by Lola StVil
“From the time the Face woke up until she left, I felt this terrible guilt. Not to mention the frenzy that’s going on in her head. Something was in that Portal. I would swear my life on it,” East says.
“If she knew something, why would she hide it from us?” Swoop says.
“You’d be surprise what people will hide,” Bex says pointedly. Both Pryor and I decide to ignore the Kon’s dig at us.
“Are you sure her guilt has to do with the Portal? Could it have been guilt over something else?” Swoop replies.
“I doubt it. I’m telling you there was something in that Portal,” East confirms.
“I can’t believe after everything that’s happened, everyone is still keeping secrets,” Diana says.
“Are we saying the Face is evil?” Bex asks.
“No, she’s not evil. She’s probably trying to protect us from something bad,” I reply.
“I’m so over this shit,” Pryor says, shaking her head.
“Yeah, it’s time everyone was straight with us,” East replies.
“Argh! What is so hard about being honest?” Pry snaps.
Bex looks at Pryor, gives her a snort of derision, and shakes his head in disbelief. I am really trying not to knock his rude ass to the ground, but he’s making it hard. Pryor quickly looks over at Bex and decides to let yet another rude remark go by.
“We can’t let this kind of thing stand anymore,” Pryor says.
“I agree,” East replies.
“So what are we supposed to do, throttle an old woman and make her tell us the truth?” Swoop says.
“If we have to, yes,” Pryor says sadly.
“She’s been in this fight with us from the beginning. I think we should give her the benefit of the doubt,” Bex says.
“I don’t. I mean, I want to, but we can’t afford to be naïve. If there was something in the Portal and she didn’t tell us, then she’s working against us,” Pryor reasons.
“I don’t think that’s really what’s happening,” Bex counters.
“Then tell me what’s happening, because I don’t understand why the Face would hold something back from us. And I certainly don’t understand why we should choose to trust her,” Pryor counters.
“You should trust her because she’s been loyal. Something you clearly know nothing about,” Bex accuses.
“Okay, Bex, how do you want to play this?” Pryor asks before I can say anything.
“What do you mean?” he asks.
“I MEAN WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!” Pryor roars.
“TIME! YOU OWE ME TIME!” the Kon blares back with twice the fury. Bex has never lost control like this, never. His eyes are glowing with white-hot rage. He balls up his fist as if he wants to attack her.
“Kon, you make one move towards her and I will kill you,” I vow. But the one that makes a move towards Pryor isn’t Bex; it’s East. He lunges at Pry, grabs her, and slams her down to the floor. He quickly takes out his whip, wraps it around her throat, and starts to tighten it. The team is on him instantly, but East has erected a shield, stopping us from making contact with him. East is killing her.
“I loved you and you betrayed me. You said you loved me, you said I mattered to you, but how long did you wait after our breakup to hook up with the fireball, huh? Our bedsheets weren’t even dry yet and you were off screwing Silver. Our relationship died because you killed it. But what’s worse is you didn’t even have the decency to mourn! You lying bitch!” East says as he tightens the whip around her neck, further draining the life from her.
“He’s channeling Bex,” Swoop says as she bangs against the shield, trying to get in. I hurl fireball after fireball at it, but it won’t crack open. I know Pryor is afraid to use her power on East. If she ended up killing him, she’d never forgive herself.
“Pry, you have to fight back!” I cry out. She refuses to do what I tell her.
“Damn it, Pry, fight back! East can handle it,” Diana says. But Pryor isn’t taking that chance. Shit!
“East, get off her!” Bex shouts as he takes a shot at the barrier. It doesn’t work. East is about to drain what little life is left in Pryor.
“I think I have a plan,” Diana shouts.
“Don’t explain, just do it!” I order. As soon as the words leave my mouth, Diana grabs Bex and presses her lips onto his, draining his powers hard and fast. In a matter of seconds, the Kon is so weak he falls to the floor. This severs the connection between East and Bex. East now has control over his emotions. The whip is withdrawn from Pryor’s neck and the shield is lowered. I run and kneel beside her.
