by Lola StVil
“Yes!” Swoop said as she did a backflip down the hall.
“Hey, wait for me!” Key shouted as she took to the air after her twin.
“Jay, I thought Miku was back from the mission.”
“It’s gonna be another three days. The Kon asked her to do him a favor and go on some peace mission to smooth things over with a group of Partials he’s pissed off. She went but swears she’d rather be battling any day,” Jay replied.
“Yes, your wife is very much a blood and guts kind of girl,” I pointed out to him.
“There’s still a little Redd in her,” he replied.
“She’s been able to control Redd for years now. That has to give you some peace.”
“Yes, and I can’t tell you how glad I am she’s better. Redd was…there’s a liquid pill out on the black market now called Gore. It strips you down to your most evil self for an entire hour. For most angels, that’s not a big thing, but for Miku…”
“If she were given that pill, there’s a chance she’d be Redd again,” I replied sadly, picking up on the concern in his voice.
“Exactly, and having Redd emerge even for an hour would be deadly. So I went to the Kon and demanded he put the Paras on it. Send them out to find the demon who created the pill. Also find the Seller who is selling it and take care of them.”
“What did he say?”
“You know the Kon—useless.”
“Did you tell Marcus about this pill?” I reminded him.
“Yeah, but I also told him to hold off on calling the team in. I’d like to find this pill and the ones behind it without having to tell Miku.”
“She’ll feel bad that the team has to go on a mission just for her,” I guessed.
“Hell yeah, she still holds so much guilt because of what happened the last time Redd emerged.”
“I get it. The first thing I wanted to do when I saw Pry today was call Marcus. But he’s on his way to fight a demon that feeds on fear; calling him to tell him Pry’s sick…”
“The Crowen demon would sense his fear. Marcus would lose the battle in seconds.”
“Yes, but the guilt of not calling him is killing me.”
“I feel you. I’m sorry he’s going off to fight by himself,” Jay confirmed.
“It’s not your fault. Crowen demons grow stronger the more bodies they have to feed on. Marcus can handle himself. Besides, there’s no need to worry him. I mean, this whole thing could be nothing.”
“I get it.”
“I am not going to call him until I know for sure that Pry is in serious danger,” I said mostly to myself.
The Healer walked into the hallway where Jay and I stood, and addressed us with a grave look on her face. Jay took my hand in his and spoke in a serious tone.
“Emmy, it’s time to call Marcus.”
A few hours later, Marcus met us in the clinic, with wounds on his arms and a large gash on his chest and leg. I begged him to get treated, but he couldn’t have cared less about his injuries. He went into Pry’s room and took her hand while the Healer explained her condition to us.
“The Marcola virus isn’t very strong, and most angel toddlers can evict the virus from their bodies on their own. But the virus found itself inside the body of a Noru,” she explained.
“So what does that mean?” Marcus asked.
“Think of it this way: The virus is like a really bad demon with no weapons. So while he has evil intentions, he’s harmless. But in this case our demon is in the body of a being whose bloodline is nothing but power. So it not only wants to stay there, it will use its newfound power source to accomplish its goal—to kill the host.”
“Wait, you’re saying my baby could die from this?” I demanded.
“No, Death. I’m saying she will die. It’s only a matter of when. At this point she has only a few days left. I’m sorry,” the Healer replied regretfully.
“Don’t tell me sorry, lady, just tell us how we save her. How do we kill this virus?” Marcus begged.
“We would need to infect someone with it and extract the vaccine that being’s body would make,” the Healer replied.
“Fine, then use me. Put the virus in me,” I instructed.
“There are rules about infecting a council member. You know that.”
“That’s okay because you are going to use me. You can infect me,” Marcus said.
“I can’t do that,” she informed him.
“Why the hell not!” Marcus blared.
“This virus is feeding off power. Do you have any idea what it would do if it were inside you, First Guardian? You’d die faster than your daughter,” she reasoned.
“I don’t care about dying. Just put it in me, and fix my baby,” Marcus said.
“You won’t live long enough to form the vaccine we need,” the Healer countered.
“Then what the hell do we do? There has to be something because I will not watch my child get eaten from the inside out. So you better figure something out!” I shouted and caused the windows to shatter. Soon I was screaming and it caused the whole clinic to shake.
Marcus was trying to calm me down, but he was so distraught he could hardly keep himself from ripping the building out of the ground.
“Em, it’s okay, it’s okay,” the Akon vowed as he restrained me.
“Miku, get Pry before the walls crumble down on her,” Jay said to his wife.
“Hey, someone get this Healer chick outta here so Emmy can calm down,” Rage ordered.
“I’m on it,” Jay said. He picked the Healer up and breezed past us so fast he was no more than a blur.
It took hours for the team to get Marcus and me to calm down and to fix the clinic. Once everything was settled, the Healer explained what we needed to do in order to help Pry.
“We would need a being that is more powerful than the average angel but not as powerful as Death or the First Guardian, and that being would have to share Pryor’s bloodline,” the Healer said.
