believes such idiocy.”
“Fine! If all of you prefer to shut your eyes to the obvious and choose her side, then I don’t see why I should stay.”
“This is absurd,” Patrick said. “You and Amya have equal rights to be here. You don’t have to leave.” But Vivian was already putting on her green winter coat. “You’re being ridiculous…”
“THIS WHOLE THING IS RIDICULOUS,” Vivian exploded. “It was enough when H told me some Rascals were good, but to actually be around one? H is a little insane. I understand why she would try to convince me. But you guys? Seriously. What with all that happened last year in Europe? H told me at the beginning of September that she suspected it was the work of Rascals. She never knew how they were slowly starting a third world war, but she was certain it had something to do with them.”
“It did,” I said before I could stop myself. All eyes darted to me again. “I didn’t think it was relevant, but yeah, Rascals killed people’s Yellow and Blue selves, using Protectors to Travel between the Dimensions. Those people whose selves had been killed went mad because they were unaccustomed to being influenced by only one Dimension. But it was only a diversion, and we stopped them.”
“Oh, come on! Now she saved the world?” Vivian snapped. Her hands had started to glitter, their color changing. She looked around the room for a similar reaction, but no one gave her the satisfaction. “You guys are such idiots!”
“Vivian, calm down.”
As Sine said those words, Vivian’s hands grew bigger, their yellow hue changing into a dark, glittering gold. Unable to contain her anger, her fist came down hard on the table, which split in two.
“Oh dear…” Patrick said quietly, pulling his royal-blue scarf in front of his eyes.
Vivian’s deed hadn’t fully reached my brain when the door of the seminar room burst open and Karl, Samera, and Xander barged in, looking as though they were ready to take down any foe.
“Who are those people?” Vivian snapped.
“Calm down, now, Viv,” Patrick said.
“What made that noise?” Sam inquired, inspecting the room until her eyes fell on the table and Vivian’s hands. “Oy! What in the—?” She backed away.
“Amya, are you all right?” Xander whispered close to my ear, as I felt his warm hand between my shoulder blades.
I nodded. “It’s just a silly fight…”
At once, several voices started arguing at the same time, everyone pointing their fingers at the table and at Vivian’s hands. The sound grew louder and louder, and I thought a librarian would come to oust us, when Karl’s voice echoed in the closed room.
“QUIET!” he shouted. Stunned faces turned toward him. Vivian opened her mouth to retort, but Karl didn’t let her. “Be. Quiet. And. SIT DOWN.” He kept staring at her golden hands, his own hand on the gun he’d hidden in his coat.
“Finally.” Patrick sighed, sitting down like the rest of the group.
Vivian crossed her arms over her chest, her hands almost back to their normal size but still yellow-gold.
“It was okay, Mr. Jensen,” I began. “Just a little misunderstanding.”
His eyes moved to Vivian, to the table, and back to me in a swift motion. “I see. And is this misunderstanding settled, or will there be any more casualties?”
“Vivian cannot control her ability, sir,” Kristin blurted out. “She’s the one who broke it.” Vivian shot a murderous look in her direction but Kristin merely shrugged. “It’s true. Just like you broke into the library during the initiation.”
“I knew it was you!” Patrick uttered. “You’ll be in trouble if anyone finds out.”
Vivian snorted at him. “How was I supposed to get a stupid book for your stupid initiation?”
“I don’t know. Try to open one of the windows? Unlock the door? Not break a window!”
Kristin sigh. “I should have stopped her, but I wanted to win so badly…”
Patrick, Kristin, and Vivian kept their argument going, but I wasn’t listening anymore. Xander’s hand fell off my back, his eyes fixed on Vivian.
“Wait a second,” he said quietly, moving between Mr. Jensen and me. I noticed that the mark on his elbow had faded to a pale scar. “Can you do that again?”
The room fell silent and the look on Vivian’s face let me know she was scared of him. After all I had told her he was a Rascal the night of our initiation.
“What are you talking about?” she replied stubbornly.
“Your hands. Can you turn them to gold again?”
“Only when I’m angry… can’t control… why?” She looked as though she was about to get up and keep as much distance between herself and Xander as possible.
Xander glanced at Sam and me, though neither of us knew what he was up to.
“I’d like to try something,” he declared. “The burn on my skin appeared the moment we left Hibiscus’s office earlier. It might’ve had something to do with her. She brushed my elbow before she locked her door. She pushed me aside with her left hand.”