“Are you okay?” I plead.
She nods as I help her up off the floor.
“Pry, I’m so sorry,” East begs.
“It’s okay,” she replies weakly.
“No, it’s not. You need to control your powers, East,” I scold.
“I tried. Bex—”
“I don’t give a shit about Bex. You could have killed her. Malakaro is a million times worse than Bex. What’s gonna happen if you tap into his rage? What will you do then? Take out the whole damn team?”
“I said I was sorry,” East replies.
“I don’t need you to be sorry. I need you to control your powers,” I reply, seething.
“Aaden, it’s okay,” she calls out as she sips a vial Diana hands her.
Bex starts to stir on the floor. I look down at him and I can’t remember why I’ve allowed him to stay alive for this long. Pryor reads the expression on my face and quickly stands in front of me, turning her body into a barrier.
“Aaden, it’s okay. It’s over,” she says as Diana helps Bex to his feet. I glare at the Kon, knowing there’s a good chance I will have to take his life.
“You’re pissed off because she chose me, I get it. But you better get a fucking diary and write your feelings down. Because if they ever get out of control like that again…Diana will be a widow.”
It’s half an hour later and Bex has taken off to aid with the evacuation. Diana stayed behind to look after Pryor, who thankfully is getting the color back in her face.
East has said he’s sorry about a hundred times. Pryor assures him that she’s fine, but East isn’t convinced.
“Are you sure you don’t need a nap?” East offers.
“Maybe after we save the world,” Pry replies.
“Good point. How about an energy mixture? I can go get you one—”
“East, stop. Your powers are still new to you. I get that you didn’t mean to hurt me. Now let it go. That’s an order,” Pryor informs him.
“Does Bex really hate Pry?” Swoop asks.
“Hate? No. All I felt was…love. He loves you. He’s just not sure what to do with all that love. He’s hurting,” East tells Pryor.
“Was there room left in there—you know, for anything aside from ‘Pry-mania’?” Diana asks.
“I…I don’t know. Maybe,” East says.
“Okay, enough distractions. I know Bex is…I will deal with that later; right now, we need to find out what the Face saw in the Portal. Anyone have any ideas on how we do that?” Pryor says.
“Yeah, I might have a way. Why don’t we just ask her?” Swoop says.
“She had a chance to tell us before,” I tell her.
“Yeah, but it doesn’t hurt to try again,” Swoop replies.
Without warning, someone bursts through the door of the bookstore and runs to East.
“Mel, what are you doing here? Is everything okay?” East asks.
“Yeah, it’s fine,” she assures him.
“Then why did you come?”
“You said you’d call me back and you didn’t, so…”
The team and I exchange looks of intrigue and amusement. Mel is a nice enough chick, but East may be in over his head. He tries to reason with her by lovingly placing a hand on her shoulder.
“Mel, I meant to call, but as you can imagine, it’s a really busy time for the team. I mean, the end of all humanity doe
sn’t really allow for hours of sweet talk on the phone,” he reminds her.
“Yeah, I know. But you did say you would call, but you didn’t. And when I called you, you didn’t pick up,” she says pointedly.
“Sorry I missed the call, but there’s this thing we’re doing called a mission,” East says playfully.
“Don’t do that. Don’t patronize me. If you weren’t going to call, you shouldn’t have promised that you would,” Mel counters.
“Okay, you’re right. I’m sorry,” he says.
“Thank you,” she says with a warm smile.
“I will make it all up to you after we help Randy get back to his normal self and also after we kill the all-knowing darkness. You know how that goes.”
“Maybe I should stay and help you,” she suggests as she sizes up the other females in the team. She looks at Pry with mounting suspicion. Then she looks over at Diana and silently warns her to stay away from East.
“Mel, you can’t stay with the team. It’s not safe,” East replies.