“So a sibling?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Well, she doesn’t have a sibling,” Marcus replied, sounding drained.
“I know. I am very sorry.”
Two weeks later, Pry’s condition worsened. My baby was barely a year old, and she couldn’t move her head, legs, and arms or even flap her wings. Most days she couldn’t keep her eyes open. There were red “spider vein” marks on her. They were everywhere, from the inside of her eyelids to the soles of her tiny feet. Her wings, like the rest of her, were too weak to move.
And while Marcus was treated for the wounds he got from fighting the Crowen demon, Marcus Cane was far from okay. In addition to the looming death of my baby girl, my husband—First Guardian, proud father, and love of my life—was quickly fading away from me. I always knew how strong a mother’s love could be, but I didn’t grow up with my father. I had no idea just how deeply our daughter’s impending death would affect Marcus.
I stood outside Pry’s room and watched as her father kissed her tiny hand. He stroked her fire-red hair, dropped his head, and began to weep hopelessly. I didn’t cry because I would never be able to stop. I would literally flood the world. The rivers would overflow; oceans would sweep across the land and wipe out everything.
The fact was, I would be okay with that because if Pryor died, I didn’t see a reason to go on at all. There was no need for life or anything else to continue. That kind of thinking was dangerous for a woman whose job it was to keep the world in balance. That was why Time and Fate carefully monitored me, to make sure I didn’t lose it.
But I was losing it every day, more and more. I had gone from indescribable grief to desperate, boiling rage. It wasn’t just that my only child was going to die; it was the fact that Fate knew something that could help. I knew he did because he would avoid eye contact. He wasn’t just that way with me, he was that way with Marcus too.
When I approached him about it, he just kept saying how sorry he was and reminding me that his powers didn’t allow him
to see everything.
“I don’t need you to see everything, Fate. I need you to see what I can do to help my daughter,” I demanded.
“Pryor needs you in the room, beside her. Not out here in this hallway, arguing,” Fate countered.
“What my daughter needs is to live past the age of one! If you know something, help me.”
“You know that I can’t reveal information just like that. There is a reason the council members before have not had families. Sometimes you can’t be both Death and a mom.”
“I don’t give a damn about being Death. I am going to save my kid. And if you know something and don’t tell me, Omnis help you…”
I became so desperate I tracked down a Seller and threatened to burn his entire house down with him in it if he didn’t get me the Gore pill. Once the pill was in my hand, I dropped it into Miku’s drink and waited for it to take effect. I knew what a terrible thing that was to do, but I would have done anything to hear my child call out for me. I knew I was crossing a line, but I also knew that I simply could not live without Pryor.
“I guess Fate kept his big mouth shut,” Redd says, pulling me out of my thoughts as she pours herself another drink.
“It’s not that he won’t say, it’s that he can’t,” I reply.
“But you don’t care about that. You want to know how to make him talk,” she says.
“I’m hoping in your exploits you came across something that I could use to get Fate to talk.”
“I may have something that might help. But I want something in return.”
“No, you can’t have your powers and you can’t suppress Miku.”
“That’s not what I want—well, it is, but for now, all I want is to lay eyes on them.”
“On who?”
“The twins.”
“Why?”
“What the hell do you mean why? They are my kids.”
“No. They belong to Miku.”
“Fine, but being suppressed is like looking at the world from the floor of the ocean. I’m here, and I would like to see them in person.”
“No.”
“Do you want to save your daughter’s life or not?”
“I’m not going to sacrifice one kid for the other.”
“You’re so dramatic. I’m not asking to kill the twins. I just want to see them. I’ll tell you what—you can place me in a Holder. I won’t physically touch them. I just want to see them.”
“No. I’m not going to allow you to see Miku’s kids for advice that you may or may not have for me.”
“Death, you know I can help you. That’s why you went to all this trouble. In fact, you let me see the twins and I will give you more than advice. I will give you a vial of nectar from the shadow blood flower.”
“Shadow bloods are the most powerful truth-extracting flowers Omnis ever created. But he destroyed the field they grew in when demons started using them to extract sensitive information from the angels they captured.”
“Yes, and there is only one left in existence, taken by a very sneaky demon who managed to walk through the flames and pluck one out of the ground. I will tell you where it is, you use it on Fate, and save your daughter. Do we have a deal?”
The twins are playing in the park near their home, like I knew they would be. Miku and Jay make sure that they are on a schedule so that they get a good balance of work and play. Tony-Tone is too busy preparing the kids’ snack to notice us. I place Redd in a Holder and remind her that she’d better behave.
I signal for the girls to come over to me. Right away, they start to plow me with questions. Is Pry feeling better? When can they play with her? If Pry is feeling better, will Aaden come back and play with them like before?
While I answer their questions, I allow Redd to watch them. She’s in a Holder with a shield that allows her to remain unseen. I don’t want the girls to see their mom’s alter ego. Redd studies Key very closely. It’s like she’s trying to look right through the little girl. When she’s done, she pulls back, looking disappointed and irritated.