“But she touched you before,” Sam said. “During those tests with her daggers, she must have touched your skin—”
“Yes, but she wasn’t engaged then.” Samera frowned. “Her ring’s made of gold, just like her hands!” He pointed at Vivian, who flinched instantly. Then he stared at me. “According to what Gareth told you, Seraphs were created in order to balance good and evil in Amani, after Rascals were admitted to our Dimension. Amya, you said that not all Seraphs have the same ability, so maybe one of these abilities is to destroy Rascals. Maybe Seraphs weren’t just created to balance the universe, but also to wipe Rascals off Amani altogether.”
“Hmm…” Patrick mused. “It would explain why we haven’t found any use for Viv’s golden hands yet. We haven’t tried them against a Rascal.”
Putting aside our argument, I spoke directly to Vivian. “What about your parents? The ability is genetically transmitted. Didn’t they—”
“My parents are dead,” she snappe
d. “Died before I turned one. I should have been killed with them and the rest of my family, but I somehow survived. So unless you wish to question a pile of ash…”
“Sorry…”
“I don’t need your pity!”
Sine got up so fast, it made everyone in the room jump. Karl reached for his gun. “Look, you stubborn little brat,” she told Vivian. “These people are trying to help your tiny, ungrateful ass figure out what you’re worth. So unless you have a better idea, stop arguing and do exactly what they tell you. Now get yourself worked up—it shouldn’t be hard as it’s all you do lately—and touch this hell of a handsome Rascal.” She winked at Xander, who barely noticed. “Or I will.”
All eyes on her, Vivian grunted. “All right, but if he attacks me, you can all feel responsible for—”
“Just do it!” Kristin urged, overexcited.
Vivian focused on Xander, her fists clenched. She kept looking back and forth between the two of us and muttering words—probably insults—I couldn’t comprehend. Slowly, her fingers turned a sort of white gold, the color spreading wider over her palms and wrists, and her hands grew larger and thicker.
When she was ready, when she knew her golden hands had reached their full potential, she carefully and reluctantly advanced toward Xander.
“Stretch out your hand,” she said. “I don’t want to come near you.”
Xander complied, rolling his eyes at her. The tension in the room was palpable as he raised his left arm. Samera had her hand over her mouth; Mr. Jensen had released his hold of his gun and was now staring at the scene, his dark brown eyes wide open; Patrick was clutching at the corner of what was left of the table; Sine, Kristin, and Emily seemed frozen in place, their eyes fixed on Xander; and Mary and Adam were holding each other’s hands under the fragmented table.
Vivian was shaking. Two inches from Xander’s fingers, she took a deep breath and made the final step.
“OUCH!” Xander yelled, which scared Vivian away. “Dammit, that hurts!”
Karl was the first one to react. He quickly positioned himself in front of Xander and grabbed his hand.
“So?” Sam said through her own shaking fingers.
Karl turned around, a mild smile printed on his face. “Looks like we’re going home.”
Chapter XXX
Ian Cohen
Amanda wasn’t difficult to calm down once I explained the whole story about my father being responsible for my sister’s death. In fact, she proposed that I see a counselor to help with my anger issues, and I had no choice but to tell her I would try anything to make her happy—
—which included keeping her safe.
“There is something I need to do if I plan on starting over as a good and honest man,” I said while trying to look morose.
Her eyes glowed with enthusiasm. “How can I help?”
Her question couldn’t have been more convenient.
I told her how Michelle had helped Xander Macfrey escape Headquarters when the Rascals attacked us. Amanda was shocked, obviously, but it also made sense to her. Michelle had been among the few who had kept fighting for Xander against the rebel group John and I had created to pressure Xander’s death sentence.
The more I talked about it, the bigger Amanda’s eyes grew. She was scared and I played on that.
“And I believe,” I continued, “that Michelle might have formed a sort of alliance with Rascals. She used them to save Xander, and now she’s gone after another one.”
“Another one? Why?”
“She apparently wants to prove Rascals can be good, but I suspect she’s been looking for a way to integrate them among us… in our society. And I personally don’t trust them. Not after what they did to Danny, and the explosions.”
“Poor Danny… By the way, John and a few others from the safety department just got out of the hospital,” she told me.
If it were true, then I had to see them right now. I hadn’t bothered asking for John’s help since he’d been admitted for third-degree burns, but now that he and probably a few other members of our group were out, cleaning up Headquarters would be a much easier task than expected.
“Okay. Good,” I said, my brain wrapping around my plan. “Dr. Goldbridge wants to see you in his office concerning the marks on your wrists. I know I am responsible for them, but you must understand that I will need all the help I can get from our colleagues if I want to make our workplace safe again. If they knew what I’ve done to you…”
“Don’t worry; I won’t say anything.”