“I’m a tough girl. I can take it,” she insists.
“That’s not a good idea,” East says.
“I don’t see how me being here is doing any harm; unless you don’t want me here for some reason,” Mel challenges.
“Okay, we are taking a strange turn here, and I don’t know what’s going on. Why are you acting like this?”
“I know about Tina,” Mel says, clearly upset.
“Who’s Tina?” I whisper to Swoop.
She shrugs her shoulders, indicating she too is lost.
“Tina? She was a girl I dated way back.”
“Yes, but there were more, right, East? There was Abby, Carla, Joy, Jenny—”
“Okay, okay. Yes, I dated a lot, but what does that have to do with this?” East pushes.
“Maybe you’re not able to be around girls and not approach them. Maybe it’s like something you can’t help,” she says, growing more and more frantic.
“Mel, we can’t do this now.”
“My friends are saying that you can’t ever be serious and faithful to one girl. They think I should keep an eye on you.”
“That’s insane,” East replies.
“Maybe, but it would make me feel better if I could stay here and make sure things are okay,” Mel insists.
“I don’t know if East has an issue with that, but I do,” Pryor says.
“Oh, I see. Is there something going on with you two?” Mel asks.
“What?” East and Pryor shout in unison.
“Okay, I can see that you and Mel need to talk. You two have three minutes. I mean it, just three,” Pryor warns.
The two of them step outside. East knows he needs to walk further away so that he’s not overheard, but Mel doesn’t seem to care; she stops just a few steps away from the window.
“Is there something going on with you and Pryor?” she demands.
“That’s gross. She’s like my sister.”
“‘Like’ your sister doesn’t make her your sister,” she points out.
“Pryor and I are just friends. And even if I did like her, there’s kind of a long line to get to that girl,” he jokes.
“You don’t like her, or you fear you can’t get to her, so you settle for me?” she insists.
“No, that’s not it.”
“Then what’s with you and her?” she asks.
“There’s nothing going on with me and Pry. Silver would have already ripped my damn soul out if there were. So relax.”
“Then is it the Kaster? She’s the queen of the Paras now. Are you attracted to her?”
“Diana and I are just—okay, my friend Randy has been swallowed up by the biggest evil that ever lived. Humanity is on the brink of destruction with every passing minute, and you want to have an impromptu couples therapy session? Are you freaking kidding me right now?”
“You’re gorgeous. Funny. Kind. And out of all the girls you could have, you picked me. And I need to know why. I’m trying to preempt whatever heartache comes with being with the flirt of the angel world,” she admits.
“I know you’ve heard stories about me and other girls, but that was in the past.”
“Fine, I can handle that. I just want to be around to make sure that you don’t fall back into your old ways,” she says.
“You can’t be with me every minute of every day. Don’t you trust me?” East asks.
“I want to,” she says sincerely.
“But you don’t?”
“No…” she whispers as tears flood her eyes.
“Then I guess this is good-bye…”
“I guess so,” she says sadly as she reaches out and kisses him on the cheek. East watches as she starts to walk away. Suddenly, Pryor runs out of the bookstore and heads straight for Mel.
“How dare you do this to him?” she shouts.
“You don’t understand,” Mel says, taken aback by her reaction.
“Pryor, just let her go,” East says angrily.
“No, you’re way too deep to read her emotions, but I can see it very clearly from where I am. You love Easton. I know you do. Not long ago you were ready to take me on if it meant you could be with him. And now you’re dumping him?” Pryor barks.
“It’s hard to explain,” Mel replies.
“No, it’s not hard at all. You’re dumping my friend because you’re too scared to love someone who is about to go into battle. You think if you break up with him over some bullshit, then it won’t hurt if something bad happens to him. But you’re wrong. It will still hurt. But the only difference is the amount of guilt you will feel, knowing he died thinking you didn’t want him.