She then focuses her attention on Swoop. Redd leans in so close she touches the shield. She’s looking into Swoop’s eyes like they hold the key to everlasting life or something. She does this for several seconds. Finally, she seems to find something that not only satisfies her, but makes her howl with laughter. I send the kids back to Tony, and Redd tells me where to find the nectar. I ask Redd what’s so funny. She smiles but says nothing.
***
Finding the nectar wasn’t difficult since I knew where to look. And now that it’s in my hand, I feel a small sense of relief, knowing I will finally get some answers. I enter the clinic and find the team, Time, and Fate all in the waiting room. I want to go check on my family, but I know that it’s best if I stay focused.
I signal to Fate that I need to speak with him in private. He follows me into an empty room. Yes, he’s Fate and can see what’s coming, but he can’t see everything. So when he closes the door behind him and I throw the oil on his face, he’s shocked.
“Shadow blood, no!” he says.
“I’m sorry, but I need to know what you know.”
“I knew it would be best to stay away from here. I knew something would go wrong today, but I didn’t want to abandon a council member in their time of need. There will be images, flashes that will appear. I beg you, don’t look at them. Don’t—” His eyes start to roll to the back of his head and turn milky white. The nectar is starting to work.
“Tell me what you know about Pryor. How can I save her?” I demand. Fate was wrong. There aren’t a series of images; there is just one: a little boy with wings.
“Who is that?” I demand. But Fate is powerful, and in a matter of seconds he’s able to free himself from the power of the nectar.
“Damn it, Fate, who is that little boy!”
“He belongs to Marcus—your husband has no idea. His mother is Quo. Her name was Bianca, as you know. Her son’s name is Jason.”
“Pryor has a brother? Why didn’t you tell me? I know you can’t tell us everything you see. I get that. But my kid’s life is on the line and you should not have held out on me.”
“Discretion comes with the job, Death. You know that.”
“He’s the answer to our prayers.”
“No, he’s not.”
“Fate, Jason can save Pryor.”
“When you inject him, it’s not just the virus going into him, it’s also your blood. The blood of a council member.”
“My blood will linger inside him,” I reply to myself.
“Yes, leaving even a trace amount of your power is lethal in the wrong hands. This boy’s soul could one day tap into it.”
“But Pryor has my blood and she’s fine.”
“Yes, because you are her mother. But this boy’s body has no connection with you. It won’t instinctively know what to do with all that power. It will lie dormant, but later it could be tapped into.”
“I would be his Maker,” I concluded.
“Yes, you would be creating a being with powers just as strong as ours. It’s like creating a fourth council member.”
“But there’s also a chance that Jason doesn’t tap into the hidden powers. In fact, he may not even know he has them,” I reply.
“Yes, but that’s not the point. This kid could be the start of the end.”
“His name is Jason. And you can’t just assume a sweet little boy might turn evil. Yes, his mother was an outright bitch. But that’s not to say her son will be as coldhearted.”
“That’s not his name. Jason is something humans call him. But he will grow into something else. He will be referred to by another name.”
“What will his name be?” I ask.
“I don’t know as of now.”
“You don’t even know what he will call himself and you think you know this kid’s life story?”
“Who do you think you are talking to?” he says, and his voice causes the ground to tremble.
&nbs
p; “Don’t flex your power on me, Fate. I’ve obliterated armies on my lunch break and I have no issue taking you on.”
“Emerson, I am speaking to you now as a friend. I’ve seen this little boy. He’s small, engaging, and bright. But there is a darkness that surrounds him. I was about to tell you and Marcus of his existence, but coldness crept into my whole body and I saw a flash of darkness falling on the world the likes of which we have never seen before, not even with Lucy. That’s why I didn’t tell you. Maybe it’s Pryor’s destiny to end her life right here and now.”
“The hell it is. My little girl is going to grow up, and I will fight Omnis himself if that’s what it takes to ensure it,” I promise him.
“This kid is not the solution.”
“Maybe he is. You have seen beings with darkness inside them. But that’s not what’s happening here, right? The darkness is around him, and for all you know, the darkness could be his environment and not what’s in his heart. You are jumping to conclusions, Fate.”
“I know evil when I see it! How dare you suggest otherwise.”
“My best friend was evil. He did unspeakable things. But now Rage has turned things around. You’re willing to give up on a kid whose feet barely touch the ground at the dinner table.”
“You cannot spin this to fit your needs. I have seen the world being sucked into a void of evil and disappear. I know it’s coming, and I know it could very well start with this boy. You become his Maker and evil will follow.”
“Can you vow to me right here and now that Jason will become the great evil you have seen in your visions?”
“Emerson—”
“Can you tell me that you know for sure that Marcus’s son will be a threat to the world?”
“It’s not certain.”
“That’s just it. You are not certain about Jason. But I am certain that my daughter will die. So I am going to find Jason, and I will do what I need to do to save my family.”
“Death, do not do this! We each have a role to play, you know that.”
“Yes, I do. And I will honor your need for discretion. I will keep the news of Marcus’s son from him, even though it kills me to do so. But I’m going to save my baby,” I reply as I march past him and out the door.