‘I…’ I didn’t know what to say. Since I’d met Jason, a softer side of me had emerged and I didn’t think it would ever go away. The journal I’d just read, had made it worse.
‘It’s your angel side I’m sure.’ He sat down on the opposite side of the fire. I watched him through the flames. He really was a beautiful dragon half-breed.
‘Yes, probably. I’ve not felt the same since…well, since it happened. I wish Artie would tell me what happened with my mother.’ I could feel the tears threaten again as I pictured the last time I’d seen her. We’d been living in the Lower Side. My mother always kept a low profile but she would make me go out and get our food and water. One day she was reading a story to me when some guards stormed the flat and took her away. They told me that they were going to kill her and then left me there. That had been thirteen years ago. I’d been eleven years old.
‘I’m sure he will in his own time,’ Purple replied, lying down on the floor.
‘I’m also sick of not knowing what’s going on with all this.’ I gestured around us. A wave of emotion hit me and I curled up on my side again. I felt so lost.
‘It’ll all come clear to you soon, Hope,’ Purple whispered as he drifted off to sleep. I lay awake for a while trying to make sense of it all, but eventually I gave in and joined him in the land of the oblivious.
Chapter Two
Something wasn’t right. We were outside the theatre, about to walk through the door. I put an arm out to stop Purple and we both listened carefully. Inside we could hear a shuffling and scraping of something.
‘Come on,’ Purple said, opening the door and sneaking in. I followed him. We stood in the shadows looking towards the stage. I jumped when I noticed our prisoner was in the aisle and not far from us. The rebel was pulling the wooden chair to which he was tied to, along with him. He shuffled forward, lifting up onto his feet, pulling the chair forward a couple of inches then sitting back down again.
‘Very good,’ Purple growled going forward and picking the man and his chair up and taking him back to the stage. The rebel screamed in frustration. I wondered how long it had taken him to get that far. He must had fallen off the stage and somehow got back up. Artie came out from the back. His eyes were blinking and he stopped to rub the sleep away.
‘What happened?’ he asked, standing still as he watched Purple tie the rebels chair to the stage. There was no way he could escape now.
‘Good job we just came back. He was escaping,’ Purple huffed. He was not happy. I slowly walked up to the stage but stayed on the floor. My eyes grew wide as Jason walked out from the back of the stage. He was limping very slightly.
‘Hope, I’ve been waiting for you. I’ve got to go back, they’re getting suspicious. I didn’t want to leave without…’ He stopped when he realised everyone was watching him. I spun away from the stage and walked back up the aisle towards the front door. He followed me. I couldn’t believe how quickly he could walk now. He’d only been shot a few days ago.
‘Hope, please…’ he said, taking my cast in his hand and spinning me towards him.
‘Jason, I’ve read the book. It’s fine. You need to get on with your life as it was planned.’ I didn’t know what else to say to him. The journal was so intimate. It was so trusting and understanding and a small part of me could feel it sitting inside of me. But there was a huge part of me that was too human to be able to just be okay with him marrying another woman.
‘I don’t want to,’ he whispered. He pulled me to him and wrapped his arms around me. I felt his heart beat against my head. It was resonating in me. He pulled my hair back gently and looked down into my eyes. I saw it for the first time. He was showing me his soul. Intensity started to make my body shake. The love that flowed from him and into me made me feel light headed. He bent and rested his forehead against mine. Our gaze was locked into place and I could feel his warm breath mingle with mine.
‘I love you, Hope. You’re the reason I’m alive. I don’t want any other women. You’re the one for me. I feel you.’ He placed his hand over my heart and I felt it melt. A tear escaped my eye as a familiar feeling that I’d never felt in this life-time overwhelmed me. He caught me as my knees buckled and lifted me. I wrapped my legs around his waist and he walked us into the shadows by the entrance. Here, he pressed me against the wall and stood still. The shadows had tried to swallow the light in his eyes, but they were glowing and I could see them clearly.