“Mel, I will not lose another member of my team. You don’t need to worry about East. I got him. I will protect him. That’s my job. You’re his girl. It’s your job to love him. So go do your damn job and let me do mine,” she orders.
“Is that true?” East asks as he walks up to Mel.
She avoids making eye contact and folds her arms across her chest.
“Mel, is that true? Tell me,” he pleads.
She doesn’t speak, but she nods slightly. He gently guides her face with his hand so that they are now eye to eye.
“I can’t read your emotions. I think I’m too close to you. So if you have something you need to say to me, say it. Please,” he says.
“I had a nightmare. Malakaro made you slice your own throat. You fell to the floor; there was so much blood. I tried to get to you, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t get to you…” she says, bursting into tears.
“It’s just a dream,” he assures her as he takes her hand in his.
“It felt real. I woke and I—don’t die. Don’t die,” she says as she desperately clings to him. He holds her tightly as he looks at us over her shoulder. His eyes are clouded with worry and apprehension.
This is the first time a girl has loved him just for himself. That feeling is like a drug. But like any drug, it comes with side effects. East now has someone he has to look after; someone who risked heartbreak to be with him. And all she wants is the one thing he can’t give her—a promise that he will make it out of this impending battle alive. A promise none of us can make.
When East and Mel pull apart, they look into each other’s eyes and kiss each other as if they won’t see each other again.
“Hey, get a room already,” Swoop teases.
The couple, embarrassed, part their lips.
“Sorry,” Mel whispers as she blushes.
“We suck at trying to break up,” East replies.
“Yeah, we kind of do. I’m sorry I caused all this trouble. I sound like a paranoid lunatic,” she says.
“You’re not paranoid, Mel. In fact, you’re right. What’s to stop Malakaro from making us all cut our own throats? I mean, his powers don’t work on Pry, but they work on the rest of us. So what will protect us?” Swoop says.
“I think I might be able to help,” a familiar voice says from behind us.
I tu
rn around and find myself staring at a striking angel with an hourglass figure, crystal blue eyes, and long free-flowing strawberry blonde hair.
Belle…
After my time at the Center, Belle and I used to hang out and find ways to keep each other entertained; that usually meant our clothes were off. We had great times. She’s very much like the angel version of Diana. So it only makes sense that they hate each other.
“Well, looks like I’m just in time,” she says as she looks at our worried faces.
“Who are you?” Pryor asks, on high alert.
“Come on, Pry, don’t you recognize trash when you see it?” Diana asks.
Belle laughs sardonically as she gets in Diana’s face. “I will try not to take anything you say personally. I mean, after all, you are being bitchy for two now,” Belle says as she looks at the markings on Diana’s arm.
“This is Airabella,” I inform Pryor.
“Belle, please,” she says with a sly smile.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
“Not much of a greeting. I was expecting a hug or—what is that?” Belle asks as she looks down at my wedding ring.
“Aw, poor Belle. Sucks to be an afterthought, doesn’t it?” Diana says.
“You got married?” Belle asks, sounding completely wounded.
“Yes, Pryor and I married. I would have told you, but—”
“Yeah, I know. Busy. Busy. Busy,” she says bitterly.
“You came here for a reason. What is it?” Pryor says impatiently as she marches up to Belle.
“I know how you can defeat Malakaro,” she replies.
“How?” Pryor asks.
“I’ll only tell you that after I get what I want.”
“And what the hell is it you want?” Pryor says, growing irritated.
“Just one small thing: your husband.”
The world falls silent. It’s not just the team that’s rendered speechless; nature herself seems to have been put on mute. The wind doesn’t blow. The leaves don’t rustle, and the birds have abandoned their song. Everyone and everything seems to be waiting for Pryor’s reaction.
Pryor looks at Belle like a raging bull who’s just been challenged. Her eyes are alive with fire; her nostrils flare with anger. Her jaw looks like it might unhinge at any moment and suck Belle up like a viper would a field mouse.