“Well, actually, if you could tell him it was my father…” Amanda frowned. “I don’t know why, but I feel like it would avenge me a little for all he’s done to my sister and me. His reputation is very dear to him.”
That was enough to convince her. She gave me a short kiss on the mouth before she left for Dr. Goldbridge’s office, and for the first time, I felt a brand new emotion towards my new fiancée. Loathe and disgust had transformed into some sort of trusting dominance. Maybe she could be useful after all.
Proud of my accomplishments so far, I called John and the rest of our rebellion group to my office. John had half his face covered in white bandages, his two arms in the same condition. Fred Lewis and Nicholas Smith had just recovered from severe concussions. Veronica Young wore a cast around her broken leg. Philip Cohen, my third cousin, was still grieving his wife’s death. On the day of the explosions she had just come back to work for the safety department after the birth of their third child. As for the other six, they had been among the lucky ones who had not been injured by the Rascals’ attack.
John was the first to speak. “Heard you threw your dad out.”
“I did what I had to do. I’ve been afraid of him for too long. And, if I have my way, things are about to change around here, so I need a clear mind.”
“What’s about to change?” Veronica asked.
“Have you heard from Michelle?” Lisa, a blonde relative of mine, said.
“No. But there’s something I need to tell you about her…”
***
Once again, around four in the afternoon, I had gathered everybody at HQ downstairs in the library. Amanda was standing by my side, beaming at an extremely baffled crowd, while I was getting more nervous by the second. This was my chance, before Michelle came back, and I had to make the best of it.
I took a step forward with the intention to grab the microphone, but my shaking hands convinced me otherwise.
“Thank you everyone for coming,” I half whispered, half shouted, trying to adjust to hearing my voice echoed through the shelved walls. This wasn’t my first time speaking to that many people, but I felt even less confident now than I had last time. “I have gathered you today for two main reasons. Firstly, it is my pleasure to announce that Miss Amanda O’Neil and I will be getting married next summer. And you are all invited!”
A loud wave of cheers and applause resonated, which inspired me to turn around, walk directly to Amanda, and kiss her in front of everyone. The cheers intensified, followed by a chorus of feminine aws. I came back to the micro with a boost of confidence.
“My next point is a little less cheerful,” I continued as I gently touched my swollen eye with the tip of my fingers. “I was recently forced to face a certain… ghost from my past; a ghost I believed had vanished from my life for good when I was very young.” Several people exchanged knowing looks, which confirmed that the rumor had spread. “That ghost, however, lead me to remark certain ruptures in my life. For instance, I need to go out more often. Seriously,” I said, when several mouths widened. “I haven’t had fun in, what, months? Years? Our job as Protectors of Amani takes so much of our time and energy that we completely forget to live outside of work.” Everybody nodded. “I also noticed that I don’t know more than half of your names, and most of you are directly related to me. Isn’t that awful?” More people laughed and kept nodding along.
I cleared my throat before I kept on. “I’ve spent most of my lif
e afraid to love.” I glanced at Amanda, who’d started weeping behind me. “Afraid to care… But starting today, I’ve decided that it is enough. I’ve had enough of people governing my own life. Of people standing in the way of my own happiness, just because they can. Because I know that as long as I give them power—as long as I don’t believe in myself and my choices—they will keep coming.
“And the first thing I want to do, now that I can deliberately say how much I care about all of you and about our beloved Dimension, is to confess that I’ve been lying to you.”
Smiles transformed into gasps, nods into frowns, as the atmosphere changed completely.
Come on, Ian, I cheered myself. Meo will be so proud.
“Mrs. Cohen left me with a very heavy burden: a secret she wanted me to keep from all of you. I have shared this burden with my fiancée, of course, but I am now ready to share it with you. Why? Simply because you deserve to know your leader and what she is up to.
“As many of you know, she left Headquarters shortly after the Rascal attack. Well, I deeply regret having to tell you myself, but she has gone searching for yet more Rascals.”
A loud choir of protestation and disbelief rose from the crowd, but I kept going.
“You may ask her yourself if you wish, though I can already answer one of your many questions. Why would she do such a thing? Well, simply because she trusts them. She never wanted to put Mr. Xander Macfrey in a prison cell. Had it been only her decision, he would have walked free the second he set foot back at Headquarters.”
Looks of disdain lifted my spirits as I kept forcing myself not to smile.
“It is in fact she who ordered her husband, her daughter, and Miss Amya Priam to break Mr. Macfrey out of jail.”
The crowd broke into outraged shouting making it impossible for me to continue as. The majority seemed to be angry with Michelle, even insulted, while a few yelled at me personally.
AMANI: Reveal Page 21