‘I love you too,’ I replied. It was true. The journal had opened up a part of my heart that I never knew existed. As he lowered his mouth to mine and pulled my lower lip into his mouth and sucked, I vowed to complete our mission. If we were separated, that was fine. It wasn’t just about me and my human needs. This was about love and bringing more of it to the world. The earth wouldn’t survive if we didn’t complete our mission. We needed to find a way to unite Avoidables and Perfects. Jason kissed me hard and then trailed his lips down my neck, pulling my hair back roughly so my throat was exposed.
‘We can still hear you. Can you go and get a room?’ Purple called. His tone was tight and I felt heat rush up my neck. Jason laughed and opened the door, taking me outside to the alley.
‘Are you really going to make love to me in the alley?’ I asked as he pressed me against the wall again.
‘Baby, when I make love to you, you consume me so much, I don’t know where I am.’ He breathed into my ear making me shudder. He was right, that’s exactly what happened to me too. ‘Please, Hope, let me take you to that place?’ His breathing was laboured and I could feel my own lungs trying to get more air into them.
‘Yes, please,’ I sighed, forgetting about life and letting Jason take me to a place of bliss.
Chapter Three
‘Who came up with the idea?’ Artie said.
He was sitting in front of the rebel. The man had shaved hair, similar to Artie’s colouring. He was small and had a huge, hooked nose.
‘Why should I tell you anything?’ he drawled, leaning back in his chair. We’d loosened his ties as we questioned him. Purple stood to the side of Artie and I was down on a chair off the stage. ‘Because we want to help Sandor,’ Artie said.
The man smiled slightly. From down where I was, it looked like a soft expression had come over his face. Maybe he was in love with our flatmate.
‘Tell us your name,’ Purple said as he scratched the stubble on his chin. I’d always thought that stubble suited Purple. It made him even more intimidating. He reminded me of the men I’d read about in history books. They were brutal and rough, but loyal to their families and friends. Not that Purple was so tough; he had the softest heart I knew.
‘My name is Leon,’ the man replied.
‘Thank you for telling us your name. Please tell us who came up with the idea to bomb the compound?’ Artie asked.
‘Again, why should I tell you anything? You think that Sandor means anything to me? She was a tool in our rebellion. Did you know that my parents are Perfects? I grew up and they noticed that my nose was big, so they brought me over here and basically dumped me.’
I swallowed hard. This is what happened with most Avoidables. My mother had risked being caught as a Perfect living on Lower Side so that she could be with me. I realised that now. However most of the Perfects were able to dump their children as if they meant nothing to them. This left a huge amount of scarred adults. No wonder we were all so messed up.
‘They didn’t even bother with the test.’
‘Oh woe is you,’ Purple grumbled. He stepped forward and stamped on Leon’s foot with his huge leather boots. Leon sucked in his breath but didn’t make a sound. This man was used to pain. Purple went to do it again, but I jumped up.
‘Wait!’ I called, coming forward and clambering up onto the stage. I always had my new arm out whenever we were in the theatre. Especially since I’d broken the other one. Purple stepped back and looked at me. His eyebrows rose and he shrugged as I came up to them. Artie rubbed a hand over his f
ace.
‘This is why we don’t have females around when we do this, Purple,’ Artie sighed.
‘You think I can control her?’ Purple said.
A thud on the theatre door had us spinning around. Jason was out back and I hoped that he’d stay there. The doors burst open and I panicked. My arm was still on full show. Getting behind Purple I concentrated on pulling my arm back in. Artie had jumped off the stage but he stopped when we saw his brother walk down the aisle.
‘What are you doing?’ Artie said.
The man stopped when we saw us all. I stepped out from behind Purple.
‘You must be her,’ the man spat, pointing at me.
‘What are you talking about?’ Artie said.
His brother was holding a gun. He lifted it and levelled it at me. I felt my eyes grow wide. Purple stepped in front of me.
‘Move...I will shoot you,’ the man said.
‘Dad, don’t even think about it,’ Jason shouted from behind us. He’d obviously heard his father’s voice.
‘No, it should be you that I shoot!’ The gun swung to aim at his son.
‘What is your problem, John?’ Artie said, stepping towards the man.
‘My problem is that my son, who is engaged to one of the highest government official’s daughter, has been seen fooling around with an Avoidable with one arm.’
I gasped and heard Purple suck in his breathe. He was still standing in front of me. We both looked over at Jason. He wouldn’t look at us, his eyes stayed focused on his father.
‘We need to leave,’ he said.
‘That’s why I’m here,’ John replied, lowering the gun. Jason walked past Artie. I noticed him squeeze his shoulder as he went. Purple reached back and held my hand in his. I went to step forward but he squeezed my hand tight. I watched as Jason jumped off the stage and joined his father.
‘Sorry, Artie, but I had to get my son out of here,’ the man nodded and turned. They both started to walk away and I had to physically bite my lip to stop myself crying out for him. This was the way it had to be. We’d signed up for this and if I loved him, I’d have to let him go.
‘John, you may be a Perfect, but one day you’ll see, that no one is perfect, including you.’ Artie’s tone was bitter. I was surprised that he’d said what he did. Usually Avoidables were punished for insulting Perfects.
‘Don’t you think I know that, brother?’ John hissed, stopping dead still but not turning around.
‘Funny way of showing it, brother,’ Artie spat the last word and spun on his heel. He jumped back onto the stage and went out the back. Jason and his father, John, carried on down the aisle and out the theatre doors.
‘You okay?’ Purple turned to me and I nodded. I couldn’t trust myself to speak.
‘Well, that was a great show. You consort with Perfects and expect me to tell you about Sandor. Her death will be on your hands and you won’t even care.’ Leon’s sneer was like a kick in my gut. He was right. It certainly looked like we were working with them. I had to get out of here. I squeezed Purple’s hand and then pulled away.
‘Hope…’ he started.
‘I just need a moment,’ I whispered, jumping off the stage, running down the aisle and out into the sunlight. The guard car was driving away and I fought the urge to run after it. Instead I turned and started walking to a place I’d not been for many years.
My mother and I had lived in this high-rise building for ten years. I stood and stared at it now. There had been no test for me, the minute I was born with just one arm my mother escaped to the Lower Side.
‘I’ve not seen you around here for a while,’ a voice said behind me. I turned to see a woman about my age standing in the shadows of the alley next to the building. The buildings were grey and made from cheap metal and concrete. I squinted at the woman as she stepped forward.
‘Don’t you recognise me?’ she asked, laughing.
I knew that laugh. I’d not heard it since the day my mother had…
‘You’re looking good, Hope, you’ve aged well.’
This girl had been our next door neighbour. We’d played together in the hallways between the flats. She’d laughed a lot when we were young and I’d always found it infectious. Her long blond hair was braided although matted in places. Her blue eyes were haunted and her figure was very skinny.
‘Nicole?’
She nodded and smiled at me, revealing bright white teeth. I was surprised by how clean they were considering the rest of her.
‘It’s been a while,’ I said, stepping towards her.
‘You broke your arm,’ she said. That smile was still hovering on her lips. I wondered if she was stable.
‘Yes, I was…’ I let my words trail off as a beast of a man came out of the shadows behind her. He had dirty blond hair that fell down his back in one thick braid. Dirt was smudged on his fair skin and stubble grazed his chin. His blue eyes were striking. The corner of his lip lifted in a sexy grin as his gaze met mine. Nicole glanced behind her and let that gorgeous laugh bubble out of her again.
‘Don’t worry about him, that’s just Noland,’ she said, threading her arm through his. He wore the same style clothes as Purple. My gaze trailed his chest, travelling over the contours of the muscles showing through his t-shirt. I looked him up and down. When our gaze met again I felt heat rush onto my cheeks. I’d just openly appraised his body looking for what made him an Avoidable, giving him the impression that I was attracted to him. To be honest, if he was to have a wash, he’d easily get away with being a Perfect.
‘What are you looking for exactly?’ he purred, taking his arm away from Nicole. His voice was the deepest I’d ever heard. It sent vibrations down my spine and I felt myself swallowing. He was pure male and I couldn’t tear my gaze away. He was no longer smiling. He was assessing me the same way I was him.
‘Nothing,’ I replied, lifting my chin slightly and looking straight into his eyes.
That quirk lifted the corner of his lip again and I struggled to stare him down.
‘Hope used to live here,’ Nicole said, smiling up at Noland. He didn’t pull his gaze away from mine to look at her. In fact he’d ignored her the whole time. I felt a twinge for the girl. She was attractive. A birthmark marred one half of her body. It curled up her neck and finished in a point over her jaw. I remember finding it quite fascinating when we’d been kids. It seemed to have a certain pattern to it.
‘And where do you live now?’ That drawl had me shivering again. I blinked and ripped my gaze away from him.
‘Not far. I’ve got to go, Nicole, it was good seeing you again,’ I said, smiling at my old friend and turning to go.
‘Hope,’ Noland called, ‘tell Artie that I’m back and want to help.’
I swung my head towards him and saw his full smile. He’d caught me off guard and he knew it. Nodding I turned and walked away from the most handsome man I ever seen. The funny thing was, he was an Avoidable.
Chapter Four
‘Who’s Noland?’ I asked Purple. He was sitting on a patch of dirty ground outside the theatre, resting against the brick wall. The building was one of the only ones made from bricks.
‘One of Artie’s old warriors,’ he replied, keeping his eyes closed.
‘Well, he’s back,’ I said, falling to the ground next to him and adopting his pose. The sun was warm on my face as I felt the tension drain away from me.
‘What?’
I heard Purple’s head move. He grabbed my cast and I yelped in pain.
‘Sorry, but he’s been gone a while. We didn’t think he’d be back,’ Purple’s tone had me opening my eyes and looking at him. He ran a hand through his loose hair and glanced at me sideways.
‘That’ll be why you have such a dreamy look in your eye.’
I laughed and he joined in. There was no denying it. I was attracted to the hulking warrior with dirty blond hair, pale skin and a voice deep enough to drill a hole into my heart.
‘He’s no Jason, that’
s for certain,’ I replied, feeling guilty at the bitter tone in my voice.
‘No, he’s much worse than Jason, Hope, don’t even think about getting involved,’ he said, taking my hand gently and leaning his head back against the wall.
‘Don’t you have some work to do?’ Artie’s voice floated over to us from the open doorway of the theatre.
‘Okay, okay,’ Purple said, standing.
I got up and pushed my straggly hair back out of my eyes. I felt my mouth screw up as I encountered my greasy locks.
‘And you met Noland looking like that?’ Purple smirked. I couldn’t even punch him. My casted arm was still sore, but it was feeling better as the hours went by. I wondered if being an angel meant I healed quicker. I glanced at Artie and saw that he’d frozen. He was staring at Purple.
‘I saw him, Artie, he told me to tell you he was back and wanted to help.’
Artie nodded once and went inside.
‘What is it with everyone knowing everyone else and me not knowing anyone?’ I asked.
Purple raised his eyebrows at me. ‘If you’d stopped sneaking off with lover boy for the last couple of months, you’d be more focused on what’s going on. You’ve completely missed the bigger picture,’ Purple almost spat the words at me.
I frowned at his sudden change in mood. ‘Well, why don’t you enlighten me? You’re supposed to be my boss.’
We stood in the street. The sun was sinking and Avoidables were going home after a day of trying to make their life better. Some of the jobs they had were making products, teaching or just dragging up their children.
‘You’re supposed to be the enlightened one, angel,’ he whispered.
‘What’s your problem?’
Purple had gone from warm to cold in the space of a few minutes.
‘Nothing, Noland is a dangerous warrior. He was good for a long time but then his parents were killed and since then, he’s gone off the rails a bit.’ Purple was looking down at the ground.
‘Why is he an Avoidable?’ I couldn’t help but ask. I’d not been able to see any mar of imperfection on him.
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